Out NOW: “The Sniper”
I was fortunate to be visiting the East when my new book “The Sniper,” was published. The event happened in New York City on March 7 of this year. I spent a morning and lunch with St. Martin’s Press, Marc, who had helped me through the publishing process of the book. It was a great experience – I had a million questions for him, and he answered all with patience.
I spent 7 nights in the East Village a 40’s and 50’s hangout of the beat generation. Allen Greensburg and Jack Kerouac to name a couple. I was hoping to bump into their ghosts and maybe I did.
The narrow streets are as the poets and writers and jokesters described them in their writing. It was cold this early March when I was in the city and the following is an example of what I experienced.
“The freezing wind howls up the canyon like streets blowing newspapers like kites and carboard boxes skid and bounce up the pock marked pavement. Garbage trucks squeeze between Mercedes’s and scooters as burly men leap from behind collecting man’s trash from ancient cans giving off the smell of rotting cabbage and yesterday’s meatballs. A businesswoman wearing a long wool coat and a watch cap pulled down over long black hair and cold red cheeks clutches a laptop as she clicks along in high heels squinting into the freezing wind. A young man wearing an unkempt beard weaves through traffic on a bicycle, his tattered blue UCLA jacket over a flannel shirt isn’t warm enough and his pants and tennis shoes are shiny with wear. His face is pink, and ears are red from the stinging cold. He has determined ice blue eyes and bites a homemade cigarette in his teeth. He steers one handed with a clear plastic bag of cans over is shoulder. The smell of burning marijuana follows him as the pedals on through another day of homelessness.
And so it went for a week, walking these streets to an early morning breakfast in a nearby diner, then adventuring out, usually in the back seat of a taxi to explore the wonders of the city. The cabbies were a treat themselves, sharing with me a wealth of information about the world we live it. Each from another country who came to American and melted in. One was from Tibet – I loved hearing what he said about his homeland and his move to America. All were great patriots who appreciate the USA more than some lucky individuals who were born here.
Three months have passed since the publication. Amazon shows over 350 4.4 out of possible 5-star reviews. The number is phenomenal! If you are one of the reviewers, please accept heartfelt thanks from Chuck and me. The feedback from you is appreciated more than you will ever know. The project took over 4 years. I interviewed Chuck at least a dozen times and I visited Vietnam to find and feel the country Chuck new so well. I found An Hoi, the base near Da Nang that housed his sniper platoon. The only thing left is the air strip where Chuck helicoptered out of on his missions. Its lonely now and hot and red dust is still blowing in the wind.