Lorrie Farrelly is the
award-winning author of not only westerns but romance, time travel, suspense
and paranormal books.
Lorrie is a finalist for the Orange Rose
Award in romantic fiction. Her novels have been awarded Readers' Favorite
5-Stars. TERMS OF SURRENDER is a MEDALIST in the 2014 READERS' FAVORITE
INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARDS and a FIRST PLACE WINNER in the 2014 LARAMIE AWARDS
for Western and Civil War fiction. TIMELAPSE is also a 2014 READERS' FAVORITE
INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARDS honoree, as well as a GOLD MEDALIST in the 2014
AUTHOR'S CAVE BOOK AWARDS. It is the TIME-TRAVEL NOVEL WINNER in the 2014
CYGNUS AWARDS for Sci Fi and Speculative Fiction. Her short story THE LONGEST
WAY HOME from A COWBOY CELEBRATION is a Western Fictioneers 2015 PEACEMAKER
AWARD winner.
Here is the blurb of Lorrie’s novel DANGEROUS:
‘Dangerously
burned-out, ex-LA cop Cam Starrett imagines his new job in a small, central
California town will be a haven from the tragedy, grief, and anger that have
shattered his heart. His battered soul cries out for peace and quiet and
merciful boredom. Instead – during his very first day in the new town – he
fires a gun, delivers an unusual baby, and hauls a passionate young woman into
his embrace for a kiss of pure, scorching hunger. Shaken, he’s left stunned,
perplexed, extremely hot and bothered – but not one bit bored. Despite her
training as a school guidance counselor, Meredith Hayden secretly admits that
people – especially men – baffle her. Confused and embarrassed by her reckless
abandon in the arms of dangerous-looking Cam Starrett, she resolves to keep him
at a distance, tempting and torturing them both all the more. But when they
uncover an escalating pattern of bigotry and violence that threatens the lives
of everyone in the community, Cam and Merry face an ordeal that will test not
only the limits of their courage and trust, but also the true depth of their
passion.’
And here’s my 4 star
review of the novel. You can find the review on the usual sites.
‘Gritty, fast-paced thriller with aspects of romance
Cam Starrett is an L.A.
policeman who has left the big city after one bad experience too many. He’s
also nursing a broken heart after the ugly break up of his marriage. He’s given
what appears to be the more peaceful job of policing the rural community of
Chima Valley, California. But a group of local teenage tearaways led by Denny
Johnson turn out to be more than run-of-the-mill juvenile delinquents. They’re
young disciples of a white supremacist organisation with a penchant for violent
racist attacks. To counter them, Cam finds an unlikely and at first unwanted
ally – high school counsellor Merry Hayden. Merry is a young woman also bruised
by romantic failure and, like Cam, reluctant to commit to any new
relationships. But these two damaged people are forced to work together when
the Johnson Gang turn to arson in terrorising Chima Valley; gradually Cam and
Merry start committing again. Romantic fiction is not my thing so I was pleased
that DANGEROUS is also a punchy, fast-paced thriller. Farrelly shows the
grittiness that made previous novels of hers that I’ve read – her western TERMS
OF SURRENDER and the excellent dystopian sci-fi/ time-travel novel TIMELAPSE -
so enjoyable. And with DANGEROUS she does it again! Highly recommended.’
I thought I’d take a
(very) brief look at the history of juvenile delinquency, which I suspect has
always been with us. Back in the 6th Century A.D, there were
disapproving comments made about the youthful antics of the British bard Taliesin before he matured into one of the
great poets of the Dark Ages. The term ‘juvenile
delinquent’ was in use in Britain by 1851. J. S. MORE, a professor of civil law
said it was ‘next to slavery… perhaps the greatest stain on our country.’
CHARLES DICKENS went further, picturing it as a ‘bog’ and prophesying its ‘seed
of evil’ would yield 'a field of ruin… that shall be gathered in, and garnered
up, and sown again… until regions are overspread with wickedness enough to
raise the waters of another deluge.’ Remarkably, 19th Century
Britain managed to survive!
From the beginning of the
talkies (and probably before) movies have depicted young tearaways terrorising
their elders and betters. In the classic 1931 crime thriller ‘Public Enemy’ we see a young JAMES
CAGNEY indulging in juvenile crime before graduating into adult gangsterdom.
In the 1930s HUMPHREY BOGART and others had to deal with wild youngsters like the ‘Dead End Kids.’
Perhaps a key movie in
this genre is ‘The Wild One’ (1953) –
considered to be the original outlaw biker film. MARLON BRANDO leads a gang of
motor-cycle-riding young men and women nicknamed ‘The Beetles.’ The film is
based on a 1947 incident when drunken youth on motorbikes ran riot in
Hollister, California. The film includes the infamous quote where Brando is
asked, “What are you rebelling against?” and he replies, “What have you got?”
(Incidentally it’s
sometimes thought the world’s most successful pop/rock band took their name
from Brando’s gang. That’s unlikely, as, due to censorship, ‘The Wild One’ was only first shown in
Britain in 1974, many years after The Beatles appeared!)
In the mid and late 1950s society was particularly troubled by the perceived threats posed by ‘juvenile delinquents’ – especially in the early days of rock and roll - and this was reflected in popular culture.
ELVIS PRESLEY admitted he copied
some of his look from Brando in ‘The
Wild One.’
Another iconic film is ‘Rebel without a Cause’ where JAMES DEAN represented the disenchanted and rebellious younger generation.
‘The Blackboard Jungle’ (1955) showed youthful rebellion in the classroom.
‘West Side Story’ (1961) depicted it in a musical.
It even made its way into the
western: in ‘The Plunderers’ (1960)
four gun-toting youths take over a small community.
In 1958 MICHAEL LANDON committed perhaps the ultimate act of youthful rebellion. He was so unhappy with the adult world he escaped it by turning into a werewolf!
MICHAEL LANDON in ‘I was a Teenage Werewolf.’
Residents in small towns in
California seem to have to deal with particularly challenging issues according
to film and TV-show makers. In ‘The Wild One.’
they’re
beset by biker gangs,
in the classic sci-fi movie ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ (1956)
it’s an attack by malevolent aliens who ensure no one is quite who they seem,
in ‘The Outer Limits’ episode ‘The Zanti Misfits’ (1963) the town is over-run by homicidal spiders
and the high school kids of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ (which ran from 1997 to 2003) have to contend with not only vampires but any number of demonic forces.
Referring back to Lorrie Farrelly’s fine novels mentioned in my DANGEROUS review, here’s my blog about TERMS OF SURRENDER:
https://andrewmcbrideauthor.blogspot.com/2020/03/review-of-terms-of-surrender-by-lorrie.html
A snippet of my review:
‘A lot grittier than the description ‘romantic fiction’ would indicate… Perhaps the best
aspect of this excellent novel is how the trio of brother, sister and damaged
stranger bond against their enemies, while Farrelly’s writing skills provide
the necessary edge. Recommended.'
Other reviews:
‘Descriptions are
evocative and compelling... Readers can expect to find humor, violence, gritty
action, and exquisitely-wrought tension throughout… (This) is for readers who
seek more depth and layers in their stories.’
‘Another beautifully crafted tale by Lorrie Farrelly… a mixture of
passion and nail-biting suspense.’
https://andrewmcbrideauthor.blogspot.com/2017/09/author-favourites-timelapse-by-lorrie.html
A snippet of my review:
‘An ingenious plot fuels a gripping, fast-paced
tale, dystopian sci-fi that also manages to reflect our own troubled times.'
Other reviewers:
‘Lorrie Farrelly is an incredible writer. This is such a
remarkable novel… This novel greatly moved me.’
‘Lorrie Farrelly… has done a marvellous job of describing a
world gone crazy.’
Find DANGEROUS here:
and here:
