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Scars Beneath The Skin

I am here for Networking

About Me


Karl Dresner - a shadow of a man only barely connected with the world of the living. Lucia Cavallieri - impulsive, implacable, life-affirming. These are the characters at the heart of 'Scars Beneath The Skin.'
A journey into darkness.
A precarious route back to salvation.
Love at the point of suicide in a world that's falling apart.
There is only so much loneliness a human being can bear. In his Munich apartment, Karl Dresner waits. His hands are shaking. Salt from beads of sweat sting his eyes. A gun rests on the left hand side of the table, two bottles on the right: one of whisky, one of barbiturates. A coin glints. The telephone across the room rings; once, twice, three times and then the answer machine cuts in. 'Leave a message and I'll get back to you. Maybe,' says a version of Dresner’s voice. The tape spindles begin to rotate. The mechanism hums. Dresner remains seated, turning the coin between his fingers: heads, tails, heads, tails ....
It begins in London. Karl Dresner shouldn't even be there. He should be on a plane to the Maldives with a girlfriend who wants more than he can give. But work comes first and he pays the price for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. A bomb explodes. Cut down in a blizzard of glass shards, Karl drags himself away from the carnage - alive, but only just… ‘Scars Beneath The Skin’ is a novel about a traumatized survivor, the woman who loves him, and their precarious route to salvation.
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Some background
Two instances of being in the wrong place at the wrong time helped create this story: one courtesy of the IRA detonating a 3000lb truck bomb outside the Manchester Arndale Centre, the other when anti-Bush protesters rioted in Berlin. 'Scars Beneath The Skin' is my second completed novel. Next one will be a thriller set in Amsterdam, about a low-level drug dealer unwittingly drawn into a nuclear smuggling conspiracy.
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This song is called 'Sum Of All My Fears,' written and performed by my younger brother Gavin J. Duggan:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F60uGTBsuV8
and also at:
http://www.myspace.com/gavinjduggantunes

My Interests

I'd like to meet:


Well, for a start - fans of the novelists Graham Greene and Raymond Chandler are more than welcome. As are fans of the American artist Edward Hopper.

Movies:

"The Third Man", "The Spy Who Came In From The Cold", "Get Carter", "The Long Good Friday", "Bullitt", "Lost In Translation", "The Quiller Memorandum", "Donnie Darko", "Apocalypse Now", "The Andromenda Strain"

Books:

"The Spy Who Came In From The Cold" by John Le Carré. "The Comedians" by Graham Greene.

My Blog

Flambard Press request full manuscript (and why you should check your Junk Mail box)

I always expect a standard ’Thanks but no thanks’ in reply to unsolicited ’3 chapters and a synopsis’ submissions. There’s not even feel a sense of disappointment any mor...
Posted by Scars Beneath The Skin on Fri, 04 Apr 2008 05:21:00 PST

Fate

This blog about Fate by Stephanie got me thinking about something that happened around 12 years ago. In Stephanie’s case, she talks about relationships. The event it reminded me of was more abou...
Posted by Scars Beneath The Skin on Mon, 31 Mar 2008 01:14:00 PST

Excerpt 9 - Road Rage

The only movement came from wisps of brake dust that swirled up from the wheelarches of both cars. Then the door of the Alfa flew open. Oh Christ, thought Dresner when he first set eyes on the other d...
Posted by Scars Beneath The Skin on Sun, 16 Mar 2008 12:37:00 PST

Excerpt 8 - Motorway Services

Dresner's footsteps clicked on the tiles. A line of green shutters was pulled down and locked. Through the sliding glass doors, a handful of vehicles were dotted across the car park and a pan pip...
Posted by Scars Beneath The Skin on Fri, 22 Feb 2008 05:19:00 PST

Excerpt 7 - The Emptiness Of Acceleration

There are places that the lonely seek out with a newspaper or a book as camouflage. Dresner sat alone when he ate or drank or took a ride on a train. Silver-grey floors led to escalators that descende...
Posted by Scars Beneath The Skin on Sun, 30 Dec 2007 10:34:00 PST

Excerpt 6 - Perspiration Glistening

A fox walked down the centre line of the road, sniffing the air. It froze; a movement at a window had caught its attention. Dresner's breath clouded his reflection; he pressed his face against the gla...
Posted by Scars Beneath The Skin on Sun, 16 Dec 2007 12:46:00 PST

Excerpt 5 - Opening Chapter (Barbiturates, Whiskey... Gun)

There is only so much loneliness a human being can bear. In his Munich apartment, in the dying days of September 2001, Karl Dresnerwaited. His hands were shaking. Salt from beads of sweat stung his ey...
Posted by Scars Beneath The Skin on Wed, 14 Nov 2007 12:44:00 PST

My brother's music

I spent futile hours making a racket with a guitar when I was a teenager. Never had any musical ability, sadly. My brother, on the other hand - different story.As can be seen/heard at:http://www.youtu...
Posted by Scars Beneath The Skin on Fri, 28 Sep 2007 02:34:00 PST

Excerpt 4 - A moment of pain

The rain lashed down. They were alone in the dark high above the lights of the airport. Dresner took the key out of the ignition. 'No,' said Lucia. 'Keep the engine running. And put the heater on. I ...
Posted by Scars Beneath The Skin on Sun, 16 Sep 2007 03:37:00 PST

Excerpt 3 - GFE (Girlfriend Experience)

Dresner answered the knock at the door. It was a woman. He had expected her to look older than the pictures she used. She didn't. 'Karl?' she said. 'Sabine. I'm your room service.' The beginning...
Posted by Scars Beneath The Skin on Sun, 16 Sep 2007 10:26:00 PST