Introducing "Chatterbox", a monthly event

Well, I am back! I intend to get back on a good schedule with blogging so there won't be such disgraceful emptiness between posts. I want you to leave a comment letting me know what you'd like to see me post about; I have my own ideas but I want to be sure I'm covering things that would be helpful to you, not just dribbling my own thoughts all over the internet when no one cares a hairpin about them. One thing I will be starting are some monthly events here at The Inkpen Authoress. The one I'm going to introduce to you today is called "Chatterbox".

Like "Beautiful People" and Katie's "Snippets of Story", Chatterbox is an event to help authors get to know their characters and stories better. I love to talk and I love to write dialog. Chatterbox is, essentially, an exercise in showing your character via the way he or she speaks. It's fun, it is sassy, it is simple. Each month I will assign a conversation topic and it will be your duty to write a conversation between several of your characters regarding whatever I topic I designated. Who knows? You might even end up with something you'll want to work into your real novel. When you are finished writing your post you will be able to link up with me here at The Inkpen Authoress and we'll have jolly larks reading the wide variety that springs out of the assigned topic. If you're in, plunk the picture on your sidebar with a link to this blog and we'll have a go!

October's Chatterbox Topic is:

Coffee

I gave you something easy to start off with, and for my own entry I scrawled down a conversation between two very new characters of a book that doesn't have permission to exist till I've finished my current books. Lah-dee-dah. Mine is very short and could be a discussion between any two characters except for the fact that I know who these two are and I'm a bit suspicious I'll grow to love them. Meet Mr. Orville Farnham of Whistlecreig:

   "Why don't you ever order something interesting?" Genevieve asked, flicking her menu open.
   "I am a boring man."
   "Surely your non-existent imagination could extend to the point of asking for cream and sugar?"
   "I prefer it black. Takes less time."
   "For whom?"
   He winced against the pain in his stomach and spread his fingers. "When a man has time to order coffee in French, he is a wastrel."

 Toodles, darlings! I cannot wait to read your entries. Remember to spread the word. :)

Ze Next Gargantuan Thing...

Well this is larks! Jenny of The Penslayer asked me to participate in a Next Big Thing Blog Hop that began away back at Anne Elisabeth Stengl's blog and continued on from there. I was excited to participate for three main reasons:

1.) The questions were simple, straightforward, and practical
2.) I was asked by the Slayer of Pens herself, and when she calls, you answer.
3.) My targeted participation date happened to be on a Wednesday, allowing me to keep on my nicely tailored "shed-dewl."

So now, enjoy a peek at the not-really-illustrious, but-certainly-hopeful Rachel Heffington's "Next Big Thing"...

What is the working title of your book?

Fly Away Home

Where did the idea come from for the book?

A short story I wrote some years ago titled: "How About Coffee" which, in turn, came from that question floating around my head, wishing for a story to be attached to. It was a very easy story for me to write, quite possibly because I fell in love with the characters right away. Mr. Barnett for the very obvious reason of his total amazingness, Callie because if I had lived her life, I would be very much like her. Our mental process is similar. And because of Nickleby, the cat. And journalism. Also, NYC in the 1950's is a cool combination of place and time that never fails to fascinate and excite me. I wanted to write this book, almost for that reason itself. ;)

What genre does your book fall under?

Inspirational romance

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Ohhhhh this is hard. See, I wrote Fly Away Home thinking of Gregory Peck as Mr. Barnett. But obviously that can't be, because he's dead. I have been mulling over this problem for ages and ages, so the only two possibilities I could come up with are a clean-shaven, vintage-wearing Hugh Jackman...

 or Thomas Gibson. 

Neither entirely satisfies me. Jackman's features are too angular, and Gibson's eyebrows and dimples are all wrong. Sorry, I'm just picky. They just don't make 'em like they used to! :P I could find several also-dead actors who could have played Mr. Barnett. It's so much harder with the modern men! I suppose if I was in charge of the casting-call, I'd advertise for Peck look-alikes.

As for Callie, I had little trouble in pegging Michelle Dockery (minus the accent) for the part.

She looks like Callie to me. Elegant, slender, dark eyes. Looks as if she could say a few things of her own if anyone gave her the opportunity.

But then my sister said she never thought Callie was that poised and elegant. So I was forced to come up with a plan 2 in Rachel Weisz.

Then again, I thought of Lily Collins who is a bit young for the part, but might work out pretty well by the time they'd ever get around to making Fly Away Home into a movie. (But by that time Hugh Jackman would be too old....argh.)

Sass. Yes.

Sean Astin is an easy choice for Jerry Atwood.

Tommy Lee Jones could do the curmudgeon-y role of Mr. Shores well

Nigella Lawson is an easy choice as Nalia Crosticinni. Well, her looks. She's a chef...a t.v. chef, yes, but can she act? I would have to look into that. At any rate, her looks are ideal for Nalia.

Jules Cameron...Ahh...JOSEPH GORDON_LEVITT! Charming, stinkin' good-looking, could play the arrogant, evil nemesis rather well...

Yes. Him.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Glamor and Glitz is Calida Harper's career of choice, but when her ticket comes in the form of a recklessly simple man stealing her heart, a hidden past breathing down her collar, and her long-held ideals tumbling from their sandy foundations, is Callie willing to rip off the precious mask to save another?

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

An agency. I hope. That is the road I am actively pursuing, so unless something changes, Fly Away Home will be represented by an agency. Then again, we never can tell what will happen, so if plans change, I'll be sure to let you know.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

A matter of about 2-3 months all told. This was the first novel I wrote using my thousand-word-a-day system, so it worked up nice and quick. It is not a long novel (75,000 words) so it did not take long to write, and I had little trouble with plot. I was interrupted in the writing of this story by my month of campaigning in Georgia (If I am remembering correctly...) so it was not a fluid couple of months, but it was no longer than 70-90 days of active writing, certainly.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Comp titles are the bane of my existence, truly. I have said before that the reason Fly Away Home is a good romance may certainly be influenced by the fact that I've read very little romance so I don't have that baggage carting around in my brain. ;) This novel is also unique because while the setting is 1950's NYC, the plot doesn't circulate closely around historic events, so I can't really compare it to historic romances I have read. I intend to make a trip to town and visit Barnes and Noble this week or next to get my Comp Titles for my queries, so I'll get back to you on this.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Gregory Peck, actually. And that short story I mentioned beforehand. And my desire to write a book that would, perhaps, minister to young women who are in similar positions as Callie, bewildered as to what true success is, if there is any God in this world that is interested in their case, and who might possibly be fleeing from a past that hunts them down. There is grace. There is healing. And I hope these girls can find a little of that in Fly Away Home.

In other news, Amy Dashwood, author of Only a Novel will be the next stop in the blog hop, so stayed tuned at her blog for her Next Big Thing soiree!

And so dissolves Clan Afton

I am linking up with Lightening Flashes at the Anne-Girl's blog! This is a new, monthly blog series in which the Anne-girl gives us a picture and we write a piece of flash fiction. The picture was sweet...my flash fiction was...intimidating. Here it is! I hope you enjoy it in some measure.

The Inspiration:

What came of it:

     "Forget about her, lad. Put her from your wee mind." The young knight's voice came soothing, hushing, close to Eanon's ear.
     Eanon relaxed in the man's arms. He felt same with the low, masculine voice murmuring in his ear and the coarse prickling of the knight's beard pressing through his linen tunic. He might be young, but Eanon felt a glimmer of curiosity mingling with the red-hued fear as the gilded hill rose higher, step by step as the knight carried Eanon down the boulder-pocked slope. What would happen to Aunt Eileen--beautiful, cruel, crazed. She was lying there, crumpled near the fire was Eanon had seen her last before the Red Fury swept through. Another of her drunken passions, Eanon knew, but they never ceased to frighten him. Then the Red-Fury had come with their gruff voices and flashing armor. Stern, they stood beside the table and conferred among themselves.
     Eanon huddled in the corner of the croft behind the stack of peats. They made a pungent-odored fortress shielding him from Eileen and the Red Fury alike.
     "She's dead--the witch," one soldier said.
     "Nay, not dead. She's likely enchanted herself as she has so many others--Bah!" the second speaker spat over Eileen's still form. His spittle popped in the fire.
     "She is a poor, addle-pated woman. Do not disrespect her so." This last voice was measured, gentle, and strong.
     Eanon raised himself, curiosity to see the soldiers, pulling him to his feet. Was Eileen--cruel Aunt Eileen--dead at last from her reckless passions? But a moment later he saw her chapped, cracked lips move. Then she raised herself, her tangled black curls making a web across her tortured face. The soldiers took a step back and Eanon shrank from the bold, reckless gleam in her eyes. It was such a gleam gave him these welts if he stood too near her.
     "I am not dead, vermin!" her voice was weary and shaking. "But I, Eileen McAfton, will never stir from my father's croft though all the wights of the dusk pulled me away. You seek to destroy the clans of the Glen. But never--never while I live, and the brave chief Eanon. I am keeping him--training him to be a man of war and he shall slay every last one of you!"
     Her wide, soulless eyes sought him and Eanon felt no mere peat-stack could cover the scalding burn he felt as her intense gaze scorched him. She held her arms out to him and Eanon wavered for a moment with the eyes of the wild woman and the soldiers upon him. Should he got to comfort her? Aunt Eileen...so bitter....so desperate. But the fitful fire sparked in her eyes again and Eanon's blood rushed to his bruises and made them throb. She laughed and swayed to her feet; beautiful, wild, she stood a queen.
     "You are here to take me--to do me a harm. Never, while I live!"
     Eanon scarcely recognized the glimmering object in Eileen's hand as the Ophthel dagger, but so it was and Eileen rushed upon the men, slicing at them with precise, measured strokes. An unearthly song flowed from her lips. Eanon knew it--Clan Afton's war-hue--and his stomach knotted. The Red-Fury drew their weapons and surrounded Aunt Eileen. A few more strikes with the Ophthel dagger and the woman fell to her knees sobbing and choking.
     Her despair frightened Eanon. He cried too and fled from the dark, low croft. Swift foot-steps pursued him and the youngest knight's arms lifted Eanon in a mail-clad, yet gentle embrace.
     "There, there, lad. We shan't harm you, be you chieftain or shepherd. Lie still now and forget her. Lie still..."
     Eanon watched the hill now as the red rays of sun burnished croft and slope alike. "And so," he thought, a cold weariness creeping through his short, childish frame, "And so dissolves Clan Afton."

"Five-and-twenty, Tattycoram."

...Or ten, rather. I have decided to join up (at least for several of the days) in The Anne-girl's Hero Week over at her blog, Scribblings of my Pen and Tappings of my Keyboard. :) Today's challenge was to list my top 10 favorite heroes in literature and tell you a bit about them. Ready? Set? Go!

1. John Jarndyce. For those of you who have read Charles Dicken's Bleak House, you will realize who I am talking about and why I love him so. He is the epitome of self-sacrifice and generosity. He's loving, gentle, but firm. Plus he never goes off his rocker like some people. *ahem ahem* (Nobody said the hero has to be the lover, right?)

2. Sir Percy Blakeney. Yes, yes, I know. Every girl loves Sir Percy, but it would be positively indecent not to include him in this list, even at risk of sounding like a common fan-girl. :P The French Revolution needs to be relived (kidding) so that we can have a real Scarlet Pimpernel. I was rather dismalized when I remembered there was no such personage in the actual history of the French Rev. Sir Percy is heroism itself--pluck, audacity, humor, compassion, and considerable fashion taste. ;)

3. Arthur Clennam. The hero of Little Dorrit, this man is one of the gentlest and sweetest heroes I've yet to come across in literature. He is humble, loyal, kind, and yet unmoving. His scruples are never moved by any of his circumstances and in the end he is rewarded for all that. :) Arthur Clennam has lived a life of contradictions: unloved, yet loving. Pushed away, yet reaching out. He's a real man. :)

4. Mr. Knightley. We all know who he is. We all know why he's on this list. We all know that words would not begin to describe the depth of his character. Thus I shall borrow his own words and appropriate them to myself: "Perhaps if I felt less I could talk about it more." ;)

5. Sydney Carton. We don't often think of this fellow from Charles Dicken's A Tale of Two Cities when we think of our top ten fictional heroes, but I had to include him. He is a wouldbegood. He has wasted his life for years, is denied the woman he loves, is about to go to ruin, and then he has a conversion. He takes that wasted life and becomes a hero. It's a beautiful picture of our own redemption through Christ.

Haven't seen any film version of this book so I hope this is Sydney. :D

6. Nathaniel Bowditch. I don't think I've read of a more determined man than this fellow. I was inspired by his sheer determination and strength in the face of so many trials. If you ever want a good, easy, rather sad book to read, read Carry on, Mr. Bowditch. :)

7. David Copperfield. Although I was cross for his perversity in marrying Dora, I loved David. His story was pathetic and yet sweet. And he rose up through all those terrible spheres of trial and temptation and came out on the right end. I love him. :)

8. This brings me to Mr. Dan'l Peggotty. (Also from David Copperfield) He is, perhaps, the true "hero" in the book. His love for his niece, Em'ly, and his quest to find her and bring her home brought me to tears several times. He is so blue and brown and sea-smelling that one can't help but love him. :)

9. Jean Valjean. This character from Les Miserables had my sympathy from the get-go. I wanted to  do something awful to Javert myself to get him off of this good man's track. I know Les Miz was written partially as an allegory and I can see why. Jean Valjean is a redeemed man, and yet his past and faith-by-works is hunting him down relentlessly. A marvelous hero.

10. Gilbert Blythe. I had to include him. Gilbert is so ordinary and yet so great. Why do I count him among my favorite heroes? My only answer is a shrug and a "why-not", but I think it has something to do with the fact that he is down to earth. I feel that I have a real chance of meeting my own Gilbert someday. He is practical, generous, funny, and impulsive and that is why he is on my list.

Have a great Monday, girls! :)