In the Tent of the Samurai--Charles Placard 2

In the Tent of the Samurai--Charles Placard 2

A Story by Michael Stevens
"

Charles Placard tries again!

"

                  In the Tent of the Samurai

                                     By Mike Stevens

                                A Charles Placard Tale

 

                   “The bronzed, supple woman walked seductively towards the writhing samurai, who was already naked.  

              She disrobed by the flickering light of a single candle; he could feel his anticipation growing.  She held in her 

              hand something he couldn’t quite make out.  He thought to himself, it must be a sexual device of some sort.  His 

              anticipation was already stretched to the breaking point, but somehow it managed to grow even more.  She 

              leaned closer and whispered,

                   “Close your eyes and you’ll get a big surprise!”

                   Licking his dry lips, he complied.  “What is it, baby?”

                   The woman smiled, as a knife blade flashed in the dim light of a candle.  Suddenly, the tent in the desert was 

              filled with screams, as the samurai tried in vain to pull the quivering knife out of his belly.”



    

       

                   Charles Placard’s hand cramped at that point, so he decided to give the typewriter a rest.  He had typed and 

              retyped the resumption of the story which he was telling in his latest novel, but none of it lived up to his lofty 

              standards.  He had to face it, he was stuck.  “In the Tent of the Samurai” was proving difficult.  Despite his first 

              attempt at dramatic writing, “The Fast-Talking Lumber-King”, being mistaken for a comedy book, and Behemoth 

              Press publishing it as such, it had sold unbelievably well, and he now had a deal for another with Behemoth he 

              had to fulfill.  He would make sure; with this one, there would be no more thinking it was a comedy!

 


                   Charles had taken a break from his writing, and was watching an old movie on television.  It had to do with a 

              group of foreign travelers taken prisoner by an evil king.  That gave him a great idea.  He rushed back to his 

              typewriter, and the words flew from his mind onto the page. 



                   “The men struggled in vain to escape from the dungeon, and the evil clutches of the demented samurai 

              warrior.  Judging from the skeletons which littered the cold gray stones of the dungeon’s floor, they wouldn’t be 

              the first of his unlucky victims.”



                  

                   Perfect!  It was a great place to continue the story.  So far, his novel had it all; sex, madness, war, a villain, and 

              several would-be heroes.  All he had to do was the tying it all together, and tell the story.

 

    


                   He was once again sitting in the offices of Behemoth Press, nervous but determined to tell Calamine this book 

              was as good as he could do in writing a dramatic novel.  He was just about finished with it.  When he had resumed 

              writing, the ideas had flowed almost non-stop.  He was grateful his first book had done well, but as a comedy book. 

              He hadn’t meant for it to be a comedy, but what the hell, he’d gotten his foot in the door, and now that he had some 

              clout, he was going to use it to market the new novel as a straight dramatic book, not as a comedy, like Behemoth 

              wanted.  Daisy the receptionist called his name, and told him to go into Mr. Calamine’s office.  Calamine was the 

              person in charge of his book deal. 

    

                   “Very good stuff, this is outstanding!” said a clearly-excited Calamine.  He then read a part of Charles’s novel 

              out loud.



                   “Danny had to escape, but there was one small problem; between him and the door to freedom were 12 

              ninjas with automatic weapons.  He tried the oldest trick in the book; he called out,

                   “Excuse me, guys, but I’ve got to go to the bathroom, could one of you kindly untie my hands?”

                   He thought they’ll never fall for this; you’d have to be pretty stupid.  Much to his surprise, one of them came up 

              to him and untied his hands, saying,

                   “Okay, you’ve got 2 minutes.  If you’re not back out here in that time, we’ll be coming in looking for you, and 

              you wouldn’t like that at all.  In other words, it would behoove you to be standing back here in 2 minutes.”



                   He entered the bathroom and looked for a way out.  He saw a small window, and the sun was shining 

              through a frosted window at the top of the opposite bathroom wall.  Danny let out an almost-silent laugh.  The 

              idiots had fallen for it!  He quickly stood on a nearby chair and unlatched the window.  Just as easy as that, he 

              was outside, and free.  He had only taken a couple of steps when from behind him he heard a voice,

                   “And what do we have here?  Why, I do believe I should stop you!”

                   The person who had spoken those words was a hot-looking female ninja.  She wore a skin-tight ninja outfit, 

              which Danny would have admired, if he wasn’t getting pounded, pounded until he felt himself losing 

              consciousness.”




                   “Hot damn, that’s some hilarious stuff!” said Calamine.

                   Charles was crushed.  Calamine still thought he was trying to be funny; “Eh, ha, ha, yeah, isn’t it?”  He felt like 

              screaming, “The hell with you, and the hell with this place,” but knew if he did that, he could kiss the outstanding 

              money he was making goodbye, so he managed,

                   “The new book is almost finished, I just have a couple more jokes to fit in, and I’ll be done.”

    

                                           The End             

 

 

                                          

© 2012 Michael Stevens


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Reviews

Excellent writing. Enjoyed reading 👍

Posted 3 Months Ago


I'm delighted to have found you on this new "Discovery" link. As someone who enjoys farce, and am far too geriatric to indulge in the agonies of
poetic romantic failure , this is the type of writing that makes my day........or have I not taken this story seriously enough???



Posted 6 Years Ago


Michael Stevens

6 Years Ago

Thank you much, Norman--no, you've pretty much got it right, farce!
Michael Stevens

6 Years Ago

I find nothing as humorous as a person who doesn't realize he has no talent at something, and keeps .. read more
I feel bad for the guy, but he should have seen it coming.
Looking forward to reading your other stories.

Posted 7 Years Ago


Michael Stevens

7 Years Ago

Thank you much--this character goes back a ways, and I hope you enjoy the others!
Anyone who can work 'behoove' into a story will always get my attention. Sometimes, much like life, dramatic events need to be leavened with a touch of humour. Good job, Michael.

Posted 7 Years Ago


Michael Stevens

7 Years Ago

Thanks much, Ted, and you're going back quite a ways on this one, so I apologize for any editing mis.. read more
Ted Kniffen

7 Years Ago

It's always good to revisit old characters we've created.
Michael Stevens

7 Years Ago

Yep, although I haven't written Charles in years--I guess I'm no longer in story mode, I'm onto poem.. read more
When I finished this I had a broad smile on my face.

You have captured the nagging paranoia that lives in the head of aspiring writers, or at least it lives in mine. Is what we do any good. Are people laughing at us behind our backs.

Well done for bursting my paranoid bubble

Posted 8 Years Ago


Michael Stevens

8 Years Ago

Thank you much, and glad I could help!
This made me smile! Overcoming writer's can result in both success and failure; a poignant message for us budding writers!.

Posted 8 Years Ago


Michael Stevens

8 Years Ago

Thank you much, and I know my editing leaves a lot to be desired, but I'm learning, VERY slowly--I'm.. read more
A very refreshing read, and so creative indeed! Although it made me take some time guessing the untyped words, it was fun. Loved the concept out there, though poor Charles. But little does he know that the best comedy is far more enjoyable than the best dramatic work.

Posted 8 Years Ago


Michael Stevens

8 Years Ago

Thank you much--I find more humor in losers who keep trying to win, and/or don't even realize they'r.. read more
Lol, very well done... love to laugh and this did the trick...think I am going to have to read up on your other Charles Placard tales. :)

Posted 9 Years Ago


Michael Stevens

9 Years Ago

Thank you; that Charles is a REAL character!
Haha, as usual you made me laugh. Sometime's it's frustrating to get people to understand your writing. I love the titles of his books, like "The Fast-Talking Lumber-King" I mean, I would read that! Wonderful job, this is hilarious!

Posted 9 Years Ago


Michael Stevens

9 Years Ago

Thanks; Charles was one of my funnest characters to write; maybe because I relate so well?
greatly entertaining. very funny indeed. I enjoyed the read a lot. thanks for sharing.

Posted 9 Years Ago


Michael Stevens

9 Years Ago

Thank you much; I'm glad you enjoyed it!

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1580 Views
21 Reviews
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Shelved in 1 Library
Added on August 31, 2012
Last Updated on August 31, 2012
Tags: Writer; terrible; no-talent

Author

Michael Stevens
Michael Stevens

About
I write for fun; I write comedy pieces and some dramatic stuff. I have no formal writing education, and I have a fear of being told I suck, and maybe I should give up on writing, and get a job makin.. more..

Writing

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