The Gold Trap

The Eight Sentences:

     In the darkness of her bedroom, Miriam Gold felt a hand over her mouth and then heard a whisper in her ear, “Crawl into the bathroom and call 9-1-1.”

     It was a pre-arranged course of action she and Ron had planned years ago and had never had to use it — until now.

A digital clock showed 2:30 A.M. and the house was pitch black dark — you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. Ron had always felt darker was safer. 

     Ron rolled back away from Miriam as she began to slip out of the bed onto the floor. While he still lay on his back, he reached down and felt his .45 caliber pistol in its holster attached to the side of the bed, a bullet already chambered.      It felt as comfortable in his hand now as it had for over thirty years. His thumb found the safety with ease and flicked it down — he was ready to shoot. 

Ron Gold's .45

The Back Story:

     Ron Gold is a member of The Presidents Club. In this scene, he and his wife,Miriam respond to the unwelcomed visit of an intruder.

     Ron is retired from the U.S. Air Force. He was a member of a special forces group (similar to the Navy's SEALS).

     From the book: "The Golds had celebrated their sixtieth wedding anniversary two years before, when Ron was eighty. They were both in good health despite their genes — remarkable for their age. They both had high blood pressure and Ron had battled diabetes for years. With the exception of Ron’s obsession with television documentaries, they enjoyed good mental health as well." 

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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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For whom did you last vote?

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The Eight Sentences

They could hear the dominoes being shuffled again,so Abe spun around on his bar stool to face the gamesmen and asked, “How many of y’all vote?”

His answer was four blank stares. 

After a pause, York spoke up, “You mean in elections?”

Louie said to Abe, “Guess you got your answer, huh? What about you, do you vote?”

“Sometimes, the last time I voted was when Samuel L.Jackson and I voted for the brother, gimmie another beer.”

Louie volunteered, “The last time I voted was for Miss Rheingold.”

The Back Story

     The members of the Presidents Club and their bartender discuss the relative interest of the general population in voting. Some people don't even bother anymore. Do you vote?

Louie the bartender did. He voted for Miss Rheingold in the beer company's annual competition. 

News

     The Presidents Club went live on Amazon earlier this week.

Official release date is Tuesday, Nov. 19. If you've enjoyed my snippets, I hope you'll help me with some exposure by sharing this link in the social media.

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The "Pro Choice" Choice

The Eight Sentences:

"When I lived in Baton Rouge, I knew quite a few people, men in particular, who would profess their belief that abortion should be banned. Complete total ban in every situation. They’d brag about standing up in meetings of the Knights of Columbus and announce bold, confident proclamations of their beliefs. They were fond of using absolutes like ‘always’ and ‘never’.”

“It’s good to see people stand firm with their convictions, don’t you think?” asked Debert.

“Ah, yes, but listen to this. Find one of those men out of that environment and ask them in private, ‘What if it were your wife or daughter that got raped by a retarded, homeless drug addict?’ The expression on their face would change and then you’d see what I’m talking about when I refer to, ‘situational ethics.’” 

The Back Story:

       Last week's snippet featured a conversation between professional assassin, Claudia Barry, and her only confidant, Mr. Debert, about her choice to put her unborn baby up for adoption. 

       Today's sample comes from another chapter in which she and Debert are discussing her career choice. During a lengthy diatribe in her attempts to justify her profession, the subject of abortion comes up. Claudia is a conflicted woman who has made conflicting choices and yet is still at peace with herself.

News:

The Tourist Killer was featured this past Friday, Nov. 8, in the debut of a new website, The Fussy Librarian. 

If you'd like your book promoted by direct e-mail to thousands of readers who have requested recommendations (by genre) then check'em out.

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The Planned Parenthood Flashback

The Eight Sentences:

Debert pressed on, “It’s clear that your career choice had a major influence in your putting the baby up for adoption.”

“Picture this -- first grade teacher has each child stand up and talk about their family. My kid stands up and says, “I don’t have a daddy but my mom makes lots of money killing people.”

“You’re right, that wouldn’t sound good,” replied Debert, playing along.

“Besides, it’s too late now anyway.”

“What do you mean?” Debert became concerned.

“I’ve already killed someone --two, in fact.”

There was a long silence, Debert was stunned and speechless.

Art Hoffman

The Back Story:       It's 1976, three years after Roe vs. Wade and Claudia finds herself pregnant. The above eight sentences come from the flashback in which she visits her doctor in the Hackensack, NJ Planned Parenthood office. Claudia has decided to pursue a living killing people, but when faced with this choice, she chose adoption. A PP doctor will deliver the baby. In that same scene, she meets with the only person she can trust (Mr. Debert) and they discuss her conflicted nature and her current situation.       

[Special thanks to my good friend, Art Hoffman who traces his involvement in the family planning movement way back to 1970 when he began working at his first Planned Parenthood in Chicago, Illinois. Over the ensuing decades he also worked for or supported Planned Parenthood affiliates in Los Angeles CA, Rochester NY, Albuquerque, NM and Louisville, KY. Not surprisingly, most of his co-workers were females, so he developed an admiration for strong, fearless and independent minded women. Perhaps that is why Claudia intrigues him so.]                                                           

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The Cloudy Flashback

The Eight Sentences:

“You remember what I told you about sunsets, don’t you?” Lillie had asked.

“Yes, ma’am, I do, I’ll never forget it,” Claudia replied.

“Well, Dr. Thibaut’s passing was one with a beautiful clear sunset. No clouds to be seen, but a beautiful afterglow.” 

Lillie put her coffee cup on the table, raised her glasses and wiped her eyes with the ever-present white lace handkerchief. 

Claudia thought a moment and at the risk of sounding like a challenge, pressed ahead with her question, “Do you think that people can have a cloudy life — one that would have beautiful clouds at sunset, but, aaah, still have had troubles?”

“Honey, no life goes by without problems. We all have our clouds, remember that man in Lil’ Abner?”

                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                                   Image credit: deniskitchen.com

The Back Story:

  After the death of her masters supervisor, Claudia visits an old friend in Baton Rouge, Dr. Thibaut's housekeeper, Miss Lil. In this conversation, they talk about analogies, sunsets and clouds.

  Many readers, especially baby boomers, will remember the Lil Abner cartoon strip. Joe Btfsplk was a character that featured an ever-present dark cloud over his head symbolizing bad luck. 

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