Carl Alves's Blog, page 62
July 5, 2012
The Story Behind my Story: Richfield Court
I wrote this story years ago, shortly after I bought my first house. It was a small, modest house but I was in my mid-twenties and glad to own it. The house was in a housing development, which are becoming increasingly popular these days. Tempering my enthusiasm for my new house was the ridiculous amount of rules that I had to adhere to. It drove me crazy. Here was this house that I bought with my hard earned money, and the nameless, faceless homeowner's association told me how high I could have my grass, what type of vehicles I could park outside of my house, and loads of inane rules. There was little I could do to fight back against these rules, except write this story.
Richfield Court is a story about a couple who unknowingly buy a house in the housing development from hell. I took my real life situation and amplified it to twenty. My poor couple, who could barely afford the house, live in a development with extreme rules, and insane neighbors who will do whatever they can to protect their sterile, pristine neighborhood. Granted something like this probably couldn't exist in the real world. At the very least, nobody would want to live in this place. Whereas I couldn't fight back in my real world situation, the couple in my story do in a most extreme way. You can read Richfield Court out now in the Behind Locked Doors anthology from Wicked East Press at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
Richfield Court is a story about a couple who unknowingly buy a house in the housing development from hell. I took my real life situation and amplified it to twenty. My poor couple, who could barely afford the house, live in a development with extreme rules, and insane neighbors who will do whatever they can to protect their sterile, pristine neighborhood. Granted something like this probably couldn't exist in the real world. At the very least, nobody would want to live in this place. Whereas I couldn't fight back in my real world situation, the couple in my story do in a most extreme way. You can read Richfield Court out now in the Behind Locked Doors anthology from Wicked East Press at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
July 3, 2012
Movie Review: Rock of Ages
I have two words for this movie: Major Disappointment. I want to preface this by writing that I had the opportunity to see the play last year in Baltimore, and perhaps my opinion is jaded by having seen the show, which was awesome. For starters, the movie is supposed to be a comedy, and I think I had maybe a half chuckle once during the course of the movie, whereas the play had me rolling the whole time. The movie took itself entirely too seriously. It's supposed to be light-hearted, fun and silly, and just like Tom Cruise's portrayal of Stacie Jaxx, it was self-absorbed.
That brings me to my next point - the cast was absolutely dreadful. Whoever chose Tom Cruise, a 5o year old man and a horrible actor to boot to play the role of a twenty something rocker ought to be shot. Besides the fact that I can't stand Tom Cruise, he was so miscast in this role. Stacie Jaxx is meant to be a goofy, drugged out, narcissistic singer and Cruise missed the boat. Speaking of miscast, Alex Baldwin playing the role of Denis Dupree was a joke. He's another lousy actor who was miscast in the role. My personal choice would have been Dee Snider, who plays the role on Broadway. The same could be said for Russel Brand, who should never be cast in a movie again.
The plot was butchered. If you have the opportunity to watch the musical- and I strongly recommend it - they select a number of eighties hair band songs and use it to tell a story. As the plot moves forward, they break into a song which furthers the story. The movie decided to abandon this concept and just have eighties songs as a backdrop and not use it to tell astory. The only good point in this whole disaster is that the music kicked butt and the male lead was pretty good. Other than that, don't waste your time watching this.
That brings me to my next point - the cast was absolutely dreadful. Whoever chose Tom Cruise, a 5o year old man and a horrible actor to boot to play the role of a twenty something rocker ought to be shot. Besides the fact that I can't stand Tom Cruise, he was so miscast in this role. Stacie Jaxx is meant to be a goofy, drugged out, narcissistic singer and Cruise missed the boat. Speaking of miscast, Alex Baldwin playing the role of Denis Dupree was a joke. He's another lousy actor who was miscast in the role. My personal choice would have been Dee Snider, who plays the role on Broadway. The same could be said for Russel Brand, who should never be cast in a movie again.
The plot was butchered. If you have the opportunity to watch the musical- and I strongly recommend it - they select a number of eighties hair band songs and use it to tell a story. As the plot moves forward, they break into a song which furthers the story. The movie decided to abandon this concept and just have eighties songs as a backdrop and not use it to tell astory. The only good point in this whole disaster is that the music kicked butt and the male lead was pretty good. Other than that, don't waste your time watching this.
May 20, 2012
10 Questions With Ronald Malfi
1. In Shamrock Alley, the main character is based on your father? How was that personal experience different from other novels you have written?
Shamrock is quite different than my other books, both in its genre and in the origin of the story. My father is a retired Secret Service agent who worked a case against an Irish gang known as the Westies in Manhattan back in the late seventies/early eighties. My father infiltrated their gang by going undercover, trying to flush out not only counterfeit money but several unsolved homicides. While Shamrock Alley is a novelization of that investigation, its impetus is grounded in truth. In writing the book, I would work on a few chapters then turn them over to my dad, who would review it and give me notes. The entire novel progressed in that manner.
2. What’s the greatest moment in your writing career?
Probably when I saw my book in a bookstore for the first time. I still like seeing that.
3. How has being a musician influenced the way you write?
I’m not sure if being a musician has necessarily influenced my writing, or if it is really the other way around. I’m conscious of beats and rhythms, whether it’s in music or in patterns of language and dialog. Certain things just sound right while other things don’t. I used to listen to a lot of music when I wrote—Springsteen, CCR, lots of jazz records—but I’ve come to prefer silence when writing for the last few books I’ve written.
4. If you could choose from being a rock star or being a New York Times bestseller, what would you choose?
I can sit home with my family and be a bestselling author. Rock stars travel too much. I’d pick the Times bestseller.
5. Who is your favorite writer?
Ernest Hemingway. The Sun Also Rises is probably the greatest American novel ever written.
6. Is there an overall theme to your writing?
I’ve come to find that authors don’t necessarily choose their themes as their themes choose them. My work has been described overall as “emotional” or “quiet” horror. I supposed even the “horror” aspect of it is arguable, depending whom you ask. I’m okay with it. For the most part, I’m less interested in writing about the supernatural than I am in writing about people who believe in the supernatural.
7. Of all your novels, is there one you’re most proud of?
Probably a toss between Floating Staircase and Passenger. They’re both very different books and I think they’re also both very honest, genuine books. Quite often a completed manuscript doesn’t resemble the author’s original idea, even though the book itself may be very good. They say a book is ruined the moment an author touches pen to paper, and I believe that to an extent. With both Staircase and Passenger, I feel I’ve remained true to the original vision of both books and am happy about that.
8. You have written horror fiction, thrillers, and literary fiction. How would you classify yourself as a writer in terms of genre?
I’ve been most warmly embraced by readers as a horror writer. My primary interest is writing about characters. Whatever genre those characters happen to fall in, so be it. My mind tends to lean toward the darker side of things, so much of my work comes out that way in the end. But every book starts out about the people, the characters.
9. There have been many ghost stories written. How does Floating Staircase distinguish itself from the pack?
I love ghosts stories, but the subgenre has been done to death. It seems most novels about ghosts retell the same story—whether it’s a haunted house, haunted hotel, haunted car, haunted person. The ghosts are evil…unless they’re actually mistaken for evil and are really there to utilize the protagonist as a conduit for finding the ghost’s killer, or something to that effect. I wanted to take the classic ghost story and turn it on its head—in fact, at the end of the book, I wanted readers to question whether or not it had even been a ghost story at all. There is certainly vindication at the end of Staircase, but it is a completely different type of vindication one might expect from a ghost story—an almost anti-vindication. It’s also a bit of metafiction, kind of tipping its hat to the audience and winking, saying, “Yeah, I know I’m a ghost story, but just wait…just wait…”
10. How has the digital revolution and the emergence of ebooks affected you as a writer?
It’s thrown the whole industry for a loop. I don’t own an e-reader and don’t see myself purchasing one anytime soon, though I’m not against ebooks at all. I’ve seen the shifting paradigm and have seen the money from ebook sales in the form of royalties, so I know it’s a very real medium and it’s here to stay. I think there arises some confusion more on the part of the consumer—the reader—who is no longer afforded an obvious discrepancy between a professionally edited and published novel and some poorly written, ill-plotted schlock someone uploads to Amazon or wherever. Those “books” have inundated the industry because of the ebook revolution, and their authors sell them extremely cheap—and sometimes give them away for free—to entice readers. So readers are enticed, only to find the book—spoiler alert!—poorly written and ill-plotted. It leaves a bad taste in the reader’s mouth, and maybe they remember that taste and associate it with all ebooks, which isn’t fair even if it’s perfectly understandable.
Shamrock is quite different than my other books, both in its genre and in the origin of the story. My father is a retired Secret Service agent who worked a case against an Irish gang known as the Westies in Manhattan back in the late seventies/early eighties. My father infiltrated their gang by going undercover, trying to flush out not only counterfeit money but several unsolved homicides. While Shamrock Alley is a novelization of that investigation, its impetus is grounded in truth. In writing the book, I would work on a few chapters then turn them over to my dad, who would review it and give me notes. The entire novel progressed in that manner.
2. What’s the greatest moment in your writing career?
Probably when I saw my book in a bookstore for the first time. I still like seeing that.
3. How has being a musician influenced the way you write?
I’m not sure if being a musician has necessarily influenced my writing, or if it is really the other way around. I’m conscious of beats and rhythms, whether it’s in music or in patterns of language and dialog. Certain things just sound right while other things don’t. I used to listen to a lot of music when I wrote—Springsteen, CCR, lots of jazz records—but I’ve come to prefer silence when writing for the last few books I’ve written.
4. If you could choose from being a rock star or being a New York Times bestseller, what would you choose?
I can sit home with my family and be a bestselling author. Rock stars travel too much. I’d pick the Times bestseller.
5. Who is your favorite writer?
Ernest Hemingway. The Sun Also Rises is probably the greatest American novel ever written.
6. Is there an overall theme to your writing?
I’ve come to find that authors don’t necessarily choose their themes as their themes choose them. My work has been described overall as “emotional” or “quiet” horror. I supposed even the “horror” aspect of it is arguable, depending whom you ask. I’m okay with it. For the most part, I’m less interested in writing about the supernatural than I am in writing about people who believe in the supernatural.
7. Of all your novels, is there one you’re most proud of?
Probably a toss between Floating Staircase and Passenger. They’re both very different books and I think they’re also both very honest, genuine books. Quite often a completed manuscript doesn’t resemble the author’s original idea, even though the book itself may be very good. They say a book is ruined the moment an author touches pen to paper, and I believe that to an extent. With both Staircase and Passenger, I feel I’ve remained true to the original vision of both books and am happy about that.
8. You have written horror fiction, thrillers, and literary fiction. How would you classify yourself as a writer in terms of genre?
I’ve been most warmly embraced by readers as a horror writer. My primary interest is writing about characters. Whatever genre those characters happen to fall in, so be it. My mind tends to lean toward the darker side of things, so much of my work comes out that way in the end. But every book starts out about the people, the characters.
9. There have been many ghost stories written. How does Floating Staircase distinguish itself from the pack?
I love ghosts stories, but the subgenre has been done to death. It seems most novels about ghosts retell the same story—whether it’s a haunted house, haunted hotel, haunted car, haunted person. The ghosts are evil…unless they’re actually mistaken for evil and are really there to utilize the protagonist as a conduit for finding the ghost’s killer, or something to that effect. I wanted to take the classic ghost story and turn it on its head—in fact, at the end of the book, I wanted readers to question whether or not it had even been a ghost story at all. There is certainly vindication at the end of Staircase, but it is a completely different type of vindication one might expect from a ghost story—an almost anti-vindication. It’s also a bit of metafiction, kind of tipping its hat to the audience and winking, saying, “Yeah, I know I’m a ghost story, but just wait…just wait…”
10. How has the digital revolution and the emergence of ebooks affected you as a writer?
It’s thrown the whole industry for a loop. I don’t own an e-reader and don’t see myself purchasing one anytime soon, though I’m not against ebooks at all. I’ve seen the shifting paradigm and have seen the money from ebook sales in the form of royalties, so I know it’s a very real medium and it’s here to stay. I think there arises some confusion more on the part of the consumer—the reader—who is no longer afforded an obvious discrepancy between a professionally edited and published novel and some poorly written, ill-plotted schlock someone uploads to Amazon or wherever. Those “books” have inundated the industry because of the ebook revolution, and their authors sell them extremely cheap—and sometimes give them away for free—to entice readers. So readers are enticed, only to find the book—spoiler alert!—poorly written and ill-plotted. It leaves a bad taste in the reader’s mouth, and maybe they remember that taste and associate it with all ebooks, which isn’t fair even if it’s perfectly understandable.
May 18, 2012
The Story Behind my Story: Alone Again
In essence, Alone Again is a ghost story. I’m not the biggest fan of ghost stories because there are so many of them out there. I wanted Alone Again to be a little hard hitting then most, so I incorporated a vehicle that any parent can relate to – having absolutely no way to help your child when they need you the most. Any parent who has had a sick child can relate. You want so badly to help them out, and often times there is little or nothing that you can do.
In my story, Alone Again, my eight year old protagonist Aiden has been abducted by his Uncle Brian. This comes shortly after Aiden’s mom has died. His Uncle Brian is supposedly taking him on a trip, but in reality, he has the worst possible intentions for Aiden. In the story I reveal that Aiden’s mother was killed in an automobile accident, and Brian was responsible for her death. As a parent there can be nothing more horrific than having your child abducted by a sexual predator. Young Aiden is completely defenseless. There is nothing that anyone can do to save him from his uncle’s clutches. Except that even beyond the grave, his mother is their to make sure no harm will come to him. Alone Again is currently a featured story on shortstory.me. You can read it at Alone Again.
In my story, Alone Again, my eight year old protagonist Aiden has been abducted by his Uncle Brian. This comes shortly after Aiden’s mom has died. His Uncle Brian is supposedly taking him on a trip, but in reality, he has the worst possible intentions for Aiden. In the story I reveal that Aiden’s mother was killed in an automobile accident, and Brian was responsible for her death. As a parent there can be nothing more horrific than having your child abducted by a sexual predator. Young Aiden is completely defenseless. There is nothing that anyone can do to save him from his uncle’s clutches. Except that even beyond the grave, his mother is their to make sure no harm will come to him. Alone Again is currently a featured story on shortstory.me. You can read it at Alone Again.
Movie Review: The Avengers
I haven’t watched too many movies with more hype coming into it than The Avengers. This movie has been talked about for years, and took the production of five other movies just to set this one up for release. Needless to say I had high expectations, and The Avengers lived up to those high expectations. Joss Whedon did a phenomenal job on writing the script, and although I am sure he won’t get a sniff of a best screenplay Oscar nomination, as a writer I can certainly appreciate his scriptwriting. The dialogue was witty and often times hilarious. The plot was tight and had no holes. As one would expect, the effects were massive and impressive. The action was constant, with hardly a dull moment. And then of course there were the main event – the Avengers themselves. Through most of the first half of the movie, the Avengers were add odds with themselves. I especially enjoyed the dynamic between Iron Man and Captain America, who did not mesh well with each other. When they eventually solved their differences and fought together, they created for excellent action scenes.
Robert Downey Jr. really stole the show as Iron Man. His comedic timing was excellent. The rest of the cast, especially Samuel Jackson as Nick Fury was more than credible and really played well off each other. The scenes with the Hulk were especially memorable. There was one scene in particular that had me rolling and that was when Loki was telling the Hulk that he should bow to him since he was a god. The Huk promptly grabbed Loki and started smashing him on the ground like he was a doll. Naturally The Avengers had to have a foil in this movie, which was represented by Loki and an army of aliens, setting up some great battle scenes between the heroes and the aliens set in Manhatten. There was a lot to like in this movie. With this type of build up, one could only hope that they could come up with with a script that would be worthy of it, and The Avengers delivered.
Robert Downey Jr. really stole the show as Iron Man. His comedic timing was excellent. The rest of the cast, especially Samuel Jackson as Nick Fury was more than credible and really played well off each other. The scenes with the Hulk were especially memorable. There was one scene in particular that had me rolling and that was when Loki was telling the Hulk that he should bow to him since he was a god. The Huk promptly grabbed Loki and started smashing him on the ground like he was a doll. Naturally The Avengers had to have a foil in this movie, which was represented by Loki and an army of aliens, setting up some great battle scenes between the heroes and the aliens set in Manhatten. There was a lot to like in this movie. With this type of build up, one could only hope that they could come up with with a script that would be worthy of it, and The Avengers delivered.
May 12, 2012
10 Questions With SG Browne
Q: Who has been your biggest influence as a writer?
A: Stephen King is the reason I wanted to become a writer. He had a significant influence on my writing for more than a decade, so it would be impossible not to include him here. But Chuck Palahniuk has had the biggest impact on my writing over the past ten years. In 2002 I read Lullaby, my first Palahniuk novel, and it inspired me to write Breathers, which became my first published novel. After reading Palahniuk, I discovered that I enjoyed writing dark comedy and social satire more than straight supernatural horror.
Q: You do a masterful job of incorporating humor into your writing. Is this something that comes natural to you as you write, or do you work at setting up and building humorous situations?
A: First of all, thank you for the compliment. As for it coming naturally, it’s just my sense of humor, which tends to be a little on the dark and irreverent side at times. And since I don’t plot out my novels but discover the story as I write it, I wouldn’t say I work at setting up the situations. They just sort of naturally arise as the story unfolds. So I let them happen and see where they end up going.
Q: There has been much written in the zombie genre. What prompted you to write a zombie comedy in Breathers?
A: Breathers is actually based on a short story I wrote in 2001 titled “A Zombie’s Lament.” I’d been writing supernatural horror for nearly a dozen years and hadn’t written a zombie story, which was odd since zombies have always been my favorite monster. But all of the standard zombie story ideas I came up with just had kind of a “been there, done that” feel. So I thought: What if I was the zombie? But rather than being a stereotypical Hollywood zombie, shambling and mindless and hungry for human flesh, I was just a reanimated corpse with no rights who was gradually decomposing and needed some serious therapy? How would society treat me? Where would I live? Could I join a bowling league? So I wrote a dark, humorous, two-thousand-word short story that, two years later, I would be inspired to turn into a full-length novel called Breathers. Thanks Chuck.
Q: What’s the greatest moment in your writing career?
A: Probably the voice mail from my agent telling me she’d sold Breathers to Random House. I’d spent eighteen years working toward becoming a published novelist, so that was the moment when my dreams finally came true. I still have the message from my agent on my cell phone.
Q: Lucky Bastard has a fascinating premise where the lead character can poach luck. Where did you come up with this concept?
A: Lucky Bastard is another novel based on a short story, one I wrote in 2004 titled “Softland.” That short story, and the concept of stealing luck, was inspired by a Spanish film called Intacto, which I saw in 2002. Or 2003. I can’t remember. In any case, the film dealt with the idea that luck is like a commodity that flows from the unlucky to the lucky. While Intacto tends to focus on high-stakes games played between those who possess large amounts of luck, I took the idea in a somewhat different direction.
Q: If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
A: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I read it last year and have recommended it to everyone I know. It’s a beautifully written novel about the power of words, told from the point-of-view of Death. And I know this is cheating because you asked for just one, but a close second would be Lord of the Flies by William Golding.
Q: Your novels seem to defy a specific genre. How would you categorize yourself as a writer?
A: When you write dark comedy and social satire with a supernatural or fantastic edge, there aren’t a whole lot of other writers sitting at the same table. I don’t think I’d classify my books in a specific genre. Not unless there’s a section titled Comedy/Satire/Supernatural in your bookstore. I consider my books Fiction or Fiction and Literature. If that’s where you’re going to find Christopher Moore, Matt Ruff, and Chuck Palahniuk, then it seems like a good place to find me.
Q: How has the digital revolution and the emergence of e-books affected you as a writer?
A: The emergence of e-books made it possible for me to publish Shooting Monkeys in a Barrel, my collection of short stories that I likely wouldn’t have been able to publish in print. E-books have also created a fantastic market of growth for the future that I think most writers are still wrapping their minds around. Personally, I’m old school. I like the feel of a book in my hand. There’s a ritual and experience that comes with reading a printed book that you can’t get with a digital format. It’s the same with music. You download a song or an album and there’s no physical connection. No holding something tangible in your hands. It’s just bytes. So when it comes to books, it’s unlikely I’ll ever buy an e-reader. Unless books become extinct. Which I personally think would be the end of civilization. Maybe the Mayans were right.
Q: In Lucky Bastard the city of San Francisco is almost a character in the novel. What kind of research did you incorporate to make the details of the setting come alive?
A: Since I live in San Francisco, doing the research was a little easier, as I was able to visit most of the places to add some detail. But I still used web sites and Google maps when the weather wouldn’t cooperate or when I was feeling lazy. I also ran a series of posts on my blog titled The Lucky Bastard San Francisco Blog Tour, where I talked about the locations that appear in Lucky Bastard and included photos and background info as to the writing of the novel. Feel free to check it out on my web site if you’re interested.
Q: Who is your favorite writer?
A: That’s a tough call. Obviously Chuck Palahniuk and Stephen King would have to be the top two contenders, with maybe Kurt Vonnegut thrown in as a dark horse. I suppose I could add Charlie Kaufman and Wes Anderson to the mix if we’re including screenwriters. But out of all of them, although I wouldn’t re-read all of his books, there’s only one author who has written more than a dozen novels and short story collections that I could read again and again and enjoy just as much as I did the first time. So the winner, hands down, is Stephen King.
A: Stephen King is the reason I wanted to become a writer. He had a significant influence on my writing for more than a decade, so it would be impossible not to include him here. But Chuck Palahniuk has had the biggest impact on my writing over the past ten years. In 2002 I read Lullaby, my first Palahniuk novel, and it inspired me to write Breathers, which became my first published novel. After reading Palahniuk, I discovered that I enjoyed writing dark comedy and social satire more than straight supernatural horror.
Q: You do a masterful job of incorporating humor into your writing. Is this something that comes natural to you as you write, or do you work at setting up and building humorous situations?
A: First of all, thank you for the compliment. As for it coming naturally, it’s just my sense of humor, which tends to be a little on the dark and irreverent side at times. And since I don’t plot out my novels but discover the story as I write it, I wouldn’t say I work at setting up the situations. They just sort of naturally arise as the story unfolds. So I let them happen and see where they end up going.
Q: There has been much written in the zombie genre. What prompted you to write a zombie comedy in Breathers?
A: Breathers is actually based on a short story I wrote in 2001 titled “A Zombie’s Lament.” I’d been writing supernatural horror for nearly a dozen years and hadn’t written a zombie story, which was odd since zombies have always been my favorite monster. But all of the standard zombie story ideas I came up with just had kind of a “been there, done that” feel. So I thought: What if I was the zombie? But rather than being a stereotypical Hollywood zombie, shambling and mindless and hungry for human flesh, I was just a reanimated corpse with no rights who was gradually decomposing and needed some serious therapy? How would society treat me? Where would I live? Could I join a bowling league? So I wrote a dark, humorous, two-thousand-word short story that, two years later, I would be inspired to turn into a full-length novel called Breathers. Thanks Chuck.
Q: What’s the greatest moment in your writing career?
A: Probably the voice mail from my agent telling me she’d sold Breathers to Random House. I’d spent eighteen years working toward becoming a published novelist, so that was the moment when my dreams finally came true. I still have the message from my agent on my cell phone.
Q: Lucky Bastard has a fascinating premise where the lead character can poach luck. Where did you come up with this concept?
A: Lucky Bastard is another novel based on a short story, one I wrote in 2004 titled “Softland.” That short story, and the concept of stealing luck, was inspired by a Spanish film called Intacto, which I saw in 2002. Or 2003. I can’t remember. In any case, the film dealt with the idea that luck is like a commodity that flows from the unlucky to the lucky. While Intacto tends to focus on high-stakes games played between those who possess large amounts of luck, I took the idea in a somewhat different direction.
Q: If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
A: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I read it last year and have recommended it to everyone I know. It’s a beautifully written novel about the power of words, told from the point-of-view of Death. And I know this is cheating because you asked for just one, but a close second would be Lord of the Flies by William Golding.
Q: Your novels seem to defy a specific genre. How would you categorize yourself as a writer?
A: When you write dark comedy and social satire with a supernatural or fantastic edge, there aren’t a whole lot of other writers sitting at the same table. I don’t think I’d classify my books in a specific genre. Not unless there’s a section titled Comedy/Satire/Supernatural in your bookstore. I consider my books Fiction or Fiction and Literature. If that’s where you’re going to find Christopher Moore, Matt Ruff, and Chuck Palahniuk, then it seems like a good place to find me.
Q: How has the digital revolution and the emergence of e-books affected you as a writer?
A: The emergence of e-books made it possible for me to publish Shooting Monkeys in a Barrel, my collection of short stories that I likely wouldn’t have been able to publish in print. E-books have also created a fantastic market of growth for the future that I think most writers are still wrapping their minds around. Personally, I’m old school. I like the feel of a book in my hand. There’s a ritual and experience that comes with reading a printed book that you can’t get with a digital format. It’s the same with music. You download a song or an album and there’s no physical connection. No holding something tangible in your hands. It’s just bytes. So when it comes to books, it’s unlikely I’ll ever buy an e-reader. Unless books become extinct. Which I personally think would be the end of civilization. Maybe the Mayans were right.
Q: In Lucky Bastard the city of San Francisco is almost a character in the novel. What kind of research did you incorporate to make the details of the setting come alive?
A: Since I live in San Francisco, doing the research was a little easier, as I was able to visit most of the places to add some detail. But I still used web sites and Google maps when the weather wouldn’t cooperate or when I was feeling lazy. I also ran a series of posts on my blog titled The Lucky Bastard San Francisco Blog Tour, where I talked about the locations that appear in Lucky Bastard and included photos and background info as to the writing of the novel. Feel free to check it out on my web site if you’re interested.
Q: Who is your favorite writer?
A: That’s a tough call. Obviously Chuck Palahniuk and Stephen King would have to be the top two contenders, with maybe Kurt Vonnegut thrown in as a dark horse. I suppose I could add Charlie Kaufman and Wes Anderson to the mix if we’re including screenwriters. But out of all of them, although I wouldn’t re-read all of his books, there’s only one author who has written more than a dozen novels and short story collections that I could read again and again and enjoy just as much as I did the first time. So the winner, hands down, is Stephen King.
The Story Behind my Story: Sweet Pain
The Story Behind my Story “Sweet Pain”
Posted by Carl Alves
Once upon a time (as all good stories start) I was trying to come up with short story ideas. While struggling to conjure fresh ideas, I thought I would try taking parts of novels and making a short story out of them. I tend to write my chapters as mini stories anyway. My first stab at this was my story Sweet Pain from my novel Blood Street. In Sweet Pain the vampire Gabriella has made a habit of only feeding on the bottom feeders of society, administering justice when the system will not. In this case, Gabriella has been following a court case with an abusive husband who got away with giving his girlfriend a horrible beating. Gabriella meets said man at a bar and all hell breaks loose. You can read Sweet Pain at shortstory.me Blood Street is due out in November by True Grit Publishing. Read both and compare notes.
Posted by Carl Alves
Once upon a time (as all good stories start) I was trying to come up with short story ideas. While struggling to conjure fresh ideas, I thought I would try taking parts of novels and making a short story out of them. I tend to write my chapters as mini stories anyway. My first stab at this was my story Sweet Pain from my novel Blood Street. In Sweet Pain the vampire Gabriella has made a habit of only feeding on the bottom feeders of society, administering justice when the system will not. In this case, Gabriella has been following a court case with an abusive husband who got away with giving his girlfriend a horrible beating. Gabriella meets said man at a bar and all hell breaks loose. You can read Sweet Pain at shortstory.me Blood Street is due out in November by True Grit Publishing. Read both and compare notes.
March 18, 2012
Final opportunity to become a character in Blood Street
This is the last call to enter my contest to become a character in my novel Blood Street. All you have to do is sign up for my newsletter on my website at http://www.carlalves.com/. The deadline is March 20th.
March 17, 2012
Two For Eternity – World War II
This will be my last blog post on the time periods I wrote about in my novel Two For Eternity. Originally I wasn’t going to include a section in Two For Eternity that was so close to modern day, since the last twenty chapters or so take place in present time, but the Nazi regime was too irresistibly evil for me to pass up. My antagonist Vrag is the ultimate villain, which would make him a natural fit for the Nazi party. I decided on writing a daring rescue scene where Raiken, the book’s protagonist, is commissioned by Winston Churchill to rescue a Jewish scientist vital to the Allies,who is being held in a German prison camp.
Most of my research focused on prison camps, and I picked up some interesting nuggets along the way. One thing I learned is that Jewish prisoners were held in a separate part of the prison camp in barracks far away from the main barracks. The buildings that they were housed in were elevated off of the grounds on stilts. Beneath the barracks, the prison guards would sneak underneath and eavesdrop on the prisoners. They also often set rottweilers and German shepherds loose on the prisoners.
The other interesting tid bit of info which I featured prominently was the formation of the world’s first special forces, Britain’s SAS. They were the precursors to the SEALs and the Rangers and many of the elite fighting units we have today. Started by David Sterling, their motto was “Who Dares Wins”. I made Raiken one of the original members of the SAS, a natural fit for someone of his supernatural abilities. Read more in Two For Eternity, out now in bookstores, Amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com and the Weaving Dreams website.
Most of my research focused on prison camps, and I picked up some interesting nuggets along the way. One thing I learned is that Jewish prisoners were held in a separate part of the prison camp in barracks far away from the main barracks. The buildings that they were housed in were elevated off of the grounds on stilts. Beneath the barracks, the prison guards would sneak underneath and eavesdrop on the prisoners. They also often set rottweilers and German shepherds loose on the prisoners.
The other interesting tid bit of info which I featured prominently was the formation of the world’s first special forces, Britain’s SAS. They were the precursors to the SEALs and the Rangers and many of the elite fighting units we have today. Started by David Sterling, their motto was “Who Dares Wins”. I made Raiken one of the original members of the SAS, a natural fit for someone of his supernatural abilities. Read more in Two For Eternity, out now in bookstores, Amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com and the Weaving Dreams website.
March 3, 2012
Two For Eternity – The Spanish Inquisition
This is probably becoming a repeating theme here, writing about shortcomings in the Catholic Church’s long history. 1478 to 1834 marked a vicious and bloody period in both Spain and the Church’s history. Instituted in 1478 by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella as a way of uniting the country in a bloody purge against Jews, Protestants, Muslims and those who did not practice the “true faith”, the Inquisition took shape when Tomas de Torquemada became the Inquisitor General of Spain in 1483. Torquemada was largely responsible for instituting some of the barbaric practices of the Inquisition, not to mention two thousand deaths that occurred during his reign.
When accused of heresy, the heretic didn’t stand much of a chance. They were brought in front of an Inquisition tribunal. The heretic’s positions would then be confisicated from them, and they could no longer pass it down to descendents even if they were found to be not guilty. Inquisitional prisons were known for their innovative torture methods such as the use of the toca, the potro, and the garrucha. They were generally tortured until they confessed. The culmination of all of the festivities was the Auto de Fe, which was a profession of faith, started with prayers and singing and ending with burning heretics at the stake, a great day of fun for the whole family. I don’t know about you but I don’t think I would be particularly fond of watching people burn alive during my religious ceremonies.
In the part of Two For Eternity that centers around the Inquisition, my protagonist, Raiken is a fisherman living in Portugal. His family is of Jewish descent, and when his daughter, along with her husband and child are arrested for heresy in Spain, he goes to rescue them. In the process of breaking into prisons in Seville, he learns that his ancient nemesis, Vrag, is the Inquisitor general of Spain. This sets up a big action sequence where Raiken has to both save his family and kill Spain’s Inquisitor General. Sounds good. You can read more by purchasing a copy of Two For Eternity, available now on Amazon, barnesandnoble.com and weavingdreamspublishing.com
When accused of heresy, the heretic didn’t stand much of a chance. They were brought in front of an Inquisition tribunal. The heretic’s positions would then be confisicated from them, and they could no longer pass it down to descendents even if they were found to be not guilty. Inquisitional prisons were known for their innovative torture methods such as the use of the toca, the potro, and the garrucha. They were generally tortured until they confessed. The culmination of all of the festivities was the Auto de Fe, which was a profession of faith, started with prayers and singing and ending with burning heretics at the stake, a great day of fun for the whole family. I don’t know about you but I don’t think I would be particularly fond of watching people burn alive during my religious ceremonies.
In the part of Two For Eternity that centers around the Inquisition, my protagonist, Raiken is a fisherman living in Portugal. His family is of Jewish descent, and when his daughter, along with her husband and child are arrested for heresy in Spain, he goes to rescue them. In the process of breaking into prisons in Seville, he learns that his ancient nemesis, Vrag, is the Inquisitor general of Spain. This sets up a big action sequence where Raiken has to both save his family and kill Spain’s Inquisitor General. Sounds good. You can read more by purchasing a copy of Two For Eternity, available now on Amazon, barnesandnoble.com and weavingdreamspublishing.com
