Method Writing and Crazy Novelists

In twenty years of being a professional author I’ve had a lot of strange adventures and created a bunch of crazy characters. The riskiest part of what I do as a novelist is to practice “method writing.” As in “method acting,” I “become” my characters so they come across as realistic. No wonder I am a neurotic mess.

I’ve been the Antichrist, a female version of the second coming of Christ, witches, demons, angels, vampires, drag queens, Cher impersonators, tin-foil-hat-wearing conspiracy theorists, and dogs...a whole hell of a lot of dogs. Oddly, I do dogs best. Go figure.

In my paranormal thriller, THRESHOLD, I was a tween boy who drowns, has a near-death experience, and returns with a mission. First off, I must mention boys that age sure think about sex a lot, don’t they? It was hard to get past all Cole’s lustful yearning to stay on track and save the world. Besides Cole’s compulsive desire for a hot sixteen-year-old redhead named April, he’s also a die-hard Trekkie. So, of course he sees the after-death tunnel of light as a wormhole, and the divine guide on the other side as the omnipotent Q from the Star Trek franchise. He ponders profound Star Trek episodes in order to work out metaphysical dilemmas. (Thank goodness I had a ten-year-old Trekker on Twitter to consult with about such divine matters.) And Cole sits at the bar of the Desperado Saloon waxing philosophic by the hour, pausing every once in a while to tell the barkeep to, “Hit me again.” Bartender Saul stifles his amusement as he tops off Cole’s frosty mug of root beer.

I really enjoyed being Cole, especially since he ends up being the most heroic character I ever created. My own earliest fantasies involved saving the world and because of my writing I’ve been a superhero more times than I could have ever imagined. I love my job.

However, I also love being a dog. I really, really do. Perhaps this is something I should discuss in detail with the veterinarian, um, psychiatrist on my next visit.

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Read the first chapter of THRESHOLD here: http://www.devinwrites.com/bookexcerpts/thresholdchapterone.html

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THRESHOLD is available in both print and as an eBook. Find links to where it may be purchased here: http://www.devinwrites.com/threshold.html

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Soup and Compassion

It is snowing and bitterly cold here in Colorado today, and I am working like a crazy woman trying to meet the deadline for my TAILS Magazine humor column. So I did what I aways do when it's cold and I'm crazy busy, I made a big pot of soup this morning to eat from all day. It's convenient and comforting. It's also cheap.

I make great soup. I learned the fine art of soup-making from my late maternal grandmother who was an elementary school teacher. She taught me to do the most amazing things with simple ingredients.

After Grandma died, we received a ton of mail from her former students. Something we family members didn't know about her was that throughout the Great Depression she made a pot of soup in her classroom every day for her students. For many, it was the only meal they had. Some of her students credited her incredible act of generosity with keeping them alive. Forty years later, they remembered and wrote to express their gratitude.

So, on days like today when I make wonderful soup from the most simple ingredients, I am comforted in many ways. I am warmed, I am nourished, and I am honored to remember the compassionate soul who was my grandmother.