Nick Neercassel Meets Mr. Marco

Desert Interlude II

I was unable just to simply pass through El Paso. I spent two days there soaking up the sights and chowing down on the local cuisine. I also caught up on some sleep.

Howdy, my name is Nick Neercassel and I'm a Theological Private Eye (TPE), i.e., I'm in the employ of a certain Lord God Almighty. The salary is skimpy, the hours are horrendous, but the 401K is literally paved with gold.

I left El Paso at around nine on a sunny Friday morning. About twenty-five miles out, I got a call from Third Heaven Central.

"Nick here. What's the assignment?"

"God Morning, Nick. This is Gabe; no assignment; just a message."

"Go ahead, Gabe."

"A guy who calls himself 'The ALL' wants to meet you at the Big Rock on Texas Farm Road 21124."

"Oh, you mean Mr. Marco. He's a literary agent."

"Writing another memoir?"

"I'm considering it. The first one didn't say all I wanted to say."

"I hear you. But why does he call himself 'The ALL'"?

"Oh, that stands for Alpha Literary Liaison."

Gabe then had a flash of memory. "Hey, isn't there a Jamie Marco that works for Aztec Publishing Concern?"

"One and the same." I replied.

"Do you mean Aztec Publishing Concern is publishing your book? Isn't that a conflict of interest?" There was surprise and a hint of outrage in Gabe's voice.

"Not really. Mr. Marco is retired from Aztec. He and his wife are traveling around the country in a RV. To keep himself sharp mentally, he dabbles in the literary agent business. Also, his fees are on the cheap side."

"How did you find about him?"

"He advertises at the OM (Old Miscellaneous) web site. I was ordering a couple of cases when I spotted his ad."

"What did it say?"

"ALL is out of God! Greetings, folks, my name is Jaime Marco, your Alpha Literary Liaison,  and I no longer work for the Aztec Publishing Concern. Yes, I'm out of the God business and find myself totally free to devote my talents to making money for aspiring authors. For a literary agent that puts you first (and whose fees are the cheapest in the business) email me at Jaime_Marco@theALL.com. Jamie Marco, A.L.L., Esquire.

"Pretty snappy. I'm guessing you e-mailed him?"

"Absolutely. As of yesterday, my first book had only sold six units and at $0.99 a unit, you're not talking mucho dinero. So I felt like I needed some help in the marketing department if I want my next book to be a big seller."

"Well, good luck." Gabe sounded genuinely encouraging as he ended the connection.

Big Rock turned out to be only a few hours away. As I approached I noticed a mauve and azure RV parked beside it. An elderly man and woman were sitting in lawn chairs underneath an awning jutting out from the side of the RV. The man stood up and held out his hand.

"Mr. Neercassel, I presume?"

THE END