Question of the Week #1

Posted on July 5, 2011 by Linda Andrews

Would you emigrate to another planet?

I took an informal poll around the office, and aside from the rather strange looks, decided that there are three kinds of answers.

The ‘no’ group–What? Are you kidding me? NO. No way. No way in Hell. Did your mother drop you on the head as a baby? I think it’s time for your medication.

Apparently the status quo is just fine for them. And that’s great, but only a few of them would consider themselves happy. So maybe it just that they’re more comfortable with the evil that they know.

The ‘yes’ group–Yes. Hell yeah! When do we leave? What do you know? WHere do I get my ticket? WHere do I sign up? I’m ready to go. You work for the government right?

No reservations, no doubts. Anything is better than here. Have this group just given up on the people on this world. Um, aren’t some of those people coming along to the new one? Yes, but we can choose who we let on. Others are looking for opportunity. Depending on what opportunity, this might get us back into the same kind of mess in a couple hundred years.

So would they still want to go along if they knew 7 out of 10 pioneers would die in the first year, just like when Europeans settled the US?

Absolutely. They planned to be among the three survivors. Let’s hope they plan better than those at Jamestown and Roanoke.

The third group present the most interesting of the three groups. They are–I would if…

If the planet is similar to Earth in terms of atmosphere, resources and terrain, etc. Some want medical care, others want to take their pets too, or their comfort. Many of these have said they would have been yes people at a younger age, but aging aint for sissies and now they’ve have quality of life issues and are only willing to rough-it on certain things.

I am firmlly in the yes, when do we leave group, with perhaps on caveat regarding indigineous sentient species. HIstorically humanity hasn’t treated the local with respect and as much as I’d like to think we’ve evolved such behavior, I only have to turn on the tv or boot up my computer to see that isn’t so. So I’d insist on a charter that respected our differences. After all, the colonies wouldn’t have succeeded if it hadn’t been for the indeginous population offering their help.

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Interview with Pamela Kinney

Posted on July 2, 2011 by Linda Andrews

Ghosts Among Us

“By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes.
Open, locks,
Whoever knocks!”
William Shakespeare

Ghosts are among us. Most of then living go about their daily business, unaware or not believing that loved ones and even those they never knew, haunt the spaces they work, play, and even just relax in. Not just haunted houses or castles as is the tradition of fictional ghost stories, but even their own modern homes and offices. Battles go on in both Revolutionary and Civil War battlefields in the United States, and in other countries, like Europe, battles from the World Wars back to the dark Ages still happen.

Why? Are they lost souls who need help to get to the “Other Side?” Or residuals that repeat over and over like a time warp? Many are residuals. But many are intelligent hauntings, angelic visitations, and demonic presences. A friend of mine, Jackie Tomlin, who heads the Central Virginia Paranormal Investigations, was asked at a Ghost Hunting 101 class has she ever asked if the spirits wanted to be helped from this world to the next one? In all the EVPs they’ve gotten, the answer has been “No!” So, in my opinion, I think many of our relatives and those before them, come back and forth easily, revisiting places they knew in life. Revisiting us. Kind of like a vacation from the other place.

Whatever the case, reading books about phantoms, and even watching the reality shows about paranormal investigators or the paranormal stories fascinates us today. We all want verification that there is life after death. That our loved ones are happy. And be honest, it brings a chill up your spine, doesn’t it?

I am going to share the book blurb and a chapter from my upcoming nonfiction ghost book, Virginia’s Haunted Historic Triangle: Williamsburg, Yorktown, Jamestown, and Other Haunted Locations, that will be released later in July 2011. Enjoy, and happy haunting. . .

Take a step back into ghostly history as you tour Williamsburg, Yorktown, and Jamestown in the Historic Triangle. Visit Jamestown Island where Captain John Smith and the first English colonists settled. Stroll around Yorktown and follow the same footsteps of Thomas Jefferson and George Washington as they walked along Duke of Gloucester Street. Hear odd noises and see apparitions at the Peyton Randolph House, Cornwallis’s Cave, Wells’s Corner, Sherwood Forest, the Rosewell Plantation, and many, many other places. Be prepared to get to know the ghosts of this Historic Triangle and its surrounding areas. They’re dying for you to read their stories.

Chowning’s Tavern

Josiah Chowning opened his tavern in 1766. He wanted to appeal to the ordinary people.
Except when Colonial Williamsburg reconstructed this tavern in the 1940s, they assumed they were doing so on the right, original foundation, but it wasn’t. Instead the foundation belonged to a privately owned home. I learned this when I took the Colonial Williamsburg Tavern Ghost Walk.
Located on Duke of Gloucester Street next to Market Square and the Courthouse, the tavern allows casual attire and no reservations are necessary. Instead seating is based on space availability. There are ales and specialty alcoholic drinks that you can order besides fountain drinks and water; and besides sandwiches, light fare, stews, and desserts.
But there are more than sandwiches at this tavern. There are specters haunting within these walls. Things of an unusual nature take place at Chowning’s Tavern: furniture moving around, clothing of tourists being yanked on, and a little girl who appears and disappears.
Bill and I arrived early for the ghost tour to start, so we stopped at Chowning’s for root beer. Seated by the window, we watched a magician who came into the dining room to perform. I took a couple of photos of him. In one of them, I discovered what looked like an orb starting to form behind his head. Is this the ghost that uses the tavern for his stomping grounds?
Seven years ago, a woman was eating when the server approached her table, asking if she needed anything more. The woman looked at him and said, “I’m psychic. Did you know this tavern was haunted?” She gestured to the side. “Seems Peter told me he’s the one haunting it and he is very, very fond of a hostess named Emily that you have working here.”
When Lee, the server, admitted they had an Emily that worked as a hostess there, he went to get her, as the psychic directed. The woman stood with him at the table, not sure what was going on.
The psychic looked up at Emily. She told her that a spirit named Peter who haunted the place liked her. That he felt he was the protector of her and her newly born son who came too soon
This did bother Emily that the woman knew about her son who had been born a preemie. She glanced aside at Lee, but Lee told her he never said a thing to the woman.
“I don’t know how you knew about my baby, but I don’t believe in ghosts, Emily said. “I am not buying the Peter story.”
The woman smiled and said that was too bad as Peter really liked her. He even brought her a white flower yesterday.
Emily turned white as the flower. For when she had been seating some people in the gardens, she found a white magnolia blossom at her feet that hadn’t been there earlier. The thing about this is the nearest magnolia bush was two blocks away, by the Peyton Randolph house. No way for it to come from any flowering bush nearby—at least not on its own. The day after meeting the psychic, Emily quit.
It goes to show that a woman can have a male stalker—even if he is a ghost of a man from the eighteenth century!
The next time you need someplace to sit and relax, why not have a drink at Chowning’s. Let it be known, though, if you find a white flower at your feet . . . you may be the object of some phantom’s affections!

Pamela K. Kinney
http://FantasticDreams.50megs.com
http://PamelaKKinney.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/people/Pamela-K-Kinney/100000470673866

Be prepared to take a journey into Pamela K. Kinney’s fantastic dreams of horror, science fiction and fantasy, plus the ghosts and legends of nonfiction ghost books, Haunted Richmond, Virginia, Haunted Virginia: Legends, Myths and True Tales and soon to be released Virginia’s Haunted Historic Triangle: Williamsburg, Yorktown, Jamestown, and Other Haunted Locations.

Watch Haunted Richmond Virginia book video on http://www.blazingtrailers.com/show.php?title=268

Pamela K. Kinney is a published author of horror, science fiction, fantasy, poetry, and nonfiction paranormal books published by Schiffer Publishing. Her two nonfiction ghost books, Haunted Richmond, Virginia and Haunted Virginia: Legends, Myths and True Tales have been nominated for Library of Virginia Literary Awards. She has a new ghost book, Haunted Historic Triangle: Williamsburg, Yorktown, Jamestown, and Other Haunted Locations coming July 2011 and she just had a collection of short horror stories, Spectre Nightmares and Visitations, come out that is doing well.

Under the pseudonym, Sapphire Phelan, she has published erotic and sweet paranormal/fantasy/science fiction romance along with a couple of erotic horror stories. Her erotic urban fantasy, Being Familiar With a Witch is a Prism 2010 Awards winner and a Epic Awards 2010 finalist.

She also has done acting on stage and in films. And is a Master Costumer, costuming since 1972. She has even done paranormal investigating. Find out more about her at: http://FantasticDreams.50megs.com and at http://www.SapphirePhelan.com for Sapphire Phelan.

She admits she can always be found at her desk and on her computer, writing. And yes, the house, husband, and even the cats sometimes suffer for it!
Preorder Virginia’s Haunted Historic Triangle: Williamsburg, Yorktown, Jamestown, and Other Haunted Locations at Amazon

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happy July

Posted on July 1, 2011 by Linda Andrews

no peals of wisdom today. I’m in the midst of reviewing not one but 2 galleys.
but I did manage to stop and go the see the new Transformer Movie.
Just as good as the others, but I wonder how the female lead managed to not get dirty through out the whole movie. Back to the galleys

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Goals, Goals, Goals

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Linda Andrews

I am not a goal-oriented person. Never have been. Shocked? Most people are. Apparently being a scientist is synonamous with anal retentive, schedule slave. No, those are engineers ()
Still, you can’t be a writer on this planet and not be aware of the power of goals. (Toss magic glitter into air here). OOOOhh, I like magic so I decided to give it a try. Let’s just March didn’t turn out like it was supposed to. In April, I decided to try again, wrote one chapter then decided to switch books. I’m not sure where May went… But I managed to write fifty pages at the end of it.
June, I vowed would be different. 5 pages a day for the entire month. That would get me in the groove of writing again, keep the story fresh in my mind and wham, I’d be halfway through the manuscript by July 1st.
On the 27th, I was on page 158. That’s 42 pages short of my monthly goal. Looking back (cuz I can analyze without being anal) I realized I didn’t make the most of my time.
Ya think?
I kinda took the weekends off from writing, leaving me a deficit to work off starting Monday. (wiping tear from my eye at the flood of college memories)
But I digress.
With one day to go, I am currently only a 15 pages short of my monthly goal. Tonight it will be even less. I’d like to say it’s the magic and satisfaction of having achieved my goals, but that would be a lie. I think it’s the thrill of knowing that I’m about to unleash a boatload of pandemonium and horror upon my characters in my Apocalyptic novel.
Go Me!

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Using Body Language in fiction

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Linda Andrews

Effective characterization is a balance between dialogue, narrative and action.
Dialogue is relatively easy for those of us who hear voices. Each word use and syntax holds certain nuances that are unique to that character’s background. Image an 80 year old mid-western great-grandma saying dude. Doesn’t quite cut it. But a California surfer, yeah, I can picture that. Of course a 40 year old Fast Times a Ridgemont High officiando would be equally apt. Dialogue should reflect the characterization so the surfer might talk about his/her waves or board or make comparision whereas the movie fan might call their neighbor a regular Spicoli.
Narrative and action are usually intermingled and are best when coupled with a dash of inner dialogue. Sadly many writers think of action on in fight or flight scenes.
Not true.
We are three dimensional beings and we move through our worlds, interacting with things. So where does body language come in? For more than 100-thousand years, the vast majority of human interactions have been face-to-face. In that time, we as a species have developed a series of non-verbal actions that speak louder than words (and often contradict them!)
How would you interpret the following two scenes:

“I haven’t cheated on you.” Holding her gaze, Mike raked his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know what I can do to make you believe me.”

“I haven’t cheated on you.” Mike stared over her left shoulder and wiped his damp palms on his trousers. “I don’t know what I can do to make you believe me.”

It should be obvious through their actions (in this case body language) which Mike is lying. At least it would be if they were standing before you, because you’ve learned body language from the day you opened your eyes. But it doesn’t always come across when you read it because you’re conciously processing it instead of cycling it through in the background noise of your head. So give your reader a helpful hint by injecting a little internal dialogue.

“I haven’t cheated on you.” Holding her gaze, Mike raked his fingers through his hair. How many times had they had this conversation? Seven, eight times a week? And always, she swore it would be the last. Soon, he would no longer believe her. “I don’t know what I can do to make you believe me.”

Thanks to the internal dialogue, Mike’s frustration comes through loud and clear. It’s also apparent that his relationship is on the edge of breaking.

“I haven’t cheated on you.” Mike stared over her left shoulder and wiped his damp palms on his trousers. He was one of America’s best spies, dammit. Slipping into his traveling salesman persona should be easy. He’d done it for years. her. But now it involved her. The disguise had begun to fray and itch as the real him tried to get out of his fake skin and reach her. “I don’t know what I can do to make you believe me.”

Okay, so now we know he’s lying and why he’s doing so. We also know that the she means something to him, but their relationship is in jeopardy.

Two Mikes with different body language tell a different story. The internal dialogue will define the character and let the reader decide if he’s hero or villian material.

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Interview with Kim Baccellia

Posted on June 25, 2011 by Linda Andrews

What prompted you to write that first book/short story?
**I didn’t see many fantasies that had Latino protagonists. I was a bilingual teacher at the time and thought why shouldn’t there be a fantasy that showed Mesoamerican/Mexican mythology. So I wrote it.
You’re published in YA fiction, what prompted you to write a story about the Ixtumea?
**Ixtumea is a made up world and my former critique group helped me come up with the name. I wanted a world that reflected Lupe’s rich Mexican culture and heritage.
Did you have to do a lot of research? And, if so, would you share some of your favorite research books/sources?
**Yes, I did a lot of research. The mythological world and urban legends came from my Chicano Studies classes I took at CSU Fullerton while a grad student. I also took the research I learned while searching for my own Latino roots through SHHAR-Society of Hispanic Historical Ancestral Research and my church.
My favorite sources had to be from books in my Chicano Studies classes and from Professor Ortega.
During your research, did you find an interesting fact/situation that you just had to include in your book?
**I based the mother Concha loosely on la Malinche—who had a tragic history. She was presented as a ‘gift’ to Hernan Cortes when he conquered what’s now known as Mexico. She was Cortes married mistress and trusted aide, translating for him at his first meetings with the Aztec emperor Montezuma. Some considered her a sell-out, a traitor. Historians are divided. But all agree she’s the mother of the mestizo race.
Her history fascinated me. There’s even an urban legend based on her—la llorona—the weeping woman.
Can you tell us a little bit about your latest release?
My upcoming book NO GODDESSES ALLOWED is about fifteen year old Jordan Lake who loves romance, vintage clothing, and Audrey Hepburn. When she finds out her favorite AH movie is based on the life of a mysterious aunt, she’s intrigued. Add a magical Egyptian bracelet and a mischievous goddess. Coming Christmas 2011 from Zumaya Publishing. EARRINGS OF IXTUMEA has a release date of March 2012

Do you plot your stories out or do you just start writing?
**I plot my stories out. I can’t write by the seat of my pants.

Which of your characters is most like you and which is least like you?
**Probably Stephanie Stewart from my YA paranormal Crossed Out. I question authority figures and have an issue with trust too. Though I don’t have her paranormal gift.
Least like me has to be Concha—Lupe’s mother, who deserts her daughter for her lover and goes back to get her for him. Her fate is very similar to a modern day La Llorona
Can you describe your office or where you normally write? Do you have anything in your office that helped inspire you to write the story?
**I usually write in my writing loft which is upstairs. For EARRINGS OF IXTUMEA I had an Aztec doll, a Virgin Guadalupe medallion and candle, a book of dichos—Mexican proverbs—and I also subscribe to Latina magazine. I tried to immense myself with Spanish and read a number of books in Spanish too.
Which came first the plot or the characters?
**Probably character. I had a dream in which I saw this teen follow this gorgeous Mesoamerican warrior through the jungle and then he pushed aside some huge leaves to show her the parallel world that was very similar to the world of her ancestors.
Have you ever gotten stuck while writing a scene or chapter? How did you overcome it?
**Yes, all the time. One thing I do is maybe write a scene on how that character is feeling and what he/she is experiencing. I also might step back for a few and go back to it later.

What is the wackiest thing that’s ever happened to you since you started writing?
**Wackiest? Well one day a bunch of teachers I taught with asked if I could ‘share’ one of my scenes from a very early version of EARRINGS. I read to them a passage when Lupe first encounters the Spider Goddess. Silence. Then one of them said, “Wow, you have quite an imagination.”

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Body Language Links

Posted on June 24, 2011 by Linda Andrews

For those of you who have just started writing, body language is that unspoken communication that reflects how a person truly feels. The TV show Lie to Me, made good use of this tool in their investigations.

Here are a few links I found helpful in describing emotions (cuz writing is all about the ‘show don’t tell’. Monday’s post, hopefully will contain examples of how to use some of them.

http://www.changingminds.org/techniques/body/body_language.htm

http://center-for-nonverbal-studies.org/6101.html

http://www.helpguide.org/mental/eq6_nonverbal_communication.htm

http://nonverbal.ucsc.edu/ Very cool as it includes a test.

http://campus.usal.es/~nonverbal/introduction.htm This one is basically a link to more links, but they’re great links.

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You Know You’re a Writer When…

Posted on June 23, 2011 by Linda Andrews

What sets writer’s apart from other people? Here are some of my favorite examples:

1–You hear the word heroine and you think character, not drug.
2–Your daughter writes a short story romance and you think, Yeah! and her fourth grade teacher is horrified.
3–Your daughter asks for an example that doesn’t involve a body count or other startling example.
4–You stay awake mentally rewriting the ending of the movie you just saw or the book you just finished.
5–You read an interesting fact and think about ways that it will torture your characters.
6–You like conflict.
7–You have notebooks full of ideas that could be used against you in a court of law.
8–GMC is neither a cereal company nor a car manufacturer.
9–Upon hearing a story, you want to ask how it made him/her/them feel.
And lastly…
10–You like those voices in your head and wouldn’t take medication to get rid of them, even though they tell you to do bad things to your characters.

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A Life in Balance

Posted on June 21, 2011 by Linda Andrews

I write for the challenge. To put it another way, writing is not easy for me, painting those word pictures requires digging deep and dredging up emotions that my characters need to have in order for the story to come alive. So it shouldn’t be a surprise when I need a break and a means to recharge my creative batteries.
That’s were hobbies come in.
I have many of them and I realize that many stimulate me in a way that writing doesn’t.
In short, they help create balance in my life–while reinforcing some of the skills necessary for writing.
Scrapbooking–I love colors and textures and I’m able to use both when creating a page. Each photo represents a memory and since I take many pictures, placing them in order that makes sense, cropping out extraneous stuff that does nothing for the image, and leaving in the things that add to the picture. (That’s editing folks)
Sewing–Again the colors and textures come into play and it helps to know what you’re going to make with the fabric you choose, plus all those notions that make it distinctly yours. (That would be voice and genre writing). It also helps to make any changes to the pattern before hand, thus you can save a lot of time. Attention to detail does matter, unless you want one sleeve to hang down to your knees while the other ends at your elbow.
Cooking–It helps to have all the ingredients if you’re cooking by a recipe. It’s also nice to have an idea what it is your making. But that doesn’t mean you can’t adapt the recipe, change up the spices, substitute portabello mushrooms for beef and applesauce for oil. Of course, you do need to know how such changes will affect the final product and if it will be edible (IE will your voice be marketable in your chosen genre?)
Gardening–Planting a seed and watching it grow. Since writing is solitary and sedentary this literally helps me move about, plucking weeds, trimming dead growth and reaping the fruits of my labor. (the relationship from the first word to he one hundred thousandth is obvious)
I have other hobbies, but these are my top four. So what do you do to find balance in your life?

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Interview with Dorien Gray

Posted on June 18, 2011 by Linda Andrews

What prompted you to write The Elliott Smith Mystery/paranormal series?

Ordinary people finding themselves in extraordinary circumstance have always fascinated me, and always make good material for stories. I just wondered how an average guy who didn’t believe in spirits would react when he ran into a spirit who believed in him.

What kind of paranormal elements do you incorporate into the series?

I take the view that John, who is introduced in His Name is John, the first book of the series, is like Elliott Smith, also a basically ordinary guy who just happens to be dead. There is nothing evil or really weird–at least not so far–in the series. The spirits around which each book is based are still very human, just non-corporeal and often very confused as to how they died and why. Elliott, with John’s assistance, helps them to find out.

Have you ever had a paranormal experience?

As a matter of fact, I have had a couple through my life, most notably with a very pleasant spirit named Robert. I’ve not heard from him in quite awhile, but he first came to me in California and has shown up a couple of times since I moved back to the mid-west. I’m always delighted when he shows up, though he seems to enjoy hiding things which don’t show up for months. He is very partial to classical music and bedrooms.

Did you have to do a lot of research writing The Elliott Smith Mystery Series? And, if so, would you share some of your favorite research books/sources?

I didn’t really have to do any formal research: everything comes from my own beliefs, opinions, and–thanks to Robert–experiences.

During your research, did you find an interesting fact/situation that you just had to include in your book?

I use the Elliott Smith series to explore my own beliefs in what happens when we die. I’m always delighted when I find I had opinions I didn’t know I had–such as that time affects only the living, who are bound by it, and the non-corporeal (which I vastly prefer to “dead”) don’t have any such constraints.

Can you tell us a little bit about your latest release?

In Caesar’s Fall, the winner of a $57 million lottery moves into Elliott’s building and Elliott finds himself trying to protect him from the schemers and con men out to get his money. Following a tragic accident, Elliott, with John’s help, must determine if it was an accident or murder, and if the latter, who was responsible.

Do you plot your stories out or do you just start writing?

For me, to try to plot a novel–other than having some basic thoughts as to what and who the story will be about–is totally inconceivable. I see detailed plotting as a form of straightjacket, and my mind simply would refuse to go along with it. I am constantly surprising myself, when I write, to find new elements popping into my mind which subsequently change the course of the story in ways I couldn’t have foreseen.

In addition to The Elliott Smith Mystery Series, you also write the Dick Hardesty books. Do you write both series at once? And if so, how do you keep the two separate?

I alternate the series: Dick Hardesty then Elliott Smith, then Dick Hardesty, etc. And I really have no difficulty at all in keeping them apart. The Dick Hardesty series is written in first person and takes place in an unnamed city in the mid-1980s–though I never specifically identify which year. The Elliott Smith series is in third-person, and is set in modern-day Chicago.

Which of your characters is most like you and which is least like you?

The Dick Hardesty series was the first, and Dick is an alternate-universe me. We share the same opinions, outlooks, and offbeat sense of humor. Dick is the me I would so dearly love to be. Elliott and I have many things in common, but I really don’t know if he would want to be more than a casual friend to me. He’s much more down-to-earth than I and lives in a totally different world than I do. I live vicariously through both Dick and Elliott.

Can you describe your office or where you normally write? Do you have anything in your office that helped inspire you to write the story?

My work area is a large computer desk in my bedroom and I spend an inordinate amount of time there. I often have classical music playing in the background, but when I am totally caught up in writing, I am aware of nothing other than reading the words that my fingers put up on the computer screen.

Which came first the plot or the characters?

When writing a series, the major characters are a given…they are part and parcel of the work. But, that being given, I generally next think of the basic plot and then people it with other-than-the-main characters.

Have you ever gotten stuck while writing a scene or chapter? How did you overcome it?

While it happens infrequently, it does happen, and I almost always resolve it by simply going back a few chapters and starting to read. By the time I reach where I had the problem, I’ve usually figured out how to resolve it. It’s rather like a truck without tire chains trying to get up an icy hill…I back up, rev the engine, and try again.

What is the wackiest thing that’s ever happened to you since you started writing?

I think the strangest thing is the very real split between my personal life and my writing life. I am as comfortable being–and truly see myself as being–the non-corporeal Dorien Grey who lives within my mind as I am being the corporeal Roger Margason from whom Dorien emerged.

Where can readers find more about you and your books?

All my books can be found in or on order from any bookstore or on-line bookseller, and the first chapter of every book can be read free on my website. http://www.doriengrey.com

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