Ross A. McCoubrey's Blog

I Believe

I believe in random acts of kindness.
I believe in simple, small gestures.
I believe a handshake is a contract.
I believe in good manners at the table and in general.
I believe in the power of positive thinking.
I believe a person of true faith does not require a religion.
I believe animals have souls.
I believe hugs have healing powers.
I believe silence speaks volumes.
I believe in tears of sorrow, tears of joy and that a strong person fears neither.
I believe in finding the beauty in the everyday.
I believe dandelions and daisies in a tumbler on the windowsill are the perfect floral arrangement.
I believe spring peepers offer the hope of summer.
I believe in angels, I have seen them.
I believe in ghosts, I have seen them, too.
I believe that true friendships are invisible to the lines of family.
I believe Hope is more than just another four letter word.
I believe giving is the greatest gift.
I believe in respect for other people’s opinions even though we may disagree.
I believe in getting all the information before forming an opinion.
I believe in voting.
I believe in respecting other people’s property.
I believe reading opens doors to other dimensions.
I believe in dreams.
I believe in doing the right thing the first time.
I believe a job well done is its own reward.
I believe in loyalty.
I believe in passion.
I believe in romance.
I believe in love at first sight.
I believe in patriotism – but not blindly.
I believe actions speak louder than words.
I believe in recycling.
I believe art, no matter the medium, should be respected.
I believe a great film, even if it is about a depressing subject, makes you feel better for having seen it.
I believe in equal rights, not special rights.
I believe some of my greatest acquaintances are fictional characters.
I believe in remembering the victims, not the villains.
I believe in being able to be mature while still being young at heart.
I believe in proper commemoration and respect for our military personnel, whether or not you agree with the battles fought.
I believe in taking your hat off at the table.
I believe in respect for the flag.
I believe in working late into the night to get the job done.
I believe in giving credit where credit is due.
I believe people will disappoint me.
I believe people will hurt me.
I believe people will use me.
I believe people will claim their god is better than my god.
I believe people will fight to exclude me from having the same rights and privileges they take for granted.
I believe people will overlook me.
I believe people will criticize my work.
I believe people will laugh at my dreams.
I believe people will demand more of me than I have to give.
I believe people will say one thing and do another.
I believe people will destroy art rather than take time to appreciate it.
I believe people will forego manners in preference to laziness.
I believe people will give me more work to do so they have to do less.
I believe people will cut me off in traffic, let the door shut in my face, and throw random insults at me.
I believe people will lie to my face.
I believe people will stab me in the back.
I believe people will take from me, from others, from this earth, and never give back.
I believe people will treat animals as property.
I believe people will not respect property, their own or others.
I believe people will destroy nature without a thought to the consequence.
I believe people will speak the loudest with the least to say.
I believe people will blame the victim or the weapons rather than the guilty.
I believe people will become so afraid to show emotion they stop to feel altogether.
I believe people will not vote yet complain that nothing changes.
I believe people will form their opinions based on popularity.
I believe people will scoff at the notion of there being angels and ghosts.
I believe people will take for granted the country they live in and the hard-fought battles that it took to create and maintain that country.
I believe people will try to make me give up, to make me abandon my beliefs, to tell me I am lesser, to insist I have nothing to say, that what I do doesn’t matter, that I am ugly, to tell me I am an abomination.
So…
When I have reached the summit of my despair and stare down into the valley I must make a choice: either I join the mass of people wallowing in their self-pity, their complacency, their expectancy, their self-absorbance, their defeat OR I go back to the top of my list and start again.
It is my list of what I believe that matters. It is my code, my ethos, my doctrine, my edict, my canon, my dogma – my core; that which I hold dear in my steadfast resolve to persevere against the tyranny of waste, war, want, and woe.
So…
I go back to my list and I start anew, making one addition to the top:
I believe in me.
And that is where I begin.
- Ross McCoubrey, April 25, 2013

Cast the book

If you've read One Boy's Shadow I'm sure you've visualized what the characters look like in your head. I know how I envision them but am curious to whom you would cast if the book were made into a film.

If you're like me, even when an author describes a character you may often determine in your mind that that isn't what the character looks like to you. How would you describe Caleb and Shane (or Ryley, Toby, Wendell, Blake etc)? Would love to read how others interpret them.

And, let's take it one step further, if you could cast any literary character of all time with any actor of all time, what role and star would it be?

I look forward to your responses!

True Colorz

I was thrilled to be interviewed by the fine folks at True Colorz Young Adult books website :)

Receiving an A+ rating and being added to their Honor Roll is extremely gratifying. It's such an amazing feeling when the work you have done is understood and appreciated by exactly the people you hoped to reach!!

Thanks a ton, True Colorz! Oh... and there's a signed paper back to be given away... check the link :)

http://true-colorz.blogspot.ca/search...

Ask me

Literature is open to interpretations. Everyone has his/her own opinion and reads into things in his/her own way. That's great. It gives us a chance to form a dialogue and discuss things. I enjoy talking to authors and getting a better understanding of what they may have been striving for in a scene or character that I may have missed. It gives me the chance to go back and re-read or look at things differently yet again.

The same book can change depending on the mood you happen to be in while reading it or how carefully you take in the words. I am a slow reader but I absorb everything. I love Dickens for the richness of description he gives every scene and the detail of his characters' every movement. I love the complexitiy of George Orwell and the vivid imaginations of the worlds he created. I only wish I could talk to these authors and ask them a plethora of questions.

It can be frustrating when others don't see how or why you wrote a scene or character the way you did, but it's also very gratifying when someone else does get it. Wouldn't it be amazing to talk to every author and be able to ask a pressing question?

So... if you have any questions for me, I'd be happy to have a conversation with you :)

Thanks for reading!

Bookie Awards

Would be most appreciative if people would take the time to nominate One Boy's Shadow as well as other Canadian books for these awards! Thanks for your support!

http://www.cbc.ca/books/2013/03/cbc-b...

March Book of the Month Voting

One Boy's Shadow has been shortlisted for the YA LGBT Book group's March Book of the Month!! Please vote for it here: http://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/79... Thanks!!! Your support is greatly appreciated!

Please vote for YA LGBTQ Book to read for March

Please nominate One Boy's Shadow on GoodReads group YA LGBT Books for their March reading selection: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1... Nominations end soon. Thanks for the support!One Boy's Shadow

Gay Ghost Stories

For starters, I don't believe any story is gay or straight, just a story that happens to have people who happen to be gay or straight (or bi/pan/transgendered.) This is merely a part of the character or characters as a whole.

That being said, I would really appreciate support in the "Gay Themed Ghost Story" list:

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/26...

Thanks!

Author Spotlight

Thanks to the LGBT YA Book Group for having me as their Author Spotlight for November 11, 2012. I am flattered to have been asked to take part and extend much gratitude to Kaje for the great work being done with the group!

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

Wear a Poppy

We all tend to be so busy these days that we often forget that it's a privilege to be busy; to live in a country that allows us the ability to think for ourselves, vote, worship as want (or not at all), marry the person we love, seek out education, are provided health care and on and on.

People forget. They forget that these freedoms we take for granted were fought for. Men and women from around the world gave everything, including their lives, so that we may continue to live in a free and just society.

Please, take the time to purchase a poppy. Wear it on the left lapel or side of your jacket/shirt nearest your heart.

And, on the 11th hour of the 11th month on the 11th day - stop. Put down the cell phones, close the lap top, and stand at attention. Just for 1 minute. When the minute is over, discretely remove your poppy.

We must remember the sacrifices of others who gave so much for us. Remembrance Day... please... don't forget.