Plot Work

We got our characters in all sorts of trouble, then the time came to settle the issues. We tried to give each cast member the latitude to act as their character dictated. We expected the worst from Big Chang, Wen-biao, and General Ping. Jian-mei was the product of her horrible life, but we gave her the opportunity to recapture her humanity through her feelings for Billy Ray and her mother. Maryanne became a major character in how the scenario played out. Hong, our man in London, continued to be a shadowy figure, but important none the less.

We expected the best from Cloud, Billy Ray, and Maryanne. We got nothing less. Jian-mei's mother died at the hands of Big Chang. Even though he felt secure surrounded by the security of his own headquarters in Macao, General Ping's man got to him. The word seeped down to Jian-mei about the death of her mother and her father, and  she went berserk. She killed Wen-biao knowing he was her blood brother. The act pushed her over the edge and she, essentially, lost her mind. Billy Ray, for reasons that even I don't understand, took her under his wing and nursed her back to mental health. Cloud survived the efforts of Wen-biao to take her life by the skin of her teeth. Maryanne cleaned up after Jian-mei, took over the tanker of oil, and negotiated a settlement with Billy Ray for the money.

Next: The conclusion.

What went wrong?

The fact that Mossad stumbled onto the renegade plot to steal the warheads and sell them to Iran was purely serendipitous. The Israelis feared that Iran would bring their nuclear program out in the open and that there would be nothing they could do about it. No longer would Israel be free from nuclear retaliation should they bomb the nuclear facilities in Iran.

Strangely, the Iranians blew the deal when they did not deliver the quality of oil promised. General Ping went ballistic. The Iranians didn't care since the warheads were at sea and under their control. Ping ordered the deaths of Billy Ray, Cloud, Big Chang, and his old friend, Chung, in London. Meanwhile, he fled China.  His comrades planned to leave a couple of days later, but fell victim to the PRC who imprisoned both.

Chang Wen-biao and Cloud got together for disparate purposes. Finally, Wen-biao and his buddy, Chan Ya-gong got the word to eliminate Billy Ray, Cloud, and even Jian-mei. All of this took place while the deal was being consumated in Monte Carlo. The bottom line asks--who killed who?

Minor Characters

In no particular order, I will describe some minor characters. Some became almost major considering their impact on the story:

Chang Wen-biao was the son of Chang Dong-hue, aka Big Chang. Wen-biao was worth a chapter. He was a handsome, brutal man who was groomed to lead the Chang dynasty in Macau, but he constantly failed to live up to the standards demanded by his father. As a result, he became the enemy of Jian-mei and would have killed her but was warned off by Big Chang.

Chan Ya-gong was Wen-biao's companion and body guard. He was physically designed after the character "Odd Job" from the Bond movies. Ya-gong was in the background for several scenes in the book.

Hong Ben-zhou played a major role in both Macau and London. He began by running the streets on the heels of Big Chang as they grew up. When he got on the bad side of the People's Republic of China, he fled the country and set up shop in London. He met up with Billy Ray while consumating oil deals, and they formed a good working and personal relationship.

Lee Pan-kie, recruited early in the game by General Ping, acted as his right arm. He managed Ping's schemes whenever action was required. Lee escaped China on the heels of his commander.

Pan Wei-song was a tragic figure, but necessary for the theft of the warheads. He paid for his trusting soul with his life.

Yang Gu-jun was the close comrade of General Ping and a long-time associate. He ascended to the military council in the politboro and worked closely with Ping and Zhao to promote their agendas.

Zhao Ming-juan, also a politboro member,  was the third member of the renegades along with Ping and Yang. We made him physicall interesting by taking an eye, a hand, and a foot. To complete the picture, we gave him buck-teeth and a verbal whistle.

Showdown

The scene was set. We had several protagonists, several antagonists, stolen warheads, and a boatload of crude. For the deal to reach fruition, the Chinese must deliver the warheads to Iran, collect the oil, sell the oil, and distribute the proceeds.

Billy Ray in the company of Cloud McFarland connected with Chang Wen-biao and Feng Jian-mei in Monte Carlo. My co-author, Dick, and I spent a week in that unusual city for the sake of research. We visited the French Riveria and the walled city of St. Paul de Vance as well. All of these places found their way into the book. A dinner at the Hotel de Paris accounted for another chapter. The real dinner was memorable because of the $2K bill for four people. Back in the Gulf of Mexico, Dick and I shared a deep-sea fishing excursion on the boat of a friend, and that trip accounted for two chapters. It is so much easier to write about something one has seen or done.

Not really understanding the nature of the Chinese, the Iranians substituted heavy crude for light. While the difference was only $500K or so, the renegades were offended. They panicked and began killing people. One act triggered another. Jian-mei was ordered to take out Billy Ray, but found that she could not do so. Meanwhile back in Macau, her mother attempted to kill Big Chang. He turned the tables and killed her. The next day, the renegades killed Big Chang. Jian-mei learned of her mother's death and that Big Chang was her father. She went into a rage, killed her half-brother, and lost her mental equilibrium. Billy Ray picked up the pieces.

The timeline for these events was a challenge because they occurred during a matter of a few days.

More later......ES

Enter Mossad

Finding a place for an Israeli beauty in a story about Chinese and east Texas folks took some creativity. Our Rhone Valley sweetheart made her way to the land of her mother, Israel. Unable to deal with the loss of her own true love back in France, she chose to make a place for herself in Mossad. Our story opens at a called meeting of department heads in Tel Aviv for the purpose of reporting some strange information coming out of China. I used several characters in this meeting. I took their names from some Jewish tennis buddies.

Mossad serendipitously discovered the theft of the warheads and traced them to the port of Macau. One of their best agents, an ex-patriot Chinese in London, informed them about Billy Ray's involvement in moving the oil. The agent was a life-long friend of Big Chang and set up a meeting with his son, Jian-mei, and Billy Ray for the purpose of arranging the transportation and sale of the oil. Maryanne was assigned the project and she deliberately hooked up with Billy Ray at the meeting in London. He was unaware of her affiliation with Mossad. They spent a night together that cemented their relationship.

To complicate matters, Chang Wen-biao, Big Chang's son, despises his half-sister, Jian-mei. The feeling is mutual. Neither of them realize that they are related.

Next: How the deal implodes.

Making a connection

While Cloud prospered in New York, and Billy Ray built his oil trading business, Feng Jian-mei suffered under the hand of the Korean, Ki Jin until one day at the age of seventeen, she snapped. Big Chang’s men found the old man crumpled in a heap of broken bones. Jian-mei expected to lose her life, but she heard nothing from Big Chang. Over the years, she had proven to possess a high level of academic prowess, but she was surprised to learn that Big Chang had enrolled her in the University of Macau. Three years later, she graduated at the top of her class. Soon, offers from graduate schools around the world arrived. Big Chang chose Cambridge and informed her through an intermediary. After reading international finance, she returned to Macau, met with Big Change, and they ironed out the details of their relationship. Jian-mei would take a position in Chang Limited and perform the wet work he prescribed. If she followed the plan, her mother would remain safe. Jian-mei agreed to the plan but promised retribution if any harm came to her mother. Big Chang would have expected nothing less.


We tried a number of products that our heroes could trade that would involve the Texas connection, but could come up with nothing other than oil. Since the Iranians had oil, we need something to trade to the Iranians for oil. At first, we tried cruise missiles, but found that Iran already had a stable of such weapons. We decided to steal nuclear warheads from the military, and in order to do that, we needed a People’s Liberation Army person to pull off the theft. Along came General Ping and his two politburo companions. Nearing retirement, the general found no satisfaction with his future, so he chose to do something about it. He arranged to substitute counterfeit warheads for the real thing and move them to Macau for shipping. Then, he and his companions met with the Iranians and arranged to trade the warheads for a tanker of oil.

Having no expertise in the movement and sale of oil, the renegade Chinese contacted Big Chang and gave him the task of arranging to have the oil picked up from the Iranians, shipped to India, and sold at market value. Chang contacted Billy Ray and charged him with the task. Viola! We made the connection. Now we had a story involving Jian-mei, Cloud, and Billy Ray. Next, we needed to bring in Maryanne.

Character development

After Jian-mei won the Ti Kwon Do world championships, she and her mother started home. Outside the stadium, they were intercepted by the henchmen of the local crime lord in Macau. His name was "Big Chang," and he became a central character in the story. His goal was to train Jian-mei to be his personal assassin.

When Big Chang informed the twelve-year-old Jian-mei that she would submit to extensive training at the hands of the old Korean, Ki Jin, she declined. Big Chang explained that if she did not comply, he would kill her mother. She agreed.  Chang did not tell her that he was, in fact, her father.

At the end of Cloud's and Billy Ray's school year, she learned that Billy Ray would go off to the University of Texas and exclude her from the move. Heartbroken, she stopped seeing Billy Ray and managed to complete high school.  Her mother was an alcoholic, semi-prostitute who did not always provide food for the table.  When Cloud graduated, she headed for Dallas to captilize on her great beauty in the world of modeling. Not many months passed before she was on her way to New York where she became a top model.

Billy Ray's first year at UT was a social whirlwind. After his faculty advisor informed him that he must improve his academics or leave the school, he buckled down and graduated magna cum laude.  After matriculation, he worked for a series of oil companies, learned the business, and went out on his own. He never got Cloud completely out of his mind, and they became long-distance lovers and friends. Their relationship strengthened over the years, but neither had any desire to enter into a marriage. Billy Ray created a successful business and enjoyed his lifestyle.

Next came the problem of involving a lady assassin, a New York Model, and a good old boy from East Texas into some sort of story.

Cloud, Billy Ray, and Jian-mei

We had characters, but needed something for them to do.

Many years ago, I wrote a true story called "The Run" for my hometown newspaper.  It was about me running a kickoff back for a touchdown in a highschool football game.  It was my proudest moment.  In The Brown Recluse, I gave the ball to Billy Ray, and he did the running.  Cloud became his cheerleader girlfriend.  Those two were off and running. (Oops!)

Dick liked Macau for some reason, so we settled on that city for our Chinese connections. My Asian character became Feng Jian-mei. I picked her up at the age of twelve and placed her in the finals of the Ti Kwon Do world championships in Hong Kong, which is only a ferry ride away. To add a bit of spice, I put her in the boys bracket, and wouldn't you know it, she won. What was she doing winning world championships in the boys bracket?  More next post.

Maryanne sprung to life as a young woman living on a vinyard in the Rhone Valley of France.  We had to get her out of France, and the way to do that was to break her heart.  So we did.  She ended up in the Israeli Mossad and became a very interesting character.

Next post will address Jian-mei's development along with that of Cloud and Billy Ray.

So there we were. We had one Asian female character without a name or role in the upcoming saga. After a sip or two of eighteen-year-old McClellan scotch, we decided to use the names of people we know as characters. We began with the name of President McFarland from TAMU-Commerce? That character would be a constant reminder of why we were doing this in the first place.


A last name is insufficient, so we needed to decide if McFarland was a male or female. I liked the name Cloud, so we named a character Cloud McFarland. At that time, she had no role in the book.

We required a mate for Cloud. We also wanted a character that was in the oil trading business, since Dick had spent his career in that industry and had a plethora of expertise in the field. We named him Billy Ray. Now all we had to do was figure out a way to connect Cloud and Billy Ray to our Oriental lady. Therein lay the plot.



Dick and I were both from small towns in northeast Texas. In fact, the towns are about twenty miles apart, and his school plays my school in football. We have indulged in numerous high-level scientific discussions as to the prowess of our respective teams. For the purpose of grounding characters, we formulated a composite of the two towns and called it Piney Springs.


By this time, and after another few sips, we chose to turn our now Chinese woman into an assassin. This set off the first set of almost vicious discussions about who would do what. I wanted a dark, violence-ridden book. Dick wanted a semi-intellectual work of porn, so we had discussions on the subject with very little blood spilled. As it turned out, there are ample examples of brutality and steamy sex in the finished product.


Dick has an intense interest in fine wine and owns an extensive wine cellar. He wanted to interject the wine-growing region of France into the plot. In order to understand the region, he suggested that we visit Monte Carlo and take some notes. That was fine with me.


To create additional problems or opportunities, Dick had promised a female acquaintance that he would put her in the book. Her name was Maryanne. We made her French and placed her in the Rhone Valley of France.



Next: Building characters builds the plot.

Creating the Brown Recluse-a novel.

I wrote auto-biographical sketches for most of my life.  Like most wanna-be writers, who are busy with business careers and rearing families, I never devoted myself to the task of writing a long work of fiction, but the idea had always appealed to me.  To compound matters, I learned late in life that I have attention deficit disorder.  This personality trait prevented me from taking on a lengthy writing project because of the required focus and research needed to complete the task.  My ususal pattern would be to get bored and move on to something new.  This time, important new facors prompted me to take up the challenge of writing a novel and spend the two and one-half years needed to bring the project to fruition.

It all began with a new friend.  Dick Rothwell is a fellow member of a defunct college social organization, The Tejas Club, disbanded in 1960 to make way for a national fraternity.  For a variety of reasons, the membership of the Tejas Club remain faithful to one another and continue to meet even today.  Even though Dick and I were from different eras, we shared a love for fine wine, single-malt scotch, and the good times that go along with their consumption.  For reasons I cannot explain, Dick informed the president of Texas A&M University-Commerce, that we were going to write a book together.  This represented the first time I had heard about the venture or ever been pressured to do such a thing, and voila, the idea had strong appeal.  In fact, the thought of not writing a novel became the driving force I needed to complete the job.

During a visit to Houston to visit with Dick and Veronica, we began exchanging thoughts.  Dick had a friend who had an Asian wife.  That appealed to both of us, so the story started with a single character who had yet to be defined or given a personality.

The next post explains the origins of the characters and the plot.