Monday, January 27, 2020

#129 Inside the Emotion of Fiction "RED AND WHITE" by Kenneth Weene



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****Kenneth Weene’s Red And White is #129 in the never-ending series called INSIDE THE EMOTION OF FICTION where the Chris Rice Cooper Blog (CRC) focuses on one specific excerpt from a fiction genre and how that fiction writer wrote that specific excerpt.  All INSIDE THE EMOTION OF FICTION links are at the end of this piece. 

Name of fiction work? And were there other names you considered that you would like to share with us?  Red and White. To be honest the title was there from the very beginning, which has more often than not been the history of my books

What is the date you began writing this piece of fiction and the date when you completely finished the piece of fiction?
I can’t give exact dates, but it has been a few years in part because I have worked on two other major projects during the same period, a memoir I co-wrote with a gentleman from South Sudan, and a play, Ashes, that I co-wrote with a friend from Nigeria. The play is supposed to be published this summer. The memoir, Jumping Over the Ram, is still looking for a publisher.

Where did you do most of your writing for this fiction work? And please describe in detail. And can you please include a photo? I do almost all my writing in my office seated at a computer. I did take one small break to work on one chapter in Prescott, AZ. I’m not sure why I needed that few days, but generally, I just hack away at my desk.  

          Two reasons I prefer working that way: I use a double screen for my computer array, which means that I can fact and spell check while the manuscript is open; and to be honest, my handwriting is so bad that I can’t do much writing with pen and paper. 


What were your writing habits while writing this work- did you drink something as you wrote, listen to music, write in pen and paper, directly on laptop; specific time of day? Okay, I’ve already said I wrote at the computer. I don’t smoke anything, haven’t for years. I seldom listen to music when writing except that while working on a couple of segments I did play some Native American music to help with the rhythms of the words. 
         
Now, what do I drink? Well, let’s just say that I consume a lot of coffee, specifically Arbuckle Coffee, the coffee that won the west; that really is their slogan and it is an old company that was popular on the range. Of course, the blends today are different.

Can you give the reader just enough information for them to understand what is going on in the excerpt? I thought I would use one of the parts I wrote on that trip to Prescott. Old Man Miller owns the local saloon. John McCabe works for and lives with Miller. There has been a fight in town, one that involved Whites and Indians. The intent of this chapter is to create a sense of what the relationship between Reds and Whites is.

Please include just one excerpt and include page numbers as reference. This one excerpt can be as short or as long as you prefer.

Excerpt from Chapter five – Confusions 

“Well that was some ruckus we had us this morning.” Old Man Miller spat; his spittle clanked into the bucket that served as a spittoon.  “You know how she started?”

John McCabe settled into a chair. “Sure do. It was ‘count of Mrs. Knox, you know Amos’s wife. She come into town with him. Wanted to buy some of that cloth Jedidiah had ‘em ship in from Omaha. Wanted to make herself a new dress, and…”

“Hrmph! Hrmph!” The older man snorted his impatience.

John continued, “she was walking cross the street when that Injun saw her, and him not thinking none because of the liquor, why he said, ‘Howdy.’ And she said, “Howdy,” back. And Wainright he took ‘ception count of him bein’ an Injun and shouldn’t be talkin’ to no White woman.”

The saloonkeeper stroked his whiskers and spat again. “Just, ‘Howdy?’”

“Yes, sir, ‘Howdy.’”

“That boy’s got mean in his brain. He’d have taken exception if that Injun has passed wind.” Old Man Miller hucked another wad of spit into the bucket.

“Yes, Sir. … We gonna stop sellin’ whiskey to them Injuns?”

The older man laughed—the sound of a goat bleating in surprise. “Hell no! You know what a good fight does?” He paused for emphasis. “Gets a man’s thirst roaring. That’s what it does. Sold more beer today than we do most weeks.” He cackled again.

The door to the saloon had been locked, at least a stout of wood had been wedged against it. The saloonkeeper and his young helper were heating their dinner — the usual, beans with a few chunks of pork thrown in for flavor. John was always thankful to see his employer happy. When business was good, the old man was more likely to share those bits of fatty meat. Most days, the younger man had to settle for just the beans. Tonight’s dinner was looking promising.

“You seen your share of fighting didn’t you, Mr. Miller?” McCabe asked. He had asked the question many times. It was one of Old Man Miller’s favorite topics — the years he had ridden with One-Armed Kearney, even helping the Captain off the field when his arm had been blown away at Churubusco.

Miller’s story always ended the same way. “That was enough fighting for me. Enough of horses, too. Only thing I wanted after Army life was a good drink. That’s why I went into this business. Good liquor and a good chaw: that’s enough for any man!”

When he would finish, the old man would always spit. Even if he didn’t have a plug in his cheek, he would spit. Sometimes, if he were cooking their beans, he’d spit into the pot. “What the hell,” McCabe would think, “it’ll add flavor.”

When he saw that Miller had actually given him a fistful of that pork, McCabe figured the saloonkeeper was in an especially good mood. “Mind if I ask ya a question?”

“Go ahead. Don’t know as I’ll answer, but go on and ask.”

“Your name?”

“What about it?”

“What is it?”

“Miller. Hell, you know that.”

“Nah. I mean your Christian name.”

“Folks call me “Old Man.”

“Well, I know that. I mean your real name — the one your folks gave you.”

“They didn’t.”

“On your certificate or when you was baptized.”

“None of that crap. My ma dropped me, and that was about all what she was ready to do.”

“What did your pappy call you?”

“Before he rode out?” The old man lit the kerosene lamp. He ran his finger around the edge of his plate and sucked the last of the beans from his rough digit.

“Hell, all he said was, ‘ain’t no kith of mine.’ Course I don’t recall it being just a baby, but that’s what my Ma told me. Nope, only name I got’s Miller. Course now folks call me Old Man, but I don’t know as it matters. Miller’s ‘nough of a name for a barkeep.” He took a plug and stuffed it into one cheek. The younger man could see the staining of Miller’s teeth — the ones that had not yet rotted out.

Why is this excerpt so emotional for you as a writer to write? And can you describe your own emotional experience of writing this specific excerpt? I think at a personal level this excerpt connects with the alienation between my father and myself and the absence of meaningful communication, which may be why it took going away to work on it. However, in the larger context of the novel, it is so evocative of the tension between Whites, Blacks, and Indians that pervaded that time in history, of the effect the Civil War had on America and Americans, and finally how in the end money so often distorted what was—and what is—going on in our world.

Were there any deletions from this excerpt that you can share with us? And can you please include a photo of your marked up rough drafts of this excerpt.  I’m sure there were individual words altered, but this piece when it was finally written was really just there as was most of this book. That’s one of the reasons that I mention channeling the story; it came from within me but so smoothly and complete.
           Kenneth Weene learned to read at an early age. “I asked my father where baby’s come from. When he said that he was too busy to talk, I figured that I’d have to find out a different way,” is the explanation Ken gives. “My uncle, who was a doctor then serving in the army during World War II, had left his books in our attic. I figured that if I learned to read them I would get my answer.”
The joke was on Ken; those books were in German. Still, he had found the joy of reading, a joy that has never failed him. In addition to loving books, that early experience gave Ken a fascination with human behavior and how people lie to one another in order to give meaning to their own lives. Lonely Cricket, the protagonist of Red and White, draws on and reflects Ken’s fascination with the search for human truth and the connection between that truth and stories.

With a Ph.D. in psychology and a never-ending love for language, writing, and his fellow humans, Ken has devoted the past twenty years of his life to creating stories, poems, essays, novels, and plays. With each published word, Ken tells himself, “I think that’s it.” Still new ideas come.

When asked how he can write about Native Americans, Black Americans, and characters from so many diverse backgrounds, Ken replies, “We’re all more nearly human than otherwise.” For Ken, writing is a celebration not of one group or one culture but of the human experience. “As long as I have the capacity to empathize, I will have a never-ending source of stories.”


INSIDE THE EMOTION OF FICTION links

001   11 15 2018 Nathaniel Kaine’s
Thriller Novel
John Hunter – The Veteran

002   11 18 2018 Ed Protzzel’s
Futuristic/Mystery/Thriller
The Antiquities Dealer 

003   11 23 2018 Janice Seagraves’s
Science Fiction Romance
Exodus Arcon

004   11 29 2018 Christian Fennell’s
Literary Fiction Novel
The Fiddler in the Night

005  12 02 2018 Jessica Mathews’s
Adult Paranormal Romance
Death Adjacent

006  12 04 2018 Robin Jansen’s
Literary Fiction Novel
Ruby the Indomitable

007  12 12 2018  Adair Valerez’s
Literary Fiction Novel
Scrim

008  12 17 218 Kit Frazier’s
Mystery Novel
Dead Copy

009 12 21 2019 Robert Craven’s
Noir/Spy Novel
The Road of a Thousand Tigers

010 01 13 2019 Kristine Goodfellow’s
Contemporary Romantic Fiction
The Other Twin

011 01 17 2019 Nancy J Cohen’s
Cozy Mystery
Trimmed To Death

012 01 20 2019 Charles Salzberg’s
Crime Novel
Second Story Man

013 01 23 2019 Alexis Fancher’s
Flash Fiction
His Full Attention

014 01 27 2019 Brian L Tucker’s
Young Adult/Historical
POKEWEED:  AN ILLUSTRATED NOVELLA

015 01 31 2019 Robin Tidwell’s
Dystopian
Reduced

016 02 07 2019 J.D. Trafford’s
Legal Fiction/Mystery
Little Boy Lost

017 02 08 2019 Paula Shene’s
Young Adult ScieFi/Fantasy/Romance/Adventure
My Quest Begins 

018 02 13 2019 Talia Carner’s
Mainstream Fiction/ Suspense/ Historical
Hotel Moscow

019 02 15 2019 Rick Robinson’s
Multidimensional Fiction
Alligator Alley

020 02 21 2019 LaVerne Thompson’s
Urban Fantasy
The Soul Collectors

021 02 27 2019 Marlon L Fick’s
Post-Colonialist Novel
The Nowhere Man

022 03 02 2019 Carol Johnson’s
Mainstream Novel
Silk And Ashes

023 03 06 2019 Samuel Snoek-Brown’s
Short Story Collection
There Is No Other Way to Worship Them

024 03 08 2019 Marlin Barton’s
Short Story Collection
Pasture Art

025 03 18 2019 Laura Hunter’s
Historical Fiction
Beloved Mother

026 03 21 2019 Maggie Rivers’s
Romance
Magical Mistletoe

027  03 25 2019 Faith Gibson’s
Paranormal Romance
Rafael

028 03 27 2019 Valerie Nieman’s
Tall Tale
To The Bones

029 04 04 2019 Betty Bolte’s
Paranormal Romance
Veiled Visions of Love

030 04 05 2019  Marianne Maili’s
Tragicomedy
Lucy, go see

031 04 10 2019 Gregory Erich Phillips’s
Mainstream Fiction
The Exile


032 04 15 2019 Jason Ament’s
Speculative Fiction
Rabid Dogs

033 04 24 2019 Stephen P. Keirnan’s
Historical Novel
The Baker’s Secret

034 05 01 2019 George Kramer’s
Fantasy
Arcadis: Prophecy Book

035 05 05 2019 Erika Sams’s
Adventure/Fantasy/Romance
Rose of Dance

036 05 07 2019 Mark Wisniewski’s
Literary Fiction
Watch Me Go

037 05 08 2019 Marci Baun’s
Science Fiction/Horror
The Whispering House

038 05 10 2019 Suzanne M. Wolfe’s
Historical Fiction
Murder By Any Name

039 05 12 2019 Edward DeVito’s
Historical/Fantasy
The Woodstock Paradox

040 05 14 2019 Gytha Lodge’s
Literary/Crime
She Lies In Wait

041 05 16 2019 Kari Bovee’s
Historical Fiction/Mystery
Peccadillo At The Palace:  An Annie Oakley Mystery

042 05 20 2019 Annie Seaton’s
Time Travel Romance
Follow Me

043 05 22 2019 Paula Rose Michelson’s
Inspirational Christian Romance
Rosa & Miguel – Love’s Legacy: Prequel to The Naomi
Chronicles

044 05 24 2019 Gracie C McKeever’s
BDMS/Interracial Romance
On The Edge

045 06 03 2019 Micheal Maxwell’s
Mystery
The Soul of Cole

046 06 04 2019 Jeanne Mackin’s
Historical
The Last Collection:  A Novel of Elsa Schiaparelli and
Coco Chanel

047 06 07 2019 Philip Shirley’s
Suspense/Thriller
The Graceland Conspiracy


048 06 08 2019 Bonnie Kistler’s
Domestic Suspense
The House on Fire

049 06 13 2019 Barbara Taylor Sissel’s
Domestic Suspense/Family Drama
Tell No One

050 06 18 2019 Charles Salzberg’s
Short Story/ Crime Fiction
“No Good Deed” from Down to the River

051 06 19 2019 Rita Dragonette’s
Historical Fiction
The Fourteenth of September

052  06 20 2019 Nona Caspers’s
Literary Novel/Collage
The Fifth Woman


053 06 26 2019 Jeri Westerson’s
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054 06 28 2019 Brian Moreland’s
Horror
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055 06 29 2019
Epic Fantasy
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056 07 02 2019 Randee Green’s
Mystery Novel
Criminal Misdeeds

057 07 03 2019 Saralyn Ricahrd’s
Mystery Novel
Murder In The One Percent

#058 07 04 2019 Hannah Mary McKinnon’s
Domestic Suspense
Her Secret Son

#059 07 05 2019 Sonia Saikaley’s
Contemporary Women’s Literature
The Allspice Bath

#060 07 09 2019 Olivia Gaines’s
Romance Suspense Serial
Blind Luck

#061 07 11 2019 Anne Raeff’s
Literary Fiction
Winter Kept Us Warm

#062 07 12 2918 Vic Sizemore’s
Literary Fiction-Short Stories
I Love You I’m Leaving

#063 07 13 2019 Deborah Riley Magnus’s
Dark Paranormal Urban Fantasy
THE ORPHANS BOOK ONE:  THE LOST RACE
TRILOGY

#064 07 14 2019 Elizabeth Bell’s
Historical Fiction
NECESSARY SINS

#065 07 15 2019 Lori Baker Martin’s
Literary Novel
BITTER WATER

#066 08 01 2019 Sabine Chennault’s
Historical Novel
THE CORPSMAN’S WIFE

#067 08 02 2019 Margaret Porter’s
Historical Biographical Fiction

BEAUTIFUL INVENTION:  A NOVEL OF HEDY LAMARR

#068 08 04 2019 Hank Phillippi Ryan’s
Suspense
THE MURDER LIST

069 08 08 2019 Diana Y. Paul’s
Literary Mainstream Fiction
THINGS UNSAID

070 08 10 2019 Phyllis H. Moore’s
Women’s Historical Fiction
BIRDIE & JUDE

071 08 11 2019 Sara Dahmen’s
Historical Fiction
TINSMITH 1865

072  08 19 2019 Carolyn Breckinridge’s
Short Story Collection
KALIEDESCOPE & OTHER STORIES

073 08 21 2019 Alison Ragsdale’s
Emotional Women’s Fiction
THE ART OF REMEMBERING

074  08 22 2019 Lee Matthew Goldberg’s
Suspense Thriller
THE DESIRE CARD

075 08 23 2019 Jonathan Brown’s
Mystery/Amateur P.I.
THE BIG CRESCENDO

076 09 02 2019 Chera Hammons Miller’s
Literary Fiction w/ suspense, concern with animals & land management
Monarchs of the Northeast Kingdom

077 09 09 019 Joe William Taylor’s
Literary Mystery
The Theoretics of Love

078 09 15 2019 Linda Hughes’s
Romantic Suspense
Secret of the Island

079 09 19 2019 Max Elliot Anderson’s
Middle Grade Adventure/Mystery
Snake Island

080 09 22 2019 Danny Adams’s
Science Fiction
Dayworld: A Hole In Wednesday

081 09 24 2019 Arianna Dagnino’s
Social/Historical/Adventure
The Afrikaner


082 09 29 2019 Lawrence Verigin’s
Thriller/Suspense
Seed of Control

083  10 05 2019 Emma Khoury’s
Fantasy
The Sword And Shield

#084 10 07 2019 Steve McManus’s
Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
SEVEN DEVILS

#085 10 08 2019 Sheila Lowe’s
Mystery/Psychological/Suspense with Scientific Bent
PROOF OF LIVE

#086 10 10 2019 Jess Neal Woods’s
Historical Fiction
THE PROCESS OF FRAYING


#087 10 11 2019 Karen Odden’s
Historical Suspense
A TRACE OF DECEIT

#88 10 14 2019 Kate Maruyama’s
Love, Loss & Supernatural
“HARROWGATE”

#89 10 17 2019 Sherry Harris’s
Mystery
“LET’S FAKE A DEAL”

#90 10 18 2019 Linda Mooney’s
Science Fiction Apocalyptic/ Post Apocalyptic
“THE TRUNK”

#91 10 19 2019 Jayne Martin’s
Flash Fiction Short Story Collection
“TENDER CUTS”

#92 10 22 2019 Janice Cole Hopkins’s
Inspirational Romance
“IT ALL STARTED AT THE MASQUERADE”

#93 10 29 2019 Kristi Petersen Schoonover’s
Short Story Collection
“THE SHADOWS BEHIND”

#94 11 01 2019 David Henry Sterry’s
Fiction: Sexual Violence
“THE TENDERLOIN WARS”

#95 11 03 2019 Jay Requard’s
Dark Fantasy/Horror
“DEATH & DUST: THE PALE SAND ADVENTURES”

#96 11 04 2019 Caroline Leavitt’s
Fiction
“WITH OR WITHOUT YOU”

#97 11 06 2019 Kelsey Clifton’s
Science Fiction
“A DAY OUT OF TIME”

#098 11 13 2019 John F Allen’s
Urban Fantasy Tale


#99 11 16 2019 Damian McNicholl’s
Historical Novel
“The Moment of Truth”

#100 11 19 2019 Stacia Levy’s
Mystery/Suspense Novel
“Girl Crush”

#101 11 24 2019 Charlotte Morgan’s
Fiction Novel
“Protecting Elvis”

#102 11 26 2019 T. L. Moore’s
Children’s Christian Fiction
“Ed On My Shoulder:  Maria & The Candy Trail”

#103 11 27 2019 Jeanne McWilliams Blasberg’s
Coming of Age Literary Novel
The Nine


#104 11 29 2019 Charlotte Blackwell’s
Adult Paranormal
“MYSTIC EMBRACE”


#105 12 07 2019 Mike Burrell’s
Satire Novel
“THE LAND OF GRACE”

#106 12 09 2019 Phil McCarron’s
Screenplay
“Escapement”

#107 12 11 2019 Wendy H. Jones’s
Crime Fiction/Police Procedural Novel
“KILLER’S COUNTDOWN”

#108 12 13 2019 Sandra Arnold’s
Historical Literary Fiction
“The Ash, the Well and the Blue Bell”

#109 12 16 2019 Amalia Carosella’s
Historical/Contemporary/Duel Timeline/ Women’s
Fiction
“DAUGHTER OF A THOUSAND YEARS”

#110 12 19 2019 Laura Bickle’s
Weird Western/Contemporary Fantasy
“DARK ALCHEMY”

#111 12 27 2019 Brian Pinkerton’s
Science Fiction Thriller
“THE GEMINI EXPERIMENT”

#112  12 28 2019 Sandra de Helen’s
Lesbian Thriller
“TILL DARKNESS COMES”


#113 12 29 2019 Jo Wilde’s
Vampire Thriller
“THE CROSSING”

#114 12 30 2019 Sam Richard’s
Short Story Collection of Weird and Transgressive
Horror
“To Wallow In Ash and Sorrows”


#115 12 31 2019 Duncan B Barlow’s
Literary Fiction Novel
“A DOG BETWEEN US”

#116 01 02 2020 Allison Landa’s
Young Adult Novel
“BAD HAIR”

#117 01 03 2020 Pablo Medina’s

Literary Satire Novel
“THE CUBAN COMEDY”

#118 01 06 2020 William Trent Pancoast’s
Historical/Literary Novel
“THE ROAD TO MATEWAN”

#119 01 07 2020 Jane Bernstein’s
Contemporary Novel
“The Face Tells the Secret”

#120 01 09 2020 Terry Kroenung’s
Young Adult, Historical and Fantasy
“Brimstone And Lily”


#121 01 12 2020 Melissa Yi’s
Fiction Thriller
“GRAVEYARD SHIFT”


#122 01 15 2020 Marcie R. Rendon’s
Crime Thriller
“GIRL GONE MISSING”

#123 01 16 2020 Tori Eldridge’s
Multi Genre Novel
“THE NINJA DAUGHTER”

#124 01 17 2020 Kristen Joy Wilks’s
Christian Romantic Comedy
“YELLOWSTONE YONDERING”

#125 01 20 2020 Susan C. Shea’s
Cozy Mystery
“DRESSED FOR DEATH IN BURGUNDY”

#126  01 22 2020 Phong Nguyen’s
Improvisational Fiction
“ROUDABOUT”


#127 01 23 2020 Kate Thornton’s
Mystery Short Story In Its Entirety
“Ai Witness”


#128 01 24 2020 Phil McCarron’s
Semi Fictional Essays
“The Great Facepalm: The Farce of 21st Century
Normality”


#129  01 27 2020 Kenneth Weene’s
Historicized Literary Fiction
“Red And White”

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