Richard V. Rupp

March 16, 2022

Happy Daylight Savings Time and good Wednesday morning! I'm novelist Richard V. Rupp, writing from Burbank, California. Welcome to RUPP'S NOTES/FBI SPECIAL AGENT HARTMANN SERIES posts.

 

The manuscript for SKYWARD, my next novel, has a lot of characters and covers the period from 1900 to 2050. In doing some editing, I discovered some of my characters would have to live to 150 the way I've included them in the story. Whoops! So I'm in the process of working my way out of a state of confusion. I've spent a good part of the last few days building a timeline for my story.

 

The WRITERS WRITE website has a post titled 'How A Timeline Helps You Plot A Novel.' It indicates – "One of the main reasons we read is to make sense of the world. A timeline suggests a past, present, and future. . . .Using one for plotting allows us to see a beginning, middle, and ending. Linking units of time to events allows writers to plot a book in a graphic way. We are able to see the book from the reader's perspective. Is there a pattern? Does it make sense?"

 

They are so right! And, it helps you keep your characters from over-aging.

 

In my editing, I'm also replacing "telling" with "dialogue." Here's an example of new dialogue in Chapter 3 of SKYWARD. Note that the Californa Proposition 4 of 1911 mention was real. It amended the Constitution of California to grant women the right to vote in the state for the first time. The LOS ANGELES TIMES editorial included in the text is authentic. Julia – Julia Morgan was a real person.

 

* * *

 

After half an hour, Alise put her little notebook filled with ideas into her handbag and walked over to the office's front wall to look at several items attached to it. "Is it hard being a female architect," she shouted back toward Julia?

 

Julia raised her head from the drawing she was working on and thought for a moment. "Let's just say it has been a challenge."

 

"I see you have a degree in civil engineering for the University of California at Berkley. That had to be an accomplishment. What's this other plaque next to it?"

 

"Well, you're looking at two of the significant accomplishments to my challenges. That B.S. degree is the first one given to a woman by the University. That plaque you're pointing at is the first certificate in architecture given to a woman by the  École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris."

 

"In other words, you're a groundbreaker for us women.  I like that. I'm glad we hired you to design our home."

 

"I'm glad too. And, by the way, I'm the only licensed female architect in California. I'm hoping that changes soon."

 

"Would you like to speed up that change?"

 

"Of course. What do you have in mind?"

 

"I'm working with Tessie Oelrich, whom I know you know, and several other ladies to change the law here in California, so women have the right to vote. This state has what is called a ballot proposition where people who are not elected politicians can change the California Constitution. We've got such a thing in the works. It's called Proposition 4."

 

Smiling, Julia walked toward Alise. "I'm already working on Proposition 4. I've got a close friend Mollie Conners, who wrote an article that appeared in the San Francisco Call newspaper about it. Let me show you what it caused." She pulled a folded newspaper article from her desk. I keep this as a reminder of what we're up against."

 

Alise unfolded the Editorial page of a recent edition of the Los Angeles Times and read the following in response to the proposed Proposition 4.

 

 "Women are incapable of physically dominating men. By their inferior physical strength, they are unable to compete on an equal basis in any line of endeavor where ability is determined by sheer bodily prowess. All positions of physical power - such as in our police forces, our armies, and our navies - will necessarily be filled by men. In other words, the enforcement of all law must inevitably rest with men. No law or ordinance could be effectually upheld except through the willingness of men to uphold it. And no matter what words were written on the statute books of any State, if the physical power (which is the masculine power) behind it were withdrawn, the law would immediately become void and impotent. Therefore in equal suffrage, we have the spectacle of women desiring to pass laws which they are physically incapable of upholding, and laws which they admit the men do not want."

 

After folding and handing the newspaper page back to Julia, Alise's body slumped as she said, "What stupidity. This makes me sick."

 

"What does your husband think about your promoting Proposition 4?"

 

"He supports me. John is a rational, progressive thinker. In fact, when we first met, I remember saying men and women are like right and left hands; it doesn't make sense not to use both. And, he agreed. Besides the fact that the first time I saw him, I fell in love with him, one of the reasons I married him was to get away from my father." She thought for a moment, then continued, "My father could have written that piece of garbage you just showed me. My mother was always for old families, old ways, old servants, old operas, old lace, and old friends. She always tried to keep society within her set bounds. Thank God I got away from that. John is the greatest thing that could have happened to me. There is true love and honest respect between us. I lucked out with a wem and ended up with a great right hand."

 

In November 1911Alise Bowman registered as a Republican to vote in California elections, nine years before the 19th Amendment enfranchised women nationally. The example was set for the women who would follow her at the Bowman Mansion.

 

It was a typically foggy San Francisco summer day in 1912 when Julia Morgan asked for a meeting with John and Alise in the Fairmont Hotel lobby. As they walked up to her, she said, "Congratulations. John, please hold out your right hand." As he did, she placed a set of keys in it. Then she winked at Alise and said, "Please hold out your left hand." She did, and Julia placed a set of keys in it. "The Bowman Mansion is now yours. It's ready to be occupied. I wish you both a happy life there."

 

* * *

I just spotted a new review of my novel DEATH & TAXES in BOOKBUB by Jeff Bailey, a fellow author. Here it is –

 

* * *

Death And Taxes was the perfect title for this thriller. The book opens with the apparent, that is - apparent, suicide of an IRS agent in his office at the Fresno, CA. IRS offices. FBI Agent Dick Hartmann and his team are assigned to investigate. There's not much to this investigation. It should be a cakewalk, right? The story is fast-paced and seems so real that it is almost scary. Every newly developed detail of the case turns up another twist and complication. Each complication making the case more difficult and dangerous. The story follows both the good guys and the bad guys during the chase. I liked the realism that Rupp introduced by showing the good guys and the bad guys during the lulls in the timeline. No real investigation is on point every second. Everybody has to kick back, eat and sleep. These interludes just added to the rest of the tension. I liked Agent Hartmann and his newest team member Coleen (Coleen with one 'l') Ryan as protagonists. In his own way, I liked the antagonist, 'Al' the Fresno Gang boss. He was intriguing. This was my second Richard Rupp read. I read Death On The High Seas first and liked it so well that I had to go back and read all of Rupp's books. I'm glad I did. I judge a thriller by how fast I get to reading when I'm in story mode. Trust me, I couldn't read fast Death And Taxes enough for the last eighty pages. And, as usual, there was that trademark super-story twist right at the end just when I was expecting something else in the wrap-up. Excellent. Five stars for both Richard Rupp and for Death And Taxes.

 

* * *

Jeff Bailey is a fellow Californian author who started writing novels in retirement like me. His subject matter is in the headlines today - The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, which is posed for another disaster. He understands the treats a nuclear power plant can present as Jeff worked in nuclear-related industries for fifty years, from nuclear weapons to nuclear research. His first nuclear thriller novel, DEFECT, is a great read. I highly recommend it.

 

On the subject of authors, I plagiarized this Tweet of a couple of days ago by Stephen King, who is one of my favorite authors –

 

UKRAINE NOW.

UKRAINE FOREVER.

 

I totally agree. But, it's interesting; the next thing I spot on my computer is an article titled RUSSIA' CANCELLED.'

"I can't believe what is happening in this world today," begins the conversation of one of my characters in SKYWARD. NO, I can't use that. It doesn't work on my timeline – Yes, I know the beginning, but the middle and end are missing. My worry is how they will be filled in? World War III? Nuclear annihilation? Or common sense reigns? Hopefully, they will be filled in on my final suggested solution before the publishing of SKYWARD.

 

Until next week.

 

Cheers,

 

Richard V. Rupp, Author

Website – www.richardvrupp.com

Email – rupprisk@gmail.com

Copyright©2022 by Richard V. Rupp