MISTER MARTY by Jim Fuller

 SUMMARY OF MISTER MARTY  FROM THE COVER

Marty Clifton is a timid boy who is an easy target for the class bully or for crafty girls who wanted to take advantage of him. However, by learning from his experiences and listening to advice from his elders, he developed an exceptional ability to understand people and deal with them successfully. He gains confidence with each new experience and rather quickly develops into a respected figure in the community with lofty goals and the ambition to achieve them. Along the way, he has some rather bizarre experiences with girls but never quite learns to understand them and completely fails to recognize the signals from the one who idolizes him. He does learn the value of being friends with influential people and actually becomes one himself.

 FROM THE AUTHOR ABOUT MISTER MARTY

I had fun writing this story.  With Marty Clifton coming to the age where he still wants to do boy things but, at the same time, developing a desire to make his mark in the world, it was fun but challenging to try to decide how he would react to each situation that arrived.  For that matter, it was a challenge to keep creating realistic situations and events that would test his reactions. 

 

A LOOK INSIDE THE BOOK

 he heard voices and laughter from down the street and turned to see a bright red convertible with the top down coming his way. As it came closer he could see that it carried a Colorado license plate and it was full of chattering, giggling girls. There were eight of them all together and three of them were sitting up on the back of the rear seat. He judged them to be high school girls and probably all seniors. When they caught sight of him they began shouting at him and giving him wolf whistles. As they passed by on the far side of the street they were waving and there were shouts of, “Hubba, hubba!”

He waved back to them and then turned toward Cliff ‘s house but he hadn’t gone half a block when there was a honk of a horn behind him and the roar of straight pipes as the convertible screeched around the corner and bore down on him.

It pulled to the curb right beside him and one of the girls asked, “Hey, handsome, want to go for a ride?”

Did he want to go for a ride? In a red convertible with eight high school girls? He wanted to go so bad that he thought he was probably drooling but he said, “Naw, I can’t. My Mom and my cousin are going for a drive pretty soon and I have to go with them.”

“Oh, poor baby,” one of them mourned, “what a drag! Your Mom and your cousin? Don’t you ever get to have any real fun?”

Before he could answer, another one said, “Hey, where did you get those pants with the flaps on the back pockets and contrasting stitching? Those are dreamy!”

Sliding down over the side of the car from her perch on the back of the seat, she came close to him and he could smell the odor of wine on her breath. “Why don’t you come to Denver with me where people that appreciate style can see those pants? Those are just too classy for a little burg like this. And you too. I want to take you to Denver and show you off. Come on, get in the car with us and go to Denver. We’ll bring you back in a couple of days, won’t we, girls?”

Amid a tumult of, “Sure, we’ll bring you back,” and, “Come on, go with us,” he told her, “No, I can’t go to Denver. I can’t go anywhere with you.” But, all the time he was saying it his heart was pounding in his chest and some powerful force was trying to suck him right into that convertible.

The girl moved closer and put her arms on his shoulders with her hands behind his neck. It seemed, at first, like an act of affection but soon she seemed to sway and need him to steady her. “I guess I can go back to Denver without you but I can’t go back without those pants,” she said.

Stepping back again, her eyes ran up and down the pants and she declared, “I think those pants would fit me. Why don’t you just give them to me and when I wear them around Denver I’ll tell everybody you gave them to me?”

Assuming she was joking, he came back with, “No, I can’t give them to you but what will you trade for them?”

Now, she was the one to assume and her attitude was instantly defiant, “You have a lot of nerve to be trying to proposition me! What do you think I am, anyhow?”

Marty was completely baffled. He didn’t know he had said anything wrong and couldn’t understand her sudden anger. He didn’t know what she meant about him trying to proposition her but he didn’t get a chance to ask her.

“I’m not trading you anything for them, smart ass,” she snapped, “I’m taking them off you,” and she grabbed the waistband of his pants with one hand and started to unbutton them with the other.

He was taken so completely by surprise that she had three buttons undone before he realized what she was doing and could react. He grabbed one of her wrists in each hand and squeezed so hard that her fingers couldn’t function. Raising her hands up to chest level, he gave her a shove that set her back several steps and nearly upended her. He only got two buttons redone before she charged at him like a wildcat and was using some of the most vile words he had ever heard. He sidestepped her charge and gave her another shove from the rear as she went by. She started calling for help from the others and two more girls spilled out of the car and bore down on him from the other side.

READER’S COMMENTS

From Gwen Hyde of Outskirts Press Review Team;  Marty is an exceptional  character – it is most intriguing to get into his mind and guess what his next moves are going to be. All of your characters together create an incredibly tangible, well-paced narrative.  You use this along with solid dialogue to really  help the reader get to know your characters.  Overall your work demonstrates strong writing with a story line that flows nicely.  I enjoyed the descriptiveness of this book, feeling I could picture each scene as I was reading.  Your book is well written and it’s clear that you have put a good deal of thought and effort into the planning and presentation of your manuscript.

Joe Reed wrote, “I have read the first 85 pages and, if the rest is as good, this will be most enjoyable reading. P.S. is #4 in the making?”

Julie Gantner wrote, “Already started reading it. Poor Marty – so trusting, but I know he will be fine. Hope you’ve started another book, Jim.  Keep writing, they are great!”