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.

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The white scarf flashback

The Eight Sentences:

"Claudia, you've known me since you were six or seven years old, don't you remember? You would often point me out to your grandfather and say, 'Look, Grandpa Hooligan, there's Mr. Debert.'"

"You know what I called him."

"Why shouldn't I -- I was always around."

They sat together in companionable silence while she thought. Finally, she said, "I'll wear a white scarf when I want to see you."

"What about after Labor Day?" he asked sincerely.

"That's for shoes," she said with a note of sarcasm.

The Back Story:

Today's snippet comes from the flashback at the beginning of Part 2 of The Tourist Killer. Here, readers meet the mysterious "Mr. Debert" (day-bear), Claudia's confidant, one of only two people with whom she can discuss any aspects of her career. She's decided she can trust him and they make arrangements for scheduling meetings.

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.

Nov. 4 Six Sentence Sunday

The Setup:

     The Tourist Killer opens as Claudia Barry, elite professional assassin, completes an assignment. At age sixty-two, she has enjoyed a career that has spanned over thirty years.  She had to start somewhere. In this scene, she reacts to her first kill.  

SIX SENTENCES:

She quickly made her way to Bourbon Street.
Anyone who noticed her now would see a twenty-something female in short shorts and a cut off Ohio State t-shirt.
The aroma on Bourbon Street was a combination of rotting garbage, beer, urine and vomit. Claudia was overcome by weakness. She held onto a light post to keep her balance. Then, her knees buckled and she made a contribution to the nauseating fragrance that tourists associate with the French Quarter.

Pictured above is "Pirates Alley" as seen from behind the St. Louis Cathedral. Beyond the cathedral lies Jackson Square. In The Tourist Killer, someone who appears to be a young man, murders a retired New Orleans policeman in this alley. (Image credit, Wikicommons)

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Murder in Print

A writer friend of mine and I were discussing a mutual friend of ours, also a writer, who would, when the action began to wane in his stories, just kill off a character.  As it turns out, this writer friend of ours likes to put a lot of characters in his books, so when he kills one off, that person isn’t often missed -- but it adds drama and, of course, action to the story.  Often times, writers do kill characters off to build interest or create a crime for someone to solve.

After that discussion, the question crossed my mind, “How does the murder rate in real life compare to that in fiction?”

According to WikiPedia, “The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) monitors both the number and type of books published per country per year as an important index of standard of living and education, and of a country's self-awareness.” That report indicates that for the last few years, the United States has produced over 250,000 books per year.  To be conservative, let’s say that in just 100,000 of those books, someone is murdered. Heck, even the Holy Bible has a significant number of murders.  And to continue with our conservatism, let’s say that in those 100,000 books, only one person gets murdered.  That’s still 100,000 murders per year.

The most recent data available from the U.S. government, (the FBI) is from 2008.  Their report published online by The Guardian, reveals over 14,100 homicides that year.  Add to that, over 300 “justifiable homicides” committed by law enforcement officials, and we have almost 14,500 deaths per year (I doubt that they are going down.).  Again, being conservative, let’s round that number down -- way down -- to 10,000 per year.

These numbers can be interpreted into an annual “Murder in Print” rate that is ten times the actual (real live) rate.   

What does all this mean?

Should we be concerned?

If the pen is indeed mightier than the sword, should supporters of the Second Amendment be concerned?  Should authors be wary of how many characters they kill off?

Does the N.R.A. have a position on this alarming statistic?

What about our liberal progressive friends on the left?  Are they concerned that the plethora of murders in novels have an impact on the real life murder rate?  Should they be?

Or is the First Amendment the one that’s more at risk?

In my first novel, The Tourist Killer, (to be released later this year by VentureGalleries) my main character is an elite professional assassin that has dispatched (that sounds so much better than “killed” or “murdered”) thirty-seven people in an incredible career that spanned thirty years. My low profile character would never be suspected of such a career in real life.  

But let a team of Navy S.E.A.L.’s take out a high profile target, and they not only get fame, but glory, too!  

Where do we draw the line?  Who decides who lives and who dies?  Are some targets of either private or government assassins deprived of a fair trial in exchange for expediency?  Are the answers to these questions easy to answer? Are they all black and white -- or does a gray scale exist?

One thing is for sure. If the murder rate in real life was the same as that in fiction, we’d be at risk of extinction a lot sooner than if we wait on global warming!