Shuffling Through the Clues to Find Redemption 'Waist Deep' in the Big Muddy

Review: WAIST DEEP (Kindle Edition 2011)
Author: Frank Zafiro

This story takes place in the mythical town of River City (sorta, because it's based on Spokane, WA, as we know from other books about it by the author Frank Zafiro, who only writes under that name, because his real name is Frank Scalise, and ... hey, what's with all the fake names? :) But I digress ...). The main character, Stefan Kopriva, was once a River City police officer, but he left the force under less than ideal circumstances. In fact, you could say he was disgraced.

To say that Stefan is wounded isn't saying nearly enough. He not only suffers physically, from old gunshot wounds and a knee injury that made me wince just to read about it, but he endures mental and emotional damage due to a young girl's death for which he blames himself. It was her death that led to his departure from the police force.

So ... despite his disabilities and not having a car (River City is a pretty small town, thank God), he shuffles over to a hockey game and gets into it with a really stoo-pid and loud drunk, for reasons related to honor and showing what a basically decent guy he is and all. Then he ends up in the hoosegow. Almost. Except the security chief, Matt Sinderling, doesn't press charges. But he does have a request for Stefan. He would like to hire Stefan to find his missing 16-year-old daughter, Kris, who's run away. She's interested in acting and has run away to become a big star. Apparently.

Stefan would like nothing better than to simply say no and walk shuffle away. He'd rather lay back in an easy chair, drink a beer or two (or three or four) and forget about the whole thing. Except that he's a recovering alcoholic and the beer part would be so wrong. So laying back would do just fine, thanks.

However, when Stefan sees the photo of Kris, he sees a 16-year-old girl going on 25 years. Maybe older. This kid is no innocent little girl, but Matt is blind to that. He's so naive that all he sees is his little girl when he looks at that picture. So Stefan reluctantly agrees to take Matt's money and look for Kris, even though he's not a licensed private investigator, he can barely move and he doesn't even own a freaking car.

Thereafter, Stefan is forced to do (the E Street) shuffle all around town looking for clues. Because that's how he moves. He also catches taxi cabs now and then. But not too often, because Stefan isn't exactly rolling in dough. So he can't offer huge tips, so cabbies aren't exactly in love with him.

Now, Stefan goes through the logical motions and I won't spoil it for you by telling you what those are, but WAIST DEEP is a hard-hitting story of a flawed hero trying to exorcise his demons. The plot is suspenseful, and includes fight scenes that make you wonder how Stefan manages to shuffle anywhere at all, afterward. :)

And while the subject matter explores dark moral territory, it's arguably not horribly shocking compared to certain real life situations taking place today. The horror is more in what might come afterward based on Kris' choices. This is where Stefan can possibly help most.

Further, in the best hardboiled tradition, finding the truth involves unearthing the scum from beneath the veneer of respectability.


Anyway, thank goodness Stefan has old friends on the River City police force. Otherwise, he'd probably be royally screwed.

The question is, will he be able to see the job through? The guy's almost too crippled for words in every possible sense. Will he get what he needs most? Oh, what's that word? Not food stamps. He's poor, but not that poor. It's what you do with food stamps. Redeem them! Will he get redemption? Can Stefan redeem himself? This is the question.

There's also a possible love interest in the form of Cassie, a barista with a Mona Lisa smile at a local cafe. Stefan really likes her, but seems to have trouble articulating these feelings. Can he overcome his insecurities and find love (or even friendship) with her? Another question. Hey, they both like coffee! They have common grounds. *groan*

And, BTW, Matt ends up lending Stefan a car. Thank God!

PS: Kopriva ... is that Polish? I don't know, but I'm pretty sure that Stefan was born in the USA? Get it? :)

PPS: Did I mention that I really enjoyed the book? Stefan rocks!

Into the Woods, Singleton Hippie Art

Into The Woods(c) Singleton 2011"They wandered deeper and deeperinto the dampened woods.She sang to herselfand left little peace~love messagesscribbled with broken sticksin the wet dirt....Breadcrumbs...He cautioned her to be careful,to watch out for spidersand snakesandquick sand...She danced in the cobwebs,wore silver shawls with rhinestone buttons glistening,alive with legs ,

The Bittersweet Tale of Gary the Oyster Crab

Storytelling is a craft, as well as an art. And you can find interesting stories in the most unexpected places.

For instance, I found this story on a blog created by a teacher. This isn't entirely surprising. Teachers are highly literate people. And they have to keep students interested day after day. So, in a way, their job is to keep telling stories to kids about what they're supposed to be learning, in a sense.

The story is called (expurgated for this blog) Holy Sh*t, Oyster! and it's really awesome! And so is the blog where it appears, Mr. Teachbad.

Everyone should read this blog. And Mr. Teachbad should write more stories and publish them in an ebook. :)

Green Lime Bedroom Wall | Lime Green Wall Art

It so appealing that pushed the mental picture I had formed of this project's ultimate design right out the window. But the broader range of colors, neither the modern look nor the cheap price of the bed in a bag was what prompted the swarm of decorating ideas that had this comforter set as the centerpiece churning in my mind; it was that mod, lime green headboard.

The pictures of the headboard shown with the cute, lime green and turquoise blue bedding set could be improved. I couldn't help but think that if the wood used was thicker or if two layers of pressed board where used to make the openings more boxy then you would have both display and storage capabilities. Actually, it would probably be the most modern, bookcase headboard around and think of how plain, black books would stand out against the bright lime green paint.

These wonderful bedroom designs seem cool and inspiring. You will not regret if you apply them in your bedroom. So, your bedroom will always seem bright and gorgeous.

'Follow the Money': Fast-Paced Legal Thrills and a Moral

Review: FOLLOW THE MONEY (Fingers Murphy 2011)
Author: Fingers Murphy

This is the story of Oliver (Ollie) Olson, a law student who's finished his second year of school. Now, allow me to translate the complete meaning of this sentence for anyone who hasn't had the pleasure of attending law school. Ollie knows the law school drill now and can probably brief case opinions in his sleep. However, when it comes to dealing with the real world aspects of dealing with actual clients with genuine problems, Ollie's a nice guy, but about as clueless as they come.

This may be especially true given that Ollie comes from a working class background and he's participating as a summer associate, aka, intern, at Kohlberg & Crowley, a big deal international law firm in Los Angeles, where he fits in like a guppy in a shark tank.

However, Ollie isn't threatened by anyone at the firm. He's assigned to a case, in which the firm is trying to get a former U.S. senator James Steele released from prison, where they claim he's being wrongly held. Why? Because they say he was wrongfully convicted of killing his wife, Sharon, due to ineffective assistance of counsel. And his lawyer at the time was one of the greatest criminal defense attorneys around -- Garrett Andersen.

And when Ollie meets Steele in prison, he seems like a guy who really got screwed the hell over. So Ollie really wants to bust his ass for him and see that justice is done. Even though he sees his job as doing research to find support for "a legal technicality." But the law is the law. And lawyers uphold the law, don't they? Right!

Oh, and did I mention that the firm is paying Ollie three grand a week to do this? THREE GRAND? Every freaking week? And he's NOT. EVEN. A LAWYER!

The worst part is, I didn't have to suspend my disbelief about this part at all. :)

Anyhow, so Ollie starts investigating doing research. I don't want talk too much about what he finds, because it'll spoil the whole thing for you.

Just know this: Ollie has a girlfriend, Liz. She works for Legal Aid and serves as a kind of reminder of the real reason he decided to be a lawyer ... at least, maybe. If he thought about it. The question is, will he? You see there's also this other girl (another summer associate who goes to Yale or some muckety-muck school) named Morgan. Clearly, she's no good. She's a metaphor, if there ever was one. And it's a metaphor of something awful.

The dialogue is spot on and very funny. Including the internal dialogue. There was more than one priceless moment that made me laugh out loud. Including this one: [After someone tells Ollie about a conversation that couldn't be admitted as evidence.] "I thought about that for a second. Was it hearsay? Steele couldn't repeat the contents of the conversation between Becky and Matt's sister because it took place out of court? I didn't remember the rules of evidence. Why was I so stupid?"

This is so, so typical. :) Everyone thinks lawyers have all the rules memorized or something. We don't. We look them up. What? You think we all have photographic memories? lol According to Professor Kingsfield, they're useless, but I digress ... anyhow ...

The plot takes so many twists and turns, you might think you're being taken for a ride along one of those incredibly scenic southern California roads Fingers Murphy describes in the book so very well. Because he does paint an awesome picture of the City of Angels and the surrounding environs.

FOLLOW THE MONEY builds to a fast-paced and suspenseful finish. I spotted a few clues from the get go, but others might not see them, so your mileage may vary.

As for the notion that all the players were smart enough to pull off what was required to make this happen, I must admit I had to suspend my disbelief a bit, because most criminals of a certain type are really stoo-pid. :)

Nonetheless, I would highly recommend this book. I thought it was an impressive debut novel. It's not only well written and entertaining, but shows how easily people can get suckered, when they're not thinking clearly and their judgment is clouded by illusions of comfort.

So, I look forward to reading more books by Fingers Murphy and about Ollie Olson. What the heck were his parents thinking when they named that poor kid, anyway? :)

10 Technologies That Changed Literature Forever

Literature has been affected by changing technology for a long, long time. These technologies date back to the very earliest ones, such as the tools needed to carve written words into clay tablets. In other words, we've come a really, really long way, baby! :-)

This article lists the 10 Technologies That Changed Literature Forever.

So ... what's next? Perhaps, it will involve this form of weather phenomenon.

Motorcycle Vinyl Wall Art Wallpaper Pictures

 Honda Wall Art

Suzuki Wall Art

Kawasaki Wall Art

Ducati Wall Art

Yamaha Wall Art