Fourteen chapters are done. Two more are planned this week. Though they make up just a fraction of the ninety I have outlined in my notes, they represent a significant start. My latest work in progress, book two of the Second Chance trilogy, is under way.
This book will be different in one respect. Unlike my first twenty-one novels, it will not include an act of time travel. It will instead follow the lives of three time travelers as they build families, careers, and relationships in Greater New York City in 1911 and 1912.
Annie Carpenter will get a star turn in this one. Now a society reporter of twenty, she will step onto a very public stage. She will find adventure, growth, and romance in unlikely places.
Brothers Bill and Paul and in-laws Cassie and Andy will also shine. As young people with big dreams, they will seize opportunities and seek answers in a thriving metropolis. The will build on the foundations they laid in The Fountain, the series' first book.
Like in the The Fountain, I will blend fiction and fact. I will bookend a long historical epic with the most notable disasters of the age: the Triangle Shirtwaist fire and the sinking of the RMS Titanic.
I am still working on a title and a cover concept. As for the novel itself, I hope to have a completed draft by March 1 and a completed book by May 1. As always, I will post updates along the way.
Tuesday, November 22, 2022
Tuesday, November 8, 2022
Review: Around the World ...
I admit I did not read the novel, the one by Jules Verne, or see the movie, the one that won Best Picture in 1956, but I have always been intrigued by the story. For that reason alone, I rushed to see the newest rendition of Around the World in 80 Days.
The eight-episode miniseries, set in 1872, is an imaginative production that captures the essence of cultures from Britain, France, and Italy to Arabia, India, and the United States.
David Tennant stars as Phileas Fogg, an Englishman who wagers that he can travel around the world in 80 days. Ibrahim Koma and Leonie Benesch shine as Jean Passepartout and Abigail Fix Fortescue, the wealthy eccentric's travel companions.
Though I liked the settings and the plot, I most enjoyed the primary characters. All bring something to the story. Each wrestles with a personal demon. All come to appreciate the others when their lives and fortunes are on the line. I also liked that the series, which debuted on PBS in January, did not shy away from difficult topics, like racism, sexism, colonialism, and bitter family disputes.
There is also adventure. From balloon rides, train trips, and perilous voyages to encounters with bad guys, Around the World in 80 Days delivers the goods. It provides the kind of compelling old-fashioned entertainment that is often in short supply. Rating: 5/5.
The eight-episode miniseries, set in 1872, is an imaginative production that captures the essence of cultures from Britain, France, and Italy to Arabia, India, and the United States.
David Tennant stars as Phileas Fogg, an Englishman who wagers that he can travel around the world in 80 days. Ibrahim Koma and Leonie Benesch shine as Jean Passepartout and Abigail Fix Fortescue, the wealthy eccentric's travel companions.
Though I liked the settings and the plot, I most enjoyed the primary characters. All bring something to the story. Each wrestles with a personal demon. All come to appreciate the others when their lives and fortunes are on the line. I also liked that the series, which debuted on PBS in January, did not shy away from difficult topics, like racism, sexism, colonialism, and bitter family disputes.
There is also adventure. From balloon rides, train trips, and perilous voyages to encounters with bad guys, Around the World in 80 Days delivers the goods. It provides the kind of compelling old-fashioned entertainment that is often in short supply. Rating: 5/5.
Tuesday, November 1, 2022
Review: All Quiet on the WF
Like a lot of history buffs, I have a fascination with World War I. I have read the books, seen the movies, and featured the war as a backdrop in two — and soon to be three — of my novels.
So when I saw that Netflix was showing a new remake of perhaps the conflict's greatest story, I rushed to see it. I found All Quiet on the Western Front as riveting as anything I have seen in years.
Like Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima, All Quiet examines the horrors of war from the perspective of the losing side.
Felix Kammerer stars as Paul Bäumer, a starry-eyed German boy who dreams of guts and glory in 1917. The 17-year-old finds all that and more after he is sent to the Western Front, a 400-mile-long system of trenches that stretched across northern France.
Though the 2022 German remake focuses on the big picture, it does not neglect the small. It presents the ugliness and randomness of war through a series of compelling personal narratives.
The flick also reminds viewers of World War I's most tragic footnote. Thousands of soldiers on all sides died between the signing of the armistice of November 1918 and its implementation.
Historian Joseph Persico estimated that 10,900 were killed or wounded or went missing in the war's final act. He examined that unfortunate development at length in Eleventh Month, Eleventh Day, Eleventh Hour, an interesting work I read a few years back.
Though All Quiet on the Western Front is gritty and violent at times, it is nonetheless well worth the time. I recommend it both as a movie and as a tribute to the soldiers who fell on November 11, 1918, the day that inspired our Veteran's Day holiday. Rating: 5/5.
So when I saw that Netflix was showing a new remake of perhaps the conflict's greatest story, I rushed to see it. I found All Quiet on the Western Front as riveting as anything I have seen in years.
Like Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima, All Quiet examines the horrors of war from the perspective of the losing side.
Felix Kammerer stars as Paul Bäumer, a starry-eyed German boy who dreams of guts and glory in 1917. The 17-year-old finds all that and more after he is sent to the Western Front, a 400-mile-long system of trenches that stretched across northern France.
Though the 2022 German remake focuses on the big picture, it does not neglect the small. It presents the ugliness and randomness of war through a series of compelling personal narratives.
The flick also reminds viewers of World War I's most tragic footnote. Thousands of soldiers on all sides died between the signing of the armistice of November 1918 and its implementation.
Historian Joseph Persico estimated that 10,900 were killed or wounded or went missing in the war's final act. He examined that unfortunate development at length in Eleventh Month, Eleventh Day, Eleventh Hour, an interesting work I read a few years back.
Though All Quiet on the Western Front is gritty and violent at times, it is nonetheless well worth the time. I recommend it both as a movie and as a tribute to the soldiers who fell on November 11, 1918, the day that inspired our Veteran's Day holiday. Rating: 5/5.
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