Book Review: Church of the Dog

Some books bring tears to your eyes when you finish them. Some bring tears because you finish them. The rare books bring tears for both reasons. Church of the Dog by Kaya McLaren is one of the rare books.

Told from multiple perspectives, this is a story of wonder and mystery, wonder over the events of life, mystery because events have a way of producing unintended consequences. Deep in Oregon ranch country lies a spread owned by Earl and Edith. Cattle and sadness are the two main "crops." Earl and Edith face another sad anniversary when a young art teacher Mara shows up and asks if she can rent one of their outbuildings. They agree, and vegetarian Mara moves in with a pig she's rescued from a local fair. Mara agrees to help around the ranch in return for a place to live and a pen for her pig.

Earl and Edith become friendly with this free spirit who creates art from metal junk, who paints a stained glass window on the side of the outbuilding and who dances in the moonlight. When Earl and Edith's grandson, also broken in spirit, comes for a visit, Mara realizes she needs to heal him too.

This literary novel reads with a fluency of language unusual in a debut writer. It's beautiful, lyrical and painfully true.

What is interesting about this novel is the use of multiple perspectives to tell the story. McLaren breaks many of the "rules" of writing with these multiple narrators. Without them, the book would have been all right, but it wouldn't have been great. One hopes her second novel is as good or better than her first.

Honoring My Mother

Eight years ago my mother died from small-cell lung cancer. She was a former smoker who’d quit ten years earlier, but the damage was done. We had a special dynamic: I was an only child, and she was an only mother. When her health became delicate, long before the cancer diagnosis, she came to live with my husband Terry and me.

It wasn’t always easy, having her in the house, but it was worth it for peace of mind. I knew where she was, that she was well taken care of, that if she needed help in the middle of the night, we’d be there.

I didn’t write about my mother for six years following her death. I couldn’t. One night, I went to a poetry reading and book signing by Jim Minick, a wonderful Appalachian poet who teaches at Radford University. He's become a good friend over the years. Jim read from his collection Her Secret Song, a collection of love poems dedicated to his aunt who also died of cancer. His love for this woman who suffered from “elephant man’s disease” brought me to tears. I cried all the way home.

I couldn’t sleep that night. I rose before dawn and walked my normal two-mile walk in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. When the sun rose over a dew-studded pasture, I heard a poem in my head. It took 24 minutes to put every word together. I couldn’t wait to get to my desk and put fingers on keyboard. I let the poem sit for a week before rereading it. I changed one word. I called it Three Weeks.

I got up enough nerve to take it to my writing group in Roanoke, the Valley Writers. When my turn came, I couldn’t read the poem. My girlfriend and fellow writer, Donna Knox, stepped in to read. She broke down at the end.

Since then, I’ve read the poem at dozens of events. People cry and remember a lost loved one. I love the shared memories. My purpose as a writer is to encourage people to talk and share while they are being entertained. We’ve all been through loss. If sharing simple words has a positive effect, I’m satisfied. I’ve done something good.

I’d love to publish it somewhere. I’ve sent it in to several poetry and cancer journals. I have the rejections to prove it. I keep sending it out. One of the days someone will like it enough to publish it. If you want to read the poem, send me an email. I’ll send you a copy. All I ask is you let me know how it affected you, even if you didn’t like it.

High Tech Space Wars

I couldn't decide whether this belonged in my writing blog or over in my more politically-oriented blog, Mad Maxisms. But, since this is basically two book reviews in one, it's here.

Over the holidays I read a pair of books, Space Wars: The First Six Hours of World War III and its partner, CounterSpace: The Next Hours of World War III. These are works of fiction, but will scare you silly if you pay attention to the story as depicted.

The authors are not novelists. They don't pretend to be. They are editors and writers of factual material. What they tried to do in these two books is make you think about what might happen if the world gets any more dangerous.

The essence of both books is a cyberattack on the United States from a rogue nation, but not sponsored by that nation. Turns out a drug cartel leader with more money than he knows what to do with builds a device that blinds many US satellites. GPS, communications, spy satellites are all turned off. Other attacks follow, including one nation setting off a nuke in near outer space. Makes a mess out of everything electronic for too long.

If you've read anything in the papers lately about Iran rattling its sabers in the Straits of Hormuz, you'll see these books could happen. Might not be Iran. Could be North Korea. Or Russia. Or China. Or a guy with more money than he knows what to do with. We could be one step away from the 19th century, as the writers postulate.

"Ripped from the headlines" is such a Law and Order cliche. In this case, it works. The books are uneven in the way the story is told. It's not really shown, as all of us who try to write fiction have beaten into us. I wanted more dialogue. At first this put me off, until the story itself took off. I only put the first book down to pick up the second.

These are worth reading if you are at all concerned with what could happen. I'm glad I invested time in them.

26 Simple, Silly Letters

How hard is it to take the 26 letters that we use in the English language and turn them into intelligent communication? Pretty hard, it seems.

I read several books over the holidays. Only one, Jo Nesbo's The Snowman, lived up to the book review hype. Well written, well translated, well told, the story hung together until almost, but not quite, the very end. In the last couple of chapters, the killer told us all about his motives and actions. I'd rather the police had really solved the crime, but that disappointment won't stop me from reading more by Nesbo.

Now, a woman of leisure with my retirement on Dec. 30, I told my husband that I planned to lie around on my chaise, eat bonbons, and read trashy novels. Terry reminded me I hate bonbons and don't have a chaise. Hmm. Guess I'd better try an alternative. Can I translate those 26 letters into words and words into a story people want to read? I think so.

Not to seem too scattered as a writer, I have a couple of projects well under way. I've been working on the first of a series featuring Mad Max Davies, a grandmother who comes out of child-rearing retirement to raise her two grandchildren and solve crimes at the same time. The manuscript, which I've edited to death, is in my agent's hands. Let's hope she likes it.

In the meantime, I'm refining the draft of the second Mad Max book. The shitty first draft is complete, but it needs a lot of Mr. Clean, Pledge and elbow grease to turn it into something my agent might like.

To counteract looming winter doldrums, I decided to play around at writing a serial killer book. Last year, I asked my Facebook friends if they had ideas on how to kill people without getting caught. Boy, did my friends know how to kill people! I created a private FB group and invited nine "midwives" to weigh in on several different points. Recently, we discussed the killer's physical features and occupation. The occupation discussion surfaced ways of drifting through society without making a ripple. Again, my friend's are really sick puppies.

I set out a series of writing resolutions for 2012.

1. Deliver the best manuscript of Max 1 I can write to my agent.
2. Polish, polish, polish Max 2.
3. Compete in three writing contests.
4. Continue with the serial killer book.

And live a peaceful, creative life. Without a salary, I threatened my husband with a diet of ramen noodles. He suggested I had lost my mind, as well as giving up my salary. He may be right.

Until one of us is proven right, I vow to continue turning 26 letters into words and stories that make sense.

Reading and Writing

I devoted a lot of time over the Thanksgiving weekend to reading and writing. I was coming down with a cold, so I got really sluggish at times. So what did I read and what did I write?

I read Charles Shields's bio of Kurt Vonnegut. It's terrific, the kind of bio that keeps you turning pages because it's so damned well written. And Kurt Vonnegut was a strange bird. Shields doesn't pull any punches about what a screw-up Vonnegut was at times. Well worth the time to learn about a great writer who wasn't afraid to break new ground.

What else did I read? This answer is all about me. I blew cyberdust of a manuscript I wrote several years ago. It's a coming-of-age trilogy about a circle of women. The first book is about growing up in a Leave It To Beaver town in Northern California as the fifties transitioned into the sixties. The second is about getting out of that town, college at Berkeley during the turbulent sixties. And the final book follows the women into marriage, motherhood and careers. All fraught with personal conflict set against a time of major transition in our country's history.

I got through the first 200,200 words, or about the first two books. After several years of not looking at the manuscript, I was surprised at how well I told the story.

And therein lies the problem. The story is told. I now have to redo it completely and let the characters and action show the story. Writers will understand what I mean. A monumental task, but there is no deadline on it. Yet.

And yes, I did write as well. I began a first-person thriller about a serial killer. Lots of them on the market, but this will have a different presentation and therefore a different twist. I've invited about a dozen people to join a closed Facebook group to help shape the novel. Now, that should be an experience.

I'll keep you posted on progress on both stories.

Writing Inspiration

People ask me all the time where I find my inspiration, the ideas for my stories. Sometimes it's from my memories. Sometimes it's what my friends have done. Sometimes it's from the newspapers.

I've been following a local story for many months. A teenage boy shot and killed his best friend. Shot him in the back and twice in the back of the head. Tried to lie to the cops about not seeing his best friend the day he went missing. Long and short of the story, the police arrested the boy and charged him with capital murder. In Virginia, that's the death penalty.

This week, the case was resolved in court. The shooter pleaded guilty to murder and several other felonies. He was immediately sentenced to life in prison without parole plus 53 years.

Why did this particular story touch me? Maybe it was because I've worked with the father of the victim and understand his pain. Maybe it's because one act of violence ruined two families. The family of the victim can recover and heal. The family of the murderer can't. Both have lost a son forever.

This happens too often. We teach our children right from wrong, but still some get it wrong. They don't think. It ruins families, divides communities and leaves a child dead.

No, this is material I can't use. It's too close to my community. My heart goes out to both families. They've lost so much.

Blog Inerview with Jeremy Wagner, The Armeggedon Chord

I'm really pleased to post a blog interview with new writer and friend, Jeremy Wagner. I've reviewed his debut novel, The Armeggedon Chord, before. Now, it's time to hear from the author.

1. Some of the readers of this blog may not know your works. Would you like to introduce yourself?
Sure. I'm Jeremy Wagner, and I'm known worldwide in the death metal genre as the founding member/guitarist & lyricist for both the bands Broken Hope and the band, Lupara. In recent years, I've gained more of a following for my fiction. I'm a horror writer and novelist. My shorter works have appeared in magazines and anthologies, but I'm best known for my new novel: THE ARMAGEDDON CHORD.

2. Before we learn about your book, can you tell us the last two exciting places you visited? Why did you pick these destinations?
Easy! Australia and Ireland. I got married in Australia this past year (literally 11 months ago) and toured part of the country--it was a most amazing experience. This past summer we also toured Ireland and it was most memorable and beautiful.

3. Can you tell us a little about how you became a writer?
I started writing fiction in grade school--I estimate I started at 6 years old. I got into books very young and my interest in the macabre started at the same time. I was always drawn to monsters and scary things, so I read about these types of subjects and then I began writing my own scary stories. I grew as a reader and writer and just kept doing it throughout my life. I love being a novelist...I feel it's in my DNA to write.

4. Is The Armageddon Chord your first published book? Why did you select the theme?
It's my first published novel, but not my first published story. THE ARMAGEDDON CHORD just came to me--like an idea I get--out of the blue. It started as an idea and grew up into an entity that I had to write about and get out of my system. I didn't select the theme or have a preconceived story. The story, CHOSE ME. Haha. I love when that happens. *smiles*

5. Your characters are interesting, particularly the villains. Did you model them on anyone in real life? Or did you imagine them?
I'm really glad you dug the villians. I love my villians! I didn't model too many characters from real people other than Kirk Vaisto being infused with some similiar rock star traits and Festus Baustone III being built from tidbits taken from the many Rupert Murdoch's and Bill Gates of the world--and then given a dash of evil.

6. I remember reading that you are a heavy metal musician. Would parts of you be in the protagonist?
My experience as a recording and touring guitarist certainly aided me in keeping the protagonist's facts believable. More than that, my extreme love and passion for the guitar gave a bit more love to the protagonist's POV.

7. I see the book is available through Amazon in print and paper. Are you satisfied with mix of sales you are getting from the two formats?
The print sales have been amazing so far. I hit the TOP 10 paperback bestseller list on Barnes & Noble the first week it came out. Amazon has done great. Between print AND eBook format sales, I continue to be in the TOP 100 in Horror in the US, Canada, Germany, and the UK. I'm really happy with all that.

8. You can help your fellow writers with this question. What are you doing yourself to promote The Armageddon Chord?
Aside from the amazing promo/marketing. ads my publisher has done, I've been appearing at writer's conferences and book events any chance I can get. Blog tours, social media posts, and online exposure has helped. I also have publicists who really have given me amazing opportunities with magazine interviews, radio, TV and more. My advice to any writer looking to promote is to really make an effort to get out there...no matter what your budget is, there's always ways to achieve exposure and tell the world about your book...get creative! That's how I started, grass-roots first and built on that.

9. Do you have another book in the works?
I have 2 new novels completed and if all goes well, they should be out in 2012! They're horror and have nothing to do with a musician...LOL.

10. Are they under contract with a publisher?
THE ARMAGEDDON CHORD was just a one-book deal, so my new books are "free agents" if you will.

11. What are the last three books you read and why did you choose them?
Flashback by Dan Simmons (because I love Dan Simmons and he always blows me away).
The Best American Noir of the Century (I loved this book so much...next to horror, I really love the noir genre and this book of noir short-stories was just incredible).
Bad Men by John Connolly (I picked this up because the synopsis was really intriguing. I wasn't disappointed...it was really good).

12. What haven’t I covered that you’d like to add?
I just want to thank you for the interview and ask your readers to check out the website for THE ARMAGEDDON CHORD at: www.thearmageddonchord.com
CHEERS!

Thank you, Jeremy. I'm sure all of us who loved the first novel will be first in line for the second one.