Archive for May, 2015

 

Mother’s Nature

“We haven’t heard from her,” said Hector. “Not a word.” He hiss-sipped from a paper cup.

“What’d you want me to do?” asked Rocky.

He seemed doubtful an old lady would come to the door if she saw him knocking. He only wore black and his left arm was gone. He looked like the reason people locked their doors.

Early morning, the sun came up waking bluish hills with warm color. They sat in Hector Rosales’ ’87 Jeep Cherokee and drank coffee. Crisp morning air shared the resinous scent of pine, sage and redshank mixed with the aroma of Folgers’s.

Hector lived on the Manzanita Indian Reservation. He was parked in one of the Tribal Parking slots near the front door of the Golden Acorn Casino in Boulevard, California. The parking lot was several acres. Rocky had parked some distance away from the casino entrance with the other Gringos.

“Just check her out, Rockito. See if she’s okay.”

“She won’t know who I am.”

“She’ll know,” Hector tapped his head in a knowing way. “She’s a curandera, a powerful one.”

“You afraid to go yourself?”

“She’s harmless,” said Hector.

Rocky knew he was acting innocent.

“Then why not you?” asked Rocky.

“C’mon Rock, got a business to run in Mexicali.”

Rocky knew the Tuna Club took all of Hectors time. Being the owner of a bar and brothel and operations manager of the Mexicali Cartel was time consuming. But Hector was his best friend. So why not help him out?

“Okay. Okay. She spooks me out,” said Hector, shaking his head.

“What I Thought,” Rocky grinned. “Sounds like she can take care of herself.”

“She’s tough.” Hector gave Rocky a funny look. “But Rocky, one thing I gotta warn you about.”

“What, she’s gonna eat me?”

Hector got quiet and stared at Rocky.

Rocky gave Hector a cold look. He worked as a hired killer and was used to giving death. But took the loss of a loved one hard. His remark had opened an event from the past. It was the day of the bomb blast that killed his lover Bo Kwan and when he lost his left arm. He had accidently tasted her blood. The experience still haunted him. Now Rocky tasted the blood of his victims in hope of bringing back her spirit. So far he had found nothing of her essence.

“You okay Rock?”

“Sorry Hector,” said Rocky. “What I said took me back to Macao and Bo Kwan.”

“Ah hell, I’ll look up Moya,” said Hector.

“No, I’m okay,” said Rocky. “Just need to know if she’s dangerous?”

“Don’t think so,” said Hector. “I mean she can be weird.”

“Then what is it?”

“If she offers you something, just don’t take it.”

“Like what?”

“You gotta know she’s a fucking witch,” Hector groaned.

“So you don’t know.”

“Not really.”

“I’m packing my magnum.”

“I would too,” said Hector.

Francis Powell is a writer who lives near Paris.  His latest work is a book of twenty-two short stories entitled Flight of Destiny. He writes, produces graphic art and creates music. He’s a Renaissance guy. Please take a look his interview it’s very interesting.

 

Wally: Did your schooling/educations prepare you to be a writer?

 

Yes but in a very negative way. I still have nightmares about my schooling, some of the teachers were psychopathic and the students odious. Rest assured some of this angst can be found in some of my short stories.

 

Wally:  Does where you live now influence your writing.

A little bit, I live near Paris and Paris features in a couple of stories, a character gets pushed onto the metro, there is a womanizing Parisian waiter in the same story.

 

Wally:  Who are your favorite authors and what are you reading now?

I really like Rupert Thompson’s stories, Roald Dahl was a big influence on the short stories, because he put a twist at the end of his stories and this is an important element in my writing style. I am not reading anything specific at the moment.

 

Wally:  Why do you write?

I like to create vile despicable characters and bizarre stories, to exorcise many of my demons. I want people to enjoy my short stories and learn from them the messages that hidden within.  I write about the outsiders, underdogs and oddballs of this world.  My work is very visual, I originally trained as an artist and this impacts my stories. There are illustrations in my book.  I love the richness of language.

 

Wally:  How do you come up with story ideas?

Some ideas just pop into my head. Sometimes it could be the name of a character, for example one of the stories is called “Bugeyes” . It is the story about a person who is totally victimized and rejected from birth, due to his physical appearance and unnaturally large eyes.

 

Wally:  When you develop characters do you ever draw from famous people of the past or present?

Maybe, but not directly, there is a character in one of my stories, called “Slashed” whose name is “Maestro” who I perceive as a kind of Leonardo De Vinci.

 

Wally:  When you write do you listen to music? Who’s music?

Not specially.  I love music however, I really like Phillip Glass, but I don’t put on music to enhance my writing.

 

Wally:  When you start to write a story do you write your initial thoughts on paper first or go directly to your computer?

Sometimes, but I don’t write an outline. I generally write things in a little black book  I have or on any scraps of paper I have to hand, mostly because I don’t want to forget, details that have popped into my mind.

 

Wally:  Do you ever read your work to someone? Do you have an editor?

I have an editor in Hawaii. I sent various drafts by e mail. It was a kind ping pong process. It took  a long time to reach the final edit.

 

Wally:  Thanks for doing this interview.

 

Information about Francis’ book, Flight of Destiny can be found at:

https://www.facebook.com/flightofdestinyshortstories?ref=aymt_homepage_panel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwNl0F6095Q

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00WSWYVNK

PRESS RELEASE

http://www.prlog.org/12443660

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To begin a Wally Runnels story is to step into a world that is fully realized, one where the desert, the heat, weirdness and violence not only exist, but thrive. We are trespassers in this strange land, but Runnels is our guide – he takes us to very distant and dark places, far from our homes, then sees that we return safely, though not unchanged.

I have read a lot of horror, and many, many stories that deal with a man visiting the home of a witch. Runnels’ one-armed hit man Rocky (a wonderful character), has such an encounter with a curandera in a story entitled “Mother’s Nature.” It is a tale that is compelling, rich with detail, and full of menace and dread – and genuine horror.

I urge you to read this story, then look for Runnels’ other tales of Rocky and his murderous exploits and constant search for the spirit of a lost love. But leave more than one light on, because bulbs… well, they can burn out, can’t they? And you don’t want to be lost in Rocky’s world in the dark.

 

 

Here’s a terrific review for Begona Echeverria’s, The Hammer of Witches. A Historical Novel.

Here’s the latest video from Cactus Productions located in beautiful Mexicali BC, at the Tuna Club.

Please take a look.