Robert Fate Explains Some Things

Hello, Bob! Did you play the Shakespeare game? See the post below this one. If so, what’s your favorite insult?
Resign not thy day gig, thou loggerheaded dizzy-eyed scut.

Pretty good! Did you have a favorite insult BEFORE the Shakespearean one? I collect them.
You addle-brained, egg-sucking ferret.

Also good. I understand you’ve been working on a fourth book. Are you craving a vacation, or are you still writing happily?
Book four is coming along quite nicely, thanks. I would like more time to write, not less. It will be another cozy with a few brutal murders, and I’m calling it Baby Shark’s Jugglers at the Border.

If you did take a vacation in the proverbial “away from it all,” where would that away be?
Villa del Sol, Zihuatanejo, Mexico. Beach. Sun. Ocean. Solitude. Books. We arrive at the airport and a bus takes our fellow planeload of vacationers to the big hotels in Ixtapa. A taxi takes us to a small hotel on the beach in Zihuatanejo. We have taken our daughter Jenny there since she was six months old, 1 ½, 2 ½, 3 ½, 4 ½, etc. We have vacationed other places, but never with the same satisfaction as we have felt for our summers in Zihuatanejo.

You make it sound quite appealing. As a Californian, you must appreciate how nervous we Midwesterners were with our recent earthquake. Do West Coasters think we’re a bunch of babies?
Earthquakes are every day occurrences here, so everyone has a story. In January 1994, when Jenny had just turned six, the earthquake that was later called the Northridge Quake occurred. It was early morning. We were still in bed. The quake was strong enough to give our house a hard shake. Four of our neighbors had their chimneys shaken off their houses. We have three sets of clear glass double doors that make up the north wall of our living room. All were closed and locked. All were opened wide by the twisting the quake gave our house.

When we were waked by the rattle of the house and all its contents dancing about, our German shepherd headed for the bathtub where he always went during those things, and Fern and I leaped from our bed, each to a side, rushed out of our bedroom, down the hall, and into Jenny’s room. “She’s not here,” Fern cried out. “What? What are you saying?” I shouted.. “I’m here,” Jenny said rather sheepishly from our room. She had gotten between us during the night. We were all laughing before the house was finished creaking.

After checking on a couple of our older neighbors, we built a fire in the fireplace, fixed breakfast, and got our day started. When Fern and I are in different parts of the city, we telephone each other DURING the quake. AFTER the quake, the lines are jammed with calls.

Rock through a few more, Julia, and you’ll get the fatalistic hang of it.

Well, I'm hoping not to get that used to it, but okay.

Baby Shark is being made into a film, and on DorothyL there has been much talk of who should be cast in the roles. Did any of the ideas jump out at you? Do you want to play one of the roles yourself?
It is certain that the actress (or is that actor now?) that is cast in the role of Kristin Van Dijk will forever be the Kristin readers see in their mind’s eye. I have no idea who that will be, but assume it will be a woman in her mid to late twenties who can play from seventeen to nineteen. I know he is not the same size as Otis is written, but I sometimes think of Sam Elliot in that role. Henry will be an interesting character to cast, honest, savvy.

A role for me? Maybe one of the old geezers, especially the one who’s not too swift..

I tried to quiz people about your Baby Shark books to let them win a free one, but it sent them scurrying away. Is there an easier way for them to claim a free book?
Scared them away, did we? Well, howzabout this? Any of your readers that are interested in receiving a copy of High Plains Redemption should let you know. You put their names in a fedora, draw out five, and let me know their addresses. That should take care of the scaredicats.

Thank you, Julia, for the opportunity to chat. It’s always a pleasure to visit with you. Plus, it does my reputation a world of good to hang out for a while someplace so classy. Who knows? Maybe somebody will get the wrong idea about me – that couldn’t be bad.

Thanks, Robert.

Okay, readers, you heard him. I will choose between several fedoras, and you can contact me for a FREE BOOK!!!! What a great world. :)