Ringside at the Circus of the Fallen is the sixth and final volume of the By the Hands of Men series.  Historical fiction by Roy M. Griffis, this epic saga sweeps across four continents in a gripping tale of fate, loss, redemption, and love.

Robert and Charlotte fell in love amid the mud and blood of the Great War, before human duplicity tore them apart.  Two decades and thousands of miles later, fate gives them another chance.  Is the memory of young love enough to make the two weary travelers dare to risk heartbreak once more?

Robert has carried Charlotte in his heart ever since they first met near the front lines in France.  All the long miles he traveled, …

Man, I love finding this stuff.  It adds a layer of reality to the dream-making.

Like this first image.  Notice Karloff’s hands and the painted on lines.

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By the Hands of Men, Book Four

The Blind Machinery of the World

She saved her friends from a life of imprisonment and escaped to the safety of England, but the shadow of modern fanaticism looms over Britain and the continent.  What future awaits Charlotte when murderous madness stalks Europe?

After escaping her enslavement by the Bolsheviks, Charlotte Braninov begins to build a new life in London.  She hoped to leave the insanity of Russia behind with the help of her family of refugees, but a dear friend and benefactor goes missing in France. Journeying to post-war Paris, she once more works as a nurse, confronting disease and danger.  With communist zealots prowling Europe, will peace forever elude Charlotte?…

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THE JOHN MILIUS SCREENWRITING AWARD

We are pleased to announce that the winner of the FEATURE FILM category of the TalNexus SmashCut Screenplay Competition will be honored with The John Milius Screenwriting Award.

John Milius is one among the few iconic screenwriters of the last 50 years.

From Robert Duval on the shores of Vietnam “I love the smell of napalm in the morning. Smells like, victory.” in Apocalypse Now, and Clint Eastwood’s “Go ahead, make my day.” as Dirty Harry in Sudden Impact, to that touching moment at the graveside in Saving Private Ryan when former Pvt. Ryan asks, “Did I live a good life?”, Milius is responsible for some of cinema’s most iconic moments as …

That’s the title of the final book in my “By the Hands of Men” series.

Doing final edits on the text now.

In case anyone is interested.

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Today, my wife Alisa and I were out and about in the woods of East Texas, doing research for my next project (which I can’t really tell you about…I want y’all to be surprised when you read it…I’m sure you understand).

Here are a couple of pix that might contain hints.

Then again, they might not:

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I was happily showing my 24-year-old son, Cameron, the draft ms of By the Hands of Men, Book Four:  Ringside at the Circus of the Fallen.  

All 109,000 words and 367 pages.

He took a look at and, apparently unimpressed, observed: “Looks like you’ve got about a quarter of a Martin there.”

So, in case you’ve ever been looking for a way to quantitatively describe a book, there’s your unit of measurement.  A Martin.

That’s my boy.…