Smorgasbord Posts from Your Archives -Summer 2020- Pot Luck -Stream of Consciousness Saturday #SOCS – John W. Howell

Posted on August 19, 2020 by Smorgasbord - Variety is the Spice of Life.

Welcome to the current series of Posts from Your Archives… and I will be picking two posts from the blogs of those participating from the first six months of 2020. If you don’t mind me rifling through your archives… just let me know in the comments or you can find out the full scope: Posts from Your Archives – Pot Luck – 2020

This is the second post from thriller writer John W. Howell and this week I share one of John’s weekly posts as he participates in Stream of Consciousness Saturday #SOCS

It is Stream of Consciousness Saturday time again, and here is Linda Hill to explain this week’s prompt. “Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “spay/splay/spray.” Use one, use two, use ’em all, it’s up to you. Have fun!”

“Oh, my goodness.”
“What?”
“Just saw the prompt for this week.”
“Ah. The Hill Hilarity. What is it?”
“Spay/Splay/Spray.”
“Hmmm. There are the obvious uses.”
“Who wants to talk about neutered pets, legs, or mosquitoes?”
“You could go in a completely different direction.”
“Yeah, like what?”
“Well, Spay is a town in Germany located in a great wine production area.”
“Okay, I guess that would be interesting. What wine?”
“Riesling.”
“Yum. I like a nice Riesling.”
“You could also talk about splay without mentioning body parts.”
“I don’t see how.”
“There is an architecture term splay that describes an angle of a wall from a door or window that makes it wider the further away from the door or window.”
“Not sure I could pull that off. I don’t really understand .”
“Think of a window that also has a window seat. You have the window, and then the walls come into the room at an angle, so there is room for the seat. It’s called a splay at the wide part in the room.”
“I guess I get that. What about spray?”
“I think you are stuck with the idea of droplets of liquid. You could describe different kinds of spray.”
“Or just stick with spay and splay.”
“What fun is that? You could talk about the spray of the sea.”
“Okay, then here is my attempt. A little haiku, which should keep the Hillster happy. Ahem.
In the town of Spay,
There’s a window with a splay . . .
Safe from ocean spray.
How’s that?”
“I’m no critic, but am wanting to move on with the day.”
“so?”
“Close enough for government work.”

©John W. Howell 2020

About John Howell.

John began his writing as a full-time occupation after an extensive business career. His specialty is thriller fiction novels, but John also writes poetry and short stories. His first book, My GRL, introduces the exciting adventures of the book’s central character, John J. Cannon. The second Cannon novel, His Revenge, continues the tension. The final book in the trilogy, Our Justice, launched in September 2016 concludes the thriller series. John’s fourth book Circumstances of Childhood, launched in October of 2017 tells a different thriller story of riches to rags, football, Wall Street, brotherly love, redemption, and inspiration with a touch of paranormal to keep you riveted. The fifth book is a collaboration with the award-winning author, Gwen Plano titled The Contract. Heavenly bodies become concerned about the stability of the Earth and send two of their own to risk eternal salvation in order to save the planet. The Contract achieved number one status in its genre. All books are available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle editions.

John lives in Lakeway, Texas with his wife and their spoiled rescue pets.

Books by John Howell

One of the recent reviews for His Revenge

D. W. Peach A great character and clever plot

His Revenge follows on the heels of the previous book, My GRL. I had fun revisiting a great character, John Cannon, an ordinary nice guy forced into the role of a hero. He’s once again kidnapped and trying to outwit the terrorist mastermind plotting to create havoc in the US. I do recommend reading the books in order, even though the author provides adequate backstory to get the gist of what previously happened.

There’s plenty of action and danger, though less than in the first book. The pace starts out a touch slow, but when it picks up, it charges ahead. John isn’t a macho, gun-toting character, and the solutions to his problems rely more on his wits and a clever plan, along with some strongly developed allies that added depth to the story. The characters face some tough choices that will make the reader squirm.

The bad guys are quite diabolical, heartless, and seemed to cover every base. But they also struck me as a touch gullible, especially since they’ve been outwitted by John before. That said, the rationale backing up the plot is detailed and the solution well-crafted. The writing is professional, the dialog and characterization excellent. I’ll be reading more of John Cannon in the future.

. Read the reviews and buy the books: Amazon US – and on: Amazon UK – Goodreads:John Howell Goodreads – Blog: John W. Howell. com – Twitter – @HowellWave

Thank you for dropping in today and I know John would love to receive your feedback. thanks Sally.