Book Review: Blue, Upstate by John Painz

First and foremost, I really enjoyed this book. If you like Tarantino or Scorsese or Elmore Leonard, chances are you'll really like this book. Was it perfect? No. But that's the problem. Even though it wasn't perfect, I really enjoyed this book. I will read and review books to support the indie author community, and I have come across a few that, while well written, didn't completely grab me.

But this one grabbed me.

Maybe it's because I hail from Upstate New York. Maybe it's because I'm familiar with the roads that lead from Binghamton to Syracuse. The opening scene puts us in a small, barely on the map town where a bank heist is in progress. It's the only bank in town, probably the only bank for miles, and I'm thinking--damn! This could be the bank in my barely on the map upstate New York home town! So, maybe the story grabbed me because of the commonality.

But no, because the story takes a turn quickly. We go back in time and get to know the players who are instrumental to this flashforward beginning. They have lives in Pennsylvania, New York City, Texas...and as they grow up from young adulthood to old adulthood, we see how they become acquaintances and how they become associated with the mob.

Jumping back and forth in time to build a backstory for four major characters can easily lead to confusion. But Painz does a fantastic job of weaving this one without getting us lost. So, major points for going on tangents that draw us right back into why the opening bank job takes place.

The mob boss who ties these people together is Gino D'Escopio -- major stereotype of a character. Picture Paul Sorvino, and you've got Gino. At least that's who I pictured. Was the character original? Obviously not--I pictured Sorvino in a heartbeat. But I didn't care. Because I pictured the character so clearly, heard his words so organically that it worked. --I enjoyed the read--

Then you have Hal and John, two of the major characters. Think buddy cop movies, except they work for the mob. They're great. Again, enough stereotype thrown in to make them identifiable, but also enough depth to make them three dimensional. Then there's Carla, the put upon female lead of the piece whose significant other Alex has problems. To be honest, Alex IS her problem--he's got a gambling habit. Hence, their eventual connection to the mob.

I'm not going to go in depth and provide spoilers. Painz teases our interest with the opening heist, then builds in the lifetime of events that lead to it. And then, in the final 100 pages of a 500+ page book, he brings us back to that rinky dink little town where all hell breaks loose due to a long con gone wrong. Because it's never a good idea to try and outsmart a mob boss.

I did find moments--especially through that literal breakneck speed ending--that felt over the top or emotionally not-quite-true. But you know what? I was still entertained. Did I say I really enjoyed this book?

--I really enjoyed this book--

That's it. That's the review. Go read Blue, Upstate.

Book review: Steampunk Cleopatra by Thaddeus Thomas

 A well written story for those with a deeper knowledge of ancient Egypt

This is the story of a teacher and his student, and their influence during a steampunk inspired take on the history of Cleopatra. 

First and foremost, I found this book to be well written on many levels. There is a near poetic style to the narrative flow, and the main characters Amani and Philostratos are intimately and fully realized. But I'm legitimately torn between giving this 3 stars or 4. The characters are noble in their quest to save the history of their cultures during a time of war but, for me, it was easy to feel lost without a deeper knowledge of the history surrounding Cleopatra's reign.

I feel like if I knew more about that history, I would have gotten more out of the story. I would have better understood the logistics when it came to the historical power struggle. That’s what was missing for me. That’s what got me lost, a vague understanding of the politics fueling the overall mission.

That having been said, I think that anyone who has a deeper interest in the history of Cleopatra and ancient Egypt will really enjoy this take. The fan of Egyptian history will better understand the backstory of a number of secondary characters—sometimes historical figures—that were crucial to the plot. So, I’m hovering at a 3.7 or 3.8 rating that bumps this up to the 4.

You can find Steampunk Cleopatra here.

The End is Just the Beginning

Photo courtesy of imdb.com

It's December 31st, 2021 and Betty White has died.

"Awe, man! That sucks," is what I said after my son braced me for the most recent social media news I had yet to see.

Then I thought about it. Maybe it didn't suck in the way we are programmed to receive such news. Betty White, an icon for most of her 99 year life (so close to 100), the ray of sunshine that had carried us through these last three years of pandemic hell because she simply existed, has left us at the very bitter end of a very long tenure. 

Maybe her passing is her way of passing the baton. "It's been a good run, ladies and gentlemen. I've enjoyed being your symbol of hope, of cheer, of the promise that there is always a reason to laugh and smile. I hope I've taught you well. Now it's time for you to carry that baton for the generations to follow. Laugh. Enjoy life. Become a beloved example for your grandchildren to aspire to."

In short, I'm not going to mourn the death of Betty White. I'm going to celebrate her contribution to the world. Let's all thank Betty White for what she gave us through the end of 2021 and aspire to be the Betty Whites of 2022 and beyond.

God bless you, Betty White. Thanks for those memories.

The Woes of an Indie Author Re: Amazon Kindle

 Many apologies, if you have recently tried to find any of my titles in ebook form at Amazon and have been directed to their infamous "Oops! Sorry about that" page. It's like getting banned—for all the wrong reasons—all over again (refer to my previous blog post—and yes, I am writing this in my car. One day, I’m going to be famous and have stories to tell, like Rowling).

I haven’t been literally banned from Amazon. But there has been a disconnect in their system that has removed many titles associated with my publisher. I have been told that they are aware of it and that they are trying to fix it. How long it's going to take is the unknown.

Again, my apologies. A big chunk of my readership finds me through Amazon. But they are not the only place to find my ebooks. In fact, I get a bigger piece of the cut from sales at any of the links below. So help an indie author out and consider your purchase through these online retailers!

Also, thank you for your support!

BOOKBABY 

BARNES AND NOBLE

KOBO

APPLE BOOKS

NaNoWriMo and Getting Banned

 

NaNoWriMo is going to be a challenge this year, and not for the reasons you might think. For those of you unfamiliar with the acronym, November has been deemed National Novel Writing Month by the internet writer powers that be, and I’m all in. It's free and an opportunity to connect with other writers, and its sole purpose is to motivate writers to write.

The rules are pretty straightforward—reach a 50,000 word count by the end of the month. That's it. And there is no one monitoring your progress except you. I'm already "cheating," because the novel I’m working on is already well past the 50,000 word count in length, but I’m using the event to add to what I have while editing and restructuring at the same time. My current count is close to 70,000 words. By the end of the month, I might be down by 30,000. Who knows? And I will be counting this blog post as words on the page. You betcha! Because writing is writing as far as I’m concerned. And the focus of NaNoWriMo is not competitive in nature.

So why, you may ask, is this year going to be challenging for me? It's a weird little story. Embarrassing even. It's because I've been banned. And this is where some of you reading this blog post may decide I’m petty. Probably. But any names from this point forward will be changed to protect the innocent. Or the guilty, depending on your point of view.

I work in a small two room office doing billing for a service oriented company. There are 6 people in the office running the business side of things on most days. It doesn’t have a lunch room or even a bathroom. Terrible, you say! But not really. The business owners are members of a private club that resides next door, and we can use the bathrooms there. The place is also literally empty throughout most of the day Monday through Friday. Our office staff takes the club's deliveries, contacts their club management if we see anything in need of attention and lets outside maintenance and cleaning crews in when no one else is there to do it. This isn’t an occasional thing. It's daily.

This is also where I, being the only hourly employee in our office, go to eat my lunch. I’ve done it for five plus years. I can’t eat at my desk and take advantage of the moment to get in some lunch time writing. Can’t do it with other office staff around. They’re like most non writers. If they see you contemplating your iPad, they see no reason why they can't flag you down to chat. This isn’t a gripe, it's just the way it is and, recognizing this, I slip away to someplace quiet—the usually vacant club next door—where I can eat and write in relative peace.

Except that I've recently been banned. That's right. Banned. Why? Because I’m not a club member. And the incoming president of the club happened to show up one day and find me eating my lunch all alone in what is apparently his club. Because he's incoming president. And there are bylaws. I know, I know. Clubs have rules, and who am I to be Karening on because I don’t agree with rules?

Let's break down the day that I got banned. I was sitting alone eating my late lunch, when a maintenance man showed up to flush the beer lines behind the bar. No one was available at the club to help them. The place is locked without a key, but I was there, and I didn’t let him in because he never rang the doorbell. He did go to our office though, and someone from our office let him in twice. But since we couldn’t help the guy, and a call to the club's office manager ended up finding out that the bar manager needed to be there to supervise, he left. Not two minutes after he was gone, the incoming club president (I didn’t know this at the time) saunters in and gives me a look. I said, "Hey there! We didn’t know anyone was here. There was a guy who showed up to flush your beer lines, and he just left. You can still catch him if you need him."

The incoming president knew nothing about it and didn’t seem to care. Instead, he homed in on me. "Are you a member?"

Having eaten there on and off for five years with the knowledge of several club staff, I answered honestly. "I work next door. I'm just on my lunch break."

That's when he broke the news, and rather bluntly. I could no longer eat there. Only club members could be there. And when I tried to explain in shock that it hasn't been a problem for over five years, that my bosses were members of the club and that we did a lot for the club when no one was around to take their deliveries, etc., he looked at me flatly and shrugged. "Those are the rules. That's just what I was told."

When I asked who he was, I found out he was the incoming pres, and when I asked him to talk to the office manager, and to my bosses who were members, he said he would. He never did. But I did, and my employer was incensed when I told them, considering all that we do.  Meetings were held, and the acting committee of the club held firm. "You can do all the good things you do for our club when we aren’t there to do it. You can continue to use our bathrooms, but we shouldn’t even allow you that. And thank you for being such pleasant neighbors." I'm paraphrasing. I wasn’t part of the meeting. It was above my pay grade.

So in a nutshell, be quiet, be helpful, get banned. One more point for the decline of humanity. I will be spending my lunches at work sitting in a cramped car trying to write while trying to balance my cup o noodles on my knee and hoping it doesn’t spill. But I will get to claim a NaNoWriMo badge. The one you award yourself with when you're guilty of writing in unlikely or unusual places.

If you're a writer and don’t know about NaNoWriMo, check them out here. And join in!