Casco By : E. R. Beecher

  

Literary Nymphs Interview

Title:  Casco

Author:  E. R. Beecher

Publisher:  Self published

Genre:  Adult fiction

Release Date:  May 2011

 

 

 

 

Available on Amazon for Kindle http://www.amazon.com/Casco-ebook/dp/B0051VRCJK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358371052&sr=8-1&keywords=e.r.+beecher

 B&N for Nook http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/casco-e-r-beecher/1101702801?ean=2940012471888

What inspired the story?  

I was inspired by a building that I have been familiar with for most of my life.  It was the inspiration for the summerhouse in the story.  The actual story just grew as I was writing it.  This way of writing has been called seat-of-the-pants.  I created the idea and general outline in my head long before I began writing.  As I wrote and filled in the details the story became more elaborate.  It also went in directions I hadn’t anticipated; a bit the way life goes.  There’s an ominous shadow of expectation cast over the story by a murder, a hate crime at the very beginning, in the prologue.  But, it is also a charming coming-of-age story of two young stepbrothers.  It has been likened to Stand by Me by Stephen King.  The progression of the book ties the murder to the lives of the stepbrothers as they reach maturity, including the gay relationship between the older brother and the drifter, the victim.  I’ll excerpt a portion of how they met below.

EXCERPT:

He got to the bar and asked the bartender for a beer. The bartender was what Mary would have called a hunk. He asked Richard what kind of beer he wanted. Richard told him he didn’t care. Just a beer. The bartender was flashing Richard this big, white- toothed grin. He had very blue eyes; his hair was dark, curly, and a little shaggy.

“You want this with a bump?’ He had sort of a Southern accent.

“Sure, yeah I guess.” The bartender poured Jagermeister into the cup of beer that he had drawn from the keg. Then he had to take care of some other guests and Richard started walking away; he wanted to see more of this party.

“Hey, wait. Where you goin’?” The bartender called out for Richard to wait.

“I just got here, I want to look around.”
“Can you wait a little? I’ll be done bartending in like five minutes.”
“How about I come back in a few.” It was too early to stop exploring the terrain. Richard wanted to see more of what was going on.
“Yeah, ok, don’t get lost or kidnapped.” Richard smiled and turned away. The music was great. He walked over to Hank.

“Hi there. I’m glad you came. Are you having fun? Your name’s Gordon, right?”

“No, Gordon’s my little brother. I’m Richard.”
“Oh, that’s right. I see you have a drink. That’s good. Be sure to go around and meet my guests. They’re all lots of fun, believe me.” Hank was really good-looking and he looked like he lifted weights. He was younger than Richard’s Dad. He seemed like an okay guy.

“Hey, there you are.” The bartender guy came up and introduced himself. “I’m Hunter.” He handed Richard another beer and Jagermeister.

“I’m Richard. What’s up?”

“Not much. Just doin’ some bartendin’, hangin’ out. This is a great fuckin’ party. Do you know the guy who’s givin’ it?”

“Hank lives across the road from us but I don’t really know him.”
“Have you been inside the house?”
“No, I hear it’s really something.”
“When I got here earlier the owner Hank showed me around. He’s a nice guy.”   

“Yeah.”

“Want to explore?”
“Sure”
They walked around and watched the people having a good time. Everybody was dancing. Hunter started to move to the music, sort of like he wanted Richard to dance with him. It felt a little odd but Richard started dancing too. It wasn’t like they were dancing with each other; but they were in a way. The beer and Jagermeister were beginning to get to Richard. He was feeling really relaxed. The band started to play a slow song. Hunter grabbed Richard and they started slow dancing together. They were moving together, with their arms around each other like they were a boy and a girl, but they were a guy and a guy. It felt okay to Richard, though. But then, Richard thought to himself, “what if someone I know sees me slow dancing with this guy. I don’t even know this guy.” He seemed like a nice guy and even Richard could see he was really good looking, but Richard didn’t know if he wanted to keep dancing like this. Richard stepped back.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Hunter looked surprised.

“Nothing, I don’t usually slow dance with guys.”

“Oh, ok, you still want to hang out with me, right?

“Sure, why not?”

They kept walking around. Not talking, just hanging out together, giving each other an occasional glance. Richard felt the heat radiating between them as they walked side by side. The party seemed to be slowing down, thinning out. It was like 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning. People had started to disappear, maybe hooking up.

“I think I may go soon.” Richard wanted to see how this guy Hunter would react.

“Oh no, don’t go. It’s still early.” He sounded disappointed. “You can’t leave yet. My bartending job is finished. Who’m I going to hang out with?” Hunter smiled at Richard. It was a nice smile.

They kept walking together.

Just then Richard saw Henry, Bert’s kid. What was he doing here? He thought Henry saw him. Henry was with some tough looking guys. Richard had never seen them before.

“You know, I think I’d better go after all. I see someone that I don’t want to see or talk to. Let’s get out of here.”

“Ok. Where do you want to go?”

“I don’t know but I want to get away from here. The guy’s father works for my grandmother and I don’t want her knowing I was here.”

“Would he tell on you?”
“I don’t know if he would tell on me and I don’t want to find out.”
They headed to the woods, cutting through to avoid the driveway in case Henry went out that way.
“Wait, Richard.” They were walking through the woods and trying not to get caught up in the underbrush. “Hold on.”
Richard stopped and waited for Hunter. Hunter came up to Richard and gently put his arms around him. Richard resisted a little but Hunter held onto him. “It felt so good when we were dancing.”

They were standing with Hunter’s arms around Richard. It seemed like a long time before Richard put his arms around Hunter. It did feel good, Hunter felt good. It had gotten chilly and Hunter’s body was warm. Hunter smelled good. Richard’s cheeks were burning. His skin is burning. Hunter put his chin on Richard’s shoulder; his soft, curly hair was against Richard’s cheek. He rubbed his hands up Richard’s back. Richard’s heart was about to jump right through his chest. Hunter brushed Richard’s neck with his lips. Suddenly Richard got the feeling that Hunter was going to kiss him. Richard resisted.

“Oh man, Richard.” Hunter stood back, frustrated, his arms still halfway around Richard; giving Richard a bemused look.

Richard didn’t feel threatened or anything and Hunter did feel awfully good in his arms. Richard felt cold when seconds ago he was warm. Richard reached out and brought them together again, chest to chest. Their faces close, looking intently into each other’s eyes. Suddenly Hunter gave Richard a funny look, shook his head slightly, and he let go of Richard.

“Richard, how old are you? I’m twenty-five. How old are you?”
“I’m twenty. What’s so funny?”
“Nothing’s funny. We need to get to know each other better is all. How about you walk me to my car and let’s get together tomorrow. Maybe we could go to the beach or something. How about it?”

Richard felt let down! Hunter had just broken the spell. Just like that, he smashed the spell. Richard’s heart was pounding. Adrenaline had Richard practically vibrating. Richard shook his head, trying to clear it and be able to respond without losing his cool.

“Ok,” was about all he could manage. He didn’t know what else to say. Where was this leading, to the place that most guys wondered about? Richard wasn’t sure if he wanted to go there. At the same time he to wanted to go there so bad! Hunter, was he supposed to be Richard’s guide? Richard felt Hunter had just dropped him. What just happened? How could Hunter do that? Richard didn’t know what Hunter wanted. Richard didn’t know what he himself wanted. But Richard did know that he wanted to be near Hunter more than anything. These thoughts raced through Richard’s head. They got to Hunter’s car, an old Studebaker.

“It’s not mine. It’s my roommate’s. He said I could borrow it.”

“Ok,” again, was all Richard could manage. Richard was still shaking from what just happened.

“So, the beach tomorrow?” Hunter asked.

“Yeah. I teach sailing until 2:00.” It was an effort for him to talk coherently. In his confusion, Richard had forgotten that he wasn’t teaching sailing tomorrow; it was Sunday tomorrow.

“I get off work at 2:00. Want to meet somewhere? I can drive us; I could pick you up if you don’t have wheels.”

“I’ll hitch a ride to the shipyards. Wanta pick me up at the shipyards?”
“Sure. Bring your bathing suit.”
At this point they were standing on the empty road. A line of cars still pulled up along the side. Hunter’s back was against the car. He held out his arms to Richard. Richard hesitated then let Hunter draw them together. They hugged. Richard felt Hunter’s warmth, his body through their thin shirts. Again Hunter brushed Richard’s neck with his lips. Richard did the same to Hunter. Richard tasted Hunter’s warm skin on my lips. Richard’s heart was pounding. He could feel Hunter’s heart beating hard against his chest. Hunter took a deep breath.

“Man! I better be going, Richard. I’ll see you tomorrow at the shipyards, 2:30 ok?”

“You bet.” It took all his strength to play it cool. Hunter stood leaning against the old Studebaker car for a couple seconds. Then he leaned forward and put his hand on the back of Richard’s head. He pulled Richard to him. His mouth touched Richard’s mouth.

Then he opened the car door and jumped in, started the old engine, and smiled at Richard through the glass. He rolled the window down, giving Richard a hot grin. “See you tomorrow. 2:30.”

Off he went. Richard stood in the road watching him go. The taillights disappeared around the curve. He was gone. What just happened? Richard needed Hunter to be there with him.

Richard was not going to be able to sleep, for sure.

Where can we find your website?  

My website is under construction at the moment.  It should be up soon. You can learn more about me at my author page is on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ron.beecher, I’m on Twitter https://twitter.com/beechchicago

Casco is not a long book. It can be finished in a weekend on the beach or at the pool.  Most people who’ve read it have commented that they had to stay up to finish it.  They couldn’t put it down.

Meet: E. R. Beecher – Ron to my friends.

 

What are your 2 favorite careers?

Actor and Writer

What is the hardest thing you ever had to do?

I think getting divorced was the hardest.

Favorite music, song or band

Gosh, my tastes run from Gregorian Chant all the way through to the great alternative stuff coming out every day.  In today’s music I love Fleet Foxes, Beach House, Kings of Leon. I love and listen to just about everything.

Are you usually late, early or right on time?

I try to be a little early to on time. I hate missing stuff and I hate wasting time.

Are you happy with your life for the most part right now?

Oh yes.  I’m doing exactly what I want to do and that is creating worlds, in other words writing.

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

I would love to explore the Far East, especially China.  My Grandfather lived there back in the late 1890s through early 1900s. It was before China had come into the modern world.  I’d like to see what it’s like now.
 

What do you think would be the hardest thing for you to give up on?

 I would hate to give up on my writing. It’s very broadening. It’s very good for the brain, I think. My brain at least