The League of Old Men

Weekend Writing Warriors

The Eight Sentences:

I stumbled into their meeting hall.

As far as I was concerned, it had always been an urban legend.

The League Of Old Men was as real to me as a twenty-first century Illuminati.

You may have heard the legends, rumors, and stories yourself.

Events that at first seem unrelated and then, overnight, are connected by wing-nut conspiracy theorists.

Deals, deaths, and deniable dilemmas that mark the repetition of history through the decades.

The romantic stories of great loyalty, unshakable devotion, and a will that would make that of G. Gordon Liddy pale by comparison.

Former Hell’s Angels with a desire to preserve their culture,

Viet Nam veterans obsessed with a sense of justice usually reserved for vigilantes.

Maverick cops and detectives determined to execute appropriate sentences — with or without a judge and jury.

The Back Story:

My current work in progress, A Year Without Killing, introduces several new characters in the "Barry-Hixon Conspiracy" series of books. This recent blog (on my WordPress site) sheds light on a secret organization to which several of the new characters belong. Watch for more on the League of Old Men in future snippets.

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Distraction Enables Stealth

The Eight Sentences: 

Star closed her eyes and stretched her arms out in either direction to their full length. Then she leaned forward,  placed her hands on her ankles, and slid them up her legs. She clasped her hands and placed them in plain view on her knees. When she had returned to her previous position, she looked in the direction of the bar and Claudia was gone. That was impressive.

Claudia’s voice came from behind, “You do know how to give the impression that you’re not here as an adversary. You said you wanted my help, start talking.”

“I’d prefer to talk over dinner, or drinks, or both.”

The Back Story:

     Another excerpt from my third novel, A Year Without Killing (a WIP.) This scene picks up from a previous snippet found HERE.

Claudia is meeting with Star Braun who is trying to earn Claudia's trust during a surprise encounter. At the beginning, Claudia is standing behind the bar in her hotel room. Star gets a sample of Claudia's ability to steal about a room undetected.

But wait, there's more:

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The eyes have it.

The Eight Sentences: 

Claudia did not answer right away.

Star continued to watch the crown molding where the wall met the ceiling, “I’m going to sit up now and take my feet off the ottoman.”

As before, Claudia did not respond while Star did as she had said.

Their eyes met again.

Claudia watched her left-handed guest's eye movement to see how they responded to a question, “What can I do for you?”

Star’s eyes moved up and to her right in a subconscious and uncontrollable response — visual remembrance — she was about to tell the truth, “I need your help.”

Claudia’s shoulders dropped but she kept a firm grip on her tactical knife, “In what way?”

The Back Story:  

 Claudia's guest is a character from each of my first two books, Star Braun.

Star is left handed so Claudia applies what she learned from the NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) accessing cues to determine if it is a lie or not.

Knowing and being able to apply this information was an important part of Claudia's studies to earn a masters degree in group dynamics at LSU. Group dynamics was the subject of this blog: "What the assassin already knows."

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Meet Abe Region

The Eight Sentences:

“One of the assistant managers had hired me. I guess it must have been about the second day on the job, I was in the men’s room with a mop and other clean up products. I’d finished the urinals, toilets, and sinks and I was about to mop the floor. Someone came in behind me and it was someone I didn’t know. His name tag told me he was the store manager. The first words out of his mouth was, ‘You’re going to be in management one day.’

“I said, ‘How do you know?’

'Nobody wants to clean the restrooms except a member of management -- I sure cleaned my share of them!’ and we laughed together.'"

Behind the scenes:

     Each Friday, my publisher, Venture Galleries, posts one of my blogs. 

     Twice a month, they feature one of my blogs as a part of their "Author's Collection."  Sunday, Jan. 19, I begin a series of blogs about the members of The Presidents Club.

     This week, we begin with the first member mentioned in either of my books, Abe Region.  He made his debut in The Tourist Killer and it was a comment by him, that sparked the idea for The Presidents Club.

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Meet the "Presidents"

The Eight Sentences:

We got 3 of the 4.

“After being around these guys for a few hours, it’s easy to see how Thibaut — or anyone — could fall under their spell.”

“Charming?” Rosemary asked.

“Irresistible!”

“Tell me more, I think I like them already,” as she clasped her wine glass with both hands. She focused on his eyes but also watched every move on his face as he spoke. 

“Only one of them works now, Abe, the first one the boss met, and the others are all retired. Of course, the bartender works. Anyway, there are two doctors, two teachers, a preacher, a former Lowe’s manager, and one ex-military.”

The Back Story:

      Dinner at Rosemary's apartment with Gerald Pointe. He's the head of security for billionaire investor, Julian Thibaut. In this conversation, he begins to tell her about the men he's met in the Louisville Tavern — the men who make up The Presidents Club.

      Today's blog begins a series of blogs, each of which will focus on one of the members of the group. Next week, Abraham Leroy Region, aka: Abe.

News

     The Presidents Club went live on NOOK earlier this week.

Please help me with some exposure by sharing this link in the social media.

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Ascension Sunday in Pirate's Alley

The Eight Sentences:

It was Ascension Sunday and he had attended the evening mass at the St. Louis Cathedral alone. As he left the service, a young man called out to him, "Mr. Duplessis, please help me."

The kindly older gentleman found it hard to resist a personal call for help so he stepped eagerly into Pirate's Alley to offer his assistance to the young man in need. Perhaps he was feeling benevolent upon leaving the religious service.

They walked arm in arm several paces into the alley then the young man turned to his companion and said, "This is for Barry -- Clarence Barry, remember him?"

Her disguise and make-shift silencer worked to perfection. The immoral cop and corrupt politician crumpled into a heap in the darkness of the alley. 

Claudia disappeared into the night and reemerged a few blocks over on Toulouse Street.

St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans fronted
by Jackson Square in the French Quarter
Image credit, Wikicommons

The Back Story:

Claudia Barry's first kill.

She avenges the death of her own father at the hands of a dirty cop.

Is she a hero -- or a psycopath?

She uses her skills at disquise to hide from her victims and herself.

Her reaction to his experience can be found in this snippett from last year: http://etierphotography.blogspot.com/2012/11/nov-4-six-sentence-sunday.html

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Easter weekend sample

The Set Up

           This week, we return to my serial novel, The Presidents Club.  We join a scene from Chapter 18 back in the Louisville Tavern. The guys are discussing an absent member while Louie the bartender has just finished serving a new custome -- a stranger.

The Snippet

Tommy Pritchett was proud of his friend, Abe, “Where is he?”

Louie answered, “He called a couple of hours ago. He was going to stop by and pick up Ron after he got off work at the Holiday Inn. Ron needed a ride today.”

“Ron needs a ride every day,” muttered York.

Fishinghawk took up for Ron, “Sometimes he don’t -- sometimes he walks.”

“Ain’t he in his eighties?” asked the pastor.

“Where is he?” asked Dr. Ridge.

“Can’t you hear? They just said Abe’s bringing him,” York snapped.

“Of course, I can hear!” retorted Ridge. “I’m talking about the new guy, Gregg, or whatever he said his name is.”

They looked at the bar stool where Jerry Gregg had been -- and he was gone.

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