August Digireads

Having another interlude allowed me to finish the work on "Gamblers, Suckers and Gold: Peter Dawes in Bodie." The book is out on Amazon, both in paperback and ereader. This is the fourth book in the Peter Dawes series. Starting with "Massacre at Fort Sage" and continuing with "Looking for Jack" and "Celestial Moon" a time span of ten years recounts Dawes' investigations in and around California.

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More Brain Droppings--July Digireads

You get an idea about what might happen after a disaster that effectively destroys

most of the world. What remains are men in a cabin and primitives on a valley floor.

There is a weapon on each side the holders of the weapon think it will allow them

To assert their predominance over the other side. Each side has a leader, a leader that is unscrupulous in dealing with his own people.

I played with that idea and those characters after I’d quit a very unsatisfying job for one of the titans of the rocket industry that had me working three different shifts in sequence, an abomination then as it is now.

As far as other personal aspects that played into the genesis of the catastrophe idea there was the separation from my wife that ultimately led to a divorce and the loss of my three children.

But as the idea of the struggle between what ultimately became good and evil continued to fill my mind I spent time with the two boys who were now in my care for the duration of that summer. Every day

was special as I watched them play in the water, at the park and at the movies.

With an old Underwood typewriter I started writing what would become “The Rifle.” I wrote ten to fifteen pages a day as the characters developed and the plot played out. Most of the writing took place while the boys were taking naps in the heat of the summer afternoons.

Finally the novella was finished and sent off to an agent in New York. Days passed and there was no word and then a letter arrived from the agent filled with high praise for the novella. She thought it was a morality tale and would present it to publishers with that viewpoint in mind.

She was very diligent in sending the manuscript around, but even with her glowing interest there were no publishers interested in the book. She reluctantly sent the manuscript back and I had to live with the rejection and depression that accompanied spending all that time, getting high hopes and then having the reality of the publishing world set in.

It took years of different kinds of writing before “The Rifle” was published. And that publication would not have happened if the digital world and Amazon had not opened Create Space.

How many times does it take before the germ of an idea makes the leap into reality? Somewhere in the fog of the past I read Moby Dick for the first time. I think it was after I’d seen the John Huston movie with Gregory Peck as Captain Ahab. Nothing clicked then.

Fast forward to the birth of my son Thomas and even faster forward to telling him stories and then to the reading of Moby Dick with various voices to make the story jump alive to such an intelligent little boy. He listened intently as I read of the men aboard Pequod and how Ahab’s compulsive drive to find the white whale filled the pages with the character of Ishmael and his friend Queequeg, the irresolute attitude of Ahab’s chief mate, Starbuck and the tenacity of Ahab.

That reading stuck with me as I worked a variety of jobs to keep the family housed, clothed and fed. Still it didn’t heap me or task me with anything but the strange tale of the white whale and what would be classified today as a maniac in charge of that whaling ship.

Then in an epiphany I thought: “What happened next to Ishmael?”

He was shipwrecked as the white whale attacked and sank Pequod, drowned the rest of the crew and took Ahab made fast to the whale by the harpoon and lines circling the beast much like fishing nets and other gear entrap modern day whales.

Ishmael didn’t have a thirst for revenge, but it seemed reasonable that members of Ahab’s family did. Not only did they lose the ship but they also lost a family member to what had become a mythical monster. There was only one way to avenge Ahab and that was to prevail upon Ishmael to lead an expedition to find and destroy Moby Dick.

With those thoughts a plot developed along with characters that would ship with Ishmael on the quest to put an end to Moby Dick.

I wrote twelve hundred pages over a number of years until I found an agent who by happenstance had taught Moby Dick at the college level. He was as enthusiastic about the possibility of selling the novel as I had been about writing it.

He said the book was too long and I followed his advice cutting it down to a more manageable size as well as eliminating the prolog. After I was satisfied that I had done as much as possible to the story I sent it to him.

He tried valiantly but the usual response he received from publishers was “I didn’t even finish reading Moby Dick!” He relayed that disheartening news and I let the story die for the time being.

After the turn of the 21^st Century I wanted the book published so I went to what was then considered a “vanity house” and went through the process of getting the book published with the title the agent had given: Moby Dick: Ahab’s Revenge. The publishing house was difficult to work with since they made many errors in translating the typed page to the printed one. Ultimately the book was published in both hard and paperback editions.

And that was that, or so I thought.

In the meantime I became connected to Create Space and published a number of other novels, but I was never satisfied with the Author House version of the story, so I made numerous corrections including giving it a new title “Ishmael’s Quest” before I published it with Create Space in paperback form.

We examined the Create Space edition for July Digireads and it was another chance to make a few changes that sharpened some of the passages and satisfied me that the story was a good one. For me it had solved the problem of what happened to Ishmael after the end of Melville’s Moby Dick. 

What is being a member of a cult really like? That was a question that had bothered me for a long time. Time spent examining and practicing various religions from the Catholicism of my father (couldn’t understand any of the rituals or why I was even in that church in San Francisco) to a rather basic protestant set of beliefs in a small town in northern California to a full blown participation in the Catholic ritual during and after the birth of my first child. Sometime between then and the third child the Catholic ritual became stale and meaningless. In the past I put up with the fire and brimstone sermons and dutifully went to confession and participated in the Eucharist sacrament, but when the time came to reject all of that I was ready. The elation of asserting myself lasted for a number of years. Then meeting with some people who were New Agers that had successfully passed through the flower children rite of passage, I became enamored of how happy and grounded they seemed to be.

So I went to a couple of their meetings, listened to their Guru Ma and finally agreed to spend time in their environs in Southern California.

What I experienced during those three months was almost a combination of Boy Scout camp and a minimum security prison. It was an interesting experience but as with the other cosmic answers it wasn’t for me so I came back to my home in Sacramento.

Various life challenges awaited me including getting married again (number three was the charm, but I hoped that number four would be).

Another child came along and I did my best to apply the lessons I’d learned with my first family.

All that was a precursor for the novel “Akasha” that I worked very hard on to make the cult experience as realistic as possible. Of course there had to be a plot and the one that sufficed for the story appeared to me to be as close to what might have been as I could make it.

The characters in the novel are composites of people I related to during my cult experience. Guru Ma has passed to the Great Beyond (or in her case to the realm of the ascended masters) so the guru in my story though based on Elizabeth Clare Prophet lives on in her fictional world.

We have examined “Akasha” some time ago and that examination should stand by itself, but these few brain droppings might help you as reader get a glimpse into the byzantine workings of a cult.

What role did an argyle sock play in the genesis of “Operation Belize?”

Fast backward to an interview for the Foreign Service conducted in San Francisco. The panel for that interview consisted of a US Navy captain, a member of the US State Department and a supposedly unbiased member of the public.

I entered the room thinking I was fully prepared for any questions that had to do with geography, world politics and history.

The first question was about the latest jet fighter to be introduced into the Air Force’s collection. The media referred to it as the “swing wing fighter” and that label was okay with the panel even though it had the traditional “F” number assigned to it.

The next question was about the Vietnam War and what I thought of it. I tried to be as circumspect as possible saying that the history of Indo-China was rife with conflict and many attempts by China to influence the political outcomes in that country.

Other questions about various trouble spots around the world were what I had prepared for and I gave answers that appeared to satisfy the panel.

However, when I was asked about the US policy in Belize I was stumped. Where was Belize? After a pregnant pause the unbiased member on the panel said I might know it better by its original name: British Honduras. I had to admit that I didn’t have a clue what the US policy was for that country.

That answer caused the panel to confer among themselves. When they had finished I was told that the interview was over.

As I was getting ready to leave the room in the Post Office building, the State Department representative said that the Navy captain didn’t approve of my wearing argyle socks. He said they were probably a gift from my wife. I didn’t argue the point. He also said that because I was an older candidate I would be hired at a higher rank.

Fast forward many years. I didn’t get the Foreign Service appointment but the memory of being at fault for wearing argyle socks came back again and again as I thought about not getting that job.

I became so caught up in the original interview that I started a research project on Belize. That research led to writing the novel that ultimately bore the title “Operation Belize.”

We have examined Operation Belize in an earlier Digireads, but I thought having a look at how the novel came about might add to the pleasure of reading it.

Ishmael's Quest--June Digireads

We started the first quarter of the book seeing that Ishmael had many tasks to accomplish before the ship Pilgrim can set off in search of Moby Dick.

The harpooner contest resulted in acquiring a chief harpooner for the ship although Ishmael hadn't shed all his doubts about Foley Baha's ability for other shipboard duties.

With a fair wind Pilgrim left Nantucket and sailed into the Atlantic. Shipboard duties fell into place and both watches enjoyed cloudless skies and off watch time.

Baha's orlop assignment wore on the crew and Ishmael wondered when the little harpooner would opt for the forecastle.

Hanford, the greenest of the crew, passed his first test: to climb to the fore mast crow's nest.

After a month at sea Pilgrim made its first kill. Seventy-five barrels of oil would help defray the expense of the voyage.

Shortly after the whale's blubber was tryed out and darkness enveloped the ship Nesbitt went to the Orlop. All he got for his nefarious effort was a slashed arm and the discovery of Baha's secret.

Pilgrim madelandfall on St. Helena. While provisions and water were stowed Hanford left without permission to see where Napoleon was imprisoned.

Captain Strunk mused over the punishment to be meted out to Hanford for leaving the ship without his permission.

Hanford, still questioning the why of it, receives five lashes of the cat.

After leaving St. Helena, Pilgrim sails into heavy weather around the Cape of Good Hope.

Finally leaving the miseries of the cape Pilgrim trades with a Lascar captain for needed stores.

Ishmael becomes more attached to Baha now that he knows her secret.

Pilgrim arrives in Colombo and the crew is given four hours of shore leave. After the second eight bells are rung, Ishmael has to go ashore to search for McDonough and Hanford.

Captain Strunk is told about the infraction adding to the intrigue aboard Pilgrim.

Ned Hanford survives a beam to beam keel hauling.

As Ned is revived a whale is spotted and the crew mans the boats with Coffin replacing Hanford, too bloodied to go out with his boat.

The rogue whale smashes Ishmael's boat and kills Coffin in a most gruesome manner.

The survivors are rescued by McDonough and await Pilgrim's arrival. And the ship finally appears to haul them out of the surviving boat. But they are not safe because the storm worsens sending Ishmael and Baha up to furl the topgallant royal sails.

Turning North Captain Strunk tells Ishmael that Hobarton in Van Dieman's Land will be their next port of call.

The third quarter of the book provided character development as well as exposing secrets that had been well kept.

In Hobarton many of those secrets were revealed: Nesbitt's homosexual bent, Baha's attraction to Ishmael and his awkward but successful foray into coupling.

Meanwhile Captain Strunk thought about Ishmael, the Pequod's fate and the quest for Moby Dick.

Sailing northward Pilgrim endured being fog bound. That circumstance gave Strunk a chance to test the fog destroyer cannon. The cannon fired as designed but did not "destroy" the fog.

McDonough and Hanford find out that Nesbitt was the informer about their tardy return to the ship from their leave in Colombo.

Pilgrim hailed Samuel French, another whaler with castaways. Captain Strunk visited with the other captain and then the two ships parted company.

Sailing northward Pilgrim encountered a wrecked whale boat with one survivor. The boat was from Rachel the ship that rescued Ishmael when Pequod was sunk.

Nesbitt hatched a plot to avenge his keelhauling using Novack to invade the Orlop and assault Baha.

With the assault foiled, Captain Strunk admonished the crew and the mates to keep Baha safe. She was at a loss to understand why no punishment was given to Nesbitt and Novack.

Pilgrim lost the wind and the boats were launched to tow Pilgrim toward a sighed ship.'

Strunk bought 3 barrels of much needed water from the merchantman Winslow.

At last the wind returned and Pilgrim continued her journey northward.

Pilgrim spots a black whale and Strunk belays Ishmael's order to give chase. The crew feel they have been cheated out of a larger lay.

A storm bears down on Pilgrim. All sails are struck. The mizzen sail is blown out and Baha falls into the sea. Ishmael is thunderstruck at her loss, but she finds safety in the mizzen sail and is taken back aboard.

That she blows shouts from the crow's nest. It's Moby Dick bent on ramming Pilgrim. More sails are set and the ship escapes the same fate as Pequod. Moby Dick sounds and Pilgrim continues the search.

Pilgrim meets the spouter Junior, smaller with holds filled and about to return to port.

Junior's crew might be a threat to Baha, so Ishmael sends her to the captain's cabin.

Meanwhile Nesbitt plants one of Baha's menstrual rags on the Greek from Junior. He, in turn, plays a joke on another of Junior's crew.

Then the men of Junior's crew seek out Baha, but are foiled in their attempt. Hands bound with marline they return to Junior as Strunk returns to Pilgrim.

Hanford spots Moby Dick ahead of Pilgrim but the approaching storm makes Ishmael refuse Strunk;s order to lower and give chase.

The storm almost wrecks Pilgrim.

At last their prize is sighted again and the battle between men and whale is joined.

I'll leave the story here and hope that your excitement will lead you into the epic struggle Pilgrim's crew has with Moby Dick.

I also hope that after finishing the book you'll put your thoughts as Digiread's comments and a review on Amazon.

Brief Interlude

Decided I needed more time to work on the novel that's underway, so there was no reading for May. We'll start again in June with "Ishmael's Quest."

April Digireads--"Filly"

What's in a name as the bard has said? To Filly her mother-given first name was unacceptable. Coincidentally Randy Stone had also shed his birth name--Randolph--and so they started an acquaintance that could become something more.

But Bill Hauser, Randy Stone's friend and fellow racer, had eyes on Filly and he was not out of the running. Which man will win Filly' heart?

Was it only the Cointreau that made Filly give into her carnal feelings? Or was it simply another part of the dreamy state she felt herself in?

One commonality between Filly and Angela, her good friend, was family, particularly mothers harping on either religion or having a family. Neither Filly nor Angela was particularly interested in either aspect fo their mother's conversations.

We've found a lot about Filly's character, likes and dislikes in the first quarter of the book. We are left wondering whether Bill Hauser will be Filly's long-term relationship or whether her attraction to Randy Stone will surface to cause Filly to make a difficult choice.

Filly was surprised and pleased with the unexpected phone call from Randy Stone. The call led to a motorcycle ride--her first--and a late lunch at a British style pub.

Having rekindled the acquaintance Filly was conflicted with the memory of the intimate but temporary relationship with Bill Hauser and her strong attraction to Randy Stone.

Filly and all the other FONE workers had no other thoughts than escape as the bullhorn blared throughout the office. Outside they wanted to know what the evacuation was all about. They soon found out when an explosion rocked the building scattering debris and dust throughout the area.

The explosion and chaos that ensued turned an ordinary work day into a confused but orderly end to what had been a humdrum eight hours at the office.

Having a bridal shower turned the stress of the explosion on its head for the women who'd gone through the bombing.

The party was a success and Kath, the guest of honor, needed a shopping bag for all the gifts.

A potential contretemps occurred when Bill Hauser and Randy Stone showed up at the pizza shop Angela and Filly were visiting.

As far as Filly could determine her intimacy with Hauser was still private. That result was exactly what Filly wanted since it meant she could pursue her interest in Randy.

Subsequently Randy appeared to become the pursuer as he invited Filly to a night out. A restaurant closed for renovation was no obstacle since another was close by.

After dinner Randy said that a high school friend was performing at one of the local night clubs. Filly listened to the laments that Randy's friend played and sang.

Mojitos provided Filly with a good counterbalance to the laments, but when Randy took her home she was more than disappointed that he didn't go up to her apartment; instead saying he had too much to do for the race the following night.

Filly's choice to go with Randy and Hauser to the races in San Jose could spell trouble. To find out whether it does we'll have to read the last quarter to the book.

The Challenge Zone research appears to be going smoothly. A minor bump happens when Hatch asks about a legislator's response and Filly has no answer because she wasn't given that as an assignment.

Meeting Hauser as she was leaving work was a surprise, followed by the shocking possibility of him getting a job in her building.

As a courtesy Filly invited Hauser into her apartment as they waited for Randy Stone.

The ride to San Jose could have been difficult for Filly but there were no overt comments from Hauser.

The races were enough for Filly to know she was comfortable with Randy's competitive streak.

After an after race pizza dinner and more Blue Moon beer the three of them drove to a nearby motel.

Hauser took a room to himself while Randy ushered Filly into a separate room.

The upshot of Filly's night with Randy gave her exactly what she wanted so the novel had a happy and successful ending.

The Jabberwocky Murders: March 2018

Back in the day I spent a lot of time trying to get a plot to work. It was frustrating but when the track the story was going to take finally worked out a feeling of satisfaction set in.

The Jabberwocky Murders did not have that kind of difficulty with the plot. That result may have been a product of having much of the story worked out in a thought process and it helped that one of the main characters had already been established in “Murder at the Ritz Carlton.”

Once Josh Colum entered (and he was originally “Noah” but I kept referring to him as “Josh” so Josh he became) the essence of the plot became clear.

Having a chapter that pretty much intact written for an earlier work meant Josh had a ready-made deep set motivation for the plan he’d concocted.

With those two characters the plot appeared to lay itself out and I applied my ability to develop the characters as they rolled through the story.

In the first quarter of the book all of the above comes into play. The plot takes its decided dark tone when Jenny Mallory takes her parents’ dog Evie out for a nightly stroll. She’s a Sac State student with hopes of becoming a legislative aide once she graduates. But that is going to be forever a “could have been” with Josh carrying out his first murder.

Josh learns that the woman who rented the apartment on 25th is a detective, and one who is investigating the death of the woman he shot.

Slocum and Janet continue the investigation at the Med Center and Bing Maloney Golf Course. They are performing the essence of detective work trying to piece together the metaphorical puzzle.

Josh Colum is still trying to have his plan verified by the media carrying the story of the woman, Jennifer Catherine Mallory, he shot. Hearing her name gave Josh a decided feeling of loss rather than enhancing the elation of having been successful. His media surfing doesn’t show the importance of the real estate sign. And he gets a call that his Wednesday appointment is early.

As Slocum and Janet work the case Josh does a favor for Janine Hollowell that he muses might result in a sexual quid pro quo.

The media (newspaper and TV) carried Mallory’s murder for one news cycle and then it was on to the next bit of mayhem. This media normality did nothing to validate Josh in his own eyes.

The newspaper seemed to ease the tension Slocum and Janet felt from the Chief and the inhabitants of the Fab Forties. Even so, the pressure to find the killer and punish him or her was there and would only intensify.

What the detectives needed was something tangible to link the killer with the victim. As they continued the investigation Josh was about to chalk up victim number two.

The second victim shows Sacramento that a serial killer is at work. All the new killing brings to Slocum and Janet is more pressure until a witness calls in.

The witness only provides the detectives with a general description of a possible suspect but one specific he observed has the potential to ID the killer: a Raiders jacket.

The only real information that bore on the case was the witness telling them about the Raiders jacket. And someone leaked that intel to the media, which meant they were left with trying to find who in Sacramento had bought a Raiders jacket.

Josh is shaken by the media revealing that a witness had seen a Raiders jacket on the possible killer. He’d trashed the jacket that Sammie had given him, but if the police followed up she would point them to him. She had to be eliminated.

Did either Edie or Cheryl know that Sammie had given him the jacket? He had to find out.

Pete Slocum is removed from the case and that makes Janet the lead investigator.

Janet is put in a difficult position having to question her father’s friend and the man who interceded with the department to get her the job.

Janet’s query to Amazon comes through with Sammie shown as the buyer of the Raiders jacket.

With a backup Janet confronts Sammie to find that she bought the jacket for Josh.

After the satisfaction of Josh’s arrest, Janet has to look forward to another case.

Why did I end it when I did? Good question. Seemed like the logical place and if I’m so motivated gives me a place to start another Janet Slade novel.:)