“Humanity has risen beyond the confines of perceptible reality through the art of conspiracy and mystery. Properly executed, the search for something greater has always led to advancement, be the initial hypothesis proven true or false. If the urge to know more, to find something greater than ourselves, was not present, mankind would still be swimming around the ocean, accepting of the deep, endless blue as the only reality.

“But we didn’t. We went to the surface and found a new level of existence, as humanity always tries to do. It is a trait that has led to what should have been a simple, ignorant species, unaware of its own creation and creator, gaining collective will beyond basic instinct.

“If the search for more were to end, humanity would be stunted in its continuing growth, left to only ponder the greater meaning, to grow cold inside as belief in something greater than itself fades away, taking free will and consciousness with it.

“This, my friend, would mark the end of the world.”

-M.P.

Just Beyond the Surface, Waiting on the Beach.

1

Tuesday, July 23rd
Irvine Spectrum Shopping Mall
Irvine, California
3:47 PM

He sat alone in the waiting area of the open-air mall in one of the many wooden chairs. The blue fabric awning of Dave and Buster’s made the bright midday sun and hundred-degree temperatures tolerable.

In front of him was a small, simple black table. His untouched lemonade sat in the center, a growing pool of condensation ringed around the bottom. He held a large smartphone in a leather flip case, responding to messages from his store manager.

He was wearing a pair of Robert Wayne loafers, an older pair from a long dead line that he prided himself in having acquired. They were adorned with an abstract seal, the design reminiscent of an ancient islander’s artistic take on a crocodile. His button-up dress shirt slowly faded from red to black, finally matching his black dress pants.

Michael Ridding didn’t look like he wanted to be bothered.

At thirty-six, he stood six-foot-three with an intimidating face to most. However, those who knew him well only saw it as inviting. His thick brown hair was combed and slicked to his right side, several bleached patches barely visible as his natural color consumed them.

A ringing suddenly filled his left ear, and he reached up to correct the issue. He’d worn a hearing aid the majority of his life and always hated the things. In his youth, they were large, indiscreet units plagued by constant malfunctions. Nowadays, they were barely visible and only squealed on occasion, so he tolerated the minor annoyances.

Michael looked down at the clock on his phone. He’d been sitting for just over fifteen minutes, much longer than he had planned. Usually, he would have gone off shopping to his heart’s content, but it would have been rude to leave his friend and roommate at the restaurant without letting him know.

Aron Sanderson, who was still enjoying his time in the game room, was Michael’s lifelong friend and now roommate. They had been inseparable since they met in elementary school, back when their families lived in Sacramento. They had gone through school together, drudged their way through college in Ohio, then found themselves living not far apart when Michael moved to Palm Springs after managing an aquarium import facility in Dallas.

After Aron lost his home to a wildfire back in May, Michael had let him move in. How long their arrangement would last, Michael didn’t know, but they were content for the short term. Having someone to talk over the work day with was something neither of them knew they missed. In truth, Michael hoped Aron would live with him for as long as possible. Otherwise, it would just be him and the cat again, and however much comfort Granger was, she wasn’t exactly the best listener.

He set the phone down. Sipping his lemonade, he watched the shoppers come and go, most of them groups of young people migrating from one fashion store to another like schools of fish on a reef.

The minutes continued to tick by with no sign of Aron. Michael didn’t worry; odds were, Aron had gotten carried away.

Again.

Normally reserved, when given the chance he would branch out and have some fun. Michael had left him at the skee ball lanes, where he was challenging some kid to see who could get the highest score. It was good-natured fun, but Michael was looking forward to the day when Aron realized how immature he looked. Compared to his best friend, Aron had always been a little less uptight, but the last few years had seen Aron break out of his shell more often. Michael supposed it had something to do with the job.

Michael couldn’t help but reflect on his work. The excursion to the Spectrum was meant to be a cool-down after a long, tedious meeting with their boss while he had been in town. Instead, Michael could feel the sun creeping over the protection of the awning as it lowered, threatening to take his remaining patience with it across the hazy blue sky.

He drew his thoughts inward, letting go of his concerns about Aron. He found himself looking back to the time when his life had taken a dramatic turn. A turn that led him to this moment.

He let the memory consume him, oblivious to the three men getting ready to kill him just out of sight.

Want to read Chapter 2 but can’t wait?
Michael Ridding: A DenCom Thriller is already out on Kindle!
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INSIGHTS!

This chapter probably went through the most changes of any first chapter I’ve written. I wanted to make sure I opened with a clear picture of Michael, but I ended up cutting a lot of backstory before beta readers and the editor got a hold of it. Among the discarded tidbits were Michael’s rings, which ended up being cut from the book entirely. In earlier drafts, he wore a ring on each finger that signified something only he knew, and we would have found out in later books what they meant to him–perhaps one per book. This is still an idea I love that will probably be recycled into another story or novel someday.

Next was his interest in shoes, which is still hinted at throughout the book, but not to the extent of the first few drafts. If I remember right, we decided to cut this in the line edit phase. Michael originally made a hobby out of collecting expensive shoes, but I decided to cut this since he already had a hobby–aquariums–and because it was a little to close to several of the people who inspired Michael. A recurring theme I discovered in these people was a love of fashion, particularly shoes, but I cut this from the final draft since the aquariums were interesting enough. His love of fashion and such is still implied and expanded on throughout the series moving forward, but I don’t intend to bring it too close to the surface unless the need arises.

Quite a bit was cut out involving Aron, as well. What made it into the final book is about half of what was there to begin with. I originally went into Aron’s backstory in greater detail, the most notable change being a rough date for when he would move out. This was recycled into Book 2, where it’s one of the many issues leading to a rift between Michael and Aron. (NOTE: This could still be cut… again.)

That’s all the insight I have for this chapter. I’m sure I’ll think of more later and may update the post accordingly.

But, for now, thanks for reading!

-S.T. Hoover

What am I listening to?

“The Viles” by Blaqk Audio.

I know, Davey and Jade two weeks in a row. What can I say? Their side project, Blaqk Audio’s new single just came out (at the time of this writing), and they also have a new album, Only Things We Love, coming out in April. Plus, I listened to their albums Cexcells and Bright Black Heaven nearly the whole time I was writing Michael Ridding, not to mention AFI’s Crash Love and Pet Shop Boys’ Electric.

I’m rambling…

Anyway, “The Viles” is great, and I’ve linked to it above because it’s worth a listen, and because I can’t help but give them exposure they probably don’t need.

Anyway, have a listen, and I’ll see you guys next week!