# 48 Years Ago to the Day: Man of Steel (JFK)



## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

With all the coverage of the JFK assassination anniversary today I saw some footage I've never seen before and it was tantalizing. If only that camera in the basement of the Dallas Police building had panned just a few more yards up the ramp as Lee Harvey Oswald was being shot by Jack Ruby. We just might have caught a glimpse of R.J. Pomeroy, a Man of Steel.










~~~

When journalist Joe Jonas is sent to cover a press conference in Texas he figures it's just another crackpot JFK assassination conspiracy. But as he's half-assing his way through the legwork he stumbles across something that makes him realize this one is for real. He's even more enthusiastic when Abby Reno, a pretty reporter from Austin, insists on working on the story with him.

Kent Castle never forgot losing his nephew and sister during WWII because of the negligence of an unknown lieutenant named John Kennedy. Castle vowed to even the score after Kennedy received a medal instead of the court-martial recommended by Douglas MacArthur himself. Nineteen years later, as Chairman of Eastern Steel, Castle tried to make good on his vow when he dropped by the Oval Office to tell President Kennedy that he would defy the White House by raising steel prices. In a public week-long face off Kennedy forced Castle to back down. The rich kid from Massachusetts won again, and for Castle that was the last straw.

As Jonas and Reno circle closer to the Castle plot they come to realize that the protectors of the secrets are still on the job after nearly twenty years and they don't take prisoners. They wonder how many before them have come so close, and they're desperately sure the only way they can survive is to publish a story exposing the plot before they're caught. The bodies pile up and they spend more and more time looking over their shoulders wondering if the story of the century is worth their lives.

Man of Steel -- one dollar...


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## sierra09 (Jun 20, 2009)

Dave, sounds like an interesting story. I did my final Senior History paper on the JFK assassination so I've always found it an interesting topic...of course I don't think my principal was real pleased with my view but I still passed.   I'll give it a look.


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

edit: forgot to mention that all my stuff is free on Smashwords.

Thanks Sierra. Just for the record I think Oswald was a lone gunman but there are so many holes in the Warren Commission Report that I couldn't help myself...

Here's a snippet:

"Sounds like you've already written our article," Jonas remarked.

"I'm not sure if you're getting it yet," Reno answered. "There's a lot more than an article to be written. We're going to rewrite history. If we survive, that is."

"You know, twenty-four hours ago I would have laughed if you said that. That was before my car exploded."

"Now, the Warren Commission report says Jack Ruby came down into the basement on the ramp from Main Street. If you remember, Pomeroy talked about this with us. He said himself that he was right there at that entrance. Remember?"

"I do. He was saying he was there but somebody else was in charge."

"Now, keep in mind what I told you," she said. "One of the policemen says to the Warren Commission that he saw a man walk past and into the basement. A man who looked like Ruby. The report downplays it but there's a problem here and they knew it. They buried it in one of the twenty-six appendices instead of putting it in the main report."

He glanced at the rear-view mirror as a green van closed in. _Where did they come from?_

"Joe, I really think the officer they're talking about in the appendix is Pomeroy. Everything else we know about him and what happened that day fits perfectly."

"But why would he let Ruby pass? Pomeroy, I mean. Are you saying he was in on some kind of conspiracy?"

"Don't you see? Pomeroy wasn't part of it! He just happened to see something that he wasn't supposed to see! He talked a little too much in Dallas, but they were able to ship him off to Pittsburgh and keep the lid on it. But I think he knew the police let Ruby come down there and kill Oswald. He knew it until the day he died!"

"You mean the day he was run off the road and over a cliff. Thanks to me and my big mouth," Jonas lamented.

"Stop beating yourself up. It was bound to happen anyway. They've watched him like a hawk all these years since this went down. He told us that himself."


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

“**** ****!” he barked as the hammer tumbled onto the counter.  He grabbed his finger with his other hand and squeezed.  “****!”

“Hit your finger?”

“Yeah, I hit my **** finger,” he said angrily.  “Don’t worry about it, okay?”
  
She snapped the book closed and jumped to her feet.  “Give me that hammer!  I used to help my dad fixing fences.  I’m pretty good with one.”

“I don’t need any help!  Besides, you’re too busy with that damn Warren Report.”

She stared at him with narrowed eyes.  “Don’t you dare start ******** on me,” she warned.  “It’s not my fault you smashed your finger.  Screw you if you’re going to turn on me.  I don’t put up with **** like this.  Not from anybody, even if this is the most important story I ever worked.”  

“What are we doing with this story anyway, Abby?  What makes you think that after twenty years, you’re the one who’s got it solved?  Why--”

“I never said I had it solved!  Don’t put words in my mouth!  But I don’t see you doing much research!  It’s all me!”

“I’m doing plenty!  If you don’t like it then go find your own ******* story.  But answer me this, Abby.  What makes you think that after all these years, and a wall full of conspiracy theory books at every library, that we’re the only ones who were able to solve the mystery?”  

“Maybe we aren’t the only ones!  Maybe all the others got thrown over a cliff like Pomeroy!”

Jonas climbed back onto the countertop and finished nailing the board over the window.  He already regretted how he’d treated her, all because he’d lost his temper after hammering his finger.  He could hear the thump of Reno’s books as she threw them into her sack on the table.  “I need a ride back to the hotel.”  

From Man of Steel


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

Check out this garish new cover. It makes it a little more clear what the book is about, don't you think? That's a picture of Jack Ruby killing JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald (live on TV!) in the basement of the Dallas police building -- an event central to this story.










My covers are hack jobs so I may as well make them interesting. As usual I've helped myself to a flashy photograph from the internet. One of my wrestling books has a picture of a US Senator on it, I hope he's okay with it. Whatever works.


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## J Dean (Feb 9, 2009)

Gotta ask you, dave: what's your take on JFK's assassination?  You think that there's more to it than meets the eye?


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

It might sound funny coming from the guy who wrote a conspiracy story, but no, I don't.  I think Oswald did it all by himself and Ruby did what he did all by himself.  I figure if anything but that were true, it would have come out by now.

The real mystery to me is why the Warren Report was such a horrible waste of time.  I know a lot about it, and I've read most of it.  They were determined not to find anything at all about anything.  For instance, as detailed in this story, Jack Ruby pleaded with them to take him out of Dallas where he could tell them the real story without getting killed.  And there really was a foot patrolman like Pomeroy in my story who told the Commission that he saw his bosses let Ruby walk right into that basement.  If anybody reads through the 26 appendices of the report, as Abby Reno did,  he or she will find some jaw-dropping stuff that the commission tried there best not to notice.

So there are plenty of reasons for people to believe in various conspiracy theories.  Like I said, though, I can't see the secret lasting all these years.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

daveconifer said:


> So there are plenty of reasons for people to believe in various conspiracy theories. Like I said, though, I can't see the secret lasting all these years.


I tend to agree. . . .after all, we know who Deep Throat was now, and that was somewhat more recent. 

Either way, I'm not really going to worry about it! It's a great premise for a book though. . .since it could go so many ways.


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

I actually think the Warren Commission was ineffective by design.  It was  a simpler time when it was easier to restrict the flow of information.  People in positions of authority could easily regulate what information filtered out because there was no instant TV coverage, no internet, etc., and reporters rarely asked difficult follow-up questions.  I think the Johnson Administration just wanted to calm everybody down and reassure them that all was okay with an "official" report, and it worked for at least the next decade or so.  Then in the seventies we all got crazy with it


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## Eric C (Aug 3, 2009)

Regarding the Oswald assassination, I was drinking in a bar in Tyler, Texas more than 20 years ago and I got into a conversation with two male twins seated beside me on the stools. Long story short they claimed to be (can't remember any names now) the sons of the tall guy with the white stetson who's one of the two men holding onto Oswald as he's shot in that famous photo. 

The man in the white stetson, according to his twin sons, was in charge of security in that basement, and the twins told me that their father's initial thought when the first shot fired was that it had to be a cop who'd lost his mind because he had personally taken so many precautions to secure the area. Can't vouch for the truth of this story (but I believed the twins then and still do), but it'd be easy enough to check out. Was the man in the stetson in charge of the basement and does he have twin sons?


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## Eric C (Aug 3, 2009)

daveconifer said:


> I actually think the Warren Commission was ineffective by design. It was a simpler time when it was easier to restrict the flow of information. People in positions of authority could easily regulate what information filtered out because there was no instant TV coverage, no internet, etc., and reporters rarely asked difficult follow-up questions. I think the Johnson Administration just wanted to calm everybody down and reassure them that all was okay with an "official" report, and it worked for at least the next decade or so. Then in the seventies we all got crazy with it


IMO the Warren commission didn't really want to get to the truth of who killed JFK fearing it would lead to the Soviet Union. (Hardly a long shot notion given Oswald's defecting there a few years earlier before returning to the states.) They likely worried such a finding would start WW III.


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

I'm kind of tickled that a ton of copies of this were downloaded today.  Archer is right, there are a lot of new Kindle owners out there as of today and I guess they already know some places to find free books...


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## Ricky Sides (Sep 16, 2009)

Congratulation sir,

I hope you continue to enjoy the success you are currently experiencing.

sincerely,
Ricky


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

Now that I'm learning more about Smashwords I realized that this was misclassified as a drama.  I just switched it to THRILLER (it may not deliver but that was the intention) and it shot pretty high in the best sellers list if I filter the list so it looks like something Rube Goldberg would design.


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## Ricky Sides (Sep 16, 2009)

You know, you bring up an interesting point. Maybe I' need to reeamine how mine are classified.

I'm glad you mentioned this. Thank you sir.

sincerely,
Ricky


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

I still owe you Ricky, and I'm glad to see the Peacekeeper books are still at the top of all the lists.  That would make a nice box set...

I remember when I was classifying these that I said to myself "my books aren't 'literature', they're 'tripe'" but the literature class is the only way to get down the path to 'thriller and suspense' -- who knew?


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## Ricky Sides (Sep 16, 2009)

There's an old saying I believe in strongly. _There can be no debt between friends._ *You owe me nothing Dave.*

Thank you for the kind words.

Hey please check your PMs in a minute.

sincerely,
Ricky


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

Thanks Ricky.  This is the best thing I've written so it's nice to see that somebody is reading it!


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

Friday's the last chance you're gonna' have to find out who was behind the JFK assassination for free!


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## Ricky Sides (Sep 16, 2009)

Hi Dave,

I saw that Man of Steel was rising on the smashwords best sellers list. WTG!

sincerely,
Ricky


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

Ricky Sides said:


> Hi Dave,
> 
> I saw that Man of Steel was rising on the smashwords best sellers list. WTG!
> 
> ...


Thanks Ricky. The cheesy (but famous) picture of Ruby and Oswald on the cover seemed to be more popular than the beautiful Pittsburgh skyline version...


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

I'm thinking that I'm going to submit this in ABNA.  It's the most mainstream thing I've written and I also think it's my best.  The bad news is that the main character is Joe Jonas.  That was already his name before the Jonas Brothers broke out and I never had the heart to change it...


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## cheerio (May 16, 2009)

I think there should be a movie about all the conspiracy theories that are out on the JFK assignation


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## hsuthard (Jan 6, 2010)

daveconifer said:


> I'm thinking that I'm going to submit this in ABNA. It's the most mainstream thing I've written and I also think it's my best. The bad news is that the main character is Joe Jonas. That was already his name before the Jonas Brothers broke out and I never had the heart to change it...


Given the thread title and the fact that you wrote Snodgrass, I immediately thought this book must be about the Jonas Brothers! I admit to being a bit disappointed (I think there's a ton of humor to be found in the Jonas Brothers and other Orlando-generated pop stars), but I'm sure it's another great book.


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

hsuthard said:


> Given the thread title and the fact that you wrote Snodgrass, I immediately thought this book must be about the Jonas Brothers! I admit to being a bit disappointed (I think there's a ton of humor to be found in the Jonas Brothers and other Orlando-generated pop stars), but I'm sure it's another great book.


LOL, I've been typecast(ed?) as a goofy writer! Well, I guess it could be worse actually...


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

I went ahead and entered this in ABNA.  Hopefully the 300 words I came up with for the pitch are the type of description they're looking for.  Good luck to all...


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

I just added an epilogue to answer some of the questions I often get about this story.  

Not covered in the epilogue are:

1) Why do you hate JFK? (I don't, I think he was a very good president)

2) Why do crackpots like you believe in these plots? (I don't.  I think Oswald was a lone gunman.  It's just a story.)

3) Why don't Jonas and Reno ever get it on during the story?  They're alone together enough. (I'm afraid my mother wouldn't like it although I think I could write it.)  By the way, agents often asked me this as well back in the days when I used to query.



Here's what I added:

Epilogue



    Although this story is a work of fiction, there is plenty of real history woven into the plot.  The Warren Commission report really does include the testimony of a man who could be the fictitious R.J. Pomeroy (in chapter 5, page 221).  This obscure police officer claimed to have watched Jack Ruby walk past a police guard post and into the basement of the Dallas police station where he subsequently murdered JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald.  The Warren Commission has been criticized over the past four decades for innumerable shortcomings.  None are more glaring than the failure to effectively interrogate Ruby and a refusal to investigate how it was that neither Oswald nor Ruby lived long enough to explain their actions.

    ERC is a fictitious steel maker modeled on a very real one.  Although the company’s involvement in the assassination is merely a plot device in the story, enmity between its chairman and Kennedy was very palpable and very public.  As detailed in the story, the chairman of ERC really did visit the Oval Office personally to inform Kennedy that steel prices would be increased and Kennedy didn’t hide his anger at the perceived double-cross.  The banner headlines in the story really were splashed across the front page of The New York Times over a ten-day period in the spring of 1962. All the dialogue by the chairman, the president and his staff in the aftermath of the Oval Office confrontation are real and can be found exactly where Jonas and Reno found them.

      PT 109, commanded by Lieutenant Kennedy, was sunk in the dark of night in August 1943 by a Japanese warship.  Almost seventy years later many people share the opinion of the fictitious Clyde Gerson that Kennedy’s negligence contributed to the incident, which led to the death of two crew members.  Lieutenant Kennedy was awarded a Purple Heart and subsequently the the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for his  heroic leadership after the incident.


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

Well all of a sudden this book is being read by a ton of Kennedy fans who think I'm being too hard on JFK. I'm getting a lot of angry e-mails. In the last two days I tinkered with the text to soften it some, and added the epilogue (see my prior post).

See, my plot doesn't need Lieutenant Kennedy to have caused that accident. It only needs people in 1943 who *think* he caused it. There were plenty then and even more now who feel that way. I carefully massaged some dialogue so the story now goes easier on the Lieutenant. It's really hard to say what happened that night, and the leadership he showed in saving his crew in the following days was pretty frickin' admirable.

Hopefully this will appease everybody and get them talking more positively about this book, which I'm releasing in paperback soon. Good thing I waited.

In my new research over the past week I learned that there was a pretty good History Channel documentary about the show. Maybe I could package my book with that


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

New review on Smashwords:

Very intriguing twist on the JFK assassination story! Was there really a plot behind the assassination, and not just a single shooter? The author has clearly read the findings of the Warren Report -- and the footnotes, which include some strange and interesting facts!


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

If anybody is going to read Man of Steel and is going to/has picked it up at Smashwords, I recommend downloading the new version.  I've tweaked it up some while setting up the hardcopy version.

Here's a 100% off coupon: ZH83L, good to the end of the month.


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

I'm doing this book for the May book club at Nookboards. As Ed O'Dell can attest that's a tough crowd over there, but I'll do my best to get them interested and maybe draw in some new folks.

In addition to the regular format I'm going to be posting some complementary information and pics in the book club threads over there as we move through the story. First off, I'm going to introduce myself and the story by borrowing from the blurb I sent in to Greg Banks for the Indie Spotlight. I'll do it like this:

*Who are you, Dave Conifer? *

I'm an independent (an indie!) computer programmer living in South Jersey with my wife and three kids (18, 14 and 11). In my spare time I read a lot of history, both fiction and non-fiction. Besides that I coach and volunteer in activities that my kids are involved in, including about five different sports, marching band, boy scouts and girl scouts. On top of that I'm a fitness fanatic. For the past six months I've done two P90X workouts a day and having a blast with that.

*What inspired you to write Man of Steel? *

There are many books and at least one movie that details alleged JFK assassination conspiracy theories. Most of them are rather nutty.

Two books in particular got my attention and inspired me. One is the Warren Commission Report itself, which is the official report of the federal investigation. The other is Rush to Judgment by Mark Lane. That one is in the "nutty" camp as far as I'm concerned but it does raise some shocking points about the assassination and subsequent investigation. My story was inspired by by Lane's book although I don't believe in any of his conclusions (I believe Oswald was a lone gunman). I weaved my story around facts I discovered in the report, things I learned about Lieutenant/President Kennedy as well as some nuggets that Lane came up with.

*What is fact and what is fiction in your story? *

I didn't make any of the major story elements up. Everything in here -- from JFK's Naval career to what happened in the Oval Office and what went down two days after the assassination in the Dallas police department basement -- really happened. I invented a set of characters, of course, who do their thing in the early eighties when this story takes place. Obviously anything they say and do came straight out of my head.

The fact that the reporters in the story are doing research themselves made it easy for me to show exactly what is fact and what is fiction. When Joe and Abby find something and mention the source, readers can be sure that it's real and can be found exactly where they found it. The New York Times headlines from April 1962 are real.

*Who developed that awesome new cover?*

The graphic and literary genius that goes by the name of J.L. Penn.


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## J.L. Penn (Mar 17, 2010)

*blushes*  You're too sweet, Dave.  Now if we can just get them tweaked to work on CreateSpace. 

I'm planning to read your Snodgrass Vacation, but I've got a couple other books ahead of it (promised to other authors) on my TBR list.

Hoping those new covers give you lots and lots of sales, as Lee Goldberg saw happen to him.

-Jenn


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## The Claw (Apr 30, 2010)

Sounds interesting.  I'll take a look.


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

I've posted some background information in the Book of the Month area over at Nookboards. It looks like I've hooked the same *three* readers who participated previous clubs. That board just doesn't rock the way this one does. There are only a handful of new posts per day. Maybe I'll be able to rustle up more interest once we get started with the story next week.

They did make a nice banner ad for Man of Steel that looks pretty slick -- "Very intriguing twist on the JFK assassination story! Was there really a plot behind the assassination?"


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## J.L. Penn (Mar 17, 2010)

Cool!  I haven't been on that board at all yet.  Will have to check it out.

-Jenn


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

J.L. Penn said:


> Cool! I haven't been on that board at all yet. Will have to check it out.
> 
> -Jenn


Thanks J.L., I hope you and other Kindleboarders check it out. Even though it's a Nook forum, books are books. They're not a rowdy bunch over there. It reminds me of the scene in one of the Santa Clause movies where Tim Allen says "That guy moved!"

I've been posting a lot of background information on the story as well as the assassination and the shooting of Jack Ruby. It might be interesting to anybody who digs modern history. Today I gave the three participants their first assignment: read chapters 1-11 and be ready for next Sunday's quiz.

There's a coupon code over there for anybody who wants to pick it up for free -- that goes even for students who are auditing the course.

I still get a kick out of that cool banner ad that cycles through...

http://www.nookboards.com/forum/index.php?board=31.0


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

Hey Dave,

I checked out the Book Klub thing going on over at B&N--you did a lot of work on that, breaking down the chapters for Man of Steel.  I really enjoyed the pictures and links to the articles that inspired you.  I hadn't ever seen those particular references to the Kennedy time-period.  I'll be following along--I'm learning how a book Klub is done!  I thought it particularly clever how you put up pictures of places your characters "stayed" or "visited" or things they "saw."  Excellent!

Maria


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

MariaESchneider said:


> Hey Dave,
> 
> I checked out the Book Klub thing going on over at B&N--you did a lot of work on that, breaking down the chapters for Man of Steel. I really enjoyed the pictures and links to the articles that inspired you. I hadn't ever seen those particular references to the Kennedy time-period. I'll be following along--I'm learning how a book Klub is done! I thought it particularly clever how you put up pictures of places your characters "stayed" or "visited" or things they "saw." Excellent!
> 
> Maria


Thank you Maria! I saw you over there looking a the exhibits in the otherwise empty hall over there.

I'm having fun with it although I don't think many are visiting. I really liked that picture of Pittsburgh as seen while emerging from the tunnel because Joe and Abby find downtown exactly that way.

I plan on doing more of that so long as they don't complain about too many graphics. A lot of the story takes place at West Virginia University and in Morgantown, WV, so I'll have lots of pictures of that. There's a scene where Jonas escapes from a bad guy by jumping on top of one of these on-campus transports (PRT: Personal Rapid Transit) as it speeds underneath the station:










KB people, if you're not doing anything, drop by the exhibition hall and see some history...

http://www.nookboards.com/forum/index.php?board=31.0


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

We've read up through chapter 21 now over there, and the body count is 1. No, wait, 2.


Spoiler



Forgot about the valet parking guy.


It's not too late to catch up. If nothing else, go over there and check out the cool pictures. I added some shots of 26 year old Lieutenant John Kennedy and his PT boat.

Seriously, I know that there aren't many people checking out the book club but it's a good experience -- I think I'm learning how to present it.

http://www.nookboards.com/forum/index.php?board=31.0


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

http://www.nookboards.com/forum/index.php?board=31.0

If you haven't been checking out the Man of Steel book club over at Nook Boards you'll probably need Cliff Notes to catch up. The body count is up to three now after a bloody confrontation in a seedy motel room.

If nothing else, hop on over there and check out the pictures. I needed one of the gaudy pantsuit that Mrs. Pomeroy wore to church -- you'll LOL at who's wearing one in the picture I found.

p.s. Man of Steel slipped back into the top ten on the thriller/suspense list at Smashwords...


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Today's featured author at the Indie Spotlight is

Tuesday: Dave Conifer - Man of Steel

http://www.theindiespotlight.com

Come up and read and leave a comment.

Edward C. Patterson
& Gregory B. Banks


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

Edward C. Patterson said:


> Today's featured author at the Indie Spotlight is
> 
> Tuesday: Dave Conifer - Man of Steel
> 
> ...


Thanks, Ed and Greg.

Boy, my wife is right, I need a new author picture...


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Your welcome

Ed Patterson


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

Well, the May book club over at Nook Boards is finally over.  I knew what I was getting into -- the crowds on the forums and especially in the book clubs have been shrinking since the Christmas rush -- but of course I was up for the challenge.  Now that it's over some of the infrequent participants are feeling guilty and answering some of the questions.  That's kind of cool, actually, and I appreciate it.  It's neat to see that they 'get' so much of the story.  I had fun posting pictures and maps and it was good practice in presenting the plot.

I have recently come to understand that I've done a poor job explaining what this book is.  It's not a history lesson or a documentary about the JFK assassination, although the story incorporates lots of details about it.  Rather, it's the tale of two reporters who uncover the plot twenty years after the fact but then have to run for their lives because some folks wanted the secrets to stay secret.  Maybe that famous picture on the cover is giving people the wrong impression...


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

Mayhap a cover change and a new title will accomplish that. I thought it was a standard documentary myself.

David Dalglish


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

J.L. Penn is going to be mad at me because I insisted on keeping that picture...


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

Hahahaha.


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

Does anybody else agree that the cover of this book is misleading?  

Maybe it should show the "twenty-something reporters" running from the modern day protectors of the conspiracy secrets instead of a newsreel shot from 1963?

I love the cover but maybe a different photo would be better.  Too many people think it's a documentary.  All the history in there is real but it's just a story.


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## Guest (Aug 27, 2010)

You really need to talk to Jeff about getting on the KB authors list...... I went through 13 pages of threads to find this! I wanted tro find the one withe guitar on the cover.... do you play? http://www.myspace.com/quotoutlawjusticequot tats me playing guitar and singing. Anyway PM the thread for the book with the guitar on it!


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

I happen to think that Oswald was a lone gunman and that there wasn't a conspiracy to kill JFK, but it doesn't mean there weren't a lot of facts in the Warren Commission Report to write an interesting story around...

Currently discounted to ninety-nine cents.


When twenty-something journalist Joe Jonas is sent to cover a press conference in Texas he figures it’s just another crackpot JFK assassination conspiracy theory. But as he’s half-assing through the legwork he stumbles across something that makes him realize this one might be for real. It gets even better when Abby Reno, a saucy reporter from Austin, insists on working on the story with him.

Kent Castle never forgot losing his nephew and sister during WWII because of the negligence of an unknown lieutenant named John Kennedy. He swore he'd even the score after Kennedy received a medal instead of a court-martial. Nineteen years later he was ready to make good on his vow.

As Jonas and Reno circle closer to the plot they come to realize that the protectors of the secrets are still on the job and they don’t take prisoners. The bodies pile up while the reporters look over their shoulders wondering if the story of the century is worth their lives.


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

Barnes and Noble Review -- 4 Stars even with the slight dig!

"Very enjoyable book - light, thrilling read. This book was very hard to put down, plenty of action and suspense. The characters could have been developed a bit more but the plot and twist on the Kenedy assasination theory more than made up for this. Highly recommended if you enjoy action/thrillers, read this one this summer!!!!"


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

I got a funny e-mail about this book.  I usually don't share emails but since he called me a "dupe" and a "dope" I'm making an exception.

Apparently he read a description of the plot and mistakenly believed that I thought I'd solved the case.  I typed up an email explaining that the story is more about the reporters who uncover the assassination conspiracy and scheme.  In the book the scheme is weaved around hard facts about JFK's military career, political career and the Warren Commission Report.  But it's still fiction.

As a matter of fact, I happen to believe that there was no conspiracy at all and that Oswald did it all by himself (which, ironically, is what this irate e-mailer also believes).

There are hundreds of forums (and threads in the Amazon forums) where people still debate viciously about the JFK assassination.  I think this is one of those guys.

I didn't send my e-mail.  Why bother?


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

You silly dope. Obviously the Russian Mafia paid Cuban militarists financed by a rogue division of the CIA to execute JKF before he could uncover the truth about the underground trade of alien technology. Duh.


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

Half-Orc said:


> You silly dope. Obviously the Russian Mafia paid Cuban militarists financed by a rogue division of the CIA to execute JKF before he could uncover the truth about the underground trade of alien technology. Duh.


You forgot dupe.

As soon as Gordon Ryan sees your post he'll be off to start his next novel...


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

Forty-seven years ago today...

Here's a new Barnes and Noble Review of Man of Steel, the story of two reporters who stumble across the secret of the conspiracy -- only to find out that the protectors of the secret are still on the job, and they aren't taking prisoners...


"i thought i knew all there was to jfk' death, all the theories; no way. this book is something else and totally probable! good read"


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

Man of Steel is the story of two reporters who uncover JFK assassination theory but then learn that they must publish or perish...

Now discounted to ninety-nine cents...



When Joe Jonas is sent to cover a press conference he figures it’s just another crackpot JFK assassination conspiracy until he stumbles across something that makes him realize this one is for real. Abby Reno, a saucy reporter from Austin, insists on working the story with him. As Jonas and Reno circle closer they learn that the secret's protectors are still around and they don't take prisoners.


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

Wrecker went on sale yesterday.  Sales have been good and the reviews are all so flattering!

Maybe that will lead readers to my OTHER thriller -- Man of Steel.  It's the story of two young reporters who uncover the JFK assassination conspiracy only to find out that they need to run for their lives.  The story arcs out a lot like Grisham's Pelican Brief.

It's fiction but it's riddled with real history involving JFK's military and political career as well as some obscure but tantalizing discoveries in the Warren Commission Report.

You'll like Joe and Abby.  They're good together...


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## nealsillars (Dec 10, 2010)

Good luck with the book, Dave. Sounds interesting.
Neal


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

nealsillars said:


> Good luck with the book, Dave. Sounds interesting.
> Neal


Thanks, Neal. I think that in a few months I'm going to try to repackage this book so it looks more like a thriller than a history book...


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)




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## MonkeyScribe (Jan 27, 2011)

Great new cover. Nice noir flavor.


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

Thanks, Michael.  I've wanted to get that cover switched out for a while now.  I think this might make it look more like something somebody would want to read...


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

Two reporters uncover JFK assassination conspiracy that's wrapped tightly around the Warren Report and JFK's military career.



(disclaimer: It's fiction. I believe Oswald was a lone gunman.)


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