Michelle L. Levigne's Blog, page 83

The Adventure: SANDRA MERVILLE HART, The Story Behind the Story, part 1

This is the “story behind the story” of how my Civil War romance set during the Battle of Gettysburg, A Rebel in My House, was born. 
Something drew me yet again to Gettysburg. I knew a story awaited me. My husband and I walked the battlefields. Ideas stirred when I found Tennessee troops with the brigade who began the fighting on the first day. Nothing solidified so I kept digging.
I discovered fascinating history at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at the Gettysburg Seminary Ridge Museum. Surely my story touched this place. After spending several hours wandering the museum and surroundings … nothing. I trudged on.
I explored Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center, Gettysburg Museum of History, Gettysburg Railroad Station, General Lee’s Headquarters Museum, and The David Wills House where President Lincoln stayed. I learned intriguing facts at the Jennie Wade House, Shriver House Museum, and “The Women of Gettysburg Tour,” an evening walking tour.

Ideas strengthened. My husband and I walked the town’s streets around the “Diamond”—the town square where women and children suffered a nightmare from which they didn’t awaken for many months. Then we spent another afternoon and evening at the battlefield.
Three Tennessee regiments fought the beginning battle on July 1st. They didn’t fight again until they joined in Pickett’s Charge on the battle’s final day.  
The sun sank low on the horizon as I stood alone on Cemetery Ridge reflecting over the expansive field crossed by Pickett’s Charge on July 3, 1863. Though the land is peaceful once more, it still tells a story. My imagination soared while the sun disappeared.
I had to tell what the townspeople endured. What if a Gettysburg seamstress fell in love with a Confederate soldier? What if they both made promises to loved ones? Some promises are impossible to keep …
About Sandra:Connect with Sandra on her blog , Facebook, Twitter , Pinterest , Goodreads , Amazon Author Page , and BookBub .

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New Release Sample: CONFESSIONS OF A LOST KID

Miss Angela came to the door as I walked up the sidewalk. She waved, and I looked back to see Mrs. S sitting in her car, watching me. I had the weirdest feeling she was making sure I actually got to the front door, like there was a chance something would happen to stop me. Why would she think that? Divine's was probably the safest place in the entire town, even including Oak Cottage with all the doors and windows closed and locked and Miss Abby on duty.
"I imagine you're just eaten up with curiosity over what Charlie and Rainbow sent me, aren't you?" Miss Angela stepped back to let me go past her through the door. She laughed when I just grinned at her and nodded and handed her the envelope.
She gestured for me to follow her, and we went upstairs. Not to the second floor, to her apartment, which I had expected. We went up to the third floor, and she pulled a ring of keys out of her pocket and unlocked one of the doors.
"You do know the difference between secrets that are bad for you to keep, and secrets that are bad for everyone else if you don't keep them, don't you, Lanie?" Miss Angela paused with her hand on the doorknob.
"I think so."
"Not that I doubt you, but…" She sighed. "Why don't you tell me the kinds of secrets that are bad for you?"
"Well… When somebody gets hurt, and they tell me I better not tell the teacher. Or Miss Abby. Or you," I hurried to add. That got a twitch of her lips and she relaxed just a little bit.
"This is probably laying a burden on you far too soon, but I daresay destiny has already marked you clearly enough." She got down on one knee so she could look me in the eyes as she talked. "Say someone makes you do something that you don't understand, but you know deep in your heart, it's wrong. You don't want to do it, maybe it even hurts, but that person is much stronger than you, and they tell you not to tell anybody. Maybe they even threaten to hurt you, or people you love, if you tell anyone what they did."
"Those bad people can't find us here, in Neighborlee, can they?" I must have been scared. I know there was a queasy kind of sensation in my head and my stomach at the same time, and my voice dropped to a whisper.

Update: GOALS

(The plan is to check in every Sunday and tally up what I've accomplished, and add any new goals to the list. Feel free to jeer if I don't get at least half this list done this month!)

MAY GOALS LIST as of 05/02/20:

HERE, THERE BE DRAGONS: AFV Defender Book 2 -- revision 2, revision 3, polish/upload for print
Done -- revision 2
I can see now I am not going to complete this goal. Will have to save revision 3, polishing, and uploading for print later in the year.

QUITTING THE HERO BIZ: Neighborlee Book 6 -- polish, upload for print
Done -- Polished, uploaded for print

YOUNG DEFENDERS BOOK 1: Outline, 1st draft
Done -- Outline
Started draft 1

Tweak 4 published Commonwealth Universe novels
Done -- The Lady and the Order, Fever,  University, Leap Ships

Off the Bookshelf: EVER AFTER HIGH, by Shannon Hale

Five Short Stories

Apple White's Story
Briar Beauty's Story
Raven Queen's Story
Madeline Hatter's Story
Ashlynn Ella's Story

These were 5 free short-shorts I found on Nook, introductions to Ever After High, where essentially the children of faerie tale heroines go to school and get trained to step into their mother's shoes someday.

All five of our heroines are preparing to head back to school for their Legacy Year -- where they sign a contract to take over their mothers' roles: Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, The Mad Hatter, and the Evil Queen.

Interesting concept!

Can't tell you much more than this because it would give away way too much of each girl's very short introduction -- kind of like the 1-minute teaser before the opening credits of the TV show start. And yeah, like an appetizer, to make you want to get the whole book and read it. "Just how is she going to get out of THAT situation?"

New Release Sample: CONFESSIONS OF A LOST KID

The celebrating died down, as people ran off to get on whatever phones they could find to spread the news. We didn't have a lot of cell phones back then. The Zephyrs hurried over to where I was standing by my sled. Mrs. Z hugged me and apologized. They both laughed when I told them I knew what was going on. We climbed on the sled and screamed all the way down the hill. Mr. Z pulled the sled and the Zephyrs held my hands and we walked up the hill together. We went down twice more, and then someone flagged down Mr. Z to talk about something and Mrs. Z went to get hot chocolate for us.
Then the crimson and gold figure that had been lingering on the edge of my vision attacked. She could finally tower over me because she stood two feet up the slope.
"You think you're so smart!" Sylvia shrieked. Her fists were jammed into her hips, so it made the skirts stick out in the fancy outfit more appropriate for figure skating than sledding. "You think it's funny? Those stupid, nasty, mean people are thieves!"
Then she said other things with words I didn't understand. I had to look them up later. They were mean, derogatory, and even racially hateful. She picked on Mrs. Z for being Asian and called Mr. Z a drug-pusher and a hippie and accused them of being liars and Communist spies and dozens of other things she could only have picked up from the so-called adults in her family.
Sylvia's arsenal of nastiness did have limits. When she started in on her second round, I told her she was repeating herself.
Interrupting a Grandstone wasn't smart. It just increased their speed, volume and pitch, and sometimes added spitting.

The really un-smart part of the whole encounter was that I should have turned my back on her as soon as she called the Zephyrs stupid. I mean, I had a sled right there and I was on the hill. I could have just turned and sat down and pushed. By the time she realized I wasn't listening, I would have been twenty feet away.
"That is enough, young lady," Miss Underwood said, in that tone that was so calm and disappointed, it was scary.
Most Kindergarteners would have stopped short, frozen by guilt, knowing we had made our teacher unhappy.
Sylvia let out a shriek and launched herself at me. Miss Underwood caught her by the collar of her coat. Sylvia had strong legs and a hard push-off, and enough momentum to unbalance them both and send them into the snow.

The Adventure: JPC ALLEN, pt. 2 of "How to Describe Characters in Show Don't Tell"

How to Describe Characters in Show Don’t Tell
CONTINUED FROM THURSDAY
The "handle" is Terence O'Neil looks likes Rae's idea of a professor, which invites the reader to think of their idea of a professor. Then I add some specific traits.
Another candidate for Rae's father is the sheriff, Walter R. Malinowski IV: “He was one of the few people I'd met who made me feel short. Close to six-six, with biceps bulging like pumpkins under a rumpled button-down shirt, he could easily become the next Thor if he grew out his blond crewcut and added a beard.”
The "handle" is that he looks like Thor. Blonde crewcut and his height and bulging biceps are the specific traits. Readers are reminded that Rae is tall--maybe inheriting that feature from the sheriff if he's her father?--and that she likes superhero movies.
The last candidate is Jason Carlisle, a businessman and a member of the wealthiest family in the county. “Besides being fashionable enough for a runway, Jason had dark brown hair, gel sculpting every strand in place, and soft brown eyes that held a warmth I wanted to wrap myself in. If he was a few inches taller and more muscular, he'd make a perfect Superman.”
The "handle" is Superman. Specific traits are hair color, eye color, and being fashionable. Rae has brown eyes, so she notices that trait. Her description also shows that she likes the man.

Throughout the story, I dribble in reminders of the characters’ appearance. When Terence O'Neil is nervous, he rubs his beard. When the sheriff appears suddenly at an abandoned house, "his massive frame" fills the doorway.
In a future post, I’ll tell you about the sequel I’m writing about Rae and the relatives, friends, and enemies she discovers in Marlin County, Ohio. If you’d like to meet Rae and solve the mystery of her mother’s attack and her father’s identity, follow me on Facebook, Instagram, my blog, or Goodreads, then comment here. I’ll enter you in a drawing for a hard copy of Christmas fiction off the beaten path and announce the winner on May 29. If you win, you’ll get five more off-beat Christmas stories, including “Crystal Christmas” by Michelle!
*****
JPC Allen started her writing career in second grade with an homage to Scooby Doo. She’s been tracking down mysteries ever since. A former children’s librarian, she is a member of ACFW and has written mystery short stories for Mt. Zion Ridge Press. Online, she offers writing tips and prompts to beginning writers. She also leads writing workshops for tweens, teens, and adults, encouraging them to discover the adventure of writing. A lifelong Buckeye, she has deep roots in the Mountain State. Join the adventure on her Facebook, Instagram, or Goodreads.

The Adventure: JPC ALLEN, "How to Describe Characters in Show Don't Tell"

How to Describe Characters in Show Don’t Tell

One of my favorite novels is The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton. And one of the reasons I like it so well is that the main character Ponyboy describes his older brothers and the members of his gang in great detail. In fact, a good chunk of chapter one is devoted to their descriptions. I've always liked getting vivid pictures of the characters in the first few pages. It makes the story come alive to me. But The Outsiders was written over fifty years ago. Today, those kinds of lengthy descriptions would be considered poor writing.

When I wrote my YA mystery short story “A Rose from the Ashes” for the anthology Christmas fiction off the beaten path, I was faced with the problem of how to describe characters in "show don't tell" without slowing down the story. I also had to describe them from the deep point of view of my main character (MC), nineteen-year-old Rae Riley. Those descriptions would not only tell readers how characters looked but something about how my MC saw them.
I hit on a combination of mentioning a few key traits and then a "handle", a description to sum up that character. I learned this technique from Michelle. As the story progressed, I'd dribble in reminder descriptions to help readers "see" the characters.
In "A Rose from the Ashes" from the anthology Christmas fiction off the beaten path, Rae is trying to uncover the identity of her father and if he was the attacker who tried to murder her pregnant mother twenty years before. Her late mother said only three men could be Rae’s father. I had to make those three male characters distinct individuals. Perhaps more than other MC's, Rae notices the physical traits of the men because she's looking for connections to her own characteristics.
I introduced one that is a professor this way: “Terence O'Neil was my idea of a professor. Over sixty, balding with a closely cut black and white beard covering cheeks that shook when he talked. He even smoked a pipe.”
The "handle" is Terence O'Neil looks likes Rae's idea of a professor, which invites the reader to think of their idea of a professor. Then I add some specific traits.
CONTINUED ON FRIDAY
*****
JPC Allen started her writing career in second grade with an homage to Scooby Doo. She’s been tracking down mysteries ever since. A former children’s librarian, she is a member of ACFW and has written mystery short stories for Mt. Zion Ridge Press. Online, she offers writing tips and prompts to beginning writers. She also leads writing workshops for tweens, teens, and adults, encouraging them to discover the adventure of writing. A lifelong Buckeye, she has deep roots in the Mountain State. Join the adventure on her Facebook, Instagram, or Goodreads.

New Release Sample: CONFESSIONS OF A LOST KID

I had decided I needed to practice my kinda-sorta flying, to show Angela what I could do next time we met up. I already had it in my head that just going up and down, or gliding, wasn’t good enough. Maybe she could help me figure out how to fly like Superman. I found a sheltered spot at the far end of the field where the older kids played baseball and soccer, in the thick clump of trees enclosed by the fence encircling the orphanage grounds. I rose as high as I could get before I got scared and then hung there until the ground started to look a little fuzzy before I came back down. At five years old, twenty feet off the ground was the equivalent of Mount Everest. I had just worked up the nerve to try some sideways shifting when Kurt walked into the little clearing where I was practicing, and looked up at me. Fortunately, I was wearing shorts, rather than a skirt. Skirts were for church and school.
"You hum really loud." He was grinning at me.
"No I'm not." I was indignant, because I knew enough to keep quiet so the kids who might make fun of me wouldn't see me.
"Yeah, you do, but it's not the kind of humming that people can hear."
"That's stupid. How can you hear it if people can't hear it?" I came down a little faster than I intended and my knees wobbled when I hit. Kurt steadied me, and a funny buzzing sensation kind of shocked me where his hand touched my bare arm.
"Like that." He grinned wider, gray eyes sparkling, and rubbed his hand on the front of his t-shirt. "It's okay, I hum too."
"Are you laughing at me?" I had already run into the two chief bullies, Ricky and Donny. They had overheard Miss Abby talking with another houseparent about my reading ability, and came running to inflict their new nickname on me: Lanie Brainy.
"Nope. We're superheroes."
"Huh?"
That was my introduction to the amazing world of comic books and superheroes and mutants and superpowers and saving the world.

Off the Bookshelf: SECRET REMAINS, by Jennifer Graeser Dornbush

The Coroner's Daughter series

Emily and Nick are back, working another death investigation that turns very personal.

A skeleton is discovered at a construction site on the day of the funeral for Emily's father, with an oncoming storm threatening the condition of the site and remains. Nick is sure who the victim is even before Emily can call in a bone expert to help with the identification: Sandi, a victimized girl who vanished when they were all in high school. And Nick was one of the last ones to see her alive.

The investigation moves forward, despite small town politics and penny-pinching and high school stupidity and secrets getting in the way. Emily repeatedly advises Nick to pull back, put someone else in charge, and most important, get a lawyer, because he could be implicated. Especially when his letterman jacket is found buried near Sandi's skeleton.

With so many changes and questions, Emily is pressured from multiple directions to decide what to do next with her life, her career, her relationships. She makes some choices that once again put her in danger, and threaten her relationship with Nick, which is still being re-knit after so many years apart.

Whew! Satisfying ending -- of course -- and yet it leaves lots of questions about what Emily and Nick will do next, if they will be together, what kind of future they have, thanks to the choices they make as a result of this latest investigation. I sure hope there's more.