New novel published

Yes! My newest novel, Gulf of the Plains II: Fog and Bog, is published and under review. It will be 'live' in 24-48 hours.

Let me tell you why I decided to even write a sequel to the original novel, Gulf of the Plains. The first novel did very well and some of my readers expressed an interest in a sequel, so in order to take advantage of the original's popularity, (and milk a cash cow), I wrote the sequel. The original was crying out for a continuation of the storyline anyway, so I figured, "What the heck?", and moved on along with the story, following a logical progression of the plot.

The characters: John Sheaves always seemed to be a more moral version of his father, Bailey Lovell and while I've gotten tired of his never-ending moral behavior, I have gradually made him more pragmatic and willing to do whatever was necessary to make his world safe for his family and friends. Paget Redpath also needed a makeover. She was too grief-stricken by the death of Bailey Lovell and needed to get on with her life. To that end, I enlarged the character of Carl Starr and gave them a chance to explore each other. Beth Stewart was also a character in need of something more to do than simply raise the baby she and John produced. I let the readers see her as a 'Mother Earth' figure for a while and then jerked the rug from under them by removing her ability to produce more children and also gave her an urge for more adventure in her life. I inserted new characters in the person of Paget's sister, Julia and a Marine Colonel modeled after a quasi-historical figure that few people will recognize. The old characters of Matt and Molly Lyndon are also here and Matt continues his unconventional ways in the story while I'm afraid that Molly got short shrift in the story. The Rhineharts are also in this story and we get to see, in a sidewise fashion, that Callie Rhinehart is growing up. Some of the secondary characters are only in the story because I needed 'spear-carriers' and there really wasn't much else for them to do. For those who don't know what a 'spear-carrier' is; he's the guy in some of the old plays and movies that enters from the wings, carrying a spear, and announces to the other characters on stage that "My Lord, Lord and Lady Plushbottom have been captured by the rebels and are being detained in the Tower!" You know, someone who informs the audience of action that has taken place off-stage.

The villains: Paul Wilkins and Wilson Reynolds are merely characters that I had to devise to give our heroes something to fight. They served their purposes of being suitably mean and nasty and, let's face it, in real life, the heroes of any situation seldom make actual, physical contact with the villains. The only real contact the heroes have with the villains is when they kill them. Such is the case in this story. Oh, I could have gone into their meetings a little more and had them make threats against each other and make them more human, but I didn't see the point. I wanted them dead and they are dead; so the story is served in the best way I know how and I'm satisfied.

This is the book as I've written it and for those who don't like it; write your own, I did.

Thank you,
Derek A. Murphy
Author of Gulf of the Plains, Congruencies, Gulf of the Plains II: Fog and Bog, and others.
Available on Kindle