Whether its fiction that takes place in Vietnam or in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, it must have Credibility.

One of the primary goals of fiction is to reveal truth. Whether it is a fictional story about the Vietnam War, or one about the fictional town of Tallahatchie in the Mississippi Delta, the goal is to immerse the reader in such a way that it becomes what one of my reviewers described as: “Too real not to be true.” For that reason, I returned today to Tallahatchie County.

Yes, I grew up and have lived in the South all my life. I’ve spent more time in the Mississippi Delta than I care to recount, but I went back again today just to ride and check things out. I drove down to Enid Lake, across the dam, down old Highway 51, then west on Highway 32 to Charleston and “The Free State of Tallahatchie,” also known as Tallahatchie County http://bit.ly/1TL3Ny6. From Charleston, I continued westward crossing the Tallahatchie River into Webb, then on to Sumner and through Tutwiler and up to Clarksdale. You see, my next novel is one that will take place for the most part in the Mississippi Delta, and driving through those old haunts brought back memories that will certainly add depth and texture to the story.

Tallahatchie County has a mystique about it that many of the locals don’t recognize, the duck hunters don’t get and the rest of us marvel at the way one marvels at something exceptional that we don’t  quite understand—kind of like an exceptionally good bird dog or maybe, Jennifer Lopez. Me, I’d choose the bird dog over Jennifer, but then I’m married and it’s a matter of survival…you know?  So, anyway I drove down into the Delta today, took some photos and made some observations. The photos below include the main drag of the booming metropolis of Webb, The Tallahatchie River Bridge and the railroad that was once the old Illinois Central, now the CN.

Meanwhile, if you’ve read any of my Vietnam Series of novels please sit down now and write a review about it. I don’t care what you write as long as you tell the truth and post it all over hell and back i.e. Amazon, Goodreads, Facebook and wherever. Reviews tell potential readers if my stuff is worth their time, but then only you are the judge of that.

 

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Melody Hill, a War Novel, an Espionage Thriller

and a Love Story

Melody Hill, the prequel to the award-winning novel The Gomorrah Principle is now available in both paperback and Kindle editions at http://amzn.to/1n7rGmM. You may also contact the author, Rick DeStefanis here to purchase a personally signed paperback copy.

 

Melody Hill is the story of Duff Coleridge, a boy from the hills of Tennessee who makes the hard decision to enter the military in order to help support his family. A natural warrior, Duff quickly works his way into a Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol unit and is later recruited into a Special Operations Group. Only after he arrives does he realize his group is under the control of an arbitrary and ruthless CIA agent. When he discovers the rogue agent is involved in drug running and arms sales, Duff must rely on his instincts in order to survive the conflict with his boss.

Melody Hill is a military thriller that exceeds its genre classification with strong elements of espionage and romance. It is the first book in The Gomorrah Principle Series, but as several reviewers have indicated, can be read either before or after Book #2, The Gomorrah Principle.

Here is a review by Robert Enzenauer: 5.0 out of 5 stars, A book for EVERYONE who wants to understand his veteran FATHER or FRIEND, By Robert Enzenauer, March 15, 2016

Please leave your comments here on the blog and on Facebook, and post a review at www.Amazon.com or your favorite retailer’s site. Reviews help with sales, and your help will be very much appreciated.

Glenn Hates Books Vol. 1 by Glenn Conly

First of all, Glenn Conly doesn’t hate books, just poorly written ones. Glen Conly’s book of reviews ranges and rages from one-star vitriolic personal attacks on authors to five-star honest, accurate and insightful observations. If suggesting an author deserves anal or oral rape doesn’t offend you, then this is your five-star compilation of reviews.

If you can get past more blatant pornographic exposition and language than the average Marine drill-instructor uses, then this is your book.  I believe this author’s excesses may cause him to miss an opportunity for his work to become a best-selling series. Granted 90% of the self-published works out there offer a fertile bed of manure in which Conly revels with hilarity, but he caters only to sci-fi, dystopian, porn, fantasy, and post-apocalyptic works. I couldn’t help but think what wonderfully hilarious observations he might have of some so-called “literary” works where authors look like Russian gymnasts with wardrobe malfunctions.

Pat Conroy’s “South of Broad” and  John Green’s “Looking for Alaska” are prime examples where the writing is phenomenal until one realizes there’s this big elephant standing in the room because many of the characters are high school kids talking with the insight and depth of Bohemians on the left bank. Or Ben Fountain’s “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk,”  where the author opens every jar on the literary spice rack, dumping the entire lot in the mix. Reading it was like watching the aforementioned Russian gymnast perform in a pink tutu with a huge flower in her hair and glow-in-the-dark shoes.

Glenn Conly could have the high-brow snoots of academia leaping in horror from their ivy walls. I believe Conly has a tremendous opportunity to produce a series of mixed genre reviews with broad appeal if he can minus much of the pornographic description, language, and personal attacks. I believe like many comedians, such as Red Foxx and Richard Pryor who began their careers with sewer-pipe humor, Glenn Conly has an opportunity to reach a new level of sophistication with his humor, thus garnering wider appeal. It is a shame that so many idiots can so easily publish so much crap these days, but I see a new generation of gate-keepers like Conly discarding the politically-correct niceties for more pointed and unbiased reviews. I wish him all the best.

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