THE STORY SO FAR: PART 38

IT IS A SAD THING THAT THE EU – THE EUROPEAN UNION - IS NEITHER ADEQUATELY UNDERSTOOD NOR APPRECIATED IN THE U.S.

WE COULD LEARN A GREAT DEAL FROM IT.

If you relied solely on American media for your knowledge of the EU, you would get the impression that the entire entity is bankrupt, and about to go down the tubes.

It isn’t, and it won’t.

What you are actually witnessing is a relatively recent work-in-progress whose political institutions are still evolving – so it is having some growing pains. Nonetheless, it is still a fact that in most of Northern Europe, much of the population enjoys a higher quality of life than in the U.S. As for the rest of the EU, countries like Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Ireland are going through a difficult period – but they are all better off than they were only a couple of decades ago; and their problems are solvable.

The EU is a mostly successful economic powerhouse consisting of 27 democratic nations containing a total population of 500 million. It’s greatest achievement is in removing the threat of war and dictatorship from a region which, for centuries past, seemed to do, or experience, little else.

As for dictatorships, I will recall going for a walking holiday in Spain in the Sixties and the palpable oppression of the Franco regime. Guardia Civile and troops were everywhere and political freedom added up to zero.

Later on, when I got married, we honeymooned in Portugal (for the record, I am now divorced), and that country was under the thumb of yet another dictator called Salazar. Once again, armed police were everywhere – even in the disco.

Soon after that, Greece, which had suffered terribly in WW II, and had then experienced civil war, became a military dictatorship under the control of the Colonels (who, reportedly, received help from the U.S).

Less than forty years later, the entire EU is democratic and large parts of it are extremely prosperous. In addition, many thorny social issues, which still trouble the U.S., have been substantially resolved. The list is long. It includes:

• Healthcare systems that are largely better than ours; and which cost significantly less.
• Better infrastructure including excellent public transport systems.
• Vastly superior worker rights.
• Much greater harmony between workers and management.
• Paid vacations which European workers actually do take to the great advantage of their health and productivity.
• K12 education that is, generally speaking, better than ours.

The amazing thing is that the EU has been created entirely with soft power, through dialog and negotiation. Meanwhile, we have stumbled from one war to another, at huge cost, and we’ve lost most them. Concurrently, the average Middle Class American has seen his, or her, standard of living decline since about 1973; and it is continuing to decline. Could it be that we have something to learn from the European way of doing things? A reasonable person would think so.

The EU deserves its Nobel Prize.

 

 

 

 

THE STORY SO FAR: PART 37

NOW HERE IS A CURIOUS THING: HAVING REACHED AN AGE WHERE I HAVE LESS TIME TO DO THINGS THAT I MIGHT LIKE, I HAVE – PARADOXICALLY – BECOME MORE PATIENT!

The above headline has little to do with what I thought I was about to write, yet it was something I wanted to say which I thought was important. Sometimes words seize the page. Resistance is futile.

The truth is that most of us are afraid of aging – and I doubt I am very different – but another truth is that there are decided compensations emanating from the aging process. They are not, I regret to say, permanent. Life is pretty much about ‘meanwhile.’ I came to that conclusion in my late teens. All the pretty girls seemed have boyfriends but, not infrequently they were European and not in evidence because, conveniently, they lived in continental Europe – a whole sea away. Never underestimate the usefulness of moats. This all happened in Ireland where spending some time abroad seemed to be quite the thing for a well brought-up young lady. That led me to advance the concept of: “Meanwhile, can I take you to the movies?” Or something along those lines. 

Since aging is so personal – and varied – I am reluctant to generalize, but I will make a few comments based upon both my personal experience and observation:

• Experience is a great thing, and there are no substitutes for it no matter how young and intelligent you are. But it has to be used to advantage. It is not an end in itself.
• Age brings fear, because you lose your physical abilities to cope as you once did; but it also brings what is generally called ‘wisdom.’ Once again, that has to be used; and it seems to skip a few people.
• Life is hugely – perhaps mostly – about managing fear. Many of us are reluctant to admit such a vulnerability, but it just happens to be true. Does one get better at the task when older? I think so. Practice does yield certain advantages.
• It is absolutely vital to have a purpose in life. There are few sadder people than those who are just waiting to die.
• Being old does not mean you cannot be productive. I am not brave enough to define productive, but you tend to know it when you see it.
• A true writer should never retire, but preferably slump forward at the appropriate time onto his or her keyboard; or fall asleep permanently beside a glass of wine at a nearby bistro. The glass should have been drunk first. It is thoroughly bad form to die leaving a full glass on the table.

I’m prompted to write about such matters because I met a singularly impressive young man on Wednesday; and we have agreed to collaborate on a project; actually two connected projects. Given that I write all day alone, and enjoy it, you may find this odd, but I am really looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish together.

Am I certain this will work out? Certainly not; but what is life without risk!

Damned if I know why I am being so philosophical today. It may be the rain. Seattle gray has returned; and the Winter lies ahead. It is rather exciting.

 

 

 

THE STORY SO FAR: PART 36

COMPUTER, COMPUTER, ON THE BLINK: WHAT SHOULD YOUR REPLACEMENT BE, DO YOU THINK?

You may find it hard to believe, but I was quite good at poetry when at school. Then either prose or puberty struck – or possibly both - and I headed in another direction. Short stories might have been a reasonable compromise – elegant but not too demanding – but, instead madness struck when the moon was full, and I decided to write books instead; big, long things, full of high adventure, much action, and dead people, and exhausting for the computer involved; and I haven’t even mentioned the sex that goes with the story. One, alone, might have been enough; but book followed book after book.

My computer isn’t actually on the blink, as far as I know – one never quite knows where Windows is concerned - but it is more overwhelmed by life, so seems to be determined to vanish into Sturm Und Drang. I think it is upset because it is being asked to do too much. It bargained for my running a database and a word processor – which it will do quite adequately – but then found its owner was adding all kinds of things which just plain overloaded its modest two cores. And so it started to protest, and freeze, and scroll jerkily, and crash – to the great distress of this author.

I don’t multitask, as such. First of all, I’m skeptical of multitasking (and research supports that view) and, secondly, I am of the opinion that writing requires absolute focus. However, I do like to have my two main databases open, my browser available (with rather too many tabs open), Word functional, backup into the Cloud working away, indexing doing its thing, security keeping me safe – so, before I know, I have between five and ten heavyweight programs fully operational simultaneously – and my computer deeply upset. I monitor all this on Task Manager and on an invaluable utility called Cacheman which not only shows memory activity but the activity of each core – all in real time. It is not a pretty picture. One can practically feel my CPU’s exhaustion.

A friend of mine who uses a Windows PC at work, and a Mac at home, tells me that whereas PCs are optimized for speed, Unix based Macs, are superior for multi-tasking. That useful advice apart, what I can say is that virtually all my writer friends who use Macs have had very little trouble, whereas those who use PCs have experienced purgatory while still alive. Beyond that, I note that creative people – whether they be designers, movie makers, or artists, virtually all use Macs.

To be fair, Windows 7 improved the situation significantly and perhaps Windows 8 will be better still; but to me, my next move is clear. It is time to get a Mac with plenty of RAM and a powerful CPU. Mind you, I dread changing, because I’m used to Windows and quite like it (when it is stable), but since a Mac can now run Windows, it seems the logical way to go.

I’ll let you know how it works out.

 

THE STORY SO FAR: PART 35

“…WE NEED TO TEACH PEOPLE HOW TO THINK. ONCE YOU CAN THINK, YOU CAN, WITH THE RIGHT INSTRUCTION, LEARN TO WRITE A GOOD SENTENCE.”

“Once you can write a good sentence, then, and only then, do you have a shot at writing a great short story -- or code that can change the world and help maintain America's leadership position through the 21^st century.”

The above is from a truly marvelous article by Bernard Meisler, a senior software engineer and publisher of SensitiveSkin magazine. You will find the piece at www.theatlantic.com under the heading:

“The Real Reason Silicon Valley Coders Write Bad Software.”

Though clearly it depends on what you write, I hold to the view that a writer is required to be, in essence, a thinker, first; and should keep himself or herself generally well informed – both through direct observation, and through extensive reading. Other factors such as empathy and travel come into play too; but, for the moment, let me focus on reading, and current affairs at that.

Given the sheer volume of information out there, how to do the latter to best effect is a good question. All I can say is that once you have read The New York Times, a truly extraordinary newspaper, you could do a whole lot worse than follow up with The Atlantic. It is an impressively erudite and comprehensive publication of the same sort of standard as The Economist, but, in my opinion, somewhat better; and it covers an amazing variety of subject matter. If a subject has serious relevance to the human condition, the chances are that it will end up in The Atlantic sooner or later; and it is particularly good at covering economic matters and politics (both great interests of mine). Mind you, if sports are your passion, you would be wiser to look elsewhere; and it doesn’t feature naked women – or even naked men – that often.

I have known about The Atlantic for years, but didn’t start reading it regularly – which means daily (the online version is updated with great frequency) - until one of its most highly regarded journalists and bloggers, Jim Fallows, phoned me up to get some information about military matters. As an additional incentive, he offered to fly out to where I lived in Virginia at that time, and give me – and my children – a flight in his Cirrus aircraft. This was, without question, the most unusual offer I have ever had from the media. Normally, one merely trades favors or helps out of the goodness of one’s heart; and, as you will know, we authors are notorious for our innate goodness. 

I gave him the information he was after well before the actual flight, but eventually, true to his word, Jim came out and we ascended into the sky in his very cool flying machine. One of the many neat things about the Cirrus is that it has its very own parachute – a useful but unusual feature in a single-engine aircraft. Just to be clear, the parachute is attached to the aircraft not you, so if your engine cuts out, and no landing zone is available, you can float down in comfort. Without such a resource, panic is a viable option.

Jim had no reason to know this, but I love light aircraft flying nearly as much as I love helicopters, and did a great deal of bouncing around Ireland in such fixed-wing machines (categorized as ‘general aviation’) when I was in my early twenties. I say “bouncing” because we normally flew off grass fields, and landing seemed to consist of a series of juddering hops until we had to stop to avoid running into a cow, or a sheep, or a dry stone wall. These days, ostriches might be a problem as well; and as you will know, it is generally considered unwise to tangle with an ostrich. Yes, there really are ostriches in modern Ireland – and only some are human. Land of ‘Saints, Scholars, and Ostriches!’ Ireland is not what it used to be.

All of this – the Irish bit – came about because I was in love; but that is another story, both wonderful and tragic.

Let me conclude by saying that not only is Jim Fallows a truly remarkable journalist; but he is widely, and rightly, acknowledged as such. He is also a prince of a man; and a pretty good pilot. Every now and then, I am privileged to meet people of such caliber; and such encounters buoy my shaky faith in the human condition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE STORY SO FAR: PART 34

“ENGLAND AND AMERICA ARE TWO COUNTRIES DIVIDED BY A COMMON LANGUAGE”

George Bernard Shaw

George Bernard Shaw, as doubtless you know – even if you have forgotten – was an extremely witty playwright, humorist, public speaker, and socially concerned activist. He was also Irish (which, some would argue, just by itself, makes him a superior human being). He is probably best known today as the author of the play that led to the musical and movie, My Fair Lady. If you haven’t heard of that, I shall throw up my hands and shout, “Zut allors!” Or maybe worse.

Such distractions aside, I think GBS nailed it. It is also a one sided relationship. It is my experience that, generally speaking, the English can work out what an American means, both as a consequence of American movies and TV, and – more often than not – because of the context.

Somehow context doesn’t seem to work with Americans. I don’t fully understand the reasons for this, but I suspect that part of has to do with the U.S. being a very literal and direct culture.

Let me give a few examples of such verbal confusion:

#1 Some years ago one of my sons got into trouble and a parent’s group was formed to try and dig him out. Naturally, I attended the meetings, but after a few weeks was informed that people didn’t understand the way I wrote, or spoke (or seemed to think) so someone else would be needed to talk on my behalf. To demonstrate my literary opaqueness, one of the parents pointed out I had used the phrase: “In the main” as in: “In the main, my son doesn’t behave like a homicidal maniac (for example).” To me the context was clear even if you didn’t know the phrase, but to the other parents – all worthy souls – it was gibberish. I was, I confess, stunned.

#2 On another occasion, I tried to buy a flashlight, but asked for a ‘torch’ which is the word one would use in England. Despite explaining the purpose of this useful device, and much gesticulation, the shop assistant remained nonplussed.

#3 I like wandering around cities on foot and used to regard that civilized habit as “mooching.” In the U.S. I soon discovered I was in danger of being seriously understood. In the U.S. mooching implies begging.

#4 In Ireland we have a word for fun which is ‘craic.’ It tends to be used in sentences such as: “There was great craic in Finnegan’s pub last night. Given that the word is pronounced ‘crack’ the potential for confusion is considerable.

#5 Finally, there is the famous case of the British Gloucestershire Regiment – “The Glorious Glosters” - who were attacked by a vastly superior force of Chinese during the Korean War. When asked by an American superior how things were going, the British colonel replied that things were getting “a little sticky.” To an Englishman such a term would mean “extremely serious.” However, the American took it to mean the Glosters could hold.

Being an Anglo-Irish author writing for an American audience is trickier than it seems; but the craic is mighty!

 

 

 

THE STORY SO FAR: PART 33

THE KINDNESS OF FRIENDS; THE POVERTY, AND THE DIGNITY, OF STRANGERS

When I first visited the U.S., back in the early Seventies, my first port of call was New York. At the time I was a corporate employee, and doing well, so took the view that I should arrive there by helicopter. Frankly, it would have been faster to take a cab to the Waldorf Astoria, because technical difficulties held up my rotary flying machine, but eventually it appeared, and my first sight of New York from my helicopter was as dramatic as I had hoped.

Because of the delays, I was also the only passenger. It adds a certain frisson to arrive under such circumstances. One becomes temporarily delusional. Helicopters have that effect. For brief moments, I entertained the notion that this my helicopter; and it was a large helicopter at that. I think it held 24 passengers, or something of that ilk; and it was almost certainly a Sikorski. 

I had hoped we would land on the Pan Am building – a strange wish from someone who suffers severely from vertigo - but the landing site had been re-negotiated (I gather for safety reasons) so we landed down by the Battery instead. It was also more convenient to Wall Street.

When I returned to New York, in the early Nineties, it was under much humbler circumstances. I had made the deliberate decision to leave the corporate life, with all its attendant perks, to become a writer; so my income and expenses dropped like a stone.

This time around, I took a battered cab to Brooklyn to stay with friends. No more helicopter and Waldorf Astoria. I wasn’t broke, but cash was tight.

I had been living in a traditional Irish thatched cottage for years – as I battled with my first book, Games Of The Hangman, so such street skills as I had possessed had atrophied. In fact, the phrase ‘in a state of culture shock’ does not come close to describing my mental condition.

One of the first pieces of advice I received was: “Don’t give to panhandlers.” At the time I followed that advice – more or less.

Twenty years later, I have changed my mind completely. I just came to the view that so many friends had helped me over the years that it would be just plain wrong to spurn the requests of those in need. There and then, I determined I would never turn anyone down who asked – providing they looked in genuine need.

I receive more than a few requests for help because I walk everywhere these days, so am accessible. Beyond that, although I currently live in a comfortable gated enclave by Lake Washington, the immediate neighborhood is predominantly poor and African American. It also has the reputation of being crime-ridden – largely because of some fatal shootings that have taken place in the area.

I walk at least a mile there most evenings - often to the local Safeway – and can only say that my life has been much enriched by the numerous encounters I have had with those in need. I have also learned that the most important thing to recognize under such circumstances is the other person’s dignity, and freedom.

The other day a woman accosted me in Safeway and begged for a few dollars to round out the cost of a meal. She then added: “I’m not going to spend it on drink or anything.”

I smiled at her and said: “Not my business.” And I really don’t think it is.

I don’t wish to sound noble in describing such encounters because the truth is that I benefit from them enormously. It also occurs to me that American society would benefit vastly if we adopted a less judgmental approach to poverty – and, instead focused on just plain helping the less fortunate. Apart from anything else, I have no doubt at all that it would make economic sense. That said, there are many other better reasons for doing the right thing.

 

NEWSFLASH! NEW BOOKS ARE ON THEIR WAY AT LAST!

Just so you know, I am on a steady countdown to launch a range of new titles on Amazon, and other major sites, within weeks rather than months. I will provide specific dates when I have them.

I will be launching – over a period of several weeks – three new titles. Thereafter, additional new titles will be appearing at, very roughly, intervals of one every month or two for several months.

The initial titles will be:

• THE BLOOD OF GENERATIONS. This will be the fourth action-packed novel in the Fitzduane series. In it, a survivor of the notorious WW II massacre at Malmerie, France, tries to enlist Fitzduane’s help in tracking down one of the chief perpetrators. That perpetrator, aging but still lethal, now runs one of the largest corporations in the world and has planned revenge against the Allies. In the climax, Fitzduane finds himself fighting over the same blood-soaked ground in Nazi occupied France as his father and mother had experienced in WW II when both were agents who had been infiltrated behind enemy lines to prepare for the June 6 invasion in 1944. Their mission-impossible is to either delay or destroy the formidable and ruthless SS Thousand Year Panzer division. With an intersecting story set both today, and back in 1944, this is a Big Thriller on an epic scale inspired by actual events.
• SATAN’S SMILE. Harry Fremont is a battle-weary scientist turned FBI agent who, for years, has specialized in hunting serial killers. His father is Thurlow Fremont, one of the principal developers of the Hydrogen Bomb. Posted to Livermore, home of the nuclear Livermore National Laboratory, to investigate a series of vicious throat cutting murders, Harry soon discovers that there are other forces at work; and that ‘The Lab’ is the target. Meanwhile, Stonecutter, the master terrorist, is planning a vastly more lethal spectacular event than anyone could have imagined. Distracted by inter-agency politics, and confused by his love for a fellow FBI, agent and his attraction to nuclear scientist Tina Lazaroff, Harry battles against the clock to stop much of California being turned into a nuclear wasteland. In a sentence: Serial killing meets nuclear terrorism.
• HOW EAGLE & CUCKOO SAVE AMERICA: THE BEGINNING. The Council of The Place For Reasonably Good People (where you go after you die if you have been reasonably good) are concerned that the U.S. is in rapid decline so appoint their watcher, Cuckoo, to find a solution. Cuckoo finds that so many Americans have been corrupted by dollar worship and Fast Food, that the only living creature up to the task is Eagle, head of all the eagles – and the very personification of character and integrity. However, Eagle is an eagle so has to know a lot more before he will be up to the task. Accordingly, Cuckoo proceeds to teach him. Meanwhile, the forces of darkness headed by one of Satan’s main agents, determine to destroy Eagle. A hilarious satire combined with an action packed thriller, Eagle & Cuckoo (E&C) may well be one of the funniest, most exciting, books you are ever likely the read; and offers a fascinating perspective on the reality of modern America.

E&C will be a trilogy, albeit each book will be a self-contained story. A self-contained story, from this author’s perspective, has a Beginning, a Middle, and an End; and is satisfying in itself.

• In the HOW EAGLE & CUCKOO SAVE AMERICA: THE BEGINNING, we get to know the characters, see Eagle as he evolves from simple aviator to combat leader, and experience the most hilarious courtroom scene yet written – featuring the Supreme Court and a re-incarnated Clarence Darrow.
• In the HOW EAGLE & CUCKOO SAVE AMERICA: THE CONTEST we follow Eagle as he morphs into human form, develops his political platform, and runs for the presidency.
• In the HOW EAGLE & CUCKOO SAVE AMERICA: THE LEADER we follow Eagle as he is sworn into office and leads the re-building of America with extraordinary success.

Will there be other E&C books? I truly hope so. I have a lot of ideas on that front. But, as always, it all depends upon the market reaction.

Watch this space for the latest details. We, who appear to be doing nothing, are actually surprisingly busy (but are slower at getting out titles than I would like).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE STORY SO FAR: PART 32

DO REAL READERS READ E-BOOKS… AND WILL PHYSICAL BOOKS VANISH?

Given that my whole objective is to learn how to blog briefly, you would have to wonder how I come up with these headings! It would take a book to answer these questions properly. Let me point an accusing finger at my subconscious. The damn thing seems to be addicted to long copy. I shall pound it into submission.

The evidence is that real readers really do read e-books because they love the low prices, the immediacy, and the convenience. Nonetheless, they may well buy physical copies of books they particularly like as well.

I don’t believe, for a second, that physical books will vanish. However, I do think that e-books will eat heavily into the traditional paperback market (paperbacks being seen as inherently disposable) and will have a substantial, but not fatal, impact on hardbacks.

I live in hopes that e-books will shake up traditional publishing – currently dominated by six vast corporate entities – to its roots. I don’t think the corporatization of publishing has done either the writing or reading communities any favors. 

Let me close with a couple of quotes from an interesting newsletter emanating from www.ebook-editor.com This particular blog was written by guest blogger, Elyse Douglas.

“Fewer people are reading more, but in more formats than ever before, according to the results of a series of telephone surveys carried out by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.”

“There are three things to keep in mind with regard to publishing an eBook, however. First, garbage in, garbage out—even if it that garbage has a beautifully designed garbage bag. If one is a lover of the craft of writing, one should insure that the book is carefully written, edited and proofed. Secondly, a professionally designed book cover is essential. It separates the amateurs from the pros. Third, the big one. Publicity. If you do not promote your work, it will lie off in the high weeds somewhere and never be seen, even if it’s the most dazzling flower in the field.”

As John Grisham recently said on CNN: “The emergence of eBooks is phenomenal. A year ago, my last book, “The Confession” was published. It was the first time we released the digital version of the book the same day as the hardback. After one year, my total sales are 40% digital and 60% hardback and the numbers have gone up. That’s obviously good news for me because more people are reading the books.”

The signs are encouraging, but the outcome is far from assured. I would like to see a dynamic marketplace where the sheer merit of the authors’ work would shine. The corporate handful who currently control publishing would prefer their sheer weight of promotional money to continue to dominate. Why not indeed? The weight of money of a privileged elite currently controls our lives from conception to death, and its physical consequences. That is not freedom.

 

NEWSFLASH! NEW BOOKS ARE ON THEIR WAY AT LAST!

Just so you know, I am on a steady countdown to launch a range of new titles on Amazon, and other major sites, within weeks rather than months. I will provide specific dates when I have them.

I will be launching – over a period of several weeks – three new titles. Thereafter, additional new titles will be appearing at, very roughly, intervals of one every month or two for several months.

The initial titles will be:

• THE BLOOD OF GENERATIONS. This will be the fourth action-packed novel in the Fitzduane series. In it, a survivor of the notorious WW II massacre at Malmerie, France, tries to enlist Fitzduane’s help in tracking down one of the chief perpetrators. That perpetrator, aging but still lethal, now runs one of the largest corporations in the world and has planned revenge against the Allies. In the climax, Fitzduane finds himself fighting over the same blood-soaked ground in Nazi occupied France as his father and mother had experienced in WW II when both were agents who had been infiltrated behind enemy lines to prepare for the June 6 invasion in 1944. Their mission-impossible is to either delay or destroy the formidable and ruthless SS Thousand Year Panzer division. With an intersecting story set both today, and back in 1944, this is a Big Thriller on an epic scale inspired by actual events.
• SATAN’S SMILE. Harry Fremont is a battle-weary scientist turned FBI agent who, for years, has specialized in hunting serial killers. His father is Thurlow Fremont, one of the principal developers of the Hydrogen Bomb. Posted to Livermore, home of the nuclear Livermore National Laboratory, to investigate a series of vicious throat cutting murders, Harry soon discovers that there are other forces at work; and that ‘The Lab’ is the target. Meanwhile, Stonecutter, the master terrorist, is planning a vastly more lethal spectacular event than anyone could have imagined. Distracted by inter-agency politics, and confused by his love for a fellow FBI, agent and his attraction to nuclear scientist Tina Lazaroff, Harry battles against the clock to stop much of California being turned into a nuclear wasteland. In a sentence: Serial killing meets nuclear terrorism.
• HOW EAGLE & CUCKOO SAVE AMERICA: THE BEGINNING. The Council of The Place For Reasonably Good People (where you go after you die if you have been reasonably good) are concerned that the U.S. is in rapid decline so appoint their watcher, Cuckoo, to find a solution. Cuckoo finds that so many Americans have been corrupted by dollar worship and Fast Food, that the only living creature up to the task is Eagle, head of all the eagles – and the very personification of character and integrity. However, Eagle is an eagle so has to know a lot more before he will be up to the task. Accordingly, Cuckoo proceeds to teach him. Meanwhile, the forces of darkness headed by one of Satan’s main agents, determine to destroy Eagle. A hilarious satire combined with an action packed thriller, Eagle & Cuckoo (E&C) may well be one of the funniest, most exciting, books you are ever likely the read; and offers a fascinating perspective on the reality of modern America.

E&C will be a trilogy, albeit each book will be a self-contained story. A self-contained story, from this author’s perspective, has a Beginning, a Middle, and an End; and is satisfying in itself.

• In the HOW EAGLE & CUCKOO SAVE AMERICA: THE BEGINNING, we get to know the characters, see Eagle as he evolves from simple aviator to combat leader, and experience the most hilarious courtroom scene yet written – featuring the Supreme Court and a re-incarnated Clarence Darrow.
• In the HOW EAGLE & CUCKOO SAVE AMERICA: THE CONTEST we follow Eagle as he morphs into human form, develops his political platform, and runs for the presidency.
• In the HOW EAGLE & CUCKOO SAVE AMERICA: THE LEADER we follow Eagle as he is sworn into office and leads the re-building of America with extraordinary success.

Will there be other E&C books? I truly hope so. I have a lot of ideas on that front. But, as always, it all depends upon the market reaction.

Watch this space for the latest details. We, who appear to be doing nothing, are actually surprisingly busy (but are slower at getting out titles than I would like).