My guest today is Carl R. Brush. Hello! Welcome to Writing in the Modern Age!
It’s such a pleasure to have you here.
Hi, Marie. Thanks for the opportunity. I hope I can make it worth your while.
Of course!
Can you tell us a little bit about your latest book? When did it come out? Where can we get it?
You can find my twin
historical thrillers The Maxwell Vendetta and The
Second Vendetta in Kindle or paperback on Amazon or on the
Solstice website. You can check out my website - www.writerworking.net - for
more info. Of course, if we happen to run across one another at a book fair or
social event, I’ll have paperback copies and some good conversation very handy.
The Vendetta novels are set in early
twentieth century San Francisco and the high sierra (1908 and 1910,
respectively) and involve enough race, politics, and romance to satisfy the
taste of anyone who likes to read regardless of genre-preference.
Is there anything specific that inspired you to write your Vendetta novels?
I have a love of
history and love to explore how supposedly modern issues have arisen so
consistently in the past. Thus, I spend most of my keyboard time creating
historical novels. Although it takes some research (which I enjoy) to make sure
my tales remain true to their period, I love not being constrained by the
demands of modernity. The telegraph is more fun than cell phones, for example,
and creates more complications for my characters who must often operate without
knowing what’s going on in the rest of the world.
I grew up in
northern California and have always been fascinated with its history, so it was
natural for me to set my characters and plots right here. There is a notable
exception, though, so read on.
In addition to my
Solstice Publications, I have two “latest” books, both
(surprise) historical novels, both (how’s this for a euphemism?) “awaiting
publication.”
Bonita opens in 1842 San Francisco (Yerba Buena)
and traces the coming of age of a then-twelve-year-old girl through the gold
rush and beyond. It turns my already-published historical novels into a trilogy.
Yellow Rose takes place during the 1836 Texas
revolution and focuses on Emily West, the real “Yellow Rose of Texas.” Yellow Rose was a team project. My
collaboration, the inspiration for the book, was a real live Texan. We overcame
or cultural/political and geographic differences to finish the book and to
become real friends as well. Then Bob died suddenly, so I’ve inherited
the responsibility for seeing to it that our effort moves off the computer and
on to the printed page.
I see. I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your author friend. :(
Let's try a different question.
So, when did you know you wanted to write? Or has it always been a pastime of yours?
My writing start? As
I put it in my bio sketch, I’ve been writing since I knew how to write.
Faulkner called himself a failed poet (isn’t that precious for a Nobel
prize-winner?) and a poet is what I once wanted to be also. I was a playwright
for a while (two produced non-professionally), and now I’ve turned to the
novel. It’s a great life, though not, I must admit, so great as a living.
Do you have any favorite authors?
Aside from
Shakespeare? Yeats is my poet, though W.S. Merwin is running a close second
these days. No one beats Faulkner, but I’m heavily devoted to Louise Erdrich
for the hours of insight and enjoyment she’s given me, and Kate Atkinson is my
hot new literary love.
So, do you write in a specific place? Time of day?
I’m lucky enough to have a relatively quiet study, and morning time is my time.
(Laughs.) Yes, I've learned that quiet time is a luxury writers don't often have.
Are there any words you'd like to impart to fellow writers? Any advice?
Words of
advice. I have so many. Reminds me of a t-shirt I saw once: “Take My Advice.
I’m Not Using It.”
Probably the most
important single thing—beyond talent—is habit. Michael Chabon (I’m sure he’s
not the first, but he’s the first living writer from whom I heard this.) says
he sets aside time and writes. Period. His time is night time. A midnight to
dawn kind of guy, which is not me. But time doesn’t matter.
Whether it’s going
well or ill. Whether it’s the project he sat down intending to finish but
can’t. Whether it’s eloquence or gibberish. Moving stuff out of your head (a
dangerous place) on to the page is writing. Anything else is, well, something
else.
That is great advice!
Thank
you so much for stopping by to visit us today here at Writing in the
Modern Age. It was such a pleasure having you! :)
Hey,
Marie, it’s been fun. Cheers!
Thanks, Carl. Readers, here are the blurbs for the Vendetta series.
The Maxwell Vendetta
Early California, 1908. Andy Maxwell sets out to solve the mystery
surrounding the stabbing death of his younger brother outside a San
Francisco bar. He’s certain the murder is part of a vendetta against his
family, but frustration and suspense mount as he fails to convince
authorities that the killing is anything more than the sad consequence
of a brawl between a pair of drunks. The police, the U.S. Army, even his
mother refuse to entertain the possibility that the killer, Michael
Yellow Squirrel, is one of a clan who intends to wipe out the Maxwells
and their California Sierra Nevada ranch.
Andy’s quest for the
motives and perpetrators behind the scheme carries him from California
to Wyoming and deep into his family’s pioneer past and psyche, where he
unearths disturbing secrets about, among other matters, his own racial
heritage. It also plunges him into a romantic dilemma involving a blonde
debutante and an Arapaho princess. Although Andy’s initial purpose is
to foil a conspiracy against his family, his journey eventually leads
him to question not only his own values, but also those of the frontier
that spawned and nourished them.
This historical thriller, the
prequel to another gripping historical novel, The Second Vendetta, is
set nearly one hundred years in the past, yet The Maxwell Vendetta
embodies themes as contemporary as racism, political corruption, and
sexual exploitation. In short, contemporary America mirrored in a novel
of early California.
The Second Vendetta
Not again.
In this suspense-filled thriller of a California
historical novel, set in 1910 San Francisco and the Sierra Nevada
mountains, we find Andy Maxwell completing the two-years-long job of
helping his family recover from a crippling vendetta attempt. In 1908, a
vengeful marauder nearly killed his mother, burned their Sierra Nevada
ranch house, and exhumed some long-buried family secrets—including the
fact that Andy’s father was black. At last, Andy thinks, he can return
to the University of California and pursue his history doctorate in peace.
Not so.
First
of all, it turns out that the brigand who started all the trouble, the
one Andy thought he’d Shanghaied into oblivion, didn’t stay exiled.
Michael Yellow Squirrel is back for another try at eliminating every
last Maxwell on earth. Furthermore, it turns out they don’t want a
miscegenated mongrel in the Ph.D. program at the “Harvard of the West,”
as the University of California likes to be known. Just when he’s
enlisted the eminent San Francisco journalist, Ambrose Bierce, to help
him attack that problem, the matter of the election intrudes.
Reform gubernatorial candidate Hiram Johnson wants him to run for the California legislature and help foil the railroad barons.
And then there are the women.
The debutante beauty and the Arapaho princess.
So,
how is Andy Maxwell, going to deal with all these quandaries? The
Second Vendetta answers that question and many more with a tale-telling
style that pulls readers into this thriller of a California history saga
and doesn’t let them go till they’ve turned the last page, wishing
there were more yet to turn.
Here is an excerpt from The Second Vendetta.
It’s 1910 on Andy Maxwell’s family ranch in
the high sierra of California, northeast of San Francisco. Andy and Virginia
have pursued their on-again-off-again romance for many months. In the midst of
a crisis wherein Andy’s family has been threatened with annihilation, they have
finally consummated the romance, but what about their future?
“When you think
about us, Andy, what do you think about?”
“About thunder,
lightning, explosions. The usual.”
“No, no.
Seriously.”
“Didn’t you hear
or see any of that just now? It sounded like maybe you—”
“It was glorious.”
She raised up and kissed his brow. “But what about after this? Your career,
mine. Our life.”
“Hey, let’s not
get ourselves mixed up here. I’m the stoic, and you’re the sybarite. Remember?”
“Nobody’s one
thing all the time,” she said.
“Is this really
the best time for this talk?” he said.
“This talk. Men always say that. If you
have a situation, you call a meeting, have one conversation and think
everything’s decided and you don’t have to discuss it any more. But Andy, this
isn’t some kind of academic department problem, it’s life. If it was a painting
the image would change every second.
She formed her
fingers into a frame. “I can see a staid professor who is exasperated with his
flighty wife.”
“Wife?” He sat up.
“Or …” She
reshaped the frame. “I see an Indian-fighter-scholar and his eccentric and
artistic mistress—”
“You want to be my
mistress?”
“Flitting from
salon to salon, her paintings hanging in galleries worldwide.”
“Are those our
only options?”
“Oh, no. There are
hundreds. But now it’s your turn.”
“I don’t want a
turn. In the middle of everything that’s happening … Why not just let things
unfold as they … unfold?”
“Because waiting
for things to happen means they never do,” she said. "Would we be here right now
if I hadn’t written you that note? Even though it took you forever to answer.”
“There was so much
havoc—”
She sat up in bed,
let the sheet fall around her waist. He tried not to look at her breasts, the
nipples pert with excitement. He sensed this was a time to keep his wits about
him.
“That havoc. This
havoc. There will always be something. Now come on, Andy. A year from now. What
are you and I doing, in your mind?”
“You’re an artist.
I’m a graduate student.”
“You are
maddening, maddening, maddening.” She flopped on to her back, speaking to the
ceiling, pulled the sheet up to her chin. He never thought he would be glad for
those breasts to be covered. “Not you.” She held up a palm. “And me.” She held
up the other. “Us.” She twined her fingers.
“Okay, okay,” he
said. He closed his eyes, cupped his hands and smoothed the air in front of
him. “My turn at the crystal ball, then.” He tried to imagine a face, a scene,
anything. He saw nothing, but he had to at least pretend. “Great swami sees in
your future—our future—a city house and a mountain house.”
“Are we married?”
“Ah. Let’s see.
Oh, no. Great Swami apologizes, the crystal ball has clouded over.”
She turned on her
side, propped herself on an elbow, and looked past him to the wall. She looked
into his eyes, smiled, and stroked his cheek.
He had either
escaped an ambush or stepped into one. He had no idea which.
Author Bio
Carl Brush has
been writing since he could write, which is quite a long time now. He grew up
and lives in Northern California, close to the roots of the people and action
of his historical thrillers, The Maxwell
Vendetta, and its sequel, The Second Vendetta.
A third volume of the trilogy, Bonita,
set in pre-gold-rush San Francisco is completed and awaiting publication.
You can find
Carl living with his wife in Oakland, California, where he enjoys the blessings
of nearby children and grandchildren.
Journals in
which his work has appeared include The
Summerset Review, Right Hand Pointing, Blazevox, Storyglossia, Feathertale, and The Kiss Machine. He has
participated in the Napa Valley Writers’ Conference, the Squaw Valley Community
of Writers, the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, and the Tin House Writers’
Workshop, and the Dallas-Fort Worth Writers conference.
Carl Brush has
been writing since he could write, which is quite a long time now. He grew up
and lives in Northern California, close to the roots of the people and action
of his historical thrillers, The Maxwell
Vendetta, and its sequel, The Second Vendetta.
A third volume of the trilogy, Bonita,
set in pre-gold-rush San Francisco is completed and awaiting publication.
Author Links:
Website: http://www.writerworking.net/
Blog: http://www.writerworking.net/blog/
Blog: http://www.writerworking.net/blog/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarlrBrush
Twitter: https://twitter.com/carlrbrush
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Carl-R.-Brush/e/B00DCXPH64/
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Carl-R.-Brush/e/B00DCXPH64/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6538152.Carl_R_Brush
Publisher: http://solsticepublishing.com/carl-brush/
Carl's Books:
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