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Announcing the Sequel to “Gerald Barkley Rocks”

The Two Towers.

The Godfather: Part II.

The Dark Knight.

Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles.

These are some of the greatest sequels of all time. What makes them so great? They take risks. They build on their original premises in inventive and radical ways. They evolve established characters into new, more mature people. What they rarely do, however, is switch genre.

But I’m not even talking about story genre. Today, I’m talking about musical genre.

The first book I ever published is called Gerald Barkley RocksAs the title implies, it’s a novel about rock music. Sex, drugs, guitars, cats—you get the idea. I collected all my observations about rock & roll, both the good and the bad, and synthesized them into this book.

So when I sat down to write the sequel, I didn’t have much material to draw from. I’d said all I wanted to say about rock music. Then, I made a breakthrough. I needed a new genre. So I came up with…

Gerald Barkley Raps Cover

Cover originally designed by Nathan Rumsey, redesigned here by the author

Though written and set in 2018, Gerald Barkley Rocks is very much about the past. Gerald Barkley Raps is about the present (aside from all the coronavirus stuff). For those interested, here’s a brief synopsis:

After attending a rousing Kanye West concert in Orlando, Florida, retired L.A. homicide detective Gerald Barkley has an epiphany: He should become a rapper. Sure, he might be 70 years old, musically talentless, and roughly as charismatic as a bag of flour. None of that will stop Barkley from battling the haters on his journey to the top.

Thus begins an epic quest of self-discovery, autotuned choruses, and fresh beats. Old favorites from the previous book return, including bestselling author Carmen Fowler (now Barkley’s publicist), Detective Steven Nicks (now Barkley’s wardrobe stylist), and Barkley’s daughter Janine (a skeptic to her father’s transformation and therefore the sole voice of reason). A certain black cat even returns to help Barkley devise rhymes to tough words like “waterlogged.”

One part fantasy adventure, one part surrealistic romp, and one part cautionary tale, Gerald Barkley Raps might just change your perceptions of what’s possible—or even advisable. Rock might be dead, but rap is living it up.

Gerald Barkley Raps goes on sale soon in hardcover and audiobook. The latter version contains original recordings and performances of all songs, all made by the author. Hope you don’t mind songs produced on Windows Media Player!


Kyle A. Massa is a speculative fiction author living somewhere in upstate New York with his wife and their two cats. He has written two books and numerous short stories, both published and yet-to-be published. He enjoys unusual narrative structures, multiple POVs, and stories about cats.

My Pitch for an “X-Files” Episode

Author’s Note: A video version of this post is also available here.


There was a time when random people could write X-Files episodes. There was also a time when The X-Files was still on the air. Neither of those times are now.

Okay, I’m kidding with the first claim. You at least had to write a spec script good enough to grab the attention of the people making the show. You then had to pitch it to them, endure some rewrites, and then maybe, just maybe, your script would appear on Fox on Friday evenings.

Anywho, I won’t write a spec script, even though The X-Files is my favorite show of all time. I abandoned screenwriting once I completed my college studies in it six years ago (plus, I’ve since lost the requisite software). Instead, I’ll pitch my X-Files story to you, kind reader, just for funzies.

I claim no ownership over Mulder, Scully, or the show itself. They’re the intellectual property of Chris Carter (the show’s creator), the Fox network, and whomever else. Consider this some harmless fan fiction.

An Overview of The X-Files

For those who’ve seen the show, feel free to skip ahead. For those who haven’t, The X-Files is a TV show that premiered on Fox on September 10, 1993. It’s a show about two FBI agents: Fox Mulder (played by real-life sex addict David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (played by secret British person Gillian Anderson). Each week, Mulder and Scully investigate cases with strong elements of the paranormal, ranging from alien abductions to flukeworm-human hybrids to murderous swarms of cats (I’m not making that last one up). Mulder believes in the paranormal ever since witnessing his sister’s abduction by aliens. Scully is a scientist, and she therefore applies logic and reason to their investigations. This conflict forms the foundation of most episodes.

Also, Mulder loves sunflower seeds. That’ll come up in this episode.

And Now, My Pitch

The name of my episode is “Bag of Peanuts.” The story goes like this…

Cold Open

Five guys (late 20s, early 30s) teeter down a deserted stretch of beach at night. A few carry beer bottles, one has a cooler, and one tosses a football to another. The subtitle tells us we’re in Secluded Glen, Massachusetts (though their accents should tell us that, too).

“I can’t believe he did this to us, Mahk,” says one guy. He’s wearing a number 12 New England Patriots jersey. “Twenty years in Fahxborough and now he’s leavin’ us for Flahrida. It’s a freakin’ disastah.”

Mark receives the pass, tosses it back to the guy in the jersey. “I know, bro, I know. It’s sad. There’s no more loyalty in sports, you know? Players just hop around from city to city. It’s like they’re—I dunno. Like they’re tourists.” Mark sniffs. “You guys smell that?”

“Yeah. You faht or somethin’?”

They share a chuckle. Mark goes deep for a pass, then trips over something on the shore. Something gooey.

“Think I found what smells,” he says.

There’s a huge mass of…something…washed up on the beach. Hard to guess, but it appears to be globs of random organic, aquatic mass that’s been squished together. Bits of an octopus here, part of a jellyfish there. One of our guys eloquently describes it as, “A whole hunka crap.”

Mark and the others lean closer to it. Too close.

Suddenly, a tentacle reaches out of the mass and snags Mark around the neck. There’s a momentary struggle, then the entire mass rolls back into the ocean and vanishes, like it was never there.

That leaves four guys on shore. “Mahk!” shouts the guy in the Pats jersey. “Mahk? Where are ya, Mahk!?”

Cut to…

Credits

(Even if you haven’t seen the show, you probably know the intro music.) Now for the episode.

Act One, Scene One

Special Agent Fox Mulder sits on a crowded beach wearing sunglasses, a waterproof pouch, and, for some reason, a red speedo. Unlike the other beachgoers, he’s not reading a book or going for a swim. He’s simply peering out at the horizon. Every once in a while, he pops a cashew into his mouth, then grimaces. A siren whines on the main road behind the beach.

Mulder’s phone rings. He wipes sand from the screen, then answers. “I’m already sunburned, Scully.”

“Well hello to you, too.” Special Agent Dana Scully is on the other end, calling from the FBI office. “Sounds like you’re having a fun vacation.”

Mulder sighs. “Hello Scully. About as much fun as one can have at a public beach.” A dog bounds out of the water with a frisbee in its mouth, then shakes itself dry—right next to Mulder. “I can barely contain my excitement.”

“Maybe you just need a few days to unwind.” Scully tries. “To get your mind off work.”

“My mind’s always on work.” A volleyball lands mere inches from Mulder’s beach chair, making him jump. “For instance, if I stood up and sang David Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity’ loud enough, do you think aliens might come and take me away from all this?”

“Only one way to find out.”

Mulder grumbles. “They don’t even have sunflower seeds.”

“Who doesn’t? The aliens?”

“Secluded Glen. This town. The convenience store clerk said the tourists must’ve bought them all. So instead I got…” He gives the package an icy glare. “Cashews.”

“It could be worse, Mulder. You could be down here doing expense reports with me.”

Another siren whines on the road. “You know, Scully, my family used to come to this town every summer when I was a kid. Only took a couple hours to drive here from Martha’s Vineyard. Back then the beaches were empty and the roads were clear. The sunflower seeds were plentiful. My sister and I would bury each other in the sand. One time we even nursed a horseshoe crab back to health.”

“You what?”

“But now Secluded Glen’s been taken over by…” He glowers at the people around him.

“Tourists?” Scully finishes.

“Exactly.”

“Mulder.”

“Yeah?”

You’re a tourist.”

“I am not a tourist. I’m a…” More sirens wail. Mulder turns, watches a cop car zip down the road. He sees siren lights flashing down the beach. “Can I call you back, Scully? I think I might’ve found a way to unwind.”

“Sure. Go get yourself some sunscreen.”

They hang up. Still gazing at the lights, Mulder reaches for his bag. He feels around on the sand, finds nothing. He looks down. No bag.

Mulder peers up at the sky and sings softly. “Ground control to Major Tom…”

Scene Two

Mulder trudges up the beach wearing his sunglasses, the waterproof pouch, some water shoes, and of course, the speedo. He’s also clutching his cashews.

An older woman wearing aviator shades and a sheriff’s badge frowns at him. “The nude beach is a couple towns over,” she says.

Mulder reaches into the waterproof pouch and shows her his ID. “Special Agent Fox Mulder. FBI.”

“Jean Sitwell, County Sheriff. Is it Dress Down Day at the Bureau today, Agent Mulder?”

“I’m on vacation,” Mulder counters. “And someone took my beach bag. Anyway, I thought I might lend a hand over here. Seems like you’re busy.”

Sitwell flips open a notepad. “Missing persons case. Mark Starr, age 30, Caucasian, brown eyes, brown hair, last seen with four friends on this beach. They were celebrating a bachelor party, and Mark was the best man. They get drunk, walk down to the beach, something pulls Mark in, his friends call us.”

“Wait.” We can see the excitement on Mulder’s face. “Something pulled him in?”

“Let me remind you, Agent Mulder, that this was a bachelor party. All four witnesses were—and probably still are—very drunk.”

“What exactly did they see?”

Sitwell sighs, then reads off her notepad. “They think they saw a large mass of dead fish…or octopuses, or jellyfish, or maybe all three. They said it smelled terrible and looked like a dead carcass.”

“A globster,” says Mulder.

“A what?”

“A globster. It’s the commonly accepted term for an abnormal phenomenon describing mysterious, unidentifiable carcasses that wash ashore from the ocean. The St. Augustine Monster, the Stronsay Beast, the Montauk Monster, the Chilean Blob. Scientists often dismiss them as misidentified corpses of basking sharks or manatees or other known marine life.”

“And your point is?”

“My point is, this is the first globster in history that’s attacked someone. You’d better close the beach, sheriff.”

Sitwell snorts a humorless laugh. “And what? Put out an APB for a lobster?”

“Globster.”

“All due respect Agent Mulder, but you’re sounding like a crazy person right now. Those boys were drunker than skunks last night. It’s a sad thing, but Mark probably fell in and the other four couldn’t save him. Now you wanna inspect the scene, that’s just fine. You wanna talk to them, go right ahead. The groom’s name is Norm Sherman—I’ll even give you his number. But close the beach and go hunting for a clump of seaweed? No sir. We’re not doing that.”

Mulder sighs. He peers down at the package in his hand. He offers it to Sheriff Sitwell. “Cashew?”

Scene Three

Scully clicks away at her computer, looking dreadfully bored. Her phone rings and she answers it. “That was fast.”

“I’ve got a piece of globster for you.” We switch back to Mulder and see him peering into his waterproof pouch. There’s a gooey, jelly-like substance inside, with bits of dead stuff floating in it.

“You got me a lobster?”

“Globster. Possibly a homicidal globster. I could use your help if you’re up for it.”

“Does this mean your vacation’s over?”

“Actually, this is turning into the best vacation I’ve ever had.”

Scully smiles. “I’ll be on the next flight to Boston.” She hangs up.

Scene Four

Mulder gets into his car and drives away. The cops have already gone. And yet we remain on the beach. The camera inspects the beachgoers: people playing volleyball, little kids building sandcastles, people tanning. We drift out to the water.

A woman floats on her back, whistling, having a grand old time. Then she jerks upright. “What was…?”

She looks down and sees a massive shape float beneath her. She screams and swims madly toward land.

This inspires other nearby swimmers to do the same. One of them, a young kid, sees the shape and draws his own conclusion.

“Shahk! Shahk!”

Now there’s complete chaos on the beach. People running and shrieking everywhere. Meanwhile, nobody seems to notice a big conglomerate mass of decomposing tissue wash up on the shore. No one except a dude wearing swim trunks, a “Secluded Glen, est. 1901” shirt , and a visor.

“It’s dead!” he shouts. “Yo, people! Calm down, alright? Whatever it is, it’s dead!” He notices something on the side of the mass and gasps.

It looks like a stretched out human face, oozing and juicy but still identifiable. Viewers will recognize it as Mark’s face. (Gross!)

The dude recoils, but too late. Tentacles reach out from within the glob and pull him in. Then the entire mass rolls back into the waves.

The dude’s visor sinks into the sand.

(Here’s where the commercials come in. Ads for Charmin or something.)

Act Two, Scene One

Mulder (now wearing a pastel Hawaiian shirt, khakis, and flip flops) meets Norm Sherman a hotel bar.

“You don’t look like an FBI agent,” Norm remarks.

“If I’d known I’d be working a case on my vacation, I would’ve brought a tie.”

“Oh. So you’re a tourist.”

“I’m not, I…” Mulder sighs. He turns his attention to the bartender. “Miss, do you have any sunflower seeds?”

“Nope. Almonds, though. Want those?”

Mulder eats a couple throughout the scene. He looks pained while doing it.

Norm recounts the encounter to Mulder, noting that the creature didn’t seem to care about any of the five guys except Mark.

“What do you think it wanted with him?” Mulder asks. “What made him different from everyone else?”

Norm throws out a few possibilities: Mark was the only one in grad school, the only one who spoke another language, the only one who’d been to Canada. Finally, with a great deal of uncertainty, he concludes, “Mahk was the only one who didn’t grow up in the Glen, I guess. The rest are from around heah.”

Mulder thanks Norm for his time, pays his tab, and departs. He does not take any almonds.

Scene Two

On his way back to his car, Mulder checks his phone, sees a missed call from a Massachusetts area code. He calls back, gets Sheriff Sitwell.

“Agent Mulder, I’ve been trying to reach you. You’d best get your ass back to the beach. There’s been another one.”

Scene Three

Meanwhile, Scully’s plane touches down in Boston. She gets a rental car, drives. Eventually, she passes a sign for Secluded Glen.

She arrives at the local lab, flashes her ID, enters. Now to inspect the substance Mulder collected at the scene.

Scully sets the specimen on a slab and starts a recording. Then she turns to grab some instruments. “Current time is 1:05 pm, eastern standard. Beginning initial examination of apparently dead tissue, what Agent Mulder has dubbed a…”

She turns back to the exam table. It’s empty.

“…Globster.”

Scully inspects the room. The specimen is inching across the floor, sort of like a worm. She goes to pick it up and it bites her finger. She then traps it beneath a container.

“Still better than expense reports,” she says to the glob.

Scene Four

Mulder arrives back at the now-vacant beach. Sheriff Sitwell awaits with some forensic investigators.

“Looks like a shark attack,” Sitwell announces. “Some kid screamed about it, some woman saw it come near the shore. Big one, must be, but ’tis the season.”

Mulder points out that a shark couldn’t have gotten this far ashore, especially during low tide, unless it beached itself.

Sitwell doesn’t look pleased. She hands Mulder the visor. “Still collecting evidence, but we’re pretty sure it belonged to the vic.”

Mulder stares at the hat. It reads “Secluded Glen” across the top. “Only one type of person would wear this thing. This man was a tourist.”

Sitwell gives him a look. “Probably. Most people in town right now are. They come in from wherever, take over the beach, then leave when it gets cold.”

“Hmm…” Mulder gets a call. He picks up and…

Mulder, it’s me. You know that dead tissue sample you collected? It wasn’t quite dead after all.” She describes how it inched away, then bit her.

“Sounds like homicidal Flubber,” Mulder remarks.

Ignoring that quip, Scully continues. “They don’t have the most sophisticated equipment here, but I got enough to run some DNA tests. This sample contains traces of squid, turtle, crab, jellyfish, several types of fish, and…you’re gonna love this part.”

“If you say ‘alien’ I might faint.”

Human, Mulder. This thing has human DNA.”

Here Mulder pauses. “Well, if it ate Mark Starr then that must be his DNA.”

“One step ahead of you. I cross checked the DNA with Starr’s and got a negative. Then I checked it with the FBI database, and this time I got a hit. One Ronald Preston Botley. He’s some sort of crack genius biologist who’s done contract work with the government on and off for the last decade. He owns a private biological startup called BioArt, headquartered right here in Secluded Glen.”

Mulder nods. “How soon can you meet me at BioArt HQ?”

Act Three, Scene One

Mulder and Scully arrive at Ronald P. Botley’s company headquarters. When Scully sees what Mulder’s wearing, she can’t suppress a laugh.

“What? Pastels are in right now.”

As they walk, Mulder asks, “Do you have any sunflower seeds? I’ve been craving them all week and I still can’t find any.”

Scully checks her pockets, finds a package of peanuts. “It’s all I’ve got.”

Mulder eats some, still not looking too happy.

BioArt’s offices are somewhere between startup and hippie commune. Long-haired twenty-somethings (mostly men, mostly white) ride by on skateboards. Several kinds of beer are on tap (Mulder jokes about having one, and Scully agrees she might need one after this case). Classical music plays over hidden speakers. There’s a library, a garden, and a chef waiting to take salad orders. Also, no cubicles—totally open floor plan.

They’re greeted by Botley himself, founder and CEO of BioArt. Picture Mark Zuckerberg cosplaying as a young Jerry Garcia.

Botley shows them around the space, even points out a few biological breakthroughs they’ve made, such as a species of fish bioengineered to breath out of water.

Mulder hits Botley with some questions:

  • “How secure are the subjects in this facility?”
  • “Where were you born?”
  • “Want a peanut?”

To which Botley answers:

  • “Very. We’ve got state-of-the-art miniature environments, each with its own security team. Nothing can escape.”
  • “Right here in Secluded Glen. Why do you ask?”
  • “No thank you, Agent Mulder. I’m extremely allergic to peanuts.”

Mulder shrugs. “Being a local, you must not like the tourists, huh?”

“Oh certainly. Tourists, no matter where they’re from, they’re all the same. They swarm the beaches, they take over the shops, they fill up the ferries. Do you realize how much longer my morning commute takes in the summer because of them? If they could all just leave and never come back, well…I’d be a happy camper.”

“How frustrating,” Scully says flatly. “Last question. Can you explain how your DNA appeared at the scene of a murder last night?”

Botley appears baffled, asks for the exact date and time. Botley immediately asserts that he was in the building working late. He cites a few employees who can verify it, plus some custodial workers. He even suggests checking the security footage of the building for additional verification.

“Thanks for your time,” says Scully.

Scene Two

As Mulder and Scully exit BioArt, Mulder proposes his patented whacko theory.

“Just bear with me for a second here, Scully. What if this facility is the globster’s birthplace? And what if Ronald Botley is its father? They said themselves they tinker with genetics on all sorts of marine life. What if they created a conglomerate species?”

Scully, as always, acts as the voice of reason. “We still can’t be sure this is anything but a shark, Mulder. The witnesses at the first attack were all traumatized and scared and inebriated—not necessarily in that order—and at least one witness at the second attack reported seeing a shark.”

“Then how do you explain the glob that attacked you? How do you explain Flubber?”

Scully doesn’t have an answer for that one, so Mulder continues.

“I think Ronald Botley imbued this creature with his DNA, maybe as some sort of experiment. And not only did it get that—the creature also inherited his disdain for tourists.”

“Mulder. Are you seriously proposing that our prime suspect is a rolling ball of goo that washes up on random beaches just to eat…tourists?”

“Think about it, Scully. It attacked Mark Starr, the only non-local among a group of four other perfectly viable targets. And then it devoured another tourist when it could’ve attacked anyone else on that beach. It even went after you in the lab, probably because you’re not from around here.”

“Let’s say you’re right, Mulder. Let’s say this thing is only going after tourists. How do we catch it? It’s July in a beach town. Thousands of tourists are rolling in here every day for the rest of the summer.”

“Like any good fisherman, Scully. With bait.”

Act Four, Scene One

With night descending, Mulder and Scully head for the beach. Mulder theorizes that so long as a non-local is in or near the water, they have a fair shot of being attacked.

“But you’re immune,” Scully reasons. “You’re from Martha’s Vineyard.”

“Hey. Martha’s Vineyard is not Secluded Glen. Totally different.” He removes his flip flops and steps into the water. Scully does the same.

“Scully, I’m not gonna ask you to risk your life for this case.”

“You don’t have to.”

So they stand there in the water up to their knees, waiting. To pass the time, Mulder asks, “Did you go on vacations as a kid?”

“A handful,” Scully says. “But my father’s military career made everything feel like a vacation. We’d stay in places months at a time, sometimes a couple years. Inevitably, though, he’d get the call and we’d be off to elsewhere.”

“Sounds difficult.”

“Actually, it was kind of fun.” Scully peers out at the sunset beyond. “We still had our family. Still had each other. Visiting new places every few months wasn’t so bad. Not when I liked who I was traveling with.”

“And now you’re stuck with me.”

“Mulder,” she says, “you’re my favorite tourist.”

“I’m not…” Mulder gazes at the horizon. “Likewise.”

Something splashes in the water. Both agents draw their guns and…

It’s just a seal. Maybe the bait idea isn’t right. Just then, Mulder gets a call from Sheriff Sitwell. She just got a call from someone who claims a giant carcass washed up on the beach.

“Don’t let anyone near it,” says Mulder. “We’re on our way.”

Scene Two

The agents arrive at the new location. They find Sheriff Sitwell, local law enforcement, and a bunch of people they don’t know. They’re all gathered around a bulky carcass. Everyone’s covering their noses.

“Stay back,” Scully warns. “Federal agents. Everybody keep your distance.”

“Look,” somebody says, “it’s got faces on it.”

Indeed, we see the tourist dude’s face plastered on the side, along with Mark’s deteriorating face elsewhere.

“By show of hands,” Mulder says, facing the crowd. “Who here lives in Secluded Glen?”

All but one person raises their hands. Mulder points at the odd one out. “You. Go home. In fact, I need everybody off this beach, pronto.”

One tourist steps forward. “Sheriff, why do we have to listen to this guy? He’s wearing socks with sandals, for God’s sake.”

“I can explain that,” Mulder says, but the Sheriff steps in first.

“Everybody stand back,” Sitwell commands. “Go on. The beach is closed. Get moving.” She escorts the people off the beach.

When they’re all gone, Mulder turns back to the globster. “Now how do we arrest this thing?”

“We need a cleanup crew out here,” Scully says. “Maybe the New England Region EPA office can get someone.” She calls. And the Globster stirs.

“I don’t think it wants that, Scully.”

The faces on the Globster stretch and twist. The entity seems to grow. A tentacle wiggles out from beneath the slime, then another.

“Run!” Mulder roars.

Together, he and Scully take off at a sprint. And not a moment too soon, because the globster starts rolling. Fast.

“We need to keep it away from the water!” Mulder calls. “We can’t lose it again!”

They veer left, now going the opposite direction of the water. However, that now points them toward the parking lot, and beyond that, the town.

“But we can’t lead it toward more people!” Scully calls back. She hooks another left, and now they’re running parallel to the water again. “How do we stop it?”

“I don’t know!” Mulder tries shooting it a couple times, but shooting while running is tough work. Even when he does finally hit, the glob keeps rolling, kicking up sand in its wake.

A pair of figures appear in the dark ahead of them: two teenagers making out on the beach. Scully screams at them to get the hell out of there, but they just stare dumbly. She and Mulder make a wide circle around them, and fortunately, the globster rolls right past.

“Was that a bouldah?” the girl asks.

“Mustah been,” the guy agrees.

The agents run on, the globster still following. It’s now leaving bits of itself along the beach as it goes, tips of tentacles, fish scales, jelly goo. They come to an outcropping of rocks and dash past a sign that reads Please do not climb the rocks. They climb the rocks.

“Mulder,” Scully pants, “if this thing has Botley’s DNA…”

“Yeah.”

“…And it hates tourists as much as he does…”

“Right.”

“…Then maybe it shares other traits with him as well.”

“Like what?” The agents haul themselves atop the rocks, and not a moment too soon: one of the globster’s tentacles reaches for them and nearly grabs hold. They sprint down the other side, the glob still pursuing them.

“Immunodeficiencies. Mulder, Botley’s allergic to peanuts.”

Mulder checks his pockets as they run. “I threw them out. Couldn’t stand the texture!”

Scully scans the beach, then points. “There!” We discern a faint outline in the darkening distance: a box-shaped little building with a sign reading “The Snack Shack.” The agents run to it.

Scully gets there first, tries the handle. Locked. “Keep it busy!” She slams her shoulder against the door, trying desperately to break it down.

As the globster draws near, Mulder waves his arms. “Hey! Where’s the nearest gas station? You have any dinner recommendations? I’m here with my wife and our seven kids—what’s a good family-friendly excursion?”

The globster takes the bait. It now comes at Mulder, and he runs. “I’m cramping up, Scully. Hurry!”

Scully finally busts down the door of the Snack Shack. She flips on a flashlight, rummages through endless supplies of junk food. Twizzlers, Doritos, Lays Chips, Skittles, Milky Ways…

“Where the hell are the damn peanuts!?”

She trips over something bulky, curses. Then she gets the light on it.

A bag of peanuts. Industrial sized.

Outside, Mulder’s now running in circles, trying to keep the creature in the same vicinity as the Snack Shack. He’s slowing, though, and we see the creature gaining on him. Finally, it whips a tentacle out and trips him. Mulder tries to crawl away, but the tentacle snares him around the ankle and drags him across the sand.

“Scully! Scully!”

She emerges from the shack lugging a massive bag of peanuts. As the globster draws Mulder closer, Scully sprints forward and dumps the peanuts all over it.

The globster freezes. We watch as the peanuts sink into its gooey flesh. The tentacle goes limp, and for a moment, there’s silence—or would be, if not for the lapping of the waves and the heavy breathing of the agents.

“Is it—?”

The globster explodes.

Bits of dead marine matter rain down from above. When the sand settles, we find Scully and Mulder standing there, covered in fish guts. Mulder wipes some from his face.

“I’ll have the seafood stew,” he says.

Dissolve cut to…

Scene Three

It’s sunrise, and a cleanup crew has arrived—though not from the EPA. Their hazmat suits have BioArt logos on them. Sure enough, Ronald P. Botley is among them, too. He stands in the parking lot on the edge of the beach, leaning on his sports car, watching from afar.

Scully and Mulder approach him. They’re both still covered in fish guts.

“You can’t hide the truth,” Mulder says to Botley. “This was a test, wasn’t it? Is this some new biological weapon, or did you just want to see what would happen when you crammed too many organisms together?”

Botley pats Mulder on the shoulder, which makes a squelching sound. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Agent Mulder.”

“Two men are dead because of you.”

Botley shrugs. “I heard it was a lone shark.”

“There were witnesses,” says Scully. “Many of them, here and at the other attacks. You can’t suppress their stories.”

Botley steps into his car, starts the engine. “They’re tourists. Who cares what they have to say, anyway?”

He drives away, leaving Mulder and Scully alone in the parking lot.

Scene Four

We watch a car zoom down the road. The agents. Scully drives, and Mulder rides in the passenger seat.

“Mulder,” says Scully, “I know this vacation didn’t work out quite as you wanted. So I got you something.”

“You shouldn’t have.” Mulder opens the gift. Inside, he finds a package of sunflower seeds.

Scully smiles at him. “They just restocked.”

Mulder thanks her, then tears open the bag and offers her some. Scully declines, so Mulder cracks a seed and eats it.

“Scully?”

“Yeah Mulder?”

“Can we come back again next year?”

They pass a sign reading Fresh Lobster! And they keep on driving.


Kyle A. Massa is a speculative fiction author living somewhere in upstate New York with his wife and their two cats. He has written two books and numerous short stories, both published and yet-to-be published. He enjoys unusual narrative structures, multiple POVs, and stories about cats.

Lessons From Cats

Let’s talk about cats.

Cats are great. I didn’t fully understand this fact until my wife and I got cats of our own (pictured above), but it’s true. They’re fun, sometimes strange little animals, but we can learn a lot from them.

Let’s discuss the greatness and majesty of our feline friends, and how we might better emulate them.

Cats Are Forgiving

Our cats love to play, though I’ll admit, animal playing is more like wrestling, or sometimes fisticuffs. They beat each other up, they take naps, and when they wake up, they’re friends again. Until the next fight.

Takeaway: If you’ve got a problem with someone, let them know, and then get over it. No cat-style wrestling necessary. The nap is optional, but comes highly recommended.

Cats Are Friendly (Sometimes)

I used to think cats didn’t like people, but that’s not really true. Sure, some cats are like that. But most of the time they’re selective; they have people that they establish a rapport with over time, and then you’re buddies for life. You also get bonus points toward cat friendship if you happen to be the one supplying them with food every morning.

Takeaway: We don’t need to be selective, necessarily, but we should surround ourselves with people that make us happy. And if those people give us food, that’s cool, too.

Cats Find Joy in the Little Things

Soley, our orange cat, has a favorite toy. It’s a stick with a fuzzy bee on the end of it. That’s it. She doesn’t have a laptop computer and she doesn’t really care for cars. Aside from that app designed for cats, she doesn’t give a fig about my phone.

I’m not trying to be all “discard your earthly possessions, man.” I’m just saying we humans can take note. Sometimes it feels like we need big flashy things to be happy, but we really don’t. There are simple things in life, and we should cherish them, too.

Takeaway: Find your stick with a fuzzy bee on the end of it, and enjoy.

Cats Are Funny

Luna, our grey and black cat, likes to climb on my shoulders and purr in my ear. Soley enjoys walking up to us, meowing once, and then walking away. I’m not sure if they mean to be funny, but they are.

For humans, the lesson is clear: Let’s not forget the importance of laughter! There’s no better link between people (and animals) than a good loud laugh.

Takeaway: Laughter is universal, no matter what language you speak.

Cats Have Their Own International Holiday

Yes, there is such a thing as International Cat Day. Clearly, this day was established not by humans, but by cats themselves. There’s no International Human Day, which makes me think felines are a step ahead.

Takeaway: If you want to be more like a cat, establish your own international holiday. It can’t be that hard, right?


Kyle A. Massa is a speculative fiction author living somewhere in upstate New York with his wife and their two cats. He has written two books and numerous short stories, both published and yet-to-be published. He enjoys unusual narrative structures, multiple POVs, and stories about cats.

Hot Sauce and the Importance of Humor

Hot Sauce

When I was in college, I made a movie for an introductory film course. It was not very good.

It was called 61 Days, and it was about a guy with a terminal illness. He’s been given the cliche timeline: just two months, sixty-one days, and then whappo. He croaks. So he decides to go on a cross-country adventure with his brother.

I must say, I packed an impressive amount of emo voiceover and sappy closeups into those five minutes. The best is the final shot: a slow-motion closeup on the main character’s Hallmark grin, one that seems to say, “It’s all gonna be alright.”

The final cut of 61 Days was screened in a theater in downtown Ithaca, New York, along with about forty others. Most were quite impressive. Most of us showed a lot of promise as filmmakers. But here’s what really struck me about those films: in terms of subject matter, the vast majority of them were like mine. They were depressing, melodramatic, insistently gloomy. Everyone’s movie depicted a bad breakup, substance abuse, mental illness, or, like my film, someone dying. If I had to sum up the afternoon in a single sentence, it would be this: “Look at me, I’m sad.”

Of the forty or so films screened that day, only one sticks in my mind as more than a generality. It was about a guy who travels back in time to feudal Japan in order to steal an ancient hot sauce recipe. The movie featured samurai sword fights, goofy one-liners, and intentionally-poor lip dubs.

Everyone laughed. Everyone thought it was hilarious. But secretly, I’m pretty sure everyone was thinking the same thing: Amusing, but certainly not an A+ film. The unspoken understanding, of course, was that humor is not art. It’s just funny.

But is it? When I watched that samurai movie, I felt a little lighter. I felt happy, at ease, even inspired. But when I watched my film and all those others, I quite frankly don’t even remember how I felt.

The samurai film made me realize something: we all take ourselves too seriously. I took myself too seriously when I made a film that was identical to forty others. I said to myself, “I’m a serious filmmaker, so I’m going to make a serious film.” And sure, I did that. But I also made a film that was pretty forgettable.

Out of everyone in that class, the guy who made the hot sauce film was the only one of us willing to set aside his own ego. And, for that reason, he made a film that was far more memorable than the others.

Does that mean that comedy is superior to drama? No, not necessarily. In truth, in the artistic world, the reverse is far more often true. Adam McKay directed Anchorman, but no one seemed to recognize him as a true artist until he directed The Big Short (and now this year’s Dick Cheney biopic, Vice). To paraphrase Ron Burgundy, that’s kind of a big deal.

Yet we can’t discount the value of humor. If everyone could stop taking themselves so seriously, if everyone learned to just laugh at disagreements rather than fight over them, I think we’d all have a much better time. We all deserve to laugh. And, at times, we all deserve to be laughed at. Good humor is just as valuable as good drama.

I never met the guy who made the samurai hot sauce film, but I wish I had. I imagine he’s a pretty cool dude. If I had asked him why he made his film, I imagine his response wouldn’t have started with, “My inspiration was born of my desire to explore the true nature of what it means to be a condiment…”

Instead, I think he would’ve said something like, “I made it because I wanted to make people laugh.” And that’s all the reason I would need.


Kyle A. Massa is a speculative fiction author living somewhere in upstate New York with his wife and their two cats. His stories have appeared in numerous online magazines, including Allegory, Chantwood, and Dark Fire Fiction. His debut novel, Gerald Barkley Rocksis available now on Amazon Kindle.

Podcasts I’ll Never Make

Podcast

I’ve had several ideas for podcasts I’ll never make.

For example, a show called Questions. As the title suggests, it would just be people asking each other questions. But you wouldn’t be able to make statements or exclamations or really anything without a question mark at the end. Some sample questions for Questions:

  • What is this show about?
  • Why did we make this show?
  • Is anyone listening?

Or what about a Magic: The Gathering podcast? These are plentiful. Most involve nerds discussing ways in which to improve at the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering. So, to differentiate mine from others, it would instead be a show about getting worse at Magic. I’d call it The Magic: The Crappening Podcast. For players who’ve done enough winning and now want to try losing for a change.

Another idea: The Cat Podcast. Cat news, cat fashion, hot new cat toys, that kind of stuff. My cats would be my co-hosts. I would cover the topics and they would periodically purr, meow, or maybe hiss if they happen to be fighting.

But what’s the point of doing a podcast if you’re not making money from it? The trick is duping advertisers into sponsoring your show. This would be a challenge since, as I’m sure you’ve already gathered, all my show ideas are terrible. Therefore, a few ploys come to mind.

First off, I might fib about the show’s subject. “Is this really a show about cats?” they’d ask. And I’d answer, “Well, ‘cat’ is actually an acronym for ‘Cabbage and Tomatoes.'” At which point I’d collect a sizeable novelty sponsorship check from Farmers of America. (They had a five-minute Super Bowl ad a while back, so they must have deep pockets.)

Then again, when the farmers listen to the show and hear nothing about cabbage or tomatoes, the jig would be up. I guess I’d be better off attracting sponsors honestly. I could see Meow Mix or the abominable 2019 film Cats sponsoring The Cat Podcast, for instance.

There’s also the matter of theme music. Full disclosure: I play music in a band, so I suppose I could ask my bandmates to do a song with me. However, another full disclosure: I am not a particularly skilled musician. The rest of the members of the band are, but I pretty much just play three-finger chords and occasionally sing like a karaoke drunkard.

That leaves us with two options: stock music or a hired rando. Stock music is boring and my parents always warned me about the danger of strangers, so we’re back to the drawing board.

Finally, for all you know, my voice could sound like Fozzie Bear’s. Not exactly podcast friendly.

So I think it’s safe to say I won’t be starting a podcast anytime soon. And since I won’t be using these podcast ideas, feel free to use them yourself.

Except the cat one. That one might actually work.


Kyle A. Massa is a speculative fiction author living somewhere in upstate New York with his wife and their two cats. He has written two books and numerous short stories, both published and yet-to-be published. He enjoys unusual narrative structures, multiple POVs, and stories about coffee.

Architect or Gardener: Which Kind of Writer Are You?

Writer

As a writer, I’m fascinated by other writers’ writing habits. There are infinite ways to construct a story, so it’s interesting to hear how others choose to do it.

George R.R. Martin, author of A Game of Thrones and its sequels, devised an excellent metaphor for writers and their processes. He divides them up into two loose categories: architects and gardeners.

What exactly does that mean? Let’s dig in.

Architects

Here’s how Martin defines them:

“The architect, as if designing a building, lays out the entire novel at a time. He knows how many rooms there will be or what a roof will be made of or how high it will be, or where the plumbing will run and where the electrical outlets will be in its room. All that before he drives the first nail. Everything is there in the blueprint.”

In other words, architects plan everything before writing it. They might work from a detailed outline or multi-page treatment. Architects often devise character bios or event timelines. If you’ve ever covered your wall in sticky notes, you’re probably an architect (or maybe a detective?).

When I did screenwriting in school, we were obligated to be architects; that is, we were required to write an outline for every script. Makes sense. With only a semester to write, it’s a unwise to choose a destination without a map.

However, spending time as an architect revealed some inherent weaknesses with the style. For one, characters might feel a bit less natural when they’re written to an outline. Characters come alive when they make organic decisions which align with their established traits. They can feel stiff when making decisions for the sake of an outline.

Of course, being an architect also has its advantages. For instance, architectural writing tends to feel more focused, especially on first drafts. Architects spend less time searching for their path since they’ve already built. All that’s left is to expand upon it—adorn it with some yellow bricks or something.

Gardeners

I’ll let Mr. Martin take over here:

“And then there’s the gardener who digs the hole in the ground, puts in the seed and waters it with his blood and sees what comes up. The gardener knows certain things. He’s not completely ignorant. He knows whether he planted an oak tree, or corn, or a cauliflower. He has some idea of the shape but a lot of it depends on the wind and the weather and how much blood he gives it and so forth.”

Gardeners plant the seed of an idea and watch it blossom. Unlike architects, they usually don’t have a blueprint for their stories. Instead, gardeners often begin with a particular thought, character, or scene, then work from there. Where it goes is anyone’s guess.

Although being a gardener is liberating, it also requires a lot of trial and error. Gardeners might start on a promising idea and spend weeks nurturing it. But what if it doesn’t grow? What if it doesn’t go anywhere? It’s discouraging to spend time on a particular piece only to realize you have no idea how it should develop.

The advantage of being a gardener (besides the fresh vegetables) is that such writing often feels spontaneous. Unlike architects, gardeners will often find surprises within their own work. Gardener characters also might feel less rigid than architect characters. Their actions will often shape the story since there is no predetermined path for them to follow.

Which Are You?

Here are Martin’s closing remarks on the subject:

“No one is purely an architect or a gardener in terms of a writer, but many writers tend to one side or the other. I’m very much more a gardener.”

As Martin wrote, most writers fall somewhere near the middle and lean toward one side or the other. So which are you closer to: an architect or a gardener?

I’m still figuring out which side I favor. In my screenwriting days, I had to be more of an architect. After graduating, I swung far (maybe too far) towards gardening. Now I’m shifting back toward an architect.

Whichever you are, keep building and keep planting. Keep writing!


Kyle A. Massa is a speculative fiction author living somewhere in upstate New York with his wife and their two cats. He has written two books and numerous short stories, both published and yet-to-be published. He enjoys unusual narrative structures, multiple POVs, and stories about coffee.

When Writing Dialogue, Don’t Forget Who’s Talking

A burly henchman wearing an eyepatch and a prickly sneer leans against a castle parapet. He stands not three paces away from a knight in glittering armor. The latter of the pair is not happy.

“I’ll ask again,” growls the knight. “Did you or did you not witness the incident in question?”

The henchman thinks on this for a moment. He wads a ball of phlegm in his throat and spits, not far from the knight’s shiny boots.

The henchman says, “For whom do you work, sir?”

And the reader thinks, Wait a second. What?


Dialogue is one of the trickiest components of writing fiction. We authors spend years learning the numerous rules of grammar and punctuation, only to discover they should, almost always, be ignored when writing dialogue. After all, people rarely talk like they write.

Consider the above example. It’s grammatically correct for the henchman to use “whom” in this statement, since it’s a pronoun in the objective sense. Furthermore, avoiding the construction “Whom do you work for?” precludes a hanging preposition at the end of the sentence.

Yes, this line demonstrates good grammar. But it’s still bad dialogue.

That’s because when we write dialogue, we must always remember who’s talking. Dialogue is about character, authenticity, and occasionally plot—it’s almost never about adhering to syntax or grammar.

The henchman’s line feels wrong because everything else he’s done suggests he wouldn’t talk like that. He’s a henchman, he sneers, he spits near people’s nice boots. There’s no way this guy would know the difference between who and whom.

Ideally, dialogue sounds unique to the character speaking it. I find it helps to ask myself, Would this character say that? Or, Is this how this character would say it? Or, Would this character use that word, or another?

Questions like these make writing dialogue both difficult and enjoyable. It’s a challenge, and like any challenge, improvement comes with practice. There are many ways to develop the right voice for characters, but I think the best way is to just write. And write. And write.

Most importantly, let’s not forget who’s talking. It’s the number one influence on every line of dialogue.


Kyle A. Massa is a speculative fiction author living somewhere in upstate New York with his wife and their two cats. He has written two books and numerous short stories, both published and yet-to-be published. He enjoys unusual narrative structures, multiple POVs, and stories about coffee.

Kyle’s Time Travelin’ Tour, 2019 Edition

Time Travel 2018

Time travel. It’s better late than never.

In this article, I’d like to take a look back at my 2019 writing year. I hope it doesn’t come off as self-indulgent! I just think reviewing the past makes me excited for the future. Also, we’re already halfway through January, so if I don’t publish this now, I never will.

Anyway, time machine’s here. Hop in!

January

We begin with a blog post: “I Am Your Father: Making Similarities Work in Fiction.” Here I compare Star Wars with Neil Gaiman’s American Gods. Both employ the same plot twist, yet the latter never feels like it’s ripping off the former. Check out the post for my thoughts on how it was done—and how other writers might do the same.

Also, January marked the publication of my first guest post of 2019: “3 Signs It’s Time to Stop Editing That Manuscript.” I’m pleased with the way this one turned out, in large part because I experienced so much of what I wrote first-hand. Hope you enjoy reading it. And, if you’re a writer, I hope it helps you.

February

Short month, but a big event happened during it: the publication of an ebook I helped write for ProWritingAid! It’s called How to Go From First Draft to Published Authorand you can download it for free by clicking the link in the title.

You can probably guess what the book’s about, but here’s something you may not know: there’s one part where I made up a musical called “A Sloth is Born.” I know what you’re thinking, and the answer’s yes. I’m already working on the novelization.

March

A quiet month of March. The coolest thing that happened was finally releasing a paperback version of my first novel, Gerald Barkley RocksI must say, the feeling of holding one’s own book in one’s hands is electric. And even a big bar across the top reading “NOT FOR RESALE” couldn’t stop the feeling.

April

Fresh off the release of one book, I pranked some folks with the false release of another. See this article for deets: “Announcing Wee Stories: 1,001 One-Word Tales.”

I received some worried messages from friends and family who thought I was serious about microstories. For those who haven’t read it, here’s a snippet:

Consider this [microstory]. I call it Crossing at Dawn. Here it is, in its entirety:

“Turtles.”

It took me six months to write that piece. I tried to imagine what animal would be most likely to cross a road at dawn. A squirrel felt unremarkable, a chicken too cliche. Finally I settled upon the present form. I’m thrilled with the results.

Anyway, I got a good chuckle out of it.

May

Another guest post, this one entitled “How and Why to Treat Your Setting Like a Character.” It was especially gratifying to publish this post on Joanna Penn’s website. She’s the host of The Creative Penn Podcast, a show I find very informative. Thanks for sharing my post, Joanna! And thanks for adding a picture of this dude in there:

I have no idea who he is, but something tells me his name is something like Sir Bertrand Godfrey of the Luscious Hair. Just a guess.

June

No writing news, but that’s because I took a big step forward at my day job. In June, I was hired to work at Special Olympics New York!

You don’t need me to tell you what an outstanding organization Special Olympics is, but I’ll say it anyway. It’s a privilege to work there!

July

I finally caved and started an Instagram account. Here’s my first post:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Currently reading, currently liking. Not as creepy as it sounds. #bookstagram #books #bookshelf

A post shared by Kyle A. Massa (@kyleamassa) on

Just wait for next month. That’s when my Insta really took off.

August

By this time I was furiously editing a manuscript (that’s coming soon), so there weren’t many writing updates. Instead I turned to Twitter for my hottest post of the year.

Clearly I was prognosticating the wild success of Cats.

Oh yeah, then I posted this on the Gram:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Time marches on…for whom the @tacobell tolls 🤘

A post shared by Kyle A. Massa (@kyleamassa) on

One of my finest moments of 2019.

September

I released Monsters at Dusk!

 

Cover designed by Nathan Rumsey

This book means a lot to me, not least of all because the first story is about a cat. But really, please give it a read. There are 10 stories, so odds are you’ll find at least one to like.

October

Fresh off its release, Monsters at Dusk earned a mention in the Times Union Book Blog! Thanks to reviewer Alicia Abdul for the kind words, and thanks to my brother-in-law Dan Fisher for making it possible.

November

Not only did Dan orchestrate last month’s news…he got me my first ever reading and signing! Here’s me at Flights of Fantasy Books & Games

I think the eight-year-old sneakers + white socks combo was a nice touch. Shoutout to bad fashion choices.

December

Finally, I capped off 2019 by completing my reading goal of 40 books. That’s a career high for me! If you’d like to see my five favorites of the year, check out this post (also from December): “My Favorite Books of 2019.”

Happy 2020!

Looking forward to another great year. Check back for more posts, more books, and—fingers crossed—more goofy social media posts.


Kyle A. Massa is a speculative fiction author living somewhere in upstate New York with his wife and their two cats. He has written two books and numerous short stories, both published and yet-to-be published. He enjoys unusual narrative structures, multiple POVs, and stories about coffee.

My Favorite Books of 2019

With the last day of 2019 upon us, there’s something we need to discuss…

Books.

Well, we always need to discuss books. But today, in honor of the year about to end, I’d like to share with you the five best books I read since January 1st. I loved them and, if you choose to read them, I hope you love them, too. Here they are!

The Sandman Series by Neil Gaiman

Source: Amazon

Though there are 10 trade paperback collections in this series (with each paperback collecting several previously issued comic books), I’m counting this as one book. Why? Because I can’t choose between them. It’s like choosing between one’s children. Or in my case, one’s cats. They’re all my favorite.

The Sandman is a series of comics by Neil Gaiman, his first major work of fiction. They’re masterful. Sandman combines elements of mythology with world history, mashed together with Gaiman’s original creations set against modern-day problems. All of these elements would become mainstays of his work in the future. Both the writing and art in these comics is superb. Sometimes it’s a shame that the writing is so good—I forget to look at the pictures!

Alright, fine. If I must choose a favorite, I choose Volume IV, entitled Seasons of Mist (please don’t tell the other volumes). In this story, the titular Sandman ventures down to Hell, only to find a shocking surprise: Lucifer has quit. He decided he doesn’t much care for overseeing demons and torment and all that. So he locks up Hell and entrusts (or rather, curses) the Lord of Dreams with the key. Now Gods of many pantheons and creatures from many worlds arrive to plead their case for the key, and therefore the dominion of Hell. How sick is that?

I’m not normally a comics guy, but these are worth it for any reader. Well, maybe not for kids. But Sandman is amazing. One of the best works I read all year—or ever.

There There by Tommy Orange

Source: Goodreads

Perhaps the most structurally daring entry in this list, Tommy Orange’s There There tells the story of several Native American people attending a Powwow in modern-day Oakland, California. Some attend for stories, some to reconnect with their culture, and some to rob everyone else there.

Orange’s writing is excellent, his style unique. Furthermore, he manages to develop 12 or so point-of-view characters in a little over 300 pages, which is a feat in and of itself. There There was a finalist for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, and for good reason. I highly recommend it.

Orange World and Other Stories by Karen Russell

Source: Goodreads

Had to get my short stories in. I read Karen Russell’s Orange World just before publishing my own short story collection, Monsters at DuskIt was a weird bit of synchronicity because she felt like an influence, even though I’d never read her work before. Which is not to same I’m anywhere near as talented as she is. She’s LeBron and I’m, I dunno, JaVale McGee. I just feel we have a similar sensibility. We both use the supernatural as a metaphor for life’s inexplicable questions.

I enjoyed all the stories in this collection, but my favorite was “The Gondoliers.” It’s set in a post-apocalyptic Florida that’s been flooded by rising sea levels. The protagonist, one of the titular gondoliers, navigates a mysterious man through the waters, out to a wild destination.

Not exactly beach reading, but I think Orange World will appeal to anyone who appreciates excellent prose combined with the bizarre.

A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie

Source: Goodreads

If you’re a longtime reader of my blog, you know about my love of Joe Abercrombie’s First Law series. After a brief hiatus, A Little Hatred marks his triumphant return. Picture A Song of Ice and Fire as set in turn-of-the-century America/Britain.

Since this is the continuation of an already seven-volume series, A Little Hatred presents both aging returning characters and young newcomers (being mostly children of the old folks). The former play pleasantly on nostalgia, while the latter stand on their own as vital new entries. A Little Hatred does start slowly, but it builds to several strong climaxes. Plus, the last page is as shocking as it is tragic.

Epic fantasy with bad language, ample violence, and of course, sex. If you like those things in your books, you’ll like this one quite a bit. I recommend reading the previous seven books for maximum enjoyment, but you’ll probably have fun without them, too.

Big Game: The NFL in Dangerous Times by Mark Leibovich

Source: Goodreads

I’m primarily a fiction reader, so this one might surprise you. But I myself was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed Big Game.

First of all, Mark Leibovich is an excellent writer. As he mentions several times in the book, he primarily writes about politics for the New York Times. However, being a lifelong New England Patriots fan (gross), he couldn’t seem to resist writing this book.

In it, we get an insider’s look at people such as Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. It’s a well-written, incisive, and oftentimes farcical glimpse at a pro sports league with both major successes and major problems. Big Game is stuffed with bizarre anecdotes about the personalities behind the shield, including my personal favorite, in which Commissioner Goodell tries to demonstrate a malfunctioning NFL mobile app to the author.

I won’t go so far as to say this would appeal to non-football fans. Leibovich is a skilled enough writer that it might, but something tells me sports fans will get the biggest kick out of it.

Happy 2020!

Well, that’s all for this year. (You can find last year’s list here, if you feel like it.) Happy reading in 2020!


Kyle A. Massa is a speculative fiction author living somewhere in upstate New York with his wife and their two cats. He has written two books and numerous short stories, both published and yet-to-be published. He enjoys unusual narrative structures, multiple POVs, and stories about coffee.

Happy Birthday “Gerald Barkley Rocks”!

Cover designed by Nathan Rumsey

One year ago, I published my first novel. It’s called Gerald Barkley Rocks.

Most writers have soft spots for their first book. I certainly do. It’s the summation of a hell of a lot of work, not to mention the tangible proof that yes, you are indeed a writer. Plus, even non-writers can’t resist seeing their names on books.

So yes, I have a soft spot for Gerald Barkley Rocks—or GBR, as I’ve come to call it, since three-letter names are hot right now. But that certainly doesn’t mean I think it’s perfect.

In fact, in honor of its one-year birthday, I’m going to mercilessly criticize GBR. Well, maybe I’ll show a little mercy. I’ll give credit when it’s deserved. But overall, I’m hoping this might be a fun and educational critique, both for you and me.

Be warned: If you haven’t read the book yet, please consider doing so before reading this blog post. Onward!

Side I

GBR is separated into four parts, which I call “sides,” so named to mimic the four sides of a vinyl double album. I pushed the metaphor even further by renaming the chapters “tracks,” as in tracks on a record. (You might’ve also noticed that each track’s title corresponds to a song by Black Cat Waltz.) I thought it was a cool meta-metaphor then and I feel the same way now. Good job, former self.

Unfortunately, Track 1 starts off slow. It performs its function well enough by introducing our main character and a few conflicts he’ll explore throughout the novel. And yes, there are some decently funny lines (“tall mocha latte swirl”). But I wish I’d found a more exciting way to begin the book. Two dudes sitting in a doctor’s office discussing blood leaking from orifices is not exactly a thrilling opener.

Things pick up in the elevator when the man in the red coat appears. I think I did a nice job connecting him with Barkley’s illness and the music of Black Cat Waltz. It’s a quick scene that suitably unsettling, both for the main character and, I hope, the reader.

The book doesn’t really heat up until Track 2 (This is when Barkley arrives at the scene and meets Carmen for the first time.) I must say, the writing is sharp here. If you’ll allow me to pat myself on the back, I feel I provided a detailed description of the scene and established several important plot points, all economically and elegantly. Carmen Fowler’s first scene in particular has some nice dialogue…

…But, that brings me to one of my main criticisms: Why does Carmen like Barkley? To be honest, this was a question most beta readers asked me when reviewing my manuscript. They didn’t understand why a Hollywood actress would have any interest in an old, glum, and mostly boring detective on the verge of retirement. Honestly, I myself had the same question, even after reading the finished product.

To be fair, I did try to answer said question in the following passage. Carmen begins it (and note, Barkley doesn’t yet know her name).

“Ever since my husband passed I go for walks at night. Can’t sleep. A few times I caught Julian out wandering and we chatted.”

“I’m sorry.”

“About the chatting?”

“About your husband. My wife passed a while back, so the sleeplessness…I get it.”


Unexpectedly, the woman reached out and squeezed Barkley’s hand. “Stay strong, detective. You’re not alone.”


Barkley wasn’t so sure about that, but it was kind of her to say so.

This is better than my earlier drafts, but it’s still a problem, even in the final one.

Rounding things out is the first of the “Hidden Tracks.” Again, going with the vinyl terminology, a hidden track is a song that isn’t listed on the sleeve but appears on the record nonetheless. A great example (and one of the first) is the song “Her Majesty” from The Beatles 1969 classic Abbey Road. It plays about almost 20 seconds after the alleged final track, though it’s not listed on the actual sleeve.

I went for a similar effect with the Hidden Tracks in my book. They’re additional pieces that add color and flavor to the narrative, though they break the book’s point of view and don’t occur during the present timeline. There are three Hidden Tracks, one at the end of each side except the fourth and final. And I’m happy to say, all three work well.

The first Hidden Track is my second favorite. Young Julian Strange’s midnight prophecy is pretty cool, and it hints at the concept of Deaths without outright explaining them. Plus, it hints at supernatural events to come.

Side II

We begin with Track 4, entitled “Sing Us a Song (But Not That One).” Here I think I did a decent job setting up the mystery. The fairy-tale inspired record store is a solid setting and Francisco Jones is a weird character. My main gripe with myself is the “Song of Eggs and Semen” bit.

I remember agonizing over the name of the song for months. I wanted a title that described the song’s purpose (offering new life) yet also made readers laugh. “Song of Eggs and Semen” was meant to be a placeholder, but I simply couldn’t come up with anything funnier. Sometimes you just run out of time and need to write something, even when you know it’s not the best answer.

Another misstep: my heavy-handed symbolism with the color red. For example, in the next track, “Love is for Strangers,” when Barkley and Carmen run into each other at Trader Joe’s, this happens:

They stood there in the aisle, just staring at each other. Cans of stewed, diced, and whole tomatoes waited silently beside them.

A swing and a miss at subtlety there.

However, this side wasn’t a total failure. Nicks proved to be as fun a supporting character as I remember him being. He plays a strong foil to Barkley and has some hilarious dialogue, such as this exchange:

“Hello. Is this Gerald Barkley?”


“Yeah. Who’s this?”


A pause on the other end. Then the voice said, “This is Julian Strange.”


The sound of Barkley’s world dipped out. His lips moved but formed no words. The message made it to his mind clear enough—it was just that his mind wasn’t accepting it. “I…this…it can’t be.”


A moment’s pause. Then a giggle, which turned into a laugh. “Nah, just fuckin’ with you. It’s Nicks.” Nicks. Detective Nicks. His second on the case. “Ha. Did I scare you?”


“Jesus Christ, man.”


“Yup, he’s here too. Let me put him on.”

Next comes Track 6: “Janine.” Honestly, I debated whether or not to keep her scenes. Though powerful, I worried their separation from the main plot made them extraneous. Ultimately, I decided to keep them. I’m glad I did.

Barkley’s conflict with Janine moved me. I think I succeeded at presenting a compelling case for both sides of the argument. I also feel the dialogue conveys grief without verging into melodrama.

The next Hidden Track, “A Night with Black Cat Waltz,” remains my favorite part of the novel. I’ve gotten similar feedback from many readers. I think it’s well-written, thrilling, and delightfully surreal. Furthermore, it serves as a keystone for the entire book. As we later discover, Barkley actually appears in this scene (even though we don’t know it’s him). It also offers a big clue about Strange’s late-night visitor. Third, this scene is the closest look at Julian Strange we ever get (while he’s still human, at least).

Also, on an adult note, a few readers noticed the constant references to Julian Strange’s—cover your eyes, kids—penis in this book. Yes, that was intentional. It’s my way of making fun of old rock stars. That’s because, and forgive me for being vulgar, classic rock is basically dick music.

Rock’s lyrics are laden with sex and macho bravado, which is simultaneously one of the genre’s signatures and most problematic elements, especially in a modern context. Some examples:

  • In Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love,” Robert Plant shrieks, “I’m gonna give you every inch of my love.”
  • Humble Pie has a song entitled, “One Eyed Trouser Snake Rumba.” One of the lyrics goes, “I got the key and you got the door.”
  • The Doors’ “Light My Fire” is pretty obvious in its symbolism.
  • AC/DC’s “Go Down” doesn’t even try to hide what it’s about.

And the list goes on. I’m not telling anyone anything they didn’t already know. But since Gerald Barkley Rocks is a comedy at heart and meant to poke fun at its subject matter, I made constant references to Julian Strange’s love gun (as Albert King might call it). Seemed like a fitting joke.

Side III

This side is the shortest in the book (just two tracks), but covers important ground. First of all, it explains Deaths and how they work. Barkley confronts the man in the red coat, and this is the explanation he gets:

“You all have your own Deaths,” the man continued. “We go where you go, for your Death is with you from the day you’re born. And when you are done—and I mean done, done—we take you. Yet usually we go unnoticed.”


“What does that mean?”


“It means each Death is a stranger. It means those who are dying do not notice their Deaths until they are very near the very end. And you’ve noticed me, Gerald Barkley.”

Readers, on the whole, seemed to dig the concept of Deaths. A few even remarked that it felt like something Stephen King might devise, which of course made me blush. Maybe I’ll come back to this concept in the future.

The other important detail from this side: A closer look into Carmen and Barkley’s relationship. I still don’t get why they started dating, but this is where I’m glad they did. Infinite, the restaurant that never closes, is one of my most cherished settings, both because I think it’s a fun concept and because it speaks to the broader theme of the book: the natural yet unattainable desire to live forever.

Of course, I did notice some overwriting. For example, this:

There was no bar music, either—just euphonious and presumably urbane conversation.

“Euphonious,” eh? That feels like I hit up the closest dictionary for a big word. Not my finest moment.

Fortunately, I recovered somewhat with the karaoke scene. Another fun setting here: some weird bar infused with a sci-fi vibe. The drink called “Qui-Gon Gin” is perhaps the best pun I’ve ever devised. And Barkley’s failure to sing works as a nice dramatic moment, plus sets him up for success at the end.

Then comes the William Shakespeare revelation, which I’m still conflicted about. As a refresher, Barkley gives Carmen a gift, which happens to be a Black Cat Waltz album with her picture on it. Shakespeare’s on there, too, and Carmen identifies him as Strange’s visitor on the night he died.

I needed a breakthrough on the case and this seemed to work decently well. On the other hand, as noted by my writer friend Levi Jacobs, the protagonist doesn’t find this breakthrough clue. Rather, it falls into his lap. Yes, this does feel like a flaw in the story. Readers want active protagonists who solve problems, not those who stumble upon answers by mistake.

Another Hidden Track follows this one, and is perhaps the most experimental of the three. It’s a script for a VH1-style music documentary chronicling the downfall of Black Cat Waltz. I feel I achieved the effect I aimed for, plus offered some insight into the band’s inner-workings, along with Julian Strange’s mental state prior to his death.

Side IV

Strange’s funeral is an okay scene, though not one of my favorites. It’s kind of whacky and hearkens back to their Nebula Lounge show in the second Hidden Track, but feels a bit more tame than I wish it could’ve been. Wish I’d written it as a more raucous affair. And then we come to Warren Wilder.

The issue with Wilder, I think, is that it’s pretty obvious he’s not dead. Readers might not necessarily make the connection that he’s the mysterious visitor, but I certainly doubt they believe my attempts to make him seem unimportant (for example, when Nicks claims, “[Wilder’s] probably dead and rotten.”

The encounter with Wilder works well enough, though. He’s pretty funny in a weirdo way, and I always enjoy writing in an old English style.

Then comes Track 12, when Barkley and Strange finally meet. It’s certainly one of my favorite scenes, especially this monologue from Strange (who’s now a kitten):

“And yet [being Julian Strange] brought me no happiness.” The kitten batted its gopher toy, watched it roll away. “At times I found it, but never for long. I’ve been searching for eons. In one life I fought for Jerusalem. In another I was accused of witchcraft. I was an American soldier who stormed the beaches of Normandy. I saw the last of the wooly mammoths wither and die away. I farmed the land in the time of the Song dynasty. I was a Mayan astronomer whose name time forgot. I was Robert Johnson. I was Cleopatra. I was Judas and Brutus both. I was Julian Strange, born Johnson Henry Mudge. I’ve lived many lives, yet never have I felt content. Maybe shitting in a litter box will change all that.”

Finally, we have the final scene. I tried not to be too obvious, though I hope that didn’t leave the result too vague. Barkley’s Death leaves him alone because he’s finally found something to live for. Then come the final lines of the book, which work smashingly, if I do say so myself…

Barkley and Carmen took their bows. Then he kissed her, and she kissed him back, and that got an even bigger hand. The crowd chanted one word, over and over.

“Was it bad?” Barkley asked.

“Terrible,” Carmen answered. “Do you hear what they’re saying?”

A smile parted his lips. “Is it…?”

And Carmen laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world. “I think they’re calling for an encore.”

Overall Thoughts

It’s interesting—at times, Gerald Barkley Rocks feels like a rote detective novel. We’ve got a down-on-his luck L.A. cop investigating the murder of a famous person. Yet at other times the book gleefully breaks that mold. For example, Barkley is a decidedly unglamorous main character, plus there’s a ton of supernatural crap happening. And, as it turns out, our murder victim wasn’t even murdered.

I’d give Gerald Barkley Rocks three out of five stars. It has a flawed romantic plot, a rather pedestrian setup, and a protagonist who sometimes fails to be likable or compelling. But I believe the book makes up for those shortcomings with solid themes, intriguing supernatural elements, and a strong ending. Plus, I feel I earned extra points with an innovative structure and daring side stories.

I know, I’m biased. But if you’ve gotten this far, I hope you’ve enjoyed this article. Also, as a thank you, please try this code on Barnes & Noble Press:

BNPBIRTHDAY

Use it between 12/21/2019 and 12/29/2019 to get 50% a hardcover version of GBR.

Happy Birthday, Gerald Barkley Rocks! Hope I didn’t hurt your feelings too bad.


Kyle A. Massa is a speculative fiction author living somewhere in upstate New York with his wife and their two cats. He has written two books and numerous short stories, both published and yet-to-be published. He enjoys unusual narrative structures, multiple POVs, and stories about coffee.

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