Explore real people’s lives inn United Westica circa 2150 AD
Yup, things happen in life. We can lament them, or we can choose to embrace them. Personally, I prefer the latter.
I might regret delaying the publication of my new Mayhem mystery-thriller trilogy by several weeks, but I choose to embrace the opportunity to bring you an even better read.
The Westican saga continues in the time leading up to the 2160s wars and how Westicans live their lives.
The virus played a role in this delay, but I’m mostly relieving the pressure of a self-induced deadline. In the spirit of true transparency with you, however, a character defect called perfectionism also plays a role.
The beauty of publishing independently puts me in command, and this commander says,
“The books are almost ready, but not quite.”
What will the future hold for folks in the United Westican Territories in the year 2178?
Thanks for your patience. I promise it will be rewarded.
Meanwhile, if you have not already done so, check out my all American thriller, Dangerous Dreams, and its vagabond sequel, Fractured Dreams.
We traditionally celebrate the month of November for many reasons. Among others, we revel at the change of season into magnificent Fall colors (north of the Mason-Dixon, that is), or allow balmy breezes to tickle us once summer’s southern anger surrenders. But most of all, this month is a time to give thanks with family and friends, and yes, with an eye toward Christmas.
This year, we could lament what we do not have or are denied, which compared to so many less blessed than us, would be frivolous, wouldn’t it?
For those less fortunate, we pray.
What are youthankful for this November?
Kay and I are feeling particularly blessed this month. Indulge me. You will relate to a few of these.
While we chose not to physically get together with our family or friends this Thanksgiving–for everyone’s safety and peace of mind–our love and friendship remain stronger than distance. For that, we celebrate ongoing, even though I may have to upgrade my cell and zoom plans.
Recently, Kay suffered from morning headaches, nausea, a general soreness, and fatigue. We created a narrative in which she had either contracted COVID, or she was pregnantat a youthful seventy years of age.
We convinced ourselves of the improbability of the latter, and began worrying about the former, like so many others around us, that she had been infected.
I arranged for her to be tested at a drive-through site outside a local CVS Pharmacy. Then we chewed our emotional nails for three days. Finally, we received her results in her online portal: totally negative.
We concluded she’d been visited by a less-complicated strain of flu. What a relief! She feels much better now. Again, we brimmed with gratitude and thanks that we had access to a local test site and health insurance that paid 100% of the $139 cost. We are also blessed to have had the cash had that been necessary.
New topic. I’ve been visiting the bathroom three or four times each night for months. Some characterize me as a youthful (but balding) Caucasian male, six-one, 160 pounds, in general good health, and approximately 65 years of age, to which I reply, “Thank you!”
In fact, I’m a few years older than that, and until recently, lived far to the north of a rotund two bucks. As an alleged member in reasonable standing of the male species, I am statistically prone to prostate cancer. It was time to venture out of my COVID bunker to seek a diagnosis. Off to the local VA in my mask and gloves (that is another COVID story). After two visits for blood draws, I subjected myself to a full physical last week–a “digital probe” and scoping lungs are still not feasible via Zoom.
Yes, I have an enlarged prostate, but no cancer! So says the science. Again, we’re oozing with relief and thanks. After the doctor examined me, she even declared, “Mr. Jurrens you are a model of good health for your age,” to which I replied, “you shoulda seen this hot mess a year ago!”
Imagine that: me a model, despite my lack of a monster ego that still yearns for a long-abandoned youth! I will not go gently… !
So our year of living dangerously has paid handsome dividends. Isolated from the gym, other than our own meager facilities within our trusty bunker (condo), we still manage a reasonable exercise regimen.
I regularly patrol the perimeter of our sixteen acre “yard” on the shores of Charlotte Harbor. Plus, we hit the elliptical and free weights a few times each week (Kay more than me).
You may know Kay and I have enthusiastically embraced a vegan lifestyle. For us, it’s about fearlessly exploring alternatives.
I lost 65 pounds in the first half of 2020, maintaining that weight now for six months. I can almost hear my aging immune system whispering thanks. Miss Kay is doing even better! But that’s not my story to tell. Yeah, you guessed it… we’re thankful.
At my age, I celebrate each birthday as a dividend, a pleasant return on my ups-and-downs investment. Having achieved yet another year of memories, my portfolio has expanded one more year. I remain vertical (mostly), I still take nourishment, and we plot yet another trip around the principle star in our solar system together. We celebrate the opportunity to conjure more memory-accumulating adventures. For us, it’s more about what we do than what we have.
As of the writing of this paragraph (November 20, 2020), and barring untoward circumstances, in 16.5 hours, I will have achieved the youthful age of 71. Yup–a thankful, grateful and blessed septuagenarian who gaffs memories with the tip of a sharp pencil for fear of them descending into the abyss of forgotten dreams already achieved. That’s one reason I write, but there are so many others.
2. Another New Book
If you’ve followed me for a while, you know next month my paranormal sci-fi trilogy will publish (barring unforeseen delays)…
But here’s something I haven’t yet told anyone, not even my bride of fifty-one years. As a loyal subscriber, you are the first to hear of this! Ready for the big reveal?
Now you may not care about this news, but that is a different matter. If you’ve read any of my books, you know I am not afraid to confront gargantuan risks as an author. If you are a published author, you get it. Putting myself out there, naked for all the world to see, requires a unique brand of foolish courage. Especially for a book like this.
One of my mentors describes me, in a literary sense, as “fearless.” Personally, I think she’s being polite. I looked up that word to see if it was a synonym for “stupid.” Alas, I was spared that shame. At least for now.
An early draft of the cover art.
So the big news? By January 2021, I’ll publish yet another book, this anthology forty years in the making. “A Narrow Painted Road” represents my most radical departure yet from mainstream commercial literature. Are you ready for this? Am I?
“A Narrow Painted Road,” a compilation of images, poetry and essays I’ve been creating most of my adult life, represents a legacy. One more item on this old bird’s bucket list.
I jump right in with “that poetry stuff” just inside the front cover with the compulsory disclaimer, although it’s probably not entirely legal. Guess what? I really don’t care:
While barristers dismay, should I neglect this little tome,
That decries any connection to real places, folks, or home,
I faithfully echo these silly words so prescribed,
Lest anyone think I’ve fallen to taking bribes,
Or spuriously slandered he who takes himself too seriously,
And rends his savagery upon this scribe far too furiously.
Should anyone object to this tome rendered in said verse,
I say to one and all, pound said sand and be so cursed.
Amen. That’s all.
This book came to be both serious and frivolous, different from most books of poetry. I precede each poem with one of my original images, some of which are award-winning (the one below is merely original and unpretentious).
After each poem you’ll find a brief personal essay that explores the mental machinations of the mad poet who composed the verse (that would be me).
And a bonus: like or hate my poetry, the book includes a fun and easy-to-read “Poetry Reader’s ‘How-To’ Guide” that both novice and advanced readers of poetry alike may find a useful reference. I culled this guide from dozens of masterworks that study the craft of fine poetry so I could voice my own approach to the enjoyment of reading this quizzical verbal art form.
This guide, of which I am particularly proud, includes my own technique of “solving” a poem. Wouldn’t you like to become a poetic detective? Or are you satisfied remaining a complacent “civilian?”
One playful piece I wrote not too long ago pokes a bit of fun at a novelist who is so bold as to think he can also craft fine poetry…
“On Verse Versus Not”
I am much more prone to pen verse, versus prose, these days.It fascinates me to taste the myriad wayspoets must say so much more with much less,I’d like to think no more cleverly obsessedthan me… or than you.It’s curious what draws me to this unique brand of insanity.Is scrawling my novels at length as dubious a vanity?Why not, I say loudly to you? Is it frivolous to thinkthat songwriters, like singers, don’t tread close to the brinkof light… or her foe?Look, my obsessed friends, don’t you gaze hypnotized,as a haunted scribe writes, and you drink, still surprisedof terse verse that slams you with rhythm or some rhyme, that sustains, so immune to razor ravages of time,of heart… or of trivia?Re-joiceourvoice!
Partial Notes That Follow “On Verse Versus Not”
I come from a tradition of writing prose. Composing a compelling narrative in prose is complex, poetry even more so, and I believe the latter may be the ultimate written and spoken art form. That’s what prevents the page from gulping my ink like a glutinous puppy slopping water all over the kitchen floor. Is it not wondrous? Especially for someone as naturally verbose as me?
The wonder of it all consumes me. Let’s poke around this piece. Note that quotes from the poem you just read, along with some of the sexier terms of poetry’s anatomy, are italicized below and can be found in the handy reference, “Making Sense of the Language of Poetry” in Appendix B. This is your deep dive where I render explicit the mysteries poetic language offers after the introductory Appendix A: “Poetry Reader’s “How-to” Guide.”
I learned as much as I could about the craft of poetry. I now allow enduring imagery to magically flow onto the page with enduring sharp contrast and high drama. Examples: “Poets tread close to the brink of light… or her foe; gaze hypnotized; haunted scribe; grabs you; razor ravages of time.”
As I wrote this and all the poems in this book, constant vigilance demanded I eliminate the few clichés to which I fall prey as a sometimes-lazy scribe. For example, in this piece, “dear friends” became “obsessed friends” and “the passage of time” became “razor ravages of time.” You can see and hear the dramatic difference, right?
Poetry also differentiates itself from prose with an array of powerful sounddevices in the poet’s tool box. You can peruse a more detailed treatment of these and more in this book’s appendices if you like. Try a few examples on for size:
alliteration (prone to pen; verse versus; rhythm or rhyme),
assonance (taste ways; cleverly obsessed; brand of insanity),
consonance (prose… days; gaze hypnotized) and,
onomatopoeia (slams, scrawls).
Yes, I have fun painting with words, crafting a puzzle for the mind of an astute reader. You? My wish is for you to have fun reading these carefully crafted word puzzles, and to appreciate clues to solving these puzzles.
We also see words or phrases echoed for dramatic effect. For example, “Poets must say so much more with much less,” and “than I… or than you.” Used with care, such echoes just sound good, don’t you think?
I keep the pace of this piece moving quickly by using words with back-end-emphasizedsyllables called iambs and anapests (see Appendix B), combined with short lines of short words. Can you feel them brush by like a fresh breeze tickling your hair? The notable exception is the third stanza…
Oh, and did you notice the not-so-subtle rhyme pattern (aabbcd)? But remember, not all poems must or should rhyme. I just felt the first one in this section, “Of Poets and Other Dreamers,” should rhyme, but that’s just me slinging artistic license.
Is that not a lot packed into a little poem about poetry? “Smile. It don’t hurt!” Take a chance, buy the paperback in January 2021. Then I can spring for a basic breakfast at Denny’s. I’ll come up with the tip on my own.
3. Featured Guests
Before I introduce you to a fascinating couple, latch onto this word: serendipity. The dictionary defines serendipity as “the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for.”
Now I did not seek a relationship with my two new friends and their charming family, but as you read the story I am about to share, I’m convinced that like me, you’ll find this story an agreeable and valuable thing.
As a preamble, Kay and once owned a small ship that defined a good portion of our adventurous lives together. We lived aboard and sailed a few thousand miles in her during the fifteen years that she was in our lives.
The good ship Sojourn even made it to the pages of my debut thriller, “Dangerous Dreams” as a heroic character in her own right.
The good ship Sojourn before we sold her in 2010.
With no small degree of consternation, we sold her in 2010 as we decided to try our hand at “land yachting.” Now we live and travel much of the time in a 43′ bus (motorhome).
Recently, I received a text from an unknown party proclaiming they had just purchased Sojourn. After a flurry of subsequent texts and a phone conversation, I learned that Sojourn’s new owners were a uniquely fascinating family.
This is their story and it intersects with our own in an obscure but serendipitous fashion.
I can’t do justice to their entire worldwide sailing adventures in this limited space, but I found their story uplifting and inspirational, not to mention incredible.
But I will tell you the vessel within which they sailed from Florida to Europe to Russia, and all over the Baltic and North Sea before they cruised the South Pacific shares just a glimpse of our common history. Serendipity. Maybe synchronicity too: “meaningful coincidences if they occur with no causal relationship, yet seem to be meaningfully related.”
Mark and Yvette bought our boat, Sojourn after selling (trading) their boat, Bear, in Australia at the end of their extended multi-year voyage. Now here comes the serendipity–maybe synchronicity.
Their boat was built by an engineer who worked at IBM in Rochester, Minnesota toward the end of the last century, as did I. He moored Bear (Linda Marie, at the time) at the same exact spot on the same dock in the same marina in Lake City, Minnesota exactly where we later moored Sojourn for thirteen years before piloting her to the tropicsourselves.
But let’s ask the world-sailing Wirta-Clarke crew to share with you a (small) piece of their story in their own words…
***
From left to right: Jenefer, Maya, Yvette and Mark
Gene,
We are grateful to be home in Florida after an epic adventure spanning eight years, 25,000 nautical miles and 24 countries.
We arrived home October 2018, leaving our steel-hulled sailing vesselBear, our 53′ cutter-ketch, for sale in Sydney, Australia. There is no conceivable way to digest all that we have experienced in this short introduction; however, we are happy to report that the world is indeed a beautiful place and mostly full of kind people striving for peace, unity, adventure and friendship.
In 2017, after returning from our European voyage (Ireland, Scotland, Scandinavia, Estonia, Russia, Germany, Holland, England, Spain, Portugal…) which began in 2011, and after completing a two-year refit of Bear, we sailed from Florida and headed toward the Pacific.
Our stops included Key West, Cuba, Cayman Islands, the San Blas and through the Panama Canal, then Columbia, Galapagos, Marquesas, Tuamatos, French Polynesia, Tonga and Fiji. There, we placed Bear into a literal hole in the ground called a cyclone pit for the storm season and took off to tour New Zealand.
We purchased a van and fitted it out for camping at our newfound friends, the Peterson’s of Auckland, whom we met cruising. The 10,000 kilometers of land travel through the North and South Islands that followed revealed to us some of the most beautiful landscape we have ever experienced. We interspersed our camping with Air B&B stays which added enormously to our experience, staying with local super-hosts who shared their enthusiasm for their country.
We returned to Fiji, launched Bear and rekindled boatyard and cruising ties. We joined a plethora of “kid boats” (boats traveling with kids, like us), enjoying their camaraderie in the Fijian and Vanuatuan waters. We relished a short layover in New Caledonia as we set our sights on Sydney, Australia.
Our landfall was 200 miles north at Coff’s Harbor, where we weaved through whales migrating their way north. Heading south from Coff’s proved to be some of the hardest sailing we had encountered.
Once in Sydney, we rented an Air B&B for a month, were lent a car by our cruising friends and readied our 38-year-old steel boat for sale. She was a safe, comfortable and seaworthy boat and will always have a place in our hearts.
Coming home was an adjustment. Mark and I are both retired and fidgeted about, not used to looking towards the horizon without a journey beckoning us. There are lots of projects around the homestead to keep us occupied but are just not as fun. I did receive a new right hip in October of 2018–a result of my rheumatism–which I am determined will not curtail our future adventures.
Our daughters Maya and Jenefer have assimilated well to life ashore. They reconsidered their initial desire to join traditional school as home schooling (after years of “boat schooling”) continues to serve their needs. Besides, the independence gained from world travel at their age was hard to relinquish.
They rejoined the rowing team and in doing so, delight at the social exposure to like-minded youths. One of the many perks that we found traveling in close proximity to our children was the pleasure of sharing their company and being their captive audience. As they branch out and away, we’ve adjusted.
Speaking of which, we adopted another family member. After ten years of canine abstinence, we picked up our Portuguese Water Dog puppy late 2018 in Gainesville, Florida. We so enjoy having a dog in our lives again, one of the few things we missed while traveling the seas.
Now we’re excited to begin fresh coastal cruising adventures aboard our new vessel, Sojourn, between Florida and Maine, perhaps elsewhere! We were equally excited to connect with Gene and Kay who obviously made Sojourn an important part of their lives, as she now will be in ours.
We wish you all the best health and happiness in the year to come and beyond.
Peace.
Yvette, Mark, Maya and Jenefer
Bear in Bermuda
Bear in Russia
Maya and Jen in the Galapagos
That’s it for this month. A host of thanks to our featured guests. If you haven’t already subscribed to GKJurrens.com, please consider joining the tribe. Namaste…
My guest this month isn’t so much weird as unique. I’d like to share with you the unique story of a friend–Gus Hawkins–a retired corporate attorney with a fascinating and honorable avocation. He has agreed to share his inspirational story with you directly. Gus?
“Thanks, Gene. I admit to being a Type ‘A’ personality. Most pilots are. We love the challenge of learning new things, improving our skills and being totally responsible for the safe conduct of our flight. We do not accept mediocrity, and most of my pilot friends and acquaintances are committed to flying their very best. Every flight. If something goes wrong, we analyze the root cause until we know what happened and how we will rectify the problem to assure it does not happen again.
Note this is not Gus’s plane, but another image where pilot and passenger were injured but survived. Can you imagine?
“This all ran through my mind on May 2, 2009. I took off in my experimental (home-built) seaplane for a short, post-maintenance flight. Things started to go wrong right after take-off. I executed an immediate turn back to the runway, and caused a power-on stall. I crashed, totally destroying the aircraft and the L-5 vertebra in my back. Immediately after regaining consciousness, I started analyzing what I did wrong. A month later I was discharged from the hospital and started successful intensive rehab.
“The emotional and psychological after-effects were harder to manage. Non-pilots find it difficult to understand how deeply a flying accident can affect the pilot. “It was just an accident,” I heard from family and friends. Fellow pilots found it hard to talk about the subject. I felt that maybe I was the only pilot who had experienced this. My doctor cautioned me against admitting how badly I was affected lest the Federal Aviation Administration pull my license.
“A few years later I met a pilot who had a parallel experience. He wrote a book about the cause of his accident, his recovery from critical surgery, and how he got back to flying. I was not alone!
“While our stated goal is to help the pilot return to flying, each pilot must decide that for him or herself after thoughtful reflection on the causes and consequences of their accident.
“I started studying post-traumatic stress (PTS) and learned the value of peer group interactions. This led to creating an organization called “Back To The Cockpit.” My goal is to help pilots better understand the emotional aspects of a serious incident, and determine their best course of action for dealing with the trauma. While our stated goal is to help the pilot return to flying, each pilot must decide that for him or herself after thoughtful reflection on the causes and consequences of their accident.
“Our organization has a website, www.BackToTheCockpit.org. On it you will find stories of pilots’ personal journeys as well as numerous resources to help pilots better deal with their experience.
“I review NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) accident reports weekly. I then cross-reference non-fatal accidents against the FAA aircraft ownership database and send the aircraft owner a letter introducing Back To The Cockpit and its online resources. To date, I have written nearly 2,500 letters.
“Responses are often interesting, and I truly believe that a number of accident pilots have benefited from our outreach.”
Gus crafts a model bomber for a museum. The model must be constructed in components for shipment.The museum will apply the final paint and decals to be as authentic as possible.
Gus, thanks for your service to fellow pilots and for sharing your story. I’d be remiss if I didn’t share one of your other avocations that further illustrates your dedication to military history apart from your passion for all things aviation.
Folks, Gus has constructed and sails an incredible replica of the battleship USS Indiana. Have you ever seen anything like this?
A twenty+ foot model of the USS Indiana on a boat trailerNote the twin bronze screws (propellers)That’s Gus steering from inside with the deck propped open. I understand he’s still working on the camera system to navigate the ‘ship’ with the deck and hatches battened! Incredible!
2. Circus, Circus!
Are you old enough to remember a childhood dream many of us thought might be fun: running away to join the circus? That was before clowns became scary, and circuses drifted away from small towns, relegated largely to museums and odd venues.
Kay and I did run away to see how the circus used to work: first in Sarasota, Florida at the Ringling Brothers Museum. And a year ago, we visited Ringling’s much smaller historical northern haunt in Baraboo, Wisconsin.
Unfortunately, we were too late in the season “up north” for the live acts, animals, and scary clowns, and that made it not only special, but eery (weird!). We virtually had the place all to ourselves! We were amused. You might be too with this sixty-second video clip…
Ringling Bros. Baraboo, Wisconsin, September 2019
3. Final Trilogy Book Cover Reveals
Gang, I’m chasing a self-induced schedule for my new Mayhem trilogy, but I still hope to publish all three novels by year-end. For now, allow me to express sincere gratitude for the advice and counsel from several of my advance review team over the last few months (you know who you are!) in creating the paperback book covers you see below. I am so excited to share them with you!
Fair warning: you advance readers will receive the final-draft manuscripts in advance of publication for your review. So polish your reading glasses and whip out your favorite hot cocoa recipes. Maybe snag your favorite e-reader and peruse the final drafts in front of a cozy fire–wherever you may be holed up?
Wonderful feedback resulted in the following covers after countless iterations. I think they’re quite close to the final art, graphics and text. As always, there is still time for tweaking.
Remember, a good cover catches the eye, identifies the genre, and compels the prospective reader (book shopper) to read the back cover blurb (on the left below in each case). The blurb should lead to either a look-inside or ideally, a purchase decision.
And when dealing with a series of related books, all the covers, especially the spines (in the middle of each image below) should look like they belong together on a bookshelf, even if they are slightly different colors. That’s called seriesbranding.
I welcome any and all feedback. In fact, I celebrate it! So lemme have it! What do you think, kids? Lemons or lemonade? Balloons or bupkiss? Best viewed on a larger screen. Shoot me an email at gjurrens@yahoo.com.
Oh, and one more reveal. Every author knows the importance of every book’s opening line. That’s where most authors spend a lot of time. So I thought I’d share just the opening line of each book for the heck of it.
Remember, an opening line introduces the main character, usually the hero, and hooks the reader by leaving some provocative question unanswered so they’ll keep reading. This is called the hook. Are mine working?
And now, ladies and germs, here’s the big reveal to fire your imagination. No fireworks, though, as I don’t want to start any wildfires…
Zaya French stood ready to die tonight if need be. Should they catch him, and if his plan failed, they would surely silence him. That would spell disaster for everyone. Yet he needed them to catch him so he could interrogate them. Now that would be a worthy trick. He just had to know.
Always the same, always different, solitude helped, if and when he could find it. But solitude proved illusory. Molten knives stabbed Birdman’s eyes, but then teased of abating.
The year 2178 dragged him along with excruciating deliberation at a breakneck pace despite his self-imposed solitary confinement. Daniel G. Morrissee, also known as SeeMore online, knew his head would explode at any moment. But if it didn’t…
4.Featured Author: Dean Koontz
Dean Koontz certainly doesn’t need a boost from an obscure author like me, but I so enjoy his wordplay, I thought I’d share some wonderful phrases from the first two books in his Odd Thomas series. I’m currently gobbling them up at bedtime each night, highlighting cool stuff in each book. Poor Kay… she pities me that my life has come to this.
Yes, I record wondrous words and fascinating phrases from my readings in my Idea Factory database, a methodology I learned from the inestimable James Scott Bell. I plan to share an article I’m writing about this effort on my new website, UpLifePress.com (still under construction). I note interesting ideas for characters (protagonists, antagonists), settings and plots.
So for your literary amusement, here are a few pearls from Odd Thomas and Brother Odd by Dean Koontz. Roll these phrases over in your mind, just for the hell of it, and see what comes out:
“You can’t take refuge in unleavened reason,
“The sound of her villainous voice turned my sweat to ice,
“Pessimism is strictly for people who are overeducated and unimaginative,
“There is no end to the wailing of senseless rebellion, to the elevation of self above all, the narcissism that sees the face of any authority only in the mirror.“
Wow. The last phrase is my favorite so far. Powerful, huh? Or is it just me?
Well, that’s it for this month.
Stay safe and stay well if you can possibly manage both. Are you looking forward to 2020 hindsight too?
