May 25th and 26th Curbchek-Reload will
be free on Amazon kindle for download to your kindle, IPAD, smart phone or PC,
world wide! Take advantage of the limited time free download and prepare for a
reality check. : http://amzn.to/IOccgM
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Curbchek-Reload review that made me laugh
I have had the privilege to read all three of Mr. Fortier's books. First I would like to recommend you read them (CurbChek & Street Creds) prior to delving in the mad and shattered psyche that is Zack Fortier's "CurbChek-Reload".
Zack takes you into the mouth of the maddening and mentally disturbing world of being a cop. If you are looking for a book of cheap thrill and heroic antics, i suggest you by a DVD of COPS and be on your way. Because even half way through this book, I assure you some reader will have PTSD. I love this book and I love this series. Personally, I cant wait till his twisted mind comes up with something else.
Zack will grab you by the throat and place you in his blood and piss covered boots, as you walk the same ill reputed streets as he did. One thing I will say to you.
Fasten your bullet proof vest and seat belt because its gonna be a bumpy ride.
David C
How can i argue with a review like that? hahahaha
Zack takes you into the mouth of the maddening and mentally disturbing world of being a cop. If you are looking for a book of cheap thrill and heroic antics, i suggest you by a DVD of COPS and be on your way. Because even half way through this book, I assure you some reader will have PTSD. I love this book and I love this series. Personally, I cant wait till his twisted mind comes up with something else.
Zack will grab you by the throat and place you in his blood and piss covered boots, as you walk the same ill reputed streets as he did. One thing I will say to you.
Fasten your bullet proof vest and seat belt because its gonna be a bumpy ride.
David C
How can i argue with a review like that? hahahaha
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Curbchek-Reload review that made me laugh
I am going to put a pre-review up here now because I have a feeling that when I get through with this book, there will be no words left inside me to do a final review.
For those of you who have this on your to-read list, even if you have read the first book, Curbcheck, this book is much different so do not expect "more of the same". It's not.
These are actual calls, non-embellished, which the author, a former police officer, responded to during his 20 some-odd years on the job. Only the names were changed to protect the guilty. Some of the guilty are street thugs, transients and gangbangers, others wear blue uniforms. Some work in the medical field, some are old and crippled in wheelchairs. It could be that quiet neighbor of yours sitting on his porch. And some are even parents. Where I would describe the stories in the original Curbcheck to be "quirky" or "oddball", I would describe this sequel as "horrific" "tragic" "frightening" "mind-bending".
I started reading this at 10:00 p.m. last night and have so far read about 15 chapters. I wanted desperately to put this book down about an hour into it, but I couldn't. I kept reading and I know that today I will read more and will finish this book to the end. I know because this book is well written, well thought out and is bending my mind. I know because these "stories" are true. I know because up until 10:00 p.m. last night, I was one of those "daywalkers" mindlessly going through life ever-trusting, unaware and ignorant of the pure unadulterated evil that lurks in this world, while I go about living in my world with a false sense of security.
While this book is much better than the first book as far as formatting, editing, grammar and spelling, which makes this a much smoother read than the prior book, the experiences that the author talks about in this book (and mind you I am only 15 chapters in) caused me to have a restless night full of nightmares, fear and anxiety. Can a book cause post traumatic stress disorder? Because if it can, this just did. And if simply reading this book has caused me this much fear in 15 short chapters, then I am amazed that the author is suffering only from job related post traumatic stress disorder and not complete insanity from the experiences he has had over the span of 20+ years. If I were in his shoes, dealing with the things that he has seen, particulary when they involve helpless infants and children, I know for a fact I would be in a rubber room.
I am giving this four stars, because any book that has this kind of effect on me, speaks volumes. I am adding one extra star because the author was classy enough and restrained enough not to pop his x-wife in the mouth after she said he "only writes tickets". If I see her in the street, I will do it for him.
"Nena" from Goodreads.com
For those of you who have this on your to-read list, even if you have read the first book, Curbcheck, this book is much different so do not expect "more of the same". It's not.
These are actual calls, non-embellished, which the author, a former police officer, responded to during his 20 some-odd years on the job. Only the names were changed to protect the guilty. Some of the guilty are street thugs, transients and gangbangers, others wear blue uniforms. Some work in the medical field, some are old and crippled in wheelchairs. It could be that quiet neighbor of yours sitting on his porch. And some are even parents. Where I would describe the stories in the original Curbcheck to be "quirky" or "oddball", I would describe this sequel as "horrific" "tragic" "frightening" "mind-bending".
I started reading this at 10:00 p.m. last night and have so far read about 15 chapters. I wanted desperately to put this book down about an hour into it, but I couldn't. I kept reading and I know that today I will read more and will finish this book to the end. I know because this book is well written, well thought out and is bending my mind. I know because these "stories" are true. I know because up until 10:00 p.m. last night, I was one of those "daywalkers" mindlessly going through life ever-trusting, unaware and ignorant of the pure unadulterated evil that lurks in this world, while I go about living in my world with a false sense of security.
While this book is much better than the first book as far as formatting, editing, grammar and spelling, which makes this a much smoother read than the prior book, the experiences that the author talks about in this book (and mind you I am only 15 chapters in) caused me to have a restless night full of nightmares, fear and anxiety. Can a book cause post traumatic stress disorder? Because if it can, this just did. And if simply reading this book has caused me this much fear in 15 short chapters, then I am amazed that the author is suffering only from job related post traumatic stress disorder and not complete insanity from the experiences he has had over the span of 20+ years. If I were in his shoes, dealing with the things that he has seen, particulary when they involve helpless infants and children, I know for a fact I would be in a rubber room.
I am giving this four stars, because any book that has this kind of effect on me, speaks volumes. I am adding one extra star because the author was classy enough and restrained enough not to pop his x-wife in the mouth after she said he "only writes tickets". If I see her in the street, I will do it for him.
"Nena" from Goodreads.com
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Curbchek-Reload release
April 1,2 &3 Curbchek and Curbchek-Reload will be free for download on kindle! http://amzn.to/rpwC5V
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Why write?
Not sure what to title this. Been thinking about it a lot. Why write? I am asked almost daily. I am not a writer as you can see if you read my books. No flowery prose. No verbiage you have to grab a dictionary to figure out what the hell I am talking about. ( I am currently reading a book that is about the Indians in the Americas before Columbus (1491) I do need a dictionary nearly every page) SO why write? I recently had a reviewer read the first book and HAMMER me in the review. I was labeled a sadistic cop.... I loved the review. I am going to post excerpts of the review in the book. Why? Because she got it. She should be outraged. I was working this job, living this calls, trying to stay sane at witnessing the brutality. I failed miserably. I admit I don't have the stones to see a woman's hand twisted and broken into a puzzle by her boyfriend and not feel an intense desire to end his needless heartbeats and breathing. I wanted to work within the broken system and just take him to jail...but again I did not have the stones to walk away unaffected, so we went for a drive. I told the reviewer I really liked the review and she was shocked. It was critical and she felt I would be mad. Nope I get it, I too used to get pissed at the cops I worked with for their lack of faith in the system. Wasn't long however till I felt what they felt. So why write? Three reasons have come to mind in the past year, One: I cant seem to stop. Shit is pouring out at an alarming pace. Hoping that Book 3, Curbchek-Reload is the end of the cop books. Hoping that no more memories are hiding in the attic waiting to come down and haunt my days, and sleep. That would be a nice thought. Two: people like my reviewer who thought she would make me mad at criticizing the book would offend me. No not at all I am offended by people have no comment, who this doesnt bother, who would not take a stand. That offends me. These stories bother the hell out of me, and they should bother you. Sadistic? sure, I can accept that but how did I get here? Read between the lines.... Three: this surprises me the most. Not sure what to think about it. But here it is. I have had several e mails, FB messages, and comments in person from people who have told me that they never read....NEVER! and they read my books and liked them. One grown man told me that he had not read a book since he was locked up in "Juvie" 17 years ago. We were adversaries on the streets. He read the books and liked them. He messaged me to thank me for writing the books and said that he was going to start reading again. He had forgot how much he liked reading. My books reminded him. He lived the subject matter, we were there together, on opposite sides of the fence. Now he reads my books and others because I wrote. Don't know what to feel about that. Shit hits home, deep... after 30 years now as a cop in both the civilian and military worlds I dont feel like I made a damn bit of difference. I just held the line, patrolled, made arrests, went to court. But made a difference? No. I don't know what that feels like. One banger still rolling the streets is reading books written by the cop who arrested him many times.... how should I feel about that?
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Today I Remembered what I had forgot.
Today I got up and checked the news and weather, the news said 6 cops had been shot in the City I grew up in and worked in. One had died, the rest were seriously injured. I could feel the rage starting to build inside. I found out who the officers were. I knew some of them....worked with them, bled with them. We had our differences true.
Jumped on Face book and started to read the hatred spewing forth... People saying kill the fucking cops, and hating on the cops.... other people saying the same shit about the guy who shot the cops.... every one hating angry and hurt. Then I jumped to a friends page by this time I was near blowing up. Anger boiling over... My friend is an old adversary from the street. Yes, we were adversaries, a definite line drawn between us. Me a cop, gang cop no less on one side......him a Crip, banger, street reputation as a soldier on the other. Between us is respect... Hard to imagine for an outsider how two adversaries can have that respect. But there it is
Guess who is teaching his FB. friends about respect... respect of another human being. The Crip, take a look at the post I cut and pasted from his page:
"The police have nothing to do with your choices....nor do they sentence any of us that choose to violate others....when called they are called by many around you...either to protect you or others around you...encounters with the police are choices we choose....good or bad....death is a spiritual fight amongst good. and evil..."
and then..........."In order to understand ....you must first experience loss...not loss of life...nor loss of freedom...but loss of ones own hate..."
I was stunned. To be painfully honest this brought tears to my eyes. No one will ever know how these street soldiers tried to make others realize we are all in this together.... we all make mistakes, some really big damn mistakes, take lives in anger, hate others we don't know. Fire weapons in rage.... people on both sides of the law have done that, myself included.
To me this is the difference in the world today. The old school, be they cops, gang bangers, criminals or what ever had a code... Respect. No matter what, respect was present. You may be adversaries, you may end up in life and death battles with each other... but you respected each other as human beings. The new up and coming on the street on both sides.... have forgot the code. Today a soldier died....he has the respect of both sides of the old school. These are my thoughts... had to put them out there in the Web... cant let this go unnoticed. Z
Jumped on Face book and started to read the hatred spewing forth... People saying kill the fucking cops, and hating on the cops.... other people saying the same shit about the guy who shot the cops.... every one hating angry and hurt. Then I jumped to a friends page by this time I was near blowing up. Anger boiling over... My friend is an old adversary from the street. Yes, we were adversaries, a definite line drawn between us. Me a cop, gang cop no less on one side......him a Crip, banger, street reputation as a soldier on the other. Between us is respect... Hard to imagine for an outsider how two adversaries can have that respect. But there it is
Guess who is teaching his FB. friends about respect... respect of another human being. The Crip, take a look at the post I cut and pasted from his page:
"The police have nothing to do with your choices....nor do they sentence any of us that choose to violate others....when called they are called by many around you...either to protect you or others around you...encounters with the police are choices we choose....good or bad....death is a spiritual fight amongst good. and evil..."
and then..........."In order to understand ....you must first experience loss...not loss of life...nor loss of freedom...but loss of ones own hate..."
I was stunned. To be painfully honest this brought tears to my eyes. No one will ever know how these street soldiers tried to make others realize we are all in this together.... we all make mistakes, some really big damn mistakes, take lives in anger, hate others we don't know. Fire weapons in rage.... people on both sides of the law have done that, myself included.
To me this is the difference in the world today. The old school, be they cops, gang bangers, criminals or what ever had a code... Respect. No matter what, respect was present. You may be adversaries, you may end up in life and death battles with each other... but you respected each other as human beings. The new up and coming on the street on both sides.... have forgot the code. Today a soldier died....he has the respect of both sides of the old school. These are my thoughts... had to put them out there in the Web... cant let this go unnoticed. Z
Monday, January 2, 2012
What a difference perspective makes!
The following are two different comments posted on Goodreads. The are of the same book, Curbchek. Same edition, within 24 hours of each other. Always amazes me how different people are in what they see and expect from the world around them. Take a look..... The first reader has grasped exactly why I wrote the book, the second reader is bored with the entire book.... what a difference their perspectives make. What are your thoughts?
"Curbchek chronicles the experiences of a police officer, describing different patrol calls he answered and trying to balance some kind of a "normal" home life.
The readers venture into the darkest realms of the world after "Daywalkers" have safely crawled into their beds for the night. In the whirlwind rides under the cover of darkness, Zach Fortier tries to remain human and relatively normal while patrolling messed up streets and neighborhoods. The author does a great job presenting the grit police officers face on a daily basis as well as the tension that arises between officers. He also stresses frequently the need for officers to listen to people, pay attention to detail, remain loyal to their code of honor, and find some comic relief in all the madness. Anyone who has ever had police officer friends hears tales told in this same way. Police officers take whatever calls come in during their shift; these calls range all over the board from the ridiculous call of the woman locking herself inside her car to vicious acts of murder. When recounting the calls, there is typically a hint of arrogance, extra added fluff, and sometimes all around madness. 'Curb Chek' portrays a fairly honest image of real life on the darkened streets from a police officer's point of view and recounts comical, sad, and other stories in the fashion expected if sitting down with him at the end of his weekend shift.
The premise behind the book seemed very interesting, and I was really looking forward to reading it. I was quite disappointed and totally bored with the whole thing. Each story was only a few paragraphs long, leading from one story to the next without any sense of organization. Even going from chapter to chapter seemed pretty random. I suppose that another police officer could relate to what he went through on a day to day basis, but I believe that is as far as it would go.
Had the author went into more detail and grouped the stories together in a way that related to each other, it could have had the potential to be the mind gripping novel that I was hoping to find.
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