... and ACTION!

I am procrastinating. Chapter six is an action chapter. Writing action is not my favorite thing to do. You wouldn’t know it by the feedback I receive, but that might have to do with my anal side: I prepare thoroughly; in fact, I try to compensate for the lack of enthusiasm with technical proficiency.

When the time came during THE PROTECTOR to turn up the heat and deliver a few roundhouse kicks, I rented a bunch of action movies and stocked up on action novels. I tried to watch action-rich shows on TV. I also read a few gun magazines and at least one aimed at police officers, which was very helpful. It got to the point where I felt comfortable penning action. I simply closed my eyes, watched the movie in my head and then began the task of putting into words what I saw in my head.

Soren action is easiest. He’s the untrained fighter who discovered he’s best with a blunt object in his hands. There’s nothing like bashing someone over the head. There didn’t have to be much skill on his part and thus not that much knowledge on my part.

Mason is the disciplined, trained fighter. He required extensive research. The guy’s an ex-Army Ranger, for heaven’s sake. But he didn’t have much opportunity to show his stuff in THE PROTECTOR. He’ll get a few more chances in THE GHOST CRAB.

You guessed it; chapter six is a Mason chapter.