PRO CONNECT
After practicing law for many years, Jim Lively decided it was the appropriate time to pursue his true passion as a writer and contemporary visual artist. Jim just received the 2016 Merrimack Media Outstanding Writer Award for his new novel, Punitive Damages. It is a fun and whimsical read as we follow the adventures and misadventures of P.J., the gray canine female protagonist. This is Jim’s third novel.
Jim’s artworks have been recognized in numerous juried competitions and publications. He has exhibited all over the United States and in Europe. Jim was recently presented a Certificate of Excellence by the 2015 Palm Art Awards. His recent art films,"The Soul of Vinyl; Abbey Road Side 2 screened at the 2016 New York Independent Film Festival, art film "Still Mad as Hell" is an official selection of the Erie International Film Festival and the Directors Circle Festival of Shorts Film Festival and art film "The Case of the Deranged Sommelier" is an official selection of the Directors Circle Festival of Shorts Film Festival.
“Stories of animal-human bonding are not uncommon, but what sets Lively’s (The Puzzle Aesthetic, 2012) novella apart is the fact that the story is told from the point of view of a dog. When readers first meet the story’s protagonist, a Weimaraner, she is on a hospital bed being treated for injuries from an accident she can’t remember. As her mind clears, she realizes that she has no recollection of anything from her previous life, not even her name. But she becomes ever more certain that she “must be of aristocratic stock,””
– Kirkus Reviews
A Dallas widow has lethal plans for the lawyer whose defense of an insurance company leads to her husband’s death in Lively’s thriller.
John Simon sues Mutual Indemnity Insurance Company when it won’t cover a necessary medical procedure. He loses the case, and since he can’t afford the million-dollar procedure, he dies from cancer. Mutual Indemnity’s attorney Charles Pierce is so upset by the outcome—certain the company should have OK’d the claim—that he retires. But John’s widow, Jamie, has already directed her ire toward Charles. As she works in a veterinarian’s office, she has ready access to ketamine. She initially wants to make Charles’ life miserable, though killing him is the ultimate goal. Covertly adding ketamine to his drinks, however, proves exceedingly difficult. She finally manages to book the same cruise as Charles—a monthlong trip from LA to Sydney, Australia. It seems a perfect opportunity for Jamie to fatally poison the retired lawyer. But the cruise is a hotbed of trouble, leading Charles to question his sanity. Lively’s novel feels like two stories in one. The first consists of Jamie’s attempts to poison Charles, which entail hiring a private investigator and enlisting the aid of a prostitute. Subsequent scenes on the cruise ship, which make up half the novel, concentrate on Charles, though readers know Jamie is lurking on board. Plot turns at sea, like a theft and a possible accident, do somewhat convolute the narrative. It nevertheless retains an impressive intensity. Likewise, the ending offers satisfactory answers while leaving a few developments open to interpretation.
An elaborate revenge plot makes for a twisty, often nerve-wracking tale.
Pub Date:
Page count: 294pp
Publisher: Manuscript
Review Posted Online: Sept. 2, 2020
Powered by a decidedly Twilight Zone–esque undertone, this novella follows a lawyer’s slow descent into madness as he searches for an acquaintance who inexplicably ceases to exist.
Growing up in 1960s Dallas, Simon Steed is considered the “weird” kid. He is impressively bright but shy and socially awkward. And his childhood is filled with bizarre accidents. In kindergarten, a girl whom he doesn’t like trips and sustains a scary head injury. In sixth grade, a boy who mocked him for not being chosen for school safety patrol dies in a freak gym accident. A callous junior high school vice principal is seriously injured during a pep rally. High school bullies, who happen to be football players, have their lives irrevocably changed by a deadly drunk-driving car accident. At some point, Simon realizes that his thoughts can influence events in the external world and he tries hard to suppress the negative feelings. While attending the University of Texas at Austin, he has a peculiar experience with a student named Monica Storm, who invites him on a date (“She’s so cool. I can’t believe she’s interested in me!”) but then never shows. After Simon hears about a reported suicide by a woman called Monica, who jumped from the university’s iconic tower, he is even more confused as the facts simply don’t add up. He eventually moves on with his life and becomes a criminal defense attorney but he never forgets about Monica’s strange appearance and disappearance. When he attempts to get a sex worker free from an abusive pimp, the mystery of Monica is finally revealed. Lively skillfully embraces the twisty Twilight Zonestructure as he keeps readers guessing until the very end: Does Simon have paranormal abilities; are the tragedies simply coincidences; or is he delusional? As the unusual events become more frequent and the tension rises in Simon’s life, the engrossing story’s focus is on the anticipated brass knuckle punch of a revelation at the conclusion. But the explanation comes with very little thematic power, leaving readers underwhelmed after such a taut, well-plotted buildup.
A dark, suspenseful tale about self-discovery—with a disappointing twist at the story’s end.
Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2023
ISBN: 978-1959127123
Page count: 218pp
Publisher: Treaty Oak Publishers
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2023
Lawyer-turned–painter and gallery owner Charles Sanders Pierce has a brush with danger when his former firm recruits him to investigate client privacy violations in Lively’s series mystery.
Five years ago, Pierce quit to run an art gallery and paint, but his quiet life is put on hold when his former firm, Global Data Systems, requests his help with “a corporate internal investigation of sorts.” Global Data’s integrity—not to mention its financial standing—is at stake after two incidents in which “someone or something” leaked a client’s sensitive health information, and Pierce is a specialist in health benefits law. He’s conflicted about getting mired in “a corporate quagmire of problems,” but he gets a six-figure offer that would keep his gallery afloat for several years. As Pierce considers it, he’s visited by FBI agents demanding cooperation in their own investigation into Global Data. He also gains a mysterious insider ally who sends warning emails (“Things are not always what they seem”) under the pseudonym Emma Peel. Before long, he becomes a shooting and kidnapping target.Health-law compliance wouldn’t seem to lend itself to a riveting mystery, but Walter Neff sold insurance in James M. Cain’s Double Indemnity (1943), and that was a ripping yarn. Pierce is a likable and capable protagonist, and it’s easy to sympathize with someone who escapes the corporate grind to devote himself to an artistic life. However, this story is far from lively—in part because it often gets bogged down in extraneous details, as when Pierce returns to his old firm: “He already had an email. It was from someone identified only as System Administrator welcoming him to his account and reminding him to change his initial password.” In addition, a recurring joke that he initially doesn’t realize his neighbor is a BDSM sex worker strains credulity (“Oh, my collars have arrived.” “Do you have a dog?” “No, I don’t”).
A legal thriller with a pleasant protagonist but an overly slow pace.
Pub Date: Oct. 21, 2022
ISBN: 9781959127031
Page count: 242pp
Publisher: Treaty Oak Publishers
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2023
A retired lawyer spends his days painting, drinking wine, and narrowly escaping death in Lively’s thriller sequel.
After Charles Pierce retired from his law practice, he began painting and finally enjoying quiet time. All that changed, however, when a widow named Jamie tried to poison him, due to the fact that an insurance company—one of Charles’ clients—denied a claim; Lively wrote about these events in Aberrant Behavior (2020). Now, Jamie has apparently killed a hotel employee, and Charles has to deal with the gruff Detective Gonzales. Meanwhile, Charles has also been asked to do some pro bonowork for the Contemporary Dallas Art Dealers Association; this leads him to meet the vibrant Sam, who owns a Dallas art gallery where Charles soon begins a renting a studio. Painting and entertaining in the studio is wonderful—at first. Then Charles’ life is once again turned upside down when a mysterious figure tries to shoot him while he’s leaving the place one night. Then, to make matters even worse, someone’s stalking Charles’ friend Rachel, claiming that he knows Charles. Overall, this is an engaging and suspenseful sequel, and it’s also one that works well as a stand-alone. There are a great many plot threads, but two main stories stand out: Jamie’s trial and trying to seek forgiveness from Charles and perhaps grow as a person; and the mystery of the shooter and a series of crimes that all seem to have a direct connection to Charles. For the most part, the protagonist is pleasant and relatable throughout, although his reactions to some of the more momentous events feel implausibly restrained. Other characters, such as Jamie, Detective Gonzales, Sam, and Rachel, are more entertaining and create a pleasant atmosphere amid all the suspense.
A complex and intense mystery featuring a companionable cast.
Pub Date: June 14, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-943658-69-5
Page count: 282pp
Publisher: Treaty Oak Publishers
Review Posted Online: Sept. 1, 2021
A kindhearted couple rescues a down-on-her-luck Weimaraner, but now all parties must face a five-day trial period.
Stories of animal-human bonding are not uncommon, but what sets Lively’s (The Puzzle Aesthetic, 2012) novella apart is the fact that the story is told from the point of view of a dog. When readers first meet the story’s protagonist, a Weimaraner, she is on a hospital bed being treated for injuries from an accident she can’t remember. As her mind clears, she realizes that she has no recollection of anything from her previous life, not even her name. But she becomes ever more certain that she “must be of aristocratic stock,” as she is all too aware of the indignities of institutional life in the animal hospital as she heals from her fractured leg and broken teeth. She is eventually adopted by a “grumpy guy” and his “kinder and gentler” female partner, who give her the name PJ. As the three get to know each other, PJ teaches her new owners about her needs by using her wits and dexterity to escape from every restraint and enclosure, often with hilariously destructive results. Although the man becomes increasingly irritated with each new transgression, his essential good nature, coupled with the patient and perceptive influence of the woman, leads to eventual understanding and true friendship between dog and human. Lively’s writing is vivid and engaging, and he creates three believable and memorable characters. His detailed description of PJ’s perspective on the trial period of her adoption may offer important insights to help new pet owners understand the emotional needs that lie behind destructive behavior. The author skillfully introduces PJ’s point of view, with a focus on scent that makes it realistically doglike. But developing such an alternative narration becomes complex, and Lively never makes it clear how PJ can understand the couple’s English conversations perfectly, yet she seems unable to communicate directly with the other dogs she encounters. Such inconsistencies jar a little, and a reader is left feeling that PJ’s existence must be a little lonely with so much knowledge and so few ways to express herself. Perhaps a series of PJ books is in order to allow the further exploration of the inner world of dogs.
A captivating story of one dog’s experience of crisis and healing, illustrated with the author’s evocative portraits of Weimaraners.
Pub Date: June 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-939166-97-5
Page count: 174pp
Publisher: Merrimack Media
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2016
Day job
Author, Artist and Film Maker
Favorite author
E.L. Doctorow
Favorite book
Ragtime
Favorite word
Incredulous
Hometown
Dallas
Passion in life
Art, Reading and Art Film Making
Punitive Damages: Merrimack Media Outstanding Writer Award, 2016
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