Author: Dale Wiley
Category: Thriller
Go to read content：https://onlinereadfreenovel.com/dale-wiley/page,20,457982-southern_gothic.html
Dear M:
I will call you today. An opportunity awaits.
Yours forever,
M
* * *
Meredith knew this story. It was hers. With tears in her eyes, she read on. She needed to know how it ended.
She remembered the syringe of heroin Michael had mentioned. It was probably in his pocket. She would read for a while, and if she didn’t like what she read, she had more than one way out.
AFTERWORD
HISTORY AND MYSTERY
Like all great novels, Southern Gothic got its beginnings poolside at a Doubletree in Memphis, Tennessee. You know, Anna Karenina, On the Road, all of the good ones started by the pool at a Doubletree. It’s a fact.
My agent, Italia Gandolfo, had given me something to ponder a week before I left on vacation to Georgia: what are you writing next?
I had just completed my novel Sabotage and hadn’t really given it much thought. I had a couple of projects I had spent a little time with but no overarching goals. As I left Georgia, I had zero idea.
That was a Sunday, and I thought about it all week. Really thought about it. But I didn’t have anything. I had a writing teacher in college, Bob Earleywine, who encouraged all his students to let such things rest in the subconscious. I did this while traveling back from Georgia to Memphis, one of my favorite American cities, with my mom and my three kids after seeing the sights at Muscle Shoals.
My 13-year-old, Mary, stayed in the hotel room, worrying about One Direction and staring at her iDevice, as she sometimes is wont to do. The two younger kids, 11-year-old Sara and 9-year-old Matt, wanted to go swimming, so I accompanied them. At the indoor/outdoor pool, I thought again about Italia’s seemingly simple question, but I asked it in a different way: what would I like to read?
It made all the difference. I remembered the scary, atmospheric novels I gobbled up when I first took up reading “adult” books, around the time I went into high school. Harvest Home, Helter Skelter, In Cold Blood and dozens more. I hadn’t really ever considered writing those exact types of things before, and it seemed interesting. And then I looked outside.
On a brick wall across the way, a light hung. The first thoughts I had upon seeing it were memories of Savannah—fall nights, the squares filled with ghosts and mist . . . you know, Southern Gothic types of scenes. I thought if that were the kind of story I would write, it would also make a great title. A female protagonist came to mind, one who reminded me of my cousin Jennifer, who led me to so many of those books.
A few minutes later, I went back to the hotel room and collected Mary. The kids and I went for a late dessert, and we hashed out many thoughts. Sara, who is very into symbolism, came up with the last name “Black” for the villain. Matt filled in the first name. Mary came up with details, and we hatched about seventy percent of the plot on the spot.
The idea for the main story never really changed much. There needed to be some sort of novel within a novel. I first envisioned a story about a hippie commune, which was as lame as those words would indicate. There would be dirty floors and duplicitous hippies, and it would be dreadful. Then I realized I had a story idea I might be able to use.
At the time, I lived in southwest Missouri on a beautiful piece of land. It sat about two hundred yards from the site of the Battle of Crane Creek, a skirmish held on Valentine’s Day in 1862. It was also a turn on the Trail of Tears. The first time I did any metal detecting, I found a boot buckle. The next time, the kids went with me, and we found a hockey puck-sized item called a sabot, which was the end of an artillery shell. They were super cool finds, but it got me thinking about the sadness driven across the land. I wondered about a cast of characters spanning the generations and interacting with each other. Still, Georgia seemed to be a much more appropriate setting than Missouri.
When I finally got to that point, I realized there was a very special property in which I could set the story—The Shoals. I had heard about it all my life and had visited when I was a kid and even had my picture taken with my grandmother and my sister there. My Georgia cousins told me I should buy it. Other family members had tried, but the people who took it over seemed to have no interest in relinquishing it to my family.
Luckily, my cousins Terrie and Jennifer accompanied me on a summer 2016 trip back to the place, and we were able to look at the house. I was pretty much done with the writing and was struck at how similar my imagined house was with this one. The only thing different, sadly, was the poor condition of the house itself. I sincerely hope it can still be restored.
Many of the historical details in the book are correct as far as I know them. Colonel Bird purchased the property after the Revolutionary War and built a house across the river from the house just like he does in Southern Gothic. He sold the land to my ancestor Thomas Cheely (my grandmother was a Cheely) around 1812. Cheely built the house around 1825. My family lived there through the Civil War and all that went on with it: sparing the house and burning the mills—all the drama and history a novelist could hope for.
Having only a few newspaper clippings and the memories of my relatives to go on (and the cute photo of my grandmother with my sister Elizabeth and me), I used the details I had and began writing. The novel within a novel changed several times, but it wasn’t until the home stretch that it changed most dramatically.
My friend Heather Burns has edited my writing in some capacity since college. She read the book and really liked it, but she kindly told me Red Ribbon could be better. I can’t say I disagreed with this assessment at all, and I searched for ways within my deadline of how I could give it more pop. I realized I had only done minimal research on the people who were actually at The Shoals during the winter of 1864, when it was an integral part of Sherman’s march to the sea.
Because I generally knew where I wanted this story to wind up, I didn’t think about checking the actual history. When I did, I was shocked. General Kilpatrick, who had spared The Shoals and not set it aflame, was not some kindly leader maintaining the peace, but a man who had been disgraced during his leadership and very much sent into exile during the march.
The Union promoted Kilpatrick through the ranks very quickly. He came in as a lieutenant in 1861 and accepted three more promotions that year. He was the first officer to be injured in the war, at the Battle of Big Bethel, and by the time he had earned the title of colonel in the second Battle of Bull Run, he began to make his name—although not always in good ways. He lost a full squadron of troops in an ill-advised campaign.
His manner made him enemies, but his star kept rising, and he became a general just before Gettysburg. But trouble struck in early 1864.
Kilpatrick raided near Richmond, hoping to free union prisoners of war. He tried to capture General Lee and other Confederate officials but couldn’t get close to Richmond. Another Union officer, Colonel Ulric Dahlgren, tried to rally his troops for such an exercise but failed. With a slave who claimed to know the way, he returned to where he thought Kilpatrick would be. The slave told Dahlgren where to cross the river, but the river had swelled, and the troops found the travel difficult. When they returned, Dahlgren had the slave hanged, which understandably spurred riots. As they again tried to raid Richmond, Dahlgren was killed in action.
When Dahlgren’s body was found, there were papers indicating he had formed a plot against Southern leadership and had called for the death of Jefferson Davis. This plot, in modern parlance, went viral. When combined with the hanging of the slave and another slave death brought on by a northern soldier not wanting to take orders from a slave, the entire affair gave Kilpatrick a bad name, and the East no longer welcomed him.
Kilpatrick joined forces with General Sherman, who was not a fan but understood the man’s appeal—“I know that Kilpatrick is a hell of a damned fool, but I want just that sort of man to command my cavalry on this expedition." He was injured again in battle and missed several months of action, and then ended up at The Shoals during Sherman’s March to the Sea.
Interestingly, after the war, he had plenty of adventures. He was twice dispatched as envoy to Chile, where he married.
His great granddaughters include Gloria Vanderbilt, and his great-great grandson is Anderson Cooper from CNN.
It’s funny how things work out and stories climb from the crevices of our minds. I don’t think I have ever had this much fun writing something, and I certainly hope you had fun reading it.
About the Author
Dale Wiley has had a character named after him on CSI, owned a record label, been interviewed by Bob Edwards on NPR’s Morning Edition and made motorcycles for Merle Haggard and John Paul DeJoria. He has three awesome kids and spends his days working as a lawyer fighting the big banks.
Dale is the author of the bestselling novel, The Intern, and his original pilot script, The East Side, co-written with Andréa Vasilo, is in development for a TV series.
www.dalewiley.com
The Intern
A political action thriller by Dale Wiley
It’s 1995, and life is great for Washington, DC intern Trent Norris. But life can change in a moment—and does when Trent becomes the prime suspect in two murders and a slew of other crimes. Overnight, he becomes the most wanted man in America.
Trent has to find a way—any way—out. He holes up at The Watergate on a senator’s dime and enlists a call girl as his unwitting ally. But with the media eating Trent alive, he doesn't have long before they catch him.
From the tony clubs of Georgetown to murders on Capitol Hill, The Intern has all the twists and turns of a classic DC thriller, with an added comedic flair.
Sabotage
An espionage action thriller by Dale Wiley
Every hour, explosions rock the United States.
Without warning of where or when they will occur. Big cities, small towns, and rural back roads. Sinister messages appear on computer screens across America, and that message is clear.
No one is safe...
- Not disgraced FBI agent Grant, awaiting his call back to the big time;
- Not rapper Pal Joey, an international sensation;
- Not savvy beauty Caitlin, the ultimate “Sin City” party girl;
- Not even Naseem, the would-be martyr who helped plan the attacks.
An unhinged mastermind paralyzes a nation, and unlikely heroes must put aside their differences and forge an alliance to stop the attacks before the passing hours bring down a Nation.
All roads lead to Las Vegas. Can four people, united only by their hatred of a common enemy stop ... Sabotage?
Other Titles from
Vesuvian Books
Hell has a new master
BLACKWELL
By Alexandrea Weis with Lucas Astor
In the late 1800s, handsome, wealthy New Englander, Magnus Blackwell, is the envy of all.
When Magnus meets Jacob O’Conner—a Harvard student from the working class—an unlikely friendship is forged. But their close bond is soon challenged by a captivating woman; a woman Magnus wants, but Jacob gets.
Devastated, Magnus seeks solace in a trip to New Orleans. After a chance meeting with Oscar Wilde, he becomes immersed in a world of depravity and brutality, inevitably becoming the inspiration for Dorian Gray. Armed with the forbidden magic of voodoo, he sets his sights on winning back the woman Jacob stole from him.
Amid the trappings of Victorian society, two men, bent on revenge, will lay the foundation for a curse that will forever alter their destinies.
Killing Jane
By Stacy Green
What if everything you've ever heard about Jack the Ripper is wrong ...
A young woman is brutally murdered in Washington D.C., and the killer leaves behind a calling card connected to some of the most infamous murders in history.
Jack the Ripper
Rookie homicide investigator Erin Prince instinctively knows the moment she sees the mutilated body that it’s only a matter of time before someone else dies.
She and her partner, Todd Beckett, are on the trail of a madman, and a third body sends them in the direction they feared most: a serial killer is walking the streets of D.C.
The clock is ticking.
Erin must push past her mounting self-doubt in order to unravel a web of secrets filled with drugs, pornography, and a decades old family skeleton before the next victim is sacrificed.
The only way to stop a killer is to beat them at their own game.
CHILDREN OF THE FIFTH SUN
By Gareth Worthington
Genre: “Science Faction” - science fiction, action and adventure with fact-based science, theories and mythology
IN ALMOST EVERY BELIEF SYSTEM ON EARTH, there exists a single unifying mythos: thousands of years ago a great flood devastated the Earth’s inhabitants. From the ruins of this cataclysm, a race of beings emerged from the sea bestowing knowledge and culture upon humanity, saving us from our selfish drive toward extinction. Some say this race were “ancient aliens” who came to assist our evolution.
But what if they weren’t alien at all? What if they evolved right here on Earth, alongside humans ... and they are still here? And, what if the World’s governments already know?
* * *
Kelly Graham is a narcissistic self-assured freelance photographer specializing in underwater assignments. While on a project in the Amazon with his best friend, Chris D'Souza, a mysterious and beautiful government official, Freya Nilsson, enters Kelly’s life and turns it upside down. Her simple request to retrieve a strange object from deep underwater puts him in the middle of an international conspiracy. A conspiracy that threatens to change the course of human history.
http://www.childrenofthefifthsun.com
From the Cover Illustrator of Blackwell
An Amazon #1 Hot New Release
Mister Sam Shearon’s Creepy Christmas
A Merry Macabre Coloring Book
The happiest time of the year is also the creepiest.
Winter has an even darker and richer lore than Halloween.
For centuries, people have feared creatures from ancient legends born of this time of year.
Tales such as giant hairy monsters who live in the mountains and will snatch you up and eat you were used to ensure children didn't wander off in the snow and become lost.
These were indeed just stories ... or were they ...?
This festive feast of fear contains 40 originally hand drawn and inked illustrations
from a variety of traditional beliefs and legends from around the world.
Bringing together British, North American, Nordic, Icelandic, Austrian, and Germanic folklore among others,
Mister Sam Shearon’s Creepy Christmas includes characters such as Krampus, Grýla, Santa Claws,
Rabid Rudolph, the Grimace Tree, the Wendigo, the Snow Bear, the Yule Cat, the Abominable Snowman, and many more.
Ready for you to bring to colorful life with fearsome festive cheer,
each page is also accompanied with a poem—
a guide to these creepy creatures from the season of ice and snow!
creepychristmascoloringbook.com