I am pumped that Curiosity Quills,
the small press in the DC area that published the very dark/suspense work Blow Up the Roses has
now accepted two more novels. But.
These two mystery/suspense novels feature the same
protagonist: Philip McGuire. He is burnt-out foreign correspondent who had his hand
mangled in torture by the Hezbollah and quits journalism to return to his
college town to buy and run a bar. Adventures come his way.
The two works (may be more; I don't
know) was a kind of homage to the Travis McGee series by John D. MacDonald. I
read that series not so much for the story, but because it meant I got to spend
more time with Travis. His reflections on life, his mini editorials, his
romances were wonderfully created by the master. I was hoping readers would
want to spend time with Philip.
The first novel, Heal My
Heart So I May Cry establishes his background and gives him a situation
where he ends up encountering the torturer who mangled his hand when
he was kidnapped in Beirut and gave up all the details he knew of the Marine
compound that was later blown up with the loss of 237 soldiers.
In this novel, he has a bittersweet
romance with a university journalism student that has an O. Henry ending (boy,
does that date me).
Here's a taste from the beginning:
The car stopped. The hood was taken off my head. My
good hand was untied from the interior car door handle. The bright sun of
Beirut blinded me. My pupils squeezed tight. My eyes adjusted a little by the
time they had the back door open and were pulling me out of the car so I could
look again at the face of that son-of-a-bitch, the one they called Mohammed,
who had taken so much joy looking into my eyes while the cutter had done his
work on my hand, the hand now wrapped in the dirty napkin as I held it high
against my heart. I looked at that motherfucker's face and felt the hope that
hate gives. The hope that I'd see that face again and have a fair chance to get
even. Fuck that. Have an unfair chance. Have any chance to get even. You and me
someday, Mohammed. Give me that, God, I prayed. But God hadn't answered any of
my prayers lately. Maybe I'd be due someday.
In the second novel, a half-Navajo
and half-white character who believes he is a witch plays a major role. He
calls himself "Koyoteh" (coyote). Both novels are set in Lawrence,
KS, which is home to Haskell, a college for American Indians. Two Navajo girls have
come up missing. Researching the Navajo culture led me to their creation story,
which is as complicated and fascinating as Greek mythology. I think, and hope,
I have created a full retelling of that story that is better than any that
exists in any fiction work. I titled this work "A Heart to
Understand." To make this novel even more complicated, the romance in this
novel involves an illegal Chinese immigrant trying to sneak out of the US to go
back to China and with an ulterior motive for contacting Philip.
Here's a taste of that work:
"Another Indian girl's missing, Phil."
"That's two now, isn't it."
"In two months. No bodies found. Yet.
Officially, it's another missing person's case. The police still take the
attitude that Indian students from Haskell run off all the time. But Navajo
aren't solo runaways. Being in a group is too important to them, especially
girls."
"Navajo?"
"Both have been Navajo. Could just be the odds.
Highest percentage of students at Haskell are Navajo. Both had friends, left
behind too many personal possessions to be runaways. Got to be kidnappings.
When I was in law school I did a summer internship in a law office in Gallup.
Did a lot of reading into Navajo culture and Native American sovereignty
rights. Word gets around. I began to represent Native Americans around here.
Some of them came to me asking if I could help them make the police investigate
more. But, hell, there's not much they can do unless a body turns up. Shitty
thing, isn't it, hoping a body will turn up? They're all upset and angry. Not a
good combination. The Navajo believe in this cause and effect deal. They don't
like having these ugly effects without understanding or knowing the cause. I'm
afraid it could be a serial killer with a thing for Indian girls. And one of my
clients has a daughter whose Navajo girlfriend is really spooked. I've talked
to her and I've got a favor to ask."
"What's that?"
"I'd like to hide her out here."
"Out here?"
"Sure. The kidnapper must be prowling the
Haskell area. He wouldn't be prowling around here. And she's really shaken.
Something going on she won't tell me about. And you could use the help now that
you're laid up. How about it?"
"Well, sure. If that's what you want," I
said as I watched him walk to the window on the other side of the room that
looked out over the drive up to the house.
"Phil?"
"Yeah."
"That Chinese girl. You said she had really
long hair?"
"Down to her butt. And we're talking a tall
girl here."
"Really beautiful?"
"Stunning. Even features. Sexy mouth. Full
lips. High brow. Why?"
"She's walking up to your front door."
Okay, here's that but.
Editor doesn't like the titles and
urges me to change them to something more consistent with the genre of
mystery/suspense. I have to admit my titles, Heal My Heart So I May
Cry and A Heart to Understand sound more like romance novels.
I have lived with these titles so long it has become very hard for me to
brainstorm within myself for new ones. But I have also learned that a writer
should heed an editor's suggestion.
Friends: any ideas?
Happy to share manuscripts with
anyone really interested in all of this. Guess if you're reached the end of this long blog, you may well be!
