Inflicting Pain — We Love It

 

This post is going up on Halloween. So happy Halloween to all who celebrate.

And if you’re catching this post the day after Halloween, then a blessed All Saints Day to you.

One thing that seems to be ingrained in us, part of our DNA, is a desire to inflict pain. And if we aren’t inflicting it, we love to watch someone else or something else dishing out pain to another.

I think that’s why the small screen, the big screen, and video games have become so violent. It is our love of dishing out copious amounts of pain to others. We love doing it and we love watching it.

Our indifference to others who are suffering is part of this human trait to inflict pain and suffering. It’s the flip side of the coin, so to speak.

Over on the Threads that Bind blog, I posted an article describing several rather nasty methods of torture. Torture being nothing more than our desire to inflict pain taken to the next level. Take a look at the link below:

Oh, the Pain! The Pain!

The article makes for good Halloween reading and could be a resource for writers.

Epicurus believed eudaimonia (the good life, a life of well-being, a life of living and doing well) was a life of continuous pleasurable experiences that was free from pain and distress.

In other words, according to Epicurus, reducing or eliminating all pain and distress from our lives goes a long way to our achieving that ultimate state of pleasure which is the good life.

And isn’t that what we seek each and every day? The absence of pain? Of course it is.

We take painkillers; over-the-counter and prescription.

We might use illegal drugs to kill pain and induce a temporary state of euphoria.

We buy things to give ourselves to lift our spirits.

We may even inflict pain on others because we get a little high watching them suffer.

Where people get Epicurus wrong is that they miss his point that virtue is an intrinsic part of achieving the state of happiness, which is a life of pleasure and an absence of pain. For Epicurus, pleasure is only good if it doesn’t bring about any pain.

For that reason, he didn’t advocate marriage or having children because both too often bring pain into a persons life. The same with having sex. It isn’t bad, it just results too often in pain. So it’s best to avoid it.

I believe Epicureanism is a fitting philosophy for Western first world people seeking meaning and purpose in life. It fits well with our sensibilities. We want lives free from pain and filled with pleasure. Epicurus shows how to get the good pleasure that never produces pain.

A pursuit of Epicurean pleasure might also eliminate, or at least diminish, our love of inflicting pain on others. And that just might make this world a little better. Who wouldn’t want that?

Comments are always welcome. And until next time, happy reading!

CW Hawes is a playwright; award-winning poet; and a fictioneer, with a bestselling novel. He’s also an armchair philosopher, political theorist, social commentator, and traveler. He loves a good cup of tea and agrees that everything’s better with pizza.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider buying me a cup of tea. Thanks! PayPal.me/CWHawes 

Justinia Wright Private Investigator Mysteries on Amazon!

Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles on Amazon!

Ten Million Ways to Die — Now Live!

 

If you’ve ever had children, or gotten a puppy, or kitty, you know the feeling I have of love towards my newest baby: Ten Million Ways to Die, the 18th book in the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles series.

It might seem silly to some to equate a book launch with a newborn human, dog, or cat, but you see there are people, real people, within the pages of that book. And they are the children given life by my imagination.

In this virtual world in which we find ourselves, where people fall in love with AI apps, I don’t think anyone should find it strange that people can and do fall in love with the people they find within the pages of a book.

People love their dogs, their cats, their children, their spouse, their partner, Mr. Darcy, Heathcliff, Eudora and Doc, Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin, and Klara.

And so it is with authors. At least some authors. Doyle grew to hate Sherlock Holmes. Christie hated Hercule Poirot. But I think most authors have an affinity for, if not love for, their characters. Their virtual children.

I know I do. I love Tina and Harry Wright of the Justinia Wright mysteries. And Bill Arthur of the Rocheport Saga. Plus Pierce Mostyn, Dotty, and Helene of the Pierce Mostyn Paranormal Investigations series. And Lady Dru and Dunyasha from the alternative history world of Lady Dru Drummond.

In my opinion, if an author doesn’t love his characters with an intense love, then neither will the reader. 

So today, I give you a story involving two characters I love dearly: Harry Thurgood and the Reverend Ember Cole.

Ten Million Ways to Die is a mystery in which amateur sleuths Harry and Ember must solve a murder in order to get police detective Reece Sovern off their backs.

Ten Million Ways to Die is also the story of the blossoming love between Harry and Ember.

But the story is also a tale of revenge, justice, and misguided love.

Ten Million Ways to Die is live today on Amazon. 

It’s also available on Kindle Unlimited. If you’re a KU subscriber, you’ve already paid to read the book. So go ahead and do so. You don’t want to waste your money, do you?

You can listen to me read a scene from the book here: https://youtu.be/kIpDKf2VkwE 

Comments are always welcome. And until next time, happy reading!

CW Hawes is a playwright; award-winning poet; and a fictioneer, with a bestselling novel. He’s also an armchair philosopher, political theorist, social commentator, and traveler. He loves a good cup of tea and agrees that everything’s better with pizza.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider buying me a cup of tea. Thanks! PayPal.me/CWHawes 

Justinia Wright Private Investigator Mysteries on Amazon!

Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles on Amazon!

Snippet Time 2: Ten Million Ways to Die

 

Last week I gave you a snippet of Ten Million Ways to Die, the 18th book in the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles. Chapter 3 to be exact.

This week, I’m giving you another snippet to further whet your appetite. In this one, Harry decides to talk to the phone scroller man to see if he can determine if there is a threat to his secret life. One that would make it not so secret. Enjoy!

And here again is the link to my reading of a portion of Chapter 2: https://youtu.be/kIpDKf2VkwE. I think you’ll enjoy it.

Just remember on Monday, October 23rd, Ten Million Ways to Die, the 18th book in the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles goes live.

Now, without further ado, here is another snippet for your reading pleasure.

***

4

Tuesday, 10 October

1:11 pm

The lunch crowd was thinning out. Only three remained of the eleven who’d come through the doors of the Really Good. And one of those three was the man who constantly scrolled through his phone.

Harry was sitting at his corner table observing the stranger. The man didn’t look like a Fed. So perhaps he was private. Then again, perhaps he was a tourist.

But if he was a tourist, he doubted the man would have sat at a table drinking coffee for four or five hours.

“Even if the coffee was really good.” Harry smiled at his joke.

No, this guy wasn’t a tourist, or even someone just passing through. He was working for somebody. The question was, who?

Harry stood and crossed the floor to the man’s table.

When he reached it, he said, “Hello. I hope you’re enjoying the coffee.”

The man looked up from his phone. “It’s good.” His attention returned to the device in his hand.

Was that a touch of humor in his eyes? Harry asked himself, before saying, “I’m Harry Thurgood. The owner. Today’s lunch specials are roast beef au jus and cassoulet made with goose, salt pork, and kielbasa. Or I can serve you up a mean chili or a cheeseburger made with local beef. What do you say?”

The man looked up from his phone, looked out the window at the gray sky and misty drizzle, then turned back to Harry.

“Now that you mention it,” he said, “chili would hit the spot.”

“Texas-style with no beans? Or Yankee-style with beans?”

“This is Texas, right?”

“Yes, sir, it is.”

“I’ll take it Texas-style.”

“One bowl coming right up. Beans on the side?”

The man thought for a moment and shook his head.

Harry walked around the end of the counter and up to the window, looking into the kitchen. He gave Miguel the order and turned around to observe the man.

The guy was back, looking at his phone.

Near as Harry could tell, his mystery customer wasn’t carrying a gun. At least not in a shoulder holster. Nor did it appear, from what Harry observed, the guy was taking pictures.

His accent had a trace of the east coast.

So what was he doing sitting in the Really Good scrolling through his phone hour after hour?

Who do I know from the east coast who could have traced me to Magnolia Bluff?

“Order up, Mr. Thurgood,” Miguel announced.

Harry took the bowl of chili and plate of cornbread sticks, butter, and honey over to the man. He set it down, walked back to the counter, got himself a doughnut and coffee, and made his way back to the man’s table, and sat down.

The man looked at him over a spoon of chili, and said, “I’m not looking for company.”

Harry took a bite of his doughnut, chewed, swallowed, and said, “I’m not either. What do you want?”

The man put the spoon of chili in his mouth and slowly chewed. After he swallowed, he nodded and said, “This is good. And I don’t want anything. Just enjoying your coffee and passing the time. No law against that, is there?”

He’s a cool one. Matter-of-fact tone to his voice. “No, there isn’t. Glad you like the chili. It’s an original Texas recipe that one of the women in town gave a friend of mine before she passed away. The woman, that is. Not my friend.”

The man nodded, and spooned chili into his mouth.

Harry continued. “Glad you like the coffee. It’s from Sumatra. But as for you just passing the time drinking coffee and scrolling the hell out of your phone, I don’t think I believe you.”

The man shrugged.

Harry went on. “Your accent isn’t local, and no one has ever sat in my shop for five hours scrolling through their phone.”

“First time for everything.” The stranger put butter and honey on cornbread and took a bite. He nodded his satisfaction.

When he swallowed, he said, “Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to eat in peace.”

Finally. Now he’s getting annoyed. He’s not completely unflappable. Harry stood. “Sure thing. And the chili’s on the house.”

“Thanks,” the man said, and turned his attention back to his phone.

Harry took his doughnut and coffee and walked back to his table. He sat and pondered what this guy’s presence meant. Wondered if it was the beginning of trouble.

***

I hope that has you salivating for more. The book goes live on Monday, October 23.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

CW Hawes is a playwright; award-winning poet; and a fictioneer, with a bestselling novel. He’s also an armchair philosopher, political theorist, social commentator, and traveler. He loves a good cup of tea and agrees that everything’s better with pizza.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider buying me a cup of tea. Thanks! PayPal.me/CWHawes 

Justinia Wright Private Investigator Mysteries on Amazon!

Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles on Amazon!