Week One Questions and Algonquin Round Table

[plumboz]

Well, we made it to the end of the first week. I would like to say thanks to everyone who has gotten their own copy of Boomerang and is joining the party here. I hope you are enjoying it so far.

This is where I pose questions. But I would also like it to be where you can toss some questions my way and talk amongst yourselves. I wrote the thing but I'm just as, if not more, curious to know what your thoughts are as you might be to know what in the world was going on in mind while I was writing it.


So, here we go. Questions from the Guilty Party, Part One. In no particular order:


1. We are introduced to a wide range of characters in these chapters. Ted Hogwood, Kenny Lush, Doreen and Amelia, crime boss Nicholas Gatting, Leslie the albino assassin, Bethie, Davis and L.C. Tracy and even Oz the woofer-dog. Which, if any, of the characters you have met so far have particularly captured your attention? Have any triggered that spark of recognition that says “I know someone like that” or even “I recognize something of me in him/her.”


2. How do the occasional digressions work for you? For instance, the rather lengthy one in which we are given the backstory with Doreen, Mr. Sniders and the way she involved herself and Amelia in Kenny’s plot?


3. What was your favorite scene?


4. What was your least favorite scene?


5. Does the idea that J. Edgar Hoover might have attempted to meddle in the democratic process ring true? For that matter, does the name J. Edgar Hoover mean anything to you? I'm particularly pointing that question towards our younger readers.


6. What was it that convinced you to give Boomerang a try?


7. Does the scene in which Doreen and Cy are confronted with Leslie and his crossbow move fast enough a convey a sense of danger, excitement?


8. When does the first character with the last name of Wilson appear? When does the next Wilson show up?


9. What is Leslie’s weapon of choice? What was Doreen’s weapon of opportunity?



That's the pop quiz for Week Number One. All grading done on a curve. Or a very steep downhill ski run, whichever method strikes my fancy at the time.



Your turn.

Best to all,
Alan

[WT Sharpe]

1. We are introduced to a wide range of characters in these chapters. Ted Hogwood, Kenny Lush, Doreen and Amelia, crime boss Nicholas Gatting, Leslie the albino assassin, Bethie, Davis and L.C. Tracy and even Oz the woofer-dog. Which, if any, of the characters you have met so far have particularly captured your attention? Have any triggered that spark of recognition that says “I know someone like that” or even “I recognize something of me in him/her.”

Doreen stood out in my mind. I don't like her. The way she treats Amelia and Kenny is pitiful but she is a fascinating critter. She's no shrinking violet, and that counts for something. After the beating Leslie gave Kenny, I thought it was ironic that Doreen and Oz put their own smack-downs on him.

Bethie Wilson was fascinating. I wonder how free-spirited she really is, or is she more cunning than she appears?

2. How do the occasional digressions work for you? For instance, the rather lengthy one in which we are given the backstory with Doreen, Mr. Sniders and the way she involved herself and Amelia in Kenny’s plot?

The back story with Doreen set the stage nicely.

3. What was your favorite scene?

Amelia hot-wiring the Jeep. Amelia? Who’da thunk it? I also particularly liked the scenes with Bethie Wilson.

4. What was your least favorite scene?

The interplay between Kenny and Leslie was painful—especially for Kenny.

5. Does the idea that J. Edgar Hoover might have attempted to meddle in the democratic process ring true? For that matter, does the name J. Edgar Hoover mean anything to you? I'm particularly pointing that question towards our younger readers.

Does the name “COINTELPRO” ring a bell? Hoover's F.B.I. tried to turn black and white civil-rights activists against each other by spreading lies and breeding distrust; not entirely unlike certain radio and cable personalities do today. After those well-documented revelations became public knowledge, can anyone doubt such a man might have meddled in domestic democratic elections?

6. What was it that convinced you to give Boomerang a try?

It was Tuesday. What else you gonna do on a Tuesday?

7. Does the scene in which Doreen and Cy are confronted with Leslie and his crossbow move fast enough a convey a sense of danger, excitement?

Yes, but Leslie should have been the one to worry. That Doreen is one feisty …

8. When does the first character with the last name of Wilson appear?

Conrad Wilson appeared in the Prologue, just in time to miss the message that J. Edgar Hoover wanted to convey to him.

When does the next Wilson show up?

In Martha's Vineyard the "fourth Mrs. Franklin Quincy Wilson II” made her first appearance.

What is Leslie's weapon of choice?

The crossbow.

What was Doreen's weapon of opportunity?

Her mouth. She rocked Leslie's world!

That's the pop quiz for Week Number One. All grading done on a curve. Or a very steep downhill ski run, whichever method strikes my fancy at the time.

Did I win?

[Paul]

1. We are introduced to a wide range of characters in these chapters. Ted Hogwood, Kenny Lush, Doreen and Amelia, crime boss Nicholas Gatting, Leslie the albino assassin, Bethie, Davis and L.C. Tracy and even Oz the woofer-dog. Which, if any, of the characters you have met so far have particularly captured your attention? Have any triggered that spark of recognition that says “I know someone like that” or even “I recognize something of me in him/her.”

I liked Ted the best, but I've finished the book so I'm not going to say why and ruin it for those that haven't!

Bethie definitely captured my interest as well, but then again I am a guy...

2. How do the occasional digressions work for you? For instance, the rather lengthy one in which we are given the backstory with Doreen, Mr. Sniders and the way she involved herself and Amelia in Kenny’s plot?

I think it helps, adds depth to the character.

3. What was your favorite scene?

Any scene with Bethie in it!

4. What was your least favorite scene?

Don't recall if I really had one...

5. Does the idea that J. Edgar Hoover might have attempted to meddle in the democratic process ring true? For that matter, does the name J. Edgar Hoover mean anything to you? I'm particularly pointing that question towards our younger readers.

Not surprising.

6. What was it that convinced you to give Boomerang a try?

This Book Club

7. Does the scene in which Doreen and Cy are confronted with Leslie and his crossbow move fast enough a convey a sense of danger, excitement?

Yes

8. When does the first character with the last name of Wilson appear? When does the next Wilson show up?
What is Leslie’s weapon of choice? What was Doreen’s weapon of opportunity?

Sometime when I really get into a book, names don't mean much, so I don't really recall when or the order of the Wilson appearances....

Leslie's weapon of choice was the crossbow, Doreens was her lungs, which I think proved more deadly! As for the weapon of opportunity, I know she clobbered Leslie, but I don't recall what she used!

[Roxie]

1. We are introduced to a wide range of characters in these chapters. Ted Hogwood, Kenny Lush, Doreen and Amelia, crime boss Nicholas Gatting, Leslie the albino assassin, Bethie, Davis and L.C. Tracy and even Oz the woofer-dog. Which, if any, of the characters you have met so far have particularly captured your attention? Have any triggered that spark of recognition that says “I know someone like that” or even “I recognize something of me in him/her.”
I really liked the perspective from Oz the woofer dog. I thought it was an interesting insight into the characters of Doreen and Amelia.

2. How do the occasional digressions work for you? For instance, the rather lengthy one in which we are given the backstory with Doreen, Mr. Sniders and the way she involved herself and Amelia in Kenny’s plot?
I enjoy them. It is always nice to have more background information about the characters so that the reader can understand their actions and point of view better.

3. What was your favorite scene?
Bethie and the computer screen. That was a little twist I wasn't expecting. Look forward to finding out what is going on there!

4. What was your least favorite scene?
Don't have one.

5. Does the idea that J. Edgar Hoover might have attempted to meddle in the democratic process ring true? For that matter, does the name J. Edgar Hoover mean anything to you? I'm particularly pointing that question towards our younger readers.
Yes.

6. What was it that convinced you to give Boomerang a try?
The Book Club and that the author was excited and proud of his work.

7. Does the scene in which Doreen and Cy are confronted with Leslie and his crossbow move fast enough a convey a sense of danger, excitement?
Yes.

8. When does the first character with the last name of Wilson appear? When does the next Wilson show up?
What is Leslie’s weapon of choice? What was Doreen’s weapon of opportunity?
Wilson appears at the beginning of the book and the end of the section that I read for this week's reading.

Leslie's weapon of choice- crossbow. Doreen's weapon of opportunity- her voice. (WT Sharpe's answer to this question is intriguing! Now I need to go read more of Boomerang and find out what that means!)


Roxie

[Klaatu]

So, here we go. Questions from the Guilty Party, Part One. In no particular order:


1. We are introduced to a wide range of characters in these chapters. Ted Hogwood, Kenny Lush, Doreen and Amelia, crime boss Nicholas Gatting, Leslie the albino assassin, Bethie, Davis and L.C. Tracy and even Oz the woofer-dog. Which, if any, of the characters you have met so far have particularly captured your attention? Have any triggered that spark of recognition that says “I know someone like that” or even “I recognize something of me in him/her.”

The characters who really captured my attention were, first, Doreen. I am both repelled and strangely compelled by her. She is like a slow motion multi-car pileup on the Autobahn. I don't want to look at the carnage yet I can't look away. She is the most interesting character. My favorite characters have been Ted and Jerry (they are just fun and interesting) and Bethie. What is she really up to? Her motives really are a secret I think. I'm looking forward to finding out what she's up to, as well as seeing how she will "torture" Quinny next.

2. How do the occasional digressions work for you? For instance, the rather lengthy one in which we are given the backstory with Doreen, Mr. Sniders and the way she involved herself and Amelia in Kenny’s plot?

I think the digressions are handled nicely. They provide good backstory and character insight without slowing down the main plot.

3. What was your favorite scene?
4. What was your least favorite scene?

I don't really have a stand out favorite or lest favorite scene because I've been really enjoying the ride altogether. But I can say I did identify with Ted quite strongly when he got fired from the book store (masquerading as "City Lights" book store on Columbus in San Francisco. Sneaky!). I've had a couple of jobs in retail many years ago and been in situations very similar to his.

5. Does the idea that J. Edgar Hoover might have attempted to meddle in the democratic process ring true? For that matter, does the name J. Edgar Hoover mean anything to you? I'm particularly pointing that question towards our younger readers.

Oh, yes. The JEH plot point was eminently believable. As WT Sharpe pointed out, does COINTEPRO ring a bell? Knowing what we know now about the man I would not be a bit surprised if we found out he actually had done something like this.

6. What was it that convinced you to give Boomerang a try?

Meeting you here on the board and seeing your enthusiasm for your work. It made me want to read it.

7. Does the scene in which Doreen and Cy are confronted with Leslie and his crossbow move fast enough a convey a sense of danger, excitement?

Yes, I thought it was very well paced.

8. When does the first character with the last name of Wilson appear? When does the next Wilson show up?
What is Leslie’s weapon of choice? What was Doreen’s weapon of opportunity?

Uhhh.... I don't remember the details of the Wilson's appearing. Doh!

Leslie used a crossbow, which I thought was an ingenious character trait for him. It really makes him memorable. As to Doreen... I'll just let WT Sharpe speak for me. His response is best.

Regards,
Michael

[rememberandhope]

1. We are introduced to a wide range of characters in these chapters. Ted Hogwood, Kenny Lush, Doreen and Amelia, crime boss Nicholas Gatting, Leslie the albino assassin, Bethie, Davis and L.C. Tracy and even Oz the woofer-dog. Which, if any, of the characters you have met so far have particularly captured your attention? Have any triggered that spark of recognition that says “I know someone like that” or even “I recognize something of me in him/her.”

Bethie was my favorite, as WT said I found her to be Intresting yet, I think she knows more than she was letting on as well. However, Amelia reminded me of a friend of mine way back in elementary school. We werent as mean to her as Doreen is but she wasnt quite so timid either. It was a good mix.

2. How do the occasional digressions work for you? For instance, the rather lengthy one in which we are given the backstory with Doreen, Mr. Sniders and the way she involved herself and Amelia in Kenny’s plot?

I liked them, I very much enjoy reading about how characters work and how they came to where they are.

3. What was your favorite scene?

The one with Doreen and Amelia taking the car and driving crazily to the hotel, the scene before that was good too. I'm a sucker for an action scene


4. What was your least favorite scene?

I dont know, I think if I had to pick it might have been the one with Nicholas Gatting, dont get me wrong it was a good scene its just it wasnt for me.

5. Does the idea that J. Edgar Hoover might have attempted to meddle in the democratic process ring true? For that matter, does the name J. Edgar Hoover mean anything to you? I'm particularly pointing that question towards our younger readers.

No not at all. In my summer camp (a social activist yiddishist camp...yeah I know weird) we learn alot about people like Hoover. From what I've learned (not in school, don't learn American history until 11th grade) it seems like Hoover wanted everything his way and so if there was something in it for him, it was probably true.

6. What was it that convinced you to give Boomerang a try?

The book club, but also because I've heard from the reviews on this site that its an amazing book. It didn't hurt that it was free either.

7. Does the scene in which Doreen and Cy are confronted with Leslie and his crossbow move fast enough a convey a sense of danger, excitement?

Yes, and that is just the way I like it.

8. When does the first character with the last name of Wilson appear? When does the next Wilson show up?
What is Leslie’s weapon of choice? What was Doreen’s weapon of opportunity?

Leslie's weapon of choice was a crossbow, Doreen's her body. Wilsons ??

[Blue_Owl]

1. Oz, the talking Airedale neighbor; Bethie, who has lots more up her sleeve IMHO.
2. Digressions are great when this well done. Better understanding of characters & plot history.
3. When Kenny is slamming around in the bush at night trying to find Big George. Very funny.
4. Don't have a least favorite scene sofar :afro:
5. J. Edgar Hoover was a very vindictive, paranoid control freak. Guilty of anything nasty IMHO.
6. I enjoyed your posts. Read synopsis and ordered from B&N pre-nook.
7. Plenty of suspense. Scary & amusing at the same time. Bravo.
8. Conrad Wilson in the prolog, summoned by Annie at Crawfords request. The 4th Mrs Franklin Quincy Wilson II
(Bethie) appears in Chapter 4. Leslie's weapon is a crossbow & Doreen's are 2 whitewashed grapefruit sized
stones.
Sorry for the tight format. I think I need Bogging 101 classes.

[plumboz]

Good evening class. Well, it does look like you have been paying attention, so well done and a Gold Star to all. I imagine we will be hearing from others before too long, so I won't address any of the answers given so far except to say that regarding the Wilson question, keep in mind how Bethie came by that name.

And speaking of Bethie, I will tell you that she wasn't even in the original manuscript that my then agent started sending out to major publishing houses way back when. After the first three or four rejections, he suggested I find a way to include a character with more "edge". He never provided a satisfactory definition of the word for me, but I did notice that at the time "edge" and "edgy" were being used all over the place to describe books just coming out. So my response was to take much of the action that was originally assigned to Quinny Wilson--at that time unmarried and quite content--to Bethie. This, of course, made Quinny's position just a bit, shall we say, precarious. I shall say no more about that! I will say that one scene later in the book with Bethie and her hubby had my agent so excited he immediately emailed me after receiving the modified MS to say he was convinced that one scene alone would not only put us over the top but make for watercooler conversation throughout the English speaking world. Needless to say the remaining editorial committees on his list did not agree. Edgy Bethie or not, they kept saying "But how do we market it?". Oh well.

It has been nice to hear that no one so far has been put off by the cavalcade of characters tromping through these opening chapters. I was and still am thoroughly aware of the conventional wisdom that sez offering up a multitude of characters, especially at the beginning of a story, is a no-no because it confuses Dear Reader and follows not the rules as set down by Aristotle or Euripides or Ambrose Bierce or somebody like that. Earlier readers have made me more confident in my approach and you have reinforced this writer's confidence in his own "Going Rogue" stance. You betcha!

[jambam99]

1. We are introduced to a wide range of characters in these chapters. Ted Hogwood, Kenny Lush, Doreen and Amelia, crime boss Nicholas Gatting, Leslie the albino assassin, Bethie, Davis and L.C. Tracy and even Oz the woofer-dog. Which, if any, of the characters you have met so far have particularly captured your attention? Have any triggered that spark of recognition that says “I know someone like that” or even “I recognize something of me in him/her."
I like "Oz" the dog. I thought his perspective was fun and interesting. I also liked Ted and crazy Doreen.

2. How do the occasional digressions work for you? For instance, the rather lengthy one in which we are given the backstory with Doreen, Mr. Sniders and the way she involved herself and Amelia in Kenny’s plot?
I had no problem with the digression. There was a flood of characters to get used to at first, but once they each became clear with their personalities it was fun jumping back and forth and peeking in on them.

3. What was your favorite scene?T
I liked the scene with Cy in his tour van. Their escapade with Cy was very entertaining.[/color]

4. What was your least favorite scene?
I can't say that I had a least favorite scene.

5. Does the idea that J. Edgar Hoover might have attempted to meddle in the democratic process ring true? For that matter, does the name J. Edgar Hoover mean anything to you? I'm particularly pointing that question towards our younger readers.

What doesn't surprise me anymore with politics? I believe the old adage that "Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely." Why would Hoover be any different than our current politicians.

6. What was it that convinced you to give Boomerang a try?
I wanted to participate in a book club with my new Nook...even though I am still waiting for my Nook. LOL.

7. Does the scene in which Doreen and Cy are confronted with Leslie and his crossbow move fast enough a convey a sense of danger, excitement?
This was actually one of my favorite scenes. I thought it was brilliant to have the weapon of choice be a crossbow with "darts". I loved how Cy was trying to get stupid Doreen to get out of a dangerous situation and she was clueless. That was classic.

8. When does the first character with the last name of Wilson appear? When does the next Wilson show up?

Bethie and Quinnie in chapter 6?
9. What is Leslie’s weapon of choice? What was Doreen’s weapon of opportunity?
The crossbow with the arrow/darts. It was a brilliant choice of weapon in my opinion. It added flair. Doreen's weapon of choice is anything she can get her hands on! lol. She likes rocks, and kicking and screeching! She's a fighter!

[Prendy]

1- There are so many colorful characters that each one stands out on their own. Doreen and Ameila come to mind first as they are such a wacky pair. I have never been to Australia but I can kind of imagine two woman such as these in search of big money.
In terms of a character that I recognize from real life is the dog Oz! He is like the nosy neighbor. I have a feeling that he may play a bigger role later.

2- They were needed to further explain the progression of the novel and their place in it.

3- I still like the opening scene with the death of J Edgar Hoover! I keep thinking of it and how it connects with the rest of the book.

4- I don't have one.

5- I suppose its true looking back on J Edgar Hoover's influence. J Edgar Hoover = FBI

6- I saw it posted here on nookboards and I liked the cover! I then downloaded a sample and enjoyed what i read. Then I bought it on B&N.com $2! I wanted to give it a try as a bookclub book. I am always looking for a book club so I wanted to dive in. I put Girl With a Dragon Tattoo on hold!

7- Yes! Cy for me was the person who helped me recognize that there is true danger as Doreen was being Doreen and just kept going. So in my mind without Cy, the scene would have been more comical. He was like our reminder of reality.

8- 1st Mr Conrad Wilson in the Prologue- "Hoover's longtime confidant and effectively his second in command at the Bureau" . The 2nd Mr Wilson/ Mrs Franklin Quincy Wilson II (Bethie) in Chapt 6.

9- Leslie uses some kind of crazy crossbow and Doreen used a rock!