The Writer's Life 8/5 - Bad News

There's a maniac on the loose in our section of Brooklyn. On June 6th a shop keeper was murdered at 7718 5th Av. in Bay Ridge. The creep used a .22 caliber handgun. This past week another at 1877 86th Street met the same fate. Neither victim was robbed. Police are wondering if the similarity in the building numbers is purely coincidental. Today I saw a young man, walking with a friend, who fit the description, sunglasses at the crown of his head. He was looking back and mimicking shooting at someone in the distance, his hand made into a gun. He seemed only stupid. Witnesses described the suspect as disturbed. Here's a sketch of him and a picture of his latest victim:

Bad News Billy visited the floating book shop today, sporting a welt on his arm. He recently was attacked by a co-worker at a minor, private construction job. The guy teased Billy about living with a 13-year-old girl, his grand-daughter, making untoward suggestions, and things got ugly. The guy whacked Billy in the head with a bat, breaking his glasses, then went after his car, breaking the windshield. Billy reported it to the police, who told him pursuing prosecution wasn't worth the hassle. He was told to try to first get the guy to pay for damages, and proceed from there if he wasn't satisfied. Despite this, Billy was nice enough to buy some VHS tapes and a copy of The South Beach Diet. I gave him a book for his rebellious grandkid, who has a big math test tomorrow in summer school - Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul. I hope it helps.

Lorraine also stopped by. She has been suspended seven days from her clerical job. She has been feuding with a new supervisor ever since he came onto the scene. She said she recently tried to read Close to the Edge, which she purchased a few years ago. She stopped at a critical juncture about halfway through, feeling the graphic scene didn't fit. I've sold 348 copies, and this was the first time anyone had said this. Most readers have found the scene riveting and disturbing. It's always interesting to see how people interpret your work. She was nice enough to buy Nicholas Sparks' The Choice.

My thanks also to the young man who rolled up on his bike and bought a couple of non-fiction books, including one by Emily Post. Every time I hear that name I think of the Three Stooges and Moe telling Curly to "mind your Emily Post," whereupon Curly, smiling, releases his pinky from the tea cup he's drinking from.

Visit Vic’s sites:
Vic’s Third Novel (Print or Kindle): http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic’s Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic’s Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic’s 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6 Vic’s
1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic’s Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3f