Tidbit: Creepy

It's Halloween. Did you notice? Fern & Zula didn't, the two old lady heroines in my current work OUT OF THE FRYING PAN. Their life is frightening enough with the mutt Zula dragged home. Read a short excerpt and then vote on which dog you thing ought to be the winning picture of Fifi the wonder dog.

We now have a dog Zula insists is “adorable.” Not a puppy, mind you, but a decrepit rat terrier who has to be lifted in order for it to fulfill its purpose in life — sitting on laps and yapping. Though other body parts fail, its barker is in perfect working order.

Fifi moved in three days ago when poor Randolph Johnson checked into Shady Rest. . . the nursing home, not to be confused with the cemetery of that same name three miles further south.

Zula walks the silly thing around the block with great drama but has to stop every few feet to let the rodent-on-a-leash catch its breath. It’s the most ridiculous sight here at Sunset Paradise. She’s sewn several doggy garments for their outings — which would look a lot less ridiculous without the bedazzling, but at least they hide the bald patches.

Okay, voters, here's your chance. Which photo do you think represents the best Fifi?

or...

To Believe or Not Believe - That is the Question

I don’t believe in Mack trucks. Only wimps who need a crutch to get through life think they exist. Stupid people. When will they ever learn to think for themselves?

But if I stand in the middle of a freeway, those same beliefs won’t stop a Mack Truck from mowing me down. Why? Because…

That which is real has being in itself.

It does not depend upon the observer for its validity.

Whether you agree or disagree, this concept makes for some great debate…and just might change your life in the conversation. It’s also a theme that runs throughout A Heart Deceived, a gothic story of faith and ultimately hope.

Intellectually, heroine Miri Brayden knows about God, but that knowledge doesn’t fill the emptiness inside her. Concluding that God exists doesn’t bring her any personal pleasure. It’s no different than deciding sea-faring vessels exist—though she’d never seen one. Faith in a ship meant nothing. However, if she had an urgent need to travel to another continent, a ship was the way to go. She had to decide to act on what she believed to be real, and not only seek out that ship, but get on board and test that belief.

After a series of events, Miri makes the decision to talk to God on an intimate level. It finally makes sense that if she’s going to believe in God, it’s an all or nothing game. If God is real, He has every right to influence and direct her life—and that humble stance makes all the difference in her life.

Hero Ethan Goodwin is a control freak. After growing up under the influence of an overbearing and unloving father, he now lives life on his own terms. Unfortunately, those terms lead to an opium addiction that’s nearly the death of him.

In a chance encounter with the Reverend John Newton, Ethan admits that he doesn’t believe in God—and finds out that just because he believes something isn’t true does not mean it doesn’t exist. The idea is new to him, that whether or not he knows God, God knows all about him. It is a sobering thought, especially in light of his debauched lifestyle.

A Heart Deceived is a piece of historical fiction, but there’s nothing fictional about the character John Newton. He was a living, breathing, sinner saved by grace. Some of his dialogue in the book uses direct quotes. This one is not:

Your belief—or lack of it—doesn’t change God’s existence.

However, after researching the man, I have no doubt he would’ve said it. Newton came to the Christian faith after leading a rebellious lifestyle, which made for one tender-hearted pastor who told it like it was, direct yet compassionate. He wasn’t afraid to speak truth, but he did so in a way that made you think.

And that’s the purpose of A Heart Deceived. To rattle your cage and make you dig deep into the truths that you hold. Believing in the existence of God is one thing. Putting your life in His hands and trusting Him is quite another. 

It’s called faith.

Learning From Zombies

What makes zombies so attractive? It's certainly not their good looks. There's no denying, however, that many are fascinated by the living dead, especially at this time of year. I'm not a zombie fan-o-maniac--celebrating death and evil isn't my idea of a good time--but let's not throw those little flesh eating babies out with the bathwater.

5 Writerly Takeaways From Zombies

1. Give your characters dogged purpose.
Zombies know what they want and they go after it. And after it. And after it. Oh, there's a house with 5 humans locked in a cellar that's barricaded by steel bars and booby-trapped with a half-ton of C4? No problem for a zombie. He won't be stopped no matter what insurmountable odds are thrown against him. And that, my friends, is exactly how you should craft your characters.

2. Provide an opportunity for real change.
Much has been said about the zombie craze being connected with societal dissatisfaction, namely in governmental matters (here's an example). Unrest always comes before an upheaval, which results in changing the status quo. Do that in your plot and your characters. By the end of your story, there should be some kind of cataclysmic change in your protagonist and his world.

3. Kill your darlings.
Zombies are ruthless. So is the publishing biz. To survive, you must whip your manuscript into shape before you submit it anywhere. Every writer gets a little too flowery with their descriptions or metaphors or over-reaching literary prose. Edit those things out. Search and destroy. Then give your manuscript to a critique buddy and ask them to go after your darling little cutesy bits and delete those as well.

4. The underdog must be the champion.
Want to write a memorable novel, the kind a reader keeps on the shelf? You've got to have an underdog who beats the odds. Everyone loves the nerd boy to finally win (as long as he's been transformed into not being quite such a nerd...refer back to point 2). Zombies only look like they're the big winners until an unlikely band of scraggly humans join together to stomp on 'em. It's those humans we ultimately cheer for. Mimic that in your story and you'll have a winner.

5. They might be dead, but they're still pretty much human.
Even though zombies have parts of their faces falling off or are maybe missing a hand or a limb, they still retain their human form, albeit raggedy. That's exactly how you should craft your villain. No matter how cruel your antagonist is, give him some human qualities.

Whether you're on board with the current zombie craze or not, these tips just might endear the current crop of undead lovers to your story.

Creepalicious Reads

The tree outside my bedroom window creaks like an arthritic limb, which I love. It's an audible dare to my imagination, conjuring up all kinds of possible scenes to create, especially in the fall. Dark days. Skeleton trees. The rush of a cold breeze up my spine. Even though I don't celebrate Halloween, I can't help but notice that everyone around me does. It seems like a fitting time to share some of my favorite creepy books.


5 Haunting Reads

The Solitary Tales by Travis Thrasher
This series is set in the woods of North Carolina, where past and present secrets collide into one big scary place. As soon as teenager Chris Buckley and his recently divorced mom move there, they're swept into all the strange happenings. If bumps in the night are your thing, this is the best autumn read for you that ends with light crushing darkness.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Forget all the cheesy movies you've seen and don't even think about those stupid plastic green face masks lining the shelves at WalMart. If you've never read the classic, you are missing out, my friend. Frankenstein is more than just a monster. It's a theological debate on creation set in story format, raising questions in the reader's mind about our Creator.

Homemade Haunting by Rob Stennett
Funny. Snarky. This book is an interesting mix of what ifs and dude-don't-open-that-door. It's a light-hearted read that explores all the things good Christians know they shouldn't do.

A Heart Deceived by Michelle Griep
You didn't think I'd let an opportunity like this slip by, did you? While you won't find any monsters in this one, it's frightening nonetheless. A mostly empty rectory. Rumors of a missing vicar. Inmates with no faces inhabiting an insane asylum. Deception is a vile evil.

The Boneman's Daughters by Ted Dekker
I'm admittedly not a Dekkerite, but this story is haunting enough to meet my criteria for this list. It's about a serial killer who breaks the victim's bones one at a time. Ouch. Sick. Yep...creepy.

If romping around in a costume begging for candy isn't your thing, grab one of these books and settle in for an evening of reading instead.

Still On the Hunt

Slap on your safari gear because we are about to embark on yet another search for the ever elusive perfect library...

Tidbit: Motivation

Last week I ran away to Iowa and conferred with my partner in crime, Kelly Klepfer, on the mystery we're writing. Our goal is to finish by the end of November. Can we do it, folks? Time will tell!

So today's Tidbit focus is on creating a detective. Our hero is Detective Jared Flynn. Want to vote on which picture we should use as his model?

Choice #1?

Or Choice #2?

Make your selection in the comment section.

Now then, looks aside, the most key element in a detective is what makes him tick. What is his motivation to solve the crime? Why should he go after your killer instead of kicking back with a take-out pizza and Netflix? Something needs to make your detective decide to risk his life to capture a murderer.

Whatever it is should be a combo of past and present. An event in your hero's life caused him to choose to become a detective. Mix that in with the events that are currently going on in his life to trigger him into action. If you fail to do this, you won't have a believable character, savvy?

Motivation is a must have. Nail it down before you even begin writing a story and you'll save yourself a lot of grief later.

Whine Fest

You wouldn't think it would take a neurosurgeon (rocket scientists are over-rated) to print out a silly little wine label, would you? I've got a network administrator, a salon receptionist, an audio producer, a tea barista and a sales associate in my household. Not a dang surgeon in the bunch. Hence my dilemma of last night.

My second eldest son and I decided way back in April to revisit our Viking roots...as in barbarians wielding battle axes. Oh? You like those fellas? You should read UNDERCURRENT (sorry, couldn't resist).

Anyhoo--don't panic, this story doesn't involve any sharp weapons or blood--we thought we'd try to make a batch of mead. Mead is a honey wine, dating back to forever ago. It wasn't that hard to make, patience being the costliest ingredient. If you're interested in brewing your own, check out the Joy of Mead.

Back to story... Last night we were finally ready to bottle our beverage so that at Christmas when we entertain, we can whip out a bottle and everyone can ooh and aah. Nah. Who a I kidding? We'll probably just slug back a glass with din din, company or not.

Dang it. Off track again. Back to story... We've been saving bottles all year long, but the thing is that these bottles are naked. I stripped off the old labels and thought it would be super cute to design our own. Seems like innocent enough fun, right?

Wrong.

Who'd have thought finding an easy-to-use label template would make me want to stab myself a hundred thousand times with a sharp, pointy object? Seriously. It took me an hour and a half to finally get to a website that gave clear enough instructions and offered a template that would work. Grrr!

Hang with me here...it's about to get writing related. There ought to be a list on the internet that gives step by step instructions and a free downloadable label that can be easily understood and preferably written in English. And you know what? I just might do that and get paid for writing it. Is there something you could write in list format? Have I found site for you!

ListVerse will pay you $100 for a list. You don't need to be an expert--you just need to write English, have a sense of humor, and a love of unusual or interesting niche things (like, let's say, wine labels).

Here's how it works...you write your list (usually 1k words with a minimum of 10 items) and send it in. If they like it, they'll accept it and deposit $100 into your PayPal account. If not, you'll get a rejection and curl into the fetal position. But if it is accepted, they garner over 15 million views per month. Now that's an audience!

Even if you don't feel like writing a list, you can still pop over there to read some of the other lists. It is highly entertaining. Here's a link.