What Would YOU Do?

Ok, I’ve been toying with an idea for a new book for a while now, and although I admit I have not given a ton of thought to it, I get stuck trying to figure out what direction it will/could/should go. Before I ask the reading faithful to chime in, let me give a little background.

Those of you who follow me or have read my book Queen’s Gold know that I am a hypnotherapist and past-life regressionist. What the heck does that mean? It means I take people back to their past lives under hypnosis. I know, woo-woo, right? Ok, it’s not Western mainstream thought, but actually there are more people who believe in reincarnation in the world than those who don’t. I’ve reviewed over 20 of my own past lives and I’ve found it to be an interesting and satisfying plot device for a keep-‘em-guessing story.

So one day I was thinking about good and evil and how it all shakes out in the big picture and a random thought crossed my mind—what if Hitler were reincarnated? After all, I’m assuming he was a regular person before an abusive childhood, paranoid beliefs and a country ripe for kidnapping all converged and he turned into a monster. I’m assuming his soul follows the same rules of Karma that all our souls do, and if that’s true, then he would definitely reincarnate in order to learn, grow and reach his full potential. I’m pretty sure being the greatest mass murderer in the history of the planet would not be his soul’s ultimate goal. So if he was reincarnated … who would he come back as?

I reasoned that the most surprising and interesting result would be for him to come back as something far removed from what he was, yet going to the exact opposite would be too pat. Many people think Karma is a tit-for-tat kind of thing, so if you murder in one life, you are murdered in the next. Actually it’s much more subtle and complex than that, and it can take many, many lives to resolve an issue. 

What I came up with is … (drumroll, please) … a housewife. In Poughkeepsie. Maybe Des Moines. Thirty-something, two tweener kids, husband is a banker or an engineer or maybe a salesman. Ordinary. Normal. Until she finds out …

(Jaws music here … duh DUM; duh DUM …)

I picture her balancing housekeeping and shopping with chauffeuring kids to soccer games and supporting husband through pay cuts brought on by the recession. She also struggles with her weight. In an uncharacteristic grab for some control over the life that has morphed away from her dreams, she sees a hypnotist, but during the course of the weight loss session, the stunning nature of her soul reveals itself.

Her first reaction, of course, is total disbelief. She has no interest in reincarnation. She’s … Baptist … or Methodist, maybe even Jewish, whatever. But religion for her is like background music; she can hear it if she focuses on it, but otherwise it just gets lost in the noise of daily life. Being presented with this silly wild imagining does not send her screaming for church. She’s a pragmatist. She goes home and washes a load of laundry.

But the thoughts don’t go away.

So here’s my question to you: If you found out you were the reincarnation of Hitler, what would you do? What would you think? How would you feel?

I would love to have your comments below. I’m dying to hear how this is going to come out!

Interview by Clancy Tucker

I'm re-blogging the very nice interview my down-under buddy Clancy Tucker did of me earlier this month. Interesting, different, thoughtful questions. Clancy blogs daily and has a lot of interesting folks drop by for a chat. http://clancytucker.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/21-january-2013-melissa-bowersock-guest.html .

1.      TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR WRITING JOURNEY.

My first two books were published by a New York house in the 80’s; these were both historical romances. From there I switched genres and was surprised to find that doing that threw me to the back of the line as far as publishers were concerned. Luckily my next three books were published by small presses, taking up the slack as the big houses got more and more reticent about non-celebrity writers. Finally I moved into self-publishing and have published my last five books that way.

2.      WHEN AND HOW DID YOU BECOME A WRITER?

I’ve been writing since I was 5. I remember my mother reading a little story I wrote about bunny rabbits and her asking me how I knew about using quotes for dialog. I had just noticed how they were used in stories I read, so I copied that. Apparently I was born with stories inside of me!

3.      WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT BEING A WRITER?

The best part about being a writer is when the story comes alive and takes off on its own. I know this is hard for non-writers to understand; after all, I’m writing the confounded thing, how can it do something I don’t know about? But it’s true, and that is where the magic comes in. When I was writing Goddess Rising, I found myself writing things that I didn’t really understand the need for, but later on those same elements came back into play. By the same token, I thought my current work in progress (WIP) was going to be a light comedy. It has become instead a fairly dark drama. Just goes to show that the stories will be told how they want, not how I want!

4.      WHAT IS THE HARDEST THING ABOUT BEING A WRITER?

Keeping at it. Writing is a very isolated and isolating process; we writers live inside our heads and there are no cheerleaders there. Sometimes it’s difficult to get back to a story, to keep chipping away at it, sentence by sentence. Sometimes it seems like I’ll never get through to the end, but I just have to keep working. Because it’s creative, it’s not a mechanical process like taking inventory or ordering supplies, and it’s more mentally and emotionally draining than non-creative jobs.

5.      WHAT WERE YOU IN A PAST LIFE, BEFORE YOU BECAME A WRITER?

I have a feeling for most people this question is more allegorical than literal. However, being a hypnotherapist and having reviewed about 20 of my past lives (and my book Queen’s Gold is based on a past-life hypnotic regression), I can lay a pretty good claim to my past life history. I’ve lived in Iceland, Africa, Ireland, Greece, Egypt, Arabia, Mexico, Germany, Palestine, Minnesota, Tibet, South Dakota and the American Southwest. I’ve been an American Indian (female), a scholar and ceramicist (female), an Arabian prince (male), a settler (female), a priest (male), a stable hand (male), a religious agitator (female), and a temple guardian (male). My most recent past life was in the first half of the 20^th century when I was a female artist living in Kansas. (And no, I’ve never been anyone famous!)

6.      WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST WRITING ACHIEVEMENT?

I’ve been happily surprised at the recognition my latest book, Marcia Gates: Angel of Bataan, has received. This is the true story of my aunt, an Army nurse and a prisoner-of-war during World War II. It was nominated for a biography award by the Military Writers Society of America and while it did not win the top prize, it was awarded an Honorable Mention. Shortly after that, I was contacted by a TV producer who was making a documentary about the military history of Wisconsin (my aunt’s home state) and wanted to feature her and my book in the program. It’s been extremely gratifying to see how the book touches people, and I love the fact that it’s keeping my aunt’s story and the history alive.

7.      WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON AT THE MOMENT?

Currently I’m working on a ghost story. It’s about a ghost who was transported from London to Arizona with the London Bridge. This is the story I thought was going to be a light comedy, but it’s evolved into something very different. I had envisioned something like The Canterville Ghost, but my main (living) character has a dark, moody side to him and his friendship with the female ghost is leading him to question every aspect of his life. I honestly have no idea how it’s going to end!

8.      WHAT INSPIRES YOU?

Good writing, good stories. Whenever I re-read one of my favourite books like A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving or Six of One by Rita Mae Brown, I just want to rush to the computer and start typing. Good writing compels me to write well. I’ve also found inspiration in dreams and in snippets of information that triggers a story. My book Goddess Rising came to me almost full blown in a dream. The ghost story was inspired by watching an episode of Arizona Highways that talked about the London Bridge and the hauntings there.

9.      WHAT GENRE DO YOU WRITE?

It might be easier to identify the genres I don’t write! I never like to tell the same story twice, and I’m drawn to a variety of genres. Up to now I’ve written action/adventure, western, contemporary and historic romance, fantasy, satire, spiritual fiction and biography.

10.  DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS FOR NEW WRITERS?

Keep at it! Writing can be tough, and if I ever sat down and thought, I’m going to write a 600-page novel, I think I’d be paralysed from the weight of it. Break it down in small pieces; write a sentence, then another, then a paragraph. Often it feels like it’s not going anywhere, but if you keep at it, it all adds up. The day you hold that first book in your hand, it’ll all be worth it.

11.  DO YOU SUFFER FROM WRITER’S BLOCK?

I do, although I don’t generally think of it in that way. If I don’t feel like writing, I just don’t write. I know it won’t last and I know I’ll write again. If I’m not feeling inspired by my latest WIP, I still write in my journal, write my blog and guest blogs, so it’s seldom I go very long without writing something.

12.  DO YOU HAVE A PREFERRED WRITING SCHEDULE?

No; I’m a very undisciplined writer. I know the general consensus is that writers should write every day, but I don’t force myself. I’ve found that if I write without some inspiration, some feeling for what I’m doing, I end up throwing it away so as far as I’m concerned, that’s a waste of time. Luckily as a novelist, I have no deadlines and no pressure. I write when I write and I’m done when I’m done. Doesn’t work for everyone but it works for me.

13.  DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE WRITING PLACE?

Not particularly, although I do like to be in a quiet place by myself with no distractions. Writing for me is like wading into water and I have to immerse myself to really get productive. If I’m interrupted, it’s difficult to slog out of the water, attend to the interruption, then wade back in. Luckily when I am writing, I can block out almost everything else. Sometimes people have to call my name several times before I even hear it.

14.  WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST JOY IN WRITING?

Creating something that was not there before. I love creating people, places, even whole worlds that never existed before. And the best part is, it’s mine so I can make it however I want.

15.  WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE AUTHOR AND WHY?

My all-time favourite author is John Irving, particularly his A Prayer for Owen Meany. As far as I’m concerned, that is the best book on the planet. He has the most marvellous way of wandering as he goes, telling the story from start to finish yet still meandering all over the time span and the locations with effortless ease. I read Owen Meany about once a year and it always inspires me because it’s just so phenomenal; even after 20 readings, I still laugh out loud and I still cry. Owen Meany is one of the most fascinating and complex characters ever created. Once you meet him, you never forget him.

16.  WHAT’S THE GREATEST COMPLIMENT YOU EVER RECEIVED FROM A READER?

That has to be the nomination by the reviewer at the Military Writers Society of America for my book Marcia Gates: Angel of Bataan.

17.  WHAT WAS THE WORST COMMENT FROM A READER?

Interestingly enough, that same book (Marcia Gates: Angel of Bataan) received a review where someone said, “Not worth the price.” Ouch.

18.  WRITERS ARE SOMETIMES INFLUENCED BY THINGS THAT HAPPEN IN THEIR OWN LIVES. ARE YOU?

I have to be; I’m human. Everything that happens to me influences my outlook on life and how I respond to my experiences. While I don’t write about specific things that happen to me (except in my journal), I definitely use the emotional and sometimes spiritual experiences in my writing. I have to write from my heart, from my core. It’s all I really know about.

19.  OTHER THAN WRITING, WHAT ELSE DO YOU LOVE?

I love photography, primarily of wild animals and natural landscapes. One of my favourite places in the world is the Grand Canyon and every time I go, I take zillions of pictures (some strangely similar to ones I’ve taken before!). Those rare occasions when I’m able to get pictures of elk, condors or bighorn sheep are especially memorable. I also love to travel; my husband and I have been lucky enough to visit Australia, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Peru, all prime picture-taking locations! We’ve also travelled most of the western U.S. I love astronomy and since I work for the National Observatory, for me that’s like a kid working in a candy store.

20.  DID YOU HAVE YOUR BOOK / BOOKS PROFESSIONALLY EDITED BEFORE PUBLICATION?

I have never hired a professional editor. I edit all my own books, although of course I do ask friends to read and give me feedback. Interestingly enough, I’ve been published by 4 different traditional publishers and of those, only one ever offered so much as a suggestion about my book. The rest published my books verbatim, even including the typos!

21.  DESCRIBE YOUR PERFECT DAY.

A day where I can look back and know that I worked hard and accomplished something but also a day where I had some time to relax, to enjoy music, to read, to watch a good movie. Satisfying interaction with others (but not too much—I’m an introvert at heart!), time outside to enjoy the day, to watch the clouds drift by, hear birds singing, see hawks soaring. Being out in the natural world recharges my batteries.

22.  IF YOU WERE STUCK ON A DESERT ISLAND WITH ONE PERSON, WHO WOULD IT BE? WHY?

No contest—my husband. After 41 years he is still the love of my life and my best friend. We disagree on some things, but overall we have the same values, the same work ethic, the same dreams. I know the two of us would be able to work together and build a very nice home on that island in record time, and we would enjoy the solitude!

23.  WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IF YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO SPEAK TO WORLD LEADERS?

After quite a bit of dressing down for some, I’d like to ask them to imagine themselves on the last day of their life. When they are old, weak, dying, perhaps in pain, how comforting is the money they amassed? How comforting is the power they wielded? In the end, all that’s really important is the way we treat each other, the way we help each other. That’s our only legacy. All else is dust in the wind.

24.  WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE?

More of the same; read, write, work, relax, enjoy. I’m looking forward to retirement within the next year (not from writing!), and starting the next chapter of my life without the constraints of needing to be near a big city in order to make a living.

25.  WHAT FIVE BOOKS WOULD YOU TAKE TO HEAVEN?

Easy: 1) A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving, 2) Six of One by Rita Mae Brown, 3) The Mirror by Marlys Millhiser, 4) Queens’ Gold (by me) and 5) Superstition Gold (by me). I re-read all of these books every year.

26.  DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN ANY OF YOUR CHARACTERS?

A little. I don’t base any of my characters on myself, but of course there are elements of me in each of them. The one thing I want for my characters is growth; I want them to know more, to understand more, to be better human beings at the end of the story, and of course I want that continually for me, as well.

27.  DOES THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY FRUSTRATE YOU?

Not anymore. Back in the “old days” when I was sending out query letters, waiting, sending out 5-pound manuscripts, waiting, waiting, it did, but with the rise of self-publishing I no longer have to wait for a gate-keeper to let me in the publishing club.

28.  DID YOU EVER THINK OF QUITTING?

Not so much quitting as just letting it fade away. There was a point in my life where I was putting all my energy into addressing issues of my personal life and I had no energy left to write. I realized it was fading, mourned for it, but had bigger fish to fry. Luckily once I got the kinks worked out in my personal life, I was right back to writing. I doubt I’ll ever stop.

29.  WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE MANUSCRIPT TO WRITE? WHY?

My favourite manuscript to write was the one for Superstition Gold. Although I only had a nebulous outline of the arc of the story, that book just flowed out of me. I wrote it in 3 months from start to finish, pretty speedy by my standards. Most of my other books have taken me many more months, even years, to finish. Conversely, the most difficult to write was Marcia Gates: Angel of Bataan. Because this was my first non-fiction and because it’s about a family member, I felt a need to be accurate above all else, neither exaggerating nor downplaying the events. My aunt and all her generation are gone, but I felt the distinct pressure of family ghosts hovering at my shoulder, watching (and approving, hopefully) every word. I knew I wasn’t done until I could imagine handing the book to my aunt without flinching.

30.   HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE ‘SUCCESS’ AS A WRITER?

Success for me is writing the best story I can while being scrupulously true to the characters. That is all I have control over, and if I’ve done that, I’ve done my job. The next milestone in success is how that story touches others. If people read my books and feel a connection to my characters, if they remember them long after they’ve put the book away and they want to go back and “visit” later on, that’s a success.

31.  WHAT SHOULD READERS WALK AWAY FROM YOUR BOOKS KNOWING? HOW SHOULD THEY FEEL?

I would hope they would come away from my books feeling satisfied, entertained, maybe enlightened. I would hope they might have found something they never knew about before, maybe considered something or someone they never considered before. I’d like to think my books had opened a door for them.

32.   ANYTHING YOU’D LIKE TO ADD?

I’d just like to thank you for the great interview questions and to encourage anyone who feels they have a story inside them—write it down! Too often stories are lost forever because they are never written down. And nowadays with self-publishing coming of age, there’s never been a better time to write. It’s easy to do, it’s affordable and it’s fun! 

That Shiny New Penny Feeling

Recently an elderly writer friend—for her 80^th birthday—was given the news that her children were going to arrange to self-publish her novel. She’s been working on this novel for years and has dutifully kept her nose to the word processor while the world around her has changed dramatically. She’s not online, has no clue about Facebook or Twitter and has no idea that the publishing industry has been re-inventing itself almost weekly over the past 10 years.

Enter … me.

I’ve been asked to help escort the novel through the self-publishing process, which I’m fully willing and happy to do. I’ve already formatted the latest version of the novel (currently awaiting editing updates), uploaded it to Create Space so we can figure the retail pricing, and I’ve done some mock-up covers in the Cover Creator. These are all processes I’ve completed several times for my own books, so it’s easy and almost automatic. But while I was doing these very ordinary and mundane things, I realized there was a thread of excitement behind them.

Why?

Because this will be her first book published.

Thinking about it took me back to the day I unpacked and held my very first book in my hand. I’m not sure that anyone but a writer can relate to that moment. After all, it’s not like an artist that puts the last dab of color on the canvas and says, “Done!” It’s not like the playwright that puts the last period and then types The End. The trick with a book is that we toil over it for months or years, we package it up in whatever way is the current process of the time, send it off, and then have it returned to us in its glorious finished state. It’s breath-stealing to open that box and pick up that book for the first time, to see how it’s all come together in its final manifestation, complete with cover, title, chapters, pages, back cover blurb. I can compare it to nothing else except the sheer joy of a 5-year-old child being given a freshly-minted, shiny new penny. It’s so bright! So clean! So pretty! Yes, we writers can actually feel that giddy over the first book.

I envy my friend. I envy her that experience which she has yet to encounter. It is such a defining moment for a writer, it’s like Christmas and New Year’s and birthday all rolled into one. It’s that moment when we say, “YES! I did it!” It’s the culmination of years of work, but it’s also the open door to everything else we have imagined. For in that pivotal moment, the world has changed.

It’s a bright, shiny new moment, never to be forgotten.

I envy her.

A Place to Write

As a writer, I am often asked if I need a specific place or space to do my writing. That may be true for many writers, but for me the resounding answer is NO.

Since I’ve always had a day job, I’ve always had to carve out a little bit of time or space from my structured day wherever and whenever I could to write. I would write at home on weekends or evenings; at work I would write on breaks or lunch hours. In my early years I often wrote longhand on legal pads so I could take my writing with me anywhere and jot a few lines as the spirit moved me. I worked for the phone company for many years, so I have a lot of notes scribbled on customer service contact memos. I actually wrote my romance satire, The Pits of Passion, purely on breaks in the lunch room of the phone company. I used to go to break expecting to write, only to find that all the pages of my legal pad had been parceled out to everyone else on break so they could all keep up with the latest action. I had to hunt down the last page and take it forcibly so I could continue the story.  

So having a quiet little bubble to write in was never an issue. I guess I’m lucky that way, or unlucky. Not having the “right” environment has never stopped me, but then again, I don’t have any excuse (not the right lighting, not the right temperature, not the right ambiance) to not write.

Recently I found myself thinking about that perfect place to write. My husband and I were lucky enough to spend a few days after New Year’s at our favorite place on the planet—the Grand Canyon. We had rented a cabin only steps from the South Rim. In the winter there are much fewer tourists around than during the summer, so it was almost idyllic. However, it was frickin’ freezing! The low in the morning was -2º; the wind chill took it to -10 º, but if we were lucky, it warmed up to maybe 28 º during the day. Now, I’m not a native Arizonan, but after 25 years in Tucson, I’m pretty spoiled by mild winters the rest of the country only dreams about. Trying to hike snow-covered trails in -10 º slashing wind is not exactly my definition of relaxing. We’d hike for a bit, feel our faces and fingers begin to go numb and duck into a restaurant for a cup of hot. Later we’d go out and face the wind again, but it really had to be taken in small doses, and those respites of toasty warm air and hot drinks felt like heaven.

I got to thinking how nice it would be to have my own cabin and at times like this, have a nice warm corner with big windows that looked out over the canyon. Full view of this scenic wonder, a hot cup of tea, maybe a couple of cookies for good measure or my cat sleeping on my desk … I could go for that. I’m not really sure how productive I’d be with that distracting view, but I’d sure like to try it out.

The best thing about the canyon is the solitude. Oh, I’m not talking about the area right behind Bright Angel Lodge where every tourist and their brothers gather to take that iconic picture on their cell phones. I’m talking about the wild spaces just yards down the trail where 99% of the tourists never go. When we were there, the most traveled areas were of course cleared of snow by the gazillions of feet that shuffled about, but we didn’t have to go very far before the trails were smothered in white stuff. Since we’re blessed with abundant sunlight here, the snow melts during the day and then refreezes at night, so there were plenty of places that were glassy with ice. It’s not hard to deduce that losing one’s balance at the edge of the Grand Canyon is not a good idea. Rather than take the slippery scenic rim trail, we opted for the deeper snow back amid the trees. The walking was easier and we didn’t have to be quite so careful. And it turned out we weren’t the only ones who thought that way.

We hadn’t been walking long when I wanted to stop and take a picture of the sparkly snow. Because of the low humidity here (single digits, usually), the snow tends to be powder dry, and the ice crystals sparkle like diamonds. It’s a beautiful phenomenon, but is hard to catch with a camera. Getting the right angle and the right light took some figuring. As I was working on that, my husband said, “Don’t move.”

What?

I looked up and saw the most gorgeous mule deer staring back at me. We’d inadvertently taken the same unofficial trail as a large mulie doe and her year-old son who was just barely sporting nubs on his forehead. Being very used to all the people that mill about the canyon, the deer were not the least bit afraid of us, although they did keep their distance as we moved closer to them. They simply wandered a bit further off, but continued their slow grazing on tufts of green that broke through the snow. We enjoyed their company for many long minutes, taking plenty of pictures, then moved off to leave them in peace. It was time again to get out of the cold and back into the warmth of a cozy room.

Grand scenery, the peace of natural places, the beauty of wild creatures … yes, I could write in a place like that.

Anybody got a cabin they’re not using?