UNTAMED IS FREE – 1ST 100

UNTAMED -- BACK STORY

Characters, Curtis Dawson and RC Bellars were created in my novel, PARTNERS back in 1981.  They remained true-to-form in the second writing of PARTNERS (partners 2.0) and also into the screenplay, PARTNERS.   The script was optioned but the movie was never made so the script rights were returned.  Several years later a producer of some merit wanted me to write five (5) screenplays for a mini-series on HBO; all on Spec, of course… Negotiations lasted almost a year.  In that time frame I began sketching shorts of some of the experiences, Rick and I had either been directly involved in or had witnessed firsthand.  The stories seemed to grow in my mind and I was almost finished with the first screenplay before the negotiations were complete.

I finally condescended when the producer sent me a check for ten grand; once he approved one, he would send me ten thousand for each following script; for a total of $50,000. 

I wrote two prequels to the Partners screenplay.  NO WAY & UP NORTH.  I then spent some time rewriting PARTNERS so the three scripts would fit together smoothly.  Later, I wrote TRUST ME.  All of these screenplays were stand-alone movies; two hours in length.  I sent this guy the two prequels and he was supposed to send me another ten grand.  That didn’t happen but I kept writing anyway. 

At no time in all of this non-communication had I signed over any rights. The end of the story?  NOTHING!  Never a peep or a centavo mas. So, I had four screenplays with no buyer.  I turned the internet and the mail service black with submissions to producers and directors.  After a couple of years of this lame nonsense, I discovered e-books. I posted the screenplays on line and sold a few…the format is entirely wrong for the Kindle and Nook.   I decided to write the screenplays into novels.  That was the case with NO WAY and UP NORTH.  Combined they became the outline for UNTAMED. All the incidents in the screenplays were based on experiences my riding partner, Rick, and I had back in our earlier years.  The 1970’s and early 1980’s seem a long way back in history for some of the younger generation. For Rick and me this was the last of the truly ‘OLD WEST’ experiences.  The RIDE, ROPE & SHOOT, was leaving the west; we were the ones waving goodbye. That mentality and value set may be depicted in novels or movies but in real life; it’s gone.  It was a fun time in our lives and I really enjoyed writing the scripts and later the novel.  I’ve yet to turn TRUST ME into a novel. I’m 26,000 words into the conversion. 

UNTAMED has received 5 star reviews from those who have discovered the novel. 

MY PERSONAL HISTORY WITH OZONE THERAPY

Yesterday, I sent the manuscript for a small booklet concerning Ozone Therapy to my editor.  Periodically I will post excerpts from this manuscript.  Unlike my other books, this is not fiction.  It's an abstract -- a truthful accounting of my association with this form of alternative medicine. Comments are welcome.

I took my first Ozone injection from an Ozone Therapy practitioner in Arizona, fourteen years ago. I had accompanied my riding partner, Rick, to one of his therapy sessions in an attempt to reverse and eliminate his prostate cancer. My friend had been taking these injections for the better part of a month and had experienced excellent results. The ozone generator was a one-of-a-kind custom made in 1957. The unit produced strong and consistent O3.

The practitioner (Doctor Carl) hooked a butterfly needle to a glass syringe and filled the needle and tube with saline solution. He squeezed out some saline to assure there was no ambient air in the needle, disconnected the syringe and capped the tube. He then filled the syringe with OZONE GAS and placed the syringe back on the butterfly needle tube. He inserted the needle into Rick’s vein (on the inside of his elbow) He slowly injected the gas into RC’s vein. (I was expecting to have to give mouth-to-mouth to my riding partner when I witnessed the gas disappearing into his bloodstream. I wasn’t fond of the prospect)

Rick took 75 cc’s without batting an eye. This was his twelfth session with Doctor Carl and the dosage was increased each time.

Two days later, I returned with RC and mustered the courage to take 30 cc’s — just for grins. (see chapter FOUR for my first major malady)

The injection I received was slightly uncomfortable but not so much that I avoided using this therapy (30 - 60 cc’s) to prevent any maladies. A month later the practitioner informed us he no longer had an Ozone generator. The one he had been using was a borrowed unit and the owner needed it returned. By this time Rick had been given a clean bill of health by the medical community — the doctor and the lab. He no longer required extensive treatments but another patient of the practitioner was mid-way through her cervical cancer treatment.

Rick, Doctor Carl, and I began looking for another Ozone generator. We bought seven different units from various parts of the world over a period of eight months. None of them were satisfactory. The injections and healing capabilities were substandard. RC invested over eight-thousand dollars with a guy who claimed he could build one using the transformer from a neon lighting system. I guess the eight-thousand wasn’t enough. The clown never produced anything. Meanwhile I was off on one of my adventures to Central America and had the good fortune to run into a former “Share the Wealth” client in the airport in Mexico City. We each had a three hour layover to catch-up after fifteen years of no contact.

BACKSTORY: At one time Ian and I had worked together to install my performance bonus system (STW)in a company he was running in Seattle. His position as the CEO was specifically orchestrated to ‘operate and enhance’ the large corporation for its founder who wanted to sell out. The founder and majority stockholder, Peter Brockman, had learned he was suffering from colon cancer. The doctors prognosis was grim — he had less than a year to live when I arrived on the scene. To shorten the story I was able to install my system; six months later we had ‘dressed up the bride’ and I was instrumental in procuring a buyer for the business. Meanwhile, the clock was ticking on Brockman. He left the USA and searched for alternate forms of cancer treatment; first in Mexico and finally Costa Rica. He purchased a nice estate on the coast Costa Rica in Guanacaste province and of course proved everyone wrong by using his genius mind.

Peter had been taking Ozone Therapy from a unlicensed practitioner in Liberia, Costa Rica. The man used a generator that was strong but was still a corona discharge unit. Peter was taking injections every day so he was experiencing considerable pain because of the unstable effect of straight corona. His genius went to work and he designed an built the prototype of the machines now being built in Nogales, Mexico — the ones I use. Brockman cured his cancer with the use of his newly designed Ozone Generator. By the time I accidentally ran into Ian at the airport terminal in Mexico City, Brockman had been in business for several years, producing the Ozone generators he credited with saving his life and the lives of others. He’d hired Ian to take over the robust business. Ian’s mission was to relocate the factory to Mexico; specifically Nogales on the border with Arizona.

When I asked why the relocation to Nogales from Costa Rica, Ian issued a tirade against the Costa Rican government and their international trade policies.

Not to digress any further, I was able to acquire one of the Brockman designed Ozone Generators. The price back then was $3000.00. It changed my life and actually saved my life years later.

BACKSTORY – SHOOTER

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2013, IS THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY.

SHOOTER, my latest novel, is FREE NOVEMBER 21ST & 22ND IN HONOR OF THAT TRAGIC EVENT.

These are my loglines:

A PROVOCATIVE insight into several historic events; did they really happen the way it was recorded in history? Who were the actual shooters when Kennedy was assassinated? Who was responsible?

A FICTIONAL PEEK at what may have transpired on November, 22, 1963. Was the Hooker family really involved? This novel suggests that perhaps some other set of circumstances were responsible for the killing of President Kennedy. Three generations of shooters were responsible for changing history.

KENNEDY KILLER --Three generations of professional assassins? Breeding warped and twisted individuals that kill for money? Is it possible? Meet the Hookers—a family steeped in tradition and bloodshed – absolute history changers. Inez Hooker and her half brother, Tom decide to take on the WPG so they can retire and live normal lives. They are constantly haunted by the knowledge that their grandfather fired the fatal shot in Dealy Plaza, November 22, 1963. SHOOTER --A provocative story laced with truths, speculations, and myths.

These three promo-leaders are being used to promote my latest novel, SHOOTER. As you can tell by the inferences, my novel deals in a way with the assassination of President Kennedy.

Writing SHOOTER was the most difficult novel I’ve ever attempted. Not because of the extensive research but because it resurrected my inner rage – the knowing that as a US citizen I was expected to believe and embrace the ‘big lie’! The government of the United States of America treated me and every other citizen like an enemy. It was the beginning of hard times for people of my generation. Our parents were of the World War II and Great Depression era. They understood how the world worked. They knew or suspected our government was not clean. The Kennedy Assassination and the subsequent cover-up proved to our generation how tainted our elected and appointed officials had become. Factor in the war in Vietnam, the horrible racial discrimination that prevailed, and you had the perfect ingredients for civil unrest. Two decades of unrest – demonstrations, riots, police brutality…you name it. The 60’s and 70’s were awash in turmoil. It was us against them -- the citizens against the government. It all started in 1963 -- November 22nd to be exact.

One of my beta readers questioned the incest I have depicted two of my characters experiencing. They wondered why.

The morning I learned Kennedy had been assassinated, I was cutting firewood for my parents. I was totally shocked so I opted to quit the task and check the news. First, though It was necessary to put away the splitting maul, ax, and wedges.  The tool shed was near the back fence of their lot.  I nodded to their neighbor, Lenny. He was a crusty old man; my dad like him – my mom didn’t. I asked him if he’d heard about Kennedy.

Here’s his reply. “Yeah, I jest saw it on the TV news. Cronkite is bawlin’ like a little gurl.”

Lenny paused and I could see tears forming in his eyes behind the thick lenses of his spectacles. “Whoever shot our President is a bunch of dirty, rotten, motherfuckers!” he exclaimed as he turned and walked away.

So, recalling that expletive from long ago, I took that declaration of the ultimate incestuous vulgarity and modified it to show how twisted people can become; how they kill for money.

Below are some of the excerpts from SHOOTER beginning with my opening disclaimer.

A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR This is a novel – a work of fiction. Perhaps I should repeat this in capital letters. THIS IS A NOVEL – A WORK OF FICTION. However, it does contain a bit of actual history concerning the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. I wrote this novel to entertain the readers. I did not write it to open a debate that has been ongoing for almost fifty years!

A PERSONAL ASIDE: I was taught about firearms at a very early age. My family was never opposed to guns; they embraced them and considered them tools — not weapons. We respected their killing ability but never abused their use. As a family of hunters, we knew what the various cartridges and loads and what rifles were best. We owned and used a lot of them over the years. I was sucked in by the mail order company that sold the Italian rifle to Oswald, so my dad and I knew when we saw a photo on TV of the weapon supposedly used to kill Kennedy, it was bogus. My dad's exact words were: “This is a crock of shit being tossed at us! That couldn’t have been the weapon used, and there had to be multiple shooters.”

I agreed then, and I agree now — fifty years later. We were all duped by our own inept government, who did a lousy job of covering up that heinous crime.

The following is what Wikipedia says — the official line.

Kennedy was fatally shot by a sniper while traveling with his wife Jacqueline, Texas Governor John Connally, and Connally's wife Nellie, in a presidential motorcade. A ten-month investigation in 1963–64 by the Warren Commission concluded that Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald, acting alone, and that Jack Ruby also acted alone when he killed Oswald before he could stand trial. Although the Commission's conclusions were initially supported by a majority of the American public,[3] polls conducted between 1966 and 2003 found that as many as 80 percent of Americans have suspected that there was a plot or cover-up.[4][5]

In contrast to the conclusions of the Warren Commission, the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) concluded in 1978 that Kennedy was probably assassinated as a result of a conspiracy.[6] The HSCA found the original FBI investigation and the Warren Commission Report to be seriously flawed.

This novel is not meant to dispute the Warren Commission or any other commission reports. My intention, as I mentioned in the beginning paragraph, is to entertain. If you choose to reconsider or doubt as you read the story, then I’ve done my job in crafting this novel. A WORD OF CAUTION. SHOOTER contains some racy scenes. It’s not XXX, but one should be aware from the outset. Also, at the beginning of each chapter, I have included a portion of the witness statements. Most of these were lifted right out of the Warren Commission report. Some were from interviews given to the FBI and to the media. Any excerpts taken from the Warren Commission report or other sources, as well as personal remembrances, were not edited or changed in any way by me or my editing team. If you’ve read some of my Jimmy Hart novels, you will see some familiar characters. However, this novel is in no way part of that MURDER IN PANAMA action-adventure series.

A footnote or afterthoughts of this event appears at the end of the novel. My summary is mostly editorial from my research and personal experiences. I also elaborate on rifles in the Gun section.

In researching the event, I often asked people I knew what they were doing and what they were thinking when they learned of the assassination. One hundred percent could tell me exactly where they were and what they were doing at the time. I’ve compiled a series of stories from these individuals. They are listed in the stern of this vessel of fiction. The section is entitled REMEMBRANCES.

Robert Hatting

One of the critical aspects in Warren Commission Report on the assassination was the rifle supposedly used by Lee Harvey Oswald to shoot Kennedy. Their conclusion was that Oswald worked alone and all the shots were fired from his perch on the 6th floor of the Texas School Book depository. In the novel I included a photo of the Italian rifle they found on the 6th floor. Interestingly, Oswald tested negative for Gunshot residue and the scope on the rifle was poorly mounted and was ‘wiggly loose’ when it was discovered.

Here’s section of the novel titled; GUNS

AUTHOR’S NOTE. In 1963, I ordered a rifle exactly like the one shown above (without the scope). I ordered it by mail — paid $19.95 with a postal money order. The rifle arrived six weeks later (this was in May, 1963). One box of 6.55mm ammo was included (20 rounds). The first thing I did was clean and oil the action and the barrel. My dad and I bore sighted the unit and then took it to the rifle range near our home in Salem, Oregon. My father and I set up a target at 30 yards. We fired alternately and neither of us could hit the 2’ x 2’ square target paper, let alone the circles within the target. Twenty rounds, and we missed with every shot. The range master laughed at us when he saw the weapon. “Lemme guess,” he yelled. “A wop Mauser?”

My dad walked over to the man and handed him the Italian Mauser. The guy took one look at it and handed it back. “Never was and never will be,” he said.

“Never was what?” my dad asked.

“Never was a person that could hit anything with those crappy rifles, and there never will be!” he exclaimed.

A year later, I learned that the range master was the owner of a gun shop and was considered to be a master gunsmith. I purchased a rifle like the one shown below (without the scope) from him and had the barrel shortened so I could use it on horseback. Two years later, Winchester released the ‘carbine 88’ that was akin to the unit I had customized.

Although SHOOTER is a work of fiction, it contains facts concerning the killings of many high profile individuals over the span of three generations.

Tres Piedras – Back-Story

Revisited -- FREE TO THE 1^ST 100 TODAY!

 

My twelfth novel has been getting a lot of attention.  I suspect it is because it is Waaaaayyyyy out of my normal genre and style. 

I just finished this book. I couldn't put it down. This book kept me so excited to I couldn't put it down. A little graphic for me at times but it was needed to complete the story. Good book Robert, now I start UNTAMED.

This was written by a friend that went to high school with me.  I haven’t seen her since 1960. She’s one of the few that will post on my FB page.  Most readers won’t post a review.  Instead, they find my address on this blog and send me a private note.  Some even point out a typo or misspelled word.  (That hasn’t happened often since I discovered Melissa Gray, my new editor.) I get a dozen private emails (always positive) to every posted review on Amazon. It’s rewarding to receive so many positive comments; especially from old friends and associates. However, the private e-mails don’t advance my standing with Amazon.  Only multiple sales with positive reviews will increase one’s ranking. 

TRES PIEDRAS was inspired by a lady friend but the idea for the title and the overall story line was formulated in my mind while visiting an archeological site here in Panama.

Inspecting the tools of the pre-Colombians and then witnessing the current culture, it occurred to me that not much has changed in the cooking department.  In the cities, the Panamanian ladies have mostly modern kitchens.  In the country and even the small towns, they still use open fires outside under a thatched roof ‘rancho’ or bohio if you prefer.  A stand made of concrete blocks or stones raised the fire pit to counter height.  It’s the only improvement they’ve made since man discovered fire.  Panamanian kitchens often are so sparse that it takes them two hours to prepare a simple meal and up to four hours for a multiple course dinner. Some only use the TRES PIEDRAS and open fires for special events or special dishes; like their version of the tamale.  Other folks like the employees on some of the farms and the indigenous on the reservations (carmaca), have very little choice.  Their cooking occurs in the same fashion as it did thousands of years ago.

One of the reasons given by Panamanians is that cooking outside keeps their homes cooler.  The same reason they give for not having ovens; just 2-4 burner propane burners. So basically there is very little baking done in the more ‘traditional’ homes.  I personally don’t understand this problem.  My ancestors have been using outside ovens for centuries.  The Mexicans use ceramic ovens outside.  Woodstoves placed in these bohio’s would be so much more efficient.  They wouldn’t rust out if maintained correctly.  As an alternative, they could use a buried cast iron pan.  I have used the old fashioned “Dutch Ovens” for years.  I’m about to introduce the method to a few of my Panamanian friends.

My brother sent me some of my belongings he had stored in his basement.  One of them was a large Dutch oven. It was necessary to remove all the rust and take the unit back to almost bare metal.  Then I ‘seasoned’ it in a campfire, cleaned it again with a solution of Hydrogen peroxide and baking soda.  Then it was baked for several hours.  I baked a loaf of bread in the unit a couple of days ago and a double batch today.

My next step is take the unit to my  friend’s farm, start a campfire, dig a hole next to the fire and once the bread has risen in the Dutch oven, I’ll shovel some coals into the hole, lower the Dutch oven into the hole, shovel more coals on to the lid and around the sides and cover the unit with a banana leaf.  Placing a layer of dirt on top of that will finalize the ‘cowboy oven’. TRES PIEDRAS – enhanced!

I’ll use this unit sparingly.  I have a first rate bread machine and a Crockpot.

Over the years I’ve cooked everything imaginable in this ‘cowboy cook pot’. This is the original slow cooker.  Biscuits, bread, lamb stew, venison and elk roasts, beef stew & roasts and my favorite; cowboy chili. While fishing in Alaska, a similar in size Dutch oven without the tripod legs, resided on my diesel stove; It was cooking 24/7; crab, halibut, shrimp, salmon, ling cod, black cod, and even venison or moose stew once in a while.

This quite a segue from the back story of TRES PIEDRAS and yet it isn’t. Backward thinking is the primary reason we have so many wars in the world; the reason many cultures don’t advance and consequently become extinct.  Look at the Native American Indian.  They were introduced to the wheel by the Spaniards.  The never adopted it and continued to transverse the countryside’s with dogs and women packing their stuff.  They did adopt the horse as a means of transportation.  Then they let the horse pull a travois.

Having a horse pack some belongings is akin to moving the fire pit from the ground up to counter height.  A small advance but still really archaic thinking.  That’s the premise behind my novel.  TRES PIEDRAS thinking – in a modern romance. The action adventure of this novel is just my imagination embellishing my own personal experiences.

The boat trip from Oregon to Panama is a composite of several voyages on several different boats.

  Years ago I’d met a guy on a dock in Anacortes, Washington who looking for a deckhand for his 46’ sailboat.  He needed to move it from Seattle to Newport, Oregon.  My big boat was in dry dock getting a new Garber seam and some additional ironbark added to the hull. I had time to kill so I decided to join him in his adventure.

Over the years, this friend and I stayed in touch and each time he needed to make a passage, I was able to help him move his boat further and further south.  We finally ended up in Boca Chica, Panama, fifteen years later. 
http://www.amazon.com/TRES-PIEDRAS-Robert-Hatting-ebook/dp/B00DFCSYEY/ref=sr_1_14?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1384681481&sr=1-14&keywords=robert+hatting  

OZONE GENERATORS – An authority? Not!

I am neither an Engineer nor a technician. I’m a user of Ozone Therapy with extensive experience concerning my personal health and those close to me. I’ve been exposed to this alternative medicine since 1997. I’ve owned Nineteen different types of ozone generators. A few were mediocre — okay for ozonating water and olive oil. Most were substandard and only one model is superior. How do I judge the units?  Simple -- by the smoothness.  That’s because I take ozone directly into the bloodstream. The unit produces concentrated ozone+. My blood absorbs this right away — smoothly and painlessly. (with a substandard or mediocre machine I experience pain)

Two days ago, a nurse came to my home and with her assistance I was able to inject 55cc of Ozone gas directly into my vein. This is a preventative treatment I take every seven to ten days. I expect to do this treatment for the balance of my life. It’s my fountain of youth. At one time (soon after a heart attack) this treatment occurred three times a week and saved my life. 

 

Recently a friend of mine had a stroke and heart attack at the same time. Once he left intensive care and was recovering at home he began the same treatment. He takes 100 cc’s of ozone gas directly into his blood stream -- three times a week from an Ozone Generator exactly like the one I own. Nine weeks later, his right side mobility has returned and his blood pressure has lowered and moderated. The man takes his injections from a machine that provides a smooth painless process. Interestingly, he already had an Ozone generator but when he attempted to take the IV injection, it caused a great deal of pain. WHY? His machine is a weaker model that will only generate O3… never any more molecules. Intermittent O2 molecules are mixed with this weak machine and adds pain to the delivery. In addition, it doesn’t provide the healing benefits of concentrated oxygen/ozone. My machine was a major change in his treatment.

These are two examples of the many success stories I’ve either experienced or observed. The treatment is wonderful and very non-invasive.

BUT WAIT!--- HOUSTON -- THERE IS A PROBLEM!

Only one company in the world makes this type of Ozone generator – it’s located in Nogales, Mexico. It combines the standard corona discharge with some form of ultrasound that enhances the molecules and converts them into clusters of enriched oxygen. The price for each machine is $4,400.00. There is a 2 ½ year waiting list. 30 months once you place a 50% deposit.

The price isn’t the problem nor is the deposit; it’s the long wait to acquire a machine. The core element in this very effective treatment for a variety of ills is the ozone Generator. Most of the customers of this Nogales company are Cuban; same with those in the backlog. Cuba allows and supports Ozone therapy. Evidently they don’t flinch at the price.

From what I can determine, it’s not the price that bothers folks; the unit usually serves a community or clinic. The cost is shared. The problem is the waiting.

Shoot, I know people who would pay twice the sticker price to get one on a timely basis. When one is dying of cancer or a heart condition a few thousand dollars doesn’t seem like much when you know it will cure you…

My current mission is to find another company or organization that can make a generator like those that come out of Nogales. I was going to be the back door recipient of some parts (tubes, transformers, ultrasound devices, etc. from the outfit in Nogales) to make into a back-up unit. I paid for the parts but decided to send them to a friend in Vancouver, BC to be reverse engineered. My hope is that we can develop a comparable unit to alleviate the demand for this miracle tool. Keep your fingers crossed.

BUCKET LIST

I’m shuffling the priorities of my special ‘bucket list’. This list is not ‘places to go or events to attend’ like most bucket lists compiled by people hearing death knocking at their door.

This is a list of legacy-like accomplishments I intend bring to fruition in the next few years.

These legacy projects are not ‘World Changing Concepts’ when considering the overall scheme of things but they may have a pin-prick effect on some segments of the third world.

In the weeks & months to come I expect to post in detail how these elements can be used to make life better and create some independence in doing so.

The first topic I want to discuss is OZONE THERAPY.  It’s not new.  The treatment has been around since 1938.  Unfortunately, it is relatively inexpensive – very effective, and one can administer it without a doctor.  Therefore, the AMA, the drug companies and all the people on their payroll – the lawmakers, deem the therapy and the equipment quasi illegal.  It is often bashed because there are so many practitioners who use substandard equipment and are only using the systems to make money.  I personally have had nothing but success over the years.  I will relate my personal experiences and those of people close to me – first hand knowledge, only!

The second item on my list is EMT -my memorization course.  I had touched on it in earlier posts.  I’ll report the updates as its being installed and used in Asia. The learning system does not work in Panama but is very successful in Asia.  Currently it has been translated into Chinese and the WIP translations are in Thailand, Cambodia, Korea, and the Philippines. The business plan works as designed and hundreds of people are currently learning English under this new teaching method.

In coming weeks I will explain the TIDE PUMP, a very basic  yet effective method to lift seawater to higher elevations for the purposes of generating electricity, seawater for fish farms, or to transfer weight – to mechanize; turn shafts with wheels and gears.

Once in a while I will discourse on the PALM OIL- DIESEL conversion system I am developing.  A status report as you will.  Simply explained -- my naturally aspirated 6 cylinder diesel car is currently capable of running on a 50/50 mix of palm oil and diesel.  I’m having a pre-heater crafted to increase the viscosity prior to entering the fuel injection pump and consequently the injectors. Phase two of this concept is to demonstrate harvesting the fruit from the palms, rendering the oil, filtering the product, and driving off without using one ounce of fossil fuel.

Along the course of my list I will discuss SACK HOUSE CONSTRUCTION and I will finalize my series with a three part description of $hare the Wealth, a business system that inspires, motivates and maintains excellent relationships between Employers and employees.

That’s the agenda for the next few weeks-months.  Interspersed will be the musings about my novels and of course a few comments about Panama.

UNTAMED IS FREE – 1ST 100

UNTAMED -- BACK STORY

Curtis Dawson and RC Bellars were created in my novel, PARTNERS back in 1981.  They remained true-to-form in the second writing of PARTNERS (partners 2.0) and also into the screenplay, PARTNERS.   The script was optioned but the movie was never made so the script rights were returned.  Several years later a producer of some merit wanted me to write five (5) screenplays for a mini-series on HBO; all on Spec, of course… Negotiations lasted almost a year.  In that time frame I began sketching shorts of some of the experiences, Rick and I had either been directly involved in or had witnessed firsthand.  The stories seemed to grow in my mind and I was almost finished with the first screenplay before the negotiations were complete.

I finally condescended when the producer sent me a check for ten grand; once he approved one, he would send me ten thousand for each following script; for a total of $50,000. 

I wrote two prequels to the Partners screenplay.  NO WAY & UP NORTH.  I then spent some time rewriting PARTNERS so the three scripts would fit together smoothly.  Later, I wrote TRUST ME.  All of these screenplays were stand-alone movies; two hours in length.  I sent this guy the two prequels and he was supposed to send me another ten grand.  That didn’t happen but I kept writing anyway. 

At no time in all of this non-communication had I signed over any rights. The end of the story?  NOTHING!  Never a peep or a centavo mas. So, I had four screenplays with no buyer.  I turned the internet and the mail service black with submissions to producers and directors.  After a couple of years of this lame nonsense, I discovered e-books. I posted the screenplays on line and sold a few…the format is entirely wrong for the Kindle and Nook.   I decided to write the screenplays into novels.  That was the case with NO WAY and UP NORTH.  Combined they became the outline for UNTAMED. All the incidents in the screenplays were based on experiences my riding partner, Rick, and I had back in our earlier years.  The 1970’s and early 1980’s seem a long way back in history for some of the younger generation. For Rick and me this was the last of the truly ‘OLD WEST’ experiences.  The RIDE, ROPE & SHOOT, was leaving the west; we were the ones waving goodbye. That mentality and value set may be depicted in novels or movies but in real life; it’s gone.  It was a fun time in our lives and I really enjoyed writing the scripts and later the novel.  I’ve yet to turn TRUST ME into a novel. I'm 26,000 words into the conversion. 

UNTAMED has received 5 star reviews from those who have discovered the novel. 

MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!

Recently, I used one of the Yahoo Forums to advertise one of my laptops for sale. (Gringo’s in David) I had a motive and a strategy behind the post.  I specifically asked that the members of the forum to refrain from offering their opinions as to value. It was asking too much from the narcissistic expatriates that inhabit Panama.

I am moving my Language course (ENFORCED MEMORIZATION TECHNIQUE) away from Latin America.  In doing so, I need to have it translated into several Asian languages.  One of my translators is from a village near Siem Reap Cambodia.  She operates with just a smart phone and an internet café 40km away.  I offered to send her my old Gateway to facilitate her work.  She refused based on her ethics. (She hasn’t earned it so she can’t own it) I finally wrote her and told her I would take the unit to the Flea market.  If it didn’t sell there, then I would advertise it for sale on the internet.  If no one purchased the unit, I was going to send it to her.  She agreed.  I priced the unit high and knew it wouldn’t sell.  I certainly understand the value of computers… I’m on the internet every day.  I just bought an IBM ThinkPad with 2 GB of RAM & a 300 GB hard drive.  It has all the bells and whistles including WIFI, webcam, and Win7 OS.  I paid $30.00 for the unit.  By the time it arrived David, I still have an excellent system for under $100.00.

 I don’t need to have several ignorant busy bodies explaining value to me; especially when I specifically asked the members not to voice their opinion.

Gringo’s in David is quite useless as a forum – the same know-it-alls haunt the site and are ready to pounce on any announcement or question and offer strong & usually ignorant opinions.   It is even more useless when they gather once a month.  They offer nothing – they meet to socialize – to drink and smoke. They don’t support a charity, they have no agenda, and usually complain about living in Panama.  If you desire to listen to a gathering of sods that blow smoke in your face – attend the meeting of the GID. I withdrew after this last incident and have no plans to attend one of their meetings.  I'd like to see someone start another group.  The problem would be screening out the IDIOTS!

Panama has changed.  I’ve logged a lot of time in this country; I’m a Zonian and have been in Chiriquí almost ten years.  Most of the ExPats who lived here when I arrived were adventurers; people looking for the ‘wild west’.  Now it’s a motley collection of losers, idiots, and a few certified psychos’.  Scattered amongst those just mentioned are a handful of really nice North Americans; they are here trying to make a difference.  I love Panama – it’s my home. However, I’m scheduled to do an Asian business trip soon.  Perhaps I’ll look at it from a different POV. Maybe I can find a locale without Gringos.  Wouldn’t that be swell…

AMAZON TOSSED A BRICK INTO THE POND!

Yesterday I received a notice that the major seller of my e-books, Amazon, has changed their promotional policies; actually added a new program that has some merit.  It caused me to pause and rethink my previous stance – outlined in my most recent post to this blog site.  A shift in strategies was required to take advantage of their new program. I was required to enroll several of my novels in their KDP Select program to qualify for their new COUNTDOWN DEALS; in essence, canceling my plans laid out in the previous post.  So, I’m back to gifting a few novels to those poor and impoverished individuals that can’t afford the three buck price tag.

  

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I’ve run this story several times over the past few months.  Bear with me… there are some readers who need to know the back-story of my period western.  AS AN ASIDE :  Surprisingly, my period westerns, HALF BREED & BOOMER sell quite well in the Philippines. So do the contemporary western themed novels, UNTAMED, PARTNERS, and CRYSTAL COWBOY. No wonder that publisher in Manila contacted me with a book deal. It was lame but still an offer…

HALF-BREED – BACK-STORY

Back when I owned one of my weekly newspapers, (over my career I owned 8) I was sent an article about an Apache half-breed named Chato who was murdered in the streets of Tombstone in 1880. I researched the event and couldn’t find any record of the crime. I handed it off to my editor and he couldn’t verify the story either.   

At the time I was reluctant to run the piece because my policy was to print news and features; not fiction.  A few years later while researching something else, I saw a short blurb on the ‘Chato Affair’.  It had occurred in the streets of Tucson – not Tombstone. By this time I had sold the newspaper and had moved on to another business.  I looked into the Chato killing and discovered it was indeed a true occurrence in 1866; the year Arizona territory was established. I also learned there were no laws on the books at that time (1860’s) to punish those that murdered an Indian or half-breed. I advanced the story to the late 1880’s, fictionalized the events surrounding the killing of Chato and wrote my period novella, HALF-BREED. 

   

During my research I discovered the law enforcement of that era was marginal at best.  In addition, Tucson was very corrupt and some of the law enforcement officials were in the pockets of the Tucson Mob. Most ranchers took the law into their own hands to prevent and punish thieves.  This was one of the elements that prevented Arizona Territory from becoming a state of the union until 1912; the last of the contiguous states to be admitted.