If you could get Denzel Washington to go up against the deranged spirits that lurked inside the Sixth Sense while desperately trying to hold on to his job at Enron, then you would have created an accurate mirror of Grogan's main plot. The many subplots, however, are so well written and intertwined, readers could easily find themselves plowing down an illuminating trail of digression, never wanting to return to the main road.
Victor Carver is in trouble. The dark, unfamiliar urges that race through his corporate-driven mind are not his own; neither are the breathtaking flashes of light that reveal events before they’ve taken place. His whole consciousness is being crowded out by something ugly and orange and pulsating with powers from the supernatural realm. A dying New Orleans preacher, familiar with demonic possessions, sends him to the king of the psychics who explains the growing magnitude of his dilemma. With time running out, he must act. In fact, he must save the world.
Feeding Louisiana gators...
The gray work van with its ominous horse’s head crept along a dark, country road south of the old Black Bayou boat dock in Lake Charles. Meandering through the back stretches of the dense swamp, it finally stopped on a deserted strip with shallow creeks on both sides. The headlight went off, but no one got out. Instead, the occupants sat in silence, soaking in the eerie stillness of the night, listening to the serenade of crickets and frogs.
Finally, three men jumped out and opened the back. Two bodies lay next to each other on the floor. One of the men grabbed Roxy Canteau by the legs and began dragging him out.
“Not him you idiot! The other one.” Pachy reprimanded him.
“They both look dead to me,” Little Johnny admitted.
Pachy flipped on a flashlight. The small beam quickly revealed the second body had no head. They grab the gruesome carcass and start for the creek.
The third man, who Pachy had fondly nicknamed Teef because two of his front teeth were missing, peeped over his shoulder. “No matter how many times we come out here, it's still damn spooky.”
“The quicker we finish up, the quicker we can head back to Dallas,” said Pachy.
With practiced precision, they hurled the headless body into the creek. Immediately, the water splashed as two giant alligators rip into the body, pulling it into the murky waters below.
With profound curiosity, Little Johnny scratched his melon head. “I swear. Thems' the same gators from last time.”
Teef’s long face wrinkled with suspicion. “Think they know when we're coming?”
Pachy grinned. “Yeah. By now they’re psychic too.”
All three howled with laughter as they climbed back into the van and sped away.
Excerpt
About slaughtered chickens ...
“Grandpa use to say without their heads, they don't know they're dead. Some of them jump around like that all day.” The farm boy put the sack down, reached into his pocket, then jammed a wad of tobacco into his jaw.
“Funny thing. You stick the head inside the sack and they calm down. Now why do you think that is, Mr. ... Mr.?"
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BOOK REVIEW
[Reviewed by Anna Kennedy]
Orange Finger Tips
By
Leander Jackie Grogan
In Leander Jackie Grogan’s new novel, Orange Finger Tips, readers quickly find themselves navigating a surreal, ever-converging slippery slope that catapults them between the natural and supernatural realm. Demons and angels ignore the great barriers of the universe to cross over at will. And evil is so well-disguised, we find ourselves thanking its benefactor for all they have done to save us from destruction.
If you could get Denzel Washington to go up against the deranged spirits that lurked inside the Sixth Sense while desperately trying to hold on to his job at Enron, then you would have created an accurate mirror of Grogan's main plot. The many subplots, however, are so well written and intertwined, readers could easily find themselves plowing down an illuminating trail of digression, never wanting to return to the main road.
Victor Carver is in trouble. The dark, unfamiliar urges that race through his corporate-driven mind are not his own; neither are the breathtaking flashes of light that reveal events before they’ve taken place. His whole consciousness is being crowded out by something ugly and orange and pulsating with powers from the supernatural realm. A dying New Orleans preacher, familiar with demonic possessions, sends him to the king of the psychics who explains the growing magnitude of his dilemma. With time running out, he must act. In fact, he must save the world.
“I accept, wholeheartedly, the great truths of the Bible”, explains Grogan, a deacon, Sunday School teacher and Bible scholar. “If spiritual demons crossed over and possessed people during ancient times (Matthew 8:16, Acts 16:16), what would make one think these beings simply went away?”
Though Grogan's incorporation of demon possession proves intriguing, it is only a small ingredient in the ghostly brew of tales from the dark side. There are corporate devils as well, high rolling executives willing to sell their mother to make quarterly profits ring true. When the main antagonist, Texas CEO, William Burris, is asked how members of the Board feel about his illegal activity, he responds, “They feel like I tell them to feel, as long as I’m getting results. You have to understand that every time sales go up $100 million, they get a fat bonus. The stock splits and a herd of little snot-nosed reporters come prancing in here, looking for a new angle to spread the good news. But they'll spread bad news too ... if they can find it.”
Of course, Burris works his own brand of magic to keep them from finding it, including bribery, illegal campaign contributions, military kickbacks and using his executive secretaries as prostitutes on demand. His company is doing quite well. So what's the problem? Dead psychics in the company warehouse, for one; not to mention the potential public relations damage that cold-blooded killers on payroll could cause. Victor Carver finds himself in a mess, a spiritual mess. Only a miracle can get him out.
“I am always amazed to see how easily we downgrade supernatural events to fit our natural world perspective,” says Grogan. “Ten tons of airplane, loaded with passengers and jet fuel, come tumbling out of the sky, hits a snowy runway and nobody dies. Officials conclude the large snow banks saved everyone's life. A woman picks up a car to save her toddler, and we called it adrenaline. A dead man wakes up in the morgue and we call it a rare disease. Some serial killers insist they hear voices in their heads. We say they’re copping an insanity plea. A category 5 hurricane approaches the Galveston coast and then suddenly diminishes and slides off to the side. We call it a change in pressure.”
Which ever world you cling to: natural or supernatural, you’ll treasure Orange Finger Tips. In the end, it forces us to re-examine our “natural” perspective of the unusual events that occur in each of our lives. More importantly, according to Grogan, “It reminds us we are spiritual beings wrapped up in flesh. Whether we like it or not, we are residents of both worlds.”
About the Reviewer:
Anna Kennedy is an associate minister at Book Hollow Church in Houston and Seminary student at the College of Biblical Studies.
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