Konn Lavery's Blog: Posts from konnlavery.com, page 52

Welcome 2017!

Another whole year has come and gone, wow. With the release of Seed Me and the score World Mother it has been quite busy with little downtime. First of all, a big shout out to everyone who supported me this year with the launch it has been humbling and motivating!

Welcome to December’s edition of Unprocessed Thoughts.

With Christmas behind us and New Year’s only a day away, it is often a time where people self-reflect and plan New Year’s Resolutions. Personally I have never been much for new goals each year. I’ve been a strong believer in 10, 5 and 2 year goals – it gives something to work towards in the long run.

Regarding goals, this year has been full of them and one thing I would like to note that suffered because of it is the lack of content on the blog for the past few months. There will be interesting content to read in the following year.

There are good reasons for the vacancy though, I have been in the process of plotting 2017 and writing new literary work. This mystery writing has been kept on the down low until a few more details are worked out. Then an announcement will be made. I have given a few hints to what it is in the last Unprocessed Thoughts and in a recent Instagram post, regarding Mental Damnation – exciting!

“Death overruled Judgment was taken. Here I am, In the land of the damned.” Keep your sanity in check for the rest of the year… #writer #author #novel #fantasy #darkFantasy #mentalDamnation #book #words #typeface #graphicDesign #teaser #2017 #bookstagram #writersofinstagram #fantasynovel

A photo posted by Konn Lavery (@_konnartist) on Dec 26, 2016 at 11:22am PST

You may have also noticed some information has been updated on my about page. You can check out the status of my latest novel.

I also am pleased to announce that in 2017 I will be working with publicist Mickey Mikkelson of Creative Edge. The goal for this is to allow more book signings, events and media coverage in the New Year. Other than that, there isn’t anything more to share for the rest of 2016.

Everyone has quite strong opinions regarding the content of the year, for good reasons. May the last day of it bring you joy. See you all in 2017!

 

Beer Note: The Grizzly Paw Brewing Company – Rutting Elk Red

The Grizzly Paw Brewing Company is one I enjoy dearly for the artwork and Canadian references. I discovered the brand on a trip to Banff, seeing the brewery in Canmore. I had to try it out. The Rutting Elk Red has to be the strongest of the variants. I generally go for IPAs, this is a pale ale so not nearly as hoppy as what I normally drink. Still a great drink, I’d give it a 3.5/5 for my personal tastes of stronger beers.

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Mahrie G. Reid – Mystery and Thriller Author from Calgary

Mahrie G. Reid – Mystery and Thriller Author from Calgary

The last guest of 2016 is Mahrie G. Reid who is known for writing mysteries and thrillers. She is originally from Nova Scotia, and now lives north of Calgary where she has made an impact in Alberta. Mahrie is a member of Alberta Romance Writers’ Association and a graduate of Calgary’s Citizen’s Police Academy and Private Investigation 101.

Her published work includes short stories, poems, trade articles, technical and research papers and newspaper features. Now, she prefers to write what she loves and treats everything else as a learning opportunity. Let’s get to know her!

Welcome Mahrie G. Reid, tell us a bit about yourself.

FYI I’m a PK, MOT-NOT AND GOT among other things. Current message users will know the FYI. The rest translates to: Preacher’s Kid, Mother-of-Twins-Never on Time and Grandmother of Twins. Currently settled into writing fiction, I’ve done many things to get to this point. (42 jobs in 19 industries – some of them 2 at a time and enough designations to fill a Christmas Sock.) All of it is fuel for stories.  Additionally, I love learning and sharing what I learn both in my blog and at writers’ groups and conferences.

Living in Didsbury gives me a semi-rural setting but with easy access to the cities of Calgary and Red Deer. A husband that cooks, vacuums and shops leaves me time to write. And the cat, Kotah, keeps me moving with occasional nips on the butt.

What started you to pursue your writing career?

Few people believe it now, but I was a shy and reclusive child. Stories carried me beyond my boundaries. I learned early that stories can be magical, educational, supportive and restorative. Sounds lofty, but it’s just I love to read good stories and always thought that creating stories for others would be the best job ever. My first book: Age 9 or so – Pam and Penny and the Mystery on Tancook Island. Life intervenes, but I always came back to writing and now I’m able to pursue it full time.

You primarily write mysteries, thrillers and poems. With quite the writing background, do you like writing other genres as well?

I started writing in romance and still enjoy a good relationship story. However, mystery kept creeping in and my mentor, Judith Duncan, encouraged that. I do plan to branch into a paranormal/mystery series in the near future. Other than that, I read other genres but don’t think I’ll write in them.

Are there any genres you don’t like writing?

Since I’m into stories with puzzles for fun and relaxation, any of the vampire, noir, or stolen children stories would not work for me. Life is too short to write depressing stories.

Tell us about your latest work.

Book 4 in the Caleb Cove Mystery Series is in progress. It’s lurching along primarily because of recent time out for knee surgery. (My grandsons think I have bionic knees!)  Working in a small village, you can only have so many murders or you may run out of characters. This one slips back in time to old deaths, bodies found and a path through an almost forgotten cold case. It is Natalie Parker’s book. She appears as a secondary character in all of the first three. Oh, and the title: Came Home From the Grave.

What’s been the biggest challenge in your writing career to date?

I can be my own worst enemy, easily distracted or stuck because I sweat over one detail that doesn’t really need sweating over. Most recently it’s the balance between writing and promo. It does not matter how you have your books published, Indie or Traditional, you are expected to maintain a digital presence, a brand and an author platform. I end up worrying about both and then neither gets enough attention.

What do you have in the works for 2017?

2017 will see the publication of Came Home From the Grave. Additionally, I have signed with a publisher to write an historical book set in Nova Scotia (Same place as the Caleb Cove books.) It will be part of the 150th anniversary of Canada, is supported by funding and has a thirteen book series, Canadian Historical Brides, one for each province and territory. I’m doing research for that one – and need to have it ready for the editor and the historical fact-checkers by January 2018. Current publication date is April 2018.

The first of the thirteen books will launch Dec 31, 2016 – Brides of Banff Springs by Victoria Chatham. Anyone interested can follow along on that website: http://bookswelove.net/canadian-historical-brides/

Thanks Mahrie for taking the time to chat about your writing and share your insight with us! Perhaps we will run into each other at next year’s When Words Collide.

You can check out Mahrie’s work, and follow her project progress at her website:  www.mahriegreid.com

Follow Mahrie G Reid on her social media sites:

Facebook

Goodreads

Twitter

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A Day Late!

November is behind us and we have entered the last month of 2016 – wow. Where did all the time go? There’s a lot of mixed thoughts regarding 2016, it has been a very active year filled with politics, racism, social justice and death. It seemed like anywhere you went you were bombarded with these topics, watching the news, social media and in day to day conversations. Makes you wonder what 2017 is going to be like…

Welcome to November’s edition of Unprocessed Thoughts.

This post is a day late, it is not November anymore but that is a technicality. The lateness was due to crunch time with contract work at Reveal Design. As predicted in the previous month’s post, end of the year is always the biggest crunch time of the job. As I have mentioned in previous Unprocessed Thoughts, the last few months is when companies want to spend the remainder of their budgets and wrap up any projects that they have on the go before the holidays begin. Because of this, I tend to disappear from the face of the earth and the home office becomes a prison. You can spend days never leaving your home, sitting and working for 14-16 hours a day, it can really drain the psyche.

Now, I am not in the clear yet. Recently I have announced holiday hours for Reveal Design which means all work needs to be done before then. This means long hours and weekends dedicated to projects and some serious time management to fit it all in while balancing other life responsibilities and prepping for the holidays. It is the nature of a contractor’s life and one of the downers to being your own boss – everything falls on your lap with no one else to pass the ball to.

Believe it or not, through all the business, some writing has been done.

This writing was unrelated to NaNoWriMo but is quite exciting. It is in the final stages of the first draft. Once it is done I will be passing it onto the editor in January. In that time, some of the visual portions of it will be worked on. Then, and only then, it will be ready to be announced

I know, it isn’t fun to be left out on secrets, but be patient. Good things come to those who wait.

Beer Note: Goose IPA

Goose Island’s Goose IPA is one that I default to frequently, because it is always stocked in the liquor store across the street from me. Not quite as hoppy as some other IPAs. It also isn’t nearly as citrusy. I’d give it 3.8/5 mostly due to its simplicity.

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Fantasy Excerpt and Interview with Calgary Author Marc Watson

This month’s guest author is Marc Watson who I met in Calgary during the When Words Collide festival back in the summer. We crossed paths during the evening’s live reading event where he read some of his fantasy work. The reading was well spoken, writing engaging and I wanted to know more. We exchanged contact information to schedule a time to have him join us as a guest author of the month.

I am pleased to introduce Marc Watson, who is willing chat about his writing and share an excerpt of his work.
Thanks for joining us Marc, give us an intro of who you are.

Sure thing, Konn, and thank you for reaching out to me for this opportunity.

As you said, I am a Calgary author of genre fiction, which is primarily under the vague banner of ‘science fantasy’, though I like to think my repertoire is growing all the time. I’m happily married to a wonderful and extremely supportive woman, and we’ve got two young boys who eat up all of my decent reading and writing time. I’m a part time writing student at Athabasca University, and I have a day job that I love as a corporate space planner. I recently celebrated my first true writing success with the publication of two of my flash fiction works on www.101words.org, entitled “Force Construction”, and “Going Home Again”, which although brief, may be the closest I’ve ever come to writing something worthwhile. I’m really attached to that last one.

Personally, I like to think of myself as the balance between the stereotypical nerd and jock: you’ll be just as likely to see me playing JRPGs, D&D,  or CCGs (man that’s a lot of acronyms…) as you would me hiking and camping, or watching, talking about, and playing every sport under the sun. Except soccer. There’s no space in my heart for soccer.

You mention that you write fantasy and sci-fi, do you have a preference?

I honestly don’t think I have one. The genres are so interchangeable that they’re two sides of the same coin to me. In their most basic terms, they deal with many of the same themes, with different window dressings around them. Whether it’s science or magic, it achieves the same ends in genre fiction. As long as the skill of the author is up to the task, both can be written effectively and believably. I think that’s why so many of my stories, or creative works I’m drawn to, have elements of both. If you put me on the spot and demanded I picked one, I’d say Fantasy, mostly because I don’t believe I’m technically savvy enough to really write deep, quality Sci-fi.

What motivates you to write the work that you do?

My motivation is twofold: First I want to put the stories that are in my head into yours, because I love them and believe in them so much that I know they’re worth telling, and also, I want to prove to myself that I’m skilled enough to do it, because if I can then I have all the proof I need to show my kids that they can follow their dreams. I don’t want to sell a billion copies of anything. I want to sell enough to maybe buy my family a nice meal. If I’m lucky we might able to get dessert.

On your social media profiles you mention you’re on the quest to get published, care to elaborate a bit more on your quest?

Oh ya, I’d love too. Honestly, I’m a bit of a noob at this whole publishing game, so it’s been enlightening. I had been sitting on the completed two-part manuscript for ‘Catching Hell’ for years. In late February of this year, I realized that I wasn’t happy with just having written it anymore, and in February 29th I decided to push harder to make something happen with it. I sent out queries and writing resumes like a madman, went back to school part-time to improve my writing, and I began seriously networking with others in order to get myself out there “officially”. I even had fun business cards made up just for my writing, which have my personal motto “Be a hero.” across the back of them.

Now, I’m 37. I’m not full of wide-eyed youthful optimism, and I doubt I ever really had it. I didn’t expect to query a few publishing houses and make a million dollars, but you miss every shot you don’t take. I started querying Literary Agents more aggressively, with a few local publishers mixed in. I started editing heavily to get it down to a more palatable size, and I started putting myself out there. I created my social media accounts, and just before WWC I launched the beta for my personal website (www.marcwatson.ca) thanks to my amazing graphic designer wife Jen, and with artwork from a very talented friend of mine, Patrick Yokan Persaud, who I’m also working on a secret writing project with right now, but you didn’t hear that from me. Oh wait…

Illustration by: Patrick Yokan Persaud

So far I’ve met enough success to not make me want to quit. I knew early on I wanted to follow the traditional publishing route so I know it’s going to be a slog at times. When Words Collide was huge for me. On top of the amazing networking and informative seminars, I had two pitches for two different books, and both were successful (though one has since been graciously turned down, however one is still out there. Fingers crossed!) Those pitches and the things I learned there taught me about how hard I’ll have to hustle to make this dream a reality. That taught me that this isn’t a casual hobby; it is a quest. It’s an adventure! The upside is I love that hustle, so I’m not intimidated by it. I’m still actively looking for an agent while I await some responses, as well as replies about some more serious publishing inquiries. As long as I have those chances and I keep more coming, I’ll stay hungry. That said, if you’re a Lit Agent or Publisher and I’m slowly garnering your interest, I’d love to hear from you. Networking!

We’ll have to keep watch for the aftermath of the pitch! How long have you been writing for?

I’ll assume we’re skipping over my amazing but ultimately unprofessional school-aged ramblings and cut right to when I really started, which was 1996. I had an idea in my head and with a pen and paper I just started going at it. When I was done I had handwritten a fantasy trilogy (based in the same world as my excerpt, and which I still keep in my bedside table) and had almost flunked out of high school because of it. I’ve been working on some story or another ever since. My unpublished backlog is as impressive as it is depressing. Writer’s block is not an affliction I suffer from. Quite the opposite, actually: too many ideas in my head to nail down at any one moment.

Too many ideas I can relate to… Have you written in other genres besides fantasy and sci-fi?

If you’d asked me back in February I’d have said no, but since then I’ve almost finished a supernatural thriller (a genre I know you’re familiar with, Konn) titled ’12:13′, which I’m primarily writing to see if I can make something my wife would like on its own merit and not just because she loves me, as well as a black comedy called ‘Death Dresses Poorly’ that’s being creatively fueled by Twitter, oddly enough.

A thriller? Exciting! What’s been your biggest hurdle with your writing career to date?

The time, man. For sure. With a regular day job as a space planner for a large engineering company, and having two busy boys who demand and deserve my time and attention, I honestly have, at best, 45-60 minutes a day (weekdays only, during my lunch hours usually) for my own selfish endeavors. In that time I need to pick if I’m writing, editing, querying, reading, doing schoolwork, or off on some other non-creative activity (errands are popular.) I’m not saying that in a negative way though. Catching Hell ended up being 250k words, so big I had to break it into a duology, and I wrote it in that tiny window day after day, lunch after lunch. Like they say: how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

Now, some readers may find that to be a cop out, and say if I was really serious I’d make more time, but I promise you I’m serious, but I’m also realistic. I mean, just the Cloud has been great! I’m writing these interview responses while dropping my kids off, watching hockey practices, and running between meetings at work, all over the course of a day or two, so I’m not spilling any tears in my beer about how I don’t have any time. I’m knocking loudly on the door of middle-age (and I admit I may already be standing in middle-age’s front entrance) so I won’t make sacrifices to my family or livelihood that I’m not willing to live with at this point in my life. I need to come by it honestly. If at the end of the day I’m not a successful writer, but I tried my best, my family is happy, and I’m satisfied with the job I did professionally, while still having a decent story to tell my grandkids, I’ll die with no regrets.

Well put. Finding time is very tough and you just have to squeeze it in where you can around the rest of your life.

Final thoughts you’d like to share before the excerpt?

Only that I’m incredibly thankful for this chance you’ve given me to tell a bit of my story (literally and figuratively) and I hope you and your readers like it. When I started ‘Catching Hell’, and this first chapter in particular, I was typing on a fold-out keyboard attached to a Palm Pilot on some pretty rudimentary word processing software in the early 2000’s. In just this one chapter I could tell you a thousand stories of how it came together and where I was when I wrote it. I’m a talker, so if you or your readers ever want to hear them, I’d always be glad to share. Oh, and also, whatever the words mean to you: be a hero.

Thank you Marc for taking the time to share your thoughts about your writing career! You can find Marc on Facebook or Twitter to follow his latest updates. Below you will find the first chapter of his novel, Catching Hell.

 

 

Marc Watson’s Catching Hell Fantasy Novel Excerpt

Chapter 1: 

A “Man” Walks Into a Bar…

In all the years he’d tended bar in this dump-water town, Ollie was sure he’d seen bigger men. Those who had come from the northern mines were strong and rugged. The people of the west, where the dark-skinned warriors seemed to be bred to be intimidating, were also a sight. But Ollie was sure he’d never seen one more, for lack of a better word, powerful.

He stood much taller than the portly Ollie, and it likely would take two of the old barman to make the scales equal in weight. If an ounce of fat was anywhere on him, it was well hidden beneath the mountains of muscle clearly visible even under the black, heavy armor he wore. Darker than night, and as clean as a polished mirror.

If this was a normal man, born of woman, Ollie was a dead dog’s maggot. Whoever this was, they had surely embraced the forbidden ways. For that reason alone he was more trouble than an old drink-slinger wanted.

His hair flowed like fire down his neck and over his shoulders (which were almost as wide as Ollie was tall). Even his eyebrows had that ethereal red shimmer, which stood out against his ghostly skin.

The mountain of muscle took in the now-silent patrons and proceeded to walk to the bar and the sweating man behind it.

The armor clinked and clanked as he moved, and the sword on his hip, clearly a well maintained and valuable weapon of a style Ollie had never seen before, swung with its own rhythm like a pendulum you wanted no part of. It was large, but looked proportional next to the man’s trunk-like thigh.

Despite his visions of being manhandled by this demon for whatever purpose he desired (Ollie guessed information or a really stiff drink, which are the only true uses of a bartender), he was quite shocked and relieved when the beast sat at one of the bar stools (which had surely seen bigger men, but still seemed about to collapse), and smiled at Ollie.

Ollie was shocked to feel the uneasiness slip from his mind (not entirely, but certainly a little).

His smile was so well suited to him, yet so out of place. There were even dimples at the corners of his mouth like a child. Despite his astoundingly inhuman features otherwise, this man had a smile that could make a baby sleep.

Ollie approached the man slowly and asked him what he would like. He was disturbed again to see his eyes. Where others would have white, his were black like his armor. Instead of regular color, there was the same uneasy flicker of deep red and orange tones seen in his hair. There was no iris visible. Just a red sun on a black field. They were the eyes of the devil, given flesh.

The beastly man reached into some unseen pocket of his breastplate, produced a number of coins, and placed them on the bar. Most were of common enough origin to the man who’d seen many a currency in his time, but others were strange, with odd writings and pictures of men he’d never seen on them. Their metal, however, was plain as day.

Gold and silver, enough to send an old war horse like Ollie on a long vacation from the rabble and the drunks. The twos’ eyes met.

“A glass of your stoutest beer and a little bit of your time” he said in an accent that was simply alien to an ear who’d heard it all. It sounded like “Ah glahs ove yer shtoutest beer and ah lit’l bih ove yer’ tyme”. It was understandable, but no less mysterious.

The tender half-turned to his rows of kegs, all old and well used for a few generations of guzzlers. Each was tapped with a spigot with a bright LED light on it, so out of place in this low-tech society it was almost offensive. Most were green, some pulsed yellow, and two flashed red like a warning beacon. Green equaled a full keg, yellow for half or and less, red for a keg that needed to be changed soon. Some avoided Land’O’North tavern for this reason alone. Even in small amounts like this, the tools of the ancient ones were sure to only bring suffering. To Ollie the ancient ones were nothing but ghosts, and he never once had to lift a keg to check the draught levels. That was more than enough reason to dance with the devils of the dust. Despite his constant complaints and frequent post-fight blood clean ups, he loved his life and job very much and welcomed any tool that would help him carry on a little longer.

He kept watch on the black-eyed man as he picked the required keg and passed an old glass beneath it. A soft click as the spigots magic eye saw the glass and began pouring the stout as perfectly and with as much velocity as the beverage required. When it neared the top of the glass, the same click was heard, and the drink stopped flowing. Only a beer thick as molasses with a head like a crown of white remained.

He delivered the glass to the stranger and allowed him to view his perfectly poured glass with a smirk. “I dare say a finer pint has ne’er crossed my eyes.” said the man in that strange, lilting drawl.

“Ah, it’s nothin’” said Ollie, not really knowing what a pint was, but knowing a compliment when he heard one. “The tap does all the work. I’m just the eye candy”

The man’s smirk intensified. “Indeed.”

He took a sip of the bitters and smiled as he swallowed. Dropping the glass, he revealed the telltale mustache of a man who enjoys his drink.

As he wiped the foam away, he let out a deep breath, as if he’d just ran many miles just for that one sip of stout. Ollie got a whiff of the smell as he did so.

The first thing he noticed was how hot it was. The odor was one of beer and sulphur, like the kind of smell that wafted down the mountains above the many hot springs that littered the land around here.

The barman felt his uneasiness creep back into him. All at once he was reminded that this was no ordinary man.

“Excellent!” said the man, still smiling while raising the glass again. “Ya’ know, there are some that’d call it heresy t’ use such devises”. He indicated the digital spigots.

Ollie raised his eyebrow in mock surprise. “Really? Well, let them lift a half-full keg six times a day and see how long they cling to their half-assed notions of God.”

The man put the glass down on the bar a little harder than Ollie would have liked and looked at him with those dark, flaming eyes. Ollie wondered if his witty banter had hit a nerve he had every intention of avoiding but his face held the conviction he felt, even if his knees did not.

“Well put, sir.” The glass returned to his lips. “Half-assed notions indeed.”

Ollie didn’t know how to react to this comment. Staying on caution’s side, he looked toward the coins on the bar for a change of topic.

“You wanted a bit of my time, stranger?” he asked, not at all sure he knew what was wanted of him.

The peaceful smile was out now in full force, and the man nodded as he put down the empty glass. “Yes, yes, o’course.”

He placed his hands on the bar to aid him up. Even the hair on the back of his hands seemed to have that burning shimmer.

Once upright, the man reached to his side and grasped the handle of his sword, slowly though, so as not to arouse suspicion. He pulled it out of the sheath with a soft whisper and held it sideways inches from Ollie’s face.

Ollie saw a few of the patrons, who had been watching the scene unfold with the same curiosity as Ollie himself, reach for hidden weapons and defenses in case of an emergency. He knew it had nothing to do with saving the bartender as much as themselves if things went a little hairy. Ollie had few friends and fewer enemies, like a bartender should.

Truth be told, there was a veritable arsenal of weapons behind this bar. From knives to assorted guns and carefully arranged projectiles. An old rifle was just under the spot the man had chosen to sit, but going back to his first thought upon seeing this newcomer, he was sure that even his highest caliber firearm could not stop this power that sat before him.

“I’d like ya’ t’ take a good look at this sword”, he said, “and I want ye’ t’ focus not on how it looks, but how it makes ya’ feel. Does it conjure any thoughts, or create any deep emotions?”

Ollie was so confused by the words he looked away from the man and his sword and gazed around the room at the men (and occasional woman, of the working variety.) Many of them looked away, not wanting to get involved in this incident before it started. Others shrugged at him, as if to say they didn’t know what he wanted either.

At the back, in a dark corner sitting alone, an old man simply stared. Ollie looked back, not at the sword, but the man.

“Look, mister, I don’t know what you’re asking, really, but I…”

“Please sir, just a moment and nothin’ more. I’d just like ye’ t’ look and see what I mean. I promise, no harm is intended, I’m only lookin’ fer’ information”

Ollie relented, letting his eyes follow the blade from tip to tip. The handle was not much to speak of as far as detail, and was wrapped in what looked to be some kind of reptile skin which Ollie had never seen before; dark and bumpy.

The hilt and guard were unlike the standard style preferred by Riders and other military from the area. It was straight and slightly curved up at each end. It didn’t wrap around, but only jutted out at two sides, like a cross instead of a dome or full circle.

The blade was very wide and flat with no bend. Ollie was sure he’d have a problem lifting it with two hands, but this man wielded it like a twig with one.

Near the base of the blade were etchings in a language so abstract it was almost like pictographs, but since none of the images were at all familiar, Ollie didn’t waste time with them.

Once he took the whole image of the sword in, it came to him.

“POWER” he thought instantly “HISTORY”, “BLOODSHED”, “PEACE”, the images and feelings came quickly to his head, like a collage of infinite beauty, and just as equal ugliness.

“GREATNESS”, “RESTLESSNESS”, “PAIN”, “BALANCE”, “LOVE”.

“HORROR”

“HORROR”

“HORROR”

“DEATH”

Ollie ripped his eyes from it as the final feelings and images continued to repeat over and over. He felt sick to his stomach.

“Mister, I don’t know what your definition of ‘no harm’ is but I’ve never felt so violated in my life! How on earth did you get into my head like that?”

The smile slipped away and he became very serious.

“Have ya’ seen anything else like this?” He asked, voice lowering, his eyes reading every nuance in Ollie’s face. Tracking his eyes, watching his mouth, reading every twitch and quiver like a book.

“In all my life, not only have I never seen anything even close to that, if I ever did again I’d likely kill myself.”

“Rest assured, sir, if ye’ ever saw something like this again, you’d be dead before ye’ had the chance.”

He swung the blade around and slid it back into the sheath with that same silent whisper. The man turned to the rabble and took them all in with one glance. “How ‘bout any of ya’? I can see by the looks on yer’ faces tha’ most of ya’ saw the same thin’ he did. Have ya’ ever seen somethin’ like this before? Anywhere or anytime in yer’ life?”

He walked slowly around the tables, taking in all the people, reading them all like he read Ollie. A loud man came in, laughing uproariously with a working girl on his arm. He turned to the scene of a man, huge and demonic, walking around a stunned and silent bar with all eyes on him in a mix of fear and amazement. He quickly shut up, gripped his evening’s entertainment around her waist and quickly led her back out the door. The motion would be quite comical in later retellings.

The room was fixated on this man but no one seemed to be able to help him. Shamed faces and looks of uneasiness were everywhere he looked.

“I have seen what you seek,” said a grizzled voice from a dark corner.

Ollie knew without looking that it was the old man he’d locked eyes with before. The large guest turned to the source of the voice and walked briskly to his table.

“If ye’d tell the tale, old man, I’d love t’hear it.” Once the way out was clear, the bar emptied quickly, with everyone racing for the door, pushing each other and scampering like dogs to dinner.

Ollie had to see this play out, so he held his spot behind the bar while resting his hand on the well-used rifle none-the-less. “If I tell you my tale, I want your word you and your damn sin-stick will get the hell out of my sight and not ever come back. I’ve seen your kind before and no good ever came out of it. Not here, not anywhere.”

Ollie was dumbfounded that this old man had the gall to talk like that to someone so much bigger than him. He sat frozen, hand on the rifle, prepared for any motion toward the drunken old-timer.

No hostile motion came though. Just a “Humph” from the man and a steely glare from the senior.

“And wha’ kind of person am I?” the man asked. The geezer seemed to have his attention.

A cold smirk came to a toothless mouth and the old man hissed “A slave of the forbidden ways. A minion of the Power. Mark my words, fire-man; no good ever came out of embracing what you play with.”

The man seemed to relax and settled into a chair across the table. “I’ve not the time to tell ye’ wha’ I am and how I conduct my business. And I certainly can’t get into the inaccuracies of yer’ thoughts about the powers ya’ speak of, but I give my word tha’ if ya’ give me something worthwhile, I will never trouble yer’ ol’ eyes again.”

The old man spit in his hand, although not much moisture came out. He extended his arm straight, like a branch from young tree. “We shake on that, and should I ever see you again, I’ll get the delightful chance to run you through myself.”

Ollie nearly fainted as the man sat there, looking at the extended hand, seeming to hesitate a moment. Could it be that this old man threw this stranger off his guard? From where Ollie stood, it sure looked that way.

The man began to speak, but was cut short by the older man shushing him and thrusting his hand into his face. “Don’t burden me again until you make my deal!”

Ollie wasn’t sure it was meant to sound so forceful, but it didn’t seem to faze ether one of them. Ollie was glad he didn’t leave.

Without saying anything else, the man spit into his hand, which gave the bartender the shivers as he saw sparks fly like fireflies from his mouth as he did so, followed by what he guessed was steam or smoke rising from his palm.

He wanted to stop the old man as this was clearly a deal with the Devil Himself, and then thought better of it. This was not his situation to deal with, and if he was a devil it was better not to stop a deal in progress. Stay silent and live to tell the tale.

The old man seemed not to care, if indeed it was hot at all, as they shook hands with force and purpose.

“I won’t trouble ya’ again, and I’m a man o’my word. Now let us talk.”

The old man looked up to Ollie and quickly asked for another drink. The man turned and requested a refill of his. Ollie brought them over, sure to be as efficient as possible, and quickly faded away back to the bar.

“Leave us Ollie, and lock the door please. I promise we won’t be long. The less I have to be around this godless devil, the better.”

Ollie never questioned the order and went over to latch the door, not caring in the slightest about the lost income. Thanks to the coins the man had given him he had more than enough to cover the evening take. Ollie left into the kitchen, thankful to be away, though he was quite sorry he didn’t get to hear the tale.

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Emotional Connection – Defining a Memorable Character Part 4

Like the dog I am petting in this blog’s featured image, your readers are emotional creatures. Creative writing is entirely driven from generating emotional connections with them. This has to be done through the plot, the setting and the characters found within the story. This is why making characters relatable is a key ingredient to writing an engaging novel.

Character creation is a lot of fun, you get to decide on their personalities, likes, dislikes, their sins, virtues and physical traits. Sometimes characters are people you have met in your life and other times they are reflections of your personality. Perhaps the character is entirely made up, having no relation to your own life. They might simply fill a role that you have a gut feeling would fit well into your story. Regardless of how you come up with them, you have a crucial question to ask yourself: why are they in the book? Do they make the story more interesting? Will the readers develop an emotional connection with the character?

Relatable Characters become Fan Favourites

Readers will gravitate towards the characters they can find relations to. Much like meeting someone at a party or a mixer, you find common ground and will naturally become more open minded to what the person has to say or what they will do. With a character in a story, you can make them relatable to readers through a number of different ways:

Their history
Perspective and attitude
The situation they are in
Their desires

These are just some of the examples that will make a character easy to connect with and develop an emotional interest.

Positive and Negative Emotional Interest

What makes a reader gain emotional interest with a character? Maybe they pity the character for their weaknesses or the situation they are in is something the reader has been or could see themselves in. Perhaps the reader can relate to their goals and wants them to succeed – such as a character seeking revenge for the loss of a loved one.

Do keep in mind, emotional interest can also make a reader dislike a character. Perhaps revenge is not in the reader’s moral beliefs and this choice will make them dislike the character. Negative emotional interest may be the preferred reaction you want from readers, especially with an antagonist or an unexpected spin on the protagonist

Personal Depth

When a character has depth and the reader gains emotional interest, the readers will want to uncover more about them to see how deep their complexity is. Take a look at J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, each of the characters had an immersive background. Characters such as Gandalf, Aragorn, Boromir, Frodo or Sam were deep-rooted with emotion and inner worries – very human characteristics. This made the story quite engaging as the heroes attempted to destroy the one ring. Yes, the world of middle earth was an awe on its own, but it would feel quite alienated if you had no one to relate to in it.

The character Frodo was a good lead into the story and world because he came from a small town with little knowledge of the rest of Middle Earth and its events until he was forced to go beyond his home. The pressure of being the barer of ring took a toll on his wellbeing. Seeing this struggle playout throughout the story made him easier for the reader sympathize with.

Motive, Can the Reader Understand Their Point of View?

In the first part of this series, we looked at a character’s motive. This is a good indicator to determine why they will appear in your story. If the character has no purpose in the story then the reader will not relate to them and will probably identify them as a filler character. Having a motive for a character ensures they are relevant to the story.

So what are their motives? Are they the protagonist or do they serve a supportive role? If they do, are their intentions in favor of the protagonist or against? These types of questions will help elaborate what their overall motive is. All of this and more is discussed in part one.

Traits: Habits and Quirks

We discussed traits in the second part of this series. To elaborate further on this, characters can be remembered for some of their quirkier traits – such as quirks. Take a look at the character Captain Jack Sparrow from the movie Pirates of the Caribbean. He had some physical behaviors such as waving his hands around and the inability to stand still. His dialogue was never direct, he had a habit of never revealing his true intention and teasing people, making his personality humorous and overall character mysterious. Why was he unable to stand still? Was his brain half functioning? Keeping some mystery of a character’s traits or past helps generate interest in readers discovering the unknown.

On the flip side of an animated character like Captain Jack Sparrow is a cold antihero like Todd McFarlane’s Spawn. Even though he was a super hero, his struggles were very human. He lost his wife. He made the choice to become the commander of hell’s army – a grave mistake he regretted. His past of being a police officer made him intolerable of crime and he punished those that did wrong in violent ways. Regret, anger and sorry are traits that people find relation to and want to see the character overcome.

Death

A well plotted death is very engaging and unforgettable with fans. You might not want to play this strategy every time you want a character to be memorable. Abusing death can make readers lose interest in all of your characters because they don’t want to put any emotional interest in them if they are just going to die.

A good example of death done well would be the TV series The Walking Dead. They ended season six off a real cliffhanger. Not that I am a fan of ending a storyline this way, but it worked because fans were invested for a whole year by not knowing which of the main characters was killed. They gained a negative emotional interest in the character Negan because he was responsible for the act. They also gained a stronger connection with the main characters because they wanted to know what would happen with them.

Readers Want to Find Relation

Always keep in mind, readers want to have a character they can enjoy. Telling a story becomes much easier if you have the readers rooting for one or multiple characters. Crafting a plot without likable characters becomes far more difficult, not impossible though.

As a takeaway, find ways to make your character relatable so that readers will have an emotional interest with them. This is the key to making them memorable. Whether they love or hate them, you’ve done your job as a writer if the reader is stirred with emotion from them.

Defining a Memorable Character

Part 1: The Motive
Part 2: Traits
Part 3: The Name

The post Emotional Connection – Defining a Memorable Character Part 4 appeared first on Konn Lavery.

Horror: More than Frights and Gore

This month ScifiAndScary.com offered me the opportunity to be a guest blogger and discuss the horror genre. Fits with the theme of Halloween. With this article, I focused in on the genre itself and how it tends to be written off as just frights and gore. It’s more got more depth than that. Below is an excerpt for the post. You can find the whole article on ScifiAndScary.com.

There is a broad stereotype when it comes to horror storytelling whether that is film, literary works or other mediums – it is violent, filled with blood and tremor. Personally I love this kind of thing and find it a lot of fun, but that is not all that horror has to offer. The public perception of horror is better known as the Body Horror genre or the Shock genre, these are very small sections of what really encompasses all of horror. Unfortunately the other large section of horror genres are shadowed by these commonly known ones. Think about Frankenstein’s Monster or Dracula, these are both horror stories but are not gore infested or filled with shock. They happen to have a lot of thriller and mystery elements with a dark overlay to the plot.

Read the full article on ScifiAndScary.com

 

Happy Halloween!

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Halloween will Freeze – Ho! Ho! Ho!

Halloween is around the corner! What a fun month October is. Costumes, candies, ghosts and ghouls. I enjoy the fact that people are more accepting of exploring the darker aspects of life during this time period. The dark, taboo and grotesque lines up with the stories I write and the media I consume. Some of us live in this month mentally throughout the year (so Goth), others, not so much.

Oh boy; the start of fall the media ramps up with a lot spooky entertainment. More horror movies are released, retail stores are filled with cheap knock off costumes and mass consumption of skeletal decorations are all around!

Welcome to October’s edition of Unprocessed Thoughts.

This series tends to be a lot of rambles, and I’d like to warn you now that that is not going to change in the least. Fun fact: this month’s Unprocessed Thoughts takes place in my common writing place – Bru Coffee & Beer house on Jasper Ave. If you haven’t been there and are in Edmonton – go there. They have a wide selection of beer options and a massive infographic of beer and coffee types for education. Learn something new once a day.

Not to get side tracked, the topic is Halloween. The day that a lot of people also forget is of Celtic origins and has no relations to satanic behavior at all. Halloween is something I didn’t start becoming interested with until I became an adult when I learned that it was a lot more fun than when you were a kid. Maybe a personal preference, but that has been my experience (the parties and costumes are more fun).

The main point I’d like to share is the fact that the majority of people do not humor the idea of dark, taboo topics until October. It is a bit unfortunate.  I think there are a lot of exciting aspects of the horror genre that people can discover all year round. As you can read in the interview with Lacey Paige, we discuss our thoughts on this. To further elaborate on that, I am a guest blogger on SciFiAndScary.com at the end of this month where I chat about the horror genre in entertainment in further detail. Keep watch!

Late September and October I see a drastic spike in graphic design and web work as well. End of the year budget crunch time for a lot of companies and the snow means that I stop spending time outside or traveling and more time indoors. I use this time exploring new directions with writing (NaNoWriMo is around the corner!) and other creative outlets, like music.

Once October is over, the world will start losing its mind for the Christmas extravaganza of shopping. Funny how we see a complete switch from spooky darkness to joyful family warmth isn’t it? Might be something worth researching into… For now let’s embrace Halloween for what it is.

Happy Halloween.

Beer Note: Stone’s Coffee Milk Stout

It fits quite well for the frosty weather Edmonton is having. Soothing, milky and java undertones. It is a thicker beer and smooth all that way down. I’d give this beer a 4/5, because I do personally lean towards an Indian Pale Ale but these beers really hit spot when the time is right.

The post Halloween will Freeze – Ho! Ho! Ho! appeared first on Konn Lavery.

Unprocessed Thoughts – October Edition

Halloween is around the corner! What a fun month October is. Costumes, candies, ghosts and ghouls. I enjoy the fact that people are more accepting of exploring the darker aspects of life during this time period. The dark, taboo and grotesque lines up with the stories I write and the media I consume. Some of us live in this month mentally throughout the year (so Goth), others, not so much.

Oh boy; the start of fall the media ramps up with a lot spooky entertainment. More horror movies are released, retail stores are filled with cheap knock off costumes and mass consumption of skeletal decorations are all around!

Welcome to another month of Unprocessed Thoughts.

This series tends to be a lot of rambles, and I’d like to warn you now that that is not going to change in the least. Fun fact: this month’s Unprocessed Thoughts takes place in my common writing place – Bru Coffee & Beer house on Jasper Ave. If you haven’t been there and are in Edmonton – go there. They have a wide selection of beer options and a massive infographic of beer and coffee types for education. Learn something new once a day.

Not to get side tracked, the topic is Halloween. The day that a lot of people also forget is of Celtic origins and has no relations to satanic behavior at all. Halloween is something I didn’t start becoming interested with until I became an adult when I learned that it was a lot more fun than when you were a kid. Maybe a personal preference, but that has been my experience (the parties and costumes are more fun).

The main point I’d like to share is the fact that the majority of people do not humor the idea of dark, taboo topics until October. It is a bit unfortunate.  I think there are a lot of exciting aspects of the horror genre that people can discover all year round. As you can read in the interview with Lacey Paige, we discuss our thoughts on this. To further elaborate on that, I am a guest blogger on SciFiAndScary.com at the end of this month where I chat about the horror genre in entertainment in further detail. Keep watch!

Late September and October I see a drastic spike in graphic design and web work as well. End of the year budget crunch time for a lot of companies and the snow means that I stop spending time outside or traveling and more time indoors. I use this time exploring new directions with writing (NaNoWriMo is around the corner!) and other creative outlets, like music.

Once October is over, the world will start losing its mind for the Christmas extravaganza of shopping. Funny how we see a complete switch from spooky darkness to joyful family warmth isn’t it? Might be something worth researching into… For now let’s embrace Halloween for what it is.

Happy Halloween.

Beer Note: Stone’s Coffee Milk Stout fits quite well for the frosty weather Edmonton is having. Soothing, milky and java undertones. It is a thicker beer and smooth all that way down. I’d give this beer a 4/5, because I do personally lean towards an Indian Pale Ale but these beers really hit spot when the time is right.

The post Unprocessed Thoughts – October Edition appeared first on Konn Lavery.

Lacey Paige: Freelance writer, Communications Professional and life-long Horror Zealot

This month’s guest is a major participant in the horror genre through her journalism, interviews, writing and editing since 2006. She has contributed to such publications as Fangoria, GoreZone, Diabolique, Delirium, Shock Till You Drop/ComingSoon.net, Absolute Underground and Cinesploitation. Lacey currently holds the position of communications and media relations coordinator with DEDfest, Western Canada’s exclusive international genre film festival, making her well-versed in the genre and the industry.

Lacey and I got together to discuss her insights into the horror genre as well as some of her own writing career background.

 

Lacey Paige, thank you for joining us. Give us a quick intro about yourself.

I am a freelance journalist and writer. I write fiction as well as journalistic pieces, and I am currently the communications and media relations coordinator for DEDfest. I am a third-year Bachelors of Communications Studies student at MacEwan University. I graduated from MacEwan’s journalism program in 2013.

The first time I was published was by Venture Publishing’s GRIP magazine in 2006—fresh out of high school. The publication was mostly teen advice columns, so I wrote about my experiences as an angsty teenager.

When I was 16, I attempted to write a novel but gave up about 30 pages in. I discovered Absolute Underground in 2008, so I contacted them to see if they were in need of writers. It ended up being an eight-year relationship, where I was one of the primary contributing writers for a long time; however, gradually my participated has dwindled due to time commitments with other priorities.

In 2010 I found Cinesploitation—a website dedicate to all things genre cinema. Much like Absolute Underground I got in touch with them to see if they were looking for writers. At that time I was just beginning to establish my portfolio. When I first got into genre journalism, my primary focus was to someday have the chops to write for FANGORIA. In 2011 I finally gathered the courage to contact editor-in-chief Chris Alexander. I express interest in contributing, and Alexander asked me what I was interested in writing about, so I inquired as to whether they were interested in publishing something about the late underrated Canadian genre auteur . They agreed and it ended up being my first article for FANGORIA.

Something that I have learned is if you’re passionate about something then you will do it for the love and not just the money, and that can help you get discovered. There are a million other people out there after the same thing as you, so you have to do something to stand out from the herd.

Have you always been a fan of the genre?

Yes, since I was really young. My dad was a big genre fan and he influenced my interests. I grew up during the ‘90s video store zeitgeist. I experienced all of that from my childhood up to my early 20s, when video stores started to vanish. Things were different back then; my friends and I could rent horror movies and the clerks didn’t ask for ID. Additionally, my brothers would scare me—just to be assholes—which contributed to my childhood burgeoning love of horror.

How did you get into the horror industry?

The first horror-centric piece I wrote was a profile piece on a local filmmaker named Matt Acosta, back when he was involved with the Return to Odd festival (which was DEDfest in its earliest stages).

After that I reviewed ’s Mother of Tears for Absolute Underground, followed by an interview with the makers of the infamous August Underground series, Toe Tag Pictures. In 2010 I began writing film and books reviews, and interviewing film industry professionals for Cinesploitation.com.

Do you do much of your own fictional writing?

I’ve been so busy with school and all of the communications for DEDfest, which unfortunately leaves very little time for me to focus on my own creative work. I also occasionally write concert reviews for exclaim.ca. Most of the writing I do these days is for school, so it’s very academic. However, I am currently taking a Writing & Publishing Prose class towards my degree electives, which is fantastic because it pushes me to write more creatively—both fiction and nonfiction. I definitely find that I am more of a nonfiction writer by nature.

I sometimes write short stories and poetry, which I aim to be very transgressive and boundary defying with. For example, one of the ways that I try to write creatively when I am strapped for time is through pornographic short fiction—what I’ve coined “Smut-Lit.” It helps me to strengthen my voice, take greater creative risks, and really hone in on the idea of showing rather than telling. One day I’d like to compile an anthology of horror and Smut-Lit short stories.

I think it is very cool you got to interview , have you gotten a chance to chat with other iconic industry people?

Definitely, tones! , who has been in House of a 1000 Corpses and The Devil’s Rejects and Repo! The Genetic Opera. He is a very nice and intelligent guy with a diverse background. I’ve also interviewed , the effects guy for Dawn of the Dead and Friday the 13th, and Michael Berryman from the original The Hills Have Eyes. In addition to genre film folk, I’ve interviewed a lot of metal bands both locally and internationally known, such as Matt Harvey from Exhumed and Gruesome, a couple of the guys from Obituary, Alex Webster from Cannibal Corpse, Jason Keyser from Origin, and many others.

What are your thoughts on the general public’s view of the horror genre? Specifically it being filled with a lot of gore-based stories.

The genre really is at a peak for its mainstream popularity. There is an entire subgenre of mainstream horror offerings such as The Walking Dead, Hannibal and American Horror Story that the majority of viewers quite enjoy.

I recently wrote a research paper about the uses and gratifications of habitual horror consumption, which I’m slowly working on revising and preparing for publication through my university’s academic journal. The psychology of “why horror?” fascinates me.

I feel it takes a certain level of intuition and a certain type of personality to be interested in stuff like that. The best kind of horror will always be about the human experience. It might be veiled in metaphors and/or surrealism, but horror—above all other genre—has the power to perfectly and adequately encapsulate the human experience. This is stuff that everyone can relate to in terms of what scares us and what connects as on a survivalist level as a species. Horror taps into the spectrum of love and fear, and I don’t think the average casual viewer recognizes how important these sources are in terms of how they can connect us to one another. As unrealistic as fictional horror may seem, it speaks to the human experience stronger than any other form of entertainment. It also provides a safe outlet for productive and indirect purging of aggression and other inherent human emotions and behaviours.

What is your favorite horror genre?

Psychological horror is my favorite subgenre, so for example Clive Barker’s short story “Dread” from his Books of Blood Collection. The cinematic adaptation disturbs me to the core every time I watch it because it hits to close to home and really plays on that idea of human horror so very well.

I am also a fan of slasher flicks and cheesy alien invasion movies, too, because those types of movies provide escapism and are just plain fun!

What do you think makes horror good?

Effective horror is based around a story or concept that is relatable to anyone.

For example, Session 9 is an effective horror film because focuses on stuff that can and has actually happened in real life. It can happen to anyone, which makes it relatable and disturbingly realistic.

Having such a history in the horror industry, where do you see it going? Specifically in the storytelling aspect.

I have always been deeply interested in the odd or obscure side of life because it has resonated with me from a very young age. When people ask if I watch The Walking Dead, I generally say no. Zombies were never about infection or the return of the living dead. Its roots are grounded in ancient Haitian voodoo practices, and I find modern zombie films have no relation to this. I am not really into modern zombie movies because the subgenre is so overdone. The one I can think of that I really appreciated is ’s Pontypool, based on Tony Burgess’ book, Pontypool Changes Everything. The concept is a brilliant and almost plausible one that really works on so many levels.

Thomas Ligotti is a very talented underground author, and his work is often compared to that of H.P. Lovecraft. Ligotti is so steeped in the unknown and the incomprehensible; he has this uncanny ability to describe things that the human mind can’t even fathom, while also perfectly encapsulating the human experience of identity crisis and the like.

Horror has risen to the forefront of pop culture with things like fan conventions, zombie walks, and network TV series. I think there will always be that segregation between the underground and the more mainstream horror enthusiasts, similar to metal music where there will always be more mainstream forms of it, but much of it will always be shrouded in obscurity.

I hope the direction of horror gets past this wave of recycled ideas. I would like to see more of a focus on what’s relevant here and now within the social and cultural framework of present-day society. Movies like The Den or Unfriended are relevant because they play off of possibilities and social contexts that people can relate to. Horror can take any modern thing and turn it into a metaphor. Real life is scarier than anything.

What are some of the clichés that you can’t stand?

Underdeveloped characters and plots, and bad dialogue. Of course, there is a certain sub-genre that calls for that sort of thing.

Where do you plan on going next with your career?

Continuing to fulfill my role as the communications coordinator of DEDfest, finishing my Communication Studies degree, and eventually working towards writing and publishing books and works of my own creative writing.

With DEDfest, I am getting a lot of opportunities to go to other places and network with other people in the industry. I think ideally I would like to someday work for a film or music distribution company as a PR or communications consultant of some sort.

Final Thoughts to leave us with

A quote I like:

“One of the central pleasures of getting scared is that it focuses the mind. When you experience extreme fear, you forget the rest of the world. This intensity fixes you in the present tense.

Overwhelming terror may be the closest we ever get to the feeling of being born. To put it another way, the good horror movies make you think; the great ones make you stop.”

Jason Zinoman, Shock Value

Also support print media and the horror genre! Check out DEDfest.com

Thank you Lacey for joining us!

Lacey worked with me on the Seed Me novel as a guest editor to provide some expertise in the genre to better the general plot. She offered insightful feedback into the book and was a great addition to work with along with Robin Schroffel.

You can find Lacey Paige on the following sites:

Instagram: DEDfemme

Twitter: laicypaige88

Facebook

DEDfest.com

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Last Book Signing of 2016

The final Seed Me book signing of 2016 will be at Strathcona Chapters!

That is right, a day before Halloween will be the final signing of 2016. This will be the last chance to grab your signed copy of Seed Me before the year ends.

When and Where:

Sunday, October 30th from 11:00am – 4:00pm

Chapters – Strathcona

10504 82nd Avenue, Edmonton, AB T6E 2A4

Mark your calendars.

The post Last Book Signing of 2016 appeared first on Konn Lavery.