The right handle snapped toward the ceiling. The warped frame followed its familiar bias, rolling the wheelbarrow hard to the left. The tray pivoted over the single wheel, and one steel support leg tore across the concrete with a shriek that filled the workshop. Wet mortar heaved over the lip and struck the floor in a heavy gray sheet.
The kick had not moved two hundred pounds. It had lifted one handle past the wheelbarrow’s bad balance point. The mortar and gravity had done the rest.
Despite his training, the leader dropped his eyes toward the motion.
Kate threw her weight sideways.
She tipped with the chair. Its rear leg struck the leader across his shin, forcing him to Continue Reading “DEAD LOAD (A Nick Stello Action Thriller) Chapter Three: The Rough Ashlar”
What The Trowel Binds
I want Nick Stello, the protagonist of Dead Load, to be relatable. Yes, he has the familiar action-thriller backstory of a mysterious past catching up with him. But I wanted Nick to be an ordinary guy in the present. At least before the action begins.
To achieve this, I needed to pick an occupation that would absorb him. He needed to (and wanted to) forget the past. This required a certain kind of work he could credibly immerse himself in without appearing to be a workaholic.
I could have made him a fiction writer, but how many stories are about writers? (Spoiler alert: Too many. And that trope fatigues me to no end.)
No, I needed to pick a skilled trade. Craftsmen are like artists. We appreciate that because it means they take their work seriously. Sometimes too seriously, to the point where the Continue Reading “What The Trowel Binds”