"SPRING" INTO AN EXCITING MOVIE RIP-OFF!
When I saw the Richard Gere film Sommersby, I loved it-until the very end, when it went sadly awry. This wasn't just my opinion. I saw it twice and both times the whole audience groaned when Gere's character died. I even took a Ph.D. in film to see it and she agreed with my assessment.
The plot concerns a man who assumes the identity of his look-alike half-brother, fooling everyone, even the man's wife. Set during the Civil War, it's based upon an earlier film, The Return of Martin Guerre, a World War I flick, that also had the same rotten ending. Being a writer, how could I leave a great story idea such as this alone? What the screenwriters viewed as a tale of honor and retribution, I saw in terms of love and redemption.
Nicholas Fortune was a man without a name, born in a New Orleans bordello, searching for a home. Mercedes Alvarado, who at first believed Nick was her husband, was descended from noble bloodlines as was her legal husband. When I examined the theme of honor, I was more concerned with what ultimately makes men and women honorable-the source from which they trace their blood was not so fine a measure of their worth as was the cause for which they were willing to spend it. Nick was willing to die for President Juarez during Mexico's civil war in 1867. Mercedes was willing to sacrifice her reputation to save Nick's life. Now that's a love story! To read an excerpt, go to the Upcoming page..
Bride of Fortune may give me an opportunity to write a sequel as an original ebook. When it first came out, a reader gave me an idea for a second tale of redemption, this time set north of the border. Change of Fortune would be Lucero's story. After you read Bride, email me with your opinion about his "regeneration," which admittedly would be a real challenge. Reader opinion does matter to me a great deal.
Jim will be composing a spring newsletter shortly, and between hours squeezed in working on books and gardening in the glorious spring weather, I will cook my annual Easter feast. This is a time for friends and family to gather around our dinner table. Since I've already posted my recipe for the ham, this time I will offer a splendid accompaniment-a truffle oil potato casserole to die for. Just click on the Recipe page.
Have a blessed Easter or Passover celebration and remember to take your ereader with you when you travel!
Happy 2012,
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