Day: August 9, 2015

Summer Programs

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I went to sleep-away summer camp a couple of times. For a week.

I went to Girl Scout day camp once. That, too, was for a week.

My husband went to sleep-away camp for years, 6 weeks at a stretch. But he grew up in the Bronx, and I grew up in the middle of no where. I didn’t need summer camp.

When I was in elementary school, the town in which I lived had a pool (converted frog pond). Every Tuesday and Thursday (unless it was raining) in July and early August a school bus picked us up to take us to The Pool. It was a daylong event. There was a concessions stand. There were arts & crafts. There was swimming. Two full weeks were given over to swimming lessons. Looking back at it, I guess The Pool was a summer program.

But The Pool was only on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The other days of the week were spent:

  • trying to write novels on an ancient Remington Rand cast iron manual typewriter
  •  picking wild whatever-berry-was-in-season
  • building forts
  • playing with my cousins (who lived next door) along with a slew of other neighborhood kids

No one drove us anywhere (my mom didn’t drive).

We caught frogs by day and lightning bugs by night. There were boxes of old clothes for dress up. Trees for climbing. We had bicycles without helmets, croquet sets, and badminton rackets (using the hedge dividing my aunt and uncle’s driveway from my parents’ as a net). We did somersaults and tried to do back flips and cartwheels on the soft grass of our yards. There was a mountain behind the houses to explore. Massive games of hide-and-go-seek and Wolf at night, and Annie-Annie-Over in the day. We lay on our backs and stared at the clouds or the stars. We didn’t need summer programs.

We were expected to amuse ourselves. We managed.

I sometimes wonder if we aren’t raising a generation of people who are incapable of amusing themselves. Play dates, summer programs all summer long, with no downtime to curl up with a book or teach yourself to play guitar. Or day dream. Are we annihilating the imaginations of our youth?

 

WIP Wednesday: Angela Archer

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Today I am most pleased to welcome Angela Archer to WIP Wednesday here on Comptonplations.

Angela, what are your top three dream destinations and why?

ANGELA: Ireland, Bora Bora, and Alaska. I’ve always wanted to see Ireland to see the beauty of it. In all the pictures I see, it just looks like such beautiful countryside. Bora Bora, is my dream beach destination, or really any of the Islands of Tahiti. And, lastly, if I don’t do anything else on my bucket list, or go to any of the other places, one thing I will do someday is see the Northern Lights.

MJ: If you didn’t write, what would be your creative outlet?

ANGELA: I don’t know about creative, but my other stress outlet is riding my horse. I wish I had more time in the day to write and ride, but alas, time evades me most days. I also love cooking and baking–especially from scratch. I’m working on adding a bunch of yummy, healthy, homemade recipes on my blog.

MJ: If you ever need a taster . . . okay, other than writing, what would be your dream job?

ANGELA: When I was young I wanted to be a marine biologist and study whales. When I found out how much school that job required I reconsidered. 🙂 I was never really one that loved school. I don’t know why, I just didn’t like it.

MJ: Is there a particular movie that you preferred over the book version of the story?

ANGELA: The Last of the Mohicans. I fell in love with the movie before I read the book. When I started the book, everything was different and I freaked out and stopped reading it. Probably not the best thing to do, but I just couldn’t wrap my head around all the changes.

MJ: What do you normally eat for breakfast, of do you skip it and get straight to work?

ANGELA: I’ve been trying to live a more healthier life and lose a few pounds, and since to do that you should eat a breakfast, I eat one. Usually, a banana, Greek vanilla yogurt, and raspberries.

MJ: Plotter or pantser?

ANGELA: I’m a plotter. I have an insane outlining process. I don’t just write a few sentences, I do paragraphs about each chapter and scene. If I don’t, I get lost with what to do next and then weeks go by and I haven’t touched my manuscript because I’m stuck.

MJ: Do you believe in writer’s block?

ANGELA: I believe in writer’s block with my own personal writing. Every author is different, though so while I might get stuck or write myself into a corner, or head down a direction I didn’t plan that sends me slamming my head into the wall or my desk, other writers might not ever experience that. To those lucky enough to never have it, I bow down to their awesomeness.

MJ: Name three things on your desk right now.

ANGELA: Haha. Seriously? A Jessie doll from Toy Story, stencils, markers, and paper, and a bowl of my homemade potato salad. What? I’m hungry, and I have a 21 month old and a 7 year old.

MJ: Would you consider self-publishing?

ANGELA: Yes, I would. I’ve gone back and forth with it, though. As with everything I believe there are pros and cons with traditional publishing and self publishing. Each writer is different and has different goals for their work. If a certain writer thinks self publishing is the better route for them, then I say bravo for doing what is right for them. I have a few friends who are self published and their books are doing really good.

MJ: Do you listen to music when you write? Explain.

ANGELA: I listen to instrumental music, it helps me immensely. While I prefer Celtic music, really any instrumental music works, and I really love soundtracks. A few good ones are The Last of the Mohicans, Braveheart, Secretariat, and Harry Potter.

MJ: Thanks for sharing that! Now, for the lightning round. Beer-can or bottle?

ANGELA: Bottle

MJ: Last movie you saw in a theater?

ANGELA: How to Train Your Dragon 2

MJ: Favorite TV show?

ANGELA:  Game of Thrones

MJ: Paper or e-books?

ANGELA: Paper.

MJ: Favorite band when you were in high school (Marching band doesn’t count).

ANGELA: Def Leppard (And they are still my all time favorite ever!)

MJ: Would you be willing to share the first five to ten sentences of your current work in progress?

ANGELA:  Of course! This is from When the Black Roses Grow, a Historical Romance set in 1692 during the
Salem Witch Trials.

The gentle breeze blew the soft flower petals against my chest. Laying
against my black, cotton dress and clutched in my arms, the bouquet
fluttered from side to side as my feet crunched through the twigs and
rocks along the dirt path. Of course, the flowers were nothing more than
the wild vegetation that bloomed around my home, not like the pretty
sprays of flora most set upon the crosses of their departed loved ones.
Nice flowers weren’t allowed in this part of the cemetery.

I tiptoed down the path past other mourners crying over different
headstones or huddled in the arms of another while they prayed—their
whispers the same echoed prayers I’ve heard dozens of times. Tightening
my grip on the stems, and tucking my chin deeper toward my chest, I
lifted my hand to my face to block my eyes and continued down through
the maze of overgrown weeds, debris, and the broken, rotten wood gate.
A few of the mourners watched me, knowing where I traveled to, and
judging me for my betrayal to God, the Church, and to everyone in Salem.
How dare I mourn my loss. How dare I visit her, my mother—the condemned
witch.

Along the outskirts of town, near the peddlers road, and buried in the
plot of land furthest from the church, the damned and cursed lay in
shallow graves, unmarked, unless a family member willing to bear the
burden of the shame bestowed them with one. Outlined by overgrown brush
that never received care, this cursed part of the cemetery was rarely
visited.

In all honesty, I shouldn’t have traveled here.

MJ: Oh, my! You’ve certainly hooked my attention here. Where can readers purchase your current release?

ANGELA: The Woman on the Painted Horse is available on Amazon. (Click the title for the link.)

MJ: And where can readers follow you?

ANGELA:  I have a website– http://www.angelachristinaarcher.com/,

a blog–http://authorangelachristinaarcher.wordpress.com/

a Face Book page–https://www.facebook.com/pages/Angela-Christina-Archer/121833387901997?ref_type=bookmark

plus I’m on Twitter https://twitter.com/AuthorACArcher and

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8073551.Angela_Christina_Archer

MJ: Thanks a lot for stopping by today. Good luck with your writing and your sales!

 

 

Secret Identity Heroes

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Since Baroness Orczy created The Scarlet Pimpernel shortly after the turn of the 20th century, the secret-identity hero has become a staple in fiction. Literature, comics, motion pictures, and television have all adopted the device with varying degrees of success.

 As a child of the late 1950’s, early 1960’s, and the Cold War, I grew up on televised versions of Superman, The Lone Ranger, Zorro, and Batman. The dark rural nights of my childhood echoed with eerie laughter as my cousins, siblings, neighborhood children, and I re-enacted The Wonderful Word of Disney’s The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh. Even then, I knew there is something very special, very romantic, about the hero who performed his good deeds in disguise.

I knew then, too, that the mask/glasses weren’t only to deflect the villain, but also because a true hero doesn’t need credit for his escapades. A true hero does the right thing because he is inherently good.

A made-for-TV version of The Scarlet Pimpernel, starring Jane Seymour and Anthony Andrews intrigued me. The tension between the characters of Sir Percival Blakeney and Marguerite St. Just was exquisitely believable. I fell in love. I dashed out and bought the book. Here was a hero, a true, secret-identity guy, who risked his life to rescue the French aristocracy from the guillotine.

But Sir Percival Blakeney was much, much more than someone with a gift for theatrical make-up and derring-do. He also created a secret identity in which to live, one that very nearly cost him the love of his life.

When Warner Brothers resurrected Superman in the form of Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, I was there. The spin was a little different on this updated version of my childhood hero, but one I could easily embrace. Dean Cain’s portrayal of Superman didn’t hurt, nor did Teri Hatcher as Lois Lane. And this incarnation of Lois was someone with whom I could identify. Even better, the sexual tension between the two characters was believable. And explosive. The first season of this series simply blew my mind.

I didn’t like it as much once Lois learned that Clark Kent was really Superman, and I really didn’t like it when Clark told Lois, “Clark is who I am, Superman is what I do.”

Wrong. Completely dead wrong.

The unique thing about Superman as opposed to other comic book superheroes is Superman–Kal-El–is the character and Clark Kent the disguise. Bruce Wayne became Batman, Peter Parker became Spiderman–even Percy Blakeney and Don Diego de la Vega became The Scarlet Pimpernel and Zorro. Kal-El became Clark Kent. The Clark Kent identity was created to disguise the alien baby. The whole “mild-mannered-reporter” persona originated, exactly like the “fop” persona of Sir Percy Blakeney, in order to distract the everyday world from the true character.

Percy and Clark shed their disguises to do the right thing, using their inherent abilities as opposed to hiding behind masks (okay, Percy hid behind theatrical makeup), gadgets and nuclear mutations/lab accidents, etc. (It’s my understanding that this is also the Phantom’s m.o., but I’ve never read the comic.)

Neither the Scarlet Pimpernel nor Superman is motivated by revenge. Peter Parker wants to get back at the men who killed his uncle; Bruce Wayne wants the men who killed his parents.

What does Superman want? He has no hidden, personal agenda for helping.

Same with Blakeney. He is a wealthy man, a baronet, and could easily live a stress-free life. Indeed, in the original book, he claims he goes into revolution-ridden France to rescue those sentenced to death for ‘sport’. Pretty noble, if you ask me, when others in his time sported with dog/cock fights, fox hunts, wenching, and gambling.

Toke Lobo

So it’s not surprising that given my penchant for the secret-identity hero whose everyday life is the identity he sheds in order to be his heroic self, that my books feature characters of the same ilk. But Tokarz, Stoker, Restin, and the gang–er, pack–aren’t from mysterious planets or privileged societies. They’re down-home guys who value family above all else, patriots of the nation that granted sanctuary to their ancestors when the old country was awash in revolution.

Okay, things get a little hairy when the moon is full, but no one gets hurt–unless the core values of these heroes are threatened. Then there is no stopping a pack of crazed werewolves bent on revenge.

Moonlight Serenade, on sale March 26 from Soul Mate Publishing.

ISBN-13: 978-1-61935-388-6

MoonlightSerenade Final Cover with Quote

Round 2: Done

Round two of my copy edits are done and returned to my editor. Whew! Also had a peak at the cover, although I don’t think that’s quite ready for a reveal.

Image credit: andrejad / 123RF Stock Photo

Image credit: andrejad / 123RF Stock Photo

Also, one of my cousins’ posted this

team compton

 

on the family FB page, and I thought, what a great author promo idea!  After all, it is all about me (see blog description, far upper right column)