Coleman, “the Coal Man,” and Maelstrom Update

Every now and then I insert notes about this guy into my posts as an example of how writers find stories – or how stories find writers.  I’ve often said I don’t “come up” with stories, I live them.  In great part, this is true.  When I sit down to write, a lot of myself, and my life go into the words.  A lot of those around me get sucked in as well, and sometimes all it takes is an unsolved mystery (thank you Scooby Doo) to get the creative ball rolling.

Coleman is a strange case.  We met him shortly after moving to Hertford.  You can’t miss him.  He’s well over six feet tall and has a BOOMING voice.  All day he wanders up and down the streets, giving the reversed peace symbol to everyone.  He always says the same few things.  “She WOOoore MAH WIFE.  They say I KIIiiilllled her.  She wore MAHn” – variations on this.  There are other things.  Sometimes if you manage to walk behind him he goes on with more of a complete rendition of whatever this is.

As far as we’ve been able to find out, Coleman has always lived locally.  He’s never been in the military, but dresses like he has – camouflage pants, olive green jacket, and always that read ballcap.

I started thinking one day…and I can tell you, though it’s not written yet, that I have an entire novella planned explaining the story, why he yells it, the whole thing, all dragged from the fictional history of Old Mill, NC.  I’ll have to change Coleman to protect the innocent, but just trying to fill in the who-what-when in my head of his story gave me all kinds of ideas.

The other part of this post is a quick announcement.  My novel “Maelstrom” (see link at the top of the page under Novels for an excerpt) will no longer be coming out from the now defunct Full Moon Press.  The good news is that it WILL come out from Bad Moon Books sometime in the future, and that it will probably retain the very cool Alex McVey cover.  Also cool is this.  There will be a limited signed HC edition – only printed in the number that are pre-ordered.  Then, there will be a commercially available and affordable trade paperback with NO limitation…available until the cows come home.  In other words…this will have an affordable reader’s edition.  I’m jazzed about that…too many times my books have ended up in expensive signed editions and found limited readership.  This time it has a fighting chance!

Ginger is off getting her “hair done” at the doggie salon.  My daughter’s new computer is waiting at home to be configured and mailed off to her at college.  It’s a busy time, and there’s bad weather coming in again…I expect that I will find time – in all of that – to write.

-DNW