Putting the brakes on...

I had to take a step back and let this jumble about how Brendan gets from Derry to Houston settle in my head because I was getting lost in it and probably making things worse. At least this little breather is helping me accept that the set up is simple while I'm still trying to complicate it.

As mentioned yesterday, Brendan was already leaving. He had his passport and has established a reason for his absence. He has no known link to the bombing. Things are in such chaos at that moment, no one can really say whether or not they saw him being carted off. So he's covered, there.

There are still those in the IRA who want to just put him in a grave, but that's stopped, quick. I had his sister in Toronto involved in deciding to have him brought to Houston, but that's now questionable. However, his aunt still makes sense. She's always had an interest in him and sent him money and things. She forces her husband to arrange it, with Brendan now under another name and being brought to the US for treatment of a heart condition, once his wounds are healed.

Which means Uncle Sean would probably have both of his passports -- the one he got for himself and the faked one set up to bring him to the US. So I still need to work out the way that's going to play. Or if it does. I'm not completely sure.

Another thing is, neither the British Army nor the RUC would be looking for him, to question. It's only later they learn he might have been there and seen it or helped in it. I know how to have that happen, and it adds a complication to Brendan's time in Derry, upon his return.

Oh, Lord...am I ever going to get finished with this book? Every time I think I'm close, I peel back another layer of complications.

Wow, edit city...

Man, I am doing a lot of cutting rearranging and slashing in Book 3 of APoS, which I think I'm going to call Home Not Home. But anyway, I used to have this massive scenario worked out where Brendan was snuck into the US under another name and people back home think he's been put in a grave by the IRA for messing up their operation and getting a few people imprisoned, but I dropped it because it's just silly and overwrought and made no sense.

Well, it's been so long since I dealt with Book Three, I'd forgotten how interwoven that plot-line is in the first four chapters, and I'm having a lot of fun cutting it out and still having the story flow. Because it's showing me my current idea of him traveling under his own name as Aunt Mari's nephew may not work.

I need to keep in mind that there was no link between Brendan and the bombing, so far as the British and RUC were aware. He left his mother a note saying he was leaving to work in Ireland, but didn't say where. He got himself a passport. And he was seriously injured and was taken to a safe house on the border, so he's not in a hospital for them to become suspicious. Why would they even begin to suspect he was involved in it?

While the IRA might be pissed off and wonder if he messed things up because he was seeing Joanna, they would quickly see it was all just rotten luck. Still, he does have to disappear. His injuries would raise a lot of suspicion if he went to a hospital, and his mental state is pretty much degraded after what he witnessed. So he can't be trusted not to give everything away. And to have him openly travel in that condition? No. I may return to the idea of him traveling into the US under another name. Meaning rework that into Book Two.

Shit, why can't I think of this crap while I'm in the middle of writing it and not have to do this dance with my thoughts over and over as Brendan doles out the information? It's irritating.

But better to figure it out now than after the book is published.

Back to the push, too...

Worked on another 2 chapters of APoS Book Three... which I'm calling Return but really want something more meaningful. The image is of Gatwick Airport in 1981. Brendan flies through there en route back to Derry, where he finds his sister, Maeve, is overwhelmed and his mother really is wasting away from cancer. He feels relieved...to his shame. She still hates him, from how she talks to him, but now he's not so sure he cares about knowing why. He's not even sure she'll be honest with him.

I also got back to sending out queries to agents for APoS. I really want this to be offered through a publishing house that has the reach to get it publicized and into book stores. Self-publishing is not great unless you know how to self-promote and do it for hours each day. Which I don't.

Anyway, here's my latest letter, and I emailed queries to 2 agents in NYC:

------------------------------

My three volume novel, A Place of Safety, is the story of Brendan Kinsella, a lad who just wants to live his life. But he was born and raised in Derry (aka: Londonderry), Northern Ireland, and history interferes with his plans.

The first volume, Derry, begins in 1966, when Brendan's father is murdered. He is but ten years of age. Thought of as simple but with an innate ability to repair things, he navigates his way through a society in thrall to history and the Catholic church as he tires to forge his own path. He forms a relationship with a Protestant girl...a relationship that must be kept secret from all family and friends, for fear of reprisals.

The story is told through Brendan’s eyes and sweeps through:

·      the 1968 Civil Rights demonstrations in Derry 

·      the attack on peaceful marchers at Burntollet Bridge in early 1969 

·      the lead-up to The Battle of Bogside in August of that year 

·      the arrival of British troops to separate the two warring sides

·      the re-introduction of internment in 1971

·      Bloody Sunday in 1972

·      witnessing a horrific bombing in October, that year

This section is currently 132,845 words and 583 pps long, double-spaced and in Courier 12 point font. I have short synopses of each chapter, as well.

Volume 2, New World for Old, is set between 1973 and 1981. Thanks to the bombing he witnessed, Brendan is in a catatonic state so is stashed away at his aunt's home in Houston, Texas until he recovers. Eventually, he tries to rebuild his life, there, but finds the hates and prejudices in Houston are not much different from Derry. This is in third draft, 122,427 words and 542 pps.

In volume 3, Return, he is called home during the hunger strikes, where he learns his father’s true history, is betrayed to the British army, is brutally interrogated, and finally accepts his destiny. I am currently working on a third draft of this part.

This story is modern historical fiction. I have been working on it off and on for several years. While I have self-published 14 books in both print and ebook, I would like to situate A Place of Safety with a mainstream publisher to avoid the limitations that come with self-publishing. I am hoping you can assist me with this.

Below is the first 5 pages of the story.

Thank you for considering A Place of Safety. I believe it will align perfectly with your interests.

I look forward to hearing from you.

 

Kyle Michel Sullivan

Slop day...

I have a kitchen sink filled with dishes, pots, pans and glasses that I have not washed and may not do it till tomorrow. I had one of my headaches and just didn't feel up for it. I did make myself do a bit of contemplating about a job in the UK that I won't get to be part of because it's not all that valuable or difficult to do. We have a guy there who can handle it. So I worked up a possible scenario for it then got back onto APoS - Return.

I could say I polished up 2 chapters, but reality is I expanded the first chapter by enough to break it in half and make two. They're about Brendan's preparations for traveling back to Derry, not as himself or even the fake name his uncle forced on him but as Jeremy Landau, his Jewish buddy. He and Jeremy look enough alike to be brothers, so he cuts his hair and has Everett add some russet highlights, and borrows Jeremy's passport. A document filled with travels all over the world, since he's in the oil business.

This will make him different enough from his old self to give him cover, at least for a while. In Derry, secrets cannot be kept for long. But he's been in Texas long enough to be able to talk in a lousy twang, and since Dallas is playing in the UK and the accents on that show were rather over the top, he should be fine.

There's a direct flight on British Caledonian from Houston's Intercontinental (as it was called before it was renamed Bush Intercontinental) into Gatwick, then Glasgow, then a puddle-jumper over to Derry. Not cheap, but Brendan's been saving for years and has plenty to handle it.

He finally acknowledges this was a subconscious part of his plan to escape his uncle's control. By this point, his brother, Rhuari, is living in Derry and working at a college to teach Gaelic, so he's much better protected. And Brendan now knows Da was not born a Kinsella but took the name when he married Ma. Why? That will be revealed...maybe. Or maybe it won't. No telling.

It's up to Brendan to decide.

Post job blues return...

Had a lot to do, today -- a phone call about shipping artwork from the UK to the US; pick up my taxes (I owe $1500!!!); stock up on groceries; send a FedEx to my brother in San Antonio because the PO refuses to deliver my mail to his PO Box...and all in the non-stop rain. Also a fair amount of How can I not help you mixed in with it. By the time I got done, it was nearly 6pm so I turned on some Amethystium and made dinner and chatted online with Dan Skinner, a cover artist I know...and feel a bit better.

Dan worked up this image that would be perfect for the 1871 section of Blood Angel, where Léonidès finds another Blood Angel and turns him into a vampire to be his companion...then realizes he probably should not have. But what's done cannot be undone, so he suggests a swap with the less than satisfactory BA associate of his BA sister, Gabrielle, only she reneges on the deal and things get nasty.

I have a lot of it written, already, but put it aside for APoS and will not return until I have Brendan's story set as tight as I can. Besides, it's not as if the first book of Blood Angel is selling like crazy. I haven't even hit 100 copies bought, yet.

But I am inspired by that image. I paid him for its use. I just don't know if it'll represent Franz, Leonides' mistake, or Dmitryi, who is Gabrielle's error. Time will tell.

As for Amesthystium, that soothing music reminds me of Dair's Window. I used it to set the mood for a couple of important moments in the initial screenplay, and want to return to the novel of it, as well. It's a MM romance and story of rebuilding after tragedy. I thought I'd have it done years ago and intended to take it to a conference in the UK to introduce it to the world, but Covid hit and life got derailed.

Typical, for me.

Regrouping day...

Much as I hated to do it, I got up early and took the car back to Avis before nine. On a Sunday! Then I tried to have pancakes at McDonald's but the one I went to was closed for some reason so came home and made myself french toast. Grumbling.

I like McDonald's pancakes and sausage and had myself all geared up for that, but the other outlet close to me makes me wary of its cleanliness and I didn't feel like driving miles in another direction to find one. I should've just gone; it would have set the day up much better. Maybe tomorrow...

Did 4 loads of laundry, thanks to working around a very dirty, wildly shedding German Shepherd, last week. Nice old pup named Hawk who's just had his tenth birthday and really does need a bath. He liked how I scratched his ears, though. And I liked how I was able to get some Claritin to handle the allergies.

Tomorrow is catching up on paperwork and calling a client about a potential job in the UK (I really, really, really want to go but don't think it'll happen...dammit). Groceries are needed, and I have to pick up my taxes and send off a FedEx package to my brother in San Antonio since his PO Box keeps refusing to deliver my letter to him. I've had it returned to me, twice, and it's a legal document he needs.

Then Tuesday it's onto APoS-Return, AKA: Book Three. I thought I'd work out a synopsis, first, but Brendan and I don't connect over that as easily, so I'm doing another draft and then doing the outline. Work in everything I've planned for it. Makes more sense, really...I keep telling myself.

Be prepared for more grumbling...

Fun trip...

Wow, driving home was fun. Lots of snow and rain and sleet and wind, and I was in a Chrysler Pacifica so was cutting a bit of a profile. I'm sure people behind me on the 90 thought I was drunk, the way the car weaved all over the place. I swear, I'm a good driver.

Better to put this up to show how I can drive a car and record at the same time.

Click on the link above and it takes you to my Facebook page, showing what was my morning (and evening) commute every day this week. Lovely country but damn, the roads are narrow...built for a horse and buggy, not cars. I tried to upload the video direct but it doesn't seem to be working,

Made some detail notes for APoS Derry en route home, despite the nerve-wracking conditions. Who knows? I may actually get this book finished enough to publish, sometime...

Another job done...

It was not an easy packing job, the one I just finished. 64 boxes containing 650-700 volumes on birds, most of them coffee table books...so heavy, and with no room to really stage the boxes. Total weight was 2850lbs, including the weight of the containers. This is just one of the 4 containers I put the boxes into for shipping.

I was also dealing with a man who's older than me and who isn't a book person checking the books off against his own list...to which he added a couple hundred volumes and dropped some others. But the shipment is now in 64 cartons and bulk containers for transport to the UK. And I'm beat to hell.

The one good thing about this trip, so far, is I now know I am at the stage where I do not need to think about APoS, anymore. I feel as if I have the entire story now sorted out in my head and all I'm going to be doing as I re-write Book Three-Return is pull the moments I need from my head, to make the story happen.

I know I kept thinking I was at that stage, but I haven't come up with a single new thought about APoS on my long, looonnnng drives -- more than 8 hours to Amesbury, then two hours to Windsor Locks to pack the containers, then two hours to Albany...by which time if I hadn't had a room already reserved I'd have booked one. Hard to drive when you are nearly falling asleep.

What's next on my agenda is to do an outline of Return, even though I've only got it in second draft form. There is a whole sequence I will be adding where Brendan goes to the University in nearby Coleraine and hears actual audiotapes of his father telling a story. The effect on him is confusing, to say the least, but it gets him to risk visiting his brother in The Maze prison to ask him about it. He's still seen as Jeremy Landau, at this point, but it draws attention to himself that isn't wise and may be why he's found out by the RUC. Maybe.

We'll see what happens when I write it.

Chapters 29 and 30...the end of New World For Old

The Devil's Haze 

The next couple of years are a blur, for Brendan, thanks to drugs and drinking. Picking up girls and even the occasional guy. A snort of coke and he just doesn't give a shit about social norms. On a whim, he, Jeremy and Everett drive to Austin to hear a punk band called The Next, and Brendan buys their cassette for one song -- Monotony. He moshes with other punks and has a quickie behind the bar with a punkette who loves his scars. Since the band is from San Antonio, he  suggests a trip there, but Everett refuses to go. 

Jeremy and Everett grow apart, mainly because Jeremy realizes he's a substitute for Brendan. He could tell from how much love Everett poured into his paintings of Brendan as opposed to himself. The next Friday night dinner, Jeremy learns Myron has never tried sauerkraut so promises to bring him a Reuben...but before he can, Myron dies. Mrs. Glendon calls Brendan over to help handle it. Fortunately, the coroner and cops don't care about him, just filing the paperwork for a death by natural causes. Myron's parents throw all his things away, infuriating the rest of the group.

Brendan keeps abreast of Ma's cancer treatments through letters from Mai and Maeve as well as what Rhuari mentions in his letters to Eldon. He feels nothing until he happens onto an old Peugeot 541 rusting away behind a motorcycle shop in the Heights, one night. The owner lets him restore it, paying only for parts, and over the next year it re-centers Brendan. He quits the drugs and drinking and lets his hair grow out, and then Uncle Sean brings him his new passport. An Irish one for Brennan McGabhinn, but without some of the needed details. Like an entry and exit stamp for when he was first brought to the US. He gets the corrected one before Hallowe'en and has 90 days to decide what to do.

The Call Comes

It's now 1981 and Brendan comes home after a Friday dinner on a cold night to find a note to call Mairead. Urgent. He does and learns his mother is terminal. Maybe 3-4 months left. Mai is pregnant so can't go over for the funeral and wake, but Aunt Mari is going, straightaway. Brendan promises to go in a couple months. He doesn't want to spend too much time in Derry, since he's fairly certain the British Army is still looking for him in regards to the bombing and he's not confident his new documents will protect him for very long. Mai asks him if he hates Ma and he puts off an answer by claiming he's drunk and can't think straight.

He climbs up on the pool-house roof, despited the cold, and remembers how his mother had always picked at him and derided him, and he cannot understand why. What she told him after Bloody Sunday...that he was different from Eamonn and Mairead and she distrusted him...no longer makes sense and actually strikes him as a weak excuse. He wonders if she would tell him, now.

The B-Girls see him and tell him Aunt Mari is going over in a couple days. They seem to sense he will not be returning to Houston. They ask if Evangelyne was still his girlfriend would he even leave, and he won't reply. They know he was hurt because of her, and they know their father had something to do with it. Then they ask if he's been with Everette and he tells them no. Aunt Mari is in the kitchen having her usual beer and a cigarette, so she calls for the girls to go to bed. Brendan is left alone, wishing he could just lie atop the pool house roof forever.

Chapters 26-28

Semi-surrender

Shaken, Brendan quietly joins the family during 4th of July celebrations and gets to know his nephews -- Michael, Jordan, Stephen, Andrew -- and niece -- Aisling. Even goes to the fireworks display in Hermann Park. Manages to hide the scars on his back and wrists. After they've seen everyone off, Brendan quietly tells his uncle he will become Brennan McGabbhin and let his uncle arrange papers for him. But he continues to join the group at Mrs. Glendon's for Friday dinner and even introduces them to Jeremy and Everett, who are accepted into their family.

Uncle Sean wants the whole group kept away from him, but Brendan gets around it in many ways...like all showing up to Jeremy's graduation. Brendan works 4 days a week at The Colonel's, which is now gentrified. Todd is in prison for pot and Lorraine is gone, so he just brings a book to read and makes sure he does his job. Again, he feels as if he's in stasis.

Jeremy is hired by an oil company and will be sent to Hong Kong to help negotiate a contract because he knows Chinese. During his going-away party at Mrs. Glendon's, Eldon casually helps him work out the difference between Mandarin and Cantonese; turns out he's a whiz at languages, and even knows the Irish. Brendan asks if Rhuari can write him, since he's working on Gaelic. Eldon agrees, and the two begin to exchange letters. Brendan now has a better route into learning how his younger brother is doing.

Prisoner

Brendan gets into a rut. Work 4 nights a week. Repair and sell whatever he finds. Friday night dinners are still at Mrs. Glendon's...where they share letters from Jeremy. He spends Saturdays with Everett to minimize his time with the B-girls and lets the man begin to sketch him. Sundays are reserved for the Nolan home. Jeremy's trip is extended to 9 months, and the penpal friendship between Rhuari and Eldon grows solid.

Everett finally shows Brendan a series of nude sketches he did of Jeremy and, surprisingly, Myron. He asks him to model, too. Nude. He has a client seeking a triptych of a nude young man, in oils, and Jeremy made him swear he'd never show anyone the work he did of him. Brendan is wary, and Everett uses his uncertainty to seduce him into allowing a blow job...then hen takes a Polaroid of his face after he ejaculates. Furious, Brendan grabs at Everett but he locks himself in the bathroom and talks Brendan down from his anger...then shows him the photo. It has the expression Everett had been trying to capture when he did the first portrait, and he plans to use it in the main painting. Finally, Brendan agrees.

Jeremy returns as a total success and sets up an apartment, a bit hurt that Everett didn't invite him to move in. Brendan helps him find a Mercedes 450SL to fix up and move his things into the new place. Everett admits he was afraid to ask Jeremy to live with him because he's about to quit his job and sell his condo. He finished the triptych and was well-paid for it and is tired of being treated like shit over being gay.

Meanwhile, Ma has shifted into warrior mode for Ireland, disparaging Mairead's work in the peace movement, goading Kieran to confront the British Army more while proclaiming full pride in Eamonn's radicalization. She's also dismissive of Rhuari and his wife for living in Belfast, despite it being a far more dangerous place. Brendan begins to see when he loved Vangie he had a very rosy view of everything, and wonders if he and Joanna would have lasted, for the same reasons. He seemed to pick women with a plan, so could that mean he wanted to stop them or have them carry him along? No idea.

Status Unbound

During Jeremy's coming-home party at Mrs. Glendon's, Brendan learns Rhuari is about to become a father, and that their mother has cancer. Not a word came from Maeve or Mairead, and without a doubt Aunt Mari must know and stayed quiet. Unsure of how he feels when he's dropped off at his home, after the dinner, he is too agitated to sit still so hops his Montesa and rides up to The Colonel's. The place is busy and the music very middle-of-the-road. He can't convince himself to go in or leave and wanders about...until flashes of his kidnapping hit him. He looks around, shaken, and realizes the kidnappers' car must have been parked across the street, with the men watching him before deciding to take him. Perhaps like thad been done to his father.

Flashing between memories and current-day actions, Brendan hops on his Montesa and rides down to I-10. The car had turned left so he heads east on the Interstate, to pass downtown. He reaches Loop 610 and takes the first exit past the interchange. Now comes a long drive through commercial and residential areas, miles and miles. Brendan was too hyped on adrenaline to feel fear as the kidnapping was actually happening, but now it comes ripping into him. There are more memories, more turns, a run through a tunnel and down to gravel roads. The stars seem to be leading him on and on...until he reaches an open space with a couple of oak trees that feels...right.

But the trees shelter a playground. A church is at the end of the open space, and across the street are low-slung houses with dogs barking and lights on. Is this right? It's so benign. Then he sees an old rope hanging down a tree trunk, off a thick branch, and checks it. Finds its pattern matches the light scars on his wrists and knows this is where he was brutalized...in a churchyard, next to homes that were inhabited. He explodes with fury and uses the Montesa to tear up the area, screaming obscenities. Lights flare on, people come out and he curses at them then roars away. Once back in the pool house, he tears the clothes he's wearing into rags, shaves his face clean and cuts his hair into a mohawk, and snarls, "Fuck the world."

Chapters 22-25

Exposure 

Brendan takes a shower to clean away the blood still seeping from his wounds. Is mesmerized by the raw imprints of the rope around his wrists. He finally comes out to find Everett in the pool house. The B-Girls had told him to enter, and he sees the injuries on Brendan's back and legs. Vangie is close behind so Everett goes to send her away. Brendan loses control and starts throwing things around in a rage, until he's exhausted. Everett comes back in and helps him up, then he tells him what happened, in detail, as he tends to his still bleeding injuries. 

Everett agrees Brendan was right not to call the cops. He reveals he was raped, when he was 19. In San Antonio. The cops talked him out of filing a report by saying he would go to jail for being gay. Messed him up, so soon as he could he left San Antonio, forever. That's why he helped Brendan with Scott that night at the drag show. He convinces Brendan to speak with Vangie.

She finally comes to the pool house and is horrified at what happened. She reveals Rene also talked with her and she's irritated he didn't trust her. She never held feelings deep enough for Brendan to consider marriage, and suggests if he'd come to the movie and they're talked, he'd had found that out and none of this would have happened. Rejected, Brendan hints that Lon was behind his beating, just to hurt her. She slaps him, leaves and never returns.

Changes 

Brendan quits Trujillo's, stops taking on projects to repair and finds a room to rent in an old house surrounded by pecan trees just south of downtown. The owner is Mrs. Glendon, is past 70 and lives in one side of the downstairs. The other tenants are Elton, unknown age, on disability and keeps to himself; Myron, 20, who has cerebral palsy yet is very independent; Rick, very kosher and waiting to see if his job will be permanent; Mrs. Kendall, on social security, who cooks; and Miss Savage, of indeterminate age who works in a fabrics shop. In an apartment over the garage is Sonja, Mrs. Glendon's granddaughter, on the surly dumpy side. He moves there in the middle of the night, taking only his clothes, bike and tools, saying good-bye to no one but Angus, the family dog.

He finds part time repair work for a small shop on Fannin and tells no one he knows where he is. No relationships, either; just jacking off when he's in need. Reading a lot. Sliding into drugs. Licking his wounds...but the gentleness of his new environment calms him. Tuesdays and Fridays, everyone supplies a bit of food, and Mrs. Kendall cooks up massive meals. Myron handles his cerebral-palsy without complaint. Sonja plays the piano like a pro. He begins fixing junk in the garage and sells it, splitting the proceeds with Mrs. Glendon. They become like a family, and finally he rebuilds his Montesa, re-centering himself. 

Then the beginning of July, Everett appears and tells him Mairead's in town with her family. He scolds Brendan for disappearing, but admits he's known where Bren was for several months. Brendan returns to Aunt Mari's house with no explanation.

Understanding

Brendan is happily swept back into the family by everyone, save Uncle Sean. It's 4th of July weekend, the Bicentennial. He learns Mai is having twins, Rhuari married his girlfriend and has a job in a Belfast off-licence, to Brenda's horror. He says that makes Rhuari a target for a Protestant group but Mairead says the UVF and IRA have a deal, suggesting the two sides are working together to maintain their protection rackets. Also. Danny was killed when a bomb he was setting went off, prematurely. The B-girls still pepper him with questions, which he refuses to give direct answers to, and Scott is interning at a bank in Dallas. 

Brendan stays the night, on the couch. Not long after midnight, Uncle Sean comes downstairs and quietly berates him for the trouble he's caused. Trujillo's was raided, Hugo and Tomas were deported, Rene has quit and returned to New Orleans, and the FBI have come looking for Bren. Fortunately, no one knew where he was, but the Feds didn't believe that and kept returning. Brendan reveals he knows Uncle Sean was at his beating. 

Uncle Sean gets cold and hard in his responses to Brendan. No cursing, just solid verbal punches. He never wanted to hide him but got talked into it. His business was suffering from Brendan's involvement with Evangelyne. He's spent more on lawyers in the last three years than the previous thirty. He demands Brendan return to live in the pool house, under the name Brennan McGabbhin. If he does, he'll see to it Brendan is made legal, using that name, and if the Feds return that will settle the matter. Then he can go and do whatever he wants. If he doesn't, he'll spread word about Rhuari's job and get him killed. And there is nothing Brendan can do to stop it.

Chapters 19-21

Connection

Brendan and Vangie run around together and he's invited to some of the Boudoin's family meals. He gets along well with Arnie, who has developmental issues. They even go to Galveston, and Brendan takes Vangie by The Colonel's. Brendan is beginning to think of Marrying Vangie and plans to speak with Jeremy's lawyer uncle about making himself legal, again.

Late in May, Brendan invites Vangie into the pool house and she teases him for it being so neat. Like he was planning to bring her home, that night. Then she asks him if he's gay. She's noticed Everett like him, a lot, and only stays with Jeremy due to his resemblance to Brendan. They chat more. She's concerned he's just out for some fun with her.

Vangie puts on some music, pulls out a water pipe and they smoke some pot through it. Then she suggests they have a three-way with Everett, taking Brendan aback. But he agrees, making her feel easier. They wind up having sex against one of the bean bags...and he knows she is the one for him. 

Reality

Brendan is set to meet Vangie, Everett and Jeremy to see Jaws, but Rene talks to him, pointing out Vangie would be giving up a lot to be with him while he has nothing to really offer her. He would actually harm her chosen career in the State Department. Shaken, Brendan blows off the date and stays home to think. He sits in the pool trying to sort things out, but the B-Girls begin questioning him. Reveal his aunt and uncle have been talking about Vangie. So he dresses, figures out his Uncle told Rene about him and Vangie, learns Mairead's visit is put off due to house-hunting in Toronto and a new baby coming, and goes to The Colonel's.

Todd is wary around Brendan. Even calls him stupid for being with Vangie. Reveals he's been busted for selling pot and is taking a deal to minimize the sentence. He calls Uncle Sean a weak man for caring more about position and money than anything else. Brendan considers hopping on his Montesa and driving away from Houston, forever.

He finally leaves the bar, thinks about walking home but can't decide. Suddenly, a pillowcase is slung over his head, he's punched in the gut, bound, and slung into the trunk of a car. They drive away.

Violation

The car heads south, to the I-10 and travels east along it. Brendan works the pillowcase off, sees a tear in the car's fender and notices signs for the westbound side pass. They exit just past Loop 610 and head south over rough roads, railroad tracks and through a tunnel. The stench of the refineries grows stronger as the drive goes on and on.

The car finally stops, Brendan is dragged out and the pillow case put back on, then he's bound facing a thick tree trunk, his shirt torn open and jeans yanked away, and he is viciously whipped as racist comments are made about him loving a black woman. His heart pounds wildly as he curses and threatens...then suddenly he passes out. He sort of wakes to hearing a voice say, "I told you; I warned you," as a nitroglycerin tablet is shoved under his tongue. Then he is carried into the rear of a station wagon and driven to his aunt and uncle's house.

Two men carry him into the pool house, one of whom reminds him of Lon, Vangie's cop brother. He hears Uncle Sean tell the man, "I don't want to see you, again." Aunt Mari sees what has happened and angrily tends to his injuries. Brendan asks her if Uncle Sean was there, watching him be whipped. Her evasive answers only serve to convince him the man was. She tries to explain the pressure he was under but Brendan tells her to leave. She does. Once he's alone, he realizes he's lost Vangie and grows angry from it. After a while, he works on a portable cassette player to try and settle himself but his hands are shaking and the raw marks around his wrists from the ropes get blood on it. This only seems to tell him he's not even good at repairing things, right then.

Chapters 16-18

Evangelyne

Brendan manages to keep up with the goings-on in Derry through letters from Mairead, and all it seems to be is a stalemate. Every attempt by the British to find common ground between the two side meets catastrophe. Mairead gets a phone put into Ma's flat, for which she sends payment to the phone company through Father Jack. Maeve keeps standing up for herself, which pleases Ma, and Kieran is fearless when dealing with the British or even covering a gable wall with graffiti. Rhuari's taken his A-levels and Eamonn seems to enjoy being a big man in prison.

Brendan reads both city papers to try and get a view of the situation, and finds Rene is also keeping up on it. Hugo thinks Rene's odd because he was born in New Orleans, The Big Easy, but is very uptight about keeping his family private. But during a Christmas celebration Rene learns Brendan is about to turn 19 so plans a Cajun birthday celebration for him, with the whole three pots and the family in attendance.

Scott and Jeremy go with Brendan to the party, in Pearland, and meet Rene's wife, six sons and one daughter, Evangeline. There are a dozen Cajun dishes, squeezebox music, dancing. The family is planning a trip to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, and when Evangelyne learns Brenda's never been, she convinces him to join them. He agrees only because he figures Joanna would have...but Evangelyne's brother, Alonso, is a Houston cop and keeps casting sharp looks at Brendan, no matter who hard he tries to please. Especially during the trip to the Big Easy. It puts Brendan on edge, but he does not back away.

N'Awlin's

Aunt Catherine has a coffin home near the Canal streetcar line straight to downtown. Lots of family staying there, sleeping on mattresses on the floor. Brendan is not impressed with the center city, and the French Quarter is seriously packed. He's groped, grabbed, kissed, given beads and doubloons by both men and women, gay and straight. He's handed a Hurricane and thinks it's just juice, but Evangelyne warns him.

He has flashes back to the Celebration Fleadh...which mixes with the festive atmosphere prior to the shooting on Bloody Sunday and how he protected Joanna during the Fleadh and how the Soldiers mauled him at checkpoints...and he gets so overwhelmed he hides in a doorway. Evangelyne finds him and takes him to a quiet area where they list to a gentle band play Creole music. The buildings and fog remind him of Derry. He's surprised he's homesick. Tells Evangelyne a little about Joanna. She thought he and Jeremy were brothers...or lovers. He laughs and gives her a peck on the cheek, ready to return to the crowd.

They go to the big parade with more joyous chaos abounding, then Mass on Wednesday and drive home. The car is stopped by DPS just inside Texas, but Lon being a cop provides them safe passage the rest of the way. Bren learns anyone non-white is subject to stop and search. He returns to the pool house and is confronted by Uncle Sean for not telling them he would be gone. They argue and Uncle Sean threatens to send him home for running around with black people. In response, Brendan tells him to go ahead...and is punched to the floor. Aunt Mari intervenes but nothing is solved...except Brendan now knows he is not actually legal so is, effectively, a prisoner of the family's. And what is worse? The IRA blames him for the bombing debacle.

Rebellion

Confused, Brendan loses himself in repairing the items he has to fix and goes into information gathering mode, including keeping up with what's happening in Derry. Eamonn is released but re-arrested under the Special Powers Act. Rhuari turns more into his books, is learning Irish and planning for Queens, Maeve pushes back against the British in her manner of getting any soldier who bothers her into trouble with their superiors, and Kieran is always barking at the British and RUC, despite the danger. Ma also was interviewed for a BBC report and made a big deal about it.

He learns Father Demian was shot (probably by Danny) and Rhuari is seeing a girl from the Pennyburn area. Mairead is happy in Toronto and is planning a trip to Houston. Brendan thinks about writing her but simply doesn't. He's seeing Vangie in a casual way, usually with Jeremy, who's also become friends with her. The two joke with each other in Russian and Chinese, "Couple of Commie languages." Rene becomes wary of Brendan seeing her but can do little about it. The B Girls are developing a romantic interest in Brendan, which makes him uncomfortable.

Then Evangelyne is treated roughly by a sales clerk in the Galleria because she's not white. Brendan steps in, irritated, only to find that angers Vangie, as he now calls her. She wonders if he thinks she needs a white savior or sees her as some brown sugar. She calms down when he apologizes, but he doesn't understand her anger.

Everett brings over a portrait he did of the family and Brendan sees he is unable to accept praise for how fine it is. He doesn't feel he's good enough. Scott and Jeremy drive up, see the portrait and Jeremy asks Everett to do one for his parent's anniversary. Everett becomes part of Brendan's close group and even invites them to his home for dinner a few times before he and Jeremy wind up lovers.

Chapters 13-15

Explosion

Rocky's ex-husband, Matty, shows up at The Colonel's and tries to attack her, but Brendan breaks his knees with a baseball bat. Todd claims Brendan was just a kid off the street who helped stop Matty, but he is now banished from the bar because Matty is a cop and trouble will ensue if the HPD catches him. Brendan now wonders about his legal status, so asks Uncle Sean if he's in the country legally but gets no real answer. Which indicates he is not. That was why he's paid under the table, is being kept in the shadows as much as possible, and does not have his passport.

Rocky stays with Brendan until she can find a new place, but within strict limits set down by Uncle Sean and Aunt Mari. He talks to Rocky about going to Colorado with her and her mother, but she's not very open to it. They wind up having sex.

Rocky moves in with Everett, for now. He learned from a cop friend that Brendan crippled Matty so he cannot be a cop anymore. All looks good until Matty uses his friends in the force to track Rocky down, rams her car on Westheimer and kills her then commits suicide. Brendan blames himself and dives into a deep depression. Two women he's been involved with have died violent deaths. He feels he may be a curse. 

New Directions 

Brendan refuses to eat or see anyone, just lives on booze and pills. Todd tells him Rocky was using him like she'd used other men at bars she'd worked at, before. That it was some sick game between her and Matty and finally came to a head. Brendan blows him off.

Aunt Mari finally slams into the pool house, forces Brendan to clean up and makes him go with his uncle to Trujillo Motors for a possible job. They repair UK and European cars. He meets Rene Boudoin, who's Cajun and the head mechanic, and he sullenly proves he can work on British cars. As usual, working on repairing something pulls him out of his mood. Rene is amazed at how Brendan can tear and engine apart and put it back together with no trouble.

Co-workers are Bernardo, Tomas and Vinicius, but he gets along best with Hugo, from Guadalajara. They share beers, Mexican food, girls, and rides on Hugo's motorcycle. Hugo also trains Brendan in riding a motorbike, then he buys a 1966 Montesa Impala, fixes it up and ranges all over Houston. He feels like when he's ice-skating -- free and clear of his past. Uncle Sean is not happy with it, and his aunt insists he wear a light helmet. Then he has a small accident so Hugo gets him a real helmet and gloves. Brendan begins to see him as another brother and realizes he's losing contact with his past...and does not care.

Jeremy

Jeremy returns from the kibbutz and Yom Kippur war changed in many ways, none of which his family seem to notice. They all but hero-worship him, now. He connects further with Brendan by ditching his welcome home party, for a few moments, and goes riding with him on the Montesa. He tells Brendan about how soldiers in Israel ride about on them two-by-two. They return to the BBQ, but Jeremy fights to hide how affected he was by the war. They finally share a joint and everything is calm.

July 4th, Aunt Mari's family is at Herman Park for the fireworks, but Brendan stays home. Then Jeremy appears at the pool house with a baggie and bottle of wine. He and Bren share both and fight to ignore the explosions and gunfire. Too much like war, is their attitude. Jeremy confides in Brendan that he was called Christ-killer in school and had to learn to defend himself. Finally proved he could take care of business by breaking his accuser's arm. After that, kids were careful around him. He knows Aikido, how to shoot a rifle and pistol, and wrestling.

Then he talks about killing men during the Yom Kippur War. And how friends of his died next to him. It tore him apart. He senses Brendan has also seen death, up close, and feels there is a bond between them. Bit by bit, their conversation segues into Jeremy kissing Brendan...and then giving him a blowjob...then breaking down in tears afraid he's messed up their friendship. Brendan convinces him it's no big deal, and they go out for tacos at Jack-in-the-Box.

Chapters 10-12

Everett

Scott shows Brendan what cruising is about, on Westheimer. A mile-long line of cars going 5 mph each direction, honking, laughing and just being. It makes no sense to Brendan. They park on a side street and go to a house that's been made over into a bar. Lots of men around and a few women. Brendan is able to get inside without trouble but Scott is stopped and has to pay a cover charge.

There's a drag show, that night. Brendan doesn't realize the performers are lip-syncing to records. He's nervous, realizing it was a huge mistake to come because if the place is raided, he's underage and doesn't have identification. A man next to him is kind enough to help him grow calm -- Everett Casterson, who's in the closet at his advertising job. They talk a bit about the oppression against gays in the US and Everett waves off a few men who make passes at Brendan. 

When the show is over, Brendan finds Scott is drunk. He was being fed boilermakers by a guy next to him. Everett helps get Scott to their car, but Brendan is nervous about driving the GTO. Everett takes them to his home, close by, and they talk about general things, then Everette drives them home in Scott's car. When Scott wakes with a nasty hangover, Brendan snarls they should not go drinking, again.

Consistency 

Brendan has settled into the pool house, and the bar area is his workspace. The B-Girls still harass him but with less rancor. He compares them to his sisters and concludes his mother would dislike them but Maeve would have no problem and might even wind up running them like they run others.

He also gets along well with Todd, Rocky, and Lorraine at The Colonel's. Todd's quick, quiet and professional. Lorraine likes him but Todd's attitude is, you don't shit where you eat. Rocky reads all sorts of books, and even lends A Wrinkle in Time to Brendan. He likes it and reads more. He also reads the papers and keeps up a bit on what's happening in Derry, but he's growing more and more distant from it and wants to just forget it all. Part of him feels like he's abandoning his friends, over there, but the growing chaos is seeming more and more normal to them all, and he wants no part of it.

Everett brings over a typewriter for Brendan to work on. Aunt Mari is quietly wary of him, but the B-Girls like him, especially once he asks them if they're twins, and pester him with questions. Everett reveals he's an artist and wants to paint a portrait of Brendan, aiming to capture the old man wariness in his eyes. He takes several rolls of photos before leaving. Once he's gone, Aunt Mari slips up as if to check on Brendan in a way he finds tender, and he wishes to himself she had been his mother.

Holidays 

Brendan has his first real American Christmas, decorating the house and tree. He also finds he loves ice skating because it's chilly and fast and not part of his past. He's becoming very good. He's cheap when it comes to buying things, so won't shop at the Galleria for Christmas presents, but still puts thought into it. And the B-Girls continue to force their help on him.

The whole family goes to Jeremy's house, for Hannukah. Jeremy is visiting from Israel with a couple of army buddies, but they are quiet and vaguely traumatized. Gifts are exchanged then Brendan has a cigarette by the pool, fighting away thoughts of Derry. Jeremy joins him, comments he'd love a joint but his buddies couldn't bring any back with them, so Brendan slips him one -- a Marlboro cigarette repacked with weed so it looks normal. Jeremy is overjoyed, and he and his army buddies stay in the back yard to use it.

Everett brings Brendan's portrait over, soon after his birthday, and it's beautiful. It even has some of the wariness Everett was trying to capture. Aunt Mari invites him to stay for dinner, and he shows he knows how to handle the B-Girls. Before he leaves, he quietly reveals to Brendan he was disowned because he's gay, and points out how lucky Brendan is to have family who love him. Brendan thinks Everett has been accepted but he quickly sees Aunt Mari is still wary and cautions him against the man. Feeling a bit betrayed, Brendan pushes back against her comments and returns to the pool house.

Chapters 7-9

Adjustments

It's late June and Brendan is finding a comfortable rhythm to his new life. Work at The Colonel's, his fix-it jobs in the garage, and he's even paying a little for room and board. Uncle Sean refers to him as independent to a fault. 

Jeremy talks Brendan into joining him at Liam's Trough, one of Uncle Sean's bars. Scott works there and gets them in, even though Brendan is underage and has no ID. Brendan doesn't like the place. Trying too hard to be Irish so only seems American. Scott sends over drinks but Brendan doesn't want any. Jeremy talks about family all over and going to Israel, soon. A drunk tries to get Brendan to sing Danny Boy and becomes belligerent when he refuses. Jeremy uses Aikido moves to force the man to the floor and Uncle Sean throws the guy out. He tells Brendan to leave, too; that he shouldn't be there. Brendan gets a hint Scott may have been causing trouble.

Then after a day of dirty repairs and taking a cool shower, the B-Girls barge into his room, catching him naked, and insist he tell them about the name tattooed on his arm. Memories good and bad slash into him, nearly driving him into hysterics. He tells the girls to leave but they say it's their home and he's just a guest, so he slams into the bathroom and bolts the door to keep from hurting them. Aunt Mari hears the commotion and orders the girls downstairs, but Brendan refuses to leave the bathroom; he just stays crouched down by the door, his mind all over the place.

He drifts until near dark and grows cold, so takes a hot shower, his memories more blank than pleasant, then dresses, goes downstairs and tells the family he cannot live there. The girls pretend to be sorry then realize he means to leave. Aunt Mari argues against it and offers to let him live in the pool house, angering Scott; he had wanted it even though he's about to leave for college. The door has locks and blinds and curtains will be added. Brendan finally agrees.

Celebration

Brendan settles into the pool house, which is furnished with a day bed, bean bag chairs, table, lamp and kitchenette, and it has an attic and opening to the roof to climb out. He vows to keep the furnishings light. He also gets the combination to the side gate to use as his own entrance. The B-Girls try to sneak in but he won't let them.

Soon after is the Fourth of July. Brendan is working at The Colonel's and has a panic attack, thanks to the fireworks and gunfire all over the city. He hides under the bar until Rocky coaxes him out, and talks to him. Todd gives him a valium and drives him home after work. Nothing is said to the family about his freakout. Through the rest of July and August, he and Scott laze around the pool, sometimes joined by Jeremy before he leaves for Israel. Jeremy's learning Mandarin Chinese and already has college level classes under his belt. 

Brendan regains his rhythm, which now includes walking home after work since Todd has started seeing a girl in Jersey Village. One night he's approaches him and a guy named Wayne asks if he wants to go to a party in Pasadena. Girls and pot promised. He considers it but refuses because he's carrying a fan someone threw out.

Not long after, he learns the guy who asked him was Elmer Wayne Henley and David Brooks was driving the car. They planned to take him to Dean Corll's home to be raped and murdered. Brendan tries to understand what almost happened and how anyone could so easily help kill innocent kids, some of whom they knew, which leads him to seeing parallels to what happened in N Ireland, with his friend, Billy, helping attack Eamonn at Burntollet Bridge. Control is behind much of it, and luck is all that protects you.

The B-Girls

Brandi and Bernadette make nice and take Brendan on as a project, reworking his look and his clothes. They argue over whether or not he looks like David Cassidy or Bobby Sherman. They talk him into buying a WW2 bomber jacket at a second hand store, despite the heat, and coerce him into learning how ice skate, all the while sniping at each other. He allows it because it distracts him from his deeper thoughts...and finds he likes the skating. He feels free doing it.

Then mid-August, a couple days before he leaves, Scott and Brendan are drifting in the pool, discussing the serial killings. Scott has a lot of pseudo-psychological ideas as to why it happened, while Brendan keeps his thoughts about it to himself. He learns about the draconian sodomy laws in force and thinks of how Danny was abused by Father Demian. He knows monsters are everywhere.

Then Scott tells Brendan he and Jeremy have snuck into gay bars because they're easier to get into and sometimes were orally serviced. He suggests Brendan join him in going to one that night. "My one chance to take a virgin...one who's never been to a gay bar." Brendan is wary but thinks, Joanna would have gone, so agrees.

Chapters 4-6

Awareness

Brendan tears Scott's jeans climbing the gate and the gravel drive sets rocks in his sandals, still he pushes forward. He is overwhelmed by the wide residential street and sizes of the homes and cars. It's so peaceful and calm, it's like he's in a whole different universe. Aunt Mari returns and has to honk at him to make him move out of the driveway. 

She has a massive Chevy station wagon packed with groceries. He helps her take them inside and as she puts them away, she reminds Brendan he has a doctor's appointment. He had forgotten but then has a flash of a memory of a woman toying with him, at the office. He shakes it off and works on the iron to keep his mind busy. 

Aunt Mari points out that he hasn't been listening to her as she talked to him, and he's apologetic. Then she reveals Eamonn was one of three men arrested for the bombing and others are unhappy with him, so he is not returning home anytime soon. If ever. Shaken, he passes out, hitting his head. Aunt Mari tends to him, then he goes up to change. He considers what probably happened and comes to believe it was his fault Eamonn was arrested. But he is also overwhelmed by the realization he's been set free from Derry and her past...and is ecstatic. He asks Aunt Mari to explain how she got him into the US, but she's reticent, making him believe he was snuck out of Ireland and into the US. 

Houston 

Brendan is taken to the doctor's appointment and is amazed at the size of Houston, the building going on, and how flat the land is. He is told, en route, his uncle contacted people in NORAID and Aunt Mari flew to Northern Ireland to bring him back to the States. He was hidden outside Strabane to give him time to heal before travel. His rucksack having clothes in it cushioned his fall enough so he was only injured -- broken arm and ribs -- but he was also the beginning of a heart attack due to a congenital heart defect. The doctor he's going to see is a heart specialist. Father Jack drove them to the airport in Manchester, and he was brought into the US under his own passport. Ma was shocked he had it. He was under sedation when passing through Customs, and they were told he was simple. 

At the doctor's office, Brendan has flashes of an uncomfortable memory about the doctor's assistant, Carla. But she tends to his injury, gives him a tetanus shot in his butt. Then she points out he's torn his jeans just before Dr. Gilbert comes in. The elderly man is so kindly Brendan tells him of his confusion over the memories and reveals more than he intended to about himself, including who Joanna was, thanks to her name tattooed on his shoulder. Dr. Gilbert offers him a referral to a therapist, then says he is healing well and everything will get better. 

Dr. Gilbert leaves and Carla comes in to tell Brendan he can go...and to watch him pull on his shirt. She touches him, suggestively, and he grabs her hand, angry at how she could mess with him knowing his condition. She claims she meant nothing by it, but he wipes his fingers over her lipstick, then smears it on his face and gives Aunt Mari the hint something happened. She reveals Carla got him to answer question so she was the one who always handled him. Alone. He knows she did something to him and hates the woman...but wonders if he wants to see her, again. 

Catch Up 

Brendan reads letters from Mairead about how rough things are in Derry. Ma and Rhuari were arrested for a short while. Eamonn was tried under the Special Powers Act and sent to prison for 20 years. But Colm and Danny have not been touched. Ma is getting a phone, thanks to Mairead, and Mai is happy her family lives in a forward-thinking town like Toronto...and about to have child #4. 

Brendan starts doing repairs around the house and then for the neighbor's housekeepers and gardeners. He learns Uncle Sean has had visitors from Ireland, once of whom was Da's brother. He can find out nothing more and Aunt Mari is tight with information now. But Brendan overhears them discussing a position at a bar Uncle Sean just bought, called The Colonel's, and asks if he can take it. He's to restock, keep the place clean and, since he cleaned up the kitchen in the back, cook as need be. Three nights a week for $20 a night, paid under the table. 

The main waitress is Raquel (Rocky), who is all business but whose twang Brendan has a hard time understanding; a second waitress is three nights a week, Lorraine, who speaks with an easier drawl. He gets along with Todd, the bartender, who gives him a ride home, buys him a beer and lets him smoke some of his pot. Then Brendan finds out Uncle Sean has plans for a row of shops next to the bar, and he feels settled enough to wonder if he might be able to take one over as his own shop, even though he's still just seventeen.

Posting the outline, from the beginning

I'm posting the full outline of New World For Old, to let people see how the story's planning out. I'd started to do this the beginning of the year but stopped. Now I'll be going all the way through. Here are synopses of the first three chapters, out of what has grown to 29 of them.

Rebirth 

Brendan slowly emerges from a stupor. He does not recognize where he is or understand why everything is so different from Derry. He is at an upstairs window and a half-eaten sandwich is on the sill. Memories crash in on him and send him into a painful panic mode. He has a mantra to calm himself and has to use it, over and over, then his mood grows angry and he destroys a line of ants that were taking away the remains of his sandwich. 

He realizes he is in the attic of a house. Below are the back yard, pool, pool house, and a separate garage. He focuses enough to go into the bathroom and recalls being tended to by a couple of men. Looks in a mirror to find his hair cropped close, his beard patchy and himself haggard. Overwhelmed, he collapses. 

Aunt Mari finds him, takes him back to his bed and lets him know he was brought to her house in Houston. He has been in an akinetic catatonic state. Hit with memories, he realizes Joanna is dead and now food for ants...and passes out. 

Rejoining 

Brendan wakes late in the day. Lying in the bed, he forgets where he is, for a moment, then hears voices and smells food and is very hungry. He makes himself get up and go to the bathroom to brush his teeth. It exhausts him, and the taste brings brutal memories of Joanna kissing him at the circle fort. 

He finds he is in an attic room that is somewhat hidden. There is a large space filled with boxes and junk, and a hallway winds around to the stairs. He quietly winds his way down and is met near the bottom by his uncle Sean and the family dog, Angus. Brendan has a memory of Uncle Sean bathing and dressing him, and finds the man has a slow Texas way of speaking. He's taken to the family room to meet his cousins, Brandi and Bernadette, both around ten years of age and always arguing. He remembers them complaining about his crying, and recalls a son named Scott, who helped Uncle Sean.

Brendan learns he was brought to Houston in late October, and it is now April, 1973. More memories jolt him until Scott returns with a friend, Jeremy, whose family lives close by. Both have a hint of pot's aroma on them. Jeremy leaves and dinner is served. The girls mess with Brendan by claiming to be each other. Irritated, he snaps at them that he's mad as a march hare so be careful. They grow quiet. He's given a small amount of food on his plate due to not having been eating much, told he has a doctor's appointment in 10 days, accepts what has happened and says a prayer for those long dead. 

Moving On 

Brendan explores the attic but mainly stays in his new room, clinging to memories while slowly assimilating to the family and their relative wealth. Scott is off to University in Austin, soon. Brandi and Bernadette are 10 months apart, in age, and agree on nothing except that Brendan is a carnival attraction for their friends. He calls them the B-girls and is wary of them. Aunt Mari runs the house and refuses a maid. Uncle Sean owns three Irish bars in town that are very successful and is considering buying a fourth. Jeremy is like a second son and is headed for a kibbutz in Israel, for a year. The B-Girls think he and Brendan look like brothers. 

Brendan reads books he finds in the attic, which helps make the slashes of memory fewer and farther between. He is always in pajama bottoms, then one day he is drawn outside to help Uncle Sean work on his old Volvo. It won't start, until Brendan sees the issue and gets it going, surprising the man. While catatonic, Brendan had automatically repaired a fan that was squeaking in his room but Uncle Sean and Aunt Mari had shrugged it off as unexplainable. Ma had never told them he could fix anything, once he'd seen how it went together. Brendan tells his uncle, "She thinks me simple." Then he heads back into the house. 

He fixes a sandwich, amazed at the wealth of food in the fridge, then naps. Finally he showers and dresses in some of Scott's old clothes, which fit him poorly. He explores the house and then the back yard, where he finds an iron Aunt Mari was throwing out. He plans to fix it then hears a voice comment on old habits but no one is around and realizes he was talking to himself. He wants to look around the front of the house but the driveway gate is closed and the walkway gate has a lock. He starts to back away but tells himself Joanna would not hesitate to climb it...so he does, still holding the iron.

Partial draft...

I added a thought regarding New World For Old into the midway point, dealing with how he's too pissed off to be afraid when he's been kidnapped. Things snowballed to where I would up polishing up the second half of this section. Mainly intensifying the emotional content and avoiding anything that's too derivative. While retracing the car's route when he was grabbed and taken to be beaten, Brendan finally feels the fear he ignored during the actual kidnapping.

I wound up increasing the page count to 542 and wordage to 122,427. I think this is all I can do, for now. I'm at the point where I'm changing punctuation and making some sentences smaller...so time to step back and let it percolate.

I've also got a solid friendship going between Brendan, Jeremy and Everett. A straight guy with two gay friends caught in a very 70s sensibility. Putting some of myself into that, mainly as Everett. All pre-AIDs, when things were wild and free and being gay wasn't quite the dangerous political issue it is, now...or that it became during the epidemic.

I'm letting Everett tell Brendan about an incident that happened to him when he was 19, in San Antonio. He accepted a ride from a guy he knew and the guy's two friends, but instead of taking him to his home, they took him into Breckenridge Park and raped him, then dumped him. He flagged down a cop and was talked out of filing a report because he was gay. It's illegal to be gay in Texas, the cop said, so you'll go to jail. Everett believed him and let it go. And it fucked him up for years. But it's also why he stepped in when he saw something similar about to happen to Brendan's cousin, Scott, early in the book.

A job outside Boston is back on the for third week of March, now that I'm Covid negative. Going into the office, tomorrow, to get paperwork for the San Francisco job and swinging by storage to see what we have for materials. Finish preparations. I'd already canceled my hotel and car, so rebook those. Dammit.

Fucking chaos...

I'm just now beginning to calm down after a day of craziness regarding preparing for upcoming jobs; canceling plans for jobs that got rescheduled; running to the bank to get a letter for my younger brother notarized, now that I'm Covid free; doing mounds of laundry; seeing my car's right front bumper is damaged and I don't know when or how that happened; getting a few more groceries; finding out it now costs $16 for a BLT, small fries and small drink at 5 Guys (but I'm starving so I pay it); working out the amount of packing materials needed for a big job in Chicago that has become ridiculous; getting home with everything to find not one cart available to take my stuff up to my apartment (other residents take them and leave them in the hallways to be collected, tomorrow) so had to go looking for one; then all out of sorts because I'm tired and still have a nagging cough from Covid and couldn't rest till everything was put away and I'm getting a headache...

Lemme tell ya -- if there was an Olympic event for whining, I'd have got a gold medal, today.

Now it's after 11pm and I'm scattered of brain, so no writing done. And while everything I need to schedule is scheduled, I haven't put any of it into my calendar, yet. That's for tomorrow. As is finishing up the materials planning for a big job as well as ordering containers for a job in Berkeley, next week. And washing out a nasty new medication I'd been put on by my urologist. It messed with my insides to where I didn't want to leave the bathroom, almost. But it's faded out. Why the fuck do they make meds that will give you cramps and diarrhea? 

Anyway, I did manage to at least do some thinking about APoS and realized I don't have Brendan doing what he usually does when he's upset and lost and confused -- work on fixing something. Metaphorically speaking, him shifting into punk mode is him taking himself apart and then slowly putting himself back together to work better...which fits in neatly with him learning his mother has cancer. By this point, he is capable of handling their prickly relationship.

And even if people don't see it, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Next...

I blew off synopsizing the last two chapters of APoS because more moments manifested themselves into it. I finished this draft, finally, and it's now 537 pages/121,019 words...and 28 Chapters. I added one more at the end and intensified some other aspects of the story.

Part of this was Brendan retracing the route of when he was kidnapped, brutalized and almost killed by some racist rednecks. I built up how he's now fully feeling the terror that he was going to be killed, something he was too hopped up on adrenalin to pay attention to as it was happening. It grows in intensity until he actually finds the place he was taken to...and it's a churchyard. Where he damn near died, and no one even tried to stop it. He explodes into anger, tears up the area using his motorbike while cursing the people in nearby homes who let him be attacked, and speeds off in a fury.

When he gets home, he shaves off his mustache and part of his scalp to careen into a punk phase. Then he talks Everett and Jeremy into taking him to listen to a San Antonio punk band called The Next play at Raul's in Austin.

They have a song written by Skip7, the guitarist, called Monotony that works perfectly with Brendan's state of mind. Ty, the lead singer, howls it with an amazing amount of fury. Legal issues may force me to change all of this detail, but I'm not going to worry about it till I get there. Right now, it sets up another moment that will happen in Book Three.

I helped a guy named Mark Rublee shoot a documentary of them for his final project at Trinity University's film school, and it turned out well. As I recall, I had a bit of a crush on Skip...the blond kid with the torn sleeves...God, that was in 1979.

Almost done synopsizing New World For Old

Brendan feels betrayed by what happened so once he's healed finds a bedsit room off Westheimer and moves there in the dead of night, to get away from his Uncle. He tells no one where he's going. It becomes almost idyllic, for him, until his sister comes to Houston, from Toronto, and he returns to see her.

I have three chapters of APoS left to summarize, then can go back through the book to make sure everything is consistent. Brendan's brother, Rhuari, is studying Gaelic and Brendan has introduced him to one of the people at the house he went to live in -- Eldon, who is a maven of languages. He's tall and thin and awkward, otherwise, but in this Brendan sees he's done right by them both. 

In one of his letters to Eldon, Rhuari includes this Gaelic poem by an anonymous monk in the 9th Century:

Pangur Bán

Messe ocus Pangur Bán, · cechtar nathar fria saindan bíth a menmasam fri seilgg · mu menma céin im saincheirdd.

Caraimse fos ferr cach clú · oc mu lebran leir ingnu ni foirmtech frimm Pangur Bán · caraid cesin a maccdán. 

Orubiam scél cen scís · innar tegdais ar noendís taithiunn dichrichide clius · ni fristarddam arnáthius. 

Gnáth huaraib ar gressaib gal · glenaid luch inna línsam os mé dufuit im lín chéin · dliged ndoraid cu ndronchéill. 

Fuachaidsem fri frega fál · a rosc anglése comlán fuachimm chein fri fegi fis · mu rosc reil cesu imdis.

Faelidsem cu ndene dul · hinglen luch inna gerchrub hi tucu cheist ndoraid ndil · os me chene am faelid. 

Cia beimmi amin nach ré, · ni derban cách a chele maith la cechtar nár a dán, · subaigthius a óenurán. 

He fesin as choimsid dáu · in muid dungní cach oenláu du thabairt doraid du glé · for mu mud cein am messe. 

Translation:

I and Pangur Bán, each of us two at his special art: his mind is at hunting (mice), my own mind is in my special craft. 

I love to rest—better than any fame—at my booklet with diligent science: not envious of me is Pangur Bán: he himself loves his childish art. 

When we are—tale without tedium—in our house, we two alone, we have—unlimited (is) feat-sport—something to which to apply our acuteness. 

It is customary at times by feats of valour, that a mouse sticks in his net, and for me there falls into my net a difficult dictum with hard meaning. 

His eye, this glancing full one, he points against the wall-fence: I myself against the keenness of science point my clear eye, though it is very feeble. 

He is joyous with speedy going where a mouse sticks in his sharp claw: I too am joyous, where I understand a difficult dear question. 

Though we are thus always, neither hinders the other: each of us two likes his art, amuses himself alone. 

He himself is master of the work which he does every day: while I am at my own work, to bring difficulty to clearness. 

Blogger went wonky...

For some reason, Blogger shut me out of my blog and I couldn't get back in until now. I don't know why, but I had to finally change my password in three different ways to get it to work. Which is irritating. I now need to update my password hints on my reminder page.

It's also messed up my links on Chrome. All I did was make sure my mike is working for a video call to my doctor, tomorrow, but apparently that was too much. God, sometimes I hate technology.

What's especially irritating is that this comes just as I'm working on updating a serious part of APoS. Because he's dating Vangie, a woman who's half black/half Cajun he's jumped by some racists, a pillow case is rammed over his head and he is taken to Deer Park, bound to a tree and viciously beaten. Initially, I had him left there to make his own way home. He's seriously injured and doesn't know where he is, so he calls his uncle to come get him, and events lead him to believe the man knew what was going to happen.

Then it hit me -- Brendan has a heart condition. If he's being attacked like this, he would have issues...which changed everything. I tossed out 6 pages and he wound up having an episode of some type. He floats in and out of consciousness, so he only hears snippets of what's happening...but knows the men who attacked him are shaken and arguing over what to do. Can't take him to the ER; too many questions. 

So he's given a nitroglycerin tablet and taken home in the back of a huge station wagon, where he is carried into the pool house and tended to by Aunt Mari. Because of things said and not said, he comes to believe Uncle Sean was actually at the beating and probably the one who stopped it when he collapsed. He's also pretty sure Vangie's cop brother, Lon, was there, too.

This is what I worked on, once I got some of my internet crap settled and corrected. There's still more to do and I need to pass through it, again, to make sure it holds together, but at least it's workable.

Still dealing with a light version of Corona virus. Barely a line showing on the test, but visible and my sinuses are agreeing with it. Dammit. Taking another one, tomorrow.

I will arrive...

I got two more chapters reduced to three paragraphs, each, telling what's happening. Seems that's all I'm able to do, at a time, before I zone. I'm still not 100% but also still better than yesterday. And I'm seeing spots in the chapters that I've written where I can deepen the story even more.

Something I've noticed is Brendan isn't as OCD in this book, and that may need to be changed. Granted, he's had a brutal shock, so maybe that could alter his personality...but it's not feeling right. He'd still have his habits, and they do show up, now and again.

When he returns from the New Orleans trip, he gets into a huge argument with his Uncle because he didn't tell the family he was going. He didn't even think about it. That is how he learns he's overstayed his visa and they're just letting it ride because he's white. But running around with a group of black and Cajun people is just begging for the cops to start nosing around, wondering what's going on.

His uncle's casual racism hits him wrong...and snarls back at him...then the man punches him to the floor. Aunt Mari has to intervene, and tells Brendan it's just better for all concerned if he keeps a low-profile. Even the IRA was pissed at him for ruining their plans, despite not meaning to.

Now Brendan feels like he's really a prisoner. He focuses on his repair jobs to help him settle his mind. As Joanna said in Book One, he likes to fix things when he's upset...and it does help him decide to just do what he wants, but quietly. Except he's about to learn there is no quiet way for a white boy to date a black girl in mid-70s Houston. Hell, there are people around even today who will disown their kids if they get involved with someone from another race. That's how little things have changed.

But this is a lesson Brendan will learn the hard way.