tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60312048301107004612024-11-08T06:51:40.517-08:00Politics, Writing & FoodJameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494553839052036175noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031204830110700461.post-5162834538526387062017-10-20T20:02:00.001-07:002017-10-20T20:02:49.409-07:00

Change Of Address! Check out newer posts on:  https://chosenwordsmccrone.blog/

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494553839052036175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031204830110700461.post-83948924207993731152017-06-20T08:36:00.002-07:002017-06-20T08:36:28.185-07:00

The Imogen Trager novels offer a compelling critique of the precarious state of democracy. Faithless Elector, which debuted in the spring of 2016, is a taut thriller about stealing the presidential election.  Its central premise is the latent weaknesses and potential for abuse inherent in the Electoral College.  The precise machinations envisioned in the book have not come to pass (

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494553839052036175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031204830110700461.post-24317917025984134822017-06-17T11:45:00.000-07:002017-06-17T11:50:16.769-07:00

I’ve always found Horton the Elephant, by Dr. Seuss problematic. I like the notion of saying what you mean and meaning what you say, and staying faithful to one’s word—one hundred per cent.  A good many of us could do with a bit more of it.  But the ending—spoiler alter!—where the baby bird hatches as a hybrid elephant-bird, and the narrator claims, “It should be, it should be; it

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494553839052036175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031204830110700461.post-82003746591330269032017-05-30T14:07:00.000-07:002017-05-30T14:07:07.889-07:00

I apologize if it sounds like I'm moaning about real conspiracies overtaking the fictional ones I've created.  I'm not complaining so much as apologizing to you all for aiming so low with my poor, deadly, plausible conspiracies.  Maybe I should endeavor to be less plausible in future. On the verisimilitude meter current events superseding those in Faithless Elector are eye

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494553839052036175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031204830110700461.post-48546041746907250962017-05-28T10:13:00.002-07:002017-05-30T06:59:58.461-07:00

Tom Clancy famously said, "The difference between reality and fiction is that fiction has to make sense."  Verisimilitude means "like truth," plausible; and it's the novelist's key storytelling tool. What makes the kind of intrigue I write about disquieting is that verisimilitude requires setting up possible, plausible scenarios to dramatically examine and explore.  While the facts

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494553839052036175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031204830110700461.post-55650796180403617802017-05-22T07:29:00.003-07:002017-05-22T07:29:58.954-07:00

"People need to be reminded more than they need instruction." -Samuel Johnson  The Faithless Elector stories shine a glaring light on complacency by homing in on people working frantically to preserve and protect the weakest, most vulnerable aspects of our democracy--the Electoral College, legislative oversight, an independent judiciary. Samuel Johnson's quote, above, might also extend

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494553839052036175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031204830110700461.post-7571983847736588802017-04-18T11:39:00.000-07:002017-04-18T13:33:12.608-07:00

The NY Times gathered writers of politics-themed television shows for "a cathartic group therapy session." On hand were writers Shonda Rhimes (“Scandal”), Frank Pugliese and Melissa James Gibson (“House of Cards”); Barbara Hall (“Madam Secretary”) and David Mandel, of “Veep.” They each had interesting things to say about their work, and the public's perception of it.  David Mandel

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494553839052036175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031204830110700461.post-39999680888122837802017-03-28T06:02:00.001-07:002017-03-28T06:04:18.721-07:00

I took advantage of a visit to metro DC this past weekend for a friend's 50th birthday celebration (and many more, Joel!) to scout some locations I'm using for my upcoming novel, Dark Network, the sequel to Faithless Elector. I'm not from DC, and I have never lived there, but my wife and I have good friends there, and we visit often.  Nevertheless, siting places for clandestine meetings,

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494553839052036175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031204830110700461.post-86571794207958023362017-03-24T06:12:00.002-07:002017-03-24T06:12:33.937-07:00

The Faithless Elector series is a sharp critique of the precarious state of our democracy. Faithless Elector, which debuted one year ago today, is a taut thriller about stealing the presidential election.  Its central premise is the latent weaknesses and possibility for abuse inherent in the Electoral College system for electing the president.  The precise machinations envisioned in

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494553839052036175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031204830110700461.post-58634159562638106692017-03-16T08:57:00.000-07:002017-03-16T08:57:10.071-07:00

The fines leveled against the four Washington State Faithless Electors issued by the Washington State secretary of state, have been upheld on appeal by a state judge, the Seattle Times reports. Washington State first put the Faithless Elector laws into place after Mike Padden, a Republican Elector back in 1976, voted for Ronald Reagan instead of his party's candidate Gerald Ford. Many states

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494553839052036175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031204830110700461.post-56918869918157732712017-03-14T12:14:00.000-07:002017-03-24T05:28:43.411-07:00

March 14, 2017 The interaction and dialogue with readers has been the greatest reward. One year ago today I received the final proof copy of Faithless Elector from the printer.  Thank you to everyone who has supported and taken part in a wonderful journey!  It's one I hope will continue with Dark Network (coming soon!), and the third book in the series, working title "Consent of

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494553839052036175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031204830110700461.post-70750938495592608362017-01-27T13:11:00.001-08:002017-01-28T08:14:27.813-08:00

http://www.darknetwork.co/ “Virtue is more to be feared than vice, because its excesses are not subject to the regulation of conscience.”    ― Adam Smith The epigram from my work-in-progress, Dark Network, the sequel to the thrilling Faithless Elector, seems more apt as the days since the commencement of the 115th Congress and Donald Trump’s inauguration roll unalterably by

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494553839052036175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031204830110700461.post-34001417143736734842017-01-21T07:03:00.002-08:002017-01-21T07:03:47.640-08:00

Dark Network and Faithless Elector examine and distill an important moment I am finishing work on Dark Network, the sequel to Faithless Elector. Working on the draft has had a strange Sliding Doors/alternate universe feel as I near writing the end of book two because the events are taking place RIGHT NOW! Or rather, the dates coincide. In fact, I find that I am now behind for the first

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494553839052036175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031204830110700461.post-52023309187521859792016-12-28T08:37:00.001-08:002016-12-28T08:37:55.835-08:00

Faithless Elector, and its sequel, Dark Network are stories about courage, duty, fidelity and a belief in ideology: and what happens when those qualities and ideologies collide. The Electoral College vote has passed (Dec. 19)--not without incident or intrigue--and although the specific events described in my novel, Faithless Elector, did not happen, the fact is they could have happened.

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494553839052036175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031204830110700461.post-78987599367354548662016-12-21T08:30:00.001-08:002016-12-21T08:30:12.229-08:00

"Every nation gets the government it deserves," Joseph de Maistre observed in 1811. Do we also get the literature we deserve? In the most recent review of the book, in the Plattsburgh Press Republican, the reviewer, Lauren Kiefer, begins by talking about her state of mind as she approached reading this thriller: "I have to confess that the phrase 'political thriller' tends to make me brace

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494553839052036175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031204830110700461.post-77725918252928625242016-12-17T16:10:00.002-08:002016-12-17T16:10:32.279-08:00

Saturday 17-December New rules for baseball The Electoral College is as American as baseball. And like baseball, the Electoral College system for electing the president often engenders the same frustrating sense of being a bystander in a game you're ostensibly playing: in the final inning of a game, for example, the pitcher could walk the bases full and then walk in a run or give up a home

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494553839052036175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031204830110700461.post-15788941771144992252016-11-21T08:12:00.001-08:002016-11-21T14:51:24.976-08:00

In Faithless Elector I took as given the respected place voting and democratic accountability held.  Was I wrong? Those familiar with the novel, Faithless Elector, know that its fictional conspiracy gathers steam (and bodies) beginning now in the days following the Nov. 8 general election. When I became acquainted with the intricacies and vulnerabilities in the Electoral College

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494553839052036175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031204830110700461.post-49237443134097860252016-11-11T10:18:00.000-08:002016-11-11T11:59:17.202-08:00

There is a petition calling on Electors to become Faithless Electors which has garnered some 2,500,000 signatures as I write this (Fri 12:55 p.m. 11/11/2016).  It is an excellent venting of frustration, and it serves to point up the weaknesses in our democracy.  For the second time in 16 years (2 of 5 of the most recent presidential elections), the popular vote winner has lost

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494553839052036175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031204830110700461.post-16750488405504213272016-11-10T07:22:00.000-08:002016-11-10T07:22:20.128-08:00

As the dust settles on the 2016 presidential election, I thought it might be helpful to put together a listing of posts regarding the ElectoralCollege and FaithlessElectors (for background and links, check out http://faithlesselector.com/) I must stress that my novel, Faithless Elector, is not a polemic. It does not take sides, has no axe to grind. It is a good story (if

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494553839052036175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031204830110700461.post-88510447988633043902016-10-29T13:11:00.001-07:002016-10-29T19:44:04.710-07:00

Apparently, Imogen Trager, the heroine of my book, Faithless Elector has a larger online presence than I do. When a friend recently took a Facebook personality test, it concluded that she should consider becoming an FBI agent.  In the comments section, I suggested she change her name to Imogen Trager--an FBI Agent. My friend felt she knew the name (she has read the book), but Googled it

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494553839052036175noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031204830110700461.post-15117876788484224912016-09-26T08:45:00.000-07:002016-10-29T19:48:26.845-07:00

Faithless Elector I fell down the internet rabbit hole a few days ago while looking for a quote, and I have only just recovered. I wanted an epigraph for my novel-in-progress, Dark Network, the sequel to Faithless Elector. As is often the case, when I check something I think I know, I had it wrong. I had thought Winston Churchill once said something along the lines of "God save us from men

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494553839052036175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031204830110700461.post-2251739454052016032016-09-20T08:18:00.000-07:002016-09-20T08:18:09.057-07:00

NY Times Don't invite the vampire in. In classical Dracula stories, a vampire can only enter your house if you invite him in. Faithless Elector is not a vampire story (spoiler alert). But it has at its core the terrible consequences of undermining the foundational principle of popular sovereignty and democratic governance--voting.  In the novel, the conspirators strike at

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494553839052036175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031204830110700461.post-66587554281545231012016-09-18T08:48:00.001-07:002016-09-18T08:48:45.470-07:00

The New York Times Sunday Review Section carried an interesting, informative piece today (Sun. Sept 18: link) regarding the history and the roles played by third-party candidates throughout US election history. NYT 2016-0918, Widmer The author, Ted Widmer, cites the chaotic first contested elections, which I have also written about (Hamilton and the First Contested Election); he cites the

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494553839052036175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031204830110700461.post-30823076400070717832016-08-30T14:47:00.000-07:002017-05-29T07:10:49.446-07:00

Hamilton Letter It was clear that the compromise rules governing the Electoral College could not even stand up to the first contested election in 1800.  The original writing had the candidate with the most Electoral College ballots becoming president; the second place candidate would be vice-president.  Those at the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention had not even conceived of

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494553839052036175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6031204830110700461.post-76962989319877331242016-08-25T14:39:00.000-07:002016-08-25T14:39:22.422-07:00

Nate Silver's blog FiveThirtyEight.com recently discussed the 1976 "contested convention," the subsequent presidential election and the split in the Republican Party then and its relevance to the divisions tearing apart the Republicans now.  The 2016 Republican Party convention was a contentious--if not contested--convention. In 1976, Reagan, they say, stole the show.  

Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13494553839052036175noreply@blogger.com0