Annette Oppenlander's Blog, page 8

FREE Historical Mystery August 31-September 1

My books are typically never free, but I tried out Amazon’s Kindle program and am able to offer the e-version of A Different Truth FREE (instead of $2.99) on August 31 and September 1. So, if you’re heading into the long weekend and need something fun and thought-provoking to read, get your FREE copy now.

A Different Truth is perfect for people who like mysteries and historical fiction. Subjects covered in the book include bullying, hazing, a crime, friendship, romance and choosing between obedience and the truth. This story is set at a military boarding school during the Vietnam War era. Much of what I know about the setting came from my husband’s insight and experience, attending such a school in the late 1960s. Please remember to leave a brief review on Amazon/Goodreads.

New Cover 2nd Edition

When a heinous crime is committed behind the secretive walls of a boarding school and Andy Olson decides to investigate, he’s drawn into a conspiracy that reaches to the highest level, forcing him to choose between exposing the truth and protecting himself.

Readers’ Favorite – Five Stars

“A Different Truth is a powerful and thought provoking tale that allows us to think about our moral decisions. Readers who are personally familiar with the history of the Vietnam War will be fascinated by the story of the boys at Palmer Military Academy, whereas the generation that was born after the war would be able to use it as a trajectory to discover more about this unseen but crucial part of history.”

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Trying New Things

As the publication of the third and final book in the ESCAPE FROM THE PAST trilogy approaches and I’m completing the Civil War adventure, BROKEN JOURNEY, I’m launching into a couple of new endeavors. Until now I’ve mostly focused on writing and studying craft, reading, editing and revising.

Author Fairs

Here I’m all dressed up in a medieval costume. I really need some dirt on my face to make it more authentic.

So, now that I have four novels to show, I’ve signed up for a mad dash of author fairs around Indiana and Ohio. I have no idea what to expect, but I look forward to meeting new readers and fellow authors. Just take a look at the News/Events section on my homepage to see the author fair listings for this fall. I hope to meet you at one of them.

Teaching Writing Workshops

I’ve been writing since the late 1990s and been at it in earnest since 2009. I’ve learned a number of things about fiction and for the first time this summer taught a workshop on “Writing Compelling Beginnings” at the local Monroe County Public Library (MCPL). Seventeen students attended and we shared a lot of interesting information. Feedback was excellent and positive, so I’m encouraged to continue. In November I’ll be teaching a FREE class on “Dialogue” and in the spring I’ll teach three four-week sessions on craft, beginnings and publishing at Ivy Tech Community College in Bloomington.

Cool Flyer from MCPL

One thing I’ve already learned. My students teach me as much as I teach them. It’s a great synergy we all benefit from and I derive great pleasure from sharing some of the things I’ve studied and learned in the thousands of hours at my desk.

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Get your FREE Brand-new Intro to the Escape from the Past Trilogy

Hot off the press comes my FREE introduction to the ESCAPE FROM THE PAST trilogy. Some readers wondered how Max ended up in Germany and if there was anything amiss before he tried out EarthRider.

Find out what happened when Max first arrived in Bornhagen and what happened to him in school…

Overnight fifteen-year old Max is uprooted from the U.S. and finds himself struggling to adjust to life in Germany. Luckily he can escape reality and Michel, the bully in school, by playing computer games—most of the time. When Michel disappears under questionable circumstances, Max is too relieved to listen to his gut. He doesn’t realize he’s next in line…to disappear.

Game of Life…is a short introduction and precursor to the ESCAPE FROM THE PAST trilogy.

Download your FREE copy from your favorite online retailer or get the PDF of Escape from the Past: Game of Life now.

 

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The Makings of A Different Truth

FREE on Amazon on July 14 and 15

Soon after I met my husband I learned he’d attended a military boarding school. But it wasn’t until a few years ago when we talked in detail that I realized how traumatic and difficult this experience had been.

When I was in my early teens I read this series about a couple of twins attending a boarding school. The stories sort of glorified the adventures ‘inside,’ lots of fun, a great social life, pranks and the occasional misfit that was swiftly dealt with. It all sounded so good, I wouldn’t have minded attending myself.

This is the original cover of A DIFFERENT TRUTH, a historical mystery, now available in its second edition. 

The reality looked and probably still looks much different, especially when attending a military prep school. My husband was sent away by this family at the age of 14, a difficult time for any teenager, but horribly hard when one is poor and then cast among a group of boys from wealthy and powerful families.

The plot of A DIFFERENT TRUTH is a historical mystery and fictitious. It has nothing to do with an actual school. However, the feelings the protagonist, Andy Olson, experiences are quite realistic. Knowing what I learned from my husband’s history, I realize I’d been utterly miserable in such a school.

This is not to say that some individuals don’t thrive in such an environment. Students are certainly taught to study and follow rules. But at what cost? And I don’t mean the exorbitant tuition such schools charge.

I used the late 1960s, the height of the Vietnam War era and the polarized nation as the catalyst, though the story addresses a number of issues still prevalent in high schools and boarding schools today, themes like bullying, hazing and obedience versus truth. By writing in first person, present tense, the first time I tried this point of view/tense combination, I created more immediacy, allowing the reader to feel and experience along with Andy.

I’m lucky my husband gave me the procedural insight of what happened behind the walls of an all boys’ military school. Being female I’d have no chance to ever know or understand the degree of structure, control and authority exhibited by faculty and upper classmen. Nor would I have learned what anxiety and angst this environment created.

To celebrate the 2nd edition, A DIFFERENT TRUTH will be FREE on Amazon on July 14 and 15.

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Cool Stuff

The other day I went to our local library, also known as Monroe County Public Library or MCPL. I don’t know about your area, but many libraries have long surpassed carrying just books. They offer videos, CDs, computers, classes and books on tape.

But the coolest thing they have at MCPL is a humongous YA or teen space where kids 12-19 years of age can hang out every day. The space occupies half the lower floor and there are no adults allowed except for library staff. Teens can play, study, craft and design. They can socialize, read or simply hang out.

The super coolest part are the studios adjacent to the space where anyone can record music (two music studios) and videos (complete with green screen). I reserved an hour in the video studio where everything is set up to work at a touch of a button. No special knowledge required – thank goodness because I don’t have a clue. All I did was bring a thumb drive to record on and away I went.

I read two clips, one of ESCAPE FROM THE PAST: THE KID, book two in the Escape from the Past trilogy that came out February 26, 2016. The second clip is a sneak preview of book three, ESCAPE FROM THE PAST: AT WITCHES’ END which won’t even be released until late fall. So I read the two sections and ended up with me in front of a bright green screen.

Now what?

I had to get some sort of background to cover the green screen and of course, edit the ending where I leave my chair to turn off the recording. Well, it was easy. Next to the studio, MCLP has several desks with oversized computer screens and a whole slew of fancy software. I asked the young man in charge for help and two hours later walked away with two edited clips ready for my YouTube channel.

Amazing!

That super awesome image behind the video clip is none other than Castle Hanstein in Thuringia, Germany where Knight Werner von Hanstein used to live in the late 15th century. I’m especially proud that all my stories are based on actual history, historic events and characters.

You’ll also notice I’m reading from paper because the book isn’t yet printed. In fact, as we speak, they’re working on cover art, a final edit, cover copy and who knows what else to get the book ready for publication.

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What’s New…

Escape from the Past: At Witches’ End

The cover of “Escape from the Past: At Witches’ End” is not yet available.

I’m getting ready to send the final edits of book three in the Escape from the Past trilogy to my publisher. I’m excited as this book concludes the series and I can’t wait to see it hit the shelves. Right now it looks like publication will be scheduled for late November 2016.

Here is a Little Introduction

When Max learns that Karl helped spring him from Schwarzburg’s dungeon during the first game, he feels obligated to return the favor. Not only because it’s the right thing to do, but supposedly Max is the one who rescued Karl from Hanstein in 1473 and helped him return home.

With Karl’s programming knowledge Max reluctantly agrees to enter the game a third time. At least he can visit his old friends and get cozy with Juliana while he’s at it. But two years is a long time in the Middle Ages. Something foul is in the air. Lord Werner is mysteriously absent and the new guards refuse Max entrance. Even Bero’s mother is terrified to see him. With no place to stay, Max soon finds himself on the run from Schwarzburg who hasn’t forgotten Max’s miraculous escape two years earlier.

When at last Max finagles a way into the castle, Bero is less than pleased to see him, Lady Clara is near death and Juliana is not meeting his eyes. Can Max sway his friends, help Karl and stay out of Schwarzburg’s clutches? And will he ultimately stop Dr. Stuler’s evil computer game?

“Beginnings” Workshop at The Academy of Science and Entrepreneurship

I just returned from teaching a workshop about the dos and don’ts of first chapters at one of our local high schools. We did a couple of mini-exercises, one to deepen setting by using the five senses and the other to describe our character in greater detail and beyond the obvious. I read the first two paragraphs of Sue Monk Kidd’s “The Secret Life of Bees” to demonstrate how Kidd used three of five senses to describe the bees in her room.

Helga’s War is Ready for Submission

Helga, ca. 1940

After laboring on my newest and oldest manuscript for more than twelve years, I’m finally ready to submit to literary agents. Helga’s War tells the true story of two children/youths who fall in love after surviving WW2 and apocalyptic postwar Germany, only to find that their horrific pasts catch up with them when they least expect it. It is a dark story of forgiveness and love against the odds, and not at all your traditional romance.

 

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What I Hope My Time Travel Books Teach the YA Crowd

This is a blog post that appeared on the Queen of all She Reads Blog as part of my blog tour for “The Kid.” I think it was an excellent question which I’d thought about somewhat, but had never written down. Though the post refers to Book Two in the “Escape from the Past” time-travel series, I think this is true for all my novels. So here is what I said:

What I Hope My Time Travel Books Teach the YA Crowd

First and foremost I believe in telling a good story with a great, fast-moving plot, relatable characters in a fascinating setting/world. While I believe in people learning from reading fiction, this learning should happen as a secondary outcome and in a natural way. Otherwise it’d be like school and textbooks. Brrh!

So, provided I’ve done a good job with my story, I believe my readers come away with three different kinds of information to enrich their lives.

Entertaining and Fascinating Information about Historical Eras

Bean’s portrait of Billy based on a composite of the old Billy the Kid tintype.

The “Escape from the Past” trilogy is set in the German Middle Ages and the Wild West of 1881 New Mexico. In both settings I’m using real historical characters that lived during that time. Castle Hanstein in Thuringia, Germany was home to Knight Werner von Hanstein in the late 15th century. Readers gain a fascinating glimpse into the way nobility lived and the feuds they had with other powerful men. We gain insight into the harsh living conditions of peasants, what they ate and believed in and how unfair their lives were. Overall, we get to see a slice of medieval German life.

In “The Kid,” gamer Max meets Billy the Kid and we’re witness to Billy’s last month in Fort Sumner. We also learn about the ruthlessness of the Wild West, encounter Chief Nana, a Warm Springs Apache, who in the summer of 1881 rode a 3,000 mile vengeance war against the U.S. Army and was never caught. The fascinating thing about Nana is that he only had a dozen warriors and that he was about 80 years old and lame in one foot. We also get to live in an American Indian village, learn about rattlesnake bites and the viciousness of a “Norther.”

Moral Choices

Max, the protagonist in the series, must make many decisions to survive. More times than not he chooses to help people at the expense of his own comfort and/or safety. While this endears him to us readers, it puts him in dangerous situations. Max makes moral decisions that if we believe in “leading by example” will leave a positive and lasting impression on us. He acts heroically.

We may ask ourselves what we’d do in the same situation. Run and save our hide or help those in need. They say a hero is somebody who choses to do the right thing in the face of adversity. Hopefully, some of that heroic behavior subconsciously sticks with the reader. And maybe one day, s/he’ll help somebody in need.

Seizing the Moment

Many people dwell on the past, hold grudges, hate what happened once upon a time and in general do not appreciate what they have… now. At the other extreme we live for the future, always charging ahead without enjoying and being present in the moment.

Max deals with a lot of adversity, including a split-up family, but in the end he learns he must embrace what he has now. Sure, it’s not perfect, but whose life is perfect, whose family is perfect? Not too many. So, being aware and present in the moment, being grateful for one’s life is a huge learning experience.

Conclusion

I believe that all readers, teen and adult, benefit from reading the series. Most adults would appreciate learning about history, watch a character rise above and make tough moral choices, and seize the moment. I, for one, feel that Max taught me a few things along the way.

And next time you consider playing a new computer game, you may be more careful. You never know if it’s “EarthRider.”

 

Join my Mailing List

For occasional updates join my mailing list and receive an awesome and “free” collection of facts about living in the German Middle Ages.

 

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My Dog Is No Model

The other day a blogger requested a photo of me and my mutt, Mocha. So, to oblige her, I asked my husband to help with an impromptu photo shoot.

We positioned ourselves in the living room in front of the fireplace, our typical ‘family photo’ spot. Unfortunately, Mocha had other ideas. No matter how I coaxed, begged and demanded, Mocha would not cooperate. Initially, she nearly jumped into my arms, all excited about this new adventure. Once she figured we weren’t going for a walk or playing an exciting game, she decided to lie down instead. We wanted her to sit and face the camera, but she purposefully turned away with her face on the carpet.

How often do you see dogs sitting quietly and elegantly with their owners? Facebook is full of great dog pictures. Not us, not this dog. After a dozen tries, Mocha was finished with this new project and walked off to hide behind the chair. We got out dog treats which temporarily made her reappear. Until the treats were gone and we still had no decent shot.

And the Winner is…

My husband then had the glorious idea of getting her on top of the raised fireplace. No way! Mocha wasn’t going to fall for that. She again retreated and scooted low to escape the loathsome black machine in front of my husband’s face.

In the end we managed a half-decent shot. Not what we wanted, but you get the idea. And since I’m no model material either, we simply deserve each other.

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Blog Tour Adventure

I’m currently participating in a blog tour organized by Goddess Fish Productions. As part of the tour I’ve answered more than a hundred questions. Some were quite unusual such as what I like on my pizza. I also had to confess to being a chocoholic and that English in high school was my least favorite subject.

Below I’ve added the tour stop schedule with a number of interviews, excerpts, a few blog posts and a review. I’ll be “hanging out” at each individual blog on the day it is posted to comment and answer questions. Please stop by and say hello.

Blog Date and Stop

January 11: Lisa Haselton’s Reviews and Interviews

January 12: Rogues Angels

January 13: Books in the Hall

January 14: Room With Books

January 15: FictionZeal

January 18: It’s Raining Books

January 19: Deal Sharing Aunt

January 20: Writer Wonderland

January 21: Kit ‘N Kabookle

January 22: Two Ends of the Pen

January 25: Danita Minnis

January 26: Reviews by Crystal

January 27: Bedazzled By Books

January 28: The Avid Reader – review only

January 29: Long and Short Reviews YA

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Holiday Special – Free Map with Purchase

Free Map of Medieval Hanstein – Hand-illustrated 11×17

Between now and December 31st I’ll send anyone who purchased “Escape from the Past: The Duke’s Wrath” this hand-illustrated medieval map by Bloomington art director James Yount.

Simply send a copy of your receipt dated between12.15.2015 and 31.12.2015 and your address to escapefromthepast1 (at) gmail (dot) com.

This map will be a great reference for books 1 and 3.

Order on Amazon

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