Having pretty much completed the Snippet Posts for The Prodigal Band Trilogy, and having been working on ‘Spin-Off’ novels over the last several years since I retired from my previous job, and having published the three-books-in-one trilogy through Lulu for global reach using e-books, I figured why end there?
There are a number of minor characters that could bring about ‘spin-off’ novels, as some of them were actually murdered or ‘died mysteriously.’ I have even contemplated a ‘murder’ scenario of one of my major characters, but I’m not sure which one yet.
By ‘spin-off’ characters, I mean minor or support characters that play some important role within one or more of the three novels. The notion of ‘spin-offs’ was inspired by one of my favorite TV shows during the 70s, All In The Family. A comedy, and a satire of sorts of the politics of the right (Archie Bunker, and to a lesser extent, his wife Edith) and left (Mike Stivic and his wife, Archie’s daughter Gloria, who is a feminist). Naturally, Archie and Mike did not get along. Further, neighbors, including the Jeffersons, who were black, had issues with Archie as well, as did Edith’s cousin, Maude, an ultra-liberal. These supporting characters eventually featured in their own spin-off shows, The Jeffersons and Maude. Another spin-off, Archie Bunker’s Place, features several of Bunker’s buddies from the original series. Further, a spin-off had its own spin-off: Maude’s black maid, Florida Evans, was a main character in the show, Good Times, set in a Chicago housing project; yet, since Maude was never mentioned, it was not technically a spin-off. Finally, the show Gloria was created after Gloria divorced from Mike; the prelude to that was featured in one of the final episodes of All in the Family. So, we are talking four or five spin-offs here!
Two of the spin-off parts of the full novel are being manuscripted slowly but surely, with one or two more possibilities in the works. Both are roughly half-way completed, just waiting for more inspiration to finish, but they will be finished and will likely combine in a ‘three-or-four-or-five’ complete novel, in parts, with the likely title being The Murder Rule. Yep, I like mysteries, suspense novels, and crime stories. After all, there is so much crime and mystery and occultic scenarios going on these days of Covid, and now a ridiculous war in Ukraine, where of course the narrative blames it all on Russia. Sorry, there is more to this story than ‘the narrative’! And while God is in control, Ephesians 6:12 states it perfectly—the world is ruled by evil, ‘wickedness in high places.’
In order to introduce this novel-in-the-works, I will begin with a snippet that will introduce a major character within The Murder Rule. He is another rock star, singer Denny Spradlin of the band that helped mentor the prodigal band Sound Unltd, called Wolfin. (Note: it was originally called ‘Wolfen,’ but since that is the name of an 80s mystery movie set in the Bronx, I had to change the spelling.) Denny and his collaborator, guitarist Blake Fenmore, while loving their fame and fortune, eventually turn into nothing but party animals and eventually become lazy and stop producing hits, falling into has-been-dom, which leads to trouble and danger. Denny becomes a ‘useless eater’ of sorts to those controlling the music industry evil agenda; further, he is addicted to the opioid designer drug mentioned in the trilogy, called skuz.
Continue reading “When Snippets Become Spin-Offs: The Murder Rule, and More (Part One)”
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