Rodger That: Something Different

I write both thrillers, (with settings around the world), and frontier fiction where the craziness of man against man occurs in wilderness settings; where the land itself, or the weather, or even the wildlife adds to the conflict, sometimes becoming another opponent, and occasionally becoming a refuge.

Carmen and I will once again attend Bouchercon, a convention of writers and readers, this year in Calgary. A high percentage of the writers and readers at this convention are aficionados of the mystery genre. With that in mind, I’ve focused on that genre in my own reading for the last two months. Here are my favorite authors from my time in the underworld. Robert Dugoni has been writing legal and police thrillers for decades. His book, Her Cold Justice was a fun read. A.C. Frieden, usually writes thrillers set across the globe. Last year he wrote his first mystery set in New Orleans. Dead In The Quarter is not the kind of book you read at bedtime; it might keep you awake. Gene Koon is a new writer, who like Frieden and me has extensive experience around the world. He ignored that part of his life and wrote a fun mystery set where you would never expect a thriller to occur. His book Another Try should be a cozy fireside story in quiet Oregon wine country, but it isn’t. Who knew that bullets and chardonnay pair well together? Jay S. Bell as himself and under a pseudonym has been writing mystery for decades. His book Welcome To Cottonmouth is one of the most intense action stories I’ve ever read. With dozens of books under your belt you can ignore many of the traditional rules of storytelling and make it work.

I encourage everyone who loves to read, to leap off from a cliff once in a while and pick up a good book in a genre that you might never normally read. For me, they are a window into challenging worlds I don’t normally visit. It’s amazing how often I will get a note from a reader who mostly reads romance, explaining that the romance in my thriller or frontier fiction books, set in crises settings, elevates passion to all new levels. I’m happy to respond to every note and to recommend another of my books or even one form another author who I read. 

Rodger's 2 Cents: The Times Demand It

Like so many, the war with Iran has left me with mixed feelings. My family lived in Iran prior to the 1979 Revolution. The leaders of the Iranian Army, Air Force and Navy all refused to use their troops against their own people protesting the government. After the Mullahs came to power by exiling or executing the socialists, communists and social democrats that helped them gain power, they turned on the former government. All three of the military leaders who refused to attack their own citizens were shot. My family lost a number of friends in the purges.

Since then, the regime has openly declared war on the USA and Israel and murdered tens of thousands of their own citizens. The current regime’s war on the United States has continued for forty-seven years. How did we get into a situation where smart capable American leaders have tolerated a low-key, decades long war waged against the USA, a war that included the Beirut Barracks bombing that killed hundreds of Americans? How did our allies in Europe and the Middle East allow one nation to promote and fund the majority or terrorist groups in the world?

What amazes me most is that the appeasement and coddling of the Iranian regime is so similar to how the West, and especially Britain, appeased Hitler in the lead-up to World War II. Years ago, I read a great book on the subject and recommend it. Appeasement: Chamberlain, Hitler, Churchill, and the Road to War by Tim Bouverie is an amazing read. 

It covers all the bases, mirroring what we have seen from American and allied leaders and Iran. First, we slapped the regime like one might slap a naughty child. Then we ignored them, thinking that they really weren’t that bad and would probably just go away. Next, we tried to engage with them diplomatically but knowing that they were right and that Allah was on their side, they felt free to lie, make promises they didn’t intend to keep and stall until they were so powerful, with weapons that made them unstoppable. Along the way, our leaders tried to pay them off, cajole them with flattery, and enter into treaties that, had they worked, might have postponed the development of Iranian power, but in the end just gave the regime more time to perfect their asymmetrical warfare capabilities. Imagine the world’s foremost terrorist regime with nuclear weapons.

Bouverie’s book on how the Allies dealt with Hitler was almost a blueprint for how the West has dealt with Iran. For decades, the regime has funded attacks on the West and openly killed its own citizens who dare to disagree. Like Hitler, they formed a second national army—IRGC, analogous to the SS—dedicated to the regime, rather than the country. And like the Brownshirts, who enforced Nazi dogma, the Iranians created the Basij, a militia whose only job is to crush domestic resistance. This has all been seen before.

What is different is that in the early years of Hitler’s rise to power, as much as 80% of the German people supported his movement. In Iran, less than half of the population supported the early rise of the Mullah regime. Today, roughly 20% support it, 60% oppose it, and the remaining 20% are simply keeping their heads down. You do not have to destroy the country to oust the regime. 

For those of you who question the war in Iran, that is one of our most treasured rights. But read Appeasement before you cement your thoughts. I’m not sure that our President is much of a reader, but someone on his staff is.   

Rodger Recommends: Real World Book Club

I was at a book club meeting not long ago, and during a conversation about my most recent book, Robber Barons, the theme turned to how lucky we are to live in the USA today. That book explores how the Robber Barons of the early 20th century not only dominated industrial America but also places like the territory of Alaska. It follows a small cadre of ordinary citizens, including steamship captains, fish cannery owners, teachers, ministers, Native villagers, as they battle the financial elite, in local government, Congress, and across Alaska, a territory twice the size of Texas. The industrial elite manipulated Congress to corner the fishing, timber, and mining industries as they developed in the territory. Their methods left people hungry, wounded or even dead. While the book tells an exciting tale of progress against power, it wasn’t until Alaska was granted statehood that its citizens truly began to control their own lives—better but not perfect.

One woman at the book club meeting strenuously objected to the idea that life today is much better than a hundred and twenty-five years ago. Armed with a list of deeply felt injustices and inequities, she was incredulous that most of us felt fortunate to live here and now. That got me thinking about my stories. 

Injustice and unequal outcomes are a fact of life, often troubling and demanding efforts to mitigate them, and rich subjects for great books. History is built upon the efforts of ordinary people trying to make things better. Compounding the problem is that values change over time. The majority of Americans in 1826 believed in slavery. The Civil War ended the legal framework for slavery, but it took another hundred years to end many people’s views on the race. Today there is still racism in the country, but no one advocates owning other human beings. The racism of the 1960s when Black citizens struggled just to feed their children, and when laws and neighborhood covenants limited where you could live, and where your children could go to school, is gone.

Especially those of us who have traveled the world recognize how fortunate we are to live in a country where the bottom 10% of households economically would be in the top 10% in much of the world. The citizens of Iran are right now celebrating other countries bombing their nation, hoping that a repressive government that kills women for not properly covering their hair will be destroyed. 

These conversations, triggered by books, is one of the great joys of book clubs. They are also important conversations in a divided nation. I’ve yet to meet a perfect person. But we can all be better and more knowledgeable, and we can rejoice in “better” even when it falls short of “perfect.” And I will keep on writing about it.  

Taste Of The Wild: Maharaja Stew

I first saw a version of this meal in Montana Outdoors magazine. I did some research and found that this recipe has its roots in the aristocratic 1800’s India’s ‘Shikar’ hunts. The elites of India and British colonials held lavish hunts on private game preserves, the hunts becoming aristocratic social events, with lavish meals. Now I’m a proletariat hunter myself, one who loves fair chase on public lands, but that doesn’t mean that the recipes from this tradition aren’t amazing.

INGREDIENTS
2 pounds of boneless game meat, (use tougher cuts like shoulder or neck—moose, venison, elk, goat, sheep, or pork), trimmed and cut into 1 1/2” pieces. *

2 sweet potatoes cut into 1” pieces

1 pound red lentils**

2 cups coconut milk, (solids and liquid whisked together)

3 (14 ounce) cans diced tomatoes

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely minced

2 medium yellow onions chopped into large pieces 

6 cups chicken stock

Coconut oil or vegetable oil for browning

Seasonings:

For the meat, 2 T Cumin, 3 T kosher salt, 1 t cayenne, 3- T garam masala

For the stew, 2 cinnamon sticks, 8 cloves minced garlic

chopped cilantro for garnish

PREPARATION
Combine the meat and the meat seasonings and stir, cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. 

Start the crockpot base: While the meat marinates, combine coconut milk, tomatoes, garlic and cinnamon sticks, jalapeno and chicken stock and heat on high for the 2-hour marinating period.

Brown the meat: Add cooking oil to a heavy skillet and brown the meat on all sides. Add the onions and cook until they are translucent.

Slow cook the stew: Add the meat mixture to the pot and cook on high for 4 hours, then add sweet potato and lentils and turn crock pot down to low heat for 2 additional hours. You may have to add a little water after the lentils are cooked.

Serve: Ladle into bowls and garnish with fresh cilantro. Serve with warm naan bread.

NOTES
*Meat: The traditional choice in India is Sambar Deer. I use moose, but this works with venison, elk, goat, or sheep and would probably work well with wild hog.

**Lentil substitution: If a guest has a peanut allergy and cannot eat lentils, substitute brown and wild rice, but reduce the water or broth by 1 cup.

Rodger That: The Rapid Change Of Industrialized America’s Economy

As America industrialized, the economy changed rapidly. Agricultural families who had produced much of what they needed gave way to wage earners dependent on industrialists. The cobbler who crafted shoes one at a time could not compete with factories using machines to cut production from days to hours. The industrialists, especially those with little compassion, became incredibly wealthy and entitled.

Family independence eroded as the farm and craftsman economy gave way to wages. There had always been employees, but to keep skilled help, compensation was a living wage. With industrialization, there were more workers than jobs and many were desperate.

Those who rejected that choice migrated to the frontier—almost always West and eventually north—where those willing to eke out a living searching for gold or trapping furs might thrive. 

But it was only a matter of time until the industrial class followed them. Small logging groups became Timber companies. Small mines became Mineral Corporations. Still, wages paid in those environments were better than the sweat shops of the East.

Unfortunately, some of the wealthy from the East decided they were entitled to own the West. They manipulated congress to grant them concessions for resources local people believed were theirs. Worse, with little or no law enforcement in the territories, some simply muscled aside the local population, much of it Native American, or eliminated the opposition altogether.

Robber Barons is a story of how one small group of local people fought back; how they tried to use the law and even to change the law. It is also the story of how they used the same skills that allowed them to survive in the West to fight fire with fire. 

Rodger Recommends: Something Old, Something New

I probably read 25 or so books every year. As a writer of the Team Walker thriller series, I find myself drawn to other authors who write in this genre. I’ve been in the business long enough to appreciate many of the authors who write thrillers both for their work as well as for their support and comradery. Among my favorites from well-known authors are Brad Thor’s Edge of Honor and the book Cold Burn, written by Jeff Ayres and John Land. Both books reflect the creativity and skills of masters of the craft of writing. Great reads from people I know and respect.

Mixed into my thriller reads for last year was a unique take on the genre from first time writer, Jay S. Bell. Well, Jay is really Scott Bell who has been writing for years. His book, Welcome to Cottonmouth, tips the traditions of writing thrillers. Usually, a story will set the stage, introduce the characters, and develop a story line that tips into an action scene, that then opens the next sequence in the story. This repeats until a final action sequence that ends the book. Welcome To Cottonmouth is really three action scenes somehow tied together with enough character and storyline to make the book a fun read.

At least every quarter I reach into my library for a real classic. Last month’s book was written Ernest K. Gann, whose heyday was in the 1950s and 1960s. Ernie Gann was a genius at sea yarns and was among the first writers to take one of my favorite endeavors, aviation, and write thrillers set at 25,000 feet where a thrilling conflict was compounded by the realization that losing the battle meant a lot of innocent characters would die as well as the combatants.

Twilight for the Gods took me into the South Pacific early in the last century. Gann invited me aboard the tramp sailing ship, the Cannibal, with her rotting sails, leaking hull and mutinous crew as her captain desperately tries to salvage a career by delivering an almost worthless cargo to Mexico. This is not a story where normal becomes dangerous. Rather it is a story where everything from the setting to the characters, to the tools of the trade already have no margin for error and then things go to hell. I love the story and encourage you to find the book.

Both Jay Bell’s book and Gann’s break from the ‘formula’ that so many publishers now follow. I’m not very good at those formulas either. My latest book from the Gritt Saga, Robber Barrons, certainly is not a formula story. You know who the bad guys are, or do you? You will meet a very unusual cast of heroes, but until the end, you won’t know who saves the day. And the story will take you from the quiet ocean coves of Alaska’s inside passage to the lights of a Washington DC congressional hearing. Both can be scenes of quiet reflection or shooting galleries. I’m looking forward to your thoughts after reading Robber Barrons, a story that with a few small costume changes and modern buildings could be about the world today. 

Taste Of The Wild: Carmen's Chile Verde

My Latina wife smiled at me a couple of months ago and said simply, "We are not having wild game on New Year's Day. We are going back to my family's cultural tradition, the one you loved when we first met."

I smiled and said something like, "You mean your incredible Chile Verde? I'm in."

This is a great holiday dish. If the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, this is the dish Carmen used to hook me.

A note on roasted, peeled, seeded fresh chiles (RPS): As the gringo in the house, RPS is usually my job. Make sure you thoroughly wash your hands and even rinse them in lemon juice—the residue from RPS on your fingers can be excruciatingly painful if you happen to touch your eyes. One small glass of sipping tequila for both the cook and the person preparing the chilies completes the experience.

INGREDIENTS

For the pork:

• 4 lbs. trimmed pork loin, cut into 2" pieces

• 2 tsp. salt

• 1 tsp. black pepper

• Flour for dredging

• ¼ cup vegetable oil

For the base:

• 2 yellow onions, thinly sliced

• 1 Poblano chile, roasted, peeled and seeded (RPS)

• 10 Anaheim chiles (RPS)

• 3 cloves garlic, chopped

For the sauce:

• 1½ lbs. tomatillos, roasted, peeled and chopped (or canned)

• 4 cups chicken stock

• 1 Tbsp. dried oregano

• 2 tsp. ground cumin

• 2 Tbsp. coriander seeds, crushed and dampened

• 2 bay leaves

For serving:

• 1 bunch fresh cilantro, cleaned and chopped

• 1½ cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

• 1 dozen corn tortillas, warmed on a buttered cast iron skillet

ROASTING, PEELING & SEEDING CHILES (RPS)

Turn on the oven to broil and place fresh chilies on a foil-lined cookie sheet. Slide them under the broiler, close to the flame. Watch carefully, turning chilies as the skins begin to blister. Rearrange the chilies on the sheet to ensure all are cooked evenly. (Try not to blacken them.)

As each chili becomes completely blistered, remove it and place it in a large zip-lock bag. Continue adding until all chilies are in the bag, then seal it. Leave them in the bag until they are cool.

When cool, take each one out and trim off the blistered skin, then split the chili and remove the seeds. Discard the skin and seeds, then shred the chili into approximately two-inch strips, each one-half inch wide.

PREPARATION

Season pork with salt, pepper, and dust with flour. Heat oil in heavy pan and brown pork chunks on all sides, then move to a large soup pot.

Sauté onions in the same skillet until soft, then add chilies and garlic. Sauté for 3 minutes, then add to a large soup pot.

Add tomatillos and all herbs to the soup pot and cover with chicken stock. Bring the contents to a boil, reduce to simmer, and cook for 2 to 3 hours, until pork is fork tender.

Serve in bowls and top with fresh cilantro and shredded Monterey Jack cheese. Serve with warm corn tortillas.

Rodger’s Two Cents: A Writer's Obligation

Each of us views the world through colored lenses. The color depends on our experiences, education, and belief system. This challenges a writer who would like to reach out to all. It is also a cause of conflict and disagreement in both social and public media.

There was a time when, as citizens of the country, by and large all of us shared most values. Until the mid-1800s, the majority believed it was wrong for people to own other people, commanding their work, livelihood, even their lives. But it was legal on a national basis even as some states abolished slavery. National law treated slaves as property and required even those who opposed the practice to return escaped slaves to slave hunters, even in abolitionist states. (Not all abolitionists followed the law; some chose to help escaped slaves, but most chose to follow the law until it could be repealed.)

With the expansion of new states into the West, an agreement was reached to eventually do away with slavery, starting with making it illegal to import new slaves. As the country approached the time when slavery would be illegal nationwide, it dawned on slaveholders that in a blink of an eye, most of their wealth invested in slaves would disappear. The slaveholding states began to drag their feet and oppose the upcoming legal change. A half-million Americans died in the conflict that followed.

Many constitutional scholars agree that all states were obligated to follow the law abolishing slavery, and that under the Constitution, the states that rebelled were legally entitled to leave the union—but not entitled to declare war on the north. It is questionable whether Lincoln had the authority to use force to keep the union together, but he did. Most, even in the South, now agree he made the right decision. The South attacking Fort Sumter justified Lincoln's action.

Which gets me to today. As I watch what is going on in Minneapolis, I see parallels to prior conflicts. Federal law makes it illegal to enter the United States outside of the formal immigration process. Those who are here who ignored that process are not here legally. Federal law also gives the federal government the authority to enforce immigration laws. Many do not agree with those laws, but as of today they have not been able, as the abolitionists were in the early 1800s, to change the law. The difference today is that many who disagree with current law, including state officials, are not willing to accept the law of the land. They feel not only the right to protest actions of the Federal Government, but to disrupt them.

Which gets to my obligation. I write thrillers, with one series that follows an American family throughout our history. Every book is deeply researched. They look at similar conflicts to today and examine how citizens then dealt with them. Most of the time, they followed the law or worked to change it, but some took the law into their own hands, often at great personal cost. As a writer of America’s stories, my obligation is to show history repeating itself and at what cost.

Introducing My Agent: Robert (Bob) G. Diforio

I’ve written a book that is semi-biographical, one that is so personally close that self-publishing would be a mistake. Luckily, I have signed with Robert (Bob) G. Diforio, Founder of D4EO Literary Agency, to help me find a publisher for it.

Bob spent 17 years at New American Library [now an imprint of Penguin Random House] in positions ranging from VP Sales to President and Publisher, Chairman and CEO. There he helped launch the paperback careers of Erica Jong, Robin Cook, Stephen King, Ken Follett, and Robert K. Tanenbaum.

With Odyssey Partners, he led the management team of NAL in a leveraged buy out of the company from Times Mirror in 1982, purchased E. P. Dutton a year later, and sold the combined company to Pearson PLC in 1986, which merged the company with Viking Penguin to create Penguin USA.

Leaving NAL three years later, he opened D4EO Literary Agency in late 1989.

NOATAK CHRISTMAS By Rodger Carlyle

The heavy door shuddered as Wyatt threw his shoulder against it, stumbling into the overheated cabin. He wiped caked snow from his eyebrows and trimmed beard.

“I not hear your machine,” said Agatha, rushing across the tiny room to help her husband from his parka. She hung it on a peg behind the tiny, decorated tree.

"Broke down about a mile from here. Storm hit about an hour after the helicopter took off with Travis. Must be blowin' fifty out there. Thank God it's just spittin' snow and not too cold. Easy walk except for the wind. I can fix the snow machine in the morning."

"How bad was the wreck?" Agatha asked. “The radio don' say when they called us for help. Only says he crashed over on Snowshoe Lake. Two more minutes, he'd a been here.”

“My brother got out before the Cessna burned. He was talkin’ all goofy when I got there, all mixed up about Squirrel's present. Kept talkin’ about a Ruger when I ordered a Winchester. The Army paramedic on the rescue helicopter thinks it's just a concussion. He broke both legs, but they will heal.”

“Can we go tomorrow and salvage any of the supplies? What about mail-order presents?”

“There's just a pile of cinders and melted aluminum.”

Agatha poured a cup of tea and handed it to Wyatt. He pulled a chair over next to the wood stove and began unlacing his boots. He tugged off his canvas pants and hung them next to the tree. “You and Squirrel finished stringing the popcorn. Is Squirrel asleep?”

Agatha retreated to the table and picked up the otter skin parka she had been sewing. She pointed at the loft and smiled. “I'll finish Squirrel's new coat tonight.” Her hands looked tiny holding the long metal needle she used to sew leather. “We got our present. Travis is alive.”

The crackle of burning spruce logs almost masked the howling of the wind outside the log cabin. Wyatt sat, nursing his steaming tea. He mentally took inventory of their supplies. Things would be tight, but they would be okay for a couple of months, plenty of time to get another order on an airplane from Fairbanks. They still had almost six thousand dollars in the old coffee can on the shelf. “I'll order Squirrel another .22 rifle. An eight-year-old boy should learn to shoot. He'll be disappointed that there is nothing under the tree.”

“The village will be serving the Christmas Love Feast tomorrow,” said Agatha. “I wish the ham and rest of dinner had survived.” She refilled her own tea mug. “I’ll bake a moose roast. We’ll use the last of our potatoes. I have canned corn."

Her husband said nothing, just sat rubbing his feet. He glanced at his watch. “It's after midnight. Merry Christmas to the prettiest girl in the Noatak country.” He reached out and squeezed Agatha's hand.

A shy smile and faint flush filled her face. “I guess Santa got lost in the storm, maybe. He probably has to send his presents some other way,’ she added, looking up at the loft. ‘It's time for bed.’

The smell of frying Spam awoke both father and son. “Can we use the radio to see if Santa is really lost?” asked Squirrel. “Maybe he’s looking for Thomas, that's how I signed my letter to him.” The boy ate the last of his pancakes, staring at the tree.

“If he’s lost, he'll have to send his presents some other way,” replied Agatha.

“Maybe the helicopter scared his reindeer but I'm glad that Uncle Travis is okay.” Squirrel excused himself and pulled on his canvas coat then tugged his hat and gloves from the line above the stove. “I'll refill the woodbin.”

He opened the cabin door and tripped over something on the porch and tumbled into the snow. He screamed.

Both mother and father were out the door instantly. There on the ground lay Squirrel. In front of him a roly-poly, long-haired yellow puppy sat staring at him. The dog had a cord around his neck and a tag. “What's the tag say?”  asked a startled Agatha.

Squirrel pulled the puppy into his arms. He looked at the tag. “It says Ruger.”

Wyatt looked out onto the trail. Over the faint impressions of his tracks the night before, tiny feet had followed him from the wreck. Looking up at the clearing sky, he whispered, "thank you."

___

THE NOATAK VALLEY OF ALASKA IS REMOTE, MOUNTAINOUS, AND STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL. THE ISOLATED CABINS OF ITS CITIZENS NOW HAVE SOLAR PANELS AND TWO-WAY RADIOS, BUT FEW OTHER ACCOUTREMENTS OF MODERN URBAN LIFE. MANY LIVE A SUBSISTENCE LIFESTYLE, TRAPPING FURS IN THE WINTER, WHILE SOME OF THE MEN GUIDE OUTSIDE HUNTERS TO ADD CASH INCOME. BASED ON FINANCIAL WEALTH YOU MIGHT THINK OF THEM AS LIVING IN POVERTY, BUT THEY ARE SOME OF THE RICHEST PEOPLE I KNOW. WHILE EVERY VILLAGE NOW HAS A SCHOOL, MANY PEOPLE SPEAK A STRIPPED-DOWN ENGLISH, IGNORING WORDS THAT DO NOT ADD CLARITY. THEY ARE AMONG THE KINDEST AND MOST INDEPENDENT PEOPLE I HAVE EVER MET.