The Joy of Story

Saturday, June 18, 2016

AMATEUR SLEUTHS ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT THEIR JOB

THE JOY OF STORY

John M. Daniel’s Blog

June 18, 2016

Greetings, writers and readers, storytellers and avid listeners. This week I’m pleased to have as my guest mystery writer Sally Carpenter, author of the Sandy Fairfax Teen Idol series.

Sandy Fairfax is an amateur sleuth. That means he’s not a cop or a private investigator, just somebody who has a habit of stumbling over dead bodies (figuratively speaking) and getting caught up the risky business of figuring out whodunit, chasing down the killer, and seeing that the villain is brought to justice.

Sometimes in the amateur sleuth subgenre, this adventure happens entirely against the poor protagonist’s will, but it goes with the territory that the amateur sleuth is nosy enough, and has a conviction about right being better than wrong, to overcome fear and pick up the gauntlet fate has thrown down.

The chase is on, and our hero is one to root for, a sleuth whose final advantages are bravado, honor, and a good set of wits.

Sally Carpenter’s amateur Sandy Fairfax has just what it takes.

§§§

Inside the Mind of a Teen Idol

by Sally Carpenter

Thanks for hosting me today, John. I’m going to illustrate character development by describing my series protagonist Sandy Fairfax, a 28-year-old former teen idol and star of the ’70s TV show “Buddy Brave, Boy Sleuth.” This in itself is unique, because I’m not aware of any other mystery protagonist with this job description.

I have four books in the series. In book one, Sandy’s been out of circulation for many years and is attempting to launch a comeback. This is where fiction meets reality. All real-life teen idols experience an explosive but short-lived career in their early twenties and then fall into obscurity. However, when the idol is in his late thirties, nostalgia kicks in for the older fans, and he’s discovered by a younger generation, and his career is renewed.

Sandy is passionate. He admits that he follows his heart instead of his head. If he wants something, he goes full tilt for it. When he gets his teeth into a murder case, he won’t let go.

He loves classic cars and guitars as well as all types of music. He used to love drinking until he realized that was really an addiction; now he’s clean and sober. He loves performing, not just for the acclaim but he truly enjoys making people happy. He couldn’t go into another line of work because he’d rather be on a stage.

Sandy has a strong sense of justice. He’s a “reluctant hero” as he was thrust into amateur sleuthing against his will and better judgment. However, now that he’s solved several crimes he finds it rewarding. He’s determined to bring in the killer, even if he doesn’t like or even know the victim.

Sandy’s a “speed freak.” He drives fast and he craves excitement. He likes the mental challenge of finding the killer and the thrill of the chase. Solving crimes helps him feel worthwhile and needed; he’s more than just a pretty face on a lunchbox.

As for flaws, in book one he’s a mess. He’s just quit drinking cold turkey and as a result he’s cranky and moody. He has a short temper and lashes out when provoked. As a result of having people gush over him, Sandy possesses a monster-size ego.

Like every real idol except for Donny Osmond, Sandy’s divorced. Sandy was an idol during the years when a man’s libido is at its strongest. As a result, he doesn’t have a mature attitude about women or sexuality. He was promiscuous in his youth, although that’s tapered off. Over the years he’s had a number of neurotic girlfriends. Now he’s found a lovely, emotionally secure woman and he wants to remain true to her. But don’t expect any graphic sex, as cozy mysteries are PG.

In the first book Sandy had a bad attitude about Buddy Brave, the character he played on TV. He’s permanently typecast, and even now the character continues to dog him. However, by book four he’s learned to accept Buddy as an important part of his life. By book four Sandy regains a sense of pride about the boy sleuth—and for his own detective work.

Sally Carpenter is native Hoosier now living in Moorpark, Calif. She has a master’s degree in theater from Indiana State University. While in school her plays Star Collector and Common Ground were finalists in the American College Theater Festival One-Act Playwriting Competition. Common Ground also earned a college creative writing award, and Star Collector was produced in New York City.

Sally also has a master’s degree in theology and a black belt in tae kwon do. She’s worked as an actress, college writing instructor, theater critic, jail chaplain, and tour guide/page for Paramount Pictures. She’s now employed at a community newspaper.

She writes the Sandy Fairfax Teen Idol series: The Baffled Beatlemaniac Caper (2012 Eureka! Award finalist for best first mystery novel), The Sinister Sitcom Caper, The Cunning Cruise Ship Caper and The Quirky Quiz Show Caper.

She has short stories in two anthologies: “Dark Nights at the Deluxe Drive-In” in Last Exit to Murder and “Faster Than a Speeding Bullet” in Plan B: Omnibus. She also wrote chapter three in the Cozy Cat Press group mystery Chasing the Codex.

She’s a member of Sisters in Crime/Los Angeles. Reach her at Facebook or scwriter@earthlink.net.

She blogs at: http://sandyfairfaxauthor.com and ladiesofmystery.com

Buy links: (print) http://www.amazon.com/Quirky-Quiz-Show-Caper-Fairfax/dp/1939816874/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1461006336&sr=1-2&keywords=quirky+quiz

(ebook) https://www.amazon.com/Quirky-Caper-Sandy-Fairfax-mysteries-ebook/dp/B01ERVIAVS?ie=UTF8&keywords=quirky%20quiz&qid=1461623900&ref_=sr_1_3&s=books&sr=1-3

§§§

Calling all published authors—

I feature a guest author the third Saturday (and week following) of each month. If you’re interested in posting an essay on my blog—it’s also a chance to promote a published book—email me directly at jmd@danielpublishing.com.

§§§

Call for submissions: Your 99-Word Stories

The deadline for July’s 99-word story submissions is July 1. The stories will appear on my blog post for July 9

note: this 99-word story feature is a game, not a contest. Obey the rules and I’ll include your story. I may edit the story to make it stronger, and it’s understood that you will submit to my editing willingly. That’s an unwritten rule.

Rules for the 99-word story feature are as follows:

1. Your story must be 99 words long, exactly.

2. One story per writer, per month.

3. The story must be a story. That means it needs plot (something or somebody has to change), characters, and conflict.

4. The story must be inspired by the prompt I assign.

5. The deadline: the first of the month. Stories will appear on this blog the second Saturday of the month.

6. I will copy edit the story. The author of the story retains all rights.

7. Email me your story (in the body of your email, or as a Word attachment) to: jmd@danielpublishing.com

THIS MONTH’S PROMPT FOR NEXT MONTH’S 99-WORD STORY: Write a story inspired by this sentiment: “Yes, I love you, but you’re going to have to choose between me and that animal.”

§§§

So much for this week. Thank you for stopping by, and thanks especially to Sally Carpenter for introducing us to Sandy Fairfax, a former teen idol with a passion for adventure and justice. Let Sandy be an inspiration to us writers: be brave, take chances, and stay on course when it comes to right and wrong. That’s the way to solve thorny mysteries, and it’s also the way to find the joy of story.

See you next week, I hope!

http://www.danielpublishing.com/jmd/index.html

Saturday, June 11, 2016

COMING HOME

THE JOY OF STORY

John M. Daniel’s Blog

June 11, 2016

Greetings! This week, beginning on the second Saturday in June, I am pleased to showcase a dozen writers who have contributed 99-word stories about going home. In some cases the term home is a metaphor for a state of being; in others it’s a home town, a childhood residence, a house or an apartment. Built into the stories is a common element of surprise. Some warm and pleasant surprises, others more like nightmares.

§§§

I spent most of my childhood in the home of my Uncle Neil. My father died when I was two years old, leaving my mother virtually penniless, with four children to raise. Her older brother, my Uncle Neil, came to her rescue. He was a wealthy businessman, a bachelor, and he persuaded my mother to bring her family and move in with him, first in Bradford, Pennsylvania, then to Cleveland, Ohio, and in 1950, to a house in Farmers Branch, on the rural outskirts of Dallas, Texas. By that time my siblings were all away at college most of the time. I was eight years old.

Farmers Branch, as we called my new home, was a glorious estate. A fine place to grow up.

Well, a few years ago I wrote a novel about an eight-year-old boy named Davy, who moved to Texas with his mother to live in Elephant Lake, the country estate of Davy’s Uncle Fergus. The place in my novel was modeled closely on Farmers Branch. The people were exaggerated versions of my mother and my uncle. The story was completely fictitious. But it helped me to better understand my childhood fantasies, my mother’s alcoholism, and my uncle’s mysterious magic.

Writing my novel Elephant Lake was how I came home to a place I’d never been before.

§§§

I Came Home to a Place I’d Never Been Before

a collection of 99-word stories

HOME OF MY ANCESTORS
by June Kozier

A few years ago, while doing genealogical research to join the Daughters of the American Revolution, I discovered one of my great, great grandmothers was a Bronk.

The Bronk home, built in 1663, is the headquarters of the Green County Historical Society. The Coxsackie Declaration of Independence was signed there more than a year before the Declaration of Independence was signed.

Of course, I had to visit the site. When I entered the original stone one-room dwelling, it did not feel like other historic houses that I had visited.

It felt strangely like home.

•••

I CAME HOME TO A PLACE I’D NEVER BEEN BEFORE
by John Hellen

Our plane was approaching Shannon Airport in Ireland; I couldn’t contain my excitement. My parents had always told me stories of their childhood days in Shannon, where they first met in high school.

My father’s sister, Maureen McNally, met me at the airport and took me to their cottage outside of Shannon. I was greeted by many aunts, uncles and cousins I have never met before. They gave me Guinness Stout and toasted their newest family member.

I was being welcomed in such a way that I felt I had come home to a place I’ve never been before.

•••

YOU CAN’T GO HOME AGAIN

by Phyllis Povell

He was writing a novel with NYU as its backdrop. “Will you accompany me to your old stomping grounds?”

A chance to go home to my Alma Mater.

Came out of the subway, walked in the wrong direction. Oriented myself, but couldn’t recognize my former home. All the new construction; buildings rising up where they never were. Stores, cafés, theatres. Where did they come from?

Students with purple and green hair carrying books and chatting in a variety of languages still there.

Security guards at every building. “You can’t come in without student ID.”

You can’t come home again.

•••

I DON’T NEED A MAP

by Frank Thayer

“I don’t need a map,” Al told the Hertz guy at DFW. “I grew up in Dallas.”

Coming out of the Hertz lot, Al had to turn onto a freeway he didn’t remember. Hmm, he thought. This airport used to be called Love Field, too. Well, I’ll be fine.

Twenty minutes later he was pulled over for driving too slow. The cop read his driver’s license. “What brings you to Texas?” he asked.

“My granddaughter’s wedding.”

“Where?”

“In Dallas. Obviously.”

“Anybody expecting you?”

“It’ll be a surprise.”

“That it will, sir. You’ve just entered the city of Fort Worth.”

•••

NEW MEMORIES
by Tim Hershberger

The woman, pleasant enough in manner and looks, keeps running her fingers over my brow and through my hair while she drives.

“We’ll be home soon, Hon,” she says.

I study her features, every line and curve of her face.

“I should know her,” I think to myself, and then my thoughts drift to where I had woken up.

“A coma,” they said at the hospital. “Three years.”

Strange to remember so little; my name I have only from what this woman has called me. Now we are driving “home,” home to a place I’ve never been before.

•••

UNCONDITIONAL
by Cathy Mayrides

I met you when we were kids, but didn’t see you again until I was almost out of my twenties and newly divorced. My marriage to the abuser was thankfully over, but I looked at the world with trepidation: what if every man was the same?

Then, suddenly, I met you again.

I found something I never had, and that was unconditional love. It eluded me in childhood and it was never part of my life until you wandered back into it.

I came home to a place I’d never been before, and I never wanted to leave.

•••

PEACE OF MIND
by Jerry Giammatteo

Anxiety roiled in every fiber of his being. Since he was a child, the smallest conflict or inconvenience was always magnified.

Relax, his mother, wife, even children told him. He would try, but it was useless. Inner peace eluded him. He accepted it, even joking about being a type B personality and that was that.

Well into his fifties, he tried meditation at the urging of his wife. Reluctantly. This won’t work for me, he thought. But after a few sessions, he felt better.

It’s funny. He felt like he’d come home to a place he’d never been to.

•••

SEASON TO SEASON
by Ryan Matthews

I opened the door to my apartment, finding red wine had left a Jackson Pollack image staining my shag. Blinds hung askew, obnoxiously blocking my ocean view. The kitchen sink adorned by dirty dishes stacked, rivaling any frat party, awaiting another’s soapy hands. Someone has been sleeping in my bed—soiled sheets tossed along with the spread. Wet towels left on the bathroom floor.

Evidence intruders left their mark on my space. Yet the vistas and sunshine beckons for my return, entranced am I as a sailboat floats along the horizon.

Ring, ring, it’s my broker, my oasis rented again.

•••

THE RIPPLE THAT ROARED
by Pat Shevlin

Sandy loved the Cramptons but did not think an aging “chubbette” was cool enough to live among the rich and famous.

Notwithstanding her insecurity, Sandy’s love of the water fueled her confidence at a time when Cramptons real estate was approachable during the sinking economy of 2008. “Timing may be right for this older and wiser beach wannabee.”

Just like Goldilocks, her search was challenging until that morning, when she was greeted at the door by the owner. “Shhhh. If you are quiet, you can hear the water.”

Sandy had come home to a place she’d never been before.

•••

THIRTY DAYS AWAY
by Diane S. Morelli

I left for thirty days. I came home to a place I'd never been before.

When my journey began, I turned my keys over to my best friend. He owned a housecleaning service. I said, “You’ve got a month. Do the best you can.”

His crew earned enough extra money to pay for lunch for several weeks after they cashed in the beer cans I’d left everywhere. They deserved it. Their work was awesome; they even removed the Malbec stains from the grouting in the stall shower.

Professional treatment proved effective for purging me, and my home, of alcohol.

•••

LIFE WITH CLUTTER
by Christine Viscuso

“I came home to a place I’d never been before.” Sam Clutter turned, slowly, around in his living room.

“That doesn’t make sense, dear.” Happy Clutter removed her dirty cleaning smock.

“I’ve lived here, amongst piles of books, magazines, shoes strewn about, coats never put away, piles of unread mail. There’s our couch. Look at our beautiful kitchen table that we haven’t been able to eat on in five years. Finally, there’s a path to the kitchen. Are you sure this is our house?”

“Yes, dear. Now get moving and haul the hundreds of garbage bags to the curb.”

•••

§§§

Calling all published authors—

§§§

Call for submissions: Your 99-Word Stories

The deadline for July’s 99-word story submissions is July 1. The stories will appear on my blog post for July 9

Rules for the 99-word story feature are as follows:

1. Your story must be 99 words long, exactly.

2. One story per writer, per month.

3. The story must be a story. That means it needs plot (something or somebody has to change), characters, and conflict.

4. The story must be inspired by the prompt I assign.

5. The deadline: the first of the month. Stories will appear on this blog the second Saturday of the month.

6. I will copy edit the story. The author of the story retains all rights.

7. Email me your story (in the body of your email, or as a Word attachment) to: jmd@danielpublishing.com

THIS MONTH’S PROMPT FOR NEXT MONTH’S 99-WORD STORY: Write a story inspired by this sentiment: “Yes, I love you, but you’re going to have to choose between me and that animal.”

§§§

And now a word from our sponsor:

Recently published by Daniel & Daniel, Publishers, Inc.

ELEPHANT LAKE

a novel by

John M. Daniel

It’s a magic summer for eight-year-old Davy Llewellyn. He battles a dragon. He rides through a savannah on an elephant. He leaps from the roof and flies to the moon.

Unfortunately, he must come back to earth, where the magic is dark and there’s a skull in the attic

$4.99, Kindle Edition: www.amazon.com

$4.99, Nook Book: www.bn.com

http://www.danielpublishing.com/jmd/elephant_lake.html

What is Davy to make of his mother, who turns into “The Evening Rose” at cocktail hour; or his Uncle Fergus, a wizard who does Elephant Magic; or his Uncle Mike, whose life is a shambles? Luckily Davy has an ally, his cousin Lily. And luckily, they both can fly.

Set in the summer of 1950, Elephant Lake takes place at an elegant country estate eighty miles southest of Dallas, Texas. The story is told from the point of view of Davy Llewellyn, an eight-year-old boy who is trying to figure out the adults in his life: his mother, Rose, an alcoholic and depressed widow; his Uncle Fergus, an oil tycoon and Republican power broker who does magic for children; and his Uncle Mike, a has-been athlete and Hollywood playboy. Davy’s ally is his cousin, Lily, a self-conscious adolescent with enough sense to know her elders are fools. Davy’s escape is an eerie imagination that gives him the power of flight and leads him into encounters with a crimson dragon, a human skull, and an elephant named Boola Boola.

Much happens in the summer of 1950 at Elephant Lake. A boy jumps off a roof. A field catches fire and is saved by an elephant. A bulldog battles a dragon to the death. Geronimo’s skull is discovered in a dusty attic. A girl falls off a roof. A future president of the United States smashes the windows of an abandoned farmhouse. A drunk man dives from a roof. A boy and a girl hop onto a flying horse and fly into the stars.

Elephant Lake is a novel about alcohol, depression, and death, but it is even more about love, adventure, fantasy, and flight.

§§§

That's all, folks. I leave you with one suggestion: If you want to go home to a place you've never been before, make up a story about that place, with a character you can understand, because in some sense, you were there, and in some sense, you've done that. Adios until next week.

http://www.danielpublishing.com/jmd/index.html

Saturday, June 4, 2016

A STYLE SHEET

THE JOY OF STORY

John M. Daniel’s Blog

June 4, 2016

Welcome to June. May it bust out all over. Welcome to writers and storytellers. May they bust out all over, too. That is, may their first drafts be overwritten, haphazard, inconsistent, and sloppy on the screen. That’s the way a lot of us like to create art: without rules, without restraint. Messy. That’s what “joy” is all about, right?

But as we take the necessary steps of our second, maybe third, and at last final draft, we recognize that in order for the story to be worth reading as well as fun writing, neatness counts. Rules matter. Consistency is important. Control is necessary, not only for effective communication but also for the joy of doing things right.

In addition to being a writer and a small-press publisher, I am also a free-lance editor. I do developmental editing (help with structure), line editing (help with style), and copy editing, which is the mundane chore of imposing proper spelling, proper grammar, proper punctuation, hyphenation, capitalization, italics, and consistency.

For my job as a copy editor I have a style sheet that I share with my clients. It is an ongoing and on-growing list of common errors and how to fix them. Some of the rules I impose on my clients are generally accepted and endorsed by Mr. Strunk and Mr. White. Some of my rules are debatable, but I’m so fond of my choices that I impose them on my clients anyway. They can overrule me if they want.

So, with no further introduction:

§§§

HOUSE STYLE

Note: This list is an ongoing work in progress. It is compiled as a reference resource for our authors and our proofreaders. In most matters, we agree with Strunk & White and with the Chicago Manual of Style.

House style: gray (not grey), okay (not OK or O.K. and especially not Ok).

Our house style is to use a comma before the conjunction in series of three or more. Tom, Dick, and Harry. (not "I wish to thank my parents, Mother Teresa and Pope Francis.)

Our rule for ellipsis dots: When they follow a complete sentence, there are four dots, one of which is the period belonging to that sentence. The four dots are followed by a space. When the ellipses follow an incomplete sentence, there are only three dots.

When somebody’s speech is interrupted mid-sentence by another speaker, we use an em-dash (—), not ellipses.

On capitalization in story or poem titles: Some short words, like “it,” “is,” “to” (when part of an infinitive), “her,” “his,” etc. are capitalized (first letter). The general rule for lower-casing short words applies to articles, conjunctions, and prepositions of four letters or fewer.

“Mom” and “Mama” are capitalized when they work as names. They’re lower case as common nouns. Same rule applies for Father, Dad, etc.

We spell out numbers under 100; use numerals for 100 and over. (Always spell numbers out in quoted dialogue, or when the number is the first word of a sentence.)

“anymore” (one word) for adverb. “any more” (two words) for adjective. “Don’t give me any more cookies. I don’t eat cookies anymore.”

“awhile” (one word) for adverb, as in “stay awhile.” “a while” (two words) for the object of a preposition, as in “stay for a while.”

“all right” is always two words. “alright” is not a word.

“under way” is always two words. “underway” is not a word.

“farther” for distance; “further” for degree: “I had to travel farther from home to be further educated.”

“blonde” means a blond-headed woman. It is always a noun. The adjective (male or female) is “blond.”

as a general rule, compound adjectives are hyphenated if they precede the noun they modify. “This is a red-hot poker. This poker is red hot.”

The possessive of a singular noun ending in s is ’s: Tom Jones’s lady love, the princess’s slippers.

The only use for single quotes (‘,’) is to represent quotation marks with quotation marks.

As a rule emphasis should be shown by italics, not by boldface or ALL CAPS.

We don’t like gimmicky punctuation, including double bangs (!!) or interobangs (?!). If the words are forceful, standard punctuation will do.

I lie down today; I lay down yesterday, I have lain down every day this week.

I lay my pencil down today; I laid my pencil down yesterday; I have laid my pencil down all week.

The past tense of spit is spat. (A similar rule applies to a verb that rhymes with spit.)

The past tense of sneak is sneaked, (not snuck).

“Disinterested” does not mean uninterested or indifferent. It means appropriately impartial.

“Infer” does not mean imply. It means deduce from what is implied.

“Different than” should almost always be changed to “different from.” (Exception: “Mice and men are more different than apples and oranges.”)

I suggest to my clients, and I now suggest to you, that a personal style sheet is a handy thing to have. It will save you (and your editor, if you have one) a lot of trouble. Your style sheet will be different from (note: not “different than”) mine, of course, but you’re welcome to incorporate any of my preferences that you agree with.

§§§

Calling all authors—

§§§

Call for submissions: Your 99-Word Stories

The deadline for July’s 99-word story submissions is July 1. The stories will appear on my blog post for July 9 and will stay posted for a week.

Rules for the 99-word story feature are as follows:

1. Your story must be 99 words long, exactly.

2. One story per writer, per month.

3. The story must be a story. That means it needs plot (something or somebody has to change), characters, and conflict.

4. The story must be inspired by the prompt I assign.

5. The deadline: the first of the month. Stories will appear on this blog the second Saturday of the month.

6. I will copy edit the story. The author of the story retains all rights.

7. Email me your story (in the body of your email, or as a Word attachment) to: jmd@danielpublishing.com

THIS MONTH’S PROMPT FOR NEXT MONTH’S 99-WORD STORY: Write a story inspired by this sentiment: “Yes, I love you, but you’re going to have to choose between me and that animal.”

§§§

And now a word from our sponsor:

As I mentioned above, I am a professional free-lance editor. If you are looking for an editor, a mentor, a ghostwriter, or an editorial analysis of your work, please check out my website describing my services. The web page is http://www.danielpublishing.com/litserv.htm

and there are hot links to the details.

Note: this information was written and posted about fifteen years ago, so some of it is out of date. But it will serve as an introduction to who I am, what I care about, and what I do for the joy of making a living with words.

§§§

That’ll do it for this week. Thanks for putting up with my strong opinions about this wonderful language we speak and write. I’ll ease up next week. In fact, next week’s post will be written mainly by an assortment of good writers who have submitted 99-word stories for your pleasure. Till then, write, read, and celebrate the joy of story.

http://www.danielpublishing.com/jmd/index.html