Fifth Post about my novel : Conflicts and Resolutions

70 pages are left before the end of my book. So far, the story has been bloody entertaining. (Pun intended) The character of Dexter Morgan isn’t really the killer I was expecting throughout the book. At the beginning, he killed a hippie in cold blood. Then, he was stalked by a mysterious being named The Watcher. The fact of being constantly observed scared his Dark Passenger, the alter-ego related to Dexter’s hunger for murder. The story is more about how Dexter is able to cope with the disappearance of his evil companion. He lost his desire to kill and he found emotions he never imagined of having, fear and compassion. He cared for his new family and wanted to protect them at any cost from anything related to his work.

The conflict that I’m about to develop is related to the case of the “Bull Heads’’ where two girls are found burned with theirs heads switched with a ceramic bull’s head. The first major conflict of the book was similar to a real crime investigation. With bodies badly burned such as them, it would be difficult to recognize the identity of the victims. While Dexter and his sister Deborah were eating at a local restaurant, Chutsky, Deborah’s boyfriend, gave them an idea where the bodies might have been burned at the university. In fact, if it weren’t for Chutsky, the investigation would lead to nowhere. Dexter and his sister wouldn’t have met one of the victim’s boyfriend who happened to be close by the alleged scene of the crime. Kurt Wagner, a tattooed man, helped Dexter to identify the two bodies, his girlfriend Jessica and her roommate Ariel. They were party girls that traded sex with their teacher, Professor Jerry Halpern, for good grades. Later in the book, it was revealed that Halpern had killed the two students while being in an unconscious state of mind caused by an unknown power, probably the source that Dexter’s alter-ego was afraid of. As you can see, everything is connected. The missing Dark Passenger and the “Bull-head’’ killings are related to each other. I don’t think the situation could’ve been handled differently. Sometimes you need an epiphany to continue the investigation.

The next conflict of the book is about the origin of the Dark Passenger’s disappearance. What caused it to go AWOL? When Dexter took his search on Google, he found disturbing evidences of a cult worshiping a God who liked kids as human sacrifice. (What a book!) The ancient spirit named Moloch sends music with drums and trumpet as a warning for a sacrifice; the same music that Dexter heard in his dreams. Eventually, he gets a confirmation from an art history teacher that Moloch was also a part of the “Bull-head” killings and that the victims were burned in a giant furnace in form of a bull-headed statue of the mighty Moloch. It also proves that Halpern actually killed the two students, Jessica and Ariel.

I think the use of internet was the safest way to find out about the cult. Dexter couldn’t confront his stalker directly without his Dark Passenger. He felt naked and unprotected without his alter-ego. If he was scared of The Watcher, how could he investigate the chilling sect of Moloch without being terrified?

There is still no resolution to the problem, because the presence of The Watcher hasn’t been explained yet. He is still hunting for Dexter and his family. The Watcher even tried to break in Dexter’s house. Things are getting interesting. I can’t wait to know how it will all end.

Fourth Post on my novel

Dexter is tangled in a whole world of trouble. As he is investigating on the murder of the two girls at the university and the disappearance of his alter-ego, the Dark Passenger, The Watcher is keeping a very close eye on him and his kids. If Dexter gets into the deeper truth of the matter, he should be feared for his life. He doesn’t have his evil shadow to protect him anymore.

Imagine this. If I were to join him on his quest, I would certainly bring a silencer gun and a bulletproof vest to protect myself from the ominous Watcher. I prefer the use of a silencer, because it can take out any enemies without a sound.

“Never go on an investigation without your bullet-proof vest.” Who knows when you’re going to get shot, right? I can’t risk my life fighting a stalker unprotected. This is one of the many dangers of being an investigator. That why I say: “Better be safe, then sorry”.

On another note, since the weather in Miami is known for being incredibly hot and sunny, I could bring sunglasses (like Horacio on CSI Miami), some Hawaiian shirts, some sunscreen, etc.

Third Post: If my novel would be turned into a movie, who would I cast?

Since my novel is already a critically acclaimed TV show, it would be difficult for me to choose other actors to play the characters. Having seen the first episodes of ''Dexter'', I think that my casting would be a little biased.

Michael C. Hall should stay as the titular character Dexter Morgan, because he is very convincing in his role. He makes an exceptional character like Dexter so believable. Each time, his voice-over gives me the chills. No wonder he won an Emmy for best lead actor in a drama!

For the role of the enigmatic The Watcher, I would cast Mark Pellegrino, who played Jacob on my favorite TV show Lost and Lucifer on Supernatural. He always plays mysterious characters, so that role seems to fit him like a glove.

Second post about my novel

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Dexter Morgan is a blood splatter analyst for the Miami Police Department and also a terrible serial killer. Guided by an entity named “The Dark Passenger”, he slides through life undetected and kills only the worst criminals.

The story begins when Dexter was trying to murder a hippie. Zander Macaulay, Dexter’s target, was reportedly using Miami’s charities to attract the homeless into an abandoned ranch to kill them. Little did he know, someone called “The Watcher” kept an eye on our serial killer while he was dumping Zander’s body into a barrel of acid. One day, Dexter was called to a crime scene at a university campus. Two students were savagely burned and beheaded. Their heads were even replaced by the head of ceramic bulls. Normally for Dexter, it should feel like a normal day’s work. But something is scaring the hell of out of his Dark Passenger. For the first time, Dexter has to investigate this case all alone.

Dexter Morgan is one special piece of work. He knows that everyday situations can be used for his fake cover. He got married to his long time girlfriend Rita and got two step children, Astor and Cody. But lately, his cover life was getting more real. Even during a murder, Dexter couldn’t stop thinking about his new kids and his wife. I really like the fact that a normally cold-blooded killer can evolved into a more sentimental person. Let’s face it. Without an incredible and interesting lead character like Dexter, there wouldn’t be any story.

So far, the novel is a brilliant representation of a serial killer trying to have feelings for his new wife and children. The author managed to capture the rawness of Miami in his novel. When I was reading the book, I easily imagined all of the dirty crime scenes and even the hot Miami weather. I really love the first person narration by Dexter. It’s witty mixed with dark comedy. Thus, it makes the book more fun to read. Isn’t that what it’s all about?

‘’Dexter in the dark’’ really does have an interesting plot. I can’t wait to learn more about the disappearance of his Dark Passenger and the real identity of “The Watcher”.

First post about my novel

Let’s explore together the wonderful world of books. Ah, so many genres to choose from...Personally, my favourite kinds of books are crime thrillers and science fiction. Dan Brown is one of my favourite authors. He managed to captivate my attention with his great suspenseful plots about science and religion, like for example in Angels and Demons and the Da Vinci Code.

Truthfully, I’m not a big fan of reading, but I can make an exception for this book. I decided to choose “Dexter in the Dark”, a novel from Jeff Lindsay. The story is about Dexter, a blood splatter analyst by day, a serial-killer by night. Also, he possesses an entity called The Dark Passenger, a voice that pushed him to commit murders to “very bad people”.

The book is basically a thriller with a murderer as a protagonist. The plot intrigued me. It’s hard to imagine a likable serial-killer. Killing the worst criminal actually sounds like a good thing. So far, it seems like a very original story.

Shawshank Redemption

For an English class, I saw a movie called Shawshank Redemption. In the motion picture, Andy Dufresne, an American banker is guilty for reportedly killing his own wife and her lover. Based on strong evidence, Andy gets two life sentences at Shawshank Prison, with no hope of parole. During his time in prison, he made friends with Ellis Redding, also known as Red, a man capable of “getting things”. The story enfolds when Andy used his banking experiences to help a money obsessed, warden.

As a seventeen year old male, I love movies with special effects as much as the next person. It’s incredible how a movie about prisoners talking can create a great story of hope and redemption.
My favourite scene of the movie is when Brookes, a librarian, gets out of the prison and narrates his troubles with life outside of Shawshank. His performance was truly moving. Actually, all of the actors did a pretty good job on their characters. They succeeded in bringing the good, even in tough looking criminals. If that wasn’t good acting, I don’t know what is.

Furthermore, the scene where Andy played an opera on the intercom to all of his friends made me laugh out loud. One of my favourite shows made a pop culture reference about this scene. Now I understand why the soundtrack is iconic and was necessarily an integral part of the movie. However, i thought the movie`s score was too smooth and calm. I didn`t really noticed it throughout the film.

No wonder it won an Oscar for best cinematography. Compared to other big blockbuster movies that I`ve seen, this one made every scenes into a true work of art.

If you have two hours on your hands, rent the movie. You won’t be disappointed!