Drumroll Please…..

(Parenthetically Speaking) has left the building, so to speak. It can now be found, in all its glory, at the cleverly named kpatrickglover.com

Of course, all content will eventually follow, and old content will remain here until everyone gets caught up. Which may be quite some time……

A Life – In And Out of Time – One

Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.

LEWIS CARROLL

The man froze, like a deer in headlights.

Or in this case, a lot of headlights. He stood, stock still, in the center of Madison Street, cars screeching to a stop to avoid hitting him. His clothes were antiquated and formal, but they also looked unworn. An old fashioned tweed suit, including vest, all buttoned tightly. A gold chain from his belt loop to his pocket brought to mind a pocket watch and a classic bowler hat sat atop his head.

His expression was one of utter terror.

Susan Pelagrin, who had seen the cars screeching and skidding from the window of the book shop where she had been looking for a gift, bolted outside when she saw the cause of the near accident. She rushed to the man’s side and tried to lead him back to the relative safety of the sidewalk.

It was a hard sell, but gradually she managed to calm him down enough to get him out of the middle of the road and over to a nearby bench. The cars, after some angry honking and gesturing, resumed their respective journeys.

“Are you all right?” She asked the man, but he remained silent. “I’m Dr. Pelagrin, I’m a psychiatrist. Well, a student psychiatrist, at any rate. I can help you.”

The man turned toward her and met her eyes for the first time. Susan was an attractive young woman, but he didn’t notice. He saw nothing but her deep blue, almost hypnotic eyes. “Help me?” he whispered. “Help me recover from madness? Are you a student of Sigmund’s?”

“Freud? In a way, I suppose.”

“Such a nice man, Sigmund, but I think some of his theories are rather daft, don’t you?”

Susan phrased her next question carefully. “You speak as if you know him.”

“I do, young lady. We’ve supped together on many an occasion. He was a great help to my younger brother. He had a bit of a cocaine problem.”

Susan took a deep breath. Don’t shatter the illusion, she thought. Not yet. “I’m afraid I haven’t gotten your name, sir.”

The man held himself up straight, said, “Thomas Jeremy Bantham, at your service,” then actually took off his hat and bowed before her.

“Well, Mr. Bantham, you’ve obviously suffered quite a shock of some kind. Perhaps we should go somewhere where we can get you checked out, make sure you’re okay.”

Bantham shook his head. “I am far from okay, young lady. I believe I have gone utterly mad. Could you perhaps escort me to Bedlam?”

This is the beginning of a much larger piece that will be serialized here as time and inclination permits. Each new installment will have it’s own entry, but you can always read the entirety of the piece as it exists at that time by clicking on the tab at the top that reads “A Life – In And Out of Time”.

You Should Be Reading – Robert Crais

I discovered Mr. Crais, quite by accident, about two weeks ago. It was one of those moments of intense boredom and I was browsing the books at the grocery store. Chasing The Darkness, his newest paperback release, was at the front of the rack. It seemed just the right moment to try something new. It was the latest book in a long running series about private eye Elvis Cole and his partner Joe Pike, a genre I always enjoyed.

It took me two nights to get through that book (and it was two because I couldn’t stay up all night, I had to work the next day) and when I put it down, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on more. I read through Crais’ wikipedia entry, then a few interviews where I could find them.

It’s worth noting that he recommends reading his later books before his early ones, as they are very different in tone and much more sophisticated in style. I picked up L.A. Requiem and The Last Detective. The thrill I found in Chasing The Darkness was amplified. I literally couldn’t put these books down. I’m now moving on to The Forgotten Man and by the end of the month, I’ll probably have devoured the whole series.

I won’t say too much about plot, these books deserve a cold read, but I’ll go this far: Cole and Pike very much follow the modern, tough guy, P.I. archetype so perfectly created by Robert. B. Parker. They are Spenser and Hawk, all over again. But where Parker’s creations live in a fast paced, formulaic, world of adventure where the good guys always win in the end, Cole and Pike live in a world with the moral complexity of a James Ellroy novel. You’re never on solid ground in Crais’ Los Angeles, you’re never sure just where the darkness will take you.

I recommend beginning your journey with L.A. Requiem…..

Decisions by K. Patrick Glover

The old man sat in the dimly lit bar, thinking about his past. He had a lit cigarette in front of him, but it sat untouched in the ashtray and he watched the curls of smoke drift away from it. The bartender eyed him, but did not ask if he wanted a drink. The old man had been coming into the bar every day for a month now, and it was always the same. He’d light a cigarette, but not smoke it. He’d stare at the bottles behind the wall and his eyes would drift into the past. He never ordered a drink.

Until today. “Scotch, please. Neat.”

The bartender nodded and poured his drink.

“What’s your name, son?” The old man asked.

“Eddie.” He said it hesitantly, unsure how much he wanted to reveal to the old man.

“It’s all about choices, wouldn’t you say, Eddie?”

“I’m not sure I follow you.”

The old man chuckled. It was a dry, rasping, hideous noise. “Every step of the way, Eddie. Every choice we make, it defines who we are. Like that girl in Austin, back in ‘62. That could have worked out differently. It was my choice, you know. I choose the bottle. Son, I always choose the bottle.

“I had a son, once, long time ago. Wasn’t worth much, but that was probably my fault. Killed himself over a woman. Probably for the best. Like I said, he wasn’t worth much. Saved me the trouble.”

“The Trouble?” Eddie was getting more and more uneasy.

“Then there was that hooker in Reno. Such a shame, really. Pretty girl.”

“I’m not sure I understand this, sir.”

“They’re dead, Eddie. They’re all dead. Decisions, Decisions.”

“How do you make such an awful decision,” Eddie gasped.

“Well, son,” the old man smiled, “the scotch usually helps.”

And Eddie noticed the long handled knife that now lay atop the bar…..

Warren’s Ignition City

ic1

Originally uploaded by warrenellis

Out this week! Run out and buy one (or three)…..

Depression Is A Strange Animal

Having past forty and not accomplished ALL that I had planned on accomplishing by this point has left me feeling like I’m traped in some crazy form of Limbo, unable to push past my own preconceived notions and actually do something, anything.

I spent my day off work on Tuesday lying on the couch watching Batman – The Animated Series. For 14 straight hours.

I need to be writing. And I am, in fits and starts, but I need a schedule, I need to be doing it reliably and regularly. I need to find a way to push all the other stress factors (and damn if there isn’t a fuckload of them) out of the way, even if just for an hour or two, and concentrate on creating.

I use to think whiskey was the answer, but I’ve been watching a good friend circle the drain of late and it’s kind of taken away my taste for the stuff.

I know I need SOMETHING, some help, some nudge, some….

The Beauty of Wordles

So, I saw this Wordle today of Obama’s Inaguration Speech, and fell in love with the concept….

So I did a Wordle of my little blog and got this…

This is from Warren’s blog….

and one from SEB….

and finally, my friend Elana’s blog….

Aren’t they just fucking wonderful? I know, I know, I’m a geek….

Well, It’s a Different World Now, Isn’t It?

About three months have gone by since last we spoke. Much has changed in the world. The economy is (if you believe the experts) on the verge of exploding and killing us all. There is war on the Gaza Strip (again. Or has it stopped now? I can never keep track.) Obama is less than a week away from being sworn in as our next Grand High Poobah, and he’s actually figured a way to get Hilary out of the country (if only a temporary one).

But you know what? I’m still living paycheck to paycheck, my wife’s still off to college, I’m still plodding away at my novel in what I laughingly refer to as my spare time. I had one car die on me last month and the new one is behaving in funny ways (like sliding into snowbanks and refusing to open its windows.

So, life goes on, in all its ragged glory. I shall endeavor to make my appearances here more frequent, but you know how that goes.  Those desperate enough to here from me more often can check my twitter feed, or jus drop me an email at kpatrickglover at yahoo.com.

John McCain Says Life Isn’t Fair

He said it, because Barack Obama is leading in the polls. He said it, well, here, go read for yourself.

This is probably him testing the waters for Palin’s anticipated tears tonight, when she has to face off against Joe Biden. I’m hoping, when she does, that Biden is gentlemanly enough to cross the stage and offer her is hankie.

For a wonderfully apt piece of silliness on the Palin affair, have a look at the following article at the Watley Review. It made me smile, which isn’t easy to do, today.

Not wanting to miss all the fun, Larry Flynt has apparently produced a porn film featuring a Sarah Palin look-a-like. The full story on that amusing mess can be found here, and a very entertaining Fark thread full of suggested titles can be found here.

My favorite? “Clean Shaven Klondykes” – This Time There’ll Be No Bush

Breaking The Silence

Yeah, I know, been awhile. Sorry about that.

Two things, first, been working hard on the novel. Hasn’t left a lot of spare time for bloginess.

And two, been trying to digest the fact that half of my country is clinically insane. Because that’s the only possible explanation for the fact that people are taking Sarah Palin serious as a VP candidate. I’m serious. I thought it was a joke. I can not comprehend it, it makes my brain hurt.

I look at people who support her and I tell them, she wants to outlaw abortion, even in the case of rape victims. She thinks the earth is only six thousand years old. Six weeks ago she didn’t even know what the vice president does for a living. And they say, “but she’s a hockey mom!”

And then I have to hit them. With a stick.