Friday, September 30, 2011

Bang vs Willie Pep



A teaser to TIME OF THE SEASON. This is only the beginning...

Bang vs Director Anthony Pedone Part One

I wanted to tell you a little about this interview before I go into the questions. This was an amazing experience to talk with Mr. Pedone about his experience with working on a movie set and well just making movies. The people he has met. And he has met some pretty amazing people. Anthony Pedone has worked on a Steve Balderson film, you may remember this film The Casserole Club. If you don't know what i am talking about, then shame on you! Its a great film. I will post links to past posts I have written about Steve Balderson's The Casserole Club along with the amazing documentary Anthony Pedone did, "Camp Casserole", on the behind the scenes look at the film.  Both of which are being shown in London today, at the Raindance film festival. Okay I blabbered enough. On with the interview...

The Casserole Club movie Trailer

A Review of Anthony Pedone's Documentary "Camp Casserole"

XOXO




BIO:
Anthony Pedone was born in Dallas, TX, but spent the formational years of his life on a ranch in Clayton, New Mexico. At 16 he moved back to Texas, studying Music at Southwest Texas University.
In 2005, Pedone received his Certificate in Writing Social Commentary from Penn State University and began experimenting with digital media and filmmaking. In 2008 he Co-founded, Robotic Indifference, and directed his first feature film, The Why. The Why, screened in 6 countries and received Best Avant Garde and Experimental Feature awards at The Great Lake Film Festival, Heart of England Film Festival and Manhattan Film Festival in 2010.
Since Robotic Indifference's conception Anthony has collaborated with an innovative and diverse group of artists-- fulfilling his need to always be creating. Anthony co-produced Steve Balderson's , The Casserole Club, and will join Balderson again to shoot, Culture Shock in the fall of 2011. While on the set of the The Casserole Club, Pedone shot a behind the scenes look at Balderson's streamlined approach to Indie Filmmaking. The documentary is called, Camp Casserole.
Pedone co-produced and appeared in, Little Gods. A conceptual film by director Elizabeth Spear, Little Gods is the first feature film shot and edited on the iPhone4. Spear's has asked Pedone to produce her next feature film, Roundball in Victoria, TX. Shooting begins in July 2011.
Robotic Indifference plans on releasing The Pyrex Glitch for Christmas 2011. TPG is a science fiction comedy, written and directed by Jane Wiedlin.


THE TRAILER:

CAMP CASSEROLE



THE INTERVIEW (PART ONE):


Welcome Anthony to Bang Noir!

WB: First of all Congrats on getting "Camp Casserole" into Raindance Film Festival! Tell us about Raindance and what it's significance is? Where is Raindance held?

AP: Thank you, William. Raindance is held in London, UK and is one of the larger independent film festivals in Europe. Personally it represents a mile stone for me. It's a point on the map. I was released from prison almost five years ago to this date. So I had to come home and rebuild. Being apart of Raindance is an achievement for me in that respect. I worked hard to get to this point and I met some pretty awesome people along the way. I'm grateful for meeting Steve [Balderson] and giving me the opportunity to work on his film The Casserole Club. So being at Raindance is very important to me because it is one step toward a common goal I share with so many others. It represents where I am now in my life.

WB: Very cool. I can understand where you are coming from and I'm sure my readers can too. You seem to be doing a great thing with being apart of Raindance. Where do you see that going?

AP: Wow, immediately when I found out I was thinking about that. I thought about how it is making a movie and when it's all done, the realization that you're the only one who knows about your movie. No one knows it exists. Just you and your network. So you learn to get the word out about your movie or project. You have to become your own press agent so to speak. So I not only have to work on the edits of my film, but promote it too. Which is rewarding when it's all said and done.

WB: Are there any other film festivals you are working on?

AP: I've been working on a film festival in Austen, TX for a few years now. We get people together, get an alcohol sponsor, set up a bar tab and put up a screening room. This year we are going to partner with a magazine a do a pretty big launch. Also we are starting a film festival in Victoria, TX, where we are planning to shoot movies as well.

WB: Wow, you are a busy man.

AP: I am. I have to say this about the whole experience and being apart of Raindance. Raindance is like Kinetic energy. Where it kicks the next phase in. It's all too surreal to me right now. So it's hard to actually put into words. But it's a good feeling.

WB: I bet. It's a recognition and you deserve it. Congrats again to you on this exciting day! I know you worked with Steve Balderson on his movie "The Casserole Club", which spawned your documentary "Camp Casserole". I have to add that it was a great documentary. I really enjoyed it.

AP: Thank you.

WB: Are you working on anything else with Steve Balderson?

AP: Yes, I am actually. Steve is filming his next movie in London, while we are participating in the  Raindance Film Festival. The movie is called "Culture Shock". There is a website called Culture Shock. I can't wait to start filming. It's going to be insane. It's truly going to be run and gun the whole time. Steve has it mapped out down to the minute, so it's going to be incredible.

WB: What's it like working with Steve Balderson?

AP: Wow, Steve is great to work with. He is always thinking about the next picture. He's always thinking about what its going to be. He has impeccable organisation. All in all, Steve's a machine. You have to admire that.

***This concludes the first part of my interview with Anthony Pedone*** Check back for Part Two very soon. and please feel free to leave any comments or questions on this blog. I will see to it that they get answered.

Anthony Pedone Website




Wednesday, September 28, 2011

DAY THREE OF MY INTERVIEW WITH WILLIAM BUTLER: COMMENTS WOULD BE GREAT:QUESTIONS TOO: 


Day Three of my interview with Fran Lewis on my book The House of Balestrom. Please follow the link and ask me some questions or leave a comment. I am ready to discuss this great book about a family and two sisters. 


XOXO

A Visit and Giveaway with Susan Balestrom of The House of Balestrom with My Book Addiction and More...

A VISIT AND GIVEAWAY WITH SUSAN BALESTROM,OF THE HOUSE OF BALESTROM… | My Book Addiction and More!


Check out my character interview with My Book Addiction and More!! Susan Balestrom is interviewed by April Renn for The House of Balestrom. My Book Addiction is also hosting a giveaway for me and the book. So please stop by and leave a comment and tell us whether someone should marry for love or money. Hmmm that's a tricky question...lol. And feel free to leave any comment on this blog with questions about The House of Balestrom


XOXO

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Day One and Two of my Interview for The House of Balestrom

DAY ONE AND DAY TWO OF MY INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR WILLIAM BUTLER: LET"S HAVE SOME COMMENTS AND DISCUSSION


Day two of my interview for The House of Balestrom with Fran Lewis. Please check it out and leave questions or comments. Click on the link above to read the interview and leave comments and questions...Thank you.


Here is a synopsis of my book...


SYNOPSIS:
A tragic death. Two sisters...one who marries for love...the other
marries into THE HOUSE OF BALESTROM. When Susan's husband, Victor
Balestrom, dies in a mysterious and tragic accident, Susan is
suspected of murdering him. With the Balestrom family, manipulated by
Camille Balestrom, pointing fingers. Susan calls on her sister, Sara
and her husband David to come to the private island owned by the
Balestrom family to be by her side during this tragic moment in her
life. But Sara and David's visit become twisted and manipulated by
someone in the family, who not only want Susan to pay for her crimes,
but want revenge as well. Will Sara discover who is behind everything
before it is too late? Who is the mysterious man roaming the island
grounds--the man who terrorizes Sara at every turn? Secrets are abound
and will be revealed all the way to its tragic end.

CHAPTER EXCERPT:

CHAPTER ONE
The House of Balestrom stood intimidating above the tree lines. Its
beautiful red roof and Victorian arches reached up to the sky like
hands. The day was clear and bright as the lake that separated land
and island quietly moved around the ferry that crossed it. Sara
leaned on the banister as she watched the island get slowly closer.
She sighed because the ride was almost over and she wanted to continue
to take in the sight of the house. David nudged her with his shoulder
and pointed in the direction of the island as more of the house came
into view. Both of them were excited to be there, though the
circumstance of their journey to the House of Balestrom was a sad one.
When Susan called Sara telling her of the news that her husband had
died and that she wanted Sara and David to come over to be with her
during her time of grief, Sara agreed to it fast.
Sara was not sure where they were going so both of them looked up
Balestrom House on the internet, discovering many strange things about
the house and the Balestrom family. They never thought that one
family was documented so well—especially a family neither of them had
ever heard of before now. They read up on the family and realized
that they were out of place. Sara and David were not bankers or
businessmen like the Balestroms. They were merely like every other
American—an average person with a day job.
David was a teacher like Sara. They both met at a teacher’s
conference in North Carolina. Both of them began to talk the first
day at the conference and fell in love. When the conference ended,
Sara did not want to leave David’s side. He felt the same way and so
they both decided to give it a shot. They rented a place in North
Carolina, while finding new jobs there or other places until they
decided where they would fit in. They settled on Minnesota.
Minnesota became their place, where they could recreate themselves and
be together. David proposed to Sara when they bought their first
house together. He held a small dinner with friends they had met from
the school system they worked for. David had got on one knee during
the toast and proposed. Sara cried and screamed with happiness. She
could not stop saying yes to him, as they hugged and kissed. Their
friends were excited for them as well. Sara immediately called Susan
up to tell her the great news about her engagement.
“Oh, Susan, the ring is so beautiful,” Sara exclaimed over the phone
to her sister. She kept staring at it while she told Susan about what
David did and how he proposed and how she could not stop saying yes.
She laughed thinking about it over and over again. “We are going to
have a spring wedding and I want you to be here,” she said into the
receiver.
“I will try darling, but I can’t make any promises,” Susan said. “You
know I am not even in the states right now,” she added.
“You’re not in the states,” she said sounding shocked. “Where are you?”
“Dear I’m in Turkey,” she said. “I met this nice man from London,
when I was visiting Belize. He is an amazing man and he told me about
some property he owned in Turkey and that I should come and see it, so
here I am darling.”
Susan was always meeting interesting men who did things for her.
They would take her off to places and spend a great deal of money on
her. She was lucky in that way. She travelled more than Sara ever
had the chance to do. Sara had only been to London once and that was
when she took an internship over there for college. But she was so
happy to know that Susan was not wasting her life away with just
anyone. Susan’s life was so unpredictable and carefree. Sara wished
she could live like that, but she was too afraid of the world. She
needed structure and something physical. She could not live out of
Hotel rooms and yachts with people she had never met. It seemed to
Sara that Susan did not even have a place of her own. She could
remember a few years ago, Susan mentioning that she needed to go by
her apartment and pick up something for her trip to L.A., but that was
the only time.
Sara could imagine Susan’s house being beautifully decorated and
untouched. Susan would laugh at her house, because it was so lived
in.
“You have to be here,” Sara exclaimed. “I need my sister by my side.
Besides Mom and Dad haven’t seen you in a long time and they keep
asking about you.”
“I swear they act like I don’t call them,” Susan said.
“They act that way with me too,” Sara added with a smile.
“I will be there then,” she said. “You’re my sister and you need me.
But with one condition.”
“What’s the condition?”
“Well two conditions. One, I am not a bridesmaid and two, you don’t
throw me the bouquet,” she said, laughing.
“Done,” Sara laughed. “I won’t make you a Bridesmaid. But you can be
my Best Maid,” she said.
“A what?”
“A Best Maid,” she said. “It’s like a Best Man, but you’re the female
version.” Sara laughed.
“Wow, Sara, that doesn’t sound traditional at all,” Susan said
sounding surprised.
“Well maybe you’re being a bad influence on me,” she said. They both
laughed at each other over the phone.
Susan did come to Sara’s wedding. She came in enough time to add her
opinion to the construction of the wedding, despite how David’s
parents objected. The wedding was successful and Susan gave Sara
several wedding gifts. One gift was a check for fifty-thousand
dollars and the other was two plane tickets to Paris, which included a
package deal for newlyweds. When Sara and David saw the check, they
both were amazed. Sara had no idea that Susan had such money.
Several guests and family members asked Susan what she did for a
living, but she would casually avoid the question by changing the
subject or she would just laugh and say, “who needs to work”.
The man Susan brought with her to the wedding was what their mother
would call a “catch”. He was six-five with dark brown hair. He wore
a beautiful suit that was blue. He wore it like a model. He even had
the face of a model. He walked up to Sara and David kissing her hand
and shaking David’s. He wished them both a bright and happy future as
he smiled at them with pearl white teeth. He was so clean and
chiseled. The next day Sara finally got to see—in her opinion—why
Susan brought Mr. Chiseled—Mr. Chiseled being what everyone was
calling him. Some would have thought that Susan was with him because
of his beautiful features and strong body, which he proudly showed off
when everyone went to the beach to lay out and swim. Both men and
women looked at him in amazement and even—lust, which made Sara giggle
like a little school girl.
“Can you believe what we are seeing,” David said, looking Mr. Chiseled
up and down. “There isn’t any fat on that man’s body. It’s all lean
muscle,” he said, gawking.
“Stop staring,” Sara laughed, swatting at David.
“I can’t help it.”
“If you don’t stop he will think that you like him,” she teased.
David laughed and looked away bashfully. Every now and then Sara
would catch David looking at his own body. He would flex an arm here
or there to see where his muscles were. Sara would laugh and then
touch David’s leg. “All your muscles are right here,” she said,
taking her finger and poking David in the head.
“Great,” he said. Now he was determined to start working out. Sara
knew why Susan brought Mr. Chiseled and it was not for attention—well
attention for her, but more of a distraction from her. She wanted to
avoid people’s stares and questions. Mr. Chiseled was with Susan for
fun. It was the kind of fun that you could only have from someone
that was not your husband, but more of a lover. Why Susan wanted to
avoid people was a mystery to Sara, but it was how Susan had always
been—private.
A few more years had gone by and Susan called Sara to tell her that
she had married. It came as a shock because Susan had never talked
about a man being in her life. At first, Sara thought it was Mr.
Chiseled whom Susan had married, but it turned out to be a Mr. Victor
Balestrom. Sara had never heard of him and yet never met him. She
was a little upset that she was not invited to the wedding—and yet no
one was invited to the wedding.
“I’m so sorry dear, it was one of those things that just happened,” she said.
“I understand, it’s your life, but oh, Susan, I just wanted to be
there for you like you were for me on my wedding day.”
“I’m sorry, darling,” she said. “I can’t help it. I just had to
snatch this one up before he got away. He is not like my other two
husbands. He is so much better than them.”
“What,” Sara said. “You were married twice before?”
“Yes, I thought I told you,” Susan said, surprised.
“No,” Sara said. “When did this happen and where are they now?”
“Sara, dear, everything is good,” Susan said. “I was married twice
before, but they both passed away a few years after we married. How
do you think I had all that money?”
“I don’t know, Susan, but now I’m worried about you.”
“Oh, my dear Sara, please don’t worry about me. Be happy for me,” she
said. “He’s a keeper and I will make everything up to you.”
“You promise,” Sara asked.
“Yes, dear I promise.”
Susan kept her promise. Every year when a holiday would come up, she
started sending Sara and David cards. The cards had photos of Susan
and Victor on them and inside the cards would be a brief note and a
check. The check would vary each year. It was never below a thousand
dollars though. This made Sara and David feel bad because they could
not give back to Susan and Victor. They almost wanted to send the
money back at times, but then something would happen to where they
would need the money. It helped when they got it, but not without
feeling guilty when they cashed it. So they both decided to start
saving the money when they got it, so they could meet up with Susan
and Victor one day. But that day changed for all of them, when Sara
received a phone call from Susan late one night.
“Hello,” Sara said into the phone half-asleep.
“He’s dead.”
“What,” Sara asked into the phone. She could not recognize Susan’s
voice at first.
“He’s dead, Sara,” Susan cried into the phone. “My Victor is dead.”
“Susan, what happened?”
“I don’t know… he just died.” Susan cried and Sara could barely
understand her. “I need you,” she said. “I need you to be here with
me, Sara, please come and be at my side. I can’t bury him without you
being here.”
“Of course, I will be there. Both David and I will be there for you.
We will leave immediately,” Sara said. They said they loved each
other and Sara hung up the phone.
“What happened?”
“Susan’s husband has died and she wants us to go to her and be with
her,” she said.
He reached out to Sara and touched her shoulder. He hugged her.
“Yes, we should do that. I will clear my schedule and call the school
and let them know that we have to leave,” David said, kissing Sara on
the cheek and then crawled out of the bed so he could start making the
arrangements. They booked a flight to Maine, then taking a cab to the
ferry where they stood now.

Monday, September 26, 2011

The First Part of My Interview for The House of Balestrom

Reviews, endorsements, online and onair interview, short and lengthy reviews, back cover quotes: DAY ONE OF MY ONLINE INTERVIEW WITH WILLIAM BUTLER: FIVE DAY INTERVIEW: JOIN IN THE DISCUSSION: 


Feel free to participate in my first interview about The House of Balestrom. It is in five parts and I am being being interviewed by Fran Lewis. You may leave a comments on either site. Join the discussion, ask more questions. Lets make this fun.  All comments are welcomed.


Thank you,


William

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Fran Lewis's Picks for The Month...

FRAN LEWIS
The author of three children's books and have written a fourth one. She would like everyone to check out her books Bertha Speaks Out and My Name is Bertha on Barnes and Noble. GoodReads. Bertha FIghts Back is her third book in the Bertha series & on B&N. Her other three books are Bertha Fights Back, Memories are Precious and Sharp as A Tack or Scrambled Eggs which describes Your Brain. She is an educator, book reviewer, talk show host on blog talk radio, online interviewer and author. Her next book is a three in one handbook on Caregiving/Volunteering, Traumatic Brain Injury and Eldercare abuse.

Every month Fran has a pick of different books to read. I personally think she has great taste. She also talks about these books along with the authors on her weekly radio show. If you haven't checked out Fran's show then you are missing out! Here is a link to her show to where you may take a listen anytime. Thank you and check out Fran's picks!!


Fran's picks for this month:

Granite Key: Nancy Warkarski
Being Someone Else John Lindermuth
Fate of Pryde: Mary Martin
House of Balestrom : William Butler
Dead Comic Standing: Karen Vaughan

Non Fiction

Pieces Missing: Larry Kerpelman
New from Winter Goose Publishing: Outstanding thought provoking book: If you read my review you will understand why the 29 gets my pick for this month. It is outstanding.
The 29

YA: Book
Lie: Caroline Bock

"The 29 is written by author J.M. Richardson: It is really great. The House of Balestrom is really quite unique and it is one house you do not want to enter and if you do: AT YOUR OWN RISK: READ IT; it is great. All of my picks are truly outstanding novels." -Fran Lewis

You can also connect with Fran Lewis:

Guest Post by Lynn Rush, author of Wasteland!! Welcome Her...





Short Bio:
Lynn Rush began her writing career in 2008. She has both an undergraduate and graduate degree in the mental health field and has enjoyed applying that unique knowledge to developing unique characters.
A former inline speed skater and mountain biker, Lynn has been known to test the limits of her athletic endurance. So, when she's not writing, she spends time enjoying the Arizona sunshine by road biking nearly 100 miles per week with her husband of fifteen years and going on jogs with her loveable Shetland Sheep dogs.
Catch the Rush: www.lynnrush.com
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/k6NAZa  
Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/pbigOg
All Romance Ebooks: http://bit.ly/nujjjp
You Tube Trailer:  http://youtu.be/k-KRE1yMiNk 


Hey, everyone. I’m super excited to be here today! The Wasteland Blog Tour has been so much fun. I’ve got to meet tons of people and have found lots of blogs I’ve added to my list to follow.
Throughout the tour so far, the most asked question I’ve found was about my characters. How did I come up with them, specifically David? He’s the main character, and Wasteland is written in first person from a male point of view and that male is a half-demon…
Some people found that intriguing.
I’ve never really thought about it. It’s just how I roll. I write what comes to me. And strangely enough, a four hundred year old, male, half-demon came to mind one day in early December 2009.
But I’m a chick, how can I write a male point of view. And in first person!
Yeah, well, I guess we’ll be able to tell if I can by the sales, huh? No, but seriously, I had to pull on my resources for sure. Talking with guys, studying guys’ reactions to things, drawing from my psychology degrees…lots of resources out there for research.
David was fun to write because he’s mean. Kinda grumpy (who wouldn’t be after 250 years in solitary, huh?) And, he’s a killer. Can’t exist for over four centuries without having killed a few people, right. Plus, he runs souls for the devil, and that tends to get messy.
~~~~
So tell me, what questions do you have? Leave one in the comments below, and you’ll be entered into a drawing for a signed copy of Wasteland! If the winner doesn’t reside in the US, I’ll send an electronic copy of the book in its place.
I’ll check back and answer your questions…and you never know, David might show up too, so feel free to leave him a question as well! I’ll have William draw a winner some time tomorrow and then we’ll be in touch!
~~~~~

Book Blurb:
Bound by the blood contract his human mother signed four centuries ago, half-demon, David Sadler, must obey his demonic Master’s order to capture fifteen-year-old Jessica Hanks. But as he learns more about her, he realizes she may be the key to freedom from his demonic enslavement.

The only obstacle—Jessica’s distractingly beautiful Guardian, Rebeka Abbott. He must not give in to their steamy chemistry, or he will lose his humanity. But fresh off a quarter millennia of sensory deprivation as punishment for not retrieving his last target, he may not be able to resist temptation long enough to save what’s left of his human soul.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

An Excerpt of Driven To Kill by True Crime Novelist Gary C. King






Gary C. King

Gary C. King, a freelance author and lecturer, is regarded by readers and critics alike as one of the world's foremost crime writers, a reputation he has earned over the last 31 years with the publication of more than 400 articles in true crime magazines in the United States, Canada, and England. King took over Ann Rule's job as Pacific Northwest stringer for True Detective, Official Detective, Inside Detective, Front Page Detective, and Master Detective magazines, writing hundreds of articles under various names until those magazines ceased publication in the mid-1990s. More recently he has found alternate venues for his stories, including TruTV's Crime Library. He has published several "classic" true crime stories for Investigation Discovery, which can be found on their website. He is also the author of several true crime books including: Blood Lust: Portrait of a Serial Sex Killer, Driven to Kill, Web of Deceit, Blind Rage, Savage Vengeance (with Don Lasseter), An Early Grave, The Texas 7, Murder in Hollywood, Angels of Death, Stolen in the Night, Love, Lies, and Murder, and An Almost Perfect Murder, which is about the murder of Nevada State Controller Kathy Augustine by succinylcholine poisoning administered by her husband, critical-care nurse Chaz Higgs. King also wrote Butcher, about Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton, which was published by Pinnacle Books in April 2009. King recently finished work on Rage, about millionaire Reno, Nevada businessman Darren Mack, who murdered his wife, Charla, in 2006 and then shot and seriously injured their divorce judge, Chuck Weller, with a high-powered rifle from a parking garage facing the judge's chambers. Rage is scheduled for publication by Pinnacle Books in July 2010. King also wrote The Murder of Meredith Kercher, which was published by John Blake Publishing, Ltd., in January 2010.






For the memory of Billy and Cole Neer . . .
and Lee Joseph Iseli. May their little souls find peace in heaven.


Acknowledgments

I would like to express my appreciation to Lieutenant C.W. Jensen, Portland, Oregon Police Bureau; Sergeant David Trimble, Detectives Randy O’Toole and Rick Buckner of the Clark County, Washington Sheriff Department, for their cooperation in allowing me to interview them and to study their case files in-depth at my convenience and for providing photographs; to Lee Dane, one of Westley Allan Dodd's defense attorneys, for his candor in assisting my study of Dodd's background; the Vancouver, Washington Police Department; and the Camas, Washington Police Department. Special acknowledgment to William "Ray" Graves, the real hero of the case without whose intervention Dodd might still be roaming the streets, playgrounds, and parks in his hunt for kids.

Author's Note

The following story about serial child killer Westley Allan Dodd contains graphic depictions of child molestations, sodomy, rape, and murder. Many of the depictions are in Dodd's own words, taken from his nefarious "diary of death," and others were dramatically recreated from nearly three years of interviews with Dodd himself, police officers, and the study of the police case files and psychiatric reports. While these descriptions may be deemed repugnant to some, it was not my intention to offend or to appear gratuitous with regard to the homicidal violence and sex committed against his truly innocent victims. Including these depictions in this book was a tough judgment call on my part, but in the final analysis I decided that it was far more important to include them than to omit them merely for the sake of sparing readers the true horror of Dodd's monstrous crimes. By including the excerpts from Dodd's diary I was able to recreate portions of the story from Dodd's perspective which, I believe, is important to parents, teachers, law enforcement personnel, and psychiatric professionals in gaining a knowledge and better understanding of how the mind of a pedophile and child killer works. By "seeing" a homicidal pedophile in action, a type of "shock" treatment, if you will, we as parents and professionals will hopefully be enlightened and our awareness heightened enough that we can take steps to better protect all of our children, mankind's greatest asset, from other predatory monsters like Dodd. Even though the threat of Westley Allan Dodd has been permanently removed, there are many others like him who are right now trolling our city's parks, schools, playgrounds, theaters, shopping malls, and countless other public places where children can be found, people just like Dodd who are lurking in the shadows and waiting for just the right moment to make the horror start all over again. Hopefully this book will prompt legislators across the country to follow the lead already firmly established by the states of Washington and Oregon to initiate tougher child predator and sex crime laws in their own states. — G.C.K.

The names of some individuals in this book have been changed. An asterisk (*) appears after a fictitious name at the time of its first occurrence.

The ugliest of trades have their moments of pleasure. Now, if I were a gravedigger, or even a hangman, there are some people I could work for with a great deal of enjoyment.

-Douglas Jerrold, 1803-1857, Ugly Trades

Life for life,
Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
Burning for burning, wound for wound,
stripe for stripe.

-Exodus, XXI, 23


Preface

It was in the late summer of 1989 that a young man named Westley Allan Dodd trespassed into thousands of lives, and before it was over his rampage of unleashed savagery would make it perhaps the most hideously unforgettable summer on record in the Pacific Northwest. The horror he created that summer would, albeit unintentionally on Dodd's part, forever change the way that citizens and lawmakers alike in the states of Washington and Oregon viewed virtually all classes of sex offenders, especially child molesters and child killers.

Dodd, at the time of his arrest, had not yet developed into a full-blown "bona fide" serial killer as set forth in FBI standards, which states in part that for a killer to be classified a serial murderer he must claim three or more victims in at least three separate "incidents." But for all intents and purposes he was a serial killer all right. Dodd fit the mold in that he had claimed two victims in one incident, another in a second incident, and would have committed his fourth murder in a third episode if he hadn't been stopped by a screaming child and alert bystanders while he was attempting to carry out the crime.
Although Dodd had not murdered anyone until late that summer, at least not as far as the authorities knew, it would later become crystal clear that this seemingly near-perfect ail-American "boy" turned adult had been, in reality, inextricably enmeshed in an extended fantasy state during that period and had been trolling for victims for at least several months before the first murders. He had been gradually working up his nerve to begin the atrocities that would first unbalance the Pacific Northwest, and then ultimately shock the rest of the nation.

Powerless, as most serial killers are, in the day-to-day relationships with those whom he closely associated, Dodd had begun searching for someone, not just anyone, but someone special to play out his ultimate power trips on, lurking in the shadows of Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington, and waiting until the moment to strike was just right. Many people, including psychiatric professionals and police officials, knew about this sex fiend's long history of indecent exposure, child molestation, and violence, but because of the constraints of the system in which they worked they were powerless to stop him from commencing his killing spree.

In many ways, upon retrospect, he was like the monsters that had come before him, killers like Ted Bundy, Jerome Brudos, Dayton Leroy Rogers, the Green River killer, and a seemingly endless slew of other cold-blooded serial murderers who had learned how to manipulate the system. Like his murderous predecessors he sought out complete strangers as his victims. Instead of women, however, the victims of choice of most such murderers, Dodd always preyed upon helpless little children, young boys whose trust he managed to gain with promises of friendship, money, candy, and toys. When it was all over, few could argue that his malignant deeds, perhaps because children were involved, proved more feral and emotionally painful in the eyes of law officers and the disconcerted public than those of his notorious predecessors.

Dodd knew early on that he liked molesting young children, and in his mind the dictum was "the younger the better." He also did what he had to do to avoid jail time, and would play the "game" of the system so that he could continue to molest kids and expose himself. He learned early in his life how to effectively manipulate the system so that he could slip quietly, almost unnoticed, through its cracks. Despite his extensive criminal record as a sex offender in cities and towns throughout the Pacific Northwest, the authorities always seemed to forget about him when he dropped out of a treatment program and moved on to another locale. Because he had been successful at avoiding prosecution for so many of his earlier crimes, Dodd, even at the time of his final arrest, had not significantly changed his modus operandi. Under a more sophisticated and more communicative law enforcement system, Dodd's continued criminal activities could have caught the attention of authorities early on and saved the lives of his innocent victims. But the system, even when functioning at its best, had its pitfalls. Thankfully, in response to citizen outrage over his crimes, a superior although controversial system requiring convicted sex offenders to register for the rest of their lives with police agencies is now in place in the states of Washington and Oregon.

If it can be said that anything good came out of this case besides instituting a more efficient system for reporting and keeping track of sex offenders, it is only that this sexual sociopath, clearly a livid monster hiding inside a human shell with an insatiable appetite for violent and bloody death, was stopped before he could put his nightmarish fantasies into full play and snuff out even more young lives. Despite the efforts of four police agencies and numerous detectives to thwart his perverted activities, however, he had committed murder with calculated cold-bloodedness, terrorized entire communities, and virtually turned the populace of two states upside down before being stopped.

There have been few crimes that have instilled such a high degree of fear in a populace as those committed by this killer, mainly because he struck out at pure innocence and left everyone wondering who and where he would strike next. In part by his own design and in part by the laws governing sex offenders that were in place at the time, Dodd ultimately was driven to kill.


Prologue

A hushed silence fell over the long, rectangular courtroom when Westley Allan Dodd, flanked by armed sheriff’s deputies, appeared through a side door, hands cuffed securely behind his back. After a deputy removed the restraints that held his thin wrists together, the convicted child sex killer took a seat at the defense table next to his attorney. Clad in a light blue, short-sleeved pullover shirt, pre-washed faded blue denim jeans, and a pair of sneakers, Dodd uneasily faced the judge, his back to the families of the victims he'd kidnapped, tortured, and murdered. Their eyes were upon the dark-haired young man, just as they had been throughout the month-long guilt or innocence phase of the trial. They had heard startling, shocking testimony about child molestations, violent depraved sex, torture, and necrophilia.

The courtroom was packed to capacity, and many of the spectators who had sat through portions of the trial had to be turned away at the door. Those who managed to get in were required to pass through a metal detector, just as they had been required to do on all previous days. Everyone present that day, Thursday, July 26, 1990, was there to hear Clark County Superior Court Judge Robert Harris pass sentence on the "normal-looking" pedophile turned child murderer. First, however, Harris had decided to allow members of the victims' families to make public statements.
Karen Osborne, an aunt of four-year-old victim Lee Joseph Iseli, nervously shuffled a sheet of paper as she faced the judge. She was going to read a handwritten statement by Jewel Cornell, the boy's grief-stricken mother. She swallowed hard, looked directly at Dodd for a moment, and then began to read from the paper she held with trembling hands in front of her.

"You have taken my whole world apart —my family's world apart," read Osborne from Cornell's emotionally charged statement. "You are the scum of the Earth. You get on the news and the radio and tell everyone how you felt when you did these unspeakable crimes . . . and you get a high just by talking and going over what you did. You make me sick. I hate your guts . . . you are a sick, cruel and ugly person ... I will never rest until the day your life is taken ... I hope you rot in hell." If Dodd felt anything as a result of Cornell's statement, he didn't let it show.
Robert Iseli, Lee's father, next stood in front of the courtroom. Brushing back an occasional tear he turned toward Dodd, angrily facing the man who had confessed to brutally raping and murdering his little boy.

"How did we allow this," he said, gesturing toward Dodd, "to end up where he is today? It is sad to take a life. . . . Taking a life, any life, even this man's, is never right. It is a grave decision that the state has to make...So do we blame ourselves for this death? No. We are left with no choice."

Relatives of the other murder victims—Cole Neer, eleven, and his brother, Billy Neer, ten—declined to make a public statement.

"Do you have a statement to make before this court, Mr. Dodd?" asked Judge Harris.

"Yes, your honor," said Dodd as he stood up at the defense table. "I didn't offer any mitigating evidence during the penalty phase because, in my mind, that's just an excuse. And I don't want to make any excuses."

Dodd occasionally looked up at the judge and stoically reiterated how he had been arrested numerous times over the course of his life for sex crimes against children, and stated matter-of- factly how the criminal justice system had failed him and his victims.

"I do not blame the criminal justice system for anything…but the system does not work and I can tell them why....It doesn't really matter why the crimes happened. I should be punished to the full extent of the law, as should all sex offenders and murderers...I can accept a death sentence, and I don't want to see any delays in carrying it out....If my death will bring peace to the people I've hurt so bad, then it's time for me to die."

"Amen," said someone from the gallery of spectators.

When Dodd finished, Roger Bennett, deputy prosecuting attorney, stepped forward and submitted a legal document to the court that would, if signed by Dodd, allow Dodd to waive his rights to appeal. Bennett fervently recommended that the judge allow Dodd to sign the document.

"I like what Mr. Bennett is saying," Dodd offered. "I don't want this thing tied up in the courts for years." He added that he didn't want the mandatory review of his case by the Washington Supreme Court, and insisted that he did not want anyone filing any appeals on his behalf. He said he would instruct his lawyer to sue anyone who tried to intervene.

"You have an ongoing, depraved, sadistic desire to hurt, injure, and maim others," Harris told Dodd as he looked him square in the eye. "To you, it is clear that murder is the ultimate goal —the ultimate satisfaction...I am able to sign your death decree without looking back…."

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Bang vs The Ocean

I spent five days at Myrtle Beach and somehow between hanging with friends and activities I found time to reflect. I found a moment to walk down to the beach by myself. Take my shoes off and walk to the ocean. The moon was huge in the sky and there was a slight breeze coming off the ocean. I stood there letting the water hit my feet and I took in the vastness of the sea. The waves crashing down and pulling back.
I thought of my mortality and what I have done and what I wanted to do. I thought of my parents who are both gone. What would they think of me? What would it have been like today if they were still around?
In think all that I wanted was more. More in being I wanted to be satisfied in my life. You wrote two books and a third one on the way! You have to be satisfied right now, right? I could be, but I don't feel satisfied. I'm sure my parents would be proud of me. I'm doing what I have always wanted to do. I'm slowly living my dream. Will I get to where I am going? Yes. It all takes time and hard work, but it pays off in the end.
In the words of a traveler: You will know when it is time to stop. My heart beats fast with creativity. I think it's because I've kept it bottled up for so many years. Though I never stopped writing. I just never shared it with everyone. And now that I've published Bang and The House of Balestrom, I'm urged by this force greater than me to create more. I'm not going to lie it's not easy to write a book, but I think some people think differently when it comes to me. But it's really not easy. It takes time and patience and work. You have to experience your characters like you experience life or else they are not real. You have to know what makes them--go.
I would be a fool if I ever told anyone I don't think ahead. I do. I can't help it. It's that flow of creativity I was talking about. Like the ocean my brain is constantly moving.
I have about 36 books I want to write and they are all plotted out and ready to go. Will I get to all of them? Yes. Some before others. I think of what I want to say and I get a story rolling around in my head and before I know it I have a plot and a outline. I eventually develop a working title and I may even write the first few pages just to get the feel of the story. But it doesn't mean I will write it next. It just means that I feel the need to let it simmer in my brain for awhile before I can release it on page. How do I know when to do that? It happens when the urge takes over and I become obsessed with my characters and the story. I let it consume me. I breath that story until it becomes my reality--because it is my reality. (weird loony talk, I know)

Looking back at myself and the world, while I stood on the beach, I thought of two things:

1. What was it like to discover the world for the first time? You have people in history who were afraid to go any further than they had to, for fear of being lost forever. Or they may get attacked by a sea monster. Or even better fall off the edge of the world into nothingness. They took that chance to cross a huge ocean into the unknown--waiting for the end to come up on them, but their end was land. I stood there at the ocean looking out at the edge of my world. The only world I know and yet there is someone doing the same thing on the other side. We could be looking at each other.

2. What would it be like to be stranded in a life boat in the middle of the ocean? Alone. Dark. Drifting. I got chills. And then determined. That is survival kicking in. The moment in your life where you decide to live and look for a way out. It may seem strange to think of something like that, but that is where my brain goes. I like to explore dark areas of the mind. It's my nature.

But overall, I end up answering my own questions:

Am I on the right track? Yes.
Will I survive? Yes.
Will there be more? Yes.
Will I inspire someone else? Yes.
Will I be satisfied so I can rest? Yes.

The House of Balestrom and where you can get your print and digital copies

The House of Balestrom
5 stars!! Get your copy today!






Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Second 5 Star Review of The House of Balestrom by Fran Lewis

Amazon.com: Profile For Fran Lewis: Reviews:
Taking a ferry rise would change Sara and David's lives forever. Sara's sister, Susan summons her to come to Balestrom when her husband, Victor dies under strange or unusual circumstances. On the ferry ride there the driver enlightens both Sara and David about the history of this house, its previous occupants and the untimely murder of Cyrus Balestrom by his mistress. Added to that Sara learns that her sister had more than one previous marriage and all of her husbands are deceased. This is quite intriguing to say the least and creates a mystic about this book that most do not have. Seeing Susan after a long period of time and the way she lives makes Sara feel insecure but she promised to support and stay with her since the authorities think she killed her rich and quite well off husband. Author Walter Butler describes the scenery, the house, the back stories in detail allowing the reader to take the ferry ride along with Sara and David, feel eeriness of the house and understand why Sara and David just might not be the same after visiting this home.... (read more follow the link)

The Obligatory Fuck You! A Guest Post By Jake Bannerman Author of The Pitchfork Diaries



Author Information:
Born and raised in the church, J.S. Bannerman has taken the dangerous stance to question events that have been spoon fed to him as the truth since his childhood. He continually pushes boundaries as a purveyor of terror and often strives to find that disquietude that exists inside each one of us.
He is a nomad, calling no one place home; choosing the life of a traveler while on the mission of writing the Family of Dog series. As a result you may find him in your town, writing at your local pub, crafting tales of horror so terrifyingly depraved and heartbreakingly cruel that you would never believe that they come from a mind as normal as his. Just beware, because within each tale is a message; it’s just up to you to figure out what it means.
The Pitchfork Diaries Synopsis:
The Pitchfork Diaries is a collection of short stories and prose unlike anything you have ever read before. Even the darkest and most violent imaginings of your mind cannot come close to matching the horrors contained within.
J.S. Bannerman, a new name in the horror genre, has skillfully woven a collection of tales that will inescapably work their way into your psyche, take up residence and relentlessly haunt you. Prepare yourself to be confronted by words that will threaten to shake the foundation of everything you thought you knew; no truth is too uncomfortable, no thought too gruesome to share.
All are invited to read The Pitchfork Diaries. Many will never be the same.
The Pitchfork Diaries: Volume One Links:
Amazon (right now just eBook but print should be up this week) -
Smashwords –
Jake can be followed on Twitter at –

SHORT STORY:
The Scarecrow’s Lament


The man that was made of hay, broken tree limbs and abused human remains had only one foot, a partial arm, a brutally severed torso stitched roughly together with twine, and a gaping hole in the chest where the soft tissue of a now cannibalized heart had once lived. The scalp of the decapitated head had been sewn together from two pieces, one blond and one brown. A lamp sat in the corner of the barn upon an old wooden table, illuminating the phonograph player that sat next to it. Soft notes of music streamed from the large, curved horn atop the player, and as it filled the barn her young body swayed from side to side. She pranced around provocatively in her version of a murderous burlesque dance, perhaps imagining that she was, in her way, arousing and readying the butchered corpse.

The Obligatory fuck you
By J.S. Bannerman  

So, if you are familiar with me and my writing, you will know that I really have no problem sticking my middle finger in the face of any race, religion or authority figure, and I like it.
Today I want to take on those people who are here to help me – the media!
I have an awesome group of ladies whom I consider to be my family. They take care of my press for me, and hey hey hey, I fucking love it! They sell me all over the globe, and I tell them to use me like a golden dildo.
Now, being thrust into a world of people actually wanting to talk to me and know all about me has become a very interesting experiment.
Let me assure you this rant or pet peeve or what I call ‘psychotic fucking hatred’ is NOT directed at everyone involved, and certainly not my homeboy Will!
But you all know the way that you walk past the person on the street and you casually toss out the overused phrase - “How are ya?”
The truth is – you don’t care, you never cared, and you never will!
This is what the opening line in an interview is.
“Tell us about yourself.” C’mon, now, really?
Okay, here is my honest answer to that question. I am horny, depressed, angry, drinking Jack and coke and smoking cigarettes like a freight train, and to be honest I felt more sincerity from my ex-girlfriend telling me that she will always love me than I do for a second in your words that you actually care about me – oh, and I want to fuck your sister. Okay?
“Tell us who influenced your writing.”
 Let’s see; the Hustler and Swank catalog, ‘the Necronomicon’, ‘How to blow your load on your slut’s tits’ and ‘Martha Stewart’s guide to blow jobs’. Does it matter really? If my writing sucks, are you going to blame it on my influences? The answer is no, but I fucking guarantee that if it is great, it will only be because of my influences. It’s called having my own brain - read my books cum dumpster!
Here is one of my all-time favourites.
“Tell us about your upcoming release...”
You have GOT to be fucking kidding me, right?!
How about you tell ME about my upcoming release - we did supply you with a copy, right?
What I am trying to get to with this little nugget of rage is - do all of us a favour, and do not  let words come out of your mouth that make you look like a limp dick or that you do not care to hear.
It’s a lesson we ALL - including myself - need to work on.
Spend a few minutes with your flaps shut. Do something brand new and listen!
If you want the truth and you are dealing with me, you had better be fucking prepared for it, because my truth and your truth are most likely very different!
So, to end this; listen, I am a very easygoing guy who loves women, sports, beer and a good blowjob.
I write horror to take both of us on a journey. It is sick, repulsive and graphic, but do me a favor and tell me something I don’t know instead of everything I do, and expect the same from those around you!
Respect is earned on both sides of the fence. I want yours and I hope that you want mine!
P.S. If you buy my books you earn some respect!

In the shadow of the horns,
JS BANNERMAN.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Crazy Synopsis of My First Novel BANG. (****Spoilers*** proceed with caution)


***Okay this post contains spoilers to my first novel BANG!!! If you do not want it spoiled for you please do not continue. If you do not care then go for it. 
History behind this: I was originally going to send this out to agents and publishers and I know I sent it to one, but they never responded. It reads like a warning label and a sales ad. Enjoy!




***WARNING***
BANG is not a romance novel with beautiful people who fall in love at first sight, make love and experience dramatic events that may tear them away from their lovers embrace.  No, BANG has nothing to do with that. 
BANG has a handful of "low life" men and women in it who all are hiding a SECRET, but one event sets off a chain reaction that will shake the very foundation of their lives and bring each of their secrets to the surface.  Secrets so SHOCKING that your only response to them would be "Oh-my-God".

Did I say this wasn't a romance novel?

BANG has plot twists and plot turns as each character MANIPULATES to cover their tracks. Hmmmm...what could they be hiding to make them do this? How about maybe attempted MURDER!

Did I say MURDER?

No I said attempted MURDER. Yes that's right you get a MYSTERY thrown in for free. That event I mentioned earlier comes in right at the beginning as TIM JONES is shot, but is discovered by his estranged wife SHELLEY JONES who hesitates in calling 9-1-1! That's crazy why would she hesitate to call for help, she wasn't the one who shot Tim—was she?

***CAUTION*** major DRAMA about to happen. And drama it is because from that moment on the story reveals that Shelley had been cheating on Tim with his b-f-f FRANK BUNN! And well Frank has become estranged from Shelley, who can't seem to live without him. Frank becomes so estranged because; well Frank is one of them there loners, who practice the art of being alone. Yet he struggles with the idea of being with someone just like himself--literally. But Frank has a SHADY past (like you didn't see that coming), which could mean he shot Tim only to run off for Shelley to find him and hoping she would get in trouble for it...hey that's not nice. Hell they could both be in on it, but you will have to read the book to find out (you didn't think I was going to tell you did you?). 

Right now I am sure you're wondering where is Tim's family during this time of crisis, well here is his mother DINA JONES. She's so sweet and wholesome. Imagine a beautiful older woman in her fifties, who plants flowers in the front and back yard, offers sound wise advice to all her family and friends—wait that's not Dina.  Dina is a self-serving, wish she never had a kid, has sex with various men, goes to bars, drinks and smokes, seduces, manipulates and lies to get what she wants—kind of mother. Hey that's not a mother I know...well she's definitely not my mother. It’s like she is a descendant from high society roman women, who manipulated the people around them to get their husbands into high political positions. SCANDELOUS!
But what could this sweet mother have to do with Tim being shot—how about just ask her drug-dealer whom she owes money to, but wait! Get this she hired him to "take care of" her poor son Tim by saying she would double his pay...Geez that's crazy. What mother would put a hit out on her son? Well Dina, of course.

***HANDLE WITH CARE*** this section of the letter may contain romantic elements that may disturb you. But I repeat this is not a romance novel, I promise.
At this point you must be asking "who loves Tim?" Well I have an answer. 
But first a word from Shelley:
               "I have to say a few things before Will can continue with this creative synopsis of our story.  First of all I didn't buy the gun that shot my husband.  It was given to me from my father who died.  My father asked me to use the gun to kill Tim for what he did to my mother a few years earlier. Did, Will, not mention that Tim hit her with the car while I was in the hospital recovering from a miscarriage? How could Will leave that out? Anyways, I just have to say I didn't try to kill Tim, but I would have done it to be free from that (beep) piece of (beep)! I should have done it when he told me he had sex with my sister and got her pregnant! That (beep)..."

Whoa, hold on Shelley, you're giving away too much. Back to this letter and I apologize for that. She has a dirty mouth like the others.

Anyways, Tim does have a love interest and she comes in the form of his therapist, DR. BLAIR HOPKING. Nice name huh? Blair loves Tim and Tim loves Tim—I mean Blair. Blair will do anything she can for Tim to help him not remember who shot him—but wait isn't she suppose to do the opposite? If you think that's weird try her method of therapy—SEX.  Blair jumps in fast seducing Tim into a sexual relationship so she can distract him from everything going on with him. Hmmmm that's fishy. I wonder how much she charges.

Also I have to tell you that Blair is hiding a deep dark secret of her own.  Did you want me to tell you? Okay here it is she is actually Shelley’s little sister CLAIRE NEWMAN (dah dah)!!  Claire ran away the night she tried to convince Tim to run off with her so they could have the baby together and leave Shelley high and dry, but Tim, being the good man he is said “No”.  Good for you Tim, well not so good because well someone shot him sometime later.  Go figure.  That’s when Claire met Frank and well all this mess happened later on and well you get the picture.  Well we know Claire holds a grudge.  I suggest we stay out of her way…what do you think? 

How did she become Dr. Blair Hopking and no one recognize her?  Good question…AMNESIA! Yep, that’s right. After Tim’s almost fatal attack, the result of which caused him to forget that night he was shot.  Certainly bits and pieces exist, but the one person who shot him was wiped clean from him brain. Claire being one of the people he lost during that night he was shot. So there was no way he could remember her.  So that’s how she manages to hide and avoid police suspicion—damn she’s good at what she does.

Okay so I lied about the romantic elements a little. But BANG does offer you so much more. It gives you a marriage on the rocks, cheating spouses, lies, backstabbing, manipulations, murder and the most important SEX.
You may ask yourself now if this book is worth reading and as the author I have to say yes, but I leave it up to you. I will say that BANG will blow you away. With its soap opera like quality and its gritty down to earth ways, hmmm what do you think about when I say "gritty down to earth"? Filth, dirty people with bad haircuts and bad attitudes, well that may be the darker side of the novel then. But I will add that it should be a very entertaining read none-the-less, regardless of this books trashy ways! Geez.

Pick up your copy today!! Oh wait it’s not out yet, but Shelley, Tim, Blair (*cough* Claire), Frank, Dina and I certainly hope you make that happen for us. Feel free though to consider us—I mean me, sorry—for publication. :)

***CONTACT A PROFESSIONAL FOR HELP*** due to the explicit and trashy nature of this hard-boiled suspense novel you may need to bring a few friends along to read it with you! So you may discuss all the drama and noir suspense you just experienced. It helps to talk about it, unless you're Dr. Blair Hopking. *Slap* (ouch that stings).

P.S. This book also is not a satire, comedy or children’s book.

This book is ***Rated-GR*** for GREAT READ! It’s a dramatic work of hard-boiled noir fiction with elements of suspense/mystery. It has graphic scenes of sex and some graphic violence.  Overall, it will tantalize you and overwhelm your senses by giving you a dose of drama that's recommended by most doctors. Enjoy!