APoS synopsis 002

Here's the streamlined synopsis I've worked up for New World For Old:

1973, Houston

Seriously injured by a horrific bombing in Derry, Brendan has fallen into Akinetic Catatonia. It was also discovered he has a heart condition, so he is snuck into Houston, Texas on a medical visa to be treated by a cardiologist.

Kept hidden in his Aunt Mari’s home as he heals, he is haunted by visions of Joanna, whom he loved more than anything, being killed in the explosion.

But he does grow well enough to return to his habit of repairing items – irons, toasters, lawn mowers and the like – and he is accepted as one of the family.

He also develops tentative friendships with Everett, a graphic artist, and Jeremy, a high school friend of his cousin, Scott, and tries to rebuild his life in a city of wealth and promise. A city he believes will offer him a place of safety.

But all too quickly, Brendan learns that appearances can be deceiving...and promises are not always kept.

Home, again...

Changed planes in Chicago, so more than three hours on the first leg and an hour and a half on the second. No delays, and being Business Select meant I could snag the even more space seats at the emergency exit. So I spent the flights working on the synopses for all three volumes of APoS. Here's what I culled Derry down to:

Derry, Northern Ireland. 1966. The Catholic minority is pushing for civil rights against the vicious control of the Protestant majority. Caught in the middle of this is Brendan Kinsella, a Catholic lad who just wants to live his life and follow his dreams. But after his father is murdered by two Protestants, his mother starts the family down a path to Irish Nationalism, which he thinks is pointless.

The third of her six children, Ma constantly picks at him and belittles him as simple-minded, despite his knack for repairing things. In response, he stays quiet, observant, and consistently goes his own way. Even though it sometimes leads him into trouble. 

Through the next six years, Brendan is caught up in Civil Rights demonstrations, the attack at Burntollet Bridge, the Battle of Bogside, the following August, and other situations leading up to Bloody Sunday, in 1972. 

There is also his growing love for Joanna, a Protestant girl, a relationship which could cause both of them serious harm, should it be found out.

Throughout this, all Brendan seeks is a place of safety in a world of chaos, but he slowly comes to wonder if that is possible.

(Volume 2 and 3 will be later)

Amorality is not all that bad...

Dirc and Irin settled into a very nice life...just one where once a week they provide a healthy man to the Beast to put on its menu. Of course, with word getting out about the gold nuggets they keep getting paid in, a mini gold-rush is starting up, providing them plenty of guys to choose from. And, as Dirc says, The cops won't care so long at it's men missing, not pretty blond girls, and no bodies are being left behind dumpsters and gas stations.

I don't know why I wrote this story. Or why it's so callous and amoral. I excused what Léon did in Blood Angel by him limiting his pack to feeding on men who deserved punishment. That ain't happening here. Some of the guys they take are assholes, but it's not a prerequisite for them. Not sure what this means for my future writing.

I also did some exercises for that book on writing a good synopsis...and so far it seems what he's really referring to is a good tag line. Here's what I've done for APoS:

APoS-Derry -- Caught in the midst of chaos, Brendan Kinsella is a simple lad who just wants to live his life. But he’s a Catholic boy in Northern Ireland, so that may not be an option. Nor may his love for Joanna, a Protestant girl.

APoS-New World For Old -- After he’s nearly killed in a bombing that killed Joanna, Brendan is snuck away to his aunt’s home in Houston. As he recovers, he hopes for a new start to his life in a city of wealth and promise...but finds that may not be possible. 

APoS-Home Not Home -- Called back to Derry because his mother is dying, Brendan sneaks in to find a city torn apart by hunger strikes...that he is wanted by the authorities for questioning...and that Joanna may still be alive.

I may use these for the paperback editions.

Travel time...

I'm posting early in case I actually do get off to Seattle, because I'm not slated to land till 10:30pm Pacific time (1:30 my time), thanks to routing through Phoenix. Then I have to get a rental car and have a 45 minute drive to my hotel on the north side of the city. Probably won't get there till after midnight and to bed by 1am. Then up at 7 to buy materials before I head over.

I've been thinking about BDO and, aside from not liking the title anymore, I think I will be able to complete it in chapter 12. And it is going to be a happy ending for Dirc and Irin. So far reaction to it's been good, and I've even gotten a couple of positive emails from readers. That's always appreciated.

I still think it's best to leave it on GayDemon and not officially publish it. This way I know the audience/readers are those who want to read work like this. That can be an issue with even erotica publishers.

I'm finding the majority of those who say they can help you sell more copies of your book work with KDP, which I have zero interest in. Don't trust them one damn bit, since they're responsible for most of the issues I've had with my books. Ingram can be difficult, but there are ways to work around their actions. Smashwords is getting a bit more problematic, but will not insane. KDP is without any foundation and makes zero sense in the things they do.

No telling how long things will be okay with self-publishing. So long as Felon#45's crowd is busy trying to steal Greenland away from Denmark and retake the Panama Canal (which we never owned), I think it's safe. But once they realize their plan to annex Canada onto the US isn't going to work, they may look for easier ground to run roughshod over.

Well...as the song goes...Que Sera Sera.

I lied...

I won't be done with The Beast Dines Out till I get back from Seattle...if I actually get to go. A lot depends on this storm that's barreling through. I'm on Southwest and they tend to have issues with delays and cancelations during bad weather.

But I uploaded part 11 to GayDemon and still need to write part 12, which will finish it up. And it is probably the most amoral thing I've ever written. Dirc and Irin are, effectively, serial killers planning to settle down and continue providing the Beast with humans for its intergalactic restaurant...without Dexter's excuse that he's only executing serial killers.

But that's what the story wants--a happy ending for my guys. And I'll provide one. For now. But I'm not publishing it in paperback, ever. If any story would get me into serious legal trouble, it'd be this one. How to Rape a Straight Guy is marshmallows in comparison.

I tried to find something to watch on Netflix, to clear my brain, but there is nothing that interests me. They all seem on the stupid or generic side. Fake and silly. That may just stem from my mood, at the moment.

I always loved Charade, with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn, but one day it came on TV and I was watching it...and I hated the opening dialogue and how the two leads reacted to that stupid water pistol. I had to turn it off.

But...I watched it, again, recently and I was okay with it. Enjoyed it. I still think the water pistol bit was ridiculous, but it didn't irritate me like it had, before. Maybe because it was in letterbox instead of full screen.

I saw East of Eden on TV for the first time and was seriously underwhelmed by the acting and all...but when I saw it in a theater in wide-screen, it blew me away...even though the background music drove me nuts.

Seems I'm turning into a full-fledged curmudgeon...

Gonna make it...

The Beast Dines Out is almost done. Maybe a bit of a coda left to do. So I'm stealing an AI image of Henry Cavil and Chris Evans to illustrate what I think Dirc and Irin are like with each other.

This is a sick story, in so many ways. Sci-Fi, true, but also horror as told from the viewpoint of a monster. An inhuman beast. Who's met his mate and is settling into a form of domesticity...just one that keeps supplying men to the extraterrestrial. One a week...with indications there are other people like Dirc and Irin doing the same thing all over the world.

So...does that make me a monster?

There's a possibility of a followup at some later date. Maybe the Area 51 people come looking for Dirc and find Irin, instead, and Dirc has to save him from their cold, cruel, researcher clutches because the Beast is off doing its own thing. I dunno.

This story came out of nowhere and I'm not positive it's something I want to continue. I can't say I won't; I learned a long time ago my muse decides for me what I will and will not write, and when.

But at least it's out of the way and on a website that is not available to children.

Looks like another job's popped up, in Anaheim for just after the California Book Fair, next month. We'll see how long I can keep this up.

Characters, dammit...

I was thinking I had one more chapter to write on The Beast Dines Out when a new character popped up who may be helpful to Dirc. It's a guy name Irin (who use to be Aaron but felt it was too provincial so had it legally changed)...but I don't know wtf is going on. Where it's heading, now.

When Dirc drives up to Irin's fenced off property, outside his hometown, the guy greets him in a kilt and with a 12 gauge shotgun before recognizing him. I have no idea where that came from...but it's interesting. It's just, this chapter was leading into part 12 and I was hoping to end the story, there. Now I may have a baker's dozen.

Shit.

I'm getting this thing done this weekend, no matter what. I'm off to Seattle on Tuesday and don't want it hanging over me. I printed up my outline for Arrested and am taking that to read through. That said, DW is whispering to me, still. And DP is thinking I really need to get back to dealing with the harpies and the Celts.

I'm also still waiting for a printed copy of APoS-Home Not Home to come in. I paid extra for faster service. This is irritating.

Oh, shit...I just suffered a moment of serendipity.  I found that image of a shirtless guy in a kilt to illustrate Irin as he greets Dirc...and the man's name is Dirk. It was posted 8 years ago.

Okay...the story mavens are sending me a sign to stop complaining and just let the story go. As I will.

Need to finish Beast Dines Out...

I think I finally figured out the ending for The Beast Dines Out and will get it completed over the weekend. I feel like I'm being circled by a couple of stories to focus on, like sharks circling their latest meal, and want to clear my plate to settle them in.

One is Dair's Window, which will take a lot of work to get into decent shape. What I have written is just meaningless nonsense wrapped in a sort of romance between a man and the memory of his dead lover.

The other is Arrested, which is hinting at how to open it and get the whole story started. Something along the lines of...

Simon Halliwell's arrest was very plain and simple. Ludicrously so. On Monday about midnight, he was accused of approaching an off-duty police officer and asking him to have sex with him. When he was refused, he then exposed himself to the officer, fully erect, so was taken into custody. Due to it happening within six-hundred feet of a school, he was booked and arraigned, the next morning, where he entered a plea of Not guilty.

Kind of dry and perfunctory. Not sure how I feel about it. But no matter what I think of Dair's Window, it continues to open with Adam waking Dair with a little song, and dying later that day. That is not going to change. It's the rest of the story that needs a huge rewrite.

Of course, Arrested needs to be written from the outline I did. A far more detailed outline than I've ever done.

Mixed in is Darian's Point, which starts with the end of the war between the Ui Briuin clan and harpies, where the treaty is made permanent, in blood, then jumps back five years earlier, when everything started.

I'm hoping I'll choose the right one to finish.

Vera...

It's season 14 of Vera, on Britbox, and after this one Brenda Blethyn is retiring. She plays Vera and it's not a drawing room style drama or murder mystery. She's all over Northumberland and Newcastle-upon-Tyne in these, driving an ancient Land Rover Defender stick over street and turf.

But she's done, and I don't blame her. 56 episodes, each an hour and a half. Each a small movie. All within 14 years. Jesus, I'd be worn out.

What makes it sad is this is one of the more polished BBC murder mysteries. Some of the writing is simple and the revelations are simplistic, but they feel right, overall. No padding done. Nothing cozy about them. They seem to stick closer to real police procedure than other shows.

Don't get me wrong--I like Midsomer Murders and Agatha Raisin and the Miss Marple mysteries, when I'm looking for something to have my tea with instead of a Guinness. And the David Suchet Poirot mysteries are fun. Plus it helps make the movies better having David Leon back; he and Brenda Blethyn play well off each other.

But I'm sad that these will be the last. Maybe David will take over the franchise. No telling. Still, the next one's out next Thursday...and I'll be en route home from Seattle. Hopefully. Weather is not promising.

After that one, I may rewatch them all, start to finish.

2025...

It's here. Whether we like it or not. And I'm doing all I can to prepare for the coming destruction. Lowered my monthly costs as much as I can. Signed back up with Netflix and Britbox for things to watch. I have enough DVDs to last the rest of my life, so that is a better investment. And I'm taking a break from writing to just read.

I may get back to Madame Bovary. I don't like reading modern fiction. Usually. I question why they choose the words and sentence structure they did. Which is really ridiculous of me. But I can't help it. However, with the classics, I accept their writing with minimal argument.

Everyone says you have to read in order to write. I covered for a lot of that by focusing on non-fiction and materials related to the Troubles in N Ireland. Specifically between 1966 and 1981.

Just don't anyone think I'm an expert on the situation. My knowledge is very limited, and shown mainly from Brendan's perspective, throughout. He's not in on IRA meetings. He goes to demonstrations because his friends are going. He helps with the Battle for Bogside out of anger and everybody else is doing it.

Plus his ways are not solidly Irish Catholic, except when it's in his face. Because he loves a Protestant girl and is clear-eyed enough to see both sides of the conflict are using it to enrich themselves.

But it's done and out there...and I'm going through a bit of withdrawal. So I'm not going to do any writing till I know which way I'm going.

I mean, I have a half-dozen books I could write, already, yet I came up with two new ones to focus on. Why? I could get back to work on my Darian's Point trilogy, which is really more like 3 novellas in a novel. I could figure out Dair's Window. I could commit to finishing Blood Angel, which I have plotted out almost completely. Instead...I wander through the fields of my mind.

I need a break from my brain.