What to do next?

mark@marktreble.com

Just sent Harassing, a new mystery in the Flint Files series, off to my editor. It’s not as dark as Taunting, and addresses a very real social issue: the invisibility of the homeless. I’ve laid the groundwork for volume three, Tyranny. Before I’m done, rural Louisiana might replace Cabot Cove, Maine, as the murder capital of the country.

I need to decide what to work on next.

Fans have asked for a fourth volume in the Finding Series, Mike and Luke’s intense bromance. I’ve started notes on it. I’m open to suggestions for a title, since Volume Three was Finding Closure. The manuscript for Did You Ever See Allegro?, the standalone tale of a 1969-1970 garage band, remains 70% complete and I should get back to it.

I’ve extracted the first two novellas in The Life of Kyle series from a manuscript too long to publish. I have another eight or ten yet to extract. These are written under my pen name Kyle Randolph, which I use for more explicit adult-oriented material. Volume One goes on free promotion August 11-12.

The Head Game, a sports comedy, is about 15% complete. I started it three years ago and two characters took over, insisting I tell their story about dealing with the aftermath of trauma. That became Four Seconds onthe Clock, and I’ve got much of Volume Three in that series conceptualized.

I’ve started Life Creates, third volume in the Life Stories series, and it will be the final volume. I have notes written for a drama sequel to the comedy The Trip to Helen Gawne; Dentist Elvis and Podiatrist Fran go on a medical mission to Africa.

Review of Carry The Ocean

,mark@marktreble.com

On a scale of one to five stars, this is a six.

Heidi Cullinan has done a masterful job of capturing the thoughts and lives of of two young men with difficult-to-comprehend conditions. Emmet is an ultra-high-functioning autistic. His memory is near-eiditic, his skills in understanding the real issues involved in a problem are astounding. Unlike neurotypicals, he can't read faces or body language, nor pick up on cues to peoples' emotions. He feels emotions deeply, but does not show them in ways most people can understand. He uses multiple coping mechanisms to center himself in the real world, such as rocking back and forth, humming and flapping his hands and arms. "Normal" people are sure he is a retarded freak. Cullinan lets us peek inside Emmet's mind and read his thoughts. She captured the autistic thinking processes accurately and sympathetically. I was astounded.

Jeremey contends with major depression disorder and clinical anxiety. He isn't just sad or worried, because neither condition is sadness and worry on steroids. They control every aspect of his life. He is convinced he's fundamentally bad, broken, undeserving and hopeless, and lives in constant fear of being wrong and ridiculed. "Normal" people want him to 'snap out of it.' or 'try harder.' The unfortunate truth is that his brain wiring and chemistry bar him from ever snapping out of anything, and use trying harder to make things worse. Cullinan captures the thinking process of major depression and clinical anxiety far better than most, but that is merely a very difficult task. Unlike capturing the thinking processes of an autistic, which few neurotypicals other than psychiatrists or neuroscientists can even attempt.

The author develops the characters well. The book is appropriately paced, the plot easy to follow, the dialog accurate and easy to understand. Secondary characters are sketched, not painted, but that's OK. Otherwise they might interfere with appreciating her superb presentation of the main characters' thoughts.

Yes, the two men fall in love. A reader may choose to enjoy the love story, which is well worth doing for that purpose alone. Readers who recognize Cullinan's extraordinary grasp of the minds and thoughts of also-normal-but-very-different people will be rewarded many times over.

Finding Friendship on free ptomotion

mark@marktreble.com

Finding Friendship, Volume One of the Finding Series, will be on free promotion June 2 and June 3, 2018. Gay Book Reviews awarded the book a four-star rating, and said “This book left me riling for more. So much so that I went ahead and read the rest of the series. Going to be honest, if you start this book be prepared to get the other two in the series …”

Harassing on Pause

mark@marktreble.com

Stepping back from Harassing to do some rewrite. I’m happy with the plot and the characters, but it’s a mystery and there ought to be a lot more mysterious stuff going on. I’ve asked a couple of readers for help, and should be back in the saddle shortly.