H.B. Berlow's Blog, page 22

It’s Time to Get Started

I’m feeling right now as though I’m working on a doctoral thesis.

After completing the fourth book of the Ark City Confidential series (which has yet to go to the publisher), I begin work on a new historical crime fiction series. This one takes place in Wichita, post-World War II. I learned a lot from my previous efforts in terms of research so that a realistic setting can be portrayed.

I have spent countless hours in our local library over the past year as well as straining my eyes and brains online attempting to glean even the smallest details. With our current quarantine situation, I am unable to hunker down in the library for a while. Perusing my copious notes is all I can do.

The forthcoming week is a vacation from work (which I am lucky to have, but for how long is anyone’s guess). So, whether I feel ready or not, I am pressing forth. At some point, you’ve got to step up to the plate and write. That act alone will be rejuvenating in this crazy world right.Just focusing on the act of creation will be a reminder of all that is still good in the world.

It’s time to get started.

From Out of the Darkness

This blog has been dark for too long.

First was the period I refer to as The Lull. It is between mid November and the first of the year when the obligations of the holidays coincide collide with shorter days and less sun. The mood is never bright and there is the need to forcibly set myself down to write.

My wife’s uncle and inspiration for the Ark City Confidential series passed away. I was so proud of my achievements based on the many tales he told me it didn’t seem fitting to continue. I’ll be wrapping up that series soon.

And then, the pandemic. The impact, as you all know, is substantial. While I still have a job, it seems I am perhaps a temporary survivor, like a condemned man given a stay of execution. The unmitigated uncertainty of all of this is profoundly disturbing.

So, what will lift me up and pull me out of the doldrums? What positives can I cling to?

Working from home means I can run mini errands during the day and not wait until a long ride home to clean up dishes or prep dinner.

My breaks and lunches, formerly exclusive time for social networking, is devoted to my cats (whose love and adoration is truly uplifting).

I’m reading more, watching DVDs that were still in shrink wrap, and catching up on old film noir on Amazon Prime.

More important, I have a forthcoming vacation next week. It was supposed to be to attend and speak at the OWFI conference. Instead I will begin work on a new novel, another historical crime fiction, a new series and a new character.

The one most significant thing that lifts me up and provides hope is the knowledge that I am still able to create. I won’t fall back on cliches about mythological birds rising from the ashes. Perhaps like a character in a good old film noir movie I’m simply walking out from the shadows.

Anybody for a free audiobook?

Here’s your chance to download “Ark City Confidential” in audiobook!

Wait! You don’t have an Audible account? No problem. You can log into Audible with your Amazon username and password, and claim your copy here.

If you enjoy the story, please consider leaving a review on Audible.

If the codes available say zero, please check back. More will be made available soon.

And, this is just book one of the Ark City Confidential Chronicles. You can also get Secrets of the Righteous and Lost in the Plains to enjoy the continuing saga of Baron Witherspoon, the facially scarred World War I veteran and beat cop in Arkansas City, Kansas.

AND…the final installment of the series is (hopefully) going to be available in late 2020.

Check out the book trailers for book one, book two, and book three.

A tale of inspiration

It was 2015. I was a year removed from publishing “The .9 mm Solution”, my second contemporary crime novel. I was looking for something to write. After all, a writer shouldn’t have that kind of down time. I remember throwing out some ideas to the Facebook world with some possibilities. The result was I started working on Ark City Confidential. This was to be my first attempt at historical crime fiction. It was inspired solely by Larry Hammer.

Larry was my wife’s uncle and a long time resident of Arkansas City, Kansas, along with his partner in crime, Dixie McGuire, who owned and operates Daisy Mae’s Cafe. This is small town Kansas at its best: streets with old buildings; a laid-back atmosphere; and a restaurant as a social center where everyone who knows everyone gathers. And the food is phenomenal.

But what got me on this writing track were Larry’s stories about the town in its old days. There were references to underground tunnels, a community once referred to as “Little Chicago”, and a mysterious figure known only as the Grandfather on the Hill, supposedly the main power behind all crime and corruption. Well, if this wasn’t enough for a work of fiction I didn’t know what was.

I recall a visit that summer, starting out with me going to the Ark City library, and then a stop at the cafe before a meeting with a shady pawn shop owner who was old enough to have a few tales that could be partially told. Finally, we visited the Cherokee Strip Land Rush Museum where the proprietor was kind enough to give me several books on the history of the town.

And so I wrote a book. I was satisfied with my efforts. Until I pitched it at the OWFI conference in 2016 and was told that series novels were really big. So, on the two plus hour ride home in May 2016, I worked out the ideas for two more stories. Secrets of the Righteous was published in 2018 and Lost in the Plains in 2019. All of this started because of tall tales of a small Kansas town told to me by my wife’s uncle.

Larry Hammer passed away suddenly last night. He was 76. He leaves behind family and friends. I can never forget him nor repay the debt of inspiration that turned my writing in a new and exciting direction, even though he didn’t think as much of his efforts as I did. Larry and Dixie appeared in the three previous books as themselves, the fix-it-all guy who was friends with everyone and the owner of Daisy Mae’s Cafe.

In the draft of the last chapter of the last book, there is this passage:

Right around dinnertime, Larry Hammer came around and sat right across from me in the booth. As he had done so many times before, there was no need for an invitation.

“What’s up, boss?” he asked casually. The man was in his mid seventies but looking fit as a fiddle, ready to go back to work for anyone who might have asked but happy to stay “retired” if he had a mind to.

As I told him of the plans Sally and I had, he leaned forward with keen interest. Dixie finally joined us, picking up the threads of the conversation.

“Can’t say as I blame you,” Larry finally responded. “I’ve been looking for a way out for a long time.”

“Says who?” Dixie chimed in, slapping Larry’s shoulder. “You’ll wind up dropping dead in one of these booths someday.”

“With your cooking I have no doubt.”

It was that kind of camaraderie I was going to miss. These two had been the kindest to me of all the folks I ever met and made me feel like one of the family. I doubted there was any place in Los Angeles that served a better meatloaf.

Sadly, that is exactly what happened. Larry was a tall character in real life and will remain one as long as these books are in print. I can think of no better tribute.

Oscar Faves – Best Picture

It is certainly hard to select a mere five movies out of the many that have won Best Picture. I guess these five are those that resonated the greatest with me, not once but upon each viewing.

“Casablanca” (1943)

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All along I’ve been listing my choices alphabetically. It also happens this movie is my all-time favorite. There is great dialogue, a patriotic feel, a mystery and a romance all wrapped up in one. There is my favorite actor, Humphrey Bogart, in one of his most iconic roles, and Ingrid Bergman never looking more radiant.

But there is also a theme we don’t see often, certainly not in movies and hardly in real life: Sacrifice for the greater good. The epiphany Rick Blaine gets regarding the Nazi threat makes him realize he needs to give up his romance for the sake of the freedom of the world. That makes this movie extraordinarily special.

“The Godfather, Part II” (1974)

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There is something decidedly operatic about The Godfather movies. It is high drama and intense, yet softly spoken. There are are moments when Al Pacino as Michael Corleone explodes in a rage compared to the even keel of his younger father, played by Robert De Niro.

Most will comment on the exquisite acting (with a total of 5 nominations) but Coppola’s writing is masterful here, not to mention the production design and music. Watch it not for the classic scenes you can recite by heart but for the small moments and silences in between the acting.

“No Country For Old Men” (2007)

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It was not until the end of the movie as the credits rolled I realized that was the first time I heard any music. The wind blowing and the ambient sound pierces your heart in a way you do not even realize. It is an even and slow pace that many do not care for. To me it’s like peeling back the layers of the onion until you are brought to tears.

The Coen brothers were wise to practically transcribe the novel into a screenplay. Cormac McCarthy’s dialogue and story-telling is almost Biblical. This is a story about the sweeping and uncompromising nature of Evil. Be careful not to get in it’s way.

“Schindler’s List” (1993)

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The pain of watching this is palpable. The sense of Hope it instills is necessary. The unflinching depiction of one of the most terrifying times in 20th century history is necessary to show how one man can change his attitude and, consequently, make a difference in the world.

As a Jew, I was personally invested in the film. I absolutely can not imagine what it would have been like to have lived then. Spielberg’s masterful handling of the material gets us as close as any of us should dare to get.

“West Side Story” (1961)

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This is not an MGM musical. There is no large set with highly polished floors and highly controlled lighting. This is an urban and gritty setting for a modern tale of Love. It could be considered a tragedy if it were not for the slim possibility of understanding that may have come from it.

There is too much that is magical here to discuss the somewhat flawed performance of Richard Beymer or the casting of Natalie wood. None of that matters. The film is rich in color and character and passion. That’s what makes a musical great.

Please feel free to share your Oscar favorites right through the Oscar ceremony on February 9.

Oscar Faves – Best Actress

This might just be the most diverse group yet.

Faye Dunaway “Network” (1976) – Driven, type-a personality, tough as nails and needing nothing human in terms of contact or emotion. Until William Holden finally shows her a chink in her armor. His final speech is amazing; her response is stunning.

Sally Field “Places in the Heart” (1984) – Her transformation from a simple housewife and mother to a woman of strength and determination is flawless. Her dawning realization of race and gender relations is astute and enthralling.

Katherine Hepburn “The Lion in Winter” (1968) – A woman with nothing left except her wit and intellect and almost taking down a kingdom. There’s absolute poetry in her voice. She is a true queen in a man’s world.

Vivien Leigh “A Streetcar Named Desire” (1951) – I prefer this over her more famous role as Scarlett O’Hara. The daintiness of the old South fading away like her youth, a damaged and troubled woman unable to live in the brutish modern world.

Elizabeth Taylor “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” (1966) – Long before Halle Berry and Charlize Theron sacrificed their beauty for dramatic Oscar winning roles, Liz was going frumpy and dumpy as Martha is a chilling portrait of a couple living solely to taunt and torment each other.

Next post: Best Picture.

Oscar Faves – Best Actor

In reviewing my list, the word “transformation” comes to mind. Once again, these are my personal favorites from among the winners listed in alphabetical order.

Adrien Brody – “The Pianist” (2002) The pain of his character’s suffering is profoundly evident. There is also loneliness, heartache, uncertainty, dread, and all the other things that went along with the Holocaust

Daniel Day-Lewis – “My Left Foot” (1989) Plenty has been said about the physical transformation and the actor’s preparation for the role. But Christy Lewis’ becoming an artist and a writer is the truly magnificent thing to watch. I learned something about my own development and struggles.

Robert De Niro – “Raging Bull” (1980) I’ve read the men who helped him train indicated he could have actually boxed if he put his mind to it. Again, the weight gain and pathetic isolation at the end of the movie is well documented. Watching a man gain and then lose his dream is heartbreaking.

Tom Hanks – “Philadelphia” (1993) The movie that made everyone stand up and realize how truly amazing Tom Hanks is as an actor. The courage his character displays, both personally and professionally, in the face of dramatic odds is nothing short of noble.

Ray Milland – “The Lost Weekend” (1945) Perhaps a surprise choice. However, the man was known for lighthearted comedies before this searing and haunting look at the effects of alcoholism. The scene of him suffering the DTs is still quite alarming.

Who are your favorite actors?

Next post: Best Actress.

Oscar Faves – Best Supporting Actress

Continuing with my favorite Oscar winners, the only requirements being winners and those movies I have seen. Presented in alphabetical order:

Jane Darwell – “The Grapes of Wrath” (1940) – I could have sworn this woman was a Dust Bowl Okie mother. That was how profoundly she came across. While many point to Henry Fonda’s great speech toward the end, Darwell’s quiet strength resonated.

Patty Duke – The Miracle Worker” (1961) – Other young actors and actresses have earned Oscars. Duke’s impassioned and physical turn as Helen Keller blew me away, probably because it was the first time I had seen something this extraordinary from a teenager.

Brenda Fricker – “My Left Foot” (1989) – Balancing the emotional performance of Daniel Day-Lewis, Fricker, like Darwell before her, turns in a performance as a resolute mother who gives her all for her family. She’s just slightly feistier.

Rita Moreno – “West Side Story” (1962) – Moreno goes through a gamut of emotions in this supporting role from passion to envy, empathy to hate. And all while singing passionately and dancing enthusiastically.

Catherine Zeta-Zones – “Chicago” (2002) – I never knew how talented this woman was until I saw this movie. She fits the part brilliantly. Her performance in “Cell Block Tango” alone was worthy of the word.

Ok, now let’s hear from you.

Next post: Best Actor.

Oscar Faves – Best Supporting Actor

In honor of today’s Oscar Nominations, I will be doing five blog posts of my favorite Oscar winners in select categories (Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor). The parameters are as follows:

These are only Oscar winners and not who should have won. That would open another can of worms.

These are only from movies I have seen and are my personal favorites. That might exclude a few of your favorites.

They are offered in alphabetical order as I’d hate to rank them.

Here goes:

Benicio del Toro – “Traffic” (2000) – A performance largely in Spanish walking the line between good-hearted desire and corruption. He fit perfectly into this ensemble movie and almost had a larger than life presence among the bigger named stars.

Robert De Niro – “The Godfather, Part II” (1974) – Again, mostly spoken in Italian, this exemplifies an actor showing more character with less emphasis. The change from the grocer’s assistant to the Mafia Don is incredible.

Walter Huston – “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” (1948) – Director John Huston, the actor’s son, convinced him to perform without his dentures. That was addition by subtraction. A former leading man, the elder Hustom dove into the character with gusto.

Martin Landau – “Ed Wood” (1994) – The word ‘pathos’ is not used as much as it should. Landau drew upon Lugosi the man rather than the character he was most known for to give us an individual with a tremendous amount of pride.

Christopher Walken – “The Deer Hunter” (1978) – The character of Nick shows his burdens and his troubles even before his traumatic experiences in Viet Nam. I do not know if I have witnessed a soul more lost than what Walken presents.

That’s my list. What about yours.

Nest blog post: Best Supporting Actress.

Something New!

Two days ago I bought a new car. Yesterday I went grocery shopping, a regular weekly activity. This time I did it with a new car. The uniqueness of it caught me off guard. Had I not been grocery shopping for years? I’ve been a driver in Wichita for twenty-three years, taking this same route as long as we’ve lived in our house for over twenty years. Why did it feel different?

Last month the third book in my historical crime fiction series, the Ark City Confidential Chronicles, was released. Book Four is being edited and Book Five (the last in the series) has been outlined. I have planned to go on to a new historical crime fiction series afterwards, have been researching meticulously for the past several months. This new series is not even planned until 2021. So, why does it feel new and different?

It really doesn’t matter what you do in life even if it is something akin to what you have been doing. We get into routines, patterns of exactness, with only minor variations to color the day-to-day experience. The comfort of the familiar is more desirable than the possibility of uncertainty in the New.

Eventually, that new car and that new historical fiction series will fit as comfortably into my life as the old car and the current book series. In the meantime, we work our way through the transition and perhaps find enlightenment in the newness of the experience.