Nicholas Sparks is one author that I sometimes compare my writing to (as in “If you like the way Nicholas Sparks writes, you’ll like the way I write”).

Nicholas Sparks does not write “formulaic” romance with happy endings. He does have his own “formula,” though: readers know if they’re in the mood for a good tear-jerker, they can pick up a Nicholas Sparks novel. It’s a tear-jerker because Sparks is a master at creating characters the reader cares about.

I too have a “formula” that doesn’t lend itself to the standard romance. And like Nicholas Sparks, I develop characters that struggle with issues other than (and in addition to) a complicated romance. (Although I’m more of a happily-ever-after kind of gal.)

Dear John tackles some of the same issues that True Surrender does – chiefly, what happens to relationships when one of the participants is in the military (a theme I often explore in my writing). Like Dear John, True Surrender is written from the male’s point of view (John Tyree).

Because of my recent interest in fusing writing and imagery, I decided to watch the movie before I read the book this time. I often hear people say the book is better than the movie. In this case, there were things I liked better about each.

(Spoiler alert!)

The book focuses more on John’s relationship with his father (who is assumed to have Asbergers), whereas the movie’s main focus is the romance (surprise!). The sequence of events was rearranged a bit, but I could see how that was desirable for the movie “format.” Some character details were also altered, but most of these did not impact the story too much.

There were two BIG differences, though.

The first: In the movie, John is shot while on patrol in the Middle East. I enjoyed this Hollywood “addition” because… well, I write about this kind of stuff. However, it wasn’t really necessary for the storyline; I was left with the impression that it was inserted into the movie because the war in Iraq and Afghanistan is a hot topic today.

The second big difference: the ending in the movie is “happy” – in that the inference is that they will finally get to be together. The book ending, on the other hand, is vintage Sparks; the hero will forever pine for the woman he loves and cannot have.

The premise of Mike’s Best Bet is good – the whole “opposites attract and love conquers all” theme with the football coach and a music teacher. The opening scene was funny. Grammar was good. There was conflict, and not too much drawing out the misunderstandings. There were obstacles to the characters’ romance.

But for some reason, I wasn’t able to “go deep” with the characters. I found the characters, obstacles and conflict (especially around Andi’s relationship with her father) all somewhat cliché. The sub-plots could have been really compelling but were not developed; they seemed to be there only for the purpose of creating obstacles for the characters.

In sum: a little “lighter” read than I care for. Guess I need more torturing of the soul and deep dark topics!

During March, I took a class on “How to produce a TV show” at the local community TV station. It covered camera work and the overall planning necessary for a simple interview-style show. I started thinking about the many comments I’ve received about how my novels would make great movies. Could I write a screenplay? Do I think like a director? (The answer to both is, I think, yes…given the time!)

These thoughts have changed how I watch a movie. In fact, it’s sometimes changed how many times I watch a movie. (Or, more specifically, certain scenes in a movie.)

A recent viewing of “Grace Card” (a Christian movie that deals with the theme of prejudice) is a case in point. The first time I watched the movie a few days ago, I watched the acting, the placement of the actors, etc (and just enjoyed the story, which had an incredible twist).

The next day I went back to just a few scenes that I found really compelling. I watched them over and over again, noting how multiple camera angles were used (including “moving” cameras) and creative use of lighting. Noting how they may have “patched together” the audio to be more effective.

And, in the case of a particular scene in an emergency room (a 17-year-old boy with a gunshot wound), how the director established pacing with those things (camera, lighting, audio) – changing rapidly from camera to camera – as well as what small touches created a more believeable performance.

And then there was the choice of words (dialogue) by the writer. There might be a hundred ways to ask a patient’s name; why was the actors’ delivery of “Can you tell me your name?” – then repeated – so powerful?

Another example: When the ER doc says “Blake, are you with me? I’m Doctor Curry” the teenage Blake interrupts with “Where’s Mom?” This is a powerful line that shows how young this guy is – and how scared – and (for me at least) emphasized how tragic it was that he was in that situation at all.

A Broken Christmas stars a wounded veteran and a devoted wife. Yep – wife. That’s different in a romance…and I liked it. This was not a characters-meet-and-experience-immediate-love/lust story. The characters had been married for a number of years and they knew and understood each other at the deeper level that comes with marriage. They had been through periods of separation (due to military service) and tough times (one very tragic experience in particular). Their marriage vows also created a more committed relationship (particularly for the wife, Aimee).

The veteran (Kyle) is my favorite type of hero. The kind of hero who is tough – and even tougher on himself – but there is something about them that shows their humanity and their vulnerability. (The kind of hero I created in True Surrender.) I liked that he had contradictions of himself.

Kyle’s experiences, thoughts and frustrations with his physical disabilities were highly believeable. Aimee’s responses to them were at times almost too good to be true. But I liked that she was a strong enough person in her own right, and with her own background of military service.

Many books make use of what I think of as “the big misunderstanding” and that is true of this book as well. Sometimes an author can string that out to the point where you get tired of it. But that didn’t happen with this book; even though the action took place over only a few days, it was paced well. The wrap-up was a little too quick, but had a twist I didn’t connect earlier that was a pleasant surprise.

A note about the title: I don’t typically pick up Christmas-themed titles, although it seems fashionable so there must be others who do. This was so much more than a “Christmas story”! I picked it up because of the wounded veteran angle and I’m glad I did.

When I read about Teton County (Idaho) Search-and-Rescue’s recent mission to find two missing snowmobilers, I wasn’t surprised by the data. Of the seven members who responded to the call, two took a day off work; two closed their private businesses; one left paid patrolling duties at a local ski resort; and one left his ranch.

Getting SAR members where they need to be can be logistically challenging given this reality. Then you have weather challenges; it’s safe to say most incidents occur during less than ideal weather conditions. (They’re rarely called on nice sunny days!)’

Equipment is also a consideration; in a volunteer operation, members often utilize their own personal gear, and they must always consider the age and readiness of snowmobiles and ATVs used during search-and-rescue missions. Teton wants to update its radio and communications equipment and purchase a rugged outdoor laptop with map printing capabilities.

SAR volunteers give their time, their equipment (money!), and dedication … and they put their own lives on the line while trying to rescue others. In fact, Teton Search-and-Rescue recently lost a member in a helicopter crash while on a body recovery mission.

It makes you wonder why they do it, doesn’t it? The reasons for the characters in Last Chance Rescue might surprise you!

This dead-on observation of True Surrender’s main character comes from Gail at the Military Writers Society of America.  Using an intensely personal experiences like an amputation is a hallmark of both True Surrender and Last Chance Rescue. When a reviewer (or reader) picks up on the more subtle nuances of the situation I’ve placed the character in…well, then I know I’ve done the best writing I could!

Gail’s review continues, “Mix this with a mystery to be solved, an endearing and sensual love story, and a renewal of faith that had been long forgotten and True Surrender becomes a compelling and entertaining story.  I couldn’t put it down.” Click to read more.

With Lucidity, Lyons has injected the paranormal element into medical suspense. Usually paranormal is not my thing. But CJ Lyons has never let me down, so off I went on my Kindle.

If this had NOT been CJ Lyons, I might not have re-opened this novel when I took a break at about 29 percent (weird that we now refer to book locations this way, as opposed to “page 62”).

There were seven (or maybe eight) character points-of-view. That might work for some readers, but to me, it’s too many. At 29 percent, I didn’t know how these characters were going to impact each other, I didn’t know which ones to care about (although the evil ones were obvious). To the author’s credit, she pulled them all together, but that’s over a third of the way through the book and probably would have lost me had it been any other writer.

The characters were a bit too stereotypical. The only one I found myself wondering about was Doctor Emberek. Would he step up to become a man of principle, one worthy of the reader’s respect?

As I mentioned, paranormal is not my thing. Dead people coming back to life, a historical backstory of a lost civilization… just a little too much of a reach for me. Romance readers (who like paranormal) will like the premise of this book, though: true love conquers all. The climax was certainly the best part of the book (and the only place where I couldn’t put the book down) – CJ did not disappoint in that regard.

I would rate it 3.5 stars…I have to wonder if CJ had set my expectations too high with her other books?!

I’m no expert, but I think it could be done if you had an awesome cameraperson. First, he/she would have to be familiar with the song – which players are the focal point during different parts of the song, and if there are soloists. Then, use multiple camera angles – and make of of the cameras close-up shots to really capture the player. And then there’s lighting…creative use of lighting can go a long way. I found a few videos where I like something about the way the video was done:

Shidara – this video has a shot of the player’s shadow near end that I think is fantastic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rIIIuZWm-o

Yamato – Not the best quality video, but excellent light and screen use – love the idea of projecting the symbol onto the drum: http://youtu.be/ZpRn_QPrpGo

Drum Tao (my fave group) – these players really have a good grip on how their performance appears to the audience: http://youtu.be/–rY0k1IxSg

Another Drum Tao – at about minute 2:30, you start getting video shots of a player from low, looking up with the lights behind. Gives me shivers! http://youtu.be/mlG5asr3D7Y

These women (and men) are out there in real life. They carry the burden at home, raising children while trying not to choke on sometimes overwhelming fear for their loved one, praying their doorbell never rings. And when he returns wounded, broken in spirit as well as body… life can never be the same. Or, like the characters in True Surrender, they meet after the crisis is over and have to overcome extreme obstacles and make a conscious decision to keep loving no matter how hard it is.

To love a soldier with PTSD means…

She never knows what is going to trigger his PTSD; it could be a thought, a smell, a certain noise.  He won’t talk about the things he went through.  She wants to understand, but just can’t.  Why does he let pressure build up until he explodes like a crock pot with too much pressure in it?  Maybe he doesn’t like to be touched anymore.  Maybe he wakes in the middle of the night screaming. He’s mean some days; sad on others. What about the time he was so mad he jumped out of the car and started yelling at a lady because she took his parking spot?

To love a veteran with PTSD means letting go of dreams you might have had for your life.

These are the things that make me want to write their story. Disguised as fiction, perhaps… but still their story. The heroes who love the heroes.

“PayPal contacted Smashwords and gave us a surprise ultimatum: Remove all titles containing bestiality, rape or incest, otherwise they threatened to deactivate our PayPal account. We engaged them in discussions and they gave us a temporary reprieve as we continue to work in good faith to find a suitable solution.
 
PayPal tells us that their crackdown is necessary so that they can remain in compliance with the requirements of the banks and credit card associations (likely Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, though they didn’t mention them by name).
 
THE PROBLEM: PayPal is asking us to censor legal fiction. Regardless of how one views topics of rape, bestiality and incest, these topics are pervasive in mainstream fiction. We believe this crackdown is really targeting erotica writers. This is unfair, and it marks a slippery slope. We don’t want credit card companies or financial institutions telling our authors what they can write and what readers can read. Fiction is fantasy. It’s not real. It’s legal.”

My writing doesn’t fall into these categories, but the potential precident concerns me. Undoubtedly there will be more on this subject…