Some forty years ago (I keep tellin’ you people I’m older than dirt!), I took a vacation with my parents. I was in college, which made things a little awkward, but they were going to Colorado so why would I decline? Seriously, people. Colorado! Anyway, Dad parked the Airstream on Turquoise Lake outside of Leadville. I rode one of our trail bikes into town to the local “emporium”–combo drugstore, general store, lunch counter, etc. The place had a huge wall of magazines, newspapers, and PAPERBACKS!!!! I discovered a couple of books that intrigued me.
Now realize, the first adult book I ever read was THE SPY WHO LOVED ME by Ian Fleming. I was ten. Oh, yeah, that book set me on my path for sure! So, when I caught a glimpse of the Mack Bolan/Executioner books, we’re talking reading crack for me. I snarfed up the 3 or 4 books on the shelf, rode back to camp, and devoured those books. I read the series up through somewhere around #100. I ended up donating all of them to the local library when I had to make a massive move. Today, I’m kicking myself! But I digress…
I recently acquired the first book (in original condition) of this series. THE EXECUTIONER #1: WAR AGAINST THE MAFIA. Originally written in 1969, I stumbled on the series in a later reprint, around 1972. It’s politically incorrect. People smoke. Whores are whores. The Mafia thugs are thugs. Bolan is a Viet Nam-era soldier who defines his duty in black and white.
Which leads me to today’s message from the Universe:
Silver, would there be any point in giving you the gift of imagination, the freedom to think as you choose, and dreams that set your soul on fire if even a single one of them couldn’t come true?
I think not.
I love you too, too much.
Tallyho,
The Universe
© http://www.tut.com ®Silver, think of the implications.
The Executioner books lodged in my imagination–that glorious gift from the Universe. I see shades of Bolan in my Alpha Heroes™, especially my Wolves. I have the freedom to think politically incorrect thoughts and even write them down–imbuing heroes and villains with attributes that are just as black and white as Bolan’s world. I can fall into a world I’ve created–my soul on fire–and make my dreams come true there. And if I’m really-REALLY lucky, I can entice a reader to fall in with me.
So thank Ian Fleming and Don Pendleton (The Executioner’s creator). I wouldn’t be here without their influence.
Silver James 
I thank them for their influence on you!
That is a deep universe message, ya sometimes those messages,make you turn around and look over your shoulder like the universe was standing there.
Have a great day.
Glad you like my stuff, Kimber! Like I said, I love
draggingenticing readers to follow me over the edge. 😉I love the old hard boiled mysteries. The Mickey Spillane I read the other day was awesome. I still need to get into the Mack Bolan series. Sadly, I had some, but they didn’t make the move to MO. I don’t know what I was thinking. (Well, I was thinking ‘there’s only so much room in the u-haul’, but still, that’s no excuse.)
Here’s to gritty novels and inspiration and dreams coming true. :hugs:
Good luck on finding Executioner series. I paid way more for #1 than I should admit but…nostalgia! And yeah, dark and gritty get me every time. What’s wrong with us!?!? 😆
Don’t you love it when you can write with no rules, Silver? 😀 That is the best thing ever. A couple of my favorite books are written with no rules, Outlander being one of them, Raw being another. Old and new.
Keep doing your thing, Silver. You rock!
I signed up for Universe messages and I got a great one today– I don’t mean to copy you, but I’m gonna have to share it. It made me grin.
I spent a lot of years writing by someone else’s rules. Then I figured out my voice and I’ve never really looked back. Well…okay. Maybe I’ve peeked over my shoulder because I do write to my editor’s rules for the Red Dirt series. That’s cool. My voice is still there. And I get to unleash Iffy on my self-pub stuff! 😉