Magnificent Guns of Seneca 6 (40 page)

McParlan scratched his beard thoughtfully and said, "Who said anything about a man?"

***

Claire Miller saw the rider coming toward their house and she grabbed Frank's wheelchair and pushed him back into the house.
 
"What's going on, Claire?
 
Is it time for bed?" Frank said.

"Somebody's coming," Claire said.
 
"Just wait here till I see who it is."

Frank watched his wife hurry into the back bedroom and come back with her father's old pump-action shotgun.
 
She didn't have to check the chamber.
 
It was always loaded and ready.
 
"Why you getting that?" Frank said.
 
"You expecting trouble?"

Claire looked at her husband sharply.
 
There were scars on her face that still hadn't healed from their last unexpected visitor.
 
She was
always
expecting trouble.
 

Bart Masters held up his hand as he rode in and said, "Evening, Claire.
 
Sorry to call on you so late."
 

Claire opened the door and stuck her head out to make sure that the Mayor was alone.
 
"What brings you out to these parts, Bart?
 
Was Jem not at home?"

Bart folded his hands on his saddle and said, "Him not being at home is the reason I came to see you.
 
He's run off again on another one of his damn adventures."

"Well he sure as hell didn’t say anything about it to me," Claire said.
 
She let herself back onto the porch and held the door open for her husband.
 
"That don't surprise me.
 
He knows I'd have given him what for."

"I don't doubt that," Bart said.
 
"I can't say I was surprised either.
 
I don't think being Sheriff is everything he expected it to be.
 
There's a whole lot of hand-holding these people need, and Jem isn't quite the type to do that."

"There's a certain amount," Claire said, "but there's also a time to tell people to stop being babies and figure it out for themselves.
 
Jem didn't say too much about it to me, though.
 
Let's face it, he ain't got a great track record for staying in one place for too long."

"That's true.
 
The shame of it is that most people really responded to a Clayton being back in the office.
 
It gave them hope, and that's something we sorely need right now, after all that's happened."

"Well, sometimes nostalgia's a dangerous thing," Claire said.
 
"Hoping and wishing something were so don't make it that way, Bart.
 
I'm sure there's plenty of people out there who can do the job and they don't have to be named Clayton to do it."

"But what if I was one of those people, Claire?
 
Our two families have a connection that goes back before we were born.
 
It's always been a good team, and I always felt like I could do this job as long as I had one of you at my side."

Claire shrugged and said, "I'll talk to him when I see him if that's what you're asking."

"I'm not talking about him," Bart said.
 
He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out Sam Clayton's old, worn Sheriff's star.
 
He held it up, "What do you say?"

Claire's eyes widened, "What do you mean?"

"It was McParlan who suggested it.
 
He said
'That girl's got
the stuff
.'
 
I think that's a pretty big compliment from him."
 
Bart smiled weakly and said, "I could use the help, Claire.
 
You've always been here, never complaining no matter what life threw at you.
 
You handled that Harpe bastard like nobody else could have.
 
I'd be real, real grateful if you'd take the job and proud to have you wear this badge.
 
What do you say?"

Claire went down the steps slowly, staring at the badge like she'd never seen it before, like there were strange words written across it that were only now making sense.
 
She took it from Bart and ran her fingers over the surface reverently.
 
"I don't even have a pistol," Claire said.
  
    

Bart reached into his saddlebag and removed a holster with a black-handled weapon seated inside.
 
"McParlan thought as much, so he is lending you his Balrog.
 
He said it's standard PNOA issue to female agents and old fogies like him."
 

"When would I start?" Claire said.

"Tomorrow.
 
Unless you want the town to fall into complete chaos when people realize there's no law.
 
Give it a few days and you'll get to handle a full-scale riot as your first official act."

She slowly pinned the badge to her shirt lapel and stood there looking down at it for a moment.
 
"Is this just a temporary job until the real thing gets back?"

"I'm sure we'll have to discuss it with Jem, being that he's expecting to resume his duties.
 
That's only fair.
 
But if you like the job, maybe you two can work something out.
 
Sam had my daddy watching his back.
 
I'm sure Jem could use someone he trusts watching his."

Claire looked up at the Mayor and said, "I think you mean I could use Jem to watch mine."

Bart Masters chuckled and shook his head, "I think I like you in this position already, Claire."
 

Frank Miller rolled himself forward to the edge of the porch and said, "That's Sheriff Miller to you, mister."

Interview with Bernard Schaffer by David Hulegaard

The following interview appeared on
DavidHulegaard.com
7/11/12

Q:
Thanks for stopping by during this exciting time to talk to us about your new book, Magnificent Guns of Seneca 6. First of all, congratulations! How are you feeling?

A:
David, thank you for having me back.
 
Congratulations to you as well.
 
One of the best things about the Kindle All-Stars is that the core group of people involved have stuck together and evolved. I'm proud of you for all your hard work this year.

I feel good. I'm really looking forward to releasing this book. It's strange to love something you create, not as a product but as a place.
 
I write about Seneca 6 because in my heart, I wish it were real.
 
Someday I'd like to ask JK Rowling if she felt depressed every time she finished one of the Potter books. I always feel bummed out when I have to leave.

Q:
Readers might remember from earlier interviews that you’re always working on multiple projects at the same time. How long had you been working on MGoS6?

A:
I officially started work on it April 30, 2012.
 
I only know that because Word says that's when I created the file.
 
I have earlier notes that go back to last year.

Q:
Upon the completion of Guns of Seneca 6, how long did it take before ideas for a sequel started coming to you?

A:
Probably right away, but not many of them got used.
 
I needed time to let everything gel into a coherent story. The ideas rolled in like trains and I'd greet them at the station and dutifully record whatever they were carrying.
 
Eventually, I figured it all out.

Q: So, Magnificent takes place a year following the events of the first book. Give us a quick overview of what’s happening in Seneca 6.

A:
Guns ended with Jem Clayton taking over for his father as the Sheriff. Jem is a pretty badass character and as I sat down to write about him being in his office, all these little townsfolk kept coming in to bug him with their petty grievances.
 
As I wrote it I realized that Jem would be thinking the same thing I am. "Get me the hell out of here."

Ultimately, Magnificent Guns of Seneca 6 is about following our own destiny.
 
Jem starts off as a Sheriff because he thinks it's what he's supposed to do. Haeinwa'tha goes off on a quest because it's what he's expected to do.
 
Ultimately, their interpretations of their "perceived destinies" is what gets them into trouble.
 

Q:
If I had to describe this book in one word, it would be “scope.” There’s a lot going on in Seneca 6 and a large cast of characters in motion. Was expanding its figurative universe a conscious decision going in, or did it just sort of develop that way as you went along?

A:
I realized early on that Seneca as a planet is much bigger than one little settlement. Look at Earth. We've got arctic regions, deserts, rain forests and more.
 
Life of all different varieties exists everywhere you look.
 
You can see drastic change just by jumping in your car and driving for a little while.
 
Seneca is a lot more remote than we are, but I have yet to fully explore it in my mind. Who really knows what lies beyond the wasteland?
 

That being said I wanted to fully develop the area we're focused on. I wanted to explain exactly who the Beothuk are as a rich and varied people of multiple tribes, much like our own Native Americans.

I also like the idea of bringing Bob Ford back. In the first book, he's pretty much a patsy for Jem's Gentleman Jim. Something that gets thrown away. I wanted to explore what happens when you throw someone away and they come back.

Q:
In the original Guns of Seneca 6, Jem Clayton was the clear lead character. In Magnificent, it appears as though Seneca 6 itself has become the real star. Talk about what you learned from writing the first book and how that played into your creative process with the sequel.

A:
Each of the characters was already a living, breathing thing by the second book. If you notice, I didn't introduce anybody we've already met. There's no preface.
 
If you're reading Magnificent Guns, I assume you already know whats going on.
 
We just get down to business.

Q:
Speaking of your creative process, is it different for each series that you write? With Whitechapel, you maintained a painstakingly detailed timeline on a whiteboard next to your desk. With Superbia, you were able to draw from your own personal experience on the force. How does Bernard Schaffer prepare for a book rooted almost entirely in fiction?

A:
It's by far the easiest because I can just let fly. The Whitechapel books are difficult because they are constrained by reality.
 
Timelines, vernacular, anachronism, all must be considered. Not always followed, as some of my British reviewers so kindly pointed out, but yes, considered.