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From: Coates, Rebekah
Sent: Mon 10/1/2007 4:43 PM
To: Walker, Johnny
Subject:
WOW !!!!
I got the book and read every page of it on the beach in one weekend and I loved it. I need another one or at least a real quick short story. I gotta know what happened to C.J. By far one of the best books I've ever read. BRAVO !!!!
From an Amazon customer in June 2007.
Thank you Mr. Craven!
 An episodic fantasy winner, June 12, 2007
New Review from April 2007
New Book Review
EKKO by Johnny Walker
Price Unavailable
PublishAmerica, ISBN: 1-4241-5394-8, 175 pages, 5.5 x 8.5,$19.95
Our NewBookReview
Johnny Walker's new book EKKO, is a journey into the spiritual world using a mysterious device that C J really doesn't really understand but has, by trial and error, learned to use. These excursions are not without danger, or suspense, as C J discovers. The spirits C J meets are interesting characters to say the least, but the most intriguing is the hauntingly beautiful Clarise. EKKO is a departure from the usual as far as Sci-Fi goes, and Walker's mixing of two worlds, the now and the past, is flawlessly done. Great reading. Sci-fi fans will love EKKO Ron Watson editor2(at)newbookreviews.org
Review
Fron Jim Dirk NYC recording artist
There is so much atmosphere and description.
its so fully realized, man when
the Savannah Ghosts come together,
it felt like Spielberg
this is such a friggin smash man.
your gonna get big ass movie offers .
I haven't been so awed in years by fiction...or is it?
Brav fuckin' O
Dude, I want a hayson.
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SCROLL DOWN for excerpts from:
Chapter 14 White Limozine
Chapter 12 Dustins Dance
Chapter 8 E
Chapter 4 The Hayson
Chapter 10 Frederick
Synopsis
EKKO is the story of an accomplished soundman and his adventures on the road. CJ's constant craving for mystery leads him to accidentally find an ancient devise. His new toy not only allows him to delve into the spiritual world, but to bring some back with him as well. He learns to combine modern day technology with the characters he captures from the past. He creates quite a show for the audience, but not without a price. His collaboration of the two worlds brings his career to a whole new level, but it also causes some suspicions, which constantly border on tarnishing his credibility. Throughout his escapades, he must keep his shenanigans a secret, which in turn keeps him in constant danger. Keeping his secret hidden is a mystery within itself. The adventures unfold as CJ continues to find a way of mixing his professional trade with the unearthly passions of the world beyond.
Various selections from the book
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From Chapter 14 - White Limozine
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E approached the beautiful woman he had found waiting for him in his hotel room with open arms. He began making a ponytail of his hair and walked up to her slowly.
As he went to put his arms around her waist, a large flood of water came gushing down through the ceiling and drenched E.
E gasped and jumped sideways into the wall to his left.
The woman in red walked towards E, taking advantage of his shock. She reached out and put one hand around his throat, and grabbed a handful of hair with the other hand, pulling E’s head back.
She squeezed his neck tight and forced him to look at her. She leaned into him and opened her mouth. Then she bit into his cheek very hard. E began to whine and struggled to get away. E’s elbows went up as he tried to shove her away with his forearms.
He pushed her off of him and fell forward. E turned around on his butt immediately to scoot himself away from her. When he was far enough away from her, he put his hand on his face to touch the bite-mark.
He looked back towards her, and she was gone.
“Damn!” E yelled out and ran out of the room. “Dean!… Dean!! What the hell kind of place is this??” E was screaming loud enough for other hotel guests to hear.
Several room doors opened and people came out into the hall to see what the screaming was. Dean ran out of his room in a frantic pace to find E whimpering in the hallway and holding his face with both hands.
“What’s goin’ on, E!?” Dean asked while pulling down on E’s forearms. “Are you ok?”
E was hysterical and shaking. Dean forced E’s hands from his face and started shaking E by his shoulders.
“E!” Dean screamed. “E! Talk to me!”
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From Chapter 12 - Dustins Dance
The warm-up band was a piece of cake. Basic rock with no heavy cues. They played twenty-five minutes with no sound problems and left the stage to a cheering crowd.
CJ had the headsets linked to Dean, Steve, and Alan the stage manager. He had a split patch to the green room from the control booth.
“Dean?” CJ spoke out. “You on?”
“By the green room CJ,” Dean replied.
CJ punched in the mic to the green room. “E? You with us?”
“Noo, I’m at the library. Whad’ya think man?” E replied sarcastically.
CJ muted E’s line and said “Pick up a book on manners, will ya?” Then punched his mic back on.
“Steve? You there?”
“I’m right here CJ. What am I supposed to do? Am I supposed to be somewhere special? When do you want me to...,” CJ interrupted Steve.
“Nuthin Steve. Nuthin till we ask you, got it? Say as little as possible and keep the lines clear, unless you see a problem. Then speak up, ok? Keep that clipboard with you and follow every cue,” CJ directed.
“Roger,” Steve replied nervously.
CJ began to question Alan, the stage manager. “Alan, are we still true?” Meaning no gear had been re-directed in the snake and no cords had been disconnected since the sound check.
“Good to go,” Alan replied. “Keep an eye out for Jerry’s guitar, he has the lead guitar player syndrome, all right?” Meaning that some lead guitar players have a tendency to constantly turn up their volume throughout the show.
“I’ve got an empty table sitting stage left. Is that prop?” CJ asked Alan.
“Clearing it now,” Alan answered.
CJ saw Steve run onto the stage and carry the small table away. As soon as Steve was out of sight, CJ lowered the lights.
“Hey Dean,” CJ called out.
“Right here mate,” Dean replied.
“Get me a cd from the band that just played, will ya?” CJ asked as he winked at Brandon.
“Ol’ right,” Dean replied.
“Thanks. We go in three,” CJ directed.
CJ pumped up the background music and raised the level of excitement by taking the light show up one notch. Strobes and profiles flashed on stage while the overall ambiance of the club went dark.
CJ took a few deep breaths and punched the v.o.g. mic.
“Ladies and gentlemen!!!…, Welcome…. to the Resurrection!!” CJ said in his best announcement voice.
“Tooo-night!! …., all the way from New York City!! The Resurrection is proud to bring you….
DUSTINS DANCE!!!”
The crowd began to cheer and the ladies rushed to the stage to gaze at E.
The first few guitar chords rumbled across the stage and throughout the club with a monstrous attack. The drums kicked in with a loud bang. Simultaneously, CJ hit full power on the lights.
The band played a loop of the intro to their biggest hit and CJ rolled blue lights across the top of the stage.
“In the wax to the max mate!!” Dean cried out over the headset.
That’s when E came running on stage.
“Takeoff,” CJ mumbled. He spoke to Brandon but didn’t look at him.. “Do not take your eyes off the lead singer for the first twenty minutes or so. Watch his every move. Move with him. Read his body language. Give him enough time to get acclimated to the sound of a full room,” CJ said as he controlled the lights.
CJ watched E closely as E gave him hand signals about the monitor levels.
CJ had spiked the stage and E was professional enough to follow the marks. Spiking the stage meant that the soundman was telling the singer where he would always have the best sound possible. Spiking the stage also protected the singer from the extreme amount of noise on stage. Crossing those marks can instantly bury a singer in another stage players sound. It could also cause a deafening feedback.
CJ and Brandon took E through the first few minutes on stage until every slight nuance had been adjusted.
“We’re in the air Brandon,” CJ said with a smile. “Why don’t you go get us a few beers?”
As soon as Brandon reached the end of the catwalk, CJ reached for the Hayson.
CJ saw Clarise standing stage left. He quickly blinded E with a spotlight so he wouldn’t see her. E didn’t need to see her yet, but she was there and ready as planned. CJ breathed a sigh of relief.
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From Chapter 8 - E
John, the road manager, who was still in New York, was talking on the phone with E, who is the lead singer of Dustins Dance. E was now on his way to New Orleans one day early.
E’s real name is Eddie Bessinger, but very few people know his real name and E keeps it that way.
E has an ego so nasty that he gives people headaches within minutes. He has a vulgar tongue and a habit of petting his long blonde hair into a ponytail while having a conversation.
E has an amazing amount of talent though. Not only does he have a truly gifted voice, but he can learn to play any instrument as soon as he holds it. While on stage, he plays guitar, bass, and piano throughout the show. His showmanship leaves a crowd energized and feeling content about seeing a good show.
E left Cincinnati before the bands last run-through performance. Against his contract itinerary, and the will of Dean, E flew to New Orleans to speak with CJ in person. He was angry that Dean had replaced Brett. Brett leaped high every time E snapped his fingers. E knew CJ wouldn't behave the same way. E also knew CJ had worked with much more successful artists, and that threatened E's ego.
“E, I really don’t want you to do this,” John said.
“Chill out, John, I’ve got this under control! Besides, the band is fine. We’ve rehearsed till we’re blue in the face,” E replied sarcastically. “I’ll call Dean and tell him it was my idea. That’ll get you off the hook with…,” John interrupted E.
“There is no off the hook, E! The tour hasn’t even started yet and you’re breaking the contract, man!”
John tried to reason with E. “Don’t 'cha get it? Dean can pull the plug in a heartbeat! If you don’t care about you, then think about all the others who need the work for five months. Everyone has committed and rearranged their lives to do this tour, E!”
“It’s one night, John..., one night,” E continued with arrogance. “And besides, as I was saying, the tour hasn’t officially started yet, has it?”
E started complaining to John “Who would we play for tonight anyway? The stupid janitors of the college? The same fifty kids who came to last night’s show? Do ya think they gathered up a few hundred of their closest friends, John? C’mon man, get real. That’s no show!”
“Look, John, this has to be done. The tour should’ve never started off this way. I’ll call you after I talk to Dean,” E said as he hung up the phone.
Dean’s phone rang. He looked at his phone and smiled.
“Eeee” Dean said delicately. “Cat daddy. How are the rehearsals? The numbers are coming in. You ready?”
“Dean, I’m in New Orleans, and I’m gonna to talk to CJ,” E said piercingly.
“You what?!” Dean snapped.
“I’m here now and that’s that. You can’t stop me, you can’t keep me away from CJ. I understand that you want to try this new concept, Dean, I really do, but what you’re doing is wrong. I have to oversee the audio, Dean..., me!! It’s my show!” E whined.
“You left the group?” Dean paused. “New Concept? E…, I can’t…I can’t believe …,” Dean put his hand to his forehead. “Have you lost your bloody mind?”
“Dean, if there’s ever a time to fix this, it’s now. It’s better now than three months into the tour. I’m not gonna blow anything,” E said laughing. “I just need to take this into my own hands.”
“Why don’t you meet me at the club, Dean. Once you see how I do things first hand, you’ll understand,” E requested.
Dean began to scold E. “You gave me your word on this. Dammit, E!, I really don’t approve!”
They both remained silent on the phone for a minute.
“Give me four hours,” Dean quietly agreed.
“But listen!” Dean yelled. “If you get there and the place is nuts, don’t blow a bloody gasket on me. They’ve had some building problems and I’m not sure what state CJ is in. Whatever we decide about this, we will decide together. If we don’t get this tour off the ground on a peaceful note, we’re doomed, you hear me…Doomed!! I won’t spend the next five months babysitting ego’s. Not anymore than usual, that is.”
“Don't worry, Dean. I won’t hurt the kid,” E said with a laugh as he hung up the phone.
Dean lowered his phone to his side. “It’s not the kid I’m worried about,” he said to himself.
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From Chapter 4 - The Hayson
It was about 10:00 a.m. the first morning, and CJ was ready for a serious walk in the woods. CJ knew from the past, that one way to not get lost, was to follow a stream. Otherwise, it could be days before a person could find their way back, or with any luck, be found.
He found a large river bed, with a small stream inside, that was also just coming to life. He put on some wading boots, a backpack for gathering interesting pieces of nature, and went in.
The smaller stream was about one foot deep, and ten feet wide. From the looks of the eroded walls to each side, it would grow to three feet deep and twenty-five feet wide.
It was a peaceful stream just beginning to show its face, and from the sounds of water swirling over a few boulders, it would be very large in a few weeks. The sound of simple trickles now, would soon be roars of power.
CJ walked upstream through the hills leaving himself markers. Three rocks in a straight line at random places, no more than thirty minutes away from the next. After several hours, he found himself very deep in the woods. He was in the complete wilds of nature, in an area of the world lucky enough to have never seen a coke can.
He stopped at one point and gazed around. He stood and listened to the sounds of the woods. The random snaps from branches falling and distant hollow bird calls.
CJ found himself comparing the lighting in the forest, to the lighting of a stage. The solid beams of light shooting down to the forest floor. Streaks of hot sun melting the snow where it hit. Trinkets of water falling into the stream by his feet. It was an orchestra of nature, and the sun was the conductor.
CJ began to hear something that didn’t sound like nature though. It sounded more like someone was hammering or hitting metal.
“No way anyone lives up here,” he said to himself.
CJ went upstream towards the sound, which now began to sound like it involved a can or a bucket. He came around one bend and caught his first glimpse of a deer. The deer had it’s back to CJ but sensed something and raised it’s head.
The deer was as cautious as CJ. They both had something in common. They were both in the wild, in the very beginning of spring, and every animal was hungry. That included animals with claws and large teeth.
The deer stood still and on guard with bent knees, ready to leap away. CJ watched and waited until the deer returned to it’s digging.
The deer continued to dig and shuffle snow away on a small sandbank, as it searched for grass below. With each stroke of it’s hoof, the deer hit something metal.
A large clump of snow fell into the stream behind CJ making an enormous cannonball splash. It startled CJ. It startled the deer. When CJ looked back towards the deer, it had already run away.
He waded through the water to the small sand bank rising up and splitting the stream in two. He took a stick and dug around where the deer had been, searching for something metal.
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From Chapter 10 - Frederick
CJ lowered the lights on the stage to a low glow. He placed his notes on the sound board and left the booth. He was ready for tomorrow night with or without Clarise, but he wanted to find her. He began to feel as though he missed her now, more than he needed to use her.
He went to the bricked up doorway where Clarise had taken him to Artha. He called for Clarise. He wanted to explain everything to her. For the first time, CJ wanted to talk about the Hayson with someone. She was nowhere in the club, or at least she wouldn’t reply.
CJ thought he might have to just start over. Maybe there was another spirit in the room. He pulled out a cylinder and began looking around the huge club. He walked through different areas of the showroom shooting the Hayson at random areas. He found nothing.
Then he noticed an opening in the cement wall very high in the left corner of the club, just below the ceiling. It was a large hole that seemed to be about three feet high and two feet wide.
CJ went towards the hole with the ladder. He extended the ladder so much that it weakened in the middle, and it bent slightly. CJ took a deep breath and then climbed up the ladder to look inside. The ladder rested on the wall just two feet shy of the hole.
As CJ was about to slowly peek inside the hole, the hairs on the back of his neck began to rise. He knew then, that he had found something here.
He held the cylinder above his head, pointed it into the opening, and pressed the switch. The blue lights bounced back and forth until they embraced something and formed into a shape. He took a few steps up the ladder and stared closely at the shape as the blue lights faded. CJ began to see the shape of a man.
It was an older man dressed from the twenties. The man looked at CJ as he vanished into the cylinder.
CJ waited a few minutes, then flipped the other end of the cylinder switch and sent the man back into the hole. As the man was reappearing, CJ took a deep breath for his new encounter.
The blue lights faded away leaving the man back in the small area, curled up in a ball, and completely white. He opened his eyes again, and looked at CJ.
“Can you see me?” CJ asked him.
The old man looked at CJ. His eyes widened.
“Can you hear me old man?” CJ began questioning him.
The old man seemed stunned and incoherent.
“What is your name? Come closer.” CJ told him.
The old man straightened out his legs and looked at the rest of his body as if he were inspecting himself. He put his hands to his face, rubbed his eyes and looked at CJ. He seemed to want to smile, but was too groggy. He looked at his white arms and began to brush them off.
The man scooted himself to the opening in the wall and hung his legs over the edge. CJ backed down a few steps on the ladder and looked up at the man.
“Who are you?” CJ asked.
“I am Frederick,” the man said while brushing off his legs. “Who are you?”
“I’m CJ. I wanna help you,” CJ replied, beginning his con job.
“Help me?” Frederick asked. He continued brushing himself off. He began to have color in his face and clothes. “How can you help me?”
“Do you like it here?” CJ asked. “Wouldn’t you like to live somewhere else?”
“I don’t live here,” the man said as he laughed. “I must have been sleeping. I know better than to drink in the afternoon. New Orleans is so fun though. Singing and dancing everywhere, all day and all night!”
Then the old man raised his head high and looked at CJ with fear. “What time is it?! Oh no, I’m late!” Frederick began to look for a way to get past CJ, and down the ladder.
“I don’t think so, pops. It’s a new day and a new show. How long have you been in here?” CJ asked.
Then CJ noticed the man was holding something. It looked like folded paper, and the old man had his fist clinched around it.
“What is that? Can I see it?” CJ asked as he held out his hand.
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