Sympathetic, not Pathetic

The title harkens back to my subject of this end-of-the-year blogging: how we write sympathetic -- never pathetic -- main characters. Author Mary Lynn Mercer has an excellent blog on the subject, written in 2003. For today's web tip, let me send you to her. She is working with the exact character traits and problems I've been discussing here, and she does a nice job with good examples. Check her out!

Back to the Sympathy Question

I hope your Christmas was merry. Happy Boxing Day! (at least for the Canadians and Aussies in our midst).

As promised, I'm meandering a little farther into that question of what makes a character sympathetic and when she becomes simply pathetic. A novelist friend told me she likes to put her characters "through hell" before she lets them have a happy ending. That certainly works -- sometimes.

As a popular example of what has worked, let's look at the Harry Potter series. When we first meet Harry, he's a 10-year-old orphan, turning 11, living under the stairs in an abusive situation where cousin Dudley is king. As the series progresses, we see him go through a variety of emotional and physical tortures at Hogwart's, in company with the Order of the Phoenix, and finally, in an all-out war. Surely Harry is put through hell before he gets his happy ending.

Of course along the way there are humorous, fun moments, discoveres of joyous wonder and delight, fast friendships solidified, and an array of successful, happy moments as well as the dark ones.

But what if we had skipped Hagrid and the trip to Hogwart's, Nearly Headless Nick and Dumbledore, and had spent the whole first book watching Harry suffer abuse at the hands of his reluctant relatives on Privet Drive? My guess? There never would have been a second book or the Harry Potter phenomenon that has enthralled the world. We want to see people triumph over terror and tragedy. Watching victims while they endlessly suffer is a different kind of torture, not an enjoyable reading experience.

Perhaps the question is part pacing (How much shall I let him suffer here before I cut off this scene?) and part balance (That torment she just went through was terrible. I need to give her a triumph equal to it before we move on.) I suspect it all comes down to knowing our audience: what they want, how much sad they will endure before a moment of comic relief, how much sorrow they can handle before we give them joy. It's a delicate balance, but well worth learning.

Feeding the Soul

So I mentioned that I like dramatic stories with heavy emotional content. The one I'm working on right now has all that and more. It's set in the Victorian era (1850s and '60s) in Australia. James is an English Protestant; Eliza and her friend, Molly, are Irish Catholics. Despite the differences, James has set out to court Eliza.

Both women work as domestics and only have Thursday evenings free. Because their employer is Protestant, she insists that they skip their dinner (in Australia, "tea") if they wish to go to mass -- and of course, considers herself magnanimous for letting them go at all. After the first Thursday evening, when James visits with hungry Eliza, he makes a small correction before his next visit. Here's what happens:

James grinned at her gratefully and sat down next to Eliza on the side porch swing. Then he produced a small package wrapped in paper. “I’ve a small gift for ye, Eliza.”

“Ah, James, ye know I can’t accept –“

“You can accept this one,” he said. He untied the string and a pair of warm meat pies sat there between them, so fragrant Eliza thought she might almost be able to eat the smell.

“Oh! They smell delicious! James, how did you --?”

“When we sat here together last week, I heard yer stomach growl.”

Eliza blushed. “I’m sorry. I –“

“After I left, I got to thinkin’ about what time ye leave for mass and when Mrs. Pembroke likes to serve tea. When Cooper and Elsie came in to pick up the grocery order, I asked Cook if what I suspected was true, and she told me the two of you go hungry every Thursday, just so you can attend mass. Is that true?”

“Aye, sure ‘n it is, but I can’t have ye feeding me, James.”

“I bought two meat pies. I thought perhaps I could share a meal with you.”

Eliza looked around, saw Molly sitting a few yards away. “James, if ye don’t mind too much, I’d like t’ share my pie with Molly. She is powerful hungry, as she went without dinner, too.”

James’ expression fell. “How foolish of me. I never thought.” He called out, “Molly girl! Come over here and eat! I’ve food for ye.”

When Molly arrived, smiling brightly, James handed one pie to Eliza and the other to Molly. “I already ate a full dinner,” he explained. “Missus Hogan had me over tonight. I only brought the second pie so we could share, but I can’t eat it if I see either of you two going hungry…”

“We can’t eat in front of you,” said Eliza.

“I can!” Molly eagerly took one pie from the package, made the sign of the cross in a quick prayer of thanksgiving, and began to eat greedily.

“I s’pose we can.” Eliza chuckled as she ducked her head and crossed herself, giving thanks. Then she turned to her benefactor. “Thank ye too, James. This is a great kindness.”

James’ lips twitched in a wry smile. “It seemed the Christian thing to do.”

Stay tuned to hear more about James and Eliza. I think you'll enjoy them.

What I Like

So what's the difference between sympathetic and simply pathetic? We've already said it may be in the eyes or mind of the beholder -- at least to some degree. Today I want to share the kinds of stories I love to read, and the sorts I want to write:

• I like stories with heart, stories with emotion. Not for me the Transformers II sort of tale that tends to be "like a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." Come to think of it, that "tale told by an idiot" may sometimes be a bit too apt.

• I like stories about real (or at least realistic) people who find themselves in unusual circumstances and either rise to the challenge or find crumble beneath its weight. For me, one of the hallmarks of the Harry Potter series was the fact that, magic or no, the characters there still had to make the same kinds of difficult choices, face the same sorts of physical and psychological threats, and deal with the same character challenges that many real, historical, non-magical folks have dealt with over the years, and especially in times of war. Were my parents any less threatened by the spectre of Adolph Hitler than the students at Hogwart's were threatened by Voldemort? Was either bad guy any less a megliomaniac?

• I love a story of deep, sometimes shattering (but real, please?) emotions -- love, hate, pleasure, pain, greed, lust, altruism. Old Testament tales and Shakespeare's sagas shared in plays have nothing on the good storytellers of our day.

• I want the good guys to win. Yes, they may well go through a metaphysical underworld before they come out on the hilltop, but if the bad guys win, what was the point of telling that story at all? (P.S. - I absolutely hated the movie "The Perfect Storm." Why get me caring about all those people if not a single one of them was going to make it in the end?) Sorry about the spoiler.

• I love the kind of story where people overcome challenges that seem much larger than themselves. Perhaps that's why I admire Scarlett O'Hara despite some of the maddeningly selfish decisions she made. She lived through war, hunger and devastation and not only survived, but thrived. Now, if she'd only been kinder to the people around her . . .

Let's face it: I love stories. The more intensely real and emotional, the better they are. And you?

Sympathetic? Or Just Pathetic?

A writer friend and I have been discussing how far we can take the drama in our books before it becomes melodrama. When does a story go from touching to overly sentimental? And how much can a character be forced to endure before he (she) moves from being a sympathetic character we want to cheer on into a pathetic creature we no longer wish to hear about?

In a way the answer is like the famous Supreme Court decision on what is obscene: We know it when we see it.

For instance, there was a great deal of drama (a created, exaggerated situation, but still real drama) in the first three Twilight movies. Friends who have seen it (I haven't yet) tell me the fourth film (yes, the much-awaited Breaking Dawn, Part I) is shot in soap opera style with every line of dialogue getting extra time for pauses and long camera shots at the characters' eyes. The differences seemed so huge to one friend that she asked if the fourth film had a different director -- and she's a musician, not usually given to noticing such things in film.

In some other respects, it's a matter of personal taste. I can usually go through half a box of tissues before I find something "overly" sentimental. My son John is ready to leave the theater the first time someone on the screen or anywhere in the theater sniffles.

Mostly we know what we like, we know what makes us comfortable or un-, excited or not, fulfilled in our reading experience or wishing we could get back not only the money we spent, but the time it took us to read as well.

Still it's a worthwhile question to explore. For the coming days, I'm going to spend time in this blog exploring it. I invite your comments as well.

No Name-Calling!

In Monday's post I mentioned the common error of name-calling -- no, not dirty names, but having the characters repeat one another's names whenever they speak in dialogue. It doesn't happen often in real life, although I have a friend who makes a point of putting my name into almost every sentence he speaks. In fiction, it sounds weak and amateurish. I have to admit, though, that it's something I often do in first draft writing and have to catch in revision.

This week's excerpt comes from EASTWARD TO ZION, my first historical. In this conversation James Martin and Eliza Wells are just getting to know one another. He is English, she Irish, and they've met in Australia. James has made a comment about his mother and Eliza responds with a gasp. The first draft of this was full of name-calling; this draft seems a little better. See what you think:

James patted her hand. “Tell me about it?”

Eliza nodded, still trying to regain her composure. “We’d all agreed that it was best for me to leave home to find work,” she began, “and after I’d looked around the nearby town of Castlebar a bit, we knew I’d probably have to go as far as England and possibly farther in order to make a future for myself. I s’pose I knew that, going that far away, I’d likely never see my home again, but I thought my ma would still be there, y’know? That I’d get letters and be able to write back to her, telling her about my life?”

James nodded reassurance, still holding her hand.

“She took ill the day I was to leave. I wanted to delay, but she said no, it was just a minor illness and I should go ahead as planned. I left, but I wasn’t pleased with it. Da sent a letter that caught up to me in Southampton just days after I got there. He told me she’d died suddenly the day after I left her, and she was askin’ for me at the end.”

“He shouldn’t have told ye that,” James said, solemnly shaking his head. “Ye couldn’t do a thing about it then, and knowing it didn’t help you any.”

“I believe Da thought it would be a comfort that Ma was thinkin’ of me.” Eliza wiped tears.

“I didn’t mean to speak ill of your father. It’s just … well, you don’t seem to be very comforted.”

“No, I don’t s’pose it was a comfort, after all.” They sat together while Eliza sniffed and wiped more tears and James held her hand. “I miss her so,” she said after a moment.

“I know,” he answered. “I miss my mother, too.”

I may still revise it further to include even less name-calling, but it seems to be coming along now. Let me know if you'd like to see changes.

Amateur Mistake We All Make

So you want to be a novelist and you are writing the greatest story anyone ever wrote, or at least a good story you'd like to read. Great!

The good news is, if you are smart, savvy and determined, you may in fact become a published novelist whose work will be read by many others and not just your mom. The bad news is, unless you are exceptionally talented, well studied and alert, you are probably making many of the newbie mistakes that all the rest of us made (and sometimes still make) when we're just getting started. Here are a few I've made and a few that always mark a manuscript -- to me, anyway -- as amateur work.

1. Telling, Not Showing

One of my ultimate favorite rules for writers is the exact opposite of this: Show, don't tell. So your main character (MC) is nervous? Don't TELL me, "Joan was nervous." Say something like, "Joan felt her breath coming faster, less evenly. Her hands shook so hard, she had to put them in her pockets so no one else would notice. She kept breathing in short, shaky little gasps." You won't have to tell us; we'll know.

2. Using the Passive Voice

What exactly does that mean? There are complex descriptions, but the basis is this: You're in passive voice when you show the object receiving the action ("The ball was hit") rather than showing the actor doing the action ("Larry hit the ball"). It's another way of removing the reader from what's going on, something you never want to do.

3. Doing Too Much Name-Calling in Dialogue

I've been guilty of this one myself, but usually in the first draft stage. I try to be good at catching it in revision. Here's a quick example of what I mean:

"Hi, Ed."
"Hello there, James."
"So, is it warm enough for you, Ed?"
"Ha-ha, James. You know I hate the heat.
And yeah, it sounds just that bad when you overdo it in your own book. Ugh. Thank goodness for revision!

Overdoing the Modifiers

All of us who learned to type (or keyboard) remember that "the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy yellow dog," but when every noun is preceded by two or three adjectives and the adverbs start being tossed around liberally, it not only becomes tiring for readers, it can even confuse the point we're trying to get across. An excellent way to cut down on modification is to use specific nouns and carefully chosen verbs: Not "The very fit athlete walked really, really fast toward the lake," but "The Olympic medalist speed-walked toward the lake." One writing teacher told me to "use the exact right words, sparingly." I got the point.

Overdoing the Drama

A friend once cajoled me into reading her first manuscript. I got maybe half-way when I had to ask her, "Doesn't anything good EVER happen to your characters?" She didn't realize that making her character a victim who suffered at everyone's hands, who made nothing but bad choices and had nothing but evil occur in her life did NOT make the MC sympathetic; it made her seem like a wimpy, tragic doormat who couldn't make a good choice, even (literally) to save her life. It was NOT a fun reading experience.

The good news is this friend was willing to learn, believed me, and made some powerful changes that greatly increased the quality of her work.

The point here is, if you're a newbie and you're making newbie mistakes, forgive yourself, learn from the experience, and move on. You just may become the novelist you hope to be.

Nature Can Be Nasty

BENEATH SIERRA SKIES was not only my first book, but my best effort at the people-vs-nature plot. Of course, a story is more complicated when there are a few other things going on as well. Let me share a short segment from the book as an example.

In this scene, Robin and Brandon have been stranded by a plane crash which has left them both with minor, but debilitating injuries. They have lost their location devices so nobody knows where to find them and they've been unable to get any kind of signal out. They have made a shelter in the body of the airplane and are just waking up on their sixth day, awakening to the call of nature, when this scene takes place. It suggests a little more of what is happening in this story:

The wind was howling furiously, clawing at their precarious shelter and driving a heavy snowfall with it. It was a blizzard, the first since their accident.

“Damn, I have great timing,” Robin said aloud.

“Hmm? What?” Brandon awoke slowly.

“Nothing,” Robin answered, her voice dripping disappointment as she trembled with the cold. “It’s just... we’re having a storm.”

Brandon, who still slept with his arm in a sling, edged up on his good elbow and looked out the window. “Um. Looks like a bad one.”

“I don’t think we’re going to have a hot breakfast.”

“No.” The wind roared and Brandon lay down again, drawing Robin close. “Looks like we’re just going to have to stay here and find ways to keep warm.” He nuzzled her hair and she felt a little thrill run through her.

“Down, boy,” she said, pulling away a little.

He grinned lazily. “Suit yourself. It just seemed like a good way to pass the time.”

Oh yeah. They have their work cut out for them.

People-vs-Nature Web Report

On typical Wednesdays I usually try to direct you to a useful web site or blog that discussed our topic of the week. When it comes to people-vs-nature plots, the web is particularly unhelpful.

Try it: Type "people vs. nature" or "people-vs-nature plot" into your search engine and see what happens. You will turn up some interesting (and perhaps useful) plot diagrams, some definitions, and some lists of different kinds of plots, but a solid, thorough discussion of the people-vs-nature conflict is hard to come by outside of academic discussions. Even those tend to be limited to a single work.

While a web search on this topic may have some value, I suggest you sit down with a wise friend and brainstorm lists of your favorite people-vs-nature plots. Start with kids' and young adult stories (I still remember the excitement of the shipwreck in THE BLACK STALLION) and work forward.

Looking at what intrigues you in the p-vs-n stories you remember may be the best device for putting you in the mood to write the next great natural conflict story.

Conflicts: Us vs. the Elements

A few weeks ago we looked at human-vs-human conflict and spent some time discussing bad guys. Today I want to look at what happens when there are no bad guys, but there is still plenty of conflict (which, after all, is necessary for a story). Let's look at humans-vs-nature conflict.

I had fun with this one in my first book, BENEATH SIERRA SKIES. Robin and Brandon suffered the crash of their small plane and went down in the Mokelumne Wilderness area. When all their sources for contact with the outside world were also destroyed in the crash, their chances didn't look so good and it took some clever work on their part to survive.

And yes, in case you're wondering, I read several real-life stories of snow survival and airplane crash survival and I kept the Boy Scout handbook close while writing. The result was a fast-moving adventure story.

Just recently I watched a television replay of the movie, Apollo 13. If you haven't seen this one, I recommend it highly. Besides the star-studded cast, you have a real, absolutely true plot with no bad guys. Bad things happen, but it's human wit and grit against the challenges of outer space and it's riveting.

Another such real-life plot came to us through a friend. A U-2 pilot, Captain Kevin Henry was flying over an undisclosed location overseas when he suddenly forgot how to fly. His condition, something like nitrogen narcosis and caused by oxygen deprivation, is potentially fatal -- even without the risk of crashing an airplane in the process.

The story involves a dozen primary characters who spent several hours getting Kevin safely to the ground and then into treatment to save his life. Even the Arab pilots are good guys and heroes in the award-winning series my dh wrote for the Chico Enterprise-Record, "He Forgot How to Fly."

If you want a good story and you're tired of human conflict (we see plenty of that in the daily news, don't we?), consider pitting your characters against the elements. It can make for a marvelous tale.

My Gratitude Journal: Strong Female Characters

Welcome to 11/11/11. I hope you are reading this at 11:11, too. ;-)

In my look this week at strong women in fiction, I've referenced a number of other people's lists of good books and I've mentioned some of the strong real women in my personal past. Today I want to share three of the strong fictional women who have also influenced my writing and my life.

One of the first non-picture books I can remember reading cover to cover was A LANTERN IN HER HAND. This book, by Bess Streeter Aldrich, told the story of a powerful pioneer woman on the American plains, doing much with little. I've admired her my whole life and she is influencing the character Eliza in my current work-in-progress.

As a young mother I laughed and wept with Anjuli, the heroine of THE FAR PAVILIONS. M.M. Kaye's masterpiece is set in Colonial India where any woman's life is severely restricted and Juli's is even moreso, and yet she makes courageous decisions, choosing love and loyalty over the easy way out and simply surviving when many would not.

Despite some of the really stupid decisions she makes in her personal life, I can't help admiring Scarlett O'Hara, the flawed but strong central figure in Margaret Mitchell's class, GONE WITH THE WIND. She also makes some tough right choices and helps others to survive during the grueling years of the American Civil War.

I commend these books and these women to you. May they ever influence my work in healthy, positive ways.

One Strong Woman

In my work I've often written about strong women. Sometimes they're even physically strong, mentally prepared -- you get the drill. One such example is my very first fictional heroine, Robin.

In BENEATH SIERRA SKIES, my first book now turned e-book, Robin and Brandon are stranded in the high Sierras after the crash of a small plane. In an attempt to get help, Brandon leaves the shelter they've created and takes off. Robin finds him, fallen into a hole, several hours later. Here is their conversation:

“I’m afraid I stumbled upon this little shelter quite by accident a couple of hours ago.”

“You’re hurt.” Fear numbed the pit of her stomach. A serious injury now could mean death for both of them.

“I think I’ve rebroken my collarbone, and maybe a couple of ribs. It hurts to breathe too deeply. I wrenched my knee again, too.”

“Ow.” Robin winced in sympathy, but her sigh was mostly relief at finding him. “You shouldn’t be allowed out without a keeper,” she said as she dug the large bandages out of her purse.

“That’s why I’m so glad to see you. I can’t get out of this hole. I tried for a while before I realized I was stuck. With this shoulder useless and my knee hurt, I’m...well, let’s just say that if you hadn’t come along...”

She shuddered. “But I did come along, didn’t I?” she said, not wanting to think about the alternative. “Here, crawl out of that thing and I’ll see what I can do about that knee. I brought the long bandage for a butterfly wrap, too, and I’ve got your sling.”

Brandon smiled wanly. “It’s a good thing one of us is prepared.”

Okay, I know: This isn't really physical strength. It's her intelligence, her preparedness, her... I get it. But it's also her physical rescue of him that saves them both -- and this is not the only time.

Right now I'm writing more strong heroines -- one an unwilling psychic, one a pioneer -- and I'm giving them their freedom to be as strong as they like.

Hordes of Strong Women

Today's view from the blog is going to take you into the world of fictional strong women, or perhaps I should say worlds. Follow me; you'll see what I mean.

Fantasy fiction is full of heroic female characters. Not coincidentally, fantasy fiction written by women leads that pack. For a quick overview, read the descriptions of a few of the books listed on the "Fantastic Females" Booklist. Conquering monsters in unknown worlds is right up there for fantasy fans.

If you are more interested in Young Adult fiction, you need look no farther than Katniss from the recent HUNGER GAMES series, or this list from the Serpentine Library. For strong women in children's book, check out this list from About.com.

No matter how different the worlds they inhabit or the audiences who read them, these women all share some traits with the iconic Western hero: they do the right thing for the right reason, regardless of the challenges, and they defend those who can't defend themselves.

Let's hear it for strong women -- on our bookshelves and in our lives.

My Gratitude Journal: Second Chances

I believe in second chances. We all deserve them, and so do our books. This year I've been blessed to see my first-ever novel, BENEATH SIERRA SKIES, get a second chance with the reading public.

Robin Hill was my firstborn fictional heroine. Her hero, Dr. Brandon Demarse, was the firstborn hero of my writing career. Back then, the publishing line for which this book was produced, Silhouette Romance, allowed only one point of view (the heroine's) in any book, so Brandon's thoughts were represented only by what he said and did.

I loved him. I had created him, after all, and I knew what was going on in his thoughts. Even when he said or did seemingly incongruous or unkind things, I knew his heart. Unfortunately, that didn't always come through clearly in the writing.

I didn't realize that until 20 years later, when I was editing the digital version for any errors that may have crept in. Reading through the manuscript again after two decades' time, I realized that Brandon comes through rather less appealingly than I had intended.

Still I can't help but love him, and I'm glad he is getting a second chance. He deserves it. He may not be perfect, but he's perfect for Robin, and I can't help thinking he's pretty great.

Did you "meet" Brandon yet? What did you think?

All Kinds of Conflict

This week we've been looking at various kinds of conflict, both external and internal. In my first-ever published novel, BENEATH SIERRA SKIES, I involved my characters in several levels of conflict of both kinds. This scene depicts one of the ongoing conflicts:

He was back in no time, shivering violently. “I hope you’re prepared to do first aid for hypothermia,” he said.

She folded back the comforter on his side. “Climb in. I’ll see what I can do.” He crawled in next to her, settling himself carefully, and she draped herself over him as fully as possible, rubbing his chest softly. He caught her hand in his and cupped the back of her neck, drawing her mouth to his lips. It was a full, thorough kiss and Robin let herself enjoy it, giving back as completely as he gave to her.

“That was delicious,” he said when she finally broke away. “You know, you’re a very sexy woman.”

Robin pulled farther away, more moved than she wanted to admit. “You know the first-aid books say you’re supposed to treat hypothermia skin-to-skin, no clothes.” Brandon grinned wolfishly.

“No chance.”

“Then come here and kiss me again,” he said, his voice husky.

Robin hesitated, then sighed and drew closer, allowing herself to feel and enjoy. Brandon was enjoying, too. He deepened the kiss, and she responded in kind, running the tip of her tongue along the roof of his mouth.

He moaned deeply and pulled her to him, his body suddenly very warm beneath her touch.

When I stranded them in the snow and ice of the Sierras, I knew they'd have troubles, but this was one conflict I thought they might enjoy working through.

What favorite conflicts fuel your stories? Share?

Internal vs. External Conflict

Rather than reinventing the writer's wheel by describing the differences between internal and external conflict and how we use them in a story, let me refer you to an excellent web resource that has already done that work for me. Glen C. Strathy's "How to Write a Book Now" site may not equip you to take the literary world by storm, but he does have an excellent discussion on conflict.

As he points out, we're all familiar with the external conflicts in common plots. We know them as:

* Man vs. Man (Or to be politically correct Person vs. Person)

* Person vs. Nature

* Person vs. Society

* Person vs. Machine

* Person vs. some supernatural agency such as gods, demons, fate, etc.

We can probably rattle off a half-dozen book or movie titles to accompany each of the conflicts listed here. Often the more important conflicts, both in fiction and in our lives, are the ones that happen between our ears.

My first book, BENEATH SIERRA SKIES, pitted Robin and Brandon against the forces of nature. If survival had been their only concern, they'd have had plenty to deal with, but I also gave them the push-pull of powerful attraction vs. fear of commitment, adventure and romance both.

Think of the best novels you've ever read and you'll probably find that the conflicts are both external and internal. Enjoy this great blog on the subject.

What are the conflicts in your favorite books? Share?

Conflict's Role in my Life

I'm a peace-loving person. Conflict is low on my list of favorite things. Yet somehow I've managed to live through a fair amount of it.

A marriage, if it lasts longer than Brittany Spears' or Kim Kardashian's, is an ideal classroom for studying conflict resolution. Since the dh and I have been wed for more than four decades, we've had plenty of study and loads of homework. That doesn't mean we're experts, but when you add in the practical lab application gained by raising seven competitive children, we're at least experienced.

Then too, during three of those decades, I taught at California State University, in the English Department. I well remember attending a cross-disciplinary workshop and introducing myself to a colleague. "Hi, I'm Mark," he said. "I'm from Math."

"Hi," I answered. "I'm Susan, from English."

Mark solemnly shook his head. With an expression of deepest sympathy, he said, "I'm so sorry."

Yep. English Departments are like that.

So what have I learned from all this conflict in my life? For one thing, I've learned not to rush into a situation talking. I try to stop, listen, get the lay of the land and understand more fully what's going on before walking head-on into a buzzsaw. (I seldom spoke in department meetings, either.)

I've learned to know who my true friends are and not be taken in by false friends. I've learned to be a true friend to those who are true to me and to honor those who have my back. I've learned to value trust.

Conflict may be the beginning of the story for our characters. In real life, it's sometimes the ending for us, but when conflict ends a story that hasn't really begun yet, there was never a story in the first place, was there?

What has real-life conflict taught you?

Try to put up with Him

Today's excerpt comes from my first-ever novel, BENEATH SIERRA SKIES, traditionally published by Silhouette in 1990 and recently re-released by Belgrave House. You can read a longer excerpt on the Belgrave House web site. I quote here from the novel's beginning:

A breeze as soft and warm as an embrace carried the blossoms that fell from the almond trees. A preview of spring had come to the Sacramento Valley, and Robin reveled in it, lifting her chin into the breeze and tossing her red-gold hair. She’d lived in Chico long enough to know winter would return before spring finally came, but these lovely days in February gave her patience.

She walked briskly, stretching her stride. At five foot eight she’d always been long, leggy and with an ample figure, and men had appreciated her looks. Then why...? She shrugged the thought away. Perhaps the warmer weather had made her wishful, or maybe it was her sister’s wedding, only three days away. It seemed as though the whole world was pairing off in couples!

Robin quickly covered the few blocks between the university and the hospital, entered at the old doors off the Esplanade and skipped up the stairs.

Nancy, her supervisor, stepped from her office as Robin put on her lab coat. “Ah. The guest lecturer returns. How did it go?”

“I’m a hit. The students all want to be just like me, if you can imagine that!”

“I certainly can. You’re the best cardiac caseworker I have.”

“I’m the only cardiac caseworker you have.”

“In that case, get to work.” Nancy winked as she picked up her clipboard. “Oh, Dr. Collins’s office called about the Chilton case. They’re assigning it to Dr. Demarse.”

“I was afraid of that,” Robin grumbled.

“Trouble?”

Robin shrugged. “We really haven’t worked together often.”

“He’s supposed to be a wonderful surgeon. It’s the only reason we keep him. That and his blond hair,” Nancy said with a grin.

“He sure isn’t famous for talking with his patients. The first time we worked together was with a postsurgical patient. Just before he was to be discharged, he asked Dr. Demarse when he could make love to his wife again. Demarse just shrugged him off, saying ‘Sex is no big deal. If you can run up a flight of stairs, you can have sex, and if you can’t, you can live without it.”

Nancy groaned. “He didn’t really say that, did he?”

“He sure did, and two days later, the patient was back in the emergency room with a broken nose. He’d fallen while trying to run up a flight of stairs.”

“Oh, no!” Nancy was laughing in spite of herself. “Well, many doctors have a hard time talking about sex. That’s why the job often falls to us.”

“I know, but some doctors have a worse manner than others.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I’ve heard some interesting things about Demarse’s bedside manner...”

“Don’t tell me you listen to hospital gossip?”

“Come on, Robin. Are you going to pretend he’s not attractive?”

“Well, I’ll admit he’s nice-looking—”

“Great-looking,” Nancy corrected.

“Okay, great-looking, but that’s no excuse for the way he behaves.”

“Well, try to put up with him. He is a very fine surgeon."

Robin and Brandon were my first literary offspring. Although attitudes have changed since 1990 and I now find Brandon more obnoxious than I did then (actually, he's something of a jerk!), I still love them, and I love their grand adventure.

You can find this book, and most of my others, on Amazon Kindle. Although it is not yet available at the Barnes and Noble Nook site, seven of my other books are.

Enjoy!

Idolizing the Teacher

Today's excerpt from a work-in-progress comes from A SECRET FAMILY RECIPE, recently accepted as my second novel for Covenant, to be published in 2013. In this section, sixteen-year-old Emily Burnett is discussing her choir teacher, Ms. Wendy Nguyen, and demonstrating more than a little hero worship.

Ms. Nguyen, our choir teacher at the high school, is awesome. She loves to sing as much as I do – and she’s SO smart! She’s pretty, too, which is why we have more boys in the choir this year. When they saw the new choir teacher, guys started transferring in – even the ones who used to say choir was for losers.

She’s had us singing some complicated songs for this special three-week summer choir gig; she calls them “pieces.” My favorite is a five-part madrigal. Five parts! Mr. Peavey, the cross-country coach who directed the choir last year, was lucky if he could get us to do two-part harmonies, usually just soprano and alto with three or four guys singing the melody an octave lower. But Ms. Nguyen knows how to present things and she found this really super awesome five-part madrigal that used to be sung by traveling minstrels in Europe… Finally we get to sing some decent music!

I enjoyed writing this novel, and I very much enjoyed getting to know Emily. Like her, I've had teachers and leaders that I looked up to, admired, and emulated. And you?

My Gratitude Journal: Extras

Looking at the roles of major and minor characters and especially of the extras in our fiction has caused me to do some examination of the people in my life.

Since I've already admitted to being weird and thinking weird things, it probably won't surprise any of you that I frequently think about the "extras" in my life -- the people who come and go, whose presence touches my life in some meaningful way for a moment, but only for that moment.

My town has its share of four-way stop signs. We all know the rules of the road when it comes to such places, and yet there are occasional moments that aren't exactly covered by the rules. What if two folks arrive at the exact same moment, apparently, but the one on the left may have been half a second before the one on the right? In such cases, it takes a moment of communication between the two drivers.

I've had numerous occasions when someone waved me through ahead, easing my way. I may never see that person again, but for a moment he or she made my life easier.

Once I passed through a bridge toll path only to find that the driver of the pick-up, two ahead of me, had paid his own toll and the tolls for the following three cars. I never even saw that driver, but I still remember the way his small gesture blessed my whole day, and I've occasionally paid the toll for someone else as well. Paying it forward is often the best way to express thanks.

I've had people step out of the way in the grocery line when they had full carts and I only had a couple of items. I've tried to do the same when people behind me have only a few small things.

People can be so kind, courteous and thoughtful -- even to strangers. Today I'm grateful for all the people who have played tiny roles in my life, blessing me with kindness even though we may never meet again.