Marian Allen's Blog, page 422

Chris Redding is Incendiary

No, I don’t mean she starts flame wars. INCENDIARY is her latest thrill-filled novel.

Chris Redding lives in New Jersey with her husband, two kids, one dog and three rabbits. She graduated from Penn State with a degree in Journalism. When not writing she works for her local hospital in the Emergency Services Department. She has been writing for thirteen years and has five books published.

Okay, take it away, Chris!

I’ve been involved in Emergency Medical Services, in some way, for about twenty years. My job now is in that department, but it is only tangential to the people who do the real work of saving lives.

I was always fascinated by EMS. I dated a guy briefly in college who was an EMT and I flirted with the idea of joining the local rescue squad. What held me back? My mother. She always said, “You have a big heart.” Too bad she said it with a sneer on her face. I knew she’d never understand me with a pager going out in the middle of the night.

I had another chance in college, but I worked almost full time while going to school full time so there was no time.

After college, when I worked in my field, journalism, my beat was police, fire, and rescue. Then I married a volunteer firefighter. I left the journalism job and joined the local rescue squad. I became an EMT. This set me on the path, in a roundabout way, to my current job.

So you see, if you write what you know, it makes sense that I write about EMS. Hence, my heroine in Incendiary is an EMT. In fact she runs her local first aid squad. And she’s a firefighter. Her brother is the local fire chief. It just made sense to me. I haven’t seen too many books involving EMTs. They are mostly about firefighters, like my hero.

Because I do love me a firefighter. (Remember, I married one.)

But I also think that there is built in tension in this field. EMTs and paramedics are often dealing with life and death situations. Maybe it’s the drama of it all that initially drew me to this field. Not sure, but I can’t imagine not being a part of it, in even a small way.

Blurb:

What if your past comes back to haunt you?

 Chelsea James, captain of the Biggin Hill First Aid Squad, has had ten years to mend a broken heart and forget about the man who’d left her hurt and bewildered. Ten years to get her life on track. But fate has other plans.

Fire Inspector Jake Campbell, back in town after a decade, investigates a string of arsons, only to discover they are connected to the same arsons he’d been accused of long ago. Now his past has come back to haunt him, and Chelsea is part of that past.

Together, Chelsea and Jake must join forces to defeat their mutual enemy. Only then can they hope to rekindle the flames of passion. But before they can do that, Chelsea must learn to trust again. Their lives could depend on it.

Links:

http://www.chrisreddingauthor.com

http://chrisredddingauthor.blogspot.com

https://www.facebook.com/chrisreddingauthor

http://twitter.com/chrisredding

Thanks for having me today Marian.

cmr

Thanks for visiting, Chris!

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: Has anyone ever been discouraging about something you wanted to do? How did you react? Write a character who reacts differently. What happens?

MA

#SampleSunday – 21st Century Chanty

Since last week was Talk Like A Pirate Day, this poem seemed appropriate to share. Also: I didn’t write anything new this week.

A TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY CHANTY

by Marian Allen

Oh, the Modern Life is a rollicking life,

The jolliest life I know.

For I eat when I’m hungry and drink when I’m dry

And microwave “hi” or “lo” –

           Ha, ha!

And microwave “hi” or “lo”!

It’s good to come from a day at the bank,

Fresh ozone blown on the breeze,

A pop in my left hand, Big Mac in my right,

And watch any channel I please –

          Ha, ha!

And watch any channel I please!

CHORUS:

Oh, you may sing of the days gone by,

But these are the days for me, say I.

The Modern Life for me –

          Ha, ha!

The Modern Life for me!

Now, wasn’t that jolly?

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: Does your main character like his or her times, or wish for an earlier or a future “paradise”?

MA

#Caturday – Christopher Walken Shakes A Tail Feather

Did you know Christopher Walken is, in addition to being one of the scariest dudes on the planet, a song-and-dance man? Maybe you did know that. Maybe you’ve seen him in “Romance and Cigarettes”. Maybe you’ve seen him in “Pennies From Heaven”. But have you seen him in … PUSS IN BOOTS?

Here he is, singing, “Happy Cat” from that great, great movie.

WARNING: Do not watch this if you’re stoned. Or drinking anything. Or have a mouthful of food. Or are in the library. Or are in a public place.

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: Someone unexpectedly breaks into song.

MA

Rules? We Don’t Need No Steenking Rules!

Last Tuesday, I followed the rules for The Next Big Thing blog meme, talking about SAGE and tagging five other writers to talk about their works-in-progress. But now I’ve met someone new, and, as often happens when one meets someone new, the rules are going out the window.

No, calm down, I’m not having an affair (although, if I did, dollars to donuts I’d blog about it — these posts don’t write themselves, you know). I just met a writer on Twitter and I’m tagging her. Against the rules? Ha! I laugh your rules to scorn! Come and get me, Copper!!

So here is writer 6 of 5:

Ryder Islington. Her Twitter bio says: Writer of psychological drama. The stuff people are made of. Near victim of a serial killer. Retired from law enforcement and living the wrtier’s dream.

The cover of her latest book has, like, a linoleum cutter with blood dripping off of it, so I probably won’t be reading that one any time in this life, but I love her style.

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: A character breaks a rule.

MA

How To Go To Sleep

You wouldn’t think anybody as lazy as I am would have any trouble with this, but you’d be wrong. Being very nearly immobile by nature and being sleepy are not the same thing.

Very early in life, Mr. Alphabet and I became dear friends, and he comes to my rescue when I find myself lying sleepless. The quickest way I’ve found to drift into dreamland or, alternatively, amuse myself as I lie sleepless is to make alphabetical lists of fives. Five female names beginning with subsequent letters of the alphabet — Ann, Abigail, Althea, Ashley, zzzzzzzzz…. Or five male names on through the alphabet. Or Biblical names. Or cities. Wherever I drop off one night is where I begin the next night.

Lately, I’ve been doing book titles. This one has lasted me a good, long time, because wandering through my mental stacks sidetracks me into thinking about the books, which unhitches my cart from the horse of everyday reality, and it rolls backwards down the hill of consciousness into the valley of sleep. If that metaphor isn’t better than a sleeping pill, I don’t know what is.

Do you have any tricks for getting to sleep?

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: A character can’t get to sleep. Why? Does the character want to sleep or want NOT to sleep? What does he or she do?

New Deliciousness In and Out of Town

Or: Old Friends And New– Magdalena’s and RedWhite&Blush

First, Magdalena’s On The Square is now Magdalena’s Restaurant at Copperfield Commons in Georgetown, Indiana. The website is still under construction, but the restaurant is open. Imma go.

 

117 W. Walnut Street
Corydon, IN 47112

RedWhite&Blush, selling “Wine, Cheese, Gourmet Foods & Gifts”, just opened where Colokial gifts used to be, Colokial having consolidated itself into it’s New Albany location. I went in and looked around the other day.

Kathy Hoehn, one of the owners, showed me around with enthusiasm and graciousness. They have one entire room filled with wines. Kathy said, apart from the local wines they carry, she chooses wines not only because of their tastes but also because they aren’t wines you can find just anywhere. If I could afford it, I would ask her to choose a wine for me based on my tastes. While I don’t know a not-very-good wine from a better wine, I do know a superlative wine when I have one, because I had one once and I knew it.

Kathy Hoehn

They also have a dairy case filled with grass-fed organic cheeses from Swissland, Steckler, and Capriole, all Indiana farms. DO NOT ask me how you feed cheese grass. Just don’t.

I can attest to the deliciousness of the cheeses, because our vegan daughter bought us some for our birthdays. UM YUM! Yes, a little pricey, but it takes less good food to satisfy your appetite, if you can afford the initial outlay.

Anyway, that’s the food news from our house today. And remember what Jerome K. Jerome said in THREE MEN IN A BOAT:

Let your boat of life be light, packed with only what you need – a homely home and simple pleasures, one or two friends, worth the name, someone to love and someone to love you, a cat, a dog, and a pipe or two, enough to eat and enough to wear, and a little more than enough to drink; for thirst is a dangerous thing.

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: How delicate or educated is your main character’s palate?

MA

 

The Next Big Thing Week #13 – SAGE

My Work-In-Progress has been tagged by the fabulous Red Tash! In this meme, I must answer ten questions about my WIP and tag five other writers.

These other writers will post and tag next week, between September 25 and October 2.

Here are the questions:

What is the working title of your book?
Where did the idea come from for the book?
What genre does your book fall under?
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Who or What inspired you to write this book?
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

And here are my answers:

What is the working title of your book?

SAGE is the series. The first book is THE FALL OF ONAGROS.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

Fairy tales, mostly. I grew up reading Andrew Lang’s Colored Fairy Books, and adored the combination of magic and logic all good fairy tales must have. I loved it that so many fairy tales have strong female leads. In a lot of the stories, the man is enchanted or lost or confounded, and his sweetheart or the giant’s wife or a wise old woman or a benevolent fairy comes to his rescue.

What genre does your book fall under?

Fantasy. There are swords, and there is magic, but I wouldn’t call it Sword and Sorcery. Fantasy.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Oded Fehr would be perfect for Landry, a smooth villain.

Oded Fehr as Landry

Rafi Gavron IS Brady, a reluctant good guy.

Rafi Gavron as Brady

Viggo Mortensen — with red hair — would be Landry’s official ruffian, Guthrie.

Viggo Mortensen as Guthrie

I’ve given great thought to the men, you’ll notice….

I have a SAGE Pinterest board where I post pictures relevant to the books. I need to do more of that! If anybody has any suggestions, let me know.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Elsie‘s daring escape from her forced marriage to Landry sets off a series of interlocking events that lead directly to Kinnan, who claims Layounna as the illegitimate son of the dead ruler–and they say a unicorn has been sighted.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

SAGE will be published by Hydra Publications. I enjoy self-publishing, but it’s nice to be part of a “family”, too.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

The first draft? Probably about 9 months. The first finished draft? Probably about 9 years. The final draft? Closer to 20 years. I did a lot of rewriting, unwriting, re-rewriting, and polishing.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

WATERSHIP DOWN by Richard Adams, because it’s told partly by tales and legends. THE LAST UNICORN by Peter S. Beagle, because the fairy tales aren’t all shiny and sweet. Mind you, I’m not comparing my writing to theirs!

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

Nothing inspired me to write it. Rather, I wanted to write a book and this is what I ended up with. I usually have several projects underway, but I didn’t have back then; I just loved to write and had an urge to write. Just to write!

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Major characters are the Four Divine Animals of Chinese mythology: Unicorn, Dragon, Phoenix, and Tortoise. Tortoise is the bad one. Tortoise is my favorite.

Tag! Your WIP is “The Next Big Thing!”

Dianne Gardner http://iansrealandmore.blogspot.com

Michael Wallace http://thehashwriter.com

Beth Ann Masarik http://www.literarylunespublications....

James W. Peercy http://storiestotelldotcom.blogspot.com/

Lyndi Alexander http://lyndialexander.wordpress.com/

AAaaand … I’m posting today at Fatal Foodies on the subject of a delicious supper I made the other day.

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: Write about a game of tag.

MA

Michael Wallace Eternally Patrols

Michael Wallace very kindly hosted me on his blog last Thursday and also very kindly agreed to come here and tell us about his new book ETERNAL PATROL. It’s fascinating stuff!

Take it away, Mike:

Behind the Scenes: Eternal Patrol

Michael G Wallace

One problem with writing a story which involves WWII is the number of war historians out there that will hang on every detail no matter how slight. So when I took on the project of writing a time travel story that included two American Gato Class submarines, I knew the details would make or break the book. No one would have a problem with the time travel, but if I said the said the depth gauge was above the ballast gauge, they would throw the book down and say the entire story was unbelievable.

Even though some readers posted, in their reviews, I should have watched more WWII movies so my submarine facts would have been more accurate, several submariners have told me I had the details so accurate it was like being back on the boat.

Before I wrote my first word for this book, I spent a year and a half researching all I could about submarines. I read Commander’s logs, sailor’s journals and every manual, schematic, and website I could find about Gato Class submarines and their operations. This led to a lot of information about modern day subs which also came in handy as this is a time travel story.

“I did find some very unusual events surrounding the disappearance of two subs”

My research started with the Navy’s record archives catalog. I found, since the Navy launched its first commissioned submarine, (the USS Holland, October 12, 1900), it has kept a record of the location of each boat. The are listed as, “In Port”, “On Patrol”, “Sunk in Battle”, or “De-commissioned”. If a sub goes out on patrol, never returns and its fate is unknown, the Navy will officially list the submarine as, “On Eternal Patrol.” It was these subs I wanted to find.

I spent days going through each page of the Navy log writing down the names of all the subs from WWII still listed as On Eternal Patrol. Once I had my list, I delved into the logs, sightings and war reports from the U.S, Japanese, and German navies to try and find out what happened to the subs. As I expected, if the Navy couldn’t find out what happened, I wasn’t going to have much luck going through only the de-classified reports. But I did find some very unusual events surrounding the disappearance of two subs, the USS Corvina and the USS Dorado.

While on patrol in the Gulf of Mexico, the Commander of the Dorado radioed he had spotted a German U-boat. This was the last communication from the Dorado as she was never seen again. According to German records, they did not have a submarine in that area at that time. I’m going to give Commander Schneider the benefit of a doubt he knew what a U-boat looked like and one must have been in the area. If the Germans didn’t have any record of this sub in the area, it sounds like German black-ops.

“the Germans claimed they did not have a boat there at that time”

There are several conflicting stories of what happened to the Dorado. She sank under friendly fire, sank under attack off of Panama but none of these stories actually confirm what happened to her.

In my novel, I used the circumstances we know about the submarine. The last contact was that Schneider saw a U-boat in the area and the Germans claimed they did not have a boat there at that time. I knew these details would work well with my time travel story.

The second boat in my novel is the USS Corvina also listed as On Eternal Patrol. Like the Dorado, the Covina had some mysterious facts surrounding her disappearance. After months of searching through both U.S. and Japanese records, (ones that had been translated to English), I again found many conflicting stories. But, they all boil down to no one knows what happened to the sub.

The Corvina reported they were under attack by a Japanese destroyer which had an attack sub escort. The Japanese destroyer reported they had dropped depth charges on the American sub and followed her oil slick for miles. One problem here, after they dropped their depth charges, they never saw or heard from their Japanese attack escort sub. The Japanese Captain insisted he only sank one sub and it was the American boat. There was no way he would go back to Japan and tell the Emperor he sank one of his own subs.

So which sub did they sink? Debris from the Japanese sub was found by passing Allied ships hours after the attack and modern day deep water surveys have found the hull of the Japanese sub in that area but to this day no evidence has been found as to the fate of the Corvina.

“this crew spent the next several days wondering if they had all died in an earlier attack”

So I had my two submarines for my story. But with all that research, I found so many incredible stories of what happened to our subs when they were out there on patrol. Commanders wrote about their boats being flipped upside down and dragged across the ocean floor by undersea storms. While on the surface conducting open sea repairs and unable to submerge, one submarine had a Japanese destroyer pass by only fifty yards away and never saw them. And, what I found was common on many boats, this crew spent the next several days wondering if they had all died in an earlier attack and this is why the Japanese ship didn’t see them. Many subs went deeper than they were built to go causing the crew to wonder if they were still alive. Crewmen continuously made makeshift repairs with whatever they could find on the boat.

Every sub had to deal with “rogue fish.” These were torpedoes that would loose their steering and come back at the sub which launched them. To make it worse, they didn’t come back in a straight line. They darted all over like a tuna chasing a mackerel giving the sub no place to hide.

In the novel, Eternal Patrol, I brought all of these events into one story that linked both the Corvina and Dorado into a battle where the fate of the war, their future and our past is held on the outcome of their journey.

Check out the trailer:

Here’s more about my and my other books. http://timepirate.wordpress.com/

Michael G Wallace

Wow! And I love the cover, too. Thanks for visiting, Michael.

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: What do YOU think happened?

MA

#SampleSunday – How To Succeed Without Really Trying

It’s almost time for the Quills & Quibbles writers meeting this month, and I hadn’t done my exercise yet, so I did it for today’s Sample Sunday post. A complete short story in about 250 words. See if you can guess the three words we were assigned to use.

How To Succeed Without Really Trying

by Marian Allen ©2012

I was never much of a bowler, so I usually had the low score, which means I usually paid for the team’s between-games beer. I had gotten pretty good at carrying all them them by the necks (the beer, of course, not my teammates).

This one time, though, Jimbo got up when I did, and I thought he was coming to help me. I put in the order and, when I heard a heavy step behind me, thinking it was Jimbo, I said, carrying on a running gag we’d had that night, “Do these pants make my butt look big?”

A rumbling voice that was not Jimbo’s said, “Do I look like a f’ing haberdasher to you?”

He was large, with a trim beard, aviator glasses, and the look of a casual maniac.

I looked at the name on his team shirt and said, “No, Walter, you don’t. I apologize. Not that there’s anything wrong with haberdashers. Just in case, you know, you might know any. Unless you think there is something wrong with haberdashers, in which case I totally agree. Either way.”

Walter ordered two beers and a White Russian — which sounds like a haberdasher’s drink to me — and, giving me a dirty look and a grunt, went back to his team. I was happy to see they were on the other side of the alley from mine.

When I carried the beers back to my guys, I kept the encounter to myself. Keeping things to yourself: that’s really the key to getting along in the Goodfellas League. That, and usually getting the low score in bowling.

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: Write about an encounter at a bar, concession stand, or food cart.

MA

#Caturday – The Real Katya

I used to think Katya was the reincarnation of my previous cat, Miss Tiffany, but now I don’t.

Tiff used to jump up on the back of the rocking chair. Tiff was made of Styrofoam and her weight left the chair immobile. The first time Katya jumped up there and the chair moved, she acted like, Woah! That never happens! She doesn’t jump up there anymore.

Tiff used to follow me around the house and even go into the bathroom with me. If I closed the door with her outside, she would stand out there and talk to me. Sometimes, she would stick her paw under the door and try to grab me and pull me out, or she would scratch at the rug, or she would find things on the floor and poke them under to me. Katya follows me around and sometimes wants to come into the bathroom with me, but she isn’t OCD about it.

But she IS a reincarnation. Perhaps it’s appropriate that a cat named for a literary character (Katya Verkhovsteva  from Dostoevsky’s THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV) should be the reincarnation of a literary character.

Here is her alter ego:

And here is she:

Are you creeped out? I know I am.

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: A cat is a reincarnation of somebody your character knew well.

MA