Vicki Lane's Blog, page 553
October 20, 2010
Misty Autumn
Yesterday dawned damp and misty -- a change from the bright days we'd been having. But moisture is always welcome, especially in the fall when the danger of forest fires is greatest.
The autumn color is more subdued in the mist -- but still quite lovely.
Days like this set me to thinking of The Hobbit for some reason -- of tramps through misty woods with the heavenly smell of the damp earth and the fallen leaves underfoot, and a return to a cozy fire and a mug of tea with the aroma of frying bacon and mushrooms in the air.
I do like weather -- most kinds of it.
The cows are enjoying it too.
October 19, 2010
FAQ - Stereotypes?
Q:Many readers come to your books with preconceived notions of what life/people are like in the south. Do you feel you have to spend more time with character development to move away from these stereotypes, especially those held about Appalachia? Or do you feel you must include characters that meet these stereotypes, such as Cletus and Miss Birdie or the snake-handlers?
A: First of all, I think most stereotypes exist because there really are people like that. My job as a writer is to make sure that I am faithful to all of the people and places I'm depicting and that I help the reader to see the person beyond the stereotype.
I include characters like Cletus because there are people like Cletus (and people named Cletus, and Odus and Philetus and Plato and his daughter Treasure and would you believe I've known two people named Cleophas?) Birdie, as I've mentioned before, is an amalgam of many women I've known here in the mountains (the Birdie of the first four books, anyway -- the Birdie in The Day of Small Things has some things going on that are the products of my imagination.)
In the course of my books, I'm trying to make it clear that there are all sorts of folks in Appalachia and very few meet the stereotype of the lazy, illiterate, ignorant, moonshine-stillin' mountaineer. Cletus, for example, may be "simple" but he's a hard worker and a genius in the woods.
But here's the insidious thing: In writing minor characters, stereotypes are an easy shortcut for the writer and offer a comforting familiarity to the reader. Sweet little old lady . . . corrupt politician . . . bigoted bully of a small town sheriff . . . effeminate homosexual . . . sulky teen . . . dumb blonde . . . the list is endless. Just say that small town sheriff has a belly hanging over his gunbelt and has piggy eyes behind his mirrored sunglasses and we all have an idea of who he is. But he's basically a stereotype.
The fun thing is to play with the stereotypes by giving that character an unexpected trait. Maybe this sheriff stops to take a box turtle out of the road and put it safely in the grass at the side of the road. Maybe he hums arias from grand opera. Maybe, in the dead of night, he leaves a bag of groceries for a poor black family. Now that sheriff is no longer a stereotype.
I do try to develop even minor characters beyond stereotypes -- and the bigger a part the character plays in the book, the more I try to show various sides of their personality. Look what happened to Birdie when she had a book all to herself! There was a lot more to her than meets the eye. I suspect that the same could be true for any of my so-called minor characters.
Stories waiting to be told . . .
October 18, 2010
Time to Dig the Taters...
I was on the phone with my agent, telling her about San Francisco and my meeting with Herself. But then I had to cut the conversation short because it was time to dig the potatoes.
Nothing like farm chores to keep one grounded -- John ran the tractor, busting out the taters, Justin and Claui picked them up, and I sorted -- Big, Medium, Small, and Cut or otherwise damaged and needing to be used soon.
As always, there were a few oddities -- the ducky, the snowman, some unnameable things and, my personal favorite, the goldfish.
I haven't had time to go blog visiting -- trying to get unpacked and organized after my trip but I'll be around to say hi soon. Just now I'm fading fast after a long day...Here's a little slide show from Monday -- so nice to be back where I belong -- milking, the growing chickens, and the latest addition to the mix -- Ruby, the horse who came with our new tenants, Nancy and Suzy.
October 17, 2010
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October 16, 2010
San Francisco - Day 3
I'm heading home today, taking with me lots of memories of this beautiful city and all the wonderful fans and writers I've met and chatted with...
As you can see, I'm fascinated by the abstract beauty of tall buildings...
It's a change of pace for my mostly rural blog ...
And here's a little slide show -- more of the city and some shots from the conversation between Rhys Bowen, Deborah Crombie, and Louise Penny. Plus a photo of the amazing cioppino Karen Buys, Vicki Van Valkenburgh, and I enjoyed at San Francisco's oldest restaurant. Oh, and a pair of cheerful window cleaners.
October 15, 2010
San Francisco - Day 2
Well, I've had the much-anticipated meeting with Herself and, once again, she's nudging me in a slightly different direction. She remains reasonably enthusiastic about my writing but is not sure if They, the dread They who evidently have the final say, are going to think that the Elizabeth series is profitable enough to be worth continuing. 
Things could change, I imagine, if next year's UNDER THE SKIN does exceptionally well. But in the meantime she's urging me to try something a little different -- something I've had in mind for a while. Still the same setting, of course, but less of a mystery (not that THE DAY OF SMALL THINGS is much of a mystery.)And that's all I can really say about that at the moment. I will keep you apprised of the situation, as my grandfather used to say.
Meanwhile, I've enjoyed a little walking about and taking city pictures. But oh! how spoiled I am by the Nikon and the long lens! I keep trying to zoom and there is only a little wienie zoom on the Lumix.
And what a nice city it is! A wonderful diversity of population, mirrored in the amazing array of restaurants on every hand.And people zooming along the sidewalks on bikes, scooters, skateboards, bicycle rickshaws . . . all at top speed so it behooves one not to stop or change directions without looking behind one.
And I've been to some interesting panels and seen some old friends and will do more of the same today.
October 14, 2010
San Francisco
I'm here and falling asleep. I got up at 3 am this morning in order to get to the airport for my 5:45 flight. My watch says it's seven thirty but I know it's really 10.30. I'll have more energy to post tomorrow -- until then, here are some pictures I took with John's little Lumix -- my beloved Nikon was just too much to carry in addition to the suitcase and laptop. It does a respectable job though.
And thank you for all the neat comments yesterday. I'll carry them in my heart when I meet with Herself for breakfast -- at 6:30 tomorrow.(Markin/Mario's is particularly interesting...)
October 13, 2010
California, Here I Come . . .
Right back where I started from...Really. I was born in California, as the result of a military accident. It was WWII and my father was stationed out there. My mother had followed him from base to base during his training. (I guess that makes her a camp follower.) But he was sent overseas (Burma) not long after my arrival and my mother and I returned to Florida.
I've never been back -- never been farther west than east Texas, as a matter of fact.
Bouchercon, the big mystery convention, is being held in San Francisco this year so that's where I'm headed. I'll meet with Herself, my esteemed editor, and we'll discuss whether she wants more Elizabeth books. I'll be on a panel with four other mystery writers, talking about what influences show up in our books. I'll attend a Random House cocktail party and go to as many other panels as I can. With any luck, I'll get a look at the world beyond the hotel.
And very early Sunday morning I'll head back home. I'll have my laptop with me and try to post while I'm there. Failing that, look for me on Monday or Tuesday.
October 12, 2010
FAQ - Names
Q: How do authors decide on names for characters? For example, in OLD WOUNDS, where did the names "Bib" and "Moon" come from? Are names meant to symbolize the character and if so how?
A: Basically, for me the name just needs to be believable. It may or may not carry symbolic weight. (I'm not writing Literature - just popular fiction.)
I chose my protag's name rather quickly (when I took the one and only class that got me into writing mysteries) since I've always liked Elizabeth as a woman's name because of its many permutations. My Elizabeth is also called Liz, Lizzy, Lizzie Beth, 'Lizbeth, etc, depending on who's talking to her.
Goodweather was chosen partly to denote Elizabeth's generally optimistic attitude and partly because I liked the sound of it. (I considered Merriweather but that seemed a little too sweety-sweet.) But in general I don't use names that are symbolic for fear of sounding ridiculous. Phillip Hawkins sounds strong to me (Phillip of Macedonia, Hawkins, the Elizabethan privateer come to mind) but no way would I have given him a name like Manly Armstrong or Peter Steele.
Bib -- this is funny. I was going to call the guy Big Something or other and the first time I typed it, I hit b instead of g. Liked the looks of it and that's where Bib came from. If I had to defend it as a believable choice, I could spin a tale about it being a childhood nickname and having something to do with bib overalls. There's a guy living near us who's known as Slab, I think from a nickname.
The book OLD WOUNDS grew out of my seeing the name Maythorn somewhere and immediately wanting a character named Maythorn. One could make an English-major kind of argument for the name Maythorn containing both a gentle (May) and harsh (thorn) element, but this one won't; I just liked the name.
The idea of pairing the lovely name Maythorn with a kind of pedestrian-sounding name like Mullins also appealed to me. Then Mr. Mullins needed a first name. Many of you are undoubtedly far too young to remember this but there was once a comic strip called "Moon Mullins." It seemed reasonable to me that this fella might have picked up Moon as a nickname when he was very young. No symbolism intended.
Back to Maythorn: A student once pointed out the Rosemary Maythorn connection (rose thorn) which is a good call on her part – even though it was inadvertent on my part. Someone else pointed out a thing I did do on purpose. Maythorn's real name is Mary Thorn: hence Rosemary/ Mary Thorn which strengthens the girls' blood sister bond in that they share a name.
But many of my names, probably most of them -- Asheley, Krystalle, Jared, for example -- are just representative of what seem to be popular names at a particular time, in a particular place. I have spent time in the Records office of our county, writing down names from various time periods that caught my fancy. I also pay attention to obituaries and note down interesting names.
And some names are there because their owners won a raffle or something where I promised to use the name they asked me to. Ronnie Winemiller, James Suttles, Lee Palatt are three that come to mind.
October 11, 2010
The Yarkin Pearl
The folks at The Orchard told me to pick out a bag of apples to take with me and after browsing through the various varieties -- Jonathan, Stayman, Delicious -- I chose York.It's a tasty, crisp eating apple and tart enough to be good for cooking too. But, to tell the truth, I chose it for reasons of nostalgia.
Our first fall in the mountains, Clifford, our neighbor down the hill, gave me an apple to try, saying that it was an old time variety and a good keeping apple.
I tasted it and was impressed. We were planning to plant apple trees come spring and I already had a tentative list of varieties.
"What's the name of this apple?" I asked, and was told that it was a Yarkin Pearl.
Interesting, I thought, Yarkin could be the name of the discoverer or breeder of the apple and Pearl could be because it was so good -- or maybe the name of his daughter. Nice.
This was 1975 - pre-Internet -- and I began to hunt through my nursery catalogues and Rodale gardening books for more information on this pearl of a fruit -- but alas! I could find no Yarkin Pearls.I intensified my search, checking various orchard-related books out of the library and leafing through back issues of Mother Earth News and Organic Gardening.
1975 was also before I learned the language of my adopted home.
Finally I came across the name York Imperial. York Imperial . . . Yarkin Pearl.
Yep.
