Novel In Progress

What a week. Busy is not the word for it. More like running around in circles with one foot nailed to the floor. However, I was able to give my new book The Last Conquistador, some deep thought and have decided to make a few revisions to the story. Instead of present-day, it will take place in the 1960s. I did this because of all the new-fangled, electronic gadgets. They really do put a damper on building suspense and intrigue. If Parker (my protagonist) wanted to let his mom know he would be late coming home (in the first chapter), all he would have had to do was pick up his handy dandy little smart phone. Yeah. But all that convenience just doesn't work in my stories. My goal is to write classic-type, old-fashioned, (mostly) set in reality, stories about teens. A little romance, a little intrigue, maybe even a little life and death. But gadgets? I don't think so. At least not in my new book.

We've become such a gimme-it-now society, that the virtue of patience has given way to smart phones, Twitter, and e-books; a society that wants--expects--instant gratification, and it's not just limited to getting information. Material things are on the list, too, and have been for far too long. That refrigerator that mom and pop saved to get 'way back when--and it took 'em six months to save the cash--has given way to "buy now and pay later" mentality. And we've adopted that attitude in just about everything. Setting lofty goals and waiting for the benefits has largely gone the way of the "get-it-now" mentality. Hopefully, these hard economic times, which have been fueled by the abuse of credit and greed, will help people re-set their ideas about money and material things. Nevertheless, the hunger grows for information, and rightly so. Being ignorant in this day and age could cost you.

The e-gizmos, e-gadgets, smart phones, and the like, are here to stay. So it is for that reason that I am taking Parker Ulysses Penneworth out of the 21st century and putting him back in the days of Fonzie, the days when I grew up, with all the obstacles, angst, and frustrations of the time.

My first book, Desperado Moon is set in present day. Because of the setting (rural ranchlands in California), I never referenced cell phones and the like, but it worked. I guess a lot of folks were right. It is a modern day western.