New Year

31DEC17

2017 has been a great year!

Professionally, I've had several more stories published, and one republished. I couldn't be happier at my regular day job too. I also secured all my professional credentials for the next decade or so. I love where I'm at!

Personally, I've been trying to take better care of myself. After several tests and visits to the doctor, I've been diagnosed with extremely low levels of some very important letters of the alphabet (like A, B, C, D, etc...). So, I'm working to get those levels where they need to be. I've also been losing weight in an effort to keep the demons of hereditary diabetes at bay. Which, thank goodness, seems to be working. Of course, it doesn't help when your doctor tells you flat out, "You're fat." Not an easy thing to hear. 

What does the new year hold? Well, hopefully a short story anthology of all my own work! I'm looking at putting together a collection of 13 stories, some new, some old. I spent a portion of the last few days looking at some old pieces I wrote here and there and boy are they awful! lol. But it feels good to know I have grown as a writer. One of my New Year's resolutions is to reread some of my favorite stories and see what I can glean from them, what I can use in my own stories. Return to my roots so to speak. Go back to what I like. This doesn't apply just to books. Movies, comics, and music will also be revisited. I'm still working on my novels, but they will take a bit more work. I might start with the Amber novels, by Zelazny and some of his earlier works. 

Hope your New Year is the best, and may all your wishes come true. Picture for today? See below...an inspirational quote (from a recent trip to Belgium) to start the New Year off right.

The High Chaparral and Writing

23 DEC 17

I'm sitting here on a Saturday afternoon, waiting for some repairs to a car. An early Christmas present for my wife. While I'm waiting I'm also working on adding keywords to each chapter of one of my longer drafts. It's an interesting process. Once I'm done I'll be able to see how the keywords start, stop, and interweave with each other. 

While sitting in the waiting area, I was subjected to watching several episodes of The High Chaparral, a western series I had never heard or seen before. Made by some of the same guys behind Bonanza. My attention has problems staying on task sometimes, especially when a TV is on nearby. :) I liked the frontier feel of the show, something that I want to mimic for some of my stories. There is some nice interplay between the Indians, the soldiers providing law in the territories, and the ranchers and frontiersman settling the area. I have the feeling that some of the shows I watched today will make an impact on one of my stories someday. All I have to do is add some magic. 

So yeah, that's what I'm working on right now. For the last hour I focused on a part of the draft where a group of adventurers wander into a town, a town with an odd set of four festivals, one on each solstice and each equinox. The group happens into the town just a day or so after the Summer Solstice festival, with some unintended consequences. Think Western Twilight Zone, sort of. With skeletons.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Africa

21 DEC 17
I wrote most of the following post seven years ago. Time flies. Time flies. Added to it a little bit because, well, you know, writers can't seem to leave well enough alone. lol. At least not this one.

Assignment Africa: 21 DEC 2010 
My last night in Djibouti. Hopefully!

I ate chow at the Combat Cafe with some of my brothers. When I saw the rice and beans I yelled, "Hey it's 'Me' night!" 
Not the best by far, but in a sick, against everything that Mexicans hold dear way, their attempts at enchiladas remind me of my grandparents on both sides of the family. It was sad and touching at the same time, like even the cooks knew I was leaving and were trying to help with this 'eh, close enough' reminder of my favorite dish. I choked it down, sitting outside in the heat of the night.

After chow, I walked across camp towards my office. Stopped and said goodbye to a couple of fellow PA types walking the other way, and discussed how the camp smells like wet dog after it rains. Which is odd, because no dogs to be seen for miles. Couldn't decide if the stench was any better than the overwhelmingly aromatic way the camp reeks on a daily basis because of the burning junk from the nearby Douda dump.

Following the gravel road, I passed by EMF (our Medical clinic). Yesterday they gave me a parting gift of a letter in my medical record that said something like, "This guy breathed in a lot of 'crap' while he was here." Went right next to the similar letter I got from Afghanistan. What do I get for two of those? Some sort of prize? Maybe a new lung? I'd like to stop hacking and coughing soon, I stopped smoking many, many, many moons ago.

Speaking of moons, there is a full moon hanging in the sky, hidden by clouds thick with rain. Not a usual sight in bone-dry Djibouti! A little way up the street, local street sweepers are lined up, doing their thing, pushing a little harder than usual. The dirt road is not dusty tonight, but muddy and thick with wet globs of clay. Hey, it's a job. Push dust or push mud, get paid the same. I wondered if any were chewing Khat.

I stroll a little further down the hill, and come across a loose marching column of Kansas guardsmen, some of America's finest, armed and ready to take over the next watch at the main gate. I step aside and watch them as they pass. They are walking along a line of tall, thin Acacia trees, and they remind me of the dwarves in the opening scenes of Snow White. But it wasn't really a Hi-Ho kind of thing. These guys carried M-16's, no axes here. They were a more serious set of dwarves, too. No Happy or Dopey, more Angry and Dippy.

Walking a little further, I pass the cannons. the bare flagpoles and the White House. No more would I see the Djiboutian flag flying next to the U.S. flag, no more would I hear the Djiboutian national anthem, the song always makes me want to say "Yee-haw!" at the end.

A final short stretch of gravel over mud and I am at my CWU door. Well, mine no longer, I turned it over to a guy that I hope will keep the CLDJ PAO torch burning for another year. But I still think of it as my office, and I am reminded of how precious 'MY' office was to me. I enter and see Mahamed's desk. We said goodbye today. He brought sambosas for me one last time. We hugged, like brothers. I worked with him closely for almost a year, and I feel that someday, Insh'allah, we will meet again, and this time I will make it all the way through Ramadan with him. I look forward to this with a hunger born of memories and hope.

So here I am, sitting at my desk, 'my' desk, near midnight now, a few hours away from leaving this country that I never heard of before 2009. A country my students back in the states laugh at every time they hear its name. "Ja-booty."

I cannot help but think of the places I've been, the people I've met, and the things that I have seen and done. I have changed this tour. Physically, mentally and spiritually. More than any previous trek around the world. Africa has changed me in ways I would not have believed. Have I changed Africa? No. In fact, despite the time spent here, I feel I have barely wet my toe in the vast ocean that is Africa. I jumped with the Massai, yes. I swam with whale sharks, yes. Visited Uganda, Ethiopa, etc... But I have not yet truly immersed myself in Africa. This continent is too huge. That voyage must wait for another time.

Someday, I will hear Africa calling to me. I will answer, ready to dive deep.

I will remember this place. 
Always.

Working Environment

21DEC17

All writers write differently. To give a peek behind the scenes at Chez Montellano, today I am sharing a screenshot of what my computer screen looks like as I write. Inspired by seeing another writer's screen (Michael Baker), the picture shows one of my works in progress. 

It's early in the morning, well not now. It's after eight in the morning, but I did start before sunup, been writing for more than two hours already. I have no regular work to go to today, so I am in the den, writing away on Scrivener. It's a good writing program. I don't always use it though. Most of my stories are written in Word, some in Google Docs and even fewer are written as scraps on my phone. Although I usually have my earbuds in, today I am sharing my musical selection with our shelter cat, who is next to my knee, curled up with her face tucked up under one of her hind legs. A thick fog is outside the window, also unusual. The story on the screen is one of my longer pieces, as you can tell from the chapter headings on the side. I moved it over to Scrivener from Word to take advantage of the storyboard and character functions in scrivener, this being a long story and all, don't want stuff to get lost or contradict myself.

Well, time to get back to it! Enjoy and feel free to share how you write!

Writing

16 DEC 17

Happy Holidays everyone! Super Saturday! Woke up early this morning, no running, but I did feel inspired enough to do some solid editing. The short story I worked on was a bonus piece for a seasonal anthology, and dealt with relationships between primates and people. 

It started out as a very short story, under 1,800 words and now it's grown, merged with another short piece originally written as a response to a picture and the two combined are now over 3,000 words. I rewrote some dialogue and interactions between a boss and his secretary, used a real place in downtown Shreveport (Regions Bank), and then made up one or two fictitious places. Makes the story a little more realistic to have solid names and places as the setting. I also did some research for this story on how gorillas use sign language, where gorillas are kept in the United States and things like that.

Still working on expressing emotions between people, developing characters and so on. This story was good practice for that. 

Also happy to report that another short story of mine, originally released as "Monsters" on Wattpad, has been published as part of an anthology/linked story book. The book it appears in is sort of like an anthology, except that the included stories are shorter pieces set inside a larger, wrapping, story. 

Here is the link: 

Protectors of the Veil

And the blurb for the release: 

This book is a very unusual cohesive novel with short stories woven into the main story. It centers around the Internal Veil Affairs office. They work for the Great Old Ones to maintain and protect the veil that covers the Earth. If too many people see reality, the veil will be destroyed before the Great Old Ones are ready to return. If the veil falls before the stars are right, this realm and everyone in it would be obliterated. The book follows the IVA on their cases and their quest to preserve the veil at all costs. The short stories are from many contributors that are listed in the Contributors section at the back of the book. Each short story is the backstory of each case. There are all sorts of monsters and interdimensional creatures. This will be the first book in a series all set in the same universe.

I really like the story I submitted for this release. It sort of came to me in a dream and includes a lot of my favorite themes: military service, fantasy, set in a realistic setting.

I made a cover for the Wattpad version of the story, using a photo I took that came out rather nice. It is currently being used as the banner for my new facebook author page. I do want to edit it, trim out a few more branches so that the title is more prominent. Here is the current version as the picture for this post:

Now it's time to sit back and wait for a courtesy copy of the one anthology and the release date for the seasonal anthology! Two more times in print this year. Good times. Have a great day everyone! 

Having Been Seen, Paris Stares Back

29 NOV 17
Some more pictures from Paris and Belgium. Makes me dwell on what statues and monuments would be raised in my world.

Chapel for Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI. Picture done in black and white. It looks like a face to me. Paris stares back.

 

Statue of Charles de Gaul near the Seine river.


 
 I love lion statues!

   

Yes, this picture is out of focus, but it does give a good feel for Paris. It also reminds me of a Supertramp album cover.

Another black and white.

Paris

24 NOV 17

Traveled to Paris recently. Great city. Had a great time with the wife, got to see the Eiffel Tower, the Seine, and some of the other spots. No Louvre though. Took some great photos and experienced many things that will eventually appear in future stories. Some of the photos might become book covers or inside illustrations. Here are a few: 

Two edits of trees in a row. Not sure which one I like better. The blue is very fantastic for me, but the original is also very nice, great Parisian feel. 

Walking around the city made me think of the band Supertramp, and their album Live in Paris. The song Breakfast in America in particular. Good stuff. We both hope to make it back to Paris someday. 

Americana

12 NOV 17
Americana. That quintessential essence that makes America what it is. Pictures of baseball, football, apple pie, surfing, jumping in a watering hole, Norman Rockwell paintings, BBQs, everything from the East Coast to the West and all the states in between, people of all colors, Alaska and Hawai'i, etc... 

Here is a picture that illustrates what Americana means to me: a older gentlemen seated outside a building in downtown Natchitoches, LA, an American flag prominently on display nearby. I don't know what nationality he is, but it doesn't matter, does it? America is made up of all sorts of nationalities.

The town of Natchitoches has a very interesting history. It was originally founded as a French fort near the western border with Spanish territory.

In my stories I will convey different 'feels' for each country, letting the reader experience what makes the differing countries and nations unique. 

Next Story: It's a Trap!

28 OCT 17
So I have decided on my next project. It's a story I wrote a while ago, called "It's a Trap!" I pulled it down from Wattpad, where it's been for a while, and I'm going to rewrite it, with an aim for more imagery and maybe a little more background integration. The story has some grammar issues with it that I've never fixed, and that is the first thing for me to change. I'm also going to throw in a small sketch or two. 

If you've already read the story on Wattpad, you'll be able to see the growth and progression of the story from it's first draft to its final version. The story started out as sort of a western, hopefully that feel comes across at the beginning. I may try to return it to that original western feel.

Here's a piece from the story now, no clue on what the final version will look like though, so don't fall in love with it yet! 

"You bastard!" Black Char snarled as he got up off the ground. He staggered back from the trio and prepared to fight. Jagged Edge still had that horrid knife in his hand. Black Char could see the rough, serrated edge of the blade, covered with his blood. Well, Jagged Edge indeed, he thought. The blade had an oily sheen to it as well. Must be something magical about it. Char had to be careful with this bunch. They were trickier than he thought. He put his hand to his lower back and felt the tear in his clothes.

Murg smirked. "Bastard. Yeah, I'll give you that one. But mind your tongue and remember who is in charge. Now let's go get a sword or two."***

Besides writing, I've also been practicing some of my photography skills. I am not good at low light photos, so I decided to see what I could about that. I went to a haunted house and was allowed to go through it and take pictures. 

Here is one I am happy with for the post picture:

Some techniques I worked with to get around the lack of auto-focus (it doesn't work in low light) were using lit objects (like the exit sign at the end of the hall) to manually adjust focus, also using a monopod to try and maintain a steady image, and trying to use occasional lighting (strobes, flickering lights, a door opening such as with the picture above) when possible to set a dark picture. 

Although a bit early, I'd like to wish everyone a Happy Halloween and other 'dark' celebrations. I've read about different traditions from around the world, such as All Saint's Day, Dia de Los Muertos, etc... It's amazing to me the many ways that people have for dealing with the shortening of the days and the lengthening of the nights. 

What's Next?

22 OCT 17

So I'm done with the Ice Pirates story, it's released out into the wild. And we'll see how sales go. I hope it does well. I'm concerned about the cover a little bit. Should I have gone with something different? Something more professional? I do like supporting artists. In fact, I have another cover being completed, one that my daughter and a friend of hers created. I may go with that. I also have plans to do small interior illustrations for all of my stories. 


So what's next? Well, for starters, I went running again and came up with another great story idea. I really need to keep up this running inspiration thing! It's an idea (about the name and properties) regarding the ocean between the Old World and the New Lands.

Once I process this new idea, I'm going to go back to sketching out some other ideas, and maybe do some actual sketching as well. I have another story that is ready for release as well. Will probably happen by the end of the year. 

Other author things done today. I got messages from a fan of Pirates & Demons! She said it was really good and was waiting for more to come. Amazing to hear from someone who liked my work. I also updated my Goodreads author page, checked for messages, created a post for this blog, and created an author Facebook page.

Well, that's all for now. Picture for today is one I shot a while ago, Halloween-themed. May your days be long and good upon this earth.

Glitter Zombie Apocalypse & Other Stuff

13 OCT 17
Happy Friday the 13th! 

If you're seeking some salty adventures on the high seas, buy my new short story, Pirates & Demons. It's less than a dollar and will leave you craving more dog! Dog? Yes! Here's the link:

Pirates & Demons: Eye of Dog

It's perfect for Halloween! Get your spooky on with pirates, sailors, demons, enchanted swords, and other things to get you in the mood for trick-or-treating!

Okay, now that I've mentioned my new short story (and feel free to order any other ones from my Amazon author page) let's talk about other things, like the Glitter Zombie Apocalypse Ball at Artscape in Downtown Shreveport. It was a great night out! Here are some pictures from the event. I took more, but I am selective about which ones I release for public viewing. On the plus side, I have other pictures from the same evening to share as well.

 Love this picture! It screams Halloween to me. There were evocative decorations and installations throughout the venue.

Now these crack me up. I call them the Three Stooge Hecklers. "Hey, you live guy down there! Yeah you! Toss my leg back up here will ya, before the dog buries it?"

"What is she wearing? Did she dress for Halloween or is this just a usual Tuesday for her?"

"Who let him in?"

 

This is a beautiful cityscape picture from downtown Shreveport. I like this one a lot, reminds me of the future city scenes from Blade Runner, a little less smoky but would fit in nicely. I'm going to play with this one and get some more color in it. 

Here are a few more random pictures from the Artscape party. I love the level of creativity! 

These last two purple pictures are from the Confederate Memorial in Downtown Shreveport. The color is intentional. I think it was meant to be pink for Breast Cancer Awareness, but it was a pretty solid purple color, no color alterations on my part. 

Just to make sure no one gets the wrong idea, I am not endorsing the Confederate States of America or anything. I just wanted to get some cool color-filled photos of the monument before anything happens to them. I see both sides of the argument and think that while the statues should not be destroyed, they should be moved to a place of much lesser prominence. The grounds of a museum perhaps.

I love how the lighter shade on the busts and statue makes it look like they are ghosts or some other spectral creature. Perfect for Halloween. Reminds me of The Haunted House at Disneyland in California.

DON'T forget to purchase my short story! It's also free to read on Kindles right now I think.

Pirates & Demons!

12 OCT 17
I just hit submit and uploaded the cover and document files to Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) for the Ice Pirates story, now titled

Pirates & Demons: Eye of Dog

Amazon says it may take up to 72 hours before it hits the market and boy am I already going stir crazy waiting for it to drop!!!!!

The short story features a cover drawn by Felicity Swan: 

The cover depicts a key moment in the story when the captain and crew face off against one of their own, who has been possessed by a demon from legend! Felicity read a portion of the story and captured it well. Easy to work with, she produced the artwork by the deadline and created great areas for the title and my name at the bottom! Thanks Felicity! If you look closely, you can see her signature at the bottom right corner. 

The whole process of KDP was pretty easy. From start to finish it took only a few hours to complete the whole process, and that includes going back in and creating chapters and chapter titles.

Pirates & Demons fits into my fantasy world at a time when the New Lands are being settled and explored. Sort of like the wild frontier days in the United States before, during and after the thirteen colonies as various countries explored the New World. Desperate people are making the hazardous ocean voyage hoping to start fresh in the New Lands. But there are dangers everywhere, even on the trip to get there! The story will appeal to lovers of fantasy, sea stories and exploration. Here is the description: 

Pulp Fiction for the Fantasy crowd!

A quiet day during a long ocean voyage turns into a deadly chase as pirate ships appear on the horizon. Passengers and crew band together in a desperate attempt to save their ship from the dreaded Ice Pirates. But all is not as it seems as pirates aren’t the only danger on the high seas, and one of the passengers hides a dangerous secret. 

I am so excited to finally have a short story released directly to the public. Who doesn't like pirates and demons? I have sold several short stories to various anthologies and ready to move on to bigger and better things. I have been working on and off on a long trilogy, but I love short stories and I have many more short stories in me before those book length tales gets published. In fact, I am currently waiting on a fall story to be republished, a collection to be released that will contain five stories of mine as well as other authors' stories, including several by my wife, AND another story is still out there sitting with a publisher waiting to be released. 

Picture for today: My sketch of what I pictured for the cover. It's not complete, but it is supposed to show a lightning strike on the deck of the ship, with crew and passengers nearby. One day I may get someone to finish this. 

Well, that's all for today. Feeling pretty accomplished! 

The Walking Dead, Halloween, and Running Inspiration

01 OCT 17 What would Halloween be like in a world full of death and desperation like The Walking Dead? Would people still want to celebrate? Would the traditions of Halloween mean more or less if loved ones could come back, albeit as brainless flesh-eating monsters? What would the costumes look like? These are the types of questions that keep authors up at night. 

My personal take on it, which I may work into a story sometime in the future, is that, much like Halloween today is an amalgam of superstitions and traditions from around the world, the future in a post-apocalyptic world with real dead walking around would see a mixing of old traditions and new. Sort of like El Dia De Los Muertos with a side of 'let's do things that keep them rested and in the ground'. Maybe a group of people figure out a way to keep restless spirits 'resting' and these practices spread around the world as an annual holiday tradition with some purpose. I could see dressing as outlandish dead, putting some sort of gifts on graves, to bribe the bodies to stay underground. Maybe too when people die, teeth are automatically removed when possible. That way there is no worry about getting bit. Who knows. Still have much to think on this idea. Some of the stories I plan on telling will be set in a world where death is not absolute.

I had a great idea while I was running today (which means I'm limping now lol)! Those endorphins 'jogged' something loose in my brain. Can't really reveal the idea though, it's still in its infancy, but it has to do with one of my main characters, his relationship to the dwarves, and dwarven culture in general. It will help define both the dwarves and my main character quite a bit, making them more unique in my world. Looking forward to writing again. I have to go running more often, see what other ideas spring forth!  

Three pictures for today. Two of them are mine, one is from the mighty Internet. The first is a black and white pic, a root that looks like a 3. I like taking the occasional black and white. Some things just look better like that. The other one that is mine is a Dia de Los Muertos gato (or Halloween Day of the Dead Cat, as my daughter said)! Bought it and it will go on the Christmas tree this year. The last pic, not mine, is a cat with a hat! 

What Next? Artist Wanted

04 SEP 17 
Almost done with the Ice Pirates story. Looking for a cover artist now. Tried one company (Illumination Cover Designs) , nothing wrong with them at all, but I don't want a cover done with stock images. I want something simple. Below is my request...

All right all you artists out there. Creativity time! I'm looking for a cover for a short story that will be available electronically only. No print. I'm willing to pay, not sure how much, somewhere between 20-40 dollars. It's only a short story, so I won't make much on sales of the story itself. Story is a sea tale involving pirates and demons. Sea Dog is the nickname of a sailor. The story can be sent to you if you want to read the whole thing. I would like the cover to be based on one of the following excerpts from the story:

**************

It wasn’t Sea Dog anymore. There was a hellish fire coming from his eye sockets, flaming droplets a darker red than the setting sun hit the deck at his feet and caused small smolders of smoke. Whatever it was looked like Sea Dog, but it was not him. It was sweating all over, chest heaving in and out. The thing in his shape was intense evil, angry and hating everything in the world.

One look and Riley believed demons were real.

***
Or this piece:

A bolt of lightning cracked right onto the deck, blinding all who were watching. A split second later the blast of thunder knocked everyone down. Ears rang and spots danced before eyes. A deranged laughter was heard as the ringing subsided. Sea Dog was on his hands and knees, his back arching up and down. He bounced back up, shaking, laughing insanely. What was left of his peppered hair smoked. Drops of fire continued to fall down his face. He looked at Nevin with those fearsome eyes and advanced.

I was thinking maybe a large bolt of lightning coming from top center to a figure below, harsh contrast off of the light from the bolt itself showing people on a wooden deck shielding their eyes.

Or... just a pair of eye sockets, empty save for dancing flames and dripping fiery droplets.

Or...come up with your own idea! In general I would like a simple layout so that it can be recognizable at different sizes, to look good online.

Post any replies here and I'll decide. Bonus points for having it in the correct cover dimensions for Kindle Direct Publishing (and no, I don't know what those are!).

Good luck!!!!

Picture for today...A Mexican Propaganda poster from WWII! Very interesting piece of unknown history, at least to me!

Magnolia

21 AUG 17
Not a long post today. Just a few pictures of a Magnolia blossom. One might end up as a book cover someday.

These blossoms look like they could be used as a small faerie house!

Photos - Black and White

05 AUG 17 Happy Saturday to all! Here are a quintet of pictures from a recent trip up North. Taken during the summer, these images from a backyard capture views normally hidden under snow or waiting for a warmer clime. A bunch of ancient vehicles and a flower. More photos can be found over at DeviantArt, just search for Montellano or click on the link below: 

My artwork on DeviantArt

Here is a tail light from an old old car. So simple when compared to today's vehicles! I like the roundness of the bulb, so precious and delicate, still protected by the circular metal ring held in place by one screw.

Some things just looks better in black and white.

I have no idea why there are two gas pumps in the backyard, but it reminded me
of old times with my dad at a gas station when I was a kid.

 The focus is on the steering wheel. Its crispness draws you into the picture, contrasted with the mess of blurry tangles and springs in the foreground. If I get some more time to play with the original, I may leave the vibrant green of the trees behind the windshield to draw the eye even more to the right.

This poor car has most of the front end off at an angle!

To finish off this set, a burst of subtle color. One of the many scintillating flowers growing among the old cars. A bright pop of light purple.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures, wherever in the world you are. 

Writing: I hope to do some more writing today as well. The story about the Ice Pirates has been read by two wonderful people, and I have incorporated feedback from one of them, going to look at the other's comments and hopefully throw a final edit on it tomorrow and call it done. It will probably top out just at 10K. There was a recent call for stories with pirates and or thieves in them that I could have submitted the story to (Thanks Dave for finding that!), but it turned out I had to be an Aussie to submit (I've been there, does that count?) and the story length was capped at 5K. So no luck! Will keep looking though.

Beale Street

28 July 17

My first visit to Memphis, specifically Beale Street, was short and sweet, only two hours. In that time I took a few pictures and ate some good gumbo. Hope you enjoy a little picture stroll down the very photogenic Beale Street.

Overview of Beale Street

This first shot is an overview of Beale street, with a neon sign proudly proclaiming the name. I like to take a lot of detail shots, so I took this one to make sure I grabbed an overall sense of the atmosphere. It was raining on and off, not really a lot of tourists that day though we saw a few groups here and there. There is a bar with goats (yes goats, plural) over on the left. The front of the building is being held up by those steel beams. I really want to know what happened there! 

Beale Street. Broadway in miniature.

Benjamin Franklin Booth Historical Marker

 

Ida B. Wells

I took a few shots of the historical markers around the street. Ida B Wells, speaking out about the lynching of three black businessmen and what happened to her because of that. There were more markers, but these are the ones that caught my eye in the short time we were there. I did not know that General Ulysses Grant had a Civil War headquarters right here. I look forward to finding other markers and learning more of the past here.

Black and white of the street light outside of BB King's.

This shot will be a book cover someday. I like the color on the right and the feel of the wood grain floor.

A musician warming up at BB King's

 

These next pictures are in and around BB King's Blues Club Memphis. The traffic light right outside was plastered with stickers, looked pretty cool. The tables inside were painted with music legends such as Booker T. and Elvis. A musician was warming up onstage while we ate. The gumbo ya ya was great!


 These last pictures are in and around Beale Street. Nothing in particular, just stuff that caught my interest.

Memphis Music Hall of Fame. Didn't have a
chance to go in on this trip.

The Blues Brothers

Inset of a door

Johnny Cash

Elvis Presley

Love Me Tender! lol

This menu cracked me up! The Jim Dandy, the Love Me Tender, Jail House Special. lol.

The famous Orpheum

This last picture here...I have no idea what it means! I have so many questions. Who was Marsha? And why would the cargo make her feel so strange? So many questions!