Marian Allen's Blog, page 478

Insectivorous Invader

[image error]Charlie and I were sitting in the front room listening to a Barbara J. King lecture on biological anthropology (YES, we really were, okay?), and I looked up and saw this. I'n't he just the cutest li'l dickens?

So he was like, "Lady, that's embarrassing!" And I was like, "You're the one who isn't wearing pants." But I quit being inside taking pictures of his underside and went outside and took pictures of his topside.

He reminded me of Toady, this stuffed frog I used to have who did impressions of stars and movie scenes. But this is supposed to be a short post for the A-to-Z Challenge–writing short is turning out to be the biggest challenge for me–so I'll save Toady for another time. I still have him, actually, kinda-sorta.

Kermit barada nikto

But one last picture, of my welcome invader, welcome because he was up on the window eating the bugs attracted to the inside light.

WRITING PROMPT: Have your main character find another species in or about his/her home. Is it a danger to your character, or an annoyance or a blessing?

MA

Sample Sunday – FORCE OF HABIT

The new book is due out in May. I've sent in an acceptable final draft, now waiting for Publisher's edits/proof copy. It's a cop/sf/farce.

When Bel Schuster goes off limits on the planet Llannonn, all she wants is a breath of fresh air. Instead, she's kidnapped by a Terran criminal who mistakes her for someone worth a ransom. Gangsters from yet another planet, local law enforcement and highly placed political operatives all get into the act, as a tangle of misunderstanding, miscommunication and mistaken identity land Bel in court, facing what passes for a legal system on Llannonn.

"Remember," Hessaphess said, "you can rent a room, you can swim, you can zero-gee, you can spend all twelve hours in the bar; but you can't, under any circumstances, leave the Inn. No exceptions, this means YOU. Understood?"

Everybody nodded. Everybody headed for the bar.

"Ven Hessaphess," said Bel, putting a hand on one of his right elbows.

"No exceptions," he repeated.

"No, of course not, certainly not, why, what a thought," said Bel. "I only wanted to ask if I could buy you a drink."

"Why?"

"What do you care?"

Wotan Hessaphess had never turned down a free drink in his life. He made his usual acceptance speech: "I'd love it, but I left my moneybelt in my other tunic, so…"

"So you can't buy a round in return. I understand. Don't think a thing of it. Listen, I've got specie burning a hole in my pedal pushers and nothing much to spend it on. Let's have a bottle or two, my treat."

Hessaphess didn't mind if he did.

It didn't take Bel long to realize a barrel or two wouldn't have made any difference. The Engineer became elevated, yes, and told tall tales of engines he had known, interrupting himself with spirited attempts at singing "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God," improvising where memory failed, but he never forgot an order, and he never compromised.

Bel finally gave up. She bought him a final bottle and moved (rather unsteadily) to a dim and distant table, there to brood over the illustrated brochures from the rack in the lobby.

WRITING PROMPT: Is there any place your character considers or has been told is off-limits? Under what circumstances would he/she violate that taboo?

MA

The Name Is Kitty. Hello Kitty.

Our #3 daughter, knowing how I am about Hello Kitty, gave me a coloring page the other day. This is awesomesauce, because I scanned it and now I can computer-color it any way I want to and STILL HAVE IT!

Our poor #4 daughter, who was totally into dinosaurs and cars, had to put up with a lot of My Little Pony and Hello Kitty stuff because I wanted it. Yes, MomGoth loves My Little Pony and Hello Kitty. It's kind of like Terry Pratchett's anthropomorphic personification of DEATH loves kittens.

WRITING PROMPT: Give a very hard character an unexpected soft spot. Not necessarily a weakness=flaw, but a weakness=tenderness.

MA

Goodness Gracious, Great — Great What?

Ah, I'm channeling my youth today, whippersnappers!

When I pondered the letter G, the first thing that came to mind was Great Balls of Fire. And here, for your listening pleasure, is the maniacal JERRY! LEE! LEWIS!

Also, the gorgeous and gracious Holly Ruggiero is running a glorious series of posts this month on the subject of gemstones, beginning with this one on amethyst.  I see those babies and I can only say one thing: GIMMEE!

WRITING PROMPT: Under what circumstances or compulsion would your main character sing in front of a group of people?

MA

Force, Fanfic, Flash and Flash

My upcoming sf/cop/farce novel, FORCE OF HABIT, began as a Star Trek (TOS) fanfic story, published in Devra Langsam's fanzine, MasiformD. Fanfic, in case you don't know, is fiction written by fans, using the characters and/or world of a copyrighted work.

Fanfic can be placed on a continuum running from "exactly like an episode the writer didn't write" to "I'm wearing my mommy's high heels and I am the STAR". Mine was somewhere in the middle, leaning slightly to my mommy's high heels.

Now, taking a piece of fanfic and turning it into original fiction is called filing off the serial numbers. And THAT can fall on a continuum running from "same car, no serial number" (changing all the names) to "run that sucker through a chop shop and give it a paint job" (keep the basic plot and your own characters and change as much of the rest as possible). Mine is so close to the chop-shop end, its origins would probably be undetectable to anyone who didn't know. Sometimes I forget, myself.

Flash is flash fiction, occasionally defined as up to 2,000 words, but more often 1,000, 500, 100 or fewer (fewer, children–not "less"–"fewer"). I write it (see the Hot Flashes tab above). Love it.

Flash is also the design of a tattoo. If you go into a tattoo parlor, you can look through books of flash to pick the tattoo you want. I have no tattoos, because I have a very low pain threshold, but I love tattoos. I get fake ones sometimes. I just joined Second Life, and my avatar is going to get some. Free, of course, because, you know, it's me. People with tattoos are usually good guys in my books and stories, because most of the people I've met in real life with tattoos have been good people.

WRITING PROMPT: Does your main character have any tattoos? What does he/she think about them? Write a scene in which he/she meets someone with a lot of multi-color tattoos.

MA

Not About Eels

Yes, of course I'm taking advantage of today's A-to-Z Challenge's letter to talk about my so-far-latest book, EEL'S REVERENCE. Wanna make something of it? –Er, I mean, I do hope you don't mind too very much.

As my tagline says: The Eel is a place. The reverence is … complicated. EEL'S REVERENCE is a fantasy, I suppose. There's no magic in it, except the magic of the influence of strong personalities on other people. The central conflict is between the worldviews of two strong women, both priests of Micah. Micah was a man who practiced humility, poverty, acceptance of all people, the concept of The All, and non-violence. Aunt Libby, in her 80s, also practices these. Aunt Isabella, middle-aged, is a "reaver priest", who gives lip service to Micah but practices the opposites. One of Isabella's cronies, Uncle Phineas, has his own Facebook page, because it amuses me.

For more information on the book, a better look at the cover, and links to a free story in the same world and a free first chapter, click here.

WRITING PROMPT: Does your main character's worldview include religion? Why or why not?

MA

Death By Chocolate

[image error]I found this at the grocery and it followed me home.

Just so you know, here is the mathematical calculation that convinced me it was the practical thing to do:

Chocolate ice cream + chocolate bits + chocolate candy = full of win

It is, too.

Since it's Tuesday, I'm posting at Fatal Foodies, today on the subject of dim sum.

WRITING PROMPT: What is your main character's food weakness?

MA

Cho Friday

I know it's Monday. Cho Friday is what I call Kimball Cho. He's a character on a crime show: The Mentalist. He's Chinese*. His manner is curt. His delivery is clipped. His attitude is cool, not to say cold. In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, next to the entry for "flat affect" is this picture.

I call him Cho Friday because he reminds me of Joe Friday in the old Dragnet series.

Next time you have seven spare minutes, you might enjoy this video of what the maker calls "the best of Cho". Not the bits I would have chosen, but good, anyway. And Cho picking up women in a bar is classic.

*I stand corrected: Cho is Korean, not Chinese. Which only goes to prove that, when Cho is on the screen, it ain't the dialog I'm paying attention to.

WRITING PROMPT: How would three of your characters go about it if he/she had to pick up a stranger in a bar? If you don't have any characters, yet, come up with three and plan the scenes.

MA

 

Sample Sunday – Ann Lewis and Murder in the Vatican

Today, I'm giving you a break and posting a sample from someone else.

I met Ann Lewis last year at Magna cum Murder mystery convention. She was beautiful and kind, and I'm pleased as punch to host her on my blog. Here is her bio:

Born and raised in Waterford, Michigan, Ann Margaret Lewis attended Michigan State University, where she received her Bachelor's degree in English Literature. She began her writing career writing tie-in children's books and short stories for DC Comics. Before Murder in the Vatican: The Church Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes, she published a second edition of her book, Star Wars: The New Essential Guide to Alien Species, for Random House.

Ann is a classically trained soprano, and has performed around the New York City area. She has many interests from music to art history, to theology and all forms of literature. She is the President of the Catholic Writers Guild, an international organization for Catholic Writers and the coordinator of the Catholic Writers Conference LIVE. After living in New York City for fifteen years, Ann moved to Indianapolis, Indiana with her husband Joseph Lewis and their son, Raymond. Together they enjoy their life in the heartland.

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1) Can you say how it first occurred to you to write about Holmes and the Vatican and how your characters evolved from that first spark to full characters?

I have loved Holmes since high school, and when I was in college I wanted to write a Holmes story. I didn't know which one until I saw Watson make an offhand reference about "the sudden death of Cardinal Tosca"— a case Holmes had solved for the pope of the time. Watson didn't tell that story, though. It is one of the "untold tales"—one of those tantalizing little references Watson makes to cases that Holmes solved when not "on screen." That being the case, the idea really resonated and I wanted to write it at the time. I had no idea what would happen in the story, I just knew I wanted to write it. I even managed to travel to Italy in college, looking for ideas I could use—spending some time at the Vatican. But I didn't have the ability to write like Doyle—no "chops" as they say. What I wrote was positively dreadful. So I put the idea aside…for about twenty years. When my husband and I were moving from New York, I found my old notes and thought—"I can do this now!" Just goes to show, never throw away your ideas. You never know when you may want them.

Of course, Sherlock Holmes and his friend Dr. Watson were created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, so they didn't spring from my head initially. And Pope Leo XIII was a real person. Regardless, I had to make them mine in some way. I did a lot of research for both, and came away with my understanding of the characters. With Holmes—I reread the stories again many times, getting a grip on who he and Watson are and getting used to the music of Watson's voice. With Pope Leo, I read biographies about him and dug for primary source material to get an idea of his personality. I stayed as true to them as I could, though Pope Leo is a bit more energetic and active than he probably was in real life. I got to know them as well as I know my own family—in fact, they became family to me. I fell in love with them.

2) Did you choose your subject, or did your subject choose you?

I'd say it chose me. Stumbling upon that one idea opened the possibilities in my head and they germinated over twenty years. Re-discovering those old college notes put a fire under a recipe already cooking. And the more I read about Pope Leo, the more I was compelled to write a story about his beautiful personality.

3) How do you work?

Slowly, I'm afraid. Unless I'm really inspired, at which point I go crazy trying to get the story out. My writing comes in spurts. I write a whole bunch, then nothing for a month or two, then another whole bunch. It's maddening—especially when I'm on deadline.

4) Are you involved with email lists and/or social media? Why or why not?

I am on some writers lists, and on facebook and LinkedIn. I'm curious about Twitter. I might take that on in a bit, but I need to figure it out. However, any and all of these are time-suckers. I spend too much time there and get no writing done.

5) If you could have an evening with one fictional character, your own or someone else's, who would it be and why?

I know most would think I'd say Sherlock Holmes, and that's half-correct. To tell the truth, I'd like to spend some quiet time with Watson. I like Watson more as a person. He is the model of perfect charity and a good friend. I think I'd just like to take him to a pub and buy him a beer. Holmes can come along if he wants. If he's nice, I might buy him a round, too.

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Excerpt from MURDER IN THE VATICAN, "The Death of Cardinal Tosca":

"You've forgotten one detail, Padre," said Holmes, in reference to the pope's new attire.

"Che?"

"L'anello." Holmes held up his right hand and pointed to his fourth finger.

"Ah." Leo pulled the fisherman's ring from his finger and dropped it into the left pocket of the black cassock. The young priest then handed him a tall black umbrella, and Leo set its end to the floor with authoritative thud.

It is amazing how clothes can change the appearance of a man. Where once stood the proverbial Vicar of Christ on Earth, now stood a simple, venerable Italian priest. Strangely, he resembled the aged Italian cleric persona Holmes once adopted to avoid the notice of Professor Moriarty.

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The illustrations, which were done for the book but look like period pieces, are fabulous. Take a gander at this book trailer and see for yourself:

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Visit the web site and, if it suits your fancy, buy the book from the publisher or from Amazon.

WRITING PROMPT: Just for fun, write a scene with Sherlock Holmes in your Work In Progress. Go on–you know you want to!

MA

Blue Canary and Breffiss and Other B Things

"Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch, who watches over you. Make a little birdhouse in your soul." Ah, they don't write 'em like that anymore. Oh, wait, they do. This is my favorite song by They Might Be Giants. (I freaking love They Might Be Giants! Just thought you'd like to know.)

I also love breffiss. Breffiss is the most important meal of the day. Waffles. 'Nuff said.

Also books.

WRITING PROMPT: Does your main character need to sleep with a nightlight? If so, why? If not, make it so.

MA