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Aesop’s Fox, the third in the Baltimore trilogy, now available!"
Back with Lentz and Roach, exacta ticket in hand, Jack slid into his booth and sat back waiting for the horses to load for Pimlico’s seventh race. He watched the loaders twist the tail of the Six to get her into the gate. Even then, she was thrashing around, burning up energy. “Burn, baby burn.” …
The horses were in the post parade for the seventh at Pimlico, a twenty thousand dollar Optional Claiming Race for three year old winners of two races. For the most part, they were pretty good fillies who had proven they could run. Jack agreed with the crowd that the favorite, the One horse, was a …
Around two o’clock the pattern of the day had begun to take shape. Roach had won early and lost it back early. He was back to even and thinking about raising his bets to make up for lost time. This was the next worst thing to being behind. Lentz was cashing tickets, but they were …
Recently, I had a very pleasant experience playing golf with high school buddies that I had not seen for awhile. My round once again proved to be a humbling experience. Yet, all of the sliced drives, chunked wedges and missed putts were easily forgotten during a highly successful 19th hole. It seems that, when sitting …
“Hello, sports fans!” This was his worn greeting to Lentz and Roach, his long-time associates, and kindred racing aficionados. They were early, as always, to work the numbers from the “Sheets” and to catch the first at Calder, post time twelve noon. “Where you been? Five minutes to Belmont. What Sheets you need? Your cut …
It has been some time since I’ve added to this Baltimore Tales blog and I apologize for the abandonment of my readers. While you have been on my mind, I’ve been stuck in a bit of a low tide in my writing, particularly when it comes to my current novel, Aesop’s Fox. I wouldn’t call …
My March post welcomed visitors to the site (www.baltimoretales.com) and offered the first installment of my short story, Igor’s Hump. Here is the second bite of my parable about playing the ponies with our right brain. Igor’s Hump – Part 2 Sloppy or not, humans, like horses, can run in the heavy going. All they …
The majority of questions I get asked have nothing to do with my plots or my characters. Rather, people ask about the mechanics of writing – how did I get started, what are my work habits, how did I choose a structure, how do I get my ideas, how long did it take to write …
Welcome to the Baltimore Tales website. Periodically I will be posting in this section excerpts from my novels or short stories, explanations of my research, how or why I went in a particular direction with a character or situation, and answers to questions posed by visitors to the site. In addition, at times, I will offer posts on Baltimore and Maryland historical esoteria that relate to my stories. And finally, I will write of my experience in attempting to attract a literary agent and/or a publisher, advice on how to get started writing fiction and other items that I think both writers and readers will find of interest.
Maseah Mountain tells the story of an East Coast physician’s journey from a self-centered and troubled past to a life focused on the people and a place he has come to love. John Rocklan flees his former existence, seeking isolation and escape from remorse, by disappearing into the Bitterroot Mountains of Idaho in 1932. There, he discovers, not solitude, but a world teeming with life. He finds the Maseah Range to be a dependable constant, but far from dispassionate in its life-giving spirit and in its parallel cruelty.
The Shoshone word for growth is “maseah” and Rocklan’s personal growth begins the moment he sees the mountain ranch, called Maseah Mountain. Built by a wealthy doctor, the ranch is situated in a remote mountain bowl, ringed by soaring peaks and alone in its unique beauty. It also happens that it is full of family who Rocklan aims to displace.
Maseah Mountain’s former owner had become one with the Shoshone bands living in the range, providing them both medical care and fatherly guidance. As a result, upon the man’s death, the ranch became both shrine and important pilgrimage for the honoring of ancestors. Rocklan has no appreciation for the history of Maseah Mountain, the Shoshone people or their beliefs. As a result, in his bid for solitude, he plans to put an end to the tradition that has grown up around the ranch.
Maseah Mountain is also a story of adventure and intrigue that unfolds as Rocklan explores the new world he has invaded. Traveling by dog-sled and horse, the easterner discovers first-hand the life that thrives in the mountains. Here, man, animal and plant all grow or wither by leave of the all-powerful mountains.
Finally, Maseah Mountain is the story of Rocklan’s love for a Shoshone woman, a love that is destined to die without the perspective that only the mountains can provide him.
Plug Ugly Ball is a story of murder, revenge, love and championship baseball. Its backdrop is the City of Baltimore of the 1850’s, a most turbulent, spasmodic and possessed place. This fascinating urban landscape, known as “Mobtown,” was a magnification of America itself, as the country teetered on the edge of the chaos that would be the Civil War. In this stunning debut novel, the city on the Chesapeake Bay is both stage and player, providing rich, historical context while emerging in its own role as a force driving the humans plying its streets.
The tale chronicles the rise of two men, John English and James Morgan, rival chieftains of the notorious street gang known as The Plug Uglies. Together, these thugs struggle for respect and power, funded by politics and fueled by riot and mayhem. Estranged, they pursue each other, intent upon revenge. How do these brutal men become entangled with one of Baltimore’s most refined families, the Vonderhorsts? What is the secret underlying the hatred between English and Morgan? How does the violence in the city’s streets become the organized anarchy that was the Baltimore Orioles of the early 1890’s? These questions are at the heart of the story and chasing their answers becomes a tempestuous game of hide-and-seek that spans the city’s early years. Plug Ugly Ball’s fast pace draws you in; its heart holds you; its ending surprises; and, ultimately, its images are indelible.
Beauty, professional baseball, and homicide...
Baltimore in the spring of 1897: the lovely and enigmatic young actress, Fanny Darlington, discovers a corpse sprawled across the back alley stage door of the Academy of Music. The victim, a large man dressed in spats and an expensive overcoat, has been bludgeoned in the head and shot. The reason for the two different forms of attack is unknown, and so is the motive for the killing, because the body is still wearing a gold stick pin and watch chain. Whatever this might be, it’s not a robbery gone wrong.
When Fanny is identified as a prime suspect, Frank Van Sant steps in to help. Manager of the famous Diamond Café and a devoted fan of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Frank likes to imagine himself as a bit of an amateur detective. He’ll need more than an amateur’s skill though, as he’s drawn into a bloody mystery interwoven with the desperate life of a runaway slave.
Set against a punishing baseball season with the Dead Ball Era’s brightest stars, John Thomas Everett takes us back to the turbulent city of Plug Ugly Ball with a follow-up novel that knocks one out of the park.
The year is 1904 when Ruddie Quick flees a murderous father and a hardscrabble life on a tenant farm in western Maryland. His tortuous escape is just the beginning of the boy’s adventures, as he makes his way out of the mountains, down the C&O Canal and into the mean streets of Baltimore. Ruddie’s assets are few, but include his mother’s love and a few important lessons taught by a vixen and her kits. The boy also relies on the example set by the champions in his favorite books, the friendship of a wise grandson of slaves, and an internal strength that will be tested time and again.
He is beginning to forge a new life among a swath of fascinating urban personalities when his world is rocked by the appearance of his vengeful father. The consequences of their reunion have far-reaching and devastating effects on both Ruddie and the city he has come to know and love.
Aesop’s Fox is a lively, ultimately uplifting parable of a boy who echoes the courage of Jim Hawkins, the burgeoning maturity of David Copperfield, and the fairmindedness of Huckleberry Finn. Although he borrows from each of these heroes, Ruddie fashions his own unique character. One that will linger with the reader long after the last page has been turned.