After landing the role of an Army captain in charge of the prison in the movie The Boys of Abu Ghraib, actor Scott Patterson (The Gilmore Girls) reached Albuquerque around midnight, arriving on a late night flight. A producer on the new film greeted him at the airport. Instead of heading for his hotel, Patterson accepted the producer’s offer to take him for a late night visit to the site selected for filming the interior prison scenes -- the abandoned, former maximum-security New Mexico State Penitentiary, located just outside of Santa Fe. Also at his producer's suggestion, Patterson decided to visit Death Row. He intended to sit in the chair inside the gas chamber itself for “the experience.” At this point in his story, I’m thinking to myself, Is this guy absolutely insane? As the two men made their way underground three levels toward the gas chamber, Patterson noted a spot on the floor where the concrete had been marred by what appeared to be hacking marks. Further along the way, he saw a blackened spot on the floor that he didn’t understand, uneasily noting it took the vague shape of a human form. When they reached the viewing room for the gas chamber, the two men found a lit small candle standing upright in a chair. By Patterson's account, the producer looked terrified and claimed to have no knowledge of how the candle got there. He expressed an interest in leaving at that point, but Patterson said, “My training is such that I don’t back away from such experiences.” So he insisted on continuing on until he actually sat in the gas chamber chair. … [Read more...]
Captain Kudzu reviews Coastal Empire
David Thornton is a very busy man. He flies airplanes for a living. David also writes as the Atlanta Conservative Examiner, the National Aviation Examiner, and the Atlanta 2012 Elections Examiner. Recently, in his capacity as Examiner writer, David seized an opportunity to direct a question to the White House and received a direct response -- details of the exchange can be found here. In his spare time (amazingly, he seems to have some) David writes on his syndicated blog as Captain Kudzu. I'm flattered that he took the time to read and then post his review my novel, Coastal Empire. I'm beaming with pride, and appreciative of his kind words. … [Read more...]
Djokovic pulls a Tebow
During a dramatic fifth set in the Australian Open final, I could not help but notice the world's number 1 tennis player, Novak Djokovic, as he fiddled with something he wore around his neck. Actually, he fished something tied to a cord hidden under his shirt and kissed it. I supported his opponent in the match, Rafael Nadal, for two reasons -- he was the slight underdog, and Nadal is left-handed. I feel it is important that we "lefties" stick together. Plus, it's harder to pull for the favorite, in my opinion. However, I do enjoy watching both men play the game and pull for both against different opponents. You can only pull for one in the final, though. Right? Clearly after five hours of tennis, these two men were as equal as you could get. In fact, Djokovic was losing the match, down a break. Then he seemed to catch a second wind. It also seemed the better he played, the more Djokovic played with the object around his neck. What exactly was Djokovic kissing? On closer observation, it was a simple wooden cross. Match commentator Patrick McEnroe helpfully described Djokovic as "kissing his necklace." But it was obviously a plain wooden cross. Not a crucifix, but a cross. To alleviate any possible confusion about the meaning of his gesture, Djokovic began to overtly make the sign of the cross over his entire upper torso after winning key points. Yesterday, the biggest points all seemed to go his way late in the fifth set. My atheist friends who watched the match probably got irritated by Djokovic's antics, quite possibly to the … [Read more...]
Reading eBooks without a Kindle or other reading device
A friend read the online sample of my eBook yesterday and commented that she would have to wait until a print copy was available. She doesn't own a Nook, Kindle or an iPad. However, those devices aren't necessary to read an eBook. All you really need is a computer. There is a free download available of a Kindle Reader application for the PC and one for the Mac. Simply follow the desired link above and click the big blue button to automatically download the latest version for your device of preference. Barnes and Noble also provides free Nook readers for the PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone and other devices. It's not going to be that easy to make excuses for not reading my first novel, Coastal Empire. … [Read more...]
Coastal Empire is available as an eBook
My first detective novel, Coastal Empire, is now available for Kindle on Amazon and also at Smashwords. The print version will be available through Each Voice Publishing in the near future. We look forward to holding an official book launch party sometime in February at the North Beach Bar and Grill on Tybee Island. I'll even sign your Kindle if you don't want a print copy. … [Read more...]
