Euler.... Euler... Euler...

Today Google celebrates a man named Leonhard Euler.

It’s the 306 anniversary of his birth date. Euler, a Swiss mathematician and physicist, pioneered and made important discoveries in fields as diverse as infinitesimal calculus and graph theory. Already hurts my head. (I’m not a math person!)

So why do I bother remarking on it?

A character of mine has a surname of Euler as well. Funny thing is, he’s not named for this man. The main character of that tale, Jeremy, “told” me his best friend’s last name. Turns out it’s famous in the right circles.

I discovered the accidental reference after having written the book. Perhaps sadly, Frankie Euler isn’t anywhere near the mental level of his non-namesake. But I like him anyway.

The book in question, by the way, is What If It’s a Trick Question? and it can currently be read online at Authonomy . The link is in the left sidebar column.  Not sure if it's going to be there much longer or not - so start reading what's been called my masterpiece by some, and meet Franklin Euler for yourself.

*As always, my drawings, deemed either good or bad in quality/skill/etc., are primarily for my amusement only.

*Regarding the pronunciation of Euler, see the comments.

“It’s all very well to say you are waiting; so am I waiting.”



(From a production of Waiting for Godot)



Once again I apologize for being absent from posting lately.  The upheaval of which I spoke in an earlier post is, in fact, still in progess.  Dealing with the ramifications of it in addition to the regular aspects of my life doesn't leave as much room to go ranting on the internet.

But it doesn't mean I haven't been productive.

The back cover to Peter Pan: Betwixt-and-Between has been finalized, and comes as such at having been tweaked yet again since I'd thought it done before.  As it says in Peter Pan's NeverWorld: Wisdom knows finished from done.

The Foreword has also been composed and recomposed and revised and overhauled and... well, you get the idea.  It's also now in its final form.  I've been having a go at the Acknowledgements page.  Turns out it's difficult finding a sincere balance to convey the level of gratitude and deeds without sounding overly sappy.  Don't worry, I'll get it down on paper.  Other than the 'technical info about the book' page, we're drawing very close to bringing the novel to you all.

Thanks for being so patient.  I hope you understand my adherence to getting it "just right" before you see it.

In other news, I heard from two of the characters in What If It's a Trick Question? the other night at Buttercup's place.  And you know what they finally told me?  How to defeat the "big bad" in the sequel.  I have to tell you, I've been wondering about it!  And now I know.  And it's pretty clever of them.

I also find myself thinking of Thom and Carabas a bit more than usual.  Of course, it's largely due to Josiecat often bringing up Thom and his story.  She loves him so!

Then there's the generating of new angles and tidbits for my "ghost story" on the backburner.

I've nary a clue as to which of these will wind up being my next all-consuming project once the Peter Pan interquel is available... but I'm sure I'll have a good time doing it!

*Title of post  is a quote from Peter and Wendy

To Error By Era...

I talk a lot about the wonderfully wacky and wow-ing 21st Century. We’re able to get guided directions, find out that name of an actor we can’t remember with a few touches of a finger, receive emails, shop, check the weather and a whole host of other sundry tasks all in the palm of a hand. And that’s just smartphones! Surely I needn’t go on about the other technology marvels that may as well be fiction!

But I’ve often wondered what it’s done TO our fiction. Certain elements common to all sorts of tales are now not going to fly. Once upon a time if a character wound up in unfamiliar territory, it meant “lost” and the panic would ensue. How to rectify the situation? Ask that kindly old man who turns out to be a sexual harassment creep? Break out the map (if one is even along!) but have no street lights to read it by? Keep walking and hope for a cab? The possibilities are endless. And yet many of them are cut short because nowadays, said character could just look up how to get back home on the “phone,” a device that does nearly everything other than be a telephone. Oh sure, there are ways around it for authors to thwart the character. The batteries are dead. The device  itself got lost two days ago. Or...

I’m not saying that technology had ruined fiction, just that it’s given us storytellers more on the plate to have to contend with and thus makes it not so easy to create havoc and tension in the events of a story without having to cover other bases.

Go back even further, to beyond when a cellular phone had just been that and that only, a telephone. No texting, no pictures, no maps, no Angry Birds (no I don’t play)... Even then, there’d been a huge dynamic shift from something like Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. If they’d been able simply to CALL Marion Crane on her cell phone in the car, it would have turned out much differently. Yes, yes, it’s probable that she’d not answer or what have you, but any way it’s sliced, there’s a huge change in how the whole situation is perceived.

And that, then, affects how and WHEN authors craft a story. It makes me think of my own “epic” novel What If It’s a Trick Question? One day my #1 fan Anon wrote to me and told me exactly what year the book takes place. I’d been surprised. It didn’t have a specific year so much as an era. Jeremy, the main character, has a cell phone. Okay, sure. He plays video games... yet it’s before the Wii and motion-control gameplay. I could bring in other examples, but you get the idea. There are certain elements that can or cannot be in the story, also to the extent of his station in life (and what could be afforded and such.) It had been quite easy to figure out, since I essentially aimed at the time period during which I wrote it.

I didn’t have to worry about whether this time overlaps the particulars for quite some time, you see? Until Anon goes and figures out all the math accordingly (from story data) and also from the calendar. [The book takes place over the course of a month, each chapter is the subsequent day.] Anon located which year the dates matched up to the book and told me WHEN it happened. Interesting, no? Given that the world of the book is a fictional version of Chicago, it didn’t matter to me so much when the calendar aligned... I’d aligned it with the events/circumstances of the book. Again, it had been a time frame. If it hadn’t been meant to be a real city, did it have the same cycles of days as us?

That's the rub of writing what (at the time) is contemporary - advances render the book into a bygone era. But that’s the essence of this post. Things we now take for granted must factor into new storytelling. Why can’t she just use her cell phone? Did they record it in HD? Why is he using TAPES? Don’t they have security cameras placed at the top of the lampposts or something that would show the killer? Well, once upon a time all these didn’t apply.

Just one more way in which authors need to keep up with the times -- and it can be argued that such techno newness is ruining the options in a good book. What would Agatha Christie do with DNA matching?! From another angle, though, it opens up a lot more, too... always a trade off, Isuppose.  For when writing in a past era you've got to REMEMBER (or research) what could/couldn't be done and what did/didn't exist.

We’ve got a lot more to contend with and control and make up excuses for (if you’ll pardon the expression) as to how it all went down in our stories.

Heads Up for a Disney Classic

Every year about this time, Bart and I watch the Disney animated short of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.  Last night proved to be this year’s “when.”

As far as Disney adaptations go, Ichabod Crane is one of their best. Why? Because the character designs are a delight and you get to hear Bing Crosby croon a little. Oh no wait, actually it's because it’s quite faithful to the Washington Irving tale. Anyone who knows me (or has been following along with my posts) is aware that I’m a purist. In this case, Disney’s cartoon does not veer much from Irving’s tale. And still they manage to insert many signature House of Mouse visual quips. Truth be told, I am also rather fond of the bit they added that (it often seems) has become ingrained into the story: the flaming Jack-O-Lantern thrown through the covered bridge. It’s just so appealing and if thought of in the right frame of mind is actually kind of terrifying. The best part about it, though, is that it’s not entirely foreign to Irving. At the end of his story we’re told all that had been found left remaining of poor frightened Ichabod had been his hat and smashed pumpkin. It pleases me that they were able to take part of the story and expand on it so well.

I’ll also admit that the envisioning of the Headless Horseman himself (as well as his steed) is equally appealing. Quite spectre-like indeed. There’s something grand about the simplicity in the animation, a shadowy depth of a menace. However, there’s also a part of me that likes to imagine him as realistic as possible, as in wearing the traditional uniform of a Hessian soldier from the Revolutionary War era.

I wound up looking that up once... and then wound up describing the outfit in detail on the page. No, I didn't decide to do a version of Sleepy Hollow... rather I liked the character so much that I borrowed him to pit against Jeremy in a scene within What If It's a Trick Question? which culminates on Halloween night.   I put my own twist on it, of course, and I've been told by a few people they rather like the scene.  It's one person's favorite in the whole book.

I also want to point out that aside from Disney's flaming pumpkin, this is another tale that years of retellings have embellished to the point of people often thinking certain parts are in fact in part of the original - such as Brom actually dressing up like the Headless Horseman to scare Ichabod [prior the real Horseman showing up later.]

And last night, while watching, something else struck me in Disney's - the colors of the clothes.  As if back in the day they had such vibrant and excessive pigments on each article of clothing.  Sure, it's possible, but it's also the cartoon trying to be visually engaging.  This probably only came to mind since I recently looked into the clothing of that era in regards to research for the new novel I'm developing.

I guess you can gather that The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is one of my favorite tales.  And how great that it's a bonafide folktale... in a real place!  Spooky.

Some points I've made are clarified in the comments... especially regarding the 'interpretation' of Irving's actual narrative elements that would otherwise appear as if I 'missed the point.' 

A Brunch of Fun

Ever read a book, love it, have so much to say about it, have some questions and wish you could sit down with the author to chat about it? Well, my friend Buttercup did - and also had the chance to play it out as such over brunch. Okay, granted, the author is me, so it's not all that exciting.

But to me it is. I mean, who doesn't want to hear that their work is appreciated, mulled over and evoked genuine feelings? Not only those aspects, but I really love experiencing my books vicariously through someone else. (See this post.)

And so, last Saturday Buttercup and I met at the Heartland Café (which is near to her) and sat down to brunch (as the jacket cover of the flap of the hardcover of Peter Pan's NeverWorld will tell you I love to do) and discussed What If It's a Trick Question? We had a lovely time and each of us were able to gain new insights into the tale. She marveled at how it really, as she said, just keeps unfolding. I told her of the sequel (which I hadn't originally planned on writing) as well as its "companion" books that I'll probably be doing as well. She knew of the companion books already, actually. But I’d been eager to tell her of the next book for quite some time but naturally I had to wait until she finished.

All in all, I really enjoy answering questions and hearing about how my work has affected others. Should time and such permit, I’d love to be able to offer a “Brunch with the Author” by way of, who knows, a contest or something?

Paging the Creative Process

Sometimes I forget how much fun the start of the creative process can be. I've gathered up the notes and jots I had for the next book. As you might recall, I'm planning two different books that deal with the same subject matter. However, one is meant to be frightening and the other not so much. I don't want to call it an outright comedy, since I don't see overt humor as part of it. I had thought it would be difficult to sort which bits to use for which tale. But no, it seems I had been organizing the files that way all along. (Obviously it's been a little while since I jotted anything down for either one.) There is one snippet from the "scary" ideas that I think I'll be using for this book rather than the other, though. It just doesn't have the fright vibe.

Otherwise, I've been poring through my book of names... and I think I found that character's name I've been looking for and thought I might have had before. I'd also been hunting around the internet, doing a little preliminary research on what has been done already in this vein... and that of course led to another page or set of goodies to peruse. The ideas are bouncing around in my head and starting to multiply. No, I don't have a clear picture of the entire tale, yet. It's a lot of fun to watch a story grow.

It's also amazing to me that not every novel comes to me in the same way. This one, for instance, I have the general idea that I'm adding to and "listening" for more from the characters. But as for exactly where it’s going and what the characters want...? [None of them have been all too vocal.] But that's another way that it happens. For What If It's a Trick Question? the main character Jeremy would not shut up. I had to write an outline in paragraphs just to keep up with him and the whole story. Other stories have "tentpoles" to them, including the beginning, middle and ending and I just have to fill in the rest.

Of course, with any of these “methods” there’s always a curve ball or some part of the story that’s “missing.” In these instances, I kind of roll with the changes or let the details work out as I go. Usually the characters will come and help me -- after all, it’s their story, they lived it, they would know. And that’s the part I think I enjoy the most... the sudden and unexpected discoveries along the way. It’s the closest I can come to experiencing one of my own books unfettered by knowing what happens.

So I’ll just keep looking into the subject material, making discoveries, sorting and hammering out and listening for the characters and soon enough I’ll not be able to keep the words off the page. At least that’s the general idea...

...and how happy will I be when the title of the book is known to me?  I've only written one book that I had no idea of the title until 3/4 of the way through writing it, and that's Jeremy's story.  Midnight Chaser had a switch in title, but only by a word cut and flip of words.  Somehow I prefer knowing what a book is called as I write it. 

Next on the Agenda

Well, as the revisions on Peter Pan: Betwixt-and-Between draw to a close (I just have a few tidbits/scenes to plunk in here and there) I am already thinking about what I will work on next.  But, that's to be expected, write?  It won't be a story about the boy who never grew up since I've had enough of him for now.  But I can and shall always return to him.

I'm fortunate to not have a lack of  ideas that I've been kicking around, and I thought for a while there that I'd tackle the sequel to What If It's a Trick Question?  But the truth is I'm just not "feeling" it yet. 

I'm now leaning toward a particular story that's been scratching at my proverbial door for quite some time .  I keep "hearing" about it, although not from any particular character.  It should be a lot of fun to write.  It's one of two 'ghost stories' I've had my "eye on" and it's the non-scary of the two.  I don't want to reveal the crux of it, but suffice to say that it's not a haunting in the traditional sense.  I imagine it to be peppered with humor (but that's not the difference/plot point either.)

There's sort of a problem, though.  I've got the premise, but the ultimate goal(s) of the characters has not yet been revealed to me.  So there's this cool idea floating around, but no end or purpose in sight.  Minor goals, yes.  Major driving plot, no.  However, I'm confident that there is someone fictional ready to spill his or her beans any time now.  Perhaps if I start defining the characters more clearly the overall scope will arise.

I do know the "nature" of one of the characters, but he's not the protagonist.  I might have a name for him... not that I love it nor hate it, but I wrote it down just to be sure.  I used the marvelous internet to check and see if it had been as original as I thought, but alas, it actually is a last name.  And here I imagined I'd created something altogether unheard of - how silly of me.  I don't remember ever hearing the name/word before, but I guess that subconscious is a powerful thing, eh?  Thus, I might not use it.  No, not because it isn't wholly original, but for the simple reason that I am not in love with it.  It came to me two days ago and I haven't "heard " from nor had any great revelations or insights about him other than what I already know, so I'm thinking maybe it's not his name after all.  But it's got to be close, for it doesn't quite feel wrong.

Well, I'll know soon enough... and who's to say?  Right now Buttercup is still reading What If It's a Trick Question?  Life has interfered several times now.  But she's almost done!  Perhaps her enthusiasm when she does finish will ignite the further adventures of those characters after all.  [And then with my luck, the 'ghost story' characters will haunt me to death as I'm working on the sequel.]

On the Page...

Last night I went to see Josiecat. She’s in the throes of finishing her thesis and wanted me to take a gander at what she’d written, as well as sought advice on what direction to channel the rest of her efforts. Not that she doesn’t have a handle on her material. She’s so in the thick of it that her mind wound up in a jumble, trying to approach it from many directions at once and she needed a fresh eye to help smooth it out. So I rewrote the whole thing for her. I’m kidding, of course. I’d read practically the rest of her work, so it’s not as if I went into it cold. Together we hammered out some of it… and Josiecat seems to have a sense of how to proceed. Best of luck, Josiecat!

While we wound down on working on it and discussing, Buttercup came home. She joined us in the small room (more of a nook) in the back and sat down. She hadn’t been there very long when suddenly she perked up, eyes shining, and she looked right at me with a finger point and said, “JEREMY!” [She meant my character, as she’s been reading What If It’s a Trick Question?] She followed up this one word with, “You… Okay…” then gave a half laugh and half sigh, rose and with a clear troubled-but-happy exasperation, slapped my arm. YES! In response to how what I wrote made her feel, she SLAPPED me! She then said, “I’ll be back.” I commented before she’d been out of earshot about being physically abused and suffering for my art, jokingly, of course.

When she returned, she explained that she hit me for the emotional roller coaster I put her on. She’d obviously just read an intense part of the story. She told me where… and also that she had to stop reading because it had been too much to bear - in the good sense. In other words, she felt so bad for Jeremy, and having discovered the answer to a long gestating question in the book, got too choked up to continue. And the thing is she’s only just about a third of the way through the story.

I thanked her for the compliments. We then wound up discussing it, with me not divulging any spoiler information. It’s very fun to see what parts impress or touch people. Since I can’t read the novel “fresh” myself, I enjoy “reading vicariously” with them. I like hearing assements of what readers think is going on... which characters they like and who they're suspicious of and such... So thanks, Buttercup, not only for going into my world on the page and your kind words, but for sharing your reading experience with me.

She wound up saying that she can’t remember when she’d last enjoyed a book to this magnitude. Apparently she finds herself thinking about it when away from it, and is quite emotionally invested in Jeremy’s plight. I must say it felt really good to hear. No matter how many times I’m told by someone that they enjoy my work, it always makes me just as internally giddy.

Thanks again, Buttercup! And you don’t know the half of it!

Josiecat - May the Force be with you!*

* I only ever use Lucas's saying with utmost sincerity.

Digging for More...

I suppose I should have seen this coming.
I really should have…
…but I didn’t.

Another movie adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island is on the way.
If you’re not already aware, Treasure Island is one of my favorite books. In my opinion, it’s one of the best books ever.

It’s not only a cherished favorite of mine, but Stevenson had been friends with Barrie. I’m sure I’ve mentioned that the stories of Peter Pan and Treasure Island are connected, on purpose. I even have my character Jeremy Strache adore the book in my novel What If It’s a Trick Question?

I’ll admit that the prospect of a Treasure Island done with the flair and caliber of Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl is tempting. But do we really need another adaptation of it? That’s what some said about Hogan’s Peter Pan film. However, there’s a big difference. Before Hogan, no Pan film (other than silent) existed. According to Wikipedia, there are over 50 movie versions of Treasure Island. So why do it again? So that we CAN get the savvy treatment it might deserve? Okay, maybe…

…but then why do they have to go and say they want Long John Silver to be “hipper” and what does that even mean?

Disney already tried a “hip” version of Stevenson’s classic. It didn’t quite work. I can’t say I disliked Treasure Planet, but I certainly did not consider it good. Much to enjoy in it, sure, but overall they didn’t capture the essence of the book for me. Not by a longshot. They spent too much focus re-inventing it into a space theme. But I will say I loved their Jim Hawkins, which is saying a lot, since I love that young man to pieces.

Thus, I’m a little worried about this one… it will probably turn out to be an overt bastardization like the recent movie of Sherlock Holmes.

Oh well…

Crossing Between the Lines...

One of the questions I am often asked about
Peter Pan’s NeverWorld:
Is it for kids or adults?

Well, that’s a tricky one to rejoinder. Although I don’t express my reply as such, the answer centers around a return question:

Is Peter Pan (Peter and Wendy) for kids or adults?

Don’t worry, I’m not going to present a case for either in an effort try to convince you. But surely it’s crossed your mind, too. There’s a great deal of material that only adults will enjoy in Barrie’s work. It’s also much darker and more violent than people who are only familiar with the basics (or the Disney feature) might initially realize. Or, on another level, it's quite obvious that the meaning of it changes when one (ahem!) grows up. Thus, suffice to say that Peter Pan is not specifically for children any more than it is specifically for adults.

And so, I usually wind up saying that my book is on that same fence. It’s no more or less violent than Barrie’s and the darker and more mature aspects are there. It is in this “Betwixt-and-Between” place is where I tend to find my own work.

The hero(ines) of my books are pre-teens and teenagers (or in a specific case - early twenties.) But does that make them for that age group? They seem to be stories written about kids for kids… and yet they’re also enjoyed by adults.

For instance, in What If It’s a Trick Question?, the shenanigans Jeremy finds himself mixed up in at high school might strike a chord with a teen, but also serve as nostalgia for an adult. Oh sure, I know, it can be argued that such is the case with any work. But that’s precisely what “troubles” me -- where do these tales belong?

The popular series about the boy wizard is, of course, a very good example of this phenomena, for lack of a better term. Many adults enjoy his escapades just as much as grade schoolers.

In the field, this is often known as “Crossover Fiction” and it’s a general rule of thumb not to strive to write a book with this genre (if it even is one) in mind. Hence, my dilemma. No, I wouldn’t say I'm intentionally writing to achieve a “crossover.” It just… happens.

However, I have found that I am in good company (besides Barrie.) I’ve posted before about The Graveyard Book - a wonderful novel by Neil Gaiman. Well, on the Mouse Circus website, in the section devoted to this work, there are clips of Gaiman answering questions - and this very subject comes up.

Please do take the time to check out the video at this link. I didn’t embed it because apart from having no embed code, it’s better to get sucked in poking around the site anyway. (And I’m not about to copy and paste it without permission.)

So, please, listen to what he has to say. He answers a question about The Graveyard Book before the part I wish to "present" to you.

Nobody’s Name & Neil’s Audience

And yes, I agree with him in terms of his answer. Dead on, Mr. Gaiman. (And thanks again for your masterpiece.)

P.S. - You can also listen to him read the entirety of the novel on the site!


GRAVy! (Sorry...sorry...couldn't resist!)

Some Odds and Ends...

Well, the new season of Heroes did not exactly begin with a resounding "YATTA!"
But, that does not in any way mean I didn't like it. On the contrary I liked quite a bit. It just didn't have the SuperCharge of Ando, so to speak. Fortunately, I never found myself rolling my eyes or saying "Oh COME ON!" Oh, sure, there'd been plenty of the super weird and silly. But it all fell under the umbrella of their special brand of wackiness and not the "we're going way too weird" of previous volumes. I did have one "Um, well, all right, I guess..." which would be Hiro's sudden decision to break his own rule. Then again, he's based rash judgments on chance meetings in the past, to both good and ill effect. I just didn't see how he could suddenly control and hone a singularity of his ability just by talking to a man with a moving tattoo compass. Hiro talking to his dad a long while back and suddenty mastering his skill I could buy. Then again, I don't really have all the facts on this one. Maybe he isn't screwing with the past without harmful reprecussion... and that's why I don't classify it as an eye roll. I'm eagerly awaiting what's to come. For they did give me a lot that I need to know. So glad I have the chance to be utterly confused and excited about a storyline again.

Speaking of, it seems my Anonymous commenter is now reading my novel that I've got up online, What If It's a Trick Question? Anon is enjoying it quite much. Thanks, Anon!

And here's another example of "It's not just me." Cassidy has sent me a CNN article to read. Yep, the re-make boom is not sitting right with everyone. The article talks about it from various angles, but the tone is definitely of the "Really??" variety.
Stirring the pot of controversy with film remakes


Thanks, Cassidy!

Noms de Plume...

For me, part of the fun of writing is the nomenclature. Character names, especially.

More often than not, it isn't arbitrary. At least the main characters.

Jeremy Strache, for example, gets him surname from a smashing together of "stratum" and "cache." So, his name means hidden layer. You'll also find that the novel he's in, What If It's a Trick Question? is teeming with anagrams and such puzzles and plays with words. Of course, it's a conscious decision to craft it as such. For these kinds of puzzles have a great deal to do with the events and plot of the story. And yet, one might otherwise never realize it. The very odd part of Jeremy's last name is that I discovered it's in fact NOT made up. It exists. People have it as their surname. How strange, then, that I would devise a "new" name from those two words. What are the chances? (Even more odd is that unknown to me until much later, Laughter had a student named Strache. And she pronounces it differently than Jeremy told me he does.)

Sometimes the characters can actually be arbitrary themselves, though. Or at least vehemently insistent. The boy in a novel I have on the back burner has a rather odd first name. (Not disclosing it at this time. The only hint I'll give you is it's also a street in London.) The point is I "argued" with him, telling him that no one is actually named that. Man, did he put up a fight! I caved and now that's what he's called. And I've come to love it. It fits him perfectly. I couldn't call him anything else. Of course, I don't believe anything is ever fully arbitrary. I figured out much further down the road that some of the reasearch I'd done for What If It's a Trick Question? left residue in my mind. One of the brand names associated with Jeremy's favorite sport is also this kid's first name. (Another hint.)

Sometimes, though, the random choice is desirable. After belaboring over what I felt to be just the right name for the pirate captain in Peter Pan's NeverWorld, I did not exactly feel like waiting another week for the name of his vessel. For that, I opened up an encyclopedia and decided it would be called whatever I saw first, unless undeniably and utterly unusable. Thus, his ship: The Montagu.

Last night I told Banky the rationale behind the physical appearance of the villian of Midnight Chaser. It combines two of the lesser famous characters from two classic fantasy stories: Alice in Wonderland & Peter Pan (Peter & Wendy). [It applies as nomenclature on account of the combo of names smashed together, sort of like Strache. Except here it's merely a merging of words and does not have a "meaning" behind it.] But it is important which characters I chose to create him. And yet, that's not made clear from the text alone. It has to be reached for, if you're willing to dig a little deeper into it.

I'm often asked if I expect people to get these references. No, I don't. But should anyone be as wacky and harmlessly obsessive as me, at least the hidden layers are there to find.

"Notes" for a Book

Back in this post I explained how I found a song long after writing which fits just about perfectly with the character Michael Pan, from Peter Pan's NeverWorld. I didn't base him on the song at all. It's just hindsight.

Well, it seems that I might be influenced by songs more than I realize. They have a tendency to rattle around in my head and leak into my story ideas.

I'd been three-quarters through with What If It's a Trick Question? when I noticed how freakishly the song "Mad World" (originally by Tears for Fears and a grand version also exists by Gary Jules and Michael Andrews) fit with Jeremy's plight. Did my subconscious interweave it into the plot? It might have. But I can assure you it had not been intentional. I did, however, pay homage to the freakishly fabulous find by inserting some of the lyrics into the text. Very recently, I found another tune that sounds quite like what Jeremy would say and think, "Pork and Beans" by Weezer. Granted, Jeremy doesn't normally listen to such 'contemporary' music, so he might not know about it. But I feel pretty confident that he'd like it over other current hits.

I'd been well into MC (initials of the title of the book I'm currently working on) upon discovering that "Nature Boy" miraculously describes scenarios in the story. So much so that ZJ, the main character, now sings along, coming to the same conclusion of connectivity himself. (His portable media player had already been established.)

I wonder what else my subconscious is developing out of the musical depths...
I'll just have to take note...

Candid Character

I talked about listening to my characters yesterday. As I've said in a previous post, I like to be able to see my characters, too. In that post, I also explain my tendency to "Frankenstein" photographs of my fictional friends.

Since he's already out in the world via the button for What If It's a Trick Question? on the left, I thought I'd show you a "snapshot" of Jeremy Strache. [As if you haven't already seen him on the cover!] I'm not trying to win any sort of graphic manipulation award. Nor am I looking for praise of my skill or lack thereof. Just sharing a simple but fun assist in the writing process. In case you're wondering what I do with them, they make great inspirational desktops.

This picture is taken along a route I frequent. In fact, it became the route that leads Jeremy into adventure in the book. You'll find a yellow jeep in the novel, too. Athough this exact moment does not appear in the story, I could not resist placing him into a picture taken during the month of October with a yellow jeep on the route, now could I?

Come Into One of My Worlds...

Exciting news!

I've alluded to a novel on this site a few times in posts as well as the semi-cyrptic message of the little clickable fox on this page.

You can now read this novel for FREE!

Publisher HarperCollins has a site Authonomy, which is designed to help launch the careers of new authors. Novels (either portions or entire manuscripts) are uploaded and made available to read online. Readers may then place books on a "shelf" indicating that they enjoyed and recommend it. As a book gains popularity, HarperCollins pays attention. "Shelved" books might then go on to be picked up by the publishing house itself.

Thus, I invite you to read my urban fantasy novel What If It's a Trick Question?

Natrually I hope that the increasingly dangerous world of Jeremy Strache strikes your fancy and you include it among the submissions to HarperCollins.

Start the adventure here!

Obscurity Batch

I thought I'd share some obscure Peter Pan references.


First, though it's not much to look at, there is a "Peter Pan Skate Park" in Lincoln, Nebraska. No offense meant, I say so in pity...it's a skate park that looks like it could use some building up. Truth be told, I really admire skateboarding. This becomes evident in my novel What If It's a Trick Question?


On the right is a front and back over for an 'old' book, The Peter Pan Bag by Lee Kingman. Though, this is not the cover I have. And yes, I do have the book. (I tend to collect most if not all such things related to Peter Pan good or bad regardless.) I also read it, though long ago, so I don't remember much about it. As I recall, "bag" refers to "thing" as "Hey, man, that's not really my bag." If you've clicked on the back cover, you'll know that the girl is named Wendy. She runs away, as it says, and meets a guy named Peter. But it's not a re-telling per se in that sense. It doesn't parallel and they're aware of Peter Pan. Wendy hates it when Peter makes the comparison and reference.





To the left here are two of the original posters for the 1924 silent movie of Peter Pan. Yes, I have this too, of course. I mentioned before that Barrie hated it. He has quite valid points as to why. I'll say more on this when I eventually get around to "The Silent Boy Who Never Grew Up" in my series of posts giving my thoughts about various versions.






I hope something in this batch o' relative obscurity interested you.
Maybe it's just me, as I am a little obsessed with Peter Pan. :)


Obscurity Batch II
Obscurity Batch III