My “business partner” contends that we are picking up new readers and followers on a regular basis thanks to his array of opinions on everything from the minituae of Chicago sports to his auspiced takes on technology based on his vast experience in the boardrooms–or even the lobbies–of those companies. I’ve yet to see any credible data to support that claim–and I KNOW I’ve yet to a see a single penny from those efforts–but I’m repeatedly assured that our efforts have borne some fruit over the now 50-plus months we have attempted these musings. Being we’re in the middle of an oppressively hot and humid summer, and frankly what energy I have is being sapped by the minute, for once I’m not gonna argue.
But assuming he’s actually speaking the gospel he claims I’ll assume that at least a few of you might not have been around when we first visited the world of Doug Smart. I first met him when he helped chaperone an eager group of broadcasting students from my SUNY Oswego alma mater nearly two decades ago, many of whom had never set foot anywhere else besides upstate New York before they were chosen to spend a few summer weeks in La-La Land to learn from those of us alumni who had found our ways into the industry and get at least a taste of what our lifestyle offered. Prior to his academic career, Doug was an experienced production associate for several comedy and variety shows and spent many years himself as an Angelino, where he toiled in many a studio and picked up quite a number of stories about the older days of Hollywood from the veterans that had worked on productions for decades, let alone some of the survivors who ran the restaurants and shops that existed largely on the availability of the rank and file folks for whom these perceptually glamourous gigs were merely a way to make a paycheck. The same way plenty of others today still try to live their lives in spite of the feeble efforts of today’s politicians to keep that going. But I already mused about that earlier this week, so let’s do move on.
When we last checked in on Doug, who still teaches but now at another small school in the recesses of Kentucky, he had authored a novel set in those glory days of Hollywood. THE GUNSLINGER OF GOWER GULCH was an ideal summer read for those who have any interest at all in old movies, old-fashioned values and film noir. And now he’s revisting that era and neighborhood once again with a sequel that once again introduces us to Clay Mosby, who seems to have been inspired from everyone from Gary Cooper and the early-era John Wayne that spit out literally dozens of lower-budgeted Westerns for modestly financed four-wallers to the kind of swashbuckler that’s usually immortalized in Harlequin romance paperbacks. Here’s how Amazon is hyping his latest work with the tantalizing title TROUBLE HAS MY NUMBER:
It’s January 1939, and for Clay Mosby things are finally looking up. He’s managed to put his violent, turbulent past as a Texas lawman behind him. The man once known as “The Gunslinger” is content to spend his days working as a stuntman in motion pictures. But trouble seems to have a way of finding Clay. Popular movie star Katherine St. Claire pleads with him for help finding and destroying a photograph that threatens to reveal a secret that could end both her marriage and her career.
But the photograph isn’t what it seems, and St. Claire isn’t the only one guarding dark secrets. Clay soon finds himself up against a powerful studio boss, dirty cops, a dangerous cult, and murderous conspiracy within the motion picture industry. Clay’s on his own. He needs to find that photograph and the man who’s willing to kill for it. And time is running out.
“Before it was all over, five people would end up dead, each death seemingly random and unrelated to the other four. But then again, things are never quite what they seem in Hollywood, a town known for creating illusion…”
If that doesn’t draw you in, maybe the 100% 5-star reviews might. To which I’ll be promptly adding mine. Yes, Doug’s a friend and I do tend to admire anyone who actually can publish a book. But I appreciate even more when someone can duplicate that effort with an equally detailed and immersive work that allows a reader to escape into a world far removed from the world we are now enduring.
Or perhaps you’ll be attracted as I was to the remarkably affordable Kindle price–which if you happen to be one of those now-displaced production associates is all the more a factor than ever. Though if you can spare it, do invest in the paperback version. Doug’s certainly earned it, and as we know college professors’ salaries aren’t getting all that much larger lately either.
Until next time…