by Regina Doman
“I’m game,” said Mom and Kateri together. They looked at each other and smiled. Alex knew they would always be friends and allies. Sam looked put out, but David only yawned.
“Oh Dad, I barely have time for computer any more. I’m too busy running this hotel.”
Dad grinned. “I’ll take that as a yes. At least I’m going cold turkey for the year.”
“Just one year?” Alex asked.
He winked. “Until the wedding, son.” He opened one laptop. “Just shutting them all down for now.”
Sam gave a huge sigh and collapsed next to Alex on the futon. “The best part,” he said to Alex, “was watching Kateri dance. And you missed it!”
“I bet it was spectacular,” Alex said, “And I missed it!”
“It was the most beautiful fan dance I’ve ever seen,” Mom said, and added to Kateri, “Your mother would have been proud.”
“I’d love to see it,” Alex said, casting a yearning glance at Kateri. She smiled at him.
Her dark eyes were sparking. “Alex, the entire time I danced, I was doing it for you.”
“Really?” He waited for the punch line.
“Really.” She knelt down and kissed him, then nestled against him. “It was all for you.”
“Wow.” He took that in. Kateri Kovach, fan dancing for him. Pretty cool.
“Would you do it again sometime?”
“Absolutely. Minus the razors.”
He stroked his beard thoughtfully. “But if it would help me shave…”
She laughed at him. “You’re insufferable.”
He grinned broadly. “And you’re learning.”
“Yeah, I’m a quick study. Once I see there’s something in it for me.” She put her arms around him. “You’re by far the best trophy I’ve ever won for a Fan Dance performance. And no matter what happens, I love you, Alex O’Donnell.”
“Aww.” When they finished kissing, he leaned against her and closed his eyes, smiling. Night was falling in Virginia. As the last computer whirred into silence, he could hear the crickets’ song outside rising like a chorus of celebration.
About the Author
Regina Doman lives near Front Royal, Virginia with her husband and seven of their children.
More information about her Fairy Tale Novel series can be found at www.fairytalenovels.com. Regina always welcomes email, feedback, and questions from readers.
A Little Bit About This Book
The Arabian Nights tale of “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves” is a wonderful story that deserves to be read on its own, and if you haven’t done so (or haven’t for many years!), please treat yourself by picking up a quality translation of this truly excellent adventure. My story is more of an homage to the tale rather than a replacement for it.
Curiously, the origin of this tale is under dispute. Though it appeared in a 1704 translation of a 14th-century manuscript of Arabic tales, some scholars think it was simply created for the book by the French translator, a man infatuated with Arab culture. Others think the translator’s Maronite Christian scribe might have supplied the story from an oral tradition otherwise unknown to scholars.
So, is the story “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves” a truly Arabian story, or just one with Arabian aspirations or pretensions?
It was intriguing to discover that I’d chosen a folk tale that might be only a ‘pseudo-folk tale’ as the basis for my story, which occasionally muses on the conflict between the real and pseudo-reality!
For a long time I’ve wondered whether the Internet culture of virtual reality could ever become truly authentic. And what should our attitude towards it be? Should we be purists, and insist on only dealing with the real: real people, true culture, pure solid reality? Or should we make compromises with the endless mélange of images, virtual realms, and pretended identities that comprises modern online society? Kateri wants to be a “reality-only” girl, but even she finds the Asian wanna-be Alex attractive. And I suspect that even those in most sympathy with Kateri’s ideals also find something about the Internet that woos us.
So what’s the answer? Endless compromise? Or is there a chance we can find parameters and balance? I hope that this light-hearted story will spur more serious reflection for some readers when the tale is done. At any rate, Alex’s story was a nice change of pace from the weightier themes of the Fairy Tale Novels I’ve written thus far.
And since it was my first attempt at anything remotely resembling a technological thriller, I’m once more indebted to the generosity of many intelligent people who lent their expertise to this novel. Among them, I must particularly thank Spike Bowman, formerly of the FBI, who gave me background on law enforcement procedures regarding cybercrime; Dr. Sean O’Mara, a longtime friend who just happened to develop a specialty in the medical treatment for biohazard exposure; and most especially Jerome Heckenkamp, who shared with me his detailed and intricate knowledge of web servers and computer hacking.
Many other people volunteered or contributed their computer knowledge as well, particularly my husband Andrew Schmiedicke and my friends Dan Pesta and Andrew Hauge, who helped me sketch out the lines of the computer plot and critiqued what I got wrong. Similarly, my brother David (doctor) and sister-in-law Maura (nurse) and Dr. Frank helped point me in the right direction regarding medical issues, and my brother Paul and friends Michael Russell and Joe Babineau did the same for me with financial fraud and cybercrime.
And I couldn’t have created all the elaborate fight scenes in this book without the expertise of my reliable “violence experts,” Ben Hatke and Andrew O’Neill, who came to my house for not one, but two sessions where we staged the fights, including the one with handcuffs I simply could not visualize without help: that scene nearly had me crawling under my desk to whimper in frustration.
Mr. and Mrs. Dipaka and Nimisha Patel, owners and managers of the Relax Inn of Front Royal, Virginia, were kind enough to spend hours sharing with me the ins and outs of running an independent hotel. And Larry Bickford, consumer sales agent for the Kaba Corporation, gave me the lowdown on how hotel keylock systems actually work and helped me brainstorm about how Mr. O’Donnell would put his system together.
Madalena LoaNguyen responded to my shout-out on Facebook and graciously agreed to read over and critique the sections on Vietnamese-American culture. Sean Dailey, editor of Gilbert! Magazine, gave me a prod in the right direction for the Chesterton themes.
Having acknowledged the contributions of all those above, I want to claim any factual or procedural errors in this book as my own, as many times I extrapolated from information that was provided to me for the purposes of the plot.
Other friends who listened in and helped me with their feedback and ideas include Helen Babineau (who listened to me vent), Elizabeth Hausladen (who helped babysit my kids and who insisted Fish and Rose make a cameo in the book), and Matthew Bowman (who gave advice in several areas and also put me in touch with his father for the FBI sections), as well as my own children, who are finally old enough to have opinions on my writing, a wonderful development! (I’m grateful they still enjoy reading it!) Michelle Buckman, Kathy Pesta, Anna Hatke, Kevin Clark, and Jean Vencil all helped me with proofreading, as well as several of my siblings who read the books and gave me feedback. I want to thank my husband Andrew and the incomparable Elizabeth Yank for doing the final proof.
Special thanks to Craig Spiering, my inveterate photographer friend for his wonderful photos, and to Michael Clark and Angela Swagler for serving as cover models. Plus kudos to Andy O’Neill for the loan of his sword and fighting fans, and to Katherine Dea, who won the Fairy Tale Novel Forum contest by tracking down a real ao dài for me on eBay!
Also particular thanks also go to Tariq and his son Zain for allowing us to shoot the photos at their lovely showroom of Oriental rugs on Main Street in Front Royal, Virginia. (Their rugs appear on both the front and back of the book.)
The decorative fonts for this book were all created by Dave Nalle’s Script
orium, and I’m particularly grateful for their Arabian Nights package, which provided both type and inspiration.
My husband Andrew continues to be the most valuable and valued reader and editor of my work. I relished the many mornings last summer when I woke up early and typed out paragraph after paragraph just so that he could enjoy reading it when he came up to my workroom at 7 AM with a cup of hot tea and breakfast on a tray for me. One of the greatest joys of my life continues to be sharing my writing with him.
This time around, my children not only enjoyed hearing me read them the book, but they also put up with many days of frantic editing, and helped by cleaning house, making dinner, watching siblings, and just being good and not making (too much) trouble. I hope they feel the effort was worth it!
Thank you Caleb, Rose, Marygrace, Thomas, Joan, Polly, and Bene!
And as always, thanks to my son Joshua, for your prayers.
Regina Doman
Shirefeld, Virginia
January 2011
Other Books by Regina Doman
The Fairy Tale Novels
The Shadow of the Bear: A Fairy Tale Retold
Black as Night: A Fairy Tale Retold
Waking Rose: A Fairy Tale Retold
The Midnight Dancers: A Fairy Tale Retold
Alex O’Donnell and the 40 CyberThieves
For children:
Angel in the Waters
Edited by Regina Doman for Sophia Institute Press:
For teens:
Catholic, Reluctantly: John Paul 2 High Book One
Trespasses Against us: John Paul 2 High Book Two
both by Christian M. Frank
Awakening: A Crossroads in Time Book by Claudia
Cangilla McAdams
For adults:
Bleeder: a Mystery by John Desjarlais
Rachel’s Contrition by Michelle Buckman
Viper: a Mystery by John Desjarlais
… and more to come!
Table of Contents
A Little Bit About This Book
Other Books by Regina Doman