613 Media — Telling the Story

Hang in there. I will discuss the finished version of “The 11th Demon: Children of the Bloodstone” right after something else I must tell you.

I rarely gush about movies. But, when my wife, Sherry, who doesn’t care a thing about movies tells me on the way out of “Up” that she wants to see it AGAIN, I’m impressed. This past weekend, Sherry, Casey, and I went down to Austin, Texas to see our son, Sean and his wife Jennifer. We had a great visit and on a whim, decided to go see the new Disney/Pixar movie “Up” on Saturday morning. Over the past few years, I have watched each new Pixar movie with a mixture of eager anticipation and dread. When will they mess one up? So far, I have never been disappointed. But, Up was in a different category. When it was first announced that the main character was an old man with a walker, critics immediately began predicting that this movie would be Pixar’s inevitable flop. So, I didn’t get too excited about it. I was planning on going because I go to any and all Pixar movies. Period. No argument. I can’t say that for all Disney movies in general. Now that John Lasseter of Pixar is the chief creative officer at Disney, I’m less hesitant to go see new movies. Thank goodness he nixed the abysmal sequel factory!

So, there we sat and within the first seven minutes I had already laughed more and cried more than I had since the Lion King. I was mesmerized. I had no idea the movie was about love. Let me tell straight out — this is not a KID’s movie. Kids will love it. Kids should see it. But, it is the best adult movie you will see in a long time. We laughed so hard I missed half the dialogue. I cried so hard my shirt was wet. And yes, I am a man! But, I am in touch with my emotional side!

What this movie is ultimately about is the love and regrets we experience in life. And, finding a way to let the love we have and the love we have had outweigh the regrets we drag around in life. I cannot possibly recommend this movie more highly. It is wonderful! It is awesome! It is astounding! Take the person you love most in life and go see it. And, if you can possibly make it happen, go back without the kids and see it a second time. Then, go home and start making a scrapbook!

Now, I have officially finished the final rewrite of “The 11th Demon: Children of the Bloodstone”. So far it is the longest of the three books and, dare I say, the most adventurous. I am very pleased with how the story turned out and the characters you will meet in the pages. I have always maintained that if your characters are well developed they will force the story to stay true. There were many times I fought with my characters and tried to wrench the story in another direction. But, hopefully my stubborn and pig headed characters have pulled the story back to where it was supposed to go and I have avoided the danger of contrivance and mediocrity. We shall see. I plan on letting it ripen a few more days and make one more pass to check on sentence structure, grammar, and spelling and then get if off to my agent. So, soon, I hope I can tell you it is on its way to being published.

In the meantime, I give “Up” four thumbs up! Go see and laugh and weep and live!

I don’t normally use this blog to post humorous items. But, I’m finishing up the final rewrite on “The 11th Demon: Children of the Bloodstone” and waiting to hear if “The 12 Demon: Vampyre Majick” book cover won a prize. It is one of the three finalists in a national contest on book covers.

So, while I was waiting, I had the chance to visit with my wife’s cousin, Glenn. Glenn was visiting from Fort Worth. He and his daughter had dinner with Sherry, Sherry’s Mom, Sherry’s sister, and myself. After dinner we went back to Shine’s house (Shine is Sherry’s mother). Glenn began to recall strange and wonderful memories of his extended family in Port Arthur, Texas. Port Arthur is in Texas but it is more Cajun than Texan. Sherry’s Aunt Doris is a lively and unique personality and Glenn remember once staying with Aunt Doris. It seemed that Aunt Doris was having a horrible week and decided the reason was the eggs were possessed. Yes, as in demon possessed! So, they couldn’t decide what to do so they took the eggs out in the back yard and burned them in a tin pan to get rid of the demons. After this, the week was, according to Glenn, “peaceful”.

My only question to Glenn was, “So these were deviled eggs?”

I heard them screaming out in the hallway from my office. One of our xray technologists stumbled into my office crying and sobbing out loud. “They’re dead, Dr. Hennigan! They’ve been murdered! They’re all dead!”

She was so distraught I couldn’t understand what was happening until I walked past her out into the hallway. Over a dozen technologists work in our area in this hospital. They were all in the hallway in various stages of breakdown. I went and found the head of our department and learned the unthinkable. One of the technologists working at this hospital (One of four in the system) was married to another technologist working at another hospital in our system. They had a three year old son. It seemed the husband had killed the wife, the son, and then himself.

I felt my heart stop and an unspeakable dread gripped me. I was beyond shock. I had spoken to both of these technologists within the last twenty four hours while on call. They had both been kind, funny, reliable technologists. And, they had both been Christians.

To contemplate the remote possibility of this man committing a double murder and suicide was akin to watching that first plane crash into the World Trade Center and realizing it had been deliberate. For two hours, there was uncontested mayhem and confusion throughout all four hospitals. People wandered the hallways in a haze. Patients were slack jawed and confused about why nothing was happening as it should. But, they sensed that some great evil event had taken place.

I went back to my office and prepared for the inevitable questions. It seems that the books I had authored and the fact I am known as a Christian has produced a situation in which people come to me for answers to many of life’s tough questions. It is why I became an apologist. I had to know the answers for myself before I could even entertain answering them for other people. The fact is, I am woefully unprepared for most of these answers even after studying Christian apologetics (defending the faith) since 1998. All it takes is one simple question to make you realize that only God has all the answers. But, we are commanded to “be prepared to give a reason for the hope that is within” us in 1 Peter 3:15.

As I watched the horror of this story unfold on the Internet and later on the evening news, I watched my city; my community recoil in horror and dismay. One local news channel actually interviewed three children living across the street from the house in which the deaths occurred! I couldn’t believe they would stoop to such a low as to place four and five year old children on the spot about this horrific tragedy.

I couldn’t sleep that night. I kept seeing both of these people in their work place. I saw them joking and smiling and treating their patients with great care and respect. I saw them sitting and talking to me about some of those tough issues of life. I had to ask myself as many will in the coming days: was there anything I could have done or said to change what happened? Did I answer a question wrongly? Am I in any way responsible for what happened?

Many people will want to do what we are best at and that is to blame God. It is an easy and convenient question to hide behind. God is always the big fall guy. After all, couldn’t He have stopped this from happening? I read an article recently by a man who recounted a horrific descent into sexual addiction. He related how his choices resulted in him losing several jobs, family relationships, friends, and ultimately his self esteem. I was sad to see that he attributed this problem to a sexual addiction “that I had no control over. This must have been in my genes. It was God who afflicted me with this terrible drive.” Nowhere in this article did this man admit that he made a choice. It is the choices that define us. It is the choices in life that make us human. Animals are programmed through instinct. But, humans are made in the image of God. Part of that image is the ability to have free will and to make a choice. When we blame God, we are, in fact, blaming the person staring back at us from the mirror. It is that person who makes the choices that leads us to doom or to ecstasy.

Why did this happen? Simple. Evil. It is real. It is personal. It is destructive. And, it only takes a moment of immersive evil to ruin not just one, but several lives. A moment to fly a plane into the World Trade Center. A moment to pull the trigger of a gun three times. A moment when our will and our choice eclipse the light of God and in the shadow of evil we commit horrific deeds. We can’t blame God. We can blame only ourselves. The ability to choose carries with it the inevitable outcome of wonderful, beautiful heights of human creativity and the horrific, macabre lows of human depravity. This knowledge doesn’t make the answers any easier to come by.

In these moments of great pain, explanations are desired but do not always bring comfort. The best we can do is to offer to “bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.” What is that law? I believe it is love.

Spring is on the way out and the hot, humid summers of Louisiana are just around the corner. With the coming of summer, we have the coming of “summer reading”. And, I have a suggestion for anyone who reads this blog. Go to Amazon.com and order both “The 13th Demon: Altar of the Spiral Eye” and “The 12th Demon: Vampyre Majick”. Both books are great summer on the beach reads. And, with vampires gaining serious respect lately, “The 12th Demon” is especially entertaining for vampire fans. There is a very different take on vampires and I believe you will love it!

If you are a fan of Relevant magazine, look for my latest ad in the May/June issue. It shouldn’t be hard to miss. Those turquoise eyes of Jonathan Steel are hard to miss staring out at you from the page.

So, what is going on with “The 11th Demon: Children of the Bloodstone”? I am currently completing the final rewrite of my manuscript. I hope to get in touch with my agent soon and start shopping the book around for a publisher. Would you like to know a little bit about the storyline? I thought so!

I am introducing a new character in this book. She is a world famous entrepreneur with a television show called, “The Artifact Hunter”. She is quite a match for Jonathan Steel. And, some of your favorite villains (and villainesses) are back. Including a certain tatooed man from the first book! In fact, I’m pretty sure we’ll even get a visit from the Dark Prince himself!

So, here is an exclusive scene from the book. To set this up, Renee Miller, from “The 12th Demon” has come to Steel’s beach house in Gulf Shores, Alabama to get his help. She is not having a good time with Dr. Cephas Lawrence also being there. If you remember, they had words at the end of the “The 12th Demon” and obviously have a history. And, her ex-husband, Major Robert Miller is looking for something that Renee desperately wants to recover before the military gets its hands on it. In this scene, Jonathan and Theo have just returned from helping someone with an evil presence in their home and he walks in the door and there is Renee Miller:

Steel frowned and glanced once at Theo. He moved out of the foyer and down to the den. The air was thick with tension and Cephas’ deliberately turned back was obvious.
“So, you need my help. Why have you started with the police?”
Renee glanced at Cephas and shook her head. “It’s complicated.”
“You might as well tell him everything, Renee.” Cephas said without turning.
“You stay out of this!” Renee said. Steel was shocked at the venom in her voice. But, he recalled the last time the two of them had spoken, they had parted on hostile grounds. Renee had come to Lakeside and stormed out of the house after arguing with Cephas. Their disagreement had not ended in Lakeside.
“OK, before we go any further, I don’t like the fact the two of you are at each other’s throats. So, start with Cephas. Why are you so mad at him?”
Renee opened her mouth to speak and then collapsed back into the chair. “It’s complicated.”
“You already said that. I can take complicated. It seems to describe my life.” Steel saw something move out of the corner of his vision. He glanced at the deck overlooking the beach and saw three soldiers in desert beige camouflage take up positions across the deck.
“Theo!” He nodded toward the deck. “Hostiles. Get Renee and Cephas into one of the bedrooms.”
Theo moved more quickly than should have been possible for his bulk. He grabbed Renee by the arm and motioned to Cephas. “This way, Cephas. Now!”
Steel hurried down to the couch and grabbed Josh, keeping his eyes on the advancing soldiers. “Josh, get away from the windows, now.”
Josh glared at him and then dropped his game console. “What’s happening, Jonathan?”
“I don’t know.”
There was a pounding on the back door and Cephas and Renee paused just in front of the door as it burst open. Theo pushed them behind him and Jonathan shoved Josh down out of harm’s way. Two soldiers burst into the room with guns raised. The first ran head on into Theophilus Nosmo King. Theo picked the man up bodily and hurled him back through the open door. The second soldier ducked Theo’s arm and shoved the gun barrel into the man’s neck.
“Stand down!” He shouted. The door to the deck burst open and the three soldiers rushed in. Steel felt hot metal between his shoulders.
“Be cool, everyone.” He shouted as he raised his hands. He heard cursing outside the door and Major Robert Miller strode into the room.
“I told you to take it easy, Sergeant. I don’t want any bloodshed.”
“The blob here threw Heisman across the room, Major.” The soldier with the gun pressed into Theo’s neck said. Theo glanced at Jonathan, and the skin on his neck wrinkled with the effort.
“You want me to take them out, Chief?”
“You and whose army?” The sergeant said.
“Just mine.” Theo hissed. In one quick, fluid movement, he jerked the gun out of the soldier’s grasp, grabbed the soldier around the neck and tossed the gun across the room. “I suggest you stand down, dude.”

So, there you have it. Stand by and I’ll be giving you more information on the publication date of “The 11th Demon: Children of the Bloodstone”.

I just got word that “The 12th Demon: Vampyre Majick” won “Honorable Mention” in the Reader’s Viewer Awards for Religious Fiction. This is essentially third place and I am very excited for this book to win another award! God is so good!

I keep getting the question “when is the third book coming out?”. So, let me update you on the goings on inside my head. “The 11th Demon: Children of the Bloodstone” is in the final rough draft phase. I’m currently rewriting the final draft and I have fallen about three months behind because of my father’s illness. My 94 year old father fell on New Year’s Day and we have had to help him since then. He’s been in and out of the hospital and almost died once from pneumonia. Currently, he is in in-patient rehab at Willis Knighton North Hospital and will be discharged on 3/17/09. We have to decide where he will go after that. He is currently in independent living but has required full time sitters for the last four weeks. We really don’t know where we are going after this with my father. I wish there was book or some guidelines on how to help your ailing parents. But, taking care of him has been an all consuming process in our life. We are in survival mode and all the other extraneous parts of our life have come to a halt. I have also been sick with flu, bronchitis, sinus infection, and viral upper respiratory tract infection since December 10 and only came out of it last week. Writing has been way down on my survival list!

So, this has put my third book behind seriously. I’m hoping to pick up on the rewrite soon and then I’ll be getting with my agent for the process of seeking a publisher.

I just booked a trip to London and France for August as a research trip. My fourth book is set in Europe. The tentative title involves the tenth demon but I haven’t settled on a subtitle. I’ll just let you in on a little information. The opening chapter takes place on an airplane that crashes in the Alps with Jonathan Steel on board. And, for those of you who downloaded my short story from www.12thdemon.com for Christmas 2007 know that something takes place in this story in England, possibly at a certain pagan site with large, upright stones!

We are excited about the trip. We’ll be staying in London for five days and then take the train under the Channel to Paris for three days. Casey, my daughter, is ecstatic because we are planning a day trip to Cardiff, Wales where Doctor Who is shot. If you don’t know about Doctor Who, you’ve probably not watched SciFi Channel for the most popular show in Great Britain. If you do watch Doctor Who, you know that David Tennant is leaving the show. There is a Doctor Who Collective across the street from the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff (under which Torchwood, of course, guards the Rift) in a museum and it features props, costumes, and lots of stuff from the new series. Casey is beside herself with anticipation as she is the ultimate Doctor Who fan. In fact, Sarah Sutton and Casey have shot their own version of the Doctor Who universe with a new character called The Scientist. The trailer is featured on You Tube.

So, say a little prayer for my father and our family. We could use it.

Where have I been?

I am keenly aware I haven’t posted anything since before Christmas. But, I took a break over the holidays and enjoyed a trip to New York City for the Annual Independent Book Fair. While that was interesting, we mostly enjoyed shopping and eating and seeing the Big Apple. I particularly enjoyed Spamalot although Sherry, my wife did ask me during the intermission “what the heck is going on?” which, of course, is the whole point of such a play. Then, we saw the Broadway premier of “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas” and it was wonderful.

We came back for Christmas with the family but I got this cold while in New York that has waxed and waned and waxed and waned now for 9 weeks and 5 days (but who’s counting). Also, my 94 year old father fell on New Year’s Day and his care has consumed our lives. Don’t get me wrong. I love my father dearly. But, it is trying when your roles as parent and child become reversed. It is a part of life that I was only thought I was prepared for. Perhaps there is a book in this. Someone needs to address the issue and help us with our ailing parents. After all, one day I will be in that situation and our society is seeing a huge growth in the aging population.

I am now back in the saddle and working on the final rewrite of “The 11th Demon: Children of the Bloodstone”. I hope to get with my agent sometime soon and begin to make plans for the future of the Jonathan Steel series as well as other books.

Hopefully, 2009 will be a much better year than the last 8 weeks.

It was a cold Saturday night in Little Italy. This part of New York City was like something out of a 1940’s holiday movie. Christmas lights were strung outside each store and restaurant. A glittering lighted star hung across the street at regular intervals. In each storefront window and restaurant window was a Christmas tree; a Santa; a Nativity scene. Each was so genuine, so homemade it made my heart ache with remembrances of Christmas pasts. Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, and Frank Sinatra singing Christmas songs filled the air. And, to make it all a dream come true, it was snowing!

I sat in Lunella’s Italian Restaurant and marveled at the sights and sounds and fragrances around us. Sherry and I had journeyed to New York City for a trip filled with fun and excitement. Sherry and I had never been. But, our friends Magdy and Denise had lived here for years. They had met here and fallen in love here in the Big Apple. They guided us through the streets and filled our minds with wonder and delight.

Nella, the owner of this restaurant, was a tall, willowy woman somewhere north of sixty with frosted, straight hair and a face filled with smiles. The crowning moment came when she raised her right hand in the air and uttered those famous words, “Forget about it!” when it came time to pay the ticket.

She looked at Magdy who had once worked in her restaurant and said, “I haven’t seen you in three years. Can’t I give you a Christmas present? So, fuggitaboutit!” It didn’t get much better than that!

I discovered some interesting things about New Yorkers. Don’t violate their personal space. There are so many people moving down crowded streets shoulder to shoulder I can understand how one woman became very angry that Magdy accidentally brushed her shoulder. She accosted him for not saying he was sorry until she brought the incident to his attention. The argument could have gone on for hours but I looked her in the face and said, “Hey, lady, get a life. Just forget about it!”

But, once you get past this touchy reaction, they were the nicest, kindest, most accommodating people I have ever met. They put Southern hospitality to shame! Well, all except the driver of the limo from the Addams Family. Denise fell on the subway and cut her knee. It was Saturday night and we couldn’t get a taxi to stop for us. Everyone travels by taxi and considering it was in the twenties and snowing, few people were willing to walk for a long distance. So, Magdy got out into the street and flagged down a limousine. The driver agreed to give us a ride to the hospital. We climbed into an aging, dilapidated limo. Rugs covered the floor and Sherry and I began sinking into the seats. I was afraid the rugs were all that was left of the floor. The interior was dark and there were glasses for having a drink. The problem was they were all cracked and had lipstick and fingerprints all over them. Magdy and Denise got into an argument with the driver over the cost and I just tried to hide in the rugs. Finally, we arrived at the hospital and, I kid you not, the driver got out and he was a twin for Lurch!

But, aside from that the whole trip was delightful. People on the streets actually said, “Merry Christmas” not “Happy Holidays”. We had a wonderful horse drawn carriage ride around Central Park. We saw Spamalot which was a delight for me, an avid Monty Python fan. Sherry’s only comment was, “I don’t know what is going on!” which, of course, is the point.

We went to the original Macy’s Department Store. The original Bloomingdale’s. We saw the new Apple store right across from Central Park. We toured the Empire State Building and saw the Statue of Liberty. We walked around Rockefeller Center and saw the huge Christmas tree and the famous skating rink.

On Tuesday night, we saw the Broadway premier of “White Christmas” and it was incredible! Afterwards, we ate at the famous Sardi’s restaurant on Broadway. Magdy knew the maitre d personally. It was astonishing to see over twenty people glare at us as the maitre d hugged Magdy and escorted us past the waiting patrons to our very own personal table! I felt so special. I felt like somebody!

Anyway, the entire trip was surreal and delightful and filled with Christmas images you only see on television or at the movies. But, the best was the unending “Merry Christmas” and acknowledgement of the real meaning of this holiday. I guess on of the best moments was sitting in the waiting room of the hospital while Denise was getting her stitches and talking to some native New Yorkers. They were just like me. They were real people with the same kinds of problems that I have. And, they worshipped God and said prayers and looked to a Savior for guidance and forgiveness. They were not some foreign aliens from a strange land.

I will say the strangest moment was when we were selected off the sidewalk to attend the David Letterman show. I have always regarded David Letterman as a strange man with, at times, a very funny show. But, after walking into the historic Ed Sullivan theater we were personally greeted by David Letterman. He was real and appreciative of our presence and delightful. He joked with us and thanked us for coming. He said, “We couldn’t do this without you. Thank you for being a part of tonight.”

An hour later, we were back on the streets of New York City and heading for White Christmas. What a strange world!

So, I hope you have a wonderful, delightful, loving, light filled Christmas. I hope you feel the love of friends and family at this time of the year. I hope that you find the peace, goodwill, and presence of “God with us” that is the central theme of Christmas. I hope you find solace and peace in the presence of the Savior.

And, when troubles come your way, just for this season, say, “Forget about it!”

The Ark of the Demon Rose.

What the heck is that?

I was wondering the same thing.

And then, I had a challenge put to me.

Elizabeth, the customer relations rep at our local Barnes & Noble invited me to participate in the National Write a Novel in a Month local event. I mentioned this in my last post.

So, every Saturday in the month of November I showed up for our “Write Ins” and I wrote a new novel.

It’s about this Ark, sort of a chest that contains something mysterious, the Demon Rose. So, you want to know more about it?

Well, the novel picks up where the second book, “The 12th Demon: Vampyre Majick” ends. And, it stops a week later just before the third book will begin. So, it is an “in between” novel. And, you can download it for free!

As my Christmas present to all of my faithful readers, you can go to this website:

http://www.lulu.com/content/5118976

And download the eBook for free!

It’s a bit unpolished but I think you’ll find it entertaining. I took the opportunity in writing this book to write as my four main characters, Jonathan, Josh, Cephas, and Theo. There are even some chapters from Vivian’s perspective. We get inside their heads and it proved very interesting. The book introduces an entire new line of evil characters that were not supposed to surface until book four but you can get a jumpstart on them.

Anyhow, I hope you enjoy it. You can purchase a hard copy of the book at lulu.com if you want. It’s a bit expensive and I think you can read the ebook just as well.

Enjoy!

NaNoWriMo.

Don’t try to pronounce it. It is shorthand for National Novel Writing Month. You can check it out at the address http://www.nanowrimo.org and find out how to write a novel in a month. November is the month to write a novel each year. I am participating in the project this year. I’m going to my local Barnes & Noble each Saturday for a “Write-In” from 10 A.M. to 1 P.M.

Our local community relations manager, Elizabeth, asked me to participate. Now, I am deep into the final rewrite of “The 11th Demon: Children of the Bloodstone” but I got a sudden inspiration. Several months ago, while writing the rough draft of the third book, I wondered what happened between the end of the second book, “The 12th Demon: Vampyre Majick” and the beginning of the third book. They are contiguous but not continuous. The third book does not pick up right where the second book ends. It picks up about two weeks later.

So, I asked myself what did happen? I mean, it is important to know what happened, right? If I am going to continue on with the story, I need to know how they settled into Ketrick’s old house and how they decided to work together and all of that fun stuff. You see in writer’s parlance, these issues seemed far too mundane to put in a novel. They’re basically housekeeping issues. And, I like to start each novel off with action. I like to just dive right in.

But, something kept coming up in my thoughts about these two weeks. And, so each night as I drifted off to sleep, I imagined what each one of my characters would be doing as they settled into this new life together. Out of that drifting thought pattern, a small story emerged. It wasn’t enough to justify its own novel. And, it wasn’t enough to even talk about. But, it was interesting. And, it was important.

So, in deciding what to write for the month of November, I chose to write this story. I call it, “The Demon In Between” and it will be available to you, my loyal readers, FREE as a download in December. It’s not long enough to publish as a stand alone novel and I want to thank my readers for sticking with me through the first two books. I fear the publication of the third novel may take longer than the first two did so I hope this may serve to tide you over.

So, Lord willing and the creek don’t rise I’ll have the novel finished by November 30th and you’ll have it to read before Christmas. This will be my Christmas present to you.

So, here is an excerpt. Just to get you salivating. In this excerpt, Cephas Lawrence and Jonathan Steel have driven from Shreveport to Dallas to meet with their old friend, FBI Agent Franklin Ross. I have written the scene from Jonathan’s point of view and for brief moments of time, we actually get inside the heads of all four of my main characters. Here is the excerpt from Chapter 11 of “The Demon In Between”:

“Jonathan Steel.” Franklin Ross looked up from his laptop. He was sitting behind a desk in the regional FBI headquarters in Dallas, Texas. Cephas and I had shared the driving from Shreveport and I had managed to catch some sleep during the three hour trip. Ross had insisted we talk in person after I said there was an issue with a rogue FBI agent. I think the real reason he made us drive over was because it would irritate us. I had left Josh in bed fast asleep and asked Sadie, the real estate lady to check on him later.

I sat across the desk in the small office and put the photos in front of Ross. “How’s Sue?”

Ross looked at me. His dark hair was perfectly combed and his face looked rested. He still wore his signature red tie and black blazer. “We’re not speaking.”

“Not surprising.” I said. When I had last seen Ross at the hearing for Josh, he had left with Lieutenant Sue Kane of the Dallas Police Department to have lunch. She seemed slightly smitten with the man.

Ross shrugged. “High maintenance.”

“And, you’re not?”

He glanced at me. “I was talking about me. So, what is going on?”

I pointed to the pictures. “This guy stole something from our basement.”

“Our basement?”

“We moved into, uh, Ketrick’s house.” I said.

Ross’ lips slowly curled up in a smile. He looked at Cephas. He looked back at me. “You’re kidding me.”

“No.”

“It was an excellent buy.” Cephas said.

Ross laughed out loud and sat back in his chair. “You’re living in Ketrick’s old house? How rich. How superb. How ironic.”

My face grew warm and I tried to suppress the desire to rip the man’s throat out. I had never gotten along well with Franklin Ross. I had broken his nose more than once. “When you’re done laughing, maybe you can answer my question.”

Ross stopped laughing and wiped tears from his eyes. “I answered your question about Sue. You never asked a question about the picture.”

I tapped the printout. “This man came into our basement and took something that belonged to Cephas and then kidnapped Theo.”

Ross froze. “Kidnapped the big guy?”

“Yeah.”

“Did he have an elephant gun? Loaded with major tranks?”

He started laughing again and the fury took me. I bolted up and leaned over the desk and grabbed his red tie. I pulled his face forward until his eyes were level with mine. “That’s enough! Theo is in trouble. I need help, Ross.”

His eyes filled with danger and he shoved me back as he stood up from the chair. His hand went into his jacket and returned with his gun. He pushed the barrel of his pistol between my eyes. “Turn loose of my tie, Steel. Don’t give me a reason to pull the trigger.”

I felt the cold metal between my eyes. “Are you going to kill me for rumpling your tie?”

November 4, 2008 was a day that will live in history. America made that history because of its unique right to vote. We call this democracy and the world was watching. No matter how  you voted, I encourage you to pray for out leaders as we are facing problems that are unprecedented in the history of our nation.

But, there is one thing that happened on this day that many may not have noticed.

For me, the journey to becoming a published writer began at an early age. I wrote my first short story at age 13. But, it was a book I picked up at a book store downtown on Marshall street that changed my life. The book was unlike anything I had ever read. I was an avid science fiction fan but I also loved mysteries and animal stories. The science fiction I enjoyed reading was always out of this world. Authors such as Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and Larry Niven were among my favorites. But, here is this strange new book was a kind of science fiction story that was outside the norm. It was a book that moved with a rapid, heart pounding pace. It was a book with a story that was rooted in hard, real science. It was a book that made me look up at the sky at night and wonder when we were going to die. But, it was ultimately a book of hope and the triumph of our own humanity over our destructive failures.

The name, “The Andromeda Strain”. I read the book through at least three times. I marveled at the spare but effective writing. I loved the interweaving of real facts with fiction. The book even had primitive computer graphics, unheard of in 1970! And this author, Michael Crichton was in medical school when he wrote it!

Two years later, I would make the decision to go to medical school. And, realizing that the years of study would cut into my desire to write, I decided to become like Michael Crichton. I wrote and wrote and wrote even though I was not published. And, I picked up every book he wrote.

I came to understand that Michael Crichton’s stories were perfect templates for movies. But, his one failing was his characters. They were always somewhat interesting but they never just jumped out and grabbed me. So, I set about to develop two skills with my writing. First, I wanted to learn how to make effective, believable dialogue. Second, I wanted to learn how to create interesting and intriguing characters. Let’s face it. None of the above mentioned writers (with perhaps the exception of Ray Bradbury) could create wonderfully complex characters. Their strength was in their plot and story lines.

Little did I realize that I was on a journey into a world I never planned on being a part of that would fulfill both of my needs. When, in 1989, I sat down with Bruce Edwards to help him write a play, I discovered the power of dialogue. And, the power of making the dialogue sell the character and the exposition. Soon, I was writing my own full length plays filled with memorable and unusual characters. I learned early on that effective dialogue worked by the following principle: If you could remove everything from the story except the dialogue and still know exactly who was speaking, then you had great dialogue. That required creating memorable, effective dialogue AND interesting characters.

But, enough of that writer talk. My birthday in 1993. It was ten o’clock at night. We celebrated at home and then I told my wife I wanted to go to the movie and see the new film, “Jurassic Park”. The book had blown me away. And, when I came home at midnight after seeing the movie all by myself, I could not sleep. Michael Crichton had created something that would forever change Hollywood.

His creativity and his devotion to using real facts in his stories still inspires me. When I sat down to write my Jonathan Steel Chronicles, I consciously decided to be the “Michael Crichton of Christian fiction”. That is how much he affected me.

And, when a certain television show known as ER emerged, I just couldn’t watch it. It was too realistic and too much like my everyday life in medicine. That show was created by Michael Crichton.

He passed away on November 4, 2008 at the age of 66. It was unexpected and there is some mention in the news of cancer. I hate to see this happen. Even at the age of 66, he was vibrant, alive, and very, very creative. I will miss going to the book store and scanning the shelves for his latest book. I will miss waiting for his latest books to be made into blockbuster movies.

This day will be remembered for years, decades, and probably centuries for the election of our first African American President. While the country celebrates this achievement, I do not want to diminish its significance. But, I do want to pause and remember one of my favorite authors and most creative doctors — Michael Crichton. You will be missed!