Two years went by. I knew there was a story there but it took a while to connect all the peices. In fact, one of the nurses I once heard say something like "...a smokin' hot fictional novel could come out of here." Those are not her exact words, but she said something very 'like' that, and, years later I did see that particular nurse, gave her a signed copy, and, yes, she did like it.
Anyway, finally the story premise came to me: A guy (formerly a photographer helper who bowed to the party scene) but now living on the street finds a newspaper and reads the ad: '...volunteers wanted, free food, pay...' Well, winter was coming and what could be better? A roof over his head, food, money, and...well, maybe those three items would be enough. So he makes the 1-800 call...but gets much more than bargained for.
What the ad didn't say: That the food would not be…tasty;
that, among other more benign men, he would be locked up with an adolescent-minded
ex-sailor, and a psychopath; that he would be chosen to lead an assault on
another volunteer; that he would stumble across secret, illegal, and dangerous
miracle drug research; that he would write an expose article and provide
photographs; and that he would meet Natalie, the love of his life.
"Experiments" goes on to include drama and mystery, romance, some sex and violence, and a good amount of humor, but a main theme is the conditions these men live under. They are locked in and can go nowhere past that locked door without a chaperon; they eat only what they're allowed and go to the bathroom with very specific rules. But here's the thing: Any time they think they cannot do this one second longer they have the option to quit, so it becomes a test of willpower to go to the end.
Three Amazon reader reviews at the end of this post.
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| This photo has nothing to do with the post, I just like to photograph the sky, clouds, sunsets and, unfortunately, not too many sunrises...the sun just gets up way too dang early. |
The main characters:
Shea McTory, the viewpoint character, enters the story homeless, smoking his last cigarette, and ready for a lot of free time. It’s easy and relaxing, but when he does not get what he wants, impatience and immaturity can become nearly overwhelming. For fellow human beings he shows little compassion, gives, but grudgingly.
The other live-ins:
Galloway becomes Shea's best friend and table mate.
Ives, the antique collector (junk-rat) becomes his second table mate.
Ballard, ex-sailor and immature.
Luther, studying for the ministry and Ballard's best friend and table mate.
Those are the original five live-ins; later four more arrive for a shorter study.
Patrick Durant, the know-it-all.
Willie, a beach bum.
Clive, an older man and very close to homeless, maybe was homeless. (Really, I don't know. When my characters get on stage, they take over and do what they want. Clive doesn't have a really big part; if he was homeless, he didn't tell me.)
Ross, the psychopath.
The main staff:
Natalie, a nurse, and Shea's love-interest (I will say right now that when I lived in this facility there was no sex allowed, and not that it was allowed in the fictional account either, but would you, the reader, want a hero and a really nice heroine to get together and not make love?)
Catherine, the head nurse and definitely in charge.
Jayne, a university student, the main chaperon and the one all the volunteers depend on.
Then, of course, Delilah, head kitchen technician, and, if you have read your Bible stories, you will remember what Delilah was known for.
Oh yes, and the villain(s.) I won't give that away because this is a medical mystery, and what would a novel be without a villain, or two?
Here is a very, very, short synopsis:
Frustrations build, tempers flare, love affairs,
friendships, hatreds, develop.
(Pharmacological research gone berserk)
(Pharmacological research gone berserk)
Prologue
Shea McTory felt guilty for photographing
this cruel scene, but the world needed to know.
No, the truth was, Shea McTory needed to further his hoped-for
journalism career. And he had just
learned something about himself that he would rather not have found out. He knew he had always been, basically, a
loser, but he had always tried to not be an asshole too. But that’s what was going through his
mind. He was an asshole.
The subjects of the cruel scene, the two boys, stood beside each
other. They were skin and bone. I’m an asshole.
The sight of them, the smells in the room, the pure ugliness, all were
making his insides crawl. His skin was
crawling. He could barely look at
the boys. No way could he touch
them. No way. I’m an asshole. And Natalie hadn’t even said, specifically,
what was happening, but he knew that she knew, and Shea didn’t even want to
know.
Reviews
5.0 out
of 5 stars kindle book experiments, December 28, 2011
By
caron99 - See all my reviews
Amazon
Verified Purchase(What's this?) This review is from: Experiments (Kindle
Edition)
this was a great book to read I sooo enjoyed it, my husband kept stealing mykindle to read it too.
This is my best review from an Amazon reader, and I appreciate it.
Of my ten books, Experiments (medical mystery drama and humor) is selling second best.
Only Daughters is doing better.
Easy reading, October 23, 2012
By Darla L Knutzen (OMAHA, NE, US) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?) This review is from: Experiments (Kindle Edition)
For me it seemed to be written in a less literature way. Super easy to read, but for me personally I do like more debth in my books. I do try to read all the medical mysteries I can. Also my favorite author is Stephen King and it is hard to beat him ( I know he doesn't write medical mysteries, but he always keeps a reader interested).
That review I don't quite understand, although it does seem positive, and she gave me three stars.
Worst book ever, December 30, 2012
By JDS - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's
this?) This review is from: Experiments (Kindle Edition)
The topic was based on an
experiment.
That was the only good part of the
book.
Would not read any books by this
author again.
The last review--Whoa! That one I don't understand either. It sounds like he (or she) absolutely hated it, but he (or she) could have given me a better understanding of what I did wrong, so that, "if" I agreed, I could fix it. He (or she) gave me one star. I suspect a reader has to give at least one star in order to write a review. Strange how the vicious reviewers don't give names and addresses. Professional reviewers identify themselves, why not the amateurs...and, no, I would not try to contact this reviewer. He (or she) said what he (or she) wanted and I will take the good with the bad. Thank you!
To anyone else out there who reads this novel, please feel free to comment here on the blog or write a review at Amazon. As I said, I take the good with the bad.
Thanks for reading
Contact
nelsonjamesw@hotmail.com email
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B004GW465S Author page at Amazon
http://morningshinestories.com Website
http://morninginapril.blogspot.com Blog
https://www.facebook.com/#!/ Facebook
http://subron7.hubpages.com/ HubPages
Feel free to contact me. (Response is not guaranteed)
(The world is full of psychos and wackos)
A reminder for when you go to Amazon to read digital
books, mine and many other authors: Amazon has a free APP download that allows
you to read your book on any electronic device, including PC, Mac, iPad,
iPhone, Android, and Blackberry.
Occasionally I list one of my books as free for a day, sometimes more than a day. Look for
those announcements on my blog, HubPages, Twitter, and Facebook
Starting at midnight Friday (which would make it Saturday) "Experiments" will be a free download for two days (Saturday & Sunday.) That's 48 hours. After that $0.99; the paperback edition is $16.00 plus shipping.
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