tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post8654977724675810779..comments2024-03-28T19:36:39.783-04:00Comments on Jungle Red Writers: For Mark de Castrique, the past warps into fictionJungle Red Writershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16646429819267618412noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-85707197920934000712019-11-27T07:06:47.365-05:002019-11-27T07:06:47.365-05:00Thank you, Mark!Thank you, Mark!Cathy Akers-Jordanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08291140883625021188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-89647340213141722762019-11-26T21:45:49.972-05:002019-11-26T21:45:49.972-05:00Hallie, great post about a new to me author!
Mark...Hallie, great post about a new to me author!<br /><br />Mark, congratulations on your book series and welcome to Jungle Reds! I want to read your book. <br /><br />There are many, many, many stories from the past that could become a novel. Or a kernel of a story or an overheard conversation can become a novel. I think Maeve Binchy was inspired to write Tara Road after overhearing a conversation at the airport waiting for her plane?<br /><br />DianaBibliophilehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07764234701385787238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-12359911816617957762019-11-26T21:30:43.216-05:002019-11-26T21:30:43.216-05:00Thanks, Hallie for letting me be a part of today&#...Thanks, Hallie for letting me be a part of today's blog. And thanks to all who for the encouragement and kind comments.<br />MarkMark de Castriquehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07792099406872465610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-7508694877538059282019-11-26T15:09:58.503-05:002019-11-26T15:09:58.503-05:00Thanks, Kait. I hope you like it.Thanks, Kait. I hope you like it.Mark de Castriquehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07792099406872465610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-55171578679562485792019-11-26T15:07:32.474-05:002019-11-26T15:07:32.474-05:00Bought Blackman's Coffin before I finished rea...Bought Blackman's Coffin before I finished reading the comments. This series is so intriguing, I can't believe I missed it.Kaithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07758348842858993203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-59334896237632404702019-11-26T14:19:13.165-05:002019-11-26T14:19:13.165-05:00Hi, Julia,
Speaking of the past, I think we were o...Hi, Julia,<br />Speaking of the past, I think we were on a panel together in a past lifetime. And the South has nothing on the quirky characters of New England as I discovered when I married my Boston wife.Mark de Castriquehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07792099406872465610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-52487994980379880472019-11-26T14:18:43.320-05:002019-11-26T14:18:43.320-05:00Thanks, Gigi. I've been to the Burnsville Fes...Thanks, Gigi. I've been to the Burnsville Festival twice. They do a great job.Mark de Castriquehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07792099406872465610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-13398942342370951712019-11-26T14:09:08.775-05:002019-11-26T14:09:08.775-05:00Mark, the story is a powerful one, and your series...Mark, the story is a powerful one, and your series sounds really cool. I will be looking into it, and I've passed your information along to a friend in Burnsville, NC, who is involved in a literary festival each year. Best of luck with it all.Gigi Norwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00495357787099352860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-74593213058097029482019-11-26T14:08:22.761-05:002019-11-26T14:08:22.761-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Mark de Castriquehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07792099406872465610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-60617813225469375682019-11-26T13:50:27.374-05:002019-11-26T13:50:27.374-05:00I've also somehow missed the Sam Blackman seri...I've also somehow missed the Sam Blackman series, which I will quickly rectify. I love contemporary tales where the characters and events are shaped by the past. And the American south has more "past" than almost any other part of the country.Juliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09553268569509053159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-66517210199279787862019-11-26T12:16:00.014-05:002019-11-26T12:16:00.014-05:00Triss, I never argue with our editor. We have sp...Triss, I never argue with our editor. We have spirited discussions. Interesting story about Abby Hoffman. You should use it before Steal This Book becomes Steal This Plot.Mark de Castriquehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07792099406872465610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-83784389950240579402019-11-26T11:52:47.196-05:002019-11-26T11:52:47.196-05:00Hi, Mark. Best of luck with the new book. We are ...Hi, Mark. Best of luck with the new book. We are fellow PPP authors (when Barbara advises, it's always a good idea to pay attention, right?) but I have somehow missed your books. Now I am totally intrigued and I plan to fix that failure immediately. I have been in Asheville several times over the years - my college roommate hometown - and my books too are about the past that never disappears. I tend to look for the trends - tensions over changing neighborhoods - and the small, quirky stuff - theft of stained glass windows from neglected cemetery chapels - rather than the big headliners.Answering the questions, I was in NY on 9/11 but I don't think I will ever the writer who could tackle that in fiction. OTOH, the famous 60's figure, Abby Hoffman, who I remember well, was found in disguise in my home turf along the NY/Canada border - where I thought nothing ever happened! One day I will write about it. Maybe. Trisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08058396345946250313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-26756949049157220932019-11-26T11:22:16.034-05:002019-11-26T11:22:16.034-05:00That's a great story, Jenn. A life-changing m...That's a great story, Jenn. A life-changing message delivered from out of the sky.Mark de Castriquehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07792099406872465610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-14376239308063520682019-11-26T11:21:02.153-05:002019-11-26T11:21:02.153-05:00Thanks, LIzThanks, LIzMark de Castriquehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07792099406872465610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-33023983823545363532019-11-26T11:20:34.820-05:002019-11-26T11:20:34.820-05:00Pat, I'm afraid you're right. Geography ...Pat, I'm afraid you're right. Geography only gives a difference of expression, not existence.Mark de Castriquehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07792099406872465610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-36768459007035232512019-11-26T11:19:07.397-05:002019-11-26T11:19:07.397-05:00Your series sounds great! Love mysteries that inte...Your series sounds great! Love mysteries that intertwine past and present.Liz Penneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13616005136130181910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-1012646031678546072019-11-26T11:17:42.342-05:002019-11-26T11:17:42.342-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Liz Penneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13616005136130181910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-65366003398322354022019-11-26T10:57:06.732-05:002019-11-26T10:57:06.732-05:00Mark, that is one of the most powerful stories I&#...Mark, that is one of the most powerful stories I've ever read. I have a dear friend who spent his childhood as a sharecropper, picking cotton as a kid, in Kentucky. An Navy pilot crashed in the field one day and my friend was gobsmacked when the pilot climbed out of the wreckage. The pilot looked at him and said, "Join the Navy and you can wear the uniform and never be hungry again." He did and worked his way up to Chief Petty Officer. Interesting how a random experience can change a life. Can't wait to read your books. They sound fabulous.Jenn McKinlayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13589365995413467367noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-58121444670412519022019-11-26T10:48:11.840-05:002019-11-26T10:48:11.840-05:00Your series sounds right up my alley, Mark! I grew...Your series sounds right up my alley, Mark! I grew up in the South and stories like the funeral director's break my heart. One of my husband's co-workers commented on the difference between southern and northern racism back in the 80s or 90s. He said racism was alive and well in the north; it was simply conducted behind your back. In the south it was upfront and in your face. No pretense. He preferred the latter. Pat Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12732230586783432052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-86885710807319362432019-11-26T10:08:00.889-05:002019-11-26T10:08:00.889-05:00Thanks for putting Rat Alley as a reading destinat...Thanks for putting Rat Alley as a reading destination. It's not the most picturesque place on the planet. I think your doctor office experience does have the seeds of a short story within.Mark de Castriquehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07792099406872465610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-84162473098599876722019-11-26T09:55:15.243-05:002019-11-26T09:55:15.243-05:00Shalom Reds and fans. I have so many personal stor...Shalom Reds and fans. I have so many personal stories and I always threaten to put them down on paper. I thought to tell the story of my attendance at an appearance of John Lindsay in my neighborhood during his run for the office of Mayor of New York City when I was 12 years old. <br /><br />Then I recalled something that occurred only 2 weeks ago. I was at the office of my eye doctor. He’s part of a practice that specializes problems of the retina and I travel to Philadelphia to see him. He is a very good doctor but I he’s a retina specialist for a condition which I probably don’t have. There is always a large number of people in the waiting rooms, most of them older than 65, I think. Last week though, I noticed one younger man, maybe late thirties-early forties, who was dressed in what I assumed were hospital blues. Then I realized that he was in chains. He was escorted by three uniformed and armed prison guards. <br /><br />It was the first time that I had ever seen anyone manacled like that. I only knew chains from Dickens character, the ghost of Marley in A Christmas Carol. Maybe Robert Duval at the end of the movie The Apostle. I’ve had acquaintances who perhaps were on house arrest who wore electric ankle bracelets to monitor their movements. <br /><br />However, this was a new experience for me and would probably be a good premise for a short story. I have a pen pal who is incarcerated upstate but a few weeks back he let me now that he was brought back to Bucks County for a hearing. He didn’t say so, but I think he probably travelled and was brought to court in chains.<br /><br />I am very grateful to be free. I have put Murder in the Rat Alley on my Goodreads “Want to Read” list.<br />David Squireshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17144607647071920674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-12241064321258550032019-11-26T09:45:09.117-05:002019-11-26T09:45:09.117-05:00Sounds like a visit to the in-laws is in order.Sounds like a visit to the in-laws is in order.Mark de Castriquehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07792099406872465610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-67400295654224845402019-11-26T09:39:49.727-05:002019-11-26T09:39:49.727-05:00I will! I've been in that bookstore - great pl...I will! I've been in that bookstore - great place.Edith Maxwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01388006370860482509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-16717595103270168002019-11-26T09:02:32.122-05:002019-11-26T09:02:32.122-05:00I'll consider you my character witness if I e...I'll consider you my character witness if I ever go on trial for plagiarism.Mark de Castriquehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07792099406872465610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-63566102064549067372019-11-26T08:55:05.593-05:002019-11-26T08:55:05.593-05:00We're thrilled to have you! And... I don't...We're thrilled to have you! And... I don't believe it's possible to 'steal' story ideas... they're out there for the plucking, and no one can write it the way you can. Hallie Ephronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04759439029582054503noreply@blogger.com