Today's special...not only because it is Easter but because I've got a Lou Sylvre in the house! Not only is Ms. Sylvre one of my favorite authors---just ask her, I gush an awful lot over her work---but she's a dear friend!
Her upcoming release, Because of Jade, which will be the final installment in the beloved Vasquez and James series, is a semi-sweet event for me and for all the fans of this series. I've grown to love all her characters, grown to relish her rich prose, and it's kind of sad seeing this saga come to an end. I just know, though, that it will be as beautiful as the rest of the stories have been and the comfort will be in knowing she's going to have lots more new characters and their stories coming up for us to fall head over heels for.
Oh! Feast your eyes, please, on this set of fabulous covers for the existing books in the Vasquez and James series...
So now that I've done my customary fan-girling (Ms. Sylvre is most patient with me and my gushing), let me turn the house over to her.
Oh, and....psst....yes, there's a chance for a prize! Check out after the visit for details!
* * *
Hi! I’m Lou
Sylvre, and I hope you’ll bear with me. I’m going to hold forth, or wax poetic,
or just ramble about one of my favorite types of fictional ( and real-life)
character: The Uncle. (Capital U, yeah). Before I get any further, let me take
a moment to thank Vastine Bondurant for the opportunity to write my graffiti
all over her beautiful blog. Gracias, Vastine!
I write uncles.
Everywhere, including the Vasquez and James series. There’s Melvern and
Kaholo, and of course Sonny James and Luki Vasquez. I’d like to explain why
uncles are so important in my books, lest you think I’m just obsessed, or
repetitive. And to me, it matters what we write and read in fiction, some
things more than others. I subscribe to the notion that if a person wants facts,
they read non-fiction, but if they want the truth, fiction is where
they’re more likely to find it. The whys of that are for another
time; right now, the truth about uncles... (Or at least some of it.)
For me, an uncle
represents something special, something invaluable and irreplaceable in the any
life. Before I explain that mindset, let me assure you that I am aware there
are plenty of bad uncles. In fact, my father had 19 brothers and sisters, and
though I only ever met a few uncles, the ones I met were alcoholic and not all
that wonderful, even the one of whom I was fond as a young child. Another
important qualifier, some of the best uncles aren’t related by blood or birth,
but by choice. Some men take on this role in a person’s life out of generosity,
wisdom, a sense of responsibility, and a loving heart, and that’s more than
enough to qualify as ‘real’ uncles. You probably know people like that in ‘real
life,’ but a wonderful example in a novel is in Rhys Ford’s Sinners series—Donal, the retired
Irish cop who is dad to a bunch of boys, uncle to Sionn, and gathers into his
heart all the ‘strays’ they collectively bring into the family.
Now, on to the
whys and wherefores.
In some cultures,
uncles (and aunts, too, yes, though that’s a little different) play a role at
least as important in a child’s life as a parent—often more important, even. I
could digress into the scholarly to substantiate this statement, but I won’t
bore you in that fashion. (If you want to know, ask! J) Suffice it to say
that in some societies and kinship systems, whereas a parent is charged with
providing and basic discipline, an uncle is a teacher, a friend. He will hold
you to what is right, but his guidance is by example and by walking and working
and playing alongside his nephew (or niece). He is a protector as well, though
often the fulfillment of that role is quiet, a carefully interjected word on
your behalf.
That’s the kind
of uncle I believe in, the kind of uncle the world really, really needs.
Here’s an example
of how Luki’s uncle, Kaholo, stepped into that role once. This is from Finding
Jackie, but it’s an incident from Luki’s youth, at age 18, when he’d been
assaulted and, if you can believe it, very nearly raped. (Peli is Luki’s dad.)
Peli and Kaholo were both up
when Luki walked in the door that night, so Johnny must have called ahead. Peli
was furious, and he asked pretty much the same thing Johnny had asked—why he
would put himself in such a situation. Luki really wanted to cry now, out of
frustration and weariness and anger. But the truth wanted out, and so he said
it again. “I get lonely.”
“What?” Peli was leaning over
him, his face red. “What? I didn’t hear that—”
That’s when Kaholo’s voice
sounded nearby, not loud, but deep and undeniable. “He said he gets lonely,
Peli. And of course he does. Leave him alone!” In all Luki’s memory, there had
been maybe three times when Kaholo stood up to Peli. They were great friends as
well as brothers-in-law, but Peli was the forceful one, and easy-going Kaholo
let most things ride. Luki loved his father with all his heart and he knew Peli
loved him, but he also knew Peli would never fully accept him. But, even though
only Peli’s acceptance seemed important to Luki at the time, somewhere inside
he knew Kaholo loved everything there was to love about Luki, bar nothing.
Of course, as the events in Finding
Jackie unfold, Luki himself applies all his skills and resources and risks
his own life in a desperate attempt to rescue Jackie—his own nephew—from a
truly horrible fate.
Sometimes, the person an uncle
must protect a nephew from is himself. Like Sonny’s uncle Melvern, during
Sonny’s troubled youth. This is from Delsyn’s Blues. In it, Melvern
finds a way to protect Sonny from a horrible man named Mack Money, and also
from himself. Not with cruelty, with love. And without a doubt it saved Sonny’s
life. (Note that Son is Sonny’s formal name, and the elided text has to do with
different events.)
The small underground chamber
behind the old barn was a relic. When [Sonny] was ten and first came to live
with Melvern and Ida, Sonny had a love-hate relationship with it—he loved to
hide in it, but he hated the vegetables he had to share the space with. He’d hide
things in there from time to time, maybe a toy, a knife once, some magazines
with pictures of men—he hid those quite carefully.
But he also remembered that,
once, when Melvern had finally stopped trusting that Sonny would quit spending
his money on dope, he’d gone to the bank and the tribe and made sure Sonny
couldn’t get to his funds. But Sonny’s addiction wouldn’t let a small thing
like that stop it and—because he was still a teenager—common sense didn’t stop
him from making a deal with the devil himself: Mack Money. He didn’t have to do
anything, really. Just show the place to Mack and let him stash some dope until
he was ready to move it. The cellar was the perfect spot. Auntie had already
died, and Melvern hated rutabagas as much as Sonny did.
Melvern had found out about his
deal with Mack—Sonny had never learned how. After making sure the stuff was
gone, Melvern warned Money off—which Mel could do because he was a powerful man
in many ways. Then he freed up Sonny’s bank accounts and said, “If you insist,
Son. If you insist.”
But that night Sonny had gone
to his room, already high again and with dope to spare, trusting Mel to take
care of Delsyn. But his high was soon blown. Melvern had left him a stack of
old papers and legal documents. About Sonny’s mother. About how Mack Money had
used her—how she’d let it happen. About the way she’d chosen Mack’s dope over
her own pride, her own child, her own life.
But uncles are
companions, too. Kids sometimes get to be their sidekicks—and young people
usually love that position. Sometimes, though, an uncle goes out of his way to
accommodate a child, to go somewhere or do something with them, give them an
opportunity to learn, to not be on their own in a new adventure. In another
passage from Delsyn’s Blues, at roughly the same troubled time in
Sonny’s life, goes a long way to give his young nephew Delsyn what he needs to
fulfill his dream. And here, Melvern gets to act a bit of the clown—another
role of the ‘uncle.’ J One more thing, this is Luki’s perspective, and he’s
learning things about Sonny—like about who Sonny was as an uncle, at a time
when he (Luki) had no experience of that role himself.
So far, Delsyn’s DVD contained
nothing that Luki expected. What it did contain was a hodge-podge of footage,
old and apparently new, of Delsyn, of Sonny, even of Melvern—an entertaining
old man who did, indeed, remind him of Kaholo. And thus of his two newfound
nephews, who he probably should call. Not now, though. Now he was fascinated
watching a younger Sonny teach a shorter Delsyn dance moves to some recorded
powwow songs. Luki recognized powwow songs because he’d heard them before when
he was still with ATF and his quest for a non-Indian gunrunner took him into
such a gathering. The suspect had tried to hide among the crowd, but he’d stuck
out like a sore thumb. Not because he wasn’t Native. Because he was nervous.
The dancing on screen was
happening at Sonny’s place, in an area of level ground between the house and
the car-barn. Melvern sat outside the circle on a foldout lawn chair, advising
and scolding: “Dance your style, gentlemen. Dance your style.” And then when a
feather—clearly not an eagle feather—fell out of Delsyn’s braids, he
said in officious, MC style, “We have an eagle feather down. Eagle feather
down. The drum has stopped. Dancers, please stand where you are. Ladies and
gentlemen in the stands, if you could rise, please; we’ll get someone out here
to pick that up.” They all stopped, laughing.
Sonny’s dance amazed Luki, full
of cross-steps, leaning sideways, long legs moving side to side in the midst of
a pivot, almost never both feet on the ground on the same time. In the here and
now, he looked to the other end of the couch where Sonny lounged in pajamas,
scooping up huge
tablespoonfuls of Rocky Road
out of the carton and then licking it off like a creamy Popsicle. Erotic,
much?
“What is
that,” Luki asked. “What you’re doing there?”
“What, this?”
Sonny held out the half-eaten spoon of ice cream, a blank look accompanying the
ice cream on his chin.
Luki smiled,
couldn’t help it. “No, sweetie,” he
laughed. “That might be fun to talk about some other time, but I meant what
you’re doing on the TV.”
“Grass Dancing.”
“That’s all you’re going to
tell me?”
Sonny flashed a smile, then
looked more thoughtful, formulating his answer. “Well, you know, there’s lots
of stories people tell about how it started. Most often, I think, people say
that back in the day, the young men danced like this to knock the grass down
and trample it so that the people would have a place to gather.” He put his
spoon down and pried open the shortbread tin. “Or to get rid of snakes in the
grass. Now it’s a dance style people do at powwows, but it helps if you
remember that story, imagine yourself knocking down tall grass.”
“You’re good at it?”
“Was. Haven’t danced for a long
time.”
“And Delsyn wanted to be like
you.”
“Oh, yeah,” Sonny laughed, “at
least he thought he did. Later he discovered he was really a Fancy Dancer.
Which was very hard on his knees and ankles, but I couldn’t talk him out of
it.”
In the next
Vasquez and James Romance, Because of Jade, which will be released in a
little more than a month (May 23rd!) Luki and Sonny’s role as uncles takes on
new meaning. Because when their nephew Josh and his wife, the beloved Ruthie,
both die on the same day, their great-niece, Jade, needs them. Here’s a tiny
excerpt, a bit of a heartbreaking moment, when Jade has asked about her mommy
not coming home, and we watch Uncle Luki in action from Sonny’s point of view.
Clearly, Luki has learned well how to be an uncle, and takes it very seriously.
*
Luki hugged her, then gently
but firmly lifted her away from his chest. “Jade, for us to talk you need to
sit up and look at me, so I can see that you understand. Okay?”
Jade complied, sitting sideways
across his knees in her purple poodle pajamas, the fuzzy poodle tails moving
dramatically as she took a deep breath, as if steeling herself. Sonny thought
that sometimes she seemed like such a grown-up tiny child. “I think I’m ready,
Uncle Luki.”
He chuckled, smiled a gentle
smile Sonny had never seen him give anyone else, and shook his head. “Well, I’m
not ready, Jade,” he said. “But we’ll do the best we can.” The smile faded, and
he glanced at Sonny, then turned to gaze for a second toward the yellow-white California sunlight
sparkling off the pool, perhaps gathering courage, or logic and comfort for a
five-year-old mind and heart.
“Jade,” he said, looking back
at the little girl’s wide-eyed face. “You remember when you came to visit Uncle
Sonny and me last year? And you wanted to see Bear?”
She nodded, slow and solemn,
and Sonny thought his heart might already be breaking, even if hers wasn’t.
“And I told you then that Bear
had died, and I showed you where we buried him, and you planted flowers there
for him, right?”
Her voice a thin whisper, Jade
said, “You said he couldn’t come back. He wasn’t sleeping, he just wasn’t alive
anymore. You said he could never come back.”
Luki nodded, and looking at the
lines gathering around his eyes, Sonny once again thought his own heart was
splitting. But before Luki could speak, Jade spoke again.
“He was an old man dog, you
said! That’s why he had to die! But my daddy isn’t an old man! My mommy’s
pretty, and she has my baby brother in her tummy! What about my baby brother?”
She seemed angry now, lashing out at Luki. Stupidly, Sonny wanted to rush over
and protect his husband from her, especially when he saw the small
“No,” Luki finally said. “No,
Jade, they didn’t die because they were old, like Bear. Daddy had an accident
and died, and Mommy had a different kind of accident and died too, and when she
died, your baby brother died, because he couldn’t live outside her tummy yet.”
If Sonny expected either Luki
or Jade to break down in tears once those facts were stated, he was wrong. They
looked at each other, quite soberly, and Jade asked, just as if double-checking
her facts, “They can’t ever come back?”
“No,” Luki confirmed. “They
died. They aren’t alive anymore, and they can never come back.”
Jade nodded. “Oh,” she said.
After a moment, Jade more or
less collapsed against Luki’s chest, and his strong arm encircled her as he
started to rock the chair in a gentle motion. The shadows outside had grown
quite a bit longer before either of them stirred. Jade pushed up into a sitting
position, and Luki stopped rocking, looking at her expectantly.
“I’m tired, Uncle Luki. I want
to go take my nap.”
“That’s a good idea, little
girl that I love. But you didn’t eat anything since your cereal this morning. How about if you have a cup of
milk and a cookie before you go to sleep?”
“No.”
“No?”
“Not hungry.”
“Yeah, but you know, Uncle
Sonny gets really worried about people when they don’t eat.”
Sonny’s brows shot up, and he
made sure Luki caught his oh-no-you-didn’t look.
“Oh, fine,” Jade said, and
Sonny was quite sure there was an eye roll attached. She hopped down from
Luki’s lap and waited for him. She took his hand once he was standing, but it
was clear she wasn’t going anywhere until Sonny was ready too. She took his hand
as well and led them to the kitchen where she drank her milk and ate her
cookie, swinging her legs from her chair.
“Those cookies,” she said, on her way to her room for
a nap. “My mommy made them. My mommy always makes really good cookies.”
So, Luki and Sonny are transformed into a very special
kind of uncle, dubbed by Jade, her “daddy-uncles.” And they reap a whole new
kind of reward as well. Consider:
Later, while Sonny and Jade lay
on the floor in front of the fire, and Sonny read Merry Christmas, Mr.
Snowman! over and over, Luki paced. He stopped occasionally to look out the
window, and just as the sky began to lighten he saw that snow had begun to
fall, big flakes touching down soft as feathers to cover the lumpy, frozen
ground near the house.
Luki turned around to share the wonder of snow with
his family, but they had at last fallen asleep stretched flat on the floor on
their stomachs—Jade because of her injuries and Sonny because of his aching
back. Luki shook his head and smiled, surprised at how much he loved them even
though he knew. He threw some wood on the fire and banked it and fetched a
light but warm down comforter and a pillow from the bedroom. Laying himself
down next to them, he covered them all three, let his head fall to the pillow,
and found first peace, and then sleep.
Vastine, again, thanks for letting me share my crazy
thoughts. And the rest of you, thanks for reading through them. I hope you’ve
enjoyed my treatise on the beauty of uncles. (The really neat thing is, we all
get to be a little bit uncle-like in someone’s life.)
* * *
Thank you, Lou!
I enjoyed reliving scenes from some of the existing Sonny and Luki saga, as well as a sneak peak into the upcoming Because of Jade. I just have a wonderful feeling that the boys are going to make fabulous uncles!
Speaking of uncles. For you guys out there, the fans of Ms. Sylvre's---because it's Easter and because Easter is, to so many of us, about family, here's what I'd like.
Tell me about your uncles. Do you have a favorite uncle? And---hey---as, like Lou says, we all get to be uncles in some way or other, what about a favorite aunt? If you are the aunt or uncle, how about your favorite niece or nephew? We'd love to hear about them. Memories past or current thoughts.
Share your thoughts, in the comments, and win a chance at a $10.00 Amazon gift card!
Thank you, and see you all later!
