StanleyWheeler

Pain. With each step a horned demon hammered jagged spikes deeper into my thighs. All the while a lesser imp blew new fury into the coals beneath the burgeoning blister behind my toe. Later I found new agony. I'm no medical doctor but I'm pretty sure that there are places upon the human body that are not supposed to surge with electric pain at every step. I have located what I believe should be one of those places--but it does. I believe the root cause of the affliction can be attributed to the men and boys who forced me to attend the ten mile hike. A mountainous route would have resulted in the acquisition of demons far less dedicated to their work than those who joined me along the graveled road upon which we trod. It's only the demon of the surging voltage of torment that troubles me. That fiend didn't make its presence felt yesterday until well after the 21K plus steps had been completed. I'm hoping to lose it in some labyrinthine dream tonight.

I tried exorcising (unsuccessfully) the demons last night by watching this:

This 1955 film is a tight little tale of love, hate, and murder--the three sides of the love triangle. Vera Clouzot is particularly good as the weak-hearted wife Christina who joins the mistress played by Simone Signoret in a plot to kill her abusive husband. The film is in black and white and in French with English subtitles. Signoret plays the hard-as-nails Nicole, mastermind of the plot. Paul Meurisse plays the brutal husband and schoolmaster Michel. (Every time he moved or spoke, I thought of Jack Webb).

The other characters at the boarding school are solid characters even though they don't get much screen time. Clouzot and Signoret are the stars.

It's a five-star film in my opinion. If you don't mind subtitles (or you like to hear some French that's spoken fairly clearly) you'll enjoy this superb piece of film history. If I had the time, I would enjoy doing a reframe with the black and white images to accompany my own made-up story.

I have no time to do such a reframe because my writing time is dedicated to the sequel to:

which is available on the big river site for only 99 cents. (Click the image to go to the site). The tentative title to the sequel is Power to Hurt--but that could change. The sequel takes up right where Threading The Rude Eye ends.

I include the dedication from TTRE:

Dedication

Mere words fall short of expressing the gratitude that is due to all those who have helped me along the way in bringing forth this book. Those who instilled in me a love of both history and fantasy should bear most of the blame. However, those who have engaged in the lesser crimes of encouraging and enabling me along the way must share a portion of guilt. I will refrain from naming names lest I incriminate those who persist in considering themselves but innocent bystanders or reluctant witnesses. While the ultimate product is my full responsibility, my wife (who allowed me time to write) and my children and friends (who read samples and provided half-hearted criticism) must live with a knowledge of their complicity in that which follows.

***
In the reading in progress, I'm part way through S. Michael Law's The Founders Revolution and I could resist no longer the call of Sanderson's Oathbringer. Both are excellent so far.