First Word

  I am focused on writing right now. I had a discussion with a fellow writer about writing and rewriting. She mentioned that authors like James Patterson focus on the rewrites to find the genius in the work. I’m not a Patterson reader so I can’t speak to his work. I mostly get it down in a single draft, which is different from others. I’m naturally not opposed to rewriting, and in some cases, I do revisions. However, for the most part I seem to get it down in the first draft. In another discussion, one of my friends asked how I managed to get it right the first time. I acknowledged I don’t always get it down, but I would say at least 85 percent of it. As a professional writer, I am the same with my magazine articles. I get a first draft down pretty easily.   How do I do it? (And Friend-Os, adopt your own style and what’s right for you.) When I worked in corporate, I almost felt guilty for sitting idle just to think. I am a doer and work hard. So, I don’t like...

So when the day arrived that Kevin pulled up in an Uber car to be dropped off for treatment, no one realized that her ex-husband had become a new patient. Merry stood at the window on the top floor and pulled back the Venetian blinds to watch Kevin exit the cab to Ms. Fisher’s care. Looking down on her pitiful ex-husband made her feel almost smug. She felt a surge of electrical energy pulse through her body. She couldn’t help but chuckle a little as she watched him trudge in. She wondered if Judge Wilson, who had sentenced Kevin after he got busted in a drug raid with Jude, realized where he had sent Kevin. “Probably not,” she whispered and laughed aloud.

Three months later Frank had become a complete drug addict. OxyoNtin was but one of his drugs du jour. After enjoying the incredible numbing effect of OxyoNtin, Frank easily moved to heroine after they busted a runner coming up Highway 5 to make a delivery. Frank initially swiped just a little and found he loved the instant high and the sensation of caring about nothing. At first, he thought he could handle it. He would only inject the junk at night or on weekends, but a casual dalliance soon got out of control.

Vengeance is Now (The Tate Holloway Series) Scott D. Roberts 3L Publishing (2013) ISBN 9780989136006 Reviewed by Tamra LeValley for Reader Views (9/13) Click here for review on Reader Views What is a disgraced ex-cop to do?  Open up a Private Investigator firm, become a gigolo and surf the waves to your heart’s content, of course.  In “Vengeance is Now” by Scott D. Roberts, that is what Tate Holloway did anyway and he was doing a darn good job too.  He was kicked off the police force for asking all the wrong questions about a case that he thought should not have been closed.  The real killer was just waiting in the wings to start his killing spree again and to have his nemesis, Tate, take the fall.  It was fail proof, wasn’t it?  This story starts with the tragic upbringing of a young boy who is traumatized by his sister’s consistent rapes and their mother’s inability to help herself, let alone her children.  They are eventually...