Dear Mr. Rio :
Thanks for telling me a bit about MISSISSIPPI SIZZLING, but I don't think I'm the right agent for your project.
I wish good fortune.
Havis Dawson
Liza Dawson Associates
direct tel
On Sun, Jun 19, 2011 at 10:19 PM,
Dear Mr. Dawson:
Having researched your background, I believe we might share some literary interests. I am seeking representation for “Mississippi Sizzling,” a crime/dark humor/near future science fiction extravaganza of roughly 139,000 words.
Set in the near future, “Mississippi Sizzling” explores a world where organized crime has discovered the wonders of biological weaponry. Jim Garfield is a criminal prodigy who had been ushered in to a prison elite called The Scholars. Upon his release, Jim Garfield had been unwittingly herded to a parole officer who worked for a major league criminal enterprise.
“Mississippi Sizzling” opens with a chemical attack on the law enforcement bodies of Waller County, Texas orchestrated by Jim Garfield, his former lover and Federal parole officer, Mary Elizabeth Jones and a hostile genius named Joe Fungo. The scheme goes horribly wrong and two children are killed. The killing of children, even as collateral damage, is a violation of the criminal code by which Jim Garfield so righteously lives.
Jim Garfield blames Joe Fungo for the deaths of the two kids and he plots to put a bullet in Fungo's head. As he rides through the streets of Joe Fungo's neighborhood with a silencer-equipped pistol under his jacket, he receives a frantic call from his colleague, David Hunter Duncan. David Hunter Duncan's son, Delbert Wayne, has been arrested on drug charges in Memphis, Tennessee.
Meanwhile, Jim Garfield's bipolar-diagnosed former parole officer escapes from his family's enforced treatment and tries to procure funds from his old client. Their situation is complicated by federal parole agent, Mary Elizabeth Jones, a partner in crime with Jim Garfield and the mother of both men's sons. As Jim Garfield negotiates the delicate slalom, he is shocked to learn that David Hunter Duncan has launched a chemical attack on downtown Memphis in hopes of knocking out the offices of federal prosecution.
Fearing that David Hunter Duncan will launch further sloppy attacks and lead investigators back to his own doorstep, Jim Garfield decides to temporarily spare Joe Fungo's life and introduce him to his associate. Fungo might be vicious but he is also clever and regardless of what scheme he might hatch, he would certainly try to cover his tracks.
David Hunter Duncan and Joe Fungo become instant comrades. They first launch a biological attack and then a chemical attack on downtown Memphis. Despite the wayward assaults, Delbert Wayne Duncan's predicament does not improve. He is moved to a private jail and his high-priced attorney is the only fatality in the biological foray.
A second lawyer reminds David Hunter Duncan that should a certain confidential informant suddenly die, the Feds would have no case against Delbert Wayne. The concerned father approaches Jim Garfield with a request to help him procure the services of a trigger man. With his old friend's behavior growing more erratic, Jim Garfield considers terminating David Hunter Duncan.
But the Scholars (an elite prison ward for serious criminals) are the brothers Jim Garfield never had and he ultimately agrees to assist his mentor in the fulfillment of his task. He persuades a not too bright convict named Billy Jake Carver to travel to Mississippi to make things right. Billy Jake Carver assembles a crew, some weapons and a GPS and they drive to the Magnolia state as they rehearse their mission using a computer game called Home Invader Deluxe.
Purina Pearce is the eleven year old daughter of confidential informant, James Charles Pearce, the team's intended target. When she is not tending to the family rottweilers or cleaning her .410 shotgun that she nicknamed Molly, the young Jodie Foster look alike plays Home Invader Deluxe. The appeal of the Deluxe version is the capability to plug in real world coordinates into the computer game. A large chunk of Purina Pearce's young life has been devoted to role playing home invasions conducted by faux police officers.
The Pearce family survive the onslaught but Mr. Pearce is a hunted man. David Hunter Duncan is able to send a second team after him and they catch up with the Pearces as they worship in church. Hell erupts and Mississippi is the site of the inferno climax.
Good does not necessarily triumph but then again, evil does not fare so well either. As “Mississippi Sizzling” is meant to be the first in a series, not much changes for Jim Garfield. Two people (Mary Elizabeth Jones and Joe Fungo) know his darkest secret. His mentor (David Hunter Duncan) remains desperate to spring his son from jail and as such, he is a bit of a loose cannon. And the alliance between Duncan and Fungo sparks Jim's ever-suspicious mind.
“Mississippi Sizzling” is the first in a series of perhaps a dozen novels. As such, not all loose ends are neatly tied and not every problem is resolved. The novel contains perhaps a dozen or so main characters (depending on how one defines main character), a couple of dozen supporting characters and a half dozen or so story lines. No, “Mississippi Sizzling” is not disjointed and yes, every story line weaves together like the yarn in that afghan your grandmother crocheted for you when you went off to college. No characters are stranded in orbit and none are left on a tangent to die from neglect.
Frank Lee Rio is the real life Kilgore Trout. He has worked dozens of strange jobs to support his writing habit including such illustrious gigs as plasma donor, human guinea pig, wart model, and exterminator. He is currently employed as a mental health counselor in Massachusetts. "Mississippi Sizzling" is his second first novel.
A more detailed biography is available at http://getyournovelpublished.blogspot.com/2011/06/introducing-frank-lee-rio.html
Sincerely,
Frank Lee Rio
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Havis Dawson
Liza Dawson Associates
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