E.D. Martin's Blog, page 30

Media Monday: Dysfunctional families and sympathetic losers

The book: Sorry I Wasn’t What You Needed by James Bailey

The movie: Take Me Home

I’m currently working towards my master’s in social work, wrapping it up this year with a practictum in a local school district. After years teaching, combined with everything I’ve learned in this program, I know all about dysfunctional families. And I love them.

Sorry I Wasn’t What You Needed is about a very dysfunctional family. Mom left when the kids were little. Older brother copes by being a jerk to everyone. Older sister copes by sleeping with everyone. CJ, the protagonist, copes by moving to the other side of the country as soon as he has a chance. He’s not very successful there, basically mooching off his girlfriend while trying to become a successful writer, but he’s not looking back.

Until his father commits suicide, and CJ returns home to Seattle for the funeral. He’s forced to deal with everything he tried to escape: his parents’ divorce and the jerky stepfather, a high school ex-girlfriend who wants to ruin his life, and siblings who are just as pissed at the world (and him) as he is.

CJ, however, has a hard time dealing with being back home. He’s always put the blame for his crappy life on everyone but himself, despite some bad decisions and jerky behavior towards everyone. Over the course of the novel, however, he comes to see himself as an active participant in his mess of a life, while learning more about his family and seeing them as just as much the victims as he is.

Many families I’ve worked with have similar issues, and Bailey captures the family dynamics, as well as character growth, very convincingly.

Amazon Prime has learned I like quirky indie movies, so it recommended Take Me Home, a film about a sympathetic loser named Thom. Thom, like CJ in Sorry I Wasn’t What You Needed, doesn’t really have his life together. He wants to be a photographer but it’s not working out. Fortunately he has his own cab, and he picks up riders in NYC for extra money.

One night he picks up a woman distraught over her husband’s affair. Claire tells him to “Just drive,” and so he does, ending up in Pennsylvania the next morning. She’s pissed, of course, because that’s a huge fare, but then decides he can just keep driving her to California so she can see her sick dad.

Thom wants to impress her, so he lies – about his career experiences, about working for a cab company, about his actual name. She loses her purse in the middle of Kansas, and it’s at this point she turns from sarcastic bitch to a team player. This is also where the dysfunctional families come in, for both Claire and Thom, although each is messed up in its own way.

I personally would’ve cut out the last five minutes of the movie (Netflix has informed me I like “depressing quirky indie dramas), but it’s still worth watching to see Thom’s growth from selfish jerk to actual human, much like CJ’s in Sorry I Wasn’t What You Needed.

Weekend Writing Warrior 8/30/15 #8Sunday

This month, I’m pulling from my women’s fiction novel, The Lone Wolf.

When Kasey’s marriage falls apart, she turns to Andrew, a soldier she just met, for help. But their friendship pulls up a past he’d rather avoid. Can Kasey save Andrew from himself while saving her marriage too?

In this scene, Kasey is working in her garden, but her husband David is trying to convince her to cook him breakfast.

* * * * * * * * * *

“Remember the first time you spent the night at my place? I woke up to the smell of waffles. Waffles!” David said with a laugh. “I knew you were a keeper when you made me breakfast.”

I smiled at the memory and said, “Yeah, well, no waffles today.”

“Does that mean I get something else for breakfast, because you’re just what I had in mind.” He pulled me to my feet, leaned in to kiss me, but pulled back and wrinkled his nose. “Damn, you need a shower first.”

* * * * * * * * * *

Post a link to your eight sentences blog entry, or join the fun at the Weekend Writing Warriors website.

Then pick up a copy of The Lone Wolf at Amazon, or the audiobook at Amazon, Audible, or iTunes.

Friday Five: Jason Bougger

Today’s Friday focus is Jason Bougger, author of YA, horror, and science fiction short stories and novels.

Jason Bougger is a writer living in Omaha, NE. He is the author of the YA novel Holy Fudgesicles and has published over twenty short stories. He blogs daily at Write Good Books and is the editor of Theme of Absence, an online magazine of fantasy, horror, and science fiction.

His debut novel, Holy Fudgesicles, was published by Wings ePress in May 2015. It’s a paranormal YA novel following a teenager who returns from a near-death-experience with mystical healing power.

* * * * * * * * * * *

1. What’s the worst job you’ve ever had and why? What was the best thing about that job and why?

When I was sixteen, I stood on an assembly line 40 hours a week watching onion rings go by making sure they weren’t touching before the breading comes on. It smelled bad and was quite tedious. But I still took pride in the job. It was really cool to get those paychecks. It also taught me how to “write” in my head.

2. What’s your current writing project and what are your writing plans for the near future?

I’m working on cleaning up the first draft of my second novel, a YA fantasy tentatively titled Heroes of Eden. It’s a fun book so far, completely different than my first novel, but needs a ton of work. I’m hoping to have it ready to query for a conference in September.

3. What was your attitude towards reading when you were a kid?

I never enjoyed reading in junior high, and assumed that all books were boring and terrible until my best friend told me that the books he read “for fun” were nothing like the stuff we were forced to read in English class. He told me about a scene in Stephen King’s Cujo, so i gave it a try and was hooked ever since.

4. If you could pick just one book to read for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?

Can I cheat and pick a series? If so, the Quintara Marathon, which is a three-book space opera by the late Jack L. Chalker would get my vote. If not, The Stand by Stephen King, if only for its length.

5. What are three things on your bucket list?

I’ve been to the Vatican, but didn’t get to meet the pope. I’d like to do that sometime. I’d also like to meet Stephen King. And Roger Waters.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Holy Fudgesicles is available now through Amazon, Smashwords, and Wings ePress.

Become a Friday Five author.

Weekend Writing Warrior 8/23/15 #8Sunday

I got home from vacation last Sunday after a week wandering through the Southeast and was hit with chaos during the work week. Everyone asks me how I can stand to work with high school kids, but really it’s those elementary kids that wear you out! I think I need another vacation back to the mountains.

My women’s fiction novel The Lone Wolf is set in Asheville, NC, near where I was traveling, so I’m pulling from it all month.

When Kasey’s marriage falls apart, she turns to Andrew, a soldier she just met, for help. But their friendship pulls up a past he’d rather avoid. Can Kasey save Andrew from himself while saving her marriage too?

In this scene, Andrew’s girlfriend, Lauren, is trying to convince him to move to Asheville with her, where she’s headed for a new job.

* * * * * * * * * *

“And who knows, maybe this’ll be a great opportunity for you too,” she asked. “Don’t you wanna see the world?”

“I’ve seen the world, and quite frankly, North Carolina doesn’t really count when I’ve been

all over Europe and the Middle East.”

“We could get a little cabin in the mountains,” she said as she came over and wrapped her arms around my neck, pressing her body close to mine. “We’d be all alone, able to do whatever we want, whenever we want. Just the birds and the bees watching.”

Smiling in spite of myself, I leaned in and kissed her. Lauren had a way of defusing our fights, of winning me over to her opinion.

* * * * * * * * * *

Post a link to your eight sentences blog entry, or join the fun at the Weekend Writing Warriors website.

Then pick up a copy of The Lone Wolf at Amazon, or the audiobook at Amazon, Audible, or iTunes.

5 lessons learned from a summer of traveling

Kayaking Lake Huron

A cousin recently told me, “Dang, girl, it’s like you’re always on road trips or vacation.” And it’s true; if I don’t go somewhere at least every month or two I get very cranky. I’ve been fortunate that I’ve been able to get out of town a lot this spring and summer: Omaha for Easter; Door County, Wisconsin, in mid-May; camping in Wisconsin Memorial Day weekend, followed by a long weekend in Montreal; 4th of July in Saginaw, Michigan; and finally a week wandering around the Southeast.

There are several things I’ve learned while traveling, that apply to just about every trip I’ve taken.

Take that picture now. You might tell yourself you’ll come back later and get that shot, but let’s be honest: it’s not going to happen. If you want to get a picture, or eat that street food, or buy yourself 4 new gnomes at that souvenir store, do it now because something will come up that keeps you from doing it later.
Take the road less traveled.

Early morning fog on the Ohio River

If life is a journey, not a destination, why not apply this to trips as well? There’s a spot in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Repair that explains this: “Secondary roads are preferred. Paved country roads are the best, state highways are next. Freeways are the worst. We want to make good time, but for us now this is measured with emphasis on ‘good’ rather than ‘time’ and when you make that shift in emphasis the whole approach changes.”I don’t like interstates because the scenery is the same: Applebee’s and Walmart in a strip mall, distant fields, everything the same. Sure, it gets you there more quickly, but you’re not actually seeing anything. I tried to take pictures as we drove through the Appalachians, but you can’t get anything from an interstate. On a highway, however, you can stop and savor the details. You can find random stores and people and a deeper understanding of what shapes people’s lives, from empty storefronts to neighboring farms to dozens of Baptist churches near a community.

Same goes with tourist attractions. My son and I joke that we’ve gone to an overrated water attraction ever year: Niagara Falls in 2013, Old Faithful last year, and Chattanooga’s Ruby Falls this year. Ruby Falls was nice, but the next day we hit up Raccoon Mountain Caverns and they turned out to be the best cave system we’ve been to – plus there were a ton less people AND it was cheaper.
Take more time.

NC’s Outer Banks – beautiful AND no one’s there!

When I travel, I have goals for the day: on the road by 8. Destination by midmorning, lunch at a particular restaurant, at the campsite by 5. I don’t think we met my timeframes a single day on our last trip. And that was okay. We left late because we were chatting with neighbors. We arrived late because we stopped along the road to take pictures. We spent more time at the destination than we anticipated. Maybe we didn’t do everything I’d wanted, but we still had a great time.
Don’t take

My son “surfing” at Virginia Beach this summer

control. Midsummer, my son asked why we always had to do what I wanted on trips, so I let him plan our big end-of-summer trip. We ended up at some places and restaurants I wouldn’t necessarily have picked, but all ended up having fun.
Take chances. Is there somewhere you want to go, or something you want to do, but you’ve never gone or never done it? Do it. Maybe it’ll turn out sucky, but at least you’ll get some good road warrior stories to share. Like #1 above, don’t go through life forever regretting not taking that trip or doing that activity while there.

If you’re a traveler, what do you think of this list? Anything you would add or change? And if you’re not a traveler – what are you waiting for??

Weekend Writing Warrior 8/16/15 #8Sunday

I’ve spent the last week wandering around the Southeast, near where my women’s fiction novel, The Line Wolf, is set, so it’s only appropriate that I’m also posting from it this month.

When Kasey’s marriage falls apart, she turns to Andrew, a soldier she just met, for help. But their friendship pulls up a past he’d rather avoid. Can Kasey save Andrew from himself while saving her marriage too?

Last week, Kasey reminisced with her husband, David, about their first date. This week, we get her first impressions of her new hometown, Asheville, NC.

* * * * * * * * * *

Like many metropolises around the country, Asheville had recently poured millions into restoring its downtown area. The city center now bustled with gourmet restaurants, specialty boutiques, and plenty of tourists eager to dine and shop in such beautiful surroundings. The town had made it to the top of many quality-of-life lists, leading a number of retirees to move to the area in search of opportunities to spend their pensions. As a result, Asheville was flourishing, supporting a vibrant arts scene and many independent retailers and restaurants.

I strolled along, taking in the streetscape. Tantalizing aromas wafted out from little restaurants and cafés, and I stopped to examine the menus posted at some of them, making a mental list of ones I’d like to try. Musicians decorated the street corners, ranging from Mongolian pipe players, to drummers using plastic buckets, to simple acoustic guitarists. Bright flowers overflowed from planters, giving the sidewalks an old world charm.

* * * * * * * * * *

Post a link to your eight sentences blog entry, or join the fun at the Weekend Writing Warriors website.

Then pick up a copy of The Lone Wolf at Amazon.

Weekend Writing Warrior 8/9/15 #8Sunday

Happy August! This month I’ll be posting from my debut women’s fiction novel, The Lone Wolf.

When Kasey’s marriage falls apart, she turns to Andrew, a soldier she just met, for help. But their friendship pulls up a past he’d rather avoid. Can Kasey save Andrew from himself while saving her marriage too?

Last week, Andrew reflected on the first time he saw Kasey. This week, she’s reminiscing with her husband, David.

* * * * * * * * * *

David chuckled and asked, “Remember our first date?”

“The waiter dropped a plate of lasagna in my lap. I was so mortified, and then you stood up and argued with the manager until he agreed to pay to have my dress dry-cleaned. Everyone was staring at us, cheering you on while I just wanted to crawl under the table and die.”

“I didn’t realize until later how embarrassed you were; I thought you’d never talk to me again.”

“But then the next day you were back in the library and you told me that we were going out for a do-over date, sans messy Italian food – how could I say no to that kind of confidence?”

“I guess I just know what I want.”

I looked up at my husband and asked, “Am I still what you want?”

* * * * * * * * * *

Post a link to your eight sentences blog entry, or join the fun at the Weekend Writing Warriors website.

Then pick up a copy of The Lone Wolf at Amazon.

Back to school

As you may know, I’m currently in grad school. Next May I’ll be getting my MSW with an endorsement in school social work. This fall I start a PhD program in social work, with a concentration in education policy and program evaluation.

Last Friday was my last day at the day job I’ve had for the past eighteen months, because on Tuesday I started a year-long internship in a local school district. I’ve only been doing it two days, but it already feels great to be back in the schools. I lucked out and got a placement at the alternative junior high/high school and another school with a high refugee population – exactly the kids I like working with.

Another plus is that I might actually have some free time! My internship is three days a week, and my classes (two content courses and 2 every-other-week seminars) are only on Mondays and Wednesday evening. I’m teaching three sections of a computer lab one day every other week, leaving me a whole day free every other week.

I’m sure I’ll get busy, but as of right now, it’s looking like I’ll have more time for writing than I’ve had in awhile. Maybe I can knock out some of my annual goals before things get hectic.

Weekend Writing Warrior 8/2/15 #8Sunday

Happy August! This month I’ll be posting from my debut women’s fiction novel, The Lone Wolf, which is on sale at Amazon for just $.99 this week.

When Kasey’s marriage falls apart, she turns to Andrew, a soldier she just met, for help. But their friendship pulls up a past he’d rather avoid. Can Kasey save Andrew from himself while saving her marriage too?

In this scene, Andrew is describing the first time he saw Kasey. He was at a bookstore cafe and she was looking in the window from the sidewalk.

* * * * * * * * * *

“So I saw her in front of the window, looking at a robot display they’d built.” I paused, smiling at the image of her, then continued, “And I looked at her, just kind of taking her all in. She looked down real quick, like she’d been caught doing something she shouldn’t. And then she looked back at me, just as quick, as if saying, ‘Screw it, I’ll do what I want.’ I realized at that moment she was real strong. She had this inner core of steel, but she was so easy to bruise before you got there.” My voice caught in my throat. “I didn’t mean to bruise her.”

* * * * * * * * * *

Post a link to your eight sentences blog entry, or join the fun at the Weekend Writing Warriors website.

Then pick up a $.99 Kindle copy of The Lone Wolf at Amazon, or the audiobook at Amazon, Audible, or iTunes.

Media Monday: Assassins and X-punk

The books: The Viper and the Urchin by Celine Jeanjean and The Emperor’s Edge series by Lindsay Buroker.

The music: Anything by Placebo

A couple years ago, I decided I wanted to write a steampunk novel, but I’d never read any steampunk. Since then, I’ve read several dozen novels in the genre – enough to know the punks are a loose collection of genres, set anywhere from the Victorian era to the Wild West to ancient Rome. There’s steampunk, cyberpunk, futurepunk, Will Smithpunk, zombiepunk, elfpunk…basically every punk you can imagine, and then some. My favorite is probably the Emperor’s Edge series by Lindsay Buroker, set in ancient Rome with guns and steam engines and a chatty police-officer-turned-vigilante who falls in love with a stoic assassin. The first book is free, and you’ll get hooked like it’s crack.

The Viper and the Urchin is the story of an assassin, but that’s where the similarities end. Longinus kills not for the thrill or for politics, but for notoriety. It’s all about his stylish reputation – so of course he’s appalled when a common street thief, Rory, not only has to help him with a job, but learns he’s actually afraid of blood. Rory wants to be a warrior swordswoman and when she realizes Longinus is great with a blade, she blackmails him into teaching her all he knows. When Longinus’s livelihood is threatened by a copycat assassin, she’s determined to get to the bottom of it, if only to continue her training.

The two characters are great together. Rory is unrefined and purposefully obnoxious, and Longinus isn’t sure how to react so he ups his arrogance. The two come to deeply care about each other, but in a natural, platonic way that fits the book’s fun, lightheartedness.

Even more than the excellent writing (and it really is excellent), I was impressed by the setting. Despite the main city being set in the tropics, it had the feel of Victorian London. The best thing, though, is that every character was dark-skinned. And this wasn’t a plot point, either, more a “let’s mention it in passing because it’s not a big deal; it’s completely natural for this part of the world” point. As someone who’s hypersensitive to the lack of diversity just about everywhere, I really enjoyed this little extra (although it’s not really reflected on the cover).

One of the best parts, though, was that I didn’t predict the ending only 25% into the book. I figured it out halfway through but thoroughly enjoyed the author’s bit of misdirection. I enjoyed the whole book and highly recommend it.

The accompanying music choice is actually why this post is so late. I bought my first Placebo CD 18 years ago – it was the first CD I bought online, because I couldn’t find it locally. I hadn’t listened to them in a couple years, so while trying to pick a song I ended up just sitting and listening to all their albums.

iTunes tells me they’re “alternative and punk,” and their drums certainly are. Maybe some of the guitars too?

Although lots of their songs fit, I finally settled on “The Bitter End.” It encompasses a lot of themes from the book, like the mix of emotions Rory feels after being screwed over by her partner and the hopeless resignation Longinus feels when he realizes who’s trying to steal his identity.