Les Edgerton

Lest you think I love everything I read, I frickin' hated this book. Written in a smarmy, sarcastic tone, it purports to be written to kids so they can learn how to cope with the variety of Little League coaches they may encounter. Rather than give practical advice, he does his best to "Dennis Miller" his way through all the possible scenarios a kid may face, which really boil down to two situations: The coach is coaching so he can make his son a star, or The coach is coaching because his show more dreams of playing in The Show were dashed, and he's determined to rectify that vicariously with you!

The book is one long tedious insult to everyone who loves baseball and anyone who has experienced an agenda-less coach who is there to enjoy the game and help the kids. And yeah, I took this book personally...that's what the author wanted. My response? You're outta here. show less

On the back cover of this is the line that dared me to buy this book: “…no matter how depraved a person appears to be, there might still exist a spark of humanity.”

Pfft, I thought. So he thinks he’s figured out how to make a rapist appear human to me? I’ll take that challenge.

In “The Rapist” Les Edgerton takes the reader deep inside the disturbing mind of Truman Pinter. The clincher, or the hook that reels you into this story, is the uncertainty as to whether or not Pinter is show more responsible for the crime he’s convicted of. In simpler terms: while you may not doubt his guilt, you’re uncertain as to whether he deserves his punishment.

Aside from his tight grasp of the craft, what really impressed me about Edgerton is that this story took balls to write. The themes and ideas in this book are the very things that make the bleeding hearts that are always eager to take offense practically orgasmic in their shit losing. But this story is not about offending people. It’s not about taking a voyeuristic trip inside the mind of a sicko. It’s not about exploiting the crimes he committed. In my opinion “The Rapist” is about making you look inward. It challenges your personal morals and beliefs on many levels, and forces you to acknowledge that while everyone does bad things, some worse than others, we’re all human. We all share feelings, fears, thoughts and biases with even the lowest criminal. That fact is so disturbing and unpleasant that we choose to ignore it. After all, if we embrace such things, we must also concede that it’s possible for such darkness to lurk inside all of us.

Full review to come next week on OnFictionWriting.com. show less

Remember the first time you went fishing? You tagged along with Daddy or Grampa or some kid bigger’n you, and there you were with a real pole and a real line and a real hook, and you were gonna catch something, by golly, and you did — seaweed.
In Hooked, Les Edgerton shows aspiring authors how to land the big one — a full reading by an agent or editor. You bait your hook with a strong opening that pulls the reader right into the action — right where the trouble begins. You set your show more hook with characters whose deeds evoke sympathy and empathy, and just enough setup and back story for a fascinating setting. Then you play the reader with active scenes and dialogue that show your characters’ struggles to get out of trouble, until the reader is dying to jump into your landing net and find out how it all ends.
Edgerton’s writing style is more concise than mine — probably because he writes fast-paced stuff like short stories and screenplays — but he did help me tighten up my first foray into writing fiction, and I read him again when it was time to edit my finished novel. I enjoyed reading an opening scene he set in Fort Wayne, and I liked his conversational tone. I think you’ll like him, too — even if your writing genre is carefully crafted grocery lists — because if you love books, Les Edgerton will give you a greater appreciation for the well-turned phrases that get you Hooked. show less

If you want a real crime story, this is for you. Like Ed Bunker before him, Les Edgerton knows of what he writes, and he writes it damn well. Jake's story is pure noir: out of prison, he's married, has a business he's starting, and everything looks great until it all turns to shit when his cellie comes asking to have a favor repaid. And as you'd expect, it keeps getting worse. And worse. And always believable, but even worse!
With Jake we're not given a hero who always makes the right show more decision. Driven by mortal fear of "The Bitch," or life imprisonment as a "Habitual offender," he is forced into more and more horrible dilemmas as his pregnant wife and criminal past collide in a scheme to rob a diamond merchant. Great reading with characters who pop off the page with a realism I can confirm. A dozen years at the port, working with shady jewelers and growing up in a town peppered with loudmouth small-time mobsters, this story is the real deal and a gripping read. show less