UNBEARABLE excerpt

Two posts in one day? Let’s call this a special occasion.

As you may or may not know, my new novel Unbearable is coming out Sept 1st. You may not know this because I’m pretty lousy at promotion, but you also are here, so you might be one of the proud few who visit this blog with perhaps more regularity than I update it.

That’s on me. I’ve been doing this a long time, and while I like writing, I’ve lost a taste for most of the other parts of the business, and I was never particularly great at it before. But a new book is out, and you can pre-order it at all the usual places. Go to your local bookstore and say, “I want my A. Lee Martinez”, if you’re so inclined. Or go online. I can’t afford to be picky.

I’ve posted a previous version of the first chapter somewhere down this blog, if you care to look. The chapter changed quite a bit since then, but if you want to compare and contrast when the book does finally come out, I won’t stop you.

In the meantime, here’s a snippet from somewhere in the middle of the novel. Hope you enjoy it.

Irene sat across from me at the kitchen table, giving me that look of hers.

“I know how it sounds,” I said.

“Do you?” She tapped her lighter on the table as she chewed on a cigarette.

I put my hand on hers. “I wouldn’t believe it either, but I’ve seen things since yesterday that I can’t explain otherwise.”

“So magic exists, and you have a magic sword. Like King Arthur.”

“I think it’s more like I’m Merlin,” I replied. “I’m just holding the sword.”

“Merlin wasn’t in charge of the sword,” she said.

“Let’s not get bogged down in the specifics.”

She stood, struck up the lighter, but didn’t light the cigarette. She almost said something before turning her back, mumbling to herself. I thought about saying something, but there wasn’t any way to soften this. It just had to play out. Anything I did say was more likely to sound stupider than it already sounded.

She turned back, gestured impatiently. “Can I touch it?”

“That might not be a good idea,” I said. “It might affect you.”

“How?”

“It can fuck with people’s minds.”

“I’m going to lose my mind if I touch it for a few seconds?”

She leaned forward, hands on table. “Ortiz, sweetie, I am going to need more than a discount store sword to buy any of this.”

It wasn’t an unreasonable request.

“I’m not responsible for what happens.” I held it out, blade toward her.

“Since when have you ever been responsible?”

She reached out, but I pulled it away.

“Just a touch,” I said.

She put her fingers on the flat of the blade. I waited for any signs of madness as she stepped away. She paced back and forth, looking to me, then the sword, then me. Sighing, she stuck the cigarette back in her pocket and sat at the table.

“All right. I believe you.”

“You do?”

She glared. “You want me to believe you, don’t you?”

“Yes, but…well…it’s a lot.”

“Not really,” she said. “It explains some things. Like how you’re still alive after stealing from Horace.”

“I could be smart,” I said.

She smiled. “Oh, honey…”

“I could be lucky.”

Her sly grin turned into a chuckle. “Oh, come on. We both know your luck.”

“Maybe that just means I’m due for a win.”

“Guys like you don’t win, Ortiz.”

“Then why are you with me?” I asked.

She shrugged. “You were the best guy of a lousy selection.”

“You should write Hallmark cards,” I said.

She said, “I’ve narrowed it down to three possibilities. Either you’re smart. Or you’re lucky. Or you’ve got a magic sword that’s kept you alive. Fuck me, but we both know the sword is the most believable explanation.”