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Hello, Reader

Happy September! Not to send mundane talk about the weather, but it finally dropped into the 90s here in Southeast Central Texas, and I find myself making excuses to go outside. Birds are migrating across our county by the literal millions, and I've found several Baltimore orioles at our hummingbird feeders. I'm having fun dropping things like bird mentions into this historical crime novel series I'm working on. Still no word from the literary agent who requested the first book in the series, so I'll start making a list of other potential good fits.

New to View

I am working today on Chapter 4 of the second book in that series. It starts in September 1901 and will wrap up a couple of years later. Since these stories revolve around a defense lawyer, the schedule of courts comes into play. I thought I'd share a snippet from Chapter 1. Spoiler alert: one of these guys won't fare well later in the book.

Johnson Montgomery and Andy Green worked together as linemen for the Galveston, Houston & Henderson Rail Road. The line could well have shortened its name to the Galveston & Houston since that was as far as the tracks ever ran. Any grand plans to extend into Deep East Texas blew away like just so much smoke, gone before Green or Montgomery were ever born. Such notions fell victim to the vagaries of rich men’s finances and did not bear much thought.

In present day reality, the GH&H ran precisely 50 miles and contained only two curves, one on each side of the town of Harrisburg. It had earned the nickname of the Old Reliable Short Line, and Montgomery and Green carried a good measure of pride in being two of the men who kept the trackage in tip-top order. Their sweat, six long days a week, smoothed the way for passengers and freight and allowed Galveston and Houston to read each other’s newspapers fresh every morning. It was not a long railroad, but it was a good one.

The two men traveled between the Houston terminus and the stop at Genoa mostly, though some day’s work took them as far as Webster. Another group of linemen worked the southern end of the route. It was not an enviable assignment since their bay trestle had been destroyed by the great storm a year prior.

What I'm Working On

This is a fun one. It took a while to get here, but we will be doing the last day of shooting for the documentary Stand Up Story in Houston during the final week of this month. I've been working on this film since 2011. It's been slow going since the funding is primarily on my own dime, and I don't have many dimes.

I've got three slots filled, and 2 or 3 pending. The questions will target areas where I think the story needs emphasis. I do believe that this will be a very fun movie when it is complete. I'll share news as it works through the post-production process.

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MIKE VANCE - Home

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