Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Mark Slade’s YARDBIRD is #157 in the never-ending series called INSIDE THE EMOTION OF FICTION


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****Mark Slade’s YARDBIRD is #157 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? Yardbird. A crime and mystery novel set in 1956 Oklahoma.
Yardbird, Noun (informal-US)
1 a convict.
2
one assigned to menial tasks legal, or
illegal, performed for a powerful person or
persons.

What is the date you began writing this piece of fiction and the date when you completely finished the piece of fiction?
June 7, 2019, 11:00 p.m.  completed January 2, 2020 7:50 p.m.

Where did you do most of your writing for this fiction work?  And please describe in detail.  And can you please include a photo? Dining room table.

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? Directly to laptop. I listened to a playlist I made on Spotify. I did research what songs and styles of music was released in 1956.  https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6mpSHBEuCiJ2l1cwELa5jF?si=XMI-r4PfRyu2Dw3ve6V_MA&fbclid=IwAR1Tv-1gfYMneLwyO8giHEL7of7raDYTLw4TXZiQlBVNUF7BO9Iat5UdTak



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

6

Scratch awoke in the ’48 Dodge to the smooth sounds of Sinatra crooning “In the wee  small hours of the morning”.  And it was just that. The wee hours of the morning. The sun was just coming up and the sky was pink and grey. The birds were singing not a song of hope for the new day, but a warning or caution of something atrocious.
He realized he was in the driver’s side of the car.
When he opened his eyes, a blurry vision of an old Korean man was screaming at him. Scratch immediately felt for an imaginary gun in the breast pocket of his coat. The mist cleared from his eyes and a Teenage girl started shrieking. She turned and ran into the arms of a teenage boy. Suddenly, Scratch was surrounded by people in the cul-de-sac the Dodge was parked in.
Scratch looked to his right and saw a dead man slumped over in the passenger side. He pulled the dead up to face him. Just as he thought. It was Ray Gardner. He heard sirens behind him. Scratch fixed his rearview mirror and saw the two police cars and an ambulance clearly marked Coleman County. Scratch sighed.
Someone drove me and my dead friend thirty five miles from Odarko, he thought. Why didn’t they just dump s both at Kemora Lake? It was only five miles away. Then again, they’d have to drive through Dark town to get there.
Scratch’s face ached. His right eye itched him. He moved the rearview mirror so he could look at his face. His glass eye was gone, leaving his right eye a huge black hole.
He started to remember what happened.
He reached for the hat box and somebody hit him. Just before he passed out, he heard two sets of heels on the floor and the door slam shut. Whoever hit Scratch from behind, took his glass eye when it came out.  He looked over at Gardner and saw a bullet hole in his forehead. In Gardner’s lap was the snub nose .38 he pulled on Scratch.
“Son of a bitch,” Scratch said.
Scratch felt the barrel of a .357 Magnum touch his cheek.
“Don’t move, Peckerwood!” He heard Deputy Marian Shaw call out.
Scratch moved his eyes and saw Sheriff Rooster Magee standing tall in the horizontal and bloated in the vertical.  He was leaning on the open door to his ‘52 Ford. The radio was blaring George Jones singing “Run, boy, Run.”  A huge ball of chaw sat in Rooster’s left cheek until he decided to switch it to his right, hock some of it in the back of his throat and splatter the blacktop with it. He walked toward Dodge.
Shaw grabbed Scratch by his coat and pulled him out the car window, tossed him on the highway. He kicked Scratch in the stomach. Scratch coughed, doubled up wrapped his arms around midsection. Shaw holstered his weapon and laughed.
“I told you not to move, Buckcherry! Didn’t I Sheriff?”
“You most certainly did, Deputy Shaw,” Rooster leaned down and said to Scratch: “You in a lot of trouble, boy.”
Chapter 6, pages 38-40


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? It’s not exactly emotional for me to write, the excerpt that is emotional to write I can’t include because it gives away key parts of the book and mystery. This excerpt is more funny than emotional. Waking up next to a dead body of the man he was supposed to run out of town.

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. There were a few deletions but I didn’t keep them.


     Mark Slade lives surrounded by a family for whom the use of artistic expression is an integral form of communication. His work has appeared in magazines and prominent publications around the world. A number of his art pieces are held in private collections. 

          As an actor, Mark has made over 300 appearances on stage, screen and television, winning international recognition and numerous awards for his efforts. In a career spanning 30 years, he starred and guest-starred in films, television and several TV series that include "The High Chaparral."
     His first novel "GOING DOWN MAINE," explores the loss of innocence and unforeseen consequences of youthful indiscretions. He has also authored two books of poetry and art that reflect his unique perspective on everyday life. "OF PAIN AND COFFEE" is a collection of soothes, sayings and soliloquies that combine his verse and illustrations. 

     And, "SOMEONE'S STORY" combines his observations in verse and photography. Mark's new novel, "HANGIN' WITH THE TRUTH" - The Historically Bent Tale of the Bandit Bob Slye was published in October 2016.


INSIDE THE EMOTION OF FICTION links

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003   11 23 2018 Janice Seagraves’s
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004   11 29 2018 Christian Fennell’s
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005  12 02 2018 Jessica Mathews’s
Adult Paranormal Romance
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006  12 04 2018 Robin Jansen’s
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007  12 12 2018  Adair Valerez’s
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008  12 17 218 Kit Frazier’s
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010 01 13 2019 Kristine Goodfellow’s
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024 03 08 2019 Marlin Barton’s
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027  03 25 2019 Faith Gibson’s
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#135 03 07 2020
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Mystery
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Mainstream novel with elements of crime, mystery, and magic
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Historical Fiction
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Dark Urban Fantasy with elements of Paranormal Romance
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Mystery With A Fantasy Twist
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Historical Fiction
ASHES
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Vampire Horror Novelette
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General Fiction (Family)
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Coming of Age/Crime Novel
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#156 05 10 2020
Paranormal Mystery
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#157 05 13 2020
Mystery/Crime Novel
Yardbird
By Mark Slade