Timothy Best's Blog, page 4
September 20, 2014
Author Events
I just returned from the picturesque town of Brooklyn, Michigan, where I did an author event at Theresa’s Angels & More. I sure do want to thank everyone that came, including the mayor of Brooklyn, no less. Wow!
Just in case you’re wondering: “What’s an ‘author event’?” Different authors may have different definitions. But, to me, it’s where the author of a book chats about their latest work, does a sample reading, answers questions, and then is available to sign copies. In total, my chat, reading, then Q&A session this past weekend took about 35 minutes. Then, within another 20 minutes after that, the store had totally sold out of Substitute Angel and had to take back orders. It’s really nice when that happens. I would’ve hated to drive 13 hours to sell, like, three copies, but I still would’ve gladly done it.
I wrote in an earlier blog that taking something from your imagination, then bringing it to life, then having total strangers be swept up by it, taken away by it, and entertained by it, is more fulfilling than practically anything else I can think of. It’s not about the money or accolades—although I’d gratefully accept both—but rather about sharing your story. Paul McCartney recently said that if he never got paid to play music again, he’d still be playing on street corners for free. I suppose it’s easy to say that when you’re already rich, but I know how he feels. You really have to love what you do and work hard to share your story. Not just the writing and editing of it, but the promoting of it. I’m talking about getting up at 4 a.m. and driving across four states just so you can spend a few precious minutes talking to strangers about your work, reading them a sample, and hoping they’ll like it.
Of course, a lot of bookstores will do author signings, but not author events, and that’s a shame. If you’re a national personality like a Hillary Clinton, or a rock star of the literary world like a Stephen King, well, yeah, no event is necessary. Their name and reputation alone will draw people in. But bookstores that just sit an unknown author behind a desk with a pile of books are missing out if they don’t have that author do something: tell the backstory to the book, share who their favorite authors are, have them give a reading, etc. By the time I was done with my author event, many people stayed and lingered in the gift shop at Theresa’s Angels while others stayed and had lunch in their charming coffee shop. In short, an author event is good for the writer, and good for the book or gift store. After all, it’s all about having the customer linger longer and have a pleasant experience.
Anyway, thank you to Blair and Kim Marie Tucker of Theresa’s Angels & More in beautiful Brooklyn, Michigan. I appreciate the opportunity and am glad it was a success. I’m happy also very happy to report that the cover art for The Intended Ones, the follow up book to Substitute Angel is now finished. To be among the first to see the new cover (the book comes out December 1st), as well as view pictures from my author event in Brooklyn, simply click links titled Book Signing & Cover Art. And, as always, thanks for reading!
Just in case you’re wondering: “What’s an ‘author event’?” Different authors may have different definitions. But, to me, it’s where the author of a book chats about their latest work, does a sample reading, answers questions, and then is available to sign copies. In total, my chat, reading, then Q&A session this past weekend took about 35 minutes. Then, within another 20 minutes after that, the store had totally sold out of Substitute Angel and had to take back orders. It’s really nice when that happens. I would’ve hated to drive 13 hours to sell, like, three copies, but I still would’ve gladly done it.
I wrote in an earlier blog that taking something from your imagination, then bringing it to life, then having total strangers be swept up by it, taken away by it, and entertained by it, is more fulfilling than practically anything else I can think of. It’s not about the money or accolades—although I’d gratefully accept both—but rather about sharing your story. Paul McCartney recently said that if he never got paid to play music again, he’d still be playing on street corners for free. I suppose it’s easy to say that when you’re already rich, but I know how he feels. You really have to love what you do and work hard to share your story. Not just the writing and editing of it, but the promoting of it. I’m talking about getting up at 4 a.m. and driving across four states just so you can spend a few precious minutes talking to strangers about your work, reading them a sample, and hoping they’ll like it.
Of course, a lot of bookstores will do author signings, but not author events, and that’s a shame. If you’re a national personality like a Hillary Clinton, or a rock star of the literary world like a Stephen King, well, yeah, no event is necessary. Their name and reputation alone will draw people in. But bookstores that just sit an unknown author behind a desk with a pile of books are missing out if they don’t have that author do something: tell the backstory to the book, share who their favorite authors are, have them give a reading, etc. By the time I was done with my author event, many people stayed and lingered in the gift shop at Theresa’s Angels while others stayed and had lunch in their charming coffee shop. In short, an author event is good for the writer, and good for the book or gift store. After all, it’s all about having the customer linger longer and have a pleasant experience.
Anyway, thank you to Blair and Kim Marie Tucker of Theresa’s Angels & More in beautiful Brooklyn, Michigan. I appreciate the opportunity and am glad it was a success. I’m happy also very happy to report that the cover art for The Intended Ones, the follow up book to Substitute Angel is now finished. To be among the first to see the new cover (the book comes out December 1st), as well as view pictures from my author event in Brooklyn, simply click links titled Book Signing & Cover Art. And, as always, thanks for reading!
June 19, 2014
The Prequel/Sequel to Substitute Angel
Sorry it’s been so long between blogs, but a lot’s been going on! There was the release of Substitute Angel in paperback, a family trip to England, and then there are also two other writing projects I’ve got in the pipeline that have kept me pretty busy. One is the prequel/sequel to Substitute Angel called, The Intended Ones, and the other is a new historical novel I’m working on entitled, A Farm In Pennsylvania.
Let me begin by addressing the paperback release of Substitute Angel. It’s now available on amazon.com, as is the eBook version, and it’s also available on my publisher’s website which is touchpointpress/bookstore.com. I can also report that the distributor for the book is Ingram Book, which is the world’s largest wholesale distributor of books. Ingram supplies such national chains as Barnes & Noble and Books A Million. But I’ve learned that just because one may have have the world’s largest book distributor behind them, that doesn’t necessarily mean that every bookstore in every city is going carry your book.
There are so many new titles available to retailers, they get be very choosy. A chain may decide to carry a book on a regional or even an individual store basis. For example, the two Barnes & Noble locations here in Birmingham, Alabama, may carry Substitute Angel because I live here. But you may not find it at the Barnes & Noble in, say, Sarasota, Florida, if there hasn’t been a prominent review for it or if a signing wasn’t held there. It’s the difference between being published and being known, and my publisher and I are working on the “known” part. I hope that doesn’t sound egotistical, building a name for one’s self, but as J.K. Rowling once said: “Stories only live if people read them.” So, that’s what we’ve been working on: getting the story known so people will hopefully read it.” Ironically, that’s partly what’s taken me away from writing this blog, but you can help. Please tell your friends about the book, share this blog with them, encouraging new readers to write a nice review on amazon, suggest Substitute Angel as a title for a book club, and request it at your local bookstore. And for anything you may do that forwards the cause—thank you!
Next, let’s talk about the prequel/sequel to Substitute Angel called, The Intended Ones. I guess the first thing I should explain is: how can a book be both a prequel and a sequel? Well, the book is actually two stories combined into one. But I should say there are SPOILER ALERTS from this point on. So, if you haven’t read Substitute Angel yet, you might was to stop here until you have.
As you know, Substitute Angel is the love story of two people, Wyatt “Doc” Reynolds and Farren Malone Huffman. But there is also a second love story. It’s the story of Farren’s grandparents, Gus Cooper and his wife, Clair, who died when she was only twenty five years old. The Intended Ones picks up six months after the first book ends. It’s summertime and the height of the tourist season in Charlevoix, Michigan. Doc and Farren are now a couple, but Farren is having trust and intimacy issues because of how she was sexually abused and conned by her late husband, Charlie Huffman. Meantime, the loan shark Bartholomew has wiggled out of the charges that were brought against him and he’s out of jail. He’s determined to exact revenge on Farren for ruining his plans to build luxurious and lucrative condos in Charlevoix. He brings in a deadly assassin from Moldavia named Yuri and unleashes him on an unsuspecting Farren.
While this is going on, Gus Cooper, Farren’s grandfather, has been obsessing about a young woman he saw at midnight mass six months earlier, that bore an astonishing resemblance to his late wife. (As you, the reader, know, this was Clair.) As a result, Gus recalls how he and Clair first met back in the 1950s, fell in love, and met the challenges they had to overcome. The biggest of these was Clair’s disapproving father, Aaron, who had other plans for his daughter. He wanted Clair to marry a young man named Derek Worthing, who’s father’s business could also help to secure Aaron’s company. Once the book establishes these two storylines, the chapters weave seamlessly between the 1950s and the present until both storylines are resolved. Though I say it myself, it’s a terrific read! If you liked Substitute Angel, you’re also going to like The Intended Ones, which should be out later this year. So stay tuned for more updates on this.
Finally, a few lines about the new, new project, A Farm In Pennsylvania. Like Substitute Angel and The Intended Ones, it’s a love story. But unlike those two, it’s a historical novel. It takes place in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, 1863, just five weeks after the infamous battle. It’s the story of John Dorian, a farmer from Ohio, who has come to the war-torn little town searching for his younger brother who is a Union soldier and is missing. He winds up as a boarder on the Samuels farm, where the lady of the house, Maria, is having a hard time keeping up with the farm and making ends meet while her neglectful and adventure-seeking husband is off fighting the war and also serving in the Union. After two years of waiting and struggling on the farm, she’s terribly lonely and raising a nine year-old boy, her husband’s stepson, single-handed. Meantime, Dorian has some issues of his own. He’s concealing a secret about his brother, feels trapped in an engagement to a girl back home, and is wary of a predictable future of working for his father. For their own reasons, both Maria and John are looking for escape. Ultimately, they find it in each other’s arms. While thousands of Union and Confederate soldiers who were injured during the three-day battle still linger in the hospital tents on the outskirts of town, Maria, John and Maria’s son, Armando, build an insulated world of love, work and togetherness, until, one day, Maria’s husband returns unannounced—and their pretend family comes to an abrupt end. Leaving the question: can John turn this pretend family into real one?
With luck, A Farm In Pennsylvania will be released sometime in 2015. More to come on this in future blogs.
For now, though, my deep thanks for your interest, as always, and please keep spreading the good word about Substitute Angel. After all, stories only live if people read them!
Let me begin by addressing the paperback release of Substitute Angel. It’s now available on amazon.com, as is the eBook version, and it’s also available on my publisher’s website which is touchpointpress/bookstore.com. I can also report that the distributor for the book is Ingram Book, which is the world’s largest wholesale distributor of books. Ingram supplies such national chains as Barnes & Noble and Books A Million. But I’ve learned that just because one may have have the world’s largest book distributor behind them, that doesn’t necessarily mean that every bookstore in every city is going carry your book.
There are so many new titles available to retailers, they get be very choosy. A chain may decide to carry a book on a regional or even an individual store basis. For example, the two Barnes & Noble locations here in Birmingham, Alabama, may carry Substitute Angel because I live here. But you may not find it at the Barnes & Noble in, say, Sarasota, Florida, if there hasn’t been a prominent review for it or if a signing wasn’t held there. It’s the difference between being published and being known, and my publisher and I are working on the “known” part. I hope that doesn’t sound egotistical, building a name for one’s self, but as J.K. Rowling once said: “Stories only live if people read them.” So, that’s what we’ve been working on: getting the story known so people will hopefully read it.” Ironically, that’s partly what’s taken me away from writing this blog, but you can help. Please tell your friends about the book, share this blog with them, encouraging new readers to write a nice review on amazon, suggest Substitute Angel as a title for a book club, and request it at your local bookstore. And for anything you may do that forwards the cause—thank you!
Next, let’s talk about the prequel/sequel to Substitute Angel called, The Intended Ones. I guess the first thing I should explain is: how can a book be both a prequel and a sequel? Well, the book is actually two stories combined into one. But I should say there are SPOILER ALERTS from this point on. So, if you haven’t read Substitute Angel yet, you might was to stop here until you have.
As you know, Substitute Angel is the love story of two people, Wyatt “Doc” Reynolds and Farren Malone Huffman. But there is also a second love story. It’s the story of Farren’s grandparents, Gus Cooper and his wife, Clair, who died when she was only twenty five years old. The Intended Ones picks up six months after the first book ends. It’s summertime and the height of the tourist season in Charlevoix, Michigan. Doc and Farren are now a couple, but Farren is having trust and intimacy issues because of how she was sexually abused and conned by her late husband, Charlie Huffman. Meantime, the loan shark Bartholomew has wiggled out of the charges that were brought against him and he’s out of jail. He’s determined to exact revenge on Farren for ruining his plans to build luxurious and lucrative condos in Charlevoix. He brings in a deadly assassin from Moldavia named Yuri and unleashes him on an unsuspecting Farren.
While this is going on, Gus Cooper, Farren’s grandfather, has been obsessing about a young woman he saw at midnight mass six months earlier, that bore an astonishing resemblance to his late wife. (As you, the reader, know, this was Clair.) As a result, Gus recalls how he and Clair first met back in the 1950s, fell in love, and met the challenges they had to overcome. The biggest of these was Clair’s disapproving father, Aaron, who had other plans for his daughter. He wanted Clair to marry a young man named Derek Worthing, who’s father’s business could also help to secure Aaron’s company. Once the book establishes these two storylines, the chapters weave seamlessly between the 1950s and the present until both storylines are resolved. Though I say it myself, it’s a terrific read! If you liked Substitute Angel, you’re also going to like The Intended Ones, which should be out later this year. So stay tuned for more updates on this.
Finally, a few lines about the new, new project, A Farm In Pennsylvania. Like Substitute Angel and The Intended Ones, it’s a love story. But unlike those two, it’s a historical novel. It takes place in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, 1863, just five weeks after the infamous battle. It’s the story of John Dorian, a farmer from Ohio, who has come to the war-torn little town searching for his younger brother who is a Union soldier and is missing. He winds up as a boarder on the Samuels farm, where the lady of the house, Maria, is having a hard time keeping up with the farm and making ends meet while her neglectful and adventure-seeking husband is off fighting the war and also serving in the Union. After two years of waiting and struggling on the farm, she’s terribly lonely and raising a nine year-old boy, her husband’s stepson, single-handed. Meantime, Dorian has some issues of his own. He’s concealing a secret about his brother, feels trapped in an engagement to a girl back home, and is wary of a predictable future of working for his father. For their own reasons, both Maria and John are looking for escape. Ultimately, they find it in each other’s arms. While thousands of Union and Confederate soldiers who were injured during the three-day battle still linger in the hospital tents on the outskirts of town, Maria, John and Maria’s son, Armando, build an insulated world of love, work and togetherness, until, one day, Maria’s husband returns unannounced—and their pretend family comes to an abrupt end. Leaving the question: can John turn this pretend family into real one?
With luck, A Farm In Pennsylvania will be released sometime in 2015. More to come on this in future blogs.
For now, though, my deep thanks for your interest, as always, and please keep spreading the good word about Substitute Angel. After all, stories only live if people read them!
April 6, 2014
Substitute Angel Paperback Release This Month
Before launching into this month’s news, I have some thanks to dole out. First, to the members of Goodreads:
Many of you have put Substitute Angel on your “To Read” shelves, and I’m VERY appreciative! I’m also wowed by the worldwide response. The book has gone onto the shelves of good people from the Philippines, England, Greece, Ireland, Singapore, France, Switzerland, Australia, Portugal, Malaysia, Scotland, Thailand, and of course, the United States. Thank you all so much, and I hope you enjoy the book!
Next, I’d like to thank TJ Mackay, the publisher of InD’Tale Magazine and her reviewer, Sophia St. Angeles, for the outstanding review I received in the April issue of InD’Tale (indtale.com). Substitute Angel received a Five Star ranking and was an “Editor’s Pick.” In part, the review read: “Timothy Best weaves a touching tale, evoking belly laughs and sobby tears of joy that most novels only dream of producing … Ever hear the phrase, ‘They don’t make ‘em like that anymore?’ Well Timothy Best does!”
Most writers go their entire lives and don’t get a review like that. When I first saw it, I kept checking to see if I was reading about the right book. Mine? Really? No kidding? It’s one thing when you think you’ve got a good story. But, when a growing number of other people think so, too—well—it’s just pretty freakin’ cool! I probably sound like a broken record by constantly repeating thank you every third sentence…
But—thank you!
I’m also happy to share that the paperback version of Substitute Angel will be released at the end of this month, April 29th. My publisher and I talked about it and we decided to skip over the whole traditional “hardcover” thing and go straight to paperback. Yes, a hardcover version would certainly look good on my desk. But let’s face it, besides my wife, who’s going to plop down $30 for a hardcover book? (Even my wife is suspect on that one.) So, we’re going to straight to the $12.95 paperback edition. It’s much more reasonable. Then there’s the $3.99 ebook . Even more reasonable!
I’ll be venturing out this summer doing signings and readings in various cities. Please stay tuned and I’ll post dates and cities here. And don’t forget, if you get the ebook, please post a review on amazon.com. I mean, y’know, if you enjoyed it.
Many of you have put Substitute Angel on your “To Read” shelves, and I’m VERY appreciative! I’m also wowed by the worldwide response. The book has gone onto the shelves of good people from the Philippines, England, Greece, Ireland, Singapore, France, Switzerland, Australia, Portugal, Malaysia, Scotland, Thailand, and of course, the United States. Thank you all so much, and I hope you enjoy the book!
Next, I’d like to thank TJ Mackay, the publisher of InD’Tale Magazine and her reviewer, Sophia St. Angeles, for the outstanding review I received in the April issue of InD’Tale (indtale.com). Substitute Angel received a Five Star ranking and was an “Editor’s Pick.” In part, the review read: “Timothy Best weaves a touching tale, evoking belly laughs and sobby tears of joy that most novels only dream of producing … Ever hear the phrase, ‘They don’t make ‘em like that anymore?’ Well Timothy Best does!”
Most writers go their entire lives and don’t get a review like that. When I first saw it, I kept checking to see if I was reading about the right book. Mine? Really? No kidding? It’s one thing when you think you’ve got a good story. But, when a growing number of other people think so, too—well—it’s just pretty freakin’ cool! I probably sound like a broken record by constantly repeating thank you every third sentence…
But—thank you!
I’m also happy to share that the paperback version of Substitute Angel will be released at the end of this month, April 29th. My publisher and I talked about it and we decided to skip over the whole traditional “hardcover” thing and go straight to paperback. Yes, a hardcover version would certainly look good on my desk. But let’s face it, besides my wife, who’s going to plop down $30 for a hardcover book? (Even my wife is suspect on that one.) So, we’re going to straight to the $12.95 paperback edition. It’s much more reasonable. Then there’s the $3.99 ebook . Even more reasonable!
I’ll be venturing out this summer doing signings and readings in various cities. Please stay tuned and I’ll post dates and cities here. And don’t forget, if you get the ebook, please post a review on amazon.com. I mean, y’know, if you enjoyed it.
February 27, 2014
The Truths Behind The Fiction
SPOILER ALERT: IF YOU HAVEN’T READ SUBSTITUTE ANGEL YET, YOU MAY WANT TO SKIP THIS ENTRY.
Substitute Angel is a work of fiction. But it’s been my experience that good fiction is usually etched in reality, and that was certainly the case here. For example, my lead character, Doc Reynolds, went to Eastern Michigan University. So did I. Doc ended his undergraduate career by attending summer classes. So did I. One of Doc’s final classes was a class called, “Appreciation of Shakespeare.” So was one of mine. In that class, Doc met a young woman that he would have a relationship with and then pine over for years afterward. The same thing happened to me. However, in my case, the pining wasn’t for years, and the young lady in question didn’t die in a gruesome traffic accident like my character Julia Orton. Rather, she simply moved on.
The lane heading down to Doc’s cabin filled with white pines on either side was based upon a real place I used to visit on Lake Charlevoix. And of course, many places referenced in the book—from Jake & Sadi’s Café & Art Gallery, to the stores on Bridge Street, to the town Fire Hall, to the Weathervane Restaurant—are all real places. Other locations, like St. Ignatius Catholic Church, the Crow’s Nest Bar & Grill, and the Portside Marina are fictional, but composites of real places in the area. Of course, a Charlevoix local would know the difference between the real landmarks and the fictional ones. But as long as they thought I was true to the spirit of the town, well, that’s the most I could hope for. To me, Charlevoix is as important a character in the novel as any person.
There were other things—little things—referenced in the book that were real as well. For example, when describing Doc’s father, James Reynolds, I wrote that he had once gotten high with the members of Pink Floyd when they played Hill Auditorium at the University of Michigan back in the early 1970’s. That’s true, Pink Floyd did play Hill Auditorium in the early 1970’s. I was there. They were on tour to promote their album “Atom Heart Mother.” Tickets were a mere $4.00. It was awesome!
Or, at the opening of the Chapter called, “Secrets Revealed,” there is a scene where Doc and Farren are driving to Traverse City to do some Christmas shopping, and Doc mentions that his family used to camp at the state park across from the street from the bay. So did I.
There is also truth to the medical treatments described in the book. I spoke with a doctor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, a surgical nurse at the University of Michigan, and a paramedic at a neighborhood Nashville firehouse to align all of my medical symptoms and treatments.
Then there were the biblical references that Clair spouted so effortlessly. Don’t even get me going on those. Suffice it to say, I’m not one of those people who can quote chapter and verse of the bible and it was a lot of work to find the appropriate biblical quote. But that’s what you do when you tell a story. You pull from everything you know: places, people, events, then do considerable research on top of that. To tell you the truth, there is something very draining about the writing process; about writing and weaving truth with fiction. But when a stranger writes a kind review, or someone comes up to you and says, “I really liked your book,” suddenly, it’s all worth it.
Substitute Angel is a work of fiction. But it’s been my experience that good fiction is usually etched in reality, and that was certainly the case here. For example, my lead character, Doc Reynolds, went to Eastern Michigan University. So did I. Doc ended his undergraduate career by attending summer classes. So did I. One of Doc’s final classes was a class called, “Appreciation of Shakespeare.” So was one of mine. In that class, Doc met a young woman that he would have a relationship with and then pine over for years afterward. The same thing happened to me. However, in my case, the pining wasn’t for years, and the young lady in question didn’t die in a gruesome traffic accident like my character Julia Orton. Rather, she simply moved on.
The lane heading down to Doc’s cabin filled with white pines on either side was based upon a real place I used to visit on Lake Charlevoix. And of course, many places referenced in the book—from Jake & Sadi’s Café & Art Gallery, to the stores on Bridge Street, to the town Fire Hall, to the Weathervane Restaurant—are all real places. Other locations, like St. Ignatius Catholic Church, the Crow’s Nest Bar & Grill, and the Portside Marina are fictional, but composites of real places in the area. Of course, a Charlevoix local would know the difference between the real landmarks and the fictional ones. But as long as they thought I was true to the spirit of the town, well, that’s the most I could hope for. To me, Charlevoix is as important a character in the novel as any person.
There were other things—little things—referenced in the book that were real as well. For example, when describing Doc’s father, James Reynolds, I wrote that he had once gotten high with the members of Pink Floyd when they played Hill Auditorium at the University of Michigan back in the early 1970’s. That’s true, Pink Floyd did play Hill Auditorium in the early 1970’s. I was there. They were on tour to promote their album “Atom Heart Mother.” Tickets were a mere $4.00. It was awesome!
Or, at the opening of the Chapter called, “Secrets Revealed,” there is a scene where Doc and Farren are driving to Traverse City to do some Christmas shopping, and Doc mentions that his family used to camp at the state park across from the street from the bay. So did I.
There is also truth to the medical treatments described in the book. I spoke with a doctor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, a surgical nurse at the University of Michigan, and a paramedic at a neighborhood Nashville firehouse to align all of my medical symptoms and treatments.
Then there were the biblical references that Clair spouted so effortlessly. Don’t even get me going on those. Suffice it to say, I’m not one of those people who can quote chapter and verse of the bible and it was a lot of work to find the appropriate biblical quote. But that’s what you do when you tell a story. You pull from everything you know: places, people, events, then do considerable research on top of that. To tell you the truth, there is something very draining about the writing process; about writing and weaving truth with fiction. But when a stranger writes a kind review, or someone comes up to you and says, “I really liked your book,” suddenly, it’s all worth it.
January 6, 2014
The Backstory To Substitute Angel
Before I share the backstory to Substitute Angel, let me take a moment and express my gratitude to those international readers who have discovered the book. Readers in India, Malaysia, and Thailand. A big thank you!
I’m a fan of classic cinema, and certainly, one of the directors I admire most is Frank Capra. The list of classic films he made was incredible. There was, It Happened One Night, 1934, with Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert, Lost Horizon, 1937, with Ronald Colman and Jane Wyatt, Arsenic And Old Lace, 1944, with Gary Grant and Priscilla Lane, It’s A Wonderful Life, 1946, with Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed, State Of The Union, 1948, with Spencer Tracy & Katherine Hepburn, and the list goes on and on.
Even though Capra’s films covered a variety of topics, they usually all had one thing in common: they made the viewer feel good by the end of the film. Not that I’d put myself in Frank Capra’s league, but that’s what I was going for with Substitute Angel. I wanted to write a book that made the reader feel good by its end.
The first inkling of the book goes back to the spring of 2008, and the writing began in earnest in 2009. Once I started to flesh out an initial outline and realized a central character was going to be angel, I thought of all the stories I’d read or seen where a character who encounters a celestial being never really asks the important questions that mankind has wondered about for centuries. Questions like: Does God exist? Was Jesus God’s son? What’s heaven like? Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? And so on. How do you even begin to broach heavy topics like that in a novel, keep things light—even comical—and move a love story forward? ‘Cause at its core, the book is a love story. That was the challenge before me.
The only way I could see to tackle that challenge was for Clair, my angel character, to take a slightly pious view on things, and for her host, Doc, to be irreverent. A ying and yang. One would balance out the other. I fully admit that the view Clair takes of God is a pro-Christian one. That would make sense. After all, I’m a Christian and Ernest Hemingway said to write what you know. But I wouldn’t call Substitute Angel a “Christian book” in the traditional sense. It’s a love story for the romance audience. Clair’s character also says that, “God, being God, he can decide for himself who he wants by his side.” That line really appeals to me. Because although I’m proud to be a Christian, I also tend to think that God judges us as individuals—not by groups or congregations—and we, in turn, should do no less.
The decision to set the story in Charlevoix, Michigan, was a pretty easy one. It’s a beautiful place and a town I’ve visited again and again since I was about nine years old. In fact, after college, I dated a young woman who’s family had a summer home in Charlevoix, and the drive down the lane to Doc’s cabin was based upon the woodsy drive I used to take to get to her parents’ summer home. In 2010, I returned to Charlevoix to do research for the book. I filmed several streets and landmarks that I would refer to again and again. I also interviewed shop owners, real estate agents, police officers, people at the Harbor Master’s office, people at the Chamber of Commerce and several others to get a feel for the town, especially during the off season in winter.
Most of the book was written in Nashville where I lived for 16 years. Other parts were written in Jackson, Michigan, Birmingham, Alabama, and yes, even in Charlevoix, itself. The book underwent six drafts, and somewhere around draft three, I determined that there could be a sequel, which resulted in the upcoming follow-up, The Intended Ones.
I hope to have a long career as an author. But if I don’t, and Substitute Angel is my only novel that sees the publishing light of day, in a crazy way I’m okay with that because it's what I set out to achieve, a feel good story. It’s a story about not only finding love, but also regaining lost faith.
All in all, pretty Capra-like, when you think about it.
I’m a fan of classic cinema, and certainly, one of the directors I admire most is Frank Capra. The list of classic films he made was incredible. There was, It Happened One Night, 1934, with Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert, Lost Horizon, 1937, with Ronald Colman and Jane Wyatt, Arsenic And Old Lace, 1944, with Gary Grant and Priscilla Lane, It’s A Wonderful Life, 1946, with Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed, State Of The Union, 1948, with Spencer Tracy & Katherine Hepburn, and the list goes on and on.
Even though Capra’s films covered a variety of topics, they usually all had one thing in common: they made the viewer feel good by the end of the film. Not that I’d put myself in Frank Capra’s league, but that’s what I was going for with Substitute Angel. I wanted to write a book that made the reader feel good by its end.
The first inkling of the book goes back to the spring of 2008, and the writing began in earnest in 2009. Once I started to flesh out an initial outline and realized a central character was going to be angel, I thought of all the stories I’d read or seen where a character who encounters a celestial being never really asks the important questions that mankind has wondered about for centuries. Questions like: Does God exist? Was Jesus God’s son? What’s heaven like? Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? And so on. How do you even begin to broach heavy topics like that in a novel, keep things light—even comical—and move a love story forward? ‘Cause at its core, the book is a love story. That was the challenge before me.
The only way I could see to tackle that challenge was for Clair, my angel character, to take a slightly pious view on things, and for her host, Doc, to be irreverent. A ying and yang. One would balance out the other. I fully admit that the view Clair takes of God is a pro-Christian one. That would make sense. After all, I’m a Christian and Ernest Hemingway said to write what you know. But I wouldn’t call Substitute Angel a “Christian book” in the traditional sense. It’s a love story for the romance audience. Clair’s character also says that, “God, being God, he can decide for himself who he wants by his side.” That line really appeals to me. Because although I’m proud to be a Christian, I also tend to think that God judges us as individuals—not by groups or congregations—and we, in turn, should do no less.
The decision to set the story in Charlevoix, Michigan, was a pretty easy one. It’s a beautiful place and a town I’ve visited again and again since I was about nine years old. In fact, after college, I dated a young woman who’s family had a summer home in Charlevoix, and the drive down the lane to Doc’s cabin was based upon the woodsy drive I used to take to get to her parents’ summer home. In 2010, I returned to Charlevoix to do research for the book. I filmed several streets and landmarks that I would refer to again and again. I also interviewed shop owners, real estate agents, police officers, people at the Harbor Master’s office, people at the Chamber of Commerce and several others to get a feel for the town, especially during the off season in winter.
Most of the book was written in Nashville where I lived for 16 years. Other parts were written in Jackson, Michigan, Birmingham, Alabama, and yes, even in Charlevoix, itself. The book underwent six drafts, and somewhere around draft three, I determined that there could be a sequel, which resulted in the upcoming follow-up, The Intended Ones.
I hope to have a long career as an author. But if I don’t, and Substitute Angel is my only novel that sees the publishing light of day, in a crazy way I’m okay with that because it's what I set out to achieve, a feel good story. It’s a story about not only finding love, but also regaining lost faith.
All in all, pretty Capra-like, when you think about it.
December 12, 2013
Welcome!
Welcome to my blog! Thanks for taking the time to check it out. I'm very proud to be among the listing of authors for the relatively new TouchPoint Press, and equally proud of my first novel with them, Substitute Angel.
It’s the story of paramedic Wyatt “Doc” Reynolds, who works in a small waterside tourist town in northern Michigan. One night, while driving home in a snowstorm, he hits a deer. At least, Doc thinks it’s a deer. It actually turns out to be a newly arrived angel on Earth who was travelling anonymously as an animal. The angel’s name is Clair, and although she’ll recover from her injuries, she won’t recover in time to do what she was sent to do, which is prevent the murder of a young woman named Farren Malone. She therefore asks Doc to befriend Farren and try to protect her. But Doc has issues with concepts like God and angels, and as he becomes involved in Farren’s life, he learns that things aren’t always what they seem.
My publisher, Sheri Williams, says: “At its core, Substitute Angel is a wonderful love story. But it’s also irreverently funny. It’s a great read, particularly around the holidays. Anyone who enjoys a good romance with some unexpected twists and turns will love this book. It has the heart of a City of Angels with a dose of Bruce Almighty humor.”
City of Angels? Bruce Almighty? Wow, that's pretty high praise. I don't know about that, but I do know if you take a chance on an author you've never heard of and get an e-book copy, you likely won't be disappointed. That is, if you're a romantic.
In future postings, I'll be talking about the backstory to the novel, its award-winning cover design, and the follow-up to the book. But for now, get yourself a copy of Substitute Angel, please don't forget to write a review on Amazon, and thanks once again for checking out the blog!
It’s the story of paramedic Wyatt “Doc” Reynolds, who works in a small waterside tourist town in northern Michigan. One night, while driving home in a snowstorm, he hits a deer. At least, Doc thinks it’s a deer. It actually turns out to be a newly arrived angel on Earth who was travelling anonymously as an animal. The angel’s name is Clair, and although she’ll recover from her injuries, she won’t recover in time to do what she was sent to do, which is prevent the murder of a young woman named Farren Malone. She therefore asks Doc to befriend Farren and try to protect her. But Doc has issues with concepts like God and angels, and as he becomes involved in Farren’s life, he learns that things aren’t always what they seem.
My publisher, Sheri Williams, says: “At its core, Substitute Angel is a wonderful love story. But it’s also irreverently funny. It’s a great read, particularly around the holidays. Anyone who enjoys a good romance with some unexpected twists and turns will love this book. It has the heart of a City of Angels with a dose of Bruce Almighty humor.”
City of Angels? Bruce Almighty? Wow, that's pretty high praise. I don't know about that, but I do know if you take a chance on an author you've never heard of and get an e-book copy, you likely won't be disappointed. That is, if you're a romantic.
In future postings, I'll be talking about the backstory to the novel, its award-winning cover design, and the follow-up to the book. But for now, get yourself a copy of Substitute Angel, please don't forget to write a review on Amazon, and thanks once again for checking out the blog!
