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.

Does your work fit?

There are some rules, but generally, the administrators are tolerant. From the rules on the WeWriWa site: " Then on  

Sunday, post 8 sentences from a current writing project, 

published or unpublished." 

          Join us here at Weekend Writing Warriors. The 

same link will take you to the work of dozens of talented 

writers.

 Check out their work, too.  Here's the Facebook link for the

 Sunday Snippett group.

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:

Looking for more viewers, readers, and contacts?

Join us here at Weekend Writing Warriors. The same 

link will take you to the work of dozens of talented writers.

 Check out their work, too.  Here's the Facebook link for the

 Sunday Snippett group.

"Too much of anything ain't good for you."

The Eight Sentences:

When I hear the term, “infodump,” the first name that comes to mind is that of the late author, Tom Clancy. Others who fit into that category include James Michener and Michael Crichton. No doubt readers can rattle off the names of other authors whom some feel provide “more information than I want to know.”

On the other end of the technology spectrum for a writer, simply saying, “The woman shot her gun,” is not sufficient to stand alone. Readers deserve more.

How much more?

It depends.

Just a ounce of details can produce a ton of credibility.

The Set  Up:

An excerpt from my third novel, a work in progress titled, A Year Without Killing, appeared in this BLOG and introduced a technical topic. It was unnecessary to go into great detail, just give the reader the basics so they would understand that my main character applied a learned skill out of habit.
I was inspired by a comment to write a blog about "infodump."

These eight sentences come from that blog.

The title is a quote from my late father, my most frequent source of inspiration.

Dad and me.

Consider joining us: 

Looking for more viewers, readers, and contacts?

Join us here at Weekend Writing Warriors. The same 

link will take you to the work of dozens of talented writers.

 Check out their work, too.  Here's the Facebook link for the

 Sunday Snippett group.

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."

Join us!

Looking for more viewers, readers, and contacts?

Join us here at Weekend Writing Warriors. The same 

link will take you to the work of dozens of talented writers.

 Check out their work, too.  Here's the Facebook link for the

 Sunday Snippett group.

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.

What now?

 Looking for more viewers, readers, and contacts?

Join us here at Weekend Writing Warriors. The same 

link will take you to the work of dozens of talented writers.

 Check out their work, too.  Here's the Facebook link for the

 Sunday Snippett group.

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.

What now?

 Looking for more viewers, readers, and contacts?

Join us here at Weekend Writing Warriors. The same 

link will take you to the work of dozens of talented writers.

 Check out their work, too.  Here's the Facebook link for the

 Sunday Snippett group.

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

What now?

Looking for more viewers, readers, and contacts?

Join us here at Weekend Writing Warriors. The same 

link will take you to the work of dozens of talented writers.

 Check out their work, too. 

     Here's the Facebook link for the

 Sunday Snippett group.

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.

Want more?

          Sample the work of over four dozen other great writers at the Weekend Writing Warriors site.

          Visit our group on FaceBook, too.

          Are you an author?

          Are you a blogger?

          Want more readers for your writing?

           Join us and expose yourself!

St. Patrick's Day at the Louisville Tavern

The Set Up

Meanwhile, back at the Louisville Tavern, one of the members of The Presidents Club, Woodrow Risk, is sharing a newspaper clipping with the group. We join the scene near it's conclusion...

The Snippet

Reverend Pritchett now offered up a summary of the situation, “So what we have here is a sign. Maybe not from God, but a sign to which we should give some credence. If this document survived the rigors of a tumultuous journey from someone’s front lawn, into their bathroom, then to the recycle bin, and almost into a bird cage, to now be spread out before us here, on the bar in the Louisville Tavern, it must warrant our serious attention and consideration.”

York chided the minister, “Are you trying to channel William Faulkner or Billy Graham?”

Louie, who had been serving a recent arrival at the far end of the bar rejoined the conversation and said, “I heard you mention Creedence. Are you talking about ‘Fortunate Son’?”

Gold said, “Abe’s friend must have been a fortunate son. It sounds like he must be rich. He sponsored that PBS show I saw and now he’s got his own ‘initiative’ and something called a ‘Government Literacy Project.’”

Fishinghawk had to join the discourse, “Well, I’m in favor of more literacy in government. Woody, did you read this thing before it got the bird shit on it?”

What next?

Interested? Sample the work of over four dozen other writers by visiting the home web site for Weekend Writing Warriors.

The following video is, of course, relevant to this post as well as my previous article on helicopters. Enjoy!

Weekend Writing Warriors - March 3, 2013

News

        The Presidents Club will be presented twice a week starting this week. Wednesday, March 6 is the big day (Chapter Ten). From now on, readers will get one chapter on Sunday and an additional one on Wednesdays.  My weekly blog article on the same site will move to Fridays. Happy reading!

The Set Up

        The old men in the Louisville Tavern had sent their youngest member out into the dark to investigate the explosion that had left the bar in darkness. As we join the scene, Franklin York has just returned to the bar.

The Eight Sentences

            

York was rattled.

He had difficulty finding a bar stool.

The flashlight in his hands betrayed his claim, “I’m alright.” 

The beam was a desperate searchlight seeking a target in vain.

The men in the bar were rattled by York’s behavior.

They were all anxious to hear what York had to report about the explosion but didn’t press him.

The silence was unbearable and seconds seemed like hours.

York spoke to Louie in the dark, “Gimme a shot of Jack Daniels -- and another beer.”

And now...

        For samples of over five dozen other great writers, visit the web page for Weekend Writing Warriors.

Februrary 24 - Weekend Writing Warriors

News:

        My first novel, The Tourist Killer won an award for "Best Cover Design-Suspense Novel" at Venture Galleries. 

            Kudos to: Claudia Barry for her water color painting

                          David Ammons for his original art work

                          Jeff Bennington for his cover design.

The Set Up

        My contribution for this week comes from Chapter Eight of The Presidents Club, my serial novel on VentureGalleries.com.

        This scene includes a reference to a significant event from my first novel, The Tourist Killer.

        We join a discussion between billionaire-activist Julian Thibaut and his chief of security, Gerald Pointe.

        Thibaut is speaking...

The Six Sentences

        "Jane has done an excellent job of keeping the attempt on my life out of the news. Just a few people at the meeting knew about it. They were focused on Farrell’s heart attack. He got all the attention.”

Pointe commented, “He was dead when he hit the floor. The media said it was a heart attack, but rumors persist that he was shot.”

Thibaut stood and with no emotion, commented, “I wouldn’t know anything about that. Let’s get the calendar set and coordinate the schedules.”

What now?

         Are you a writer/author?

         Want more exposure for your work?

          Interested in checking out samples of over five dozen other great writers?

Then just click HERE and visit the home site of Weekend Writing Warriors.