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Serpent’s Smile has been extensively edited since the first draft appeared here. Several tens of thousands of words have been cut. But writers are myopic; they see only what’s at the end of their nose, and even then they tend … Continue reading →

Here’s the process I’ll be trying out as I edit the nearly 500 pages of double-spaced text in my first draft. First, some definitions using the grading system we all learned in school. Fiction is built with several parts: Action … Continue reading →

In this, the final chapter: Guns in hand and ready to shoot each other as well as Megyn, Spence, Sartaq and Megyn all ride the elevator up to the roof of the spectacular Marina Bay Sands Hotel for the final, fatal confrontation. Continue reading →

The climax of “Serpent’s Smile” will appear early Saturday morning. If you’ve been reading along, you will be pleased to find out how it ends — everything will be posted as of then. The story includes 99,136 words. [550,238 characters!] … Continue reading →

In this chapter: Two minutes before Noon, Sartaq pushes the button to explode the bombs and bring the hotel crashing down into the casino. Continue reading →

In a bagel shop in Santa Barbara California, I finished the first draft of the final chapter. It will be posted along with two others over the next three weeks. Work began last October with the outline. A month later, … Continue reading →

In this chapter: After the five student bombers have left, Spence attacks Sartaq in the hotel room. Continue reading →

In this chapter: Sartaq assembles and arms the bombs. After giving final instructions, his five followers are sent individually to the lobby to await the final countdown. Megyn, still in his clutches, seems resigned to what is about to happen. Continue reading →

In this chapter: Spence secretly sets out on his own dangerous and possibly suicidal rescue, discovers Sartaq and Megyn’s room, but is then forced to wait and watch for some unknown opportunity to attack. Continue reading →