Weather forecast…past, present, and near future. Steam baths and lots of rain. It’s a great time to stay in the AC and read a book…or under an umbrella on the beach (just not in the thunderstorms). After three recent novel-writing marathons, I’m doing a bit of R&R&R. Some readers don’t realize that writing requires a lot of commitment, but authors are happy to do it to entertain and inform their readers. And we can read other authors’ books too! That’s why that last &R is not a typo—it’s Rest & Relaxation & Reading for me. What about you?

That strange Twitterverse. It’s not just the tweets from you-know-who. A challenge for math nerds was posted recently: what’s 8 / 2(2+2) ? The poser of the puzzle used a division sign instead of a slash. But the division sign is equivalent to a slash, as written here, which means the expression is equivalent to a fractional one, 8 over 2(2+2), which, of course, is 1.

Don’t feel bad if you got it wrong. The NY Times did too! They argued that you do the operation in parentheses first (correct!) and then work from left to right (no, because the division sign is equivalent to a slash). Left-to-right is a cultural bias (shame on you, NY Times!), and math is culturally independent. Many people read from right to left in this world. Admittedly the expression is ambiguous, but not to most mathematicians, where the division sign is rarely used.

More fun was had by seeing all the people on Twitter arguing about this. I didn’t, by the way…maybe because I’m more careful about how I spend my time there. Maybe other people have too much time on their hands? (Including you-know-who?) Twitter is a special culture, of course, and it’s fun to observe its idiosyncrasies.

Official reviewing. Some of you might be familiar with my book reviews on Amazon or my blog (archived in the “Book Reviews” and “Mini-Reviews of Books” categories), but I do my “official reviewing” at bookpleasures.com.

I’ve been associated with them for 10+ years and have reviewed all kinds of books—over a hundred reviews so far, from non-fiction to fiction and even a graphics novel. Unlike Amazon reviews, the ones on bookpleasures aren’t short two- or three-liners and are completely honest—reviewers’ opinions are their own, of course, and they can be acerbic as well as glowing (sometimes in the same review!) as they discuss the merits of each book. Recommended as an alternative to Amazon and Kirkus and other sites that are more associated with New York publishing conglomerates.

Recent and current reads. I read non-fiction as well as fiction. Recently I read Patrick Radden Keefe’s Say Nothing, an amazing history of the Troubles in Northern Ireland (my review can be found on Bookpleasures). I’m currently reading Putin’s World: Russia against the West and with the Rest, by Angela Stent. (We have to understand our enemies.)

Kudos to two colleagues. Most of you probably remember that my latest novel The Last Humans was published by Black Opal Books. Two fellow authors associated with this great small press we call BOB are finalists in the Killer Nashville conference’s contests: Saralyn Richard’s Murder in the One Percent takes place in the tri-state’s neighboring Brandywine Valley, and P.D. Halt’s When Death Imitates Art takes place in Germany. You guessed it: they’re mystery/crime stories, and two great reads that are certainly deserving of this recognition. While the books are available on many online retail sites, please support and patronize your local indie bookstore. (If they don’t have these books, please ask them to order them for you).

Son of Thunder. The sequel to Rembrandt’s Angel is coming real soon. This novel required a lot of research compared to the other books in my oeuvre, although they all require some. It features the main characters from the first book, ex-Scotland Yard Inspector Esther Brookstone, now retired, and paramour Interpol Agent Bastiann van Coevorden, but the disciple St. John the Divine and the Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli also play important roles. Don’t worry. There’s no time travel, even though the book covers three different eras. And you’ll see how Esther and Bastiann’s romance progresses.

The new look. My website gurus at Monkey C Media have made upgrades and updates on my website—probably transparent to you for the most part when you visit. The URL has changed, though. It’s now https://stevenmmoore.com (that pesky extra m is still essential)…just a wee bit of added security for you if you’re web surfing. (Don’t worry. I’m not going to be selling things and sending you off to PayPal. And I still don’t accept ads from internet vendors.)

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Winter World + Solar War. A. G. Riddle, author. Okay, I haven’t read #3 yet—it’s a pre-order with an ugly cover, and I rarely sign up for them. (Why should I make a cash advance to Amazon?!) So far the series is a combo of post-apocalyptic and military sci-fi. And, so far, while a wee bit predictable, it’s better than the author’s other books, which is saying a lot—they were good, and so are these. There are only so many themes in sci-fi, so the stories often boil down to variations on themes. To wit…

The theme here, at least in the first two books, is similar to my Chaos Chronicles. An apocalypse occurs and humanity endeavors to survive it. In my case, humanity as well as bad ETs cause the problems. In Riddle’s, a collective intelligence formed by many galactic civilizations brushes away primitive civilizations like they were annoying gnats. If this reminds you of my own Swarm, good—that means you’ve already read my trilogy. If not, you might want to compare. My Swarm is aloof and impersonal; Riddle’s Grid is all that and evil—apparently bad ETs are welcome to join as well as good, and the bad corrupt the good. Swarm tries to stop the evil ETs.  Mind you, I haven’t read #3. In spite of murdering billions of humans, maybe the Grid will turn out to be good?

Novel #1’s plot does have a twist. Maybe Riddle doesn’t believe in global warming? In any case, we do not have a global summer as the Earth turns into Venus, as one might expect from our current and very real climate crisis. The Grid goes around stealing the energy out of suns like ours, so that swatting of gnats is realized in our solar system by causing global winter on Earth via blocking the sunlight. That premise is a bit absurd. If the Grid were truly aloof and uncaring, they’d just construct a Dyson sphere between Earth’s orbit and be done with it! Of course, there would be no story then.

The story in Winter World becomes stopping the Grid’s deep-freeze attack on Earth. The reader is introduced to ex-prisoner and super-genius James as well as lovely astronaut Emma, who’s the only survivor of the Grid’s attack on ISS. They come together in those trying circumstances to lead the charge against the Grid…and find a bit of romance in a post-apocalyptic winter (lots of snuggling).

Novel #2’s plot is about the counterattack from the Grid and the aftermath. Asteroids are involved as the Grid avenges the dinosaurs. With all that energy they’ve collected, why doesn’t it just turn Earth into nuclear glass? The author posits it’s because that would be a waste of energy, and the Grid doesn’t like to do that. Hmm. With all the stars in the galaxy, you’d think the Grid doesn’t have to worry about wasting a few nukes. Of course, that would end the story too, and eliminate another tale of survival and the few remaining humans fleeing Earth for a new home around a red dwarf (yeah, the Grid isn’t interested in those puny little stars). Another twist…maybe? Guess who helps the humans on the multi-century-long trip. That trek also occurs in my Chaos Chronicles; readers can consider both an homage to Brian Aldiss.

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Maybe I’m just too serious, but I have trouble writing humor. I can be ironic, biting, wry, and cynical, but it’s hard for me to sustain a long, humorous story. No novels, just some short fiction.

The Secret Lab (it has a second edition, rewritten and reedited by A.B. Carolan) contains some funny moments, if only for Mr. Paws, the mutant feline mathematician who relates a lot of the tale. Other than that, I don’t have another novel that has sustained humor. And Mr. Paws’s story is for young adults, so it’s not as long as my adult-oriented books.

I’m now revisiting my short story “The Apprentice.” You can find it most easily in Pasodobles in a Quantum Stringscape, Volume Two—see the list of free PDF downloads on the “Free Stuff & Contests” web page of this website. It’s a serious presentation of my views about time travel, but I believe I maintained the humor all the way through. I’m thinking about extending it to a full novel. That should be challenging. Stay tuned.

They say humor is the hardest thing to do on stage. If it’s like writing a humorous novel, I can understand that. Maybe my problem is that I don’t want slapstick, food fights, or absurd, sexual situations. I want a story with a serious foundation—The Secret Lab has it—with a frothy, humorous covering, something like a huge brownie with a whipped cream smiley on top.

Hiaasen seems to have mastered this kind of story. In Skinny Dip, for example, a husband tries to murder his wife by pushing her overboard on an ocean cruise. Not funny per se, but the wife’s revenge is funny as hell. That combines humor with mystery—or call it a humorous thriller. I like Hiaasen’s writing all the more because I can’t do it!

So I thought I might try some humorous sci-fi. Now all I have to do is see if I can write the story. The characters are good ones. I first have to figure out more of the science—that old dentist’s chair is a bit too limited right now, considering where the short story ended. I need to make Jeff a better foil to Gail too. Then comes the critical question: can I sustain the humor?

I went through a similar process when embarking on mystery and YA stories. Teeter-Totter between Lust and Murder was the first Chen and Castilblanco novel that was more mystery than thriller, although The Midas Bomb, #1 in that series, has a lot of mystery elements. That evolution took a few years.

Before starting on The Secret Lab, I studied the YA genre in general. I’d always admired Heinlein’s Podkayne of Mars, a YA sci-fi thriller, as well as Asimov’s Caves of Steel and The Naked Sun, both sci-fi mysteries. So my YA novel became a sci-fi mystery, and A.B. has continued with that tradition.

I’m always looking to try something new. I don’t know if I can do humor, but I’ll try that before romance or erotica—I’m certain that I can’t write in those genres. But who knows? The question I always ask myself: Is there a good story to be had there that might entertain my readers? That’s what it’s all about!

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Comments are always welcome.

A.B. Carolan’s Mind Games. “I found Ferdie when I returned from my internship. I’d entered our secure niche in the Dark Domes and stood frozen staring at his body. My mentor, my confidant, my foster father, and best friend was dead.” ESP and androids. What could go wrong? If you’ve enjoyed The Secret Lab and The Secret of the Urns, or even if you haven’t–all the books are stand-alones, you will enjoy this sci-fi mystery for young adults and adults who are young at heart as it follows a young girl’s search for her adopted father’s killer. Her father told her to never use her special powers, but she has to use them to solve the mystery. Fortunately she finds many friends as she searches for the truth on her home planet Sanctuary, Earth, and New Haven, the seat of ITUIP (Interstellar Trade Union of Independent Planets). Available in print and ebook format on Amazon and ebook format on Smashwords and all its affiliated retailers (iBooks, B&N, Kobo, etc.)

Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!

The Lion King. Jon Favreau, dir. I’ve seen The Lion King in three different media formats: animated feature, Broadway play, and now the CGI version. At the end of this review, I’ll say which one I like the best. For now, let me discuss the latest Disney incarnation of the story.

The plot here is basically a repeat of the animated feature: Scar is the lion villain, the hyenas are his willing accomplices, and Mufasa and Simba are Scar’s victims. The romance is supplied by Nala and Simba, the prince, who must reclaim his throne and become king. You could sleep through the whole thing like it was the next Pirates of the Caribbean installment if it weren’t for the music. However, The Lion King was the first and only one of a few original stories the Disney studios have created. The great “circle of life” has been augmented by the great Disney circle: animation, Broadway show, and CGI extravaganza. Ho-hum. The Lion King now joins the ranks of The Jungle Book, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Frozen, Hunchback…ad infinitum? (Some of these haven’t made CGI or real world yet. I’m not sitting here breathless in anticipation.)

I’ve always had reservations about the plot. It forces the animal world into a fairy tale setting of deposed kings, princes trying to recover their thrones, royal romances, and courts full of jesters. If you don’t see that, I’m sorry. In fact, this version is dark enough (I heard little kids crying) that one could say it’s the Disney version of Game of Thrones. Also, while I accept that animated features have talking critters, I didn’t like realistic-looking CGI mockups talking like humans. Makes me wonder where Dr. Doolittle aka Eddie Murphy is.

I like the Broadway version best. The elaborate costumes hark back to the original animation and make talking animals more appealing. The music is better too. In the Broadway version, those contrapuntal drums gave me a primal, wild sensation akin to Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, one that is completely missing in the film versions. And Queen B’s song doesn’t make up for that loss in the CGI version. Moreover, this show has offered many black authors a chance to appear on Broadway—their talents don’t get that much chance to shine there. To summarize, I like the Broadway show best—music, dancing, good acting, and colorful and original costumes. Skip the two movies and go see that show.

But alas, it’s a CGI world now, and Disney has mastered that technology. But here’s a warning: Starting with The Jungle Book, I began to think, if they can do CGI with animals, they can do it with humans. Except for a few special effects in sci-fi extravaganzas, CGI hasn’t yet replaced real human actors. Actors have agents and unions; animals don’t. But it’s only a matter of time. Of course, we’ll need more and more CGI for animals as species become extinct due to poachers, hunters, and humans’ attacks on the environment. Who knows? Maybe in the future all the PBS Nature shows will be CGI. Ugh!

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Comments are always welcome.

The Last Humans. “‘We’re in a year-round rationing and fire-danger situation here and often los a good percentage of our crops along the river for lack of water. It’s worse in the Big Valley, of course. We’ve done a real number on the environment, Miss Castro.’ ‘Call me Penny.’ ‘She’s ex-navy,’ said one air force guy, winking at me. ‘She only understands salt water.’” Ex-USN Search and Rescue and current LA County Sheriff’s Department diver Penny Castro goes on a forensics dive off SoCal shores and surfaces to find herself in a post-apocalyptic world. A bioengineered and airborne contagion has been delivered to the West Coast and will be carried around the world, killing billions. Her adventures trying to survive in this new world will make you ask, “Could this really happen?” Published by Black Opal Books, this post-apocalyptic thriller is available in ebook and print format from Amazon and as an ebook version from Smashwords and its affiliated retailers (iBooks, B&N, Kobo, etc.) Also available from the publisher or your local bookstore (if they don’t have it, ask for it). A sequel is coming.

Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!

One thing I don’t mention in my little course “Writing Fiction” (a free PDF readers and writers can download—see my web page “Free Stuff & Contests” at this website) is that authors need to be vulnerable—in other words, no author can see how readers react to their work if the author doesn’t conquer their fear and let readers see it. You can’t say you’re a writer until you do that.

Even if it’s only a critique group or Wattpad (or, if you have a website, a place where readers can download samples of your writing), you’re not a writer until you swallow that fear. Yeah, I know—new authors say to themselves, “Will anyone like my X?” where X could be any writing sample—essay, memoir, short story, novella, novel…you name it. Losing that fear is required for all would-be writers from ten to one hundred. It’s a common fear for all of us—I feel it for every story my wacky imagination creates—even after publishing many stories. I don’t think it’s peculiar to only introverts, but maybe for us, it’s more common.

Early on, I perhaps developed a masochistic attitude. It could be summarized by “Oh, what the hell? Let’s see what readers think.” From my first novel Full Medical (2006…now with an ebook second edition) and beyond, I’ve said that. Maybe here’s a better way to say it: “Being vulnerable…isn’t about displaying your emotional life. It has to do with attaching your reputation to a project when there is a risk of failing publicly.” A story begins as a project; publishing it creates the risk. (The second quote is not mine. I won’t specify who stated this mantra that works so well for new authors. The first five readers that tell me who did state it will receive the complete “Clones and Mutants Trilogy”—Full Medical, Evil Agenda, and No Amber Waves of Grain—or The Chaos Chronicles Trilogy Collection, a three-book bundle.)

I suppose that first small step is a big one (with apologies to Neil Armstrong). Initially, before my first novel, I thought about taking the easy way out. While one way is to use critique groups (Wattpad didn’t exist back then), I’d heard that was a mixed bag. “The more experienced authors lord it over the newibies,” author friends would say. Or, “Authors in the groups try to make you write like them.” (MFA programs built on the critique group concept have the same problems, of course, with the prof often joining the guilty parties.) I’ve had enough bad experiences that I avoided critique groups and no longer participate on Wattpad.

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[Note: Readers of the “Chaos Chronicles Trilogy” (now available as the ebook bundle The Chaos Chronicles Trilogy Collection), or subsequent sci-fi stories from A.B. Carolon or me, know that the Tali invaded already developed E-type planets and exterminated the intelligent beings there, calling them “chasa” (vermin) as they made those planets look as much as possible like their home world. That trilogy covers a span of centuries, but I’ve never portrayed the fear and desperation when the Tali invaded Earth. Here’s a bit of that story. It was inspired by a recent blackout in Manhattan.]

Prelude to Invasion

Copyright 2019, Steven M. Moore

The night the lights went out was terrifying. I don’t know how I remained calm.

I was working late in my office on the city’s East Side. Ever since the multinationals’ mercenaries started patrolling Manhattan, combatting gangs and lowlifes spawned by the Chaos, I’d often sleep in my office. I did that more in winter months with their shorter days, but, in any case, blackouts often occurred as a result of the fighting that would make a late trip home far too dangerous. Sometimes the mercenaries mistook even honest, hardworking citizens as the enemy.

That night I took a break by logging into a newsfeed I subscribed to. A headline caught my eye: “Contact Lost with Mars Colony.” The post went on to state that contact had also been lost with the Jupiter and Saturn scientific stations orbiting those planets on two satellites. I hit the “Play Video” icon and watched some nerdy scientist from the Saturn facility stammering and stuttering in fear as he talked about an invasion. Is this a hoax? I asked myself.

Eureka Ltd. had already sent three long-haul starships off to the nearby star systems Tau Ceti, 82 Eridani, and Delta Pavonis. Eureka had been created as a non-profit org to finance all space exploration. UNSA’s director Isha Bai had forced all the multinationals to contribute. I’d signed up for the first expedition to Tau Ceti, but I wasn’t accepted. My computer skills as a social media adperson weren’t enough, I suppose. But I couldn’t help thinking while watching the video, If we can do it, so can they. When the screen turned to snow as the video signal was lost, I knew something was wrong.

I didn’t know who they were then, but I knew what was going to happen if that video record from Saturn wasn’t a hoax. If it was really an ET invasion, human mass hysteria would be just another weapon in the ETs’ arsenal. I walked around the floor where most of my working life had been spent after graduation, shutting doors and setting alarms. All employees knew how to do that. “Shelter In Place” had become a modern mantra.

I returned to my desk and tried to call Uncle Rick. He’d retired from Cornell and moved to Brooklyn where he and I had grown up. My apartment’s there too, but I wasn’t going home that night.

Uncle Rick didn’t answer.

Around ten-thirty, the lights went out, and my workplace was filled with the dull red glow of emergency lighting. I didn’t go to the window to see what was going on more than thirty stories below. I just kept watching the newsfeed.

***

Journalists and reporters are a tough bunch. I don’t know how they manage in emergency situations to keep the news flowing. I watched he usual disaster scenarios unfold on the newsfeed. Panic, trampling others, looting…it happened routinely as some gang claimed part of the city only to have to defend their turf against the outnumbered but better armed mercenaries. This time the chaos was citywide, and ordinary people seemed to be participating.

I watched in shock and horror but still fascinated by the destruction and carnage. Having read about how Orson Welles had scared everyone with his “War of the Worlds” broadcast, I could understand why people reacted in that fashion. Thirty stories up, though, I seemed to be detached from it, an omniscient observer of the insanity and cruelty of frightened and desperate human beings. It also seemed unreal. The newsfeeds didn’t show any invading ETs either. Maybe it is a hoax?

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I keep a list of what-ifs and look at it every so often for the next story. I did that recently and came up with a sublist of what-ifs I can now state will never become my stories. In the spirit of providing writing prompts and ideas for new writers and those with writer’s block, I list a few of these orphaned what-ifs here…lightly edited and just for fun.

What if the many worlds of quantum mechanics theory is used to take a time traveler back to a nineteenth century in another quantum state of the Universe where that asteroid never destroyed the dinosaurs? Call it reptilian steampunk?

What if Charles beheaded Cromwell and not vice versa? That might lead to a good alternate history tale.

What if the Soviets reached the moon first? Would our space program be any different now? We could call that alternate future history!

Here’s a fun one: What if the Hardy boys grew up to be mobsters terrorizing…hmm, was it Bridgeport, Connecticut where they lived? Or what if Nancy Drew grew up to be one of the first colonists on the moon? Those have mystery/crime and space opera covered.

What if a gladiator is yanked from the Roman Circus to help fight against an ET invasion? I wonder if a light saber is heavier than a broadsword.

What if leprechauns decided to rise up against normal folk and take over the planet? They might do better at managing it, after all. A.B. Carolan might like this one. Would this be a fantastic militaristic sci-fi tale or a sci-fi warlike fantasy story?

And what if the little engine that could encountered a damsel tied up on the tracks? Would he stop to save her? Call this a steampunk romance?

What if Leonardo da Vinci was really an android who traveled back in time? That presupposes androids can make art, which isn’t obvious. Or maybe the time-traveling android just serves as a model for the Vitruvian Man.

What if global warming turns Earth into Venus? That might make a good disaster movie, and maybe those creatures that can live in those deep, steamy ocean fissures will take over. Or maybe global warming turns eastern NJ into beachfront property? (Maybe I should keep my house until I die just in case?)

What if LBJ had lost to Barry Goldwater? Would the Vietnam War had ended? If so, how? And would that Arizona White House increase or decrease the number of retirees settling in Arizona? More alternate history awaits readers.

What if all the hard-boiled school of mystery/crime writers had written romances instead? Would the romance genre be the same as it is today? And would hard-boiled take on a new meaning?

Okay, I’m tired. Readers and writers can add more to this list with their comments. Who knows? I might even use one of your what-ifs…but not any of the above.

More seriously, let me just say that writers, whether currently writing or thinking about storytelling,  should always be collecting what-ifs. They lead to plots, characters, settings, and so forth. If writers have a long list of them, they should never suffer from writer’s block. The what-ifs should be a bit more serious than the above, of course (although that’s never a requirement when I add one to the list). But you knew that, right? Although I suppose many of the above might lead to a Hiaasen-like tongue-in-cheek story…go for it!

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Comments are always welcome.

Rembrandt’s Angel. “Are you going to haunt me, MacDougall? Maybe his ghost had been in the castle and was now following her around? But how did he find me?” Ex-MI6 agent and current Scotland Yard Inspector Esther Brookstone becomes obsessed with recovering a Rembrandt painting stolen by the Nazis in World War II. Interpol agent and paramour Bastiann van Coevorden tries to control her obsession and keep her safe. Their quest to recover the painting leads them to an international conspiracy that threatens Europe. Published by Penmore Press, this mystery/thriller is available in ebook and print format from Amazon and as an ebook version from Smashwords and its affiliated retailers (iBooks, B&N, Kobo, etc.). Also available from the publisher or your local bookstore (if they don’t have it, ask for it). A sequel is on its way!

Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!

I left discussion groups on Goodreads and LinkedIn not because Amazon and Microsoft took them over, or because trolls and anti-author blasts from them and readers made my life difficult, but also for the lack of common sense displayed. I’ve always had a soft spot for all authors, especially newbies, trying to offer tips on what works or doesn’t, but when comments from anyone, including me, expressing common sense are attacked, I have to start wondering if it’s worth running the gantlet. So, to be on record, let me offer three cases where common sense often seems to be lacking.

Is it logical to pour tons of money into book promotion and marketing? Not really. Few authors, even Big Five authors, can compete with Patterson Inc. In the Arts section of the NY Times on July 17, Patterson’s ad for Sophia among the Beasts is full page (thousands of dollars), with no mention of the publisher. and it has the co-author’s name, Emily Raymond, in tiny fonts much smaller than the half-dozen or so endorsements. Patterson Inc. is obviously more important promo-wise than Patterson’s publisher or co-author (you have to feel sorry for Emily). Moreover, what other author has the ad budget to pay for this kind of promotion?

Is it logical to assume some of an author’s fame will rub off on you at events like Thrillerfest? Not really. Having pics of yourself standing by famous author X, whether X is Patterson or any other NY Times bestselling author (whatever that means), might help fill your scrapbook of memories (does anyone still make them?), but it won’t help you sell books or become another NY Times bestselling author.

Is it logical to try to write stories in every popular genre? Patterson seems to think so (his new book is fantasy, but he’s tried literary fiction, mystery, romance, YA, and children’s lit too). He also has oodles of money to invest on promotion and a truckload of co-authors who hopefully know how to write in these genres. Of course, many genres are related—the combinations like romantic mystery and sci-fi  thriller are quite common. But is it common sense to try to reach out to every type of reader and try to satisfy their individual preferences? Agents and Big Five acquisitions often seem to think so and say so, but an author who tries to do this might have difficulty establishing her or his brand. “To thine own self be true” (Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Act 1, Scene III) is a common-sense adage any author should follow. Or, if you didn’t like Polonius, famous Irish writer Oscar Wilde’s advice, “Be yourself.  Everyone else is taken,” is equally good. Write the kind of books you like to read most, not what someone tells you is selling.

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The Bottom Dwellers. Leah Devlin, author (Penmore Press, 2015). Dr. Lindsey Nolan is an unstable genius with her original designs of new medical apparatuses, and she has a drinking problem. A competitor has a jealousy problem. And a homeless, teenage prostitute named Maggie has a drug problem. These are the bottom dwellers in this story.

Everything starts in Woods Hole, Massachusetts (beautiful spot, by the way, along with the whole Cape), where Lindsey works, drinks, and plays. But there are three parallel stories here., sometimes abutting, other times not. The story moves quickly on to a rehab facility. Will Lindsey pull her promiscuous life together and remain sober? Will Maggie overcome her substance abuse? And will Lindsey’s competitor take advantage of Lindsey’s absence from Woods Hole?

Almost every chapter is divided into sections corresponding to the three main characters—nothing new about dividing chapters, of course. Each section is in that character’s point of view—unusual, but not new either. But each section could be a chapter in itself, which makes the chapters a bit lengthy sometimes. That’s a different organization for a novel, but it works here. And be assured that the relationship between the individuals is finally defined.

I’ve been wanting to read this first book in the “Woods Hole Mysteries” after I read and reviewed #2, Aegir’s Curse. The Bottom Dwellers is grittier and deals with the underbelly of what goes on in our society a lot more. The story reads like a therapist’s chronicle of three personality disorders. There isn’t much of a plot, but readers who like character-driven stories will surely find many interesting characters here. In fact, this novel is probably more current today than when it was written, a true “evergreen” book that offers more evidence, if readers need it, that authors’ backlists contain many interesting stories.

For those readers who like more plot-driven stories, consider this book a prequel to Aegir’s Curse, which is a  mystery/thriller novel with a terrific plot involving two of the main characters from The Bottom Dwellers. Both books are well written but completely different. I wonder what #3 in the series, The Bends, will be like. Stay tuned.

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Comments are always welcome.

Rembrandt’s Angel. “You’re an elitist.” “And you’re a killer. I prefer to be an elitist.” Ex-MI6 agent and current Scotland Yard Inspector Esther Brookstone becomes obsessed with recovering a Rembrandt painting stolen by the Nazis in World War II. Interpol agent and paramour Bastiann van Coevorden tries to control her obsession and keep her safe. Their quest to recover the painting leads them to an international conspiracy that threatens Europe. Published by Penmore Press, this mystery/thriller is available in ebook and print format from Amazon and as an ebook version from Smashwords and its affiliated retailers (iBooks, B&N, Kobo, etc.) Also available from the publisher or your local bookstore (if they don’t have it, ask for it). A sequel is coming.

Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!

First-time visitors to this blog and/or website might not know that my website gurus at Monkey C Media recently did an update/upgrade (it’s generally transparent to visitors). Having a functioning website with interesting content is essential for authors these days. (After the initial costs, an author still has maintenance costs—all part of doing business.) In this last round, the gurus got my website analytics working again (it’s a mystery why they stopped). I don’t hover over them like some bloggers do, but I like to check them occasionally. This time I had some surprises.

First, the list of countries corresponding to website visitors: No surprise here, the US ranks first. I’m a US author, after all, even though I’d like to think my novel Rembrandt’s Angel could be loved by all readers of English literary works, especially Brits (it’s dedicated to Agatha Christie and her two famous sleuths, Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot, and its main character is a Scotland Yard Inspector and ex-MI6 agent). But Great Britain is only seventh on the list! Much more surprising, Ukraine is second. In fact, the US and Ukrainian web surfers have made many more visits to the website than those from other countries. (I’m a bit leery about the Ukrainian participation. Are they from the part that Putin stole?) France and Italy surfers trail far behind at third and fourth, Russia at fifth (again suspicious), and Chile at sixth. Chile? What’s that about? I lived for a while in Colombia and loved Colombia as well as Chile (I visited there during the time of Allende), but I don’t (and can’t) write a novel in Spanish.  Maybe it’s because many of my characters have a Hispanic origin? But why not other Spanish-speaking countries too?

Second (and I think this is a general phenomenon): 81% of my visitors spend less than thirty seconds at the website. These obviously aren’t readers of my blog, which is a frustrating observation. It’s probably due to my home page looking the same from day to day (it’s rate of change is much less than that of my blog, of course). Maybe I should create an internal link on the home page that goes directly to the blog? Hmm. There are already two, one at the left and one at the bottom. Oh well….

Third, there seem to be a lot more bots sniffing around, not just Google’s. That’s good, I suppose, if they report back to their masters something like “Hey, this old guy has new material!” At least I hope they’re capable of sniffing out what’s new. You never know—the bots are only as good as the people who program them.

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