Queen
New thriller in progress –
Conflicting Priorities: Reality Meets Fiction
Image on left:
One Night in the Hill Country
Thriller novella, set in Texas.
Immigrant and illegal children caught in a mad man’s plan to stop child abuse. Featuring former police officer Samantha (Sam) Lacroix.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MXGMN68
Reviews: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MXGMN68#customerReviews
Sample review:
By Mr. P. Ruddock on February 11, 2015
Format: Kindle Edition
At thirty thousand words this is a short story just a tad short of novella length, but one that punches well above it weight, holding its own against the depth and intricacy of longer works. It tackles the controversial issue of child trafficking and abuse as the vessel for the main story, namely that of the misguided but presumably well-meaning efforts of a brother and sister, Rolf and Tara, in using illegal immigrant children they have abducted in order to lure the same sort of men who once hurt they themselves in order to exact some sort of revenge. There are subtle references as to what may have happened to Rolf and Tara in the past and led them to the circumstances of the story, but the author deliberately doesn’t go into detail here, instead leaving it to the reader’s imagination. As in all good thrillers though, things don’t go to plan, cue the arrival of former policewoman, Samantha, along with four young children in her care as they happen to stop by where Rolf and Tara are holding several other children. What follows is a desperate struggle for survival by children and adults alike whilst the outside authorities also seek to discover the truth of what’s happened.
The writing is crisp and to the point, avoiding unnecessary description and elaboration, employing an economy of words much in the style of the likes of Hemmingway. Just as the story is divided into nearly eighty short chapters, so too are the sentences and paragraphs short and sharp, giving the feeling of a fast paced thriller, constantly driving the story forward; likewise with the dialogue, crisp and sharp, and well interspaced into the narrative.
This isn’t a book with the same depth and characterisation of say a John Grisham or Jon Kellerman thriller, but at thirty thousand words it isn’t intended to be. What it is though is a fast paced story, with enough length and substance to it to still engage the reader throughout. Anyone who enjoys the short story genre might well enjoy this novella too; although longer than the traditional short story, the structure style of writing makes it read as such, while still packing in way more content the word count would suggest. It’s also worth noting that some of the characters also appear in other stories by the author thus providing a sense of familiarity and continuity should the reader read further stories in this genre by the same author. Overall, an engaging and enjoyable book easily read in one or at most, two sittings…
*Purchased via Amazon.co.uk hence this review not appearing here as a verified purchase..
***
“a beginner’s view: the intent of this blog is to incrementally build a body of thought that works toward integrating various topics, yoga, fitness, and the arts – it’s a process…”
Site Areas
***
Queen
New thriller in progress –
Conflicting Priorities: Reality Meets Fiction
**
September 17, 2015
Related Categories : Fiction – Thrillers
Related posts:
Queen : New thriller in progress – deepening point of view, part 1
Queen : New thriller in progress – deepening point of view, part 2
Jump-Cuts : A Style for Short Chapters and Point of View and Setting Shifts
*
Intro
Below is another in a series of posting leading to the eventual publication of my second thriller, Queen.
Set in Vermont, my wife’s home state, which we visit when able, and lived in for about a year and a half, the characters from my first thriller, One Night in the Hill Country, get into another dangerous exciting situation, this one involving drug dealers.
This is an example excerpt of something written several weeks ago.
Obviously current events of the past decade influence it.
Today more headlines, more innocent and more disturbing because of that, came across social media, TV, etc. I won’t even identify it. There’s too many. But I was compelled to use a variation of one of the lines in a comment.
So I show this here now, having just now arrived in my edit, to the exact same location in my new thriller, Queen, where I’d thought and written that line to begin with. Amazing.
This is from Chapter 69, about page 200 (of 500+), and is from Sam’s pov.
The book uses alternating pov chapters.
Involves conflicting priorities.
Hopefully you’ll enjoy my slice of ongoing creative process.
Thanks so much!
Adan
*
Conflicting Priorities: Reality Meets Fiction
Please Note: all work is © 2015 Felipe Adan Lerma and will be submitted for registration with the Library of Congress.
Latter Part of Chapter 69, Page 200 or so of 500+ Pages
© 2015 Felipe Adan Lerma, excerpt from the thriller “Queen.”
“Listen to me, Sam. Thing is. Terror, terrorists, whatever it is you want to call it, only tries to do one thing. That’s make us lose trust in each other.”
I was listening.
“You want to do this conscious creative happiness thing.”
“Mantra.”
Rosetta laughed. “That’s another whatever you want to call it.”
“I gotcha,” I let myself chuckle. “I think.”
“Thinking’s ok, but that’s not it.”
“Yeah?”
“No. Searching is.”
“For -”
Rosetta laughed again, this time more freely, with an infectious heart that made me smile, my eyes tear.
“Use your mantra, dear – conscious creative happiness – to lead your search for games to play with the children that keep them trusting. In you, yes. But mostly, more importantly, in themselves.”
“But I associate my mantra with yoga.”
“So?”
We let it go at that.
My mind was overwhelmed anyway. Cluttered with too many possibilities.
Mike returned to the car without my having realized it. Also not good.
“Hey, ready to go?” he asked, getting in.
“Yeah.”
He asked what was wrong.
“Nothing, just confused. Rosetta said use yoga to keep the kids safe.”
Mike nodded, started the car.
“Sounds right,” he said. “That and a gun.”
*
Thoughts
Writing a story about conflicting priorities is also a story about how to get along.
Thanks so much! 🙂
Adan
namaste´- con dios – god be with you
*
Related posts:
Queen : New thriller in progress – deepening point of view, part 1
Queen : New thriller in progress – deepening point of view, part 2
Jump-Cuts : A Style for Short Chapters and Point of View and Setting Shifts
*
*** INTEGRATING YOGA FITNESS AND THE ARTS
© Felipe Adan Lerma - All Rights Reserved - Blogging at WordPress Since 2011 :) 