Devil's Hit List 1: Overview

Hands up, everyone who was expecting a bunch of death metal titles! No, this is the third of Frank Creed's novels about the Underground. Known as "DHL" by insiders (UPS and FedEx wouldn't pay up), the story follows Calamity Kid and other members of the growing cast as they attempt to stop the spread of Virtual-e, a fatally addictive virtual-reality program, in the US. Along the way, they also stumble upon the secret of the mysterious third member of the Unholy Trinity running the One State: Spirit. Also, God seems to be inspiring some of the resistance to do things that are counter-intuitive or outright insane. And all the time, their names start appearing on what they call "the Devil's Hit List," a One State most-wanted list complete with bounties in the millions.

Of course there's also a lot of the usual wire-fu and adventures in cyberspace going on, and various relationships old and new to figure out, including a fresh recruit CK gets to train as his Uncle Legacy once trained him.

Next time I'll look more closely at certain aspects of the story.

Devil's Hit List ($4.99 Kindle download) by Frank Creed

Frank Creed: The Genuine Fake Interview

I was going to interview Frank Creed, author of Flashpoint, but a few of my own characters (mostly Darklight, who can change his appearance) decided to hijack the proceedings on the grounds that their responses will be more colorful and controversial than his.

Could be.

Ansric: So you're Frank Creed.

FC: As close as you're getting to him, anyway.

Ansric: And you're a cat.

FC: What, that again? "Oh, you're a cat! Read any good mice lately?" What's everyone's problem?

Ansric: Well, we kind of get the impression you're human.

FC: That's Scott Morris. I don't know why people get us mixed up; we don't look that much alike. I've told him to shave his beard.

Ansric: And on your Shoutlife photo page, you're listed as "Mavis."

FC: Have you tried publishing something like Flashpoint as "Mavis the Cat"? I have to use a pen-name.

Ansric: But isn't "Frank Creed" just a pen-name for Scott Morris?

FC: Ha! No way! Scott can't write!

Ansric: Really?

FC: Not even a grocery list. It's sad. That's why I do all the writing.

Ansric: So what does Scott do?

FC: Carries me around, mostly. And he types. He's a good typist. Well, good enough that his wife can clean up his work.

Ansric: You can't type?

FC: Not with these paws. Computers are supposed to improve access, you know, but they still don't have a cat-friendly interface. And don't do any mouse jokes.

Ansric: Do you ever bring your, uh, feline viewpoint to your stories?

FC: I try, but The Man is always censoring me.

Ansric: "The Man"?

FC: Your species as a whole. Not that I'm prejudiced. I tried getting a story through recently, but The Man blocked me.

Ansric: I'm sorry to hear that.

FC: Yeah, but I'm rollin' now. I have my own Shoutlife page under my own name. Scott's been doing his usual cutesy stuff, but I've been talking to Calamity Kid, and he thinks it's time for a coup.

Ansric: Okay, thanks for sharing that. But what about Flashpoint? Did your felinity influence the story?

FC: Of course! You don't think a human would come up with all the "wire-fu" stuff in the book, do you? Cats have been doing that forever! The book's about action, and cats are all about action. That and day-long naps.

Ansric: So do you hope to be the first cat in the Who's Who of Wu Shu?

FC: Maybe.

Ansric: I bet you can't say it five times fast, though.

FC: It. It. It. It. It-- Gah! Got a hairball on that last one!

Ansric: Well, that looks like an interview-ending injury to me, so we'll post some links that can't help but be more informative:

What others say:
Fantasy Thyme
jamessomers.blogspot.com
Write and Whine
Hoshi to Sakura
Wayfarer's Journal
BlogCritics Interview
Daniel I Weaver
Disturbing the Universe
Grace Bridges
Queen of Convolution
Virtual Tour de 'Net
Christian Fiction Review Blog
Yellow30 Sci-Fi: Review
Yellow30 Sci-Fi: Interview
MaryLu Tyndall
Cathi's Chatter

The Book, etc.:
FrankCreed.com
BooksoftheUnderground.com
Purchase Flashpoint at Amazon.com
Purchase signed copies of Flashpoint