613 Media — Telling the Story

NaNoWriMo.

Don’t try to pronounce it. It is shorthand for National Novel Writing Month. You can check it out at the address http://www.nanowrimo.org and find out how to write a novel in a month. November is the month to write a novel each year. I am participating in the project this year. I’m going to my local Barnes & Noble each Saturday for a “Write-In” from 10 A.M. to 1 P.M.

Our local community relations manager, Elizabeth, asked me to participate. Now, I am deep into the final rewrite of “The 11th Demon: Children of the Bloodstone” but I got a sudden inspiration. Several months ago, while writing the rough draft of the third book, I wondered what happened between the end of the second book, “The 12th Demon: Vampyre Majick” and the beginning of the third book. They are contiguous but not continuous. The third book does not pick up right where the second book ends. It picks up about two weeks later.

So, I asked myself what did happen? I mean, it is important to know what happened, right? If I am going to continue on with the story, I need to know how they settled into Ketrick’s old house and how they decided to work together and all of that fun stuff. You see in writer’s parlance, these issues seemed far too mundane to put in a novel. They’re basically housekeeping issues. And, I like to start each novel off with action. I like to just dive right in.

But, something kept coming up in my thoughts about these two weeks. And, so each night as I drifted off to sleep, I imagined what each one of my characters would be doing as they settled into this new life together. Out of that drifting thought pattern, a small story emerged. It wasn’t enough to justify its own novel. And, it wasn’t enough to even talk about. But, it was interesting. And, it was important.

So, in deciding what to write for the month of November, I chose to write this story. I call it, “The Demon In Between” and it will be available to you, my loyal readers, FREE as a download in December. It’s not long enough to publish as a stand alone novel and I want to thank my readers for sticking with me through the first two books. I fear the publication of the third novel may take longer than the first two did so I hope this may serve to tide you over.

So, Lord willing and the creek don’t rise I’ll have the novel finished by November 30th and you’ll have it to read before Christmas. This will be my Christmas present to you.

So, here is an excerpt. Just to get you salivating. In this excerpt, Cephas Lawrence and Jonathan Steel have driven from Shreveport to Dallas to meet with their old friend, FBI Agent Franklin Ross. I have written the scene from Jonathan’s point of view and for brief moments of time, we actually get inside the heads of all four of my main characters. Here is the excerpt from Chapter 11 of “The Demon In Between”:

“Jonathan Steel.” Franklin Ross looked up from his laptop. He was sitting behind a desk in the regional FBI headquarters in Dallas, Texas. Cephas and I had shared the driving from Shreveport and I had managed to catch some sleep during the three hour trip. Ross had insisted we talk in person after I said there was an issue with a rogue FBI agent. I think the real reason he made us drive over was because it would irritate us. I had left Josh in bed fast asleep and asked Sadie, the real estate lady to check on him later.

I sat across the desk in the small office and put the photos in front of Ross. “How’s Sue?”

Ross looked at me. His dark hair was perfectly combed and his face looked rested. He still wore his signature red tie and black blazer. “We’re not speaking.”

“Not surprising.” I said. When I had last seen Ross at the hearing for Josh, he had left with Lieutenant Sue Kane of the Dallas Police Department to have lunch. She seemed slightly smitten with the man.

Ross shrugged. “High maintenance.”

“And, you’re not?”

He glanced at me. “I was talking about me. So, what is going on?”

I pointed to the pictures. “This guy stole something from our basement.”

“Our basement?”

“We moved into, uh, Ketrick’s house.” I said.

Ross’ lips slowly curled up in a smile. He looked at Cephas. He looked back at me. “You’re kidding me.”

“No.”

“It was an excellent buy.” Cephas said.

Ross laughed out loud and sat back in his chair. “You’re living in Ketrick’s old house? How rich. How superb. How ironic.”

My face grew warm and I tried to suppress the desire to rip the man’s throat out. I had never gotten along well with Franklin Ross. I had broken his nose more than once. “When you’re done laughing, maybe you can answer my question.”

Ross stopped laughing and wiped tears from his eyes. “I answered your question about Sue. You never asked a question about the picture.”

I tapped the printout. “This man came into our basement and took something that belonged to Cephas and then kidnapped Theo.”

Ross froze. “Kidnapped the big guy?”

“Yeah.”

“Did he have an elephant gun? Loaded with major tranks?”

He started laughing again and the fury took me. I bolted up and leaned over the desk and grabbed his red tie. I pulled his face forward until his eyes were level with mine. “That’s enough! Theo is in trouble. I need help, Ross.”

His eyes filled with danger and he shoved me back as he stood up from the chair. His hand went into his jacket and returned with his gun. He pushed the barrel of his pistol between my eyes. “Turn loose of my tie, Steel. Don’t give me a reason to pull the trigger.”

I felt the cold metal between my eyes. “Are you going to kill me for rumpling your tie?”

November 4, 2008 was a day that will live in history. America made that history because of its unique right to vote. We call this democracy and the world was watching. No matter how  you voted, I encourage you to pray for out leaders as we are facing problems that are unprecedented in the history of our nation.

But, there is one thing that happened on this day that many may not have noticed.

For me, the journey to becoming a published writer began at an early age. I wrote my first short story at age 13. But, it was a book I picked up at a book store downtown on Marshall street that changed my life. The book was unlike anything I had ever read. I was an avid science fiction fan but I also loved mysteries and animal stories. The science fiction I enjoyed reading was always out of this world. Authors such as Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and Larry Niven were among my favorites. But, here is this strange new book was a kind of science fiction story that was outside the norm. It was a book that moved with a rapid, heart pounding pace. It was a book with a story that was rooted in hard, real science. It was a book that made me look up at the sky at night and wonder when we were going to die. But, it was ultimately a book of hope and the triumph of our own humanity over our destructive failures.

The name, “The Andromeda Strain”. I read the book through at least three times. I marveled at the spare but effective writing. I loved the interweaving of real facts with fiction. The book even had primitive computer graphics, unheard of in 1970! And this author, Michael Crichton was in medical school when he wrote it!

Two years later, I would make the decision to go to medical school. And, realizing that the years of study would cut into my desire to write, I decided to become like Michael Crichton. I wrote and wrote and wrote even though I was not published. And, I picked up every book he wrote.

I came to understand that Michael Crichton’s stories were perfect templates for movies. But, his one failing was his characters. They were always somewhat interesting but they never just jumped out and grabbed me. So, I set about to develop two skills with my writing. First, I wanted to learn how to make effective, believable dialogue. Second, I wanted to learn how to create interesting and intriguing characters. Let’s face it. None of the above mentioned writers (with perhaps the exception of Ray Bradbury) could create wonderfully complex characters. Their strength was in their plot and story lines.

Little did I realize that I was on a journey into a world I never planned on being a part of that would fulfill both of my needs. When, in 1989, I sat down with Bruce Edwards to help him write a play, I discovered the power of dialogue. And, the power of making the dialogue sell the character and the exposition. Soon, I was writing my own full length plays filled with memorable and unusual characters. I learned early on that effective dialogue worked by the following principle: If you could remove everything from the story except the dialogue and still know exactly who was speaking, then you had great dialogue. That required creating memorable, effective dialogue AND interesting characters.

But, enough of that writer talk. My birthday in 1993. It was ten o’clock at night. We celebrated at home and then I told my wife I wanted to go to the movie and see the new film, “Jurassic Park”. The book had blown me away. And, when I came home at midnight after seeing the movie all by myself, I could not sleep. Michael Crichton had created something that would forever change Hollywood.

His creativity and his devotion to using real facts in his stories still inspires me. When I sat down to write my Jonathan Steel Chronicles, I consciously decided to be the “Michael Crichton of Christian fiction”. That is how much he affected me.

And, when a certain television show known as ER emerged, I just couldn’t watch it. It was too realistic and too much like my everyday life in medicine. That show was created by Michael Crichton.

He passed away on November 4, 2008 at the age of 66. It was unexpected and there is some mention in the news of cancer. I hate to see this happen. Even at the age of 66, he was vibrant, alive, and very, very creative. I will miss going to the book store and scanning the shelves for his latest book. I will miss waiting for his latest books to be made into blockbuster movies.

This day will be remembered for years, decades, and probably centuries for the election of our first African American President. While the country celebrates this achievement, I do not want to diminish its significance. But, I do want to pause and remember one of my favorite authors and most creative doctors — Michael Crichton. You will be missed!