Serials and Scenarios ~ Tom Morrisey

Thanks, Tom.

Did I expect to laugh out loud at some of these answers after reading his great, deep Wind River? No. Nice of him to share a lighter side.

If you haven't read chapter one of Wind River, do it. Click on his face to visit his website, and scroll down for my review.



Fiction character you would most like to be or most identify with and why?

One of my fiction characters? Probably Beck Easton, because he has it so totally together and I so totally do not. Plus the Beckster's younger than me.


If you could ask any person, living or dead, a random question -- what question would you ask of whom?

I would like to ask James Madison why he put those two extra commas in the Second Amendment. Ever read it? It makes sense without the first and third commas, but with them, it's gobbledegook.


Some out there in writing land have strange rituals. Share yours.

Well, it always irritates the neighbors when I get up at sunrise to kill the goat. Actually, my only ritual is time; I have to write early in the day, well before sunrise, because the only thing worse than the phone ringing while you're writing is thinking that the phone might ring. And at five AM, it ain't gonna.


Favorite turn of phrase or word picture, in literature or movie.

In The Departed, Jack Nicholson, playing a mobster, executes a woman gangland style, then leans over her and observes, "She fell funny."


If you were assured of writing a best-seller, what genre would it be? Give us a sliver of information, a characteristic or glimpse of a scene.

I would like it to be an Amish romance involving a Navy SEAL team preventing a corporate takeover in the end-times. That way it would contain the five story elements I see most often at writers conferences, and it would vindicate all those would-be novelists.


What period of history intrigues you the most?

World War II, because it was the great adventure of my father's life. I've visited some of the islands he was stationed on in the Pacific, and those have always been very powerful experiences.


What makes you feel alive?

High speeds and loud noises. Which is probably why I love my Harley.


How does something worm its way into your heart? Through tears, truth, humor or other?

When my wife is involved, it's through silence. As soon as she clams up, that's my cue to ruminate. Also, I think I'm like most people in that I can make myself impervious to reports of just about anything -- war, famine, natural disaster -- until you put a human face on it.


Book, music, person, food you would take with you on a very long trip.

In my day-to-day life I am editor at large for a scuba magazine, so I take very long trips all the time. The one book I always take with is the Bible (there actually are a few hotels that the Gideons haven't gotten to yet). Music and food are whatever is waiting for me at the destination; that's part of the adventure. And the person is my wife; I don't get to travel with her nearly enough. The yes really are the window of the soul, and when you see eyes full of sorrow or pain, it's impossible not to respond.


Where would you most like to travel ----- moon, north pole, deep seas, deserted island, the holy land or back to a place from your childhood, somewhere else? – and why.

My brother is traveling -- like right now -- to Ireland, where my family is from. As long as he doesn't encounter anybody we owe money to, I'd like to go there sometime. So far, all I've done with Ireland is fly over it on the way to England.


Favorite season and why?

Winter. But you have to understand that I live in Florida, and winter is the dry season and the season with the truly mild temperatures that most parts of the world associate with late spring. It's the best time to do anything here (except go to the beach; that can be a bit chilly). And besides, when it's winter in Florida, you can remember what it's like when it's winter just about anyplace else, and get this smug, superior feeling.


Favorite book setting and why?

When I set Dark Fathom in Bermuda, the people there just sort of adopted me. I was traveling alone on research, but never ate a meal by myself. I'm currently working on a book set in Key West, and I've gotten much the same reaction there.


Which compliment related to your writing has meant the most and why?

Elmore Leonard was very kind to me the morning after he read my first novel. Unfortunately, I was never able to use his quote as an endorsement, because what he said is. "Hey, Tom, this is pretty good s**t..."


What criticism has cut the deepest and why?

I hate it when they rave about the book and then qualify it with "readers of Christian suspense will enjoy it." As if Christian readers aren't at grade level or something. A lot of Christian fiction today is more than ready for prime time, and I, for one, would like to be reviewed in the secular press without the qualifier.


What would you do today if you knew you had only a week to live?

I would start working on a short story, rather than a novel.


What is your favorite word?

"Finished." Unless it applies to my earning potential, my marriage or my credit rating.


What word annoys you more than any other?

"Nigger," because it is a word of pure hatred. And I think back on two people who were very kind to me as a young writer -- Gwendolyn Brooks and James Baldwin -- and I know in my heart of hearts that they each had that word thrown at them more than once by white-bread Midwesterners like me.... Wow. That they would turn around and pay attention to my writing, and invest their time in me, was one of my first lessons in the elemental principle of grace.


Super power you'd love to borrow for awhile?

I dunno. Is there a superhero who doesn't have to sleep?


Favorite chore

Isn't that an oxymoron?


Anything you'd do but don't because of fear of pain? What is it? Ex. Bungee jumping, sky diving, running with scissors.

If you have even a passing knowledge of my avocations, you know that this question absolutely does not apply to me.


Grammatical pet peeve…sound off.

"Employee's only behind counter." Employee's only what?


Societal pet peeve…sound off.

People using those Nextel phones with the walky-talky feature: the kind that make that irritating "Cherr-URP!" after every transmission. I know -- I just alienated every reader who is also a Nextel customer, but really ... it's 2008. If you don't want to call 'em, just text 'em, and spare the rest of us the cell-yell and the sound effects.


CREATIVE CORNER:


Pick one of the "story starters" below and give us a sample of your voice.

If Alex had known the body of the senator was in the bathtub, she would've taken Jim's offer for coffee.

Jim, of the stale-macaroni-and-cheese breath. Jim, who wore only black shirts and colored the frayed cuffs with pungent Magic Marker when they got too old. Jim, who thought scintillating conversation was telling you about how he cut himself shaving, and then showing you the little red-dotted squares of tissue stuck to his throat, just to prove he wasn't making it up. Jim, who seemed proud of the fact that he owned neither comb nor hairbrush. Jim, who asked on their first (and only) date how she felt about -- his words precisely -- "tongue kissing."

Alex stood in the doorway of the bathroom and collected her thoughts. As long as the water in the tub was really, really cold, having a dead senator in there might not be all that bad, after all.

Serials and Scenarios ~ Wind River

Tom Morrisey will be back tomorrow with his unique take on the Dregs menu. You won't want to miss it. And as far as not wanting to miss something goes...please, please, please, for the love of good literature, go here to read the first chapter of Wind River.

Click on the book cover to find out more book info and here to visit Tom's website.


My Review:


Tom Morrisey enticed me with beautiful prose that opened a window into an unknown-to-me wilderness. With wordsmithing magic, Morrisey teased my mind -- flicking facts, thoughts and tension onto the periphery, then slipping out of sight until I was poised, waiting, tensing for the next cast. I was hooked early, but instead of fighting like the cutthroats, I surrendered to this novel.

I knew, from the first scene, the foreboding shadows of finality and frailty and perfect snapshot moments dissolving into tarnished reality, that something awful would befall the characters that I had already begun to love. Anything else will spoil the story web that Morrisey weaves, except to say that though there is a sense of foreboding, there is a stronger, underlying hope.

It is a rare gift Mr. Morrisey possesses -- the ability to weave a tense plot, the clarity to write a scene that can be devoured with all five senses, and the heart to create characters that clutch at the reader's soul.

If you are not reading Tom Morrisey and you love literary novels, you need to get Wind River regardless of your stance on Christian Fiction. Book lovers need to investigate Morrisey's novels. Those looking for a man's man read need to look no further. Fans of Lief Enger, W. Dale Cramer and Charles Martin should find much to like in Wind River.

Serials and Scenarios ~ Kristen Heitzmann Recalls

I love the personalities that are revealed through the Dregs questions. Hmmm. Some treat it like a meme others bite off a chunk and run with it in the creative corner. Guess you'll have to keep reading to see what Kristen is offering up. Click on Kristen's pic to visit her website, scroll down for more info about The Edge of Recall. Thanks, Kristen.

What makes you feel alive?

I feel alive in nature. Although I’m not your typical outdoorsy person, small doses of beauty are essential to me. Running water, even the trickling creek on the mountain path behind my house, the doe that birthed twin fawns in the scrub oak beside my patio, springy moss on a rock, periwinkle butterflies and hummingbirds, stars and rainbows. I get giddy in a stand of aspen.

Grammatical pet peeve…sound off.

Lie vs. lay—it’s just not that difficult people. Lay requires a direct object. You cannot lay down unless you lay yourself down.

CREATIVE CORNER:

Pick any of the following and have fun with it.

Pick a Genre - Describe a kiss….

Suspense: Her lips were warm and red and just a little tacky like the blood pooling under her head.

Thriller:
With one arm hooked through the helicopter’s rope, the other clamping her to his chest, he hollered “Don’t look down,” and kissed the mouth she opened to scream.

Romance: His mouth was hard and firm like the chest and arms that told her this was a man who took what he wanted.

Chick-Lit: Slipping out of one more mushy lip lock, I have to say, if you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to kiss a hundred frogs that don’t turn into princes, just ask me.

Literary: The dry brush of her lips ushered winter into his life like the fall of a last brittle leaf.

Sci-Fi/Fantasy: She waited for his lips to fully materialize, then clamped them with a kiss that would make her galaxy worth revisiting.

Historical: Under the stern eye of her maidenly aunt, she tipped her cheek to receive the brief warmth of his lips.

Frizzy hair, purple scarf and a book – make a character.

Tucked into the stone seat of the narrow arched window, Giselle chewed the fraying end of her purple scarf. The tome across her knees weighed as much as she did wet with her frizzy hair matted down and dripping. She turned the page, regretting only that she’d die of old age before she ever got through it.

If Alex had known the body of the senator was in the bathtub, she would've taken Jim's offer for coffee.
As it was, her appetite might never return. And if Jim caught a whiff—bad metaphor—of what she was onto, he’d be all over it. And her.

The leaves weren't the only things stirred up by the breeze which now carried the cloying scent of death.
If it had even a smidgen of a brain, and she hadn’t been sucking down her morning perk, the massacre might not have occurred. As it was, the leaves behind her wheel were now matted with gore and fur, and she could not, would not take the blame.

I'm not so interested in boxers or briefs. I'm just looking for a good man to fill them. Heck, I find a good man and he can wear banana peels as far as I'm concerned.
Fig leaves have a sort of stigma that takes the fun out, but I’ve always fancied those palm fans myself. At my current weight, in all honesty, it would have to be a very, very deserted island.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ More Adventures of Toad-Boy and Grasshopper

My favorite Grasshopper story happened on the day Rob and I met him.

He rode home on the bus with Jordan aka Toad-Boy and said maybe three words all afternoon. Those words were pulled from him via painstaking verbal surgery. He did mutter "Ummmm." quite a bit without being questioned now that I remember. It could be that he was communicating all along.

I made dinner while the boys busied themselves in Toad-Boy's workshop -- a dark, dank corner in the basement that doubled as his science lab and hydroponic garden. Or maybe they played with Lego toys or built electronic devices. Their friendship spanned all of those pursuits and more, much, much more. I am certain that this period was pre-treetop camping.

I called the boys to dinner and the four of us gathered around the table. Grasshopper ate like one, but remained silent except for the Ummm's whenever Rob or I asked a question or offered a remark in his direction.

In a quiet moment Grasshopper lifted his glass of milk to his lips and hesitated.

A low, squeaky rumble sounded below the table -- a low, squeaky, LONG rumble. Painfully long and Grasshopper turned a shade of maroon and began scoping out the room for an escape all the while moving nothing but his eyes.

Fortunately, we are a family that has been corrupted by the belief that gas passing can be cheap entertainment, even at the kitchen table. Toad-Boy broke the ice and we all cracked. Grasshopper remained frozen for a few more seconds then joined in.

Twelve years later, we still occasionally lift, kind of a toast of honor, a glass of milk to our lips, move our eyes rapidly from side to side, hum a few bars of ummm, and then laugh.

Serials and Scenarios ~ The Edge of Recall

CFBA is touring Kristen Heitzmann's The Edge of Recall. You can read the first chapter here. You can also visit Kristen's website.

And now for my review. (Kristen has the Dregs ?'s, so we should hear from her soon.)

My Review:


This fascinating story centers around dreams, repression and fears. Symbolic of life, physical and eternal, the labyrinth is the playing field in a game of cat and mouse. Tessa, a prickly, wounded soul and Smith, a man who repeatedly wounds her, are pulled into an unwanted contest pitting them against the unknown, each other and those whom they trust.

Psychological aspects come into play often making the story feel frantic at times. I did have to suspend a healthy amount of disbelief and accept the neat sewing up of events in the end, but overall, the details made the trip an entertaining, suspenseful one.

Super Cinema Saturday ~ Indy, Crystal Skulls and Loads of Adventure

Indy's back...and knees...and other aches and pains. You gotta admire a man willing to revisit a success in such a sacrificial way. It was easy to cheer him on even though the action had slowed a bit.

Dry, droll and to-the-point, the older, wiser and classic Indy takes on the Russians, the feds and a mushroom cloud.

Within this flick are unbelievable scenes...just as I expected. You have to be willing to go along for the ride and enjoy it. If you plan to take a notebook to record the moments you have to suspend disbelief, then don't go.

Indy also delivers creepy crawlies and moldering corpses. A whole lot of bad guys guarantee the wild car chases and crashes. Indy has slowed down but he can still kick some serious bad guy rear end.

Youthful foolishness and posturing is delivered by Mutt, Indy's new and not necessarily welcomed sidekick. But Indy has grown up and is ready to teach. Besides some of the miraculous saves, I didn't buy some of the too easily mended relationships, but other than that, this was a great, entertaining summer flick. (Children sensitive to creepies and things that bump in the night should probably not see Indy.)

Serials and Scenarios ~ Love Starts with Elle

Rachel Hauck has visited the Dregs before. My review of her new book follows. If you want to peruse her interview and my review of Sweet Caroline, click here and scroll down.


My Review:

Rachel Hauck is solidly on my favorite authors list after I finished Love Starts with Elle. Hauck tells a good story, creates lovable characters and doesn't shy away from grit and reality. On top of all those great qualities, she brings a deep sense of spirituality into the lives of her story inhabitants. Subjects like forgiveness, grace and living breathing relationships with God are layered into her prose adding a depth to her novels.

Love Starts with Elle picks up where Sweet Caroline leaves off. With a cast of previously introduced characters and a sweet spot in low country, the reader gets to experience Elle's little corner of Beaufort. Having found love after her Operation Wedding quest's amusing results in Caroline, Elle is ready to meet the world head-on with her man by her side. Along the way she discovers that God has plans for her that she could never have believed or even dreamed.

Hauck doesn't shy away from death and sorrow. Her characters grieve believably, and then grow through it. Elle is not lightweight but it contains elements of romance and humor as well as the heavier subjects. I did find myself thinking like a critic on occasion, but then after reading further and after dashing tears from my cheeks three or four times I decided I didn't care one bit, the story sucked me in. Hauck fans will want to check out Elle. If you aren't a Hauck fan, you might want to work on that.