TWO VENICE BOOKS

The long-advertised White Wedding is written, pretty much done, except for a last pass for errors, which I still find, even with a perfect Grammarly report. I make all corrections and even accept a few AI suggestions. Grammarly shows 0 issues and gives you a 'Bravo!' And when I open that chapter at publish time to upload to Wattpad, on my final check, I find mistakes that the AI isn't even flagging. That's all White Wedding needs, the last check.

I'll be in Venice next week. We're driving out to LA for five nights, staying sixty paces from the Oceawalk in the thick of it. When my kid was at UCLA, we visited twice a year, always went to Venice and Santa Monica, and usually stayed there. 

Long before that, when my boys were teens, we drove out four times over six years to see the Red Sox play the Angels. Our first day in California was spent at Venice Beach, which was #1 on my list of LA places to see as a tourist in 2003. Then we had to hustle down to Anaheim for the game. We saw some great Boston teams at the Big A from 2003 to 2008, his freshman year. 

My son graduated in 2012. He was LA for one more year, a victory lap doing jobs, like the grounds crew at Jackie Robinson Field, the spring UCLA won the College World Series. He moved on in 2013, starting his sports journalism career, which led him to ESPN. Our Venice trips ended.

In 2017, he was married at a ranch wedding venue in the Malibu Mountains, and that was my last time in Venice. My brother Glen, who recently passed, came out for the wedding. I told him he had to see Venice.

I have a Venice book ready to roll out. I'll be there when Sunset ends. I'm wondering if my visit will prompt me to make changes or spark new ideas, whatever. I doubt that will happen in WW. I don't want to crack that open and start over. 

There are two Venice books in progress. I'm several chapters into book #8. I can't tell you much about that because the title alone is a spoiler, but it's a Venice-centric story, at home, after the wedding, family planning time... and then shit happens that changes Joe's... I can't say anymore. 

Shit always happens.

My challenge with these two books is where to make the break because, like so many, the main story in Book #8 starts in Book #7 as a minor story. The question is, how early do I give you the spoiler title? I could end White Wedding after chapter 22 or after chapter 25. There are three chapters that could fit at the end of one book, or at the start of the next.

Because I'm in the middle of writing #8, I'm certain my trip to the coast will spark new ideas, even with the story being in 1999. We have plans for lunch at Mel's Drive-In for banana shakes and cheeseburgers, and an Uber to the Comedy Store for a night on The Strip, seniors, getting in everyone's way. 

I wish the Surfside Lounge, the Daily Grind, Pascal's Tacos, and Vino Italia were real places I could visit.

SUNSET PRIVATE EYES

 

Sunset Private Eyes is now live on Wattpad. There's a link over there somewhere >>>>>

Kat and Vivian are fresh off the Tinseltown busts, dealing with sudden celebrity and eager to cash that publicity in for their first paycheck as private eyes. There's no shortage of cases. The phone is ringing off the hook.

The lady detectives are building a business and a reputation, bringing on new help and investigatory capabilities. In Sunset '77, Vivian played the pivotal role in taking down the predators and bringing Crystal home. In Private Eyes, it's Kat's turn to work undercover.

I'm casting. I often have thoughts of actors when I imagine new characters. Who would play this role in my fantasy film adaptation? When I first wrote Watching The Detectives, she was too young, but I saw Scarlett Johannsen as the best fit to play Kat Price. I also liked Christina Hendricks for the role, when she goes blonde, but she's way too voluptuous, while ScarJo isn't enough. Now in her forties, maybe Johannsen has aged into it.

In chapter 4, you'll meet a sketchy character I became so fond of that I gave him a bigger role. Actor DJ Qualls is precisely who I had in mind to play Rich, a fixer-upper project Kat takes a chance on. 

I have a crusty old, ball-breaking bartender modeled after Don Rickles, and a new cop I created for one reason: a tribute to one of my favorite character actors.

Detective Michael Madsen. There's no doubt who plays that role. Madsen passed away in July 2025. He was always perfect in the role of outsiders, ne'er-do-wells, and men with anti-social tendencies. Detective Mads is all that, a character designed around the actor's persona. I'm also a fan of his sister, actress Virginia Madsen. She could play the role of  Kat. (shrugs)

I have not cast Vivian, and it's bugging me.

This story has many cases, from bang-bang get-it-done-and-get-paid jobs to a single-chapter case to a long sting operation covering most of the book. In research, I learned more about the international diamond trade than any layman needs to know. I get into the weeds.

I mentioned in my long and rambling Sunset Teaser blog from two weeks ago (since deleted) that a sequel was born within this novel. The truth is, I already had a synopsis and outline for a sequel. Now, I have two ideas for Sunset sequels, roughed out and ready to write. Those are far down the road.

You get three chapters this weekend, and then my STTS schedule. 

I'm currently in the middle of the final rewrite of White Wedding. That will follow Sunset. After that, I don't know.

THREE ENDINGS

The crime and mayhem will continue with Sunset Private Eyes, but not nearly as much violence as in my vigilante tale. I have some words about that book before I turn the page.

Back in 2020, I challenged myself to write an action novel, and now it's done. Not many people read it, but I'm proud of Sacred Heart because I know the process of doubt I went through. I'm sure the politics turned some readers away, but that first draft in 2020 was born in political chaos, and I could not remove the root cause of the city's problems.

A lot of people say you should avoid politics so you don't lose half your audience. I find that dishonest and spineless. I don't lean on politics, except for this one novel, but there's always social commentary in the mouths of my characters. So I guess I checked off three boxes: an action story, a political piece, and writing in the 21st century.

Before I put Sacred Heart to bed, I wanted to tell you about how the ending changed over time. In the first draft, the crusader is in that armor, deceased, when the L train rolls into the station. The good guy dies. Initiate Endgame.

Last year, in a light rewrite, I changed one big thing. There was a body in the suit, but not ET. He put a Russian in the suit. It was a horrible idea, logistically stupid, so I went back to the drawing board. With the crusader dead, there was no underworld chapter, the story in the tunnel, and the catacombs of Con Ed. That was created while you were reading the early chapters, the late, furious rewrite when all the Blue Sky stuff was added.

The third ending is what we have. I even made changes to that chapter after it was published, fixing one dumb error of continuity and adding information like the fact that Mustapha and Mozorov both bugged out of town before the raids. I failed to mention that. Now, with Eric Turner still alive and the bad guys not brought to justice, maybe he can recruit some army vets to avenge the murders of their mates killed by the gangs. Maybe.

--- 18TH CENTURY ---

 I have not been writing much this year. I bought a new bike. I'm getting out for exercise four days a week. I've always had bikes, and I've rebuilt a few, but I'm sick of always having to fix them. I just want to ride, so I bought a Trek hybrid, and I'm getting rid of my 1993 ten-speed. 

My PBS documentary binge continues. I have now watched the entire American Revolution series four times in under two months. Hi. My name is Don, and I have a Ken Burns addiction. I watched The West for the second time and Lewis & Clark twice. That two-parter is fantastic. Bike rides, PBS history, and space exploration docs have taken a bite out of my writing time.

I did find time to write a few rough chapters and character backstories, as filling my brain with 18th-century tales sparked an idea for a period piece. The main character, a frontiersman from Quebec, born in 1740, gets caught up in two wars, the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. The Frenchman's hatred of the English alters the direction of his life. He goes wherever they're fighting the red devils.

He fights alongside natives and against the tribes who side with the British. In his vast travels, using the lakes and rivers of the New World, where all the forts are built, he bonds with men of varied backgrounds. Their paths cross, they part ways, and then cross again. Each man has paid a heavy price in the wars. The pain of their losses and the savagery of war turn ordinary men into anti-heroes.

When the fighting is over, these men band together and go rogue, becoming privateers raiding English ships sailing between the forts in the great white north, disrupting the crown's commerce. After a particularly bloody crime, a bounty is put on the head of the Quebecois.

That's my synopsis. The rest is way down the road. I have a few chapters done, and several written as synopses, and now I must set my journey through history aside and get to work on the final rewrite of Sunset Private Eyes, back to the 20th Century.

After that, White Wedding. After that, who knows? Maybe Corsairs Des Lacs.

Sacred Heart

Sacred Heart is now live on Wattpad. There's a link to the right of this page. >>>>>>

WARNING: THIS NOVEL CONTAINS POLITICS.

That's a more critical warning than sex and violence these days. Politics is a great divider. As a life-long independent, I genuinely have a both sides suck attitude. I have never been a member of a political party, and yet I never miss an election. Both sides suck for different reasons. In Sacred Heart, I had to play the both-sides card hard to remain as on-the-fence as possible to not offend the snowflakes.

It's not just that I don't want to offend; realistically, it's essential to portray both sides when a nation is roughly divided down the middle. 

I don't know if I have sensitive snowflake readers who get triggered by strongly worded opinions they disagree with, but in this day and this political climate, it's highly likely. I don't always play it down the middle. The pendulum swings.  And because I am unaffiliated and have voted for and against the blue and red teams, I have the skills to piss off both sides.

I wrote Sacred Heart for NaNoWriMo 2020. That means I started the book on November 1st and completed my first draft before November 30th. This novel was born during a contested election. It was crazy, right?  My imagination took a dark turn.

As it turns out, I was not that far off. Then, in this rewrite, I wove in real events since 2020, tying my fictional urban crisis to the real world.

--- NEW YORK CITY 2035 ---

In one long opening scene and conversation, I dispense with much of the political upheaval and divisiveness of the 2020s and 2030s. It will feel all too familiar and may be annoying. After that scene, the story is not about politics, even as the events are shaped by politics.

My lead character, Aiden Regas, is a liberal do-gooder journalist, like most journalists. I mean journalists with credentials and an education in journalism, not cable TV talking heads and pretty-face newsreaders. Print reporters are mostly liberal.

Aiden's book publisher and the newspaper's owners are more conservative. The military men, cops, and prosecutors are all conservative. So, using this basic 'profession as a barometer' approach, I give both sides a voice.

This is the first book I've written with a body count, and it's a significant one. If you don't like violence in literature, you have been warned. I am not a military man, but I have decades of experience working in aerospace and defense, so I have an interest in the technology of war.  I had to do some research.

I try my best to be as accurate as possible. Sometimes I go so deep into a research rabbit hole that I learn more about the topic than I need for the writing I'm doing. In this story, that research was heavily technology and weapons-based. 

This is my first book not set in the 20th Century. I get to have cellphones! Yay! And because it's near-future, I can twist reality just a little. Writing in the modern world was a nice change of pace for me.

I am still working on this book as I release it. For that reason, the days you see chapters may be erratic. I won't guarantee a predictable Sun-Tue-Thu-Sat schedule.

I suspect this book will have far less traction than my punk writing, which barely gets 40 reads per chapter, but IDGAF.  First, I write for myself, what interests and entertains me as a writer. After that, if someone cares to read, great. If not. (shrugs) I'm always proud of my work, even when I beat myself up.

Rewrite Afterthoughts

 This is just me rambling about writing.

Pretend I'm using a typewriter for my punk rewrite. I had two stacks of pages. On the left, old chapters and scenes from the last publishing, T flying to LA, the divorce, three amigos, etc. On the right, new writing, like every Theroux family scene and storyline that did not exist in the Lit version. I had to stitch these together, throwing away many scenes, entire chapters, into my overflowing wastebasket of crumpled pages.

Some unused pages were set aside in a third stack. Maybe I can use them down the road. The glory hole material was set aside and then redeployed two years later than its original place in the timeline. Now that I'm done rewriting, I still have dozens of these orphan scenes that never got a call back.

The first ten chapters of VIP were heavy on the old story. In the teens, it shifted quickly to mostly new writing. In the last eight chapters, my piles were down to a few old scenes: lunch with Mila, Doc, and Martin, and Jenna's visit. And the new material: Hangar X, the BP sessions, the fashion chicks, and the final showdown with DB. 

As you were reading those final chapters, I was having doubts and rewrite afterthoughts. I don't know if I got it right. 

Jenna's Venice trip was the final chapter of Punks, and the narrative was written as such. It doesn't really fit where I placed it in VIP. The lunch at Flanny's was part of the epilogue. I liked that scene, so I kept it. In hindsight, maybe it didn't belong there. That conversation should have been used earlier, or thrown in the bin. Those are two examples where mistakes were made by blending the old pages with the new. 

If I were rating the final chapters, I couldn't give them 5 stars for author satisfaction, but I'm pleased with the overall VIP work, even though I did not get some things right.

The end of this book was all about closure on several fronts, first Mila, then Jackie. The mob hit chapter with Joe and Luke was fun to write and a nice break from all the legal crap. It served a purpose. After years of being at odds with her big brother, Jackie finally realizes that no matter what, Joe is there for them.

I had to dispose of David Benjamin once and for all. That scheme required chapters of setup and development before the payoff. I read the deposition and final chapter recently, before you did. I thought it was cheesy. I like how he torpedoes their legal proceeding, but Joe's dialogue was a little dumb in spots. 

In dispatching his nemesis, Joe also has closure with Laura. There's no doubt who is in charge at Guerilla Records, and she can shut up now. And now Joe has a mini empire to run. Is that what he wants?

I'm certain my rewrite project burned me out. The curse of the rewrite is that you get tired of your own story, working on the same scenes and chapters. I'm sure readers can relate. My dark moods of late disqualify me from using words like 'thrilled' or 'elated,' but I'm pleased to be done with 2025, this year, this project, and to turn the page. I'm back to writing productively after some rough patches.

--- SPRING OF 2026 ---

That's when Joe will return. I am currently writing the first draft of chapter 13 of White Wedding. I have scenes written for later chapters, and I also wrote a rough ending.  Having the ending figured out halfway through a book makes it so much easier to follow a path. There's my destination. I must write my way there. 

And because I wrote that ending to White Wedding, there will be another book following Joe and Tina's nuptials. I had planned on ending the chronological punk timeline after the honeymoon. Then I wrote the ending to WW, and a 1999 story was right there, too perfect to not write. The punk addicts will love it.

Because I wrapped up all Joe's hostilities, major and minor, at the end of VIP, I must create new adversaries and allies for Joe and his fiancée. And I bring back an old one. There will be more cross-pollination between punks and detectives, as Joe and Tina hire Kat to dig dirt on a new foe. 

I did what I set out to do with Tina. She is a costar with her own stories, but the fashion storyline will not be a major theme going forward, aside from a few fashion dramas that complement the bigger picture, like Joe introducing her to Kat and Vivian.

If you're a reader who finds Tina a little annoying, I nailed it. That's precisely what I want. Why? Because spouses can be annoying. I need to make this realistic. Joe and Tina are imperfect. For every smart move they make, they take a wrong turn. The battle for the pants is on.

You may have noticed that XXX scenes disappeared late in VIP. I just wanted to get to the finish line. There will always be naughty scenes, innuendo, sexual tension, and anxiety, but I can't predict how much erotic content there will be. That is decided in the moment, when writing, and it must serve the story. 

All of that is months away. I have other works ready to publish for 2026, the writing that got me through the darkness. I enjoy crime writing. It's a very different process.

I promise you'll never see 229 chapters in one year again, 16 of Sunset '77, and 213 chapters of punks. I added 81 chapters in the 2025 rewrite, mostly in Anxiety and VIP. Going forward, the books will be shorter and more focused on the main event.  WW is looking like 24-ish chapters.

Before you see any of that, it's crime and mayhem, coming soon.

Writing In The Darkness

One year ago this week, I resurrected this blog to share the final chapters of The Venice Scene after my split with Lit. Then I embarked on this rewrite and publishing of Joe's story to Wattpad. That project is complete. One month from now, the final chapter of VIP Rewards reaches beyond the previous punk timeline. 

It was my intention to publish White Wedding next, but that was derailed by personal issues and a long writing drought. I had a less-than-productive summer as I lost my mojo for a couple of months. In late August, after a good week of writing, my baby brother died young and unexpectedly. I mentioned his passing in my Doomsday Heart blog post. There's no need to revisit that here

Two months and a trip to Georgia for his memorial service later, I'm still feeling the grief hangover.  That trip was rough, but also sweet, as I met his southern military family, who were warm, welcoming, and supportive to a stranger. In many ways, they knew my brother better than I. We grieved together, and also laughed. Glen was a goober, a grown child, loved by many in LaGrange, Georgia.

My brother, 13 years younger than I, served 21 years in the US Army, mostly stationed in the south at Fort Benning, Fort Stewart, and Fort Campbell, as well as tours in Kosovo and Korea, peacekeeping, and two tours in Iraq. His full military service, 21-gun salute, taps, and having his flag presented to me, on my lap... I have no words.

(Exhales audibly)

That was nearly a month ago, and while I still have the hangover, I've mostly moved on. When I sat down to write, White Wedding was not happening. I had four chapters done and old work to rewrite, but I was not in the mood for that project. My dark mood led me elsewhere.

I have mentioned my vigilante action/crime novel, Sacred Heart. It's a dark near-future tale, with lots of violence and a significant body count. It is political, which can be a minefield. I had to write like a highwire artist, doing a both-sides-are-responsible balancing act where characters on the right and left debate the decay of society and who's to blame. We are to blame, all of us!

I don't know why, but crawling into that dark hole to rewrite that brutalist story was comforting, while I was already in a bad place. Writing in the darkness was oddly soothing. That novel is one light pass from being ready to publish.

After that, I jumped into my next detective novel. I had previously done a great deal of research into the international diamond trade, writing notes and preparing for Kat and Vivian's next big case. I am currently writing chapter 15 of Sunset Private Eyes. The last few weeks have been productive, sometimes a chapter per day, despite the dark cloud.

I cannot predict where my head will be in December. As I write this blog, it appears I'll be publishing a crime novel next. Sacred Heart is ready. After that, in 2026, Sunset Private Eyes, followed by White Wedding... if I get back in the mood for Joe and Tina's drama.

The future is unwritten.

Venice VIP Rewards

The sixth book in the Punks Universe, Venice VIP Rewards, is now live on Wattpad.  There's a link to the right. >>>>>>

VIP Rewards picks up exactly where Adventure In Anxiety ends. Tina is on a plane to California to finally fix the biggest mistake of her life, claim her man, and collect her Venice VIP Rewards. She's facing divorce, selling off her gallery business, starting a fashion brand, and a total upheaval in her life. 

Joe is entering a new phase in his career. His touring days are over. He's building new partnerships and a future as a part-time performer and full-time producer. With his legal battles behind him, Joe yearns for a simpler life, close to home. Life is never simple for Joe. In VIP, he will pull off his biggest coup of his career, changing his business and life.

VIP is 35 chapters. The first ten chapters are a mix of old material from Lit, the divorce period, and brand-new writing. Once you get into the teens, it's 100% new writing. Near the end, there are a few chapters of mixed material, the final scenes of the Lit Punks version, and the end of the 2025 rewrite. 

This book was 32 chapters, completed weeks ago. Then, while doing a final pass from the beginning, I began to feel the ending was not right. Every time I break off a book and start a new one, I look for a seam in the timeline. In the VIP case, Tina gets on that plane to change her life, an easy call.  It's not always so clear.

I must also decide which side-stories I will carry on to the other side of the break, and which to close out. After this book was complete, I added three more chapters to put an end to a long-running storyline that I had planned to carry into the next book. Once I wrote this new ending, I was very pleased with my decision.

--- FUTURE PUNKS ---

After VIP will come White Wedding. I make no guarantees or predictions when you'll see the next book. It's too soon to tell. I have a lot of work to do as my first drafts of WW chapters are a bit rough, and I must change them to include the new realities in Joe's life, like Jeanie living in LA, and the butterfly effect. After WW, I'm taking this project in a new direction, breaking the timeline and my chronological storytelling. 

While writing VIP in the mid to late chapters, it dawned on me that there had not been a sex scene for several chapters. For a long stretch, there was just the usual innuendo, teasing, and a few references to Joe and Tina fucking after a homecoming. 

I was tempted to drop a scene in the middle of that, then decided no. If I did not think to include an erotic scene during that stretch, maybe the story didn't need one. Maybe it never needs them. I don't want to force it, writing erotica that doesn't serve a purpose other than being naughty. This caused me a period of contemplation on where this story is going, future punks.

While I kept a good amount of erotica from Lit in this rewrite, I also removed many scenes. Back in 2022, I was writing for Lit, learning to write erotica. While reworking that version in 2025, I felt the number of sex scenes distracted from the story. I saved those scenes; some were redeployed elsewhere in VIP, and others may get rewritten for future use. 

My next challenge is to make stories about married life interesting. I am literally mining my own life as a husband, father, and partner. It's back to the write what you know mantra I used in the first chapters of ATYP. I know how difficult marriage and co-parenting can be. I can torture Joe with that shit.

On the other hand, I'll have to get creative, using Joe and Tina's history and hyper-sexual relationship to conjure sordid affairs. And of course, there's always anxiety and insecurity with this headcase couple.