11.21.09
Fiction, Family & No Place Like Home
As the chilliness of late autumn settles over Maryland and Thanksgiving draws closer, I think about the things I’m most grateful for. The blessings in my life are many, and family and dear friends are near the top of that list. What, you may ask, does that have to do with my writing? More than you may realize!
One of the reoccurring themes in my fiction is family. Sometimes, it’s a traditional family filled with aunts, uncles, and cousins like the one in a holiday story I’m currently writing. Sometimes, it’s a family of both blood relations and friends like the Chaloupek Brothers’ Amazing Oddities performers in “Sideshow by the Sea.” And sometimes, it’s a family the protagonist builds through the course of a story like the one Flynn pulls together in “Assassins.”
Whether in fantasy fiction, adventure fiction, or real life, people need security, a sense of belonging, and love. In “Sideshow,” Dusana feels protected, is part of the carnival family, and is loved by her adopted mom – but she doesn’t feel she truly belongs and is ready for a different kind of love. In “Assassins,” Flynn has abandoned the security of his mother and the family business. When he finally finds someone he wants to love and protect, he struggles to return home.
Home and all that word represents – that is the key. Whether it’s Dorothy building a family of a scarecrow, tin man, lion, and wizard who still longs for Auntie Em and the farm, or Frodo building a Fellowship who still longs for The Shire – the characters of a story can teach us about family and friendship, and that there’s no place like home.
And so, this Thanksgiving I wish you a day filled with family, whether traditional, non-traditional, or a combination of the two. May you feel secure and loved, and may you take a few minutes away from the football games and dinner table to read a good story or two.
11.18.09
The Young Alchemists: Mister Corinth’s Laboratory
I have no idea why it’s taken me so long to write these shorts. Sure I can blame a million things, my first novel, Thomas Riley just came out, I’ve been marketing like a mad man trying to do the job of PR guy, writer, fan club manager, travel agent, etc… But the truth is I had a really difficult time originally wrapping my brain around writing for YA.
My job was to write YA steampunk short stories. Sounds easy enough right? So I sat down with an idea in my head and… nothing. I literally couldn’t wrap my head around writing for young adults. While some may say Thomas Riley is a YA novel, I would disagree to a point. It was never intended to be a YA story; it just doesn’t have any sex, or cursing in it. There’s plenty of violence, but young adults probably see far worse while fighting Nazi zombies in the secret level of Call of Duty. So I wrote and re-wrote the beginning of a short story called “The Young Alchemists” but nothing seemed to click. I kept asking myself, that’s too violent, or not violent enough, or what would a fourteen year old Victorian girl say? I toiled for months.
I asked my friends with kids, what do their children read? Most of which aren’t really young adults yet so the information I got was spotty at best. So I just kept plugging away, writing four pages or so and scrapping them a week later for a new more YA friendly story. After writing so much a story actually began to develop that I was happy with. Many people said, “Don’t think about it, just write it like you want. Don’t write for young adults, they can probably take what you write.”
So I did and the ideas exploded. I completed the story the day before I left for the Thomas Riley release and I hand wrote much of the next story late nights in Myrtle Beach. Now I have the whole series planned out, not in outline form, but in ideas. The main characters, Knox Wallingford and Lizzy Strauss have a lot of adventures ahead of them.
The first installment of The Young Alchemists: Mister Corinth’s Laboratory is not quite for sale yet, but it will be very soon. Here’s a little blurb to wet your appetite.
The land of West Canvia is thick with the tension of war. Spies and hit and run insurgents roam the streets. Knox Wallingford dreams of being a scientist and inventor like his idol Thomas Riley. While his parents are away fighting in a war, Knox’s not so perfect mechanical inclination runs him into a new friend, Lizzy Strauss, another unlikely student of science and technology. When they witness a would-be kidnapping, they rush to the rescue, using their wits and budding scientific prowess to thwart the attack. But this is just the beginning. Knox and Lizzy are given a mysterious key to a laboratory with untold devises and scientific knowledge. Pursued by a strange man, they have to keep the laboratory’s secrets safe before they fall into the wrong hands.
You can buy it very soon here: http://echelonpress.com
If you want to know more about Thomas Riley, I highly suggest you check out his website, www.sirthomasriley.com as well.
11.16.09
Conferences, Conventions and Tribal Gatherings
I was reminded again the other day how much of the complicated business routines of authorship some of us now take for granted. An individual who had just signed her first contract with a publisher wanted to know how I got national distribution for my novels.
I blinked, looked at her and asked, did you read your contract? Of course she had, but it didn’t say anything about distribution. It dawned on me she was like a lot of people. Readers go to bookstores large and small and find books they want to purchase and read. Readers also go to libraries. And I’ll bet not one in ten have any idea how those books get to those shelves. It’s like a lot of things in life. Do you have any real understanding of how the produce on your local grocer’s shelves got there?
We take so much for granted in this life. I’m not proposing, gentle reader, that you should or need to understand the journey that a short story follows to go from the mind of the author to its offering on the pages of a publisher, Echelon Press, for example. Indeed, you may not care and all the myriad steps are not all that important to you. What you care about is the final product. Will it do what is advertised? Will it be a satisfying read? Diverting? Thoughtful, interesting enough, perhaps, to be read again at a future time?
Well, I don’t propose to tell you here, maybe at another time. But I do have a suggestion. If you, as a reader of crime or other fiction, have an interest in such things, and even in the authors who create the literature of our world, why not attend a party?
All over the country, nearly every month, in almost every conceivable genre, there are tribal gatherings. No matter what kind of fiction you read, there is a fan convention right for you. Large, like the International Mystery Convention held recently in Indianapolis, or the annual Romance Writers of America convention, these gatherings of professionals in their field have at least one thing in common: the welcome fans. Or smaller, like Magna Cum Murder in Muncie Indiana, or Sleuthfest in Florida, or Mayhem in the Midlands in Omaha.
You want to meet favorite authors? Get some behind the scenes gossip? Learn which publishers are doing what kind of books. It’s all there and more. Some of them are sponsored by your local college or chapter of a larger organization like Sisters In Crime or Mystery Writers of America. Some of them like the recent convention at the Loft in Minneapolis attract only a hundred souls. The folks who organize these conventions are interested in providing information to fans, to readers to possible writers. They can be a lot of fun and will enhance your reading experience. So, start with your local immediate area and find out about readers’ conventions. Attending the occasional fan convention can be a lot of fun. And always, read more mysteries!
11.13.09
Gratitude as an Attitude
Autumn brings with it a lot of mixed feelings because of the colder weather and fewer daylight hours. Fortunately, the Daylight Savings Time crowd has pushed the frontier of that idea so that we’ve got a lot more light for more days than we used to. I’m hoping they make DST permanent. But even with DST, the days get shorter and the nights get longer and that brings with it more time for ruminating about things.
Something I’ve been trying to achieve over the past several years is cultivating an attitude of gratitude. It takes being present to things in your life which bring you joy. One reason I do this is that I think it’s important to concentrate more on what I have than on what I don’t have, more on the good than the bad. It’s also a good thing to do for a lot of reasons. So when Thanksgiving rolls around, it’s not the only day on my calendar that reminds me to be thankful.
I’m not perfect (I know, another myth dispelled), and procrastination often takes its toll. I don’t always get around to the “Thank Yous” that should be done right away. Procrastination is a terrible foe. I try to remember that gratitude is something honored in the doing, not just the intention to do. Maybe someday, I’ll be able to be thankful that I’ve defeated procrastination and do everything on time and in order. (Well, we can dream, can’t we?)
I often have to remind myself that I do indeed have things to be thankful about. I marvel at those people who always seem able to smile despite adversity. Maybe they’re thinking about the good things they have and not the troubles they’re going through. That’s certainly the saner path. It sometimes takes work to force yourself to think about the things you’re grateful for because there are so many things we worry about.
I often stop, put the anxiety on hold (it ain’t easy), ignore the rain, and think about what I’m grateful for.
At the risk of being branded something or other, I’ll say there’s a strong spiritual facet to me. I’m not the proselytizing kind, though. I think everyone comes to his/her spiritual side in his/her own way. But, that spiritual arena, that idea of God and the Universe and Good – are things I’m immensely grateful for.
Likewise, I have immense gratitude for the people in my life. My best and closest friend, who has helped turn things around for me, is someone I am thankful for more than I can say. Others, like my family members who squabble sometimes (and give me ideas for characters and situations) and my friends (some of whom will finds pieces of themselves in my characters) are also in my thoughts when I give thanks.
Meeting super people like Karen Syed, hearing her encouraging words when I really needed a boost, and having her become a friend made me thankful that I overcame my fear of flying (at least for that trip) and went to Chicago for that first Love Is Murder conference I attended.
The publication of my book, Murder on Camac, (http://www.murderoncamac.com) has certainly given me something more to be thankful for. It’s just the beginning but it’s a good start.
My inclusion in anthologies like Heat of the Moment and so many others were like hugs wrapping me in warmth and encouraging me in my writing.
Mysterical-E (http://www.mystericale.com) which came along at just the right time in my life has been a source of joy, frustration, happiness, and lots of hard work. It’s a labor of love which is difficult for some people to understand but it’s something that helped me in many ways. How can I not be thankful for that?
The list goes on. If I actually sat down and wrote up a detailed account of all the things I give thanks for, it would fill volumes. I’m sure that’s how it is for all of us.
One other thing to remember is the effect a “Thank You” has on someone else. You just never know how great you’ll make someone’s day, with those two words.
So, Happy Autumn, Happy Thanksgiving! And, Thank You for reading this!
11.12.09
I’d like to thank my editor… And my muse…
The Thanksgiving holiday is nearly upon us. And if there is one thing every writer must do, besides write of course, it is to give thanks. Practiceing gratitude is one of the most important things a writer can do to foster a productive future.
First and foremost, a writer must thank her muse. Without this capricious spirit there would be no story, there would only be lonely hours of staring at a blank screen. Even with the muse a writer needs to be prepared for a lot of lonely hours in front of the screen, but at least when the muse is involved there are pretty words dancing across the screen and a sense of accomplishment at the end.
The next person on every writer’s thank you list should be her partner/spouse, or even a roommate will do. The person who puts up with moody brooding, crying jags (because you just had to kill off your very favorite character), and sudden exits from the dinner table when inspiration strikes certainly deserves a thank you. Probably a lot more than a thank you actually; flowers, lavish dinners out, and major jewelry is not enough to thank this tireless cheerleader.
A writer must also thank her fellow writers, for who else would read rough drafts with a kind, yet critical, eye? Who else can she commiserate with who truly understands the joys and disappointments of spinning out stories on a page? Only other writers get it on a deep down, visceral level.
A writer should also thank the people who publish her. Really. There are a lot of writers out there, many producing wonderful work, and he chose you. No matter how good your work is, it always pays to be humble and grateful. There’s plenty of other eager and talented writers waiting in the wings.
And of course, a writer should never neglect to thank her readers. Because without them, quite simply, there would be no story. The story isn’t finished, the tale is not told, until it plays out on the stage of the reader’s mind.
So, I would like to say, thank you. Thank you to my muse, your prolific inspiration is much appreciated, darling. Thank you to my fiancee, your unwavering support and pep talks are always needed, and very much appreciated. Thank you to my fellow writer goddesses (it’s what we call our group), I wouldn’t be able to do this without you ladies. Thank you to the publishers and editors who have believed in me enough to buy my work, especially Echelon Press. And most especially, thank you to each and every reader who has read my work. I hope you enjoyed it. You are the person I am doing this for.
Check out my eShorts with Echelon Press:
http://tinyurl.com/Sonnier-eshorts
Check out my website for all my latest news:
www.michelledsonnier.com
11.11.09
Veteran’s Day
I’m sure you’ll read a lot of blogs this month from people expressing what they’re thankful for. Today I need to express my gratitude for those men and women who have guaranteed my right to write whatever I want into a short story. Free speech and a free press may be concepts in the Constitution, but they are only rights because they are preserved by the men and women who wear our nation’s military uniforms. As we all know, freedom is never free.
Veterans Day was declared a national holiday in many allied nations to help remember those lost during the First World War Wars have continued, and we continue to create vetarans of those wars. We often focus on those physically damaged by bombs or bullets, but I urge you to remember that in war, there are no unwounded soldiers.
G.K. Chesterton (author of the mystery series featuring the priest-detective Father Brown) correctly stated that “Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die.” We owe our military men and women recognition for their courage, but we often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude. So this year, take a moment to remember our courageous defenders, past and present. Smile at a veteran, say thank you when a service member passes you by. Remember John F. Kennedy’s words:
“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
11.09.09
Do judge the book by its cover
If you’ve read my previous post about “Witch Hunts on the Internet“, you will recall that it’s a thriller about teenagers and the online chatting.
When the book was about to be published, and the artist contacted me to find out whether I had any ideas or preferences for the front cover, I was baffled. Usually I know exactly what I want or don’t want: for my murder mysteries I don’t want gory photos of victims, for my lighthearted romances I want drawings of single objects, for my hot romances I want naked male chests.
With the cover of “Witch Hunts on the Internet“, I needed to convey that:
- the Internet can be a dangerous place
- emails and online chats create a false impression of closeness and intimacy
- it’s a book for and about teenagers
- it’s a thriller
- it has a happy ending.
Nathalie Moore listened patiently, cyber-nodded and… you be the judge.
(Yvonne Eve Walus is an Echelon Press author, both “shorts” and full-length novels. Her latest murder mystery cozy is “Murder @ Play” – because every marriage needs a touch of mystery… or does it?).
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