Choices

Posted on April 22, 2014 by Sean T. Smith

From my novel in progress, The Tears of Abraham

Sometimes, bad decisions change little beyond the moment, and a wrong turn is merely that– a left which should have been a right. Often, though, a bad choice builds momentum and mass and creates its own gravity and destructive physics until the present, future, and the past are distorted and corrupted. Loving the wrong woman is like that.

It’s the hunger of the stone seeking rock bottom. The splash and the inevitable descent and weight of consequence dragging and drowning the laughter of young dreams deeper and darker into the mud and the choking abyss of mediocrity, irrelevance, and then oblivion. The ripples on the surface of the waters have no memory.

Sneak Peek… Children of Wrath

Posted on April 13, 2014 by Sean T. Smith

Being a hero in the eyes of my children was far more important to me than the adulation I’ve received over the years for getting shot and stabbed and being any sort of a leader. The memories that keep me warm on snowy winter nights here in Yellowstone are of times when I was a real hero. I remember my son Ryder and his little sister Grace on Christmas morning gazing with wide eyed wonder at the presents under the tree while a fire cracked and popped in a log cabin steeped to the roof in drifts. I hold those perfect moments close to me, those fleeting times that were really gifts my children gave to me. I can now open them like a book, and I turn back the years to see that look of amazement they rewarded me with when I lifted a heavy log, carved a bow, or brought home a wolf cub. I wrap myself in those precious memories like a warm bison blanket to keep the cold at bay and stave off the lingering chill of things I would rather forget.

The winter Ryder turned nine, Grace was six, and the cold was bitter and long. Maybe with the telling of it, these many years later, forgiveness will find me and I can draw close and smile.

The Fall obliterated humanity about sixteen years before that season; the bombs and pestilence that followed The Fall pushed us to the brink of the abyss, but we managed to survive. In the nine years we had been in the west, the scattered groups of survivors inhabiting the region enjoyed relative peace and security. It was a time of rebirth and renewal, and my best memories live there still. The weaponized fungus we had come to call Tarantula still thrived in the warmer regions, but the cold of the north kept it at bay. We were full of hope, though we bore the wounds of the past. We believed we had made it through the worst of it.

I was then not yet thirty, and still very much in my prime, my hair dark and short, with not a hint of the white beard and long mane I now wear. “You look like Noah,” Crystal jokes these days. “What happened to my sculpted David, my Greek hero?” She laughs and there is no malice in it; the gray is earned and I wear it with the cantankerousness of an old Grizzly baring his yellowed fangs over a kill, long of tooth and the gold fading, but still dangerous. I was much more dangerous then. I stood six feet four inches, was broad of shoulder and narrow of hip, and I was strong. Hazel eyes, still bright with hope then, before they were faded and dimmed by sadness, which still burned with a zest for life.

“You’re old beyond your years,” I recall Crystal saying back then. “Such an old soul.” But really, I think that was all of us.

Writing is a triathlon

Aside

My first thought when I see the Iron Man Triathlon on television is, “why would anyone want to do that?” Physically, even when I was in the best condition of my life, I could not have done it, although if I’d trained hard enough, maybe, just maybe, I could have pulled it off. Mentally, though? Nope. I’d better figure it out now, though.

My first novel is finally out on the Amazon and Barnes and Noble websites. I woke up the next day still me, with no unicorns and rainbows shooting from my eyes. I am grateful, humbled, apprehensive, and proud all at the same time. I know I still have much to learn. I am dedicated to continue to improve my craft and undertake the work it will entail.

The business side of publishing is daunting and bewildering, and a part of me wants to just make it disappear. Shut my eyes like a four year old and it’s not there anymore. I’ve been focused on writing and ignored the marketing and promotional side of things, which is very dangerous if you want to make a living as a writer. On the other hand, I don’t ever want to become “that guy,” the one who spams with relentless ferocity until people want to shoot him in the throat. So I won’t be doing that.

Writing books is more like a triathlon than a sprint. There is the storytelling side of it, which is the most fun. That’s where the ideas come flowing out, and they are still shiny and new and you get to pick and choose. It’s an organic thing, even if you are a plotter and you are working on an outline. The story comes out and it is glorious. Then comes the writing, which is where the words on the page come out. It’s not quite the same as storytelling, although it can be a part of the process. You have to worry about voice, pacing, syntax and word choice. The writing is a blast, too, though. Not quite as free-wheeling as the storytelling, yet more satisfying because the characters, conflicts and settings are coming to life as you churn out the words. And then there is the marketing and promotion, which to most writers, including me, is less than fun. That last leg of the race is painful, crucial, and long. It seems to demand I utilize muscles I don’t really want to use as a writer. It’s running a marathon when you’re already exhausted, and it’s the difference between .

finishing the race and dropping out in agony.

I guess I’d better dig down deep, ’cause I ain’t quitting.

Books about modern war…

Posted on February 6, 2014 by Sean T. Smith

A common truism for writers is that we should “write what we know.” I find this stifling. I’ve never served in the military, but I write about war. Authors like Tom Clancy pulled it off, but how can I really capture the feel of what it is like to be in combat when I’ve never been there myself? I am certain I make mistakes, but I do a whole lot of research. I read interviews and books written by soldiers who have been in the thick of it, and watch copious amounts of combat footage and documentaries. I listen to soldiers who are willing to talk about their experiences. I have nothing but respect and admiration for our troops, and I sometimes feel like a fraud trying to depict the emotions, the smells, and the sound of battle. Here is a list of some of the books I’ve used as research material, and my take on those books.

War, by Sebastian Junger, is fantastic. Junger wrote the book after spending months with troops in a remote outpost in Afghanistan. He went on patrols with these men, and filmed hundreds of hours of footage. He came under frequent fire and was almost killed more than once; many of the soldiers he was with were killed or wounded. The book is detailed, gritty, hopeful, and tragic. The documentary he filmed during that time, Restrepo, is outstanding as well.

Generation Kill, by journalist Evan Wright, is about a group of Recon Marines at the tip of the spear during the second Iraq war. These elite soldiers drove into towns in lightly armored Hummers with the purpose of triggering ambushes. The book is a monument to the heart and soul of our fighting men and women, but it also highlights the dangers of inept commanders.

On Killing is taught at West Point and Quantico. Lt. Colonel Dave Grossman interviewed hundreds of men who had been in combat for this chilling book, and delves into the psychology of killing. What does it take to kill a man? How does it feel, before, afterwards, and during. How does the military train our soldiers to overcome the natural aversion to taking another human life?

,The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien is poetic and shattering. O’Brien served in Vietnam, and this novel brings that war to life. It is not only the best book about war I’ve read, it’s one of the best novels I’ve read. I can’t recommend it enough. O’Brien writes so well, he makes me want to give up!

American Sniper, by Kris Kyle lacks the poetry of some of these other books, but it is written by SEAL with more confirmed sniper kills than any other American in history. There is no remorse, only recoil. I am glad Kyle was on our side. The author was killed last year by a soldier he was trying to help.

The Wrath series begins with World War III, and while the books contain a great deal of fighting and violence, I would like to think that they are about the nature of good and evil in all of humanity. The great books about war, from Tolstoy to Hemingway, are less about technology and explosions and more about emotion and loss and consequences. I’m striving for that with my writing, but I am utterly humbled by the writers who have succeeded.

Great early reviews for Objects of Wrath

Posted on January 15, 2014 by Sean T. Smith

Wrath is coming….February 25 from Permuted Press

Paul Mannering, the highly acclaimed Australian author of Tankbread calls Objects of Wrath

“A nuclear apocalypse coming of age story that is destined to be a classic.”

From the brilliant Craig Dilouie, Author of Suffer the Children, The Retreat, and many more novels:”For the few who do what it takes, the end of the world will be a new beginning … With Objects of Wrath, SeanT. Smith offers a fresh take in survivalist fiction.”

Fantastic writer and Editor James Crawford had this to say:

“Objects of Wrath is disturbing. The end of the world shouldn’t be so plausible. Sean Smith’s new book squats in the heart twisting intersection of “Full Metal Jacket” and Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road.“.

Thank you, Paul, Craig, and James!!

Casting Objects of Wrath… silly fun.

Posted on January 3, 2014 by Sean T. Smith

People are always saying “gee, maybe your book will get made into a movie!” Well, it used to rankle me because, in my mind, the book is the goal, the final product. But then I succumbed to the insidious lure of dreaming about my characters on the big screen. And, I’ll admit, coming up with this dream cast was a lot of fun.

William Fox: Played by Liam Mcintyre

Ryder Fox, Jeffery Dean Morgan.

Elijah, Morgan Freeman.

Abraham, Anthony Mackie.

Colonel Duke Masterson: Robert Duval

Crtstal: Abigail Breslin

Angela: Saorise Roman

Chilli: Max Martini

Hawk: Jeremy Renner

Evelyn Masterson-Fox: Nicole Kidman

Gunny: Denzel Washington

THE BORDER BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL HAS ALWAYS BEEN BLOODY
After The Fall, the entire world is an open wound.
William flees with his family to Magnolia, a farm in Tennessee, while America descends into madness, anarchy, and despair. With help from Special Forces units and 101st Airborne troops, Magnolia emerges as beacon of hope and stability. But when a deadly biological weapon is unleashed, a new darkness stalks the Earth.
Is humanity doomed?
After The Fall, nothing is certain.

WRATH IS COMING!!! February 2014

The Next American Civil War

Posted on December 2, 2013 by Sean T. Smith

My fourth novel, The Tears of Abraham is speculative fiction, and I pray it stays that way. The first American Civil War cost more than six hundred thousand lives. The next one will be far worse.

I’ve been kicking this idea around for about six months, while working on the final book in my Wrath series. I read some articles about Texas wanting to secede from the Union, and at first I chuckled to myself. Folks in Texas are tough, and they’re already just about a country to themselves. They have the agricultural base, heavy industry, military assets, and fiercely independent mindset to make themselves a Republic, should the general population actually be in favor of it. What I dismissed at first as pure apocalyptic nightmare began to seem possible, though no less insane.

But what if the recession does not end? What if the cultural, racial, economic, and religious divides within the United States get worse with time?

What if the Republican Party does not heal itself, and the schism within the Party of Lincoln leads to an even more powerful Tea Party? With both sides gerrymandering districts to protect their power bases, there would be small incentive for moderation.. But on a national level, the Democratic Party would command more of the general vote, and maintain control of the White House, and probably gain seats in the House of Representatives. Much of the country would continue to feel the Federal Government did not truly represent their interests. The shrill rhetoric from the media on both sides of the political isle would increase, finding conflict and scandal to sell advertising.

The war will be about money, race, religion, and a deep difference of opinion of what government exists to do. The seeds have been planted already.

What would happen if Texas really left the Union? Much of the South might follow suit, along with chunks of the far West. To what lengths would the Federal government go to preserve the sanctity of our country? I love America, and the idea of a civil war terrifies me. The more I’ve researched the topic, the more worried I get. There are a whole bunch of angry people out there. Some of them seem to actually yearn for war. I don’t think it will come to that. I have faith, not in politicians, but in the innate common sense of the American people. I hope that in the coming decade, this decency wins out over hatred.

Lincoln was willing to fight to preserve the Union. I wonder what will happen the next time. I don’t know yet, but there will be tears. Of that, I am certain.