Chris Rogers's Blog, page 22

Crayon Box Philosophy

Sometimes, reading a piece of my work, I feel sick that I could create such bilge and consider it passable prose. That’s why God made “delete” keys, right? Other times, I stumble across a piece that actually lifts my spirit a bit. That happened this morning as I listened to Chapter 7 of the upcoming audio production of Emissary. Here’s an excerpt–I hope it makes you smile.

For Longshadow, Muay Thai was not a career sport. He had no desire to hit the ring and exchange kicks to titillate a crowd of thrill seekers. He just wanted to stay fit, practiced and, if a situation required it, deadly.

The first time Dad gave him the L.I.F.E. speech was on Longshadow’s first day of grammar school.

“Son, you have no control over what sort of family you’re born into,” Dad said, using a ballpoint pen to draw the letter L on the back of the new crayon box Kirk was taking to class. “You were lucky, you got a good one. But thereafter, you learn to make your own Luck. And you do that by always having more Information than the next fellow.” He drew the letter I. “You get Information in school. You get it on the playground. You get it from reading –”

“I can’t read yet, Dad,” Kirk informed him.

“— and from listening, especially to your Family. Family is your lifeline, it’s sacred, more important than anything. When you need something, Family’s there for you. If they need something, you’re there for them.” He drew the letter F.

“What about friends?”

“If they’re good enough friends, you treat ’em like Family.” Finally, he drew the letter E. “Nothing you’ll learn anywhere can take the place of Experience, good ones, bad ones, you’ll rack up a lot of years of Experience before you get to be my age.”

“That’s why you’re so smart?”

It might’ve sounded to Dad like he was wising off, but Kirk had meant it. At that age, he believed people just naturally got smarter as they grew older. He hadn’t yet been exposed to the middle-aged idiots of the world.

Look for Emissary in audio format, also at ChartHousePress.com, with audio production by Jeffrey Hays (early 2015).

Readers, a FREE e-book of the short-story prequel to Emissary is available now at http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=never+go+home+chris+rogers, or at ChartHousePress.com.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Emissary-Chris-Rogers-

Merry and Bright

Have a wonderful Holiday season this year, and a gloriously fruitful 2015.

PS. I painted this some years ago from objects gathered at the holiday, sent it on Christmas cards that year, and it continues to make me smile.

The Wizardry of Frank Moore

Do you notice your neighbors’ talents? Is the coffee shop girl a math wizard? Does the guy in the next cubicle write stories at night that would dazzle King or Koontz or Clancy? Will the clerk at your favorite car wash be the next Picasso?

Three times I’ve placed my work in the hands of a friendly employee of the US Post Office who just happens to also be a superb musician, a video artist, and a wizard at distilling a story to its essence. Frank Moore loves to read. After I gave him my novel, Slice of Life, he wrote original music, shot the video, and brought it all together brilliantly.

 

Then he did it again with my Death Edge Tales anthologies

and once more with Emissary.

Is it any wonder I’ve already signed him up for Here Lies a Wicked Man, scheduled for a 2015 release?

The cover art is coming along as I finish the edit. Look for it here or at charthousepress.com

Switching Lanes

When I first learned to drive–and I confess, I was already married with children–getting onto a Houston freeway during afternoon drive time terrified me. But I wanted to take an art class downtown, and my husband couldn’t drive me because he needed to stay home, serve the dinner I had already prepared, and put the kids to bed. He advised me to get into the lane I knew would take me where I wanted to go and simply stay there until I reached my exit. Let the other drivers do whatever they needed to do, but stay focused on my destination.

Great advice–not only for driving terrified but for many other terrifying ventures I’ve made since then. Sometimes, though, we need to switch lanes.

When I feel myself approaching temporary burnout on a project, switching lanes completely for a while renews my energy, especially when I switch from “intellectual” to “emotional” pursuits or from “mental” to “physical.” Usually, that means signing off from the computer and any story I might be writing, go to my art studio, select some paints and pick up a brush.

This time, I started the cover painting for a book that’s in my “revise” queue and assessed another painting already in progress. “Swans” has been waiting the finishing touches for several months. “Here Lies a Wicked Man” is scarcely started.

There’s joy in squeezing out red, blue, and yellow watercolors and splashing them on with abandon as I create the under-painting. Then it goes into my “finish this” queue while I switch lanes again and write another story.

Life is good when you have choices.

Under-painting for Here Lies a Wicked Man

 

We’re Nothing Without the People Who Believe in Us

One of my first great experiences at the River Oaks Bookstore occurred when our critique group outgrew the Jungman Branch Library.

“No problem,” Mike Jones told us. “You can meet here. Just leave it like you found it.” Mike hardly knew me, yet he gave me a key to lock up.

Mike’s mother, Jeanne Jard, told me later, “Book lovers tend to be trustworthy people.” That friendly attitude has kept customers returning to this friendly, comfortable little shop for 38 years despite industry changes. Houston readers and authors love it.

That’s why I felt especially proud when Jeanne asked if I would like to launch Emissary at their store. Of course, I would. There’s no place I’d feel more at home.

So join us there if you can from 5-7 pm on Thursday, December 4 to scoop up a signed copy of Emissary while you enjoy chatting with friends, signing up for prizes, and generally having a great time.

River Oaks Bookstore, 3270 Westheimer, Houston, 77098

713.520.0061, riveroaksbookstore.com

Never Go Home – an Emissary Short Story

Great characters quickly take on a life. If an author is truly tuned in, that character is like a friend – or an enemy – someone you want to know better anyway.

Emissary Ruell became a reality for me early on. His unique view of Humans often makes me smile.That’s why I had to know more about his life before he came to Earth.

Writing this short story filled in some interesting gaps in my understanding of his struggle. You won’t meet Longshadow or President Hale in this story, but you’ll get to know Ruell’s mentor, Kralaill.

And for Amazon Prime members, it’s FREE right now.

http://www.amazon.com/Never-Go-Home-EMISSARY-Short-ebook/dp/B00QEMVGOM/ref=sr_1_1_twi_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417446029&sr=1-1&keywords=never+go+home+Chris+Rogers

While you’re there, check out Emissary, the novel.

Or Order It Now from http://charthousepress.com/books/emis...

 

It’s Finally Here!

Readers were not ready for this book when I first conceived it. At Thanksgiving time just after the turn of the century–gosh it still feels strange to use that phrase–and I was taking my annual driving trip from Texas to Wyoming.  My suspense series featuring bounty hunter Dixie Flannigan was gaining great reviews and lots of fans.

Somewhere on that long trip, with the sun–or the stars–in my face, the idea of emigration and our national motto, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe…” and I wondered what we would do if approached by refugees from a dying planet. Not coming here to invade or take over but with a lot to give to humans if we just lay out the welcome mat. I pitched the idea to my agent. He said, “Can you do it without the alien?”

“Well, no.” I understood where he was coming from. Science-fiction was in a slump at the time, romance had peaked out, mystery was holding its own, but legal thrillers were the rage. So I put Emissary on a back burner while I wrote other things, including a ten-year stint as a ghostwriter when my mystery series was dropped.

Today, however, with science-fiction peaking again and cross-genre novels taking up shelf space in our bookstores, Emissary‘s time has come. Thanks to Jeffrey Hastings, Diane Krause, Megan LaFollett, Eric Dunlap, and all the great people at Chart House Press, it is available for pre-order now and at bookstores on December 2, 2014. Also, thanks to Bill Crider, bestselling author of 60-something novels of mystery, suspense, horror, and humor, the word is out that Emissary has “plenty of action…interesting characters from political figures to tattoo artists…[and] a real slam-bang change of pace.”

Call your favorite bookstore and ask for it or

Order it now from charthousepress.com/books-emissary/

 

Dear Author: Wrap it Up with a Wow!

Endings are tough. How many writers deliver a great read through Act II but cannot tie up Act III? This is where we:

1. Pull together all the plot threads .

2. Show how the hero has changed and deserves to win.

3. Create the final, most powerful confrontation between hero and nemesis.

4. Make that scene emotionally cathartic for the reader.

5. Wind down in a satisfying and believable resolution.

I’ve had it go both ways. With Bitch Factor and many of my short stories, the perfect ending came in first draft. In Rage Factor and a few failed short stories, the ending was like walking on nails to conceive. My agent loved my screenplay, Invite the Devil, but wanted a “bigger” ending. She said to think “cinematically.” Excellent advice.

In real life, endings rarely come all at once or get tied up quickly and satisfactorily. One day’s struggle ends as the next one starts. That’s why we turn to books and movies for that feeling of completion. Our job as writers is to create fulfillment in a story’s final act. If we slack off here, the story’s lost.

Picture the last hill of a roller coaster. In the opening pages of your story you have set up the ending. The best ending, surprising yet totally appropriate to the situation, includes three beats:

1. Crisis: where the hero hits a wall and makes the hardest decision. Everything is lost or threatened. Reflecting on past errors, the hero resigns all hope.

In Silence of the Lambs, Clarice, stripped of her FBI validity, decides to continue her investigation, anyway, and follow the clue she’s found.

In Tootsie, Michael decides to sacrifice fame for love and reveal his deceit.

In Misery, Paul has been imprisoned, maimed, and is helpless to stop his nemesis, but decides to stop her anyway.

Heart Vs. Duty is most clearly defined during crisis. Clarice’s heart’s desire is to be an FBI investigator, yet she risks it all because she feels it’s right.

Michael will lose the woman he loves and his heart’s desire, acting, if he comes clean, but for the industry he respects, he belatedly tells the truth.

Paul’s will has been destroyed by drugs and torture, but his duty to life, his art, and his readers is to climb back out of his misery and fight.

2. Climax: despite failure, the hero summons a last whisper of resolve, draws on newly realized strength, and faces the nemesis in a final confrontation. One question to ask, is your hero out of options or out of time?

In Tootsie, Michael, with his demanding personality, is his own nemesis. Our of options, he conquers his negative personality traits by publicly stripping off his persona .

In Misery, Paul’s rescuer turns vicious jailor and forces him to write. Out of options, he sets fire to the finished manuscript, she tries to pull pages from the flames, giving him a chance to fight back.

In Silence of the Lambs, Starling’s darkest moment decision brings her unexpectedly face to face with her nemesis, a serial killer, where her only option is to fight. She eventually wins the battle and rescues the victim.

The Hero MUST face the Nemesis. This cannot be done off stage or delivered in summary. This is the Wow!–the payoff the reader gets for hanging in there throughout the story. As simple as this sounds, it’s amazing how many aspiring, and sometimes seasoned, writers wimp out. You must write it.

3. Resolution: win or lose, the hero’s choices should make the reader feel content with the outcome.

Leave the reader hungry for more. Your character has come to a new and better understanding of life, but not everything is perfect. Major plot threads need to be wrapped up, but other threads, especially subplots, may leave the reader will fill in the blanks. It’s like a good meal. You enjoy eating it, your hunger is appeased, yet you can’t pass up dessert or that after-dinner drink. You want just a taste more.

That’s the way to leave your reader: satisfied but eager for the next installment.

 It’s Finally Here!  Emissary, available December 2, 2014.

Join Us for a launch party December 4, 5-7 pm at: River Oaks Bookstore, 3270 Westheimer, Houston, Tx 77098, (713) 520-0061

Or Pre-Order now at charthousepress.com/books-emissary/

Music to an Author’s Ears: “I Couldn’t Put It Down”

Creative people enjoy the creative process. Getting stuck at any point in that process tends to erode creativity. That’s why neophyte artists and writers often dabble with one idea then another before finding their niche—and as soon as that niche becomes a rut, they’re ready to move on.

Unfortunately, readers and art lovers appreciate ruts. They want to recognize a favorite author’s latest book by its cover, its title, the story setting, and the characters who populate the story. They want to recognize a favorite painter’s style by the color palette, subject matter, and method of applying paint. As a fan of other artists and authors, I’m no different.

As both artist and author, however, I’m constantly challenged with the niche vs rut dilemma. I love exploring new ideas. Where would my art or my writing be today if I didn’t? Nevertheless, I also want to please the fans who buy my books and my paintings—I mean, who doesn’t want to be appreciated?

Thus I found myself dancing a jig these past weeks when I heard from various readers, “I couldn’t put it down.” One reader was referring to the fourth installment in my Dixie Flannigan suspense series, Slice of Life, others to my latest novel, Emissary, which deviates from my former niche in several ways.

The first deviation readers will note is that Emissary straddles the genre delineation from mystery suspense to science fiction. Anyone who has read my short stories, which fall into many genres, will catch on quickly. Dixie Flannigan followers, however, might feel a little out of place for the first few pages.

So this blog is dedicated not only to everyone who responded to Emissary with, “I couldn’t put it down,” but also to every reader willing to take that next step with me into a new niche. Writing this book was a lot of fun, and I hope readers enjoy the journey as much as I did.

Pre-Order Emissary Now at Amazon.com or at ChartHousePress.com/books-emissary/

Dear NaNoWrimers: 3 Ways to Renew the Passion

Last night I watched Dead Poets Society again, a 1989 film by screenwriter Tom Schulman, and was reminded of what John Keating inspired in his students: passion. While tradition and discipline are fine for getting the words right, nothing beats passion for Getting the Words Written.

You’ve felt those moments when you sat down at the keyboard with an idea burning in your brain and you could scarcely type fast enough to get it down. You’re so driven by the passion of that idea that when you finally look up, an hour has passed, or two hours or four, and your butt hurts but you feel wonderfully drained, and the pages are there in front of you instead of rattling around in your skull.

You’re also acquainted with those moments when you clean the toilet rather than sit down to write because nothing in your head is driving you. The passion is in there, somewhere, so how do you get hold of it again? Here are 3 things I do:

1. Revisit my notes. It’s like “priming a pump” to start water flowing.

2. Focus on “setting.” Really get into it—what season is it, spring, summer… ? What’s the weather like—raining, sweltering, freezing? What sounds do you hear—birds, a lawnmower, a boat? What’s that smell—smoke from a grill? A cigar? A house burning?

3. Start a mind-map. Grab the nearest piece of paper and something to write with. Write a word in the middle of the page, any word that comes to mind, maybe it’s—teeth. Circle it. Draw a line from that circle and write a character’s name, circle it. In 3 words, describe those teeth, and if you feel driven to the keyboard, go. Otherwise, move to the next character and the next.

In 5 minutes or less, any of these 3 engine-starters will drive me back into the story with passion.

Pre-Order Emissary at ChartHouseBooks.com/books-emissary/