With The Red Asphalt now in the hands of half a dozen beta readers, I find myself suddenly with more time. This book has been a long haul to get done, but I really like the story and can hardly wait to share it with all of you.

I’ve had one beta reader finish already and recommend only minimal changes, for which a great brow mopping has occurred. Another is halfway through the text and enjoying it. So that must mean the others will have to make up the slack and pan it accordingly.

Since I have time to work on things other than The Red Asphalt, I started working on an Author Foreword that I plan to release with the book. What I’m posting now is only the first draft, so it might not show up this way in the final draft, but the meaning will be the same.

Perhaps in a week or three I might also post the book’s opening chapter.

The Red Asphalt

AUTHOR FOREWORD

“Get your hero in danger—and keep him there.” — H. Bedford-Jones.

That’s a quote I often take to heart. Old Henry Bedford-Jones was one of the great pulp influences of the time. Today, that quote should be updated to add “her” to the sentence, but the meaning is essentially the same.

I learned this simple, yet deep concept from a writing instructor of the 60’s and 70’s, Dwight Swain. Few, it turns out have heard of him, but almost everyone has been influenced by him.

In an age where vampires rule and romances abound, I find my comfort in the simple heroes who do what heroes should be doing—getting into danger and trying their darndest to find a way out of it.

I enjoy my thrill rides with the comic superhero likes of Spiderman, Batman, Iron man, Superman, and Aquaman. Well, maybe not so much the last guy.

But, these superheroes would not exist if it weren’t for the pulp stories that came before: The Shadow, Doc Savage, Tarzan, Conan, John Carter, and many more.

Then there are the fantasy heroes: Bilbo, Gandolf, Elric, Corwin, Belgarion, Rand, and oh so many more.

Finally, there are the others, the so-called “classics”: Gilgamesh, Beowulf, Odysseus, Hercules, Robin Hood, Sherlock Holmes, and the zillons of daring tales from every ancient religion and folklore to have ever existed.

Then, we add in movies. Who can’t remember the first time they watched Luke Skywalker blow up the Death Star, or Indiana Jones crack his whip, or even some other iconic movies of my day: Robocop, Terminator, Alien, Mad Max, Ghostbusters, The Thing, and Conan.

Finally, for flavor we add a smattering of Dean Koontz, a dash of Stephen King, a taste of Lee Child, and a pinch of Brandon Sanderson.

And what do we get?

All the stories and people I need to thank for making this book what it is.

***

In this tale you will not find a literary masterpiece, nor will you find a totally accurate mirroring of reality, nor will I ever pretend it is something it is not.

What I do hope to provide you with is a couple of hours of entertainment for a bargain basement price.

Nothing more. Nothing less.

Now let’s go get those heroes in danger.