Happy New Book!

We're starting off 2024 with some great news!

C. Lee McKenzie has a new release and she's grateful to have some space here today to talk about it. Read about her exciting journey and story... Here's Lee.

This book is a bit of a departure from my usual contemporary/realistic young adult ones.  I stepped into the paranormal area and sent my main characters back in time to bring long overdue justice to a family. 

Here’s what the story is about: The desert town of Rattlesnake isn’t a destination. It’s a last resort. Seventeen-year-old Jonah Guthrie’s aunt sold their home in New England and fled to this place to escape the humiliation of his dad’s indictment for embezzlement and subsequent disappearance. 

While their late uncle left them a house and a silver mine, the house is a shambles and the mine is defunct. They’re almost out of money, so they have no choice but to stay in Rattlesnake. And then Jonah discovers they’ve inherited something else. Her name is Catherine, and she’s been dead for over a hundred year. Now, she needs his help.

I’ve scared a few readers with my title, but after they discovered Rattlesnake wasn’t about a nest of those poisonous reptiles, they enjoyed the story. Rattlesnake wasn’t my first tittle. I think I had three others before I settled on that venomous sounding one. Each previous title had ghosts included—No Such Thing As Ghosts, Ghost Dreams, and one other that must have been so bad I can’t remember it. I think the word, Gulch, was involved. Fortunately, I dispatched all of these, and once I settled on Rattlesnake, I was happy. It had the flavor of the desert, a hint of the old west, and it was also ominous. 

                                                                                    

AVAILABLE NOW!

Look for Rattlesnake at these distribution centers

Amazon . Smashwords . Kobo . B&N . Goodreads

C. Lee McKenzie is a native Californian who grew up in a lot of different places; then landed in the Santa Cruz Mountains in her home state. She writes, gardens, hikes, and does yoga a lot, and then travels whenever she can. Her favorite destinations are Turkey and Nicaragua, but because she has family in England, Switzerland, and Spain she goes there when she can. 

She takes on modern issues that today's teens face in their daily lives. Her Evernight Teen Publication, Double Negative was voted as one of the best top ten Young Adult books in 2020. Her most recent novel, Shattered, won a 2022 Indie Book Award.

Connect with Lee...

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Finding and Collecting Characters

by Bish Denham

author of Blind Ship in VOYAGERS anthology

If you have a hard time imagining characters or drawing them up out of thin air, maybe you need to start collecting them, like stamps or books. Characters are everywhere, like ants at a picnic. All you have to do is look around. They lurk within your family, hang out with your friends, skulk about your community, and flounce across your TV screen. They are in magazines and, nowadays, all over the internet.

Collecting characters is simple, easy, and fun. If you collect one a day, you’ll have 365 characters at the end of a year!

As you go about your daily routine, start looking at people. Notice what they’re doing, how they’re dressed, what they’re talking about. Every day, or once a week, look for one person to study, even if it’s only for a few minutes. Try not to be overt about this observing, you don’t want to make someone uncomfortable. Unless you have a great memory, take notes.

Maybe you saw a cashier who wasn’t smiling and seemed angry. She may have even upset you with her bad attitude. But, as a writer, it’s your job to be a dispassionate observer. Your notes might read something like this: “Black haired, over-roughed cashier. Mid to late 50s. Dark eyes. Frown lines between eyebrows and at corners of mouth. Clipped, abrupt speech. Seemed angry. Never smiled.”

When you have more time, you can flesh out her skeleton. Start asking yourself questions. “Why was she so sour? Has she always been this way? If so, what made her so unhappy? Did she just get some bad news? Didn’t she get enough sleep? Does she have worries weighing on her mind?” Give her a story, give her an excuse for being the way she was. Write it down. Describe her physical appearance in more detailed. Make it up if you want. What was she wearing? Did she have a wedding band. Maybe she’s recently divorced. Were her nails manicured or not? Give her a mannerism. Maybe she has the nervous habit of chewing on her lower lip. Lastly give your character sketch a title or name. How about, “The Sour Cashier” or “Mabel’s Bad-Hair Day.”

As you gather and write up character sketches, organize them as you want. I’m old school, I use a three-ring binder with dividers and have a few basic categories: women, girls, boys, men. You can be more specific if you want to: old men, extraterrestrials, teen-girls, toddlers, bully boys. You get the picture.

So, now you have a bunch of people on paper. What next? Maybe you have a great idea for a story, but you can’t picture the main character. Or maybe you have a great main character, but you need a couple of side-kicks. Get out your file, it’s a giant mall. You can browse it like a shopper. You can mix and match bits and pieces and make a whole new persona.

But wait! There’s more! Maybe you need an idea. This is where the titles or names of your sketches may light the match that starts a creative fire.

Something else I do is collect names. Any kind of name that’s unique or different or interesting. I organize them, too: place names, magical names, foreign names, people names, animal names, etc.

Now you can find the perfect name to fit your perfect character to act out your perfect story.

Have fun and break a pencil!

Bish Denham is from the U.S. Virgin Islands, where her family has lived for over a hundred years. The author of two middle grade novels and a collection of retold Jamaican Anansi stories, she says, “Growing up in the islands was like living inside a history book.”  Learn more about Bish at her blog bish-randomthoughts.blogspot.

Art Inspires Art

by Mary Aalgaard

I have been rather disconnected from this group and blog, and I'm glad to be reconnected. When my story, "One More Minute" was selected for the 2018 anthology, Tick Tock: A Stitch in Crime, I was thrilled. I loved being part of the group who were promoting the book and their stories. I miss that camaraderie. I even made a book trailer for the book!

Tick Tock: A Stitch in Crime Book Trailer

I've tried writing novels. I get to a certain point, then abandon them. I've written a couple short stories, now, that have been published. I like getting the writing prompts and know the parameters for the story. The challenge of keeping the word count down and still creating a compelling story appeals to me.

Mary Aalgaard and Jeanne Cooney

It's Murder, Dontcha Know?

Stage Play Reading at Central Lakes College

Brainerd, MN

In addition to writing, I enjoy going to the theater and have built up a reputation in the Minneapolis/St. Paul theater community for writing reviews. I'm studying the craft all the time. So, when Jeanne Cooney, a local author and friend, asked me to write a stage adaptation for her book, It's Murder, Dontcha Know?, I said, yes, without hesitation. I've enjoyed the process of bringing the page to the stage, as they say, reading and rereading the novel, pulling out dialogue and looking for the most dramatic parts. I worked with the local community college theater department and director Joseph Yow to develop it. We had a stage reading of the play at the end of September with local actors reading the parts. Jeanne was in the audience and took extensive notes! I have work to do to revise and edit the play and have great expectations of seeing it fully produced some day.

Mary Aalgaard with cast and crew

Playwright Mary Aalgaard and

Director Joey Yow

After the reading, several people talked to me about the process. They told me that they felt inspired to do more creative work after being part of this project. In my opinion, the project is already a success. I'm so glad that people told me about their inspiration and what they plan to work on in the future.

I believe that Art inspires Art. When we see people doing something they love, from making music to writing stories, and all the other creative endeavors you can imagine, we feel the stirrings to also create. I hope that you all have wonderful, creative projects in the works and that you are able to see them through and witness the wonderful ripple effect of putting it out there to inspire others!

Mary Aalgaard writes theater reviews and supports the arts through her blog Play off the Page. She teaches youth theater workshops in the Brainerd lakes area of Minnesota, writes articles for regional magazines, and works with both seniors and youth in multi-generational programs to enhance quality of life and build community. Email her at Mary@playoffthepage.com. Find out more:

mary.aalgaard@yahoo.com | Blog | Twitter: @MaryAalgaard

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