OF LIONS AND HEROES

    It is ironic that in the news people deeply concerned with the humane treatment of animals have found a cause célèbre in the hunt and killing of a wild African lion in Zimbabwe this week, when in the latest Kathryn Desmarais Gothic Mystery, Bloodtrail, 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.

    Read Bloodtrail and see how our heroine deals with the situation!

THE HERO ETHIC

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.

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.

S T O I C
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?" (Raiders of The Lost Ark)

C I R C U M S P E C T
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. (Bullet's Wake, to be released fall 2015)

C H I V A L R O U S
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. (The Fugitive)

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. (The Princess Bride)

F A I R
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.

A B O V E   B O A R D
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. (Braveheart)

I T ' S   N O T   P E R S O N A L ,   I T ' S   R E V E N G E
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.

A B O V E   D E F E N S I V E N E S S
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.

S T E A D F A S T
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.

THINGS TO DO IN VEGAS WHEN YOU'RE UNDEAD

Sorry it's been a while since I posted on this blog. Been busily promoting the release of Bloodtrail, the enthralling sequel to Bloodflow. Sales are steady and we're pleased. I'd like a few more reviews on Amazon.com and Goodreads.com 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!

So below is a list of some of the details I don't mind you knowing about Bloodtrail before you buy:

• 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!
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

These are just some of the thrilling adventures waiting for you in Bloodtrail, sequel to the equally as exciting Bloodflow!

"BLOODTRAIL"

    "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!

    "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.

    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 KevinPaulTracy.com to enter!

    Thanks to these sites for listing our contest for us. visit them for other great giveaways!

• Online-Sweepstakes.com
• HyperSweep.com
• GiveawayCube.com

More listings to come...

BOOK SIGNINGS: UTILITY OR VANITY

   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.

   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!

   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?

   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.

   So do appearances and signings have any utility at all? Or is it all just a single tear into the ocean?

   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.

   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!

   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!

NEW RELEASE: BLOODFLOW

Available RIGHT NOW at all major booksellers and in all major ebook formats, my new gothic mystery, "Bloodflow." Check your local bookstore and if they don't carry it, demand that they stock it now (give them the ISBN:978-1936991679)!

You can also find it on Amazon sites around the world, Barnes and Noble. etc. Electronic formats can be found at these sites, too, including Kindle and Nook, as well as on such book sites as Smashwords and Omnilit.

If you visit the publisher's site, TWB Press, you can get all these formats plus you can see the thrilling trailer for the book and read an excerpt!

When you read the book, feel free to drop me a line, let me know what you think of it.

BLOODFLOW, A Gothic Mystery by Kevin Paul Tracy

My new release, "Bloodflow," will drop Wednesday, December 18, 2013. This is the first in a gothic mystery series featuring one of the toughest, smartest, and sexiest female protagonists I've ever written: Kathryn Desmarais. Kate is a private investigator for International Investigations, Inc., or Tripple-I, a large private investigation firm in Manhattan. She's tough, savvy, an expert in martial arts.

In this first book, the search for an ancient casket leads Kate into the midst of a battle between two undead souls, each backed with armies poised to wage war. One, the most powerful vampire to ever stalk the Earth, has plans for Kathryn, plans that have nothing to do with happily-ever-after. Now, everyone she loves is in danger, and the only way to save them is to either find a way to stop the coming conflagration before the city itself is bathed in blood...or pick a side.

I'm calling this a "grown-up" gothic horror story. You won't find any melodramatic teen angst dripping from these pages. And the monsters you find between these covers aren't watered-down shadows of the legends from which they are spawned. These are the real, full-blown evils under your bed. They are the genuine hungry hell-beasts lurking just behind the threshold of your half-open closet.

I hope you enjoy reading "Bloodflow" as much as I enjoyed writing it. As my editor described it: "The cool factor is very high in this one!"

And check out the bitchen trailer!

CRITICAL MASS

THANKS TO ALL THOSE WHO ENTERED THE NEXT GREAT ROGUE AGENDA CONTEST!
THE WINNERS ARE BEING NOTIFIED AND WILL BE ANNOUNCED SHORTLY.

I've had the good fortune to have two of my books published in as many months (coming soon, "Bloodflow," a novel of gothic horror by Kevin Paul Tracy.) While this is undoubtedly, as I said, good fortune, it also means I now have two projects to promote at the same time, which can be overwhelming. But while I am, no doubt, overwhelmed, my plan is to dive into double-promotion head-first.

I wanted to take a moment to discuss public critiques of your work. These days, because of the Internet, virtually all opinions are given the same appearance of gravitas. In spite of our best efforts to remain impartial, there is still a part of the human psyche that is impressed by words in print, and when couched in a website and surrounded by the opinions of many others it can sometimes be hard to read these statements from total strangers with a critical eye. So when a critique is published on a website such as Amazon, it often carries with it a certain weight because it's in print on such a renown website, whether we know the person writing the critique or not. It is just as likely that the author of the critique has little standing as a critic, bears little to no education on the topic, and perhaps has not even read the book he is critiquing, as it is that he is someone whose opinion has earned the right to demand respect and reverence. But the opinion goes up on the site either way, whether it bears merit or not, and shares space with other opinions that may or may not be of greater authority.

One bad review on such a site can affect sales, and a mere two or three can kill a book entirely. Some publishers or authors have recruited people to counter such negative reviews with more positive ones. But then comes the risk of playing keep up, trying to post enough positive reviews to counter the negative ones. Then the question becomes, were your bad reviews earned, and you are merely struggling against a tide when you should take to heart what's been said, lick your wounds, and learn your lessons. Should you remove the book from circulation and try again with a different one?

The good news is that joy produces more energy than angst. Those with negative things to say about your book will expend their energy in a single flame-blast. Resist the urge to counter them, engage them. This is the carrion these 'Net predators seek, and it only serves to churn up more of their bile. If we deny them the fuel that keeps their fire burning, they lose interest rather quickly and move on. If you let them, these vulture will forget about you and your book quickly and move on to places where their venom is rewarded.

Fans, though, and those who loved your book enough to post a positive review are energized by their joy. They are the ones most likely to recommend your book to others and feed your word-of-mouth buzz. Dwell on these, read them more often than the negative reviews, or copy them and paste them into a file you can go back to and read whenever your confidence runs low.

In short, you make the conscious decision yourself which critiques to give the most weight and which not to. Don't give space in your head to those seeking only to be destructive and malicious. Only take to heart critiques from those who you know have the experience and gravitas to render a constructive one. Only listen to the opinions of those whom you respect and admire. And feed your inspiration with the critiques of those who love your work, because these are the Johnny Appleseeds of your success.

THE PROCESS

So your book's all written, you've gone through critiques and rewrites, it's tight and about to be published into a book. What to expect in the actual process of publishing your book?

Having just spent months slogging through the process of getting publish I frankly don't really feel like reminiscing about it, reliving it here on my blog. But I know there are readers who are going to want to know what it's like, so I'm going to do it anyway. My sacrifice to you, dear readers. (Heheh!)

In all honesty it isn't really all that bad...in the rear view mirror. And having done it several times I can tell you the decisions come easier each time you do it. I think it's both because you've done it before and are developing a strong sense of what works and what doesn't, and because your confidence builds each time you do it.

The first chore is editing. Editing is different than rewriting. Presumably you've gotten all the plot inconsistencies and other story-telling flaws ironed out during the rewrites. Editing is the meticulous search for misspelled words, grammar mistakes, punctuation errors, inappropriate capitalization or lack of it, etc. This book is going out to the world and it must be absolutely dead solid perfect, because there are those who will not hesitate to go to your blog and point out every mistake in your book. Some editors I talk to do their first pass backward through the text. This takes a little getting used to, watching for spelling and punctuation backwards, but it keep the content of the text from distracting you and getting in your way. Then they make their forward passes. If possible it helps to have more than one editor take at least one pass at your manuscript if not two.

Then there's the formatting. The thing here is all the decisions that have to be made, and not just the fun one's like what the cover should look like, but the niggling little details like what font to use for the text, what font to use for the chapter headings. The text must be set to justified margins if it isn't already and this can sometimes change your pagination, so you have to wade through and make sure that the end of a chapter doesn't leave a single word dangling on a page by itself. And if so, then what do you do? You have to find some way to cheat the formatting to make it join a prior page. You must be sure each chapter ends with just the right combination of line-break and page-break so that when printed the chapters don't end up run together or a last line isn't all spaced out weird to meet your margin settings. Etc. A million little details that all have to be, once again, perfect.

I promise you that when you think you're done, you're going to find yourself going back over it again and again looking for errors. You're going to find some, and have to fix them, and those fixes may undo others and you'll have to go over it all over again. And god forbid you have pictures, diagrams, tables, charts, and what-not. These can make pagination a nightmare.

Finally it all goes to the printer. While waiting for your proofs to come back - test copies of your book to verify it looks just exactly how you wanted it to - this is a good time to think about a release date. Trust me, you don't want to just drop a book into the market without some sort of advance fanfare - ads and promotions to get the title of your book into the minds of potential buyers before it's released. You are going to want to pick a release date far enough in advance to allow for the proofing process, especially in case you find changes need to be made and reproofed, and to allow you to build some buzz about your book.I've already gone into self promotion in a prior post so I won't reiterate it all here. But promotion starts in the proofing stage of your book and doesn't stop on the release date. Indeed it never stops./

Not everyone's experience will be the same, but that was mine. Would I do it all over again? In point of fact I already am. I have several projects in the works even as we speak. I hope you keep an eye out for them!

NEW RELEASE: "ROGUE AGENDA"

Hooray! My new novel, "Rogue Agenda," is now available on Amazon.com and Amazon Kindle!

In a future post I'll go into my experience with the whole publishing process, but for this week I'm just going to relax and let it settle in!

Buy it! Read it! You'll like it!

ROGUE AGENDA: CHAPTER 1

With two weeks to go until the October 1, 2013 release of my next highly anticipated novel, "Rogue Agenda" I thought I'd give everyone a preview. So here, for your enjoyment, is chapter 1 of  "Rogue Agenda":

CHAPTER 1

     Lainie Parker rolled her eyes as her phone rang. She turned the TV off with the remote and picked up the receiver. Only one kind of call would be coming in at 2 AM.
     “Hello, Kim.”
     “Hi, Lainie. You’re next up on the roster.”
     “Cool,” Lainie said. “Thanks.”
     She hung up. Making herself comfortable on the recliner, she picked up the small laptop computer from the end table next to the phone and balanced it on her knees. Opening her browser, she entered the URL for the website of Capri Entertainment, Inc. and entered the staff area. Answering with her ID and password, she was rewarded with her call screen. The man’s name lurked at the top.
     When a customer called he got a Screener, like Kim, who took down his credit card information and telephone number. All Lainie could see was his first name and telephone number, so she could call him back through the web site, and any notes about his preferences or prior calls.
     Putting on her headset and adjusting the microphone so that it hung suspended on its armature in front of her lips, she pressed the call button. She wasn’t entirely sure how the call went through over the Internet, something Orin the technician called VOIP, but he promised her that there was no way anyone could trace the call back to her. She was safe from psychos.
     “Hello,” came the man’s voice over the line. The screen said his name was Michael and he was thirty years old...just four years older than Lainie.
     “Hi, Michael,” Lainie said in her sultriest voice. “This is Samantha.”
     “Hi, Samantha.” He sounded sort of nervous and uncertain, like a newby, not all familiar and creepy like a regular.
     As the call timer churned away at the top of the screen, steadily chewing chunks out of his credit card, Lainie sighed, long and sensuously. “I’m, bored, Michael. What are you doing tonight? Would you like to entertain me?”
     Her job, according to Mitch, her boss, was to keep that timer rolling as long as possible.
     “I...um...could you just...start...y’know?”
     It was a delicate balance.
     “Of course, sweetie,” she said.
     Draw out the titillation too far and the caller got frustrated and was likely to hang up, but let things get too hot too fast and he was liable to finish early, same result. Newbies popped quickly, just like in real life, but if you can somehow hook them enough to call back, it usually took progressively longer the next few times.
     Lainie turned the TV back on, muted, and activated the closed captioning. Notorious, starring Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman, a black and white Hitchcock classic.
     The screen said Michael liked it straight, no kink. Thank God for that, at least. “First of all, I’m there right now. Can you see me, standing by your bed? I’m five-ten, long blond hair, jade eyes, in a nightie. A red one. My legs are long and tanned. As I slip one strap off, you...”
     “No.”
     “Pardon?”
     “No sex,” Michael said. “Just...just be nice to me. Okay?” His voice cracked on okay.
     “Well, I...um...okay. I sit on the edge of the bed beside you. I stroke your arm. I’ve never met a man as handsome and strong as you.”
     She heard him sigh, not with pleasure, but with impatience.
     “No,” she amended, “I mean, you are kind, and a little funny, you make me laugh. That’s what makes you attractive to me, whether others see it or not.”
     This time the sigh was no less exasperated. “This is stupid,” Michael said.
     “What is?” she asked.
     “You don’t even know me.”
     “Sort of the point,” she said.
     “It’s like sending flowers to yourself on Valentine’s Day, only even more...pathetic.”
     “Stop it,” Lainie said. “That’s not fair.” She turned off the TV again and sat up in the chair. “Look, you sound lonely. Nothing’s wrong with that.”
     He didn’t answer.
     “It’s better than slitting your wrists, isn’t it?”
     No answer.
     “Michael?”
     “I gotta go.”
     “Wait, Michael, you’re not thinking of doing something like that, are you?”
     “No.”
     “Really?”
     “Now I’m really sorry I called,” he said. His voice got hard, ugly. “I had to get the one phone-sex girl with a heart of gold.”
     “Fuck you,” she moved the mouse pointer to the hang-up button, but when he didn’t respond immediately, she hesitated.
     “Samantha?”
     “What?”
     “Don’t hang up.”
     “Why? Are you done being an asshole?”
     He sighed. “I shouldn’t have called. It was selfish of me to burden you with my angst. For talking to you like that. For everything.”
     “Are you a writer?” she asked.
     “Um, no. Why?”
     “Angst. No one says that these days.” His laugh sounded hollow. “I’m a fact finder.”
     “A what?”
     “You ever watch the news? Ever see the newscasters compare this snowfall with the one back in 1864, or those election results with the ones in Nowhere, Kentucky in aught-six, or reminisce about the price of rice husks in Romania back in the fifteenth century? That’s me. I find those facts for them.”
     “You must be smart.”
     “Just know where to find facts, that’s all. You sound young. You in college, Samantha?”
     “Graduate school,” she said, “last leg.”
     “What’s your major?”
     “Doctorate in education, with a focus on special ed.”
     “Handicapped kids?”
     “Excuse me,” she said in mock disdain, “we prefer challenged to handicapped.”
     “Sorry. So you must do sign language, read Braille, all that stuff.”
     “Yup, all that stuff.”
     “Smart yourself.”
     “Thanks.” She found herself smiling.
     “So you do this to pay your way?”
     “Uhuh. Friend got me into it. Lots of girls do. It doesn’t pay as much as porn, but it’s safer.”
     “And cleaner.”
     “And less embarrassing.”
     “How so?”
     “You can’t see all my cellulite.”
     “Oh.”
     “And there won’t be videos of me circulating around for years to come to bite me in the ass, no pun intended, during an interview with Barbara Walters down the road.”
     “There’s that.”
     “It could happen.”
     “Sure. Samantha?”
     “Yes, Michael.”
     “Are you really wearing a red nightie?”
     “Truthfully?”
     “Yes.”
     “No. I’m wearing sweatpants and an oversized T-shirt with two pigs doing it and the slogan ‘Makin’ Bacon’ on it.”
     He laughed, more naturally this time. “And the cellulite?”
     “Tight as a drum, Baby,” she said, not entirely truthfully.
     “I’ll have to take your word on that.”
     She realized that once again this call had turned into more of a therapy session than phone sex. It intrigued her how often this happened. Assured of her complete anonymity, Lainie never balked at talking on a personal level with her clients like this. She was careful not to give any identifying information like her real name or the city she was calling from.
     “It’s good talking to you,” he said. “I feel better.”
     “I’m glad. No more talk of suicide?”
     “I didn’t talk about suicide, you did. I’m not suicidal. Maybe at one time, maybe not too long ago, but not now. Haven’t you ever thought about it, though, even knowing you never would?”
     “No.”
     “Never been depressed?”
     “Well, yeah, but...”
     “You’re depressingly well adjusted, Samantha,” he said.
     “No I’m not,” she said.
     “No? Tell me one of your deep, dark secrets.”
     “No.”
     “C’mon.”
     “Well...”
     “What?”
     “I chew my toenails.”
     “No.”
     “I do. When I’m watching TV. I sometimes pull my foot up to my mouth and bite my toenails off.”
     “Setting aside how suggestive such flexibility is, why do you do that?”
     “I don’t know. Habit.” She was embarrassed now, vaguely defensive.
     “Well as deep dark secrets go, that one’s not really very provocative. Creepy, just a little. Definitely worth a call to Guinness. But not really Earth-shattering.”
     “Fine, tell me one of yours.”
     He was silent.
     “Michael?”
     “I have to go.”
     “Oh no,” she laughed. “You made me tell you one of my deep dark secrets. Now you have to tell me one of yours. You hang up on me and I’ll put a thousand dollars worth of charges on your card.”
     “Samantha...I can’t.” His voice had gone all dark again.
     “Why not?”
     “I...” “Look,” she said, “this blind thing works both ways. The service doesn’t give you my real name, and they don’t give me any information about you except your first name and telephone number. Who am I going to tell? Come on. Dish.”
     He was quiet for a long time.
     “I killed my first man at the age of twelve.”
     “Yeah, right,” Lainie laughed. “Seriously, now.”
     He laughed, but it sounded forced, false. “Okay, seriously. I love the smell of expended ordinance...burnt gunpowder.”
     Lainie thought she should laugh again, but somehow, it didn’t come. She just sat, her smile fading.
     “I gotta go, Samantha.”
     She didn’t say anything.
     “Samantha?”
     “Huh?”
     “I just wanted to say thanks. You’re a real peach. You have a nice...”
     The gunshot was so loud in the headset that Lainie jumped, her laptop rebounding off the coffee table and crashing to the floor.

Don't forget to pick up your copy of "Rogue Agenda" on October 1, 2013 on Amazon.com and Amazon Kindle!

ROGUE AGENDA: THE DOSSIERS

See The Winners Of The Giant Gummy Bear Contest

In anticipation of the release of my latest adventure novel, "ROGUE AGENDA," I decided to share the dossiers on some of the key players in the affair, recently declassified by the NSA.

LAINIE PARKER
     The most popular telephone sex talent at Capris Entertainment, 26-year-old Lainie stumbled into the job while looking for a way to offset the cost of college. Now, nearing the final stages of her PhD in Psychology, with a minor in Child Special Education, when Lainie isn't working she's neck-deep in studies and her duties as Research Assitant for the Psy department. While beautiful, smart, and a little sarcastic, she has no time for friends or love, much less running around the country trying to prove her innocence of the charges of arson and murder, hounded by a hulking killer.

SIMI AL-SEHREMNI
     Somewhere in her early twenties, this daughter of renown middle-eastern scientist Faisel Al-Sehremni, is more than meets the eye. On the surface, she's an older sister attending college at New York University more to keep a protective wing over her younger brother, Ibrahim, than to matriculate, herself. But there are many mysteries about this diminutive beauty. For example, from a culture that generally subdues its women, how did she become so strong and independent? Also, for one so young, where did she learn that specialized spinning technique of fighting that makes her an opponent not to be underestimated?

AGENT CORD STEELE, CIA
     Understandably, little is known about this handsome, charming, and enigmatic man - much of this dossier has been redacted. It is known he drives a late-model Lexus convertible with the daring if not the skill of a NASCAR pro, that he has elevated the act of stealth to an art form, and that he wields a spool of mono-filament garotting wire like a spider spins it's web.

SEAN BRANDT AKA MICHAEL GASTON
     There are nothing but questions about this CIA assassin gone rogue. Not the least of which: If he completed his last assignment, why didn't he report in as scheduled? If he completed that assignment, why wasn't the body found by the morning cleaning crew at the research laboratory in Paris as planned? Where is the man he was assigned to kill, and where, for that matter, is Brandt himself? Did he sell out? Was he compromised? And if so, was he killed or is he even now captured and being tortured? And why, of all things, did he call a telephone sex line in San Francisco from a motel in Commerce City, Colorado when he was supposed to be debriefed, captured, or killed?

If you're at all curious about these characters and more, mark your calendar for October 1, 2013 when the first Lainie Parker adventure, "Rogue Agenda," is released on Amazon.com and Amazon Kindle!

---

WINNERS OF THE GIANT GUMMY BEAR CONTEST

Thanks to everyone for helping me spread the word about the upcoming release of my new novel, "ROGUE AGENDA," the response was phenomenal!

Announcing the winners of the "Rogue Agenda" giant gummy bear contest!

1st Prize - A giant 5lb gummy bear: Beth Groundwater.

2nd Prize - A "Rogue Agenda" promotional mug: Tina Bates.

3rd Prize - A "Rogue Agenda" promotional T-shirt: Terry Wright

Beth and Terry, please let me know how you'd like me to get your prizes to you!

NEW RELEASE: ROGUE AGENDA

ANNOUNCING THE OCTOBER 1, 2013 RELEASE OF...

ROGUE AGENDA
A Lainie Parker Adventure

A Novel by Kevin Paul Tracy

Description
"Lainie dropped to the mud, on her belly. Propping her elbows into the rain-sodden ground, she peered down the barrel of Sayed’s gun. She’d fired more guns since this entire ordeal had begun than ever before in her entire life. She had failed to hit a single target at which she'd aimed. But now, with Simi's life in the balance, she put such thoughts out of her mind and took careful aim."

Lainie Parker is the most popular telephone sex-line talent at Capri Entertainemnt. She is not a spy. But since witnessing the murder of one of her customers over the phone and trying to get someone - the police, the FBI, anyone - to believe her, she has been stalked and attacked, drugged and kidnapped, and suspected of murder and arson. Now, as crazy as it seems, pretending to be a spy may be the only thing to clear her name...and keep her alive. That's only if she can stay one step ahead of a hulking murderer, a sadistic terrorist, a brother-sister pair of tag-team kidnappers, and a wily CIA agent with dreamy eyes and a deadly way with a garrote.

GIANT GUMMY BEAR CONTEST

How would you like to win this giant, 5lb gummy bear?

All you have to do is help spread the word about the impending release of my new book, "Rogue Agenda," and you'll be entered in a drawing to win this and other great prizes!  There're two ways to enter...OR enter BOTH ways and DOUBLE your chances of winning!

ENTRY METHOD 1: TWITTER

STEP 1: Go to my twitter link above or go to http://www.Twitter.com/KevinPaulTracy and FOLLOW me.
STEP 2: Tweet to all your followers about the pending release of "Rogue Agenda" and include a link to this blog post.

THAT'S ALL!

ENTRY METHOD 2: FACEBOOK

STEP 2: Go to the Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rogue-Agenda/312424322236297 and LIKE the whole page.
STEP 2: Post a status on YOUR Facebook page about the pending release of "Rogue Agenda" for all your friends and include a link to this blog post.

THAT'S ALL!

RULES

I will use your Twitter "FOLLOWS" and Facebook "LIKES" to view your tweets and posts to confirm you followed directions, above. Those who follow BOTH the Twitter and the Facebook methods of entry will have two entries into the contest for TWO CHANGES TO WIN!

CONTEST ENDS FRIDAY AUGUST 30, 2013 AT MIDNIGHT

On Saturday August 31, 2013 I will draw three entries. The first name drawn will win a giant, 5lb. gummy bear! Second drawing will win a Rogue Agenda promotional mug. Third name drawn will win a Rogue Agenda promotional T-shirt.

I will announce the winners here, as well as tweet and post a status on Facebook, so keep your eyes open for that announcement. It will be up to the winners to contact me to arrange delivery of their prizes. All shipping and handling will, of course, be paid by me.

! GOOD LUCK !

AN INTERVIEW WITH NICOLE DISNEY

I had the pleasure of doing a full-manuscript critique of Nicole Disney's (www.NicoleDisney.com) new book, "Dissonance in A Minor," prior to it being published (as opposed to an excerpt-by-excerpt critique that critique groups do.) Doing this for another writer is fun and informative, as it not only exposes you to genres you might not otherwise read, but helping other writers identify problem areas in their manuscripts really helps you see such things in your own. It makes you a stronger writer as well.

"Dissonance in A Minor" is the story of Rainn, a tough street person trying to make it big with her band, who struggle with the usual growing pains of any group of musicians, when she meets Jasselle, a seemingly together and almost dream-like figure. But as Rainn feels herself inexorably drawn under Jaselle's spell, she becomes more and more aware of the woman's darker side.

I so enjoyed "Dissonance in A Minor" that when it was published I knew I wanted to interview Nicole on my blog. I even knew some of the questions I wanted to ask. So here, gentle readers, is my interview with the very talented Nicole Disney.

Q: Nicole, your novel is, on the surface, a romance between lesbians. Why should straight people read it?

Though my book can be categorized as a lesbian romance, it is not about the fact that my main characters are lesbians. It is not about sexual discovery nor is it a coming out story. It is about homelessness, guilt, and the desperation of addiction. Anyone can understand and connect with the pain of witnessing the person you love most deteriorate into someone barely recognizable. These are by no means issues reserved for lesbians. The orientation of these characters is actually more of an afterthought in the scope of the book.

Q: What is the meaning of the title, "Dissonance in A Minor"?

The word "dissonance" appealed to me for this story because it has a few applications. It can be used as a music term in reference to an inharmonious combination of notes that gives the impression of tension or instability. However, it can also describe as inconsistency or disagreement, either with another person, two aspects of life, or between a person's beliefs and actions. All aspects of the word fit into my story, whether it is Rainn's knowledge of her band's talent at odds with their performance, the evidence Jaselle is too addicted to recover against Rainn's belief she will, or Jaselle's desire to treat Rainn well but failure to do so. I chose the key "A minor" because Chopin's Prelude Op. 28 No. 2, a significant song in the story, is in the key of A minor (and is a very dissonant piece).

Q: What was it about this story that compelled you to write it?

I wanted to write something raw, emotional, and fearless that would be capable of hitting people in a way that it would linger after. I didn't want to cut scenes short before they fulfilled the true intensity of the moment. As far as addiction, specifically, I've always been drawn to understand the power of it. There are so many things to consider, from the original pain that a person might be trying to numb, to potentially being cut off from family as a result. There is also an element of shame that is common, for the betrayals that usually follow and feelings of weakness for lacking the ability to stop.

Q: Your characters are fictional, but are they representative or composites of real people involved in the true events?

None of my characters are based on real people. All of the personalities are completely fabricated, though I do like to sprinkle in extremely minor details from real life. For example, Jaselle and Rainn drink vodka and cranberry juice, which is the first mixed drink a girl ever made for me. Another is a story Jaselle tells about a Halloween night when she believed her angel costume would allow her to fly. That is something that happened to my younger cousin that I found incredibly endearing and wanted to live on.

Q: What would you say is the central theme of "Dissonance in A Minor"?

If I had to choose one theme, I'd say addiction is the most vital to the story. Jaselle's addiction to meth is the most obvious example and her addiction is equally mental and physical. I also found it interesting to examine Rainn's love for Jaselle as an addiction. In many ways, Rainn also behaves like an addict. As the story progresses, Jaselle is Rainn's first and last thought of every day and if for any reason she is denied that contact, everything must wait until things are set right. It causes her to damage her relationships with her friends and even distracts her from her music. I don't think to say Rainn is addicted to Jaselle is to say that she loves her any less, but that love is a form of addiction.

Q: Your protagonist lives a hard life, but makes no excuses for the choices she's made, which is a lesson more of us could learn. What other lessons can readers take away from your novel?

Rainn carries a burden of guilt over her brother's death. A large part of that is because they were close and that she witnessed his death, but even more importantly, Rainn knew he was huffing butane and that it was dangerous. This is a major source of her guilt and plays a heavy hand in how she handles Jaselle. I think a lesson readers can take from Rainn is that when we are in impossible situations that might not have a clear right and wrong answer, imagine the worst possible outcome, and then ask what you would wish you had done. Having said that, I think the next lesson is that no one can force another person to be happy or healthy, and sometimes, as heartbreaking as it is, there isn't anything you can do. It doesn't mean you have to exile or punish yourself.

Q: Music plays a central allegorical role in the book. Could you explain its significance to the story?

Rainn sees her music as an expression of her soul. To reject it is to reject her, and to love it is to love her. It is a safe place where she can both protect and confess her secrets simultaneously. There is a contrast between the structured, classical music she learned growing up with her mother and the freedom of her band. These are equally representative of her life. Rainn's brother rejected classical music completely, desiring only the freedom and paying a heavy price. Following her brother's death, Rainn submerges herself in the band but maintains a taste for classical music that she will revisit when living with Jaselle. Classical music represents the part of Rainn that desires a home, while rock is passion, rebellion, and independence.

Q: There are "bad guys" in the classical sense in your story, but wouldn't the primary antagonist, if unwittingly, be Jaselle? Why or why not?

As Jaselle's addiction deepens, Rainn sees a change so dramatic in her eyes and the way that she speaks that Rainn feels she is talking to something that is evil. She begins to refer to this side of Jaselle as "the demon". Noah challenges this as excusing Jaselle from her own actions. At the heart of this conflict is the answer to this question. Is the addiction capable of being an antagonist or is referring to the addiction as something separate from Jaselle a displacement of guilt? I think the issue is debatable, but I see the addiction as the antagonist.

Q: Noah fills the significant role of fulcrum in the turning point of the story. Expound on this.

When Noah finally exposes his reasons for closing himself off from Jaselle and her addiction, he proves himself to be much more feeling and reasonable than Rainn would have guessed. He is also challenging Rainn's conviction that she can save Jaselle. Noah focuses on Rainn and her right to have a happy life, a concept that Rainn has so connected to Jaselle that she sees saving Jaselle's life and being happy as two inextricable things. Having these arguments delivered to her gives Rainn the opportunity to debate what she has otherwise felt too guilty to deliberate.

Q: What has been the feedback you've gotten from readers?

I've gotten fantastic feedback so far. Almost everyone I have heard from said they read it in one or two days because it is a quick read and they "one more chapter"ed their way all the to the end. The consistent comment I have been getting is that the book is extremely emotional.

Q: How has your book been received by those who have experienced some of the themes in your book, such as addiction, guilt, loss, etc.?

The reception has been amazing, which is extremely important to me. I wanted this story to be as authentic as possible. I have heard from several readers who used to play in bands, owned clubs, or were music producers. They usually say they found the band scenes hilarious and the characters realistic. The other group I have received even more feedback from has been addicts and recovering addicts. This group has a darker identification with the story, saying it is both graphic and realistic, capturing the chaos of addiction.

Q: Are you working on any other projects? And if so, will they be like this one?

I am working on a couple of new projects. One is much more similar to Dissonance in A Minor than the other, but in both stories, I maintain my taste for a dark and edgy set of issues. I'm not sure I will ever tire of diving into those worlds. 

Q: What was the one thing you consider the most valuable tool in working to get your book published?

I would have to say the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers group was the most valuable tool for me because it is really like ten tools rolled into one. I was able to improve my actual writing with their classes, network at the events, dissect my stories in critique groups, pitch editors and agents at the annual conference, and attract a little attention with a contest win. It is an extensive support system for writers.

Q: What would be your advice to those attempting to publish their manuscripts?

My advice would be to join a critique group. This is a great way to figure out if your manuscript is ready and get it there if it isn't. Even if you don't need extensive changes, your group members will see things you, as the author, won't catch. Most groups are even willing to help with query letters any may know things about the publishing industry that you don't.

Q: What is your writing process? For example, do you write eight hours a day, or only when the mood strikes you?

My process is constantly evolving, but it always involves deadlines. For a while I experimented with reaching a certain word count every day, but found that method was resulting in quite a bit of writing I would eventually delete. Deadlines give me enough freedom to wait for inspiration, but not enough to wait forever.

Q: Do you write an outline, or do you just start writing and see where it goes?

I outline obsessively. It is not unusual for me to spend a full month or even two on the outline before I write a single word. I hate the feeling of writing without knowing where I am trying to get. It makes me feel like I'm rambling and boring the eventual reader. I also have the fear that readers can tell when I go back to add in foreshadowing as opposed to knowing where it belongs as I go. That being said, sometimes characters have their own ideas about who they are or what they want to do. I'm always willing to let them ruin my outline, but I'll quickly create a new one.

Q: The second act of any story, or the "middle part," is often dubbed the "swamp" by writers because it is the most difficult part of any story to write. Did you struggle with this, or did it all come to you pretty smoothly?

I dealt with the "swamp" by constantly reminding myself not to hold onto any scenes for later (with the exception of a few structurally fundamental ones). If I ever felt the story was dragging, but had a great scene idea I wanted to use in twenty pages, oh well, it's moving to now. Doing this takes a lot of faith in yourself that you will come up with something better to use in twenty pages, but after the first few times work out, it becomes less scary.

Q: How long did it take you to write "Dissonance in A Minor"?

I spent about a year writing it. That is a time frame I would consider too long for future projects, but I'm glad I really took the time to baby this story.

Q: Who are some of your favorite writers, who've informed or influenced your own writing?

My list of favorite writers is unreasonably long, but to name a few I can say truly made me a better writer I'd have to say Anne Rice, J.D. Salinger, Chuck Palahniuk, William Styron, and Edgar Allan Poe.

I want to thank Nicole for taking the time to indulge me. I hope you, the reader, enjoyed it as much as I did, and I hope you pick up Nicole's new book "Dissonance in A Minor" - just click the book cover above, I truly think you'll find it a rewarding read.

You can visit Nicole Disney's website at www.NicoleDisney,.com.

Writing a Synopsis

As a writer you are asked to write synopses for all sorts of reasons, but mostly to summarize a manuscript you are submitting to your agent or editor. They don't really have time to read an entire manuscript, given the sheer number they receive. Instead, they will read the first ten or twenty pages to get a sense of you skill as a writer, and the read your synopsis to get the gist of your storytelling. This tells them whether they ought to spend more time on this manuscript or reject it. So your synopsis is at least as important as the manuscript itself.

But many of us have trouble writing synopses. It's understandable - we've written a story we love, and more than anyone we see how each part of it is integral to the storyline. Boiling this masterpiece down to a recitation of plot-points without narrative goes against our very nature as writers.

And yet the chore must be done. Having written hundreds of synopses in my time, I've gotten pretty practiced at it. For those struggling, I offer my 5 guidelines to an effective synopsis. There is a longer version of this available on request.

1. The Plot, The Whole Plot, and Nothing But The Plot.


• The Plot - The primary purpose of the synopsis is to convey your story in as few words as possible. A list of your characters, their motivations and their interactions is not enough. You must convey your plot.


• The Whole Plot - In almost every case you want to convey your entire plot, including the end. Don't think in terms of spoilers, your agent or editor wants to know how the story ends, and if it does so in a way that will leave a reader satisfied.
       The one exception is when your agent has asked for a synopsis only one or two paragraphs in length. In such a case it is more important to convey the plot and less important how it resolves. In such a case think in terms of cliff hanger - end the synopsis with a tease that will hopefully entice the agent to want to read more.


• Nothing But The Plot - Your task is to summarize the core plot thread only. Don't concern yourself with sub-plots no matter how interesting you think they are, or how critical you think they are to showing your storytelling prowess. Don't include entire character bios or back story. Any reader knows there is more to your story than what's in the synopsis and if you can draw them in with your excerpt and the main plot thread as revealed by your synopsis, they will find out just how much. But for now, all they want it the core plot thread and nothing else.

2. Economy of Cast.

You love each character you created, they are extensions of parts of yourself. But if you look at your story critically there are really only 2-4 characters essential to your primary plot line. Keep your synopsis focused on these, no more. If other cut-out characters are critical to a plot point, mention them only there, don't give them a name or description. "Ben was arrested for robbing an older woman." We don't need to know the old woman's name or that she was Ben's next door neighbor.

3. Nothing Happens In a Vacuum.

Each character takes action for a reason. Never relate an action in your synopsis without linking it to a motive. It isn't enough that we know that, "Ben was arrested," we also need to know why: "for robbing an older woman." Why don't we give a motive for him robbing the older woman? Because we aren't saying, "Ben robbed an older woman." If we were asserting that, then we would need to give a motive. All we are saying is that he was arrested for doing so.
     Sometimes a single motive causes several actions: "When Ben is arrested, he hires his childhood friend Jerry to defend him in court, asks his wife to pack his pajamas and toothbrush, and promises his son he will see him soon." Just be sure that every action is directly linked to a motive.

4. Present Tense, Third Person.

A synopsis reads better in present tense ("Ben is arrested...") rather than past tense ("Ben was arrested...") You can try other tenses, but you risk alienating the agent or editor who is expecting present tense, and why give them any reason whatsoever to toss your manuscript summarily.
     Likewsie, they are expecting to read third person POV ("Ben is arrested...") rather than first person ("I am arrested...") no matter what POV your actual manuscript is written in. Once again, you might think you want to try something else to get attention, but agents and editors don't have time to read something that is difficult to read. They are just as inclined to toss it.

5. Author Injection.

No matter how tempting, do not inject your own commentary into your synopsis. Never insert such things as: "...and then things got really weird!"; or "You absolutely won't believe what happens next!"; or "Then, in an unexpected twist..." No matter how badly you may want to tell the reader how to feel about or react to events related by your synopsis, never do it. It's a bush move, showing your own lack of confidence in your ability to tell a story, and will almost certainly get your submission returned without further reading. If your storyline cannot stand on it's own as relayed by the synopsis, then the reading agent or editor has every reason to expect that it won't do so in the manuscript itself.

Again, a longer, more detailed version of this article is available on request.