Hot Greece

I’m preparing to send out my manuscript, Temple Beyond the Sea, set in ancient Greek civilization. The standard practice is to send a manuscript out to as many agents as possible in a “shotgun” approach and hope that one will accept it. (And if you are reading this post, dear agent, know that you are special.) What will hopefully work to my advantage is that reimaginings of Greek mythology is a hot trend now. You can walk into a Barnes & Noble and see a number of titles.

One of these novels is about Norse mythology
I’ll let you guess which one

If you follow my blog, you’ll know that I’ve written more than one novel manuscript. Do not leave this to chance. Have more than one way to strike while the iron is hot. For now, here in excerpt from Temple Beyond the Sea.

Book Review: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is actually a lengthy poem, written in Middle English. I read what was probably a standard translation in college, but when I found out that J.R.R. Tolkien had done a translation, I bought his version. Each translation preserves the alliteration in each line. For instance, Tolkien styled a line this way:

“Then he stayed his steed that on the steep bank halted

above the deep double ditch that was drawn round the place.”

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is an anti-romance. The typical romance of the time would describe in detail how the knight or other hero would go through great battles. Then he would save the damsel in distress. In contrast, there is no description of any battle in this poem. It is mentioned that Gawain has a number of battles in his travels, but none are described. And there is no damsel in the story. On the contrary, the owner of a castle shows Gawain great hospitality, but his wife on no less than three mornings comes into Gawain’s bedroom and offers him her body. Each time, Gawain has to refuse her using the most polite language, since his code of chivalry does not allow him to insult such a lady. This series of temptations and denials of temptations is the main part of the story.

The author had to be an expert in romances to cleverly write an anti-romance that was so fascinating.

Tolkien was an expert on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. His own work, The Lord of the Rings, is an anti-quest. The protagonists already have the great talisman of power—the ring. They have to get rid of it, because no one can wield it without becoming corrupted. A number of turning points in the story have to do with temptation and denying temptation.

It’s very nice to see the connections fall into place.

By the way, there is a movie out there called The Green Knight that is supposedly based on this story. It is awful. They take some parts of the story and reverse everything. Also some truly grotesque “art” scenes are thrown in. This is not a negative blog, but do not see that travesty.

TV Review: Moonlight

I recently rewatched the 2007 television series Moonlight. Mick St. John (Alex O'Loughlin) is a private investigator with a secret: He’s a vampire. He looks about thirty, but he’s actually eighty-five. He takes an interest in protecting Beth Turner (Sophia Myles), a reporter who really is about thirty. They work together, doing some mild breaking and entering for clues for their respective lines of work.

Beth keeps saying that Mick looks familiar, but he brushes that off. As a walking CSI lab, Mick can tell if a vampire was around a dead body, and he can smell blood from a crime scene and tell if it matches an individual’s blood sample. And he uses his incredible strength and speed to save Beth and others.

It turns out that when Beth was a child, Mick saved her after she was kidnapped by a vampire. They sure make a cute couple. I wonder if they will get together?

Mick is front and center, Beth is on the right

Moonlight is different from other television or movie series on the subject. Mick does not normally kill other vampires, nor is he an isolated individual. Instead, there is a thriving but secret vampire community in Los Angeles. Mick’s best friend is a four-hundred-year-old vampire who has lots of vampire contacts. Mick has a contact in the coroner’s office who supplies him with blood. If Mick meets another vampire, they pick up each other’s scent and say something like, “Oh, so you’re a …” This large, secret community is an interesting take.

Keep in mind this was written in the early 2000s. The characters have cell phones, but they aren’t smart. Research on the internet is by desktop computer, and it takes a while. Beth works for an internet news group, and though they have higher ratings than more established sources, it’s still viewed as a novelty.

Another interesting fact is that this was one of the last of the great American private investigator shows set in modern times, until a new batch came out fairly recently. Most crime investigation shows involve the police or CSI types, and all the government resources they have. Seeing how private enterprise does things differently is refreshing.

But what kept viewers coming back was the on-again, off-again relationship between Mick and Beth. Mick thinks he’s no good for her. Beth keeps getting more and more fascinated with him. What will happen? 

Aye vs. Yes

What’s the difference between “Aye” and “Yes” when watching a military program, especially a science fiction one that uses these terms? A friend of mine who used to fly Naval Air told me that in the Navy and Marines, “Yes” is used to respond to a question, but “Aye” is used to respond to an order.

Many science fiction novels, movies, and TV shows use naval ranks and terminology. John Hemry, who is my favorite author and an old Navy hand, said that was because the Navy has experience keeping crews on ships for extended periods, and the Navy has bases around the world. That may be why this is used for spaceships in science fiction.

My current science fiction story is Alpha Shift. I’ve finished doing a thorough re-edit of the manuscript. Here’s what it looks like printed out.

 

Reginald Barclay vs. the Scammers

I’ve used the name Reginald Barclay on social media. For those of you who don’t know, he was an occasional character on Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager. He was played by Dwight Schultz, an excellent actor who was known for his role in the old TV show The A-Team, and extra points if you know he did voice acting for The Animatrix, an animated companion piece to The Matrix.

I liked him as Barclay in The Next Generation because he seemed more like a real person than the main cast. He often didn’t know what to do next, or where to go next. His uncertainties contrasted with characters who always knew what to do and who would stride away purposefully at the end of a conversation.

But the people who tried to scam me really were not familiar with the character.

photo by evil_cotton

The dingbats who texted me and sent me an email addressed me as Reginald Barclay, obviously just randomly grabbing names from social media. If I call their dedicated line, they can help me get relief from my student loans by the stimulus forgiveness program.

My name is not Reginald Barclay, I do not have student loans, and anyone foolish enough to call their number will have their phone number sold to countless lists for robocalls.

Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow

Theaters are displaying movie posters again. This is a different look for her, dressed in white. You can get an idea of the size of the poster from the field lights above it. The railing for the walkway below is about waist height.

Click to enlarge

I don’t know if I’ll see the movie, but this is quite the landmark.

Terry Brooks and Cliffhanger Endings

Several years ago, I attended a writers’ workshop by the great Terry Brooks. As an aside, do you know he pronounces Shannara with a short a at the start, instead of an a like in father? It shocked a lot of people. But I digress.

He stressed that every chapter should end with a cliffhanger ending. “No exceptions,” he said. As a young aspiring writer, I thought that sounded cliché. Now that I’m an older aspiring writer, I see the wisdom of it. Which brings me to the manuscript I’m about to send out.

This picture I took was from much later
Not perfectly focused, I know

So this is from my War of the Wars reimagined. It you’re reading this from a home computer, you can find links to excerpts in the column on the right, or if you’re reading this from a smartphone, you can scroll down to the tiny words that say “View web version” and see that column. My working title will be Fairy War. Here is the cliffhanger ending for a chapter:

 #

My senses were overwhelmed as I lay there, head lolling on hard wood, and I could not differentiate between the steam and smoke obscuring my vision when I blacked out.

#

How’d I do?

Book Review: Monster Hunter Guardian

Julie Shackleford is a member of Monster Hunters International. You can probably guess what they specialize in, and it requires a lot of guns. The other Monster Hunters are on a mission in another country, so all Julie has to do is care for her three-month-old baby, Ray, and hold down the compound.

But some monsters are not simply fierce things to be shot down by bullets. Some can infiltrate the mind of a person and suddenly control that person’s actions. And so Ray gets kidnapped by a trusted friend. Julie does what any monster hunting mother would do: She loads up for bear and chases after her child through a portal. She ends up in Germany, but her rifle doesn’t make it. Still, she proceeds to do an amazing amount of damage with a handgun, and even a sword. She takes down cult members and creatures of sheer evil in amazing numbers, trying to get Ray back. 

  

Click to enlarge 

Monster Hunter Guardian by Larry Correia and Sarah A. Hoyt is the eighth book in the Monster Hunter series, but it is a stand-alone novel, so the reader can understand it without having read the previous installments. Still, even though the book is action-packed, there are a few slow moments at the beginning where those familiar with the series get caught up with what is going on with her husband and grandfather.

The action really flows after that. Julie takes an enormous amount of damage as she takes down one cult member or evil thing after another. Obviously this is explained in terms of her toughness and her desire to rescue her baby, but it is somewhat hard to believe she can stay on her feet, let alone keep fighting. Then again, you should see the other guys.

The story does have its lighter moments. She arrives in Germany in the middle of their equivalent of Mardi Gras, so she blends right in with her tactical look, which I found quite funny.

Also, the cover is a treat. The artist, Alan Pollack, obviously studied a certain fight scene in the book. It is incredibly accurate. True, Julie doesn’t handle her gun and the sword at the same time, but still. And how many action heroines with glasses have we seen on book covers?

So if you like guns, or women with guns, or wonder how you would do if you had to rescue your baby, or just want a ripping good yarn, Monster Hunter Guardian is for you.

Whack-a-Gnome

So the latest crisis is a shortage of garden gnomes. Supply chains in general have been stressed for the little fellows, but then the Suez Canal was blocked for six, count ‘em, six days. Great Britain felt the shortage quite keenly. Where is gnome central—the Middle East? The Indian subcontinent? Some part of what used to be called the Orient, where factory workers beat those cute hats into shape? What must they think of Western civilization?

image from satellite ESA Copernicus Sentinel-2

This, of course, brings us to fantasy. Special Unit 2 was an early form of urban fantasy on television. Detective O’Malley was played by Michael Landes. Detective Benson was played by Alexondra Lee. Together, they fought creatures of legend, such as mermen, gorgons, werewolves, and even a dragon, who threatened the human race. Their street informant was a gnome named Carl, played by Danny Woodburn. The series was quite funny and full of action, so I highly recommend it.

But to the point, O’Malley and Carl did not get along. The relevant part starts at 5:45.  (Warning: some coarse language.)