Rachelle Ayala's Blog, page 74

#GuestPost Five tips for writing a Medical Thriller by Frank J. Edwards, MD #writertip

Here are five ideas that a beginning writer of medical thrillers can’t go wrong thinking about. 
First of all, you’ll need a good conspiracy.   It doesn’t have to be earth-shattering, but one of the reasons thrillers do so well sent in the world of medicine is that the field is so rich with drama at the four-way intersection of life, technology, big business and government.   This gives you an unlimited vein of conflict to mine for suspense.
Give your main character the potential for greatness combined with an Achilles heel.  This rule applies, I believe, for all good characters, whether they appear in literary works or genre fiction, comedy or tragedy, and for that matter, whether the character is hero or villain.   My hero in Final Mercy, for example, neglects his private life for work and pays a price.
Don’t forget the huge role that women play in modern medicine.  When I was in medical school in the late seventies, there were only 14 women out of a class of 100 (and some of our professors actually smoked cigarettes while lecturing).   Most med school classes today are 50-60 percent female.  So, if your hero isn’t a female, make sure you’ve got some strong female secondary characters.  This will lend your story texture and verisimilitude, not to mention the potential for relationships.   No spice, no flavor.
Sling the jargon like a pro.   If you spend all your time explaining things like V Fib, ET tubes and laparoscopy, you’ll end up insulting the reader and making characters sound like robots.  The average reader can understand most medical terms through context alone, and furthermore they will deeply appreciate the fact we believe they are smart enough to figure things out.  Whenever possible, don’t interrupt the flow with mini-lectures and definitions that don’t fit in with the narrative.   
Go for the new.  The success in recent years of medical thrillers—including medical TV shows—has created a big audience out there for this genre, but as also made our job a little more difficult in the sense that a lot of the easy ground has already been broken, and sometimes more than once.   Yesterday’s fresh idea has become today’s cliché.   The mysterious epidemic caused by the toxic water supply, the underground cabal engaged in euthanasia, and the ever-popular organ harvesting plots.  You get the point.  There’s still a ton of great ideas out there awaiting development, but you’ll want to have some familiarity with what’s already been done.   No one, however, should let that intimidate him or her from taking the leap.  We all possess individual quirks and experiences that will inevitably lead us to fresh fields, though perhaps a little further from the highway.  Onwards! Frank J. Edwards MD Frank J. Edwards lives in Western New York.He entered the Army after high school and became a warrant officer helicopter pilot, serving a tour in Vietnam. He studied English and Chemistry at UNC Chapel Hill, went to medical school at the University of Rochester, and later received an MFA in Writing at Warren Wilson College.Frank served as a faculty member in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center in the 1990′s, leaving academic medicine to start a regional emergency medicine group, now called Delphi Emergency Physicians, where he continues to serve as the medical director.
In 1994 he started the first writing workshop for medical students at the U of R’s Division of Medical Humanities and remains active in the program.
He has written several books, including the medical thriller Final Mercy, a collection of poetry and short stories called It’ll Ease The Pain, and two books of medical nonfiction.
Please visit him at www.frankjedwards.com.




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5 Funny Things & 12 Fascinating Books & 2 Embarrassing Photos

b00kr3vi3ws by Debdatta is the hottest Book Blog in the world, and this month I'm the featured author. In order to qualify, I had to provide 5 funny things about myself. As a bonus I threw in two embarrassing photos and a giveaway for the 12 books that most fascinated me this year.

My characters, Michal, David and Ittai from Michal's Window and Dave Jewell and Jen Cruz from Broken Build talk about these 12 books in a roundtable interview with Debdatta.

I also provide a glimpse into my charmed life as a beach bum doing research on my stories. Must go to Debdatta's blog to read "A Day in the Life of Rachelle Ayala."
Okay, still here? Read about these 12 fascinating books and enter the Giveaway [ends November 30] or buy them now if you can't wait [click on their covers to go to Amazon] Lilly Price is an endearing heroine who is on the run to shed her past. She has been abused and doesn't believe anyone would give her another chance. Zach Woodbridge is a mystery writer who develops an interest in Lilly. Will he figure out her past and understand why Lilly is so evasive? Chantel does a wonderful job of developing this love story with vivid internal thoughts and tense dramatic action. Lucessa is a woman who has lost her bearings. Her husband has died on a remote mission trip and she is doing her best to keep her job and pay the bills. Unknown to her, a demi-god is protecting her, and when danger appears at her door, he does too. The plot weaves Greek mythology with modern drama and touches on the timeless love of a father for a long lost daughter he despaired of ever seeing again. Maya and Alex are not ready to be parents. While in search of choices, Maya makes a new friend in an abortion clinic. What happens next opens her eyes graphically. Ms. Hamling tells an emotionally absorbing story that'll force you to come face to face with the inhumane blot in our country's moral values. She's too young to be a widow. Sarah Johnson struggles to raise her two year old daughter alone while mourning her husband's death in Afghanistan. His long time buddy, Ethan Cooke, is not a body guard and a good friend. A stalker is after Sarah and Ethan jumps to protect her. Sparks fly in the hot and steamy bathroom. Disaster after disaster befalls poor Rebecca Ross. After a decade auditioning for movie roles in Hollywood and being duped by Mr. I'm So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades, Rebecca heads back home into a wedding nightmare and a honeymoon from hell. Laugh with her ever present sense of humor as she navigates the Italian justice system and finds herself in the arms of an unexpected savior. How dark does evil pervade? This multi-threaded book tells a gripping story set between the vast deserts of the Karoo and the closed in gardens of England. The narrator, Ilsa Joubert, seems sensible and reliable on the surface. She is, after all, the nanny to solve all problems. But what about her own past? Time is ticking for poor Kat who has placed all too many years into the basket of one reluctant to commit Marc. When she finally makes the break and meets Mr. Right Ryan, Marc comes back for a last ditch pin in her heart. Will Kat cave or take courage lessons from the Cowardly Lion and risk losing the marriage sweepstakes all over again? At Road's End is a rollicking adventure set in Pre-Aztec MesoAmerica. It is full of fights, escapes, battles and strategizing. A pretty captive woman enters the mix and a nice bit of romance results. A fast paced action adventure story in the style of a Louis L'Amour western, At Road's End will charm young and old alike. Margaret was the daring Snake-Woman-Child, the one her peers looked up to. But one day, her daring was her undoing. She was kidnapped from her mob and forced into a rehabilitation center to be trained in the white world as a domestic servant. Will Margaret find her roots and prevail? Or will she make it in the world she was forced to embrace? My Emily is a story about a very special little girl who taught her family and the readers of her book about love and acceptance. Emily was born with Down's Syndrome and stricken with leukemia. Even though her life was short, it wasn't without meaning. “Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.”
― Dr. Seuss [image error] Michael Langdon is a wealthy man who makes quick judgments and gets what he wants. But when Allie Overton enters his life, Michael's carefully planned life is turned topsy turvy. Despite their mutual distrust, Allie's caring for Michael's well being and a shared love for art allows Cupid's arrow to impale both their hearts. [image error] Danielle Bretancourt is a strong woman. She has to be. Her husband was killed by Nazis. Her young son is missing behind enemy lines, and she is a Jewish woman caught in war torn France. After half her family is killed, she takes the remaining members to America and works her way from the slums to Beverly Hills. Despite all her success, the hole in her heart grows every year that her son is missing. And then there's that handsome Englishman whose timing is always wrong...
Win ALL these books by entering the Giveaway at B00kr3vi3ws by D. D. S.
($41.40 combined value) or click on the covers below to buy.

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#AuthorInterview Emma Tyler #humor #satire

I really do meet strangers on the Internet. And maybe none stranger than Emma Tyler, author of Adderall and Juris Doctorates: A Collection: Vols 1 & 2, an irreverent and hard-hitting book that pokes your funny bone and fills your heart with existential pain.

So let's start. Emma, where are you from and how did you get started writing?I’m originally from “Indianaland” and spent most of my life there.  I moved to Kentucky to go to law school.  I graduated and got my juris doctorate but by the time I did, I was so burnt out that I didn’t take the bar exam.  The title of my book actually comes from my last year of law school when I found out I had ADHD and was prescribed Adderall.  Right now I am unemployed, sort of looking around to take a different route other than legal.  Writing this book was partly out of boredom and partly to see if I could make it as a writer and leave plaintiffs and defendants behind.
Let's expound more on your book. You've chosen to categorize it as satire. Why is that?The book is a collection of memories and events from my life, most of them true.  I think that everyone’s life is a satire; we are all walking parodies of ourselves.  I wanted to show that you have to laugh at yourself and the people around you, or else you’re missing out on a huge wealth of knowledge.
Where do you get your inspiration?Inspiration? Okay, nouns, mostly. But seriously it's all the things happening to my generation (under-30) and how royally screwed we are.
What do you hope your readers get from your stories?Herpes?  I hope that the stories make people think and reconsider some of their preconceived notions about religion, family, career, etc.  I’ve always found society to be problematic and I’m hoping that, if other people feel the way I do, then maybe things will change.
You mix some really serious dark situations with funny anecdotes. How do you think the reader will react? Are you going for shock value?I’m not going for shock value.  I chose to mix the stories so that the reader doesn’t become too comfortable with the material.  A lot of understanding comes from contrast.  I want the reader to feel completely disoriented afterward, and, if that happens, then this book will have been a success.
Sounds like a plan. I was certainly disoriented even though I also have a warped sense of humor. Here is the book description:The complete collection of "Adderall and Juris Doctorates: A Collection", Volumes I and II provide a unique look at modern life: in turns provocative, hilarious and touching. With subjects ranging from drugs to bikers to religion to government, "Adderall" reads like a punch in the stomach, a lightning bolt to the brain and a surge to the heart, all at once. Emma Tyler is the voice of a generation and a literary force to be reckoned with; her satirical look at life both scathing and thought-provoking.WARNING: READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED. THIS BOOK PORTRAYS ADULT SITUATIONS AND SUBJECT MATTER.
Emma is currently working on a collection of short stories tentatively called "70% Royalty."

Adderall and Juris Doctorate is available at Amazon.com




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Long Live Paperback! Give the Gift That You Can Kiss

Paperback is not DEAD!
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#BookChat Hailey's Truth by Cate Beauman #3 in Series #romanticsuspense

Summary:

Hailey Roberts has never had it easy. Despite the scars of a tragic childhood, she’s made a life for herself. As a part-time student and loving nanny, she yearns for a family of her own and reluctant Austin Casey, Ethan Cooke Security’s best close protection agent.
Hailey’s past comes back to haunt her when her long lost brother tracks her down, bringing his dangerous secrets with him. At an emotional crossroads, Hailey accepts a humanitarian opportunity that throws her together with Austin, taking her hundreds of miles from her troubles, or so she thinks.
What starts out as a dream come true quickly becomes a nightmare as violence erupts on the island of Cozumel. Young women are disappearing, community members are dying—and the carnage links back to her brother. 
As Austin struggles to keep Hailey’s past from destroying her future, he’s forced to make a decision that could turn her against him, or worse cost them both their lives.
Words from the Author:Music is a huge part of my writing process. I typically listen to Pandora while I create my stories and compile a collection of songs that I feel represent my characters or the situations they face as the novel unfolds. It’s a rare occasion that my creativity demands quiet (And that’s a good thing. I’m a mother of two boys. Quiet doesn’t happen in my house.).  ‘Wide Awake’ by Katy Perry, ‘Bare Naked’ by Jennifer Love Hewitt, ‘Wild Ones’ by Flo Rida ft. Sia, and ‘Stay’ by Safety Suit  were four of the many songs that ‘spoke’ to me while delving into Hailey and Austin’s journey in Hailey’s Truth.   
Reader reactions:“WOW. My head is in a whirl from this one. From the high intensity of Suspense, down to the oh-so yummy Romance, by far, Hailey and Austin have the hottest freaking scenes of the three books!”  --Melisa Hamling, author and reader
“Damn you!!! I am sooo exhausted but I can't put Hailey's Truth down!!” –Cari Ordway, reader
What’s next:I’m currently working on the fourth novel in The Bodyguards of L.A. County Series, Forever Alexa, which will debut in the Spring of 2013. We’ll follow Jackson Matthews, Ethan Cooke Security’s newest hottie with a great sense of humor, as he helps a woman from his past, Alexa Harris. When Alexa finds herself mixed up in the dangerous and disturbing world of human trafficking, she’ll have no choice but to turn to Jackson and reveal secrets she’s kept from him for the last four years. 

Visit Cate at her Amazon Author Page or at her website http://www.catebeauman.com
All three of Cate's books are available at Amazon.com.


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#BookChat BROKEN BUILD by Rachelle Ayala #technothriller #romanticsuspense

SynopsisJen Cruz Jones hides a horrible secret behind her new degree, toned body, and exciting job at Silicon Valley’s hottest startup—until a man linked to her past is killed by a hit-and-run.
CEO and founder Dave Jewell is about to land a huge deal. He doesn’t need blood on his car, threatening phone calls, and Jen wrapped in broken code and blackmail.
A gang of thugs hunts Jen, and she takes refuge in Dave’s protective arms. Together, they must thwart a killer and rescue an innocent victim from their past. Love blossoms, but a damaging revelation points straight at Jen, threatening to tear them apart forever. 

From the Author
The premise is simple. Find the worst thing that can ever happen to a man. Have a woman be responsible for it. Put them together, mix in a huge dose of chemistry, an unsolved murder and industrial espionage and let nature take its course. I won't say what Jen did to Dave, but it's bigger than breaking his heart or sleeping with his best friend. It's the kind of agony no one gets over with. The idea to this story actually came to me when I was critiquing another friend's manuscript. I suggested upping the stakes in her story by having the woman be at fault in the situation rather than just a bystander. My friend did not take the bait. Maybe it was too over the top. But I found a nice situation to run with.

Reader's Reactions
"Plenty of twists and turns for every reader. Did I mention that Dave is a bit of a playboy? All I can say is yummy! The chemistry between the pair sizzles."

"I enjoyed Jen. She has everything a woman wants--a great body, a great job. Her only problem is her damaging secrets! I like that Ayala developed a strong woman who can make it on her own even though she loves Dave and will more than likely lose him when he figures out that she's responsible for much of the turmoil in his life."

"From reading the other reviews there seems to be no middle ground on this one. You love it or you hate it. Hated it. Too many convolutions, extraneous characters, etc. The tech speak got to be tiresome and I know tech. ... It seems the author has a working knowledge of computers. She should stick to a job in that field and forget writing stories."

Behind the Scenes
On the surface, a "broken build" refers to a non-functioning software system during the development and test phase of a project. It causes untold stress, finger pointing, tiger team investigations, and long overnight hours to fix. It a symptom of underlying problems including superficial management, lack of adequate infrastructure and of course, bad teamwork.

On the spiritual level, a "broken build" is a person who has lost all of his bearings. He has wandered far from God, relied on his own wits, and made a complete failure of his life. King David experienced both heady success as a national hero and abject degradation as a morally depraved murderer. In Psalm 51, he cries to the LORD with a broken spirit and lays his human wisdom aside. He empties himself of pride and self-esteem. And when he cries to God in his brokenness, God is pleased to bind his wounds, heal him, and make him rejoice.

Surprised? Broken Build is ultimately a story of redemption and healing. Both Dave and Jen must hit bottom, stop making excuses, and admit their own faults before they can rejoice in the new life God grants them.

Are you excited to read this spiritual dimension in Broken Build? I have Good News. Broken Build is free on Amazon for Thanksgiving and Black Friday. While the datacenter burns on Thanskgiving Day and Jen struggles to rescue the Black Friday Build that will determine the company's survival, you could be hitting the Amazon servers with umpteen downloads of Broken Build.

Download Now and enjoy it with your turkey leftovers and early morning shopping. Please leave me a comment on how YOU deal with a broken build.

#BookReview Outer Banks by Anne River Siddons

Outer Banks by Anne Rivers Siddons
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book better than Peachtree Road up to 98%. The story theme was about false appearances, people acting on the surface in civilized and splendid fakery, like the elegant dancing of 18th century Baroque minuets. The setting is four middle-aged sorority girls and a reunion at a grand house on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. We have Kate Stuart Lee, neither a Lee of Virginia nor offspring of General Stuart. Her boyfriend Paul Sibley, a prostitute's son whose mother took the last name of a construction company her brother worked for, who dumped her to marry the rich Ginger Fowler. Then there's Cece Hart, a girl we never really got to know, and the dumpling Fig Newton who was made fun of and grudgingly accepted.

The story jumps between flashback and the present day, when a sick Kate Lee gets an invitation from Ginger Fowler Sibley for a reunion. Kate's husband, Alan, for some inexplicable reason urges her to go. This felt like a set up to me. Why would he want Kate visiting the very house she was supposed to marry Paul in, especially after Kate calls Paul's name in their last lovemaking session? Incomprehensible.

Okay, so suspend disbelief of Alan, the hapless husband. Now the four aged cronies are gathered together and all they do is drink and reminiscence, while the enigmatic Fig watches and waits with catlike anticipation. The similarities to C. S. Lakin's Innocent Little Crimes begin to arise as the memories become more pointed, jabbing and setting off one friend against the other. The climax comes when Paul, who was supposed to be staying elsewhere, arrives at the eve of the storm. Literally the gloves come off and once again, four women fight their feelings at his presence.

It turns out that underneath all the veneer of friendship and affection lay great ugliness. This book really does make you think. While you're feigning affection to me, can you tell that I'm pretending to like you? At the end, the one true friend is the one who would risk your displeasure and her own life to drag you out of the pretend world you mired yourself in.

[4.5 stars] Up to 98% this book was 5 stars. But my biggest question is unanswered. Who shot ***? If anyone knows, please comment or tell me. It seems to me the author dug herself into a hole and came up with a convenient/cliched solution that does not keep with the character she created. I would have thought this character would have wanted to stick around and enjoy the mayhem she worked so hard to cause. This little twist ruined the entire story for me. And honestly there are better ways to work the plot to achieve the same result. Instead, it feels like the story ran out of steam and she just wanted to end it. And sadly, the coverup and lies continues.

View all my reviews

#AuthorInterview Jean Brown of Black Days #Psychthriller

Today, I'd like to welcome Author Jean Brown. She'll talk about her book, Black Days, book 1 in the Faulkner's Curse series.
Jean: Thanks! I'm glad to be here.
Tell us what Black Days is about and what genre it would be classified.
Jean: Black Days crosses into many genres but would be considered a psychological suspense/thriller with a twist of paranormal. Robert Faulkner has four grown children who hold him responsible for Billy, their younger brother, and their mother’s death. Robert has lived his life intoxicated as he was unable to deal with his problems. Alcohol kept him numb, blocking all the pain from his troubled childhood and made it easier for him to pretend not to care. But then he collapses on the street and wakes in the hospital guilt stricken with a conscience. While on his mission to right his wrongs with his children whom all have some serious issues of their own, Robert discovers he has the ability to heal with the touch of his hands while at an appointment with internal medicine. Reconnecting with his children will be the biggest challenge of his life as he is getting closer to death and running out of time. Life becomes even more complicated as he is forced to accept the truth about the legends of his family’s bloodline being cursed. 
Sound like an extremely involving book. What was your process like for writing Black Days and how long did it take to finish it?
Jean: Black Days started off as a short story in 2000 but kept growing. It was about twelve pages long but always felt unfinished to me. So I kept adding to it until it became a full length novel. It still didn’t feel “completed” to me, so that’s what influenced me to write the series. I finished the first draft in 2010 and before I started editing and rewriting, I was already writing the second book, Rending Skies/2012.
Can you explain what “Faulkner’s Curse” is about?
Jean: The Curse or supposed curse, however a reader may want to perceive it in book 1, is mythic to have started over two hundred years ago when Tristan Faulkner cheated Indians out of their land where an Indian Burial Mound existed. Tristan was also said to be responsible for the death of a great Indian Chief as the curse of the Faulkner bloodline began.
Sounds kind of Stephen King like, doesn't it? While you were growing up, was reading and writing a part of your life? Who were your earliest influences?
Jean: I grew up with a father whom, in my opinion, was a master story teller. His tales of myths and legends were a large part of my life. My father loved to tell stories about Indian Burial Mounds, ghost stories and tales of all genres, often times making them up as he went along or adding to old stories always keeping the sagas interesting and keeping me on the edge of my seat. He never wrote his stories as they only existed in his mind and the minds of the people he shared them with. Writing and reading was a big part of my life since my earliest memories. You could say writing was my imaginary friend. I kept a notebook at hand, always writing short stories, and found myself up late at night in the middle of an interesting book.
From the beginning when Black Days was a short story, was it your intention to make it an emotional character study?
Jean: I did plan Robert’s guilt as an emotional base to the story. As the story grew, I realized that the characters emotions were the driving force, so I used the force to move the plot along.
Why did you choose to write this series at this time in your life?
Jean: I suppose it’s because I have the time. I’ve written short stories throughout the years, but now that my children are older, I’m able to dedicate more time to writing. It’s never too late, right?
Exactly. Do you have a specific theme throughout the series?
Jean: My series are all about the characters emotions. I’ve written two screenplays and really enjoyed doing so, but I miss getting into the characters heads as you are limited in screenplays. Also, I’m an animal lover and advocate, so every story I write typically has an animal character. Ruby, a 120 pound German Shepard plays a large roll throughout the series. In Rending Skies/2012, Eve Faulkner is also an advocate for animals.
Sound interesting. Always good to have some strong subplots to keep the series going. What is some of the feedback you’re getting from the readers?
Jean: I’ve had readers tell me that the ending of Black Days really shocked them. Some readers say that the book holds their attention with the twists and turns in the plot. The most surprising comments is that Black Days was an inspirational book. I had never thought about it in that way, so when I asked the reader why he thought it was inspirational he said, “in all ways that matter, family”. My favorite comment is when someone tells me they couldn’t put the book down until the end of the story. I get so excited when I hear those words that I can’t sleep.
Ha, ha, that's so true. Causing a reader to lose sleep is our biggest accomplishment, right? Where did the inspiration come from for the series?
Jean: I’ve always been intrigued by why people do what they do according to the early influences in their life, whether it makes them happy, sad or leaves them feeling guilty. I witnessed someone I loved, in their final days, feeling so guilty knowing they didn’t have time to make amends, and this guilt was the most powerful emotion I’ve witnessed. It affected me so deeply that I used it somewhat as guide to live my life by.
What do you hope readers will get from Black Days?
Jean: Mainly, my hope is to entertain the readers by forging an emotional relationship between the readers and the characters as I tell a fast passed story (events take place in ten hours). If I’ve done my job correctly, the readers will care enough to follow me through the series.
Sounds good to me. What's next?
Jean: Rending Skies/2012, book 2 in the Faulkner’s Curse series, has just released. I’m currently working on book 3 in the series.

Jean Brown lives in the Piedmont area of North Carolina with her husband Michael, daughter Asia, and all her furry friends. In her spare time, Jean fosters and rescues animals in need. She also enjoys spending time on the lake. She is currently working on book  three in the Faulkner's Curse series. Jean invites you to take a journey with her to the cursed Durga Lake where evil resides beneath the surface of the breathtaking landscape. 
Find out more about Black Days at Amazon.

#AuthorInterview Lars Guignard, thriller and fantasy writer

Please welcome Lars Guignard to Rachelle's Window. Lars is a writer of all things exciting.
How old were you when you first started writing for yourself? What was your first story about? 

I think everyone who works as a writer probably started writing in grade school, stories and the like. I did that, but I first started writing in a professional, I'd like to get paid for this sense, when I was in college. I thought it would be a fun way to earn a living. My first story was a a kind of coming of age drama called Year of the Chicken. If I'm going to be honest, it was about me and my friends doing increasingly crazy things until the bottom fell out and things got truly out of hand. I guess you could call it a coming of age tale -- with poultry. 
Yes, that sounds about what a college guy would write. What kind of training did you have as a writer? I have pretty significant training as a writer. I attended the conservatory of the American Film Institute in Los Angeles where I earned an MFA in screenwriting. Carl Gottlieb, the screenwriter of Jaws was my mentor. We did a lot of work on things like story structure for film and the like. Screenwriting teaches you to be very precise and efficient in saying what you need to say because you don't have a lot of time to get your point across -- in fact its measured in minutes and each of those minutes cost hundreds of thousands, potentially millions of dollars.
I can see how working as a screenwriter would motivate you to tighten your script. When you turned your attention to writing books, how did those formats translate for you? What was the biggest challenge? The biggest advantage?
Strangely, the length of the format doesn't change things that much. You're still dealing with a beginning, middle, and end. It's just a question of how much story you can squeeze inside the box. There are a lot of 120-minute movies that, story-wise, could fit into a half-hour format and remember you're talking about 22 minutes of screen time there. The biggest challenge with books is that it's up to the author to flesh everything out -- the little details that an actor would bring to a performance can't be inferred as they are in a screenplay, they need to be on the page. The biggest advantage I personally took from screenwriting is the solid sense of story structure you need to develop to practice your craft. If that same discipline and structure can be applied to a book, I think you'll get something where the plot moves along nicely and doesn't bore the reader. I guess the main thing you learn is that time is precious. If what you're saying doesn't serve the story, you cut it.
That is actually a great lesson to have. I noticed you have series in 3 different genres: Spy Thriller, Paranormal Horror Detective, and Middle-Grade Magic Adventure. Can you talk about each title briefly and describe what inspired you to write that book.
My first book Lethal Circuit was inspired by two events -- a trip I took to China and a person I knew who joined the CIA, but, obviously couldn't tell anyone about it. When I combined those elements I realized that I had a spy story set in an exotic foreign land. After that, it practically wrote itself.
So Lethal Circuit, as I mentioned, was inspired by a trip that I took to Hong Kong where I actually ended up extending my stay and living there for a few months. The plot hinges around a backpacker who goes to China to find his missing father. The situation quickly turns critical from there. 
Brood , a paranormal thriller was inspired by a summer job I had out in the middle of nowhere in northern British Columbia working on a fish farm, which is basically a big metal island of fish pens anchored in the ocean. Brood is about the search for a missing scientist in that wilderness, and the frightening conspiracy of his disappearance which is ultimately brought to light. 
Ghost Leopard was inspired by the boarding school I attended in India -- a truly magical, crazy place way up in the Himalayas. Ghost Leopard is about two kids, Zoe and Zak, who tag along on a business trip to India with their parents where they get recruited by a snake charmer to save a mythical beast. Zoe and Zak end up going on a crazy adventure with flying carpets and talking elephants and the like, high in the mountains, where they ultimately end up saving the world.
Incredible. Three series in different genres. I shouldn't ask, but do you have a favorite genre? What is easiest to write?
I don't have a favorite genre, so much as a favorite style. I like stories that move. Stories that have a lot of "story" to them. I guess I'm partial to thrillers in that sense, but a thriller for kids like Ghost Leopard is just as interesting to me as a spooky thriller like Brood or an action spy thriller like Lethal Circuit. I am just finishing the final edits on Lethal Circuit's sequel, Blown Circuit right now though, and I will tell you that the action spy thriller poses a special challenge. The kind of plotting required to make a good spy thriller is grueling, probably harder than other genres, but in the end I think it's worth it.
I'll bet. You have to make sure all the little pieces tie together, drop clues and keep track of the outcomes. But it's exciting. Thanks for joining us today. I look forward to your guest post on backpacking and spying. I'm sure a leisurely hike will never be the same again.
Please visit Lars at his Amazon Author Page


www.larsguignard.comTwitter: @Lars_GuFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/LarsGuignardAuthor
Book Links:Lethal CircuitBroodGhost Leopard

#BookReview Scent of Triumph by Jan Moran

Scent of Triumph: A Novel by Jan Moran
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I didn't want this book to end. Danielle is a heroic woman who triumphs over grief, loss and tragedy. She always had a sense of honor and the will to do the right thing even when circumstances were against her.

This book could have been 1/3rd longer and I would have loved to savor and linger in it. The author's skill in using the five senses immerse the reader into the story. Danielle is passionate about her family and her work. I learned a lot about the perfume business and all of the details added to the atmosphere of the story. I was transported with Danielle from war torn Europe to the glory days of Hollywood and Beverly Hills. All through her tumultuous life, she never gives up hope of seeing her beloved son. And then, there is the love of her life, a man whose timing is never quite right, but redeems himself at the end when he boldly pursues and hangs onto her. An epic love story with a bold and passionate heroine. Bravo!

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