Justice Resurgent

  

I don't know why this book came to mind today. Maybe I've still got the Five Card Stud movie on my mind. I know the theme song comes into my head a couple times per day. Whatever the reason, I opened Justice Resurgent, the sequel to Justice in Season, and reviewed the first chapter. The excerpts below don't do the chapter justice (no pun intended) but I think they do provide a peek at the initial trauma set up for my Trama, Drama, and Dream theory/system for creating memorable stories. Sheriff Upton has gathered a posse to make a surprise visit to our hero, McBride, and the other members of the vigilance committee. Harmony Rivers has discovered the corrupt sheriff's plan and needs to warn McBride.

 Excerpts from Justice Resurgent, Chapter One:

Harmony Rivers, from behind the open door of her balcony overlooking the street, watched them ride out. Although she would not be performing until the evening, she had pulled her red tresses back and had placed a cap with a white feather on her head. Her matching dress of blue and white failed to conceal the figure that sparked fires of desire in the hearts of men. She hurried from her room to the top of the stairs. She looked over the saloon, searching for the right man to carry out the mission she had in mind. Most of The tables were vacant. The men at the bar didn’t seem to have the qualities that she sought—those qualities being pliant yet dependable. Quickly, she decided to place her bet at a table where three officers from the Boise Barracks...

Howard, a local freighter, leaned forward, a shock of brown hair dropping to the edge of his left eye. “I can understand why the Sheriff has his ire up. McBride has ruined several of his enterprises by what I hear. I know for a fact that the sheriff lost some kind of bet with McBride in that horserace that killed Fool’s Gold.” 

“Lost the sheriff a tavern and a carriage is the way I heard it,” put in Jones, the other civilian. Jones, who ran the sutler’s store at the end of Main Street, held a mug of beer in a hand that lacked a ring finger from the first knuckle up. 

Harmony clasped her hands together. “Yes, yes. That’s all true. What are you men going to do about it?” 

...

"Where could we find such a courageous man?” The emphasis of those last two words reached out like an inviting hand. Howard brushed back the shock of hair from beside his eye and he lost himself for a moment in the look of silent supplication Harmony cast his way. “I’ll take that horse, Mr. Quartermaster. Take me to your stable.” 

...

“I guess you could say that.” Howard took the cup of coffee and warmed both hands against the sides of the tin cup. “The sheriff has a bundle of warrants for all of the vigilante committee. He aims to take you all in your beds tonight and figures at least one of you will be killed while resisting.” 

With this last statement he cast a glance at McBride through the lock of hair over his eye. 

“Meaning me, I suppose.” 

“I suppose,” Howard nodded. 

________________

I really like this opening chapter. The trauma, the conflict, and the tension are put in motion. We see (even if we haven't read the first book) that Upton and McBride are going to be at odds in the story. We see that Harmony is an ally persuasive enough to get a man with no dog in the fight to do her bidding to help McBride. The two forces are set in motion like trains heading toward each other on the same track. Will the sheriff take McBride or the other vigilantes, or will McBride be able to stymie the sheriff's nefarious scheme?

Naturally, the drama plays out with lots of adhesive tension and the stakes continue to rise up until the thrilling conclusion punctuated in blood and bullets. There's a reason that this book has more reviews than any other novel I've written. There are plenty of skirmishes leading up the the final showdown, so it's NOT a slow burn story. Detective work, romance, and gun play all combine to escalate and intensify the conflict. 

The characters are memorable; we know on which side of the good versus evil equation they fall. The hats aren't black and white, but the moral character is. I'll have to use them to illustrate my theories on crafting characters in another post.

 

Stories from the stock photo folder.

It's Twilight Zone meets Mayberry. I don't know who put this picture together but it must have a great story to go with it. 

Mirror Universe Spock is performing a mild meld on Barney Fife. Is this also a MU Barney or has has MU Spock engaged in both time travel and universe hopping?  Perhaps he's extracting from the deputy the location of the one bullet he keeps for his revolver. Maybe Spock desires to know why everyone is avoiding Aunt Bea's pickles. On second thought, it looks like Barney is in the engineering section of the Enterprise. Barney has been transported to the MU. He has traded places with Dr. McCoy and drained the universe of color. 

Here's how it looked before the Barney Rift opened.

I don't know if Barney can get back. Kirk and the rest of the crew are doomed -- maybe they all shifted to Mayberry; unless Scotty can construct a starship or transporter from stone knives and Otis' alcohol saturated corpse Federation law is coming to Mayberry.

I like this next picture better.

The thing you need to understand about this picture is that the kid who's wearing his teammate's cleat between his legs never actually jumped.

Finally, my personal favorite, the cover of my slightly humorous noir detective novel Smoke.

I don't know how this picture ended up in my stock photo's folder. That folder is reserved for strange things I find on the internet--like the two pictures above. This book is my favorite of the novels that I have written thus far. I am enjoying writing the work in progress but Smoke is the book that compelled me to stop in the middle of writing Justice Resurgent and write it instead--the story demanded that I write it. I'm not sure whether it was the first person point of view that I used in most of the book, the post-war 1940s setting, the detective story framework, the literary references, or the memorable women characters who play prominently in the story that makes it so memorable for me. Writing, reviewing, and implementing the editing suggestions eventually drains my cup of enthusiasm for a book--except for this book. If I had to go back and read one of my creations again, I would choose this one. If I pick it up and read a few lines, I'm hooked all over again and have to exert some real self control to put it down and walk away.

I have to admit to some disappointment with the cover. I do love it but had hoped for something better. I shot the picture for the cover in my office with high-end photography equipment. "High-end photography equipment" meaning a medium resolution smart phone camera. My daughter and a lady from the theater who was in a play with me at the time came over to the office and we shot some photos. I wanted to include a feminine hand with pink fingernails. The hand was to hold the cigarette with smoky coils ascending. First, I forgot to have the nice lady put on the pink fingernails that I had purchased for the project. Second, the smoke from the cigarette refused to be effectively captured in the photos. Third, the cigarette was a prop cigarette (generously provided by another theater friend) filled with cocao husks or llama droppings or something and smelled like a fire at the garbage dump (that's the prop cigarette that was filled with...and smelled like... My generous friend did not smell like a fire at the garbage dump). Fourth, I was nervous about having two other people help me with it so I rushed through it to keep from wasting their time. All things considered, it turned out pretty well.

There's a link in the upper right hand corner of this blog to look at and/or purchase the book on Amazon should one so desire. Don't kid yourself; you desire.

Before I get to Solo: A Star Wars Story

Speaking of enterprises of great pith and moment (and that's not meant to be a Star Trek reference), I've hit the 60K word mark on the novel in progress. I still haven't decided upon a title that I like for it. Please feel free to send suggestions for the title of a best selling flintlock fantasy novel to be published this year. I could tell you something about it but that would inhibit your imaginative title suggestions.

I've found that writing dialogue is how I discover my characters. The characters ask questions that I had not previously considered. Answering those questions helps develop depth and motivation. Action scenes are fun to write, but conversation is the fertile soil in which the seed of character is best sown.

***

Aside from the writing, which went extremely well, the week included a game with these figures from Bronze Age Miniatures and the musketeer figures that I've posted earlier. It was Barsoom meets the musketeers. Once again using the ...And All for One rules mentioned before for a simple game that several boys could quickly learn for a fun evening.

They never got tired of trying to kill each other and take off with the loot.

I alluded to a review of Solo: A Star Wars Story. I'll be brief--or not; I'm just rambling here.

 Color me simply disappointed. I thought it not a bad show, better than Last Jedi. When I see a Star Wars film I'm thinking about rewatchability. I'm always asking myself if I'll want to watch this film again. Of the new films, only The Force Awakens has a measurable rewatchability factor for me. As for Solo, I thought Firefly did the train robbery better. Apart from the characters there were elements that recalled scenes from the original New Hope, Empire, and Jedi trilogy that I appreciated. I was glad that Ron Howard paid homage to the three great movies onto which the rest of the mediocre films of the franchise have been scabbed.

For both people who have not seen this film yet: Beware, spoilers follow.

As for the acting, I found the new actors playing the roles of the old heroes entirely believable; I liked them. The special effects obviously soaked up a lot of the budget. The music only reached memorable heights when it went back to the original theme. The story seemed sloppy and unlikely. If I remember correctly, bad guy Dryden never had a pistol. I think the bad guy should have more than a glorified knife for self defense. I was pleased to see Clint Howard with a cameo. Lando's lover-like remorse at the loss of L-3 struck me as a rather ridiculous, but I hate cat videos and space octupi as well so maybe I'm wrong--but I'm not. The security on Kessel, a planet with mines producing extremely valuable fuel mined by slave labor, reached a nadir even lower than that on Endor for the protection of the death star in Jedi. At least there were no Ewoks. Finally, who was surprised when the big bad Cloud Rider took off the helmet to reveal a woman? No one.

When patterns collide:*

Mary, Maude, Denise, Sheryl, and Patsy gathered for their first big assignment as undercover fashion police.

*I think I got the picture above from a 2012 French clothing catalog like the rest of the photos that follow, but it's possible that I got it from Lileks.com. I don't remember. (A Google image search indicates as a best guess that the picture comes from a Bosnian TV Series. I doubt it.)

Even in 2012, I think that wearing this coat is a silent plea for help.

A fine selection from the Dork Collection. Apparently they could only get the one guy who was willing to model these outfits.

Costumes from the famous play Lion Dork in Winter.

The Dork in Summer Collection for high water, rain, and pants optional occasions.

Finally, it's the new Dorktor Who look.

And for women -- I'm not sure whether these dresses are to-die-for,

it's selections from the campaign against women, or styles for the victimized. Maybe the models were just tired or lacked the strength to stand--perhaps the dresses are super heavy.

To complete the options for young women's clothing, there's the dress for those times when she just wants to imagine that she's a basketball hoop.

***

In things more banal and of barely passing interest, the new novel has passed the 35K word mark--which is actually below the pace that I had previously set but I have my excuses.. The real point of interest is that in focusing on some development of a lesser character it evolved into a situation that helps develop the main character arc. Professional writers probably plan that kind of stuff. I find those things just leap out at me unexpectedly like the dog that was hiding behind the parked car yesterday at the grocery store.

My favorite quote I heard this week was, "You need to stop being nice to people!" Of course it wasn't directed at me; I was merely in the vicinity. No one ever tells me that kind of thing.

I did think of a parody title to my latest publication: Justice Detergent--the law cleans up. The actual book Justice Resurgent is currently available for only $0.99; and the previous book, Justice in Season, is available for only $1.99 for a limited time. Links are at the top of the page.

*

This weekend began (and completed) the Christmasification--or is it Christmasization?--of the estate. Fils and his children Kned and Comedienne joined us to erect the brand new yuletide pine constructed of genuine and completely man-made materials. The fun also included the festive luminizing--or is it lumification?--of the exterior timber and mansion house perimeter. A word (or several) about those sobriquets: Fils is self-explanatory; I thought Kned (pronounced either with, or without the vocalized "K" ) sounded better than "dead president;" and Comedienne was the alternative to "Dickens' French girl"--also, she did comedic things like waking us up in the middle of the night several times in order to grace us with renditions of her greatest hits--which sounded a lot like the vocal tracks on a death metal album. She's a scream--literally. We were thrilled to have them. The vocal tracks were inconsequential in comparison to the joy they brought.

Fils and I did discover that putting the Christmas lights up might have gone more smoothly if we had either had more help, or been smarter; but we managed. At the completion of the job when we viewed the lights at night, I remarked, "I was hoping that they would look better than that." He responded, "I guess we had different visions about what we were doing." I don't know what he meant by that. I had visions of a luminous staff with celestial swirls of white light in the large tree accompanied by graceful arcs of warm red cheer in the smaller tree. At dark, we saw a crooked white staff with haphazard white lines in the vicinity next to some red scribbles. It was like Lite-Brite meets a broken Spirograph--two disappointing toys from my childhood (which I never owned but which were never as fun to try as they appeared to be on television). I did take another look at those lights. From one angle, the lights on the large tree reminded me of a dragon with wings outstretched; granted, that took some imagining, but who's to say it's not a Christmas miracle?

We also had our first fire of the season in the fire pit. Louis and Lucien (The Corsican Brothers), the children of my daughter the Ice Queen and her husband Thor, were at the house last night. They enjoyed the fire and roasting marshmallows. In point of fact, the brothers preferred throwing things, including marshmallows, into the fire as opposed to merely roasting them. The fringe benefit was that we could send the brothers back to their parents smelling strongly of smoke--which the Ice Queen hates. Good times!

***
The big news, of course--cue the trumpet fanfare--is that Justice Resurgent is now available for $0.99. Click the book cover image to go to the big river sales site for the book.

*The picture at the top of the post is a Remington-Beals .44 caliber--the type of pistol used by McBride in Justice in Season and Justice Resurgent.

I have mixed feelings about this book. When I did the re-read/corrections, there were parts I really liked; there were parts that I did not love; but the ending really decided me--I think it's the most moving ending that I've written to date.

***
Finally, last week I was nearly finished with Feval's Le Loup Blanc. I finished it the next day.

General Thoughts: See below.

Story in a nutshell: A noble of Bretagne in northwest France lets his hatred of the Kingdom of France lead him to leave his estate in the hands of a duplicitous "relative" named Vaunoy while he goes to challenge the king to personal combat. The estate is supposed to pass to the noble's grandson. The scoundrel Vaunoy wants it all to himself; he not only attempts to kill the grandson, he also kills the loyal dog--so we know he's beyond redemption. Grandson is rescued, only to immediately disappear. Grandson returns later without knowledge of his birthright. Le Loup Blanc and others help restore him to his rightful estate and title.

Do I recommend it? Yes. There are a number of interesting characters and this story strongly resembles that of Robin Hood and the return of King Richard. The grandson returns like King Richard. Vaunoy holds the power like King John. Le Loup Blanc and the men of the forest resemble Robin Hood and the merry men. Marie has the role of Maid Marian. The likenesses aren't exact, but the similarities are strong. I rate it: A Valiant Variant of the Robin Hood/King Richard story.

***
What did Ricardo Montalban say with regard to Paul's epistles to the saints of Corinth?
He called them fine Corinthian Letters.

A cutter ship is featured in the new novel in progress. Below is picture of a model of a cutter I found on the internet--I can't remember from whence it came. The cutter has taken some serious damage in the recent chapter of book, but I suspect it will recover at some point. The sloop that appears in the first chapter will not recover.

The book has progressed to chapter 7 and is paused there while I get Justice Resurgent published. The corrections recommended by the proofreaders are nearly done--20 pages left to go. I thought that I would have it completed yesterday, but reality intervened. Additionally, the story felt flat and somewhat thin on description; I reached out for some feedback regarding my doubts and received encouragement to publish; so it will post sometime next week. I'll put it up initially for $0.99.

***

The highlight of the week was this:

A local chain store runs a weekly contest. This week we won the treat pictured. I'd never had them before. I looked at the bag: coconut milk, gluten free, dairy free. I figured it was probably taste free as well. I imagined a flavor like toilet paper tubes with the texture of sandpaper. As you might imagine, I was quite excited to try them. 

Surprise: The rolls were delicious with a mild coconut flavor that was not too sweet. The delicate little rolls (made with rice flour) melt in your mouth. I think that is the best of the treat prizes that we have won. Naturally, I wasted no time in consuming them.

***

 Not quite a book review. I think I'm nearly finished with this book. I'm just starting chapter 32.

I've quite liked this book. I had previously read the first book of Le Bossu by Feval -- upon which the movie En Garde (as it's called in English, but Le Bossu in French) with Daniel Auteuil is based--and had enjoyed it--I think there are about six parts. When I got the complete works of Feval, I decided to read them in order--Le Loup Blanc is the first book in the compilation. I'm only at 4% read of the compilation and I know this book concludes within that 4% range. The ebook of this single title can be found on the big river site for free. The compilation is available for a couple dollars.

***

Part of the reason I didn't finish the corrections to Justice Resurgent on Saturday was because of other activities. My wife and I delivered to friends some treats that she had made. That activity was followed by a high school basketball game with a wild and successful finish for the home team. Finally, we concluded the evening at a presentation of an old time radio show fundraiser for a local talent group. The entire show delighted. The mystery show was outstanding with a terrific cast.

I have to confess that my favorite part of the show was the singing of Secret Love by a talented young lady. I thought that it was quite as good as Doris Day's version (which is the only version I've previously heard, and which is included on the digital album that I have. Doris Day sings it here:

Although I don't think that song is referenced in Smoke, one or two other songs that Doris Day made famous are prominently featured in that novel. Did I mention the Smoke paperback would make a great Christmas gift. The link is above on the left.

***

Also The Duelists in on Prime. I had to watch it immediately upon discovery---more on that later. For now, suffice it to say that I recommend it.

This movie punches you in the throat from the start and then makes you try to swallow a wad of nickels wrapped in Silly Putty through the rest of the show. The movie to which I refer goes by the name of Wonder, and is based on the 2012 book of the same name by R.J. Palacio.

My daughter wanted to go see this film when it was in the theaters. I wasn't interested. Now that I've seen it, I think it should be required viewing for everyone--especially kids. Most of the show centers on Auggie, the ten-year old boy suffering from a facial deformity who is enrolled in school for the first time as he is entering 5th grade. His story delivers the punch right to the trachea. The film also gives us the perspectives of his older sister and her problems; her friend's problems; and the boy who attempts to befriend Auggie. The stories are compellingly woven together and pulled tightly around the throat to keep the viewer from swallowing the putty-wrapped coins throughout the entire movie.

Fabulous!

Book Review
I also finished The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchet.

General Thoughts: Another book that I got to read for free. An entertaining romp without much direction--like a series of short stories rather than book chapters. The tourist leads the way. There's a wizard (of a sort), a barbarian, dragons (of a sort), and a variety of other flora and fauna.

Story in a nutshell: A tourist with a trunk made from sapient pear wood leaves a trail of destruction in his wake. A wizard and a barbarian (among others) are caught up in that wake. There's a full synopsis here.

Do I recommend it? Mostly. The book has some humor; it's not lengthy and doesn't take itself too seriously. It's a fun read. I rate it: Pure 80's Pop. It has a beat to which you can dance, sounds funny, and leaves you ready for more of that unfulfilling fare.
***
And now for the real news:
I've received back the manuscript for Justice Resurgent. I'll make the corrections this week and may have it available on Amazon before the end of the month. In the meantime, get your copy of Justice in Season. Justice Resurgent takes up shortly after the end of Justice in Season with the adventures of McBride, Vaughn, Emily, Harmony, and Shorty in the fight against the outlaws of Boise City and the Payette River valley.

With a number of years under my belt (as well as on top of my head, upon my brow, at the corner of my eyes, in my back, and hanging over my belt), I suspect that I know more now than I knew as a teenager; I'm just not as confident in what I think I know as I was then. I think Dickens was actually referring to being a teenager when he wrote:

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness...

It was indeed the best of times. The teenage years were largely fun and relatively carefree. It seemed like the worst of times because there were a lot things that tasted like canal water and ashes--speaking purely figuratively of typical teenage experience regarding the things society and future productivity as an adult required. Of course it was the age of wisdom; teenagers knew everything (and still think they do). It was the age of foolishness because nobody would pay attention to the simple solutions which they knew to be supremely true that would fix everything.

Adolescence is a bridge of ignorant confidence--with rickety guardrails at best--to the suspicious shore of  hesitant adulthood. In some cases, that bridge extends well past the shore into the 30s and 40s before the hard knocks, slaps, kicks, and punches of reality sufficiently illuminate the territory to dispel both the ignorance and the confidence.

There is more to be said about this, but I'm not going to say it.

***

On to less important things.

First, I'm nearing the 30,000 word mark in the new novel and am writing in the sixth chapter. I'm rather enjoying this particular journey.

Second, Justice Resurgent will go live before the end of the year--maybe before the end of November.


Book Review
I finished reading The Elven by Bernhard Hennen.

General Thoughts: EDITED: -- The review below was written after finishing the book and I was bitter at having spent so much time on a book that did not satisfy me. I think the author is a fine writer. I have no issue with his skills or story telling ability. The tale simply didn't please me--and that's more a matter of taste than anything else. So this review should be taken with that thought in mind. I know others who absolutely loved this book.

The book aspires to be Tolkienesque. It re-imagines elves and the elven world in a way loosely based on Norse mythology. I read the Kindle version which I got for free through Prime. The hard copy is 765 pages long, but it seemed like a mere few thousand pages while reading it.

Story in a nutshell: Two elves love the same elven woman, Noroelle. She has been unable to choose between them for over 20 years. There's some boring courtship. In short, there's nothing that makes the reader at all interested in any of these three. A human is pursued by a supernatural beast into the elven realm. Some elves, including the two lovesick friends, help the human defeat the beast. They have some degree of success, or maybe not. Noroelle gets banished. The rest of the book is the quest to find Noroelle by the two elves and the human. The story takes hundreds of years--both for the characters as well as actual reading time.

Do I recommend it? No. The book isn't horrible; that may be the best I can say for it. I contemplated abandoning the book every time I read it through nearly the first 50% of the book. The writing wasn't terrible, neither was the story. It was a quick read in the same way that the Indy 500 is a drag race. Of all the characters, only the human character had any depth, and he was a viking in the classic stereotype (although, I have my doubts as to whether the vikings had any stereos--the word never even came into use until 1823, according to Meriam-Websters). The story wandered as if it were being made-up on the fly. Even after the long, long adventure (did I mention that it's extremely long) and spending oodles of time with these characters, I never liked them; I never liked the elves in general or any of them in particular. When the end reached the inevitable conclusion (although there were some unexpected twists along the way), I really didn't care. The conclusion dragged on, and on, and on. I rate it: A Massive Feast of Sawdust--the table is loaded to overflowing; one can eat and eat and eat and never enjoy a bite.

I am enjoying viewing via Vidangel The Last Kingdom series. I finished the last episode of season one this week. There were many annoying points in getting to this season finale, including, but not limited to, Uhtred losing his head and doing stupid things in anger so that Alfred can react by imposing a ridiculous punishment--such as having the only two competent commanders in his army fight to the death. Fortunately, an attack by the Danes upon Winchester prevented the completion of the punishment and both Uhtred and Leofric survived to become key players in Alfred''s defeat of the armies of Skorpa and Guthrum.

I read Bernard Cornwell's book of the same title upon which the series is based several years ago. It's a whole series of books but I only remember reading the first book. I was reading it at the public library during my lunch break. We moved away, and I can't remember if I got to finish it or not. I would like to read the series, albeit more cheaply than what I see for the book or ebook prices. Others have already written at length about the series--and I haven't checked to see what they say. I'm only addressing the final episode of the first season because it struck the perfect chord.

The picture below is from the culminating battle. It represents that perfect chord, the most satisfying moment of the first season when Alfred and his Saxons triumph after his return from the marshes. I note the second most satisfying moment of the season was earlier in the same episode when that sack of rancid gall known as Odda the Younger finally found peace through steel; his own father had to let the air out of him with a fatal thrust to shut the traitorous coward's mouth.

The journey to the season finale was frustrating and laborious, but Alfred's triumph with Uhtred's crucial assistance cleared away all those frustrations. The previous long struggle, the loss of the capital, the disappearance of Alfred to the marshes, and his quiet return to call the English (or the men of Wessex) to arms at Egbert's Stones proved to be very inspirational, blending all the strands into the perfect concluding chord. I wondered if Tolkien had based Aragorn's rallying of the Army of the Dead upon Alfred's gathering. The triumph of Alfred and the army provides the emotional payoff for the season--superbly rendered. It was a bit of a Henry V moment: "If we are marked to die, we are enow to do our country loss; and if to live, the greater share of honor."

In other news, my primary proofreader has returned the draft of Justice Resurgent with her notes and corrections. She is always very helpful. She had good things to say, and admitted that she cried when--well, obviously I can't tell you or it will ruin impact. So the sequel to my first book is nearing publication.

The new novel has moved along rather well this week. A lengthy third chapter brings together the strands from the first two chapters and sets up the course of the adventure. I think a reader should have some idea of where the story plans to go by the end of the third chapter. I found that having outlined the novel in general, I can now outline each chapter in more detail before writing it and the writing then goes much more quickly. Chapter four is outlined and underway. The direction is to Boston Harbor--hence the picture above. The main characters is this story are unlikely to say a line from Henry V that amuses me: "...but I will sell my dukedom to buy a slobbery and dirty farm in that nook-shotten isle of Albion."