Summertime
Book
One
Chuck
Gould
Genre: metaphysical fantasy
Publisher: Starry Night
Publishing
Date of Publication: September
28, 2014
ISBN: 9781502523174
Number of pages: 298
Word Count:
Cover Artist: Larry Dubia
Book Description:
Wesley Perkins, successful and
privileged advertising executive, makes an apparently impromptu purchase in a
pawn shop. Almost immediately, he becomes immersed in a new reality. Old values
evaporate. The line between good and evil seems inconsistent. Wesley is challenged
to accept profound change, all the while juggling choices of enormous
consequence.
Summertime, Book One, is the
first portion of a story that delves into a surreal realm of metaphysical
fantasy. Situational moralities are juxtaposed with omnipresent supernatural
forces. Where the boundaries of our mundane lives intersect cosmic intents,
events, and conspiracies, we can become overwhelmed by involuntary
transformation. We look for surrogate sacrifices, and a home in Summertime.
Excerpt
Book 1
Vanessa hated
the basement. Even during the daylight hours, she ventured only reluctantly
down the stair to do her laundry or occasionally retrieve something from
storage. She knew there were rats in the basement. She often swept up their
droppings, and it wasn’t unusual to hear something scraping against cardboard
boxes as it ran along the base of the wall. Oddly enough, Vanessa seldom saw a
rat. Infrequently, a sacrificial rat would appear- neck broken by the savage spring
of Vanessa’s 17th Century style trap. Vanessa used to pretend she had caught
“the” rat, and wouldn’t need to spend hundreds of dollars for an exterminator.
Over the years, she had accepted an unhappy truce with her resident rodents.
These days, she didn’t call an exterminator because there was always something
that seemed a more important use of the money.
Vanessa found
her flip flops and bathrobe, and headed for the stairway. Her open white
bathrobe hung from her shoulders, contrasting with her dark skin but failing to
provide any degree of modesty. She was reluctant to venture underground at
night, but the weird idea that there might be some unexplained connection
between Wesley Perkins and her probable grandfather, Judah Jones, couldn’t
molder until daylight. She flipped the light switch at the top of the stairs.
The loud snap of the switch initiated a series of electrical flashes, followed
by the muffled explosion of a failing light globe. “Sh*t. One lightbulb in the
whole damn basement, and it just burned out. H*ll with it. I’m going down there
anyway. I’ve got to, got to, got to figure this out.”
Vanessa tied her
bathrobe across the front of her body, grabbed a fresh globe from a kitchen
cabinet next to the stairway door, and stepped slowly into the blackness. A
90-degree bend at the top of the stairs prevented any usable amount of light
from filtering in from the kitchen. Vanessa moved her feet slowly and
deliberately between wooden treads, feeling her way in the darkness with heel
and toe. A few steps from the bottom, she gasped at the sensation of something
with tiny paws ran across her bare foot tops, dragging what felt like a coarse
tail behind. She was sure she saw a pair of glowing eyes near the laundry sink.
There was definitely a rustle among the storage boxes. Vanessa considered
turning around and climbing back up the stairs. She wanted to act as though her
visit to the basement could wait until morning, but she was compelled to
conclude it could not.
Summertime
Book
Two
Chuck
Gould
Genre: Metaphysical fantasy
Publisher: Starry Night
Publishing
Date of Publication: January 26,
2015
ISBN: 9781507681787
Number of pages: 316
Cover Artist: Larry Dubia
Book Description:
The metaphysical fantasy
continues in this sequel to Summertime, Book One. Wesley Perkins spirals ever
deeper into a world he struggles to understand, inextricably linked to the
tragic past of a long dead blues musician, Judah Jones. His closest allies are
Jones’ granddaughters. Wesley must endure a variety of forces attempting to
manipulate his fate, after being warned about the dangers presented by his own
ego.
Meanwhile, in Iberia Parish
Louisiana, pilgrims seek a new home in a spiritual enclave established by a
charlatan radio preacher. The entire community falls victim to an ancient
heresy. Are these disparate universes part of a common, supernatural conflict?
Excerpt
Book 2:
Ira lodged
Memphis Rail and the Family Jones at the Fairmont Hotel on Nob Hill. Mary Towne
retired to her room upon arrival. Vanessa and Redd Wilmott shared a room, as
did Wesley Perkins and Rebekah.
Art Abbott and
John Flood sought out the Tonga Room and Hurricane Bar. Back in the 1940’s, the
Fairmont converted the hotel’s indoor swimming pool to a Tiki bar. The pool
became a rectangular lagoon, with a floating stage. A ship’s mast, tropical
huts, Polynesian sculptures, and the façade of an Asian house illuminate by
paper lanterns instilled a dimly lit atmosphere. Faux thatched roofs hovered
over tables around the perimeter of the pond.
A waitress
approached their table.
“Tonga Mai Tai,
please,” requested John.
Art chuckled.
“You really want one of those candy ass drinks served in a phony coconut
shell?”
“Sh*t, ya.”
“Make mine a
Seagram’s and Seven, please, Miss,” said Art.
John rested his
elbow on the table and his head on his fist. “Gonna be a big day tomorrow. Two
shows, sold out. Who woulda thought? Even six months ago, we be lucky to sell
four or five thousand seats.”
Art shook his
head with a shiver. “Yeah, but are you really OK with this? I’m thinkin’ about
that incident at Rain Crow. And a shitload of other stuff to boot. I heard you
play the sax, once, a long time ago. You couldn’t get a goddam note out of that
Wesley Perkins’ horn. What’s up with that?”
About
the Author:
Seattle native Chuck Gould is a
writer and musician.
Formerly editor of Nor’westing
Magazine and editor emeritus of Pacific Nor’West Boating, he has written over
1,000 articles for recreational boating magazines.
Chuck plays a variety of keyboard
instruments, and enjoys the “exercise in humility” attempting to master the
great highland bagpipe.
Interview
Where are you from?
I was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. I’ve
been privileged to travel to every continent except Africa and throughout a
majority of the United States. I’ve never seen anywhere I’d rather live, and
I’ve never lived more than about 40 miles from Seattle for any extended period.
***
When and why did you begin writing?
“When” is easier. Back in grade school. Short
stories mostly. Like nearly every moonstruck adolescent, I then fancied myself
a poet during the teenage years, (and it was a great way to impress the young
ladies). I have a stack of aborted manuscripts from young and middle aged
adulthood.
“Why” is a little more abstract. I’m more or less
compelled to write. It’s a part of who I am and what I do, not really something
I can pick up and put down at will.
***
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
Sometimes I wonder whether I’m a writer at all. My
work is imperfect. Not especially more so than the works of most others, and
many people do enjoy reading it. However, unless we invent a word that applies
exclusively to the true masters of the craft it’s rather pretentious to say,
“Hemingway, Steinbeck, Shakespeare, Dickens, and Mark Twain were all writers.
I’m a writer as well.”
***
What inspired you to write your first book?
My first published book was non-fiction. I have
worked as an editor for recreational boating magazines as well as a yacht
broker. My first book was a primer for novice power boaters. You could say I
was inspired by an obvious need.
“Summertime, Book One” is my first finished novel.
Bits and pieces of the story began assembling in my consciousness several years
ago. I formed definite impressions of the major characters, and tried
heroically to get past it all without ever committing to write it down. In the
end it was like giving birth. This thing had grown inside of me and reached a
point where there was no choice other than to bring it out.
***
Do you have a specific writing style?
I write in the third person, with an omniscient POV.
Some criticize my style as a bit old fashioned, and I am probably guilty as
charged.
I try to experience all of my fiction before writing
anything down. I find a place in my head where I am seeing what my characters
see, as well as feeling, tasting, and smelling in common with them. Then the
challenge is to use language to share that experience. I use words imperfectly,
and some of the experience will be lost in the translation. Beginning with a
vivid, conceptual reality permits some fall out between the brain and the page,
while hoping to wind up with sufficient meat left on the bone to engage the
reader.
***
How did you come up with the title?
I stole the title from an old show tune written by
DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin. “Summertime”, featured in the musical Porgy
and Bess. I attribute them on an opening page of Book One.
Is there a message in your novel that you want
readers to grasp?
Grasp whatever you can, and hold on for dear life.
“One of these moanin’s, you gonna rise up singin’.
You gonna spread your wings, and take to the sky.” (Heyward and Gershwin).
Sometimes, we grow out of a comfortable, almost
idyllic existence, where “Mama and Daddy are standing by” to become something
or somebody we never envisioned. Sometimes, the lines between good and evil
seem inconsistent while we juggle choices of enormous consequence. And
sometimes, supernatural forces that we assume must be diametrically opposed
intrude across the borders of our mundane lives. On those occasions, we often
look for surrogate sacrifice while seeking a home in Summertime.
***
How much of the book is realistic?
That’s really for the readers to decide. Opinions
will vary. A lot of what we consider “reality” is a metaphor for subconscious,
subjective experience. From a variety of perspectives, it would be equally
correct to say that some of it, all of it, or none of it is “realistic”.
***
Are experiences based on someone you know, or events
in your own life?
I got to know my characters very well before
committing them to paper. None of my characters originally had names, so somewhat
as an inside joke I borrowed a lot of their names from a period of family
history- 17th century Topsfield, Massachusetts.
While I’m reluctant to claim to be a “writer”, I’m
equally unworthy to be called a “musician”. There are a lot of musical references
in the novel. I can say I’ve “been there, done (at least some of) that” but
with little of the success enjoyed by my characters.
***
What books have most influenced your life most?
The Bible, the Gnostic Gospels, The Golden Bough,
dozens of biographies, novels by Steinbeck, Dickens, and Mark Twain, and the
poem “Howl” by Allen Ginsberg.
***
If you had to choose, which writer would you
consider a mentor?
John Steinbeck, although I write with a different
voice and style and am unworthy to stand in his shadow.
***
What are your current projects?
While developing “Summertime, Book One” and Book Two, I discovered that there is tremendous
discipline in meeting each week with other novelists. Five other writers and I
just started a new writing group in Seattle. I have a 2/3 finished manuscript
called “Kidd” (a story that combines seafaring with political intrigue). It
requires a thorough rewrite, and must be brought to its conclusion. I plan to
finish “Kidd” in group.
“Kidd” was interrupted a few years ago when
“Summertime” demanded more immediate attention. That’s assuming that a new
project currently worming its way to the top of my consciousness, “The Rabbi”,
doesn’t kick poor “Kidd” aside once again. “The Rabbi” will be an account of
the life of Yeshua, the Nazarene, drawn almost exclusively from a myriad of
non-canonical sources.
***
What would you like my readers to know?
How much I appreciate their time and energy spent
reading my material. If at least a few people enjoy the work, it’s all been
worthwhile.
Thanks very much for the interview.
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