Visiting at SFSC

Last week I visited SFSC on Sunday afternoon, which was a shorter visit than I would normally make, but I had some other things going on which caused me to only show up for my slot in the dealer room and for the one panel for which I had volunteered. Of course, Sunday afternoon is the time the fewest people are in attendance, since folks from out of town have usually checked out of the hotel by then. However, I had a chance to visit with a few people, rather than merely speak with a lot of them.

Fellow speculative fiction author Christina Barber joined me for my “How to Torment Your Characters” panel. Visiting with Christina is a genuine pleasure, and I hope con goers in our area get a chance to sit in on some of her other events. Despite the late time slot, we had an audience, and I enjoyed the discussion. As we wiled away a couple of hours in the dealer room, we also chatted a bit about our favorite and least favorite con experiences. I won’t do a "tell all" post online, but from a guest’s point of view, sometimes these are rewarding events and sometimes the other con guests are a bit arrogant, especially those with bad reviews.

Hubby participated in the Atlanta Science Fiction Society’s SciFi Jeopardy contest, watched an oldie in the video room, as well as playing a few games in the video game room. He laughingly compared Frogger to trying to get a across the “Damon Gause Bypass” where it intersects with Old Pendergrass Road in Jefferson, which is the biggest traffic challenge in our hometown. We both think the frog has a better chance.

There are some other cons in this area, including the big one in ATL, DragonCon, and the showcase for Baen Books, LibertyCon in Chattanooga. Christina also told me that there is a new one starting up, Conooga, which will be in February of 2008. If you like genre related films, games, or fiction, a con can be a really fun getaway.

Characters in Torment?

Of course. That's why they call it fiction. I can do all sorts of mean, nasty, hateful things to them, and they just come back for more. Gosh, I just love it.

As a writer, I know that I have to throw a whole bunch of problems at my characters, otherwise my fiction will be boring. The secret of failure as a writer is to try to please everyone, especially the characters. Oh, those people in my head may want happiness, but there are huge obstacles in the way, obstacles which can thwart those characters, making their lives pure hell. Without realistic conficts, the best characters and beautiful landscapes are about as entertaining as a painting. You may look, but you won’t hang around.

Talented writers of novels and of screenplays know this, and they compose their conflicts every bit as well as they build their worlds and describe their characters. What is so entertaining about stories? Nowadays, much of network television is populated by far more “reality series” than stories, so are stories now passé? Not if you look at the movies, and not if you peruse the shelves of a library or a bookstore. Nope, people still like stories.

As a writer of novels, I do realize that I have an uphill battle. Whatever else has been said about this country, seldom has it been described as a nation of readers! However, fiction writers have plenty of tools available to give readers what they want. Not the boring, not the mundane lives we often lead, but rolicking adventure and many problems to solve.

My most recent release, Trinity on Tylos, has a main character who has many dilemmas, especially those posed by the malevolent alien presence hovering beside her ride through the galaxy. This book has its roots in those space operas which I have enjoyed since I was a kid, with elements of space travel, advanced weapontry, and robotics, but it has a very human side, when my main character Venice Dylenski is forced to choose between losing her life along with all of her colleagues or saving her people and embarking on a first contact adventure which probably won’t have a happy ending. Venice has many problems, her companion has a problem, and her captor has a really big problem, so there is conflict galore as each person attempts to bring the conflict to a resolution which makes him or her the winner.

In my previous novel, The Gift Horse, the main character has so many problems that I've sometimes been accused of being mean-spirited. Nope, not really. I just wanted to see how far I could push the characters and how many times I could shock my reader without ever getting really graphic. The Gift Horse was an experiment in creation of suspense, and I've had some readers tell me they finished it in twenty-four hours, which I consider success. Indeed, two people told me they finished it the night they began, albeit having very little sleep. After all, it is almost three hundred pages long.

I don’t like stories without character development, and in order to get to know characters, an author has to throw impossible tasks and heart-wrenching dilemmas in their way. Only then can readers and viewers see how these folks deal with adversity. That’s why you have to torment your characters to create memorable stories.

More Q and A

Trinity on Tylos was officially released on February 1, and already it is on the "hot title" list at WCP. For the locals, it will be a few weeks before I have printed books on hand to do any promotions in this area. While I'm getting those plans together (and I really am working on doing those) I'll fall back on some of my "prepared" questions and answers. Prior to doing my stint as Love Romances Author of the Day, I made a list of common questions and had ready answers. Most of these weren't asked by the moderator or guests, so I'll use them here.

What is your ideal hero/heroine?

I like to write about people who are realistic, but I often place them in surreal situations. I’ve noticed that many other writers do the opposite— that is, they create larger than life characters and have them interact with boring and mundane situations. Either way, conflicts are bound to ensue, and most people read fiction to see how those conflicts are resolved.

What is your perception of romance genre today rather than 10 years ago?

Over the years, I’ve read romance sporadically, but it would seem that ever more sensual characters and situations are the most remarkable trend, and one which continues to change the genre.

Do you prefer writing in 1st person or 3rd person?

I like both. One of my favorite sci-fi novels uses them alternately, but when I tried it in an early effort, my editor said to stick to 3rd person b/c it is easier to write well. By and large, that is true, but I think 1st person is better for creating memorable main characters.

Do any of your characters have any of your personality quirks or other people's quirks?

All fiction writers base their characters on something. Mine are most often composites of people I have known. Most of my characters have flaws, sometimes a lot of them, and that’s because real people are like that. I’ve based characters on people I knew in college and people I have worked with, but so loosely, that I don’t think anyone would recognize them.

Do you find it difficult to write love/sex scenes?

Somewhat, but I do have two children, neither of whom are adopted. I don’t usually write graphic sex scenes, but I don’t have any problem with reading them, or with those who choose to write that way. Actually, I’m glad that with so many books and writers, there is something for every person’s taste.

Q and A from Love Romances

Only a few people posted questions for my Author Day at Love Romances, but the experience was quite interesting. I've decided to post a few of those in lieu of any other blog entry. Here they are (in no certain order.)

What is your favorite all time movie and why?
Most of you will think this is a silly answer, but I have a great fondness for The Sound of Music. When I was a young girl, a couple in our small church took the children who won an attendance award to the cinema in Athens (about 20 miles away) to see it, and I'd never even been to a movie theatre. I was entranced by the beautiful music, the lovely Austrian setting, and the story which said that the love of a family could take on a force as powerful and as evil as Nazi Germany. I've shared this film and a love of musicals with my own children, who also enjoy it.

If either of your books would be made into a movie, which one would you choose and what actors to play the characters?
I hope no one would want to do The Gift Horse. Some bad stuff happens in it! As for Trinity, gosh, some of the settings and the physical changes which occur make it a bit unusual. If it were to be made into a movie, it would just about have to be animated, but not "child friendly" animation. I'm thinking more like video games, I suppose. However, the look and feel of video games might clash with the maternal theme. Okay, assuming that we'd be casting voices, I love Michael Dorn's voice overs, so maybe he could be the menacing Azareel. Gena Davis could be Venice (she's doing okay as the president), and Sally Struthers would make a great Alathea. Matthew McConaughey would make a good Steve, because he is strong without being too showy.

What kind of music do you enjoy to listen to?
I like show tunes, like Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera, and I still enjoy hearing oldies from my high school days-- the seventies. I don't care for much of what my children listen to, however. Hip Hop, rap and stuff like that don't appeal to me.

Who is the biggest supporter of your writing?
Many people are supportive, including my mother-in-law, who proofread Trinity twice-- before I sent it to WCP and between editing and the final version.

Which part of writing a book do you enjoy most and which do you enjoy least?
I am horrible at proofreading. Honestly, I see what I want to see on the page, not what is really there. So I'm grateful to people who edit and proofread for me. Promotion is rather difficult for me as well, because I am a bit shy. I know that sounds odd, b/c I do public speaking, but I quake when I walk up to that podium!

Congratulations on Trinity. It sounds interesting. Is there a genre you haven't tried yet that you want to?
Thanks, I hope many people come meet the characters in Trinity. I'd like to write some non-fiction sometime, perhaps a guide to integrating technology into classroom teaching. I like helping people with technology, but I don't want to speak or think like a geek.

Love it or hate it

I’ve chatted with a few folks over the past few weeks, trying to talk up my new novel, Trinity on Tylos, but of course, people want to talk about the book they have read rather than the one they haven’t, so I’ve heard quite a bit about The Gift Horse.

Living in the South is a huge advantage in this business. All southerners were told as children, “If you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything.” That means that people who didn’t like The Gift Horse are usually too polite to say so. Therefore, some readers say, “I just loved it. I couldn’t put it down.” Others just have a tight, polite smile. I guess they are the ones who hated it.

I went to a family reunion last weekend, and while I was there, one of my second cousins said she just loved my first book and can’t wait for this new one. Then she told me that her mother (my first cousin) was a bit shocked by The Gift Horse. I do understand that. The Gift Horse really isn’t for the faint of heart. When I wrote the back cover copy, I said something about taking a wild ride on The Gift Horse. And I wasn’t kidding.

Readers who love it usually cite the suspense, or simply mention how different it is. There are rules for writing fiction. When I wrote this novel I threw several of them out the proverbial window and told Angie’s story the way I saw it. In romance novels there must be a happy ending, in suspense novels the hero or heroine must overcome evil and have the opportunity for happiness. Only in literary fiction is a less than happy ending acceptable. However, in the world I see around me, not too many people enjoy the happy ending that is a prerequisite for winning the hearts and minds of the average reader. In some ways, The Gift Horse is outlandish, but I think it reflects the uncertainty of modern life.

Cover art

For the past week, I've been looking at samples from the art director at Whiskey Creek Press, and now the cover art is ready and I've posted small versions of the front cover on www.pamelajdodd.com— just look at the Pam's Books page.

I found the whole process interesting, from the questionaire that all WCP authors fill out, to the tweaking that I requested, trying to get that little thumbnail to help me tell my story. Perhaps the most important information was the character descriptions. Here's what I sent in for those:

Hero Description — There are two “heros” and the title, Trinity on Tylos, reflects that. (1) Steve Dylenski is a space service officer, about 30, with relatively short (military style) hair, clad in a uniform which has a waist length royal blue jacket over a white turtle neck and dark pants, with gold rings on the sleeves denoting rank. (2) Azareel is an alien, a massive gray-blue humanoid, hairless, with light eyes, clad in a dark robe over black pants.

Heroine Description— Venice, an attractive female, is abducted early in the story and transformed by the alien to look like his race, so she also has gray-blue skin and no hair. After her capture Venice wears formal gowns in jewel tones and a sparkling choker necklace.

With those brief instructions, along with a summary and the copy for the "back cover blurb" the artist, Nora Baxter, came up with three possible covers. One of them was close to my internal vision of these characters, but we went through three more versions before I was completely satisfied.

As I look at it now, I wonder if potential readers will see these characters as I do, three unique individuals whose lives become intertwined as they become founders of a new civilization. Or maybe they'll think it's a cartoon, like the Jetsons. I guess only time will tell.

The Naming of Characters

When each of our children were born, my husband and I spent some time deciding what to name our newest family member. Having spent many first days of school mispronouncing names (just one unfortunate part of the whole school teacher experience) I knew that an “ordinary” spelling was one highly desirable criteria for naming my offspring. My husband also wished to avoid anything cute or too trendy, because we wouldn’t want to have any whims on our part to become a burden to either of them in later life.

Naming characters in fiction is not as important as naming real people, of course, but names can be a significant part of building character. In my first novel, The Gift Horse, I used names which are common in my typical southern small town, because another such town is the setting of the story. My main character, who is perhaps the only character who has any morals worthy of mention, is named Angela, which is derived from the word angel. Another character in that novel, Billie, is a woman with an aggressive personality, so giving her a feminine version of a male name helps convey her personality to the reader.

In Trinity on Tylos, which has a futuristic setting, I wanted to use some names which were not typical in our twenty first century America, but were nevertheless meaningful in their own right. The main character, Venice, has an exotic name, that of a beautiful Italian city, and this character is depicted as a very attractive woman. Her female companion, Alathea, has a name of Greek origin. Thus these names allude to both the Greek and Roman civilizations, which are often said to be the foundations of western thought. These women are abducted by an alien, Azareel, whose name is based upon a foreign king in the Bible. As the story unfolds, his role is very much that of a king, creating a little kingdom on the fourth planet in the Tylos star system. A trinity is a threesome, and Venice, Alathea, and Azareel are the first trinity of the novel. Also, these words come from the Judeo-Christian heritage, yet another pillar of western civilization.

Shakespeare once said that “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet” but our culture tends to associate meaning with certain names, and a skillful author is wise to remember that choosing a character’s name is the first opportunity to create an impression in the mind of the reader. Shakespeare’s Romeo asks, “What’s in a name?” and just as it was then, names really are important.