Author Interview: Noah Blough

Today I am sitting down with my buddy Noah Blough to talk about his new book, Hunting Dinosaurs: Tales of fatherhood & being a son. I haven’t read the book, but find the description intriguing; you mention both a magical memoir and a fantasy autobiography. What do you mean by that?

NOAH: It’s part of the nature of memory. Every time you “save” on a computer it over-writes what had been done earlier. Science has found the brain does something similar. When working on a memory as a story over a few years, you start to wonder if it’s a memory or Memorex -  the story becoming the memory.  Also, you find new meanings in a memory as you write and re-write, so the story is always evolving. This happened a lot for my childhood memories. In some instances, I combined two memories to make the final story more effective.

MJB: People write memoirs for different reasons, some to record their lives, some to preserve memories for their children, or as therapy to resolve early issues in life. What was the impetus for you to write this?

NOAH: I plead guilty to all three. I really wanted to contrast growing up in the “60’s” with how my sons grew up. I wanted my children to know about me in a deeper way. My older son, who lives in London, is communicating with me much more since he’s read the book. Which is a pleasant surprise. As far as therapy, I got serious about the book when my wife and I went through a rough period. It was a great relief. But if you want to do more than just record some anecdotes, when you dive into your life you are faced with the good, the bad and the grossly stupid. It can make you very uneasy exposing yourself, your life and you ask yourself, “Why am I doing this?”

MJB: It sounds like the process became so much more than you'd anticipated. So, now, would you say you succeeded? Did writing the book accomplish all that you hoped it would? If not, what went unanswered?

NOAH: As far as this being a successful book, I’m letting others tell me. I can’t look at the book without a moment of nausea at present.  I’m not sure, what I wanted to accomplish. Spending 30 years in the film industry I became obsessive about finishing projects (It was also my job). I saw too many give up and that’s not good. Even if it’s terrible, you have to finish the project or it affects the rest of your career, your life. So just finishing and publishing was big. 

MJB: It is a great accomplishment, one that many never do finish. What would you say was the hardest part about writing this book? What was the easiest?

NOAH: It took me approximately 5 years. There were periods, as long as 6 months, when I didn’t or couldn’t work on it. When I moved to Arizona it became a priority. Yet the hardest parts to write are the parts you need to get to the truth of the story and you just can’t crack it. It’s vexing, but you keep trying or at least get close enough. The easiest is when the story just flows out and it works. Picking out what is going to work in the overall book is tough.  Professionally I’m film editor, and a lot wonderful stories that didn’t fit ended up on the cutting room floor.

MJB: That's actually a good thing for a writer. Sometimes we get so attached to an anecdote, we cram it in when it doesn't belong; the fact that you were able to cut things that didn't fit says a lot about your writer's integrity. 

When I write my first draft, I never think of my readers but just write what comes spilling out. Later, going through the book for the second time, that’s when I think about my readers and what they might see or feel as they read the book. When you were writing your book, did you think about your own father reading over your shoulder? Or about your children doing the same? What kind of feedback have you gotten from family?

NOAH: Writing about my father was incredibly hard. Everyone creates a family history, a narrative that they tell friends and acquaintances in an easy relatable way. Not too hard, not too deep, in essence a sound bite. When you write it down, you have to confront the truth, but you have to write it in a 3-dimensional human way. My father was a big personality and had a big life and might have written his own book. Balancing the good and the bad is tricky. He probably would have owned his mistakes and laughed at the rest. Only one son has read it, the younger son is in his last year at college and has no time to read it yet. Through he is a little cranky about his brother getting to read it first. My older son had no objections to my portrayal of him. My daughters will get it this Xmas. Let’s hope they still talk to me in the New Year.

MJB: I'm sure they will. Have you ever thought about making a foray into pure fiction? Perhaps a novel? 

NOAH: Yes, fiction would be fun. Before this memoir, that’s all I’d written, but it was always in screenplay form.  Since I’ve joined Toastmasters I’ve written short essays and short stories to perform. I think I’m ready. I joined a writers group and some are published, so I have to get cracking.

MJB: All right, what’s next for Noah Blough?  

NOAH: I think I’ve found a voice, so I’m searching for a story that will fits well with that voice.

If readers want more information, how can they find you?

NOAH: I’m just starting to promote the book on social media. I had to put so much time into finishing the book and publishing, I had to back burner everything and it’s taken some time to catch up. All this is in the works. Should be finished soon.

Facebook

Amazon Author Page

New Release: DEMON WALK

Looking for a cozy mystery to read by the fire on a cold December night? I've got the perfect solution. DEMON WALK, Book 6 of the Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud Mystery Series is now available. All the books in the mystery series are on sale for just 99 cents each to celebrate the release of my latest installment.  If you've been following Sam and Lacey, you'll want to see what happens when they confront pure evil. If you're new to the series, try out the first book, Ghost Walk, for just 99 cents. You won't be disappointed.

DEMON WALK

Private investigator Lacey Fitzpatrick and Navajo medium Sam Firecloud are called in by the Director of Mission San Juan Capistrano to unravel the mystery surrounding an evil presence that is threatening the mission’s people and its liability, maybe its very existence. While Lacey digs into the research, Sam pulls out all the stops, planning to fight fire with fire and witchcraft with… witchcraft. Lacey finds his methods disturbing, but knows they have to combat the ancient, supernatural force that has killed before, and may very well kill again. 

Catch up on all the adventures of Sam and Lacey in the first 5 books.

Ghost Walk / Skin Walk / Star Walk / Dream Walk / Dragon Walk

Now all just 99 cents each through December 17, 2017.

New Release: Dragon Walk

Have you ever wanted to walk on the wild side? On the ghostly side? On the paranormal side? Well, here's your chance. My mystery series with Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud is all on sale for just 99 cents each to celebrate the release of my latest installment, Dragon Walk, Book 5 of the series. If you've been following Sam and Lacey and have been waiting for their return, this is it. If you're new to the series, try out the first book, Ghost Walk, for just 99 cents. You won't be disappointed.

Dragon Walk

Four months ago, a pretty young marathoner disappeared while training on the isolated trails of Griffith Park in Los Angeles. The police have few leads, no witnesses and no results.  As a last resort, they call in private investigator Lacey Fitzpatrick and Navajo medium Sam Firecloud to pick up the rapidly cooling trail. Sam and Lacey, however, are on the outs. Their efforts to take their relationship to the next level failed miserably, and now they must redefine their working relationship, as well. Can they find the murdered girl and her killer, and still hang on to their partnership?   

Catch up on all the adventures of Sam and Lacey in the first four books.

Ghost Walk / Skin Walk / Star Walk / Dream Walk

All just 99 cents through November 26, 2017.

Coming Soon: Dragon Walk

Watch this space for the immanent launch of my new book, Dragon Walk. This is Book 5 in the Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud Mystery Series. If you've been following the series, you know the weird paranormal cases they investigate, and you know the ups and downs of their relationship. Dragon Walk continues in that tradition, and takes it all a step further.

Here's the book description: 

Four months ago, a pretty young marathoner disappeared while training on the isolated trails of Griffith Park in Los Angeles. The police have few leads, no witnesses and no results.  As a last resort, they call in private investigator Lacey Fitzpatrick and Navajo medium Sam Firecloud to pick up the rapidly cooling trail. Sam and Lacey, however, are on the outs. Their efforts to take their relationship to the next level failed miserably, and now they must redefine their working relationship, as well. Can they find the murdered girl and her killer, and still hang on to their partnership? 

And... stay tuned for Book 6, Demon Walk, up next!

Veteran's Day Celebration

It's always a pleasure to honor our vets in November, to set aside this month, this day, 11/11, to remember their names and their stories, their sacrifices and their successes. It is for that very reason that I wrote this book about my aunt, an army nurse from Wisconsin who became entangled in the largest conflict the world had ever known. Approximately 1100 World War II vets die every day, and with them go their stories. I didn't want my aunt's story to be lost along with so many others. We need to remember--need to remember--the horror, the heartache, the heroism in order to work toward peace. To work toward this never happening again.

So in honor of Veteran's Day, I've put the ebook version of Marcia Gates: Angel of Bataan on sale for just 99 cents.  

Here is just one of many gratifying reviews of the book:

Nurse Gates' amazing valor and her mother's drive reminds us to never forget the human dimension of combat. A reminder indeed that loved ones suffer as much at home as those on the battlefields. Inspirational. 

Her spirit came alive on the pages of this factual account of her Japanese captivity.

I hope you'll join me in honoring our vets, whoever and wherever they may be, during this week. Let them know in whatever way we can, that we remember.

Kindle version (99 cents)

Paperback version

Audio version

Watch the book trailer here

The Kindle version is on sale this week, through November 12, 2017, and it's always free with Kindle Unlimited.

And by the way, if you're near Stoughton, WI, stop by the new Veteran's Park. There's a memorial to Marcia Gates, along with many other Wisconsin vets.

Author Interview: Russ McDevitt Part 2

Last year, I had a discussion with my buddy E.J. “Russ” McDevitt about his latest Danny Quigley novel.  While Russ’s new book is not a Quigley story, it’s still very much a McDevitt story with lots of action and lots of intrigue. I have not read this new book, The GroundCries Out, so I’m as anxious to hear about it as you are. Let’s dive in.

MJB: Russ, give us a quick summary of the new book. What’s it about and who is the main character?

McDevitt: In Washington a new President takes over with one burning ambition… to destroy the United States! President Donovan’s mind is becoming increasingly irrational as he plots to unleash chaos and the dogs of war across the world in revenge for the drug overdoses and deaths of his two sons, which he blames on the corrupt U.S. system. His initial efforts to create anarchy turn unexpectedly into brilliant moves that solve some of the world’s major trouble spots. In the process he earns the hatred of Saudi Arabian Sheik Amani who places a contract for Donovan’s assassination with a rogue ex- SAS trooper, Paccy McDaid, now a hit man for the IRA. The story moves with lightning speed as other forces, among them Mossad, the PLO and the U.S. Secret Service, are actively involved in stopping McDaid before he reaches the U.S. President.

Donovan’s final card looks like succeeding as he convinces the UK Government to cede Northern Ireland to the Irish Republic, in a surprise overnight move, and a massive vengeful Protestant Loyalist army goes rampaging across the border towards Dublin.

McDaid meanwhile gains access to the White House on St Patrick’s day, under the guise of the President’s cousin…

MJB: I’m curious about having a hired assassin as your main character. How did you portray him so your readers are invested in his success or failure? How did you create sympathy for such a character?

McDevitt: While McDaid is ‘a bad guy’ every hand is turned against him and he keeps coming out on top against some very able adversaries. Gradually, the reader will start to admire his survival and combat skills.  The reader comes to a realization that President Donovan needs to be stopped by someone, before he succeeds in his vengeful plot to destroy America.

MJB: Some might say this new book is based on current events. Was that intentional, or just a coincidence?

McDevitt: It was written several years before the President Trump came to power… In my novel ‘The Quigley Challenge’ based in Nigeria, I predicted Boko Haram becoming the top terrorist organization in the country, at least a year before the media had even mentioned them. An Irish magazine wondered if I had the gift of prophesy … If so, perhaps you could apply that to my new release ‘The Ground Cries Out’... interesting thought!

MJB: What was the impetus behind moving away from Danny Quigley into something new? Is the Danny series complete, or are you just taking a hiatus from him for a bit?

McDevitt: I was chilling out after my last novel and by accident pulled out this manuscript that I had written years ago… couldn’t even remember the names or the plot. As I read it, I got very excited and heard my thoughts saying … “This is really good stuff!” You can guess the rest.

MJB: What’s next for Russ McDevitt?  

McDevitt: I just returned from 10 days in Ireland. Being Irish I’m open to the cry of the land in my spirit...the winds sweeping in from the Atlantic, the voices of the people and their music, and the ancient inherent tradition of the Celtic storyteller welling up in my being.

Where next?

I have no idea… watch this space.

MJB: If readers want more information, how can they find you?

Webpage: www.russmcdevitt.com

Amazon 

Facebook

The Issue of Self-Publishing Control: Book Titles

Control: I believe that is the best aspect of self-publishing. Sure, in the discussions that rage endlessly across the internet about trad-publishing vs. self-publishing, the major issue always seems to revolve around money. Yes, we get better royalties when we self-pub. When my first book was published by a NY house, my royalty rate for the first 100,000 books sold was ten cents per book. You read that right: ten cents. After that, it “jumped” to twenty-five cents.

But that issue has been beaten to death. I believe people overlook the bigger picture of self-publishing, and that’s having control over the way the book is packaged and presented.

The number one issue is the title. The title gives our readers the very first glimpse of the story. In just a word or two or three, we have to convey some idea of the story line, the genre, and the overall feel of the book. That’s a tall order.

My first book was an historical romance. Not exactly high literature, but that’s what I was reading at the time — reading and having extreme disappointment in. With almost every other book I read, I found myself muttering, “I can do better than this.” So I did. My book was set in the American West of the 1800s and the protagonist was a half-breed, raised white in New York society, who ran away to Kansas to search for her Cheyenne family. I titled it The Rare Breed.

When I sold that book to the NY house, the first thing they did after I signed the contract was change the title. My book became Love’s Savage Destiny. Believe me, I was not pleased. My book was not a bodice-ripper, and I wasn’t too keen on it being presented as such, but all of this was now beyond my control. In my haste to hook up with a traditional publisher and have a credible house logo on the spine, I had given up any influence over the cover or title of the book. The cover, luckily, wasn’t bad – not overly titillating but still suggestive. My book was definitely on the sensual side, but although the sex was graphic in a flowery way, I always felt that the real story was the heroine’s growth through her journey. The title and cover implied no growth except perhaps in the leading male character’s anatomy.

I still remember the first time my husband and I went to a chain bookstore to see if my book was on the shelf. The store had one huge wall full of romance novels, and we both scanned the shelves looking for mine. No, no, no, no … After several minutes of fruitless search, my husband finally said to me, “There’s a lot of Savages up there.” And there were. Way too many.

Because my publisher had the option on my next book, I dutifully sent it to them. It, too, was a western romance, this time set in Arizona’s Superstition Mountains. Again, the romance was strong but still secondary (I thought) to the heroine’s struggle to understand the father she never knew, the one that left her gold from the Lost Dutchman Gold Mine. My title was Superstition Gold, alluding not only to the literal gold but also to the gold of her new-found romance and relationship. As before, I would never consider the book a bodice-ripper.

My publisher begged to differ. I received a letter from them announcing the new title of the book was Love’s Savage Embrace. They also hoped I would be as “thrilled” with the title as they were.

Yeah, no.

It was at that point that I swore one day I would write a romance novel and call it Love’s Savage Armpit. (Which I have now done!)

In any event, both books went through several iterations with my publisher and then finally were allowed to lapse out of print and the rights reverted back to me. Still uncomfortable with the bodice-ripper association, I republished them under my original titles and with less titillating covers, although I do reference the other titles on the publication page. (I’d hate to have readers think they were hoodwinked into buying the same book twice. “Hey, this sounds familiar….”) But I’m much happier with the books being presented in a more thoughtful, less scintillating way. Sure, I like sex as well as the next guy, but I’d still rather that my readers know my stories have more to them than that.

And now, being self-published, I can do just that.

Some of you might be wondering, did my books sell better with my titles, my covers, or with the publisher’s? It’s impossible to say; it’s apples and oranges. When the publisher put the books out, they were in drugstores and grocery stores, available in the turning wire racks where impulse buyers might see them. Now that I market my own books and the industry has changed so much, all my promotion is online or in person. The only thing I can tell you is that both books now embody the vision I had for them from the very beginning. They are my books: my stories, my titles, my covers, my packaging.

That’s the freedom of having total control.

Originally published by Indies Unlimited on September 23, 2014.

Stop the Chop: Writing Smooth Transitions

Have you ever read a book where the scene is progressing nicely, things are happening, people are talking and then … you’re somewhere else. From one paragraph to the next, you’ve gone from a moonlit beach to a crowded avenue. You were just starting to understand the relationship between John and Marsha and now suddenly you’re introduced to Tony.

“Marsha, hello,” John called brightly. He was obviously pleased to see her. His eyes shone at her with reflected moonlight.

“Hello, John.” Her voice was low, cautious. Her eyes darted nervously about the deserted beach, and she caught her lower lip in her teeth.

“How are you?” he asked as he stopped in front of her.

Tony cursed the Black Friday crowds while he shouldered his way down the sidewalk. He hated shopping.

Does this make you do a double-take? Do you have to go back and re-read just to make sure you didn’t miss something? In recent months I’ve read more than a few books that had trouble with transitions. Now I’ve yammered on before about how, when we write, we need to make sure the reader is flowing along with us effortlessly. Yes, there may be drama in the story and yes, there may be tension, but there shouldn’t be any of that in the reader’s efforts to follow the story. The reader may need to work at piecing out the story line in a thriller, may need to tease out the truth from the lies and misdirections in a mystery, but they should not have to work at following the writing. In my opinion, if the reader does have to work at that, we haven’t done our job well at all.

There are several ways to indicate a change of time or scene. A very simple way is to put an extra space between the paragraphs.

“Hello,” John called brightly. He was obviously pleased to see her. His eyes shone at her with reflected moonlight.

“Hello, John.” Her voice was low, cautious. Her eyes darted nervously about the deserted beach, and she caught her lower lip in her teeth.

“How are you?” he asked as he stopped in front of her.

Tony cursed the Black Friday crowds while he shouldered his way down the sidewalk. He hated shopping.

The space gives us a visual clue that something has changed, and it sets us up immediately — without reading another word — that something different is going on. Equate this to the “fade to black” in films. You know when the scene fades to black that you’re either going to a different time or a different place, even if it’s still a scene with the same characters.

I have to add a small caveat here. With the popularity of eBooks, we unfortunately often see formatting glitches, generally in the category of extra spaces where there shouldn’t be one (as well as indent anomalies). The single extra space between paragraphs is a simple, subtle way of indicating a shift, but with eBooks, it might be better to be more obvious, just in case. For that reason, I suggest the use of centered asterisks (either three or five) between paragraphs, like this:

“How are you?” he asked as he stopped in front of her.

*****

Tony cursed the Black Friday crowds while he shouldered his way down the sidewalk. He hated shopping.

Another more direct way is to preface your next sentence with a reference to time or place. It might look like:

The next day, Tony cursed the Black Friday crowds while he shouldered his way down the sidewalk. He hated shopping.

Or:

In Times Square, Tony cursed the Black Friday crowds while he shouldered his way down the sidewalk. He hated shopping.

No, it’s not particularly elegant, but it’s unmistakable. The readers don’t have to wonder where or when they are. Those few words set them up immediately for the next scene.

If you don’t want to use anything as obvious as the above, there’s another way. That’s to put a period on the end of your paragraph. What I mean by this is that you can end your paragraph with a line that wraps up the scene, that gives it a final, definitive feel to it, even if it also promises there’s more to come. We see this often in soap operas (no, I don’t watch them, but I have surfed through enough of them from time to time). It might look like this:

“Hello, John.” Her voice was low, cautious. Her eyes darted nervously about the deserted beach, and she caught her lower lip in her teeth.

“How are you?” he asked as he stopped in front of her. He folded his arms across his chest, forming a barrier between her and any escape she might consider. This time, he would make sure she wasn’t going anywhere until she explained where she’d been.

Or:

“Hello, John.” Her voice was low, cautious. Her eyes darted nervously about the deserted beach, and she caught her lower lip in her teeth.

“How are you?” he asked as he stopped in front of her.

Marsha sighed in tired resignation. She should have told him about the surgery a long time ago. She owed him that much, at least. “It’s a long story,” she said. “We’d better sit.”

I realize this is all subjective and can be very nebulous when we’re trying to tie it down, but it’s like the old definition of quality. You may not be able to define it, but you know it when you see it. And you also know when it’s not working. What do you think? What tools do you use to make good transitions?

Originally published by Indies Unlimited on August 26, 2014.

New Release: Dream Walk

I'm happy to announce the release of my latest book, Dream Walk, the fourth book in the Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud Mystery Series. 

Dream Walk

As you may remember, Lacey and Sam are private investigators who investigate murders--by communicating with the victims. 

Private investigator Lacey Fitzpatrick and Navajo medium Sam Firecloud are usually called to clear haunted locations of their lingering ghosts using Sam’s unusual talent for communicating with the dead. This time, however, the dead—Sam’s former brother-in-law—comes to him… in a dream. Now Sam and Lacey head to Las Vegas to figure out how to find the body and uncover a murder plot before the murderers bury them forever.

Catch up on all the action. Follow Lacey and Sam through mysterious investigations in Los Angeles, the Navajo reservation in Arizona, and Hollywood. 

Ghost Walk         Skin Walk         Star Walk

To celebrate the new release, all books in the series are just 99 cents through July 31, 2017 

Favorite Characters: Corporal Patrick Riley

Recently I was interviewed for another blog, and one of the questions put to me was: Which of your own characters is your favorite, and why? Hmm... My first impulse was to examine all the main characters from my books, and there are many that I have great fondness for. However, the one character that I love above all others happens to be a secondary character. He is Corporal Patrick Riley, a striker in my time travel books Finding Travis and Being Travis.

If you're unfamiliar, a striker was an enlisted man in the frontier US Army who was tasked with being a servant and assistant to an officer. The title originally came from the fact that the striker was the one who struck the tent of an officer when the Cavalry was getting ready to move.

In my two-book series, my main character, Lieutenant Travis Merrill, is flung backward in time to 1877 at Camp Verde, Arizona Territory. In my efforts to be completely authentic about his experience, I knew I had to write in a striker for him. During this time, there were many Irish and German men who moved west, looking for the opportunities they did not have in their homelands or in the eastern US, so making Travis' striker an Irish man made sense. I introduced the character with little fanfare and few expectations.

Imagine my surprise when Riley morphed before my eyes into a funny, stoic, steadfast man who said little but saw everything, who kept his own counsel but watched over Travis like a favorite uncle, giving Travis enough rope to hang himself but staying close by to help him untie the knots if need be. As the relationship deepened and grew stronger, I realized I was writing a friendship unlike any I had ever written before. 

Riley has a dry and very wicked sense of humor, and he and Travis learn to talk trash to each other while staying within their bounds of enlisted man vs. officer protocol. Much that passes between them is unsaid, yet they understand each other completely. Riley is the perfect foil for Travis, and ends up stealing every scene in which he appears. 

Who knew a secondary character could come to the fore and embody such heart, such restraint, such compassion? Certainly not me. Maybe that's why I love him. He was a total surprise, and he absolutely makes the books. 

It was as much for him as for Travis that I wrote the sequel.

Where Are YOU in Your Own Story Arc?

A while back, I was being interviewed by a reporter at the local paper for a weekly column called A Day in the Life of …  These columns feature local, everyday people, from business owners to artists to worker bees to civil servants and volunteers. My particular column was to be A Day in the Life of a Writer. The reporter and I know each other, so the mood was casual, more a friendly chat than a grilling. He asked many of the questions I’ve fielded before: what genre(s) do I write, how did I get started, etc. Pretty much your basic interview. Suddenly, though, he asked me a question that poleaxed me. I sat there, mouth agape, brain churning, trying to figure out the answer to something I’d never thought about before.

“Have you written your best book already, or is that still to come?”

“Uh …..”

It was a serious question and it required a serious, deliberate answer. It also required me to delve deep inside myself right at that moment and find out how the two options felt. Had I written my best book already? I’ve got nineteen novels and one non-fiction to my credit, all of which have been well-received. But my best? No. I knew on a visceral level that I still had more to come, more and better. I may never write the Great American Novel, but I knew without a doubt that I will write more stories, and they will be good ones. No, I have not yet written my best. I’m still on the rise. I’m still on the upswing.

I told the reporter about my father. He was an artist all his life, a commercial artist by day but a wonderful representational artist in his free time. I’m sure you’ve never heard of him: Howard Munns. He sold some of his work through a handful of galleries around the country, but he was a quiet man, unassuming and modest, and he was not comfortable promoting his work nearly as much as the rest of the family thought he should. He was self-taught and had a lifelong love affair with the landscapes and wildlife he painted. He died some years ago at the age of 90. The truly remarkable thing about him, though, was the fact that he was doing his best work when he was in his 80s. His eyesight wasn’t good, and if you looked closely you might see little places where the paint didn’t cover the canvas, but the pictures he was painting in his last years were the most beautiful and inspired work I had ever seen him do. The picture above, the statue of Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial, was done when my dad was about 84 years old.

How many of us might be able to say that?

On the flip side, I can think of two authors right off that, in my opinion, peaked early and have never duplicated their best work. Stephen King’s The Stand is by far (again, IMHO) his best work. Compared to this, I find his other work to be commercial and uninspired, although to be fair, I must admit that I haven’t read any of his in the last few years. John Irving reached a similar pinnacle with A Prayer for Owen Meany. Likewise, his other works pale in comparison (and I freely admit I have not read every book he’s written). For both of these authors, the named books were absolutely perfect gems set high above the dross of 99.9% of all other books. I would kill to write a book like that.

But I would never want to know that my best book was behind me.

I don’t know about you, but I want the work that I do in my 70s to be better than the work I’m doing now in my 60s. I want the work that I do in my 80s to be better than the work I do in my 70s. It may sound weird, but I’d almost rather die with my best work undone than know that I had hit my peak somewhere along the way and was on the downhill slide in my writing. I’m not sure I could bear that.

So what about you? Where are you, as a writer, in the story arc of your life?

Originally published on Indies Unlimited January 27, 2015.

New Release: STAR WALK

I am happy to announce the release of my newest book, Star Walk, Book 3 of the Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud Mystery series. 

As you may or may not know, Lacey is an ex-cop turned private investigator and Sam, a Navajo medium, is her partner. Together they work to help tortured souls move on from the haunted houses they are bound to, and the pair often investigate murders by talking to the victims themselves. The latest book takes them deep into the gilded age of Hollywood:

Ex-cop Lacey Fitzpatrick and Navajo medium Sam Firecloud are working a new investigation into paranormal activity. This time they’re called to clear an old Hollywood mansion of the multiple ghostly tenants that are threatening the home owner’s livelihood. At the same time, however, Lacey gets a call from her ex-boyfriend, now prison inmate, for help in a more earthly manner. He fears his sister is siphoning money from his elderly mother, and only Lacey can find out the truth. Between saving her ex’s mother from bankruptcy and researching deep into the families of the tortured souls haunting the mansion, Lacey finds the revelations of family dynamics to be both fatally flawed and heartbreakingly inspired. 

To celebrate the new release, I have put all three eBooks in the series on sale for just 99 cents, through June 18, 2017.  And they are FREE for Kindle Unlimited readers.

Praise for Ghost Walk

I don’t normally gravitate toward mysteries but Sam Firecloud, a half-Navajo man who communicates with ghosts, hooked me.  I think this is going to be an enthralling new series to follow and I am looking forward to more from Lacey and Sam’s new partnership.

I had a good time reading this installment and can not wait to read the sequel. Hopefully, there are more books like this. Recommended!!

I loved this book. It is the second one I have read by Melissa Bowersock. She has a wonderful way of weaving the story line together and leaves you wanting to know more about the cases of Lacey and Sam.

Let me start with the end of this book and the closing words: Coming soon: Skin Walk, Another Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud mystery. Surely the best words to read when you’ve enjoyed a book so much, you want more, and thankfully, there's the promise of a sequel!

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all Bowersock’s novels…she’s an author who can turn her hand to an eclectic array of genres…but I have to say this probably earns the title of 'my favourite'…or, at least, one of my favourites.

~~~

Praise for Skin Walk

I sure hope Ms. Bowersock has more story ideas for Sam Firecloud and Lacey Fitzpatrick. I’m loving this series.

This sequel certainly lived up to its predecessor. I enjoyed the development of the couple as they grow more comfortable with each other as a team.  I think I’m looking forward to the progress of their relationship as much as the cases they’re commissioned to solve.

Great stories. Excellent character development. Makes you care about the people in the stories. Cannot wait for the next book in this series. Read Ghost Walk, the first book in this series and had to immediately download Skin Walk. So glad I did. 

~~~

Do you love mystery? Love the paranormal? Then you'll love Sam and Lacey. From downtown LA to the Navajo reservation in Arizona to the whispered excesses of Hollywood, they are on the job!

And be on the lookout for Book 4 of the series, Dream Walk, coming soon!

Author Interview: Victoria Clark

Today I’m sitting down with my good friend Victoria Clark to talk about her wonderful new collection of short stories called Chipped But Not Broken: Baby Boomer Romance. Victoria, can you give us a quick overview of the stories in your collection?

VC: My five stories put my characters into a variety of situations common to Baby Boomers, such as being lonely after the death of their spouse, pining for a lost love, being stuck in a bad situation but unwilling to change, wondering what it would be like to be young again, body angst, and a willingness to take a chance on a new love. The stories all contain an element of humor and the positive view that even with age, a new sense of beginning again is always possible.

MJB: Sounds like the full gamut of situations many of us face. What’s the story behind the title?

VC: A Baby Boomer friend of mine, who was also a member of Questers, a history group that I belong to, made the surprising announcement that she was getting married to a man that she had met on the Internet and would be moving out of the area.  While Internet romance is common place now, it was fairly new in 2003 and we were shocked because she wasn’t normally impulsive.  Several of us quizzed her about her choices and what was an almost instant decision to change so many things in her life.  She wasn’t swayed by our concerns and her last statement was, “We may be a little chipped, but we are not broken.”  To my knowledge, they are still enjoying their romance and life together.

MJB: Great story! Sounds like your friend had/has a great attitude and appetite for life. Good for her. As we said, you cover a wide range of situations in your stories; did you set out to do that? Or did you just write them one by one as you were inspired by each individual story?

VC:  I wrote Call Me Lucky first, just for the fun of creating a story about a Baby Boomer who was reflecting on the old Las Vegas of the 1960s and the current Las Vegas. I like to think I would be as forward thinking as Brandy in her circumstances. Then several months later, I began thinking about a book of stories where Baby Boomer characters would experience romances that were not experienced in the usual romance writing “formula” of guy meets gal.  There are so few books about romance for older lovers.

MJB: So the collection evolved organically over time, spurred by that first story, and the lack of stories for our time, our age. It’s interesting that we’ve been the driving demographic for decades, and yet now we’re getting into that shadow time when we’re less seen and heard. Are you hoping to reverse that trend?

VC: Yes, I would like to see more older people in books, films and even advertising that isn’t about pills and adult diapers. We hear a lot about diversity and acceptance, and still older adults are often ignored.  At one point, I was busy writing letters to clothing companies whose clothing was geared to women over fifty, but whose advertising was done by models in the 25-35 age range.  I maintain that grey hair, no hair, and bodies over size 6 are a natural part of maturing and not a disease.  For example, when I was ready to choose a cover design showing older adults who looked like they were romantically involved, I searched a number of image websites that almost excluded the over sixty crowd, and I finally decided on a cover that was created for me by an illustrator.

MJB: I hear you on that loud and clear. It irritates me to see commercials for face cream that melt the years away, yet the model is all of 25 years old. So the cream will take her back to her teens? Really?

I’m curious if any of the stories in your book are autobiographical, or are they all pure fabrication? Where does your inspiration come from?

VC:  I always am inspired by places I’ve been to, so in that regard, I’ve been to all of the places where the stories take place, if that can be considered autobiographical.  I’d been visiting Sedona since childhood, and the people I’ve seen and met since we moved there are incredibly interesting.  The mix of artists and writers and those seeking spiritual advice or giving it, and the tourists from all over the world could fill volumes of material.  Like Beth in The Misplaced Mind, I’ve sat through many boring planning meetings and many of the characters in Sedona that I described in the story are real.

 The Last Outpost was inspired by Nowhere Arizona, one of the few places for a cool drink or a restroom on Arizona Highway 93 between Wickenburg and Kingman.  Nowhere was never an official town, but the store there was pretty much as described in my story and the restrooms were always clean with outrageous sayings written on the walls.  It was always intriguing to imagine who had built the store and the type of person who would live in isolation out there. A few months ago, one of the Phoenix TV channels did a segment on “There’s nothing in Nowhere, Arizona.”  They presented some facts on Nowhere in an interview with our Arizona historian Marshall Trimble, and then interviewed motorists who stopped to take photos of the Nowhere sign, even though there isn’t anything left but a crumbling building and the sign.

In The Wait, I combined my love of Old Mesilla, New Mexico with the romance of yearning for a “lost love.”  Old Mesilla is one of the most romantic settings with its church, gazebo and quaint shops. It is now a National Monument.  The legends of the lover ghosts who inhabit the Double Eagle restaurant are the forerunners of Delia and Robert whose young romance was also doomed by outside forces. I think most of us Baby Boomers think of a lost love, the one that we didn’t marry or just lost track of, in a romantic sense of wondering how our lives would have been different if we were still with them.  During the writing of The Wait, I took a hard look at the Baby Boomers I know who have found each other again after many years.  In one case, the couple reunited and have been happily married for eleven years, and in another, a couple who had been sweethearts in high school, reconnected, divorced their respective spouses and then broke up after several months.  The romantic vision of their youthful selves wasn’t the people that they had evolved into.  While Delia and Robert are fictional, I really expect them to have a happy life together.

Sally Ann’s character in Finicky Fred was based on a friend of mine who has MS.  She has been “chipped” by her disease but has maintained her zest for life and love, and her spirit remains unbroken.  Fred is an oddball character who is “saved” from never knowing romantic love when he reunites with his childhood friend Sally Ann.

Brandy, the main character in Call Me Lucky, is close to being autobiographical when describing herself and her experiences in Las Vegas.  I love dogs and charm bracelets and the shows in Las Vegas, but Brandy’s friends Ann and Joe and the excitement of the slot tournament, are purely from my imagination.

MJB: I think for most of us fiction writers, we mix in some of our own personal quirks along with a big dose of imagination for our characters.

I know you’ve done other creative projects before this. Tell our readers what kinds of books you’ve produced before.

VC: I have free lanced articles on antiques and postcards for collectors’ magazines for the last fifteen years.  Then my first book, How Arizona Sold Its Sunshine:  Historical Hotels of Arizona was published on early tourism in Arizona and sixty- two of Arizona’s early hotels.  Some are long-gone, some have been repurposed and others still exist as hotels today. I have continued to collect information on them, in case I update the book at some time, and I care very much about the preservation of them. This was my most fun writing project to date as I drove all around Arizona to take photos and gather information. My next two books, A Journey Through Northern Arizona and A Journey Through Southern Arizona, were part of a series by Schiffer Publishing which combined postcards across America with the history of each place pictured.  Their art editor did an amazing job, and the books are beautiful.

MJB: Sounds fascinating, and a lot of fun to research. What turned your attention from non-fiction Arizona history and travel books to fiction?

VC: I wanted to try something different and challenge my imagination, but also to create some stories about romances that were about people my age.  I believe it’s a largely untapped market for writers.  One of the books I enjoyed reading last year was A Man Called Ove, by Fredrik Backman which is a novel about a Baby Boomer, his former life, and how he changed and grew when he met new people and was willing to set aside his old prejudices.  The success of the book, which was also made into a movie, should alert writers to the fact that people of all ages are interesting.

MJB: Having now written both fiction and non-fiction, which do you think is easier to write? And why?

VC: Writing non-fiction, such as writing about Arizona history and Arizona places, requires time-consuming research and then cross checking information and putting the research into a fresh perspective. There is a certain validation that if a reader asks a question about the material, a writer of non-fiction can cite sources. Writing fiction, it is great creative fun to create characters and situations, but I think most writers worry about whether their material will appeal to readers.  For me, writing non-fiction is easier, but writing fiction was more fun.  I do believe that it is easier to sell non-fiction.

MJB: I have a feeling you’re right. I have eighteen novels and one non-fiction, and guess what? The non-fiction outsells all the rest. But I agree, writing fiction is so much more fun.

Are you working on any new books? Any other ideas rattling around in your head?

VC: I’m glad you asked that Melissa, because over the last ten years I’ve been working on a book that I have titled At Night I Go to Tucson in my Dreams.  The book will be a collection of short stories about growing up in Tucson in the 1950s, 60s and 70s.  The stories reference places and events that are gone now, combined with my personal memories of them.  My first story titled Three Bad Birthdays and One Good One moves from my anguish of thinking my life was over after I vomited on a birthday cake to believing that I could create an American Bandstand party when I turned thirteen.

MJB: I have a feeling this book could spark a lot of memories for a lot of us “mature” folks. Now let’s have a little fun here. Tell us something about you that most people don’t know and would be surprised to learn.

VC:  The fact that I love collecting items with historical significance is something that most people know because I sometimes give talks and write about collecting and caring for antiques as well as displaying my collections in our home.  However, in my closet, I have an Elvis collection that I cherish.  He was my teenage crush that I’ve never gotten over, even after I realized that he had “feet of clay” just like the rest of us.  I listen to his music often and love re-living the times I saw him in concert.

MJB: I actually think that whatever music was popular as we were growing up is the music that touches us throughout all our lives. My husband loves 50s music, when he was growing up, while I love the 60s. Of course we both think our music was the best, and neither of us will ever concede the point!

Thanks so much for sharing your new book with us today, Victoria. I hope it does really well, and that it sparks a new interest in the baby boomer mystique. Now, if people want to read more about you and your books, how can they do that?

Victoria's Amazon Author page