Oscar Martello and His Novel

It really didn't take long for my husband to realize that I had fallen in love again. It wasn't the buttons. It wasn't the pillow. It wasn't even the music. Music? Yep, I have an Oscar Martello song that I like to listen to on non-stop repeat. I'd tell you what it is, but something tells me Oscar doesn't dance to the beat of Bruno Mars very often, and I'm not sure Mr. Weddle wants his kick-ass character being associated with that kind of music. 

 

We had gone out for a quick bite to eat. I think it was Cafe Rio...ya, it was Cafe Rio. I remember the employees screaming "double meat" when we walked in. It wasn't directed at us, but it could have easily been perceived that way if you had never been there before.  Anyway, we were at Cafe Rio eating dinner when my  husband looked at me said, "You've got your "o" face on..."

 
Ya, I'm almost positive I know what most of you are thinking because I was thinking the same thing.
 
It took me a minute to process my thoughts. Was he thinking what I was thinking? Was he talking about something while I was staring at the wall that I didn't hear? Do I play dumb?
 
I played dumb.
 
Me:    "What do you mean by "o" face?"
 
Him:    "O face?"
 
Me:     "O for Ogden?"
 
Him:    "No."
 
Me:     "Really, I have no clue where you're going with this.
            What is my "o" face?"
 
Him:    "Duh...Oscar Martello!"
 

I set out to capture this "o' face of mine in picture format...this was the best I could do. Are you ready? Not the greatest look, but I have to say my eyes are looking pretty cute. I think Oscar should like me based on  this picture alone. I'm a much better woman then that Marcie he shacked up with...much more loyal, too. Seriously, I think I'm good enough for this guy. And this picture...this picture should totally seal the deal.

 

 

As you can imagine, my eyes lit up and we both laughed. But it was true...I had been thinking of Oscar when he started with the comments. I was sitting at the table wondering how in the heck am I supposed to do an Oscar Martello Week without embarrassing the heck out of Steve Weddle. I don't really write reviews. I just ramble. I like to ramble. It's what I do best. Especially when it come to the books I like to read.

My rambling is all sincere; comes straight from the heart. I don't worry about embarrassing myself. I'm more concerned with offending others or not giving the proper write up that would convince a person to want to read the stories that I'm rambling about.  What you read on this blog is exactly what you'd get from me if we were talking in person (without all the pictures...which I happen to like).

So here we are on the final day of Oscar Martello Week and I'm nervous. A little depressed. I'm worried I didn't do my job. Were you convinced enough to read? To listen? To fall in love? I'm just gonna assume you were convinced, otherwise you wouldn't be here visiting today.  And what a day this is...

Oscar is getting his very own NOVEL! I found this out by accident when I was doing what I do best (stalking authors online after I read a story that makes me fall in love), when I came across some blog where Mr. Weddle had done an interview.  I didn't read the entire thing, but I did read enough to know that Mr. Weddle was working on an Oscar Martello novel. I couldn't have been more thrilled. Is elated the right word? I was overwhelmed to the point of giddiness? I'd normally use the word, gushing...but I looked the word up in the dictionary (Google search) this week and I'm trying really hard to eliminate the word from my vocabulary.  I was giddy! Totally sounds like a word I'd use. Giddy!

Anyway...OSCAR MARTELLO IS GETTING A NOVEL! To help push the process along and to help convince those publishing people that Oscar getting a novel is like, the smartest thing they could ever do...I made buttons. They read: OSCAR MARTELLO NEEDS A NOVEL!

Well, he does!

And to help us get psyched for all things Oscar Martello related I'm linking you to the very first page of the Oscar Martello novel. The last post linked you to the three short stories that were the arc for the novel. So if you took the time this week to read those, then you are totally prepared for this first page. It's an awesome first page. I happen to like it very, very much.

Read it. Think about it. Then leave a comment on the blog. Heck, why don't you leave a comment for Oscar...or if leaving comments for fictional characters isn't your thing, leave a comment for Mr. Weddle. Or for me. Or just to get a dang button! 

THE NEW OSCAR MARTELLO NOVEL...

Steve Weddle is an editor, short story writer, and novelist. A former English professor, he holds an MFA in creative writing from Louisiana State University and currently works for a newspaper group. His fiction has appeared in numerous literary and crime/noir journals. In 2009, Weddle and six crime fiction writers created DoSomeDamage, where he blogs on Mondays. In 2010, Weddle and John Hornor Jacobs created Needle: A Magazine of Noir, one of the top journals for contemporary crime fiction. He lives with his family in Virginia.

His short fiction has recently appeared at Beat To A Pulp, Crime Factory, and A Twist of Noir. http://steveweddle.squarespace.com/.

Falling in Love with Oscar Martello...

I know, I know. How can I possibly be confessing my love for Oscar Martello when I've already given my heart away to so many others before him?  That is what you're thinking, right?  I'll be the first to admit that after I finished with the Reacher series I was a little depressed.  Wasn't really quite sure what I was supposed to do with myself. And it was about that same time (October 26, 2010) that cozy  mystery author, Hannah Reed, asked on her Facebook page if any of her readers would be interested in an "older male" protagonist. As you can probably guess, I left a comment: I hit 40 this year and started finding older men attractive...I also felt awkward lusting after a fictional character that was clearly too young for me. I say "Heck YES" to older protagonists!  True story.  I don't even know how many books I had to read before Jack Reacher finally caught up to my age...but the guy will probably still be in his early forties when I hit the dreaded 5-0! Then what am I supposed to do? I'll be right back to where I started. Ya, an older protagonist totally sounds perfect for me. 

*SIGH*

Then in walked Oscar Martello.  The guy literally came out of nowhere. Just appeared in this short story collection that I was reading by the Do Some Damage gang. (TERMINAL DAMAGE...ONLY $0.99! You can find it HERE) I knew instantly that I was in love, and that this time...it was for real. 

For real? What does that even mean? Honestly, I have no idea. All I know is that I started talking about this character and even leaving comments about him on blogs. You can read about one comment here on the Mulholland Books website.  Ya, there are more than one of these types of comments floating around out there. Once I remembered the author, Steve Weddle, was following me on Twitter, I stopped retweeting all the tweets that would link people to the websites.  (I gotta have some secrets, right?) I even had a dream about Oscar once. He wasn't actually in the dream, but when you listen to and read the stories about Oscar Martello it'll be so obvious that the dream was about him.  I was a traveling sales representative and I was wandering the streets in a French Maid outfit selling baseball bats, brass knuckles, and ceramic hunting knives.  It was the same night that some dork posted an article about how authors should be branding their books. I guess my thoughts got away from me...just a little.

Anyway, so who is Oscar Martello? According to Steve Weddle's website, Oscar Martello is a man in his 50s, caught between lives. The former bad guy tried to retire. Not to be a good guy. Just to retire. Hasn't really been working out for him. I picture him to be rough around the edges, handsome, and a sharp dresser. He's Tough. He reminds me of all the inmates I worked with when I was employed with the Sheriff's Department. You know, that unspoken rule they all have...you can beat your wife, even kill her, and anyone else,  but if you hurt a child...you're in for a fight.  That's how I see Oscar. His decisions seem quick and they don't come with regrets. At least not when it's "work" related.

Well, I really, really, really love this character, and to prove my undying devotion to Oscar Martello, I'm officially announcing Oscar Martello week on My Friends Call Me Kate.  My goal?  To get all of my readers to fall in love with Oscar, of course!  And to help you with this I'm linking you to the very first short story I ever read about Oscar...Walkaways.

In Walkaways, you'll read about Oscar being used as a pawn to start a war and you'll learn first hand why it never pays to be a step behind the newest love of my life. You'll also read about some guy named, Booger.  I'm also linking a second story titled, Missed Flight. The title pretty much explains the story, but if I'm not mistaken, that unspoken rule I mentioned earlier...well, you'll have a better understanding of it after reading /  listening to this.  Both stories can be found in audio format and are being brought to us by the sultry sounds of author, Daniel B. O'Shea. 

Although I'm not selling any brass knuckles, baseball bats, and ceramic hunting knives- I am giving away some buttons this week. The  button for today reads:  "I Love Oscar Martello" -  An "I Love Oscar Martello" button will be given to a select number of people that leave a comment on the blog. Tell me what you think about the short stories, and if your brave, tell me what you think of the man reading them. I'll be back on Wednesday to link you to three more stories, and of course, I'll be giving away some more buttons. Buttons are cool.  But they will never be as cool as Oscar. 

Oh! I also have 5 boxes of chocolate for the first 5 coworkers to post a comment on my blog and show up at my desk professing their love for Oscar Martello. Listen.  Enjoy.  Fall in love.

LISTEN TO:        "WALKAWAYS" 

This story can be found in the short story collection, Terminal Damage. You can purchase it here.  The book also contains short stories by Dave White, Russel McLean, Joelle Charboneau, and many others.

LISTEN TO:        "MISSED FLIGHT"

READ:                 "MISSED FLIGHT"

__________________________________

Steve Weddle is an editor, short story writer, and novelist. A former English professor, he holds an MFA in creative writing from Louisiana State University and currently works for a newspaper group.  His fiction has appeared in numerous literary and crime/noir journals. In 2009, Weddle and six crime fiction writers created DoSomeDamage, where he blogs on Mondays.  In 2010, Weddle and John Hornor Jacobs created Needle: A Magazine of Noir, one of the top journals for contemporary crime fiction. He lives with his family in Virginia.

His short fiction has recently appeared at Beat To A Pulp, Crime Factory, and A Twist of Noir.  http://steveweddle.squarespace.com/

Dan O'Shea is a thriller writer represented by Stacia Decker at the Donald Maass Literary Agency. His fiction has appeared in Crimefactory, and will be in an upcoming issue of Needle: A Magazine of Noir. You can find him online at danielboshea.wordpress.com, or just head out to the Chicago area and pick out a bar. He'll turn up.

Bangladesh family..

The mother of a friend of mine died yesterday. A tragic loss; another casualty. A fresh reminder of the fleeting nature of life. One thing that lingered in my mind all day was from a message she sent...

Please remember to tell your family and friends you love them everyday because you never know when someone dear to you will be taken.

Yes - we know it, but I just wanted to remind you of it. It really hit home to me last night when I got a message from Bangladesh........

I grew up listening to The Beatles... and was very familiar with the happenings in Bangladesh in the 70's, courtesy of George Harrison.



Knowing about a country, and taking a slightly keener interest in it when your children live there, are two different things.

Last night we heard there was a city wide curfew in Dhaka. We only heard about it because James and Jess immediately wrote to us to say they were ok, but as the city curfew had started at 3pm, they had been trapped and unable to get home. The buses were full.... so they took refuge at a friends house. As the news had only broken on the BBC by then, and it was late at night, we were blissfully unaware of any issue until they were already safe. I thought of the message from my friend... I didn't sleep too well, even knowing they were safe.

This morning, as there was nothing in the New Zealand news about it, which is not actually surprising, I did a wee google search for "Bangladesh unrest". It took me a while to filter out all the graphic images of fights and soldiers and fires from the past four years... and I had to redo it as "Bangladesh unrest 2009" to find yesterdays news.

Mutinous Border Guards in Bangladesh

Bangladesh rebels mutiny, agree to surrender

Bangladeshi guards revolt over pay in the capital

Bangladesh Unrest

It appears to have been a minor skirmish, but a rickshaw driver died and 15 were injured. I think it is the idea of having to follow a curfew at 3pm, for the whole city, to let the army get through the streets that I find hard to follow.... trying to imagine imposing it here in Christchurch!

Still, every country has unrest, fights, shootings.... I am not singling out Bangladesh. It was just that I was aware that stupid stuff like this can happen to anyone at any time... as Phoebe's mum said recently, "Hit by Bus" scenarios.

So, just wanted to take the opportunity to say "I love you" to my children, my wonderful parents, my lovely partner (who hears it all the time but won't object to a repeat :), to Phoebe's family and the many other friends who matter in my life.

I hope you will all do the same.

Bangladesh family..

The mother of a friend of mine died yesterday. A tragic loss; another casualty. A fresh reminder of the fleeting nature of life. One thing that lingered in my mind all day was from a message she sent...

Please remember to tell your family and friends you love them everyday because you never know when someone dear to you will be taken.

Yes - we know it, but I just wanted to remind you of it. It really hit home to me last night when I got a message from Bangladesh........

I grew up listening to The Beatles... and was very familiar with the happenings in Bangladesh in the 70's, courtesy of George Harrison.



Knowing about a country, and taking a slightly keener interest in it when your children live there, are two different things.

Last night we heard there was a city wide curfew in Dhaka. We only heard about it because James and Jess immediately wrote to us to say they were ok, but as the city curfew had started at 3pm, they had been trapped and unable to get home. The buses were full.... so they took refuge at a friends house. As the news had only broken on the BBC by then, and it was late at night, we were blissfully unaware of any issue until they were already safe. I thought of the message from my friend... I didn't sleep too well, even knowing they were safe.

This morning, as there was nothing in the New Zealand news about it, which is not actually surprising, I did a wee google search for "Bangladesh unrest". It took me a while to filter out all the graphic images of fights and soldiers and fires from the past four years... and I had to redo it as "Bangladesh unrest 2009" to find yesterdays news.

Mutinous Border Guards in Bangladesh

Bangladesh rebels mutiny, agree to surrender

Bangladeshi guards revolt over pay in the capital

Bangladesh Unrest

It appears to have been a minor skirmish, but a rickshaw driver died and 15 were injured. I think it is the idea of having to follow a curfew at 3pm, for the whole city, to let the army get through the streets that I find hard to follow.... trying to imagine imposing it here in Christchurch!

Still, every country has unrest, fights, shootings.... I am not singling out Bangladesh. It was just that I was aware that stupid stuff like this can happen to anyone at any time... as Phoebe's mum said recently, "Hit by Bus" scenarios.

So, just wanted to take the opportunity to say "I love you" to my children, my wonderful parents, my lovely partner (who hears it all the time but won't object to a repeat :), to Phoebe's family and the many other friends who matter in my life.

I hope you will all do the same.