Brian Kenneth Swain

Just finished drafting Chapter Eight, in which we meet the Imam Bachir Tarraf, brother of Hanan Tarraf, the father of Khalid, the young man who killed himself and seventeen others in a suicide bombing in Chapter One. Bachir will play a pivotal, but as yet undetermined, role in the conspiracy that is starting to shape up in the story. In this introduction, we learn that he is haunted by his memories of the 1982 massacres at the East Beirut camps at Sabra and Shatila, during which time he served as Imam of the mosque in the camps. Hundreds (some say thousands) of refugees were massacred on the night of September 16th, and he was spared only because of his position. He will be a fun character to play around with, particularly as regards his ...

World Hunger Brian Kenneth Swain (210) 464-2412 Bswain2000@yahoo.com WGA Reg. # VSHA7D9D5AC7 Two brilliant molecular biologists and a greedy corporate chieftain undertake a bold technological experiment to revolutionize global agriculture, but instead drive it to the brink of destruction. ———————————- The story begins at the end. Philip Barett, senior scientist for Vanguard, the world’s largest life sciences company, testifies before a senate subcommittee concerning the calamitous events that resulted from Vanguard’s efforts to revolutionize world agriculture with a genetically modified (GM) technology known as Evergreen. Robert Chase, Vanguard’s greedy, abusive, and ...

After a lengthy absence from novel writing (though I have made some progress in doing another careful copy edit of “World Hunger” for a coming re-release), I am back hard at work on research and drafting for “Days End,” my story about a dirty bomb attack on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The book is about three families–Jewish, Muslim, and Christian–and their coming together (some for better, some for worse) in a plot to sabotage the mount against all future use. Just finished drafting Chapter Nine, in which an Irish detective interviews the Director of St. John’s Cancer Treatment Center concerning the theft of nearly a kilogram of Cesium 137 from their radiation therapy storage facility (used for ...

Just discovered that I have a poem in the Winter 2011 edition of The Northwest College Review. Check it out at http://issuu.com/lorigreig/docs/northwest_review_4-11b. The poem is entitled “Don’t Make Me Stop This ...

Excerpt from Alone in the Light Imagine going to class one morning—October 18, 1994, to be specific—and returning to your dormitory room to find your roommates gathered around the television watching reports of a surprise air assault on your home town. These people—your roommates, your friends—are Russians, and they laugh and joke about how that will teach those Chechen terrorist bastards. That will teach them some respect. And only after you have stood silently in the doorway for a minute or so do they turn and see you, their Chechen friend. And how quiet the room becomes at that awkward moment. But imagine if they had known what town you actually came from? Imagine if, as they silently left your room, they had known that ...

Finally got the cover art situation straightened out for the new novel and I should receive final draft cover and text block in the next few days for review and approval. Looking forward to getting this one “in the can” so I can move on to the next ...

I’ve had a wonderful time interacting with the students of John Damaso’s Honors English class at Brophy Prep in Phoenix, AZ. There are about 100 students in 4 classes, and they have spent the past month reading and studying World Hunger as part of their project on human dignity and world food supplies. I’ve had an opportunity to answer numerous questions on this site, as well as participate in a series of Skype video-conferences with the classes, during which we discussed aspects of the novel, as well as broader GM issues and the writing/publishing fields. I thank the class for their time and energy and look forward to many more such opportunities in the coming ...

I am experimenting a bit with Chapter 3 in which the falcon Ain Fir reflects in first person about his life as a trained hunting falcon. I am trying to set up the relationship between the bird and the boy Rodrigo, as this will be an important relationship throughout the story to come.  I am after three distinct voices with this–the bird, the boy, Columbus. To further distinguish the changes, the boy’s chapters will be past tense, whereas Columbus’s will be present, to give them a bit more immediacy. We’ll have to see how this all works. I would really like though for Ain Fir to have a sense of superiority, almost as though he tolerates being with the boy, all the while knowing that he is free to take off whenever ...

Posted for the first time today the cast, glossary and bibliography on the web site for others to review. I also began getting some decent traction in Chapter 2, in which we begin to deal with Lope’s grief over Catalina’s conviction and impending execution. I remain undecided on whether or not to oblige Lope to attend this execution. Doubtless the officials of the inquisition would have required this of anyone who had been reconciled to the church, as a sign of their penitence, etc. Still, to have to watch your spouse burned at the stake? A bit much…. This chapter is where we will begin to get to know know Rodrigo better, important as he is our main character in this story once things get rolling in earnest. He will have ...

Cast of Characters Columbus, Christopher – Explorer who traveled to the New World four times in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Ferdinand II of Aragon (the Catholic) – King of Aragon and Castile, from 1479 to 1516. Fir, Ain – Rodrigo’s pet peregrine falcon. Isabella 1 (the Catholic) – Queen of Castile and Leon from 1474 to 1504. Morillo, Miguel de – Dominican friar and one of two original inquisitors of Castile, appointed in 1480, well prior to Torq’s appointment as IG. Torquemada, Tomas de –Inquisitor General of Spain (from 1483 to his death in 1498), Spanish Dominican friar. On Oct. 17, 1483, Thomas de Torquemada, ...