Richie O’Malley and Juan Carlos Felipe-friends from boyhood to the grave. At times portraying the role of innocent bystanders find themselves pulled deep into a world of drug smuggling and organized crime. By the stories end their journey has taken them from deep in the South American drug cartels to the American CIA, and to the highest offices in the United States. It is a story about the corruption of money and power and at the end an examination of friendship lost and friendship rediscovered. Juan is dying in a hospital and Richie realizes his life of anonymity and relative safety is fast imploding around him. Juan, knowing his end is fast approaching, feels a deep need for acknowlegment and atonement for their crimes.
I think this piece sets the tone for this book: The Three Lives of Richie O'Malley. Hopefully by next week will be in print. Thank you to all my readers! be safe! we will all get through this mess!
I guess this week is an good a time as any to reflect. Everybody stay safe, and calm!
Now I'm waiting on the photographer to finish the cover. I'm seriously leaning towards The Beatles White Album concept! This is maddening!
I swear this book is written, people have read it. I am waiting, and waiting, and waiting, for the cover to be done. I should have started that before I started the book. I liked this chapter, it help to define the love/hate between Richie and Juan... who know, maybe by next week we'll have a cover?
It's hard to write and post these without giving to much of the story away... Hoping for publication this month. Waiting to finish the cover
I like this chapter, I think it would make a good short story on it's own. This gun is a theme throughout this story, perhaps a character more than a theme.
Arguably, Vinny is my favorite character, at least now he is. They all are my favorites, actually. I love writing characters.
I'm pretty excited that this, The Three Lives of Richie O'Malley, my second book, is finally going to be published. I am hoping for early January 2020. I always plan to miss things like missing the holiday sales rush, because I am a fricken marketing genius!
I know my stuff isn't mainstream... I wish she'd either say, "yeah, we want this!" or, "Man, this sucks!" Like Tom Petty said, "The waiting is the hardest part..."
Waiting on agents... I re-wrote this chapter as a short story, maybe ill post it on my blog https://williamlobb.com/blog
Still waiting on a decision from this one agent... It is hard to describe how maddening this is... I want this book out there. Take it from me, its a great book! I wrote it, I should know! : )
Thank you to all the people i've never met who share my stuff on twitter. It means so much to me. I got sucked up in politics last week and got myself twitter banned. While I know it's important to speak out against the madness, I also need to respect the exposure twitter provides me. To those of you who shared my posts and bubbles last week I could not thank you. I will as soon as I am able!
I don't like Richie, but he's a great character. I'm told my characters are my strongest asset as a writer. I don't like him, but I loved writing him. As I sit, still waiting for the agent to get back to me, I decided I'd pend a few minutes with my old friend, Richie O' Malley
I'm losing my religion with agents and publishers. Some days I hate this story, then I need to step back and remind myself it's a good story, I've been told by many readers it's a good story, the story has nothing to do with the abject idiocy of the publishing industry. Write because you have to. Because you need to. Because you have something to say. Write--screw anyone who gets in your way.
I think this is a much better book than my first novel, The Third Step. The story flow is smoother, narration clearer. If it ever gets out of the hands of the agent and published, someone may actually read it. The inevitable end of the story arc was hard to write. When you spend a year with a character in your head, good or bad, he becomes, if not a friend, a companion. It is difficult to watch his demise. This excerpt is the beginning of the closing of the circle of Richie's life.
Developing complex, dark and generally--at least at the outset--unlovable characters is what writing is all about for me. Painting a picture of broken people and how they got to be that way; what makes them tick. A friend/editor suggested to me that the gun in this story was a character all its own. After some thought I decided it best to tell the story of the Smith and Wesson, snub-nose, Police Special. This gun is a thread that runs the entire book.
A the end of Juan's life he questions if he can ever be forgiven the sins of his life. Asking Richie, his oldest friend to relive the life one last time, hoping to find solace in the journey. hoping to find forgiveness...
It has always been about war... It has never ever been about us. It has always been us vs. them... This was the end of Richies war. As the dark clouds gathered, Richie saw the world through the eyes of those his actions and deeds had hurt.
In this brief section Juan and Richie both come to terms with how far their journey has taken them. Over the years Juan has developed a fear of death and the unknown that he thinks only Richie can ease. juan seems to think Richie can somehow forgive this life of shared sins. .
I liked this piece.I think it shows a softer more vulnerable side of Juan. I think it shows that he was broken from a very young age. I don't think Juan was cut out for the life that found him.
I loved this character. I wish i'd done more with him. maybe another time. Like Neil Young once said, Its all one song...
As the story evolved this gun became a character as much as Richie and Juan. That's a big part of the fun of writing; surprising yourself. I'm sorry I didn't go deeper into "Lucky Johnny" I think he's a good character. We may hear more from him.
Dark, gritty, and riddled with back alley characters, The Third Step is one man's journey into the black recesses of his own soul... Meet Frankie, a young, disaffected amateur boxer, really more of a punching bag, a drunk and a drug addict. He is a loser at love, except for his relationship with his grandma, who, rumor has it, is a white witch. She, along with a handful of others, serve as his moral compass. Frankie fights a lifelong struggle to find an understanding of the creator of the universe, not the poisoned caricature painted by the church and the "holy" people who seem to torment him. His journey takes him from the East Coast down to New Orleans to face confrontations with his demons, both real and imagined. Along the way, the story is littered with tales of drug smuggling, murder, an affair with a woman who may be the devil herself, and an ultimate quest for revenge. Frankie comes to terms with his addictions, but his search for a deeper understanding of this God entity and his need to connect with his soul could be his ultimate addiction, one that may follow him beyond the grave...
After 3 years this book is about to be re-released! I'm excited! Here is a chapter I had fun with. I hope you enjoy.
This is a hard time. This is a hard story. Maybe Frankie's life will take your mind off the troubles of the day, I hope so... Be safe, and take care.
The Third Step had a few pivotal moments, This was a challenging book. It forced me to look back on some things that were anything but pleasant. Cathartic and healing, I suppose.
I did a lot of acid, that seems to surprise noone. I am ok with that... This was a fun chapter to write, at the time I didn't realize it foreshadowed a later chapter. I am a seat of the pants writer. It's the only way for me. It's fun to find out where the stories go, as I write them...
I’ve realized watching my mom die that Frankie had stones all wrong. It’s not the weight of your stones that kills you, they are a gift. It’s when you last stone is taken, perhaps the gift of being able to feed oneself, or not having to pee in a diaper, when these gifts, these stones are gone, then—hopefully—you die…
I am always so amused, and to a degree angered, by the nonsense that is nanowrimo. How does someone just sit down and write words? You have to live the words. You have to feel the words. I'd rather spend a month writing one good, true chapter than 50,000 words of noise. This world is noisy enough!
It seemed fitting to open with a fight. A violent, bloody fight scene. Frankies entire life was a battle. Writing this took me back to my own fights. Strangely, I suppose, I enjoyed every blow that hurt me. They taught me something important...
I wasn't sure where I was going with Landry when I wrote this. He turned out to be a fun character. I often wonder what happened to him!
Working on my third novel now, I realize I've largely forgotten about my first, The Third Step. I learned a lot about the writing process with this story.I learned what users like, dislike; what confuses and angers them. This excerpt is a good example: I'd never given much thought to the importance of defining the narrator in this third person perspective. I've been told the narrator is, God, The Devil, Frankie, Me, Artie, Frankie's grandfather, and Jack the bartender. I think they are all great guesses and all excellent. Truth be told, I'll never tell...
There is a fear, a line to cross when you write your first dark, gory, in this case, semi-sado-masochistic sexual scene. It 's not easy or fun. You wonder what people will really think? What will my mom say? The Third Step was my first novel. I've learned a lot from it. There are mechanical issues, the errant comma,that seems to terrify us all. The questions of who is the narrator--I've been told it's God, I've been told it's the Devil, I've been told its Jack the bartender... This book taught me it's OK to take chances, to go 'out there,' and not be afraid to push that envelope. I think I'm a better writer in 2019, than I was in 2015. The Third Step was my teething ring.
I've long been fascinated by the men of this time period. My own grandfather--named Arthur--was from this time. The world was changing, America was no longer allowed to isolate and insulate itself from the troubles of the rest of the world. Electricity and mechanization--cars and trucks--were changing the farm and life in unimaginable ways. The end of WWI, and its horror--the war to end all wars, and the specter of WWII--were all weighing on and changing the minds and thoughts of men like Artie. I liked Artie so much as a character, I expanded on someone like in him in my third novel, The Berry Pickers.
when the Agents make you crazy when nothing is working keep writing
End stage addiction is an ugly place. I have been told, and I hope, this was a pretty accurate portrayal of that place. It is one I hope to never revisit.
I didn't like the prologue, I wish this chapter started the book. I like the smells and the feel of this chapter. The violence of the fight. Ot beings out a lot of main characters personality, his being. Frankie was in a lifelong fight, it really didnt matter who he was fighting. it was always about the fight.
This was a tough chapter to write. hallucinations are things best left to memory. Dredging these up as I write is probably good, a reminder, something that may get relegated to the back of my memory, but things never to be forgotten. Writing The Third Step was therapeutic
I didn't realize until I'd completed this chapter that that it was a premonition, as well as a warning to Frankie.It speaks of his desire to get clean, but using a drug to do it. I spent many days smoking weed and taking acid trying to stop drinking and taking pills; to "get clean." I hope after this Frankie learned to not take acid alone in the woods...
Writing this book I was never 100% sure who Landry was. He was part ghost, part old adversary, part spirit guide send from Alexandrine to guide Frankie. I'm not sure even in their final battle what happened to Landry. His role in the story, to simply be another spirit guide, another tormentor to Frankie. I hope someday, in another story Landry will reappear.
I think this chapter is simply about the accumulated weight and baggage that we carry. In Frankies mind people die when the burden becomes more than we can carry... I carry tons of stones, every day I feel their weight.
While this chapter was not about Frankie's true rock bottom it was close. It's a process; the rapidly approaching bottom. Never fun to write about, but and important part of the story...
This character, Artie, has become a model for my third book I am forever fascinated by these depression era guys. Even lost in their criminality they have a proud stoic nature. Artie is too good to let go yet...
This is a pretty accurate portrayal of my last day as an active drug addict. if I have learned one thing from the recovery process it is this: Be honest with yourself about who you are and where you come from.
I want the details. There are so many formula based books out there that according to some publishers and reviewers, must be a certain amount of pages based on genre. Real literature, as is the case with this work and with this author, William Lobb, is written from the heart and soul, follows no formula, and can be measured by it's impact on the reader. I put "The Third Step", by William Lobb easily in the class of "On the Road", by Jack Kerouac, with the brutal blunt power of "Painted Bird", by Jerzy Kosinski.
I liked Juan's character so much I carried him over to the second book. Not a series or a sequel at all, more a a continuation so I could keep this character alive. A good friend of mine, now past, was the model for Juan. I guess I miss him. Writing about Juan kept my friend alive for me.
Frankie, now sober, encounters a prostitute deep and active in her addiction. He craves her, craves her addiction. Realizing his addiction is his home...
Frankie was confounded and confused by Cora and her boundless faith. Cora and Alexandrine had a faith Frankie would never comprehend. From the old man, his grandfather, he took his rage, his anger, from the old man he found his darkness
I loved writing this chapter. It made me homesick and nostalgic. Middletown was a factory town and full of decent hardworking factory people. Betty was modeled after a girl I knew as a kid there. Betty was better than an of us corner boys deserved. I hope she found a good life
Maybe this chapter was a little too fun to write. John Quarry was modeled off a gangster i knew years ago. The real John lived. I tried to inject a bit of humor and humanity into a very dark chapter, I hope I was successful!
But not the end of his story. I spent a lot of time pondering what Frankie must have been feeling as Juan Carlos lit him up. What will run through your mind as you face your deepest and possibly final and last fear?
If you were facing your end, and you had a moment to contemplate, would you would stick by your beliefs and ride them out, or frantically start praying... I think even the most devout have some doubts. Some of us are full of nagging doubt. I guess this chapter asks the question, "are there any atheists in foxholes..."
I liked writing this chapter. It is a major turning point in the book. After and onto the ending this is about revenge and the inevitable. His life in New Orleans over, Frankie heads home to finally get the answers he seeks. His sobriety, new found and fragile, is tested. The chapter is a good segue to the ending
I love New Orleans. it's my favorite city on earth. It is a great setting for this part of the book. NOLA is such an perfect mix of people and cultures and myth and legends. I'm trying to figure out a way for my next book to end up there too.
This chapter is the end of the life of chemicals and booze for Frankie. In this chapter he shoot heroin in his vein - an act he always saw as too desperate for even him to resort to - This act brings about an ugly and brutal end to this life and a face in the mirror that may be terror itself.
Frankie - Tripping on acid - comes to terms with some of his largest fears and even a bit of foreshadowing to his future and his ending. Unknown to him at the time. Drying out from the booze and pills the LSD gave him a different and terrifying perspective. Alone in the Woods was fun to write. .
This was a strange chapter to write. John Quarry was modeled after a guy I knew and know. Never quite sure if we were friends or enemies. I guess I liked that about Jamier, there was a tension between us that always kept it real.
Tough chapter - a radical change for Frankie, an ending and a beginning... violent, ugly, dirty... fitting. A long way from the end, but an ending
During my first year of sobriety I took The Third Step literally. I got involved with some seriously shady "born again," folks. A couple of them were quite evil. This chapter is based on those guys and those days. It explores Frankie's confusion between the "good people" who seemed to be using him and filling his head full of guilt and his friends, some of the people society tended to look at down a very long nose.
Pam, possibly the love of Frankie's life or his greatest distraction and his twisted love for her led to the events of this chapter. The events of this night begin and end at The Lovely, Turf's Tavern. On this night a major change Frankie's life took place and it sets up the path he follows till the end of the story.
This chapter dives into Frankie's personal war with the church, his confusion with, perhaps jealousy of, the "holy" people. He realizes Pam is simply Pam, not the image he's created. I think reading this chapter paints a pretty clear picture of Frankie's struggle with the creator of the universe. Frankie asks for no sympathy. He simply wants you to watch the dance.
A rough chapter to write. Frankie loses his moral compass and maybe the only person who ever really loved and understood him. In typical Frankie style he makes a huge scene and finds himself isolated and angry
A face to face review with a literary agent revealed that he liked the book, but the introduction was weak. It didn't grab the reader "by the balls." I went back to my hotel room and pouted, read the first three paragraphs of The Grapes of Wrath. realized Steinbeck could write about fricken dirt and make it compelling. I stopped pouting and rewrote the intro as a prologue.
This is the story of Frankie's Grandfather, Artie. Artie was a dreamer and a drunk and a poet. He lost his oldest son in the second world war. That changed Artie forever. His life turned dark and meaningless. Frankie inadvertently followed in his grandfathers path. All the way to the end...
In this chapter Frankie, after witnessing the death of a friend, contemplates the growing weight he carries with him. A young man with an old man's heart.
I had to re-write the prologue and first chapter after it had been released. An agent really liked the book, but he said it "didn't grab me by the balls...' So, I rewrote it, hopefully this time a little more and powerful...
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