Tag: Reviews

Ken Kirkby – Warrior Painter

On By vequinoxIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

excerpt

I’m aware that you are frequently faced with idiots and liars and
scoundrels but, in telling this story, I hope to explain that I am none of these
things. You need to know there are people in this world who actually do
give their entire lives to something bigger than themselves.”
“We have an hour,” she replied.
Fifty-nine minutes later, Ken had told the story of Isumataq and of the
cause of the Inuit. “That’s the preamble—now here’s the paperwork,” he
said, sliding neat folders of material across the table to her. “Here’s how the
money came in and here’s how it went out. For myself, I’ve always lived a
Spartan life. I’ve no real interest in possessions or material things. Money is
simply a necessary tool, like a hammer or a screwdriver—or a paintbrush.”
Some time later the Judge looked up and announced, “You don’t owe
a penny, Mr. Kirkby.”
“I know. If I did, I would pay it.”
When he emerged from the meeting, Ken felt as though his feet were
gliding above the rain-washed pavement. It had been worth the battle and
his sense of justification made him giddy. Karen was out of town again, but
when he phoned to share the good news, her bitter response was “Well, I
guess rules just don’t apply to you.”
He spent the evening in company with his long-time friend and fishing
buddy, Ron Gruber. Since Ken’s return to Vancouver, Ron had watched his
friend’s relationship deteriorate. He was increasingly concerned as he saw
Ken slide steadily into that solitary and dark place from which there seems
no escape. Ron was one of the few people in the world Ken could talk to
about personal matters and he told him of his concern that Karen seemed
determined to alienate her colleagues. As he put it, “It’s like watching
someone you care for deeply move dangerously close to the edge of the
cliff, and there’s no way to save her.” He harkened back to earlier situations
when Karen had set herself on collision course, and then dragged others
with her into disaster.
It was not Ken’s nature to give up without a fight, and it took several
months more before he would accept the end of their relationship. He’d
committed to change his life for Karen and he meant to do everything
humanly possible to retrieve the closeness he’d once had with her. But even
that steely resolve wilted when, before leaving on another business trip,
Karen voiced her opinion that they had nothing whatsoever in common…

https://draft2digital.com/book/3562902

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CB8W4CG

The Circle

On By vequinoxIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

excerpt

“We can do a lot better if we change our direction and if we stick together,
Robert,” Peter says.
Robert Major, who has somehow got the picture and who cares only for
himself, asks, “Alright, you guys want to take it and drive it, where do you think
you can take it? How far do you think you can go without Lorne? What tells me
you can do better than he?”
Peter sips his beer, “We have a group of financiers on hand to bring in a good
chunk of fresh money. We have a public relations company ready to work with
us and we can get much more attention for our stock price. We can achieve a lot
more than what Lorne can; it’s as simple as that.”
“Alright boys, then tell me who is going to eat up all the stock that Lorne and
his pals have on hand? Are you going to let it float out in the market? If you do
that, you sign a death warrant for the price of the shares for a long time, you
know that,” Robert insists.
Hakim listens to their comments, and knowing this moment would have
come sooner or later, turns to Robert and lets him know that Lorne is not a
stupid man and has no ego problem. He tells Robert that Lorne will simply try to
get the best under the circumstances because he knows he and Ibrahim have a lot
more shares than all the others combined, and because he also knows he cannot
get into a proxy fight with a billionaire. He’ll simply stick around for the longest
time and try to grab the most shares possible from the market. That’s how Lorne
is going to play and they all agree on that. On the other hand, Hakim suggests
they can always offer him a golden carrot.
“Yes, but Lorne is not one who will take a carrot, Hakim. He knows the game
as well as you. Would you do what you expect him to do?”
“Yes, I would. There’s always another car coming down the tracks, as the
saying goes. But Robert, you have to understand this is a course we’d like to take,
no matter what it’s going to cost. The money is available and time is on our side.
The financiers Peter referred to are our people and money from them comes
only if and when we run the show. The public relations company is our reference
and they sign with us only when we run the show. We have the ability to take this
company to the shareholders’ meeting in a month and a half. However, if you
come along we don’t even need to call one; we can speed up the process and save
a tonne of the company’s money, in the process.”
Robert realizes that the blood is ready to be spread and wants to have his
share of the spoils. He can always play hard to get for a while and try to squeeze
them for something extra.
“In other words, you have to have me along. Okay then, what are you offering?”

https://draft2digital.com/book/3562817

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0978186524

Wellspring of Love

On By vequinoxIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

excerpt

how many more times he would be called upon to rescue his headstrong
sister from danger. Mentally, he checked off the incidents that
had landed Rachael in trouble throughout their childhood. The day
he had stopped Bill Harrison, the man he then thought to be his
dad, from giving her a serious beating. That day, Ronnie had taken
the beating in her place. The time Rachael took four-year-old Bobby
and ran away from their temporary home at the Harrisons, into the
middle of the worst prairie blizzard the Alberta community had seen
in years. That time Ronald lost fingers, toes and part of an ear – and
almost lost his life – in an effort to save them.
It grieved him to know that Rachael still felt guilt over his loss. So
many times he had tried to tell her it was not her fault, nor was it her
fault that Bobby, too, had lost fingers and toes as a result of the storm.
She said she believed him, but he had seen her recoil sometimes when
she looked at his hands, or saw his feet when they were swimming in
Emblem Lake. He knew her reaction didn’t stem from squeamishness
– no girl he knew was less squeamish than his sister. No, it was
the knowledge that she had led both him and Bobby into a situation
that could have taken – and almost did take – all of their lives.
But right now there were more immediate concerns. How could
he make Rachael understand that Tim, no matter how innocent, no
matter how gentle he had always been, at eighteen years old had a
youth’s hormones raging through his system? No doubt Rachael was
right – Tim Buckley would not knowingly hurt her. He had been her
playmate since she and Bobby had been adopted by Morley and Tyne
Cresswell eight years earlier. The Buckleys lived not more than half a
mile across the fields from the Cresswell farm, a fact that accounted
for the well worn path between the two houses.
Ronald, while working in the fields, had often seen Rachael and
Bobby on their way to the Buckley farm. But he had rarely seen Tim
coming alone in the other direction. Only when he had company did
his parents allow the mentally challenged boy to leave their yard.
Now, however, Tim came and went at will.

https://draft2digital.com/book/3562917

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1926763327

Ken Kirkby – Warrior Painter

On By vequinoxIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

excerpt

she was pregnant with his child when she died.
Jessica came into his life a number of years later when he was
working in northern British Columbia. Again, a woman on the fringes of
acceptable society, she was wise, beautiful, self-reliant, and she loved him
unconditionally. Ken met her through her brother, Patrick, with whom he
worked. They were First Nations people filled with the pride of their early
ancestors. There is a saying that home is where the heart is, and Ken found
Jessica’s cozy log house in the ranch country the closest thing to a home that
he’d ever experienced. The lovers spent blissful months together planning
their wedding. It was one of the happiest times in his life.
The perverse hand of Fate nearly destroyed him when Jessica and
Patrick were killed in a horrific accident on icy, winter roads. The pickup
was still burning when Ken arrived at the scene, his last hope extinguished
when, through the shattered window of the burnt out vehicle he recognized
the sleeve of Jessica’s buckskin coat, the mate to the one he was wearing.
The traumatic image of the fiery wreck haunted his dreams long after, and
virtually drove him into the Arctic seeking some form of peace.
On his return from the years spent in the Arctic, Ken entered into
a comfortable relationship with Helen. She was a settled, intelligent
schoolteacher who appeared to support his drive to re-establish himself
as a painter within the Vancouver art scene. He was not the first man to
marry under the mistaken belief that his woman accepted his stipulation
that fatherhood was not in his plans. Ken clearly understood the depth of
his own drive and focus and believed that, consumed as he was to right the
wrong that had been done to the Inuit, he had nothing left over to give a
child. But he had not reckoned with the determination of a woman bent on
motherhood.
When Michael was born, Ken was immediately captivated by this tiny
bundle of human life. Torn between wonderment and reality, he knew that
his kind of obsessive dedication to the northern problem left little time for
the sort of nurturing his own father had given him. What was done could
never be undone however, and Ken did his best to provide for his family
both financially and emotionally. Things proceeded relatively smoothly for
a handful of years, although Ken never quite trusted Helen in the same way
he had before the unexpected pregnancy. Happily though, over the years, he
and Michael crafted a wonderfully strong, mutual love and the young man…

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CB8W4CG

The Circle

On By vequinoxIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

excerpt

“Have you talked to Ibrahim?”
“Yes, I spoke to him this morning. He sends you his greetings and says he
would like to see you soon, also. He says he understands. You and my uncle
obviously go back a long way if you talk to each other in your secret code.”
Bevan laughs at his comment, “We don’t talk in code, however, you are right,
Ibrahim and I go back a long way. You have to understand, Hakim. I owe a lot to
Ibrahim; he’s been my guardian angel, having helped me a number of times over
the years and the last time was just a little too close.”
“When was the last time, Admiral?”
“Please call me Bevan. Admiral is too official and it’s not my style. Bevan is
good enough. The last time was during the war with Iran. I was there for a while
providing intelligence liaison within certain army units. Once, while traveling, I
was abducted and held in a dark place for two and a half weeks by a group of
fanatics with no specific affiliation or demands; poor guys didn’t know what they
wanted to accomplish, if anything. They kept me imprisoned until your uncle
discovered my tracks and got me out; don’t ask me how. Maybe he paid a ransom
or maybe he used other means, who knows? He never told me how he did it,
although I’ve asked him a number of times. The result is I’m alive today, thanks
to Ibrahim. There were a lot of beheadings in those days, as you probably know.”
Hakim sees another side of his uncle that he was not aware of until now. The
Admiral continues.
“He knows what I do, where I am, where I come from, and everything else
and I know a lot more than what you think you know about Ibrahim. It’s a
two-way street; he trusts me with everything and I trust him the same way, 100
percent.”
“What would you like me to do or tell him?” Hakim asks.
“Only do as he tells you, nothing else,” Bevan says, looking into the young
man’s eyes.
“That’s no problem. Am I going to see you again, Bevan, before you go?”
“No, I don’t think so; however, if you ever need me, you know how to find
me.”
“Yes, I know. By the way, perhaps it would be nice for you to come and visit
at some time after I move into my new apartment. That will be around the end of
October; better yet, I’m planning to have a housewarming party when I move in.
I’ll call you to come and have a drink with us; is that okay?”
Bevan smiles, “I’ll be very happy to do so, Hakim. Please call and let me know
when.”

https://draft2digital.com/book/3562817

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0978186524

Poodie James

On By vequinoxIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

excerpt

town and the prospects. He listened carefully to the details of the
planning. The enthusiasm of his own replies still rang in Jeremy’s
mind.
“Dad, the state is only 13 years old. There’s opportunity everywhere.
East of the mountains, they’re bringing water to the land.
It’s going to bloom and it’s going to make people rich. It’s in the
center of the state, on the river, on the railroad that runs east and
west. They’re already shipping apples to Chicago and back east.
They’ll need a good newspaper. A paper can make a difference in
how that valley develops. The man who owns that paper will be an
influence.”
“And Winifred? Is it right to take your young wife away from all
she’s known, into a wilderness?”
“It is not a wilderness.” Jeremy reached into his breast pocket for
a post card and handed it to his father. Zeb Stone studied the
scene: A few buildings, a handful of carriages, a line of poles, the
blurred image of a man striding across a dirt street that stretched
into an infinity of sagebrush and bare hills. He looked up and contemplated
the club’s spread of gardens, fairways and trees. Jeremy
was determined to go west with or without his father’s approval,
but he ached for the endorsement. The perspiration and the dread
accumulated as he waited. The severity of the look his father
turned on him, his relief when a trace of a smile appeared and his
father offered to help with finances; it was all as clear as the day it
happened.
“As it is, sir, I’m going to use your money” Jeremy told him. “I
haven’t touched the trust fund since I turned 21. I’ll take money
from that and my savings and, if need be, Win will chip in from her
inheritance. We want to do this on our own.”
“If you ever decide to go back into banking, tell me,” Zeb Stone
said. “A growing town will need a good bank.”
Jeremy never dreamed that 25 years later he would turn his
newspaper over to his wife and plunge fully into banking. Winifred
had turned out to be as good a publisher as he was, and a better,
tougher editor. He had stayed out of the paper’s business since

https://draft2digital.com/book/3562868

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08W7SHCMV

Ken Kirkby, Warrior Painter

On By vequinoxIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

excerpt

To have the warmth and companionship fade away now that he had time
to devote to her in the pursuit of her dreams seemed to be nothing short of
cruel. Whatever it took to appease Karen would be done.
~~
Now, in Bowser, Ken was faced with the sudden realisation that he had
been living life on autopilot. It was a severe jolt for the man who prided
himself on being attentive at all times to what was going on, both within
himself and in the world surrounding him. As a quicksilver dawn slipped
above the scattering of islands offshore, Ken made a fresh pot of coffee and
realized he’d made a breakthrough. It had been a long night coming to grips
with the situation. Self-awareness was a fundamental state of mind for him,
but as he replayed the recent years, he could identify countless occurrences
that had ultimately reduced him to this astonishing loss of control.
His elusive mind was stubborn in its refusal to follow an orderly chain
of thoughts, and he became aware that for months, perhaps even years,
his overloaded brain had taken refuge in the distractions provided by an
intelligent mind. No matter how vigorously he attempted to discipline it to
the process, it slid sideways into something less conflicting.
The act of thinking had become busy work, necessary in order to avoid
the bleak despair that filled him, most especially intensified when Karen had
withdrawn. But he now recognised it was an escape mechanism that needed
to be meticulously managed. For the first time in a long while, he was
looking with a clear eye at the core of his anguish rather than retreating from
it. Gradually he was being filled with certainty that, with this awakening, he
was exactly where he should be.
My real job now was to be painstaking in programming my healing,
much as I did in Portugal when my dad turned the problem of beating
my recurring childhood illness over to me.
Ken was frequently ill in his early years. Although no medical expense
was spared, the ailment remained unnamed. He had grown weaker, thinner
and yet more tired following relocation from Britain to Spain. However,
in his mother’s Spanish culture, weakness—whether physical or mental—
was never to be acknowledged. It was only after the family rejoined Ken’s
dad in Parede, Portugal that the six-year-old was permitted to articulate…

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CB8W4CG

https://draft2digital.com/book/3562902

He Rode Tall

On By vequinoxIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

excerpt

“I would like to see Mr. McQuaid, the branch manager,”
said Joel.
“I’m sorry Mr. Hooper, but Mr. McQuaid is no longer with this
branch. He has transferred to our Denver offices. I am the new
branch manager, can I help you with something?” said the attractive,
middle-aged woman who Joel, conditioned in his paradigm
of chauvinism, had mistaken as a receptionist.
“Well ma’am, I sure hope so.” Joel hoped he would have a clean
slate with this manager, and not have to deal with the negative
impression he had made on his earlier visit. Joel continued, “You
see, my daddy used to bank here, and I am running short of cash
and was hoping that maybe you could help me out with a loan.”
“Why don’t you come into my office, Mr. Hooper, and let’s see
what we can do for you.”
Even if he didn’t get any money, Joel was certainly appreciating
the treatment he was receiving on this visit. The last time he was
here after his dad died, he had waited over ninety minutes to see
Mr. McQuaid, who, as the secretary explained, “was a very busy
man.” Finally, when he did get to sit down with him, Mr.
McQuaid told him that an old, rundown ranch yard and a
half-section of land really had no market value. According to Mr.
McQuaid, the Circle H could never be a functioning cattle operation
without access to at least several additional sections of
pastureland, and his home ranch was essentially worthless. Furthermore,
Mr. McQuaid also advised him that horses were worth
a dime a dozen. Joel had tried to explain the breeding and value of
his livestock to the young, city-raised banker, but it all fell on
deaf ears and he was quickly dismissed.
Finding himself on the street outside the bank within five minutes
of being ushered into the branch manager’s office, Joel had
retreated back to the ranch and made up his mind to cut expenses
wherever possible.
But now, he had run out of ways to cut costs any further. Joel
needed cash not just to pay off some of the bills …

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0980897955

https://draft2digital.com/book/3562862

Swamped

On By vequinoxIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

excerpt

“Sounds good, Eteo.”
“Okay George. How expensive is this going to be?”
“For you, Eteo,” George replied, smiling, “for you, you know …
I could do it for 16,500. I have to cover the prospector’s expenses,
that’s about 2,500, and 8,000 for my office expenses. That leaves a nice
chunk for the good guys.”
“Sounds good to me,” Eteo replied, smiling back. “Go ahead and
prepare the papers and send them to Rebecca.”
“I can have an agreement ready for your lawyer within a week.
Will that work for you?”
“A week sounds fine,” Eteo agreed, and the two men shook hands.
Alone in his office Eteo checked the prices of a few stocks. Platinum shares
were trading nicely, with good volumes and steady buying
slowly driving the price up a few cents a day. A classic case of
what they called “healthy” trading. Eteo hoped it would carry on like
this for a while longer, but he also knew that all good things come to
an end. The key was to know when to get out. As for Golden Veins
the price was stale. Eteo had had a couple of offers, which he was selling
through a different brokerage company so that no one would
know he was the seller, but he didn’t expect anyone to buy them anytime
soon.
At that moment Logan came in to his father’s office with a broad
smile on his face.
“Sam regrets selling some shares the other day,” he announced.
“It never fails, does it? Even when we sell something at a good profit,
if the stock goes up even a little bit after that, Sam regrets selling.
Now he wants to buy it back. What should I do, Dad?”
“Do what he wants. There’ll be some profit in it even at this level,
and he also has some of the cheaper stock, so his average won’t be
that bad. Go ahead and buy it back for him.”
A few minutes later Eteo noticed a buying order of 6,000 shares
bought by his house. Sam’s stock was in hand. On impulse, he dialed
Ariana’s phone and caught her doing her morning errands.
“Hello, sweet baby, want to hook up later?”
Ariana laughed and said, “What a question, but of course I want
to. Come and get me as soon as you’re done.”

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08WP3LMPX

Swamped

On By vequinoxIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

excerpt


Today is one of those times. After school, the two sides gather in
the school yard and make all the customary arrangements: putting
goal “posts” in place, deciding who will play what positions, and
drawing straws to see who has the ball first. Then the game commences.
On this day, they play for half an hour and are tied two goals
apiece before all hell breaks loose when Nicolas scores a goal the
other side calls “out,” and Nicolas and his team insist it was a fair goal
and the other team shouts in unison, “Asshole,” which is all the trigger
Nicolas needs to land a couple of good blows with his fists on the two
nearest kids on the other team, and then they all take part in their ritual and fight, and not even a sudden shower of rain can stop the
upper village kids fighting their age mates from the lower village until
three or four from each side have bleeding noses and bruised arms
and faces. Nicolas of course is the keenest fighter on the upper village
side, and he manages to inflict most of the damage on the enemy
until everyone has had enough of fighting and the two teams go their
separate ways
They may be tired of fighting, but their blood is still boiling, and
this is why, when far away from the school grounds, the upper village
kids turn at the side of the hill, from where they cannot be seen from
the school anymore, take off their shoes and socks, lie down on the
wet soil, and give the lower village kids their open hands and toes.
This is their fiercest act of defiance. It is the height of ridicule in this
part of the world to be shown the open palm of another and especially
when even the toes and soles of the feet take part in the insult.
Afterwards, in their respective houses, the children from both
sides have to contend with their mothers’ angry questions: “what has
happened to you?” and “who have you been fighting?” and “why have
you got into another fight?” and “how many times have I told you
not to do this?” These are questions they have all heard many times
but that never stop them from repeating their ritual.
On another day the boys go hunting, all geared up and ready. It
is the middle of July, as hot on Crete as it is every July, and they leave

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08WP3LMPX