Steve Patton's Blog: Mepho Press - Posts Tagged "plot"

Who has seen the movie, Three Days of the Condor (1975), with Robert Redford?

It is one of my favorite movies, and if I had a Top 100 list, it would be somewhere on it. I saw it in my teens, and I loved it, and the concept of the movie. It is a movie that has influenced my writing. When I originally saw the movie, I did not fully understand it as a teen, which is why it fascinated me so. When I went back and watched it again, in my late 20s with "more worldly knowledge", I understood the movie (I think lol) and the whole movie, and the ending was like w-o-w.

While writing The Message, I thought of this movie - to say the movie influenced The Message, yes it did, but only to a small degree...mostly in my thoughts, more so than what transpired to page...but here is why.

I wrote the story about three years ago for my son, and only recently (2025) published the book. In the book, the US removes a dictator from Argentina. The original story, the one I read to my son ~ 2022...the US removes a dictator from Venezuela. Before publication, I changed the setting from Venezuela to Argentina because it better fit the overall plot. I wonder what would have happened had I left the country as Venezuela?

One of two things:

1) The book would have gone viral or
2) The CIA would be knocking on my door (LOL)

or maybe both!

So, if you haven't read The Message, now may be the perfect time to do so!!