Character development

Some of the nicest compliments I’ve heard about my books over the years revolved around the characters and dialogue. When I hear that the people in my book seem “so real” or that they’re “folks I’d like to spend a weekend with” I know I’ve done okay. I even had one woman tell me that if the real Evan Morris walked up her path she’d toss her husband to the curb. Now that is character identification!

I’m not sure how many plots or basic storylines exist in the world of fiction. I know that if I settle in to read a mystery the chances are good I’ve read at least a couple with a similar storyline. What makes each of these novels different is the ability of the author to present the storyline in a fresh way, with a twist. That twist is usually provided by the characters. How they react to a situation is what makes them, and the story, unique.

The first two books featured characters that were based on real people that I knew back in the sixties (as were some of the events) so it was easy to picture these people in my mind and know how they would react in different scenarios. I also blended a little of my own personality within each of them, male and female. It’s the familiarity factor and it also gave me an opportunity to live vicariously through each of these people.

My third book “Fergus” took me away from the cast of familiar characters although Fergus himself had a minor role in “Barking at Yesterday’s Moon”. Choosing to do a complete novel on Fergus was a good idea as I had people wanting to know more about him. I must confess I was curious about him as well, mostly curious about what happened to him. While fleshing out Mister Lloyd was at times a little challenging it didn’t compare to what I’m doing now.

My current project has been dragging on for months…actually years. I had, I thought, a pretty good plot sketched out in the beginning. As with any storyline it ventured into different areas as the words were put down but it rarely wandered too far away from the original outline. Then I had what I considered to be a brilliant idea which has turned out to be one of the greatest challenges I could give myself.

The story takes place in a fictional hamlet in central British Columbia but the family that settled the area was large and each of the many members contributed to the foundation of the location. I tried a narrative outlining the history of the area but that was too lengthy and dry. I tried letting a modern day citizen explain the history to a visitor but it quickly became just as boring. “Aha” methinks, “what about a daybook or journal that gives hints of the past from the perspective of a family member?” I wouldn’t have to get into all the detail about how many logs it took to build the outhouse.

Knowing the family I had created I realized there wasn’t one of them that had the wherewithal or the time to jot down notes therefore a new character had to be created. Old Wilf suddenly had a daughter.

I now find myself writing a journal as a woman born in 1925. It’s actually not as difficult as I thought it would be. Once I got her personality and position planted in my mind it became quite an enjoyable experience. The problem is that some of her experiences and thoughts have once again taken the whole story in a different direction. Oddly enough it’s pretty much following the same direction I started with.

This unfinished manuscript has been a haunting, a mystery, a light romance, and is now back to a haunting with perhaps a serving of romantic gravy and a mystery garnish.

The more things (and characters) change….

Mike Grant is the author of three novels. “White Wolf Moon”, “Barking at Yesterday’s Moon”, and “Fergus”. Visit his Amazon page to find out more.

Best-Selling Author

Here I am…the best-selling author of ‘White Wolf Moon’, ‘Barking at Yesterday’s Moon’, and ‘Fergus’ struggling to come up with a topic for this blog posting.

Wait…‘best-selling author’? Yup, I can say that…if you take the sales pitch at face value. It’s simple. I am the best-selling author of those titles because nobody else has sold any other books with those titles…therefore I am the best-selling author (of those books).

This is one of those instances where the statement is actually true but deceivingly inaccurate. It’s all about interpretation isn’t it?

I can’t claim to be a best-selling author. That would just be wrong. But isn’t it just as wrong to include the three titles thereby justifying my claim? I think so. Knowing that most people would react to only the ‘best-selling’ part, makes me think about how little thought or research some people put into their reading. We’re in an age where we can instantly online search any item that pops up on our social media feeds but many folks choose to go with whatever they’ve been told. Is it too much work to verify that Hillary give birth to an alien baby on her secret state visit to Mexico? Okay, I made that up but if you take the word ‘alien’ out of that headline I’d bet the story would have gone viral in nanoseconds, which is how Mork from Ork would have described it.

I guess that’s the topic for this post. Research…check stuff out…do your homework.

That’s it, I’m done. I’m nothing if not succinct…and look at all the space I have left. How about a photo of a rose??

Mike Grant is the author of three novels. “White Wolf Moon”, “Barking at Yesterday’s Moon”, and “Fergus”. Visit his Amazon page to find out more.

The Stories Thus Far:

WHITE WOLF MOON:

“White Wolf Moon” is a character-driven story set in Kamloops, British Columbia. Seen through the eyes of a twenty-year-old journalism student (Jennifer MacAvoy) and a sixty-something poet/songwriter (Evan Morris) it takes a lighthearted approach to the philosophies and realities of the Sixties through serious interviews and wonderfully off-the-wall dialogue.

Evan had departed the music scene almost as quickly as he had arrived and now lives a reclusive life with his wife Marie and Ginn, his white wolfdog. Jennifer wanted to find out why. At first terrified by his gruff demeanor she gradually peels away the façade. By sifting through his philosophical banter she unravels his story to discover that she is unwittingly a part of his secret. With her research now overshadowed by a more personal journey Jenn copes with the unnerving realization that she herself has been drawn into his world and heart.

A get-together involving friends from Evan’s past (including his now-wife meeting his then-girlfriend) sets the scene and proves that sixty-something, like the Sixties, is just a state of mind.

As a side note some scenes depicted in this novel are based on personal experiences from those bygone days. I shall, however, leave up to the reader to decide which ones they might be.

 

BARKING AT YESTERDAY’S MOON:

In this sequel* to “White Wolf Moon” the usual suspects are at it again. Evan Morris and Danny Mann feature prominently in one misadventure after another. Evan’s confrontation with a rifle-toting hillbilly while researching the background of Ginn, his white wolfdog, sets off a week packed with uncharacteristic behavior for the sixty-something ex-folk singer, from vandalizing a teen-ager’s car to a brush with the law in Edmonton, Alberta. These needed and often comedic contrasts to his staid life are overshadowed by the death of another former band member from the Sixties.

At the celebration of life “muck-up” Evan grapples with thoughts of a life that might have been and treads a trail of rediscovery with more questions than answers.

“Barking at Yesterday’s Moon” is about relationships and friendships that last forever, old rock and roll bands and a musician’s life on the road. It’s about finding that balance between what was and what is and realizing that it’s what we’ve done that makes us what we are.

*Every effort has been made to allow this novel to stand alone. The chapter ‘Jenn’s Story’ briefly recounts the contents of “White Wolf Moon” and any references to that first book have been clarified in the narrative or dialogue.

 

FERGUS:

“Fergus” is a definite dark departure from the first two books although he is a character in “Barking at Yesterday’s Moon”. I wanted to pursue how he got the way he is and that’s why this book took a lot longer than I expected. The research was the tough part.

Due to a bus accident Fergus suffered damage to the Broca (speech) area of the brain causing communication difficulties. While the rest of his brain seemed to function normally his inability to communicate his thoughts succinctly coupled with the frustration of always being misjudged gave Fergus the outward appearance of a boy burdened with much greater challenges.

Fergus also suffers vivid ‘false awakenings’ and is occasionally overwhelmed by the confusion of not knowing what is dream and what is reality. Other issues include his brother telling him horrific bedtime stories (the shovel-wielding murderous Jimmyman), no longer being accepted in his school social circle, and people insisting that the creative introvert ‘man up’ from the time he was six.

As an adult he tries to find peace within memories of a younger Fergus. Thoughts of his sister Annalee and his mother Hannah soothe the conflict in his mind but a deeper darkness remains inside. Sometimes Fergus’s fertile imagination and delicate psychological balance combine to blur the line between reality and bedtime tales and sometimes the Jimmyman crosses that line.

My Amazon Author page

NOO SHOOS/AULD FEATS

Shoe shopping is probably my least favorite activity. I’m a casual sneaker-type guy and in the old days my only decision was black or white. Now they have shoes for walking, running, climbing, gardening, cooking chili, washing dogs…but I have already digressed. That’s the problem with not writing a blog for months. I’ve been on a bit of a sabbatical although I’m not really sure why. Life is good, cluttered and confusing but good. Maybe I just needed to step back and appreciate the clutter and confusion. That’s as good an excuse as any I suppose. Yup…I’ll go with that.

Back to my shoes. When I needed to replace my usually beaten-to-a-pulp footwear I’d go and stand in front of the racks hoping that a pair would jump out at me (yes they have jumping shoes too). The type of shoe that has never jumped out at me is the kind I bought a few weeks ago. Whenever I saw this style I used to think ‘oh, old guy shoes’ and passed them over but this time I thought ‘gee, they’re neat’ and bought them. The fact that I thought they were ‘neat’ kind of spells out where I’m going with this.

I bought ‘old guy’ shoes because I’m ringing the doorbell on 70 Sunset Lane. I’m an old guy.

I still don’t put a lot of stock in age although lately it’s been on my mind a little more. The underlying theme of ‘White Wolf Moon’ was a man trying to rekindle his youth on the premise that within his sixty-plus body lived every age from birth until now. I still believe that’s true although some of my teen years have thankfully found a good hiding spot (down by my spleen I think…but I shan’t go looking). It’s all about attitude. ‘You’re as young as you feel’ comes to mind but it’s more than that.

Physically there’s no going back. Too much water under the bridge or, in my case, beer under the belt. Lines of life, scars of experience, and pounds of Papa burgers gift wrap the essence of my being.

Mentally, however, one can take a break and look at life the way one looked at life ‘back then’. It’s not all that difficult but it’s also a bit of an education. Remembering times before computers and zillion channel television packages can be both funny and frightening but with the right outlook you can put things into perspective. Looking at today through the same eyes I had as a twenty-year-old I realize I haven’t really changed but everything around me has. Technology is a long, straight endless highway but life is a traffic circle.

The most damning evidence of my circle? Yup…the shoes.

At twenty I wore moccasins a lot. Leather moccasins laced together with a bow on top.

What goes around….

Mike Grant has two published books: White Wolf Moon and Barking at Yesterday’s Moon. Both available on Amazon.

 

STOP THE WORLD….

Time to clear the air….
I’m not responding to a lot of facebook posts anymore. Simply because…
I’m tired of conspiracy theorists.
I’m tired of hearing how Canada as we know it is doomed under Trudeau. Let’s get real here. It wouldn’t have mattered who got elected the gloom and doom crowd would have been tossing their uneducated prophecies ad nauseum anyway.
I’m tired of fifteen year old photographs/stories showing up as current fact even though they have been proven to be hoaxes for at least a decade. Check the facts before you post.
I’m tired of the assumption that if I respond negatively to a story then I’m anti-something. Other than Macaulay Culkin and aforementioned conspiracy theorists I don’t dislike anyone. If I choose to not ‘like’ your comments it has nothing to do with your religion, social status, sexual preferences or race. It’s simply because I don’t agree with your comment. If you have a problem with me not falling in line behind you then…like I said, it’s your problem.
I recently ‘unfriended’ someone because of our different views regarding one of his posts. It was regarding recruitment to form a march on the Alberta Legislature to protest the NDP Government. Let me tell you up front I’m a child of the Sixties and I am all for peaceful protest and, if I felt strongly enough about an issue, I would join the sit-in, signs and all. In this case, for me, there was a lot to be wary of. First the photograph of a flag-waving man atop an excavator posed rebelliously against a bright blue sky. Then comes the text containing a list of “I love my:”s…everything from oil sands to farming, guns to freedom. The way I see it trying to encourage a ‘peaceful’ demonstration yet feeling the need to throw ‘guns’ in there is somewhat counter-productive but it is the ‘freedom’ part that really sticks with me. The fact that we have the freedom to gather on the government’s doorstep and protest is a freedom not granted in many countries around this world. You HAVE your freedom and it was that freedom you expressed when you voted that party into office. You also have the freedom to vote them out and if you want to peacefully protest everything they do until you can kick them to the curb then go for it. When I read the original post I went back through the comments from the Bundy camp in Oregon and everything from content to presentation was eerily similar and I stated that in my response. I did receive the expected pro-Bundy style responses but then my comment was deleted. It appears the poster didn’t like being compared to the home grown terrorists on the other side of the border. The original post remained however so I have to assume he supports this type of thing. I don’t support it so I ‘unfriended’ someone for the first time in all the years I have been on facebook.
In the old days (yes I hate those words too but in this case it fits) if anyone managed to get a public forum it was through recognized media and they were required to adhere to certain standards but thanks to the internet anyone can now have their moment in the spotlight. Generally this is a good thing but as this forum also provides a stage for the wack-a-doos it is up to the reader to investigate what you see and read.
A couple of years back a fellow by the name of Bill Schoel posted on a wildlife site regarding the BC government’s policy of aerial-gunning down wolves and how it was a necessity because (according to the writer) a friend of his had seen his dogs torn apart by a pack of wolves in downtown Kamloops, BC. Coincidentally I live in Kamloops and I’m pretty sure I would have heard about this incident. Further investigation revealed that Bill lives in Maryland and continually posts idiotic comments to stir the flames. There are a lot of people like Bill who post under false names or simply anonymously to fill some sort of void in their lives but it’s when you see the responses these posts get you realize how easily unthinking people get wrapped up in stuff like this. If I remember correctly a dozen or so hunters responded that they were ready to camp out in Kamloops to gun down those vermin. A simple search of the local news outlets online would have proven the story false and they wouldn’t have looked like the idiots they most certainly are.
Memes falsely accredited to famous people, altered photographs, misleading headlines, totally laughable conspiracy theories, sponsored comments, and outright fiction is flooding social media and it now becomes the responsibility of the reader to validate everything before accepting anything these days.
If you believe that the government is spraying chemicals in the air to ‘dumb-down’ the public then fine. I think it’s simply that through social media the dumbed-down segment of the public that has always been there now has an unfiltered voice and a built-in audience that, back in the days of responsible journalism, would have remained silent.
Off my soapbox now.
I have been scarce on both this blog and the facebook pages lately due to a few things but mostly I’m working on a third book (which isn’t going as well as the first two) and the finalizing of the second book. I’m on the third read-through of the print-proof of ‘Barking at Yesterday’s Moon’ and it should be uploaded in a few days. It is available as an ebook on Amazon.
To those whose blogs I usually follow on a regular basis I apologize for my absence but hopefully I can get back into the rhythm soon…although as Evan Morris says in “Barking at Yesterday’s Moon”:
“Things change and the sooner you realize that life isn’t perfect…that everything isn’t going to magically fall into place when you get all those ducks in a row the better off you’ll be. Every step we take in life has its own trials and tribulations. After we get those sorted out we take that next step and…more wandering ducks.”

 

RENOVATIONS….

I had decided that it was time to make some changes in this blog, beginning with a new name. This was the worst place to start. I’ve spent hours playing with ideas and trying to come up with that ‘just right’ title but “White Wolf Moon” has been a part of me for so long I feel like a traitor even considering anything else. It has meant so much to me over the last four years. So many highlights of my life have been rooted in this book and so many fond memories. Book signings and media interviews fed this aging ego somewhat as did the first time I googled the title and my name then found both mentioned all across the globe. The arrival of those hard copies and the excitement of opening that first box was another highlight. Add to this the fact that the book was a semi-biographical novel based on real people and some real events of my earlier days and the decision became easy. So many warm memories live on those pages and so much pleasure has been brought to me by the book itself that I just can’t bring myself to replace it as the title for this blog. So I won’t.

I’m approaching this as if I was renovating an old house. The exterior is fine and simply needs a tweak or two but the interior will be upgraded and changed to suit my needs.

Originally this page was meant only to promote my books and it has served me well in that regard. As time goes by it becomes more difficult to come up with posts about these books and I want to expand the content. As you probably know I occasionally write about the wolf issue or just ramble on about odds and ends, mostly because I feel the need to post something after an extended absence. I intend to broaden the scope to include a more diverse content and share the ideas of the people I follow. So many writers, artists, photographers, wildlife supporters, collectors…the list goes on. I have also been remiss in supporting those that follow and support me and for that I apologize.

Some have been with me since the beginning, others only recently. These people have encouraged me and taught me so much and I am grateful. Some have re-blogged my posts and promoted my work or offered much needed advice and understanding when things weren’t going quite the way they should. Again, I am grateful.

I have never really explored the power of the blog and it may take some time to get all of this worked out but then what’s life without a challenge or two?

This time around I’d like to introduce you to a couple of special ladies who have encouraged and supported me from the start…

https://jpmclean1.wordpress.com/

https://redclayandroses1.wordpress.com/

COMFORT ZONE….

“Barking at Yesterday’s Moon” is online. Another chapter in my writing life has closed and it’s time to start anew. While there is still a lot of work to do with getting some exposure and working a bit of marketing I can’t bring myself to not have a Word document open. I have to be working on something and my read-through of the Kindle version of “Barking at Yesterday’s Moon” provided me with another storyline. It involves some of the ‘walk-on’ characters from one of the scenes.

Being ‘walk-ons’ in no way diminished their importance to the storyline. The roles they played, while not central figures, provided insight into the main characters and created some interesting scenes. One character in particular made his appearance early in the book, created a little havoc then disappeared. The more I thought about this man the more I realized there is a story behind who and what he is and how he got there. I decided to flesh out his story and it came surprisingly easy.

Unless you have read “Barking at Yesterday’s Moon” the name Fergus Lloyd would mean nothing. If you have read it then you already have an opinion of Fergus and what he is all about. As in reality and with real people an opinion based on first impression is often wrong. The well-spoken, well-dressed banker might have some questionable material on his computer and that street person might have a heart of gold. You just never know what’s behind their public faces. Fergus wasn’t always the Fergus that confronted Evan and exploring his life has provided some interesting research and excitingly addictive writing.

From the outset of the first draft I had to expand my comfort zone. I prefer to write light and with a sometimes questionable sense of humor and while there are some lighter moments in this story there is also an underlying darkness. This was a challenge for me and a welcome brain-teaser. Then came the scene that I believed would be the pivotal point of the story. Without getting into detail the young boy discovers something horrific in the woods and all his childhood nightmares come back and…never mind. I’ve already said too much.

Suffice to say that this scene completely ripped me out of my comfort zone and threw me headfirst into the horror/psychological terror genre, one that I’ve never explored. Blood, gore, and childhood nightmares wreak havoc with my usual style of writing and way of thinking. After I wrote it I would wake at night and think about it. Each time I rehashed it in my mind I became less impressed. It sounded forced, manipulative, and not at all like me. A week later I wrote an alternate scene where someone else stumbles on the terror and relays it second hand in a more sterile manner. I was more at ease with the revision and I sentenced the original storyline to life in my ‘not used’ folder and continued writing.

One of the elements of writing a story based on a previously introduced character is maintaining continuity with the original. That wasn’t all that difficult in this case but as the new story progressed I realized that I was missing something. The emotional development (or destruction) of this character wasn’t strong enough to result in the character traits featured in “Barking at Yesterday’s Moon”. The crisis, real or imagined, that set him on my created path hadn’t occurred. I opened up my ‘not used’ file, read the original scene and knew that it had to be included. I also learned the value of putting something aside and revisiting it later. I actually like what I wrote back then and with a little work it will become that pivotal scene. It just goes to show the value of never throwing anything away.

On a side note: My age is showing…I welcomed my seventh grandchild into this world on September 3, 2015. Mum and son are doing well.

Shameless self-promotion side note: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0143ZI4W8?ref_=pe_1724030_132998070

WOLVES AGAIN (sort of…)…

It’s been a while since I have posted anything about wolves but I’m finally going to respond to a comment I received about three years ago with regards to “White Wolf Moon” and my depiction of Ginn, the wolfdog. A woman came into the bookshop where I worked at the time and informed me that I misrepresented this animal to be cute and cuddly and not the “killer” that wolves are. I have also been (correctly) informed that wolves do not have blue eyes.

First…the book is fiction. Yes the characters and situations are loosely based on people and events I knew back then and contain a lot of factual information but it is still fiction. Ginn is based on a white wolfdog I had met (yes, she had blue eyes) and in subsequent encounters with other animals of her type I found all of them to be very much like the character I portrayed. Second…I did a search for wolfdog photos and sites that featured the crosses and not only confirmed that if treated properly they can be socialized (although not properly domesticated) and that quite a few did peer through blue eyes. I suppose the eyes are indicative of the wolf content (high content would probably negate the blue eyes of the Husky or whatever the other part of the cross). No there are no blue-eyed wild wolves but the fact is there are many blue-eyed wolfdogs out there. By the way the questions I received about Ginn have been answered in “Barking at Yesterday’s Moon”. As for wolves being “cuddly”…come now. We all know that wolves are predatory carnivores and trying to cuddle an actual wild wolf (if you could even find one) is nature’s equivalent of Russian roulette with five rounds in the chamber. That’s the reality. Do I love wolves? Yes but I think “respect” would be a better word.

I find it interesting that, according to a couple of sellers that flog Canadian and British Columbia souvenirs, the two most requested animals are bears and wolves. My local thrift shop will tell you that if it has anything to do with wolves, whether posters or sculpts, they rarely last more than a day on the shelves and Walmart sells out of those wolf keychains before anything else (even though they incorrectly have blue eyes). Tourists spend millions of dollars a year to come to our country to see the wildlife yet we blatantly slaughter these animals under the guise of “control” or “maintenance”. We aerial gun down wolves to “protect” the Caribou then turn around and lease those delicate lands to oil and forestry businesses thus destroying the one thing that these animals need…a safe and secure habitat.

Okay…elections.

Both the U.S. and Canada are in the throes of election campaigns of sorts and for whatever reason I’m intrigued by both this time around. I’ll pass on commenting on the “hair” aspects of our election…Margaret Atwood said it better than I could:

http://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/hair-is-in-the-election-season-air-but-is-it-crucial-to-your-vote

I just wonder why no-one is using this type of campaign against Trump.

I’M JUST RAMBLIN’ ROSE…

Two old ladies in my driveway, a fresh case of Grolsch, and a new bag of spicy Nacho chips…I may not make it to Heaven so I brought a little of it home this afternoon.The ladies on my driveway…not sure about them. They’re probably trying to decide whether or not to knock on my door and tell me that I’m on the wrong path…that my attitudes and beliefs, like my spine, need an adjustment. Maybe not. One of them is pretty hot for an old lady which is okay because I’m a luke-warm old man so I feel I’m qualified to judge. The other lady looks Italian. She has Italian skin, eyes, and bearing. She looks very much like my Grade seven art teacher who told us that she was Italian which is why I drew the comparison.  Please don’t misunderstand…I’m not insulting Italians. Some of my best friends are Italian. That’s a lie. I don’t have any Italian friends, best or worst…although one of my best friends is Bulgarian which is closer to Italy than Kamloops is so I think that counts. I could have an Italian best friend but nobody answered my ad in the personals. I guess asking for an elderly Italian to be my BFF is a little creepy.

Okay I made all that up…there isn’t an Italian lady on my driveway. There isn’t a hot older lady on my driveway either but that’s okay. I have one in my house and I’ve been living with her for forty-five years and I really don’t want another one. There’s really only so much of me to go around.

I do have the Grolsch and the chips though. It might be a sad testament but that’s my idea of Heaven at the moment. I’ve spent a good part of the day digging in the garden and a cool Grolsch or two is my reward. They’re celebrating their 400^th Anniversary this year. I only wish I’d discovered it years ago. It was my doctor who recommended Grolsch as a healthy beer and that I should have one a day. I like my doctor. Sometimes I forget for four or five days (luke-warm old age again) but come Friday night I fill the prescription and have four or five. Grolsch is my best friend from Holland. Not that I’m hinting but if someone from Grolsch wants to thank me in product for this plug…pm me.

Thanks…

Mike

JUST AN UPDATE…

I know I have been lax with this blog lately but life and manuscripts seemed to have gotten in the way over the past few weeks.

Briefly…I just finished a word by word read-through of “Barking at Yesterday’s Moon” and was quite shocked at the number of tiny mistakes I found. These were mostly missing words, a few missing dialogue tags, and one major continuity error. I’m relatively confident I’ve corrected everything but there’s still a part of me that wonders if I missed anything this time around. I have to trust that after three careful read-throughs by myself and some other people that I’m ready to take that next step.

I have had requests for hard copy editions (which I intend to publish down the road) but I’m going to check out all the options for e-publishing as an independent author first. A quick search tells me there’s a lot of work ahead to decide which way to go. I would appreciate any suggestions from anyone who has gone this route. It appears that Amazon has a package for folks like me. Has anyone had experience with this?

Anyway to all my American friends…have a happy Fourth. To all my Canadian friends…hope you had a happy First.

Cheers to all!