tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84285542023-11-16T04:10:09.229-07:00Kevin Paul TracyAuthor, Philosopher, And Raconteur<br><br>Look for Kevin's newest release, the fun and breathless adventure/thriller<br>"<a href="http://kevinpaultracy.com/BookPage.aspx?ISBN=0997260602">The Lucifer Strain</a>."KPThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312686959363640016noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8428554.post-52199016209082744402018-07-17T15:13:00.000-06:002018-07-17T15:13:03.401-06:00Available for PURCHASE: The Lucifer Strain<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0997260629" target="_new"><img name="The Lucifer Strain by Kevin Paul Tracy" alt="The Lucifer Strain by Kevin Paul Tracy" title="The Lucifer Strain by Kevin Paul Tracy" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWrxMqia0O7UdedKB7paKCr_6JqblYv5FvZuW5bnzd2JgW4jFqsJKqd570LvVhr1E4VRTREdgozLHAAgbeoMU-fUsJl7m2IIxzD5_1EsMuVhQ5G2l1YRDppnnSQVdyj2W0_ggvWg/s320/Cover+-+Front.jpg" width="217" style="float:right; padding-left:5px;" /></a><b><em>NOW AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE</em></b> everywhere:
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<center><h1>The Lucifer Strain</h1>! Look for it on Amazon and other top booksellers !</center>
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The long awaited sequel to my acclaimed adventure/thriller <b><em>Rogue Agenda</em></b>! This time Lainie Parker must face down a band of Canadian terrorists bent on releasing history's most deadly programmable virus, unleashing a pan-global genocide that will devastate the world.KPThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312686959363640016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8428554.post-31966912741001890472018-07-03T08:15:00.000-06:002018-07-09T13:56:27.538-06:00Available For Pre-order: The Lucifer Strain<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F7GWVHM" target="_new"><img name="The Lucifer Strain by Kevin Paul Tracy" alt="The Lucifer Strain by Kevin Paul Tracy" title="The Lucifer Strain by Kevin Paul Tracy" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWrxMqia0O7UdedKB7paKCr_6JqblYv5FvZuW5bnzd2JgW4jFqsJKqd570LvVhr1E4VRTREdgozLHAAgbeoMU-fUsJl7m2IIxzD5_1EsMuVhQ5G2l1YRDppnnSQVdyj2W0_ggvWg/s320/Cover+-+Front.jpg" width="217" style="float:right; padding-left:5px;" /></a>Good news! The long awaited sequel to my acclaimed adventure/thriller <b><em>Rogue Agenda</em></b> is <b><em>NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER</em></b> on Amazon.com (to be released on July 17):
<br/>
<center><h1>The Lucifer Strain</h1>! Look for it on Amazon and other top booksellers !</center>
<br/>
This time Lainie Parker must face down a band of Canadian terrorists bent on releasing history's most deadly programmable virus, unleashing a pan-global genocide that will devastate the world.
<br/><br/>
Also dropping on the same day, the newly designed cover to the first Lainie Parker adventure: "<b><em>Rogue Agenda</em></b>."KPThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312686959363640016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8428554.post-21695216114612774232018-06-28T20:15:00.000-06:002018-06-28T20:34:36.533-06:00New Release: The Lucifer Strain<img name="The Lucifer Strain by Kevin Paul Tracy" alt="The Lucifer Strain by Kevin Paul Tracy" title="The Lucifer Strain by Kevin Paul Tracy" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWrxMqia0O7UdedKB7paKCr_6JqblYv5FvZuW5bnzd2JgW4jFqsJKqd570LvVhr1E4VRTREdgozLHAAgbeoMU-fUsJl7m2IIxzD5_1EsMuVhQ5G2l1YRDppnnSQVdyj2W0_ggvWg/s320/Cover+-+Front.jpg" width="217" style="float:right; padding-left:5px;" />Good news! The long awaited sequel to my acclaimed adventure/thriller <b><em>Rogue Agenda</em></b> is going to be released on July 17:
<br/>
<center><h1>The Lucifer Strain</h1>! Look for it on Amazon and other top booksellers !</center>
<br/>
This time Lainie Parker must face down a band of Canadian terrorists bent on releasing history's most deadly programmable virus, unleashing a pan-global genocide that will devastate the world.
<br/><br/>
Also dropping on the same day, the newly designed cover to the first Lainie Parker adventure: "<b><em>Rogue Agenda</em></b>."KPThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312686959363640016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8428554.post-82527820758755722622016-11-10T08:43:00.002-07:002016-11-10T08:45:30.331-07:00FUN TO READ<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kevin-Paul-Tracy/e/B00FK5GMMU" target="_new"><img src="http://kevinpaultracy.com/images/Presence%20of%20Malice%20Final%20Cover.jpg" width="213" height="320" style=" float:left; padding-right:15px; " alt="Presence of Malice by Kevin Paul Tracy" name="Presence of Malice by Kevin Paul Tracy" title="Presence of Malice by Kevin Paul Tracy"></a><p>I am a regular contributor to the <a href="http://rmfw.org/blog/" target="_new" >Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers blog</a>. My articles appear on the first Thursday of every month. I have <a target="_new" href="http://www.Daydreamindustries.com" >four books</a> currently in print, a game, and two anthologies that I have either written for or edited. I have at least three other projects in the works and bound to be released soon.</p>
<p>I don't always do well in promoting myself and the stuff I have out there that readers might enjoy. I've always found self-promotion rather unsavory, the people quite adept at it equally as brutish and unpleasant to be around. But I really do think there are a lot of readers out there who will enjoy the books I've written, so when I encourage you to buy and read my books, it is only partially self-serving (I actually don't really make much on sales of my work) but it truly is an honest desire to share with others some fun, interesting, diverting, and quite entertaining stories and really do believe they will get a kick out of.</p>
<p>Maybe my books don't become you're favorites, still I promise you a fun time, something you'll enjoy, and even share with friends. Check out my books and if you like them, post an online review, I really do read those.</p>KPThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312686959363640016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8428554.post-69544973444994347582016-09-09T13:54:00.000-06:002016-09-09T13:54:25.596-06:00BOOK SIGNING IN DENVER, SEPTEMBER 9I will be joining about 40 other authors from across the fiction world at a book signing in Denver Friday night September 9 at 8 PM. Come to the Renaissance Hotel at 3801 Quebec St, Denver, CO 80207 and say hi. There will be a cash bar. I look forward to meeting each of you!KPThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312686959363640016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8428554.post-13673600095030361932016-09-02T10:45:00.000-06:002016-09-02T10:49:44.490-06:00PATRICIA DUFFY - FROM PLAIN TO PLAIN AWESOME!<p> Patricia Duffy is the foremost female heroine in my latest thriller, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0997260602" target="_new"><b>Presence of Malice</b></a>. Many readers have asked how someone as nice as Patricia ended up working for such a prick as Dr. Gerald Gannery, and moreover, why she stayed.</p>
<p> Such things happen gradually. To a wide-eyed college student still several months away from graduating from business school, it seemed like a dream job come true, at first. Not only was one of New York's most prominent plastic surgeons and purported philanthropists willing to hire her as his business manager before she graduated, but he would pay all of her student loans and buy back the mortgage her parents had put on the family ranch to pay for it. When, after a year beyond graduation, Gannery never did get around to signing the mortgage back over to her parents, well it seemed ungrateful and rude to press him on it. So she waited, hoping he would remember his promise himself.</p>
<p> The job itself never quite seemed to rise to the level of Business Manager, either. While she was given free reign over his schedule and appointments, many of which were for consultations but none of which were ever for the actual surgery itself, he remained quite secretive about the practice's books and investments. It wasn't for some time that she realized he wasn't being cautious, he had no intention of sharing the books or other aspects of the business with her, and her job quickly devolved into little more than Secretary, though she preferred <em>Executive Assistant</em>.</p>
<p> Patricia was raised on Midwest Judaeo-Christian values, to respect authority and one's elders, to show gratitude to benefactors, to be humble and never boorish or overbearing. When Gannery expressed dissatisfaction with her performance, she strove to do better. When dissatisfaction became disdain, and disdain gradually gave way to outright disrespect, still she tried to work harder to please him. By the time things had progressed to full-blown abuse, she wasn't in a position to recognize it right away. Her focus still remained doing a better job to please her boss.</p>
<p> So what finally gave her the spine to rebel? It was a combination of factors really. His most recent tirade when she failed to book a socially advantageous lunch date for him led directly into his public humiliation of her on national cable television. That left her in just the right resentful mood when she spotted Gregory, Jet Gatling's paraplegic brother, hacking into her employer's computer. Suddenly, lashing out, getting back at Gerald Gannery was all she wanted to do.</p>
<p> Read the exciting <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0997260602" target="_new"><b>Presence of Malice</b></a> and see how she does it!</p>KPThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312686959363640016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8428554.post-51120865192540532912016-08-29T13:07:00.000-06:002016-08-29T13:08:59.909-06:00Jet Gatling - Man of Mystery<p>Jet Gatling is the central character in my latest book, <em><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0997260602" target="_new">Presence of Malice</a></b></em>, and yet very little of the book is told from his point of view (only two short narratives, in point of fact.) I did that deliberately, I wanted Jet to remain a mystery to the reader, with a big question - is he the good guy or is he another bad guy? If a bad guy, why didn't he outright kill Dr. Gannery, the man he'd been contracted to take out, given multiple opportunities to do so? If a good guy, then why doesn't he warn of the bomb that takes out an entire hotel floor?</p>
<p>These and other burning questions are answered in <em><b></b>Presence of Malice</em>, hopefully to the satisfaction of the reader. All except one - how far is Jet willing to go? What lines in he willing to cross? What, if anything, will make him stop and reconsider his rage-blind determination to accomplish what he sees as necessary?</p>
<p>Add Jet to any situation and he immediately becomes the wild card. There's no predicting what he's going to do, or how he'll go about fulfilling his contract. Is he constrained by the same laws and moral code as the rest of us? Or have his years as a Navy SEAL, carrying out black ops for his government, placed him above the law? Did eight years as a prisoner in a Chinese prison, disavowed by the same government that used to employ him, tortured endlessly by his captors for information, unmoor his moral compass, send him adrift amid his own roiling rage, to redefine justice...his own way?</p>
<p>Read <em><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0997260602" target="_new">Presence of Malice</a></b></em> and decide for yourself!KPThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312686959363640016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8428554.post-84537390362068199002016-08-19T08:21:00.000-06:002016-08-19T08:23:45.694-06:00Politics Religion<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz7hr1mh9eJRWwqYS8x2L-wRf_oYRBBNrP2m2vaA1ReTuQ9aLCSoSmtnf10R44L28TUG5oO6mviyVpRc6IeciUgQ3L0Gpzmzwu-MS1Lhbw6Ekns8T3dDde58A-FgN2ICaeeXzsNg/s1600/pro+flag.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz7hr1mh9eJRWwqYS8x2L-wRf_oYRBBNrP2m2vaA1ReTuQ9aLCSoSmtnf10R44L28TUG5oO6mviyVpRc6IeciUgQ3L0Gpzmzwu-MS1Lhbw6Ekns8T3dDde58A-FgN2ICaeeXzsNg/s320/pro+flag.gif" width="200" /></a></div><p>I have maintained a strict "no politics, no religion" policy when it comes to my public writings, such as this blog. Believe me, that isn't always easy, especially this election cycle with everything that's going on. I long to speak out on my views, defend my beliefs and take to task the deliberately twisted rhetoric of the other side. I have opinions, expressed or not, and it goes against the grain not to express them in the public forum, be heard, and add my voice to the strength of those on the same side of the important issues of the day as me.</p>
<p>There are those who have told me that, given the public platform I've been able to gain through my publicity and my books, that I am even obligated to use it to add my voice to the public square, lend my reason and logic to the strength of my "side," and exercise my freedom of speech and the soap box I've been granted through my success in a way that matters for the lives of current and future generations.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizbxyAI6jLvRK4tSl1eBwjJfiyIn3nTiqlUsT4sWRDuEk25PAT4n9hGFwzaRygvB2w5nr_7kTfJEjFwlVCUgULo0Sd-Jc36e_j9AUbLoH-8yzqGRFs5badImhUHGMVBYEaXYZXzw/s1600/con+flag.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizbxyAI6jLvRK4tSl1eBwjJfiyIn3nTiqlUsT4sWRDuEk25PAT4n9hGFwzaRygvB2w5nr_7kTfJEjFwlVCUgULo0Sd-Jc36e_j9AUbLoH-8yzqGRFs5badImhUHGMVBYEaXYZXzw/s320/con+flag.gif" width="200" /></a></div><p>But I'm not going to do that. I'm gong to resist the considerable temptation to do so. Why? Because if my opinions and convictions serve to sway anyone to my "side," it isn't really going to be many. Most people who hold convictions are usually pretty invested in those convictions, and it is going to take more than some Facebook posts, tweets, and blog articles to change their minds, even by one of their ostensibly <em>favorite</em> writers. And anyone so easily swayed is probably prime to be easily swayed back again. In the end, the difference I could make would be marginal at most.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, I risk alienating readers, who could learn more about my convictions and the motives behind them by reading my books and stories. My convictions are there, in everything I write, but they are not preached or brayed. They are woven into the fabric of the plots, the actions of the heroes and heroines, and even reflected (in the reverse way the a mirror reflects) in the actions and motives of my villains.</p>
<p>So don't look for me to be arguing politics or religion on this blog, or any of my public media. I have better, more effective ways of getting my points across.</p>
KPThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312686959363640016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8428554.post-83534475217561968052016-08-14T10:20:00.004-06:002016-08-14T10:22:21.444-06:00I Love Seattle<p>I do, I really, do!</p>
<p>Don't get me wrong, Colorado will always be my home. Nothing compares to cool Rocky Mountain breezes on a hot summer day, the lovely moderate crispness and earthy colors of a Colorado Autumn, or the view of the lights of Denver as you emerge from the front range hogbacks that are the gateway between the rustic mountains and the metropolitan city.</p>
<p>But I have often had occasion to visit Seattle, and while most people have really only heard about the rainy weather there - in point of fact it's really not that bad - what I like to focus on is how much there is to do there, and how truly unique those experiences are from any other city in the world. Aside from the common tourist tracks of Pike Place Market, the waterfront shopping districts, and of course the Space Needle - all of which you absolutely must see - there are other less commonly known things I wouldn't have missed for the world.</p>
<p><img src="http://www.panoramio.com/photos/original/5426150.jpg" width="250px" alt="Seattle Troll Under The Bridge" name="Seattle Troll Under The Bridge" title="Seattle Troll Under The Bridge" style="padding-left:10px; float:right;" />Some of the best meals I've ever eaten were in Seattle, from Asian cuisine to health food, and of course seafood. There are art galleries, small intimate music venues, tiny little hideaway bars that are often convoluted to get to but well worth the adventure. There's the mysterious giant troll under the bridge (look it up,) the monorail, and amphibious bus tours of the historical city.</p>
<p>Most of all, some of the people I love the most live there: my best friend Lisa and her daughter Krystle to name two.</p>
<p>Anyway, all I'm saying is, if you get a chance to visit Seattle, don't miss it. It's well worth it.</p>KPThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312686959363640016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8428554.post-87893909476547589452015-07-30T11:05:00.001-06:002015-07-30T11:09:06.348-06:00OF LIONS AND HEROES<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZhwFoPA1zMG7MfBfL7EQDIGL4kLm800xhSE1NJz93-nZzdreNmnKs7Xgrsyd8pzmNKEThWN6MDzy6xD0WJnQl3uw2j6EQr_q_5i8yLhoDBk6IIOc9N3Rt4l0Wzfc4G0hY73tYVg/s320/kate+books+dovetailed.gif" style="float:left; width:250px;" /><p> It is ironic that in the news people deeply concerned with the humane treatment of animals have found a <em>cause célèbre</em> in the hunt and killing of a wild African lion in Zimbabwe this week, when in the latest <a href="http://amzn.to/1Fenur6" style="color:white">Kathryn Desmarais Gothic Mystery</a>, <a href="http://amazon.com/dp/1936991950" style="color:white"><em>Bloodtrail</em></a>, Kate is faced with just such a situation - a group of people who hold life cheap and have placed a weakened and starved lion into an arena with two healthy, heavily armed men bent on torturing him for the pleasure and entertainment of onlookers.</p>
<p> Read <a href="http://amazon.com/dp/1936991950 " style="color:white"><em>Bloodtrail</em></a> and see how our heroine deals with the situation!</p>KPThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312686959363640016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8428554.post-49277844973574914512015-06-11T15:35:00.000-06:002015-06-11T15:52:05.490-06:00THE HERO ETHIC<p>Many of you have asked me to publish this and here it is finally: my manifesto of The Hero Ethic, the ethics and qualities of a true-blue fictional hero. Dyed in the wool heroes are no longer in vogue these days, we like our protagonists flawed and damaged, struggling themselves with things such as ethics and morality, very much human and prone as much to be the authors of disaster as they are to be the solution. But in my opinion, it's hard to write any kind of hero, even a flawed one or an anti-hero, unless you have a solid understanding of what the real thing is. In just the way that we cannot effectively break the long-standing rules of narrative and prose until we understand those rules completely, we cannot truly create an effective anti-hero or flawed protagonist unless we have a sense of what the brand spanking new, out-of-the-package, shiny, non-dented or scratched model looks like.</p>
<p>One last disclaimer: these items are my own beliefs and opinions of what make up a true hero. I did not garner them from someone else, these are opinions I formed over centuries (well, okay, decades at least) of reading and writing fiction across the spectrum. They may be up for debate, but I submit this is the kind of hero that best deserves the title.</p>
<p><b><u>S T O I C</u></b><br />
A hero never complains, or whines about how difficult a task is. He/she merely puts his head down and does what needs doing. Dirty, exhausted, and beaten half to death by the giant guarding the airplane, when Indana Jones is told that the ark has been moved to a truck for transport, he doesn't moan, groan, bitch, or complain. He sets his jaw and asks, "What truck?" (<em>Raiders of The Lost Ark</em>)</p>
<p><b><u>C I R C U M S P E C T</u></b><br />
A hero never divulges information that is not his to share. Hired by a mafia boss to guard his daughter, Murph says nothing when the father asks him what ugly things his daughter has said about him, Murph merely changes the subject. The Don may be his client, but Murph was not hired to spy on the girl, only to guard her. He would never have taken the gig in the first place if that had been part of the deal. (<em>Bullet's Wake</em>, to be released fall 2015)</p>
<p><b><u>C H I V A L R O U S</u></b><br />
A hero is always courteous, respectful, and ready to defend the innocent and defenseless. Hunted by the a relentless United States Marshal, nevertheless Dr. Richard Kimble pauses to correct an error made in the triage of a woman in an emergency room, saving her life, even aware that doing so may well expose him. (<em>The Fugitive</em>)</p>
<img src="http://resources3.news.com.au/images/2015/01/24/1227195/734951-9108df5c-a076-11e4-8f33-8e666e0016f7.jpg" alt="Errol Flynn" title="Errol Flynn" style="float:right; width:250px; border-width:0px; padding-left:25px; " /><p>Furthermore, a hero will never attack a defenseless opponent. In the famous sword fight scene, Inigo Montoya chivalrously waits for the man in black (the Dread Pirate Roberts, aka Wesley the farm boy) to finish climbing the cliff, and even to regain his breath, before they commence their epic dual. (<em>The Princess Bride</em>)</p>
<p><b><u>F A I R</u></b><br />
The true hero will never solve one dilemma by means that would cause another harm in any way. Several times then naval aviator and now Senator John McCain was offered the opportunity to be released from the infamous Hanoi Hilton (Hỏa Lò) prison camp and he refused each time unless every prisoner captured before him was also released, thus denying the enemy what would have been a propaganda tool and public relations coup. For these refusals he was brutally tortured.</p>
<p><b><u>A B O V E B O A R D</u></b><br />
A hero never sneaks, slithers, or uses subterfuge when confronting and fighting "evil." He stands boldly at the crest of the hill shouting, "Here I am! Come and get me!" He faces his enemies boldly and openly, with nothing to hide. William Wallace lines his army up in the open on the opposite side of the field from the English troops, and charges them openly. (<em>Braveheart</em>)</p>
<p><b><u>I T ' S N O T P E R S O N A L , I T ' S R E V E N G E</u></b><br />
The true hero never seeks revenge for personal injuries or insults, but he will relentlessly seek justice - call it vengeance if you wish - for wrongs done to loved ones. Harry Potter suffers no end of humiliations at the hands of his cousin Dudley and his friends, but while he once threatens Dudley he never actually follows through on any reprisals. But when Draco Malfoy calls Harry's dear friend, Hermione Granger, a "...filthy little mudblood!" Harry terrorizes the bully and his henchmen, sending them running and screaming from the glade.</p>
<p><b><u>A B O V E D E F E N S I V E N E S S</u></b><br />
A hero will never apologize, never explain, and will never stoop to defend himself against spurious accusations or defamation. He understands that apologies are weak, and instead bends his efforts toward rectifying, remedying, or repairing any damage done. Explanations are merely excuses, and the hero will never attempt to excuse his actions, nor will he defend them. He understands that his actions reflect his best and most honest attempts to deal with a situation given the information he had at the time, regardless of how circumstances may have changed later. He will never lower himself to the level of his critics by even attempting to defend himself against slander or ridicule. He understands that those inclined to think well of him will continue to do so, and those not so inclined will likewise persist in their bias. Nothing can be accomplished by engaging the petty and the strident except to appear every bit as petty and strident as they.</p>
<p><b><u>S T E A D F A S T</u></b><br />
No matter the circumstance the hero will never betray these ethics, even when placed in a position where doing so would, in the end, serve the greater good. The ethic is always more important than any other consideration. In so many books and films that the reader must have read/seen at least one (too many to count really) there is the overwrought cliche of the hanging villain, clinging to the hero's hand lest he fall to his death, and the hero is never the one to let go first, even though doing so would rid the world of the villain. Sometimes even as the villain continues to lash out at him.</p>KPThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312686959363640016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8428554.post-53072276521502902812015-06-02T10:01:00.000-06:002015-06-02T14:01:06.630-06:00THINGS TO DO IN VEGAS WHEN YOU'RE UNDEAD<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kevin-Paul-Tracy/e/B00FK5GMMU" style="color:white;"><img style="border-width:0px; float:right; width:200px; padding-left:25px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwBzi34YN-YJ4l7ZrHXvwWJBMgRVH1ynhHDPtAPtJvicPmr7HYzEKxqxM3C2bYpWNrtfABDnvdgi9ch56uD8thz_O9_ozOfsdG5zOC77d08ogY5Fbz7v-AodMefJ-AeNJiTfWloA/s320/kate+books+dovetailed.gif" /></a><p>Sorry it's been a while since I posted on this blog. Been busily promoting the release of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1936991950" style="color:red;">Bloodtrail</a>, the enthralling sequel to <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1936991675" style="color:red;">Bloodflow</a>. Sales are steady and we're pleased. I'd like a few more reviews on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kevin-Paul-Tracy/e/B00FK5GMMU" style="color:white;">Amazon.com</a> and <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/kevinpaultracy" style="color:white;">Goodreads.com</a> but I am pleased with the ones I have. It strikes me as I read these reviews though, that many readers are reluctant to reveal certain details about the book for fear of giving spoilers. Well, as the author of the book there are certain details I don't mind you knowing, as I think they help readers see what a fun and exciting adventure the book is!</p>
<p>So below is a list of some of the details I don't mind you knowing about Bloodtrail before you buy:</p>
<ul>
<li>In the first book, Bloodflow, Kate only had enough time to learn a few things about what it means to be a vampire when it became necessary to betray Darkthorne and help Litchner's militia destroy him. Even then, she was in a haze of denial. Now, in Bloodtrail, a year later, she still hasn't fully come to grips with what it means to be one of the undead. She has made the necessary concessions to her new nature - she only works at night, she feeds as her animal counterparts, the Falcon and the panther, and no longer eats regular food. But she is still striving to live her life as normally as possible. She avoids the use of her new capabilities where possible, has refused to explore what other powers she may have that Darkthorne didn't have time to teach her, and has otherwise entirely ignored the fact that she is no longer human. But this sort of denial of her true nature is a time bomb, and on her new assignment to find a poor misguided runaway teenaged girl, Kate will find herself confronted with the realities of her new form of existence in brutal ways that will no longer allow her to deny it - she is a vampire!</li>
<li>Kate runs afoul of a cabal of creatures that look entirely human but who are able to draw off of the most foul, greedy, prurient, unsavory emotions of human kind as if it were a narcotic. They are addicted and have resorted to hosting a series of gruesome and bloody gladiatorial games to elicit these emotions from their guest in order to get their fix. The creatures are able to recognize Kate for what she is, and she them, but as they lack any real power Kate dismisses them as no real threat. But struggle as Kate might with the moral and ethical implications of what it means to be a vampire, the leader of these creatures, a Mr. Konig, entices her, tempts her, and seduces her to drop all pretense to the hero's ethic and fully and freely indulge her power, take her place as superior to the humans around her, and rule them.</li>
<li>In all his eight centuries of roaming the Earth, Darkthorne claimed to never have met another vampire like himself, except those he, himself, fathered and later destroyed out of self preservation. Kate herself learns what this means first hand as she inadvertently encounters a newly-minted vampire and must fight him to the death in all their animal forms - she the panther and the falcon, he a hyena and a giant bat.</li>
<li>As in the first book, Kate finds herself pitting her supernatural powers against man's technology in a climactic scene, trapped in the belly of an unmanned fighter jet that is targeting two innocent young people fleeing for their lives.</li>
<li>Early in the book Kate saves the life of a very unlikely ally who, in the end, defends, protects and nurses her as she strives to recover from a catastrophic, near-fatal conflagration.</li>
</ul>
These are just some of the thrilling adventures waiting for you in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1936991950" style="color:red;">Bloodtrail</a>, sequel to the equally as exciting <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1936991675" style="color:red;">Bloodflow</a>!KPThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312686959363640016noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8428554.post-47421213524481630062015-02-22T09:18:00.001-07:002015-03-29T08:21:10.870-06:00"BLOODTRAIL"<a href="http://www.kevinpaultracy.com/BookPage.aspx?ISBN=1936991950" target="_new" ><img alt="Bloodtrail by Kevin Paul Tracy" src="http://www.kevinpaultracy.com/images/bloodtrailcover.jpg" style="float:left; width:250px; padding-right:20px; " /></a><p> "Bloodtrail," the hotly anticipated sequel to "Bloodflow" and second volume in the Kathryn Desmarais Gothic Mysteries is finally complete and at the presses now, release data to be announced!</p>
<p> "Bloodtrail" takes Kate to sin city, Las Vegas, in search of a misguided runaway teenage girl. Kate, who is still struggling to come to terms with what she has become, runs afoul of a cabal of strange subhumans who feed off of the basest, most prurient emotions of human-kind. These creatures may seem harmless at first, but underestimating them may just be the last mistake Kate ever makes.</p>
<a href="http://www.KevinPaulTracy.com" target="_new" ><img alt="Bloodtrail by Kevin Paul Tracy" src="http://www.kevinpaultracy.com/images/playing_cards.gif" style="float:right; width:250px; padding-left:20px; " /></a><p> As part of our promotion, because Bloodtrail takes place in Las Vegas, the world's adult playground, we are giving away decks of "Bloodtrail" poker-size playing cards. Go to <a href="http://www.KevinPaulTracy.com" target="_new" >KevinPaulTracy.com</a> to enter!<p>
<p> Thanks to these sites for listing our contest for us. visit them for other great giveaways!</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://http://www.online-sweepstakes.com" target="_new">Online-Sweepstakes.com</a></li>
<li><a href="http://http://www.hypersweep.com" target="_new">HyperSweep.com</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.giveawaycube.com" target="_new">GiveawayCube.com</a></li>
</ul>
More listings to come...KPThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312686959363640016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8428554.post-68996480002301296092015-01-27T13:17:00.000-07:002015-01-27T13:18:43.293-07:00SEQUELS<p> I'm back from a long hiatus. I apologize to regular readers of my blog - it appears when I'm writing a manuscript, most of my writing energy is taken up by that. Between that and certain outside obligations - most notably my monthly contribution to the <a href="http://www.RMFW.org/blog" target="_new" >Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers blog</a> the first Thursday of every month - and it seems I have little energy left to keep up my own blog. I'm going to work on that in the future, because this blog is every bit as important to me as any of those other projects. It's how I keep in touch with my readers, after all.</p>
<p> The good news is <em>Bloodtrail</em>, the hotly-awaited sequel to <em>Bloodflow</em>, is off to the editor. Now the rest is up to him. But this has prompted me to share a few thoughts I have on sequels. A new perspective, as it were, gained by working on this project and facing the age-old challenges of all writers struggling to write a series.</p>
<p> For example, with so many fans of the first book, is it possible to please them all? It's unlikely that everyone likes all the same things about the first book, so what are those elements of the first book that drew most readers and kept them reading? Can those elements be carried over to a sequel? Can you pick-up, once more, the same rhythm and cadence of the first book, the same atmosphere and voice, while also making it fresh and advancing the series in important and, most of all, entertaining ways?<p>
<p> The biggest difference I see between a single, stand-alone novel and a series is that while a single novel deals with a a story arc, and with character arcs, a series expands that. Each successive sequel must contain it's own, internal arc, yes, but now it must also extend an even larger arc that is not resolved in each book, but is carried over throughout the series. Likewise, the arc of recurring characters must also extend across the series. While some conflicts must be resolved in each book, others must be carried over. And these extended arcs must by expanded in realistic, believable ways. There are television series on the air now who use old, dried-up soap-opera tactics for extending story arcs, plainly transparent artificial constructs to make a plot-line carry over several episodes. These blatantly manipulative "plotting devices" insult me, and therefore they anger me. I can only imagine others feel the same way. I don't want to insult or anger my readers, so I better make damn sure that my extended plot-lines come tight and smart and believable.</p>
<img src="http://www.softendo.com/public/gallery/screenshot/351.jpg" alt="Super Mario Bros" style="width:300px; float:right;" /><p> In video game design, there are four levels of opponents a user must face. There are Pawns, or nuisance opponents that present obstacles but little more than that. These are the little mushrooms or strawberries or ghosts or whatever that could kill you if they hit you head-on, but are easily dispatched with a single shot or bop on the head or other similarly simple action. Then there are the Fighters, the ones that, themselves, track you, follow you and shoot at you. They are also fairly easily dispatched as long as you are wily and don't get hit first. Next, there is the Boss, who much like the fighter can track you and shoot at you, but who also must take more than one hit in order to defeat. Then, finally, there is the Super-boss. The Super-boss is the hardest yet to kill. He is smart, mobile, heavily armed and heavily protected. Killing him is not a straightforward proposition, you must make use of some trick or special ability or some such rare commodity to defeat this villain.</p>
<p> Writing a series is much the same. There is the immediate plot-line of the current book, the obstacle (which does not have to be a human enemy, perhaps a disease or impending tornado, etc.) which must be overcome within the current plot-line, being resolved by the end of the book itself. Then there is the small-arc plot-line - an obstacle that recurs over a wider arc than just one book, but not, perhaps, the entire series. This plot-line can take two, three, even four volumes to be resolved. And finally the overarching series plot-line, the primary question of all questions that cannot be answered so easily, but whose solution must be found by the final book in the series.</p>
<p> These are the series' that grab and hold my attention, and I imagine most readers as well. This, I think, makes a great starting point when developing a series. Please feel free to share, via comments, below, your thoughts or ideas on other things to incorporate into a successful series.</p>KPThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312686959363640016noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8428554.post-9431858922512856722014-10-22T08:40:00.000-06:002014-10-22T11:07:52.146-06:00BOOK GIVEAWAY: BLOODFLOW<p> Sorry, folks, no posts for the next couple of weeks. I'm right down to the wire on "Bloodtrail," the amazing sequel to "Bloodflow." Meanwhile, why not enter to win your free copy of "Bloodflow?"</p>
<div id="goodreadsGiveawayWidget112571"><!-- Show static html as a placeholder in case jt is not enabled -->
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com" target="_new">Goodreads</a> Book Giveaway
</h2>
<div style="float: left;">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20300484"><img alt="Bloodflow by Kevin Paul Tracy" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1394214430l/20300484.jpg" title="Bloodflow by Kevin Paul Tracy" width="100" /></a>
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<h3 style="margin: 0; padding: 0; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal;">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20300484">Bloodflow</a>
</h3>
<h4 style="margin: 0 0 10px; padding: 0; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7341685.Kevin_Paul_Tracy" style="text-decoration: none;">Kevin Paul Tracy</a>
</h4>
<div class="giveaway_details">
<p>
Giveaway ends October 31, 2014.
</p>
<p>
See the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/112571" style="text-decoration: none;">giveaway details</a>
at Goodreads.
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div style="clear: both;"></div>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/enter_choose_address/112571" class="goodreadsGiveawayWidgetEnterLink">Enter to win</a>
</div>
</div><script src="https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/widget/112571" type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8"></script>KPThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312686959363640016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8428554.post-34602562732250137942014-09-25T11:32:00.001-06:002014-09-25T13:27:23.763-06:00BACKGROUND NOISE<img src="http://sheetmusicpublicdomain.com/article-images/music/future.jpg" alt="Music" width="250px" style="float:left; " /><p> This week's article is going to be a brief one. I wanted to wax rumanitive about background noise when you're writing. Some people are not only able to write in a cone of utter and complete silence, or as close as one can get, but they even <i>require</i> it. I can't imagine that - silence drives me crazy. To me, and this is just my opinion, but I'm sure certain others of you out there agree, silence isn't anything in an of itself, but rather the lack of something...noise.</p>
<p> I've been known to write in noisy places: the cafeteria in high school; at home with parents and siblings talking or arguing or playing loudly; at a restaurant or cafe; etc. Once I lived in a house in which my den window overlooked a preschool. It was about a half a block away, so it wasn't too loud, and I actually found the mixed and incoherent sounds of children playing soothing and very conducive to concentration. Some of you probably find that hard to believe, and I suspect you have children of your own and so hear such racket much too often and much too closely.</p>
<p> A writing buddy has a machine...yes, an actual machine...that produces "white" noise, which from all I can tell is pretty much just an electronically produced <i>hissing</i> or <i>shushing</i> noise. He finds this most conducive to writing. Others I've talked to have machines that produce the sounds of the ocean, tropical rain forest, deep woods, etc. That does sound kind of nice, to me.</p>
<p> These days more often than not I put on one of several Pandora stations I've created to listen to while writing. For those of you who don't know, <a href="http://www.Pandora.com">Pandora.com</a> is one of those websites that allow you to define audio channels to your own taste - you can thumbs-down tracks you don't like and don't want included in that particular channel, and thumbs-up tracks that fit well. Based on this Pandora does a remarkably good job at selecting tracks from literally millions at its disposal that most closely fit the tracks you've indicated you like. The more thumbs you click, up or down, the better job it does at this. The free version includes ads which aren't too intrusive, or you can pay the nominal monthly fee for the ad-free version, which has turned out to be worth it to me.</p>
<p> I've created a couple of favorite Pandora channels that are so ideally suited to my writing I find it hard to imagine how I got by without it before. For calmer, beatific, even romantic scenes or chapters I have a channel with mixed New Age classical music, which is absolutely NOT muzak, but a softer mix of music influenced by Celtic, Native American, Asian, even sometimes African traditions. For more lively, upbeat, or silly passages I have a channel of Broadway musicals. Yes, that's right, I love broadway and I'm straight...deal with it! Heheh...</p>
<p> But given that I mostly write adventure/thrillers, my favorite channel by far is the one I call Epic Soundtracks, which plays instrumental tracks played behind some of the world's greatest movies. You don't often notice the music when you're at a movie, but listening to these tracks I've discovered some of the most surprisingly beautiful and inspiring orchestral pieces I've ever heard before in my life. Music from movies like Pandora, Lord of The Rings, Cloud Atlas, and so many others is not only ideal for writing scenes of epic struggle and sacrifice myself, but has actually become one of my favorite things to listen to even when I'm not writing.</p>
<p> I'd love to hear about the kind of background noise you have to tolerate when you write, or choose to listen to for inspiration. Drop me a comment.</p>KPThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312686959363640016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8428554.post-82965671524478718562014-09-18T14:17:00.000-06:002014-09-18T14:40:36.099-06:00WHAT'S THE WORST THAT COULD HAPPEN?<img src="http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?&id=HN.608025949022126822&w=300&h=300&c=0&pid=1.9&rs=0&p=0" alt="Desert" width="200px" name="Desert" style="float:right; " /><p> We all know it. Like the demon possessing the man from Gadara, it is Legion, and it goes by a hundred different names. The bog; the swamp; the stairway to nowhere; the wall; the well; the pit; the wasteland; the middle part; etc. It is that part of our story past the setup and the inciting incident, but before the build to the climax. It's the middle part of our book in which the story must be carried forward, but we have no earthly idea what to do with it. Understandably, the opening and inciting incident of out book gets a lot of attention - often it was the idea that sparked us to write this book to begin with. Generally the climax and denouement of our story has gotten at least some focus, as well - we've at least imagined variations on how to bring our story to a close. But the middle part rarely gets much thought until you're there. And then, you're stuck.</p>
<p> Generally I find this is a great time to introduce complications into your story, subplots, if you will, as we discussed earlier this month on the <a href="http://rmfw.org/write-only-the-interesting-parts/">Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers blog</a>. But what kind of subplot could we introduce? We've given our main plot a lot of thought, now suddenly we have to come up with another?</p>
<p> I've heard the advice before, and though I've never had occasion to use, it, it's an interesting thought. Think of the worst thing that could happen in relation to your story...and then make it happen and see how your characters react. If you've set up a murder mystery in which an innocent man is imprisoned forma murder he didn't commit, ask yourself, after all the setup and inciting incident, what's the worst thing that could happen? Maybe he gets shanked in prison by someone connected to the victim; maybe his six-year-old daughter is kidnapped by a disgruntled relative of the victim; maybe he is visited in prison by a US Marshal and we discover that not only has he been living under Witness Security, but because of the arrest they are cutting him off. Anyone of these twists can eat up a lot of pages to bring around, meanwhile still advancing your main plot.</p>
<p> I keep telling myself one of these days I'm going to try this in one of my books. Unfortunately up to this point my stories have been pretty tightly scripted, with not a lot of room for experimentation like that. But if anyone out there has tried this trick, or plans to after reading this blog, my readers and I would love to hear about how it all came out in the comments, below! Drop us a line.</p>KPThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312686959363640016noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8428554.post-92018242165092133942014-09-10T14:59:00.000-06:002014-09-10T15:02:44.442-06:00SO MUCH TIME AND SO LITTLE TO DO!<img src="http://alleged2bdelicious.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/willy-wonka.jpg" alt="Willie Wonka" title="Wille Wonka" width="250px" style="Float:right; " /><p>"Wait...strike that...reverse it...okay." - Willie Wonka</p>
<p>So many of my friends have asked me how I stay so laid-back, easy-going, and calm all the time. One friend even described me once as having a perpetual island attitude, referring to the relaxation one experiences on vacation in the Caribbean or some such place. Well, first of all, those who know me best know that isn't always me - I can sometimes get tweaked, just like everyone else. Usually what sets me off is when I feel as if I'm being mischaracterized to others by someone who has no real clue who I am or what I'm like. I know, ultimately it says more about them than it does me, but we all have our triggers.</p>
<p>But it is true that most days it takes a lot to stir me up. It isn't that I don't have overwhelming demands on my time, like everyone else, which is the primary cause of stress and mood swings. It's that I've learned - for the most part - to compartmentalize stress and manage the many chores and deadlines and expectations pressing down on me. I'd like to share with you some thoughts on this, see if it helps you, the reader, to manage stress in your own life.</p>
<p><h3>OVERWHELMING PILE OF @%&*</h3></p>
<p>The most common way in which people get overwhelmed is by trying to look at the entire pile of things they have to do all at once. Think of it this way - there is never going to be a time in your life when you don't have tasks ahead of you that need doing sooner or later, and who would want a life that didn't? How boring. So trying to wrap your arms around everything all at once is going to overwhelm you, it just is, there's no way around it. But you can manage that feeling of standing at the bottom of an avalanche waiting for it all to come crashing down on you.</p>
<p>This is going to be profound....are you ready for it? Make lists. All right, rather less profound than, well, boring, but I swear it works. Put the things you have to do in lists, and add to or rewrite these lists often. This not only helps you feel as if you've at least got a handle on the things you have to do, it even gives you a small feeling of control, just identifying the things that you have to do.</p>
<p><h3>DO THINGS</h3></p>
<p>The next thing is, do the things that need doing. Again, this sounds stupidly simple, but I've known people who get so wrapped up in making lists and buying colored pens and bulletin boards and bins and shelves, etc. all to organize their "things to do," that they spend more time getting ready to do the things that need to be done than actually doing them. Your list should be a very informal thing jotted down on the nearest thing to hand - a piece of paper, a paper sack, an old grocery receipt, whatever. Then go do the things that need to be done. Do them. With each task you complete and put behind you you'll feel a growing sense of accomplishment and control, and there is nothing better than this naturally earned feeling to combat stress and especially depression.</p>
<p><h3>WHAT TO DO, WHEN?</h3></p>
<p>The other thing I hear a lot from people who feel overwhelmed by everything they have to do, is that they don't know where to begin. My answer is simple, and it comes from the canon of slogans shared by attendees of 12 step programs: Do the next indicated action. In other words, do whatever needs to be done next, then after that, do the next thing, then the next. If it's dinner time, cook dinner. When dinner is cooked, eat it. When dinner is eaten, do the dishes and clean the kitchen. When cleaning a room, pick up the top-most item on the floor, then the next, then the next, and put them where they belong. Prioritizing those things that need to be done doesn't take much thought, you generally know what needs doing, and what must be done first, or next. Do the most pressing or important thing first, then do the next. You'll be surprised how intuitive that is.</p>
<p><h3>MANAGING CRISES</h3></p>
<p>I want to write a few words about urgency and crises. With very few exceptions, if you look at your most recent crisis, it didn't really come without warning. Much as we will deny it, in most cases crises occur as a result of us neglecting our responsibilities in one area or another. For example, when you don't pay your electric bill in a timely manner, your electricity gets turned off. If you don't take care of your health, you get sick, sometimes quite critically. And crises caused by neglect have a way of cascading. If you don't do mow your lawn, it grows long, you get a warning from the HOA, then when you try to mow it the mower can't cut the long grass, so you must go to the expense of hiring a professional or renting heavier landscaping equipment, money you might have been able to spend on a much nicer anniversary gift than you end up affording, and the cheapness of your gift hurts the feelings of the woman you love, bringing you yet another inexorable step closer to divorce...</p>
<p>Stay ahead of crises by doing the next indicated action - the most important and urgent thing that needs doing at the moment, then the next, and the next. You'll find the emergencies and crises in your life occurring less and less often. I promise.</p>
<p>And now for the great news, if you've stuck around long enough to read this far. I know all of the above makes it sound as if all you'll ever be doing is trying to keep ahead of all of the things you need to do, but nothing could be further from the truth. In fact quite the opposite. By following these guidelines you'll actually find yourself getting ahead of the stuff pressing down on you. As impossible as it sounds, you'll actually start getting out from under that mountain of chores. You'll find that not only does your leisure time expand, but because you've done the things that needed doing, that leisure time will be so much more relaxing and stress free.</p>KPThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312686959363640016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8428554.post-51985242692449089702014-08-08T06:45:00.000-06:002014-08-08T07:20:52.547-06:00THINGS I HATE ABOUT WRITING<p> I love writing. It's much more than a pass-time or hobby for me. Yes, you could call it a drive, or obsession. But even more than that, it is sustenance, nourishment to me. When I haven't written in a day or two, the urge to do so is much like starving.</p>
<img src="http://www.artbyherbie.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/ManPullingHairOut.gif" alt="Man pulling his hair." style="float:left; padding:5px;" width="200px" /><p> On the other hand there are some things I downright hate about writing! Things that drive me bat-shit crazy and make me want to throw my typewriter across the room (if I wrote on a typewriter instead of a laptop.) Here are some things I hate about writing.</p>
<p> <b>I hate it when the final sentence of a chapter ends up, through coincidence, alone at the top of an otherwise blank page, all by itself!</b> Since much of what I write involves adventure and action, most if not all of my chapters end in some sort of cliff-hanger. That means generally the single most important sentence in a chapter is the very last one. I can't just cut it! But leaving a single sentence alone on a page is a formatting nightmare - it doesn't just waste space, it looks stupid! And you would think, given the literally tens of thousands of words I write in a book that this would have to be rare, but you'd be surprised how often it happens! Argh!</p>
<p> <b>I hate cutting!</b> Removing parts of my blood from the page, whether for space or just because it doesn't contribute to the overall narrative. I have no trouble adding more story, but I hate cutting. The words I write are like my children. What if someone told you one of your kids didn't fit in with the rest of the family and you had to get rid of her?</p>
<p> <b>I hate the swamp!</b> You know it. It's that stretch of the book somewhere just past the middle where you suddenly find yourself stuck for story. You've worked hard and done an admirable job of writing the beginning of the story, setting up great conflict and plot, characters and events, and even carried them forward toward a phenomenal climax and denouement. You know in your head how you want things to come together at the end. But you're not there yet. If you ended things here the book would be too short. You need to carry the story forward more, ratchet up the tension, bring the readers along toward the climax. But you're stuck. You can't think of what to add to prolong the conflict and enrich the plot. The swamp. Grrr!</p>
<p> <b>Sex scenes.</b> I know I'm not alone in this. The search for metaphors and similes and imagery and subtext for sex is exhausting and frankly not very sexy. Just about everything has already been used as a metaphor for sex in literature: from automobile racing to cooking; from rock-climbing to cliff-diving; from horseback riding to, of all things, golf! The movie <b><i>Ghost</b></i> found a way to make pottery-throwing sexy. Go figure. Trying to find new and fresh ways to say "they fucked" without being so crude and abrupt about it is work, not fun!</p>
<p> <b>Meta-choreography.</b> Choreography, in writing, is placing each character on stage where he needs to be for the scene to work, and being sure the reader can envision that. What I call <b>meta-choreography</b> is bringing all of the characters into place for the final conflict and resolution. Sometimes it's hard: he's just boarded a plane in Baltimore but you need him to be in Los Angeles sooner in order to be in place on time; she needs to be at the arena before the bus explodes, but it is essential she take a shower first so she doesn't show up smelling like teargas; the hero must be knocked unconcious in order to have the final vision that explains everything, but he can't still be unconscious when the aliens arrive or he'll miss the final battle, in which he plays a pivotal role; etc. Sometimes meta-choreography can be a bitch.</p>
<p> So what are some things about writing you find frustrating?</p>KPThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312686959363640016noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8428554.post-20990116780092218872014-07-24T09:34:00.000-06:002014-07-24T09:35:14.853-06:00WHAT OTHERS DON'T GET ABOUT WRITERS<p> My friends don't understand how I can write so much. For that matter, my family doesn't get me, either. Only other writers, with the same devotion, the same passion, the same drive as I have, get me. Which is why attending critique groups and writers conferences can be such an important part of being a writer - just a couple of hours' exposure to other writer can energize the creative batteries more than almost any other writing-related activity.</p>
<p> So what is it that others don't get about writers?</p>
<img src="http://www.computerclipart.com/computer_clipart_images/insane_person_in_straight_jacket_0515-1007-0603-5227_SMU.jpg" width="150px" style="float:right; padding:5px;"></img><p> Well, for one thing, they think it is a lonely, solitary profession. What they don't understand that when I'm sitting alone at my computer writing, I'm not as alone as it may seem. That room is crowded elbow-to-elbow with characters, all clamoring to be heard. Granted, not all of them are very likeable people, and some are down-right despicable human beings. But it's anything but lonely, and the furthest thing from boring that I can imagine.</p>
<p> Another thing they don't understand is how I can have so much to say. "How do you come up with all those stories?" they ask. As fellow writers, you know that our minds are never idle. Any snippet of conversation, song lyric, grocery store mishap, traffic altercation, overheard argument, etc. can spark the flame of inspiration in us. We are constantly thinking in terms of storyline and plot, meaning and subtext. I once drove by a restaurant with a fountain out front. There was a single young girl sitting alone on the low retaining wall of the reflecting pool, dressed impeccably and even a little provocatively, in a tasteful way, looking into the water, lost in thought. I began to spin a yarn centered around that single image out loud to my companion in the car and by the time we got to our destination I'd woven a complex plot involving inchoate love, loss, epic war and a solitary gold Roman coin that had inspired men for centuries, both to the good and the evil. My passenger was gob smacked at what I'd done. But to me in was all in a day's occupation.</p>
<p> Something I hear often from my non-writer friends is that they often thought about writing a book or short story, but hadn't, yet. What they don't get about writers is that when the urge to write hits us it isn't a vague impulse, but an obsessive drive that gnaws at the base of our skull, much like a migraine, until we finally feed the beast and sit down to write. If you're like me, and you haven't written anything in a few days, you start to get irritable, snippy with other, and sometimes downright cranky. A writer needs the outlet of writing like a full bladder needs pissing. And you can quote me on that!</p>
<p> Others don't get us, but our fellow writers do. That's why every o9nce in a while we need to be around other writers. To be reminded that there are others out there just as haunted by phantom characters, inspired by seemingly mundane events around them, and just generally grumpy little crazy people...like us!</p>
<p> For just such a fix, look into attending this year's Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers <a href="http://rmfw.org/conference/">Colorado Gold Writers Conference</a> this year.</p>KPThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312686959363640016noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8428554.post-66763671396119704612014-06-17T16:57:00.001-06:002014-06-17T17:06:32.766-06:00BOOK SIGNINGS: UTILITY OR VANITY<div style="float:right; "><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_0GiYIoDcAXqHqxihycAJCbgbqbXJ1d2z_QR-kZOb-Qqiw6Stmai9MPGN6oEgE6p3Haz9BtJB1RpZ95UVslamhv3GsIMRvCICNTSTUKMbFBEsv_-9KtrpdFMI-xClKfa06hJ-Vw/s320/kevinsigningathearthside.jpg" width="150px" /></div>
<p> In a prior life I used to manage local music talent, mostly helping teen garage bands make the transition into actual performance venues and the like. It was not uncommon, unfortunately, to schedule an opening act and a headline act for a venue and, no matter how much advertising is done - print, social, marquee, etc. - the bands are the only ones to show up, some stragglers aside. The headliners would sit and watch the opening act perform, and then they'd trade places on the stage and the openers would watch the headliners perform. I used to call nights like that, none too politely, Incest-a-poloozas. Maybe we could say it was good performance practice, but let's agree that's just putting lipstick on a pig.</p>
<p> Sometimes an author's book signing can feel like that - the number of friends and fellow writers that show up can be counted on one hand, and the rest of the time you're left smiling at passers-by, attempting to look friendly and approachable, and just generally looking like a doofus!</p>
<p> So why do we do book signings? It certainly isn't for the one book or two we might sell at every third appearance, which is a distinct kind of thrill, more like a drop of water on a dying man's tongue, great for what it is, but hardly life-saving. Is it vanity? Is it just to see our name on the chalk-board-sandwich-board set on the sidewalk outside the store? Does it make us feel somehow like real writers to sit idly behind a banner touting our latest release, sorting the three pens we brought with us, rearranging the books from one pattern to another? If we don't sign a single book, or even sell one or two, is there really any utility at all in working so hard to schedule book signings for ourselves?</p>
<p> There are self-promotion superstars, personal-marketing gods who will tell you to pick creative, out-of-the-box venues for your signings; promote your appearances with contests and giveaways; don't wait for customers to come to your table but go out and engage them; etc. But the secret little truth is these people are making more off the money you pay for their advice than they are from putting their own advice into practice.</p>
<p> So do appearances and signings have any utility at all? Or is it all just a single tear into the ocean?</p>
<p> The answer is in how you, yourself, shop for books. I'm betting the vast majority of you out there are like me. How many of you have walked by the lady offering samples at the grocery store, maybe you take a sample, maybe you don't, but you don't take one of the boxes or packages she has stacked around her for sale. Then, later, on another aisle, you see the product, the very one she was pushing, and you take your purchase from here? No one likes to be sold stuff, even if later they decide it sounded pretty good after all.</p>
<p> Like me, you are reluctant to pick up a book written by someone you've never heard of before. You almost always buy books by author's you already know, or someone whose opinion you respect has recommended. Name recognition is the key. Getting your name out there so often and so much that people begin to recognize it, even if they don't know where from. So much that one day they pick up your book, recognize your name and think, "I've heard a lot about this guy/gal before, so he/she must be good." And they buy your book!</p>
<p> Book signings - indeed all self promotion - is all about name recognition, putting your name on the lips of customers, or in the backs of their minds like a seed to take root and bear fruit at a later time. So, book signings: vanity? Maybe. Sure. Okay, a little bit, yeah. But utility! Very much so!</p>KPThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312686959363640016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8428554.post-37622717251172608892014-04-13T10:53:00.000-06:002014-04-13T13:38:33.022-06:00SUSPENDING BELIEF...OR HANGING IT BY THE NECK UNTIL DEAD?<div style="float: left;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitLA3IOUwlcDTesXKPlBj_CMrTjSJ-OWtQWBzROxW6z2ouO_OlyNLspeGwyvGHpo2aBhu2xWqsCFsVF9r_e6k7KO333g0pDghvXpepmiRZUSzto8BQkRnT_Z22euBQ6oSDJVnMjQ/s320/th.jpg" width="200px" /></div><p> First, let's all agree - fiction isn't real life. Readers of fiction read for diversion from real-life cares and woes. One can become invested in the lives of characters without paying the very real price, which more often than not is a broken heart. Still, in order for readers to care, the characters in the novel and the world in which they inhabit need to bear as much similarity to our real world as is necessary for us to identify with them and their dilemmas. Even in speculative fiction - Asimov was a master of taking creatures utterly alien to us (read "The Gods Themselves") and making us care about their lives and the challenges they face. The key is creating a world who dangers, pitfalls, and rewards are those we, as readers, can identify and sympathize with.</p>
<p> There have been certain (I hate the word - so overused these days) <i>tropes</i> that writers fall back on, whether writing novels or screenplays, that will not go away, as much as you wish they would. They are oft repeated because they are easy, expedient, even dare I say lazy ways to skip over an obstacle to a character's path without truly having to deal with it. I hate these and would love to never see any of them portrayed in writing or film ever again. You'll see what I mean as we go on.</p>
<p> <b>SIX LAZY TROPES</b></p>
<ol>
<li>THE SINGLE-PUNCH KNOCK OUT<br/>
<div style="float: right;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo_I7Y-mXKgVYkRx0lUe9apsi8hQwWiKJcK6zyYBIsuLkn9gJsOCJJ4FsDn6PepVPNhYNHMpieBk-4cMYrpIaZaMsXVN-_z64D2sSpe23FYNbMR61q4KfwhDiCeCotdQshr3EcqA/s320/97eccc8ee3f702474afcf401df5de980%5B1%5D.jpg" /></div> It sure is convenient to an action sequence, especially when you need your character to sneak into a heavily guarded area undetected, to make him capable of knocking out a guard with a single punch to the chin or back of the neck. But it is just not realistic. You can cause someone to blackout that way, if you hit them hard enough, but unconsciousness brought on with such a blow is very brief, counted in seconds, not even minutes. To hit someone hard enough to knock them out for an extended period of time, you have to hit them very, very hard. Hard enough to do some permanent damage. You will at the very least break a jaw, knock out some teeth, or cause a concussion. Not many people can do that in a single blow of a fist, and even if so, not twice. The fist, itself, would be too bruised or broken. Even if some sort of club or weapon is used, the blow would need to be significant, with such a fine line between injury and death that the distinction would be moot. There's an episode of the original Star Trek in which Captain Kirk knocks out a lady he holds in his arms with so little room to swing he literally does a flick his wrist and she sags in his arms. C'mon, really?</li>
<li>THE SELECTIVE HEARING OF BYSTANDERS<br/>
This can take a couple of forms. Either two characters are speaking to each other in the presence of others, or one character is speaking into an earwig transponder. The character(s) can even be standing right on top of the outsider, dancing with them, ordering drinks from a bartender, making a withdrawal at a bank teller, etc. Still, the bystanders only hear what the writer wants them to hear, usually only that dialog directed to the bystander. Everything else said is somehow miraculously unheard by them. Even if the character isn't near a bystander he may be walking through an office or restaurant where others can easily see him muttering to his hidden microphone and would of course become suspicious. In fact an operative would rarely if ever risk talking directly to those listening in for fear of being observed or overheard.</li>
<li>THE POOR SHOT VS. THE EAGLE EYE<br/>
The good guy runs through a barrage of gunfire from multiple enemies each supposedly intent on killing him and takes not a single hit, while he himself picks off his targets one-by-one with a precision only achieved if his bullets were in fact guided by wires. These henchmen were hired supposedly for their proficiency in this profession. It is unlikely they would all be lousy shots. While it is true a handgun is less accurate than a rifle, it still is more likely to hit what it's aimed at than not. A shotgun requires less skill as it fires a cloud of buckshot in a single blast covering a wider area at once. An automatic weapon is harder to aim, bucking as it is in the hands when fired, but so many bullets fired so rapidly in roughly the same direction are bound to hit their target occasionally. I'm only saying, if you want your protagonist to escape a gunfight unscathed, or barely-scathed, make his evasion a hell of a lot more difficult and convincing that just running from dumpster to car to stairwell for cover.</li>
<li>FINE-POINTS EXPLAINED LAST MINUTE<br/>
Again, our protagonist is performing some risky task, usually infiltrating some secure area, while listening to compatriots over an earwig receiver. The general high points of the plan were exposed in a warehouse or other lair earlier in the story, to the operative and the audience both. But now, suddenly, the handler on the other end of that earwig has an entire dictionary full of fine-points that need to be explained now, on the fly, while the operation is underway. Details no one seemed to think to ask about before they began the operation, caveats and warnings that, if unheeded, might get our protagonist killed. Sometimes our hero will even say into his mic something wry like, "Now you tell me." And that's the point. Why all of a sudden now, at what is past the last minute? Why not back at the warehouse where they had all the time in the world to discuss them and hash them out?<br/>
That said, I actually don't mind this one that much, if done well. It is a way of mixing exposition with action in an engaging and exciting way that keeps the reader engaged without boring him with a bunch of exposition in one lump with no real action to break it up. But I include it here because, if done poorly, it reeks badly of three-day-old fish and 'captioning the obvious,' (see below.)</li>
<li>CAPTIONING THE OBVIOUS<br/>
Our heroes are pinned behind an overturned armored bank truck, a torrent of bullets being flung at them from the other side by twenty bad guys intent on their destruction. One says, "They're shooting at us, Gus!" The other, Gus, says, "Good thing this bank truck is armored, or..." He draws a thumb across his throat.<br/>
Rarely is captioning the obvious so...well, obvious. Often it's subtler. But in effect it is explaining to readers something that has already been made obvious through action. It can also come in reverse. For example, Gus says, "If they hit the gas line, this won't be such a smart hiding place after all." Just then, a hissing noise is heard between the gunfire. Gus and partner dive away as the truck erupts into a red-hot ball of flame.<br/>
Some will argue this has already been amply prescribed in past treatises on writing, but if you keep your eyes open, in subtle ways, it's still used way too often by writers who should know better. I myself recently lost a battle with an editor who insisted this was necessary to make motivations of certain characters clear to the reader. But it is like hitting readers over the head with a sledgehammer. It just is never necessary.<br/>
Often captioning isn't so much explaining something already shown. Sometimes it is a clumsy attempt to explain through dialog to the reader something both characters are already aware of, and would normally have no need to discuss. For example, his companion says to Gus, "You know, of course, protocol dictates that we call-in backup. We didn't do it before because we are a couple of over-confident, hip-hop supercops with more guts than brains. But maybe now is a good time to do that."<br/>
If you find yourself doing this, ask yourself if this is the best place in your narrative to expose this information? Is there a better place earlier, or later, in the story?</li>
<li>AUTHOR INTRUSION<br/>
There are different forms of author intrusion, and these have been exhaustively treated in other venues by other writers. Here I restrict myself to one type, the exact opposite of captioning. To wit, exposing information in narrative that the character in whose POV we are reading has no way of knowing. These days this often takes the form of citing technical specifications or highly specialized knowledge while in the POV of a civilian with no exposure to these things. The exact make and model of a weapon in scene, including custom modifications and even some of it's history; the clinical indications and presentations of an injury or disease; the forms or permutations of cryptological or security systems; etc. Often this is an attempt by the writer to show off some of his own laborious research, or to impart information needed later without having to introduce character(s) with such specialized expertise.</li>
</ol>
<p> I have more, but I try to keep these posts to a reasonably digestible length. After all this is a blog, not a book. But if you think of any others, please share in comments - I'd love to read about some of your observations on this topic!</p>
KPThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312686959363640016noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8428554.post-20892393118261296012014-03-04T14:51:00.000-07:002014-03-04T14:59:47.635-07:00UPCOMING APPEARANCES<p> I'm lucky enough to have four appearances scheduled over the next four months (see Appearances in the sidebar at right.) I certainly would like to have more scheduled, but I still think that's pretty darn good. So in this week's post I'd like to say a word or two about each of the venues I'll be appearing at in upcoming signings and panel discussions.</p>
<img src="http://hearthfirebooks.com/images/store-front-sm.jpg" style="float:left; padding:10px; " width="200px" alt="Hearthfire Books" title="Hearthfire Books"/></a><p><h3>Hearthfire Books of Evergreen<br />1254 Bergen Parkway<br />Suite D118<br />Evergreen, CO 80439</h3><br/>FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 3PM-6PM</p><p> Hearthfire Books in Evergreen is a cute shop set in one of those strip malls where some of the stores face away from the street. The store is one of those, down a short set of steps, tucked cozily in the corner. It's a quaint shop open to a cafe next door where I will have a table set up signing copies of both of my books: <B><I>Rogue Agenda</i></b> and <B><I>Bloodflow</i></b>. Drop by and say hi to Kappy and Luda and have a look around. You'll really like this place!</p><br /><hr /><br /><a href="http://coveredtreasures.com/" target="_new"><img src="http://kevinpaultracy.com/images/temp/CoveredTreas.jpg" style="float:right; padding:10px; " width="200px" alt="Covered Treasures Bookstore" title="Covered Treasures Bookstore"/></a><p><h3>Covered Treasures Bookstore<br />105 Second St.<br />Monument, Colorado 80132</h3><br/>THURSDAY, APRIL 24, 5:30PM-7PM</p><p> Covered Treasres Bookstore in Monument is another one of those storefronts that are much bigger on the inside than they appear on the outside. In late April and early May they are hosting <b>A Spotlight on Local Authors</b> meant to celebrate local writing talent and feature some writers with recent releases. If you're a local Colorado author, or just aspire to be, then this means you! I'll be joining a panel of writers and signing copies of <B><I>Rogue Agenda</i></b> and <B><I>Bloodflow</i></b>.</p><p>Come to the event, get your signed copies of my books, network with other writers, and have some fun!</p><br /><hr /><br /><a href="http://bookbar.indiebound.com/" target="_new">
<img src="http://bookbar.indiebound.com/sites/bookbar.indiebound.com/themes/nitobe/logo.png" style="float:left; padding:10px; " width="200px" alt="Bookbar" title="Bookbar"/></a><p><h3>Bookbar<br />4280 Tennyson Street<br />Denver, CO 80212</h3><br/>SATURDAY, MAY 10, 12PM</p><p> Nicole, owner and proprietor of the Denver Bookbar has always been a big booster to RMFW and it's members, carrying our newly released books, hosting appearances and panels and signings. And she always puts on a fun event, and the Bookbar is a really original space with a refreshing take on books and wine. I love it there, I feel very comfortable curling up with a good book and a glass of chardonnay or something. I'll be joining a panel of writers and signing copies of <B><I>Rogue Agenda</i></b> and <B><I>Bloodflow</i></b> in May. Come to the Tennyson Street unofficial arts district and show Nicole your appreciation for everything she's done for us at RMFW!</p><br /><hr /><br /><a href="http://www.oldfirehousebooks.com/" target="_new"><img src="http://kevinpaultracy.com/images/temp/oldfirehouse.gif" style="float:right; padding:10px; " width="200px" alt="Old Firehouse Books" title="Old Firehouse Books"/></a><p><h3>Old Firehouse Books<br />232 Walnut Street<br />Fort Collins, CO 80524</h3><br/>SATURDAY, JUNE 14, 2PM</p><p> Yep, you guessed right, this bookstore occupies an old firehouse in the middle of Fort Collins, a great shop that goes on further than it initially appears to. It's open to a tea-shop next door from which the smell and aromas are exotic and wonderful. The neighborhood is full of great cafes and restaurants to snag a bite before or after the signing. Come join me at The Old Firehouse where I'll be signing copies of both of my books: <B><I>Rogue Agenda</i></b> and <B><I>Bloodflow</i></b>.</p>KPThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312686959363640016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8428554.post-24883762333224160122014-02-18T16:08:00.000-07:002014-02-19T08:38:18.460-07:00OPEN LETTER TO A BOOKSELLER<div class="separator" style="float: right;">
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRnbUgoi2XM85FyrnWOOqHCzlIKLxtXm-OMXMqmPRZgTzlasZwMrOBhVKcnotuUbI6f1rxFITIOweOV8WOb7-E28WsndeEKxuNiixgTVgqTH69xrdrFykwQLEL6tWOJ5qTYzsOLA/s320/Young-girl-reading-in-lib-001%5B1%5D.jpg" width="150px" /></div>
In today's post I'd like to reprint an email I sent to a local independent bookseller in response to their email detailing their outrageous policy for hosting book signings for local authors. This is not, of course, any representation of independent booksellers as a whole. In general these are some of the warmest, friendliest people with the biggest hearts that has ever been my privilege to know. But I do think the last paragraph of my letter to this particular bookseller says it all.
<br /><br />
"Dear M. Bookseller,
<br /><br />
"Thanks for your courteous and professional email. Unfortunately it appears I will not be able to do a book signing at your store after all. Let me explain why.
<br /><br />
"Your requirements are, to be brief: a reasonable expectation of 40-50 attendees; at least 20 sales at the event to consider it successful; a $200 co-op fee; a 40% discount on at least 50 books; and a $5 voucher fee from each attendee. I am surprised if, under these strictures, you are scheduling any such events at all at your store.
<br /><br />
"For anyone to be willing to buy a $5 voucher to attend such an event, they would already have some certainty of buying the book, in which case they most likely have bought the book already, given all the more convenient options than attending a booksigning at a store to do so.
<br /><br />
"If I do not have a reasonable expectation of drawing 40-50 people to a signing event you will not host it. On the other hand, if I already had a reasonable expectation of 40-50 such people in any one community attending such an event my sales would already be strong enough in the community not to warrant the 40% discount, $200 co-op fee, and $5 vouchers to do such a promotion. I would simply choose another, more writer-friendly venue. I am scheduling book signings to attract new readers for my books, not to simply glad-hand the readers I already have, grateful as I am for them.
<br /><br />
"The margin of markup for all of the participants involved in publishing a book - writer, publisher, printer, distributor, retailer, etc. - is already narrow, and you are asking me or my publisher to remit a $200 co-op fee for an event only considered successful if it sells 20 books, which comes to $10 per book if that many are sold, more than that if fewer books are sold, when books in general are priced between $12 and $20 retail. Then, additionally, you want a 40% discount on 50 books provided for the event, and the right to return unsold books.
<br /><br />
"In short, you will only host a book-signing event at guaranteed revenue for yourself, 0 risk, while beggaring every other participant along the supply chain who also has fair expectation of making a profit on the enterprise.
<br /><br />
"Finally, I was not even asking for a formal signing event, with reading and discussion and Q&A. I was only asking to set up a table somewhere in your store to sign books purchased by your customers. Such an arrangement requires minimal but equal effort on both our parts (you have an employee set up a table, I carry boxes of my books in from my car) and $0 in cost to each of us, since the retail space my table would take up in your store is presumably empty at the moment anyway. As to promotion, we each do promotion on our own parts utilizing our own resources to benefit the enterprise collectively.
<br /><br />
"Respectfully, in today's anemic print-book-selling climate I feel it is the responsibility of all of us in the industry, especially us independents (publishers and booksellers) to work in unity to promote reading and the enjoyment of the written word, not to further the demise of reading as an entertainment form by seeking to exploit each other out of all possible profit.
<br /><br />
"It pains me that we cannot help promote each other in that spirit of cooperation.
<br /><br />
"Sincerest best wishes,
<br />
"Kevin Paul Tracy"KPThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312686959363640016noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8428554.post-85937573593038054042014-02-04T11:21:00.003-07:002014-02-04T11:28:12.727-07:00YEAH vs.YAY, YEA, YAH, YA, YADA-YADA-YADA<div class="separator" style="float: right;">
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi11JhBVHoK45LztAhGxPwlRky-lxG3HXvM_HJIZPK4eeBiohWTiXtpN4akTrO0_2Kw613keB2mA2NBt_NXpI495U4B-dR90kdMIvhW77ZbofsK8-5_oSArjM1PBrwun9FLbXwUPQ/s1600/dunce.jpg" width="200" /></div>
As a writer of fiction that as often as not takes place in an urban or commonplace setting I'm not nit-picky about grammar when it comes to dialog, especially when it comes to informal speech. Who really knows how to spell most modern slang, anyway? A lot of it is as subjective as, say, naming your child Tammi with an 'I' or Tammy with a 'Y.' People often leave their participles hanging in every-day conversations. And it is just as common to end a sentence in a preposition as not. In fact many people look at you oddly if, instead of, "That's something I won't put up with," you were to say, "That's something up with which I won't put."<br />
<br />
But there are one or two things that irritate me when I read them. Not out-right anger, but like an errant cat hair in your eyelash that you just can't quite seem to get hold of, they nag at me, and I'd prefer not to have to put up with them. One of these things is the consistent misuse of the words: yay, yea, yeah, yah, and ya. Most of the time the intent is for the character to express consent or agreement with something someone else has said, but it seems many writers don't know the right spelling to use.<br />
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So, very quickly:<br />
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YAY (pronounced like HAY) is an expression of happiness or joy, derived from HOORAY.<br />
YEA (also pronounced like HAY) is a Middle-English word not used any more. It is a high-handed way of saying "...and therefore..." meant to carry weight and import. Many people think it means yes, and sometimes in context it might seem to be so, but it really doesn't.<br />
YAH (Pronounced like JAW) is used, if at all, to encourage a mount or team of horses or steers, etc. to move.<br />
YA (pronounced like HUH) is a form of the word YOU. You might say, "Love ya!"<br />
YEAH (pronounced with the short A sound, like a goat braying) is what most of us mean when we write the other words in dialog. This is the one that is synonymous with YES.<br />
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Honestly I don't expect this blog to have much impact on the misuse of these words in dialog and, frankly, in texts or tweets or Facebook statuses across the Internet, but at least I've gotten it off my chest.
KPThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15312686959363640016noreply@blogger.com0