David and I are here at the bar, waiting for John Howell to arrive. Normally, we team up to give you gallon or so of Stream of Consciousness, but today…
“Uh, Dan.”
“Yes David?”
“We have international readers, you know, people on the metric system.”
“Okay, David. Normally we give you three-point-seven-eight liters or so of Stream of Consciousness, but today we’re sticking with a pedantic spoonful, since the story below the line was well-planned (in clear violation of the rules set down by Linda G. Hill). I slipped in the featured photo to hint at John’s new book, and to the fact that we hope to get him back to Texas before it drops to 5°f (-15°c) tonight.
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “spoonful.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!
SoCS by Linda G. Hill
If we were having a beer, I’d be having a pint, and we’d be happy to see our guest arriving.
“John, I’m glad you made it. It’s good to see you.”
“It is good to see you both, Dan and David. I always enjoy a visit to the bar. I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to be with you guys and share a drink while I brazenly explain my latest book to anyone who might listen.”
“Don’t worry John. David and I have been looking forward to asking you some things about your book and the Eternal Road series.”
“Dan said it right, John. He and I have been trying to figure out some things and now that the horse has arrived maybe we can get the right info from the horse’s mouth”
“Where’s the horse?”
“Curley, I want you to meet John Howell. He’s here to talk about his book.”
“John Howell? The very person who Dan and David have named Willett after? My pleasure.”
“Nice meeting you Curley. It’s great to put a face to the name which I have seen often in this bar.”
“I don’t have to ask David and Dan what they are having but I will need to know your order, although I think I could guess.”
“Just three fingers of Willett bourbon, Curley.”
“I was right. Three fingers of John Howell’s bourbon along with a Modelo draft for Dan, and a glass of John Howell bourbon, three cherries, sparkling water, and a glass menagerie for David.”
“It was nice meeting you Curley.”
“Same here, John.”
“He’s bigger in person.”
“Yeah, he is quite a guy.”
“Here are your drinks gentlemen. Call if you need something else.”
“Thanks Curley. I think it’s time we dig into this new book.”
“So, Dan. You and David said you had some questions.”
“I’ll let David start.”
“Thanks, Dan. Detour is the third book in the Eternal Road series. Having read the other two I have always wanted to ask how you came up with the story of two dead people who act as guides to souls looking for where they want to spend eternity.”
“Great question, David. When I was a little boy, my dad passed away. I had a hard time being able to justify what was being said by organized religion about eternal life with what I felt in losing my dad. To rationalize the two, I made up my own religion. By doing so I could make eternal life whatever I wanted. I thought it would be great for folks to be able to choose the place they wanted to spend eternity. When it came time to write another book, I borrowed heavily from my made-up religion and that became the story. The Eternal Road is highway traveled by departed souls and their guides to search out a place to spend forever.”
“Sorry about your dad,”
“It happened a long time ago, Dan and my religion helped, but thank you,”
“Okay my turn. I was pleased to be one of your beta readers for the pre-edit manuscript. I want to know if you kept your ending that I read.”
“I sure did, Dan. The ending is where the first book in the series began the journey to reach.”
“That’s great. It was such a twist, but I had better not say any more.”
“You guys need another drink?”
“We sure do. I think we’ll want to get a pizza too. I’m buying today so we might as well get one of the loaded ones. Everyone okay with that”
“You buying, Dan. I’m always okay with that. Get the kind you like.”
“I’m with David. Whatever you decide is great. Yes, I’ll have another three fingers.”
“Another glass menagerie for me.”
“I’ll put in the food order and then get the drinks.”
“Thanks, Curley.”
“While the drinks are being made can you give us an idea what this third book is about, John?”
“Be happy to David. Sam and James the two main characters are dragged into another strange assignment when a couple of souls on The Eternal Road drop off the radar. Archangel Michael gives them specific orders to resolve the issue and get Billy Ray Chitwood, the national race car champion, and Dale Earnhardt, his guide, back on the task of finding Billy’s Eternal Home.
“Finally, meeting up with Billy Ray and Dale, the foursome finds themselves in the future where World War III has devastated the country. The team discovers the cause of the start of the war and vows to mitigate that circumstance and save the world from devastation. They encounter their old nemesis, Lucifer, who has in mind trading preventing the war in exchange for Sam accepting his offer to be his queen.
“Since Lucifer’s offer is a non-starter, Sam and James must overcome Lucifer’s interference and work to change the course of history, or humankind is doomed.”
“Drinks are here. The pizza will be up shortly.”
“I think the only thing left to do while the pizza is in the oven is to read and excerpt and look at the trailer. Oh yeah, we ought to pay attention to the buy and John’s social media links.”
“And let everyone know what the book looks like and what John’s been doing.”
“I want to thank you for having me today, Dan. It was a real pleasure. Great to see you again David and to meet you Curley. The paper edition is available now and the Kindle edition is on preorder until the 7th of February. Here’s a toast to you all”
“And to you, John.”
Excerpt
The old man sits on the bench and uses both hands on the cane to hold himself upright. Tired would not even come close to describing how he feels. The years of work and worry have evaporated any remaining moisture of youth. In response to the hands upon it, the cane shakes. His interest in continuing another day is about the same as taking a ten-mile walk home. He might like to do it but, right now, the effort overwhelms him. The man wishes he could remember how he got to this bench, but like most of the fog of his days, the mystery doesn’t hold worth enough to take time to solve.
To avoid the sun’s glare, he squints. A group of men amble up the middle of the street, and with each step, raise small dust clouds. Maybe they’ll help him get back to his house. He wants to wait until they draw closer since his old-man’s voice sounds like a cracking whisper. The need to repeat what he says has become an annoyance and another drain on what little resources remain.
The men come abreast of his position, and he calls out, “Hey, can anyone help me?” The guys stop and look in his direction. One pulls away from the group and approaches the old man. “What’s the matter, pops? Lose your wine and crackers?” The others chuckle and shift on their feet.
“When I was your age, I had a little more respect for old people.”
“Aw, pops, I meant no disrespect. I’m sorry. What can I do to help you?”
John is an award-winning author who after an extensive business career began writing full time in 2012. His specialty is thriller fiction novels, but John also writes poetry and short stories. He has written Seven other books that are on Amazon in paperback and Kindle editions.
John lives in Lakeway, Texas with his wife and their spoiled rescue pets.
Blog Fiction Favorites, http://johnwhowell.com/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/john.howell.98229241
Twitter –https://www.twitter.com/HowellWave
Goodreads –https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7751796.John_W_Howell
Amazon Author’s page –https://www.amazon.com/author/johnwhowell
BookBub – https://www.bookbub.com/profile/john-w-howell
BlueSky – @johnhowellauthor.bsky.social
Buy Links:
Universal paper https://mybook.to/Detour-Paper
Universal ebook https://mybook.to/Detour-Eebook
I only market one author at a time, so I’ll spare you my normal marketing block, but I will share a few photos
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