Returning to Work on Red Room Auditions Pt. 2

 2-20-20

          Robert sent me a few more links dealing with the American Air Force presence in Taiwan in the early 60’s. I wrote back to him:

It is so appreciated your sending background for my characters in Red Room Auditions. I am saving it all for the day I go back to finish the novel. I am still in the "who gives a damn" mode in my writing career. I have not aspirations to be a professional writer as I did until recently but I am coming back around to the space I was at in late 2018 when I discovered KDP free publishing and put out two books within months, the second became my downfall as it was rush-edited so I'd have copies available to pick up on my visit to Pittsburgh in late October. Slowly I have been editing that disaster for second edition. Meanwhile the first edition mess remains available for purchase on Amazon. I have no fear of it ruining a writer reputation I never had. My first two self-published books require a yearly action to keep the author's page up but it ain't worth the $35 a year; the ISBN are mine and I'll add the titles to my KDP profile one day, as your son has done for your works; I wish I had a son who'd do it for lazy old me, and for free no less. My sharing on Facebook has come to an end. The bastards that inflated my viewership before Oct. 2018 to lure me into purchasing updates have now limited the number of groups I can share my work with; they called it spam and punished me a few times by docking me a few days. Recently they deleted a ten minute live video I made at the riverside reciting a cluster of poems. Unlike that Chinese writer who made a best seller sharing serialized chapters on Facebook, that flash in the pan won't be happening to mine. Robert, continue to motivate me and you won't be sorry. As for writing for my own pleasure, there are still occasional blog pieces and a poem or two a month in addition to my regular private daily journal. All the background in the world about Taiwan air force police won't bring my novel back to life until I find a new audience to share it with, at least believe I have an audience. You, on the other, with a domestic audience of fluent English readers, can be going to that book club and visiting bookstores to present your novels at, your topics not incendiary as mine; mine would have no market in an English speaking country, either. Yours can and will sell if you promote them. Thanks again for thinking of me; I'm so fortunate to have such a good friend as you.

          I don’t give a damn anymore who reads my writings, thanks in part to the Facebook wake-up call. Persistence, however, succeeds, and I shouldn’t give up, but not publishing and promoting myself; I need a publisher that will accept my work and promote it. If I publish it myself, no matter how good it is, it will never sell. That being said, I have plenty of time to edit and finish all the manuscripts I have amassed the past seven years and send them out.

Summer 2020?

          I wrote my first text for Red Room Auditions in months yesterday. A new character, Richard Holmes, a Vietnam vet that returns to Taiwan and followed in Nate Fisher's footsteps back to the states by the time Nate returns to investigate the serial murders. They were buddies when AFARTS morphed into ICRT and the troops left Taiwan in 1979. Nate and Richard timelines correspond. Holmes will be a good way to inject the Taiwan experience for GI's in the 60's, before Nate arrived on the cusp of U.S. official troop withdrawal. I even have a character named Julian, a friend of Nate, who was a gigolo for a Taiwanese general to inject into the book Taiwan/U.S. military madness back to Quemoy in the mid 50's. The book may be a detective story but I want an indictment of U.S. interference in Taiwan's destiny to be the undercurrent stand out

Preface to George with the Man in the Hat

 

Preface

The original series of Curious George was written by the team of Hans Augusto Rey and Margret Rey. The Jewish couple fled Paris in June 1940, on self-made bicycles, carrying the Curious George manuscript with them. At first, only H. A. Rey was credited for the work in order to distinguish the Reys' books from the large number of children's books written by female authors.

George was brought from his home in Africa by "The Man with The Yellow Hat". They are best friends and they live together in "the city" and "the country". The names of these areas have not been declared yet. Curious George appeared in 1941. This book begins with George living in Africa and tells the story of his capture by the Man with the Yellow Hat, who takes him on a ship to "the big city" where he will live in a zoo. The second book, Curious George Takes a Job (1947), begins with George living in the zoo, from which he escapes and has several adventures before the Man with the Yellow Hat finds him and takes George to live at his house.

Aside from George himself, the only recurring character in the original adventures is the unnamed Man with the Yellow Hat who is George’s best friend. The Man often facilitates George's adventures by taking him somewhere, and even more often resolves the tension by intervening just in time to get George out of a tight spot.

In The Further Adventures of George, the Man has a deeper role with George that takes him beyond what the Zookeeper has in mind and joins George in his adventures, not only to intervene. These adventures would be frowned upon by the Zookeeper and could cost the Man his main job: training George and learning George’s language. 

In the plot of my allegorical tale, or "magic realism", the Man in the Hat has time on his hands because his long-time relationship with Phoenix had taken a hit after her illness; lack of motivation to experience the world. The Man has gotten bored of exchanges with Vincent Snail and jumps at the chance to become George's language enrichment partner at the Great Zookeeper's request. He would like to become her trainer, too, but there is somebody assigned to her first that she can’t break away from.

“Desiged” is not a word

          “Desiged” is not a word but it’s printed on the spine of Jerome Keating Ph.D’s ‘masterpiece The Mapping of Taiwan, the book that excludes Mr. Seldon’s Map of China in its scope. I realized the error this morning. Should the typo be “Designed” or should it, as the subtitle on the cover reads, be “Desired Economies, Converted Geographies”? It looks like the ‘g’ should be an ‘r’, but the error also appears on the spine of the book cover, too. Either way, how full-of-hot-air Dr. Keating’s book is as I browsed through the infantile text of a complex history; Dr. Keating has his paradigm down pat, but he’s not any fuller of shit, but more connived than I am compiling Taiwan Blog Tranmission (sic.)  The left out ‘s’ error is only on the inside title page, not on the cover at all. There is hope for us, yet, in a second edition. I actually looked at my manuscript the other day and may be on the verge of finally doing that second edition.

          Robert called while I was resting at the pool after another twenty-five laps without rest and we talked about out writing styles and outputs. I told him I was considering putting the fourth novel, Red Room Auditions, on the back-burner and starting on a fifth D.H. Lawrence type novel of soul searching and family relations. My characters are not any deeper than his. Robert jumps from different writing projects. That means he hasn’t taken hold of one. I have an urge to add my short stories about Taiwan to RRA and fictionalize inter-personal text from my journal for the family pot-boiler. My characters can be Louisa for Leona, and keep the first letter of every one’s name in my family drama so I don’t confuse myself. I don’t know. Something has to give. Robert and I both need a writing project we can get into. 

Facebook 'Live' and You-Tube Video Presentations

     In January 2019, I did two “Live” Facebook transmissions this past weekend, one twelve minute from up the Han and one late afternoon yesterday from the patio. I read the poem samples from the free view of Unnatural Beauty on Amazon. Five people viewed the first and two the second transmission. I will also read some short stories, articles, or novel excerpts in future transmissions. I point the smart phone camera outwards at the scenery, the first transmission only showing my shadow on the ground. I want to develop some slide shows for my readings. I will try it with what washes up on Penghu shores that already has photos and perhaps Route 74 Extension but have to find a suitable poem. The Bobbie Kitten’s Recovery has plenty of Bobby photos I can cue up and show as I read the poem at the desk in front of the monitor. All this would be done because I have nothing better to do with the excuse of being a promotion for my works on my website. I don’t want to make the transmissions more than fifteen minutes long.

     IMovie is a feature on my Mac Pro. Perfect for making You-Tube videos. I experimented with one last evening, but I have to figure out how to upload background music, videos and photos. Because Facebook sabotaged my blog dissemination, I have to look for other outlets for my works. People like watching more than reading, so here I go. "I am flexible," I wrote. "The Han River Poem You-Tube Channel beckons. As a matter of fact, once I get the gist, I will make a few you-tube channels."

It is almost a year later. I have gone nowhere with a Han River Poem Channel. I have not been bold.  I have better things to do than try to make myself famous on You-Tube . My ego obviously doesn't need it 

"What Washes Up..." Read on Dear John Show from U.K.

9-16-18 

Nina Thilo and 2 others manage the membership, moderators, settings, and posts for “Poetry in the Blood” and “A Poet’s Diary.” I posted “What Washes Up on Penghu Shores” there a few days ago.  “A great piece enhanced by the photos,” she commented

“Thanks for your assessment; I appreciate it,” I replied. She wanted to connect and I accepted; a chat conversation was started by her.

“Hi David please could I have your permission to read your poem "What Washes up on Penghu Shores" on the Dear John show?

“Yes, of course. May I see and hear you read?”

“You most certainly may and thank you. I will send you a link to the show page.

The Dear John Show 5 · Literary Arts

“Thanks Nina. Let me know when you will read my poem.”

“It will be tomorrow evening.”

“Thanks. What time, what day GMT? I have never heard my poetry read by anyone else but me LOL”

“The show will start at 7:30 pm UK time. I will come on around an hour later probably. Hope I do it justice 🙈

“You'll be great, I'm sure. Just remember the "wind" in the typhoon line is a verb with a long "i"; like a wind-up doll. 7:30pm in the U.K. is 1930 Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) which is 3:30am here in Taiwan. Hope I can stay up. LOL. Be good!”

“I’ll try!”       

I don’t know if I will be up at 3:30 this morning to hear it but it is nice to know that I have gotten so many views (682) and ‘likes’ and ‘loves’ including accolades like “wonderful” and “marvelous piece”.

Poetry for the poets

THE DEAR JOHN SHOW·SATURDAY, APRIL 28, 2018

 

Welcome to The Dear John Show page. This is a Facebook Live Show, airing once a week, which highlights poets and their writes from around the world. We have resident readers who will gladly recite poems for those who would prefer to stay off camera, but we also encourage viewers and members to take the plunge and step forward into the limelight to read their own works. All genres are included. We look forward to seeing you and working with you to create a community of poetical enjoyment.

9-17-18 

          I saw Nina Thilo read my poem on “The Dear John Show” a short while ago. I happened to wake up at 3:07am and remembered the airing. Nina read it so well, with a proper British accent. I was able to record a video of the introduction but the Facebook device stopped so I recorded a voice clip on Messenger of the last few verses. I could never read my poems so well thanks to my Brooklyn accent. I don’t even know how to make a YouTube video of myself well; I look so lame and can’t find the camera on the smart phone. Even though the Facebook Live Show was miniscule in outreach, even less miniscule than my blogs I share on Facebook, it still gave me a thrill. I IM’d Nina to say she read it well and thank her. Maybe I can get a voice clip of her whole reading.

Returning to Work on Red Room Auditions Pt. 1

7-28-19

     I am glad Malcolm is inspired to release some old fiction to show me and is working on a new project. Initially he planned a short story but another confidant and I convinced him to elongate it. There are indications I may be on the verge of returning to write my fourth novel or edit and publish the first three. I am sitting on it for now, writing poems and blog pieces, as I wish. But I don't think I'll be going to today’s Critique Meet in Taipei; I haven't looked at the others' writings in Dropbox. I lost the urgency to edit, publish, or find a publisher, for now, but I'm not deleting the work I've accomplished, either. 

7-30-19

   I did some work on Chapter 2 of RRA yesterday, making the present tense monologue of Nate Fisher more dynamic and fixing the investigation details of the first three murdered making background relevant. Initially, I dumped stories of three creeps I'd met in Taiwan without aligning them with the plot or even making them dead! I've been working on the novel inside out; dumping details, leaving the weaving till later. Later is now. Without having to wrap three days around silly bushiban classes, I have time to spread out and think. I even went up the river two mornings in a row last weekend; something I hadn't done in a while because of the rain and other factors.

8-1-19

    A few days ago, I started to edit Chapter 2 of RRA. In all my “packing and unpacking junk” from manuscripts, there has been little fresh copy besides a few political taIWWan pieces and poetry. There are three photo blogs awaiting text in Taichung Journal and a few on music in Radio Free International and The Gershwin Summer, The Silver Pinball, the latter two blogs I may abandon and add contents to the former because I haven’t written enough articles to warrant its own blogs.

8-4-19 

     I changed the text of TBT to 12 pt. from 14. It reduced the length of the book thirty pages, even after I added five more stories; it's now 260 pages long. I haven't incorporated the textural edits I'd been making to the dummy book; indeed, I haven't finished making those edits and I just added more pages that haven't been scrutinized. 

     Robert sent me a name of a CIA spook, Mudd, to follow up on and educate the history of Nate Fisher. I want Nate involved in the U.S. Air Force on surveillance while on duty in Taiwan before leaving to become a SF detective. 

     Unlike Malcolm and Robert, I have no story board or plot map for RRA. It seemed to be no problem in AWM; the plot wrote itself as I discovered what I would do as the characters discovered. But I am lost in RRA because I haven’t decided on a climax yet. Right now, Nate will be discovering his estranged daughter is a high-priced call girl. She will be based on Simone's friend, Victoria that had some notoriety in Taiwan for her big boobs in the early millennium before her career deflated. The mother of Nate's child sold her up as a model when she was young and that was her demise. Nate finds her in a high class call girl and they realize they are father and daughter. He ends the novel with her at his side on the plane back to SF, AIT issuing her a replacement passport for the one her mother stole. I have to write about what I know. I'm going to have to write some new text instead of borrowing from myself.

8-7-19

     I did more work on RRA the past few days adding nuance to Chapter 2, The First Three Murders; I may re-title the chapter "The First Three Auditions" in keeping the sardonic feel of the undercurrent. I don't know how I will incorporate Malcolm's Jade Menagerie obstructions but I want to; I haven't done it yet. Maybe I'll have the character "Malcolm" spit them out when he's there or let Nate or Chen talk about it in the third person. It would be cool if after all the ways are introduced, there is a flurry of revelation in the last few chapters. I have to create a timeline for Nate so I don't get mixed up. 

     Robert was helpful in brainstorming it with me by LINE last week. 

1.     Born 1955 Brooklyn. Moves to SF with family at aged 7. 

2.     Enlisted 1975. Sent to Taiwan after boot camp; 20 years old

3.     1976-1979 Air Force police in Taiwan; 21-25 years old 

4.     1980-1982- Monterrey Language school and CIA; 26-28 years old 

5.     1983-1989 Return to Taiwan as Air Force surveillance; 29-35 years old 

6.     1990- 2002 Joins SFPD as detective specializing in Chinese community; 35-47 years old

7.     2002-2004 Sent back to Taiwan to solve serial murder cases. 47-50 years old 

8.     2005-2009 Returns to U.S. to SFPD; 50-55 years old

9.     Retires; 55 years old. 

     Something like that. I also typed up a few more dates in Taiwan Teacher's Journal to be included in the E-E-O book. I looked over Smoke No Fire and Life's Progressive Movement that starts at Chapter 22 of SNF. Once I reduce the type size to 12, I might want to rejoin the manuscripts into one. 

8-8-19

 I finished editing Chapter 2 of RRA and tackled my desire to add Malcolm's Jade Menagerie subterfuge, but I did it as a power point presentation at a meeting of white CIA agents on Roosevelt Road. No Taiwanese agents were invited, not even Chen who is on the serial murder investigation team. Nate Fisher is disgusted by the racist stereotyping but is glad the room is darkened so no one can see the expression on his face. I say Malcolm's handbook is true but it doesn't only pertain to Taiwanese. In RRA, there will be instances of obstruction from the white boys more than the Taiwanese. In fact, they try to pin the murders on an innocent, but ignorant, victim: Darrow Shaw's character. It is gas-lighting, I think it's called. I'll work it out. But for now, the first two chapters are what I want; present infinitive tense is used for most of Nate's internal dialogue. I sent a draft to Malcolm who says he's confused by it. It has to be consistent for the reader to get readers' confidence.

     I was asked, after sharing Ch.2 in Messenger by Malcolm, "Why in the present?" I wrote:

He's living in the infinitive; everything hits him in the face. Only passive voice (something done by an other) and past perfect tenses (something that happened before something else in the past happened) are exceptions. Let me know if I miss (LOL) any. He is also running from the past and Sees no future.

I explained that In Brooklyn, we often use this infinitive tense to dramatize. It is most prominent in our reported speech which is not reported speech rules at all. For example, instead of saying. "He said he had lived in Little Falls before he moved to Taiwan" we would say: "He goes he lived in Little Falls before he goes to Taiwan." Nate Fisher, a displaced Brooklynite, carries that syntax with him through the air police, CIA, and detective career, only in his internal dialogue and to his homies. I hope the reader is flattered being welcomed into his world

The other characters, and Nate himself, do not use the infinite in conversation with each other; he only uses it when he is reporting to the reader.

He's Got to be Keating Me

        On June 2, 2018, I wrote to Jerome Keating Ph. D  when I noticed he liked a poem I posted on Facebook. Jerome is an elderly teacher living in Taiwan since 1988. 

“Hi Jerome. We met and you autographed Mapping of Taiwan at the International Book Expo in Taipei. Thank you for liking my poem. Be well,” I wrote.

         “I remember that,” he replied. “Hope that you also liked the Map book and how  economies often lead to coveted geographies." 

       “I do like the whole jist of your project. I have some questions. You don't refer to Mr. Seldon's Map of China. Why?”

        “Not sure which map you are referring to?” he replied.

       The author [Timothy Brook] rediscovered a map brought to Oxford library in the 17th century, I said. The map shows that China was the first to know about, trade through, and map the South China Sea. Being an apologist for U.S. hegemonic Asian policy and a detractor of Chinese sea rights in building up navel outposts there, perhaps Dr. Keating was playing dumb. "I think that book must have been published too late for you to reference in yours,” I said leaving him a way out.

          Instead of admitting he wasn’t aware of the book or map, or worse, denying and covering up what the map told the world, he must have Googled it, thought fast and came back with an educated response.

          “Yes on a couple of counts. 1) The book came out after my book was first published and 2) the map is a composite and it is unsure who put it together and when &. 3) while it definitely talks of trade routes etc. my book focuses more on how Taiwan got on the map; so though I was aware of it by the time the bi-lingual version came out; there was not enough there to specifically relate to my focus. That said, the map does show the awareness and importance of trade in the early 17th century.”

          “But you will refer to it in the second edition, won't you?” I chided. “The map doesn't look composite.”

          “The map seems to be as I say a composite, where someone who was into trade, put together a couple of existing maps.” He was bullish now. I scanned and sent him a copy of the map to see for himself that it was not a composite and did, indeed, include Taiwan on its radar. 

         On July 1, 2018, I was bored and texted Keating Ph.D. while sitting up the river. “What are the politics looking like in Taichung?” he had texted me once. I threw back to the question  about Taipei. 

“I have a piece that will be in the Taipei Times this week--it says Ko-P is going down,” he replied.

“I don't read any English news from Taiwan. I look to socialist and worker union perspectives on the topic," I wrote.

“I don't read Chinese," he replied, "but I belong to many groups. I listen to friends whose opinions I trust, and I constantly look at the difference between what politicians say and do. That said, Ko-p's biggest disadvantage here is that he has no party and has depended more on swing vote. Will send the op-ed when it is out.”  Keating Ph. D probably supports the DPP and the U.S. CIA for not liking  Mayor Ko going to Shanghai to show friendship and make peace for Taiwan; something he abhors. Mayor Ko's "swing vote" implies he is a KMT supporter. 
“An aside, when I was in the US, I had one friend who if he told me he liked a movie, I figured I would not like it, and another friend who said if he liked it, I figured I would too.”

“My op-ed would never be printed by any English newspaper in Taiwan,” I simply replied. 

“You need to see my book on Paradigms,” he replied like a salesman.

“Thank you. And you can read my writings at www.readingsandridings.jimdo.com. All gratuities go to Kiva,” I shot back.

He didn’t know about Kiva so I sent him a link to the site that forwards investment loans to poor people around the world.

“Suggested donation $2.00 a story or article, $10 a book,” I said.
He replied with two gratuitous thumbs-up and sent me the link to his book instead. It had become a stand-off over his book and mine.

Then I laid it on the line: “If I buy Paradigms will you donate to the cause of my choice, Kiva, for example?”

“I have to examine Kiva more; I seldom donate to causes unless I have been involved in them and know the people; too often burned,” he responded trying to weasel out.

“Suit yourself. You already owe me one for buying Taiwan Maps at a premium price LOL.” I wasn’t really laughing out loud; I felt offended. He winked back like it was an inside joke but I still wasn’t laughing.

So he was saying I should buy a book he wrote but he doesn't have to look at my website or donate a penny to read mine because he doesn’t trust a cause I would donate the profit to? That’s some paradigm!

I wrote this piece in “Readings and Ridings” blog about J. Keating Ph. D.'s certainty and disregard for my experience and knowledge because I disagree with his American government viewpoint. It doesn’t impress me the title he attaches to his name. But Jerome is my elder and a great writer; I do respect him, but he was condescending; I deserve more respect than that. I have, after all, been teaching longer than he has, here and New York City, written as much, and have more teaching experience including college teaching experience; two years in Taiwan from '84-86, but I’m not in competition with him for pretension. I had lived in Taiwan a full ten years before he came onto the scene, and I can speak and read Mandarin, a skill he admits not acquiring despite his Taiwanese spouse and longevity here. 
 Chinese detractors have the sway in the English media, Facebook groups, and academics in Taiwan, except for the old stalwart China Times. Expats seeking the truth about Taiwan and China must be on their guard. Few here will give you the right direction.