Monday, June 30, 2014

He's a Thief, He's a Liar, He's a Treetop Flyer...

© by Gerald So | geraldso.blogspot.com

With nods to Steve Miller and Stephen Stills and featuring John Ricotta's C.J. Stone theme, here's a trailer I made to promote Pulp Modern #7 and my new Stone story "King of the Sea":

At The Five Two: "Left Hook Tony" by Catfish McDaris

© by Gerald So | geraldso.blogspot.com

Catfish McDaris returns with a poem read by ring announcer and fellow Five-Two alum Steve Peacock:




Today, June 30, is the last day to submit to The Five Two's summer crime poetry contest.

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Pulp Modern #7

© by Gerald So | geraldso.blogspot.com

I'm pleased to have a new story, "King of the Sea", in the "Thieves and Liars" issue of Alec Cizak's Pulp Modern, now on sale.

"King of the Sea" is my tenth story about 1930s aviator C.J. Stone and the first Stone story in a commercial print journal.

My fellow Issue 7 contributors are Tom Barlow, Patrick Chambers, C.J. Edwards, Richard Godwin, Edward A. Grainger, Ken Miller, Ross Peterson, Chris Rhatigan, Mike Sheedy, and Robb White. I hope you enjoy and review.

Monday, June 23, 2014

At The Five-Two: "Girls' Night Out" by Kayla Wheeler

© by Gerald So | geraldso.blogspot.com

This week's poem was chosen by guest editor and Voice of the Five-Two Annabelle Edwards, "Girls' Night Out" by New Hampshire slam poet Kayla Wheeler:




I'm seeking original poems to be published at The Five-Two this July and August. Following the usual guidelines, combine the themes of summer and crime and submit by Monday, June 30.

Sunday, June 22, 2014

The Right Person in the Right Place at the Right Time

© by Gerald So | geraldso.blogspot.com

A member of one of my discussion lists wrote me yesterday that he recognized one of a novel's plot twists from a movie, killing the novel's suspense for him and lessening his interest in reading on.

I replied that another friend brought up the same movie when he read the novel, but I hadn't seen the movie, so it didn't affect my read. I don't think the author was paying homage to the movie, but I don't mind homages, either.

A novel may share plot points with a movie, TV episode, or another novel. Because their characters are different, the two have the potential to play out differently. That potential holds my interest.

Friday, June 20, 2014

Summer Crime Poetry Contest - Deadline: June 30, 2014

© by Gerald So | geraldso.blogspot.com

I'm seeking original poems to be published at The Five-Two this July and August. Following the usual guidelines, combine the themes of summer and crime and submit by Monday, June 30.

Monday, June 16, 2014

At The Five Two: "Vandals" by Wilda Morris

© by Gerald So | geraldso.blogspot.com

In this week's poem, Wilda Morris offers a glimpse at one crime and two very different paths the perpetrators' lives could have taken:

Team Basketball

© by Gerald So | geraldso.blogspot.com

There's a brand of basketball any fan can enjoy beyond loyalty to any one player, city, or team. Besides beating the star-driven Miami Heat this season, Gregg Popovich and his players should be applauded for their team-first mentality in this increasingly me-first era.

Championships and short championship runs can be bought. Fifteen years of excellence such as the Spurs have had can only be earned. As LeBron James praised them for playing "team basketball the way it should be played," I wished "basketball" were understood to be the the team game and only "one-on-one basketball" needed to be distinguished.

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Father's Day

© by Gerald So | geraldso.blogspot.com

If I bought my father a tie or gadget for Father's Day, he'd smile and say hollowly, "Just what I needed." Then he'd put it away until truly needed.

I can only imagine my father's childhood wasn't particular happy. While his mother favored him and then his younger brother over two older and one younger sisters, his father didn't spare the rod.

Later in life, his older sisters settled in California, his younger brother in Australia, only his younger sister staying in the Philippines. Twenty years ago, my uncle visited from Australia, and I finally met and happily bonded with his three daughters and one son.

One of his daughters, now a lawyer, visited briefly yesterday and revealed that she had phoned my father asking whether she should pursue medicine at university. My father, pediatric surgeon, advised her not to become a doctor because she wouldn't get to spend time with her family.

It's true my father worked while other dads coached or played ball with their sons, but I never felt deprived, in part because I often woke up when my father received early-morning calls and sat with him while he had coffee and an orange before heading out. Since his death in 2001, Father's Day has been a muted celebration for me, best spent quietly remembering our time together.

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Bracken MacLeod talks WHITE KNIGHT

© by Gerald So | geraldso.blogspot.com

This week at Chatterrific, I interviewed Bracken MacLeod, author of the just-released novella White Knight from One Eye Press.


Monday, June 09, 2014

At The Five-Two: "Joy Wears a Stocking Mask" by Catherine Wald

© by Gerald So | geraldso.blogspot.com

Catherine Wald returns to The Five-Two with "Joy Wears a Stocking Mask":



June 23 guest editor Annabelle Edwards has chosen "Girls Night Out" by New Hampshire poet Kayla Wheeler.

I'm seeking a female reader to record June 16's poem, "Vandals" by Wilda Morris. Email me at G_SO at YAHOO dot COM if interested.

Sunday, June 08, 2014

If you don't know me by now...

© by Gerald So | geraldso.blogspot.com

You can find out a bit in this interview conducted by Catfish McDaris.

Sharapova Wins Ugly

© by Gerald So | geraldso.blogspot.com

Yesterday Maria Sharapova won her fourth 3-set match of this year's French Open to claim her fifth Grand Slam title. In the three rounds previous, Sharapova dropped the first set but rallied to victory as other top players bowed out. In the final, she let an early lead slip away, but toughed out a three-hour battle with fourth-seeded Simona Halep of Romania 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-4. Now having won twenty consecutive three-setters on clay, this was certainly well earned.

Saturday, June 07, 2014

THE LION'S GAME by Nelson DeMille

© by Gerald So | geraldso.blogspot.com

My friend Andrew Carbone recommended The Lion's Game in mid-2000. Its protagonist, retired NYPD Det. John Corey, had previously appeared in Plum Island, and has since starred in four follow-ups. The Lion's Game concerns a Libyan terrorist who announces his intention to defect to the United States. Before he can be met by Corey and Anti-Terrorism Task Force colleagues, he escapes custody and takes vengeance on some participants in the U.S.'s 1986 bombing of Libya.

Andrew thought I would enjoy Corey, who narrates parts of the novel in world-weary, wisecracking fashion. I did, but the novel is almost 1,000 pages, interspersed with scenes of The Lion's killing spree. I remember being skeptical of how well any writer could get into the mind of a terrorist. The Lion's actions only mattered to me in light of Corey reaction to them, but particularly in the aftermath of 9/11 I couldn't bring myself to finish reading.

I came back to the novel yesterday, knowing Corey marries his co-worker FBI agent Kate Mayfield, who is introduced in The Lion's Game, and co-stars in the four subsequent books. Originally not intended for a series, Corey is deliberately politically incorrect, making his and Kate's developing love all the more fascinating and—I'll say it—believable.

I've still only read the parts narrated by Corey, but then that is Corey's full experience of the novel's events.

Monday, June 02, 2014

Pirates!

© by Gerald So | geraldso.blogspot.com

Once upon a web search dreary, I discovered a post I wrote and posted to this blog pirated in its entirety, without attribution, on an otherwise Spanish language blog featuring risque ads.

It's not enough to make me quit blogging, but I'm looking to make my posts recognizable as mine. I've added a byline that pirate bots may not bother to delete, and I, Gerald So, may refer to myself in the third person once per entry as another way of putting my stamp on things.

At The Five-Two: "Muse Noir" by Mehnaz Sahibzada

© by Gerald So | geraldso.blogspot.com

This week's Five-Two poet turns the classic concept of a muse on its head: