SARAH GAGNON'S GOOD NEWS

A couple of wonderful and amazing things have happened. I finished my revision. YAY!

I'm very happy with how it turned out. I did have a surprising moral dilemma with regards to the story, but I'll talk about it at another time. I need to think about what it means first.

The second exciting thing that happened is my amazing critique partner, Sarah Gagnon, has some wonderful news to share with everyone. Since it's her news and I don't want to spoil it for her, I'm going to ask everyone to pop on over to Sarah's blog so she can spill the details herself.

I will say how proud and thrilled I am for her.

Sarah, Carla Rehse, Don McFatridge, and I have been critique partners since we participated in the Agent Query Connect, Speculative Fiction annual Marathon in 2010. We posted a chapter a week of our manuscripts to get critiques for  12 weeks. After the marathon we stayed together. Fast forward two and a half years and we're still partners. (I also have to give a shout out to: Masako, Joyce Alton, Jordan, Kate Evangelista, Cheree Larkins, Michelle Hauk, Jason, and Bessie my other critique partners/beta readers. Love you guys)

Oops, sorry about the critter love. It's early in the morning and I feel wonderful today. *sips coffee*

Back to Sarah's good news.

Sarah is a talented woman with an amazing story to share. I predict you'll be hearing even more exciting news from her in the near future. I'm hoping I'll be able to convince her to come on the blog with a Sharing Our Voices post so you can learn her source of inspiration. 

Speaking of SOV's, I have one for you on Monday from the original gunslinger, Peter Burton. So I hope you stop by for that to show him some love. Only watch out. He's armed, although he seems to think it's for defensive measures.

Okay, enough of my ramblings. Please, pop over to wish Sarah congrats. Here's the link.

CRAWLING OUT OF MY CAVE

I blink up at the sun, wondering why it’s so gosh darn hot inside my cave? It is 86 degrees with the air conditioner struggling to bring it down a measly six degree. Hell fire, it’s cooler outside than it is inside.

It’s too hot to keep hibernating. I have no excuse not to finish the last hundred pages of edits for QUEST. And frankly, I’m ready to move on to a new summer project. Not that I’ve decided what that will be yet, but I think I’d like to work on the sequel to QUEST since the characters are so much fun. I’m not quite ready to abandon them.

Here is a short blurb: Twelve-year-old Malik Ross is having a horrible week. His mother is in the hospital dying from cancer, he's on the run from Children's Services who want to put him in a group home, and the stupid rat in the dumpster he's trying to find his dinner in just stole the last foil wrapped chicken.

The only bit of hope he has left are his friends who agree help him in his quest to find the golden apple-which is rumored to be able to heal any illness. But to find a mythical apple means he has to believe in magic, and it’s pretty hard for Malik to believe in anything these days.

Poor Malik, he’s desperate to save his mom. Lucky for him, his friends are willing to brave anything to help him out.

Excerpt:

 Books sticks a finger in the crease of the page he’s been reading from and lays the book carefully on his lap. “I was just about to mention that to the guys. We’ll need alibis for tonight if what’s in the diary is true.” He frowns slightly. His eyes lock with his sister’s before he shakes his head. “No, don’t worry about that, Domi. It’s not important.”

I glance at Raphael who shrugs at me in confusion. Twin connection in progress. Dominique and Books have the bad habit of speaking to each other as if finishing an earlier conversation without actually explaining what is going on to the rest of us. It’s a wicked cool skill, but it still sort of freaks me out when I see them in action ‘cause it’s not normal. Someday, one of their heads is gonna swell up like a balloon and pop telepathic brain goo all over the walls.

Raphael puts his back to the window. “What’s not important, Wonder Twins? And how’s some old dude’s diary gonna help us?”

Books grins, raising the book in the air and waving it like he’s the one who’s captured the flag. “That’s just it. The guy was ancient. Nobody lives to be a hundred and twenty-four nowadays, and certainly not back in ancient times when they had all those nasty plagues and diseases floating around to off you. Old J.J. talked about a golden apple that has the power to stop death and give health. Don’t you get it? The golden apple is what we need.”

“Yeah, but the guy’s fertilizer,” I say. “How are we even supposed to find this golden apple? Wouldn’t it be dust by now like the dead dude?”

“Okay, the plan has flaws, but at least it’s a start, right? I mean, I went online at the library and found a bunch of websites dedicated to the mythology of the Golden Apple and its magical healing powers. I think of mythology as a religion that is extinct… you know, like the dinosaurs. The golden apple is a fossil, and we have to find it. I think J.J. knew where the golden apple could be found …” Books trails off. “You guys don’t look excited.”

I blink hard. “I just thought you’d have more than dinosaur fossils in your backpack. How’s any of this gonna help my mom? You know, the one who’s in the hospital dying of cancer,” I pause to get control of my emotions, “I can’t take much more of this, Books. I know you’re trying to help but…this is crazy.”

Aren't the kiddies CUTE?  

I’ve said many times, and I’ll be redundant and say it again—I love QUEST.

My CP’s (including Kiwi) expressed their excitement about the story, which motivates me to continue for them. Don and I have been brainstorming about what will happen to the kiddies after the resolution at the end of the book, and the new plot is sorting itself out. They have a whole new world to explore with many new adventures to keep them in a whole lot of trouble. ‘Cause they’re tweens, ya know.

SHARING OUR VOICES- DON MCFATRIDGE

I  have a special guest for Sharing Our Voices, whom I love and respect tremendously, Don McFatridge AKA DMcWild.

One of my favorite things about Don is his sense of humor. He's my go-to critique partner who cracks me up with the quick wit and humor in his current wip, PLANTED-I CAN WATER MYSELF (to the point where I'm LMAO). He also finds the funny in my manuscripts. Sometimes, I'm surprised that a particular scene I wrote has tickled his funny bone, since it wasn't intended to be
humorous, ugh oh.

Don has graciously consented to being my first guinea pig in sharing how his community influences his writing.  So, I'll zip it and hand over the blog to him. Take it away, Don!

Pie A Near Of Comedy

Living in Montreal and being one of 33 million other Canadians is great because we get to trade with our neighbors to the south below us. Things like: fresh melted snow (with most of the yellow bleached out), Captain Kirk and Scotty, sand filled with tar (you think we would give ya the stuff for free since it makes for sticky beaches, which we don’t use with our long winters), hockey sticks (with player included), beavers named Justin and our biggest seller comedians. Yes, having snow six months out of the year has given Canadians a funny bone.

But, like a good neighbor, we export all of it to the warmer climate of Hollywood. Talent like: Seth Rogan, John Candy, Leslie Nielsen, Howie Mandel, Dan Aykroyd, Martin Short, Mike Myers, Phil Hartmen, Michel J Fox, Dave Foley of Kids in the Hall, and our Grinch, Jim Carrey, to name a few. But all of these stars follow in the footsteps of Thomas Doc Kelley, Canada’s most famous pie-a-near of comedy.

Source

While performing his traveling medicine show through Newfoundland (where I happened to be born. I got hauled to Montreal, kicking and screaming, at the age of four) in 1889, Thomas “Doc” Kelley invented the “pie-in-the-face” gag. Kelley happened to catch sight of an irate cook chasing a stable boy with a piece of pie. When the pie wound up hitting the boy’s shirt, it made the onlookers laugh. Kelley quickly concluded that a pie in the face would be even funnier. Supposedly, he said to a companion, "How about a whole pie, big and juicy, deliberately and carefully pushed smack into his face? How long do you think these folks would laugh then?" 

These wonderful Canadians inspire me to fill my stories with funny scenes and dialogue. Which I think every writer should strive for, because humor sells. But it can also be a simple snappy one liner, like the gem in Elisabeth Berg’s THE JOY SCHOOL. It’s the story about thirteen-year-old, Katie, who accidentally falls through the ice while skating. She is helped by handsome, far older, married, gas station attendant, Jimmy. Katie falls in love and Jimmy loves the attention.

As their relationship unfolds, so too does Katie’s awareness of the pain and intensity first love can bring. When Jimmy tells Katie he’s moving away Katie declares her love for him.

“I think I love you.”
His look freezes.”
“No. I do, I can tell.”
“Oh, Katie. I didn’t know . . . I didn’t mean to--”
“You didn’t do it. You didn’t do it. It just happened by it’s own self.”

A few pages later Katie’s in class and unable to read what the teacher has written on the blackboard.

“No,” I say, “If you take the first line, and go all the way to the last line, that is what I can’t read.”

“So what you are saying, Katie is that you can’t read any of this.”
"Yes, Sir.”
A kind sized miracle has happened. The students in Mr. Spurlock’s class are sitting up, interested and alert.
“Well, do you need glasses?”
“No. A teacher would do.”

Bang. Katie’s answer is one of my favorites. She handled the rejection gracefully until she got to the classroom where she fires both barrels. It’s that type of snappy comeback that led me to write responses for the rejection letters I receive. Here is the one I’m currently sending to agents.

Dear Agent,

My name’s Dr. Frank. I’m writing about the rejection letter received by our patient at the Frank and Stein institute for violently insane criminals located in Montauk NY. I don’t wish to alarm you, but it seems he hasn’t returned from yesterdays day pass.

Arthur, not Author, claims you’ve misspelled his name. He’s easily recognizable at 6 feet 10 inches tall and 322 pounds. We trust you’ll take precautions by removing sharp, breakable office objects, including pens, letter openers, windows and interns.

For your safety, I’m sending you his medication (taken rectally) by courier later today.

Sincerely,
Dr. Fred Von Frank 　

Now to end this guest post with what I consider to be one of the greatest snappy comebacks of all time delivered by follow Canadian Norm McDonald on Conan O’Brian’s show. Enjoy.