The tickle of curiosity. The gasp of discovery. Fingers running across the keyboard.

The tickle of curiosity. The gasp of discovery. Fingers running across the keyboard.

The World of Iniquus - Action Adventure Romance

Showing posts with label Writers' resource. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Writers' resource. Show all posts

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Celebrating ThrillWriting's First Birthday!

English: Photo of Team Singapore fireworks dis...
 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)


One Year Old

ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND VIEWS!

I just wanted to express my deep gratitude
for your support, and kindness.

And my special appreciation to the wonderful
professionals who have shared their 
time and talent with us.

Looking forward to Learning More with YOU

in Year TWO!


















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Sunday, April 13, 2014

Diplomacy: Information for Writers with William Shepard



Fiona
Good morning, Mr. Shepard. 
Thank you so much for visiting with ThrillWriting today. 


     Readers, Mr. Shepard has
     served our country
     overseas for decades in
     the diplomatic corp. Sir, what
     would
     you like the readers to know
     about you?

Mr. Shepard - My career was in
     diplomacy. I am a lawyer by
     training, and a writer by preference. I am herded
     about by two enchanting rescued cats, and we live on the
     Eastern Shore of Maryland.

Fiona - I very much enjoyed reading your memoirs - you are
     Harvard educated and decided to use your expertise in
     language and diplomacy to further the American cause in
     many countries. Can you give a brief taste of the countries
     in which you served and what your roles included?

Mr. Shepard - First, Singapore, fascinating and ultra-modern. When
     we were there, the island was being kicked out of Malaysia. As
     an Embassy officer and lecturer at the University of Singapore, 
     I had a ringside seat. We returned a year ago, and enjoyed
     seeing how magnificently the nation has progressed.
     A model for progress and keeping an expert eye on the
     environment. I was Consul at the Embassy in
     Singapore, then was transferred directly to Saigon during the
     war, and my family stayed in Singapore. In Saigon, I was Aide to
     Ambassadors Henry Cabot Lodge, then Ellsworth Bunker. It
Amazon Link 2.99
     was a ringside seat in the war.



Fiona - Before you tell me about
      your next stint, may I ask
      how that was for you and
      your family? You were both
      in foreign countries with very
      different cultures to our own
      and on your own without the
      daily support. How did you
      cope?

Mr. Shepard - Some would say,
      after New England, everyplace
      is a foreign country! I am from New Hampshire and Lois is
      from Connecticut. So, of course, we met while students at the
      University of Vienna. Living in foreign parts comes fairly
      naturally. Lois is very good at adapting to foreign cultures - and
      representing our own. I must say, a high point of sorts was
      reached when she heard that I was coming home to Singapore
      from Saigon for Thanksgiving, and there was no turkey
      available. So she talked a visiting US Admiral out of a turkey
      for our Thanksgiving dinner.

Fiona - I love that! Your wife, Lois Shepard, is very versatile.
      Would you share the story about when her quick actions saved
      a little boy's life and protected your family as a result?
Amazon Link 2.99


Mr. Shepard -  We lived near a
     kampong, or native area, in
     Singapore. One day the amah
     (house servant) came running
     in, to say that a baby had
     fallen into a water cistern and 
     drowned. Lois went flying out
     of the house, took the child
     from the arms of a relative, 
     and started artificial
     respiration. She was relieved
     when, after what seemed an eternity, the child
     threw up all over her and started breathing! After that, oddly
     enough, we were the only Embassy family that never had a
     problem with thievery. By the way, that rescue hit UPI quickly,
     and Lois' parents read about it in Hartford the same time it
     appeared in the Singapore press.

Fiona - What a fabulous story. I interrupted you, sir. Where did you
      go after Singapore?
Amazon Link 2.99

Mr. Shepard - Saigon. Actually I had
      two tours there, once for a
      year directly from Singapore, and
      then a few years later, I
      returned from Budapest to help
      monitor the Paris Peace Agreement.
      The Hungarians were part of the
      peacekeeping team, and I was there
      to monitor their performance -
      which was lousy. 

Fiona - That was during
      the communist reign. What did you
      find most difficult from a western
      perspective in dealing with this very different governmental
      philosophy? What personal challenges did you have to work
      through?
Amazon Link

    Mr. Shepard -   Communism in
      Hungary was a hated imposition.  
      The Russians were viewed
      as backward in every way, and their
      system a dreaded imposition. The
      heroic Hungarian Revolution of 1956
      proved that. I was trained in the
      Hungarian language and was the first
      Political Officer at our Embassy in
      Budapest, and then held
      the Hungarian Desk
      at the Department of State. We
      knew His Eminence Cardinal
      Mindszenty, who was in refuge at the
      Embassy then. And Lois was the only eyewitness to his
      departure. My novel, Murder On The Danube, is set in
      modern Budapest, with flashbacks to the 1956 Revolution.
Amazon Link

Fiona - Did you feel great
      relief when you were sent
      to France?

      How fun that you wrote a
      book about French wines.
      Was it all red wine and
      cassoulet? Or did your stay
      in France offer up its
      own challenges?


Mr. Shepard - My responsibility as Consul General in Bordeaux
      covered one-quarter of the entire nation. I had the usual
      gamut of American citizen issues (including getting people
      out of jail, or locating people who were lost), understanding
      the local culture and politics (I called nearly every election
      right), and making friends for the USA. The fact that my father
      had been an American soldier in France during the First World
      War helped ensure my welcome. The wines of course were
      world class, but that was on my own time. One of my chief
      responsibilities was keeping watch on Basque terrorism. 
      That formed the basis for
      my first diplomatic mystery novel, Vintage Murder.
Amazon Link .99

Fiona - Can you quickly go over
      some of the roles that
      diplomats play in foreign
      service and the ranks?

Mr. Shepard - Diplomats
      represent their own nation in
      another one. An Embassy is
      the official mission in the
      receiving state's capitol city.
      With us, it is a career 
      service,  and various 
      specialties (political, economic/commercial, consular,
      administrative, cultural/press) to follow as a career track.
      You start by taking a tough written and oral exam, and then get
      promoted, ever so slowly. The variations of assignment along
      the way are fascinating. The problem for a writer is that they
      change over time, and what you remember quite distinctly may
      no longer be there!

Fiona - What types of personalities work best for foreign service?
      And which kind of personalities might feel the most challenged
      - this will help writers set up their characters for success or
      failure when plotting.

Mr. Shepard - I think that the folks who do well on the Foreign
      Service exam are readers, and compulsively curious. My oral
      exam, for example, had a panel member asking me to trace the
      attempts in the US Senate to forestall the Civil War. I had
      always been interested in that period, so apparently did well.
      Another question was to name, in my view, the five best
      American symphonies and their conductors. What seems
      needed is curiosity, a desire to see beyond the obvious, and a
      self-starter mentality.

Fiona - You referred to the changing conditions included in the life
      of a diplomat not only imposed by place but time and
      circumstance, what do you feel are important aspects of the job
      for a writer to understand in order to write authentically. Are
      there resources for writers that you are aware of where research
      could be conducted on diplomatic realities of a given time or
      place?

Mr. Shepard - Well, now there are an increasing number of
      memoirs, such as my own, Sunsets In Singapore. There are
      probably too many thrillers about, and the Foreign Service isn't
      really like that. A lot of it is slow going, and building some
      confidence with your opposite numbers in a Foreign Ministry.
      For example, I helped negotiate a consular convention with
      communist Hungary, our first treaty with that nation in some
      thirty years. What made it work was that the other side, when I
      disagreed with them, understood that I was giving an honest
      point of view. Had there not been that understanding, there
      would have been no treaty.

Fiona - Now that you have retired, you have become a prolific
      writer - and many of your books are under the sub-genre 
      diplomatic mysteries. Obviously, your work is a great resource
      to you - can you speak to this genre and what readers might
      hope to experience through your writing.



Mr. Shepard - First, I hope the reading is enjoyable. Tell a story,
     that's the first thing. I had an uncle who was a farmer in New
     Hampshire and a born storyteller. He and my aunt had no
     children, but they took in foster children from the state. Uncle
     Irvin told me that if the children were bad, the worst thing would
     be to tell them, "No story tonight!" Something like that is
     needed. Then comes the context, and the believablity of detail.
     But remember, it is a story that is being told.

Fiona - Mr. Shepard, it has been an honor to interview you, thank
     you so much for sharing your time and expertise with us. One
     final question that I ask of everyone who visits ThrillWriting:
     Could you please tell us the story behind your favorite scar? And
     if you are without scars, could you please tell us a harrowing
     story?

Mr. Shepard - No scars, I'm afraid. In my last days in Saigon during
      my second tour, I went out for a trip towards the Cambodian
      border. The helicopter pilot told us that there would be no
      intelligence briefing - the last briefer had left for the USA the
      day before! So off we went. We flew near the Parrot's Beak of
      Cambodia, and before we landed, the small arms fire began.
      (We were a peacekeeping mission.) The children who were to
      have met us left their sad traces on the ground. It still gives me
      nightmares. 

      On the more pleasant side, we had a huge
      Christmas tree in Budapest, and invited some Hungarian friends
      (who weren't afraid to be seen with us) to the house to see it.
      One said that they had always had small trees - the reason being
      that Christmas trees were illegal to have, so people would chop
      down small trees and hide them behind their overcoats. "But we
      really like the big trees," he said. I'm sure that is what they have
      now.

Fiona - Thank you, Mr. Shepard. 


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.


Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Illegal Drugs 101: Information for Writers


Are you trying to choose which drugs your character is taking?



English: A woman smoking crack from a glass pipe.
English: A woman smoking crack from a glass pipe. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you are writing a violent crime there is a 40% chance that the criminal had alcohol in his system. (link) And we know the heroine increases her risk of becoming a victim with the use of alcohol which is still the number one rape drug. But did you know that according to the Department of Justice, approximately 25% of all criminals who end up in the penitentiary do so committing crimes that somehow include drugs in the scenario? This might include:
* Growing/producing illegal drugs
* Selling 
* Crimes that are the result of having the
   drugs in the body
* Crimes such as robbery or burglary perpetrated to have the
   funds to get more drugs.






HarmCausedByDrugsTable
HarmCausedByDrugsTable (Photo credit: Wikipedia)



Drugs are a high profit - high risk undertaking

* With each step from farmer to consumer the drug is "cut" to 
   make the profits.
* When a substance is seized it is sent to a toxicology lab
   (Toxicology Forensics 101 blog link) for analysis. There it is
   determined what percent of the substance is drug and which is
   filler - like sugar in cocaine.
* A person charged with possession will be tried on the total weight
   of drug and cutting agent. So even if there is a very small
   percentage of actual drug, say 10% or 1 gram of coke in a
  10 gram seizure, the trial and sentencing would follow the
   guidelines for the 10 grams of product.
* There does have to be a certain amount of illegal substance
   involved in order to bring charges.




English: Drug Enforcement Administration logo
Drug Enforcement Administration logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)





The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is in charge of illegal substances. If you are writing a DEA agent's involvement they are tasked with:
Drug Enforcement Administration special agents
Drug Enforcement Administration special agents (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
...Enforcing the controlled substances laws and regulations of the United States, the DEA's primary responsibilities include:
  • Investigation and preparation for the prosecution of major violators of controlled substance laws operating at interstate and international levels.
  • Investigation and preparation for prosecution of criminals and drug gangs who perpetrate violence in our communities and terrorize citizens through fear and intimidation.
  • Management of a national drug intelligence program in cooperation with federal, state, local, and foreign officials to collect, analyze, and disseminate strategic and operational drug intelligence information.
  • Seizure and forfeiture of assets derived from, traceable to, or intended to be used for illicit drug trafficking.
  • Enforcement of the provisions of the Controlled Substances Act as they pertain to the manufacture, distribution, and dispensing of legally produced controlled substances.
  • Coordination and cooperation with federal, state and local law enforcement officials on mutual drug enforcement efforts and enhancement of such efforts through exploitation of potential interstate and international investigations beyond local or limited federal jurisdictions and resources.
  • Coordination and cooperation with federal, state, and local agencies, and with foreign governments, in programs designed to reduce the availability of illicit abuse-type drugs on the United States market through nonenforcement methods such as crop eradication, crop substitution, and training of foreign officials.
  • Responsibility, under the policy guidance of the Secretary of State and U.S. Ambassadors, for all programs associated with drug law enforcement counterparts in foreign countries.
  • Liaison with the United Nations, Interpol, and other organizations on matters relating to international drug control programs. quote link


Besides the DEA Who Is Looking for Drugs in Your Character's System?

* Corporations - when hiring or doing random tests
* Sports events looking for specific drugs "doping" that would
   increase the contenders abilities
* School systems
* Medical facilities - especially if a patient is brought in
   unconscious 
* Other law enforcement officers
* Coroners 

When a drug is found in the system:

* Toxicology is mainly tested with blood or urine samples.
* Lab techs will identify the drugs and quantity of drugs in the body
* If there is a death, the coroner tries to determine if the drug on
   board 
   a. Caused the death
   b. Contributed to the death
Blog article - Forensic Toxicology


Quick Guide to Drug Categories 

There are four ways to formulate a drug
1. Naturally occurring - like marijuana and mushrooms
2. Plant extracts -  cocaine
3. Semi-synthetic - manufactured from a plant like heroine or LSD
4. Synthetic - entirely man made

DRUGS: 


A pile of crack cocaine ‘rocks’
A pile of crack cocaine ‘rocks’
Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Stimulants
Include - 
* Amphetamines
* Cocaine
* Khat 
* Methamphetamine

Might cause - 
* Elevated mood 
* Increased blood 
   pressure/heart/respiration
   rates
* Reduced depression
   and create euphoria 
* Created energy - such as
   caffeine.

Samogon Cocktail, Tales of the Cocktail, New O...
Samogon Cocktail, Tales of the Cocktail, New Orleans. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Depressants
Include - 
* Alcohol
* Barbiturates
* Benzodiazepines
* GHB
* Rohypnol

Effects might include - 
* Kill people by paralyzing
   the respiratory center in
   their brain
* Mixing alcohol and barbiturates often causes death
* Sudden withdrawal (cold turkey) can cause death
* They effect the brain and central nervous system, slowing
   breathing, lowering heart rate and blood pressure.
* Depressants also reduce the R.E.M. stage of sleep so will effect
   cognition and mood over time. 
* Also, they can stimulate the nervous system to produce energy
   mimicking a stimulant (why parents take their kid's ADD meds.)
* Can last minutes or up to 48 hours.


Heroin powder
Heroin powder (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Narcotic
Include - 
* Heroin
* Hydromorphone
* Methodone
* Morphine
* Opium
* Oxycodone

Resulting in possible - 
* Euphoria, rush, hallucinations
* Restlessness
* Loss of appetite, upset stomach, nausea, vomiting
* Dry mouth
* Lethargy, drowsiness, nodding, difficulty being roused
* Unsteadiness, confusion
* Suppression of pain
* Constricted (pinpoint) pupils
* Scars (tracks) caused by injections
* Difficulty urinating
* Constipation
* Sweating
* Difficulty breathing

Chronic / long term use of narcotics may cause -
* Develop tolerance
* Decreased heart rate
* Slowness of movement (bradykinesia)  
* Decreased/loss of coordination (ataxia)
* Delayed Encephalopathy (brain disorders)
* The brain may stop producing the bodies natural painkillers
   (endorphins), making withdrawal very painful.
* Infections of the skin
* Speech abnormalities
resource link
English: Main long-term effects of heroine, in...
 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)


English: Four ounces of low-grade marijuana, u...
Four ounces of low-grade marijuana, usually referred to as a quarter-pound or QP. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hallucinogens
Include - 
* Ecstasy/MDMA
* K2/Spice
* Ketamine
* LSD
* Peyote and Mescaline
* Marijuana
* Steroids
* PCP (angel dust)

Effects might include - 
* Dilated pupils
* Rapid Heart beat
* Cold chills, shivering/hot flashes
* Dizziness
* Tremors/shaking
* Paranoia
* Panic (bad trip)
* Changes in sensory perceptions
* Hallucinations
* Body numbness, can't feel pain such as a stab or bullet wound

* Violent or aggressive behavior
* Psychosis


Salvia divinorum flower detail
Salvia divinorum flower detail (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Other Drugs of Concern
* Bath salts or designer
   Cathinones
* DXM
* Salvia Divinorum




See how this article influenced my plot lines in my novella MINE and my novel CHAOS IS COME AGAIN.


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.