RUMORS OF MY DEMISE ARE GREATLY EXAGGERATED

The wee hours of our monthly AgentQuery Connect, Speculative Fiction group chat produce the most interesting writing exercises. My collegues decided it would be fun to write a funny eulogy or death scene for fellow members (wish I hadn't gone to bed early that night). 
 
The first hint that I had "died" came in the form of an apologetic email from Michelle Hauck. The subject line read, "Sorry I took advantage of you,"  and ended with, "Don't be mad, okay?"
 
Then I read the post:

 
I’m stunned to announce the passing of Angie Sandro, beloved wife, mother, critique partner, and lately popular actress in Korean soap-opera dramas. In lieu of flowers, please follow her blog or like her Facebook page. (I’m not kidding, folks. Get someone to Like her page or Angie will seriously haunt us forever, hurling hoodoo curses at us.)

In what some are calling a bizarre accident, Angie was taking a long bike ride with her father-in-law. While pedaling, trying to watch the Lizzie Bennett Diaries on her phone, and composing the blurb for the unwritten fifteenth sequel to Juju’s Curse, she swerved off the path and into a swamp-like area to be immediately snapped up, bike and all, by a gator. Fortunately, Angie was too thick-skinned due to all the summer marathon sessions at her favorite spot, Speculative Fiction Group on AQC. The gator, believed by authorities to be released into the wild by the fringe environmental group, Make California Florida, spat her out. Unfortunately, it had great aim and launched her into a pit of quicksand.

Glub, glup, glub, that’s all she wrote.

Angie will be greatly missed by her legions of fans, living and ghost, her CP partners, family, and of course creators of Korean dramas, which she tirelessly promoted through her charity, “I Don’t Understand the Language, But I Can’t Stop Watching.” Now what are you waiting for? Like that page!
 

I've always wondered how I would pass. I just never realized how freaking dramatic it would be. Thanks to Michelle, I get a little taste of the other side. I also have a warm fuzzy (slightly terrified) feeling inside at how well she knows me.

Thanks, Michelle.

In lieu of flowers, please leave a comment. And you know, follow my blog so I won't haunt you--FOREVER, muwahaahaa (cough)haa!

SHARING OUR VOICES- ROBERT K. LEWIS

A couple of weeks ago, I was extremely fortunate to win an autographed copy of Robert K. Lewis' novel, UNTOLD DAMAGE. Robert is also a member of AgentQuery Connect, so I'd heard about his book prior to its release. I couldn't wait to read it. 

UNTOLD DAMAGE drew me into the story from the very first page. Why? For me it was the flawed hero. The gritty realism of the city. The raw emotions I felt seeing the world through this character's eyes. 

I asked Robert where he found the inspiration for the character of Mark Mallen? His answer is as rich and full of depth as his novel.

 

Angie, let me first say thank you for asking me to be here on your blog to discuss what inspired the creation of Mark Mallen, the ex-undercover cop, recovering junkie protagonist in my debut crime novel, UNTOLD DAMAGE.

Actually, Mallen was inspired by a LOT of different things. His origin lies in a short story I had published in an online literary journal named Cherry Bleeds, way back in December 2007. That story was called Needle Priest and dealt with a junkie, Mallen, shooting up in a church confessional on a dark, snowy night when a woman enters the church. In the dark confessional, she mistakes him for a priest and asks that he come back with her so he can give her dying mother the last rites.  Even though it’s revealed to her that Mallen is NOT a priest, he still ends up going with the woman, telling her:


“There's no priest that you'll be able to find tonight," he said quietly. "I'll go with you, and be with her until... until the end, if that's what it takes. Who cares what title I have, or even if this is my church? I don't know much, lady, but I do know what I was taught as a kid, and that was that God is supposed to live in each person's heart, and my heart right now is telling me to go and be with your mother, even to hear her confession if that's what she wants." He added in a quiet voice, "I'm telling you I want to go, and help you."

I’m a real junkie for redemption tales. I believe they can’t help but strike a chord with everybody. I mean… who doesn’t want a second chance to get their life put back together?

I’d printed out Needle Priest and had it up on the corkboard above my desk, along with a bit of flash fiction I’d written about a child killer called Little Visitor. My previous novel had gone nowhere and I needed something new. I was literally sitting at my desk, wondering what that something new would be when I started looking at the two bits of writing on the corkboard. I was actually mumbling to myself as I looked from one to the other, “Junkie… serial killer… junkie… serial killer… junkie goes after a serial killer. How would he do that?”

The answer came to me right away: because he’d once been a cop.

And that’s how Mallen really began.

Now, if you want to ask me about WHAT went into Mallen, well I’d start by telling you about my love of Noir. It’s a love that runs very, very deep. It begins with Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, and runs to the likes of Frank and Henry Kane, Mickey Spillane, Don Westlake (Richard Stark) and Ed McBain. All those guys wrote about guys who could certainly be considered to be Mallen’s fathers.

But there’s also a LOT of other influences that went into Mallen. I love 1970’s crimes films shot in New York: Death Wish, Taxi Driver, The Seven Ups, The French Connection, Serpico, The Warriors, and also non-crime films shot there like Midnight Cowboy and Panic in Needle Park. Other films, along with TV shows, that influenced Mallen’s creation and stories would be Dirty Harry, The Enforcer, The Streets of San Francisco, and Police Story, to name just a few.

The last influence I’d like to mention is he’s influenced by my sense of right and wrong. Mallen and I share the same moral compass, the same sense of loyalty to friends and family. I just want to add here that I wish I could take a punch as well as he does. He takes a lot of damage but he keeps moving forward. I love that about him.

Thanks again for inviting me, Angie!

 RkL

UNTOLD DAMAGE is now available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and at your local bookstore. Look for the next book in the series, CRITICAL DAMAGE, in April 2014.

Twitter: robertklewis
Website: www.robertklewis.com
Blog: http://needlecity.wordpress.com/

 

 

GUESS WHO'S A QUERY KOMBAT JUDGE?

Not a hard one to figure out. Yep, I'm excited to be a part of this wonderful contest organized by Michelle Hauck, SC Write, and Mike Anthony (be sure to follow their blogs for updated information about Query Kombat)

In college, I was a huge Mortal Kombat and Streetfighter fan. I lived in the dorms and spent hours playing these games (yes, I'm a geek, no frat parties for me). I think the reason why I'm so excited is because this appeals to my inner Chung Lee (HIYA)

Here is a little bit about Query Kombat (for the full details about Query Kombat, click here).

This tournament style contest will bring two opposing queries and first 250 words head to head. Judges will vote what they believe is the best query to the next round. There are a total of 6 rounds. In the final round agents will browse and make requests. Exciting, right?

Who will be the Grand Champion? Maybe you.

Will you have a blast? Guaranteed!

So polish up those queries and first 250 words. The call for submissions begins May 13th-May 17th.

For the full list of participating judges and mentors, click here.

For the list of participating agents, click here.

So what do you think? READY to get your query on?


 

KINDAR'S CURE COVER REVEAL- MICHELLE HAUCK

 

Blurb:
 

Princess Kindar of Anost dreams of playing the hero and succeeding to her mother’s throne. But dreams are for fools. Reality involves two healthy sisters and a wasting disease of suffocating cough that’s killing her by inches. When her elder sister is murdered, the blame falls on Kindar, putting her head on the chopping block.

No one who survives eighteen years of choke lung lacks determination. A novice wizard, Maladonis Bin, approaches with a vision—a cure in a barren land of volcanic fumes. As choices go, a charming bootlicker that trips over his own feet isn’t the best option, but beggars can’t be choosers. Kindar escapes with Mal and several longtime attendants only to have her eyes opened that her country faces dark times.

Her mother’s decision to close the prosperous mines spurs poverty and joblessness, inciting rebellion and opening Anost to foreign invasion. As Mal urges her toward a cure that will prove his visions, suddenly, an ally turns traitor, delivering Kindar to a rebel army, who have their own plans for a sickly princess.

 
 Kindar's Cure on Goodreads
 

Bio: 
 

Michelle Hauck lives in the bustling metropolis of northern Indiana with her hubby and two teenagers. Two papillons help balance out the teenage drama. Besides working with special needs children by day, she writes all sorts of fantasy, giving her imagination free range. A book worm, she passes up the darker vices in favor of chocolate and looks for any excuse to reward herself. Bio finished? Time for a sweet snack.

Her YA epic fantasy, Kindar's Cure, is to be published by Divertir Publishing in May 2013. Her short story, Frost and Fog, was picked up by The Elephant's Bookshelf Press for their summer 2013 anthology.

 

Twitter: @MIchelle4Laughs

Blog: It's in the Details
Facebook: Michelle Hauck, Author

 

SHARING OUR VOICES- KELBIAN NOEL

I'm so excited to introduce a very special person to the blog today. I was giddy (still am) when Kelbian Noel accepted my invitation to share why she writes. Her source of inspiration mirrors my own, but she expresses it in a way that touched my heart.

A Dose of Reality For a World of Confidence

Thanks for the invitation to Sharing Our Voices, Angie! I'm honored to be here :) When I first read about this series, I was so inspired by the posts of all these amazing authors. It's incredible how different we all are, yet so much alike. We all have a story and I'm happy to share mine!

When people ask me why I write, why I chose this of all things to do for a living, I give them two reasons: motivation and inspiration.

I can literally write for hours. For me, being in my characters' worlds is soothing. I enjoy time spent there. An entire day can melt away and I'll barely notice. If I have a big enough breakfast, I often even forget to eat. Writing makes me happy. Whether it’s fiction, proofreading or grant writing, it never feels like a job. Even in the midst of editing and revising I’m still having a good time. 

When I'm not writing my characters I'm thinking about them. What motivates them?  What inspires them? And when I put the finishing touches on a manuscript, there's usually more of a sense of regret than relief. I don’t schedule my writing. It’s automatic. The biggest part of my day. The very act motivates me, how I know it will fulfill me one day and be there for me the next.

Who I write about and for is my inspiration. 

When I first decided I wanted to be a writer I was eleven. My inspiration came from reading. But it wasn't the characters on the pages of Love Comes Softly and Anne of Avonlea that inspired me. What spurred me was the idea of the characters who could have been. Even as I moved on to more modern fiction from authors like R. L. Stine and Christopher Pike these characters still weren't there. Not prominently anyway. 

But don’t get me wrong. I wasn't offended. Or angry. I thoroughly enjoyed these stories, despite how the characters were described. Despite the fact that they looked nothing like the face staring back at me in the mirror. These writers were talented enough to engage me, and inspire me. 

Back then, I don't think I was socially conscious enough to see the lack of multicultural characters in fiction as a serious issue. In fact, in my eyes, it wasn’t a problem at all. It as an opportunity. 

 I grew up in rural Canada. When I say rural, I mean back-country-small-town-in-the- middle-of-a-place-you’ve-never-heard-of rural. Scot’s Bay, Turtle Creek, Lockeport, Morristown. Right now you’re probably Googling. And if you are, you get where I’m coming from. For many years, our family was the only black family--for miles. So, to be perfectly honest, reading an all white cast, book after book, wasn't all that unusual. It was all I knew the world to be. When I started writing my first novel (on lined paper, with a pen, sitting under that cliche old oak tree) I wrote what I saw, what I knew, with a little bit of color sprinkled in for good measure. That little bit of color, was me. 

Many years have passed since then and what inspires me hasn’t changed. I want my daughter (now eleven) and other children like her--visible minorities--to see themselves in the pages they read. So, when I write, I make a point to include them--front row center. That's why the characters in the Witchbound Series are so eclectic. I believe truly representing the world as it is, is a vital component to the positive development of future society. Our children. Confidence is the key to success and if I can inspire a little confidence in a story read before bedtime or before their days begin then, why not?

L.M. Montgomery wrote what she knew. I’m betting Janette Oke, R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike did as well. I’m going to assume the last three didn’t regularly interact with people of color. So adding them to their imaginary worlds, in a time when a simple online search wasn’t possible, wouldn’t have been easy to do. 

Times have changed. I don’t know everything about every culture. Even though I live in Toronto now, one of the most multicultural cities on the planet, I still have to do my research. And I do. Every kid, not just black like me, should see themselves in the pages. They should expect it, even demand it. And if they don’t get what they ask for, then hopefully they’ll be inspired to create it. 

Roots: Seventeen-year-old Baltimore Land just wants to be normal, but magic has other plans.

Sprung: Since she discovered magic, seventeen-year-old Skye Jackson's life is almost perfect. Almost. Even perfect has its glitches.

To help you find me in those pictures: In the horse picture, I'm the one in the front (my older sister is sitting behind me), in the birthday party picture, my dad is holding me, and in the picture in front of the van, that's me right in the center.

Thank you so much for inviting me! I hope everyone has a great week :)

Kelbian Noel
Author of The Witchbound Series
http://www.kelbian.com