contact dave by email: daveconifer@rocketmail.com
If you read any of these or have any comment, please drop me a line.
Also, if you've read any of these stories and ever get on Amazon.com, it would be awesome if you would write a review and rating (they're on there as Kindle e-books for eighty cents each). I don't actively shop my stuff around anymore but if some agent or publisher read some cool reviews and came to me I wouldn't turn them down...
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Man of Steel
http://daveconifermanofsteel.blogspot.com
When journalist Joe Jonas is sent to cover a press conference in Texas he figures it’s just another crackpot JFK assassination conspiracy. But as he’s half-assing his way through the legwork he stumbles across something that makes him realize this one is for real. He’s even more enthusiastic when Abby Reno, a hot reporter from Austin, insists on working on the story with him.
Kent Castle never forgot losing his nephew and sister during WWII because of the negligence of an unknown lieutenant named John Kennedy. Castle vowed to even the score after Kennedy received a medal instead of the court-martial recommended by Douglas MacArthur himself. Nineteen years later, as Chairman of Eastern Steel, Castle tried to make good on his vow when he dropped by the Oval Office to tell President Kennedy that he would defy the White House by raising steel prices. In a public week-long face off Kennedy forced Castle to back down. The rich kid from Massachusetts won again, and for Castle that was the last straw.
As Jonas and Reno circle closer to the Castle plot they come to realize that the protectors of the secrets are still on the job after nearly twenty years and they don’t take prisoners. They wonder how many before them have come so close, and they’re desperately sure the only way they can survive is to publish a story exposing the plot before they’re caught. The bodies pile up and they spend more and more time looking over their shoulders wondering if the story of the century is worth their lives.
When journalist Joe Jonas is sent to cover a press conference in Texas he figures it’s just another crackpot JFK assassination conspiracy. But as he’s half-assing his way through the legwork he stumbles across something that makes him realize this one is for real. He’s even more enthusiastic when Abby Reno, a hot reporter from Austin, insists on working on the story with him.
Kent Castle never forgot losing his nephew and sister during WWII because of the negligence of an unknown lieutenant named John Kennedy. Castle vowed to even the score after Kennedy received a medal instead of the court-martial recommended by Douglas MacArthur himself. Nineteen years later, as Chairman of Eastern Steel, Castle tried to make good on his vow when he dropped by the Oval Office to tell President Kennedy that he would defy the White House by raising steel prices. In a public week-long face off Kennedy forced Castle to back down. The rich kid from Massachusetts won again, and for Castle that was the last straw.
As Jonas and Reno circle closer to the Castle plot they come to realize that the protectors of the secrets are still on the job after nearly twenty years and they don’t take prisoners. They wonder how many before them have come so close, and they’re desperately sure the only way they can survive is to publish a story exposing the plot before they’re caught. The bodies pile up and they spend more and more time looking over their shoulders wondering if the story of the century is worth their lives.
Friday, May 22, 2009
eBully
http://daveconiferebully.blogspot.com
Vice Principal Steve Lukather is desperate. Just like last year, an internet bully is terrorizing one of his students at Lakeland Middle School. Last time it ended badly when the victim was found with two slashed wrists after an attempted suicide. This year, after a series of nasty computer messages and an indiscreet photograph of Carly Gillette spread through the student body Lukather knows it's happening again. This time he's determined to stop the bully in his tracks before Gillette ends up reaching for a razor blade.
Thirteen-year-old Scott Halifax has a juvy rap sheet that could peel wallpaper but he's just what Lukather needs -- a street-smart, tech-savvy kid with no roots. Lukather makes a deal with Halifax: go undercover as a student at Lakeland and nail the bully in return for a ticket out of the County Detention Center and a clean slate.
Once he's in at Lakeland Halifax teams up with Tom Seidel, the nerdy kid that everyone loves to hate. It isn't long before Scott, Tom and Carly’s best friend Lisa are working together. It takes a lot of hard work, some sly computer sleuthing and a little dumb luck before they expose the bully. And it’s the last person that anybody would have suspected.
"eBully" draws on recent headlines about cyber-bullying, including the need to update harassment and stalking laws to reflect new technologies.
Vice Principal Steve Lukather is desperate. Just like last year, an internet bully is terrorizing one of his students at Lakeland Middle School. Last time it ended badly when the victim was found with two slashed wrists after an attempted suicide. This year, after a series of nasty computer messages and an indiscreet photograph of Carly Gillette spread through the student body Lukather knows it's happening again. This time he's determined to stop the bully in his tracks before Gillette ends up reaching for a razor blade.
Thirteen-year-old Scott Halifax has a juvy rap sheet that could peel wallpaper but he's just what Lukather needs -- a street-smart, tech-savvy kid with no roots. Lukather makes a deal with Halifax: go undercover as a student at Lakeland and nail the bully in return for a ticket out of the County Detention Center and a clean slate.
Once he's in at Lakeland Halifax teams up with Tom Seidel, the nerdy kid that everyone loves to hate. It isn't long before Scott, Tom and Carly’s best friend Lisa are working together. It takes a lot of hard work, some sly computer sleuthing and a little dumb luck before they expose the bully. And it’s the last person that anybody would have suspected.
"eBully" draws on recent headlines about cyber-bullying, including the need to update harassment and stalking laws to reflect new technologies.
FireHouse
http://daveconiferfirehouse.blogspot.com
Zach Bowie thought he knew what he was all about by the time he got to high school. Playing bass and singing lead in a rock band was one of the few bright spots for Zach, who lives with his single mother in the crappy part of an upscale suburb. That all changed during his sophomore year when the first string 171-pounder on the wrestling team went down with an injury. Zach had wrestled for years but until then it had been little more than something to do during the winter. This time it was different. The thrill of walking onto the mat in a varsity match was as good as the rush he felt on stage. Maybe even better.What would happen if he wasn't smoking three packs of Marlboros a day? Zach has to find out. Between band gigs he secretly trains on a strict regimen of running and weight-lifting. A few months later Zach has lost a foot of hair and gained twenty pounds of muscle. When November comes he covers the holes in his wrestling shoes with duct tape and reports to practice.
Pretentious lead guitarist Joe Fauquier is a dreamer who just knows the band is on the verge of making it big, in large part because of Zach’s obvious talent. He sees Zach’s new commitment to wrestling as an obstacle to stardom, and complains bitterly.
Mark Easton, the captain of the wrestling team who cruises the streets in a fully-loaded SUV, demonstrates his unhappiness with Zach’s presence by nicknaming him ‘Burnout’ and getting on his case every chance he gets. The two clash, sometimes violently, but Zach senses that Easton is afraid of him. He uses that intimidation to his advantage and shocks the team by beating Easton out of his own spot in the lineup.
Zach knows he's spread himself too thin but it's too late to do anything about it. By mid-season the wrestling coach and Fauquier have both lost their patience. Fauquier strikes first, by scheduling gigs when Zach is wrestling and then replacing Zach with an empty-headed heavy metal rocker. Dejected about being booted from the band, Zach loses his resolve one Friday night and slips back into some of his old vices. The next morning Zach stumbles onto the team bus with a hangover and an injury sustained in a scuffle with a bouncer, leading to his dismissal from the team.
It turns out that Zach had more friends than he realized. An unlikely coalition of jocks and rockers meet by accident and hammer out a plan to get Zach back onstage and on the mat. But how's he going to pull it off next season?
Zach Bowie thought he knew what he was all about by the time he got to high school. Playing bass and singing lead in a rock band was one of the few bright spots for Zach, who lives with his single mother in the crappy part of an upscale suburb. That all changed during his sophomore year when the first string 171-pounder on the wrestling team went down with an injury. Zach had wrestled for years but until then it had been little more than something to do during the winter. This time it was different. The thrill of walking onto the mat in a varsity match was as good as the rush he felt on stage. Maybe even better.What would happen if he wasn't smoking three packs of Marlboros a day? Zach has to find out. Between band gigs he secretly trains on a strict regimen of running and weight-lifting. A few months later Zach has lost a foot of hair and gained twenty pounds of muscle. When November comes he covers the holes in his wrestling shoes with duct tape and reports to practice.
Pretentious lead guitarist Joe Fauquier is a dreamer who just knows the band is on the verge of making it big, in large part because of Zach’s obvious talent. He sees Zach’s new commitment to wrestling as an obstacle to stardom, and complains bitterly.
Mark Easton, the captain of the wrestling team who cruises the streets in a fully-loaded SUV, demonstrates his unhappiness with Zach’s presence by nicknaming him ‘Burnout’ and getting on his case every chance he gets. The two clash, sometimes violently, but Zach senses that Easton is afraid of him. He uses that intimidation to his advantage and shocks the team by beating Easton out of his own spot in the lineup.
Zach knows he's spread himself too thin but it's too late to do anything about it. By mid-season the wrestling coach and Fauquier have both lost their patience. Fauquier strikes first, by scheduling gigs when Zach is wrestling and then replacing Zach with an empty-headed heavy metal rocker. Dejected about being booted from the band, Zach loses his resolve one Friday night and slips back into some of his old vices. The next morning Zach stumbles onto the team bus with a hangover and an injury sustained in a scuffle with a bouncer, leading to his dismissal from the team.
It turns out that Zach had more friends than he realized. An unlikely coalition of jocks and rockers meet by accident and hammer out a plan to get Zach back onstage and on the mat. But how's he going to pull it off next season?
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Throwback
http://daveconiferthrowback.blogspot.com
It’s been a year now, and the pain Ben Pietrak feels over the way his high school wrestling career ended just won’t go away. During an aimless year in college he has an idea; what’s to stop him from finding his way back into a high school lineup to atone for his mistake? First he must overcome an ethical dilemma. After some moral acrobatics he deludes himself into believing he was cheated out of an extra season on the varsity.
Once back in high school he realizes that he has returned to a place of missed opportunities. He resists the self-imposed rigid social order and is rewarded in ways he never expected. Eventually he meets Judy, a student who he would never have had anything to do with the first time in high school. His success on the mat is tempered by a growing realization that his rationalization was flawed, but by then it’s too late to turn back.
Ben’s moral and romantic difficulties converge with his struggle for wrestling vindication in Atlantic City at the New Jersey Wrestling Championships.
How can he end up with everything he wants: redemption, integrity, and the girl?
It’s been a year now, and the pain Ben Pietrak feels over the way his high school wrestling career ended just won’t go away. During an aimless year in college he has an idea; what’s to stop him from finding his way back into a high school lineup to atone for his mistake? First he must overcome an ethical dilemma. After some moral acrobatics he deludes himself into believing he was cheated out of an extra season on the varsity.
Once back in high school he realizes that he has returned to a place of missed opportunities. He resists the self-imposed rigid social order and is rewarded in ways he never expected. Eventually he meets Judy, a student who he would never have had anything to do with the first time in high school. His success on the mat is tempered by a growing realization that his rationalization was flawed, but by then it’s too late to turn back.
Ben’s moral and romantic difficulties converge with his struggle for wrestling vindication in Atlantic City at the New Jersey Wrestling Championships.
How can he end up with everything he wants: redemption, integrity, and the girl?
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