Randy Lindsay's Blog
November 13, 2017
Does Fiction Mirror Reality?
My latest novel in The Gathering series is in the process of being formatted for publication. The series deals with the apocalypse and this story in particular covers the fall of the United States. Taking a look at the political scene today, I wonder if this is something that could really happen.
In my story the United States is invaded on three sides by Russia, China, and a South American coalition. The current political climate doesn't seem to support that particular scenario, but that could change at any time. Still we have plenty of problems that have the potential to escalate into a world-wide engagement. North Korea takes top spot for likely war-starters, but the Middle East is always a source for potential unrest.
Nations with a bone to pick with the United States might well decide a war with North Korea is the best chance they will have to attack us. Although unlikely, this scenario gives me plenty to think about when I read the latest world news.
The political tension in The Devastation: America Crumbles strikes eerily close to reality. Both political parties vilify the other and seem unable to put aside their difference in order to work together to solve America's problems. Issues such as immigration, taxes, and even whether football players should stand during the national anthem all paint a picture of a fractured America. And not only an image of a divided nation, but one where the citizens choose all too often to act out their frustrations with acts of mass terror.
While The Devastation has not correctly forecast any specific event, it seems to have captured the mood and nature of our current world situation. If you happen to read the story, let me know how close you think I came to predicting the future with my fiction.
In my story the United States is invaded on three sides by Russia, China, and a South American coalition. The current political climate doesn't seem to support that particular scenario, but that could change at any time. Still we have plenty of problems that have the potential to escalate into a world-wide engagement. North Korea takes top spot for likely war-starters, but the Middle East is always a source for potential unrest.
Nations with a bone to pick with the United States might well decide a war with North Korea is the best chance they will have to attack us. Although unlikely, this scenario gives me plenty to think about when I read the latest world news.
The political tension in The Devastation: America Crumbles strikes eerily close to reality. Both political parties vilify the other and seem unable to put aside their difference in order to work together to solve America's problems. Issues such as immigration, taxes, and even whether football players should stand during the national anthem all paint a picture of a fractured America. And not only an image of a divided nation, but one where the citizens choose all too often to act out their frustrations with acts of mass terror.
While The Devastation has not correctly forecast any specific event, it seems to have captured the mood and nature of our current world situation. If you happen to read the story, let me know how close you think I came to predicting the future with my fiction.
October 24, 2017
Pounce Is On The Loose
The second book in my Battlementals universe has been released as a Kindle book. Pounce and the Riddle of Fire is written from the point of view of one of the Battlementals. In Quest for the Harmonicon, the Sabers were largely responsible for the problems in the Land of the Battlementals, but the Riddle of Fire gives readers a chance to see these fascinating creatures from a new perspective.
And if that wasn't enough to grab your attention how about the fact that I introduced 21 new creatures in the book as Pounce treks across the Fire Lands. There's plenty of new trees, bushes, and artifacts in the story as well. Some of it's gross--all of it's cool. This is a great story for middle grade readers.
And if that wasn't enough to grab your attention how about the fact that I introduced 21 new creatures in the book as Pounce treks across the Fire Lands. There's plenty of new trees, bushes, and artifacts in the story as well. Some of it's gross--all of it's cool. This is a great story for middle grade readers.
February 8, 2016
Congrats
My latest book giveaway just completed and I wanted to congratulate the winner - Mike. When you finish the book, I invite you to send me an e-mail or post a message here and let me know what you thought about The Gathering: End's Beginning.
I want to thank everyone else who participated in the event. This was my most successful giveaway yet in terms of the number of people who showed interest in my book. In fact, I was so pleased with the level of participation I plan to do another giveaway soon. And with that in mind, I have a question for all of you. There are currently two books in the series (I'm working on the third now). Which would you prefer me to give away; the first in the series, The Gathering: End's Beginning, or the second, Call to Arms: Nations Fall?
I want to thank everyone else who participated in the event. This was my most successful giveaway yet in terms of the number of people who showed interest in my book. In fact, I was so pleased with the level of participation I plan to do another giveaway soon. And with that in mind, I have a question for all of you. There are currently two books in the series (I'm working on the third now). Which would you prefer me to give away; the first in the series, The Gathering: End's Beginning, or the second, Call to Arms: Nations Fall?
January 27, 2016
Top Ten Songs of the Apocalypse
Top ten lists are great. If you’re really creative there’s no end to the number of lists you can develop on any given subject. Today’s list should serve as a good example of that—top ten songs of the apocalypse.
(Bonus Song: Waiting For the End by Linkin Park)
10. We Will Become Silhouettes by The Postal Service
9. Party at Ground Zero by Fishbone
8. Red Skies by The Fixx
7. London Calling by The Clash
6. Ninety-Nine Red Balloons by Nena
5. We Don’t Need Another Hero by Tina Turner
4. 1999 by Prince
3. So Long Mom (I’m Off to Drop the Bomb) by Tom Lehrer
2. Radioactive by Imagine Dragons
1. It’s the End of the World by R.E.M
(Bonus Song: Waiting For the End by Linkin Park)
10. We Will Become Silhouettes by The Postal Service
9. Party at Ground Zero by Fishbone
8. Red Skies by The Fixx
7. London Calling by The Clash
6. Ninety-Nine Red Balloons by Nena
5. We Don’t Need Another Hero by Tina Turner
4. 1999 by Prince
3. So Long Mom (I’m Off to Drop the Bomb) by Tom Lehrer
2. Radioactive by Imagine Dragons
1. It’s the End of the World by R.E.M
January 13, 2016
Top Ten Resolutions of the Apocalypse
It’s the end of another year and time for the tradition of setting a whole new batch of resolutions that will most likely be forgotten in another two weeks. Have you ever wonder what sort of resolutions you would make once you were in the middle of the apocalypse? I guarantee they would vary a great deal from the ones you currently are planning for the upcoming year. Here’s my stab at a list of the ten best resolutions for the apocalypse.
10. Cancel my cable subscription.
9. Learn how to cook over a campfire.
8. Convince myself that my clothes aren’t dirty—they just conform to the currently popular back-to-nature fad.
7. Practice movie lines that intimidated bullies.
6. Learn to like hot summers and cold winters.
5. Make a list of acceptable substitutions for toilet paper.
4. Expand my portable entertainment library from a single book to two.
3. Make friends with a big, powerful, and benevolent warlord.
2. Write down all the survival tips from when I played Fallout.
1. Improve my personal relationship with God.
10. Cancel my cable subscription.
9. Learn how to cook over a campfire.
8. Convince myself that my clothes aren’t dirty—they just conform to the currently popular back-to-nature fad.
7. Practice movie lines that intimidated bullies.
6. Learn to like hot summers and cold winters.
5. Make a list of acceptable substitutions for toilet paper.
4. Expand my portable entertainment library from a single book to two.
3. Make friends with a big, powerful, and benevolent warlord.
2. Write down all the survival tips from when I played Fallout.
1. Improve my personal relationship with God.
September 24, 2015
Apocalyptic Influences
Apocalyptic stories have been my favorite genre of fiction since I was old enough to go to the library and check out books on my own. What attracted me to them is they started off in the world I knew and then took off in fantastic directions. Apocalyptic stories took our mundane world and turned it into a broken land filled with mutants and strange cultures which had risen out of the ashes of civilization.
I still love apocalyptic tales, but as an adult I tend to focus on the creativity in which the author takes an element of our society and pushes it until it breaks. For me it’s all about the transformation now. Here are a couple of the stories that influenced my writing.
THE WHITE MOUNTAINS by John Christopher.
This is book one in the Tripod series and the first apocalyptic story that I read as a youth. In the story, Earth has long been enslaved by an alien race known as the Tripods. The Tripods control the population by “capping” children when they turn 14. The protagonist, Will Parker, decides that he doesn’t want to have his personality subdued by the capping and runs away. The story is a classic and instantly hooked me on apocalyptic tales.
Lesson learned: Apocalyptic stories are really cool.
DAMNATION ALLEY by Roger Zelazny
After my first taste of post-apocalyptic stories, it didn’t take me long to snag Damnation Alley. The story was like night to day compared with the Tripod series. Christopher’s tale had a quaint, rural feel to it and in many ways extolled the virtues of humanity. Zelazny took a different route and made his protagonist the last of the Hell’s Angels and allowed the author to deliver a large dose of disdain for war and humanity’s destruction of the environment. I have read this book more times than any other fictional tale. Jan-Michael Vincent starred in the movie version of the story which failed to do the story justice. With super cool armored-vehicles, giant Gila monsters, and biker gangs roaming the countryside unchecked it remains my favorite post-apocalypse story.
Lesson learned: Social outcasts make great protagonist if your goal is to point out the uncivilized qualities of society.
THE POSTMAN by David Brin
Of all the apocalyptic books that I’ve read I found The Postman the most realistic. Brin’s tale is the closest in style and substance to my apocalyptic novel, Call to Arms: Nations Fall. The protagonist in The Postman is just an average person trying to survive the apocalypse. He stumbles across a mail truck and is forced clothe himself in the long-dead postman’s uniform. I love this story because it focuses on putting society back together after the disaster.
Lesson learned: Stories about putting society back together can be just as entertaining as the ones about tearing the world apart.
PLANET OF THE APES with Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, and Kim Hunter.
This is the best of the down-with-the-man science fiction films of the late 60s and early 70s. Charlton Heston starred in the three most memorable efforts of this era. At the heart of the film is the sentiment that mankind is foolish and will ultimately destroy not only themselves, but the planet as well. I love the ending, which came as a powerful surprise to me. It remains, in my opinion, one of the best endings of all time. Placing mankind in the role of animals made a powerful statement and the onscreen kiss between Heston and the ape-clad Hunter caused quite a stir among the audiences.
Lessons learned: 1) Reverse humanity’s role for a new perspective on a subject. 2) If you want people to remember your story then have a memorable ending.
MAD MAX with Mel Gibson
I’ve seen Mad Max over 50 times. (Because it happened to be at the theater I managed the year the movie was released in the U.S.) The original film had abysmal acting, but gained a large number of fans. I credit its popularity to the sense of connection we all have to rush hour road rage. Just kidding. The concept was original and allowed it to survive the poor production elements of the film. At the center of this story we have a simple struggle over limited resources.
Lesson learned: Cool cars and leather jackets make this film work. Style has an important place in storytelling.
Let me wrap this up with a list of a few more apocalyptic stories and the lessons I learned from them.
The Blood of Heroes – Any genre (sports movies) can be given an apocalyptic facelift.
I Am Legend – Sometimes the protagonist turns out to be the monster.
Escape From New York – Think outside the box. Manhattan as a prison is genius.
I still love apocalyptic tales, but as an adult I tend to focus on the creativity in which the author takes an element of our society and pushes it until it breaks. For me it’s all about the transformation now. Here are a couple of the stories that influenced my writing.
THE WHITE MOUNTAINS by John Christopher.
This is book one in the Tripod series and the first apocalyptic story that I read as a youth. In the story, Earth has long been enslaved by an alien race known as the Tripods. The Tripods control the population by “capping” children when they turn 14. The protagonist, Will Parker, decides that he doesn’t want to have his personality subdued by the capping and runs away. The story is a classic and instantly hooked me on apocalyptic tales.
Lesson learned: Apocalyptic stories are really cool.
DAMNATION ALLEY by Roger Zelazny
After my first taste of post-apocalyptic stories, it didn’t take me long to snag Damnation Alley. The story was like night to day compared with the Tripod series. Christopher’s tale had a quaint, rural feel to it and in many ways extolled the virtues of humanity. Zelazny took a different route and made his protagonist the last of the Hell’s Angels and allowed the author to deliver a large dose of disdain for war and humanity’s destruction of the environment. I have read this book more times than any other fictional tale. Jan-Michael Vincent starred in the movie version of the story which failed to do the story justice. With super cool armored-vehicles, giant Gila monsters, and biker gangs roaming the countryside unchecked it remains my favorite post-apocalypse story.
Lesson learned: Social outcasts make great protagonist if your goal is to point out the uncivilized qualities of society.
THE POSTMAN by David Brin
Of all the apocalyptic books that I’ve read I found The Postman the most realistic. Brin’s tale is the closest in style and substance to my apocalyptic novel, Call to Arms: Nations Fall. The protagonist in The Postman is just an average person trying to survive the apocalypse. He stumbles across a mail truck and is forced clothe himself in the long-dead postman’s uniform. I love this story because it focuses on putting society back together after the disaster.
Lesson learned: Stories about putting society back together can be just as entertaining as the ones about tearing the world apart.
PLANET OF THE APES with Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, and Kim Hunter.
This is the best of the down-with-the-man science fiction films of the late 60s and early 70s. Charlton Heston starred in the three most memorable efforts of this era. At the heart of the film is the sentiment that mankind is foolish and will ultimately destroy not only themselves, but the planet as well. I love the ending, which came as a powerful surprise to me. It remains, in my opinion, one of the best endings of all time. Placing mankind in the role of animals made a powerful statement and the onscreen kiss between Heston and the ape-clad Hunter caused quite a stir among the audiences.
Lessons learned: 1) Reverse humanity’s role for a new perspective on a subject. 2) If you want people to remember your story then have a memorable ending.
MAD MAX with Mel Gibson
I’ve seen Mad Max over 50 times. (Because it happened to be at the theater I managed the year the movie was released in the U.S.) The original film had abysmal acting, but gained a large number of fans. I credit its popularity to the sense of connection we all have to rush hour road rage. Just kidding. The concept was original and allowed it to survive the poor production elements of the film. At the center of this story we have a simple struggle over limited resources.
Lesson learned: Cool cars and leather jackets make this film work. Style has an important place in storytelling.
Let me wrap this up with a list of a few more apocalyptic stories and the lessons I learned from them.
The Blood of Heroes – Any genre (sports movies) can be given an apocalyptic facelift.
I Am Legend – Sometimes the protagonist turns out to be the monster.
Escape From New York – Think outside the box. Manhattan as a prison is genius.
July 24, 2014
TOP 10 APOCALYPSE MOVIES
Just in case any of you happen to be in the mood for some excellent end of the world entertainment I have some suggestions for you. Yes. It is indeed a Ten Best list of apocalyptic movies.
10. Damnation Alley (1977) – Giant Gila Monsters, radioactive cockroaches, and the last of the Hell’s Angels on a mission to save Boston from a plague. Based on my favorite apocalyptic book by Roger Zelazny, the movie fell far short of the novel. However, it does a tremendous job of nailing spirit and setting of the mutant-filled post-apocalyptic genre.
9. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) – An unstable Air Force General with access to nuclear weapons. The film does an excellent job of capturing the Cold War paranoia and America’s fascination with the atomic bomb.
8. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) – Visitors from space with a message of peace, a giant robot capable of destroying the world, and an Earth population entrenched in violence. All of this makes for a thought-provoking look at the nature of man. Of course, I’m talking about the original and not the disappointing remake.
7. Night of the Living Dead (1968) – The dead walk among us looking for a snack. This is the original zombie apocalypse film. A little gory for my tastes, but it started a huge sub-genre.
6. War of the Worlds (1953) – Angry Martians invade Earth and eventually succumb to the common cold. Lots of death-ray action based on the novel by H. G. Wells and made famous in the 1938 radio broadcast with Orson Welles.
5. Escape from New York (1981) – A backdrop of World War III and Manhattan Island turned into a maximum security prison. This is an example of John Carpenter at the top of his game. The combination of lighting and music to produce a mood truly appropriate for the apocalypse is what made him one of the best directors in Hollywoond.
4. Reign of Fire (2002) – Dragons. Combine horror with the genre and you get a zombie apocalypse. Combine fantasy with the genre and you get dragons nesting in London and burning everything in sight.
3. The Matrix (1999) – A machine-controlled Earth and men enslaved in a dream. Original concepts and some mind-blowing symbolism make this probably the best made apocalyptic film on the list.
2. Planet of the Apes (1968) – Apes rule and humans drool. In my opinion the best anti-establishment film of the 60s. And it stars Chuck Heston.
1. Mad Max (1979) – A leather-clad police officer roams the dangerous roads of an apocalyptic world. When I think about apocalyptic stories, this is the first movie that comes to mind, capturing the true essence of a world falling apart.
What do you think? Am I on target with this list or do you think I missed one?
10. Damnation Alley (1977) – Giant Gila Monsters, radioactive cockroaches, and the last of the Hell’s Angels on a mission to save Boston from a plague. Based on my favorite apocalyptic book by Roger Zelazny, the movie fell far short of the novel. However, it does a tremendous job of nailing spirit and setting of the mutant-filled post-apocalyptic genre.
9. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) – An unstable Air Force General with access to nuclear weapons. The film does an excellent job of capturing the Cold War paranoia and America’s fascination with the atomic bomb.
8. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) – Visitors from space with a message of peace, a giant robot capable of destroying the world, and an Earth population entrenched in violence. All of this makes for a thought-provoking look at the nature of man. Of course, I’m talking about the original and not the disappointing remake.
7. Night of the Living Dead (1968) – The dead walk among us looking for a snack. This is the original zombie apocalypse film. A little gory for my tastes, but it started a huge sub-genre.
6. War of the Worlds (1953) – Angry Martians invade Earth and eventually succumb to the common cold. Lots of death-ray action based on the novel by H. G. Wells and made famous in the 1938 radio broadcast with Orson Welles.
5. Escape from New York (1981) – A backdrop of World War III and Manhattan Island turned into a maximum security prison. This is an example of John Carpenter at the top of his game. The combination of lighting and music to produce a mood truly appropriate for the apocalypse is what made him one of the best directors in Hollywoond.
4. Reign of Fire (2002) – Dragons. Combine horror with the genre and you get a zombie apocalypse. Combine fantasy with the genre and you get dragons nesting in London and burning everything in sight.
3. The Matrix (1999) – A machine-controlled Earth and men enslaved in a dream. Original concepts and some mind-blowing symbolism make this probably the best made apocalyptic film on the list.
2. Planet of the Apes (1968) – Apes rule and humans drool. In my opinion the best anti-establishment film of the 60s. And it stars Chuck Heston.
1. Mad Max (1979) – A leather-clad police officer roams the dangerous roads of an apocalyptic world. When I think about apocalyptic stories, this is the first movie that comes to mind, capturing the true essence of a world falling apart.
What do you think? Am I on target with this list or do you think I missed one?
June 29, 2014
Book Trailers 101 - Part 1
There are some amazing moments on my journey as an author. Finishing my first
manuscript—okay, any manuscript. Signing the contract with a publisher. And seeing the cover for your novel. The amazing moment in my life right now is
making the book trailer for The Gathering.
Geek moment—waaaahooooooo!
Even though the filming doesn’t start until the end of the month, I’ve had the advantage of participating in the shoot for the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. You can see that here.
Go ahead, take a couple of minutes and check it out. Not surprisingly, I was lucky enough to enlist most of the same crew to put together my trailer.
Obviously, the first step in the process is to write a novel that’s going to be published. Then once you have that out of the way you’re going to need a script for the trailer. I felt comfortable doing that myself so I sat down with my good friend and Producer for the project, Amber Nichols, and together we worked out the storyboard. I had an idea in my head of what I wanted and Amber kicked back a lot of great ideas to improve it. I spent
the next day writing and revising the script and then sent it over to Wendell Brown. He has more experience with screenplay formats than I do and was able to make suggestions on how to punch it up.
This step was tremendously fun. Instead of daydreaming about how the movie version of my novel would look, I wrote it—in miniature form. Even better, I involved several of my friends and they shared in my vision of the story.
The next item on the list was to recruit the talent needed to film the trailer. This is where your networking efforts as an author really pays off. Amber was able to convince Douglas Monce to join The Gathering project as the Director, Brandon Gesimondo-Clark as Chief Camera, and Dee Astell as the Set Photographer. Having people who know how to properly set the lighting, manage the actors, and how to transform a location into exactly what the scene requires makes the difference between a professional quality video and an amateur attempt.
Here’s a picture from the Manic Pixie Dream Girlshoot. If you watched the trailer you may remember a classroom scene where the two main characters of the story are talking together. Classmates are in the background. The funny thing about this scene is that we didn’t have enough extras on this particular day. Amber had to improvise. Keep in mind that these are supposed to be
teenagers. In the back row you will see my eleven-year-old (who is a small eleven) and Amber’s aunt posing as teens.
Did you notice that they were not teens when you originally watched the trailer? Probably not, because Amber did a masterful job of making eight people, in two rows of chairs, look like a classroom. And the cameraman was able to really help that illusion along with the correct shooting setup.
One of the fun aspects of participating in a project like this is getting to see all the interesting behind-the-scenes bits. In the case of the classroom scene mentioned above that included having to scrounge enough textbooks for my daughter to sit on and Amber’s aunt putting her hair into a ponytail. Both actions were needed to make them look more like the teens they were meant to be portraying. And it worked, but I stood in the background and snickered at the thought of the two of them passing for teenagers.
Then there was the delightful banter between the two lead actors during the actual filming. Since their dialogue wasn’t going to be used in the trailer they had instructions to talk. No lines. No topics. Just talk. The lines that Sean Worsley delivered were hilarious. They would have made a phenomenal outtake.
In part two of this article I’ll discuss casting, filming, post production, and some alternate book trailer formats. See you then.
Here is a link to the actual book trailer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38X2-...
manuscript—okay, any manuscript. Signing the contract with a publisher. And seeing the cover for your novel. The amazing moment in my life right now is
making the book trailer for The Gathering.
Geek moment—waaaahooooooo!
Even though the filming doesn’t start until the end of the month, I’ve had the advantage of participating in the shoot for the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. You can see that here.
Go ahead, take a couple of minutes and check it out. Not surprisingly, I was lucky enough to enlist most of the same crew to put together my trailer.
Obviously, the first step in the process is to write a novel that’s going to be published. Then once you have that out of the way you’re going to need a script for the trailer. I felt comfortable doing that myself so I sat down with my good friend and Producer for the project, Amber Nichols, and together we worked out the storyboard. I had an idea in my head of what I wanted and Amber kicked back a lot of great ideas to improve it. I spent
the next day writing and revising the script and then sent it over to Wendell Brown. He has more experience with screenplay formats than I do and was able to make suggestions on how to punch it up.
This step was tremendously fun. Instead of daydreaming about how the movie version of my novel would look, I wrote it—in miniature form. Even better, I involved several of my friends and they shared in my vision of the story.
The next item on the list was to recruit the talent needed to film the trailer. This is where your networking efforts as an author really pays off. Amber was able to convince Douglas Monce to join The Gathering project as the Director, Brandon Gesimondo-Clark as Chief Camera, and Dee Astell as the Set Photographer. Having people who know how to properly set the lighting, manage the actors, and how to transform a location into exactly what the scene requires makes the difference between a professional quality video and an amateur attempt.
Here’s a picture from the Manic Pixie Dream Girlshoot. If you watched the trailer you may remember a classroom scene where the two main characters of the story are talking together. Classmates are in the background. The funny thing about this scene is that we didn’t have enough extras on this particular day. Amber had to improvise. Keep in mind that these are supposed to be
teenagers. In the back row you will see my eleven-year-old (who is a small eleven) and Amber’s aunt posing as teens.
Did you notice that they were not teens when you originally watched the trailer? Probably not, because Amber did a masterful job of making eight people, in two rows of chairs, look like a classroom. And the cameraman was able to really help that illusion along with the correct shooting setup.
One of the fun aspects of participating in a project like this is getting to see all the interesting behind-the-scenes bits. In the case of the classroom scene mentioned above that included having to scrounge enough textbooks for my daughter to sit on and Amber’s aunt putting her hair into a ponytail. Both actions were needed to make them look more like the teens they were meant to be portraying. And it worked, but I stood in the background and snickered at the thought of the two of them passing for teenagers.
Then there was the delightful banter between the two lead actors during the actual filming. Since their dialogue wasn’t going to be used in the trailer they had instructions to talk. No lines. No topics. Just talk. The lines that Sean Worsley delivered were hilarious. They would have made a phenomenal outtake.
In part two of this article I’ll discuss casting, filming, post production, and some alternate book trailer formats. See you then.
Here is a link to the actual book trailer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38X2-...
Becky Williams Interview
Since Sunday was Mother’s Day I felt it appropriate to interview Becky Williams. Not only is she a viewpoint character in The Gathering, she is the mother of six children: Robert, Sarah, Lucas, Jesse (twin 1), Elizabeth (twin 2), and Cody.
Q1: What is the best thing about the Apocalypse?
A1: Really? Does your mother know you ask silly questions like that? If I had to pick one positive element out of this horrible situation it would be that it forces you to think about what is truly important in life. Everything else gets cast aside.
Q2: Several readers have mentioned that you are some sort of Super-Mom; strong, selfless, and highly spiritual. Are you too good to be real?
A2: Of course not. I think the novel just happen to capture me at my finer moments. What the readers didn’t get to see where the times when I broke down and cried over some minor problem because I was having a bad day. I mean, in a book about the apocalypse who wants to see me dealing with bickering kids, a dirty house, and a migraine?
Q3: You and Sarah look a lot alike. Does anyone ever get the two of you confused?
A3: * Do you mean other than you? Yes, it happens all the time. Sarah is the child that is most like me. She is very strong-willed and definitely her own person. That can be good if you are pointed in the right direction because you allow yourself to be sidetracked. But it makes it difficult to change your life around if you’re headed the wrong way.
* I swapped the names for Becky and Sarah when my beta readers mentioned that Becky worked better as a name for an adult woman.
Q4: Now the big question. Which of the kids is your favorite?
A4: I bet you’re expecting me to say “all of them” and I do, but that’s not my answer. It really depends on the individual day. When I got letters from Robert while he was on his mission then Robert was my favorite. Two weeks ago the twins stopped bickering long enough to arrange a date night for John and myself. On that day—no, for that week—they jointly held the top spot in my heart. Each of my children has their moment in the sun where they shine ever so brightly. When they do my joy in them is truly full.
If you have any questions for Becky that you’d like answered just go ahead and post them in the comments section and I will make sure she gets to them as soon as her busy schedule allows.
Q1: What is the best thing about the Apocalypse?
A1: Really? Does your mother know you ask silly questions like that? If I had to pick one positive element out of this horrible situation it would be that it forces you to think about what is truly important in life. Everything else gets cast aside.
Q2: Several readers have mentioned that you are some sort of Super-Mom; strong, selfless, and highly spiritual. Are you too good to be real?
A2: Of course not. I think the novel just happen to capture me at my finer moments. What the readers didn’t get to see where the times when I broke down and cried over some minor problem because I was having a bad day. I mean, in a book about the apocalypse who wants to see me dealing with bickering kids, a dirty house, and a migraine?
Q3: You and Sarah look a lot alike. Does anyone ever get the two of you confused?
A3: * Do you mean other than you? Yes, it happens all the time. Sarah is the child that is most like me. She is very strong-willed and definitely her own person. That can be good if you are pointed in the right direction because you allow yourself to be sidetracked. But it makes it difficult to change your life around if you’re headed the wrong way.
* I swapped the names for Becky and Sarah when my beta readers mentioned that Becky worked better as a name for an adult woman.
Q4: Now the big question. Which of the kids is your favorite?
A4: I bet you’re expecting me to say “all of them” and I do, but that’s not my answer. It really depends on the individual day. When I got letters from Robert while he was on his mission then Robert was my favorite. Two weeks ago the twins stopped bickering long enough to arrange a date night for John and myself. On that day—no, for that week—they jointly held the top spot in my heart. Each of my children has their moment in the sun where they shine ever so brightly. When they do my joy in them is truly full.
If you have any questions for Becky that you’d like answered just go ahead and post them in the comments section and I will make sure she gets to them as soon as her busy schedule allows.
January 16, 2014
10 Best Movie Rentals on the Last Day
Okay, so I borrowed this from my blog, but I thought it would be a great way to start my blogging experience here on Goodreads. This is the ten best movie rentals on the last day.
Here are the Ten Best Movie Rentals for the Last Day.
10. It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.
9. The Omega Man.
8. 2012. (Drink a toast for every year they were off.)
7. The Day After Tomorrow.
6. On the Beach (1959 Version).
5. History of the World: Part I.
4. Testament.
3. Wall-E.
2. Armageddon.
1. It’s a Wonderful Life. (Might as well go out on a high note.)
And just in case you like this sort of wackiness you can get more on my website. http://www.randylindsay.net/
Here are the Ten Best Movie Rentals for the Last Day.
10. It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.
9. The Omega Man.
8. 2012. (Drink a toast for every year they were off.)
7. The Day After Tomorrow.
6. On the Beach (1959 Version).
5. History of the World: Part I.
4. Testament.
3. Wall-E.
2. Armageddon.
1. It’s a Wonderful Life. (Might as well go out on a high note.)
And just in case you like this sort of wackiness you can get more on my website. http://www.randylindsay.net/
