Joylene Nowell Butler's Blog, page 25
June 30, 2012
May 13, 2012
IT'S MY MOTHER'S FAULT
Our home of twenty years has been under construction since the first of March. No sooner do I think we're nearing completion and something else needs to be done. Most recently we replaced the railing in the loft with a half-wall.
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March 23, 2012
February 24, 2012
February 17, 2012
February 10, 2012
Why SUSPENSE?
At my last reading, I was interviewed by Angela Brown, a reporter from Portage Daily Graphic. When Angela asked me "Why suspense?" I was stuck for an answer. What I came up with was vague at best. "I like suspense."
I like desserts too, but I prefer oatmeal raisin cookies over apple pie. That, at least, conjures up an image:
So why do I write suspense? Why am I, a recluse writer from Cluculz Lake, drawn to the darker side of human nature?
They say you write what you like. Five of my top favourite movies (in no particular order) are:
I am David
Kirot
Enemy at the Gate
Collateral
Shot Through the Heart
My favourite TV shows:
The Good Wife
Downton Abbey
The Killing
The Closer
The Big Bang Theory (even suspense writers need to laugh)
Last but not least, some of my favourite novels:
War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy
The Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens
The Bleeding Heart, by Marilyn French
Heaven's Prisoner, by James Lee Burke
The Traveler, by John Katzenbach
I have many other favourites writers such as Lustbader, Pyeatt, Hoare, V.L. Smith, Engber, Grisham... but I digress. I'm here to understand why I choose suspense over all the other genres. Why indeed. I'm curious if any of these answers resonate with you, if you're a suspense writer?
1. I dislike conflict in my life and writing suspense gives me a chance to work out those demons. (I'll delve more into this at the bottom)
2. I like a quiet routine and feel safer getting my thrills through books, movies, TV.
3. Reading about how ordinary heroic characters fight the system and even themselves to do the right thing always appeals to me.
4. I enjoy witnessing the triumph of a protagonist risking all to save someone s/he loves.
5. I connect with characters who love deeply but have difficulties expressing it, and therefore often lose out in the end.
I write suspense novels because I'm comfortable doing so. Things can always change, but for now the other genres feel too foreign to me. Writing historical adventures or historical romance, I wouldn't know how to begin. S/F look like more work than I'm capable of. While I can see myself attempting a children's book one day, comedy is a stretch I can't imagine making.
I've written 6 manuscripts; two are published. It wasn't until number four that I realized my books had a reoccurring theme. Each story touches upon the complexities of the parent/child relationship.
My first manuscript (unpublished) Always Father's Child, deals with the relationship of a girl and her father. A coming-of-age story. In the opening scenes, we're at his funeral. The story then travels back in time where the protagonist tries to shake his influence on her life. It's only through his death that she realizes her mistakes.
My second (first published) novel, Dead Witness, available now in Kindle/Kobo, is the story of a woman orphaned at 14, who cannot overcome the loss of her parents. Determined to never abandon her own children, after a horrific encounter, she's ready to give up her life to save them.
Kiss of the Assassin, yet to be published, is the story of a child who witnesses the murder/suicide of her parents, and spends the majority of her adult life striving for the love of her guardian, a man who, throughout her childhood, hints that she'll return to the orphanage if she displeases him. He trains her as an assassin to advance his career. He's motivated by proving to his estranged father that he was a worthy son and should have never been abandoned.
Broken but not Dead, is the story of professor Brendell Kisepisim Meshango, a Metis woman who was never loved by her mother, but who will die if she must, to save her daughter from a deranged psychopath.
None of these characters mirror my life. I was loved by devoted parents. But having known loss, I suppose my head needs to understand what my heart often can't. Writing suspense enables me to delve into the emotions that might otherwise render me useless. Through my characters, good and bad, I live out my fantasies and win in the end. Because, as we all know, we don't always win in life.
And this is why I love suspense, the uncertainty of it.
Broken But Not Dead
I like desserts too, but I prefer oatmeal raisin cookies over apple pie. That, at least, conjures up an image:
So why do I write suspense? Why am I, a recluse writer from Cluculz Lake, drawn to the darker side of human nature?
They say you write what you like. Five of my top favourite movies (in no particular order) are:
I am David
Kirot
Enemy at the Gate
Collateral
Shot Through the Heart
My favourite TV shows:
The Good Wife
Downton Abbey
The Killing
The Closer
The Big Bang Theory (even suspense writers need to laugh)
Last but not least, some of my favourite novels:
War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy
The Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens
The Bleeding Heart, by Marilyn French
Heaven's Prisoner, by James Lee Burke
The Traveler, by John Katzenbach
I have many other favourites writers such as Lustbader, Pyeatt, Hoare, V.L. Smith, Engber, Grisham... but I digress. I'm here to understand why I choose suspense over all the other genres. Why indeed. I'm curious if any of these answers resonate with you, if you're a suspense writer?
1. I dislike conflict in my life and writing suspense gives me a chance to work out those demons. (I'll delve more into this at the bottom)
2. I like a quiet routine and feel safer getting my thrills through books, movies, TV.
3. Reading about how ordinary heroic characters fight the system and even themselves to do the right thing always appeals to me.
4. I enjoy witnessing the triumph of a protagonist risking all to save someone s/he loves.
5. I connect with characters who love deeply but have difficulties expressing it, and therefore often lose out in the end.
I write suspense novels because I'm comfortable doing so. Things can always change, but for now the other genres feel too foreign to me. Writing historical adventures or historical romance, I wouldn't know how to begin. S/F look like more work than I'm capable of. While I can see myself attempting a children's book one day, comedy is a stretch I can't imagine making.
I've written 6 manuscripts; two are published. It wasn't until number four that I realized my books had a reoccurring theme. Each story touches upon the complexities of the parent/child relationship.
My first manuscript (unpublished) Always Father's Child, deals with the relationship of a girl and her father. A coming-of-age story. In the opening scenes, we're at his funeral. The story then travels back in time where the protagonist tries to shake his influence on her life. It's only through his death that she realizes her mistakes.
My second (first published) novel, Dead Witness, available now in Kindle/Kobo, is the story of a woman orphaned at 14, who cannot overcome the loss of her parents. Determined to never abandon her own children, after a horrific encounter, she's ready to give up her life to save them.
Kiss of the Assassin, yet to be published, is the story of a child who witnesses the murder/suicide of her parents, and spends the majority of her adult life striving for the love of her guardian, a man who, throughout her childhood, hints that she'll return to the orphanage if she displeases him. He trains her as an assassin to advance his career. He's motivated by proving to his estranged father that he was a worthy son and should have never been abandoned.
Broken but not Dead, is the story of professor Brendell Kisepisim Meshango, a Metis woman who was never loved by her mother, but who will die if she must, to save her daughter from a deranged psychopath.
None of these characters mirror my life. I was loved by devoted parents. But having known loss, I suppose my head needs to understand what my heart often can't. Writing suspense enables me to delve into the emotions that might otherwise render me useless. Through my characters, good and bad, I live out my fantasies and win in the end. Because, as we all know, we don't always win in life.
And this is why I love suspense, the uncertainty of it.
Broken But Not Dead
February 5, 2012
Does Selling Yourself Sell Your Book?
I'm home. I'm jetlag. I'm missing my baby grandson.
But this post isn't about Blake or me. It's about my novels. If you haven't read Susan Kieman Lewis' January 28th blog,(http://susankiernanlewis.wordpress.co...) please do. (Thanks Pat Brown for passing it along) Then explain to me what Susan thinks the alternative is.
It's not that I don't agreed with much of what she says, but I found her solutions weak. As authors, what else can we do to sell our novels that doesn't require tons of hard work, exhausting hours, little pay? To be told that everything I'm doing is a waste of time, makes me feel even more exhausted.
Susan doesn't believe Twitter, Facebook, or any of the other networking services sell novels. She says it's not about making friends and letting your readers know who you are and what you believe, it's about the novels. I'd tell you what else she says, but you might as well read it for yourself. Then maybe help me understand what the alternative is. I can't see myself begging reviewers to post reviews.
If she's right and no matter how terrific you think I am, you're not going to buy my books if thrillers aren't your thing, I get that. But what about those readers who do? How can I convince them that buying a copy of Dead Witness or Broken but not Dead is worth their time and money?
While I'm figuring that out, let me know what you think of Susan's post.
But this post isn't about Blake or me. It's about my novels. If you haven't read Susan Kieman Lewis' January 28th blog,(http://susankiernanlewis.wordpress.co...) please do. (Thanks Pat Brown for passing it along) Then explain to me what Susan thinks the alternative is.
It's not that I don't agreed with much of what she says, but I found her solutions weak. As authors, what else can we do to sell our novels that doesn't require tons of hard work, exhausting hours, little pay? To be told that everything I'm doing is a waste of time, makes me feel even more exhausted.
Susan doesn't believe Twitter, Facebook, or any of the other networking services sell novels. She says it's not about making friends and letting your readers know who you are and what you believe, it's about the novels. I'd tell you what else she says, but you might as well read it for yourself. Then maybe help me understand what the alternative is. I can't see myself begging reviewers to post reviews.
If she's right and no matter how terrific you think I am, you're not going to buy my books if thrillers aren't your thing, I get that. But what about those readers who do? How can I convince them that buying a copy of Dead Witness or Broken but not Dead is worth their time and money?
While I'm figuring that out, let me know what you think of Susan's post.
December 19, 2011
Thank You for Carrying On
Not long ago I received this poem from a dear friend. Because the last military flight out of Iraq left Saturday, today seems as good as any to share it with you and to extend my best wishes to those families who are now reunited with their loved one. As many of you know, our son served in Afghanistan during a very difficult time in our lives, and so I understand well what the families went
December 17, 2011
WINTER poem
No, I didn't compose this, but it does pretty well sum up my life this week. WINTER Poem
It's winter time in CanadaAnd the gentle breezes blowSeventy miles an hourAt thirty-five below.Oh, how I love CanadaWhen the snow's up to your buttYou take a breath of winterAnd your nose gets frozen shut.Yes, the weather here is wonderfulSo I guess I'll hang aroundI could never leave CanadaCuz I'm frozen to
It's winter time in CanadaAnd the gentle breezes blowSeventy miles an hourAt thirty-five below.Oh, how I love CanadaWhen the snow's up to your buttYou take a breath of winterAnd your nose gets frozen shut.Yes, the weather here is wonderfulSo I guess I'll hang aroundI could never leave CanadaCuz I'm frozen to
December 16, 2011
The Lake Froze
I'm not sure if it was inevitable or a fluke. My computer crashed. Luckily I do regular backups using Time Machine. Sadly, it won't let me restore to a particularly day but instead is making me restore one app at a time. Yes, it murderous.
However, I shall fix this problem. I'm too stubborn not to. Just wanted to let you know that if you don't hear from me for a few days, no comments on your
However, I shall fix this problem. I'm too stubborn not to. Just wanted to let you know that if you don't hear from me for a few days, no comments on your
