Emergency! Everybody to Get from Street!

"Mysterious Drones Spotted in 4 Colorado Counties"

What is it about drones that peaks our interest? The above news story, current as of this morning on FOX 31 in Denver, reports the presence of drone aircraft over...us! Who are they spying on?!

A More Perfect Union

One might conjure up all sorts of theories, at least until the mystery is solved with some bland pronouncement by "officials" that the missions were to map erosion, check electric wires or for training new operators. Boooorrring.

Solved...ha! What if...

That is the stock and trade of a fiction writer. Drones, guns, martial law. Here is a recent review of my novel A More Perfect Union (click on link to purchase):

 "The author presents a very interesting premise about the instantiation of martial law in a portion of the country, and the questions that arise in the individuals tasked to enforce that. The main characters were complex and struggled with the doubts pertaining to their role. But along with that introspection, there was plenty of action to keep you on the edge of your seat. Bonus points for the author's familiarity with firearms and tactics. Well worth the read, and very much comparable to anything published mainstream that I've read in the past couple of years. Definitely deserves a wide audience."

I didn't intend Cici and Kevin to answer the big questions. I meant them to struggle with the down-to-Earth problems faced by human beings placed in difficult situations. All of us who have served in law enforcement have asked ourselves, from time to time, if we are doing the right thing.

Did they?

Turn the Page

Me: It was surreal. Walking out was surreal. I went to the truck and sat there thinking "This is surreal."
Her (grinning): We've established walking out was surreal...
(With apologies to Phil Davis, Mr. Wallace and General Waverly)

It snowed on my first day of retirement...

Probably best to stay away from the melodramatic. This was a day Pat and I had planned for since, well, since we'd met. 

I had dropped off everything but my cell phone, charger cord and key peg. How I still had the key peg, or more appropriately how I could still find the key peg is anyone's guess. I hadn't needed it since December, 2014. But, there it was.

I ran into one of my favorite all time co-workers on his way out. Talented, intelligent and quick witted, he wondered if I needed him to stick around, to escort me out. "So you're not tempted to stop at a computer and fuck something up." I passed - he would have been a co-conspirator, anyway.

Turned in my badge, got my ID card punched to invalidate it and... 

It was surreal. I stopped to say good bye to a man I'd worked with, and for, since 1982. Then, with no fanfare whatsoever, I left.

Pat and I shared a toast, then margaritas at a local restaurant. 

And we began a new chapter in our lives.

Part Perspiration, Part...A Dog Sleeping On My Foot?

“To shift your life in a desired direction, you must powerfully shift your subconscious.”
― Kevin Michel, Moving Through Parallel Worlds To Achieve Your Dreams

The dream was vivid enough to remember upon awakening. We'd been in a running gun battle, my work partner and I. She was young, fair skin and light red hair worn in a pony tail. She had just emerged from field training, inexperienced but ready to mix it up.

We'd responded to a hot call, a... Contractor doing an excavation in the middle of a major intersection, without a permit. They started shooting the moment we arrived.

My partner moved gracefully to cover and returned fire. 

That's about when I woke up. It was just past three AM. Too early to write. Not too early to get up for a drink of water, to make sure I was able to keep the plot line firmly in mind.

Madie Delaney, fresh from field training. Still trying to decide if her academy classes really prepared her for the dangers, the doldrums... A career in law enforcement.

You know who you are out there. Yeah, you folks. I wrote a thousand words today. Are you ready to help me with a new character?

And help me figure out why the hell a construction crew was shooting at the cops over a permit dispute.