Old Movies

When I was a kid, we lived within walking distance of the movie theater.  Every Saturday, they had a matinee that only cost us kids 9 cents to get in.  Popcorn was 10 cents and an RC Cola was 6 cents.  So for a grand total of 25 cents, you could spend your entire Saturday afternoons lost in imaginary worlds.  Of course, my weekly allowance was only 25 cents, so I didn’t go every Saturday.

But I went often enough to stir my imagination.  We watched Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, The Creature From the Black Lagoon, The Blob, The Lone Ranger, and many, many others.

What I remember most from these old movies were that the good guys were always good and the bad guys were always bad.  In todays literature and movies, it seems that the hero in the white hat is merely a thing of the past.  Oh, the criminal generally gets caught in the end, but the cop who catches him is just as crooked.  He either has a secret drug problem, or he’s robbing from the evidence room to support his gambling habit, maybe even cheating on his wife with her best friend, you get the picture.

I like heroes you can look up to.  I know in today’s world, corruption seems to be the norm, but I try to make my main characters, true heroes.  Oh, they’re human, they make mistakes and don’t always do exactly what they should, but when all is said and done, my heroes still wear white hats.

Fire Light Fire Bright

The small north-central town of Glenwood, Texas is being methodically burned to the ground. Every few days another fire. Acres of scorched pasture, and skeletal remains of the once majestic trees that surrounded the township attest to the skill of the arsonist. Sheriff Dodge Brewster is frustrated by his inability to find even a single shred of evidence.

Several teenage girls in surrounding communities have been brutally raped. When the rapist finally targets Glenwood, the girls are not only raped, but murdered also. Deep in the woods outside of town, a Vietnam vet lives as a hermit. The people of Glenwood accuse him of every misdeed that occurs. The arson, rape and murders are no exception. They are demanding that Dodge arrest the vet, but new evidence in a turn of events point to his own friend.

Will Dodge be able to prove his friend’s innocence? Will he have to arrest him? Or will he go along with the townspeople and arrest the Vietnam vet?

WEDDING FUN

At the wedding in Dreams Never Lie, when Josh says “I take you to be my awfully leaded wife,”  that really happened.  When Ronnie and I married, that is exactly what he said.  And as if once wasn’t enough, he said it twice.

Our wedding was so much fun.  It was at the First Baptist Church of Roanoke, TX.   In the four years that I had been a member there, we had lots of fellowships and parties, and I was always allowed to plan the entertainment.  We teased and gave the staff a really hard time, and when our wedding rolled around, it was payback time.

People were planted all over the church and were going to jump up and object when the pastor asked if anyone has reason why we shouldn’t be joined together in holy matrimony.  Luckily, the pastor got wind of this, so he skipped that part of the ceremony.

I had told the pastor before hand, not to use the terminology “Do you promise to love, honor and obey.”  I asked him to say “love, honor and cherish.”  I warned him if he put obey in there, my answer would be “I agree to two out of three.”  Strangely enough, he omitted that part too.  (I hope we’re legally married with all these omissions.)

As the reception was winding down, the deacons and the pastor kidnapped Ronnie.  Threw him in van and took off with him.  They weren’t gone long, but when they brought him back to the church, a bunch of the women grabbed me and put me in the van.  We drove through the Dairy Queen and all over town.  We must have been gone a little too long, because before we got back, Ronnie got worried and decided to come looking for us.  He and Cliff, the chairman of the deacons, took the hundreds of balloons out of our car and they took off, looking for us.  Everyone was honking and waving at them.  Now remember, this was back in the eighties, things weren’t quite as liberal as they are now.  It finally dawned on them, the car was plastered with ‘Just Married” all over it, and two men both with big mustaches were in the front seat. Needless to say, they went back to the church in a hurry.

We left the church and we stopped at a nice restaurant in Fort Worth.  After we ate and headed back to the car, we discovered that some patrons of the restaurant had changed the tape on the car from “Just Married”  to “Just Dead”.

Our 31st anniversary is only a few weeks away and we still have just as much fun.

Tell me your funny wedding stories.  Who knows, what happened to you may appear in my next book.

Dreams Never Lie

Josh Howard is only eight years old when the little girl next door, Doni, is kidnapped and killed.  Josh vows to catch her killers when he grows up.  As a FBI agent, he knows the chance of solving the case after so many years is slim to none, but he still dreams about Doni.

Josh is assigned a serial murder case in which the victims are tortured and raped before being killed. After a long string of murders with no leads, Josh starts receiving coded messages from the killer, warning when another attack will take place.  Then, there are hints that connect the killer to Josh’s new wife.

As Josh faces one of the most perplexing cases of his career, his personal life is now in shambles.  Will he be able to stop this maniac before he strikes again?  Will he be able to save his marriage?  Is his wife the next intended victim?

DREAMS NEVER LIE Teaser #4

The speed limit had just gone back up to sixty after slowing down for the small town.  Steve shifted gears and had just looked back up towards the road when he caught a glimpse of the kids, the ball and the dog as they all ran straight towards the highway.

He hit the horn and the brakes at the same time, down shifted, prayed.  He did everything he could do to stop the big rig without causing it to jackknife.

Everything moved in slow motion.  The air brakes hissed loudly and the truck slowed somewhat, but the kids were so close, Steve knew he’d never stop in time.

Doni finally heard the truck, realized that she was in serious trouble, and she froze, right in the middle of the backtop, terrified as the huge truck came closer and closer. -END OF TEASER

Dreams Never Lie

Josh Howard is only eight years old when the little girl next door, Doni, is kidnapped and killed.  Josh vows to catch her killers when he grows up.  As a FBI agent, he knows the chance of solving the case after so many years is slim to none, but he still dreams about Doni.

Josh is assigned a serial murder case in which the victims are tortured and raped before being killed. After a long string of murders with no leads, Josh starts receiving coded messages from the killer, warning when another attack will take place.  Then, there are hints that connect the killer to Josh’s new wife.

As Josh faces one of the most perplexing cases of his career, his personal life is now in shambles.  Will he be able to stop this maniac before he strikes again?  Will he be able to save his marriage?  Is his wife the next intended victim?

AM I TOO OLD FOR DONUTS?

I have the best customers in the world and I asked one for help yesterday.  I told him I needed to ask him a question but he’d probably think I’m crazy.

“No, I won’t,”  He replied.

“You’ll laugh at me.”  I told him.

“I won’t laugh,” he said.

“Okay then.  Will you tell me how to do donuts?”

After he quit laughing,  (I knew he would) he looked out the window at my car, “You can’t do donuts in your car.  It’s front wheel drive.”

“Not in my car, Dummy?  I’m in my seventies, do you really think I’m planning on doing donuts in my car?  It’s for my new book.”

“Okay,” he said, after he quit laughing again.  “What kind of car?”

“Oh, it’s a police car.”

“You’re going to have someone doing donuts in a police car?  Why?”

“Never mind.  Just read the book.  DREAMS ARE FOREVER, coming soon.

Dreams Never Lie

Josh Howard is only eight years old when the little girl next door, Doni, is kidnapped and killed.  Josh vows to catch her killers when he grows up.  As a FBI agent, he knows the chance of solving the case after so many years is slim to none, but he still dreams about Doni.

Josh is assigned a serial murder case in which the victims are tortured and raped before being killed. After a long string of murders with no leads, Josh starts receiving coded messages from the killer, warning when another attack will take place.  Then, there are hints that connect the killer to Josh’s new wife.

As Josh faces one of the most perplexing cases of his career, his personal life is now in shambles.  Will he be able to stop this maniac before he strikes again?  Will he be able to save his marriage?  Is his wife the next intended victim?

Fire Light Fire Bright – Into The Woods

Dodge drives as far as he can, but even his Jeep can’t go where the trees are so thick he has to turn sideways to walk between them.  It’s a hot muggy day, too hot for the first week of June, and it’s not long before Dodge is fanning himself with his cowboy hat.  Not a breath of wind stirs as he wipes the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand and tries to rehearse what he needs to say, but the words just won’t come.

He hates being put into this position, but he has no choice.  It has to be done.  He finally comes to the clearing that Dylan calls home.  Dodge stands off to one side and watches the big man for several moments.  He is sitting on a tree stump, drinking coffee from a mug and staring into the fire like he is in a trance.  Without even blinking his eyes, he softly calls,  “Come have a cup of coffee, Sheriff, it’s fresh made.”

Dodge steps out from behind a tree, “Durn it, Dylan, how do you do that?  How’d you know it was me?  I didn’t make a sound.”

“Smelled your after shave.”

Excerpt from Chapter Twelve, Fire Light Fire Bright.

Fire Light Fire Bright

The small north-central town of Glenwood, Texas is being methodically burned to the ground. Every few days another fire. Acres of scorched pasture, and skeletal remains of the once majestic trees that surrounded the township attest to the skill of the arsonist. Sheriff Dodge Brewster is frustrated by his inability to find even a single shred of evidence.

Several teenage girls in surrounding communities have been brutally raped. When the rapist finally targets Glenwood, the girls are not only raped, but murdered also. Deep in the woods outside of town, a Vietnam vet lives as a hermit. The people of Glenwood accuse him of every misdeed that occurs. The arson, rape and murders are no exception. They are demanding that Dodge arrest the vet, but new evidence in a turn of events point to his own friend.

Will Dodge be able to prove his friend’s innocence? Will he have to arrest him? Or will he go along with the townspeople and arrest the Vietnam vet?

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