Diversity: Writing Characters with Mental Health Issues with Olivia Vetrano

Mental Health Awareness Ribbon
 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Writers have an enormous role to play. We entertain, but we also educate. 

In the book Wired for Story, we learn that psychological tests show that humans are predisposed to live through others’ stories in order to grow and learn. Let me give you an example. I do not go to the woods to have picnics with bears. If I saw a bear while I was eating my sandwich, I would leave my food, make a great deal of noise, hold my body as big as I could, and back my way out of the situation. While I’ve never met a bear, I've learned through stories that they are dangerous. I’ve heard of others who have encountered bears where things have not gone well. Hearing their stories and knowing what could happen if I invited a bear to my picnic may be lifesaving information. 

When our brains are being told a story, the brain rewards us by sending all kinds of happy hormones into our bodies. We read for pleasure – but biologically we developed the feel-good pleasure hormones so we want stories and thus learn to stay alive. Pretty heady stuff, huh? 

And this is  a major reason that here on ThrillWriting that I preach (probably to the choir) that it is really important to get our facts straight. People are biologically predisposed to learn from our stories. They’re learning not just the caliber of bullets or the hand position on a bow and arrow, but also how to analyze situations, how to interpret interactions, and how to respond in our real every day existence. 

Today, I have invited Olivia Vetrano to chat with us. 

LINK to Olivia's Amazon Author Page

Olivia writes with such poignancy that she physically shook my world with her book Neverland. And without giving away the plot, I will tell you that there is a medical issue therein, and I had to for peace-of-mind’s sake go and research the outcomes of the medical issue, so I knew the chances for the heroine's survival. But more about her book in a moment.

We have been working on a new research tab on "inclusivity", and Olivia is here to talk about mental health and how it is portrayed in writing and how that writing influences our society. Olivia is both a writer and someone who experiences issues with her mental health.

Fiona - 

Can you start the discussion? What do yous see as mistakes in the plot framework  that include mental health as an issue or character quality?

Olivia -
You are absolutely right in that while writers are certainly here to entertain, they must also act as educators; which is a terrifying responsibility. It led me to write what I was familiar with, what I had already lived. I figured there was no way to mess that up. 

I realized, there were other people trying to tell me my own story, and they were telling it wrong. There are many aspects of society, not just books, that try to set the stage for how mental health issues should be perceived. 

When I was finally ready to take the pen and write my own narrative, I found my platform tainted, skewed and half occupied. I grew up hearing and reading things about how a person acting in a way you didn't want made them "crazy" or "unstable". And how those were perfectly justifiable excuses to leave them behind. 

Over the years I had subconsciously built up the idea that in order to be loved, in order to make people stay, you couldn't be "crazy". Authors have vivid imaginations and with that comes the ability to be open minded. So I don't think that any kind of writer should put such a versatile topic into such tight boundaries. 

Mental health issues don't fit neatly inside the lines. They tear through the do not cross tape, and if authors are willing to move with them, they might find a story truly worth telling.

Fiona -
Let's start with the biggest myth - I'm not sure what to call it -injustice maybe. 

Someone with a metal health illness could get over it if they tried hard enough - powered through it. That's like asking a person with cancer to think there way out of that diagnosis. 

You mentioned that a narrative is already in place and it doesn't reflect your truth. What other misconceptions or responses do you see that try to identify/interpret you in ways that you wish wasn't part of our communal understanding.


Olivia -
There aren't enough adjectives to describe how I feel when I hear the way too common argument that most mental health issues are just the person's inability to cope with daily life. 

First and foremost, it hurts. A lot. But it's also incredibly embarrassing. It's like saying, some people are hit by buses and survive, but you can't handle being sad. Which is a pathetic concept. Pathetic; there's another good descriptor. There's also shame, frustration, and the uncontrollable urge to placate everyone by pretending it's all in your head (no pun intended). 

There are things I have been diagnosed with that I had an entirely different perception of before being given the actual definition by a mental health professional. I think that's because writers, and others, want certain disorders to be understood in a way that best fits THEIR story. A character has a short temper and keeps changing her mind? Let's call her bi-polar. Another character throws a fit when people don't clean up after themselves? Let's say she has OCD. And what all these misidentifications have in common is that they are all negative. 

Some of the people I have met that actually have these disorders are some of the most incredible, loving, wonderful human beings I have ever had the honor of knowing. But so many books and stories turn them into demons and encourage the readers to root for their demise, or at the very least, for the protagonist to escape them. In many instances, a character with mental illness is the Loch Ness monster of the literary world. Something you can't see with your own eyes, but is clearly the villain.

Fiona - 
When a character is given a diagnosis by a writer, besides researching the parameters of that diagnosis, what ways could an author research the ins and outs and daily impact of a diagnosis so they can portray their characters in a life like 3D way and not in a damaged cookie cutter kind of way? Do you know of resources? Your blog for example.

Olivia - 
The first thing a writer needs to realize is that no two people are going to have the same experience with a mental health disorder. While there is certainly a vast common ground between people with the same disorder, what each individual does on that ground is where writers are going to find their story. 

Blogs are definitely a good place to start (and that's not just me shamelessly self-advertising). Any form of testimony from a person who's been through a mental health disorder or is currently living with one is like research gold. Writers should also go into the research process accepting of the fact that they might not understand what they learn. One of the most comforting things I ever heard from a friend was "I don't understand what you're going through, but I want to try".

Fiona - 

What should we writers understand that I didn't ask you?

Olivia - 
I'm insanely grateful to be part of a generation that is working so hard to erase the stigma attached to mental illness. But erasing that stigma means addressing it. And I think that's half the battle.

Mental illness is far from black and white, and there are no comfortable grey questions. I'm not sure what I would have liked to have been asked, but I do know what I'd like to say: Be flexible. Be open. Be understanding. There are so many people out there fighting invisible enemies until they're bruised and broken just to feel like a real person. There are so many people who don't feel valid; don't feel human. If writers give them the room to define themselves, they may be surprised to discover characters worthy of the leading role.

Fiona
I love this interview - I think it will touch writers' hearts and make them more aware. Thank you.

This is my review of Neverland:

Read It Now LINK

It has been a long time since I have read a novel that physically affected me. Two days after I finished NEVERLAND, I can still feel the story painting over my skin. As I read Vetrano's last few words, I found myself physically shaking. I was right there in that last poignant moment of the story. As a mother, I had lived through a similar experience, and Vetrano's words brought all of those sensations vividly back to me nine years later when I thought they had been buried. After finishing this novel, I needed a long walk and some bourbon.

This book is a rose that takes time to unfold, so be patient. As it spreads its petals, the fragrance and beauty become so heady that you get to go to that magic place where reality isn't, and you just get to experience - and in this case what you get to experience is desperate hope. I found myself crossing my fingers and holding my breath. This is one of those novels that you want all of your friends to read too, so you can share the experience

Thank you Olivia.

Keep up with Olivia here:

Keep up with Olivia here:

Keep up with Olivia here:
Twitter: @oliviavetrano
instagram: @oliviarosevetrano
BLOG - The Disordered Dreamer
blog: thedisordereddreamer@blogspot.com 

As always, a big thank you ThrillWriters and readers for stopping by. Thank you, too, for your support. When you buy my books, you make it possible for me to continue to bring you helpful articles and keep ThrillWriting free and accessible to all.

Sorbet for Your Writing - Making Videos with Jina Bacarr

Sorbet for your writing OR yes, another way to procrastinate today's 2k words ;)

Amazon Author Page

Fiona - 
ThrillWriting welcomes author Jina Bacarr to talk about the many ways that an author is called on to express their creativity. While we all know it takes excellent words on a page, in our now publishing/marketing climate an author needs more tools in their toolbox. Jina is here to share some information about videos in the hopes that we can excite more readers and encourage them to read our work. Jina, how do you use videos in your marketing and publicity?

Jina - 
We live in a world of instant gratification -- breaking news, Instagram photos, texting. It's a total sensory experience. I like to use video to enhance the reading experience. Show the reader the "movie in my mind" with photos, music, and words from my stories. Give the reader a peek into the colors and textures of what I see and feel when I'm writing the story. 

AMAZON LINK

For example, for my Civil War time travel romance, LOVE ME FOREVER, I want to take the reader back to 1862 and put on that hoop skirt. But see that world in color and taste it, smell it. Video gives me that opportunity. And, yes, I'm a ham. Southern style, of course, and I enjoy doing the voice-over and bringing the characters to life.

Fiona - 
How can an author get started with pulling out the least amount of hair, and shedding the fewest tears.



Jina -
Think of video as a story...there are many different ways to tell that story. POV, tense, novella vs novel. Same with video. You can make short videos or long ones, though I don't recommend anything over 2 minutes. Best for promotion is 30 seconds (we'll get more into that later). I've done some long vids 6-11 minutes that I'm proud of, but for
promotional purposes, let's say you start with 30 seconds. 

First up--a video editing program. Windows Movie Maker should be on your system as a starter tool (Windows 10 DOES NOT support this system). If you don't have WMM, your best bet is to download a free 30-day trial of a program such as Cyberlink Power Director 14 (latest) or Photoshop Premiere. 

I use Power Director and enjoy the added special effects available to enhance your project. Once you have the video editing program, next decide what visuals you want to use: Royalty Free photo stock or RF video, video you shoot yourself, photos you shoot yourself--I've done it all! The most important thing is to have fun. Don't try to be a Hollywood production--let your imagination guide you. 

And like writing, editing your video is so important to making the final product the best it can be. 

Fiona - 
Now that I have Windows 10, I went to Premiere, and I really like it. It was part of the process when I created this video:

Jina, is there a site to get free video footage?
(I found this blog article with a quick Google search.)

Jina - 
To be honest, I'm leery of anything "free" when it comes to videos or photo stock. My favorite site is www.Dreamstime.com. They have RF photos and videos. 

Your best bet is their subscription service (you can subscribe to one month rather than ongoing). They run periodic sales and since Black Friday is coming up, I wouldn't be surprised if they run a great sale where you can get pick up video and photos for a great price. You have to download the photos/videos on a consistent basis to get the most from the subscription, so I recommend creating "lightboxes" where you pick out the videos/photos you want and have them at your fingertips when you subscribe. 

A sidenote: always check the license for a photo/video before you use it. There's usually no problem using a video/photo you purchase for a book trailer, website. book cover. A commercial license is different. There are other photo sites that are popular as well: iStockphoto and Shutterstock, to name two.

The bottom line is, it takes time and the desire to do it. Like writing...videos tap into your creative psyche and are time consuming. That doesn't mean you can't do it. Making videos can be the sorbet to clear your mind. Give you a chance to get away from the written page and yet still make your creative self happy.

Fiona - 
Can you drive the bus here Jina? What's the next things we need to know?

Jina - 
Okay, now for that bus ride. What you need: 

1.  a video editing program
2. RF stock/videos or photos/vids you take yourself 
3. music -- RF (I like Shockwave-Sound.com or Creative Commons License (e.g. www.incompetech.com) 
4. your imagination. That magical fountain that ebbs and flows with ideas, hopes, and dreams. You'd be surprised what you can come up with if you give yourself the chance. 

Fiona - Video's made - Woohoo! Now, how do we use them?

Jina - 
Video is the new black...it's everywhere. You can use it on your blog, website, Twitter, Vine, Instagram, Facebook. Again, 30 seconds is great -- Twitter only allows 30 seconds, e.g. I find Twitter videos are great for promotion.

Fiona - 
ThrillWriters, Jina made this special video with us. Not only can you see some dynamic video techniques, but she tells us about the audio portion of the video and offers resource sites.

Fiona - 
And now we need a story break, something harrowing, please.

Jina -
My Wild Mulholland Ride

    The moment the sexy Australian walked into the radio station, I felt his magic.
    Tall, dark, and handsome with a stubble beard. And that accent. Made me tingle down to my cowgirl boots. I loved hearing Max talk. The manager at the radio station where I worked had hired him for a guest gig to pull up our ratings with the female audience 18-49.
    He was AM. I was FM.
    I did radio commercials, filled in, wrote PR and commercial copy, acted in skits with the other DJs, including doing remotes like chili cookoffs and handing out trophies at the racetrack. I even got to be a pink-sequined mermaid in a parade during a promotional weekend in Catalina.
    But nothing thrilled me down to my lace undies as when Max asked me out on a date.
    Not to the local pizza joint, but backstage at a club on the Sunset Strip.
    Max was best buds with a band from New Zealand on tour in the States and he wanted me to meet them.
    We were hanging out at the house the band and their manager, Georgie, had rented in Laurel Canyon when Georgie ran out of smokes. Max volunteered to drive him down the winding, two-lane road to the store. Winking at me, he said he wanted to check out the view of L.A. from Mulholland Drive on the way back.
    Did I want to come along?
    Oh, boy, did I.
    The romantic music in my head turned up a notch. Then another when his lips brushed my cheek. I wiggled my toes in my boots.
With a secret smile curving my lips, I slid into the black leather bucket seat of his shiny, black Mustang. I loved sitting next to him. Every time he shifted gears, we’d take off like a speeding rocket over the bumpy road. Twilight hovered over the hills like an exotic dancer sliding down her pole, revealing just enough to tease.
I couldn’t wait till we got to Mulholland. I thrilled to the idea of Max holding me close while we enjoyed the city view. Then me sighing over a kiss or two while Georgie had a smoke in the backseat.
    I was so enchanted with my daydream—and hanging onto the door handle every time we rounded a steep curve—I didn’t see the truck’s blaring headlights heading straight toward us until it was too late.
“Hold on tight, baby!” Max yelled, his deep voice as hot as dragon’s breath. Every nerve in my body was suddenly on alert.
Zoom! He jammed down on the gas pedal and swerved to the right to avoid hitting the truck, grinding the gears and shifting the sports car into overdrive. With the wind in our faces, the Mustang took off like a roadrunner, flying over the asphalt and onto the grassy terrain on the shoulder.
    The scary, wild ride lasted only a few seconds, but it seemed like a lifetime.
    I knew this old road well. If we didn’t stop, we’d plunge over the steep hillside and go straight down Mulholland Drive.
    Five hundred feet . . . down into the canyon.
Broken branches. Scraggly bushes and overgrown vegetation might slow us down, but mud from the recent rains made the hillside as slick as a waterslide.
    We were goners if the brakes didn’t hold.
    Max never lost control of the Mustang. Talking to her in that smooth, sexy voice that sent females drowning in their lattes. I swear the car listened to him as if she were his best girl. Slipping and sliding, moaning and creaking, the black-hooded bombshell finally screeched to a stop.
    Sooo close to the edge.
    The city lights twinkling below us like fallen stars.
    Shaking, we got out of the car and stared down into the darkness, utterly freaked out . . . not believing how close we came to flipping over the hillside. Inches. Only by the grace of God and Max’s skill behind the wheel did we stop in time. His big, strong hands taking control of the steering wheel and making the Mustang purr . . . later I discovered what those hands could do.
    Heads bowed, Max led us in a prayer of thanks. Georgie, him, and me. The three of us held on to each other as Max’s big voice boomed our thanks out over the Valley. Our personal airwave to heaven.
    Afterward, Georgie got his cigs and we went to the show as planned. The band rocked the trendy club with their fast-moving techno sounds, but I never forgot that night. Or my handsome DJ.
    His soul-melty tones filling the air over Mulholland.
    And those hands of his.
    God bless him.

Fiona - 

Thanks, Jina, I need to go drown myself in a latte now.

Okay folks, you came keep up with Jina at:

Twitter - @JinaBacarr

Facebook  

Also, you can see Jina's movies, read a fun exchange by her characters, and get some great recipes mentioned in her book from our FREE cookbook - KP AUTHORS COOK THEIR BOOKS.

The cover and link are just above on the right sidebar. (There's some Weakest Lynx backstory in there, too). ENJOY!

And as always, a big thank you stopping by. Thank you, too, for your support. When you buy my books, you make it possible for me to continue to bring you helpful articles and keep ThrillWriting free and accessible to all.

Diversity in Your Characters: A Conversation About Economic Inclusion with Stacey Cochran

Fiona - 

I recently finished reading  EDDIE & SUNNY Stacey Cochran's newest book. 

This is what I said about it in my review: As I read Stacey Cochran's book, the idea of slave spirituals softly hummed in my head. The beauty of songs like Swing Low Sweet Chariot and the beauty of this book begins and ends with hope. Hope that though born into circumstances that are untenable that somehow, someday things would be better; hope that today's needs for survival would be met; hope that the children would experience better circumstances than their parents.

And while struggling and striving, warm clear notes are sung out to ease the distress. In this book those notes were formed by love and a sense of family. And even though the mother, Sunny, says "I don't want to hope anymore. Hope's been as poisonous as fear in my life." We know that she doesn't mean it. Hope is the fuel that keeps this family running. Running from the law, running towards each other and a better life.

A poignant and provocative read.

I thought it was a stunning work.
Can you give us a brief glimpse at what your book is about?

Stacey - 

Well, it's a love story. Here's the synopsis from the paperback version: Eddie and Sunny have never had anything in life save for each other’s love. For months they’ve lived out of their car with their young son, and the stress of it all has driven pregnant Sunny to the point she wants to ditch Eddie and her kid and vanish from the life Eddie’s tried so futilely to build for them in rural North Carolina. When they stop at an abandoned service station, the point is just to survive another night in their car. But inside they discover a marijuana grow operation, cash, and a stockpile of weapons. As they leave, the owners arrive and Sunny is forced to shoot the dealers to save her family. Eddie and Sunny become fugitives of the law and the drug dealers’ kin and are separated with each believing the other has been killed in an act of retribution. Eddie & Sunny is the story of a family finding its soul, but to do so they have to lose one another first. It is a story of hope, love, and the American Dream. It is the great American novel set to a crime fiction soundtrack.

I didn't write that last line. That's was the publisher's line.

And I think it is escapist. It's just escapism with a bit of a message about our culture and its value and how we treat (and view) those in poverty.

Fiona - 

The population that you highlighted was not one that usually finds their way into a book. Can you tell us about how you came to the decision that this was where your story was going to take you and how you learned about this community? 

Stacey - 

So I'm not entirely sure why love stories generally feature middle class, working class, or upper middle class characters. I think it has something to do with escapism. But, yeah, there's a whole population of people in America and around the world who don't fit those socioeconomic categories, and they want the same things the rest of us want. A roof over their heads, a committed, meaningful relationship, a sense of peace and hope, and a safe place to raise their kids. Eddie & Sunny is a novel that represents that population, a population that is too often under-represented or simply ignored. The irony is their love story is all the more poignant for its unconventional nature. At least I hope readers see it that way.

Fiona - 

I thought about the books from the depression era but in those books all of the population faced the same daunting situation. In this book you juxtaposed those with means and often wealth with those who had gone days without food. Was that hard to write?

Stacey - 

Yeah, I've not thought about that aspect of it before, but America in 2012-2014 is not the depression era. It was some neo-recession era, where a small portion of the population is just very wealthy, and the rest of us are struggling to pay the bills each month, keep food on the table, etc. It's like there's two polar opposites in America today. I think that was definitely one of the things I wanted to put on the table for readers to consider and discuss. I mean how many of us are rich? Seriously? And how many of us worry and struggle each and every month to make ends meet? I suspect the vast majority of us. Eddie & Sunny, in that respect is our story.

Fiona -
At one point Eddie is confronted by a man who, like him, lived on the margins and Eddie had the means to help but chose not to. Now I've experienced this, when I lived in France when I first got there and spoke no French, people would ignore me if I tried to get help in English. After being there for a year an American couple came up and asked for help in English - to my shame- I answered them in French and walked away. Why did you include that scene?

Stacey -

I decided to include that scene because I think I was trying to say that money has a way of changing people. Eddie comes by a pile of money as the story unfolds, but having it makes him very nervous and when confronted by a homeless man, someone who is virtually the mirror of where he was at near the beginning of the novel, he quickly forgets what it felt like to have to beg for change to feed his kids. It's kind of like Kino in Steinbeck's The Pearl. The pearl changes Kino and makes him a killer.

Fiona - 

You intimated that Eddie and Sunny both experienced mental health issues - either by brain anomalies for Eddie or from past abuse in the case of Sunny - it was there but it wasn't. What kinds of choices were you making as a writer when you decided what to include and what would shift the story away from your intended story arch?

Stacey - 

The story arc was really very focused in my mind. I wanted first, a character arc for Sunny. She starts the novel all but ready to ditch her Eddie. But the end of the novel she realizes that Eddie is maybe the single most important thing in her life. Eddie's story arc is that he has nothing at the beginning of the novel but is wholly committed to his young son and his wife, despite his failings. And I wanted him to come 180 degrees by the end of the novel, to where he has all the money and more that he'd need to provide for his family, but maybe be ready to leave them at the end. Then I wanted to follow a 3-act plot structure: Act 1 ends at the gas station in Southport, Act 2 ends when Eddie and Sunny are separated and Sunny is forced to flee Carolina Beach, the 3rd Act is in Key West. Those were the major arcs and structures I had in my mind as I began and as I worked through the novel.

Fiona - 

One of my personal struggles with your novel was the children. A baby was born and there was no vitamin K cream to protect her eyes, no checks, their son witnessed horror, he was exposed to deep hunger and his parents (thank God non-physically abusive) substance abuses. I wanted theses children in the hands of protective services and then again - I did not. It was quite a roller coaster for me (having been a counselor for at risk families)

Stacey - 

And that's intentional. That's good. I hoped to create that dialogue in readers. Are these fit parents?

Fiona - 

So as the parent of two small children what are your feelings? Are they fit?

Stacey - 
In the real world, they would be absolutely demonized in the news media, and there'd be no chance of redemption. In fiction though, you can empathize and show that they actually are good people. The system has simply let them down.

Fiona - 

I cried when the old man offered Sunny the blanket for her children - just sayin'

Stacey - 

A few of my favorite scenes are the Key West scenes near the end with the news reporters reporting on the fact that they're reporting. It's like Eddie and Sunny the human beings get totally lost in the news cycle, which sadly seems to happen - all the time - in our real world.

I wish you'd have said that in your review.

Fiona - 
That I cried? I don't think my saying I was sobbing like my puppy died would add to an uplifting feeling though, Stacey.

Stacey - 
Ha! True dat.

Right now, the reviews are amazing, but they give the impression of a hard novel to live with. Maybe it is. I just don't know. I see it ultimately as a story of hope and triumph of the human spirit. Sort of a love story version of the Shawshank Redemption.

Fiona - 

It seems that this book is full of important societal discussions and would be excellent for an ethics class to debate. Was that in the back of your mind, Professor?

Stacey - 

I like complicated characters. Book clubs tend to like to debate characters like Eddie and Sunny. Are they wholly responsible for their actions? What responsibility does society hold in helping people like them? Any? Some? Is our criminal justice set up to make money and funnel people like Eddie and Sunny into prison? Lots of questions that we all think about to some degree every day hopefully.

Fiona - 

I was a court ordered emergency interventionist and Eddie and Sunny are characters who are familiar to me. I burned out. Try as I might to work through the issues, there are people whose world view and society are on crash courses.

Stacey -
I would first start by cutting down on racial profiling and arresting people for petty offenses. Look at what's been going on in Ferguson. You have a law enforcement system that is essentially rewarding officers for making the most arrests possible, giving the most citations possible, etc. and our nation has become one of the most incarcerated nations on earth. There is clearly a problem and we need a generation or two or more to make it better.


Joseph Souza, author of UNPAVED SURFACES joined the conversation -

Joseph - 

I really want to read this book now, I love crime stories that address sociological issues. I guess my favorite was George V. Higgins who wrote about the working class criminals in Boston. The movie made from it THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE is a classic. 

Stacey - 

The Friends of Eddie Coyle. That novel was absolutely a huge influence on Eddie & Sunny. In fact, I think I named Eddie "Eddie" because of that novel. Also, I tried to do southern dialogue as authentic as I could based on the brilliant dialogue in Eddie Coyle. That novel raised the bar for crime fiction.

My agent said it was one of the best sociological crime fiction novels he's read in a decade. For what that's worth.

Joseph - 

Stacey, as a professor I imagine you don't deal with this population. Did you do research or have you worked with this demographic?

Stacey - 

I actually did a lot of research, from meeting with and talking with homeless populations to doing a documentary film project at a local shelter that was essentially the inspiration of the novel. There are some scenes in the novel that are practically paraphrased dialogue that I had with several folks.

Fiona, because you've read it you probably know the scene, where Eddie is in the trailer and he bares his soul to Sunny and his son about his own father and about leaving his mother to die alone because his mother got his father arrested. That was from a conversation I had at Simonton Beach in Key West with a guy who was homeless.

I will never forget the conversation I had with the middle school student in the shelter who was working on her homework for class the next day, while her mom was out interviewing for a job. They'd been at the shelter for more than two months. No one would give the woman a job.

Maybe there were just no jobs to be had then. This was around 2010.

Joseph - 

Sounds like a southern version of THE BEANS OF EGYPT MAINE. It's amazing the dialogue you must have heard in that environment.

Fiona - 
I'm not familiar with that book - what similarities bubbled up for you?

Joseph - 

Poor, hardscrabble Mainers living in the rural region trying to survive despite economic hardship and family dysfunction.

Stacey - 

Daniel Woodrell's Tomato Red was a novel I read about a half dozen times while writing Eddie & Sunny. I totally recommend it.http://www.amazon.com/Tomato-Red-Novel.../dp/B007ME5H2S

My agent likened Eddie & Sunny to Willy Vlautin's Motel Life, which I had not read until after E&S was done: http://www.amazon.com/Motel-Life-Novel.../dp/B005HF54M2

Fiona - 

Thank you Stacey and Joseph for being part of this dialogue about portrayal of underrepresented socioeconomic status in writing.

Stacey, before I let you go, we insist on a harrowing story.

Stacey - 
When I was a freshman in college, my parents were going through a rough patch. I was the youngest of three, and so they found themselves suddenly with an empty nest and the rest of their lives ahead of them, and I think the stress of the unknown after having known a steady routine for nearly thirty years (my oldest brother is ten year older than me) really put their marriage to the test.

Our family on my father’s side owns a Reconstruction-era home on the shores of the Pamlico River where the water is nearly a mile across, and the salinity close to the ocean allows for jelly fish and sharks.

My parents had decided to spend a few weeks at the river house to try and find themselves and determine the direction of their marriage now that all their children were grown and out on their own.

I took a weekend off from college and visited them.

Now picture this house. A large southern two-story with clapboard shutters on the upstairs windows and a wide wrap-around porch, the home itself built up on stilts to keep it above ground during hurricanes and coastal flooding.

A home with an energy and a history all its own.

One morning, my mom called me from out on the porch. I think I was fishing down on the shore of the river. She told me there was a snake inside in the laundry room.

I carried a garden hoe and walked through the house and found the back washroom, and sure enough a snake had found a dark corner in the room and was coiled up and resting. (No doubt waiting for mice to eat).

And so I carefully scooped the snake up, dangling it from the end of the hoe, and carried it through the house and out into the front yard. The thing was probably three feet long and wrapped and slithered around the hoe until I was able to get it out into the grass of the front yard and flung it to the ground.

I struck the snake with the hoe, and that was when I was hit with an electrical surge the likes of which I’ll never forget. It felt like a shock, as if I’d brushed against an electrified fence. One of the most curious feelings I’ve ever experienced because it did not seem natural or entirely of this world.

The snake died. Soon thereafter. But the electrical shock that struck me when I killed it has stayed with me for over twenty years.

I’ve written it off in my mind as some sort of curious electrical impulse that was running through its central nervous system, though I know that explanation doesn’t entirely hold up to scientific scrutiny. Creatures don’t give off electrical surges like that, at least not that I’ve ever heard of. But it helps me to process the weirdness of that moment. The inexplicable nature of an electrical shock coming off of a snake.

The other explanation that I’ve kept in mind was that the snake embodied all of the negative energy my mom and dad had been fighting through… a force of energy that tested their love. And perhaps an even darker Southern past stemming from the Civil War itself, and that my act of killing the snake was an act of putting to rest that part of my own internal subconscious connection to that past.

Fiona - 

Thank you, that was quite a story!

If you want to catch up with Stacey Cochran go HERE

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Thank you so much for stopping by. And thank you for your support. When you buy my books, you make it possible for me to continue to bring you helpful articles and keepThrillWriting free and accessible to all.

Cheers,

Script Writer to Novelist with Jim Morris

ThrillWriters, I have a treat for you. Jim Morris has stopped in to talk to us about transitioning between script writing and novel writing.

James Morris is a former television writer with produced credits including episodes of “Smallville,” “Crossing Jordan” and “The 4400.” Born in Chicago, he now calls Los Angeles home. He lives with his wife and dog, and when not writing you can find him experimenting in the kitchen (which is one of my favorite of his attributes.) 

So you see we are in good hands with this information.

Fiona -
Jim, you have been involved in writing for a long time, but you have shifted your attention lately from script to novel. What led you to this change and a bit about your newest novel that just won a Kindle Scout contract - congratulations by the way!

Jim - 

Sure, and thank you Fiona, for having me. 

I always knew I wanted to write, and I grew up going to the movies every weekend with my dad. Growing up in the Midwest, it seemed such a strange goal to want to get into entertainment, but I was hooked with storytelling. I used to also love reading Ray Bradbury and Stephen King. I went to college, majored in English literature and film, and then I moved to Los Angeles. From there, I was lucky enough to meet the right people, and work hard, where I landed on a few TV series. I had a writing partner at the time, but we eventually amicably broke up. 

Afterwards, it was difficult to re-brand myself as a solo entity, but I still had the love of words and storytelling, so I shifted into novels. And it's been great - that direct communication between writer and reader. What Lies Within isn't my first book, but it's the first one that landed, and it's been great to see it take root. 

What Lies Within is a Young adult thriller ~

"You’re going to die"

A single text message and Shelley Marano’s world is upended. A normal high school senior, Shelley discovers she is adopted. She goes on a journey to uncover her past, only to find she was part of a horrific experiment to test the theory of nature versus nurture. In a culture of violence committed by young people, she may be one of these killers. With the lives of her and her friends in the balance, one thing is certain: she will never be the same.

Fiona - 

YIPES!

For you, which elements of writing for TV are helpful when it comes to creating a novel, and which elements did you have to be aware to change in the novel format?

Jim -
Here's the good with TV writing:

1. You realize your words aren't precious. Yes, of course they are important, but all writing is about re-writing, but more so in TV due to budgets, input from differing stakeholders - so you learn to be agile. 
2. TV writing forces you to write - there is no waiting for inspiration. The actors need a script, and the show must go on, so there's great training in just getting down to putting words on paper; and three, in my experience, writing scripts really forces you to make sure the story works - there's an outline, and it twists and turns, so you know where you are going as a writer. The downside, of course, is that there is no prose in scripts, and learning that craft, to expand on scenes in a novel took some time. Scripts are all about economy, moving in and out, but people read to have an experience, to settle in to the characters. It's a skill I'm still trying to develop more. 

Fiona - 

In your novel What Lies WIthin what kind of TV rating (G? R?) would it receive and why?

Jim -
What Lies Within is definitely a strong PG-13. It deals with violence in society. In fact, one of the reasons that I wanted to write it was I kept seeing the horrible things on the news with young people and shootings. I wondered - why is this happening? It wasn't like that when I was growing up, and it's like once an idea takes root in society, it grows, and it doesn't matter if the idea is good or bad. Once the genie is out of the bottle, it's out.

Fiona -
So what age ranges would you suggest. I'm asking because Crossing Jordan which I saw once (I'm not a TV watcher so feel flattered) seemed to be a good conversation started between the generations.

Do you feel that What Lies Within would be a good one for a family to share and discuss?

Jim - 
You know, it's weird that publishing even has these labels now - young adult, and new adult. I like to think of stories as just good stories. But yes, if I had to say what age ranges, of course that depends on the maturity of the reader. Probably age 15 and up. I wouldn't call it family-fare (when I hear that I think more of Walt Disney) but it could be something for parents and kids to read, as it deals with relationships within the family.

I will add, though, in terms of reader maturity, who would've thought that the HUNGER GAMES trilogy would've been such a hit given that it's about kids killing kids, and it's PG-13. I would've thought parents would've gone running away from a story like that, but I guess because it's not set in this reality, it's more palatable.

Fiona -
I'm interested in the topic of scaling up - it seems that storylines in the mainstream are getting progressively more sexualized and violent at early ages. And sometimes that messes up a good story. The hunger games, example that you brought up. . . this is about children killing children and not even in a distant way (as one does with guns) but in up close confrontations. Few trained adults could take a life in hand-to-hand -- it's against the preponderance of society's nature, but it seemed easily absorbed by our culture as a norm in literature then movies.

What do you see happening in the visual storytelling industry and the book industry along the lines of acceptability.

Jim - 
That is a deep question. I could argue that storytelling is all about high stakes, and there is nothing more high stake than a survival story set against the backdrop of a society out of control.

I honestly don't know how to answer this - there is no answer, really. All art, literature, movies, even food, is subjective. I think this push-pull has been happening for centuries, and will keep on going forever.

Fiona - 

Agreed. Reminds me of the Bob Dylan song - These Times They Are a Changin. . .

With the idea of exposing violence and sexuality to a broader age range - what kinds of parameters in terms of language and adult content were you constrained by when developing your scripts as opposed to books?


Jim - 
Whether books, or scripts, I just try to tell a good story. Some of those projects are aimed at different audiences. For example, my young adult novels: I want them to be appropriate for that age range, but also, if my aim is to write a thriller, it's gotta be, well, a thriller. High stakes, danger. I'm not a John Greene (though I'd love to be) where my stories are about relationships and will-she-or-won't-she-get-the-guy. Those are great stories, but what compels me as a writer is exploring more of the darkness, the underbelly in us, that usually gets glossed over. Especially for young adult, I think there's the tendency to repress how you feel, rather than seeing: hey, lots of people think these thoughts.

As for the TV scripts, there was more latitude because the audience was assumed to be adult. On the other hand, "The Dead Zone," which I wrote for, was on the USA Network, and it was more family-oriented, or at least at that time.

I will add, and I think it's funny: my mother always asks me when am I going to write a "nice book."

Fiona - 
I think those dark underbelly things are exactly the kinds of things that YA needs to explore and talk about. 

And just to add a bit of psychology here. Humans are wired to tell stories as a means of experiencing without experiencing. If one hears the story about being eaten by a bear, one knows that that is a possibility and when in a bear populated setting, the person understands they shouldn't go up and pet the bears and share a picnic. Decisions are made based on this information.  By providing experience through character-learning, that is the reader growing along with the character, a lot of underbelly things can be mastered and let go through literature instead of actual experience.

YA is a time for storm surges. What kinds of "dark underbelly" themes did you explore in your YA novels?

Jim - 
What Lies Within is the first one to make it to publication, and at its root it's about identity. Who are we? That's at the root of a lot of what I write. There's the structure of what parents want their kids to do, to be, but that's not always who the kids are. I think that's great tension - between who you are versus who you "should" be, or who others want you to be.

I don't always have the same theme for my work, but the quest for identity is one that I realize I come back to often. Who are we versus who we say we are?

By the way, that's why I find Facebook fascinating. Who are the people on it? Are they whom they really are, or is it how we would like to be seen?

Fiona - 
The search for authenticity is timeless - I'm turning 50 and still wondering who I'm going to be when I grow up. I imagine this theme resonates across our society. Did you use that theme in your TV scripts as well?

Jim - 
TV scripts are a whole different ball of wax. On TV, you are hired as a team, and in most TV shows the main character never changes. It's about the case of the week. People tune in to see their favorite TV character - whoever that is - and watch them solve something. But at the end of the episode, they really haven't changed. That's the nature of episodic network TV, which is where I worked. (It's different, too, than the shows on cable, Netflix, now, certainly.) So, it's less about introducing a theme, or having a character undergo an arc - and growing - as it is in a book.

Fiona -Did you find that frustrating? Taking A, B, and C and today they. . . instead of growing the character? Or did you find that that freed you up to experience your character in different ways - maybe reveal different layers of your character by manipulating only the plot? 

And the follow up question - how do you like manipulating your characters through an arc - what has surprised you about the process in your novel writing?

Jim -
I really enjoyed working in TV and would like to do it again. 

It all depends on the show. It can be frustrating because the focus is more on: what is the case of the week? But, you're right, that's also freeing: the character is pretty much set, so you're job is to create a lively story. Sure, there can be "season" arcs that you help create, where do you say Character A will end up here by the end of the season. For me, this is what it comes down to: TV is a group effort, and along with a group effort comes some difficult personalities, but it's great to work as a team; it can be a lot of fun/social. Writing a novel is isolating, and yet, it's all me. Love the book or hate it, I wrote it. There is a great ownership of it, where in TV, maybe my script got rewritten by the boss, or maybe an actor messed up a line (or maybe made my "flat" dialogue that much better!) It's all part of the soup, and a team effort - the end product belongs to everyone, not just me.

Fiona- 
If a writer was trying to develop themselves in a new direction, moving from novel to screen writing what advice would you give? What first steps could they take?

Jim - 
Interesting. First, I would have to sit them down and say: your book is yours, but what you write for the screen? That will never belong to you. That's the main difference; once a writer knows that going on, then it will save a lot of frustration when the many, sometimes contradictory notes come in. Second, everything happens in present tense, and you're limited only by what you see/hear on screen. That's the pleasure of a book - you can experience a character's thoughts, a voice, a rhythm. On screen, it's: what do we see? What do we hear? 

Fiona - 

Will you tell us a scar story?

Jim - 
I got my most noticeable scar when I was a young kid, and I played near construction sites. This was in the 70s, and building was booming, and up and down my neighborhood were new houses going up. Well, I was playing near a foundation and jumped into the basement, only to land weird, and my head banged onto the cement. But there happened to be a nail sticking straight up on that floor, and it embedded into my forehead. Not deep enough to penetrate my skull or anything, but enough to give me a Harry Potter scar. Of course, I ran to a neighbor and she fixed me up, and I learned the hard way not to play near construction sites.

Fiona - 

Thanks so much Jim for sharing your insights and experience with us.

If you would like to stay in touch with Jim here are his links:
http://jamesmorriswriter.com
https://twitter.com/JMorrisWriter
https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/3S9DO5N5SBDWP

Fiona Quinn's Newsletter Link, Sign up HERE

Thank you so much for stopping by. And thank you for your support. When you buy my books, you make it possible for me to continue to bring you helpful articles and keepThrillWriting free and accessible to all.

Cheers,

Environmental Terrorism with Maggie Toussaint

Fiona - 

Today, ThrillWriters, we're chatting about environmental terrorism with Maggie Toussaint who is writing her sci-fi novels under the pen name Rigel Carson.

Maggie, I just finished G-1 a Kindle Scout winner that came out with Kindle Press. First, congratulations! Second, you normally don't write science fiction what about this story called you away from your usual plotline?

Maggie - 
Good morning, Fiona. Thanks for having me here. Yes, G-1 is a departure from my normal mystery and suspense novels. I wanted to write a story that reflected my education and work experience, along with my writing ability.

Fiona - 

Would you give us some information about your scientific background?

Maggie - 

I am classically trained as a scientist. I’ve worked in several different science fields at government facilities as a contract scientist. In each situation, I worked for one or more PhDs, so I can’t claim ownership of any of the projects. (Think Worker Bee when you think of me.) I’ll share a bit about these opportunities and you can take it from there.

My expertise is more in the research and development side of science. At first, I was on the lower rungs of the scientific ladder, then as I had more experience and a higher degree, I wrote proposals for projects that my big boss wanted to do, ordered the materials, set the project up, ran it, scheduled additional labor when needed, coordinated with other departments and off site investigators, closed out the project, collected and managed the data, and often wrote the first draft of our findings for my PhD boss. I also went to various research symposia with large posters and fielded questions from my peers.

My first scientist job was at a government facility where I had to have a background check and a security clearance to get in the front door. My job was in the Industrial Hygiene department, which basically meant I was part of a crew that monitored personnel and environmental health and safety at this site. I’d rather not say what the product was or where the facility was on the internet. Any time you want to get together and swap stories over a beer, I can tell you about the “plant.”

Following this job, I married and relocated when my husband, who was a government employee, got promoted to the Washington Headquarters Office. I landed a job at Fort Detrick in Maryland doing chemical extractions on soils. Our job was to identify new products to put through chemical trials for antitumor properties. During the course of my employment, the team I was part of identified several candidate drugs. I’m not sure if those products made it to market, but I decided to work at a job that didn’t involve carcinogens while we started a family. One item of note was that they named one of the new products after me: Maggiemycin. You can google it and see my name on some of the papers. Maggiemycin didn’t make it to market, but it is still something new that we discovered.

After the kids were born, I got my Master’s degree in environmental science and landed another science job, this time in Aquatic Toxicology. I worked at Fort Detrick again in a sister organization to USAMRIID, which you may remember from the Hot Zone book and movie about Ebola. My group had nothing to do with Ebola! We were interested in ways to monitor drinking water safety for soldiers. I worked with this team of PhDs and Army officers for nearly a dozen years, and we made some amazing discoveries.

So, I’ll digress a little bit into “lite” chemistry. Water is a powerful solvent. Many chemicals dissolve wholly in it or in some small measure. With the advent of high tech and copious industries, discharges were not initially monitored and policed as they should have been. Groundwater and surface water around the world is often contaminated with something that shouldn’t be there. For instance, dry cleaning chemicals contain something called trichloroethylene which at certain levels is soluble in water and harmful to people and other living things.

The people at the top would decide how and what chemicals we would study, sometimes based on where the troops would deploy. We mainly studied organic chemicals. The cool part of my job was that I worked in a fishery. Yes, we used teeny tiny fish to help monitor what was in the water. We would often maintain a population of 5,000 to 10,000 fish at any one time and there was a lot of animal husbandry involved to keep the colony going and not genetically isolated. Our testing was for both long term effects (cancers) as well as short term effects.

Anyway, one of the inventions of this group was a mobile biomonitoring trailer outfitted with aquaria just like we had in the lab. One application involved juvenile bluegill fish. We were able to monitor the electronic coughs of fish when certain irritants (chemicals) were present in the water in real time. We deployed these at various sites around the country to test the efficacy and found that we could reproduce the same results as in our lab. The lead scientists presented this information in symposia and in journals.

Then 9/11 happened. Many cities became concerned about their drinking water safety. It is my understanding that two major metropolitan areas installed our technology and used our fish to monitor their drinking water for some time. I’m not certain if this is still ongoing because I retired from my job due to health concerns (my family is riddled with arthritis) and to focus on my oldest daughter’s upcoming wedding.

My thoughts about government scientists: we need smart people to figure stuff out. The more innovations we have, the more opportunities we have to mess up the environment or people. If all the research is done by private companies in a “for profit” mode, we’ve lost something valuable. Speaking from experience, the policy makers and budget people have a lot of power in government agencies. You have to learn how to walk the walk and talk the talk to survive.

Fiona -

And how did this translate into your newest book?

Maggie - I created a scientist main character (science is my background) and gave him an impossible task - to figure out why the world's water supply is not adding up. To make matters worse, I had his mentor go down in flames earlier for a misconstrued remark about global warming.

So my scientist, Dr Zeke Landry, knows the penalty for error. He also knows water can't go away. It's part of the hydrologic cycle. Trouble is, the numbers show a different trend. He is being pressured to say the water's okay, that it is all where it is supposed to be, but it isn't.

That's when his boss decides to get him an unbiased expert to help him comb through the data, a top of the line android.

Fiona -
How plausible is a storyline such as this, given the systems and science that we have in place now?

Maggie - 
I believe this is a very plausible storyline. Now, I've been out of the research world for over 15 years and out of the academic world for longer than that, but I spoke with a number of scientists, engineers, and science fiction authors as I was developing the premise. What was intriguing for me was that this is a mystery set in the future. I love puzzles, and I believe someone (or some huge entity) could siphon off the world's drinking water over a few decades with the long term goal of global domination. Sure we can keep pulling water from the oceans, but that will create other problems. If freshwater is lacking, we also have arid conditions globally, and that's what I made happen in G-1. It becomes a domino effect of no water, no food, global terror. 

You asked about the systems we have in place. Countries have scientists and systems in place to monitor reservoir levels and freshwater impoundment levels. In fact, there are many municipalities and states even that have very detailed rules over water usage. That means each entity or stakeholder may only use so much or they will be in violation of the agreement and incur serious penalties. 

Let's look specifically at Georgia. Water in upstate Georgia flows down to the sea in either the Altamaha River basin or the Savannah River basin. New industries can't just build and use water without all kinds of permissions and monitoring. Plus, old industries that were grandfathered in are dealing with pollution issues and abatement. The point of this is that what comes downstream to us on the coast determines the economy of our fishing industry. Drought upstate can affect our estuaries and make them too salty for marine life. And that's just the in state effect. Water from Altanta also flows out of state and affects other people, places, and things. Industry down where I am located is caught in a stranglehold already because of water usage. We used to have natural artesian water bubbling up on our barrier islands and the coast. No more. It's gone. The levels in the groundwater aquifers are dropping as well as having saltwater intrusion. 

Water availability is a current problem and though it isn't as severe as portrayed in G-1, it won't take long to get to that point, no matter the safeguards or lawsuits. One of the things that was hounded into me in college is that our natural resources are finite. We have to take care of them. 

Fiona -
Environmental terrorism isn't a new concept. In history we see land being destroyed by sewing the ground with salt etc. to make it useless for growing food. There are things that can be done to affect an area over time - and some things which are immediate. Let's look at look at slow quiet destruction first - what could an evil group such as Chameleon do now - invasive species and the like...

Maggie - 

Sure, sowing the land with salt is very detrimental to most plants. Given the ecosystems of the coast, there is a gradient of plant life that can tolerate high salt input, and the diversity of plant life is small, comparatively. 

We already have invasive species problems on the coast. Tallow plants, kudzu, and others quickly outgrow native species and don't provide food for our native insects. Invasive species not only take away space from our plants, but they are very aggressive growers and disrupt our food chain.

The environment works much as our legal system is supposed to work, with checks and balances. When something gets out of whack, then there becomes both an excess and a deficit. Whatever was discriminated against, will have a hard time gaining momentum to find its place in the food chain again. That's general ecology which even kids should recognize. But when we put chemicals on our lawn say in Atlanta, we don't think about them harming fish way downstream.

With regard to the Chameleons in my book G-1, they are up to a lot of dirty tricks. First, they stockpiled water and food. Their intent was never to starve the world, only to get its attention and seem to be the good guys solving the world's problems. 

In the story world, the ground is so arid from water shortages that all fresh food is grown in government controlled agridomes. The Chameleons unleash locusts in the agridomes, locusts that are souped up and genetically engineered to eat faster. They chose not to ruin the agridomes because they knew they would need them later, but they made food a pinch point. People with no food are dangerous and desperate. We've seen that over and over again in our history. Given those conditions, a secret society with a global conspiracy end game is a possibility. Maybe its because I'm a mystery author that I see this possibility. I've always believed most of us peons don't have any idea of how the world is run. Who's to say there isn't a group orchestrating things right now?

Fiona - 
So that's long term, probably will never catch the bad guy stuff - what about short term? Setting off a nuke, obviously. But what other "hold the world hostage" environmental terrorist fears are there and what kinds of things are governments doing to prevent them?

Maggie - 
Suffice it to say that a lot of genetic engineering and growth of harmful viruses and lethal agents occurs right now in the name of science. 

When I worked at Fort Detrick, there was a scientist there who was accused of sending anthrax through the mail. Remember that? It was all over the news. Postal workers started wearing gloves to handle the mail. Special air filtration was deemed necessary for post offices. That was just one example, but the mail was bogged down for a very long time. Politicians and other industry leaders rarely open their mail any more. One single thing like this has a huge domino effect. 

Let's look at airport screening after 911. They first screened for metal to keep weapons off the plane. Then liquids were used to create a threat, so now liquids are monitored on planes. Now, with 3-D printers, people can make anything out of plastic. Pretty soon, we won't be able to carry anything with us on a trip. 

I firmly believe basic human nature is to want power, autonomy, and authority. With different philosophies and religions as driving forces, groups will continue to fight each other for domination. Think about the news. We still see suicide bombers. We see smart bombs. There are ways to discharge dangerous substances through the actions of a few. 

It is possible, and it happens today on a small scale. So far, nothing huge has taken down a city or a government. Let's hope it doesn't. That's what I like about science fiction. It gives you an idea of what can happen. And it should be a wake up call for people to take notice of how others are conducting themselves. Again, bioterrorism is a reality that many of us don't like to think about. I'm grateful for the men and women of our country, and others, who work to keep these kind of attacks squashed.

Fiona - 
As a scientist, what piece of advice can you give writers who are developing a plotline around environmental terror?

Maggie -
One of the things I would like to say to writers who write about terrorism is that there are unexpected consequences. Another writer I know who used bombs in her story is now pulled aside for "extra" screening every time she flies. Because of this, that author said to me that she believes there are ways your computer searches for information and even your email subjects can be flagged to put you on a government watch list. This author jokes about it, and she's the nicest person I ever met, but still, that kind of labeling can occur. 

Secondly, and this will fly in the face of the above consequence, be sure you report enough of the facts to sound credible but also don't present enough information that your book becomes a recipe for global evil. Also remember, all actions have consequences. Writers have responsibility for their words.

Fiona - 

It is a tradition on ThrillWriting that we ask you to share your favorite scar story or harrowing experience. Will you indulge us?

Maggie - 

My first trip to the dermatologist as a grown-up was in conjunction with my husband. We had both spent hours outside daily throughout our lives and it was time to see if there was any damage. Each of us had a few minor places that needed to be taken care of, but the dermatologist did a double take at the place on my leg. Because of the color and shape, he predicted that it was a melanoma.

Talk about heart-stopping! I froze emotionally at that cancer word I knew so well from my cancer research. My first thought as I looked down at my leg was that I didn’t want any part of cancer. Get it out was my internal cry. The doctor was of the same mindset, so he excised the spot and sent it to pathology. I went home a changed person. I think my husband bought me my first big-brimmed hat that very day. The pathology report confirmed melanoma and we were told to report back to the office for another surgery.

At this point it felt like a dream that was happening to someone else. The doctor said that there was a protocol of how much and how deep he had to go based on the path report. Bottom line, he cut more out of my thigh, even way beyond the original spot. The next path report showed he’d gotten it all, but now I bear a football shaped scar that’s lily white. It has never seen the sun, and it never will.

This was a wakeup call for me. Growing up in sunny coastal Georgia, we spent all of our summers, weekends, and afternoons outside in the rivers or creating treehouses. I spent endless teenage days reading books on the beach in the years when sunscreen was but a glimmer in someone’s eye. Parents today are lucky to have sunscreens and I hope the kids of today will grow up with less skin cancers.

 Fiona -

Our best wishes for your continued good health. 

I'm going to give you the final word, Maggie. What would you like to tell us?

Maggie -
My message, indeed my theme for the entire Guardian of the Earth series, is that our planet is special. We should be cognizant of the miracle of life here and we should become stewards of the environment. It isn't enough to give up hair spray to save the ozone layer which in turn is necessary to filter sun rays to a beneficial level. Everything we do has consequences. Sure we're concerned with our everyday lives, who isn't? But we have to look out for the Big Picture, the survival of the human race. 

Science fiction has stimulated this kind of thinking for me. From Star Trek through Star Wars through shows like Firefly and more. We may feel we are alone and unique in the universe, but that may not be the case. Our everyday lives are impacted today by what happens around the world. Just look at manufacturing, for instance, or foods. The labels on products show the countries of origin. We are no longer isolated like pioneers. We need to act accordingly. And now, I'll step off my soap box and thank Fiona for having me here to present my thoughts about environmental terrorism and to mention my new book G-1, which is the first in my Guardian of Earth series, writing as Rigel Carson.

Fiona - 

Thanks Maggie.

You can stay in contact with Maggie/Rigel Carson on -

Facebook

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Amazon

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Thank you so much for stopping by. And thank you for your support. When you buy my books, you make it possible for me to continue to bring you helpful articles and keep ThrillWriting free and accessible to all.

Cheers,