Wednesday, April 22, 2009

DEADFALL EVENTS SCHEDULED IN MAY


Level Best Books has scheduled two events featuring DEADFALL their latest anthology of mystery and crime stories by New England writers.

At 6:00 PM on May 9, 2009 a number of DEADFALL writers will be at Water Street Books in Exeter, NH and at 7:30 PM on Monday, May 11, 2009 Level Best will be at the Freeport, ME Public Library. Come on out and support a talented bunch of writers.
Also keep in mind that Level Best is accepting submissions for their 7th anthology. For submission guidelines visit their web site at http://www.levelbestbooks.com/

Monday, April 20, 2009

MAKE YOUR HERO (AND VILLAIN) HUMAN!


Ever read a book in which the hero is perfect? Did it bore you? Did you place the book down saying "No way would this ever happen..."? I read a couple of books by a best selling author (I'll keep the name to myself) and will probably never pick up another by him. Why not, you ask, it is a best selling author? My answer is simple, I find his hero to be unbelievable and the most boring character since Tom Swift (remember him? At least Tom was written for an adolescent audience, not an adult one...). His hero was an all-American quarterback in college, lives in an aircraft hangar filled with antique cars and airplanes, and (the most incredulous thing of all to me) is an expert at anything he tries! If deep sea diving is called for the hero can do it (and he'll probably parachute into the ocean for the dive). There is no machine he cannot operate, drive, or fly... To top it all off, this character owns all those priceless cars and planes while working for the government! (Maybe that part is believable...it seems you have to be independently wealthy to be in U. S. government anymore!) The character is about as believable as Batman, Superman, and Spiderman all of whom are fantasy characters. To me the cardinal sin of this author is that the writer leaves me with the impression that I should believe his character could exist. My response to this "Pllleeeeeeeaaaasssssse! Give me some credit." I cannot abide a writer who thinks of his/her audience as a bunch of pliant, mindless drones who will accept and believe anything that appears in print.

If you want me to read your book and enjoy it, give me a hero that has bad as well as good traits. If the character has to use specialized skills at least let him/her struggle a bit as they learn and master that skill.

Everyone loves Batman (well those of us who love dark fantasy anyway). However, the biggest Batman hits were Batman Begins in which we actually see the years of suffering and training Bruce Wayne had to endure to become the Caped Crusader. You can actually make a case for a multi-millionaire who roams the world and becomes a martial arts expert, who will use his bucks to develop special technology. Like I said possible if unlikely.

So, above all else make your hero human. Instill character flaws and fears (remember young Bruce Wayne's fear of bats?) into your hero. While you're at it, give your villain a redeeming characteristic or two... It will add suspense to your plot and make the characters believable...

Mysteryman

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

I'm Back!


Wow! It's been a month since I did a post! I've been out straight since mid-march with all the settling in stuff and helping a friend plan her relocation. A couple of things have developed though:

  1. The New England Crimebake has extended the deadline for submissions to the Al Blanchard Award Short Story Contest. Check out crimebake.org for submission requirements and other requirements.

  2. Level Best Books is having a couple of DEADFALL events in the next month. May 11th we'll be at the public library in Freeport, ME and sometime near that date at the Water Street Bookstore in Exeter, NH (actual date is still TBD). Writers whose work appears in the anthology will be on hand to read from their stories and sign books.

  3. The New England Crimebake planning committee (on which yours truly is no longer a member--but my thoghts are with them) has announced the keynote speaker for the conference. None other than Sue Grafton! Check out the link in item #1 for details on the conference and how to register.

Now that things are settling down in my personal life I'll be posting more often. If there are any writers out there who want to post on this blog as a guest please contact me!

Mysteryman