Gary Zeiger's Blog, page 3

Character Discussion: Jessie Smythe

Jessie Smythe is Epsilon’s protégé and second in command. She is one of only a very few that he fully trusts. She knows most of his secrets, though she lets on that she doesn’t. That act is to throw off anyone trying to grill her for info and will take those secrets to the grave. Jess is driven on rage and revenge in this story.

Jess is a strong woman and we see that from the get go. She too served with Epsilon and knows that he has backup plans for backup plans, so leading the “enemy fleet” to him in order to get his help is a no brainer for her; she knows Eps will have a plan. He always does, doesn’t he? If I sound vague, it is on purpose because I don’t want to spoil the story for those of you who haven’t read it yet.

I hope you can see the emotional roller coaster that Jess is and has been on. And it will only get worse for her in Prophecy (oops, was that a spoiler?)

Here are my top picks for who should play her:

, without a doubt (though she’d have to go long brunette)!

 

Who do you think should play her in the movie? Sound off right here or in our Blog or on Facebook.

Character Discussion: Dr. Zubree

Dr. Tamson Alexandria Zubreé is a stunning, fiery redhead and the younger sister of Jimmy “Crash” Zubreé. She is also the brightest and youngest physician in the known universe. Growing up she was a child prodigy, excelling at her studies in a quarter of the time it took her peers.

Besides being really cool nickname, Taz, as the crew has come to call her, is not only an acronym that has a deep personal meaning for the wife and I, but her first and middle names share that special meaning. So this nod to my wife is the next best thing for something that should’ve been but wasn’t; and I’ll leave it at that.

Taz is sassy, no doubt, which I’m sure comes from being a redhead (I’ve know a few in my time. Just saying. LOL. I love redheads; they’re incredibly sexy.) She is also one tough cookie having endured what she went through. She’s very skeptical of Epsilon almost to the point of not really trusting her. But her medical background and inquisitive nature has her intrigued as she learns more about our good Captain. Plus her older brother trusts him implicitly.

Taz has an interesting adventure coming up in the next book, Prophecy, and we’ll see a different side of her. Here are my top picks for who should play her:

April Jolly (April is an aspiring actress and daughter of a friend of mine)

 

Who do you think should play her in the movie? Sound off right here or in our Blog or on Facebook.

 

Character Discussion: Jimmy “Crash” Zubree

Jimmy “Crash” Zubreé is the pilot of Stingray. He served with Epsilon in the past and is considered a friend of the captain. He’s kind of a skinny, lanky guy and well tanned. He definitely considers himself something of a ladies’ man. He has that Italian look with a big wide smile.

I’ll let you in on a little secret. I originally wrote Crash with a totally different look and feel. About two-thirds the way through, I realized he was really similar to a pilot from another series and had to go back and rewrite him. I’m glad I did because I like this one better. Since he served with Epsilon before, he’s been in some sticky situations. He learned real quick that Epsilon is one step ahead of everyone else and when the Captain says do something, he will do it without question.

During the re-write, I didn’t really have anyone in mind that I was modeling him after, so picking an actor to play him has been a little challenging. But, here are my top picks of who should play Crash in the movie adaptation:

 

Who do you think should play him in the movie? Sound off right here or in our Blog or on Facebook.

 

Character Discussion: Max

Let’s talk about Max. Just Max. LOL. I loved Doc Brown from Back To the Future and Kramer from Seinfeld series. They were fun characters that you just never knew what they were going to do or say next. Christopher Lloyd and Michael Richards were awesome that their respective characters. These two characters were the inspiration for Max and what better position to put him than Chief Engineer.

Max starts off a little slow in this book. I had hoped to give a little more craziness to him, but it never happened. In Prophecy, I’m going to ratchet him up a notch and I’m really looking forward to writing his character. I’m not even sure that he’s sure that is his real name. I think he’s been exposed to enough radiation or whatever noxious stuff engines in the future pump out that he may have forgotten who he really is and where he is from. His off-the-wall demeanor may just be a by-product of all his tinkering in the engines and systems.

Who would you like to see play Max in the movie adaption of the book? While I would love to see either Christopher or Michael play the part, unfortunately they are “out of the age range” (to be PC) of the character and Michael is too tall. Here are my top five picks:

Michael Smithgall (His acting has mostly been theater, but I’ve known him for several years and he’s crazy! [in a good way])

 

Who do you think should play him in the movie? Sound off right here or in our Blog or on Facebook.

 

Character Discussion: Tobias “Bear” Dickee

Hey all, sorry I haven’t blogged in a while. But I do have some exciting news. Over the course of the next four weeks I am going to blog about each of the main/minor five characters. I’ll be giving some additional insight into them (don’t worry, no spoilers for the future books in the series). If you haven’t already read Stingray: You Can’t Hide Forever, it’s not too late. You can order it at your favorite local book seller or online from Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

OK, so let’s start with Tobias “Bear” Dickee. He got his nickname because of his size. He’s a solidly built, big, bald guy. At first glance all you see is an imposing wall of muscle. Most would steer clear of him and he’s fine with that. He served with Crash and Max onboard a rebel ship. And while his presence is daunting, deep down he’s just a teddy bear. While he has no problem flexing his muscle, he’s a deep thinker, preferring to invent things and tinker. One of his gadgets does help out on one of the missions the crew undertakes. I kind of envisioned him as Q from the James Bond franchise. It will be interesting to see what neat things he comes up with in subsequent books, if he sticks around.

Who would you like to see play Bear in the movie adaptation of the book? Here are my top five picks:

What are your thoughts about interesting gadgets he could come up with? Should he stick around? Who do you think should play him in the movie? Sound off right here or in our Blog or on Facebook.

Horrendous flight home

Had to go to Rochester, MN for the week this past week. Now this isn’t a bad thing as I hear it is really pretty in the spring and summer. The flight up wasn’t too bad, got some writing done on Prophecy, even though the guy sitting next to me nodded off and fell over on me; several times. Then he would snore and wake himself up, elbowing me in the process. He realized what he was doing and apologized, so I guess it was all good.

Thursday and Friday was like ninety below zero windchill (OK, maybe it was only seventeen degrees with a steady wind, but it sure as heck felt like I stepped out into the arctic circle). Breezed through security at the airport and got on the plane. We pulled away from the gate and stopped. The captain announced that there was “frost” on the wings and we needed to be de-iced. Hmm…frost=de-icing? Well, alright, better safe than sorry I say. So this truck that was bigger than da plane circles us spraying a pink liquid all over the plane and drove off. We were still sitting there. Maybe our tires were now frozen to the tarmac (I did say it was like ninety below, remember?) The captain came over the PA and said that the co-pilot’s communication system wasn’t working and we have to go back to the gate and de-plane and to remember to take all of our belongings with us.

Now, I realized that I only had a forty-five minute layover in Minneapolis (which, by the way is a big ass airport) and that I had to go from concourse B to concourse F, which is clear on the other side of world. So, the savvy ex-business traveler that I am, I headed directly to the podium and explained my predicament to the agent. He agreed that even if they fixed the plane in the next five minutes, I ain’t connecting in Minneapolis. So, he started punching the keys on the computer and first tried to send me to LAX (Los Angeles, CA) instead of JAX (Jacksonville, FL) which was home. Mind you, either destination was appealing at this point since both were at least a hundred degrees warmer than where I was currently. Not that I have anything against going to LA, just not today. Anyway, the guy finally figured it out and printed out my two new boarding passes as I now had to go to Atlanta and then to Jacksonville. Kinda bummed that it was no longer a direct flight and would get in four hours later then my original flight. Until I looked at the boarding pass for Altanta. I’m in seat 1A. Now for those of you who don’t travel much, seat 1A on the big planes (which this one, thankfully, happened to be – did I mention I’m claustrophobic?) is in First Class. I WIN!

OK, the engineer guy pulled up in his Dodge mini-van with he blinky yellow light on top that wasn’t blinking, jumped out tool case in hand and fixed the plane. We got ready to go back on and the co-pilot came out and wanted the engineer back because his armrest was broken (not a fan of this co-pilot now). Non-working communications panel delaying the flight, I get. Broken armrest? Seriously? So Engineer Dave went back in and fixed said armrest, we got back on, and took off for our uneventful tewenty-two minute flight to Minneapolis.

Upon arriving in Minneapolis, I realized I only had thirty minutes to go from concourse B to concourse F, clear on the other side of the city (did I mention Minneapolis is a big ass airport?) So backpack strapped to my back and carrying another small personal item (airline jargon) I pulled an OJ blasting through the airport. One of my more astute Facebook friends asked who I murdered and if I would get away with it. I, not wanting to be astutedly outdone, responded: “anyone that got in my way.” So I made it to the proper gate for the Atlanta bound flight, with every muscle (and a few I didn’t even know I had) in my old and out of shape body bitching non-stop to my cerebral cortex. After a momentary pause to catch my breath, I sauntered up and butted in front of everyone else in line and boarded the plane (remember, I’m in seat 1A, so I had the authority and god-given right to butt in line).

I took my seat in 1A, a pillow, blanket, and bottle of water waiting for me. This was nice. I need to travel in seat 1A more often, I mused. The bubbly flight attendant (they’re NOT stewardesses) asked if I would like a pre-flight drink. Since I just ran a full marathon to get to the gate, I opted for the bottle of water. The rest of the peasants finally boarded and we pulled away from the gate only to stop smack dab in the middle of the taxi way. “Oh great,” I said to my self. The captain came on the PA and announced that our weight was not showing up in the computer, but he phoned home to get the updated weights, or some such nonsense. Apparently, and my pilot friends feel free to correct me, but if the proper weight of the plane, her occupants, and all the crap said occupants have schlepped with them is not entered into the computer correctly, we could run out of runway before the behemoth got off the ground, which, I suppose, would ruin my already crappy day. Whatever happened to the days of old where pilots actually flew the damned plane instead of babysitting a computer? Incidentally, there are three computers on the plane doing the exact same thing and they duke it out in a matter of nano-seconds and whatever two of the three decide to do is what the plane does. Hopefully the rogue computer isn’t the one that is actually correct. Or maybe I’m thinking of the space shuttle. I can’t remember.

Anyway, sitting in seat 1A was a delightful experience. Shortly after take-off, I was handed a hot moist towel (not a towelette, mind you, but an actual cloth towel) to freshen up. Then I enjoyed a nice Texas Caesar Salad, a splendid cup of warm mushroom soup, and a caramel pecan brownie for lunch all served on actual china. I even had my own little salt and pepper shaker. As I was cutting the chicken that adorned the top of my salad utilizing my METAL fork and serrated knife, it dawned on me that had I brought my Swiss Army knife through TSA security, I would have been pounced on, stripped searched, anally probed, denied flight, and labelled a terrorist for all eternity. Yet looking around at the first class cabin, there were twelve of us, all heavily armed with metal forks and serrated knives. I know that if all of us tried, using what the TSA classified as weapons but conveniently provided by the airline, we could have cut through the bullet proof, bomb proof, and zombie proof door to the cockpit and taken total control of the aircraft, all before the quite capable captain made an emergency landing to a waiting platoon of even heavier armed marines, who probably didn’t share my same sense of humor. But I digress. Finished up the flight with more beverages and snacks before landing in Atlanta.

Fortunately, the Jacksonville flight was only three gates down on the same concourse and I arrived as they were finishing boarding. I presented my boarding pass to the agent at the podium because it said “Mystery Seat” on it. I was dully informed that I already had a seat assigned. I inquired as to what seat it was because it wasn’t printed on said boarding pass. To which he responded that the machine would print it out when I scanned said pass. So, the good little sheeple that I was, I got in line, scanned it, and the Madame Toussile doll cackled at me as she spit out a tiny little paper that simply said “22A”. LOSER! The guy in Rochester failed me. I was in the cargo section and was now, once again, a peasant. Scrunched against the bulkhead, two other people scrunched into the row with me, the only thing to be thankful for was that it was only a forty-five minute flight. I can handle this.

Arriving in Jacksonville, I was greeted by seventy-five degrees and overcast skies. But it was seventy five warm degrees. And there were plenty of beautiful bare legs and short shorts wandering around the concourse. Let me clarify, those were ladies wearing the short shorts and baring their legs. Short shorts on guys were only fashionable for a short time back in the seventies, and looking through photo albums (yes, dearie, there weren’t digital images back then; pictures were developed on paper) I can’t believe that I…well…never mind.