City Girl Who Loves to Read: goddess fish

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Thursday, January 5, 2012

Tom Mach - Stories to Enjoy - Guest Post

Guest Post

"How to Form Different Settings Successfully in Writing a Compilation of Short Stories"
by Tom Mach

In writing a novel, an author has time to create and embellish a setting for his characters. She can return to that same setting in another chapter and expand on that setting so well that it becomes one of her characters. Not so with a short story where the author is involved in one particular setting and has to make both the scene and the back-story and the plot and the characters come alive rather quickly.

Each of my sixteen short stories in Stories to Enjoy requires a different setting. In “Burning Faith” a landscaper is on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. In “The Hen Party” three amateur painters are in an artist’s residence in Kansas City. In “Priscilla’s New Word” a grade school child is in a classroom and having a difficult time reading the blackboard. All of these settings are described enough such that the reader can easily fill in her imagination the details of these settings.

For instance, in “Breakfast, Over Easy” a man named Chuck seated at a table at the California Broadway Diner in San Diego. While the diner itself is not described, there are enough elements in the story to enable the reader to “see” this diner. Chuck is seated so that he can see people come into or leaving the diner. There is a large clock on the diner wall that tells Chuck that Larry, a friend he was expecting, is late. Then more description….

Where the hell was Larry today? I tossed my paper on the table and managed to spill the coffee I had left in my cup. I ignored everyone’s fixed gaze at my clumsiness. I wiped the mess I made on the table with as many napkins as my hand could hold.

Notice that it isn’t necessary for me to describe the wallpaper or the size of the table or the number of people in the diner. Those details would only distract the reader from the core of the story itself. In “Doll House” when Leland enters a bar named Johnnie’s he’s met by a brown-and-white English Foxhound who jumps up at him, snapping and growling. Why did I bother describing the dog? Because Leland learns it’s the owner’s robot dog—and that information gives the reader an important clue as to what happens when he goes home to his girlfriend. (Sorry, can’t give you more than that—you’ll have to read the story yourself.) But the point is that while I do describe the bar somewhat—the large crowd, the barstools, the bartender serving drinks—the bar itself is not important to the story. We’ve all been to bars and have a good idea as to what one looks like.

If the setting was an integral part of the story itself, then yes, there would be more description. In “Frozen History”, another story in Stories to Enjoy, Dante is sitting in his apartment balcony overlooking Manhattan. Here I describe three F-15 fighter jets streaking across the blue sky, the shrill blast of an emergency siren, the approach of a helicopter about to land on the roof of Century Bank, and the red, white, and blue lights flashing from a Pepsi sign. All of this is important because in a few minutes incoming missiles from Iran will freeze, as will all of this activity I’ve just described.

Book Summary

This unique collection of 16 short stories written by prize-winner Tom Mach includes stories such as "Real Characters," which is about a writer who gets his wish--that his characters come alive.... "Breakfast, Over Easy" makes you wonder about loyalty in the face of temptation.... "When Kansas Women Were Not Free" takes you to a time when women were less free than former males slaves.... "Son" make you think differently about compassion. One novelist describes STORIES TO ENJOY as "memorable and intriguing, with O. Henry twists that are sure to surprise and entertain."

Excerpt

The professor focused his entire attention on what Ford’s Theater looked like back in April of 1865. He imagined himself to be John Wilkes Booth’s friend and stagehand—Edman Spangler. After a long while he felt himself growing exceedingly tired, and when he opened his eyes he found himself in the real Ford’s Theater. There was no one in the presidential box and Wilson, who now believed he was indeed Mr. Spangler, ran his hand over the balustrade.

“Spangler,” a voice called out to him from below, “are you still working on removing the partition of the box to make room for the President and General Grant?”

It was John Wilkes Booth himself speaking to him!

Bio

Tom Mach wrote two successful historical novels, Sissy! and All Parts Together, both of which have won rave reviews and were listed among the 150 best Kansas books in 2011.Sissy! won the J. Donald Coffin Memorial Book Award while All Parts Together was a viable entrant for the 2007 Pulitzer Prize Award. He also wrote a collection of short stories entitled Stories To Enjoy which received positive reviews. Tom’s other novels include: An Innocent Murdered, Advent, and Homer the Roamer.

His poetry collection, The Uni Verse, won the Nelson Poetry Book Award. In addition to several awards for his poetry, Writer’s Digest awarded him ninth place in a field of 3,000 entrants. His website is: www.TomMach.com He also has a popular blog for writers of both prose and verse at http://tommach.tumblr.com

Links

http://twitter.com/kansasauthor

http://www.facebook.com/kansasauthor

http://www.linkedin.com/in/tommach

http://tommach.tumblr.com

Giveaway

PLEASE MENTION THE PRIZE THAT THE AUTHOR WILL BE GIVING AWAY (a $25 Amazon gift card to one randomly drawn commenter) and encourage your readers to follow the tour and comment; the more they comment, the better their chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here: http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2011/11/vbt-stories-to-enjoy-by-tom-mach.html

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Tom Mach - An Innocent Murdered - Author Interview

My thanks to Tom Mach for stopping by City Girl Who Loves to Read for an author interview during the blog tour for his book, An Innocent Murdered.

Author Interview

1. Why did you choose this setting?
I chose two locations for An Innocent Murdered. I created a fictitious Kansas town called Rock Meadow where a good part of the action occurs. But I also have a few chapters in my book where the plot continues in Chicago. I chose a Kansas town because I live in Lawrence, Kansas, and I chose Chicago because that’s where I was born and raised.

2. How is it a fundamental part of your overall theme?
Well, the Kansas town I selected is fairly laid back, people are friendly and the pace is slower. So when a priest in An Innocent Murdered is accused of being a child molester, it rocks the entire town. People in Rock Meadow are conservative, go to church of Sunday, and are family-oriented. It was a perfect setting for the explosive reaction folks had when they learned that someone had murdered the accused priest. Chicago also plays an important part of my story because the detective finds an important clue in an abandoned building which solves a cold case murder of a young girl—a murder that happened 25 years ago and which in a strange way helps the detective solve the case of the slain priest. The reader is presented with a contrast between a small town’s horror over an accused priest and a large city’s apparent apathy about the murder of a child.

3. How challenging was it to write about?
Setting should be considered as an additional character in a novel. In my case, I had a couple of major challenges. One was in not trying to identify the fictitious town of Rock Meadow with Lawrence. I had to make Rock Meadow a composite of several towns, with the progressive feel of Topeka, the country feel of Dodge City, and the progressive feel of Lawrence. Another challenge was for me to show Chicago as it really is while hiding the identity of the actual street where the detective uncovered shocking evidence in an abandoned building. I had in mind the actual street where I envisioned this happened while hiding from the reader its true location.

4. How did you develop your setting as you wrote your book?
There are several settings in An Innocent Murdered. One, of course, was the interior of the police department. With the help of television crime episodes and the help of a real detective who shared some of his experiences with me, I was able to create a believable setting. Another was an elegant house—which reminded me of a house I once visited, although the detective’s girlfriend had a ceiling mirror in her bedroom (I had to imagine that one!) The rectory was another scene, and I have seen several rectories during my life, so it was not that difficult to imagine, although I had to create in my mind where things were located—the fireplace, the bookcase, table, chair, and the door leading to the street—among other items. The fireplace was interesting because as the log snapped and crackled while the priest was confronted with his loneliness and heartache, a deepening sense of dread permeated the air. That was the same evening he was murdered. The mysterious painting in the abandoned cellar in Chicago was another shocking experience, but I don’t want to give any detail of that here because it might give away too much of my novel.

5. How do you transport them there through your writing?
In transporting my characters to different locations, I frequently indicate the location prior to the start of a new chapter. Sometimes I indicate where a particular character will be going by mentioning the character’s intention in the previous chapter. In An Innocent Murdered, police invade a motel where the prime suspect is hiding, a detective enters a gym where a teenage boy under the detective’s charge is shooting baskets, or that detective drives with a friend down the Stevenson Expressway in Chicago to locate an abandoned building. I have characters walking, stomping, running, driving a car, or flying in a commercial jet. The reader always has a sense of where the characters are going and how they are getting there.

6. How do you introduce them to an area they may not be familiar with?
I give the reader enough description so she knows what the characters is actually seeing. I might mention unusual things like the kind of sofa the detective’s girlfriend has, how far the wet bar is from the living room, what the outside of a friend’s house looks like, or what street the detective has to get to in order to get to the crime scene where the murder occurred.

7. How do you go about making the setting come alive for the reader?
As I’ve mentioned earlier, the setting should be looked upon as another character in the novel. I do this by not only giving a physical description of the location—without getting carried away—but I also insinuate the setting by thoughts of a character or the dialogue between two characters. For instance, I have a scene where Detective Matt Gunnison is having a dinner with a friend named Susan. At first there is a physical description of the setting, but the dialogue picks up the rest to fill the scene in…

Matt and Susan shared a good view of Reagan Lake at the Equinox restaurant. The overhead lights were a light blue, almost coinciding with the color of the lake itself just out the large window. The soft strains of the instrumental music for “I Only Have Eyes For You” filtered through to the patrons relaxing at dinner. The moon beamed its bright yellow face at them.

Matt observes a sailboat about to dock at the pier. “Matt,” Susan said, “I’ve always wondered what it would be like to go sailing somewhere. Perhaps disappear for a few days.”

“You’ve never been sailing? Ever?”

The conversation later switches gears…

“I was going to take you to a restaurant where they have more of a Western flavor, but you said you wanted to try the Equinox.”

Susan tilted her head. “I enjoy country and western music, of course. My father used to accompany the Honky Tonk Oakies as a guitar accompanist. I guess that type of music’s in my blood.”

We further learn that this is a high class restaurant and we learn something about her character as well. She’s not as comfortable here as she would be in a country and western bar.

When the scene much later switches to Matt and his friend Susan searching an abandoned cellar in Chicago. The reader knows this to be a creepy place…

A scream rang out from the floor below. The cellar! Matt grabbed his lantern and ran across the room, searching quickly for the entrance to the cellar. His heart raced, and he removed his gun from his shoulder holster.

“Susan!” he shouted, kicking open the cellar door. The damp and musty smell of the cellar assaulted his nostrils. His gun was poised as he raced down the steps. “Are you all right?”

The yellow beam from a flashlight played against the brick walls. Matt pointed his gun against the source of the light. “Susan!” he screamed. “What’s going on?”

About the Book
An Innocent Murdered

Book Details:
Publisher: Self-published
Genre: Murder Mystery
Format: ebook
Price: $0.99

Buy Links: Kindle

Blurb:
Father O'Fallon has been murdered, and police officer Jacinta Perez is arrested and charged. Detective Matt Gunnison, however, is not convinced and with the help of Susan, an ex-nun, he discovers a fascinating link between the priest's death and the death of a child 25 years ago. Will Matt be able to solve both murders?

Excerpt:

“What’s critically important here,” Matt said, “is the time this event happened. Mr. Zylinski, you said you knew it was about 9:13 pm when this occurred. How would you know that?”

“It’s all in the deposition, sir,” the man replied. “I checked my watch just before I got to my car. I had to be somewhere at ten and didn’t want to be late.”

The attorney leaned forward, a smile on her face. “I am sure you learned by now, Mr. Gunnison, that the bank clock was correct after all. During the day, that clock was not set back an hour for daylight savings time, but it was corrected by the bank manager at 6:00 that evening. So it really was 9:13 after all.”

Matt was a bit miffed at her know-it-all attitude. “Thank you for pointing that out to me, counselor.”

About the Author
Tom Mach

Tom Mach wrote two successful historical novels, Sissy! and All Parts Together, both of which have won rave reviews and were listed among the 150 best Kansas books in 2011. Sissy! won the J. Donald Coffin Memorial Book Award while All Parts Together was a viable entrant for the 2007 Pulitzer Prize Award. He also wrote a collection of short stories entitled Stories To Enjoy which received positive reviews. Tom’s other novels include: An Innocent Murdered, Advent, and Homer the Roamer.

His poetry collection, The Uni Verse, won the Nelson Poetry Book Award. In addition to several awards for his poetry, Writer’s Digest awarded him ninth place in a field of 3,000 entrants. He also has a popular blog for writers of both prose and verse.

Connect With Tom:
Web Site
Facebook
Twitter
Blog

About the Tour

Goddess Fish Promotions

GIVEAWAY:
A $50 Amazon gift card to the commenter that Tom feels leaves the best comment. He will make his selection at the end of his tour. Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning.

Tour Participants:

November 29: Lisa Haselton's Reviews and Interviews
December 1: The Plot Thickens
December 2: The Character Connection
December 5: Kathryn Lively - Award Winning Mystery Author
December 6: Enjoying the Unique Flavors of Life
December 7: Sandra's Blog
December 13: Bea's Book Nook
December 15: Sarah Ballance
December 20: Rogue's Angels
December 21: Beyond Romance
December 23: Realmantic Moments

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Emlyn Chand - Farsighted - Author Interview

My thanks to Emlyn Chand for stopping by City Girl Who Loves to Read for an author interview during the blog tour for her book, Farsighted.

Author Interview

1. Why did you choose this setting?
Farsighted takes place in Grandon Township, a fictional Midwest town. Grandon is a lot like my hometown Oxford, Michigan. It’s very small, boring, and can be a bit suffocating, especially if you don’t fit in with the main crowd or excel at sports. The main character Alex lives a very lonely life in Grandon, which is why it means so much to him when he finally makes a friend.

2. How is it a fundamental part of your overall theme?
The setting isn’t defined by place itself but rather how that place is presented. Alex is blind, and he tells his story in the first person point-of-view, which means that visual details are completely absent, and instead we see Grandon through our ears, noses, and fingertips.

3. How challenging was it to write about?
It was difficult to cut off my senses at first, but it got easier and easier as I began to identify with Alex and his way of life. I still had to go back through and proofread multiple times and with the help of multiple readers to make sure that no accidental visual details slipped through.

4. How did you develop your setting as you wrote your book?
Since Alex is visually impaired, he doesn’t have a big world. Most of the action takes place in three primary locations: Alex’s home, the high school, and the strip mall that houses Alex’s mother’s floral shop and the neighbor’s psychic shop.

5. How do you transport them there through your writing? How do you go about making the setting come alive for the reader?
I paid special attention to describing how places and people smell. I also described the sounds of people’s voices and actions and occasionally the feel of the air. Not having visual descriptions to fall back on meant I had to be very creative in setting the scene!

6. How do you introduce them to an area they may not be familiar with?
When Alex first enters the new psychic shop, he is extremely careful. He swings his cane before him like a metronome and proceeds carefully. Of course, he still stubs his toe on a trunk and sends a crystal ball rolling across the room. When the psychic lady, Miss Teak, appears in the empty room, he is very attuned to the sound of her voice. New places are especially hard for Alex, which is why the number of settings is limited in Farsighted.

About the Book
Farsighted

Book Details:
Publisher: Blue Crown Press
Published: October 2011
Genre: Young Adult
Pages: 224
Format: paperback, ebook
Price: $12.95 paperback, $0.99 ebook

Buy Links: Amazon, Kindle

Blurb:
Alex Kosmitoras's life has never been easy. The only other student who will talk to him is the school bully, his parents are dead-broke and insanely overprotective, and to complicate matters even more, he's blind. Just when he thinks he'll never have a shot at a normal life, a new girl from India moves into town. Simmi is smart, nice, and actually wants to be friends with Alex. Plus she smells like an Almond Joy bar. Yes, sophomore year might not be so bad after all.

Unfortunately, Alex is in store for another new arrival--an unexpected and often embarrassing ability to "see" the future. Try as he may, Alex is unable to ignore his visions, especially when they begin to suggest that Simmi is in danger. With the help of the mysterious psychic next door and new friends who come bearing gifts of their own, Alex must embark on a journey to change his future.

Excerpt:
Simmi and I arrive at this rally point together from Mrs. Warszynski’s to wait for Shapri. Several minutes go by. I want to suggest we leave without her but don’t think that’ll score me any points with Simmi.

“You didn’t want Shapri to come tonight, did you?” Simmi asks.

“Well, I—no, I mean, it’s fine. I’m glad she could come,” I sputter.

“You’re such a horrible liar,” Simmi teases, pushing me playfully.

“Hey, that’s not fair. I can’t hit you back. You’re a girl.”

“I’m just teasing you.” Simmi blows a raspberry and pulls her body up onto the circular wall surrounding the flagpole area. I hesitate before pulling myself up too. Simmi scootches over so we touch at the hip. She loops her hand through the crook of my arm and places her head on my shoulder. “I never would have gotten away with this in India,” she says. “But I’m glad I can here. I’m a psychic feeler. I need to be in touch with others.” She pauses and strokes my arm with her free hand. “You know, when I touch someone I can make them feel what I want them to, but I can also sense their existing emotions. It’s almost the same as being able to read minds. Everything important has to do with the heart, not logic.” She lightens her tone. “But don’t tell Dr. Brown I said that, he’d take marks off of my next chem exam out of spite.”

I laugh nervously. Is she like Miss Teak in a way? Can she read my feelings for her? If she can, why hasn’t she said anything? I contemplate reaching over and kissing her, so I can know for sure how she feels. But I’ve never kissed anyone before. I’m not sure how I’m supposed to initiate it. Do I take her out for dinner and a movie first? Or make some lengthy speech declaring my intentions? Do I kiss her, just like that? Or do I ask for her permission before making my big move?

I decide to ask if it’s okay. Simmi is a classy girl. She needs respect. I swallow, hoping the motion will open up my airway, because right now, I’m kind of having trouble catching my breath. “Simmi,” I start.

“Yeah, Alex?” She lifts her head and links her hand in mine, nudging her slender fingers in between each of mine.

“Would it be okay if I…”

“There you two are!” Shapri says, running over to us, panting heavily. “I thought we were meeting in the commons.”

“No, we agreed on the flagpole,” Simmi says, hopping down from the wall.

The moment is gone. I don’t know when I’ll get the chance and the nerve again. My opinion of Shapri transforms from cautious indifference into outright hatred. Why did she invite herself along?

Shapri clears her throat. “Did I—Did I interrupt something here? Maybe a little romance?”

“What? No, no,” Simmi says shaking her head adamantly. “Nothing like that, Alex is like a brother to me.”

Ouch. Pain. Stabbed in my heart. I’m like a brother to her? I guess this means romance is off the table…

About the Author
Emily Chand

Emlyn Chand has always loved to hear and tell stories, having emerged from the womb with a fountain pen grasped firmly in her left hand (true story). When she's not writing, she runs a large book club in Ann Arbor and is the president of author PR firm, Novel Publicity. Emlyn loves to connect with readers and is available throughout the social media interweb. Visit emlynchand.com for more info. Don't forget to say "hi" to her sun conure Ducky!

Connect With Emlyn:
Web Site
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Google +
Novel Publicity

About the Tour

Goddess Fish Promotions

GIVEAWAY:

A $50 Amazon gift card to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning.