The Working Title

Crafted Scenes, Cognitive Scraps, and Coffee Stains from a Future Best-Selling Novelist to a Fanbase He Doesn't Have Yet

The Pessimal Caper

The Pessimal Caper

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About

Genre: Parody Comedy, Pulp / Noir Detective Story
Themes:
Pages: 41
Words: 9122

2018 was one of those years where I went into NaNoWriMo with the best of intentions, but I just sorta forgot about those intentions until it was halfway over in the middle of November. Sadly, despite a good run, I was trying to “pantser it,” and I’m no “pantser.” I had a strong Act 1, and a worthwhile middle with a continual series of ludicrous twists, but just never found the right ending, and the damned characters wouldn’t write it for me.

In my mind, it’s a tribute to old-time radio, film noir, and ’50s horror cliches, as interpreted by the Marx Brothers, and directed by George A. Romero.

Back Cover Blurb

Jack Chase is a gumshoe with a stiff drink in one hand and bad timing in the other. When a sultry socialite with secrets, Sally Montanna, walks into his office, Jack finds himself trapped in the Hotel Beauchamp and tangled in a case that reeks of perfume, blood, and bad sushi. What starts as a simple missing-person job turns into a hell-ride through cursed artifacts, a Yakuza turf war, and a swing band that never stops playing, mostly because members keep disappearing only to return as zombies.

Now Jack’s neck-deep in undead bellboys, hitmen, cursed elevators, and one very angry lounge singer who may or may not be possessed. Worse, the basement is a powder keg of secrets, and someone lit the fuse. All Jack wants is a quiet exit and a shot of something strong, but the only way out is through a ballroom brawl between the living, the dead, and a room full of spoiled brat debutantes that could honestly go either way.

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Revision History

Three Chapters and an OutlineNovember 2018
 

Current Issues Being Worked On

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References / Discussion in Other Posts