Saturday, September 6, 2008

Work in Progress here in Bluffton, SC


I, my wife, Pam, and my writing buddies Grizz and Dudley, moved here three years ago after my long corporate career with Eastman Kodak. I directed worldwide communications for their digital image capture division and then ended my career as mid-south regional manager with Kodak’s digital document imaging division, serving clients such as FedEx, Wal Mart, St. Jude, etc..

I now write full-time here in the South Carolina lowcountry. My wife is an artist (watercolors and acrylic) and Master Naturalist (Clemson University) and we spend a lot of time at art fairs, writer’s colonies and traveling, which most times inspires a creative flow that keeps both of us moving forward.

I have published short stories, poetry and prose, some of which are matted and framed and sold at art fairs and galleries along the east coast—see my blog.

I have one novel completed (The Devil’s Kitchen), the sequel (The Devil’s Emissary) in final edit, and a new Novel tentatively titled ‘CandleDancer’ in the works.

THE DEVIL’S KITCHEN was inspired by my years as a Martial Artist, my combat training and top-secret security clearance in the U.S. Army, and a heavy dose of invention. I have attended myriad fiction workshops including the Gell Center Fiction workshop (NY) with Science Fiction novelist, Ms. Nancy Kress and novel workshops with romance novelist Patricia Ryan and horror novelist T.M Wright. I am currently enrolled in the creative writing certification program at UCLA.

Overview of ‘The Devil’s Kitchen':
Circa 1990 and the cold war is over, and terrorism, revenge, and retribution has begun. Convinced he has escaped the tentacles of COMMEX, a covert government agency, Colonel Brady Thomas’s life is turned upside down by events that hurl him back into a convoluted world he thought left behind. The vocation that took away everything he once held dear, threatens to do so again. His life is in jeopardy, as are the lives of those around him: lifelong comrades and friends, the woman loves and a daughter thought long dead. But, Tyrone Prescott, the prescient, manipulative head of COMMEX has a plan, a preemptive strike mapped out years earlier. This is a story of action and consequence, vengeance and vulnerability; a story that shows how inconsequential lives can be when the end is so unquestionably vital that the means to that end is utterly justified.

Overview of ‘CandleDancer’:
Jake Slaughter has had enough and is heading back to the South Carolina lowcountry after twenty years of globetrotting. There, he will confront a lost love, personal demons, and a captivating young woman with secrets of her own. A cast of local characters and family members all play a part in his struggle to reclaim his life, to begin anew, and to finally love again without the pain and misery of his past.

This is a powerful journey across physical and personal landscapes; a story about breaking with the past and, a story about people stifled by grief and regret who struggle to begin anew.

I had an agent years ago, who has since retired, and am actively seeking representation for my completed works and works in progress.

From my book of Prose 'Souls on the Road'

Souls on the Roads seemed an appropriate title, as we all encounter them, in all their varied forms, as we make this mysterious journey from the cradle to the grave.

Some are unforgettable while others, well, as a favorite clerical-poet once said, “Every once in a while, you run into someone and your first thought is: God had to have made a mistake!”

I have sold these as individual framed pieces to folks across the country and at various art fairs along the east coast. I write what I love and what I feel. Here are a few samples:

Mother

I was born of your blood
Our lives as one
from the beginning
Yours was the face I first saw
above my cradle
Your voice the last sweet song I heard
as I dropped off to sleep
You saw me through the scrapes of childhood
and stood at my side
through the battles of adolescence
You’ve touched every corner of my life, Mom
shared in my joys & my sorrows,
my laughter and my tears
Your spirit burns within me
as mine once did within you
And I will love you
until the end of time

© R.T. Brickell 1996


Dad

M y father, gentle and caring,
firm and understanding
You’ve been my teacher,
my mentor & my friend
How often, through the years,
I found strength and courage in your silence,
was inspired by your conviction,
and comforted by your warmth and tenderness
It was you who taught me
that I need not follow in your footsteps,
that instead, I should walk beside you
where there was no path
and dare to leave my own mark
We share an extraordinary intimacy, Dad,
a bond that I will honor and cherish,
all the days of my life

© R.T. Brickell 1996



Our Home

This is the place where we live
out our lives,
where we discuss what’s right
and what’s wrong,
where we laugh and cry,
share our joys and our sorrows,
and learn about life, and
sometimes, about death
Where we ready ourselves
to conquer the world,
and learn how to win and to lose
with grace and dignity
This is our sanctuary, a haven
of peace and love and understanding,
of sharing and of caring
This is our home

© R.T. Brickell 1996



Chasing You...
Chasing Me

Can I tell you about the first time
I looked into your eyes?
How you stole my heart away
with but a glance?
A glance meant for me alone?
I wasn’t searching, but
I was waiting...
for you to come into my life
Yes, I remember it well,
the instant of my surrender,
when first you smiled
and I first noticed
I knew at that precise moment
that I was destined to chase you
...until you caught me

© R.T. Brickell 1996