Clark Hays's Blog, page 2
May 5, 2018
Bonnie and Clyde: Love and Poverty
When passion is the only bright thing in an otherwise dark world
“People are rendered ferocious by misery.”
Mary Wollstonecraft — a writer, philosopher and fierce advocate of women’s rights (and mother of Mary Shelley, author ofFrankenstein) — wrote these words more than 200 years ago, but they certainly ring true when considering the social and economic conditions that gave rise to the legend of Bonnie and Clyde.
Both were born into absolute poverty with no way to get out. Clyde’s family was so poor, when they moved to the slums of West Dallas looking for work they lived under their wagon for months. Like many young men at the time, Clyde wanted more than he could afford, and certainly more than spotty employment of the Depression era could finance.
Clyde’s first brush with the law came from failing to return a rental car on time; after that, it was stolen turkeys. Once he drew the attention of law enforcement, it wasn’t long before he entered a brutal prison system that used prisoners for profit — free agricultural labor — and ignored horrific conditions inside (Clyde was a victim of sexual assault). He was so desperate to get out, he chopped off two of his toes.
Bonnie had it better, but not by much. Options were limited for poor young women, especially in those days — a quick marriage and a hard lifetime of taking care of a large family was her best hope. She tried that, marrying a philandering criminal at 16. It didn’t last long. She always harbored dreams of a better life as a Hollywood starlet, but the slums of West Dallas didn’t offer many opportunities to get noticed.
Then she met Clyde, and he noticed her.
We all know how it turned out after that — from desperation to crime, from crime to violence, and from violence to a gruesome death in a bloody ambush in which more than 100 rounds were shot at them, their bodies brutalized almost beyond recognition.
Poverty does not, of course, excuse a life of crime, but it’s certainly an enabler, and that’s the crucible in which Bonnie and Clyde were forged. They likely would have been reviled by their contemporaries and forgotten by history if not for one other element that transformed the anger and despair, the rage and hopelessness, into something else, something that transcended their crimes and cemented them into the popular imagination: true love.
Collectively, Americans — and even those outside of this country — largely remain fascinated by Bonnie and Clyde because, in spite of thieving and murdering, the violence and destruction, they found each other and held on until the bitter, violent end. Misery may render people ferocious, but hopelessness sometimes renders them inseparable. Bonnie and Clyde became the ultimate doomed lovers, finding the kind of love that eclipses all rational thought, all problems, all concerns with right or wrong. Their burned so brightly, it momentarily outshined the misery they tried to leave behind and the misery they inflicted on others.
The real catastrophe of Bonnie and Clyde, aside from the lives damaged and lost, is that they found in each other a love that likely could have sustained them on any path they chose. If things had turned out just a little differently, if Wall Street hadn’t plunged the country into the Great Depression, if the prison system had protected a teenaged Clyde from assault, of they’d tried their hand at different jobs, we might never have known their story.
But of course, their powerful love wasn’t enough to prevent things from spiraling out of control.
In our speculative history series about Bonnie and Clyde, we give them a second chance and an opportunity to atone. Their love becomes a lodestar, guiding them into a new life.
In the first book, Bonnie and Clyde: Resurrection Road, that new life begins when a mysterious government agent, Suicide Sal, plucks them out of the deadly ambush in Sailes, Louisiana at the last second and forces them to become federal agents, using their unique “skills” to save FDR from an assassin.
In the second book, Bonnie and Clyde: Dam Nation, which publishes March 24, Bonnie and Clyde must stop saboteurs from destroying Boulder (Hoover) Dam. In Book 2, the notorious duo take firm steps on a path to redemption, beginning to see the pain their actions inflicted on so many innocent people.
Both “what-if” novels are fast-paced thrillers with sharp dialogue and plenty of steamy romance. The books also tackle, as an undercurrent, the poverty and systemic injustice that fueled the rise of Bonnie and Clyde, along with examining the plight of the working class in that era. These issues, such as the gaping wealth/income inequality and the influence of corporate power, are increasingly relevant to today’s economic landscape, making this retelling of their story alarmingly relevant.
But at heart, it was love thrust them into the realm of legend, and this takes center stage in the series. Now that Bonnie and Clyde have a (fictional) second chance, and an opportunity for redemption, their love is the only certain thing in a world of shadowy allegiances, the constant threat of violence and the possibility of atonement.
Note: this article was first published by our friends over on Wise Words.
Praise for the Bonnie and Clyde Series
“As the rich get richer and the middle class becomes more desperate in present-day America, Resurrection Road is a timely reminder that sometimes the solution to a problem comes from the least likely source. Sex, danger and intrigue, coupled with just the right dose of cheeky humor.” East Oregonian Newspaper
“Hays and McFall make their Depression-era tale timely with reflections on wealthy fat cats and a rigged economic system that still ring true. More than that, the story is an exciting ride, with tight corners, narrow escapes, and real romantic heat between Bonnie and Clyde. Outlaws become patriots in this imaginative, suspenseful what-if story.” Kirkus Reviews
Check out our other books:
The Cowboy and the Vampire: A Very Unusual Romance
The Cowboy and the Vampire: Blood and Whiskey
The Cowboy and the Vampire: Rough Trails and Shallow Graves
The Cowboy and the Vampire: The Last Sunset
Just West of Hell: An accounting of curious incidents occurring in LonePine, Wyoming Territory, in the years spanning 1881 to 1890 when the notable Early Hardiman was sheriff
Connect with us:
Twitter @cowboyvamp
Instagram @cowboyvampire
Facebook www.facebook.com/cowboyandvampire
“People are rendered ferocious by misery.”
Mary Wollstonecraft — a writer, philosopher and fierce advocate of women’s rights (and mother of Mary Shelley, author ofFrankenstein) — wrote these words more than 200 years ago, but they certainly ring true when considering the social and economic conditions that gave rise to the legend of Bonnie and Clyde.
Both were born into absolute poverty with no way to get out. Clyde’s family was so poor, when they moved to the slums of West Dallas looking for work they lived under their wagon for months. Like many young men at the time, Clyde wanted more than he could afford, and certainly more than spotty employment of the Depression era could finance.
Clyde’s first brush with the law came from failing to return a rental car on time; after that, it was stolen turkeys. Once he drew the attention of law enforcement, it wasn’t long before he entered a brutal prison system that used prisoners for profit — free agricultural labor — and ignored horrific conditions inside (Clyde was a victim of sexual assault). He was so desperate to get out, he chopped off two of his toes.
Bonnie had it better, but not by much. Options were limited for poor young women, especially in those days — a quick marriage and a hard lifetime of taking care of a large family was her best hope. She tried that, marrying a philandering criminal at 16. It didn’t last long. She always harbored dreams of a better life as a Hollywood starlet, but the slums of West Dallas didn’t offer many opportunities to get noticed.
Then she met Clyde, and he noticed her.
We all know how it turned out after that — from desperation to crime, from crime to violence, and from violence to a gruesome death in a bloody ambush in which more than 100 rounds were shot at them, their bodies brutalized almost beyond recognition.
Poverty does not, of course, excuse a life of crime, but it’s certainly an enabler, and that’s the crucible in which Bonnie and Clyde were forged. They likely would have been reviled by their contemporaries and forgotten by history if not for one other element that transformed the anger and despair, the rage and hopelessness, into something else, something that transcended their crimes and cemented them into the popular imagination: true love.
Collectively, Americans — and even those outside of this country — largely remain fascinated by Bonnie and Clyde because, in spite of thieving and murdering, the violence and destruction, they found each other and held on until the bitter, violent end. Misery may render people ferocious, but hopelessness sometimes renders them inseparable. Bonnie and Clyde became the ultimate doomed lovers, finding the kind of love that eclipses all rational thought, all problems, all concerns with right or wrong. Their burned so brightly, it momentarily outshined the misery they tried to leave behind and the misery they inflicted on others.
The real catastrophe of Bonnie and Clyde, aside from the lives damaged and lost, is that they found in each other a love that likely could have sustained them on any path they chose. If things had turned out just a little differently, if Wall Street hadn’t plunged the country into the Great Depression, if the prison system had protected a teenaged Clyde from assault, of they’d tried their hand at different jobs, we might never have known their story.
But of course, their powerful love wasn’t enough to prevent things from spiraling out of control.
In our speculative history series about Bonnie and Clyde, we give them a second chance and an opportunity to atone. Their love becomes a lodestar, guiding them into a new life.
In the first book, Bonnie and Clyde: Resurrection Road, that new life begins when a mysterious government agent, Suicide Sal, plucks them out of the deadly ambush in Sailes, Louisiana at the last second and forces them to become federal agents, using their unique “skills” to save FDR from an assassin.
In the second book, Bonnie and Clyde: Dam Nation, which publishes March 24, Bonnie and Clyde must stop saboteurs from destroying Boulder (Hoover) Dam. In Book 2, the notorious duo take firm steps on a path to redemption, beginning to see the pain their actions inflicted on so many innocent people.
Both “what-if” novels are fast-paced thrillers with sharp dialogue and plenty of steamy romance. The books also tackle, as an undercurrent, the poverty and systemic injustice that fueled the rise of Bonnie and Clyde, along with examining the plight of the working class in that era. These issues, such as the gaping wealth/income inequality and the influence of corporate power, are increasingly relevant to today’s economic landscape, making this retelling of their story alarmingly relevant.
But at heart, it was love thrust them into the realm of legend, and this takes center stage in the series. Now that Bonnie and Clyde have a (fictional) second chance, and an opportunity for redemption, their love is the only certain thing in a world of shadowy allegiances, the constant threat of violence and the possibility of atonement.
Note: this article was first published by our friends over on Wise Words.
Praise for the Bonnie and Clyde Series
“As the rich get richer and the middle class becomes more desperate in present-day America, Resurrection Road is a timely reminder that sometimes the solution to a problem comes from the least likely source. Sex, danger and intrigue, coupled with just the right dose of cheeky humor.” East Oregonian Newspaper
“Hays and McFall make their Depression-era tale timely with reflections on wealthy fat cats and a rigged economic system that still ring true. More than that, the story is an exciting ride, with tight corners, narrow escapes, and real romantic heat between Bonnie and Clyde. Outlaws become patriots in this imaginative, suspenseful what-if story.” Kirkus Reviews
Check out our other books:
The Cowboy and the Vampire: A Very Unusual Romance
The Cowboy and the Vampire: Blood and Whiskey
The Cowboy and the Vampire: Rough Trails and Shallow Graves
The Cowboy and the Vampire: The Last Sunset
Just West of Hell: An accounting of curious incidents occurring in LonePine, Wyoming Territory, in the years spanning 1881 to 1890 when the notable Early Hardiman was sheriff
Connect with us:
Twitter @cowboyvamp
Instagram @cowboyvampire
Facebook www.facebook.com/cowboyandvampire
April 28, 2018
When Bad People Do Good Things
by Clark Hays & Kathleen McFall
Note: this is an article we wrote for our friends over on the Girl Who Reads blog.
As we get set to publish the second book in a “what-if” series recasting the lives of Bonnie and Clyde, we reflect on the factors that draw readers to tales of atonement.
Bonnie and Clyde, the anti-heroes of our speculative historical fiction series, embody a long creative and cultural tradition of elevating criminals and outlaws to folk hero status. As we set out to write this series, we talked at length about this tradition, trying to grasp — to the extent possible — why so many of us love bad guys who break good?
We batted this back and forth and scoured bad-guy (and gal) literature, movies and graphic novels. Our goal was to create a fictional world that mirrors the impetus underlying this fascination with reformed (and unreformed) criminals. We also wanted to be careful that the series would not, even indirectly, celebrate criminality.
We learned, or more accurately, were quickly reminded that getting your arms around the complexities of human nature is no easy task. But still, we finally settled on three issues to explore in our series — three reasons that helped us understand why scofflaws and delinquents consistently captivate and resonate.
Outlaws give voice to the frustrations of the common man and woman.
What do Robin Hood, Jesse James, Ned Kelly (the armor-wearing Australian bushranger) and the like have in common? They were shaped by poverty, economic disenfranchisement or oppressive social systems and — right or wrong (mostly wrong) — they lashed out against a system they felt contributed to their fringe status. In so doing, outlaws (until they go too far) are rowdily cheered on by regular folks, especially during tough times like the Great Depression. There’s something timeless and appealing about those who have the courage to give voice to their rage and dissatisfaction, even though it’s often aimed in horrible directions.
Criminals have tangible and unique skills that can serve the greater good.
Criminals and villains have certain skills — including freedom from pesky ethical calculations — that, if focused in the right way, can provide expedient solutions to complex problems. For example, the world increasingly relies on reformed hackers to help safeguard our networked computer systems. Convicted burglars are tasked with building better alarm systems. And during WWII, the U.S. Navy negotiated with famed mobster Meyer Lansky to commute the sentence of even more famous “Lucky Luciano,” considered the father of organized crime in the U.S., in exchange for information about potential Nazi activities in eastern seaports. Polite society doesn’t always like to admit it, but complex problems often require novel — and sometimes morally dubious or illegal — solutions. This truth can be mined for colorful characters and plots.
The road to redemption is more scenic for those who have fallen the farthest.
One of the most powerful reasons the world seems to love bad guys is because their stories are ready-made for redemption. For the moral and upright, life can be an endless and boring series of good choices. For the fallen and depraved, the journey toward atonement is a constant struggle, and that makes it interesting. That’s why the entertainment landscape is often populated with flawed characters and villains who are given a chance to redeem themselves. Suicide Squad is one recent example. At its core, this type of storytelling encourages individuals to reflect on their own journey toward atonement, if not at a criminal scale. If a hardened criminal can make it to the other side, maybe we all have a shot at redemption, right?
Back in their day, Bonnie and Clyde captured the public imagination, a fascination that continues today, for the first of the three reasons outlined above. They were both products of the poverty crippling the nation in the 1930s and they lashed out against it. They went too far, of course, and innocent people died, but one of the reasons their myth and mystique live on is precisely because they acted on their rage. People then, and now, saw in them an expression of their own pent-up anger at economic injustice.
As a sidebar, there was another element — sex — that helped make Bonnie and Clyde famous. It was clear they were not only brass-knuckling the economic and legal systems failing so many during the Great Depression, they were also challenging traditional sexual roles of the day. Unmarried, they were in love and clearly having sex on a regular basis. It was both titillating and revolutionary.
From the standpoint of the second factor — useful criminal skills — the notorious duo had buckets of that, and this was the starting point for our story. Indeed, it is their criminal skills that make them valuable to the government — bank robberies and violence and daring escapes. In our books, their handler, “Suicide Sal” (her codename is based on one of Bonnie’s poems), who in the 1930s is fighting well-funded corporate interests intent on derailing the New Deal policies aimed at helping the working class, explains it like this: “You don’t use good dogs to guard the junkyard, you use the meanest goddamn dogs you can get a collar around.”
And then we wove in the third element — a chance for atonement — for which the real-life story of Bonnie and Clyde provided a tragic jumping off point. Their story is ripe for an atonement tale because of their violent end. In 1934, the outlaw lovers were gunned down without a trial, without a chance to separate fact from fantasy regarding their crimes, and without a chance to explain or atone. In our books, the two live beyond the ambush and are not only forced to help the federal government defend the working class, they must also confront their past and begin to make amends for the death and destruction they left in their wake. Atonement, and their unyielding love, are at the heart of the books.
There’s a fourth reason some outlaws find themselves transformed into folk heroes: timing. Said criminals’ stories resonate because they continue to shine a light on contemporary challenges. The timing now is compelling for the return of Bonnie and Clyde because — with the wealth and income inequality gap greater today than it was just prior to the Great Depression — there is a growing frustration from the lower and middle classes at a system that allows so many to struggle paycheck-to-paycheck so a few at the top can prosper. And who better than a pair of unrepentant criminal lovers to take on that issue as they careen down a road to redemption?
Learn more about the Bonnie and Clyde books by Clark Hays and Kathleen McFall, published by Pumpjack Press (Portland, OR): http://www.pumpjackpress.com
Check out the books here:
Bonnie and Clyde: Resurrection Road (May 2017)
Bonnie and Clyde: Dam Nation (March 2018)
Check out their other books:
The Cowboy and the Vampire: A Very Unusual Romance
The Cowboy and the Vampire: Blood and Whiskey
The Cowboy and the Vampire: Rough Trails and Shallow Graves
The Cowboy and the Vampire: The Last Sunset
Connect with the authors:
Twitter @cowboyvamp
Instagram @cowboyvampire
Facebook www.facebook.com/cowboyandvampire
Praise for the Series
“As the rich get richer and the middle class becomes more desperate in present-day America, Resurrection Road is a timely reminder that sometimes the solution to a problem comes from the least likely source. Sex, danger and intrigue, coupled with just the right dose of cheeky humor.” East Oregonian Newspaper
“Hays and McFall make their Depression-era tale timely with reflections on wealthy fat cats and a rigged economic system that still ring true. More than that, the story is an exciting ride, with tight corners, narrow escapes, and real romantic heat between Bonnie and Clyde. Outlaws become patriots in this imaginative, suspenseful what-if story.” Kirkus Reviews
Note: this is an article we wrote for our friends over on the Girl Who Reads blog.
As we get set to publish the second book in a “what-if” series recasting the lives of Bonnie and Clyde, we reflect on the factors that draw readers to tales of atonement.
Bonnie and Clyde, the anti-heroes of our speculative historical fiction series, embody a long creative and cultural tradition of elevating criminals and outlaws to folk hero status. As we set out to write this series, we talked at length about this tradition, trying to grasp — to the extent possible — why so many of us love bad guys who break good?
We batted this back and forth and scoured bad-guy (and gal) literature, movies and graphic novels. Our goal was to create a fictional world that mirrors the impetus underlying this fascination with reformed (and unreformed) criminals. We also wanted to be careful that the series would not, even indirectly, celebrate criminality.
We learned, or more accurately, were quickly reminded that getting your arms around the complexities of human nature is no easy task. But still, we finally settled on three issues to explore in our series — three reasons that helped us understand why scofflaws and delinquents consistently captivate and resonate.
Outlaws give voice to the frustrations of the common man and woman.
What do Robin Hood, Jesse James, Ned Kelly (the armor-wearing Australian bushranger) and the like have in common? They were shaped by poverty, economic disenfranchisement or oppressive social systems and — right or wrong (mostly wrong) — they lashed out against a system they felt contributed to their fringe status. In so doing, outlaws (until they go too far) are rowdily cheered on by regular folks, especially during tough times like the Great Depression. There’s something timeless and appealing about those who have the courage to give voice to their rage and dissatisfaction, even though it’s often aimed in horrible directions.
Criminals have tangible and unique skills that can serve the greater good.
Criminals and villains have certain skills — including freedom from pesky ethical calculations — that, if focused in the right way, can provide expedient solutions to complex problems. For example, the world increasingly relies on reformed hackers to help safeguard our networked computer systems. Convicted burglars are tasked with building better alarm systems. And during WWII, the U.S. Navy negotiated with famed mobster Meyer Lansky to commute the sentence of even more famous “Lucky Luciano,” considered the father of organized crime in the U.S., in exchange for information about potential Nazi activities in eastern seaports. Polite society doesn’t always like to admit it, but complex problems often require novel — and sometimes morally dubious or illegal — solutions. This truth can be mined for colorful characters and plots.
The road to redemption is more scenic for those who have fallen the farthest.
One of the most powerful reasons the world seems to love bad guys is because their stories are ready-made for redemption. For the moral and upright, life can be an endless and boring series of good choices. For the fallen and depraved, the journey toward atonement is a constant struggle, and that makes it interesting. That’s why the entertainment landscape is often populated with flawed characters and villains who are given a chance to redeem themselves. Suicide Squad is one recent example. At its core, this type of storytelling encourages individuals to reflect on their own journey toward atonement, if not at a criminal scale. If a hardened criminal can make it to the other side, maybe we all have a shot at redemption, right?
Back in their day, Bonnie and Clyde captured the public imagination, a fascination that continues today, for the first of the three reasons outlined above. They were both products of the poverty crippling the nation in the 1930s and they lashed out against it. They went too far, of course, and innocent people died, but one of the reasons their myth and mystique live on is precisely because they acted on their rage. People then, and now, saw in them an expression of their own pent-up anger at economic injustice.
As a sidebar, there was another element — sex — that helped make Bonnie and Clyde famous. It was clear they were not only brass-knuckling the economic and legal systems failing so many during the Great Depression, they were also challenging traditional sexual roles of the day. Unmarried, they were in love and clearly having sex on a regular basis. It was both titillating and revolutionary.
From the standpoint of the second factor — useful criminal skills — the notorious duo had buckets of that, and this was the starting point for our story. Indeed, it is their criminal skills that make them valuable to the government — bank robberies and violence and daring escapes. In our books, their handler, “Suicide Sal” (her codename is based on one of Bonnie’s poems), who in the 1930s is fighting well-funded corporate interests intent on derailing the New Deal policies aimed at helping the working class, explains it like this: “You don’t use good dogs to guard the junkyard, you use the meanest goddamn dogs you can get a collar around.”
And then we wove in the third element — a chance for atonement — for which the real-life story of Bonnie and Clyde provided a tragic jumping off point. Their story is ripe for an atonement tale because of their violent end. In 1934, the outlaw lovers were gunned down without a trial, without a chance to separate fact from fantasy regarding their crimes, and without a chance to explain or atone. In our books, the two live beyond the ambush and are not only forced to help the federal government defend the working class, they must also confront their past and begin to make amends for the death and destruction they left in their wake. Atonement, and their unyielding love, are at the heart of the books.
There’s a fourth reason some outlaws find themselves transformed into folk heroes: timing. Said criminals’ stories resonate because they continue to shine a light on contemporary challenges. The timing now is compelling for the return of Bonnie and Clyde because — with the wealth and income inequality gap greater today than it was just prior to the Great Depression — there is a growing frustration from the lower and middle classes at a system that allows so many to struggle paycheck-to-paycheck so a few at the top can prosper. And who better than a pair of unrepentant criminal lovers to take on that issue as they careen down a road to redemption?
Learn more about the Bonnie and Clyde books by Clark Hays and Kathleen McFall, published by Pumpjack Press (Portland, OR): http://www.pumpjackpress.com
Check out the books here:
Bonnie and Clyde: Resurrection Road (May 2017)
Bonnie and Clyde: Dam Nation (March 2018)
Check out their other books:
The Cowboy and the Vampire: A Very Unusual Romance
The Cowboy and the Vampire: Blood and Whiskey
The Cowboy and the Vampire: Rough Trails and Shallow Graves
The Cowboy and the Vampire: The Last Sunset
Connect with the authors:
Twitter @cowboyvamp
Instagram @cowboyvampire
Facebook www.facebook.com/cowboyandvampire
Praise for the Series
“As the rich get richer and the middle class becomes more desperate in present-day America, Resurrection Road is a timely reminder that sometimes the solution to a problem comes from the least likely source. Sex, danger and intrigue, coupled with just the right dose of cheeky humor.” East Oregonian Newspaper
“Hays and McFall make their Depression-era tale timely with reflections on wealthy fat cats and a rigged economic system that still ring true. More than that, the story is an exciting ride, with tight corners, narrow escapes, and real romantic heat between Bonnie and Clyde. Outlaws become patriots in this imaginative, suspenseful what-if story.” Kirkus Reviews
April 21, 2018
Article: ‘Dam Nation’ blends history and fantasy in story of Bonnie and Clyde
Here’s a great article about the second book in our Bonnie and Clyde series that ran recently in the Arizona Daily Sun — much of the story, which takes place in 1935, is set at the Hoover Dam site, smack dab between Arizona and Nevada.
By MacKenzie Chase
Arizona Daily Sun
March 22, 2018
Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow rose to infamy during America’s Great Depression in the 1930s through robbery sprees and the bodies left behind by them and the Barrow gang. Luck seemed to be on their side as they escaped many tight situations during their two years of crime, but an ambush in Louisiana on May 23, 1934, eventually led to their demise when police fired more than 130 rounds at the deadly couple in a stolen Ford V-8.
But what if Bonnie and Clyde didn’t really die that day?
Husband and wife team Clark Hays and Kathleen McFall imagine a different story for the outlaws, one that gives them a chance to redeem themselves in their upcoming book Dam Nation, the second in a series.
“We wondered what it would be like for these criminals to truly atone for their crimes and sins,” Hays explains. “They came together in this weird way at this very interesting time in American history, and the only thing they had was this love for each other.”
“They kind of bucked the system at the time when the economy had failed for the average person and embodied the fantasy people had of wanting to escape the system,” McFall adds.
In Dam Nation, Bonnie and Clyde have narrowly escaped capture and are put to work by the government to figure out who is sabotaging construction of the Boulder (Hoover) Dam and why. They also have to avoid being found out by Texas Ranger Hank Black who suspects the two may somehow still be alive.
In a post-gunfire confrontation, Sal, the government operative who’s been giving orders to Bonnie and Clyde, tells him, “If they were still alive, I would tell you that everyone has a purpose in life, and perhaps they are fulfilling theirs. And if they were still alive, I would tell you that you don't use good dogs to guard the junkyard, you use the meanest goddamn dogs you can get a collar around.”
Under their given pseudonyms of Brenda and Clarence Prentiss, Bonnie and Clyde put on their collars and enter the workforce as a secretary and water truck driver respectively, making a living through real work for once, even if they do get the urge to run a heist one day on their way to Las Vegas.
Dam Nation covers two mysteries as it jumps back and forth between Bonnie and Clyde’s lives as hard-working patriots at the construction site in 1934 and then 50 years later as a journalist works to uncover who was actually shot in the car with help from a 74-year-old Bonnie.
“The Bonnie and Clyde part is the fun and exciting part, but the relationship between the journalist and the older Bonnie becomes a poignant layer in the story,” says McFall, a former journalist herself.
Throughout the 300-plus pages, the story takes readers along as Bonnie and Clyde maneuver quick getaways from anarchists, the mob and sheer cliffs. There’s a good sprinkling of dam puns—with such the perfect set-up it might have been disappointing if there weren’t any—and quick, witty banter between the two lovers to move the action along. The present-day scenes paint a picture of a thriving newsroom, when the industry was respected and papers had the resources to assign ongoing investigative projects to reporters. It’s also interesting to consider how an aging outlaw might settle down in society without losing their edge.
The book combines fantasy with history, exploring important topics during the Depression such as workers’ unions, poverty and the country’s growing infrastructure. It takes place shortly after President Franklin Roosevelt implements the New Deal to help people secure jobs and improve the failing economy.
In their research on the Hoover Dam, Hays and McFall found building inconsistencies in the construction which ended up taking a decade of rebuilding to fix. They decided to work that into their book with the premise that the actions behind the scenes weren’t as straightforward as a rushed job. This takes the shape of cut brakes, cable cars failing and missing bundles of dynamite in an unknown group’s plan to sabotage construction.
Dam Nation also explores the theme of fame and what it does to an individual.
“We were famous once too, and it didn’t amount to a hill of beans,” Clyde tells Bonnie at the beginning of the book when she gets excited about the possibility of seeing famous movie stars at the work site.
Some speculate it was the outlaws’ growing fame which helped bring them down in real life. As they committed more and more crimes and their photos were posted in newspapers across the country, more people were able to recognize them which made it difficult for the couple to stay in one spot for too long.
At first, Parker, Barrow and their gang were seen by many as sort of Robin Hood vigilantes who stole from the rich. However, their image turned sour following the murder of a newly-engaged rookie officer in Texas, and the public began collectively calling for their capture, dead or alive.
While Parker had dreams of being a Hollywood actress and Barrow a musician, they knew there was no going back following their notoriety as criminals. Parker wrote poetry during her brief stint in prison and on the road with Barrow to reflect on various societal issues as well as their own lives, which assumed no illusions of grandeur.
In one poem, sometimes called “The Trail’s End” or “The End of the Line,” she likens themselves to Jessie James and reflects on the circumstances which led to their life of crime before predicting their inevitable end in the final stanza:
Some day they'll go down together
And they'll bury them side by side.
To few it'll be grief,
To the law a relief,
But it's death for Bonnie and Clyde.
This sentiment is reflected in the book following a sabotage of a transport bus’s brakes which leads to a crash that puts several union workers in the hospital. As Bonnie and Clyde head over to assess the situation, Bonnie worries they might run into the Texas ranger, who recently appeared at the work site, but Clyde, gesturing to his gun, says he can solve the problem permanently if need be.
The passage reads: “[Bonnie] wondered if there were really no second chances in life, that they were simply put on this earth to kill or be killed, and that fate could never be outrun.”
That could very well serve as another big theme of the book. The Bonnie in 1984 seems just as set in her cautious ways as she hides in plain sight, attending a weekly poetry club at a church while carrying a small handgun in her purse, ready to be on the run again at the drop of a hat. She’s lived an exciting life and is content now to see justice and closure for the family of the unfortunate couple who was killed in her and Clyde’s place.
Dam Nation, book two in the Bonnie and Clyde series, will be available Saturday, March 24, through Pumpjack Press at Barnes & Noble, Amazon and select indie bookstores. Visit www.pumpjackpress.comfor more information.
Here’s a link to the original article.
Learn more about all our books:
Bonnie and Clyde: Resurrection Road
Bonnie and Clyde: Dam Nation
The Cowboy and the Vampire: A Very Unusual Romance
The Cowboy and the Vampire: Blood and Whiskey
The Cowboy and the Vampire: Rough Trails and Shallow Graves
The Cowboy and the Vampire: The Last Sunset
And check out our website at https://www.pumpjackpress.com
By MacKenzie Chase
Arizona Daily Sun
March 22, 2018
Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow rose to infamy during America’s Great Depression in the 1930s through robbery sprees and the bodies left behind by them and the Barrow gang. Luck seemed to be on their side as they escaped many tight situations during their two years of crime, but an ambush in Louisiana on May 23, 1934, eventually led to their demise when police fired more than 130 rounds at the deadly couple in a stolen Ford V-8.
But what if Bonnie and Clyde didn’t really die that day?
Husband and wife team Clark Hays and Kathleen McFall imagine a different story for the outlaws, one that gives them a chance to redeem themselves in their upcoming book Dam Nation, the second in a series.
“We wondered what it would be like for these criminals to truly atone for their crimes and sins,” Hays explains. “They came together in this weird way at this very interesting time in American history, and the only thing they had was this love for each other.”
“They kind of bucked the system at the time when the economy had failed for the average person and embodied the fantasy people had of wanting to escape the system,” McFall adds.
In Dam Nation, Bonnie and Clyde have narrowly escaped capture and are put to work by the government to figure out who is sabotaging construction of the Boulder (Hoover) Dam and why. They also have to avoid being found out by Texas Ranger Hank Black who suspects the two may somehow still be alive.
In a post-gunfire confrontation, Sal, the government operative who’s been giving orders to Bonnie and Clyde, tells him, “If they were still alive, I would tell you that everyone has a purpose in life, and perhaps they are fulfilling theirs. And if they were still alive, I would tell you that you don't use good dogs to guard the junkyard, you use the meanest goddamn dogs you can get a collar around.”
Under their given pseudonyms of Brenda and Clarence Prentiss, Bonnie and Clyde put on their collars and enter the workforce as a secretary and water truck driver respectively, making a living through real work for once, even if they do get the urge to run a heist one day on their way to Las Vegas.
Dam Nation covers two mysteries as it jumps back and forth between Bonnie and Clyde’s lives as hard-working patriots at the construction site in 1934 and then 50 years later as a journalist works to uncover who was actually shot in the car with help from a 74-year-old Bonnie.
“The Bonnie and Clyde part is the fun and exciting part, but the relationship between the journalist and the older Bonnie becomes a poignant layer in the story,” says McFall, a former journalist herself.
Throughout the 300-plus pages, the story takes readers along as Bonnie and Clyde maneuver quick getaways from anarchists, the mob and sheer cliffs. There’s a good sprinkling of dam puns—with such the perfect set-up it might have been disappointing if there weren’t any—and quick, witty banter between the two lovers to move the action along. The present-day scenes paint a picture of a thriving newsroom, when the industry was respected and papers had the resources to assign ongoing investigative projects to reporters. It’s also interesting to consider how an aging outlaw might settle down in society without losing their edge.
The book combines fantasy with history, exploring important topics during the Depression such as workers’ unions, poverty and the country’s growing infrastructure. It takes place shortly after President Franklin Roosevelt implements the New Deal to help people secure jobs and improve the failing economy.
In their research on the Hoover Dam, Hays and McFall found building inconsistencies in the construction which ended up taking a decade of rebuilding to fix. They decided to work that into their book with the premise that the actions behind the scenes weren’t as straightforward as a rushed job. This takes the shape of cut brakes, cable cars failing and missing bundles of dynamite in an unknown group’s plan to sabotage construction.
Dam Nation also explores the theme of fame and what it does to an individual.
“We were famous once too, and it didn’t amount to a hill of beans,” Clyde tells Bonnie at the beginning of the book when she gets excited about the possibility of seeing famous movie stars at the work site.
Some speculate it was the outlaws’ growing fame which helped bring them down in real life. As they committed more and more crimes and their photos were posted in newspapers across the country, more people were able to recognize them which made it difficult for the couple to stay in one spot for too long.
At first, Parker, Barrow and their gang were seen by many as sort of Robin Hood vigilantes who stole from the rich. However, their image turned sour following the murder of a newly-engaged rookie officer in Texas, and the public began collectively calling for their capture, dead or alive.
While Parker had dreams of being a Hollywood actress and Barrow a musician, they knew there was no going back following their notoriety as criminals. Parker wrote poetry during her brief stint in prison and on the road with Barrow to reflect on various societal issues as well as their own lives, which assumed no illusions of grandeur.
In one poem, sometimes called “The Trail’s End” or “The End of the Line,” she likens themselves to Jessie James and reflects on the circumstances which led to their life of crime before predicting their inevitable end in the final stanza:
Some day they'll go down together
And they'll bury them side by side.
To few it'll be grief,
To the law a relief,
But it's death for Bonnie and Clyde.
This sentiment is reflected in the book following a sabotage of a transport bus’s brakes which leads to a crash that puts several union workers in the hospital. As Bonnie and Clyde head over to assess the situation, Bonnie worries they might run into the Texas ranger, who recently appeared at the work site, but Clyde, gesturing to his gun, says he can solve the problem permanently if need be.
The passage reads: “[Bonnie] wondered if there were really no second chances in life, that they were simply put on this earth to kill or be killed, and that fate could never be outrun.”
That could very well serve as another big theme of the book. The Bonnie in 1984 seems just as set in her cautious ways as she hides in plain sight, attending a weekly poetry club at a church while carrying a small handgun in her purse, ready to be on the run again at the drop of a hat. She’s lived an exciting life and is content now to see justice and closure for the family of the unfortunate couple who was killed in her and Clyde’s place.
Dam Nation, book two in the Bonnie and Clyde series, will be available Saturday, March 24, through Pumpjack Press at Barnes & Noble, Amazon and select indie bookstores. Visit www.pumpjackpress.comfor more information.
Here’s a link to the original article.
Learn more about all our books:
Bonnie and Clyde: Resurrection Road
Bonnie and Clyde: Dam Nation
The Cowboy and the Vampire: A Very Unusual Romance
The Cowboy and the Vampire: Blood and Whiskey
The Cowboy and the Vampire: Rough Trails and Shallow Graves
The Cowboy and the Vampire: The Last Sunset
And check out our website at https://www.pumpjackpress.com
April 7, 2018
Story Tellers Corner: From ‘Dam Nation’ to salvation; Authors’ twist on Bonnie, Clyde story brings them to BC
This article about our new book, Bonnie and Clyde: Dam Nation and what it’s like to write together, appeared in the Boulder City Review. The cool part about that is Boulder City is where much of book two takes place.
By Hali Bernstein Saylor
Boulder City Review
March 21, 2018
History tells us that Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow died May 23, 1934, when a posse ambushed them in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, and shot 167 bullets into their car. But what if it wasn’t really the two famous outlaws in that car? What if instead two young people who resembled the murderers and bank robbers were actually killed?
That’s the premise of a new series of books by Clark Hays and Kathleen McFall.
“Bonnie and Clyde: Dam Nation,” the second book in their Bonnie and Clyde series, debuts Saturday, March 24, which is the 110th anniversary of Clyde Barrow’s birth.
The story is set in 1935, and the two outlaws have been recruited by the federal government to foil a plan to sabotage construction of the Hoover Dam.
Hays said he and McFall have always been drawn to the story of antiheroes and examining that, taking a closer look at the story of redemption.
“We were intrigued by Bonnie and Clyde. They are such an important part of the American story,” he said.
McFall said that while they don’t condone the actions of the two, they began looking at the origins of how they became bank robbers and criminals, how poverty was forcing people to take action.
“It’s not quite a Robin Hood myth,” she said. “They became folk heroes in a way. There were so many people in the Depression … so many that had that fantasy to take control of their destiny.”
Immense project
Hays said he and McFall, who live in Portland, Oregon, had visited Hoover Dam and Boulder City and liked the character of the area.
“We were blown away by the sheer scope of it, the project that brought the dam to life. We knew we wanted to incorporate that into our writing,” he said.
Once they began the Bonnie and Clyde series, they realized the story of Hoover Dam’s construction would be a good fit.
The two spent at least a year doing research and immersing themselves in the history of the area to get a sense of what it was like to work on the dam.
“There is such a rich history in the area, and it has been captured so well by photographers and through oral history,” Hays said.
Their first book in the series, “Bonnie and Clyde: Resurrection Road,” has the origins of how the criminals began working for the government and sets them on a path to save President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
“There were plans to assassinate the president; everything is based in reality,” McFall said.
“It’s symbolic for saving the New Deal policies, pulling America out of the Great Depression,” Hays said. “In book two, set in Hoover Dam, … it tells how government infrastructure projects put people back to work. It changed the whole area.”
The two are at work on a third book in the series, which jumps ahead 10 years and takes Bonnie and Clyde to the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state, where the Manhattan Project was taking place.
Experienced writers
Before starting their first series, “The Cowboy and the Vampire Collection Boxed Set: Contains Books 1 - 4 plus Bonus Prequel Book” both had experience as writers. Hays was a communications officer for a financial firm and McFall was the director of communications for a medical research company as well as a former energy and science journalist.
McFall, who has a degree in geology, said her experience writing about geology and energy gave her the history and terminology she needed to give their story about the dam more credence and greater avenues to explore.
“Both positions at the heart of them had elements of writing, where we earned our chops, that required us to write on deadline. And we became really proficient churners out of copy,” McFall said. “We applied what we learned in the trenches and applied it to fiction.”
The duo began writing fiction as a way to save their relationship, Hays said.
“When we first became involved romantically, we had a fiery breakup after a short run at romance. … Fate brought us back together, so we decided to focus that dysfunctional energy in a more focused way and started a creative project. That was the first book in our cowboys and vampire collection,” he said.
“Some people think this was a test for marriage. If we could survive this, we could survive anything,” McFall added.
Ironically, Hays grew up with a special connection to and interest in Bonnie and Clyde. His father, who worked in the oil industry, was a “consummate storyteller.” When they purchased an old cattle ranch from the 1930s in White Hall, Montana, they discovered an old rusted car full of bullet holes.
“He convinced me it was Bonnie and Clyde’s death car. I believed that for quite some time,” Hays said.
Time in the public library proved the tale to be false, he said, while instilling a love of libraries.
McFall said they hope to arrange for a special event with the Boulder City Library to introduce people to their book. In the meantime, “Bonnie and Clyde: Dam Nation” is available at most online bookstores and in libraries.
Hali Bernstein Saylor is editor of the Boulder City Review. She can be reached at hsaylor@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9523. Follow @HalisComment on Twitter.
Here’s a link to the original article.
And here are the links to:
Bonnie and Clyde: Resurrection Road
Bonnie and Clyde: Dam Nation
The four-book Cowboy and Vampire Collection
our Pumpjack Press website
By Hali Bernstein Saylor
Boulder City Review
March 21, 2018
History tells us that Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow died May 23, 1934, when a posse ambushed them in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, and shot 167 bullets into their car. But what if it wasn’t really the two famous outlaws in that car? What if instead two young people who resembled the murderers and bank robbers were actually killed?
That’s the premise of a new series of books by Clark Hays and Kathleen McFall.
“Bonnie and Clyde: Dam Nation,” the second book in their Bonnie and Clyde series, debuts Saturday, March 24, which is the 110th anniversary of Clyde Barrow’s birth.
The story is set in 1935, and the two outlaws have been recruited by the federal government to foil a plan to sabotage construction of the Hoover Dam.
Hays said he and McFall have always been drawn to the story of antiheroes and examining that, taking a closer look at the story of redemption.
“We were intrigued by Bonnie and Clyde. They are such an important part of the American story,” he said.
McFall said that while they don’t condone the actions of the two, they began looking at the origins of how they became bank robbers and criminals, how poverty was forcing people to take action.
“It’s not quite a Robin Hood myth,” she said. “They became folk heroes in a way. There were so many people in the Depression … so many that had that fantasy to take control of their destiny.”
Immense project
Hays said he and McFall, who live in Portland, Oregon, had visited Hoover Dam and Boulder City and liked the character of the area.
“We were blown away by the sheer scope of it, the project that brought the dam to life. We knew we wanted to incorporate that into our writing,” he said.
Once they began the Bonnie and Clyde series, they realized the story of Hoover Dam’s construction would be a good fit.
The two spent at least a year doing research and immersing themselves in the history of the area to get a sense of what it was like to work on the dam.
“There is such a rich history in the area, and it has been captured so well by photographers and through oral history,” Hays said.
Their first book in the series, “Bonnie and Clyde: Resurrection Road,” has the origins of how the criminals began working for the government and sets them on a path to save President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
“There were plans to assassinate the president; everything is based in reality,” McFall said.
“It’s symbolic for saving the New Deal policies, pulling America out of the Great Depression,” Hays said. “In book two, set in Hoover Dam, … it tells how government infrastructure projects put people back to work. It changed the whole area.”
The two are at work on a third book in the series, which jumps ahead 10 years and takes Bonnie and Clyde to the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state, where the Manhattan Project was taking place.
Experienced writers
Before starting their first series, “The Cowboy and the Vampire Collection Boxed Set: Contains Books 1 - 4 plus Bonus Prequel Book” both had experience as writers. Hays was a communications officer for a financial firm and McFall was the director of communications for a medical research company as well as a former energy and science journalist.
McFall, who has a degree in geology, said her experience writing about geology and energy gave her the history and terminology she needed to give their story about the dam more credence and greater avenues to explore.
“Both positions at the heart of them had elements of writing, where we earned our chops, that required us to write on deadline. And we became really proficient churners out of copy,” McFall said. “We applied what we learned in the trenches and applied it to fiction.”
The duo began writing fiction as a way to save their relationship, Hays said.
“When we first became involved romantically, we had a fiery breakup after a short run at romance. … Fate brought us back together, so we decided to focus that dysfunctional energy in a more focused way and started a creative project. That was the first book in our cowboys and vampire collection,” he said.
“Some people think this was a test for marriage. If we could survive this, we could survive anything,” McFall added.
Ironically, Hays grew up with a special connection to and interest in Bonnie and Clyde. His father, who worked in the oil industry, was a “consummate storyteller.” When they purchased an old cattle ranch from the 1930s in White Hall, Montana, they discovered an old rusted car full of bullet holes.
“He convinced me it was Bonnie and Clyde’s death car. I believed that for quite some time,” Hays said.
Time in the public library proved the tale to be false, he said, while instilling a love of libraries.
McFall said they hope to arrange for a special event with the Boulder City Library to introduce people to their book. In the meantime, “Bonnie and Clyde: Dam Nation” is available at most online bookstores and in libraries.
Hali Bernstein Saylor is editor of the Boulder City Review. She can be reached at hsaylor@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9523. Follow @HalisComment on Twitter.
Here’s a link to the original article.
And here are the links to:
Bonnie and Clyde: Resurrection Road
Bonnie and Clyde: Dam Nation
The four-book Cowboy and Vampire Collection
our Pumpjack Press website
March 31, 2018
“Sizzling Behind-the-Scenes and Under-the-Covers Action Highlighting 1930s Turmoil”
This great review of our newest book, Bonnie and Clyde: Dam Nation, came out in the East Oregonian on the anniversary of Clyde’s birthday (March 24, 1909)
BOOK REVIEW: Depression-era alternate history highlights union clash
East Oregonian
Published on March 24, 2018
Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow are on the case again, with a new mission to save FDR’s most audacious project yet: Hoover Dam. “Bonnie and Clyde: Dam Nation” is the second in a series by Portland authors Clark Hays and Kathleen McFall imagining an alternate history for the most notorious robbery duo of the 20th century.
Yanked out of a comfortable “retirement” by their handler in 1935, the couple faces their most serious nemesis — gainful employment — while juggling Italian anarchists, Mafia bosses and union-busting goons in a race to determine who wants the project to fail. But a lapse in judgment threatens to derail their undercover scheme.
On the story’s parallel track in 1984, Bonnie teams up with journalist Royce Jenkins to discover who was really shot during the ambush that supposedly killed the famous bank-robbing couple, though danger lurks around every corner. Someone doesn’t want the real story to be told, and will go to great lengths to keep them quiet.
Released on the 109th birthday of Clyde Barrow and set against a backdrop of the Great Depression and the working man’s clash with big business and greedy banks over their fair share of the pie, “Dam Nation” highlights the real-life turmoil of the 1930s as only Hays and McFall can — shadowy intrigue, plenty of suspects and enough behind-the-scenes and under-the-covers action to keep the narrative sizzling along to the final page.
“Bonnie and Clyde: Dam Nation,” by Clark Hays and Kathleen McFall. © 2018, Pumpjack Press.
BOOK REVIEW: Depression-era alternate history highlights union clash
East Oregonian
Published on March 24, 2018
Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow are on the case again, with a new mission to save FDR’s most audacious project yet: Hoover Dam. “Bonnie and Clyde: Dam Nation” is the second in a series by Portland authors Clark Hays and Kathleen McFall imagining an alternate history for the most notorious robbery duo of the 20th century.
Yanked out of a comfortable “retirement” by their handler in 1935, the couple faces their most serious nemesis — gainful employment — while juggling Italian anarchists, Mafia bosses and union-busting goons in a race to determine who wants the project to fail. But a lapse in judgment threatens to derail their undercover scheme.
On the story’s parallel track in 1984, Bonnie teams up with journalist Royce Jenkins to discover who was really shot during the ambush that supposedly killed the famous bank-robbing couple, though danger lurks around every corner. Someone doesn’t want the real story to be told, and will go to great lengths to keep them quiet.
Released on the 109th birthday of Clyde Barrow and set against a backdrop of the Great Depression and the working man’s clash with big business and greedy banks over their fair share of the pie, “Dam Nation” highlights the real-life turmoil of the 1930s as only Hays and McFall can — shadowy intrigue, plenty of suspects and enough behind-the-scenes and under-the-covers action to keep the narrative sizzling along to the final page.
“Bonnie and Clyde: Dam Nation,” by Clark Hays and Kathleen McFall. © 2018, Pumpjack Press.
March 24, 2018
Bonnie and Clyde: Poverty, Second Chances and True Love
Our new book, Bonnie and Clyde: Dam Nation, explores deeper themes in a fun, thrilling, sexy read
Today is Clyde Barrow’s birthday.
He was born on March 24, 1909, in Telico, Texas, the fifth of seven children in an impoverished farm family. In 1930, Clyde met Bonnie Parker, a nineteen-year-old waitress with much bigger dreams than the slums of West Dallas could deliver. Two years later, the notorious lovers and their gang embarked on a multi-state crime spree that ended in a hail of bullets in a police ambush in Sailes, Louisiana, on May 23, 1934.
Today is also the formal release date of the new book Kathleen McFall and I wrote together, Bonnie and Clyde: Dam Nation (Pumpjack Press). It’s the second book in the series (book one, Bonnie and Clyde: Resurrection Road came out May 2017) that imagines what might have happened if the two outlaws were spared from their gruesome end and given (or, more accurately, forced) to work for the government to protect the greater good.
So why pick two notorious criminals and murderers (even though many believe Bonnie never pulled a trigger herself) to anchor the series? For three reasons:
We see the past as prologue
The economic conditions that shaped Bonnie and Clyde — utter poverty and hopelessness and staggering wealth inequality — are back in style. Bonnie and Clyde were products of the incredible privation leading up to the Great Depression and the years of hardships that followed. We picked them because their response to the soup lines and unemployment — a doomed life on the run taking whatever they wanted — struck a chord with their contemporaries, elevating them to folk hero status (at least until body count started to climb).
To be clear, we don’t consider poverty an excuse for crime or violence, but we do think it is a predictor and an enabler, and there are lessons to be learned. The economic landscape of today is eerily familiar, with wealth inequality at even higher levels than during the age of the robber barons, a pervasive sense of hopelessness, and anger and violence on the rise. In our books, Bonnie and Clyde put their unique skills to use protecting the only institution able to stand up to the corrupting power of concentrated wealth — the federal government.
We believe in second chances
Nothing moves us as more than stories about redemption and atonement. It’s a truth that resonates through most major religions, literary fiction (Jean Valjean springs to mind) and movies (from The Shawshank Redemption to Groundhog Day). We see ourselves reflected in the imperfect — those who have failed yet try again anyway, far more readily than we see ourselves in those who haven’t made mistakes.
And we are more deeply inspired and filled with greater hope knowing if the flawed and inconsistent, the damaged and forgotten can turn things around, then so can we. The saintly and the perfect aren’t tested in the same way — the fallen have so much farther to go to overcome their own faults to contribute to a greater good. And no one fell farther, faster than Bonnie and Clyde. In our books, we give them a chance to do good and make amends, and they make the most of it (even if grudgingly at first).
We know love is transformative
This is the sixth book Kathleen and I have written together (counting the four books in the Cowboy and the Vampire Collection; check out book one The Cowboy and the Vampire: A Very Unusual Romance), and our writing journey began with and is grounded in the transformative power of love. It’s what brought us together, almost drove us apart and keeps us focused — almost obsessively — on writing. And it’s a theme we return to in all of our books. It’s no surprise we were drawn to Bonnie and Clyde who, once they found each other, held on with more than a little desperation even as they set the world on fire around them.
Of course, there’s a big difference between exploring the alchemy of love through fiction and using that dark energy to fuel a crime spree. In our books, Bonnie and Clyde get the chance to live beyond their salacious and doomed relationship, growing even closer as the world around them shrinks.
Bonnie and Clyde, even 84 years later, have lessons to teach us. That poverty, if not addressed through policy intervention, can lead to violence. That people deserve second chances (it’s not widely known that Clyde’s life of crime began with a rental car issue, and police harassment likely ended a “straight” job after his first stint in a brutal prison). And that love, focused in positive directions, can change lives for the better.
Except for writers. And then, expect years of dysfunctional and antisocial behavior.
Check out Bonnie and Clyde: Dam Nation, and learn more about our books, and writing together, on our website: Pumpjack Press.
Today is Clyde Barrow’s birthday.
He was born on March 24, 1909, in Telico, Texas, the fifth of seven children in an impoverished farm family. In 1930, Clyde met Bonnie Parker, a nineteen-year-old waitress with much bigger dreams than the slums of West Dallas could deliver. Two years later, the notorious lovers and their gang embarked on a multi-state crime spree that ended in a hail of bullets in a police ambush in Sailes, Louisiana, on May 23, 1934.
Today is also the formal release date of the new book Kathleen McFall and I wrote together, Bonnie and Clyde: Dam Nation (Pumpjack Press). It’s the second book in the series (book one, Bonnie and Clyde: Resurrection Road came out May 2017) that imagines what might have happened if the two outlaws were spared from their gruesome end and given (or, more accurately, forced) to work for the government to protect the greater good.
So why pick two notorious criminals and murderers (even though many believe Bonnie never pulled a trigger herself) to anchor the series? For three reasons:
We see the past as prologue
The economic conditions that shaped Bonnie and Clyde — utter poverty and hopelessness and staggering wealth inequality — are back in style. Bonnie and Clyde were products of the incredible privation leading up to the Great Depression and the years of hardships that followed. We picked them because their response to the soup lines and unemployment — a doomed life on the run taking whatever they wanted — struck a chord with their contemporaries, elevating them to folk hero status (at least until body count started to climb).
To be clear, we don’t consider poverty an excuse for crime or violence, but we do think it is a predictor and an enabler, and there are lessons to be learned. The economic landscape of today is eerily familiar, with wealth inequality at even higher levels than during the age of the robber barons, a pervasive sense of hopelessness, and anger and violence on the rise. In our books, Bonnie and Clyde put their unique skills to use protecting the only institution able to stand up to the corrupting power of concentrated wealth — the federal government.
We believe in second chances
Nothing moves us as more than stories about redemption and atonement. It’s a truth that resonates through most major religions, literary fiction (Jean Valjean springs to mind) and movies (from The Shawshank Redemption to Groundhog Day). We see ourselves reflected in the imperfect — those who have failed yet try again anyway, far more readily than we see ourselves in those who haven’t made mistakes.
And we are more deeply inspired and filled with greater hope knowing if the flawed and inconsistent, the damaged and forgotten can turn things around, then so can we. The saintly and the perfect aren’t tested in the same way — the fallen have so much farther to go to overcome their own faults to contribute to a greater good. And no one fell farther, faster than Bonnie and Clyde. In our books, we give them a chance to do good and make amends, and they make the most of it (even if grudgingly at first).
We know love is transformative
This is the sixth book Kathleen and I have written together (counting the four books in the Cowboy and the Vampire Collection; check out book one The Cowboy and the Vampire: A Very Unusual Romance), and our writing journey began with and is grounded in the transformative power of love. It’s what brought us together, almost drove us apart and keeps us focused — almost obsessively — on writing. And it’s a theme we return to in all of our books. It’s no surprise we were drawn to Bonnie and Clyde who, once they found each other, held on with more than a little desperation even as they set the world on fire around them.
Of course, there’s a big difference between exploring the alchemy of love through fiction and using that dark energy to fuel a crime spree. In our books, Bonnie and Clyde get the chance to live beyond their salacious and doomed relationship, growing even closer as the world around them shrinks.
Bonnie and Clyde, even 84 years later, have lessons to teach us. That poverty, if not addressed through policy intervention, can lead to violence. That people deserve second chances (it’s not widely known that Clyde’s life of crime began with a rental car issue, and police harassment likely ended a “straight” job after his first stint in a brutal prison). And that love, focused in positive directions, can change lives for the better.
Except for writers. And then, expect years of dysfunctional and antisocial behavior.
Check out Bonnie and Clyde: Dam Nation, and learn more about our books, and writing together, on our website: Pumpjack Press.
March 1, 2018
Article about our new book in my hometown paper
As we make ready to release book two in our new series, we were stoked to get front page coverage in The Whitehall Ledger, my hometown paper.
Shout out to Jack Smith for penning a terrific article.
Release of second "Bonnie & Clyde" book set for March 24
During his childhood in Whitehall, Clark Hays would often hear quite the tales from his father who once convinced him that a car on their ranch had belonged to Bonnie and Clyde.
Years later, the 1984 graduate of Whitehall High School is publishing his second in a series of books about the popular criminal duo. Hays said, "Bonnie and Clyde: Dam Nation", a book co-written with Kathleen McFall, follows the first book in the series, "Resurrection Road", imagining an alternate history in which the two outlaw lovers are spared from their gruesome fates and forced to work for the government defending democracy and the working class.
Hays said in the new book scheduled to be released March 24, Bonnie and Clyde are trying to stop saboteurs from blowing up Hoover Dam (then called Boulder Dam) before it's completed.
After Hays and McFall wrote four books in a Cowboy and Vampire series, he said they wanted to come up with a fun, thrilling and entertaining series that allowed them to explore some of current economic issues facing our country.
"We picked Bonnie and Clyde because they occupy such an interesting place in American history, criminals who became almost folk heroes because of their origin story and the fact that they never had the chance to atone for their crimes," he said.
After publishing the first book about Bonnie and Clyde, Hays noted one of the coolest connections they have made is with the National Grange.
"The Grange, the noted fraternal order and advocacy group for rural Americans, plays a huge role in the books and the ACTUAL Grange noticed. We've been featured in their national publication, "Good DAY", twice now. And we're getting lots of great feedback and stories from fans on our Facebook page, including some ancestors of Clyde who seem genuinely pleased that we're resurrecting the legacy and giving their kin a (fictional) chance to atone for their crimes," he said.
Looking back to his early memories on the ranch 15 miles outside of Whitehall, Hays said he would pretend he was Frank Hamer and added to the constellation of bullet holes in the doors on the car on his property with his trusty .22 rilfle.
He credits the Whitehall Library for setting him straight that his father was pulling his leg about Bonnie and Clyde meeting their maker in Montana. Hays said he went through a phase at the library where we would read everything he could about American criminals, from Bonnie and Clyde to mobsters like Lucky Luciano.
"To the relief (I hope) of my parents, and probably the librarian, I didn't become a criminal, but chose to be a writer instead," he said.
For more information and reviews about the book, visit https://www.pumpjackpress.com/damnati....
Here's a link to the original article: http://www.whitehallledger.com/story/...
Shout out to Jack Smith for penning a terrific article.
Release of second "Bonnie & Clyde" book set for March 24
During his childhood in Whitehall, Clark Hays would often hear quite the tales from his father who once convinced him that a car on their ranch had belonged to Bonnie and Clyde.
Years later, the 1984 graduate of Whitehall High School is publishing his second in a series of books about the popular criminal duo. Hays said, "Bonnie and Clyde: Dam Nation", a book co-written with Kathleen McFall, follows the first book in the series, "Resurrection Road", imagining an alternate history in which the two outlaw lovers are spared from their gruesome fates and forced to work for the government defending democracy and the working class.
Hays said in the new book scheduled to be released March 24, Bonnie and Clyde are trying to stop saboteurs from blowing up Hoover Dam (then called Boulder Dam) before it's completed.
After Hays and McFall wrote four books in a Cowboy and Vampire series, he said they wanted to come up with a fun, thrilling and entertaining series that allowed them to explore some of current economic issues facing our country.
"We picked Bonnie and Clyde because they occupy such an interesting place in American history, criminals who became almost folk heroes because of their origin story and the fact that they never had the chance to atone for their crimes," he said.
After publishing the first book about Bonnie and Clyde, Hays noted one of the coolest connections they have made is with the National Grange.
"The Grange, the noted fraternal order and advocacy group for rural Americans, plays a huge role in the books and the ACTUAL Grange noticed. We've been featured in their national publication, "Good DAY", twice now. And we're getting lots of great feedback and stories from fans on our Facebook page, including some ancestors of Clyde who seem genuinely pleased that we're resurrecting the legacy and giving their kin a (fictional) chance to atone for their crimes," he said.
Looking back to his early memories on the ranch 15 miles outside of Whitehall, Hays said he would pretend he was Frank Hamer and added to the constellation of bullet holes in the doors on the car on his property with his trusty .22 rilfle.
He credits the Whitehall Library for setting him straight that his father was pulling his leg about Bonnie and Clyde meeting their maker in Montana. Hays said he went through a phase at the library where we would read everything he could about American criminals, from Bonnie and Clyde to mobsters like Lucky Luciano.
"To the relief (I hope) of my parents, and probably the librarian, I didn't become a criminal, but chose to be a writer instead," he said.
For more information and reviews about the book, visit https://www.pumpjackpress.com/damnati....
Here's a link to the original article: http://www.whitehallledger.com/story/...
June 18, 2017
So You Got a Bad Review
Here's an article I posted recently on LinkedIn.
Practical strategies for dealing with the inevitable.
Writers, generally speaking, are narcissists—not so secretly infatuated with ourselves. We have to be pretty confident and slavishly self-interested to believe our words are worth someone else’s time and energy. And we have to be blindly, annoyingly optimistic in order to internalize and move beyond the tsunami of rejections, critiques and lagging sales.
Like most narcissists, writers—generally speaking—are also deeply insecure, even though we usually hide it pretty well. Every suggested edit, every lukewarm review, challenges the aforementioned optimism and wound us deeply.
Confidence and insecurity make for a bad combination. Like boxers with glass jaws, we are narcissists with glass egos, and every bad review is a ten-pound hammer.
Negative reviews can be devastating and disheartening. They pierce that bubble (shell?) of optimism and create the kind of existential angst that can make even the most accomplished writer question their skill and sanity, and send the less emotionally sturdy into a paralyzing funk. Kathleen McFall and I have been writing professionally and creatively for more than 15 years now. We’ve never received a negative review, not once, but it’s not uncommon in the industry so we did the research and developed a list of effective coping mechanisms for those not quite as fortunate:
1. Retaliate in print. Write a carefully constructed and pointed rebuttal that takes apart the bad review line by line, challenges the reviewers grasp of literature and mocks their clumsy writing skills. And then delete it. Immediately. Better yet, print it out and burn it. Never engage.
2. Clear the negative energy by smudging some sage—cleansing herbs can be very powerful. Even better than sage, find some distillate of juniper and other select botanicals in a potable solution to help clear the bad energy internally. It’s called gin, and it’s the writer’s friend. But Don’t discriminate, many forms of alcohol can help soothe the sting of a horrible review. Make a drinking game out of it so you can keep score.
3. Kill them off in imaginative ways. Name a character in your current work in progress after the reviewer, and kill that character in some slow, horrible, gruesome way. Like, for example, how a character named Dennis might drink drain cleaner, catch on fire and fall into a chipper shredder.
4. Lie to yourself. Like we did at the beginning of this article. The worst review we ever received came out in Publisher’s Weekly for the whole world to see. Ironically, it was in the issue that featured a full-page ad for our new book on the back page and landed at the same time a glowing and almost diametrically opposed review appeared in Booklist (from the American Libraries Association). Cold comfort. It felt awful and now, 17 years later, we’ve completely forgotten about that sick feeling it caused, like a punch in a gut, and don’t hold any grudges, Dennis. But in the end, we believed in ourselves (there’s that blind optimism again) and trusted the work, and the response from (most) readers bore that out for all four books in The Cowboy and the Vampire Collection. Not all readers, to be sure, but that’s ok—we needed plenty of victims for the hungry vampires.
5. Learn from them. Seriously, this is the only one that really matters. Bad reviews suck, but they are a fact of writing, and the hardest part is figuring out how to separate the wheat from the chaff, to find usable feedback in bad reviews that are often vague or seem to miss the mark (or worse, are written by folks who clearly didn’t even read the book). Honest reviews from engaged readers always have something to teach writers, something that can make the next piece of work even better.
Writing professionally means, at some point (usually many points), bad reviews are forthcoming. Our job, as writers, is to salvage any usable critique from those reviews that helps us to improve and engage more deeply with readers in our target audience. Cowboys and vampires are not for everyone, so a review that maligns the genre may not provide much practical insight. But review from a paranormal romance fan who found certain types of “blood play” off-putting is certainly worth thinking more about.
Not all bad reviews can make us better writers, but even if they can’t help us think more critically about our work, they can help us develop better coping mechanisms. We’re just getting warmed up on a new alternative history series that reclaims and rehabilitates the legend of Bonnie and Clyde, recasting them as protectors of the American dream. It’s highly likely we’ll be learning a LOT from reviews in the coming months. And also highly likely we’ll be buying gin in bulk.
****
Clark Hays and Kathleen McFall have written four books in the award-winning The Cowboy and the Vampire Collection, beginning withThe Cowboy and the Vampire: A Very Unusual Romance. Their newest book is Bonnie and Clyde: Resurrection Road. Learn more at PumpjackPress.com.
Practical strategies for dealing with the inevitable.
Writers, generally speaking, are narcissists—not so secretly infatuated with ourselves. We have to be pretty confident and slavishly self-interested to believe our words are worth someone else’s time and energy. And we have to be blindly, annoyingly optimistic in order to internalize and move beyond the tsunami of rejections, critiques and lagging sales.
Like most narcissists, writers—generally speaking—are also deeply insecure, even though we usually hide it pretty well. Every suggested edit, every lukewarm review, challenges the aforementioned optimism and wound us deeply.
Confidence and insecurity make for a bad combination. Like boxers with glass jaws, we are narcissists with glass egos, and every bad review is a ten-pound hammer.
Negative reviews can be devastating and disheartening. They pierce that bubble (shell?) of optimism and create the kind of existential angst that can make even the most accomplished writer question their skill and sanity, and send the less emotionally sturdy into a paralyzing funk. Kathleen McFall and I have been writing professionally and creatively for more than 15 years now. We’ve never received a negative review, not once, but it’s not uncommon in the industry so we did the research and developed a list of effective coping mechanisms for those not quite as fortunate:
1. Retaliate in print. Write a carefully constructed and pointed rebuttal that takes apart the bad review line by line, challenges the reviewers grasp of literature and mocks their clumsy writing skills. And then delete it. Immediately. Better yet, print it out and burn it. Never engage.
2. Clear the negative energy by smudging some sage—cleansing herbs can be very powerful. Even better than sage, find some distillate of juniper and other select botanicals in a potable solution to help clear the bad energy internally. It’s called gin, and it’s the writer’s friend. But Don’t discriminate, many forms of alcohol can help soothe the sting of a horrible review. Make a drinking game out of it so you can keep score.
3. Kill them off in imaginative ways. Name a character in your current work in progress after the reviewer, and kill that character in some slow, horrible, gruesome way. Like, for example, how a character named Dennis might drink drain cleaner, catch on fire and fall into a chipper shredder.
4. Lie to yourself. Like we did at the beginning of this article. The worst review we ever received came out in Publisher’s Weekly for the whole world to see. Ironically, it was in the issue that featured a full-page ad for our new book on the back page and landed at the same time a glowing and almost diametrically opposed review appeared in Booklist (from the American Libraries Association). Cold comfort. It felt awful and now, 17 years later, we’ve completely forgotten about that sick feeling it caused, like a punch in a gut, and don’t hold any grudges, Dennis. But in the end, we believed in ourselves (there’s that blind optimism again) and trusted the work, and the response from (most) readers bore that out for all four books in The Cowboy and the Vampire Collection. Not all readers, to be sure, but that’s ok—we needed plenty of victims for the hungry vampires.
5. Learn from them. Seriously, this is the only one that really matters. Bad reviews suck, but they are a fact of writing, and the hardest part is figuring out how to separate the wheat from the chaff, to find usable feedback in bad reviews that are often vague or seem to miss the mark (or worse, are written by folks who clearly didn’t even read the book). Honest reviews from engaged readers always have something to teach writers, something that can make the next piece of work even better.
Writing professionally means, at some point (usually many points), bad reviews are forthcoming. Our job, as writers, is to salvage any usable critique from those reviews that helps us to improve and engage more deeply with readers in our target audience. Cowboys and vampires are not for everyone, so a review that maligns the genre may not provide much practical insight. But review from a paranormal romance fan who found certain types of “blood play” off-putting is certainly worth thinking more about.
Not all bad reviews can make us better writers, but even if they can’t help us think more critically about our work, they can help us develop better coping mechanisms. We’re just getting warmed up on a new alternative history series that reclaims and rehabilitates the legend of Bonnie and Clyde, recasting them as protectors of the American dream. It’s highly likely we’ll be learning a LOT from reviews in the coming months. And also highly likely we’ll be buying gin in bulk.
****
Clark Hays and Kathleen McFall have written four books in the award-winning The Cowboy and the Vampire Collection, beginning withThe Cowboy and the Vampire: A Very Unusual Romance. Their newest book is Bonnie and Clyde: Resurrection Road. Learn more at PumpjackPress.com.
May 22, 2017
Why Bonnie and Clyde? And Why Now?
Kathleen and I just released our fifth book today — Bonnie and Clyde: Resurrection Road — on the 83rd anniversary of their deaths. Well, their “alleged” deaths.
The real Bonnie and Clyde died on May 23, 1934. Bonnie Parker was 24 and Clyde Barrow was 25 — startling young — when they were gunned in a hail of bullets on a county road near Sailes, Louisiana in a vigilante ambush. Our book is an alternative history, a “what if” story that plucks the notorious couple out of harm’s way at the very last instant and gives them a chance to atone for their life of crime by trying to save democracy. (“Outlaws become patriots,” to quote Kirkus Reviews.)
So why rescue America’s most infamous outlaws, and why now?
The first part is easy — people love outlaws. Jesse James is a fixture in the American psyche; broaden the scope a bit, and the legend of Robin Hood has an appeal which transcends geography. Desperadoes aren’t bound by the (often seemingly arbitrary) laws of the land or even the expectations of civilized (read: stifling) society, and seem desperately free. Throw in a few acts of kindness amongst the crime — giving some money to orphans of poor farmers — and the stage is set for the ultimate redemption story.
Even with our predilection to idolize bad guys and girls, there is something special about Bonnie and Clyde. For years, they stayed one step ahead of the “laws,” piling up exploits with style, pulling capers with panache and orchestrating daring escapes. And it didn’t hurt that there was a titillating, salacious undercurrent of illicit sex.
Of course, the media made them out to be bigger and flashier than they were, and they murdered people in cold blood and died in a pretty horrible fashion (allegedly). But time has dulled the reality and left only the sexy side of the story.
So now for the second part of the question, why now?
It’s because of the Great Depression, and what it says about today. Bonnie and Clyde stood up to (or lashed out at, depending on your viewpoint) the economic system that created them, the system that was ruining the country. They were the products of extreme poverty, of a brutal existence shaped by the horrors of the Great Depression and they had the perfect, if somewhat murderous, response: Blow it up. Tear it down. Be patient no more.
To quote the rock and roll maxim, they decided they’d rather burn out than fade away. So they grabbed their guns (Clyde was partial to the Browning Automatic Rifle) and stole a car and aimed their anger at the economic system that failed them, failed so many. Because they, like so many others, literally had nothing left to lose.
Interestingly, they also aimed their anger at the legal system that kept so many mired in indentured servitude. Clyde, literally, organized an attack on the prison where he had been incarcerated (for stealing chickens, and cars) and brutalized — along with suffering a rape, the everyday conditions were truly horrendous as they were forced to pick cotton and tend to other crops. It was so bad, he cut off two of his toes to escape it. (Prematurely, as it turned out; he was up for release.)
Bonnie and Clyde were born into the dusty shadow of the Great Depression, born hopeless and already destined to die forgotten. Jobs were gone. Banks had failed. Farms were foreclosed. Hard-working men were forced to stand in soup lines. Families lived, and starved, in Hooovervilles. The unregulated greed of the wealthy elites crashed the system and ruined the country for almost everyone for an entire generation. And those same wealthy industrialists are the bad guys in Bonnie and Clyde: Resurrection Road.
So why now? Because we live in a world in which wealth inequality in the U.S. is currently EVEN higher than in the Gilded Age of robber barons, and Bonnie and Clyde seemed like the perfect anti-heroes to aim at a system that is failing so many and incarcerating so many more. Our new book is a proxy war for the future of this country fought 83 years ago by the unlikeliest of heroes.
Of course, it’s also a love story, and a thriller, and a book about second chances and the power each of us has overcome and atone for our mistakes. On the 83rd anniversary of the (alleged) deaths of Bonnie and Clyde, we hope you’ll think about the power each of us has to influence those around us and how to use that power for a greater good.
And we hope you’ll check out our new book. It’s a lot of fun.
The real Bonnie and Clyde died on May 23, 1934. Bonnie Parker was 24 and Clyde Barrow was 25 — startling young — when they were gunned in a hail of bullets on a county road near Sailes, Louisiana in a vigilante ambush. Our book is an alternative history, a “what if” story that plucks the notorious couple out of harm’s way at the very last instant and gives them a chance to atone for their life of crime by trying to save democracy. (“Outlaws become patriots,” to quote Kirkus Reviews.)
So why rescue America’s most infamous outlaws, and why now?
The first part is easy — people love outlaws. Jesse James is a fixture in the American psyche; broaden the scope a bit, and the legend of Robin Hood has an appeal which transcends geography. Desperadoes aren’t bound by the (often seemingly arbitrary) laws of the land or even the expectations of civilized (read: stifling) society, and seem desperately free. Throw in a few acts of kindness amongst the crime — giving some money to orphans of poor farmers — and the stage is set for the ultimate redemption story.
Even with our predilection to idolize bad guys and girls, there is something special about Bonnie and Clyde. For years, they stayed one step ahead of the “laws,” piling up exploits with style, pulling capers with panache and orchestrating daring escapes. And it didn’t hurt that there was a titillating, salacious undercurrent of illicit sex.
Of course, the media made them out to be bigger and flashier than they were, and they murdered people in cold blood and died in a pretty horrible fashion (allegedly). But time has dulled the reality and left only the sexy side of the story.
So now for the second part of the question, why now?
It’s because of the Great Depression, and what it says about today. Bonnie and Clyde stood up to (or lashed out at, depending on your viewpoint) the economic system that created them, the system that was ruining the country. They were the products of extreme poverty, of a brutal existence shaped by the horrors of the Great Depression and they had the perfect, if somewhat murderous, response: Blow it up. Tear it down. Be patient no more.
To quote the rock and roll maxim, they decided they’d rather burn out than fade away. So they grabbed their guns (Clyde was partial to the Browning Automatic Rifle) and stole a car and aimed their anger at the economic system that failed them, failed so many. Because they, like so many others, literally had nothing left to lose.
Interestingly, they also aimed their anger at the legal system that kept so many mired in indentured servitude. Clyde, literally, organized an attack on the prison where he had been incarcerated (for stealing chickens, and cars) and brutalized — along with suffering a rape, the everyday conditions were truly horrendous as they were forced to pick cotton and tend to other crops. It was so bad, he cut off two of his toes to escape it. (Prematurely, as it turned out; he was up for release.)
Bonnie and Clyde were born into the dusty shadow of the Great Depression, born hopeless and already destined to die forgotten. Jobs were gone. Banks had failed. Farms were foreclosed. Hard-working men were forced to stand in soup lines. Families lived, and starved, in Hooovervilles. The unregulated greed of the wealthy elites crashed the system and ruined the country for almost everyone for an entire generation. And those same wealthy industrialists are the bad guys in Bonnie and Clyde: Resurrection Road.
So why now? Because we live in a world in which wealth inequality in the U.S. is currently EVEN higher than in the Gilded Age of robber barons, and Bonnie and Clyde seemed like the perfect anti-heroes to aim at a system that is failing so many and incarcerating so many more. Our new book is a proxy war for the future of this country fought 83 years ago by the unlikeliest of heroes.
Of course, it’s also a love story, and a thriller, and a book about second chances and the power each of us has overcome and atone for our mistakes. On the 83rd anniversary of the (alleged) deaths of Bonnie and Clyde, we hope you’ll think about the power each of us has to influence those around us and how to use that power for a greater good.
And we hope you’ll check out our new book. It’s a lot of fun.
Why Bonnie and Clyde? And Why Now?
Kathleen and I just released our fifth book today — Bonnie and Clyde: Resurrection Road — on the 83rd anniversary of their deaths. Well, their “alleged” deaths.
The real Bonnie and Clyde died on May 23, 1934. Bonnie Parker was 24 and Clyde Barrow was 25 — startling young — when they were gunned in a hail of bullets on a county road near Sailes, Louisiana in a vigilante ambush. Our book is an alternative history, a “what if” story that plucks the notorious couple out of harm’s way at the very last instant and gives them a chance to atone for their life of crime by trying to save democracy. (“Outlaws become patriots,” to quote Kirkus Reviews.)
So why rescue America’s most infamous outlaws, and why now?
The first part is easy — people love outlaws. Jesse James is a fixture in the American psyche; broaden the scope a bit, and the legend of Robin Hood has an appeal which transcends geography. Desperadoes aren’t bound by the (often seemingly arbitrary) laws of the land or even the expectations of civilized (read: stifling) society, and seem desperately free. Throw in a few acts of kindness amongst the crime — giving some money to orphans of poor farmers — and the stage is set for the ultimate redemption story.
Even with our predilection to idolize bad guys and girls, there is something special about Bonnie and Clyde. For years, they stayed one step ahead of the “laws,” piling up exploits with style, pulling capers with panache and orchestrating daring escapes. And it didn’t hurt that there was a titillating, salacious undercurrent of illicit sex.
Of course, the media made them out to be bigger and flashier than they were, and they murdered people in cold blood and died in a pretty horrible fashion (allegedly). But time has dulled the reality and left only the sexy side of the story.
So now for the second part of the question, why now?
It’s because of the Great Depression, and what it says about today. Bonnie and Clyde stood up to (or lashed out at, depending on your viewpoint) the economic system that created them, the system that was ruining the country. They were the products of extreme poverty, of a brutal existence shaped by the horrors of the Great Depression and they had the perfect, if somewhat murderous, response: Blow it up. Tear it down. Be patient no more.
To quote the rock and roll maxim, they decided they’d rather burn out than fade away. So they grabbed their guns (Clyde was partial to the Browning Automatic Rifle) and stole a car and aimed their anger at the economic system that failed them, failed so many. Because they, like so many others, literally had nothing left to lose.
Interestingly, they also aimed their anger at the legal system that kept so many mired in indentured servitude. Clyde, literally, organized an attack on the prison where he had been incarcerated (for stealing chickens, and cars) and brutalized — along with suffering a rape, the everyday conditions were truly horrendous as they were forced to pick cotton and tend to other crops. It was so bad, he cut off two of his toes to escape it. (Prematurely, as it turned out; he was up for release.)
Bonnie and Clyde were born into the dusty shadow of the Great Depression, born hopeless and already destined to die forgotten. Jobs were gone. Banks had failed. Farms were foreclosed. Hard-working men were forced to stand in soup lines. Families lived, and starved, in Hooovervilles. The unregulated greed of the wealthy elites crashed the system and ruined the country for almost everyone for an entire generation. And those same wealthy industrialists are the bad guys in Bonnie and Clyde: Resurrection Road.
So why now? Because we live in a world in which wealth inequality in the U.S. is currently EVEN higher than in the Gilded Age of robber barons, and Bonnie and Clyde seemed like the perfect anti-heroes to aim at a system that is failing so many and incarcerating so many more. Our new book is a proxy war for the future of this country fought 83 years ago by the unlikeliest of heroes.
Of course, it’s also a love story, and a thriller, and a book about second chances and the power each of us has overcome and atone for our mistakes. On the 83rd anniversary of the (alleged) deaths of Bonnie and Clyde, we hope you’ll think about the power each of us has to influence those around us and how to use that power for a greater good.
And we hope you’ll check out our new book. It’s a lot of fun.
The real Bonnie and Clyde died on May 23, 1934. Bonnie Parker was 24 and Clyde Barrow was 25 — startling young — when they were gunned in a hail of bullets on a county road near Sailes, Louisiana in a vigilante ambush. Our book is an alternative history, a “what if” story that plucks the notorious couple out of harm’s way at the very last instant and gives them a chance to atone for their life of crime by trying to save democracy. (“Outlaws become patriots,” to quote Kirkus Reviews.)
So why rescue America’s most infamous outlaws, and why now?
The first part is easy — people love outlaws. Jesse James is a fixture in the American psyche; broaden the scope a bit, and the legend of Robin Hood has an appeal which transcends geography. Desperadoes aren’t bound by the (often seemingly arbitrary) laws of the land or even the expectations of civilized (read: stifling) society, and seem desperately free. Throw in a few acts of kindness amongst the crime — giving some money to orphans of poor farmers — and the stage is set for the ultimate redemption story.
Even with our predilection to idolize bad guys and girls, there is something special about Bonnie and Clyde. For years, they stayed one step ahead of the “laws,” piling up exploits with style, pulling capers with panache and orchestrating daring escapes. And it didn’t hurt that there was a titillating, salacious undercurrent of illicit sex.
Of course, the media made them out to be bigger and flashier than they were, and they murdered people in cold blood and died in a pretty horrible fashion (allegedly). But time has dulled the reality and left only the sexy side of the story.
So now for the second part of the question, why now?
It’s because of the Great Depression, and what it says about today. Bonnie and Clyde stood up to (or lashed out at, depending on your viewpoint) the economic system that created them, the system that was ruining the country. They were the products of extreme poverty, of a brutal existence shaped by the horrors of the Great Depression and they had the perfect, if somewhat murderous, response: Blow it up. Tear it down. Be patient no more.
To quote the rock and roll maxim, they decided they’d rather burn out than fade away. So they grabbed their guns (Clyde was partial to the Browning Automatic Rifle) and stole a car and aimed their anger at the economic system that failed them, failed so many. Because they, like so many others, literally had nothing left to lose.
Interestingly, they also aimed their anger at the legal system that kept so many mired in indentured servitude. Clyde, literally, organized an attack on the prison where he had been incarcerated (for stealing chickens, and cars) and brutalized — along with suffering a rape, the everyday conditions were truly horrendous as they were forced to pick cotton and tend to other crops. It was so bad, he cut off two of his toes to escape it. (Prematurely, as it turned out; he was up for release.)
Bonnie and Clyde were born into the dusty shadow of the Great Depression, born hopeless and already destined to die forgotten. Jobs were gone. Banks had failed. Farms were foreclosed. Hard-working men were forced to stand in soup lines. Families lived, and starved, in Hooovervilles. The unregulated greed of the wealthy elites crashed the system and ruined the country for almost everyone for an entire generation. And those same wealthy industrialists are the bad guys in Bonnie and Clyde: Resurrection Road.
So why now? Because we live in a world in which wealth inequality in the U.S. is currently EVEN higher than in the Gilded Age of robber barons, and Bonnie and Clyde seemed like the perfect anti-heroes to aim at a system that is failing so many and incarcerating so many more. Our new book is a proxy war for the future of this country fought 83 years ago by the unlikeliest of heroes.
Of course, it’s also a love story, and a thriller, and a book about second chances and the power each of us has overcome and atone for our mistakes. On the 83rd anniversary of the (alleged) deaths of Bonnie and Clyde, we hope you’ll think about the power each of us has to influence those around us and how to use that power for a greater good.
And we hope you’ll check out our new book. It’s a lot of fun.
