Reb MacRath's Blog, page 19
November 15, 2014
Thoughts on Letting Baby Go
I've begun the final--I mean final--proofing of my new book, Red Champagne. The cover's a wrap--and a beauty, I think. The book's in the hands of brand new circle of beta readers. I know I've given my best shot and believe that I have something special here.
Do I feel exhilarated? Sure. But my feelings add up to a very mixed bag. You can easily imagine its contents: anxiety, worry, depression, dread. For a passion of so many years becomes a way of life. What do I do, someone might ask. I work, read, live, love...and write Red Champagne.
Now I can say that no longer. Red Champagne joins the ranks of children I have raised and loved. And it must take its chances in the great arena. The mixed bag of emotions results, I think, from my failure to recall my creative process. When I forget that RC is my eighth published book, that I've actually written a good baker's dozen, the butterflies assail me. Where will my next idea come from? How long will it take me to draft it? And so on and so on. Pure silliness rules. I get into a funk and sweat buckets of blues.
Eventually, as now, I begin to recall past attacks of butterflies. Then I recall buying yet another Moleskine notebook, which I begin to fill with notes--not a thought of a deadline in mind. My notes are mainly questions: How about X as a setting? Why X instead of Y? What has happened to my hero since the last entry in the series? In what ways does he need to grow? How will the book end? What hurdles must the hero clear between the beginning and end?
This may go on for weeks or a couple of months. But day by day I'll start to feel my confidence growing again, my sureness that I really do have a new book. The next step is important--and it involves a certain mindlessness:
One day I'll begin to wonder what the new book's opening line might be. I'll fill pages with possibilities. Then one of those will grab me. The next day or the day after, expecting nothing, I'll try my hand at the new book's opening paragraph. I may even go on for a page. Then I'm hooked.
I'll need to focus, once again, on the here and now: the rush of drafting my new book at a preset pace. I'll set a quota to be met daily: no less than 500 words at the start...then more as the book goes along. Once again, I'll need to focus daily on the freedom and joy of first drafting--not the months of work ahead.
So next week I'll buy a new Moleskine and set out with my mixed bag, waving goodbye to my baby, RC. I had a hell of a journey that's left me hungry for the next.
Do I feel exhilarated? Sure. But my feelings add up to a very mixed bag. You can easily imagine its contents: anxiety, worry, depression, dread. For a passion of so many years becomes a way of life. What do I do, someone might ask. I work, read, live, love...and write Red Champagne.
Now I can say that no longer. Red Champagne joins the ranks of children I have raised and loved. And it must take its chances in the great arena. The mixed bag of emotions results, I think, from my failure to recall my creative process. When I forget that RC is my eighth published book, that I've actually written a good baker's dozen, the butterflies assail me. Where will my next idea come from? How long will it take me to draft it? And so on and so on. Pure silliness rules. I get into a funk and sweat buckets of blues.
Eventually, as now, I begin to recall past attacks of butterflies. Then I recall buying yet another Moleskine notebook, which I begin to fill with notes--not a thought of a deadline in mind. My notes are mainly questions: How about X as a setting? Why X instead of Y? What has happened to my hero since the last entry in the series? In what ways does he need to grow? How will the book end? What hurdles must the hero clear between the beginning and end?
This may go on for weeks or a couple of months. But day by day I'll start to feel my confidence growing again, my sureness that I really do have a new book. The next step is important--and it involves a certain mindlessness:
One day I'll begin to wonder what the new book's opening line might be. I'll fill pages with possibilities. Then one of those will grab me. The next day or the day after, expecting nothing, I'll try my hand at the new book's opening paragraph. I may even go on for a page. Then I'm hooked.
I'll need to focus, once again, on the here and now: the rush of drafting my new book at a preset pace. I'll set a quota to be met daily: no less than 500 words at the start...then more as the book goes along. Once again, I'll need to focus daily on the freedom and joy of first drafting--not the months of work ahead.
So next week I'll buy a new Moleskine and set out with my mixed bag, waving goodbye to my baby, RC. I had a hell of a journey that's left me hungry for the next.
November 14, 2014
Coming Tomorrow, Saturday 11/15/2014
Don't miss my new post on 'Letting Baby Go': about the mixed bag of feelings as I ready to launch my new book. Red Champagne, has had an especially long journey...first attempted back in 1998.
Sixteen years later, here it is. And I'll tell you of the pride in finishing this journey...and the fear of beginning the next.
See you then.
Sixteen years later, here it is. And I'll tell you of the pride in finishing this journey...and the fear of beginning the next.
See you then.
November 3, 2014
Claude Bouchard Unchained 2
RM: Good morning, Claude. It's been two years since we did that interview – Claude Bouchard Unchained – and I hope this time around we have as much fun.
CB: We had fun the first time around? Oh… Right. Yeah, uh, we had a blast. (Nodding and smiling to hide my confusion and bewilderment.) Seriously, I much enjoyed our previous interview and I’m pleased that you invited me to do another.
RM: We've decided to try something different this time: focusing on one standalone book, Asylum, that's wildly divided your readers. Could you begin by telling us a bit about the book – avoiding any spoilers – and the range of readers' reactions?
CB: For the sake of accuracy, expediency and spoiler avoidance, I’m copy/pasting the actual book description below:
As Managing Director of the Montreal Hospital for the Criminally Insane, Doctor Matthew Russell has always put his professional responsibilities ahead of all else. That is, until he one day realizes that he is losing his wife, Cassidy, and his two children, Stuart and Jennifer. With only his family in mind, Russell takes an adventure-filled, impromptu vacation of indefinite duration, leaving all else behind and stopping at nothing to show how much he cares for his loved ones in an effort to win them back. But, will he succeed… Or, will it prove to be all too late in the end?
As for the range of readers’ reactions, of 56 reviews received on Amazon.com, 21 are 5 star, 18 are 1 star and the remaining 17 are scattered in between for a 3.2 star overall average – not quite a perfect bell curve, but close. Comments ranged from “Brilliant” to “uugghh”. :)
RM: This sounds like a classic case of seeing what we expect. Some fans of the Vigilante series went into Asylum expecting more of the same, only more so? That's ironic, to say the least – because Asylum's as heavy on action as any of the Vigilante books. Help me stretch my memory here. The hero stages several daring rescues – including one in a fire, one in a pilot-less air balloon and one in the Grand Canyon. He also battles muggers, carjackers, thieves and even a rattlesnake. Hard to imagine anyone expecting more from a thriller. But there is a difference, isn't there? Can you tell us – without any spoilers?
CB: Thrillers involving daring rescues and victorious battles against violent criminals and deadly wildlife often, though not always, have a protagonist who is somehow trained or experienced in dealing with such situations or adversaries. Think Jack Reacher, Jason Bourne and countless others. Rarely is the hero a middle-aged, psychiatrist bureaucrat, even if he’s in decent physical shape. Perhaps, due to his position, Dr. Russell had received training over the years in dealing with crises and dangerous individuals, though this is not described in the book… Or maybe it’s something else.
RM: One of the recurring charges against the book was its reading like a 'travelogue'. The hero and his family do cover a lot of ground: starting their vacation in Vancouver, proceeding down along the Western coast of the U.S... driving on to Florida... and flying on to Rio. That's a terrific vacation. But once again irony rears its devilish head. Your third-person descriptions of the travels do read as if they came from travel books. But, based on my second reading, I'm certain the descriptions were deliberately done this way. Am I right about this?
CB: You are right about that, though, as some reviews made clear, not everyone liked it. The objective, which proved to be successful with some readers and obviously not with others, was to present a picture-perfect family vacation, even though it was temporarily marred on occasion by mishaps and conflicts. Put another way, if Asylum was a film, the vacation sequences would seem almost Disneyesque in nature.
RM: One other thing. Vigilante fans with blinders on may have been fooled by the pacing. You took your time getting us to the action-packed vacation. Anyone who's read your best-selling series knows that you know how to hit the ground running, action from the get-go. You seem to have felt the importance, this time, of building slowly, piece by piece.
CB: An appropriate introduction of Dr. Russell’s life and problems was required before we could think of jumping into the action-packed vacation. This is what Part I of the book was, spanning over six chapters which represented under 14% of the entire novel. Hardly a huge block of reading to get through before the pace quickened and quite necessary to establish the events leading to Russell’s subsequent life-changing decisions and actions.
RM: You must have known going in that readers would regard the book as a real departure. What prompted you to take the chance, along with the risks it involved? Did you anticipate the blowback Asylum received from some quarters?
CB: I’ll begin by sharing the Author’s Note which I included at the beginning of the book from the get-go:
For those of you who have already read some of my work, I wanted to let you know that ASYLUM is not a crime thriller. In fact, I had a hard time determining what genre I should consider it to be. Following much mulling and category searching, I hesitantly settled on “psychological thriller” though there were other possibilities. ASYLUM has aspects of action and adventure as well as of love, family and emotion. It deals with the struggles which many have had to deal with when attempting to balance professional and personal responsibilities. It reflects the turmoil one may be faced with when too much emphasis is placed on the workplace to the detriment of one’s family. ASYLUM is different from anything I had written to date but I enjoyed writing it and I’m pleased with the final result. I hope you will be too.
So, yes, I was aware the book was a real departure but what prompts any writer to tell a story? I don’t have to research very far to confirm that I wasn’t the first author to ever step away from my usual genre because I had something else I wanted to work on. As to anticipating the blowback Asylum received from some, one never knows how something will be received and should realize that it’s impossible to please everyone. Of my ten novels out to date, seven have at least one 1 star review. Ratings for my nine Vigilante thrillers range from 4.1 to 4.8. Such is life. In all fairness, when I consider Asylum and its 56 reviews, 29 are 4 or 5 stars which means more than half of the reviewers gave it an 80%+ rating.
RM: I've avoided the next question in all of my interviews so far. But this time the question really asks itself: Could you tell us a little about the writing of Asylum? Did it take less or more time to write than the average Vigilante book? Did you write it in longhand, using my beloved #2 pencils? (How the hell'd you get my pencils?) Did you breakdance between drafts? That sort of thing, please.
CB: There was nothing markedly different with writing Asylum versus my works in the Vigilante series. It was the usual ‘develop as I write and research’ I always do. A manuscript can take me anywhere from two to ten months to write and Asylum was done in seven so, it was right in there with the average. I’m confused with part of your question when you mention longhand and pencils. What are those things? Seriously, my use of longhand is reserved almost exclusively for grocery lists which are always composed using a ball point pen. Lastly, I’ve long given up breakdancing, having progressed to more emotion inspiring genres such as krumping, popping, turfing, locking and the occasional dunno move when it’s the least expected. However, I never ever polka.
RM: We've talked about readers and what they expect. Writers may not have the right to expect anything from readers. But surely we're allowed to hope. What are your hopes for the diehard Vigilante fans approaching this standalone title?
CB: I’ll respond to that with a personal example from my reading past. I became a Baldacci from his first release, Absolute Power, back in 1996. His four novels which followed, though all standalones, were also all pure Baldacci suspense thrillers. Then came his sixth release in 2000, entitled Wish You Well. Murder, power, schemes and conspiracy from previous books were replaced with a 1940 story about two kids moving from New York City to go live in the mountains of Virginia on their great-grandmother’s farm. Was it what I expected from Baldacci? Far from it. However, having recognized the man’s impressive writing talent, I was more than willing to read his latest tale and to do so with an open mind, knowing this would not be his usual fare. I didn’t regret my decision. More succinctly, I would hope that diehard Vigilante fans would approach Asylum with a similar open mind – some have and others not – oh well.
RM: Asylum, for my money, delivers at least as much bang for our bucks as any of your other books. But it also delivers a few other kicks that are all its own. What can you tell any reader who may still be on the fence – about what they'll get from this baby that they won't find anywhere else?
CB: I thought long and hard about this one and even bounced it off a friend who had just recently reread the book. In the end, the feedback he gave me made me realize that some reviewers who had really ‘got’ the book had already answered the question for me. Here are some excerpts of what they had to say: “I knew that there was something more to the story of Dr. Matthew Russell and his family...something that was just beyond my reach, something that I knew was there – ready to pounce – but I just could not put my finger on it.” "You get the feeling that something's off, almost like there are hints laying around, but it’s not something you can put your finger on..." "I examined Asylum every-which-way because I love mysteries despite nothing indicating Asylum is a mystery. But there were clues." "If you like an action packed book, then this book is for you. However, it operates on different levels according to the reader."
RM: Thanks for your time, Claude. And thanks for taking the chance on this book. I promised you ten questions – so please add a last of your own.
CB: Thank you for inviting me for a second round, Reb. As for taking a chance with Asylum, I had a story to tell so I did. Considering there are almost 17K copies out there to date, I really can’t deem it a failure. And now for a question of my own. I wanted to come up with something different which had never been asked in any interview I’ve done, something deep and revealing which would give readers some personal insight about who I am and what makes me tick so, here it goes: Question: What are your five favourite cheeses? Answer: In no particular order, aged cheddar, mozzarella, provolone, parmesan and feta… Damn, I wish I had asked for ten…
CB: We had fun the first time around? Oh… Right. Yeah, uh, we had a blast. (Nodding and smiling to hide my confusion and bewilderment.) Seriously, I much enjoyed our previous interview and I’m pleased that you invited me to do another.
RM: We've decided to try something different this time: focusing on one standalone book, Asylum, that's wildly divided your readers. Could you begin by telling us a bit about the book – avoiding any spoilers – and the range of readers' reactions?
CB: For the sake of accuracy, expediency and spoiler avoidance, I’m copy/pasting the actual book description below:
As Managing Director of the Montreal Hospital for the Criminally Insane, Doctor Matthew Russell has always put his professional responsibilities ahead of all else. That is, until he one day realizes that he is losing his wife, Cassidy, and his two children, Stuart and Jennifer. With only his family in mind, Russell takes an adventure-filled, impromptu vacation of indefinite duration, leaving all else behind and stopping at nothing to show how much he cares for his loved ones in an effort to win them back. But, will he succeed… Or, will it prove to be all too late in the end?
As for the range of readers’ reactions, of 56 reviews received on Amazon.com, 21 are 5 star, 18 are 1 star and the remaining 17 are scattered in between for a 3.2 star overall average – not quite a perfect bell curve, but close. Comments ranged from “Brilliant” to “uugghh”. :)
RM: This sounds like a classic case of seeing what we expect. Some fans of the Vigilante series went into Asylum expecting more of the same, only more so? That's ironic, to say the least – because Asylum's as heavy on action as any of the Vigilante books. Help me stretch my memory here. The hero stages several daring rescues – including one in a fire, one in a pilot-less air balloon and one in the Grand Canyon. He also battles muggers, carjackers, thieves and even a rattlesnake. Hard to imagine anyone expecting more from a thriller. But there is a difference, isn't there? Can you tell us – without any spoilers?
CB: Thrillers involving daring rescues and victorious battles against violent criminals and deadly wildlife often, though not always, have a protagonist who is somehow trained or experienced in dealing with such situations or adversaries. Think Jack Reacher, Jason Bourne and countless others. Rarely is the hero a middle-aged, psychiatrist bureaucrat, even if he’s in decent physical shape. Perhaps, due to his position, Dr. Russell had received training over the years in dealing with crises and dangerous individuals, though this is not described in the book… Or maybe it’s something else.
RM: One of the recurring charges against the book was its reading like a 'travelogue'. The hero and his family do cover a lot of ground: starting their vacation in Vancouver, proceeding down along the Western coast of the U.S... driving on to Florida... and flying on to Rio. That's a terrific vacation. But once again irony rears its devilish head. Your third-person descriptions of the travels do read as if they came from travel books. But, based on my second reading, I'm certain the descriptions were deliberately done this way. Am I right about this?
CB: You are right about that, though, as some reviews made clear, not everyone liked it. The objective, which proved to be successful with some readers and obviously not with others, was to present a picture-perfect family vacation, even though it was temporarily marred on occasion by mishaps and conflicts. Put another way, if Asylum was a film, the vacation sequences would seem almost Disneyesque in nature.
RM: One other thing. Vigilante fans with blinders on may have been fooled by the pacing. You took your time getting us to the action-packed vacation. Anyone who's read your best-selling series knows that you know how to hit the ground running, action from the get-go. You seem to have felt the importance, this time, of building slowly, piece by piece.
CB: An appropriate introduction of Dr. Russell’s life and problems was required before we could think of jumping into the action-packed vacation. This is what Part I of the book was, spanning over six chapters which represented under 14% of the entire novel. Hardly a huge block of reading to get through before the pace quickened and quite necessary to establish the events leading to Russell’s subsequent life-changing decisions and actions.
RM: You must have known going in that readers would regard the book as a real departure. What prompted you to take the chance, along with the risks it involved? Did you anticipate the blowback Asylum received from some quarters?
CB: I’ll begin by sharing the Author’s Note which I included at the beginning of the book from the get-go:
For those of you who have already read some of my work, I wanted to let you know that ASYLUM is not a crime thriller. In fact, I had a hard time determining what genre I should consider it to be. Following much mulling and category searching, I hesitantly settled on “psychological thriller” though there were other possibilities. ASYLUM has aspects of action and adventure as well as of love, family and emotion. It deals with the struggles which many have had to deal with when attempting to balance professional and personal responsibilities. It reflects the turmoil one may be faced with when too much emphasis is placed on the workplace to the detriment of one’s family. ASYLUM is different from anything I had written to date but I enjoyed writing it and I’m pleased with the final result. I hope you will be too.
So, yes, I was aware the book was a real departure but what prompts any writer to tell a story? I don’t have to research very far to confirm that I wasn’t the first author to ever step away from my usual genre because I had something else I wanted to work on. As to anticipating the blowback Asylum received from some, one never knows how something will be received and should realize that it’s impossible to please everyone. Of my ten novels out to date, seven have at least one 1 star review. Ratings for my nine Vigilante thrillers range from 4.1 to 4.8. Such is life. In all fairness, when I consider Asylum and its 56 reviews, 29 are 4 or 5 stars which means more than half of the reviewers gave it an 80%+ rating.
RM: I've avoided the next question in all of my interviews so far. But this time the question really asks itself: Could you tell us a little about the writing of Asylum? Did it take less or more time to write than the average Vigilante book? Did you write it in longhand, using my beloved #2 pencils? (How the hell'd you get my pencils?) Did you breakdance between drafts? That sort of thing, please.
CB: There was nothing markedly different with writing Asylum versus my works in the Vigilante series. It was the usual ‘develop as I write and research’ I always do. A manuscript can take me anywhere from two to ten months to write and Asylum was done in seven so, it was right in there with the average. I’m confused with part of your question when you mention longhand and pencils. What are those things? Seriously, my use of longhand is reserved almost exclusively for grocery lists which are always composed using a ball point pen. Lastly, I’ve long given up breakdancing, having progressed to more emotion inspiring genres such as krumping, popping, turfing, locking and the occasional dunno move when it’s the least expected. However, I never ever polka.
RM: We've talked about readers and what they expect. Writers may not have the right to expect anything from readers. But surely we're allowed to hope. What are your hopes for the diehard Vigilante fans approaching this standalone title?
CB: I’ll respond to that with a personal example from my reading past. I became a Baldacci from his first release, Absolute Power, back in 1996. His four novels which followed, though all standalones, were also all pure Baldacci suspense thrillers. Then came his sixth release in 2000, entitled Wish You Well. Murder, power, schemes and conspiracy from previous books were replaced with a 1940 story about two kids moving from New York City to go live in the mountains of Virginia on their great-grandmother’s farm. Was it what I expected from Baldacci? Far from it. However, having recognized the man’s impressive writing talent, I was more than willing to read his latest tale and to do so with an open mind, knowing this would not be his usual fare. I didn’t regret my decision. More succinctly, I would hope that diehard Vigilante fans would approach Asylum with a similar open mind – some have and others not – oh well.
RM: Asylum, for my money, delivers at least as much bang for our bucks as any of your other books. But it also delivers a few other kicks that are all its own. What can you tell any reader who may still be on the fence – about what they'll get from this baby that they won't find anywhere else?
CB: I thought long and hard about this one and even bounced it off a friend who had just recently reread the book. In the end, the feedback he gave me made me realize that some reviewers who had really ‘got’ the book had already answered the question for me. Here are some excerpts of what they had to say: “I knew that there was something more to the story of Dr. Matthew Russell and his family...something that was just beyond my reach, something that I knew was there – ready to pounce – but I just could not put my finger on it.” "You get the feeling that something's off, almost like there are hints laying around, but it’s not something you can put your finger on..." "I examined Asylum every-which-way because I love mysteries despite nothing indicating Asylum is a mystery. But there were clues." "If you like an action packed book, then this book is for you. However, it operates on different levels according to the reader."
RM: Thanks for your time, Claude. And thanks for taking the chance on this book. I promised you ten questions – so please add a last of your own.
CB: Thank you for inviting me for a second round, Reb. As for taking a chance with Asylum, I had a story to tell so I did. Considering there are almost 17K copies out there to date, I really can’t deem it a failure. And now for a question of my own. I wanted to come up with something different which had never been asked in any interview I’ve done, something deep and revealing which would give readers some personal insight about who I am and what makes me tick so, here it goes: Question: What are your five favourite cheeses? Answer: In no particular order, aged cheddar, mozzarella, provolone, parmesan and feta… Damn, I wish I had asked for ten…
October 30, 2014
How Our Lives Between Books Can Become a Lot More
'One hates an author that's all author...'
--Lord Byron
Some actors we admire most pick their projects carefully, taking time between them to recharge, brood at leisure and prepare for their next role. Two names that quickly come to mind:
Daniel Day-Lewis: just fourteen films since The Unbearable Lightness of Being in 1986.
Daniel Craig: A three-year break between Skyfall in 2012 and Bond 24 in 2015.
And, possibly not strangely, when each of these men is on screen we sense the hidden magic of a life apart from celluloid or any particular role. They live for their art, we are certain of that--but they also seem fully committed to working the art of their lives. Compare almost any film by either of these men with the desperate earnestness of some leading actors who churn out many more films...as if they'll die the instant the camera isn't on them. Dustin Hoffman, anyone? About 4 dozen films since 1969.
There are telling parallels, I'm sure, with musicians who crank out an album a year and those who prefer to let their next album grow. (Paul McCartney vs. Leonard Cohen?) Let's segue for today, though, to writers--in particular to a remark one critic made about Byron: how the most compelling about him is our powerful sense of real life off the page. That's sometimes revealed in off-handed remarks about his love and sporting life. But more often this truth is something that we sense. And when we learn more about Byron we know: no man who hadn't 'wasted' time swimming the Hellespont...boxing...fencing...traveling...seducing the gladly seduced by the scores...could have written a line of Don Juan. The work's cut from the very same cloth of his life.
My own output on Amazon is somewhat sizable only because I had the 'advantage' of 25 years in The Desert, in which time I finished a dozen-odd books. By revising these, using the skills I've learned since, and by adding two new books I've written, I'll have managed to put out eight ebooks since the summer of 2012.
The eighth book, called Red Champagne, was originally written in 1998-1999. So it had a long gestation before the big rewrite this year. And when it's finished--by December-I plan to take a few months before starting work on the next Boss MacTavin mystery. I expect that to take from 9 months to a year. Luckily, as I've said, I still have a backlog to draw from, including three more horror novels penned as Kelley Wilde.
But the fact remains: I'm a slow writer by most standards. I have good friends and colleagues who can finish books in the time it takes me to do a second draft. One best-selling ebook writer has written more books in a couple of years than I could begin to catch up with. I've never written--and I won't--for eighteen hours a day. Why?
I need to live between the lines to write the lines I do write...the sort of lines I like to read. And to my way of thinking I don't waste my time when I work on one of my three blogs...work out in Gold's Gym...network on Twitter and Facebook...brood while I'm working my new city's streets...study Latin...keeping my studio clean...
And how do your own lives fit into your plans? Are you working when, to others, you seem to do nothing at all? Are your life and work cut from the same lovely cloth?
Recommended Reading:
http://www.amazon.com/Living-Robert-Grudin-English-Professor/dp/0395898315
and
http://www.amazon.com/Writers-Creative-Process-Through-Revision/dp/B000QSAM6I/ref=sr_1_12?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1414682411&sr=1-12&keywords=ke
--Lord Byron
Some actors we admire most pick their projects carefully, taking time between them to recharge, brood at leisure and prepare for their next role. Two names that quickly come to mind:
Daniel Day-Lewis: just fourteen films since The Unbearable Lightness of Being in 1986.
Daniel Craig: A three-year break between Skyfall in 2012 and Bond 24 in 2015.
And, possibly not strangely, when each of these men is on screen we sense the hidden magic of a life apart from celluloid or any particular role. They live for their art, we are certain of that--but they also seem fully committed to working the art of their lives. Compare almost any film by either of these men with the desperate earnestness of some leading actors who churn out many more films...as if they'll die the instant the camera isn't on them. Dustin Hoffman, anyone? About 4 dozen films since 1969.
There are telling parallels, I'm sure, with musicians who crank out an album a year and those who prefer to let their next album grow. (Paul McCartney vs. Leonard Cohen?) Let's segue for today, though, to writers--in particular to a remark one critic made about Byron: how the most compelling about him is our powerful sense of real life off the page. That's sometimes revealed in off-handed remarks about his love and sporting life. But more often this truth is something that we sense. And when we learn more about Byron we know: no man who hadn't 'wasted' time swimming the Hellespont...boxing...fencing...traveling...seducing the gladly seduced by the scores...could have written a line of Don Juan. The work's cut from the very same cloth of his life.
My own output on Amazon is somewhat sizable only because I had the 'advantage' of 25 years in The Desert, in which time I finished a dozen-odd books. By revising these, using the skills I've learned since, and by adding two new books I've written, I'll have managed to put out eight ebooks since the summer of 2012.
The eighth book, called Red Champagne, was originally written in 1998-1999. So it had a long gestation before the big rewrite this year. And when it's finished--by December-I plan to take a few months before starting work on the next Boss MacTavin mystery. I expect that to take from 9 months to a year. Luckily, as I've said, I still have a backlog to draw from, including three more horror novels penned as Kelley Wilde.
But the fact remains: I'm a slow writer by most standards. I have good friends and colleagues who can finish books in the time it takes me to do a second draft. One best-selling ebook writer has written more books in a couple of years than I could begin to catch up with. I've never written--and I won't--for eighteen hours a day. Why?
I need to live between the lines to write the lines I do write...the sort of lines I like to read. And to my way of thinking I don't waste my time when I work on one of my three blogs...work out in Gold's Gym...network on Twitter and Facebook...brood while I'm working my new city's streets...study Latin...keeping my studio clean...
And how do your own lives fit into your plans? Are you working when, to others, you seem to do nothing at all? Are your life and work cut from the same lovely cloth?
Recommended Reading:
http://www.amazon.com/Living-Robert-Grudin-English-Professor/dp/0395898315
and
http://www.amazon.com/Writers-Creative-Process-Through-Revision/dp/B000QSAM6I/ref=sr_1_12?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1414682411&sr=1-12&keywords=ke
October 23, 2014
How to Spare the Rod and Really Listen to the Warm
Listen to the WHAT? Are we talking Rod McKuen, the millionaire Valentine singer and people's poet from the Seventies? Treacle pudding in person?
We are. And we'll get to why in a minute--when I tell you about the world's sexiest blanket--but first:
Born in 1933, McKuen had already been around a while--as a journalist, singer and composer--when he broke through as a poet with Stanyan Street & Oher Sorrows in 1966, then Listen to the Warm in 1967 and Lonesome Cities in 1968. In '68 alone, his books were translated into eleven languages and sold over a million copies. During the Seventies, he went on to receive serious recognition as a composer through his concertos, symphonies, chamber pieces and suites...But today we consider him in his best-known guise--as a poet.
In turbulent times, with Dylan and Cohen rocking some serious boats, McKuen was a welcome voice, especially to lovers who wanted to hug, not protest. His verses were simple and sincere:
"Thank you for the sun you brought this morningeven though the sky was full of clouds."
and:
"There've been so many who didn't understand
so give me all the love I see in your timid eyesbut give it gentlyPlease."
He made a fortune writing such. Still, you'd be hard-pressed to find four words that heaped more abuse on a writer than 'Listen to the warm.' Lovers of Dylan and Cohen jeered, I know. I was one of them. And I hadn't thought of McKuen in years--until last night, when I woke in a chill...and looked at the cushy new blanket I'd left at the food of the bed.
My entire body was aching and cold, for I'd had a brutal morning workout and had left one window open. Now, when I signed up at Gold's and decided to get serious, I also made a solemn vow: to listen to my body--what I needed to eat, when I needed to rest, etc. You need to understand that I had decided to listen. If you understand that, then you'll understand that I heard my cold and aching muscles crying out for warmth. Or, as Rod would say, for warm.
As I slid the blanket over me, then tucked it in on both sides, I felt enveloped within a cocoon. And I found myself listening too to the warmed: taxed muscles finding required relief. The comfort found from a blanket in the midst of a cold night astounded me. It also humbled me because I'd done Rod an injustice--and also the readers who loved him.
He may not be my cuppa--I prefer Auden or Ovid or Horace--but he produced a brand of warm that millions have loved since the Sixties. And he wrote four words, at least, that never slipped my memory.
Now in his eighties, Rod McKuen still maintains a lively blog well worth a look:
http://www.mckuen.com/flights/flight.htm
You never know. You too may find yourself to be one of the warmed.
We are. And we'll get to why in a minute--when I tell you about the world's sexiest blanket--but first:
Born in 1933, McKuen had already been around a while--as a journalist, singer and composer--when he broke through as a poet with Stanyan Street & Oher Sorrows in 1966, then Listen to the Warm in 1967 and Lonesome Cities in 1968. In '68 alone, his books were translated into eleven languages and sold over a million copies. During the Seventies, he went on to receive serious recognition as a composer through his concertos, symphonies, chamber pieces and suites...But today we consider him in his best-known guise--as a poet.
In turbulent times, with Dylan and Cohen rocking some serious boats, McKuen was a welcome voice, especially to lovers who wanted to hug, not protest. His verses were simple and sincere:
"Thank you for the sun you brought this morningeven though the sky was full of clouds."
and:
"There've been so many who didn't understand
so give me all the love I see in your timid eyesbut give it gentlyPlease."
He made a fortune writing such. Still, you'd be hard-pressed to find four words that heaped more abuse on a writer than 'Listen to the warm.' Lovers of Dylan and Cohen jeered, I know. I was one of them. And I hadn't thought of McKuen in years--until last night, when I woke in a chill...and looked at the cushy new blanket I'd left at the food of the bed.
My entire body was aching and cold, for I'd had a brutal morning workout and had left one window open. Now, when I signed up at Gold's and decided to get serious, I also made a solemn vow: to listen to my body--what I needed to eat, when I needed to rest, etc. You need to understand that I had decided to listen. If you understand that, then you'll understand that I heard my cold and aching muscles crying out for warmth. Or, as Rod would say, for warm.
As I slid the blanket over me, then tucked it in on both sides, I felt enveloped within a cocoon. And I found myself listening too to the warmed: taxed muscles finding required relief. The comfort found from a blanket in the midst of a cold night astounded me. It also humbled me because I'd done Rod an injustice--and also the readers who loved him.
He may not be my cuppa--I prefer Auden or Ovid or Horace--but he produced a brand of warm that millions have loved since the Sixties. And he wrote four words, at least, that never slipped my memory.
Now in his eighties, Rod McKuen still maintains a lively blog well worth a look:
http://www.mckuen.com/flights/flight.htm
You never know. You too may find yourself to be one of the warmed.
October 16, 2014
The Return of Claude Bouchard
One of my most popular posts here was an interview with Claude Bouchard, published on 11/3/12. It attracted a blog record of 500 hits and inspired me to raise the bar for future interviews.
I've continued to read and admire CB but saw no valid reason to do a second interview--that is, until now.
Claude Bouchard Unchained 2 is coming your way in early November. Subtitle: Escaping Into Asylum. In it, CB will open up about the one book that most divides readers. Did the devil make him write it? Or was his Muse simply in a wickedly mischievous mood?
The floor will be his. And I'm certain he'll surprise us all, myself included.
I've continued to read and admire CB but saw no valid reason to do a second interview--that is, until now.
Claude Bouchard Unchained 2 is coming your way in early November. Subtitle: Escaping Into Asylum. In it, CB will open up about the one book that most divides readers. Did the devil make him write it? Or was his Muse simply in a wickedly mischievous mood?
The floor will be his. And I'm certain he'll surprise us all, myself included.
October 14, 2014
On Writing As a Reality Show
You can't hope to win the game unless you know which show you're on. Check out my controversial post on Authors Electric--and you may come to hear the call of Jeff Probst, Simon Cowell...or someone even better.
http://authorselectric.blogspot.com/2014/10/hey-bubbaloos-which-reality-show-are.html
http://authorselectric.blogspot.com/2014/10/hey-bubbaloos-which-reality-show-are.html
October 12, 2014
Reviews: An Updated Assortment
By way of introduction, for those who haven't tried my work: here's an updated sampling of reviews. They cover both my earlier novels as Kelley Wilde and my new work as Reb MacRath.
PRAISE FOR REB MACRATH
One of the greatest Christmas stories ever written—but one that may never be published. --Agent Henry Morrison on April Yule (formerly titled White Knights)
Reb MacRath writes with wit and pace. His prose can spin in unexpected directions, or with the precision of an expert pool player can send one—smack!—right into the corner pocket. Pay attention, because in one short sentence he can dazzle, baffle, and shock you. And in a book, well, just enjoy the ride! --Brad Strickland on April Yule
His writing style is unique and...he writes with such depth and emotion I can't help but wonder what he'll bring to the writing world in the future. --Kirkus MacGowan on Nobility
Nobility ranks right up there with Oh Brother Where Art Thou, a rendition of Homer's Odyssey also set in the south. The word craft is delicate and beautiful.. --Leila Smith on Nobility
Dazzling, visceral, heart-wrenching...A 152-page masterpiece. --John Logan on The Vanishing Magic of Snow
Pure escapist fun. Think James Bond meets hardboiled noir with a colorful cast of characters.
--David North-Martino on Charlotte Kills
I liked this book on several levels. Firstly, I liked the hard-boiled style of part one, which satisfied all the expectations of this style of book. The characters were good and realistic and played their roles well. The writing was atmospheric and descriptive, and the action scenes were also realistic. In part two, I liked the mystery element and the twists, and when the sting finally took place it was a surprise.
--Chris Longmuir on Charlotte Kills
Vicious violence, black humor, quirky characters, a style that races along--MacRath's novels takes the reader into a murky world of crime and retribution...and a Boss who deals out what he calls Corrections. The author has written intriguing speculative fiction, and this is a new direction. If you like thrillers hazrd as nails, cool as ice, and smooth as Scotch, give this one a try. I think you'll enjoy it.
--Brad Strickland on Southern Scotch
If you haven't been hooked by the cunning stories written by Reb MacRath, Boss will drag you into his writer's fan club. Boss is a gritty, one-eyed, 'Southern Scot', a hero who hit rock bottom, suffered, and literally emerged as a new man. In this second book of the series, readers visit the seedy underbelly of San Francisco, meeting lowlifes and very scary characters. But if you're with Big Bad Boss, you're safe...and you'll be singing his praises soon.
--Diane Rapp on The Alcatraz Correction
…AND FOR REB WRITING AS KELLEY WILDEWilde handles his ideas with wit and energy. A skilled writer has produced an engaging novel. --Publishers Weekly on The Suiting
Highly readable, with both laughs and chills. --Library Journal on The Suiting
Strongly original. One of a kind. --Kirkus Reviews on The Suiting
A tasty bit of modern horror with just the right touch of madness. A writer to watch. --The Buffalo News on The Suiting
Wilde has a flair for horrific showmanship and an instinct for the jugular that rivals the best writers of the genre. --John Farris on Makoto
Wilde’s style fits the story perfectly—it’s as sharp and polished as a samurai sword, and just as dangerous. --Rick Hautala on Makoto
One of Wilde’s particular talents is getting inside his characters’ heads. Whether it’s a dream, a cocaine high, or a slooow torture scene, his expert streams of consciousness and incredible sound effects put you right there. --Fangoria on Makoto
Untamed, unpredictable prose—that’s the trademark of Kelley Wilde. He writes like a bucking bronc, and each time out of the chute the Wilde man keeps improving. He’s got the moves! --Rex Miller on Mastery
The most unforgettable train ride since Agatha Christie booked the Orient Express. --Tyson Blue on Mastery
An exotic, mysterious puzzle that's impossible to put down--and impossible to forget.
--Ray Garton on Angel Kiss
PRAISE FOR REB MACRATH
One of the greatest Christmas stories ever written—but one that may never be published. --Agent Henry Morrison on April Yule (formerly titled White Knights)
Reb MacRath writes with wit and pace. His prose can spin in unexpected directions, or with the precision of an expert pool player can send one—smack!—right into the corner pocket. Pay attention, because in one short sentence he can dazzle, baffle, and shock you. And in a book, well, just enjoy the ride! --Brad Strickland on April Yule
His writing style is unique and...he writes with such depth and emotion I can't help but wonder what he'll bring to the writing world in the future. --Kirkus MacGowan on Nobility
Nobility ranks right up there with Oh Brother Where Art Thou, a rendition of Homer's Odyssey also set in the south. The word craft is delicate and beautiful.. --Leila Smith on Nobility
Dazzling, visceral, heart-wrenching...A 152-page masterpiece. --John Logan on The Vanishing Magic of Snow
Pure escapist fun. Think James Bond meets hardboiled noir with a colorful cast of characters.
--David North-Martino on Charlotte Kills
I liked this book on several levels. Firstly, I liked the hard-boiled style of part one, which satisfied all the expectations of this style of book. The characters were good and realistic and played their roles well. The writing was atmospheric and descriptive, and the action scenes were also realistic. In part two, I liked the mystery element and the twists, and when the sting finally took place it was a surprise.
--Chris Longmuir on Charlotte Kills
Vicious violence, black humor, quirky characters, a style that races along--MacRath's novels takes the reader into a murky world of crime and retribution...and a Boss who deals out what he calls Corrections. The author has written intriguing speculative fiction, and this is a new direction. If you like thrillers hazrd as nails, cool as ice, and smooth as Scotch, give this one a try. I think you'll enjoy it.
--Brad Strickland on Southern Scotch
If you haven't been hooked by the cunning stories written by Reb MacRath, Boss will drag you into his writer's fan club. Boss is a gritty, one-eyed, 'Southern Scot', a hero who hit rock bottom, suffered, and literally emerged as a new man. In this second book of the series, readers visit the seedy underbelly of San Francisco, meeting lowlifes and very scary characters. But if you're with Big Bad Boss, you're safe...and you'll be singing his praises soon.
--Diane Rapp on The Alcatraz Correction
…AND FOR REB WRITING AS KELLEY WILDEWilde handles his ideas with wit and energy. A skilled writer has produced an engaging novel. --Publishers Weekly on The Suiting
Highly readable, with both laughs and chills. --Library Journal on The Suiting
Strongly original. One of a kind. --Kirkus Reviews on The Suiting
A tasty bit of modern horror with just the right touch of madness. A writer to watch. --The Buffalo News on The Suiting
Wilde has a flair for horrific showmanship and an instinct for the jugular that rivals the best writers of the genre. --John Farris on Makoto
Wilde’s style fits the story perfectly—it’s as sharp and polished as a samurai sword, and just as dangerous. --Rick Hautala on Makoto
One of Wilde’s particular talents is getting inside his characters’ heads. Whether it’s a dream, a cocaine high, or a slooow torture scene, his expert streams of consciousness and incredible sound effects put you right there. --Fangoria on Makoto
Untamed, unpredictable prose—that’s the trademark of Kelley Wilde. He writes like a bucking bronc, and each time out of the chute the Wilde man keeps improving. He’s got the moves! --Rex Miller on Mastery
The most unforgettable train ride since Agatha Christie booked the Orient Express. --Tyson Blue on Mastery
An exotic, mysterious puzzle that's impossible to put down--and impossible to forget.
--Ray Garton on Angel Kiss
October 9, 2014
This isn't Reb--or What's-His-Name
Has an article or poem or song ever stuck in your mind, longer than you recall, and kept replaying through the years? Like your shadow, it stays with you. Or like something you've touched, now a part of your prints.
Once upon a time I read a lovely Aikido essay by a popular writer, George Leonard. The piece was called "This Isn't Richard", I'll provide a link below for those who want to read it. The subject: the spiritual breakthrough of a self-centered, selfish student in a brutal black belt test. I warm to the piece partly because I myself studied under the teacher, Bob Nadeau, for years. But the mojo of the piece is the moment of the breakthrough: Richard, the disgusted teacher who called him only 'What's-his-name' and all the students present become aware that the man on the mat...isn't 'Richard'. A new man stands emptied of the self that he'd been too full of. Later, some spoke of an aura or a nimbus of light around him as he got more and more into the flow. By all accounts, this was a brilliant performance. And the Richard who'd been 'Richard' had left the building forever.
The great breakthrough recorded in the the phrase This isn't Richard has become both a goal and a touchstone for me. In both my life and my writing..which no longer seem to be two. In furnishing my new Seattle studio or fine-tuning my new novel...in forming new habits and ditching the old...in pushing the envelope daily as I search my own sense that This isn't Reb...I find new liberation in those glorious moments when I am not Me.
Here's the link to the essay, with hopes you have a look. Caution: the essay starts at page 198 of :Leonard's book The Silent Pulse and stops abruptly at p. 203. So it isn't complete but you'll get the idea:
http://tiny.cc/clkhnx
Once upon a time I read a lovely Aikido essay by a popular writer, George Leonard. The piece was called "This Isn't Richard", I'll provide a link below for those who want to read it. The subject: the spiritual breakthrough of a self-centered, selfish student in a brutal black belt test. I warm to the piece partly because I myself studied under the teacher, Bob Nadeau, for years. But the mojo of the piece is the moment of the breakthrough: Richard, the disgusted teacher who called him only 'What's-his-name' and all the students present become aware that the man on the mat...isn't 'Richard'. A new man stands emptied of the self that he'd been too full of. Later, some spoke of an aura or a nimbus of light around him as he got more and more into the flow. By all accounts, this was a brilliant performance. And the Richard who'd been 'Richard' had left the building forever.
The great breakthrough recorded in the the phrase This isn't Richard has become both a goal and a touchstone for me. In both my life and my writing..which no longer seem to be two. In furnishing my new Seattle studio or fine-tuning my new novel...in forming new habits and ditching the old...in pushing the envelope daily as I search my own sense that This isn't Reb...I find new liberation in those glorious moments when I am not Me.
Here's the link to the essay, with hopes you have a look. Caution: the essay starts at page 198 of :Leonard's book The Silent Pulse and stops abruptly at p. 203. So it isn't complete but you'll get the idea:
http://tiny.cc/clkhnx
October 1, 2014
A free-for-all that's free for all
The first issue of an online monthly 'zine has gone Live today at :
http://theseattlekid.blogspot.com/2014/09/reb-macraths-seattle-rock-v-1-100114.html
If you're craving something more than just a little bit different, you should find this worth a look. If nothing else, you may enjoy the Classifieds and Ask Reb sections.
See you there!
http://theseattlekid.blogspot.com/2014/09/reb-macraths-seattle-rock-v-1-100114.html
If you're craving something more than just a little bit different, you should find this worth a look. If nothing else, you may enjoy the Classifieds and Ask Reb sections.
See you there!
