Gary J. George's Blog, page 3
May 17, 2020
Book 7 in the sereies now available
The seventh book in the Smoke Tree Series, "Walks Always Beside You," is now available on Amazon. In this novel, Johnny Quentin, a character from the first book in the series "The House of Three Murders," has returned to Smoke Tree after eight years in the Army. He enlisted on the buddy system with Charlie Merriman, a young Mojave man who was also a major character in that book. Johnny and Charlie became Army Rangers. They served two tours in Vietnam together, one as advisors in 1962 and one in 1965 when the war got hot. Charlie was killed at the end of that tour.
Johnny gets orders to report to Fort Polk, Louisiana, to train soldiers in "Tigerland," but has no interest in training young men who will be sent to the war that cost Charlie Merriman his life, so Johnny volunteers for a third tour.
He leaves the service in 1969 and stops in Smoke Tree to pay his respects to Charlie's widow and Charlie's mother before heading for the coast. But fate intervenes, and sends Johnny's life off in another direction.
At the same time, Captain Carlos Caballo, "Horse" to everyone in the tri-states area, is trying to trace the killer of bodies being dumped in the Mojave Desert. Mysterious and reclusive Chemehuevi Joe is helping, but Joe has his own reasons for wanting to find the killer.
Johnny gets orders to report to Fort Polk, Louisiana, to train soldiers in "Tigerland," but has no interest in training young men who will be sent to the war that cost Charlie Merriman his life, so Johnny volunteers for a third tour.
He leaves the service in 1969 and stops in Smoke Tree to pay his respects to Charlie's widow and Charlie's mother before heading for the coast. But fate intervenes, and sends Johnny's life off in another direction.
At the same time, Captain Carlos Caballo, "Horse" to everyone in the tri-states area, is trying to trace the killer of bodies being dumped in the Mojave Desert. Mysterious and reclusive Chemehuevi Joe is helping, but Joe has his own reasons for wanting to find the killer.
May 1, 2020
Walks Always Besdie You
Book seven in the Smoke Tree Series will be in publication by the middle of May.
March 17, 2020
contest winner
I was notified yesterday that "The Carnival, The Cross, And The Burning Desert"t won first prize in the Red City Review Magazine 2019 fiction contest, mystery/thriller category. It made me smile in a difficult time.
I am anticipating publication of "Walks Always Beside You" by the end of April. I think it will be the best novel in the series. . I think that with each new book, and so far, reviewers have agreed. Every book in the series has received better reviews than its predecessors.
Stay safe and healthy. Wishing you happiness in a chaotic world,
Gary J. George
I am anticipating publication of "Walks Always Beside You" by the end of April. I think it will be the best novel in the series. . I think that with each new book, and so far, reviewers have agreed. Every book in the series has received better reviews than its predecessors.
Stay safe and healthy. Wishing you happiness in a chaotic world,
Gary J. George
September 3, 2019
sudden turn
Writing is such an interesting process for me. Two weeks ago I was moving along in high gear on Walks Beside You, the seventh book in the Smoke Tree Series. I was innocently writing dialogue between two of my important characters when suddenly one of them said something that changed the entire book.
I was sitting at my writing table scribbling away, and when I looked down, the character had spoken. It was like automatic writing! I love it when that happens!
That change, which has lead me in an entirely new direction, will make Walks Beside You a much better book. At least I think it will. Stay tuned.
I was sitting at my writing table scribbling away, and when I looked down, the character had spoken. It was like automatic writing! I love it when that happens!
That change, which has lead me in an entirely new direction, will make Walks Beside You a much better book. At least I think it will. Stay tuned.
June 7, 2019
Struggling
Working on book seven in the Smoke Tree Series, "Walks Beside You," is like sparring with a professional boxer. I kept getting knocked down. I am sure it is going to be a very good book, but it is not at all an easy one to write.
Gary
Gary
May 9, 2019
Walks Beside You
I have completed the opening chapter of the seventh Smoke Series novel, tentatively titled, "Walks Beside You." The balance of the book is beginning to coalesce in notes scattered around the house. I think this is going to be the best book of the series. From the moment Johnny Quentin dropped out of high school to join the Army with Charlie Merriman at the end of "The House of Three Murders," I have been wondering what would become of him. Now I know.
January 25, 2019
Johnny Quentin
My writing process always begin with characters. This next book will be easier because I already have the main character: Johnny Quentin from "The House of Thee Murders." Several of the new characters who will be involved with him are beginning to appear and interact with him.
I am beginning to see Johnny as he returns to Smoke Tree from his eight years as an Army Ranger and two tours of Vietnam, one as an advisor and one as a member of the First Cavalry. I see him mourning the death of his good friend Charley Merriman, killed during the battle of Ia Drang. I hear in my head the song he hears over and over in his, a song written by a member of the Cav. "It was the thirteenth of November, had a real bad day, when we first met the Cong at Landing Zone X-ray." See his struggles to fit into the civilian world. His failure to make the transition. His alienation and retreat into the vast Mojave Desert as a means of self-discovery and reconciliation with his past.
As scenes from his outcast state appear in my dreams and during walks in the hills near my home, I find myself beginning to inhabit this young man's skin. He is haunted by demons from his past.
I am beginning to see Johnny as he returns to Smoke Tree from his eight years as an Army Ranger and two tours of Vietnam, one as an advisor and one as a member of the First Cavalry. I see him mourning the death of his good friend Charley Merriman, killed during the battle of Ia Drang. I hear in my head the song he hears over and over in his, a song written by a member of the Cav. "It was the thirteenth of November, had a real bad day, when we first met the Cong at Landing Zone X-ray." See his struggles to fit into the civilian world. His failure to make the transition. His alienation and retreat into the vast Mojave Desert as a means of self-discovery and reconciliation with his past.
As scenes from his outcast state appear in my dreams and during walks in the hills near my home, I find myself beginning to inhabit this young man's skin. He is haunted by demons from his past.
December 3, 2018
The Carnival, The Cross, and the Burning Desert
The sixth book in my Smoke Tree series went live on Amazon last night. I have asked Goodreads to post it to my page so it will be visible with the first five books shown above. I am hopeful the new book will get a positive response from the readers who enjoyed the first five, and especially the last two, "Death on a Desert Hillside" and "Deep Desert Deception." If you would like to ask a question about this newest book, there is a feature on this page that will help you do that.
Thank you for being readers of my books. I love writing them, and it pleases me to no end when people enjoy them. "The Carnival, The Cross, and the Burning Desert," is the most heartfelt of the series.
Gary J. George
Thank you for being readers of my books. I love writing them, and it pleases me to no end when people enjoy them. "The Carnival, The Cross, and the Burning Desert," is the most heartfelt of the series.
Gary J. George
November 5, 2018
Publication of Book Six in the Series Before Thanksving
Editing of The Carnival, the Cross, and the Burning Desert is moving more rapidly than I had anticipated. It is moving fast because I am absolutely obsessed with the story and especially the characters. I can't seem to set it aside. Even though it will be different than the others, I think it will be the best book in the Smoke Tree Series.
October 8, 2018
Rough Draft Complete
I have finished the rough draft of book six in the Smoke Tree Series,' The Carnival, the Cross and the Burning Desert'. I am now beginning the long process of editing and revising the draft. The book will be complete and ready for publication before Thanksgiving. It is a complex story with a number of new characters not seen in previous Smoke Tree novels, but Horse and Chemehuevi Joe return in important roles.
