The Back Story for October 32nd by Larry Rodness

 

Meeting and talking to people is one of the aspects of writing I like best. So many good great people. So many good stories. I was talking to Larry Rodness a few weeks ago and he told me this back story for October 32nd. I had him write it down for me, 'I’d written “October 32” after visiting the small country village of Elora, Ontario during their annual Halloween festival. It features giant paper monsters coming out of buildings, carnival games, and treats in their town square. I originally wrote it [October 32nd] as a screenplay and several years later turned it into a novel. But I needed a way into the story. Because I had experience in the funeral insurance business I created the main character, Alexander Malefant, who comes to town on a sale- call on Halloween eve and bears witness to all the children in the town going missing while Trick or Treating. The story spun out from there.' Excellent. When you read October 32nd, it's not so much a horror story as one might guess, but a story of redemption. And when you're emersed in the small New England town on All Hollows Eve, imagine that Larry Rodness himself is in the crowd of revelers, right over there next to the old, dilapidated school house. A Hloloween Back Story.

For more on Larry Rodness,  check out his web page, or follow him on Amazon or FaceBook.  

For more on Jeff Bailey, check out his web page or follow him on Amazon, GoodReads or his LinkedIn Blog.

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The Back Story for Not On MY Watch by Jeff Bailey

 

Much of Not On My Watch is fictionalized from my recollection of my Army posting to the Ft. Sill, OK. Special Weapons Depot when I was 20, just a kid. I was a small player on a large crew that maintained and repaired our nation's nuclear weapons arsenal. Lake Lawtonka is real and was a recreational hot spot for the G.I.s.  When I started writing Not On My Watch, I knew the story thread and what I wanted to write but didn’t want to use myself as the lead character as I had in previous books. As would happen, my oldest granddaughter was in the middle of her training to be an Aviation Rescue Firefighter in the Marine Corp., perfect.  Now, to be honest, most of her training took place in Texas rather than Oklahoma, so I exercised a little literary license.  Once I opted to use her for the inspiration of the female protagonist, everything fell into place, the book just sort of wrote itself. All I had to do was ask myself, ‘what would my granddaughter do in this situation?’ By the time I finished Not On My Watch, LCpl Bailey, my muse, was serving in Japan as an Aviation Rescue Firefighter.

For more on Jeff Bailey, check out my web page or follow me on Amazon,  GoodReads or his LinkedIn Blog.

Welcome to my World.

The Back Story for Author Chris Smith and His Traditional Westerns

 

 I've been reading some of Chris Smith's westerns, lately. I'm a big fan of the American 'Oater' ever since the Lone Ranger, Hop-Along Cassidy, Bonanza, and Gunsmoke. Smith's westerns are excellent considering that he's from South Africa. I forget right now what we were talking about, but he related a great story about his early days as a writer. I quote, 'During my early days as a writer I didn't plan my stories out as well as I should have and I wrote my character into a corner. I had to rope in my twin brother for some help and there we were, two grown men, shooting at each other with imaginary guns at work as we recreated the scene.' Laugh out loud just doesn't cover it. I'm not going to be able to read my next Chris Smith western with visualizing these two grown men jumping off the divan, hiding behind the room divider shouting, 'pow, pow, bang, bang, I got you.' I like this Back Story. Jeff Bailey. 

For more on Chris Smith, follow him on Facebook, Amazon, GoodReads or his LinkedIn Blog.

For more on Jeff Bailey, check out his web page or follow him on Amazon,  GoodReads or his LinkedIn Blog.

Welcome to my World.

Australian Adventure Writer Kez Wickham St George - The Back Story

 

I’ve been working lately with Australian adventure writer, Kez Wickham St. George. We had been talking about cross marketing between the U.S. and Australia. Kez creates her stories from her real-life adventures and explorations in the Australian Outback. My kind of research. Kez told me the most engaging story, I have to paraphrase some of it because, like any good writer, she told a lot of story. It seems that after the peak of Covid passed, several families headed out into the remotest of the Outback for a caravan trip. As luck would have it, they developed an oil leak in the Jeep, lots of acrid smoke, and had to layover in a ‘caravan bay’ for a couple of days.

I quote, ‘This night one woman caught my eye, she looked familiar, yet I did not know her, she was from Cairns and traveling to NSW. I introduced myself, she asked me about my accent, “I’m a Kiwi (New Zealander)” she informed her family had married into the Maori people. My ears twitched, as also to have ties to a Maori family, I asked her for names of where they were? When she said the name of my hometown, so many memories filling my mind, now the attention of the entire gang around the fire pit was engaged. As this woman said names, times and places, the air around me went still, the family she was talking about were my next-door neighbors for ten years [back in New Zealand]. She told me that her sister married into this family. Meant to be?  What struck me was what a small world we live in, I’m sitting around a campfire in Western Australia in a tiny county shire Dandaragan she knows a family I once knew in a small fishing village Ngunguru in Northland New Zealand, different countries the Pacific Ocean plus many thousands of kilometers between us, wow….. The story continues in the Camp fire trilogy beginning with Metal Mermaid.’

As you read one one of Kez’s adventure stories, maybe even Metal Mermaid, and when the main characters are in an isolated ‘public layover’, imagine that those two ladies at the next campfire are reminiscing about their families back in New Zealand…. because now you know Kez's Back Story.

For more on Kez Wickham St. George, Go to her Home Page, or follow her on Amazon, GoodReads, or on her LinkedIn blog.

For more on Jeff Bailey, go to his Home Page, or follow him on Amazon, GoorReads, or on his LinkedIn blog.

Welcome to my World

My First Review of Not On My Watch From SPAIN

 

Every now and again I find a little nugget that just tickles me to the bone. This review is one of those moments. It's a review of my thriller Not On My Watch from anonymous reader from Spain. This is my first review from Spain - SPAIN. I don't have any network contacts in Spain that I'm aware of and the submitter elected to remain anonymous. Just a serendipitous, pleasant little moment. SPAIN this morning.

See the full review:

A Review of Kira Tynan's The Third Choice

 

The Third Choice by Kira Tynan was unique in so many ways, a thoroughly delightful read. It was an unusual blend of family dynamics and Sci-Fi without the Sci-Fi dominating the plotline. The protagonist, Chris, is by all accounts a normal young man, living a life and caring for his ‘special-needs’ parents. But those ‘special-needs’ are … well … a bit unique. Thus enter the Sci-Fi backstory. One might say that the parents are out of this word. I liked Kira’s presentation and writing style. They were not heavy handed or intrusive. The story just flowed well and kept the social dynamic of one living with his parents and trying and trying to meet a nice girl in the forefront. Gives new meaning to ‘meet the parents.’ I could easily see The Third Choice as a Sci-Fi selection on the Oprah Book List. It was that well done. I’ve already ordered my next Kira Tynan novel. For me, five stars for both Kira Tynan and for The Third Choice. Jeff Bailey, author of the conspiracy thriller Not On MY Watch.

For more on Kira Tynan, check out her web page or follow her on FaceBook,  Amazon, or GoodReads.

For more on Jeff Bailey, check out his web page or follow him on Amazon,  GoodReads or his LinkedIn Blog.

Welcome to my World.

The Back Story for The Great Live Radio Show

          Lately I’ve been posting a series on called ‘The Back Story.’ It’s the kind of little ditty that authors would tell about themselves or their books in polite conversation at a cocktail party or a family reunion. I’ve had a couple of the authors in my network challenge me to tell a back story about myself. So here goes. Many of you know that a few weeks ago I was featured on Gunner Lindblom’s Our Thing Detroit live radio show. I posted about it. I also posted about how nervous I was to do the show. One of the regulars from my LinkedIn network, Anrea WR Jones, suggested that I pretend that ‘everyone there is sitting in their undergarments. Is that adage still around?’ Well, I thought about it and decided that I needed something… stronger. So just as the interview started, I reached over to the corner of my writing area and picked up my great grandsons plushie toy of Sponge Bob Square Pants and placed it on my computer. As Gunner and I talked on the phone interview, I stared into the goofy grin of Sponge Bob Square Pants. Hey, it worked and I have Andrea to thank for it. For this radio interview Andrea was my muse. As you listen to the interview see if you can detect the ‘relaxed calm’ in my voice because you know the backstory. Thanks you Andrea.

Here's the link to the interview:

https://www.facebook.com/910amsuperstation/videos/2196135483879331/

For more on Jeff Bailey, check out his web page or follow him on Amazon,  GoodReads or his LinkedIn Blog.

Welcome to my world.