Peter Petrack on writing for a modern audience

Sorry for the late posting but I've just started a new job and I'm all over the place. :-P As a result, today's post has not been written by me but is instead a guest post by Peter Petrack. It's all about his new book Wayfarers Highway. If you're looking for an epic story about a seemingly normal character then I think you've landed in the right place. Enjoy!

A camper travels the back roads of America, but it is not what it seems. Pursued by powerful forces: a master-mind, a maniac, and a terrorist, its crew wonders if they'll ever reach Journey's end.

When Eloise Corwin - a longtime patient in her desert hometown's infirmary - finds a wounded young traveler sharing her sick room; she insists that he tell her about his adventures. The young man, Orson Gregory, tells her how he found and stole a glowing gemstone, hidden for decades beneath the government-built factory beside his family farm. He tells her how he's been chased ever since - by mercenaries, by terrorists, and by other, stranger enemies. He tells her how he threw in his lot with a real adventurer, a mythology professor, an innkeeper, and a duo of hired guns on a cross-country journey to clear his name and return home - something he's currently failing to do. To reach safety, the motley travelers will first have to deal with each other, evade the foes that follow their every move, and tangle with other forces both strange and powerful, their fellow travelers on the Wayfarers Highway.

About the Author:
In addition to writing the Wayfarers Highway novels, Peter Petrack is also a composer and performing trombonist. In recent years, he has found growing success as a writer of Jazz, as well as Orchestral, Choral, and Band Works. Between these two artistic businesses, Peter has frequently been forced to write in the third person. He lives in Pennsylvania, where he is constantly surrounded by pieces of paper.

In the Author’s own words:
Wayfarers Highway is a story for today. We live in a really weird time. A lot of people are confused and frightened. Naturally, readers and writers turn to strange stories in these kinds of times. The difference now is that a lot of the bizarre things in the story can come directly from real life. I wanted to write that kind of story, a legend for today – that’s something I’ve been calling it for a while. I wanted all of the adventure of the big legends set in the modern world, with modern themes, and modern characters.

I like that timeliness. It also made the book difficult to write. I would never want to write something blatantly for 2016, for example, something that a year from now would be obsolete. But achieving the general early 21^st Century setting was worth the balancing act.

Wayfarers Highway is the end result of nearly eight years of that kind of thinking. It’s a story about an ordinary young man, named Orson Gregory, who steals a glowing rock that he finds under a factory that was built decades ago on farmland his family sold to the government. This ends Orson’s life as he knew it. People want the rock he stole - strange people, and dangerous. Powerful enemies – mercenaries, terrorists, and maniacs chase him across America. Orson’s only help comes from a motley bunch of his fellow travelers, a hippie, an innkeeper, a mythology professor, and hired guns. On the road, trying and failing to find a way to return home, Orson is forced to face the truth that the world is stranger, more complicated, and more dangerous than he ever imagined.

Here are the purchase links:

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wayfarers-highway-peter-petrack/1124660555?ean=9780997973204

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Wayfarers-Highway-Peter-Petrack/dp/099797320X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1475868650&sr=8-1&keywords=wayfarers+highway

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31952643-wayfarers-highway?from_search=true

You can find Peter on Twitter: https://twitter.com/peterpetrack  or @PeterPetrack

Fear of death

You may have noticed (or maybe it didn't even register) that I didn't make my regular Tuesday posting. I traveled for Thanksgiving and honestly I'm surprised I got last Friday's post and today's post up (even if it is super late). It's been a busy week! However, on the flight I was able to read a graphic novel that I've had on my radar for quite some time. Three Shadows by Cyril Pedrosa is a tension-filled story of just how far a father will go to keep his son safe. The story begins with a depiction of a nearly idyllic family complete with mother, father, and son who are living off the land in perfect bliss until...the three shadows appear. It is a story of fear, determination, and the lengths a father will go to when he feels his son is threatened. It's also about grief and the inevitability of death. I think this is an important book for a couple of reasons. Firstly, if there is someone in your life who is currently struggling with a loss it could provide a measure of comfort that they are not alone. Secondly, if a parent is trying to explain life and death to their child then this might be the way to go. I know there are other children's picture books that touch on this topic but this definitely discusses not only the sadness but the fear of death which I think adults relate to even more so than children. Thirdly, the artwork really complements the story. It's without color, straightforward, and charming. I'm giving this one a 7/10.

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Connecting through letters

Over a year ago, I stumbled across a website entitled Slightly Foxed and was immediately intrigued. It's a quarterly magazine full of book reviews except these books aren't new releases. In fact, a large number of the books mentioned in the magazine are out of print and the authors aren't necessarily well-known. As with most things that I adore, Slightly Foxed originates in England and the book reviews (not to mention the books themselves) definitely reflect the English mentality. They're heartfelt, sardonic, thoughtful, and intelligent. Besides the quarterly magazines, you can also order from a limited selection of cloth bound novels. These are classic memoirs which have been reviewed by the magazine. By the way, they did not ask me to write this post. I've been trying to figure out for a while how I was going to plug them and I've finally gotten around to it.

Last year, I ordered the entire year's worth of magazines and the book 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff. Firstly, the magazines themselves are superb. Lovers of literature and those that might be looking for a new read that is unlikely to be stumbled upon in a chain bookstore will love Slightly Foxed. Secondly, if you haven't read 84, Charing Cross Road then you MUST GO READ IT IMMEDIATELY. I had never even heard of this book or this author until I read the review of it in SF where my interest was piqued. The book consists of letters sent between Helene who lived in New York and a man named Frank Doel who worked at an antiquarian bookstore called Marks and Co in London. The first letter was sent by Helene in 1949 and their correspondence continued for 20 years. Eventually, other coworkers from the store would start writing letters to Helene and she would develop a friendship with Frank's wife and daughters. I was so moved by these letters. They were real and beautiful. Helene is hilarious and crotchety. Frank comes across as uptight and somewhat aloof (until Helene breaks him of that). The second half of this book which was not a part of the original print...well I don't want to spoil it for you. Let's just say that it was extraordinarily easy for me to see myself in Helene's place. This is a woman that wrote from the heart and it's like...gosh. Ya'll I can't find the words to describe just how much I loved this book. I want to start right back at the beginning and I just closed the back cover. This has high rereadability. (Google tells me that isn't a real word but I refuse to believe that.) Go forth, readers. You won't regret it. 11/10

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Bonus post: Spreading the word about Inkitt

A little over a month ago, the guys over at Inkitt reached out to me to let me know about their website and about some of the novels being published there. The basic premise behind Inkitt is that anyone is welcome to submit their writing. Inkitt is a readers-driven publisher which means that once on the website readers (that's us!) are able to take a look at a wide variety of books and based on reading behavior (there are some mathematical calculations involved) Inkitt will decide if the novel is worth publishing. This means that tons of new and emerging writers are getting an opportunity to get their work out there and we're getting to see some new talent. Here are the Community Guidelines if you're interested in submitting something of your very own or you want to know how it all works. If, like me, you're not only interested in the mainstream publishing industry but also self-publishing then this is a really unique idea.

As of today, November 16th, you can access Inkitt through an app on iPhones and iPadds. Huzzah! You can download it through the App Store by going to this link. I highly encourage you guys to check them out (I'm not being paid to say any of this by the way. I just really like what they're doing and want to help them out.).

Just in case I missed anything or I didn't do their site justice you can watch a video all about what they're about here:

As always, thanks for visiting the blog and I hope to see you back here at the end of the week. Happy reading!

Andrew Joyce on the importance of thorough research

Psst today's post wasn't written by me but was instead written by a debut novelist, Andrew Joyce. The topic is historical research and how important it is to be as thorough as possible when writing anything with a basis in fact (like his book Yellow Hair which you can check out here.) Enjoy! :-)

My name is Andrew Joyce and I write books for a living. I would like to thank Alicea for allowing me to be here today to promote my latest, Yellow Hair, which documents the injustices done to the Sioux Nation from their first treaty with the United States in 1805 through Wounded Knee in 1890. Every death, murder, battle, and outrage I write about actually took place. The historical figures that play a role in my fact-based tale of fiction were real people and I use their real names. Yellow Hair is an epic tale of adventure, family, love, and hate that spans most of the 19^th century.

Through no fault of his own, a young man is thrust into a new culture just at the time that culture is undergoing massive changes. It is losing its identity, its lands, and its dignity. He not only adapts, he perseveres and, over time, becomes a leader—and on occasion, the hand of vengeance against those who would destroy his adopted people.

Now that the commercial is out of the way, we can get down to what I really came here to talk about: the research that goes into writing an historical novel or an action/adventure novel that uses an historical event as a backdrop.

I want to say that I learned the hard way how important proper research is. But it wasn’t really that hard of a lesson. In my first book, which takes place in the last half of the 19^th century, I made two mistakes. I had the date of an event off by one year and I had my hero loading the wrong caliber cartridge into his Winchester rifle. I would have gone blissfully throughout life not knowing how I had erred if not for my astute fans. Both mistakes were quickly pointed out to me in reviews of the book. One guy said he would have given me five stars if not for the wrong caliber bullet mistake. I had to settle for only four stars. Lesson learned!

Before I get into telling you about the year-long research I did for Yellow Hair, I’d like to tell you how I researched my second and third books and describe what that research entailed. My second book was a western and the protagonist was a woman. The research took about three months. I had to know everything from women’s undergarments of the late 19^th century to prison conditions for women in those days. (I sent my heroine to jail.) That kind of research was easy. Thank God for the internet. But then I had to do some real research. Molly (my protagonist) built up her cattle ranch to one of the largest in Montana, but she and her neighbors had nowhere to sell their beef. So Molly decided to drive her and her neighbors’ cattle to Abilene where she could get a good price. She put together the second largest herd on record (12,000 head) and took off for Abilene. That’s when I had to really go to work. I wanted my readers to taste the dust on the trail. I wanted them to feel the cold water at river crossing. I wanted them to know about the dangers of the trail, from rustlers to Indians to cattle stampedes. This is how I learned about all those things and more. 

First of all, I found old movies that were authentic in nature. I watched them to get a feel for the trail. Then I read books by great authors who had written about cattle drives to soak up even more of the atmosphere of a cattle drive. That was all well and good, but it still did not put me in the long days of breathing dust and being always fearful of a stampede. That’s when I went looking for diaries written by real cowboys while they were on the trail. After that, I found obscure self-published books written by those cowboys. Then it was onto newspaper articles written at the time about large cattle drives. That’s how I had Molly herd the second largest cattle drive. I discovered that the largest was 15,000 head, driven from Texas to California in 1882.

My next book took place in the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897. Here new elements were added such as wolves and the extreme weather as adversaries. Dogsledding was also involved. I have seen snow only three times in my life and I have never dogsledded. I knew even less about wolves. I had to learn about those things. I had no idea what it was like to travel across a wilderness on a dogsled at seventy degrees below zero. I also had to acquire knowledge about the dogs themselves, especially the lead dog. I learned about all that by doing the same things I did for my second book. The old diaries were the most helpful. As to the gold rush, there was plenty of material in the form of self-published books by some of the participants. Some were never even published, but I found copies of them in the archives of universities and historical societies. Again, newspaper stories printed at the time were very useful. Concerning wolves . . . I read everything I could get my hands on about wolves—their habits, the pack hierarchy, the alpha male, and the different jobs or tasks the males and females have while hunting.

Now we come to Yellow Hair. As I mentioned above, the book is about the Sioux Nation from 1805 to 1890. I had to know both points of view, the white man’s and the Sioux’s. Getting to know the whites’ take on things was easy. There are many, many books (non-fiction) that were written at the time. I even found a book written by Custer detailing his strategy for wiping out the Sioux entirely. That was hard reading. And, again, there were universities and historical societies whose archives were a great help.

As to the Sioux’s point of view, there are a few books that were dictated to newspapermen years later by the Indians that took part in the various battles that I weave into my story. I found a lot of material from Native American participants of the Little Big Horn, written twenty to thirty years after the fact.

But I wanted to immerse myself in the Sioux culture and I wanted to give them dignity by using their language wherever possible. I also wanted to introduce them by their Sioux names. So, I had to learn the Lakota language. And that wasn’t easy. There is a consortium that will teach you, but they wanted only serious students. You have to know a smattering of the language before they will even deign to let you in. I had to take a test to prove that I knew some Lakota. I failed the first time and had to go back to my Lakota dictionary and do some more studying. I got in on my second try.

I’m running out of space, so I reckon I’ll wrap it up. I hope I’ve given you a little insight into the research process. It’s time-consuming and sometimes frustrating. But it is also a blast. Every new discovery is like finding the motherlode.

I’d like to sign off with another commercial. The three books I alluded to above are:

·       Redemption: The Further Adventures of Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer

·       Molly Lee

·       Resolution: Huck Finn’s Greatest Adventure

I would like to thank Alicea once again for having me over and you good folks for tuning in. - Andrew 

About the Author

Andrew Joyce left high school at seventeen to hitchhike throughout the US, Canada, and Mexico. He wouldn’t return from his journey until decades later when he decided to become a writer. Joyce has written five books, including a two-volume collection of one hundred and fifty short stories comprised of his hitching adventures called Bedtime Stories for Grown-Ups (as yet unpublished), and his latest novel, Yellow Hair. He now lives aboard a boat in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with his dog, Danny, where he is busy working on his next book, tentatively entitled, Mick Reilly.

The man himself

Thanks, dear readers! I'll see you back for a regularly scheduled review on Friday. XD

Fairytales and sculptures are a great combo

As I've mentioned in two other posts (here and here), I'm a fan of Shaun Tan's works. What's better than a book written and illustrated by Shaun Tan? A book of Grimm's Fairytales illustrated with sculptures by Shaun Tan with an introduction by Neil Gaiman! If you've ready anything by Gaiman then you know his wheelhouse is dark, creepy fantasy. The Singing Bones definitely qualifies to enter that wheelhouse (why do they call it a wheelhouse by the way?). Each of Tan's sculptures are accompanied by a short passage from one of the Brothers Grimm fairytales. It's all about the emotion that the stories evoke and how they can be interpreted through art. Despair, fear, and hope are just a few of the feelings elicited within the pages of this book. If you're familiar with Tan's illustrations then you know the kind of artwork he creates tends to be eerie and full of emotion. This is no exception. I know that most people are familiar with the sweet illustrations and the happily ever after versions of these tales but Tan used the original text to create his art which makes it much more raw. I took my time with it much as you would with a large storybook. I personally think it would make an excellent coffee table book. I'd give it a 8/10 only because I would have liked the full versions of the stories and more art because I'm super greedy like that.

A bit of a peek inside...

The Frog King aka probably my mom's favorite (Source: Booktopia)

Rapunzel (Source: The Galaxial Word)

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Going beyond an author's famous work

Sometimes you come across a lesser known work by a famous author (especially if they're famous for one work only) and it's astonishing just how different it is from their crowning achievement. This is what happened when I came across two books by Bram Stoker which were collected into one volume. Bram Stoker's name is nearly synonymous with vampire because of Dracula but that was not the only book that he wrote. The introduction to the two books discusses how Dracula eclipsed his later (and earlier) writings and he goes on at length about Stoker's merits as a writer. I give all of this background because if I hadn't already read Dracula then I would be very hard-pressed to do so after reading The Lair of the White Worm and The Lady of the Shroud. It's not that they were the worst books I had ever read but there wasn't anything noteworthy about them and truly it took me far longer to plod through them than I would have liked.

In brief, The Lair of the White Worm focuses on a young man named Adam Salton who discovers that he has a relative outside of his native Australia who very much wants to meet him. After arriving, he is drawn into a supernatural melodrama which concerns virtually everyone in the neighborhood. As the title of the book suggests, there is a myth concerning a giant white worm which was thought to once be a dragon that terrorized the land. Myth states that the lair may still house the creature but by this time it may have evolved into a more human shape. Adam and his co-conspirators are charged with discovering if the myth is indeed factual and if so then to destroy the creature before it causes irreversible damage. There's romance (much sped up), intrigue, racial slurs (addressed in the introduction which didn't help), and Drama. Yes, I said Drama. If this was supposed to leave me quaking in my boots then it utterly failed. I didn't find this in the least frightening. However, I did find it incredibly predictable. I'd give it a 4/10 and that's probably being generous.

The second book in the collection, The Lady of the Shroud, was somewhat better. For one thing, it was slightly less predictable than The Lair of the White Worm. There were definitely more twists and turns so the danger that the characters faced seemed more ramped up and exciting. There were a few things working against it though. For example, the two main characters were completely without flaws which kept me from fully immersing myself in the story. A giant of a man who is good at every single thing that he does? A woman with stars in her eyes (I am not paraphrasing. This was the description of her eyes every single time.) who merely by a look conveys every emotion that imparts grace and goodness? Besides that, it was most definitely too long. I am convinced that the story could have been told in a much more concise manner. By dragging things out, my interest was eventually strained and I was looking ahead to see how many pages I had left until the end. And that was not in the "oh no I'm nearly finished whatever will I do with my time now?!" kind of way either. I'd say this was probably a 5.5/10.

As always, I encourage you to take a look at the book(s) and form your own opinions. It could be that I was expecting too much because Dracula created a precedent of excellence. Ah well!

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Complaining creatures

As you can imagine, I'm signed up to quite a few newsletters from various publishing houses and booksellers. A few weeks ago I got an email about newly published children's literature from Random House. I gave it a quick glance and one book in particular seemed to leap off of the screen at me. Penguin Problems is written by Jory John and illustrated by Lane Smith. The book is written in first person and the main character is a penguin with a lot of problems. He's cold, he doesn't like the snow, he looks like all the other penguins...you get the drift. I think my favorite thing about the book (and the reason I wanted to read it) are the illustrations. (Note: Lane Smith also illustrated The Stinky Cheese Man.) I felt like the space on each page was utilized and the minimal use of color really worked for the story. There are some chuckle-worthy moments in this book but I wouldn't go out on a limb and say it's a standout. It's not one that I'm itching to run out and add to my personal collection at any rate. However, if you get the chance to check it out of your local library then I suggest you do so. It's a quick, fun read that your little ones will probably enjoy. For me it was a 4/10.

Souce: Amazon.com

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Solving crimes with magic

A couple of months back I was perusing a website that sells books (as you do) when I saw a book cover that made me instantly take notice. That book was Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch and it had to be mine. I bought a used copy and while I had every intention of reading it as soon as it arrived I was in the middle of some pre-scheduled reviews and it didn't happen...until now! Rivers of London is the first book in the Peter Grant series which chronicles the experiences that a police constable in London has while investigating a gruesome beheading. This book initially comes across as a contemporary crime novel but quite quickly it's established that in this reality magic, ghosts, and vampires are real (among other mythical phenomena). However, all of these entities are strictly governed by a special branch of the Metropolitan Police Service which up now consisted of one man. The narrative takes off once Chief Inspector Nightingale, the last wizard in London, decides to take on Peter as his apprentice. There's romance, suspense, magic, and good old-fashioned detecting. With London as the backdrop it was bound to be a winner. If you didn't guess already, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and I've already ordered the next in the series, Moon Over Soho. XD One tagline by Diana Gabaldon might sum it up even more succinctly: What would happen if Harry Potter grew up and joined the Fuzz. If that doesn't win you over then I don't know what will.

Source: Amazon.co.uk

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **