One thing about blogging - you get to "meet" some pretty cool people, &, in my case some pretty good writers as well. Mark LaFlamme is an author that falls into the met via the blog category. He has a new book out called DIRT: AN AMERICAN CAMPAIGN. I decided to read it. It was the least I could do after calling him a "nut", though it was meant in a good way. (He's funny & somewhat over the top. What more could you expect from a guy that's a newspaper crime reporter who takes the week of Halloween off for vacation?)
DIRT is the story of a candidate for President embroiled in the dirty tricks of a heated primary. His daughter-in-law has met an untimely end & the candidate's son, unable to accept her death, retrieves the body from her resting place & begins driving around New England with her corpse. Needless to say, Daddy ain't too happy & sends "a response team" to deal with this potential scandal, which in this man's case, is tame compared with the other skeletons in the family closet. Besides, he can't have the voters investigating the 'dirt' on him - especially when he's busily shoveling the 'dirt' on the frontrunner, the man with the squeaky clean image.
So I posted a review on-line (below) & hope Mark LaFlamme has some measure of success. I'm sure that good sales would be helpful - Halloween is only a month away.
DIRT: AN AMERICAN CAMPAIGN by Author Mark LaFlamme is a well-crafted work of entertaining and thought provoking fiction. The foundation of the story, unique to say the least, causes the reader to examine multiple personal conflicts within the storyline while providing a perspective on the behind closed doors dirty tricks and win at all cost mentality that is the political power grab. LaFlamme has managed to build tension, without gratuitous shock value. His characters are strong, though saddled with weaknesses and tragic pasts. The pace is crisp without sacrificing needed detail. There is nothing predictable about DIRT, including the conclusion and THAT makes for a great story. Well done Mr. LaFlamme.
