Into the Fire

Bright Lights is Book 15 in the John Milton Series by Mark Dawson. 

John just wants to jet to Las Vegas for some R & R in his vintage cool American muscle car. But by now nothing is ever simple or even remotely restful for John and his guilt-ridden desires to help those he finds in trouble. When a young woman (Jessica Russo) is crying, seated across the diner from him, and then heads out to her dead Tesla, John offers to give her a ride to her father's house where she, her brother, and dad are planning a trip to Italy before Mr. Russo passes away from his cancer. Simple, right? Not a chance.

However, her dad isn't at the house and there's obvious evidence that his absence met with resistance. John notices Jessica reach behind the bed in the master bedroom but doesn't have time to figure out why because there are three armed men who've entered the house. John gets Jessica's directions through the house to exit but not before he's forced to eliminate the opposition and escape in one of her dad's vehicles with her. 

She keeps calling her brother but isn't reaching him, and John decides they need to leave the area and find a place to hide out and organize. Having run into his old friend Beau Baxter before he left town, he knew Beau was on his way to Vegas to get a kid who skipped his court hearing and jumped bail. John and Beau reunite to figure out how to find Jessica's dad. Needless to say, things aren't as they seem.

Embezzlement, ties with the familiar La Frontera cartel John thought was in the past, $5 million large, a sicario, and Siena, Italy, all combine to cause peril, tragedy, and jail sentences. Not to mention future "justice" or vengeance in Columbia via Amsterdam. 

Profanity present.

Father, it's evident that Mark has a gift for thriller writing. Thank you for that. May he recognize from whom his many gifts are given. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

     "Master, said John, "we saw a man driving out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us."

     "Do not stop him," Jesus said, "for whoever is not against you is for you." 

Luke 9:49-50 (NIV)

Five things I don't need from the novels I want to read:

An abundance of clichés – We all use clichés and they are acceptable in small doses, but when the wording or choices of actions becomes cliched, everything gets old in a hurry. An editor once said if he saw "one more character shaking his head . . ." Some actions are okay – even those we often find ourselves doing or seeing – but to stack them up in a story doesn't work.

Ho-hum wording – When the writing itself fails to arouse any appreciation from me, the story kind of becomes mundane, forgettable.

Too much conflict – I fail to see where this works (other than in thrillers). Most people encounter conflict in a specific area or areas. Romance novels are ripe with conflict, but, frankly, some of it is stupid/immature/selfish/misunderstandings that fail to get addressed in the moment. Drives me nuts.

Characters who fail to address glaring problems – It's okay to address them internally if the character struggles to address them however they need to be dealt with because that's understandable. But to be unaware or choose to ignore them when being made aware of them, that gets old in a hurry. 

Characters who are unlikable – It takes real talent to write an engaging story with unlikable characters. I've read a few books with those and actually did like a couple of the stories. I'd much prefer to read a story about characters I can fall in love with, be absorbed in, and fully appreciate once I read the final page. Characters like that make the book worth reading and remain unforgettable. 

Father, help me to write those unforgettable characters and stories for your glory. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

So. What do you really want from that new novel you're about to read? Think about it and get back to me. 

Father, you've given us authors and writers, books and stories, for your pleasure and for ours. May those of us who write do as you ask. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.  

So. Reviews have become critical to authors and many readers – and perhaps they always were except that they never had the reach they have now by various means of social media. Among Amazon,  goodreads, multiple blogs specifically designed for reviewing novels, authors literally beg their readers to post reviews of their work wherever they can, wherever they have a presence on social media. Why? Because without those reviews propping up our work, no one gets the recognition they need to sell books – electronic or otherwise. 

Attention is very difficult to garner among literally millions of authors competing for the reading dollars. That's no exaggeration. If you're a numbers/percentages junkie, check the link. This makes the marketing factor each author succumbs to, in all of its varieties and forms, important to making potential readers aware of what they've written in their given genres. 

Many years ago now I remember writing a post about not wanting or choosing to review novels. Well, that proved to be short-sighted at best. If you would've told me then that I'd most likely be posting at least one review per week, I would've laughed and scoffed or huffed or . . . you get the picture. That attitude adjustment is always humbling. 

I do reviews now here on this old blog for two reasons, and they are in their significant order of importance: to share my opinions of particular novels and, frankly, to fill a post. Believe it or not, I have chosen not to review some of the books I've read because I didn't like the story, the writing, the genre, and/or the overuse of clichés. It does nothing to help an author to rip a book to shreds when hundreds or thousands of other readers might possibly love it. We've been over how subjective reviews can be and how disgusting I find the scathing one-star reviewers who can't simply admit they didn't care for the book because it wasn't their style, preference, favorite genre, or whatever. 

If I read a novel and like it, I will review it here. If I see it has few reviews on Amazon after I've read it, I will also post it there. Otherwise, if I see it has good representation on Amazon, I'll just leave it here. 

I still rarely read reviews of novels I invest in until after I've read the book. It's only if I'm really hesitant about starting a novel by an unknown-to-me author that I might peek at the dispersal of the stars in the ratings at Amazon and decide if I want to read what the lower star posters had to say about it.

I concede the value of reviews for many readers plays a huge part in the selection of the stories they choose. Which is why the reviewing process has become so critical for those of us who write novels. 

Father, you own the stories I write. Apart from you, I can do nothing. All good and perfect gifts come from you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Donovan epitomized the folk/rock era of long ago with meaningful lyrics (most of the time) and good musicianship and one of those unique voices that will always identify him. Granted, it was a weird time that produced some of the best music and musicians in history and a plethora of crazy crazes, religious and otherwise.

My oldest son's name . . . Donovan. And he loves Donovan's music. 

Father, only you know hearts and seek those whose hearts are open to your love and kindness and truth. Thank you for giving gifts to all that they might ask from whom they came. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Twelve Days by Mark Dawson is Book 14 in the John Milton Series. 

Just over a week before Christmas and John's sitting in a warm, sunny place sipping a virgin cocktail planning his Christmas alone in this pleasant laid back warm environment. Watching the local TV hanging above the bar, he has to do a doubletake to recognize the young fighter knocking out his opponent with lightning speed in his movements and thunderous punches. When he sees him more closely on the screen, his plans for Christmas are rerouted back to London where on Christmas Eve, Elijah Warriner will be fighting in a big bout with an unbeaten opponent. 

In John's first effort to help someone after telling Control he was done with Group Fifteen, John rescues a woman (Sharon) from her attempted suicide. Her two sons have pushed her to the edge of her emotional ability to handle, and she's given up. The efforts John made to help her and her son went terribly awry after setting the groundwork for Elijah, and John was forced to leave the country (in Book 1 The Cleaner).

Now there in this tiny bar was the woman's son on this remote TV with a dynamite punch and facing the fight of his life in London. John Milton decides right then and there he's not going to miss it. 

Back in the hood, former gang members who grew up with Elijah – one in particular "Pinky" – want a piece of him, but the boss (Solomon) wants to use him to make big money. Solomon is the brother of the former gang leader who John killed before he left town. Pinky's not happy – he wants Elijah dead by his hand. Elijah was twice the boxer Pinky ever thought of being and Elijah humiliated him in the old ratty gym where they sparred in front of all their friends. After horrible events, Elijah and his mom left the area. Pinky discovered Elijah's new fame by accident, and it brought up all the old murderous hostility the young psychopath wanted to display. And Pinky remembers "the old man" who he saw kill the former leader. He vows to eliminate him too. 

John's had far more skilled killers after him than a young wannabe gang leader, and when Elijah's life is threatened, John wants to make up for having had to leave him and his mom. 

Turns out the Twelve Days of Christmas aren't anything like John expected, but in the end his Christmas turned out better than he thought it might.

Profanity present.  

Father, again, only you know the hearts of us all. Please continue to provide the stories you have just for Mark to tell. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

     "Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I have not coveted anyone's silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than receive.'" 

Acts 20:32-35 (NIV)

Release date July 21st (2020) for Book 19 Near Dark in The Scot Harvath Series by Brad Thor. 

Lord God, only you know hearts, motives, desires, and convictions. Yet you give gifts and talents, hope and courage, laughter and sorrows, and only truth to us all. What we do, say, write, or believe is the choice left to us. Please continue to bless Brad in your abundance. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Two sides of the same story. 1969. Longacres Racetrack. Renton, Washington. 

Father, it took awhile but you managed to get through the rebellion with the tender love of Jesus. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for all the creative things and people you used. I'd been searching for you all my life – just didn't know it. Thank you is never enough. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.