It's BAAA--AAACCCCKKK

What do hurricanes have to do with Kentucky? Find out in my essay, "Searching for Kentucky After the Storm" up at Sunlight Press.

It's Back! Hurricane Season, that is. Time (well, past time, actually) to start thinking about those things we all meant to do, promised we'd do, had every intention of doing as the storms were barreling at and over us last year. You know the list: buy and install hurricane shutters; get a tune-up for the generator; get solar panels; have the trees pruned and remove damaged trees; clear leaf litter from the drainage ditch in the front yard.

Barnacle Bills after Hurricane Klaus (1984). Alas, it didn't survive Marilyn (1995).

Expert procrastinator that I am, I haven't done those things yet. I'd better get a move on because Hurricane Season 2018 is upon us.

As always, hurricane season puts me in a reflective mood. I used to be able to rattle off the names of the 11 hurricanes and tropical storms I've been through, but with time, the order and names are getting fuzzy. The lesser storms get forgotten. Those storms that became minor inconveniences in the larger scheme of things fade. A few days of candlelight, rerouting around flooded streets, work, schools, and businesses shut down for a few days. Then life goes on.

Crown Bay Marina, post-Marilyn, 1995. (Where some nice crew on a megayacht let me
use their satellite phone to call my mother and assure her I was safe.)

It's the big impact storms that are never forgotten. The ones that leave us without power and phone for months. Those that rip the roof off the house like it's a toy. Those that leave body counts. Marilyn. Georges. Maria.

Even from those storms, eventually, recovery does become recovered. Sunlight Press has published my personal essay Searching for Kentucky, about that process of going from recovery to recovered after hurricane Marilyn in the US Virgin Islands. I hope you'll stop by their site to give it a read.

Along the same lines, this poem, "Hurricane," by Mary Oliver, captures a similar sentiment on her hurricane and recovery experience in 2017's Hurricane Harvey.

One for the "great minds" category: once we were able to make it from our houses to town after Marilyn (1995)
my bestie Julie and I pulled into the parking lot in FrenchTown at the same time. We're pointing to our miraculously unscathed vehicles, and drinking tepid beer from Cafe Normandy, where they were trying to drink all the stock from the coolers before they got too warm.

Finally, please don't forget that although we're now in the 2018 Hurricane Season, there are still a lot of recovery efforts going on throughout the Caribbean. Here are some links to some worthy organizations that could use a hand. Please consider making a donation to one of these.

In the US VIRGIN ISLANDS

Humane Society of St. Thomas helps to rescue, care for, and find homes for stray and abandoned animals on St. Thomas.

Animal Care Center of St. John was destroyed by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, but are still working to help the animals of St. John as they rebuild.

St. Croix Animal Welfare Center was also destroyed by Hurricane Maria but is in the process of rebuilding.

In PUERTO RICO

Defensa Animal de Rincon is a Puerto Rico nonprofit working to help the dogs, cats, and horses on the island. It is 100% funded through donations.

Second Chance Animal Rescue of Puerto Rico is a nonprofit that rescues, rehabilitates, and finds homes for abandoned and abused dogs rescued from the streets of PR.

And this blog post at The Conscious Cat lists some other organizations that are working to help the animal population affected by Hurricane Maria in PR.

Stranger Things: Why the Duffer Brothers Are My Heroes

Matt and I just got done binge-watching the second season of Stranger Things. If you haven't yet seen it, or haven't climbed on the Stranger Things fan-wagon yet, no worries, there are no spoilers ahead. Read away. This post is all about my own personal love affair with the show and hero-worship for its writers, the Duffer Brothers, Matt and Ross.

Stranger Things is an homage to all the greatest sci-fi movies of the 80s, and to all things 80s for that matter. Even though the Duffers were born in 1984, so weren't really part of the very time they're writing about, they capture every feeling and nuance of the age, from the clothing, music, and home decor to freedom kids had before "helicopter parents" were a thing. The writing and incredible acting by a perfectly cast ensemble of talented actors contribute to the experience. They take the viewer on such a faithful, accurate trip back to that era that it becomes a complete immersive experience. So much so that turning it off at the end of an episode and looking around a 2017 house is disorienting.

But that's not what has me so completely engrossed and captivated by Stranger Things. It's the story-telling itself. The Duffers tell stories in a way that resonates with me. It's the way stories in real life unfold: from multiple perspectives. This isn't the simplistic story told from a single point-of-view (POV), either in the first or third person limited, focusing on a single character. (IMHO, first-person is too often lazy storytelling where many writers never really "show" anything, only tell, "Look at me, here's what I did..."  Third person requires the writer to do a bit more work to show the reader how things are unfolding, but is too often used for linear, direct, this person goes from point A to point B with all the expected and predictable plot points crossed along the way. (Boy meets girl, miscommunication happens, go their separate ways, trauma ensues, they realize they're meant to be together and live happily-ever-after.)

That's not how our stories play out in the real world. In the real world, our stories  involve many people, some directly and others indirectly, all interconnected, all affected by the actions, but not always (rarely) aware of the others involved. Until their stories and our own intersect. All of our stories are richly nuanced, complicated, and interrelated, and we all live multiple narratives, all at the same time. It takes a lot of extra work and depth and mental energy to identify, trace, and keep track of all that inter-relatedness. In Stranger Things, the Duffers (and director Shawn Levy and the terrific cast) have done that.

The Duffers have created this huge hit that tells multiple intertwined stories with many protagonists, in short, fast scenes...well, if you've read the first two books in my Chupacabra Trilogy (Ye Gods! A Tale of Dogs and Demons, and The Un-Familiar: A Tale of Cats and Gods) you know that's how I think stories should be told. That's why the Duffers are my writing heroes. I'm bowled by a story where, I recognize that style, that desire to show the WHOLE story, from all the POVs that are actually living it. Stranger Things is a complex story with multiple lead characters of all ages--the boys and El, the teens, the adults--all have their own very complex and well-developed story lines, with their own inciting incidents, motivations, challenges, and climaxes. Any of these characters could have been chosen as the protagonist and the story told in s a simple, linear arc and it would probably have been satisfying.

By giving the whole cast their own interesting and related story, with the audience following all of them, jumping quickly between short scenes focused on one character or group, then moving to the next, related but not yet connected scene with another character or group, we start to follow the threads and anticipate, try to guess how they'll be pulled together. Because we know they have to be pulled together. They're related, all in each other's orbitals, just like our own stories in real life overlap with so many others, but we don't think about those until our stories collide.

The ensemble cast of season 1 tells the tale from multiple POVs: primarily that of the adults (Joyce Byers and Jim Hopper, played by Winona Ryder and David Harbour); the teens (Nancy Wheeler, Jonathan Byers, and Steve Harrington, played by Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, and Joe Keery), and the kids (Eleven, Mike Wheeler, Dustin Henderson, Lucas Sinclair, and Will Byers, played by Millie-Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, and Noah Schnapp)

While this more complex approach to storytelling might not be for everyone, I am personally thrilled that the Duffers have at least given writers such a great model to refer to the next time an agent or publisher says, "You can't have more than one protaganist. Re-write it from one POV."

Yes, I heard that from every one of the 4 agents that requested the manuscript of Ye Gods! I'm glad I stuck to my guns and said, "That isn't the story. This isn't one character's story, its this ensemble story." I'm glad I found a publisher that's able to keep up with story telling where each of the multiple main characters is moving along his or her own story arc. For example in Ye Gods! Jack trying to overcome writer's block, Kiki trying to demonstrate her "powers," Eddie trying to solve the murders, Senora Milagros trying to find the dog and Carmen, Carmen trying to survive, and the dog/chupacabra just out doing his thing. It's told in short scenes from different POVs as each character lives their own live, the one they're the center of, with the other's only satellites orbiting, briefly touching and overlapping their stories. The reader knows those multiple, brief overlaps need to all intersect at some point to get the whole story. How that will happen is part of what keeps readers turning the page.

At least, that's what keeps me turning the page as a reader. My favorite authors tell complex, complicated stories, rarely in a linear fashion. Rarely is the entire story told from a single, or even two POVs. Stranger Things is just one more in a long string of successful stories told from multiple POVs but too often, the publishing industry is afraid to trust in a literate, well-educated, and discerning reading public. I'm happy Netflix took the chance on the Duffers and Stranger Things because it shows this isn't just some small subset of people who want stories that make them think and guess, rather than spelling it all out for them. It's not just the fantasy/sci-fi crowd, but the mainstream viewer and reader. The huge success of Stranger Things will hopefully be the wake up call to the publishing industry that stories don't have to be told from a single POV, they don't have to follow a protagonist. I hope the Duffers, by writing such a monster hit (sorry, couldn't resist!), have changed the rules of what sells. Stories don't have to be linear. They can be told in parallel until its time for them to converge.

When stories are told in this way, with all the players only having access to their piece of the puzzle, but the reader/viewer seeing all of them and trying to figure out how the puzzle will ever get solved, it's a thing of beauty to behold. The Duffers tell their strange story the way all our stories unfold in the real world--with everyone holding a piece of the puzzle--and that format resonates strongly with me, as I try to explain in this interview at Serious Reading:

I love when the chaotic swirl of complex story lines tumbling around in my head all come together into a cohesive whole. When I first see the outline filled with plot points spreading out in front of me, but only blank pages on the computer screen, it’s a bit intimidating... It’s very similar to how I feel when solving puzzles...


And again in this interview at Connie's Random Thoughts:

I tend to tell a story from multiple points of view. I love reading and writing stories that are revealed from multiple perspectives because that’s how the real world works. We’re all in the story together, and no one person has all the information. We don’t get anywhere until we all come together with our piece of the puzzle. Curiosity about how and when that will happen keeps me turning the pages in the books of my favorite authors and I hope it keeps the reader turning the pages in my stories, too.

If you haven't watched season 1 of Stranger Things yet, I urge you to go get Netflix and watch it. It's phenomenal on so many levels. Watch it multiple times. It's worth it. The first time, just to follow the story. The second time to really enjoy the big and small details that pull the reader so completely into 1983. Then, once you've relished the beauty of that, watch again and pay attention to how masterfully these multiple POVs, with intertwining, skimming past but not touching storylines are slowly woven tighter and tighter until the collide.

You'll be drawn in and wowed every time.

Another View--or two--on Self-publishing.

Most of you know my take on self-publishing. I've posted about it HERE. You also probably know that I am a reviewer at Underground Book Reviews--a site dedicated to reviewing "Indy-published books." We take a fairly broad view of "Indy," including small publishers, vanity presses (as long as they aren't imprints of a major publishing house), and self-published. At UBR, we're all very committed to providing honest reviews and feedback to authors, even when it means exposing them to some harsh truths about what they've put out. You can read about my approach to reviewing in this blog post: So, You Want Me to Review Your Book, and also at UBR HERE.

I've also written about the long haul of the writing life...it's a marathon, not a sprint. You can read my thoughts about writing as an endurance sport on author KW McCabe's website (and updated HERE in 2014), and about the patience required during the writing, querying, and publishing process HERE and HERE .

Yes, I've taken a pretty harsh tone for someone who did self-publish the electronic versions of my books (the print versions are published by Casperian Books, a full-service, no cost, fees, or book purchase requirements to the author, or, as the publishing industry truism says, "money flows to the author"). But, if you read those posts, you'll see that I'm not opposed to self-publishing, but I am very much against rushing to publish without "paying one's dues" by putting in the time and effort needed to learn and hone the craft.

Yesterday, an opinion piece appeared on Huff Post: Self-publishing: An Insult to the Written Word.

An insult to the written word.

Wow.

That's harsh. Even by my standards. And as a read through the comments (time-worthy) shows, many of her points really do lack validity. But, many of them don't.

A better, more evenhanded and accurate take on the impact of self-publishing on the reading and writing world can be found in Kristin Lamb's Blog Generation Author Snowflake & the High Cost of Instant Gratification.

This.

This.

This!

All authors and aspiring authors, all those who "won" NaNoWriMo in November and rushed to Create Space or some other instant-gratification site to "publish,"--you need to read this. Take it to heart. And while the "participation award" mentality may be more pronounced in the millennial generation, don't think any of us are exempt from the excitement and ego-stroking of some instant gratification. That's pretty clear in all the self-published novels from the 40-, 50-, 60-, 70+ year-old authors. While many are well-written, with great story-telling, an equal (or greater) number are premature publications, put out by "good writers" who didn't take the time and make the effort to become better, to strive for "great."

As Lamb predicted, the slush pile has been dumped in the reader’s lap and it has devalue what it means to say, “I am a published author.” It's been overrun with rough drafts from those who have always been told they're "good" writers. Sure, they're good--more than good enough for the writing in their life--the annual Christmas letters, the college-essays, their personal blogs. But is it good enough to be a "professional"--a published novelist?

Probably not.

In academia, good enough is a C...it's average. A "good" athlete doesn't walk on to a pro team without putting in an awful lot of work first. Why assume it's different for writing?

What's the solution to the glut of not-ready-for-prime-time published books out there?

That's the big question for all of us--authors, agents, publishers--isn't it?

We're still in the midst of the mayhem. A new model for publishing is still thrashing around, trying to emerge. It hasn't fully formed and worked out what it is yet.

I do think it's going to become more imperative for reviewers to give honest reviews, not just 5-star hoping for the same in return. I also think it's a disservice if/when reviewers only post a review if they can give >3-stars. That's not really helping anyone, is it? If an author has asked for the review, give it to them--the one they earn. They have every opportunity before asking for a review to find critique partners, edit, revise, rewrite, go through beta readers, rewrite again. Their failure in due diligence shouldn't give them a pass to not receive a bad review when it's merited.  Too many of us are worried about "revenge reviews" coming back at our own work if we're that honest. I'd like to think any petty, revenge-reviews would be obvious, so wouldn't really cause any real damage. Maybe that's naive.

We do need more review sites like Underground Book Reviews, where the reviewers are held to a high standard for our reviews (higher, at least, then I've found at some review sites where it's clear they're just pumping out 5-star reviews based on the back cover blurb and maybe some info they found on the author's website.). We are required to read the book, and we post the review the book earns, not the one the author necessarily wants.

Whatever the new publishing landscape turns into, one thing is clear: Self-publishing is here to stay. How does it become something that lets saying "I am a published author" retain its value?

I wish I knew.

Character Interview with Rafael Bishop Soto

Welcome to DAY 5 of my 10-day Count Down to the Release of The Un-Familiar: A Tale of Cats and Gods.  On each day for days 1-9, I'm posting an interview with one of the characters. For the listing of when and who will be in each interview, check HERE.

I'm also giving away one FREE BOOK each day until the July 1 release. To win, you have to enter the drawing. To enter, you have to go to my website and send me a message via the CONTACT page.

REMEMBER: Each day is a new contest, so you have to stop by and enter for a chance to win every day.

Congratulations to the winners to date: Connie Denison, Bob Sanchez, Jennifer Killby, and Pat Burke.

The Hubby drawing the name of today's winner from the hat.
Congratulations, Pat!

 

Introducing Rafael Bishop Soto

Rafael Bishop Soto is a newcomer to the trilogy's cast. He was mentioned as Eddie's "other partner" (non-work) in Ye Gods!, but we never met him. Rafi is an incredibly talented artist whose work has been shown in all the best galleries in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, LA, and, of course, Puerto Rico. Rafi has emerged from a tragic and traumatic past, to become a compassionate and caring man. In Ye Gods!, Señora Milagros explained that the god of Mercy takes the form of  a dog "because dogs represent the best of what humans could be...[showing] loyalty, love, perfect forgiveness." Rafi comes the closest of anyone I know to embodying those divine dogly qualities. Here he comes now...

LMH: Welcome, Rafi, it's a pleasure to have you here. Readers following these interviews have already heard quite a bit about you from Kiki. She's smitten.

Rafi: I just adore Kiki. Isn't she a hoot? Some crazy mix of Albert Einstein meets Dora the Explorer meets Elle Woods.

 

LMH: Now that's funny. I'd never thought of her that way, but it fits. I love that you two become such good friends, but let's talk about you. Yesterday, when I spoke with Eddie, he was reluctant to talk about your relationship.

Rafi: Oh, that's Eddie playing macho-cop. He really does do that whole man's-man thing well, doesn't he? You can understand why he has to, right? I mean, a gay guy, and a cop? In Puerto Rico? To get any respect, just to survive, he's always had to prove that he's tough enough. As a kid, and even at the police academy, the other kids would try to beat up on him. But Eddie's a big fella. His father was intent on toughening him up, so Eddie became a great boxer. You should see him. Talk about float like a butterfly! But he doesn't so much sting like a bee, it's more like knock you over like a bulldozer. Anyway, now, as an adult, it's the media and the politicians like former-Mayor Reyes that pick on him. He's had to grow a thick skin and set some firm boundaries between his personal and professional life. Really, a lot of that machismo is to keep everyone from finding out he's a big old softie.

 

LMH: You had a hard time growing up, too. Care to tell us about it? About your parents?

Rafi (He holds turns his arms palms up in front of me. White welts rise up across the wrists): It was hard enough having to retell all that in the book, so I'd rather not go through it again. I can tell you a bit about my parents and that might help you to understand why they did what they did. My father was a good ole boy from Mississippi, stationed here at Ramey Air Force Base, that's where he met my mother. He was southern Baptist and she was, of course, Catholic. That led to a stormy enough marriage. Both families opposed it---his because he was marrying a "brown-skinned foreign heathen" and hers because she was marrying a non-Catholic gringo. When it became clear that, as my father put it, there was something "funny" about me, his parents--I've never met that set of grands. They refused to have anything to do with me or my mother--said that I was God's revenge for the marriage. I was their worst nightmare come true, a gay, raised-Catholic, Latino in the family. Now, my mother's mother, mi abuelita--I called her Yaya--she came around. She did her best to take care of me and protect me. She was as pious as they come, mind you. Going to church every day, twice on Sunday, but she believed whatever God made, however he made it, was perfect, including me, just the way I am.

 

LMH: Have you reconciled with your parents?

Rafi: Yes. Maybe. No, not really. I've seen them and spoken with them, but I won't reconcile with them. I'm still working on the forgiveness part. I have a hard time with that because I know forgiveness doesn't mean accepting or condoning, but sometimes it feels that way. But, that's my issue to deal with, not yours. Let's talk about something a bit more cheerful, shall we?

 

LMH: OK, how about animals? You have quite a way with them, don't you?

Rafi:  I do! No one was more surprised by that than me. The only pet I ever had growing up was a goldfish. They inspired me. I was never more prolific than when they were all in the house. I've got a show coming up soon with my post-hurricane paintings of all the animals. I call it, "They Came Two-by-Two." They didn't, really. They came in droves.

 

LMH: Congratulations! Our time is up now. I know everyone will love meeting you in The Un-Familiar, and look forward to seeing even more of you ahead.  

Rafi: I'm so excited to see what's in store for me in the final book of the trilogy: Ye Goddess: A Tale of Girls and Gods so you had better go get writing!


LMH: Thank you all for stopping by! Now head over to my website to enter for your chance to win a FREE BOOK! You have your choice of books (Marina Melee, Ye Gods! or The Un-Familiar) in print or electronic versions. But you have to register each day to be entered anew each day!

OK, folks! You know the drill: head on over to my website and send me a message via the Contacts page to be entered into today's drawing for a free book! Today's winner will be announced tomorrow morning.

Welcome back! Today, I continue with interview number 4 of our nine character interviews, one each day leading up to the day 10 (July 1) release of The Un-Familiar: A Tale of Cats and Gods. After you get to know a little bit about Captain Eddie Corredor (very little, actually!) be sure to head over to the contact page on my website. Send a message to enter for today's drawing for a free book. No worries about privacy: the message comes directly to me, so no one else sees your name or contact information, and I don't share the info with anyone. Do be sure to stop back every day since you have to register each day for that day's drawing.

The Un-Familiar: A Tale of Cats and Gods
Coming July 1
from Casperian Books

Introducing Captain Eddie Corredor

Eddie Corredor has been with the Puerto Rico Police Department for over twenty years. He'd just started on the force when the chupacabra appeared for the first time back in the mid-90s. Twenty years later, he and his (work) partner, Hector Ruiz, discovered the truth behind the reported chupacabra sightings and mayhem those caused: the mayor had been donning a costume to instill fear into his constituents as a means to drum up votes and customers for his business, Monster Safaris, Inc. Their work earned Eddie and Ruiz promotions, and a bit of notoriety.

LMH: Welcome, Captain Corredor and congratulations on the promotion. It must be very difficult being an openly gay police officer in Puerto Rico, so I'd imagine the recognition for your good work is appreciated.

Eddie: Why is that? Shouldn't good work be rewarded and the recognition appreciated, regardless of race, age, creed, or sexual orientation? Good work is good work.

LMH: I just meant, well, not to offend you, but given the reputation of the PRPD? Not known for their honesty and trustworthiness, you know. They have a pretty bad and well-earned reputation for corruption and abuse of authority. It seems such an odd fit--everything about you contradicts what the force has come to represent on the island.

Eddie (shaking his head): A few bad apples, and they're the ones who make the news. That makes it tough for the rest of us. There are so many good, hardworking, and honest cops on the force. Guys who are there to fight against that reputation and the tide of corruption. Don't let the bad press fool you. Most of us are caring, compassionate, and take the public's trust seriously.

LMH: Good to know. Now, about that job. Law enforcement is dangerous work. It has to be awfully stressful on your loved ones. How does Rafi deal with the constant worry?

Eddie: My personal life is off limits for interviews.

LMH: What? Why?

Eddie: I've been burned more than once before. Reporters like Miguel Graciento over at that gossip rag, En Otras Noticias, twist the truth and use innuendo and hearsay to sensationalize their stories--and that's all they are, stories. Make believe. Not information. People think the police are corrupt? Graciento was involved up to his eyeballs in that Monster Safaris business. It's unconscionable that he'd be back reporting the "news" and that they'd let him write another story about the chupacabra after that.

LMH: OK, I can understand your reluctance, but I'm not a reporter. I'm an author. You do know that people will read all about you and Rafi in The Un-Familiar, right?

Eddie: I know. Sorry. The media is just a touchy subject for me. The fourth estate. Ha! You know what Oscar Wilde wrote about the fourth estate, don't you? That it may have been the fourth estate when that term was coined, the other three being branches of government, but now it's the only one--it ate the other three.

LMH: Interesting. Can we get back to the interview?

Eddie (His phone vibrates): Sorry...I have a call. It's work. I have to run. Thank you for your time.

LMH: Thank--  (door slams) And there he goes. The work of a police officer is never done, I suppose. Tune in tomorrow when we'll meet with Rafi. And hopefully, he won't be quite as reluctant to talk with us!

Interview with Captain Eddie Corredor

Welcome back! Today, I continue with interview number 4 of our nine character interviews, one each day leading up to the day 10 (July 1) release of The Un-Familiar: A Tale of Cats and Gods. After you get to know a little bit about Captain Eddie Corredor (very little, actually!) be sure to head over to the contact page on my website. Send a message to enter for today's drawing for a free book. No worries about privacy: the message comes directly to me, so no one else sees your name or contact information, and I don't share the info with anyone. Do be sure to stop back every day since you have to register each day for that day's drawing.

The Un-Familiar: A Tale of Cats and Gods
Coming July 1
from Casperian Books

Introducing Captain Eddie Corredor

Eddie Corredor has been with the Puerto Rico Police Department for over twenty years. He'd just started on the force when the chupacabra appeared for the first time back in the mid-90s. Twenty years later, he and his (work) partner, Hector Ruiz, discovered the truth behind the reported chupacabra sightings and mayhem those caused: the mayor had been donning a costume to instill fear into his constituents as a means to drum up votes and customers for his business, Monster Safaris, Inc. Their work earned Eddie and Ruiz promotions, and a bit of notoriety.

 

LMH: Welcome, Captain Corredor and congratulations on the promotion. It must be very difficult being an openly gay police officer in Puerto Rico, so I'd imagine the recognition for your good work is appreciated.

Eddie: Why is that? Shouldn't good work be rewarded and the recognition appreciated, regardless of race, age, creed, or sexual orientation? Good work is good work.

 

LMH: I just meant, well, not to offend you, but given the reputation of the PRPD? Not known for their honesty and trustworthiness, you know. They have a pretty bad and well-earned reputation for corruption and abuse of authority. It seems such an odd fit--everything about you contradicts what the force has come to represent on the island.

Eddie (shaking his head): A few bad apples, and they're the ones who make the news. That makes it tough for the rest of us. There are so many good, hardworking, and honest cops on the force. Guys who are there to fight against that reputation and the tide of corruption. Don't let the bad press fool you. Most of us are caring, compassionate, and take the public's trust seriously.

 

LMH: Good to know. Now, about that job. Law enforcement is dangerous work. It has to be awfully stressful on your loved ones. How does Rafi deal with the constant worry?

Eddie: My personal life is off limits for interviews.

LMH: What? Why?

Eddie: I've been burned more than once before. Reporters like Miguel Graciento over at that gossip rag, En Otras Noticias, twist the truth and use innuendo and hearsay to sensationalize their stories--and that's all they are, stories. Make believe. Not information. People think the police are corrupt? Graciento was involved up to his eyeballs in that Monster Safaris business. It's unconscionable that he'd be back reporting the "news" and that they'd let him write another story about the chupacabra after that.

LMH: OK, I can understand your reluctance, but I'm not a reporter. I'm an author. You do know that people will read all about you and Rafi in The Un-Familiar, right?

Eddie: I know. Sorry. The media is just a touchy subject for me. The fourth estate. Ha! You know what Oscar Wilde wrote about the fourth estate, don't you? That it may have been the fourth estate when that term was coined, the other three being branches of government, but now it's the only one--it ate the other three.

 

LMH: Interesting. Can we get back to the interview?

Eddie (His phone vibrates): Sorry...I have a call. It's work. I have to run. Thank you for your time.

 

LMH: Thank--  (door slams) And there he goes. The work of a police officer is never done, I suppose. Tune in tomorrow when we'll meet with Rafi. And hopefully, he won't be quite as reluctant to talk with us!

Now it's time for you to head over the contact page on my website to enter for your chance to WIN a book! Just send a message to me to enter. Congratulations to yesterday's winner, Jennifer Killby!

An Interview with Kiki Cristatello

To celebrate the publication of my third novel, The Un-Familiar: A Tale of Cats and Gods (the sequel to Ye Gods! A Tale of Dogs and Demons), I'm posting character interviews for the nine days leading up to the July 1 release. I'm also GIVING AWAY BOOKS!

Yes, you read that correctly. I'm giving away one book each day until July 1. All you have to do to enter your name in the drawing is to stop by my website at http://www.lynnehinkey.com and send a message via the contact page. Your message comes right to my email box, so no names or email addresses and comments posted on the page, and no one else will get their hands on your contact information to spam you with offers. I start fresh each day, so if you enter but don't win, be sure to stop back the next day and try again.

So, on to the interview! (And scroll down to see the interviews with Sra Milagros Hernan from 6/22 and with Carmen del toro from 6/23).

 

Introducing Kiki Cristatello

 
Today I'm talking with Kiki Cristatello, our youngest cast member at 16. Kiki seems to be over her obsession with the occult: she's given up her black hair dye, nail polish, and heavy eyeliner and is back to her regular blonde haired, freckle-faced girl next door look.

 

LMH: Thanks for joining us, Kiki. Why don't you tell us what you've been up to in the two years since Muggle die--Sorry, I mean, since the end of Ye Gods!

Kiki: Seriously? Why does everyone think they have to tiptoe around that? I mean, he's been gone for two years. You all treat me like I'm still a kid who needs to be coddled. I'm sixteen you know. And starting college--that's two years ahead of schedule if you care to do the math. And I landed a work-study position in the marine science department. I'm like the only freshman to get one in like forever. You know, freshmen usually get some menial gopher job in an administrative office. Not me. I'm going to work for Dr. Raines.

LMH: Oh, okay. I didn't mean to offend you. Congratulations on the job with Dr. Raines. It sounds like you're over Muggle I guess, and as I said in the introduction, I take it the new natural hair color means you're over your magic fetish? No longer waiting for your letter from Hogwarts?

Kiki: Ha. Ha. You're so funny. I do understand what fiction means and know there's no Hogwarts. And we all know there was no reason to "get over" Muggle. The dog will return. He always has. He was Paco, and before that, Toby. He never really went away. Not completely. He was just on a...hiatus. But now he's back and wait 'til you see him, er, her, he's in a she body, so I guess he's a girl, or at least Chewy is a girl, but I'm not sure if that makes the god a girl, or a boy in a girl's body.

LMH: Kiki, can we get--

Kiki: Would that make him a transvestite? I should ask someone about that. I don't think I know any transvestites, but I do know a gay couple. But I know that's not the same thing, but I should ask my friend--well, you know them, too. I mean, you do if you've read Ye Gods! Although we didn't actually meet Eddie's boyfriend, Rafi. Wait 'til you meet--

 

LMH: Excuse me, Kiki?

Kiki: --him. O-M-G, he is sooooooo hot. Eddie is wicked lucky. And he's sweet and you should see how good he is with all the animals. Especially Chewy. She just---

 

LMH: KIKI! I hate to interrupt, but can we get back to the interview?

Kiki: Sure. It's your gig. What's the next question?

 

LMH (checking my note cards): Damn. OK, continue. I was going to ask you about your friendship with Rafi.

Kiki (with a shrug): He's just awesomely sweet and a hottie, and everyone loves him. All the readers will too, I just know it. That's all. I'm done. Next?

LMH: That's all I have. Any last words?

Kiki (sniggering): Oh boy, do I ever have the last words. But, you'll have to read The Un-Familiar: A Tale of Cats and Gods to see what they are.

LMH: Thank y--

KIKI: Oh, and one more thing...I have to give a shout out to the president of my fan club. Did you know I have a fan club? Yep, I do. So, hola and abracitos---that's hello and hugs in Spanish, for all you monolingual-types--to T. Francis Sharp. He's also the author of Second Dead. You should check that out too, especially if you're into the whole zombie apocalypse thing, with undead, female teenagers that kick ass...can I say that? I hope so because I just did, and--get this--a mystical cat!

 
Now it's time to head over to my website and send a message via the contact page to enter for today's chance to win a free book! Congratulations to yesterday's winner, Bob Sanchez!

FREE BOOKS? Oh Yeah!

Well, I'm returning for a brief bout of self-promotion. The down-side is, it's self-promotion. The up-side? That means you all  have the chance to win FREE BOOKS!

The reason for my brief return to blog-ville and the book giveaway is to announce and promote the release, at long last, of The Un-Familiar: A Tale of Cats and Dogs.



The Un-Familiar, by Lynne M Hinkey,
published by Casperian Books.
Available July 1, 2016
 

I started this promotion yesterday (6/22) on Facebook with this post:

ONLY 10 DAYS UNTIL THE JULY 1 RELEASE OF THE UN-FAMILIAR: A TALE OF CATS AND GODS.

To prepare, I'll be posting a brief interview with different characters here (on my FB author page) each day between now and then. Stop by, meet them, and see what they have to say.

Then head over to my website at www.lynnehinkey.com and send me a message from the Contact page to be entered into a drawing to win a FREE copy of one of my books (of your choosing): Marina Melee, Ye Gods! A Tale of Gods and Demons, or The Un-Familiar: A Tale of Cats and Gods. I'll select one winner each day. Please share widely so everyone has a chance to enter/win!

Yesterday, I posted the interview with Señora Milagros, and today's interview is with Carmen del Toro. Both of those are below in this post. I'll copy this contest information along with a new character interview in a new blog posts each day, so be sure to come back, read up on your favorite characters from Ye Gods! and meet a few new members of The Un-Familiar cast. Then send me a message from my website to enter. Ten days, ten chances to win--so be sure to go back every day between now and next Friday!

Here's the schedule of interviews:
6/22 Señora Milagros Hernan -- eccentric woman reputed to be a witch; she's ready to retire from her real job as familiar to a god
6/23 Carmen del Toro -- homeless woman with a tragic past and Milagros' apprentice who will be taking her place
6/24  Kiki Cristatello -- a college freshman at 16 with a much-coveted work-study position in the climate research center. She's just gotten over her dog Muggle's death and her belief that she's a witch...or has she?
6/25  Captain Eddie Corredor -- promoted to police captain for discovering that the mysterious chupacabra that had been terrorizing the island two years ago was really just the mayor in disguise
6/26  Rafi Bishop Soto -- Eddie's compañero/pareja, with a past as tragic as Carmen's
6/27  Jack Halliman -- best-selling author of the Franz Henle murder mystery series. His last novel ventured into the paranormal, specifically, the chupacabra, much to his fans' dismay
6/28  Dr. Joe Raines -- the new oceanography professor specializing in climate science with an uncanny ability to always be in the thick of the storm
6/29  Rev Aurelio Peña -- a famous televangelist whose comforting prosperity theology has amassed him a wide following. He and Dr Raines have a long-running animosity, given their opposing world-views and goals. Oh, and that thing with that woman from their past...that, too
6/30 Chewy aka the dog-god of Mercy, aka the chupacabra -- he's back and up to more mischief. Or should I say SHE is up to no good? These damn pronouns...so confusing when dealing with a god who can be anything he-she-it wants to be.

While none of these characters wanted their photos included, here's a collage of the actors who I think would play them in the movie version of The Un-Familiar.

  And now, on to the interviews.

From 6/22

Introducing Señora Milagros Isabela Hernán de Santiago

Today I have the pleasure of introducing Señora Milagros Isabela Hernán de Santiago. As you may recall, Señora Milagros is reputed to be a witch in the small town of Rincón, Puerto Rico, where she lives. It's not difficult to understand that, given her rather eccentric look. She favors flamboyant, flowing kaftans and scarves, and an armful of jangling bangles. As bestselling author Jack Halliman noted when he first met her, she looked like a cross between two old sitcom characters, Endora and Mrs. Roper.

LMH: Welcome, Señora Milagros. Can you please briefly introduce yourself: name, age, job, hobbies?

Señora Milagros: Thank you, dear. It's a pleasure to be here talking about myself. As you've mentioned, my name is Señora Milagros Isabela Hernán de Santiago and I am...wait, I have to think a moment...I'm quite mature. Let's leave it at that. I am the familiar to the god of Mercy, better known to most people as the chupacabra. That is both my job and my hobby. If you know that little rapscallion at all, you know he keeps me quite busy with his antics, so I don't have much time for anything else.

LMH: Can you explain to our readers what exactly a familiar is?

Señora Milagros: Oh, yes! I'd love to clarify. Humans get so tripped up by vocabulary, twisting and turning meanings around until no one understands anything. They got familiars, witches, and cats all jumbled, making cats the familiars of witches, but really, many familiars choose the form of a cat, either in their active life or retirement, so the familiars ARE the cats, and we ended up with the reputation of witches. We all know why that is: because anything humans don't understand, they attribute to magic, one way or another.

The truth is, familiars were created as assistants to the gods. We're like guardian angels. We help when our god needs a bit more power, and provide guidance and protection for him as he grows in strength. We protect our charge when they are weak and vulnerable, and help them to achieve their full power. Because the amount of power they may eventually wield could be excessive, we also hinder them from overreaching, regulating their power if needed. You mentioned Jack Halliman in your introduction--I do adore the Jack Halliman, don't you?--Jack had a wonderful analogy for what I do. I am the god's agent.

 

LMH: Speaking of the god, at the end of Ye Gods!, he'd sacrificed  himself to save Jack's dog, Hanna, and you and Carmen were going into your dormant phase to wait for his return. Since you're here, I guess the chupacabra has returned, but why are you here? Weren't you supposed to retire?

Señora Milagros: (clearing her throat and squirming in her seat a bit) Yes, well, that didn't go quite as planned. Did it? Between that hurricane, Carmen disappearing, and all sorts of other gods appearing on the island, well...you'll have to read The Un-Familiar: A Tale of Cats and Gods to find out what happened there, won't you?

  

And today's (6/23) interview with Carmen del Toro:

Introducing Carmen del Toro

 

You may remember Carmen del Toro as the young homeless woman from Ye Gods! Carmen's past is filled with trauma that few can imagine: she witnessed her family's murder, at the hands of her father, and her father's death at the mouth of her childhood dog, Paco. After spending nine years in a state run mental hospital, Carmen was kicked out to the street when she turned 18. Still, she managed to survive living in the forests of western Puerto Rico for ten years before learning the truth about herself, her dog, and the "witch" who has been watching over her all this time. Carmen has joined me for lunch and this interview.

LMH: Welcome, Carmen. Thank you for joining us. Can you please briefly introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your background?

Carmen (eyes flitting around the room, fingers knotting and unknotting): Um, hola, um, my name is Carmen del Toro and I guess I'm the new familiar to the dog...er, are you going to eat those chips?

LMH: Here, you can have them. So, how about your back---

Carmen: How about that soda? And if you're not going to eat the crust...?

LMH: Go ahead, finish. I'll wait.

•  
•  
•  

Carmen: Um-kay...done. What did you want to know?

 

LMH: Tell us a bit about how you became a familiar.

Carmen: Well, as Señora Milagros explained, there are three tests to becoming a familiar. The first one is that you have to be born with the predisposition. Then, you have to get through your teens with your belief in magic still intact. The third test is to make it through your twenties still believing.

LMH: Those don't sound much like tests. Can you explain a little bit more how that works?

Carmen: The genetics part is luck of the draw. A lot of people are born with the potential to evolve into familiars. I guess because so few make it through the next two tests so they have to make sure there are a lot to pick from so some survive. The second test, where most prospective familiars fail, comes from peer pressure. Belief in magic is an innate feature of sentient beings, but experience destroys it. When puberty hits, the desire to fit in takes over. Señora Milagros told me most teens deny their beliefs to be cool. Those who don't, pass the second test. I was luckier than most. Since I spent my teens in the hospital, I had lithium instead of peer pressure.

I didn't have much of a chance for the third test either. For most would-be familiars, that comes in their twenties, when people settle down to careers and family. All that bill-paying, keeping up the house, going to work makes it difficult to believe in magic. I was lucky that I lived in the forest so never had to worry about those things. I feel bad for those who lose all the magic in their life that way. I think it must hurt when belief turns to wishful thinking about what-could-have-beens. Very few pass this final test. Some of those who make it that far still carry a remnant of belief deep inside them, but their reservations disqualify them from familiarity.

LMH: Interesting. So what happens to those who still have some remnant of that belief in magic?

Carmen: They become writers and artists, actors and actresses, or movie producers. You know, trying to pretend they still have some magic left.

LMH: You mean, since I'm a writer, I might have been--

Carmen: Por favor, chica. All familiars are creative, it's true, but don't think that's the same as all creative people being familiars. Now, I guess we'll never know, will we? Pobrecita.

LMH: Oh, well, um, thank you for spending some time with us today, Carmen. I'm sure we all look forward to seeing what happens to you in the future.

 
Carmen: Yes, now, about that dessert you promised?


Thank you all for stopping by today. Now be sure to head over to my website's contact page and send a note to automatically be entered into today's drawing! (Don't worry--no one will see your return contact info--the page sends an email directly to me. I'm the only one who sees it, and I'm the only one who will contact you. I don't share your private info with anyone else.)

Congratulations to Connie Denison, yesterday's drawing winner!

Time Out!

You may have noticed I haven't posted anything in quite a while. I've been off to my happy place--writing and finishing edits and revisions of my next novel, The Un-Familiar: A Tale of Cats and Gods. This is the sequel to Ye Gods! A Tale of Dogs and Demons. It's now off to the publisher for their editor to have a stab at, followed by any corrections and revisions they request, then layout and cover design, and all the other magic they do to come up with a finished product, ready to head out into the world...probably sometime in the spring of 2016. (YIPPEEEE!!)

With all the excitement and work of finalizing the manuscript, the blog has fallen by the wayside. I don't foresee posting regularly in the months ahead, either, as I begin plotting and outlining my next two novels (A Rattling of Bones, based on this short story; and Ye Goddess! A Tale of Girls and Gods, the final book in the Chupacabra Trilogy).

Will post news and updates on this page as it becomes available. In the meantime, you can "like" my author page on Facebook (Marina Melee by Lynne M. Hinkey) to see what I'm up to!

Writing is an Endurance Sport

I wrote the following as a guest blog post for another site back in 2012. This subject popped up elsewhere recently (or continuously?) so tracked down the old post and am updating it here. (NOTE: only a week ago, I said this blog was going on hiatus. I lied.)

Writing is an endurance sport. That's been my mantra for the past few weeks years. Two months ago, Back when I first started querying my latest novel, Ye Gods! (titled Chupacabra at the time) I received a request from an agent for the full manuscript of my current novel, Chupacabra and I've been patiently waiting I waited patiently for two months to hear back. Patience may be a virtue but it isn't one of mine. I refrained from sending daily emails, but just barely. I did send a friendly note after six weeks and got a prompt reply that I was next in the pile.

This week, Finally, I received the "thanks, but no thanks" letter. The agent took the time to tell me what she liked and what wasn't working for her. Enough worked that she read the entire ms, but overall, something missed the mark. [Insert the sound you associate with a crumpling ego and dashed dreams here.] 

What's a poor author to do when, after spending months, even years writing and editing and polishing, an agent says "no" to their masterpiece? Not so long ago, the options were to persevere or give up.

But this is a new age in publishing; the options have expanded. Authors who have put in the thankless hours of finishing a novel (that itself is a huge accomplishment) no longer need face the demoralizing anguish of being told, "It's just not good enough." Instead, they can rail against literary agents for "not getting it," rant about "the gatekeepers," and justify their own work with, "I've read books that are worse than mine." Then they can run their ms through spell-checker and immediately proceed to the self-publishing option of their choice and send their book out into the world, ready or not.

I have that option, but I'm not going to take it. Writing is an endurance sport. There's more work to do before I reach the finish line and a marathon runner can't take a short cut and still win the race. Or, if they do, the win will be fleeting. Just ask Rosie Ruiz.

I also have the option to look for small publishers, as I did with my first novel, Marina Melee. For new writers, small publishers offer a great way to break into the publishing world. My publisher, Casperian Books, is easy to work with, provides valuable services like layout, cover art, press releases, and help with marketing that I wouldn't have had I self-pubbed. So why not go with them again? Because with their help I've learned a lot about selling books and I've grown as a writer. I'm now better prepared to approach agents and offer them more than just another manuscript in the slush pile: experience, and an appreciation for what they do.

Update: I'd given myself 1 year to query. I received four requests for the partial or full manuscript and lots of helpful feedback and encouragement, but no takers. In total, querying and waiting to hear back from those agents, I waited 18 months before deciding to approach Casperian Books again, and that's where it found its home. It took another 14 months to go through the editing and design process, develop the marketing materials, and get in the queue to be released. Ye Gods! came out in April 2014.

I'm now working on the sequel to Ye Gods!, The Un-Familiar. Because it's a sequel, I suspect an agent would be hesitant to pick it up, so I will again query Casperian. (I know that just because they published me once is no guarantee they'll keep publishing my books. I have to give them a quality product that they can sell!)

It took one of my favorite authors, Christopher Moore, eight years between deciding to become a writer and selling his first book, Practical Demon Keeping.  He spent a year writing it, and almost another whole year polishing and editing before it sold. His persistence paid off. True, that was before the advent of easy, cheap self-publishing, but, would he have chosen that path had it been available? "I can't imagine marketing a book without an agent. I'm doing this to write, not to be a salesman. I left being a salesman to write books, so I'm happy to have someone to do the selling" (click here for more). Sounds like a no to me.

Moore's Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove sat on the desk next to me and motivated me while I wrote Chupacabra. His writing inspires me and his words in this interview even more so. I'm in this to write and I'm in for the long haul. As tempting as it might be to self-publish the current, pretty good version of Chupacabra, I'll get back to polishing, I'll work on the areas the agent suggested, and the story will be even better. When I do find an agent, with their help, it'll get better still. Update: so glad I went with Casperian Books. Despite many, many rounds of rewriting, revising, running through a critique group and beta-readers, self-editing, and hiring an editor, their editor found additional errors and recommended other helpful changes.

Am I missing an opportunity by not considering self-publishing? Maybe. But I think it's for an even better one somewhere down the road. Being a novelist isn't a sprint, it's an endurance sport. That takes patience and persistence. While I'm not known for the former, I have the latter in spades.

Just Say "No!" or Why This Blog is Going Inactive

Today I came across this great article, The Many, Many, Many Things You Should Should Say "No" to at Work, by Kristin Muhlner is the CEO of NewBrand Analytics, which helps companies monitor social media chatter about them.

Nancy Reagan had it right? (From wikipedia)

Read the article for her explanations of each, but here are the things this social media expert says we should NOT be doing.

1. Anything where our presence isn't essential.
2. Anything someone else is/should be doing.
3. Networking. Yes, you read that correctly. This social media expert says don't do the networking thing! (I think I love her.)
4. Don't answer email.
5. Philanthropic work.
6. Being inauthentic.
7. Don't jump right into everything! Hold out.
8. Chaining yourself to your desk.
9. All-nighters.

It really is worth reading her explanations of each of these and how they're time-sucks that don't get us anywhere. But of course, it's #3 that really caught my eye.

I've always had mixed feelings about my "networking" activity on a glut of SOcial MEdia (So-Me) outlets: Facebook, two blogs, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, 4 email accounts (really, how many email accounts should one person have? Yahoo, my original, but then it got wonky, so thought I'd migrate to Gmail, but realized I could selectively migrate by types of email, as something of a filter, so kept both, plus have my work accounts, one for UMUC and one for TTC!), and whatever else I've forgotten about.

If I have mixed feelings about it, why am I so active? Am I that self-absorbed? (Arguably, yes, but not in that way.)

The common wisdom in the writing community is an author MUST have a social media presence. My mixed feelings come because in my mind, the whole idea of author networking through social media was bastardized and twisted from, "an author should have a social media presence to reach readers" to "one has to have a social media presence to get readers so you can get published." That whole platform question that I blogged about (against) here and here.

I've been in the process of streamlining my life recently. I've finally gotten around to hitting "unsubscribe" to the hundreds of junk-mails that work their way into our mail streams as we click our way around the internet. I've stopped renewing memberships in organizations that, while I support what they do, I really don't have the time to read any of the emails, magazines, newsletters, alerts, etc that I'm flooded with, and I wonder what good I do in the big scheme when it costs them more to generate and mail all the printed material I receive than I contribute to begin with.

A little neater than my own desk.

My biggest motivation for simplifying and ejecting some forms of social media from my life is that it takes away my valuable and limited writing time. In the hour or two I've carved out to write each day, I send a few 140 character tweets, write a blog post (as random and rare as they are!), keep up with friends, acquaintances, and strangers on Facebook, posting pictures of what I'm thinking of doing (rather than doing it) on Pinterest, and check my various emails. Leaving me exactly 10 minutes to write.

Has any of that resulted in new readers? Maybe. I don't know. Certainly not in the hundreds or even dozens.

So, I'm going to do what I suspect I should have been doing all along: focus on my writing. Not email writing, not tweeting, not Facebook and blog posts, but working on my next novel. For now, I'm going to try to limit my So-Me presence to my static website, and one inactive blog. I may keep Waterblogged going with an occasional sea creature post because that's fun and I can tie it into my teaching.  I don't know if I can go inactive on my personal FB account without my author page, Marina Melee by Lynne M. Hinkey, getting disabled, too. We'll see.

And hopefully, I'll see all of you every now and then on Waterblogged or on my FB author page.

Hopefully, my next post will be announcing that The Un-Familiar is done, edited, accepted for publication, and will be released on...

So long for now, and thanks for following!