Introducing 'The Swede'

My Antagonist in Rough Diamonds, Loosely Based on Lurch

In my newly released novel, Rough Diamonds, one of my antagonists (bad guys) is a very odd fellow. He goes by the name Swede; his real name is Karol Bergstrom. He’s an Outfit guy in Chicago (Mafia) who rips off a velvet pouch containing twenty rough, uncut diamonds. Swede was sexually abused as a young man by his piano teacher’s husband. This may or may not have led to his eventual asexuality, his interest in antique porcelain Hummel figurines, all things Liberace, and a fascination with Siegfried and Roy. The abuse may or may not have led to his penchant for violence.

He sends his stolen diamonds to Emmy in Las Vegas to be fenced. When the diamonds are lost, he gets on a plane. This small scene might be familiar to many of you, and a reaction to encroaching neighbors on an airplane you may have fantasized. Enjoy!

Karol flew coach on a direct United flight to Las Vegas. The tickets were purchased last minute, were criminally expensive, and the only seat available was sandwiched between the window and aisle seats, both occupied by large men. The man on the aisle was dressed in some vacation outfit—shorts and a Hawaiian shirt—and seemingly ready for a poolside lounger. The other man wore a suit like his and, for the long five-hour flight, stared out the window and never left his seat to use the toilet, which was perfectly fine with Karol. It was the vacation guy who was annoying. First, he attempted to badger him with conversation—best Vegas restaurants, sports betting, and favorite table games. Karol had no thoughts on any of those subjects—he was not a gambler, and eating for him was more about appeasing appetites, like jerking off. He answered curtly, then pulled a magazine called Hemispheres from the seat back pocket and flipped through photos of people and places that had no relevance to his life. The man got the message and started in on a paperback novel. Then, holding his book, the vacation man’s elbow not only took up the shared armrest but also poked over and touched him. Karol did not like being touched by anyone. He gently pushed back at the elbow with his forearm. The vacation man withdrew it but still controlled the shared armrest. Though Karol did not fly often, he figured the center seat person should get the shared armrests, considering both window and aisle seats had their own.

Fifteen minutes later, the man’s elbow was back into his territory, again nearly touching him. Karol desired to break one of the man’s fingers, one quick yank in an unnatural direction. Short of that, threaten to break a finger. He knew, though, that if the man complained, Karol would get in some kind of trouble and still wouldn’t be able to follow through with the finger breaking. Instead, he ordered hot coffee from the stewardess. A minute later, she was back, but Karol did not pull down his tray. Instead, he held the coffee in his left hand and waited for the eventual turbulence. When it hit, the coffee spilled, and the man let out a high-pitched shriek. Karol apologized a few times—no big deal—and the stewardess brought a towel to clean up the mess. After that, the vacation man gave up the armrest and created another two inches of buffer space by nearly blocking the aisle. Karol made a mental note to not be so cheap next time and fly first class.

I guarantee you’ll love this book! You can buy the book here in both softcover and Kindle versions:

ALSO, there’s an Audible version, though the narrator is our AI master (sorry, couldn’t justify the expense of a voice actor, though I have two in the family). You can also purchase Rough Diamonds at your local bookstore (they’ll likely have to order it) or at other online book outlets.

If you enjoy the novel, please consider writing a glowing review on Amazon and leaving a five-star rating. (This will both stroke my immense ego and help in future marketing efforts.) I thank you in advance.