Racing the Dream
by M.T. Bass
“If everything seems under control, you’re not going fast enough.” ~Mario Andretti
Strap down the 5-point harness in the cockpit of a Formula 1 air racing plane and join Hawk as he chases victory! First on their amateur make-shift course over Antelope Acres, then on the re-emerging pylon racing circuit in the early 1960s. And finally, as Hawk battles 7 other top-level pilots at the very first National Air Racing Championship event in Reno!
Abandoning the cloth and his African mission, Father Bob returns to his slide rule to design Hawk’s racer. Sparks, his loyal yet surly mechanic, built it and wrenching both on the engine—as well as on Hawk—keeps them at the front of the pack. Home again in Los Angeles from behind the stick of a T-6 Texan as a mercenary in the Congo civil war, air racing is a new aviation adventure for Hawk. Ride along as he tangles with fellow pilots in “uncooperative formation flying” at two-hundred miles per hour a mere fifty feet off the ground!
And
then one day cruising home to Van Nuys airport, Hawk spies Allison, a
beach-blonde surfer girl, insanely wing walking on the top wing of a Stearman
PT-17 bi-plane. He quickly sets his sights on her.
Fly
low…Fly fast…and Turn Left…
Now for the Interview:
1. Describe yourself in three words.
I am a rebel.
2. Cast your book. Tell us who would play the main characters in a movie and why (send pictures!).
Well, of course, given the nature of my story about air racing, Tom Cruise from Top Gun Maverick. Some of the other actors in the movie might have been okay, but Hawk gets some grief because he’s a bit older—just like Pete Maverick in this sequel. And Tom and Hawk are both P-51 pilots, too.
Rose McIver from iZombie and Ghosts would be great as Allison, the beach-blonde surfer girl and wing-walking fellow pilot who captures Hawk’s heart. Michael Sheen from Good Omens as Father Bob. A crusty Jeff Bridges would definitely be Sparks. And Scotty would be played by Tim Robinson from Detroiters and Saturday Night Live.
3. What’s your favorite love scene from a movie?
I like the final love scenes in Bull Durham between Crash Davis and Annie Savoy before he leaves for the Asheville Tourists to finish his playing career. They’re sensual and a lot of fun.
4. What’s your wildest fantasy?
I’ve accomplished so many things: writing books, flying airplanes, releasing a CD, finding the love of my life…I’m really not sure. I’m pretty happy. Maybe to have a major movie made of one of my novels. I think Racing the Dream, Article 15, or Somethin’ for Nothin’ would be great stories for the silver screen. And, of course, winning an Oscar for the screenplay.
5. If you were to lose one of your senses, which would you rather lose and why?
If I lost my sight, I couldn’t fly. If I lost my hearing and my touch, I couldn’t play guitar. If I lost my taste, I couldn’t enjoy Lola’s excellent cuisine. I guess it would have to be my sense of smell.
6. What is the naughtiest thing you did as a kid?
Well…maybe I wasn’t such a little kid, but in high school my girlfriend and I got caught by her parents in flagrante delicto. Now that was embarrassing.
Quickies: Boxers or Briefs? Briefs
Top or Bottom? Yes
Pajamas or nude? Nude
Hairy chests or smooth? Mostly Smooth
Alpha or Beta? Alpha
How about an excerpt:
Allison kicked off her shoes and dropped them in the car. I stripped off my jacket and left it, then we wound our way around the Albatross to the waterfront where she skipped ahead and waded into the surf.
Staring out to sea, she took a deep breath. “You’ve got to love it. It’s the law.”
"Well, I’m kind of a desperado.”
Allison spun around to kick water at me, then started walking north.
I followed along just outside the retreating waves.
“Sure, sure—a desperado. Well, don’t make me walk out here all by myself.”
“But—”
“But nothing.”
So I slipped off my shoes and socks, then rolled up my pants legs. She didn’t stop. “Hey, wait for me.”
Allison ran ahead, stopped, then turned to face me.
“I’m beginning to think that you’re the one who’s an outlaw,” I said walking up to her. “A real Black Rebel.”
"Maybe…”
“So, what are you rebelling against?” I asked.
“Whadda ya got?”
I looked her in the eyes and smiled.
"Well, then, don’t wait too long.”
I leaned in and we kissed, softly. Then more passionately as I took her in my arms.
“Mmmm…” she moaned sweetly, then put her head against my chest. “Come on.”
She took my hand and we walked north through the moonlit surf.
I watched her looking out to sea. “What are you doing?”
“Oh, nothing,” she sighed. “Just counting waves.”
“Why?”
“Force of habit. It’s what you do in the lineup.”
“The lineup?” I asked.
“Uh-huh. When you’re surfing.”
“Oh, no. Don’t tell me you’re a surfer girl.”
Allison began to sing The Beach Boys song: “Do you love me, do you, surfer girl? Surfer girl surfer girl.”
“Seriously?”
I stopped walking, but she pulled me along. “Everything’s a song.”
“Aye-Yi-Yi,” I moaned.
“And, you know, it does make sense—considering my job and all.”
I thought about it a bit. “Yeah…I suppose. A surfboard is kind of like a wing. And how long have you been doing that?”
“Before I started flying. I learned in Hawaii when Dad was based at Hickam. I think I might have been twelve. And, of course, there are great waves up north when I went to Stanford. It gets in your blood. You’re not fighting gravity, you know? You are riding a wall of green that some storm has thrown at you from way out at sea. And some of them get pretty big and mean and, man, you are racing for your life with the wind blasting in your face as the wave crests over your head. You’re scared, but your juices are flowing like crazy, too.”
“Sounds wild.”
“Yeah. Yeah, it is. Some say it’s better than sex.”
“You?”
She smiled at me. “Haven’t decided, yet.”
“Right…and you surf here?”
“Up north past the Malibu pier, at Surf Rider Beach. And Zuma Beach and County Line.”
“Well, what do you know: flying, philosophy, and surfing.”
“I do lead a full life.”
I looked out at the waves, then back at her. “So you do.”
We walked another half-mile north, then turned back south towards the Albatross, got in the car, and drove back to Hollywood.
When I walked her to her apartment door, we kissed again.
“Don’t wait so long to call, again,” Allison said as she slipped inside. Before she closed the door, she looked back at me. “Who knows, one of these days you just might get lucky.”
About the Author:
M.T. Bass is a
scribbler of fiction who holds fast to the notion that while victors may get to
write history, novelists get to write/right reality. He lives, writes, flies
and makes music in Mudcat Falls, USA.
Born in Athens, Ohio, M.T. Bass grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. He graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University, majoring in English and Philosophy, then worked in the private sector (where they expect “results”) mainly in the Aerospace & Defense manufacturing market. He is the author of twelve novels, two novellas, and a book of verse. His writing spans various genres, including Mystery, Adventure, Romance, Black Comedy and TechnoThrillers. A Commercial Pilot and Certified Flight Instructor, airplanes and pilots are featured in many of his stories. Bass currently lives on the shores of Lake Erie near Lorain, Ohio.
M.T. Bass Author Links
Website: https://www.mtbass.net
Blog: https://www.owl-works.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/owlworks/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Owlworks
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/mtbass
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5270962.M_T_Bass
Racing the Dream Purchase Links
Author Web Site Info Page: https://mtbassauthor.wordpress.com/racing-the-dream-white-hawk-aviation-stories-3/
Amazon (Kindle Unlimited): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CCSVMSQV
Stories by M.T. Bass
White Hawk Aviation Adventure Stories
My Brother's Keeper
Jungleland
Racing the Dream
***~~~***
Murder by Munchausen Sci-Fi Thriller Series
Murder by Munchausen
The Darknet
The Invisible Mind
Motherless Children
Murder by Munchausen Trilogy: Books 1-3
***~~~***
Article 15
Somethin' for Nothin'
In the Black
Crossroads
Lodging
Untethered
4 comments:
Thank you so much for hosting today!
Hi Wendi --
Thanks for putting a feature for Racing the Dream on your blog.
If I can answer any questions for folks, just have them drop them in a comment.
Thanks.
~Mudcat
This sounds like a good book.
This sounds great and I love the cover!
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