DAM NATION
Bonnie and Clyde #2
by
CLARK HAYS AND KATHLEEN McFALL
Date of Publication: March 24, 2018
Number of Pages: 266
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Bonnie and Clyde: Defending the working class from a river of greed.
The year is 1935 and the Great Depression has America in a death grip of poverty, unemployment and starvation. But the New Deal is rekindling hope, with federally funded infrastructure projects, like Hoover Dam, putting people back to work. Set to harness the mighty Colorado River for electricity and irrigation, the dam is an engineering marvel and symbol of American can-do spirit.
So, why is someone trying to blow it up?
When an informant on the construction site is murdered, Bonnie and Clyde—spared from their gruesome deaths and forced into a covert life working for the government—are given their second assignment: stop the bomb and protect the thousands of laborers and families in the company town. It's their most dangerous mission yet: working for a living.
Can the notorious lovers put aside their criminal ways long enough to find out who wants to extinguish the American dream, and hopefully reclaim a shred of redemption along the way?
The thrilling story cuts back and forth between the modern era where a reporter interviews the now-elderly Bonnie Parker, and the dangerous 1930s undercover exploits of Bonnie and Clyde, as they are thrust into a fight to defend the working class against corporate greed.
Dam Nation, a historical thriller with unsettling contemporary parallels, continues the explosive "what-if" series, started in Resurrection Road, about two unlikely heroes fighting to defend the working class during America's Great Depression.
PRAISE FOR BONNIE AND CLYDE: DAM NATION:
Crisply written, well-researched, thoroughly entertaining. As in Resurrection Road, Hays and McFall evoke time and place well in this sequel. The story’s politics are fresh and timely. Readers will find Bonnie and Clyde to be great company, and the novel’s framing story (the widowed Bonnie’s 1984 recollections) gives their relationship an extra layer of poignancy.
-- Kirkus Reviews
“Dam Nation” highlights the real-life turmoil of the 1930s as only Hays and McFall can — shadowy intrigue, plenty of suspects and enough behind-the-scenes and under-the-covers action to keep the narrative sizzling along to the final page.
-- East Oregonian
A rollicking good read. The real history of the rise of unions and worker rights against the backdrop of a nation recovering from the Great Depression contributes an engrossing, realistic scenario; a vivid read that blends fiction with nonfiction elements in a way that makes the book hard to put down.
-- Midwest Book Review
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BREAKING GOOD:
WHEN BAD PEOPLE DO GOOD THINGS
GUEST POST BY
AUTHORS CLARK HAYS AND KATHLEEN McFALL
Bonnie
and Clyde, the anti-heroes of our speculative historical fiction series, embody
a long creative and cultural tradition of elevating criminals and outlaws to
folk hero status. As we set out to write this series, we talked at length about
this tradition, trying to grasp — to the extent possible — why so many of us
love bad guys who break good?
We
batted this back and forth and scoured bad-guy (and gal) literature, movies and
graphic novels. Our goal was to create a fictional world that mirrors the
impetus underlying this fascination with reformed (and unreformed) criminals.
We also wanted to be careful that the series would not, even indirectly, celebrate
criminality.
We
learned, or more accurately, were quickly reminded that getting your arms
around the complexities of human nature is no easy task. But still, we finally
settled on three issues to explore in our series — three reasons that helped us
understand why scofflaws and delinquents consistently captivate and resonate.
Outlaws give voice to the frustrations of
the common man and woman.
What
do Robin Hood, Jesse James, Ned Kelly (the armor-wearing Australian bushranger)
and the like have in common? They were shaped by poverty, economic
disenfranchisement or oppressive social systems and — right or wrong (mostly
wrong) — they lashed out against a system they felt contributed to their fringe
status. In so doing, outlaws (until they go too far) are rowdily cheered on by
regular folks, especially during tough times like the Great Depression. There’s
something timeless and appealing about those who have the courage to give voice
to their rage and dissatisfaction, even though it’s often aimed in horrible
directions.
Criminals have tangible and unique skills
that can serve the greater good.
Criminals
and villains have certain skills — including freedom from pesky ethical
calculations — that, if focused in the right way, can provide expedient
solutions to complex problems. For example, the world increasingly relies on
reformed hackers to help safeguard our networked computer systems. Convicted
burglars are tasked with building better alarm systems. And during WWII, the
U.S. Navy negotiated with famed mobster Meyer Lansky to commute the sentence of
even more famous “Lucky Luciano,” considered the father of organized crime in
the U.S., in exchange for information about potential Nazi activities in
eastern seaports. Polite society doesn’t always like to admit it, but complex
problems often require novel — and sometimes morally dubious or illegal —
solutions. This truth can be mined for colorful characters and plots.
The road to redemption is more scenic for
those who have fallen the farthest.
One
of the most powerful reasons the world seems to love bad guys is because their
stories are ready-made for redemption. For the moral and upright, life can be
an endless and boring series of good choices. For the fallen and depraved, the
journey toward atonement is a constant struggle, and that makes it interesting.
That’s why the entertainment landscape is often populated with flawed
characters and villains who are given a chance to redeem themselves. Suicide
Squad is one recent example. At its core, this type of storytelling encourages
individuals to reflect on their own journey toward atonement, if not at a
criminal scale. If a hardened criminal can make it to the other side, maybe we
all have a shot at redemption, right?
CHECK OUT THE TRAILER FOR RESURRECTION ROAD, BOOK ONE IN THE BONNIE AND CLYDE SERIES:
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VISIT THE OTHER GREAT BLOGS ON THE TOUR:
5/16/18
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Excerpt
| |
5/17/18
|
Review
| |
5/18/18
|
Author Interview
| |
5/19/18
|
Notable Quotable
| |
5/20/18
|
Review
| |
5/21/18
|
Character Interview
| |
5/22/18
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Notable Quotable
| |
5/23/18
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Review
| |
5/24/18
|
Guest Post
| |
5/25/18
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Review
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Thanks for letting us share some insights into our new Bonnie and Clyde series. Just because you're bad doesn't mean you can't do good. In fact, in some research we were doing recently, we found a great old photo of the soup kitchen Al Capone opened in Chicago. The line of hungry men waiting outside for a hot meal didn't seem too bothered by his notoriety.
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