Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Notes on Snow Swept: Intersections

This week only, which I will dub: SNOW SWEPT WEEK, I'm giving away 1 million copies of Snow Swept.  Snow Falling (book 2) and Snow Pyre (book 3) are discounted 67% -- so you can get the whole trilogy for less than two bucks.  

Leading up to, and in celebration of SNOW SWEPT WEEK, I'm doing a series of posts about the Snow Swept experience.  A behind the scenes look at what I was thinking about when writing these books.  So read on, and pick up your copy of Snow Swept today!

NOTES ON SNOW SWEPT: INTERSECTIONS


I am fascinated with the seemingly random intersections in life.  Each day, decisions are made, paths are crossed, people and events intersect, and lives are forever altered.   On any given day, we might decide to go for that extra cup of orange juice, or linger for a few extra minutes at a book store.  We might rush home to see the family, or skip lunch to instead take a walk in the park.  Each of these seemingly small decisions will alter the day by only a few minutes (or even seconds), changing the points at which we intersect with other people and events.

Our lives are governed by these intersections, whether we like it or not, and we have all probably  wondered how our lives would be different if we had been a few seconds later, or earlier.  Would we have met this person, or gotten that job?  Would we have avoided this tragedy, or stepped right into that disaster.  Would the intersection with this person or that event have a lasting effect on your life, or would it just be a small experience to file away.

Intersections (some random, some not) play a big part in the Snow Swept Trilogy.  One scene, in particular, comes to mind.  Mae, the heroin of the story (or maybe not?) is sitting on an airplane.  Her day has not been going so well (to say the least), and she happens to be sitting next to a guy named Ryan.  Here's a snip it from the story:

__________________________
Mae sat back in her chair with a gasp, waking from the memory dream with a start.   She touched a painful line on the side of her face and felt the indent from where she’d been leaning against the window. 
His name was Adam, and she hadn't thought about him for a very long time, so she was surprised that her dreams had wandered back to him.  Adam was the boy she'd first loved growing up, the boy who'd first held her hand, the first boy she'd kissed.  She remembered that mountain ridge, overlooking October.  The same butterflies she felt when their lips had touched, when she'd tasted and smelled him, fluttered now. 
His boot on her throat.
The dream was tainted and dark.  The feeling of first loves faded, replaced with the dark memories of that night.
 “You alright?” the guy sitting next to her asked.  She looked over, startled to see someone there.  When she’d fallen asleep, the plane was still almost completely empty and they’d been parked next to the airport.  Now, she felt the faint vibrations of the airplane as it cut through the sky.  The seats were filled with people reading, watching movies on their tiny screens, or sleeping.  One of the men sleeping, his head leaned back against the seat and his mouth gaping, looked as though he'd just stepped out of a board meeting.  His white shirt was clean and pressed, his tie was straight and perfectly dimpled, and he was still wearing his suit coat.  The contrast between what he was wearing and his slack jaw caused Mae's eyes to linger a moment too long, and the guy sitting next to her chuckled.
"He was drooling earlier, and talking in his sleep," the guy said. "If I'd known that you were so entertained by sleeping businessmen, I would have woken you up."
Mae chuckled, but then realized that she may have been drooling herself.  She instinctively touched the corners of her mouth and was dismayed to feel a bit of moisture there.  She wiped at her cheek and neck, suddenly very embarrassed to be sitting next to this guy.  He noticed her movements and laughed. 
"Don't worry, you didn't drool that much."  He reached over and pulled a few strands of hair away from her cheek. "Looks like you did get a little in your hair though," he said and then whispered, "and I promise not to tell anyone what you told me while you were sleeping."
She looked away and blushed.  Mae probably should have been worried about anything she might have said in her sleep, even though she was pretty sure that the guy was joking, but she was more embarrassed by the drool than anything.  She glanced back at the guy and saw that he was cute, maybe a little older than her, but cute nonetheless.
“How long was I asleep?” Mae asked finally, after a few seconds.  She ran her hand through her hair and rubbed at the sleep mark on her forehead.

“Well, you were asleep when I got on, and I'd say that we're going to land pretty soon,” he said.  "You must have been really tired, because the take off was a little rough, and they've been blaring on and on over the plane's PA system about the bad weather and how we need to be in our seats, blah, blah, blah."

__________________________

Mae's meeting with Ryan sets of a chain reaction that changes the outcome of her story, but little do they know, their paths had been intersecting for much of their lives, crisscrossing until that moment when Ryan ceases to be a minor character, and takes a leading role.

Such it is with life.  People who are random extras in each of our stories become main characters.  Random places and events become major set pieces where our lives are forever altered.  Random or not, by coincidence or design, our lives are subject to intersections.

***

Pick up your copies of the Snow Swept Trilogy today!  Free and discounted for the Kindle or Kindle App.  Also available in paper on AmazonBarnes and Noble, or wherever books are sold!







Friday, August 21, 2015

Attack of the Crab Monsters!



We like classic horror movies in my family, and while the following story isn't about this particular gem, the movie did come to mind as I sat down to write this post.  See, from a very young age, my kids have been fascinated with stories like Attack of the Crab Monsters, or the Creature From the Black Lagoon.  I think this is partly because I like these stories, and much to my wife's chagrin, my kids have grown to like them as well.

But their love of the fantastical doesn't stop with classic movie monsters--their imaginations are pretty impressive. They come up with all sorts of stories and imaginary scenarios.  From intergalactic unicorns to goblin fairies.  It's really fun, watching them play and and create art from their imaginations.

Just this last week, my son wrote a book for which he is now seeking publication:


This morning, my oldest daughter gave me some character sketches this morning for a story that she wants to write:



And while my youngest daughter's ambitions are not quite as evolved as those of her older siblings, she can tell a story that packs a wallop.  In fact, her entire reality seems to blend with the imaginary world around her.  (The unicorn in the backyard is really there, and her name is Charlie--which is short for Charlotte.  Charlie keeps away the evil Toad Monster that lurks under the bushes.)  My wife and I have gotten so used to her stories about imaginary creatures and events, that it sometimes becomes difficult for us to realize when she is actually telling the truth.

For instance, when our oldest daughter began school, she and her classmates took care of a hermit crab as a class pet. Our youngest daughter was so enamored with the hermit crab, that she would often talk about the crab that she would have as a class pet when she was in preschool.

Well, she started school this last week, and has been telling us about their class pet, which happened to be a hermit crab named Herman.  We smiled and nodded, thinking that this was just another one of her reality-bending stories.  We even had a sit down conversation with her about telling the truth.  She insisted that Herman was real (as real as Charlie).

My wife accompanied her to school yesterday and found that her class does indeed take care of a hermit crab named Herman.  We were surprised, and a little sad that we hadn't taken her more seriously.  But even then, I guess it's possible that the crab was actually just a projection of her imagination.

Hence the crab monsters.  And we have come full circle...

On another note, Chapter Seven of Monarch is now up on over at the Campfire.  Read on and enjoy!

Friday, July 24, 2015

The Young Lawyer's Jungle Book

I was packing up some books the other day and came across this gem:


This book has some valuable insight on being an attorney, and was very helpful to me as I graduated from law school and began my career. I've had the opportunity to work for several firms, some small, others big.  The more I've been exposed to this profession, the more I've realized that it is all a song and dance and the people who get ahead are those who know the dance steps. This book outlines, rather well, the important steps one should take to succeed in this profession.  Of course it isn't some magical book that will do wonders for your career, and I don't feel that this book even purports to be such.  It is simply a well-written account of how to do well in this field.  It contains valuable insight on how to interact with people--tips and advice that I found helpful during internships and while interviewing with firms.  Of course there are other ways to get jobs and do well, but anyone interested in succeeding in the legal arena would do well to read this book.  In fact, I wish I had read this book before even starting law school because the song and dance begins long before you land a job.  Because of the honesty about attorneys and the field in general, the book will even help those who are on the fence about pursuing a legal career.

Highly recommended.  Click the picture to link to the book's Amazon page.

Also, posted the new chapter on over at the Campfire.  Enjoy!

Friday, July 17, 2015

An Ode to Autumn (Monarch: Chapter Two)


The air was cool and brisk, spiked with the faint smell of smoke from the fireplace – the kind of air you wait all summer for and miss when winter finally arrives. The leaves changed into a brilliant array of color, signaling the arrival of autumn. It was that time of year when jack-o’-lanterns started to make their first appearances. Ghosts, vampires and werewolves became a staple in any decoration. Apples were being harvested and made into pies that were set on windowsills to cool (you could smell the pie from a mile away). The apples that survived the pies were made into spicy apple cider and given to friends and family. It was autumn country.  



Thursday, July 9, 2015

Monarch: Chapter One

The next chapter of my serial novel, Monarch, has been posted on over at the Campfire. Click here to keep reading.

I remember working on this chapter like it was yesterday.  My oldest daughter had just been born and she would wake up during the night, as babies sometimes do.  Once I was awake, it would take me awhile to fall back to sleep, so I would write a few pages.  It was during the night, when our house was quiet, and it was just me and the story, that I fell in love with writing.  I would look forward to those quiet moments, when I would be whisked away into strange and exciting worlds.  Stories and the creation of stories had always been a part of my life, but it was while I wrote these pages that it became a passion.

What are some of your passions?  Share in the comments below!


Friday, July 3, 2015

Campfire Stories: Monarch (Prologue)



One of my favorite things is sitting around the campfire, sharing stories. Wood crackling, smoke wafting into the clear night sky, and the yellow and orange flames casting just enough light...  

Unfortunately, the opportunities to share stories around the campfire are few and far between, so I've created a new section to this website for just that reason. 

To share stories as if sitting around a campfire.  

Like campfire stories, these are raw. Unedited, unpolished, told in the moonlight and flicker of flames. The stories here are my B-Sides. The bits and pieces of fiction picked up from the cutting room floor.

The first project is a novel I wrote several years ago called Monarch.  It is a scary story about a monster in a small town.  It was my first attempt at a novel (and probably too ambitious, I'll admit), and I wrote it while in college.  It has sat on my shelf, unpublished, for all these years, but I still think its a good story.  

With this unpublished novel, I'm going to do a web series over the next couple of months, leading up to Halloween. Each Friday, I will post the next chapter.   

So pull up a log, or a rock, or sit in the grass and listen around the campfire. Here is the prologue for Monarch.



Monday, June 15, 2015

Popcorn and Velociraptors


You know exactly what I'm talking about.  The smell of popcorn, Coke, and Twizzlers.  The hushed murmurs and nervous chuckles.  The lights go down and the previews begin.  That's a magical moment right there.

More than twenty years ago, I stood in a line that wrapped all the way around the block of that theater (pictured above), and waited for what was to become one of my most cherished childhood memories.  Jurassic Park.  A blockbuster in the truest sense of the word.

I had the vague notion that the movie was about dinosaurs.  I didn't know much more, except that at some point, a goat would meet a bloody and untimely demise.  I knew the movie might be scary, but I was ready for it.

Boy, were my nerves in for a treat.  I was about nine years old at the time, and I don't think anything in my life prior to that date could have prepared me for what I was about to see.

I remember there was a girl sitting next to me in the packed auditorium.  I didn't know the girl and she didn't know me, but we held each other and screamed in terror all the same.

That night was pure bliss.  A benchmark by which I would forever measure experiences at the movie theater.

I wrote about this experience here, but I'm writing about it again today because I was able to relive that experience with my own kids this last weekend.  We sat there together in the packed auditorium, watching the rampaging dinosaurs with awe and wonder.  We laughed at the jokes, screamed during the scary parts, and enjoyed the magic of it all.

And that is exactly why Jurassic World shattered the box office this last weekend.  It took me (and countless others) back to the Summer of 1993, and made us feel like kids again.

So here's to memories.  Here's to nostalgia.  Here's to popcorn and velociraptors.