{"id":3954,"date":"2013-07-11T22:35:18","date_gmt":"2013-07-11T22:35:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/?page_id=3954"},"modified":"2026-02-09T16:01:47","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T16:01:47","slug":"about-the-man-the-myth-the-legend","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/novels-and-short-fiction\/about-the-man-the-myth-the-legend\/","title":{"rendered":"About The Man, The Myth, The Legend"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MML_cover_500x800\"One of IndieRead\u00ader\u2019s Best Books of 2013<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Man, The Myth, The Leg\u00adend<\/em><\/strong>, Chris Orcut\u00adt\u2019s new short sto\u00adry col\u00adlec\u00adtion, show\u00adcas\u00ades his fer\u00adtile imag\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtion and writ\u00ading artistry as applied to the per\u00adfect genre for busy readers\u2014short fic\u00adtion.<\/p>\n

A col\u00adlec\u00adtion of enter\u00adtain\u00ading and unique sto\u00adries about 10 men, The Man, The Myth, The Leg\u00adend<\/em> explores the idea that while men may come from very dif\u00adfer\u00adent walks of life, at root they are more alike than they seem, grap\u00adpling with the same issues and fac\u00ading the same dilem\u00admas: love, lust, adul\u00adtery, greed, pride, ambi\u00adtion, revenge, death, and a desire for their lives to mean some\u00adthing.<\/p>\n

From the emo\u00adtion\u00adal\u00adly poignant to the out\u00adra\u00adgeous\u00adly humor\u00adous, these sto\u00adries dra\u00adma\u00adtize the lives of a wide range of fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00ading men:<\/p>\n

\u2022  African big-game hunter
\n\u2022  Writer and bond sales\u00adman
\n\u2022  Homi\u00adci\u00addal vio\u00adlin\u00adist
\n\u2022  Road sign \u201cengi\u00adneer\u201d
\n\u2022  Boot\u00adleg\u00adger
\n\u2022  Glob\u00adal grain explor\u00ader
\n\u2022  Cor\u00adpo\u00adrate speech\u00adwriter
\n\u2022  Pro\u00adfes\u00adsion\u00adal dog\u00adcatch\u00ader
\n\u2022  Fine arts painter
\n\u2022  Civ\u00adil War gen\u00ader\u00adal<\/p>\n

In the award-win\u00adning sto\u00adry \u201cThe Boot\u00adleg\u00adger,\u201d an ordi\u00adnary man goes to extra\u00ador\u00addi\u00adnary lengths to pro\u00advide for his fam\u00adi\u00adly dur\u00ading the Great Depres\u00adsion. In \u201cThe Blonde Imper\u00ada\u00adtive,\u201d a mod\u00adern man con\u00adtends with some\u00adthing all men have since the begin\u00adning of time\u2014gut-wrenching temp\u00adta\u00adtion. And in \u201cThe Lost Dis\u00adpatch\u00ades of Gen\u00ader\u00adal George B. McClel\u00adlan,\u201d an infa\u00admous Civ\u00adil War gen\u00ader\u00adal reveals the piti\u00adful but hilar\u00adi\u00adous depths of his own self-decep\u00adtion.<\/p>\n

How\u00adev\u00ader, women read\u00aders will enjoy this col\u00adlec\u00adtion just as much as their male coun\u00adter\u00adparts. Rela\u00adtion\u00adships between men and women play an impor\u00adtant role in sev\u00ader\u00adal of the sto\u00adries, and a few fea\u00adture a love sto\u00adry. Indeed, one of the themes of the col\u00adlec\u00adtion is that men only reach their fullest poten\u00adtial when bask\u00ading in the love of a great woman.<\/p>\n

Brim\u00adming with action-adven\u00adture, ample humor, and clean, pic\u00adturesque writ\u00ading, The Man, The Myth, The Leg\u00adend<\/em> com\u00adbines the com\u00adpelling nar\u00adra\u00adtive dri\u00adve of great movies (\u201cWhat hap\u00adpens next?\u201d) with the gem\u00adlike beau\u00adty of the short sto\u00adry form.<\/p>\n

Buy: <\/strong><\/span>Ama\u00adzon<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Exhttps:\/\/a.co\/d\/gHUQPSWcerpt from The Man, The Myth, The Legend<\/em><\/h1>\n

From \u201cThe Blonde Imper\u00ada\u00adtive\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

He sprang up in his chaise, shield\u00ading his eyes, and scanned the pool\u00adside. No sign of Alice. See\u00ading the cabana tent still emp\u00adty, Shel\u00adby swam a quick back\u00adstroke lap, tow\u00adeled off and bought two giant frozen mar\u00adgar\u00adi\u00adtas with salt. He put on his shirt and lay down in the shade of the cabana. He opened his lap\u00adtop and spread out a draft of the speech so it looked as if he\u2019d been work\u00ading. He sipped the mar\u00adgari\u00adta. What if she\u2019d already been out here, got\u00adten bored and left? Between day\u00addream\u00ading, call\u00ading his wife and get\u00adting spooked by Scrip\u00adture, he\u2019d tak\u00aden longer than expect\u00aded to get out here. For all he knew, Alice was inside seething and would ignore him for the rest of the event.<\/p>\n

He hap\u00adpened to be gaz\u00ading at the water\u00adfall when in his blurred periph\u00adery he saw her. At first all that reg\u00adis\u00adtered was a tall shape with a lot of bare skin. Then his eyes focused on her. She wore a Tiffany blue biki\u00adni with white trim. Chin up and shoul\u00adders back, her blonde hair made bouf\u00adfant by a white plas\u00adtic hair band, Alice looked like a Price Is Right<\/i> mod\u00adel show\u00adcas\u00ading a grand prize trip to Bali. God, you shouldn\u2019t have made this woman so beau\u00adti\u00adful. Why tempt me like this? Screw you, it\u2019s not fair.<\/i><\/p>\n

She smiled at him and scrunched her shoul\u00adders as she passed the life\u00adguard stand. Step\u00adping under the cabana awning, she plopped a can\u00advas tote on the chaise oppo\u00adsite and reached for a mar\u00adgari\u00adta. \u201cOh, I love you.\u201d She took a sip, clos\u00ading her eyes and lick\u00ading her lips. \u201cYou have no idea how much I\u2019ve want\u00aded one of these. You\u2019ve been work\u00ading, I see. Get any sun?\u201d<\/p>\n

She sat down and stud\u00adied him. Her legs were crossed and a white Dr. Scholl\u2019s san\u00addal dan\u00adgled from her foot. Shel\u00adby hadn\u2019t noticed the pro\u00adsa\u00adic footwear ear\u00adli\u00ader, for obvi\u00adous rea\u00adsons.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, sure,\u201d she said, the mar\u00adgari\u00adta poised in front of her, \u201cyou got some col\u00ador. I must look like snow, don\u2019t I?\u201d<\/p>\n

He was about to take her ques\u00adtion as an invi\u00adta\u00adtion to ogle every last inch of her, but he locked eyes with her instead.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, you look per\u00adfect\u00adly healthy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh? Is that your con\u00adsid\u00adered pro\u00adfes\u00adsion\u00adal opin\u00adion?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a mat\u00adter of fact, yes.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For an addi\u00adtion\u00adal excerpt, check out this full-length read\u00ading<\/a> of anoth\u00ader sto\u00adry in the col\u00adlec\u00adtion, \u201cThe Mag\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcent Mur\u00adphy.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What are the contents of The Man, The Myth, The Legend<\/em>?<\/h1>\n

The col\u00adlec\u00adtion con\u00adtains the fol\u00adlow\u00ading sto\u00adries (in quotes) and addi\u00adtion\u00adal con\u00adtent:<\/p>\n

\u2022  \u201cThe Last Great White Hunter\u201d
\n\u2022  \u201cThe Mag\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcent Mur\u00adphy\u201d
\n\u2022  \u201cSonata for Knife & Vio\u00adlin in D Major; Op. 1 \u2018Revenge\u2019\u201d
\n\u2022  \u201cThe Man Behind the Signs\u201d
\n\u2022  \u201cThe Boot\u00adleg\u00adger\u201d
\n\u2022  \u201cSev\u00aden Whole Grains on a Mis\u00adsion\u2122\u201d
\n\u2022  \u201cThe Blonde Imper\u00ada\u00adtive\u201d
\n\u2022  \u201cThe Dog\u00adcatch\u00ader\u201d
\n\u2022  \u201cThe Charmed Life and Sin\u00adgu\u00adlar Death of Jacob Homer Stan\u00adley\u201d
\n\u2022  Bonus Sto\u00adry (down\u00adload\u00adable PDF): \u201cThe Lost Dis\u00adpatch\u00ades of Gen\u00ader\u00adal George B. McClel\u00adlan\u201d
\n\u2022  A Note from the Author
\n\u2022  About the Author
\n\u2022  Excerpt from A Real Piece of Work<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Where did you come up with the title The Man, The Myth, The Legend<\/em>?<\/h1>\n
\"The<\/a>

The mug that start\u00aded it all.<\/p><\/div>\n

It was on a cof\u00adfee mug that my moth\u00ader had giv\u00aden my father sev\u00ader\u00adal years ago. I cov\u00adet\u00aded that mug for a long time, until my moth\u00ader gave me one of my own. Then, in the ear\u00adly spring of 2013 when I was try\u00ading to come up with a title for the col\u00adlec\u00adtion, I real\u00adized that all of the sto\u00adries were about men. I want\u00aded a title that was amus\u00ading\u00adly grandiose and would con\u00advey a sense of \u201cleg\u00adends in their own minds,\u201d and I remem\u00adbered that mug.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Are any of the stories in The Man, The Myth, The Legend<\/em> taken from real life?<\/h1>\n

Not exact\u00adly. With a cou\u00adple of them, some\u00adthing from real life might have pro\u00advid\u00aded the ini\u00adtial ker\u00adnel of the story\u2014that is, the thing that got me won\u00adder\u00ading, \u201cWhat if\u2026?\u201d\u2014but on the whole, the sto\u00adries are 100% fic\u00adtion.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Can you tell us where you got the ideas for some of the stories?<\/h1>\n
\"Seven_Whole_Grains_on_a_Mission\u2122\"<\/a>

The Kashi\u00ae \u201cSev\u00aden Whole Grains on a Mis\u00adsion\u2122\u201d graph\u00adic.<\/p><\/div>\n

Sure, take \u201cSev\u00aden Whole Grains on a Mis\u00adsion\u2122\u201d for exam\u00adple. My wife and Muse, Alexas, and I were in a gro\u00adcery store cere\u00adal aisle, frus\u00adtrat\u00aded at the most\u00adly emp\u00adty sec\u00adtion of Kashi\u00ae cere\u00adals, when I said, \u201cThey must be out on one of their grain-find\u00ading mis\u00adsions,\u201d and Alexas retort\u00aded, \u201cYeah, to find that elu\u00adsive eighth grain.\u201d In a rare and won\u00adder\u00adful moment of Gestalt, the entire vision of \u201cSev\u00aden Whole Grains\u201d came to me: a James Bond-esque Glob\u00adal Grain Explor\u00ader who goes all around the world seek\u00ading out new grains for Kashi\u00ae.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Boot\u00adleg\u00adger\u201d came from tales I had heard about my pater\u00adnal grandfather\u2014a smart, mul\u00adti\u00adtal\u00adent\u00aded, col\u00ador\u00adful man whom I nev\u00ader knew (he died before I was born). Besides work\u00ading as a car\u00adpen\u00adter and as a stone\u00adcut\u00adter in a quar\u00adry, and besides hav\u00ading adven\u00adtures as a hunter in the Maine woods and clean\u00ading house in bar fights in Port\u00adland and Boston, he left behind evi\u00addence that he had been a boot\u00adleg\u00adger dur\u00ading Pro\u00adhi\u00adbi\u00adtion. So, the sto\u00adry uses those ideas as a start\u00ading point and expands on them in fic\u00adtion.<\/p>\n

Final\u00adly, \u201cThe Dog\u00adcatch\u00ader\u201d came from my see\u00ading des\u00adper\u00adate signs for lost pets (par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly dogs) all over the place, and those signs offer\u00ading, in some cas\u00ades, \u201cSUBSTANTIAL\u201d rewards. I got think\u00ading that some\u00adbody must be out there find\u00ading these lost pooches, so I imag\u00adined this guy who makes a liv\u00ading as a pro\u00adfes\u00adsion\u00adal dog\u00adcatch\u00ader, and I imag\u00adined his voice as being like that of a detec\u00adtive in a 50s noir movie.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Man, The Myth, The Legend<\/em>\u2014a collection of short stories\u2014seems a radical departure from your Dakota Stevens Mystery Series. Why not simply continue your detective series instead of coming out with such a different brand of fiction?<\/h1>\n
\"Short<\/a>

Short sto\u00adry mas\u00adter John Cheev\u00ader.<\/p><\/div>\n

Actu\u00adal\u00adly, I\u2019ve been writ\u00ading short sto\u00adries far longer than I have the Dako\u00adta nov\u00adels. Dako\u00adta Stevens and Svet\u00adlana Kr\u00fcsh only go back as far as 2003-04, but I\u2019ve been writ\u00ading short sto\u00adries since I was 12, when I would read them to my friends on the school bus. I\u2019ve had about two dozen sto\u00adries pub\u00adlished in lit\u00ader\u00adary jour\u00adnals, and it\u2019s a form of sto\u00adry\u00adtelling that I\u2019ve been hon\u00ading for over 30 years. Many of my favorite writ\u00aders were pri\u00admar\u00adi\u00adly short sto\u00adry writ\u00aders, and I\u2019ve assid\u00adu\u00adous\u00adly stud\u00adied their work: Anton Chekhov, John Cheev\u00ader, Ray\u00admond Carv\u00ader, Ernest Hem\u00ading\u00adway, Guy de Mau\u00adpas\u00adsant, and F. Scott Fitzger\u00adald.<\/p>\n

The rea\u00adson why I didn\u2019t sim\u00adply con\u00adtin\u00adue the Dako\u00adta series is that, like some oth\u00ader writ\u00aders, I believe that we don\u2019t choose what we\u2019re going to write about, as much as what we\u2019re sup\u00adposed to write about choos\u00ades us<\/em>. Nine of the 10 sto\u00adries in the col\u00adlec\u00adtion were writ\u00adten over a three-year peri\u00adod, from the sum\u00admer of 2010 to the sum\u00admer of 2013, and it so hap\u00adpens that dur\u00ading this peri\u00adod a bunch of char\u00adac\u00adters oth\u00ader than Dako\u00adta and Svet\u00adlana grabbed my atten\u00adtion and insist\u00aded I write about them. The sto\u00adries in The Man, The Myth, The Leg\u00adend<\/em> (MML) rep\u00adre\u00adsent only about a third of my short sto\u00adry out\u00adput dur\u00ading this peri\u00adod, so there might be anoth\u00ader col\u00adlec\u00adtion on the hori\u00adzon.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Why is one of the stories only available as a downloadable PDF? Why didn\u2019t you include it in the ebook?<\/h1>\n
\"McC_LG\"<\/a>

Gen\u00ader\u00adal George B. McClel\u00adlan.<\/p><\/div>\n

First, the sto\u00adry in ques\u00adtion, \u201cThe Lost Dis\u00adpatch\u00ades of Gen\u00ader\u00adal George B. McClel\u00adlan,\u201d is<\/em> includ\u00aded in the print ver\u00adsion of The Man, The Myth, The Leg\u00adend<\/em>. The rea\u00adson I couldn\u2019t include it in the ebook is that it con\u00adtains lots of his\u00adtor\u00adi\u00adcal foot\u00adnotes, and cur\u00adrent ebook for\u00admat\u00adting stan\u00addards don\u2019t han\u00addle foot\u00adnotes well\u2014if at all.<\/p>\n

To rem\u00ade\u00addy this, I con\u00adsid\u00adered putting the sto\u00adry in the ebook with\u00adout<\/em> the foot\u00adnotes, but since so much of the humor and dri\u00adve of the sto\u00adry comes from the con\u00adflict between what\u2019s going on in McClellan\u2019s mind (ram\u00adpant fan\u00adta\u00adsy and para\u00adnoia) and what actu\u00adal\u00adly hap\u00adpened (his\u00adtor\u00adi\u00adcal real\u00adi\u00adty), when I took out the foot\u00adnotes, the sto\u00adry lay there like a wet dog.<\/p>\n

Because the theme of \u201cThe Lost Dis\u00adpatch\u00ades\u201d dove\u00adtailed so nice\u00adly into the over\u00adall theme of MML\u2014men as leg\u00adends in their own minds\u2014I didn\u2019t want to release the col\u00adlec\u00adtion with\u00adout it, so I cre\u00adat\u00aded a PDF of the sto\u00adry, which can be read on a reader\u2019s Kin\u00addle, iPad, etc., and I put the sto\u00adry on the Orcutt.net Bonus Sto\u00adries page<\/a>. The sto\u00adry is includ\u00aded in full in the print edi\u00adtion of the col\u00adlec\u00adtion.<\/p>\n

Inci\u00adden\u00adtal\u00adly, McClel\u00adlan\u2019s auto\u00adbi\u00adog\u00adra\u00adphy\u2014McClel\u00adlan\u2019s Own Sto\u00adry<\/em>\u2014is fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00ading read\u00ading<\/a>, and I wrote the fic\u00adtion\u00adal entries in \u201cThe Lost Dis\u00adpatch\u00ades\u201d to mim\u00adic the con\u00adtent, tone and dic\u00adtion of the auto\u00adbi\u00adog\u00adra\u00adphy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Have any of the stories in The Man, The Myth, The Legend<\/em> been published elsewhere?<\/h1>\n

Yes. \u201cThe Boot\u00adleg\u00adger\u201d appeared in the 2003 MOTA: Courage<\/em> anthol\u00ado\u00adgy and received an Emerg\u00ading Writ\u00aders award. The oth\u00ader nine sto\u00adries in the col\u00adlec\u00adtion are brand new and have not appeared any\u00adwhere else.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Besides the fact that the central characters are all men, what else do the stories have in common?<\/h1>\n

I\u2019d say that the worlds in all of the sto\u00adries are a lit\u00adtle bit larg\u00ader than life, slight\u00adly hyper\u00adbol\u00adic in some cas\u00ades. In MML, what\u00adev\u00ader world my char\u00adac\u00adters find them\u00adselves in\u2014whether the world of cor\u00adpo\u00adrate speech\u00adwrit\u00ading or fine arts painting\u2014everything is height\u00adened. Some\u00adthing else that most of the sto\u00adries have in com\u00admon is that they\u2019re part\u00adly about men\u2019s rela\u00adtion\u00adships with women, and how we, as men, usu\u00adal\u00adly only reach our fullest poten\u00adtial when we\u2019re bask\u00ading in the love and ado\u00adra\u00adtion of a great woman.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What is your favorite story in the collection?<\/h1>\n

We writ\u00aders love our sto\u00adries like par\u00adents do their children\u2014equally, but for dif\u00adfer\u00adent rea\u00adsons.<\/p>\n

\"sfri_sun1\"<\/a>

The African savan\u00adna at sun\u00adset.<\/p><\/div>\n

I love \u201cThe Last Great White Hunter\u201d because with it I cre\u00adat\u00aded a kind\u00adheart\u00aded par\u00ado\u00addy of an obscure genre: African safari big game hunt\u00ading books. I love \u201cThe Mag\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcent Mur\u00adphy\u201d because in it I lov\u00ading\u00adly spoof one of my favorite nov\u00adels, The Great Gats\u00adby<\/em>, telling the sto\u00adry in the pitch-per\u00adfect voice of Nick Car\u00adraway. I love \u201cThe Man Behind the Signs\u201d because it tells the behind-the-scenes sto\u00adry of some\u00adthing we encounter every day but take for granted\u2014road signs. And final\u00adly I love \u201cThe Lost Dis\u00adpatch\u00ades of Gen\u00ader\u00adal George B. McClel\u00adlan\u201d because of how much the fic\u00adtion\u00adal let\u00adters and telegrams sound like those in McClellan\u2019s real auto\u00adbi\u00adog\u00adra\u00adphy (an auto\u00adbi\u00adog\u00adra\u00adphy that I checked out of West Point, his alma mater<\/em>, and noticed had nev\u00ader been opened before).<\/p>\n

I love all of the sto\u00adries, but I don\u2019t want to give away too much about the col\u00adlec\u00adtion, so I\u2019ll stop gush\u00ading now.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* Foot\u00adnote: The bril\u00adliant MML book cov\u00ader design is by Elis\u00ada\u00adbeth Pinio. The stu\u00adpen\u00addous pho\u00adto\u00adgraph on the cov\u00ader, \u201c315\/365 \u2014 The 365 Toy Project<\/a>,\u201d is by David D. (a.k.a. puuik\u00adibeach) on Flickr. My heart\u00adfelt thanks go out to both of them.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of IndieRead\u00ader\u2019s Best Books of 2013. The Man, The Myth, The Leg\u00adend, Chris Orcut\u00adt\u2019s new short sto\u00adry col\u00adlec\u00adtion, show\u00adcas\u00ades his fer\u00adtile imag\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtion and writ\u00ading artistry\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":3871,"menu_order":37,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3954","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3954"}],"version-history":[{"count":289,"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3954\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9969,"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3954\/revisions\/9969"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}