The Time to Write

I was just in the Writers Den and basically the point is to shut up and write. So here I am writing. The only time I get to sit and write without either the cats or the grand-kids or my Gracie or the other hundred interruptions that heckle my life every day is early in the mornings like this when everyone else is asleep, even the cats. Don't get me wrong I have to feed the little bastards first before they leave me alone to my thoughts for an hour.
I'm going to start my next novel soon and as I said in the Writers Den all I do is grab a character out of my head and let him or her take over the book. This next one I think is going to be Ross Miller. A man like Jobe that has lost everything and the universe is still trying to kick his ass all over the place. We'll see what he does with the story.

Talk soon,

My new website

I wanted to tell anyone and everyone that my website is up now and I think you can even buy my e-book "Day of the Dogs". I really hope that there's someone listening and reading out there. It's cheap and easy and I can't wait for my book to become the best seller of all time. Ha. Well maybe, stranger things have happened. I really want to thank Dan Ribell for all the computer work he's done so far and all the work that there's left to do.
I hope you like my writing style because I've got so many novels set to go online. It seems maybe that I'll get one on about every three months or less depending on how fast I can transcribe and edit all those novels sitting around gathering dust. I'm excited to hear the comments both bad and good. It's subjective and I know I won't please everyone but everyone that's read any of my works so far have all said nothing but good things.
Of course I'm not so foolish to think that they all like it because it's tough to look a person in the eye and tell him he's full of crap. Well unless you don't like the person. I think or at least hope people at least like me.
Again look for my book at www.DayoftheDogs.com

Talk soon.

Back again

Hey,

I haven't been blogging much since I got this little building job. It was taking up virtually every minute of the day either working on it or thinking through the process. The one special thing about my high school days was that the Christian Brothers taught me one thing. How to think. There was a lot of money given to them for me to learn that simple concept but it was worth every penny. I think I can do just about anything (within reason). And it's because of that simple statement.
I've met a few that didn't understand the concept. Actually I felt an empathy for them in that I was one of them before the aluminum rod was thrashed across my ass until I had no other choice. I'll tell that story someday.
Alas I'm done with the job and I'm back to work writing. I shouldn't call it work though since this is one of the loves of my life.

Talk soon.

Patterson vs Me

I've been reading Patterson's books of Alex Cross and his detective work both as a DC cop and now an FBI agent. There's a couple of things that really stand out in his work for me at least. One is that I can hear Morgan Freeman talking in my head when Alex is on the jizz and two is how well Patterson creates the relationship Alex has with his kids and Nana Mama. I hope and I try like hell in my writings to do the same thing. The personal relationships and their clarity and significance is important to me.
I can remember in my first novel "Day or the Dogs" the best relationship in clarity and significance was that between Dr. Bob and his father. His father was probably the furthest from a main character but that's probably the most talked about by my readers.

S&S

Okay I'm going to start with S&S and stay with them today. Stricland was the first person for me to meet in the last two novels I've written. He was pretty much an ass when I first met him. All introverted and barely able to speak to anyone or maybe he didn't like speaking to anyone or maybe he just didn't like anyone so he didn't speak to them. He is a great detective and didn't like all the unnecessary talking. He was in his head all the time. He didn't need someone messing up his thought patterns with crap. He had gone through partner after partner that couldn't stand the quiet that he left them in all the time. He'd go about solving the murder cases by himself doing all the work at the murder board in his head and even doing the paper work at the end.
Captain Rod, a big burly man that has a temper at the drop of the hat, finally brought in Scanlon. A beautiful woman from vice that needed a change after years on the street trying to find the killer of her husband. She saw right through Stricland and went about giving him a dose of his same medicine which he fell in love with. She didn't like him, of course, in the beginning but got the hang of it quickly and spoke less than he did. Drove him crazy. Hence they fell in love.
They couldn't work together and have a romantic liaison so they went to the Captain and told him they were quiting but they'd stay on as consultants. It's worked so far and they have a great time catching killers and being shot at and saving lives.
They have some odd quirks but don't we all.

Tell more soon.

Bob

The Story

I told you I'd tell you more about Stricland and Scanlon. Fondly I refer to them as S&S. That wasn't planned, oops maybe I should let you all know that I plan everything meticulously? Well I don't. Once a character starts, the story and the character take over along with all the planning. Somewhere in the deep synapses of my brain (my wife calls them cobwebs) the story line, happenstances and characters fall into place all by themselves. I haven't written a book yet that I knew what was going to happen. Thinking about it that's probably the reason why I love to write. The same reason why anyone reads. You want to go somewhere you've never been and you want to find out how it all ends.
I'll get to S&S soon. Like I said the story takes over.

My wife, what a wonderful critique

My wife finished my last novel and asked me whether it was good having Stricland and Scanlon solve so many murders in one book? "Doesn't everyone write about just one?"
I had to tell her the truth. My guys are better than the rest. She laughed at me. So I laughed back at her.
"What are you thinking? Better than Harry Bosch or Alex Cross?
"Yeah." Was my immediate and somber reply.
"God you suck."
With that retort I had to explain my theory. (I don't think she was listening but I love to talk too). Most cops aren't dumb and most killers are that smart. Serial killers get away with murders because of two reasons. No rhyme or reason and they travel outside a typical murder zone of most. Now I should say no "rhyme or reason" to the average human being.
With that explanation she still told me I sucked and I said "Right back at you".
How was that for a come back? I think it's time we gave due where due belongs and most detectives have a good head on their shoulders except they believe everyone is guilty of some heinous crime. Oh except for their partner and themselves and they're never totally sure of their partner.

More to come about the beautiful Scanlon and the smile that takes her breath from Stricland.

Codger

For an old codger, like the ones at the bakery, I'm more excited than usual about the 4th. It seems Michael, my son in law has an inside track down at the marina. So, we'll be able to see the fireworks from the docks as they explode over Lake Superior. It'll be my first time seeing such a site anywhere.
It takes me back when I was a kid and everybody at Gardner Lake tried to out do one another with the number of Roman candles shot off. One side of the lake would start just after dark then we'd all take turns. The show would last for an hour or more. Fun times as a kid.
There's got to be a book in that mess wouldn't you think?"

Talk soon.

Lakeside Bakery

Moving up here to Duluth I needed to find a haunt that was cheap and easy to get to. I've had a bunch of losses lately due to the real estate debacle and the banks. That's a whole other story though that will get my full attention real soon.
Anyway my haunt. The Lakeside Bakery is perfect. I could sneak downstairs at six a.m. and take my composition book and my trusty Pentel P207 0.7mm mechanical pencil and with a cup of coffee and a danish from Stephanie, an easy to look at girl, I could find myself in another world to write in. I've always liked most of my characters but it is either the place, coffee or sugar that made some of them really come to life for me.
The back alleys Stricland and Scanlon chased the bad guys in seemed more real to me. The bad guys like "The Leprechaun" became more robust in nature and then of course there is John.
What a wonderful man and along with all of the other old codgers I fit in pretty good. I sit apart from them to write but John wanders over every once in a while when a tale that he thinks is worthy of telling comes to him. Every one of them have been more than worthy. After his tale he'll head back over to the table usually taking the last chair of six. Different men come and go as the morning wears on but there's usually three for sure, Bob, Jerry and John.
Friendly, the kind of place I can feel at home. I hear them talking about the news, politics and the schools. Each searching for the others approval but set strong in their ideas of even how they should cap the oil spill in the gulf that's ruining a piece of the world that they love and honor.
I'm proud to even be in their presence. And besides, there's a book inside John. Don't know exactly what it is yet but I feel a nonfiction historical novel coming on one day soon.

More about the guys later.