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Tuesday, November 04, 2008

The following is a short story I wrote while on a particulary long trip in the center of China. It's long, but I hope you enjoy it.

T.I.C.

It’s a land shrouded in mystic, always luring the adventurous, but mostly out of reach. It’s a land deep in history--ancient history--as rich, as romantic, as bloody as that of Europe and the Middle East. It’s culture is deeply rooted in it’s past, but now change is running rampant over the land. This Is China or TIC.

It’s the largest English speaking country in the world and it’s not the United States. It’s the largest beer drinking country in the world, and it’s not Germany. It’s the fourth largest county in the world, area-wise, and the largest, population wise. It has 55 distinct ethnic minorities and over 200 unofficial dialects. T.I.C. or This Is China.

For six months, armed with a few polite, badly pronounced Chinese phrases, I had the pleasure of roaming through China with a small team to look at breweries for potential joint ventures. On this particular day, I find myself deep in the Shanxi Province, the fringe of China’s Wild West--a coal mining belt with few redeeming qualities. This day, was to be a travel day and what started out as a seven hour trip from LinFen to ZhenZhou City; ended up being a twenty-five hour quest to see Hukou Falls; the 2nd largest waterfall in China. On the map, it’s merely inches off the highway.
We traveled for two hours on the main highway before deciding on the short scenic detour. That was four hours ago and we’re still climbing through the LuLiang Mountains. I ask our interpreter how to say, “Are we there yet?” in Mandarin, but somehow the humor is lost in translation. The main highway could be compared to a wide country lane by U.S. standards. The trail we are currently on alternates between one and a half lanes of gritty rock and dirt, to little more than a dusty earthen path beaten down by thousands of years of travelers afoot. It would be rough by four-wheeler standards, and we were, by no stretch of the imagination, in a rugged four-wheeler.

My three lao wai comrades (laowai is Mandarin for foreigner), two interpreters, two beer company representatives and a grumpy driver were stuffed into a Jinbei Minibus. Think 1960’s vintage VW Microbus and you’ve got a pretty accurate picture in your mind. I’m pretty sure this particular vehicle might have been comfortable in it’s day, but it’s day was about twenty years ago. The age of the bus is frozen in time since the speedometer reads thirty kilometers per hour whether we’re standing still or vibrating down the highway. Faded numbers on the odometer read two hundred thousand something, but they haven’t moved in years. The shock absorbers were, well, they weren’t absorbing anything. Two years later I still have the bruises on my ass to prove it.

Yet, there we were, three Americans in the bowels of China, trying to catch up to the keys on our laptop computers as they bounced on our laps; writing reports that would somehow have to be transmitted back to the states by the next morning. Al Gore didn’t exactly have China’s countryside in mind when he invented the internet. I hear a loud bang and a word I recognize as the Chinese version of “CRAP” and realize my interpreter dozed off just long enough to have his head thrown against the window as the bus rocked over another enormous rut. I decide to close the lid of my computer before vertigo completely overwhelms me and gaze out at the countryside.
By now we were testing the little Jinbei’s lawnmower engine, rattling and skipping a beat that must have been a fouled sparkplug. The road turns sharply to the sky as the valley behind us falls away. The scenery is that of an alien planet. The mountains rise in terraces like a giant’s staircase. Each terrace is riddled with monster-size mouse holes. Entire mountains had been chiseled down over thousands of years by a society that had no other choice but to pick out a living from the rocks. No mountain in sight was spared. The people here lived in dirt and indescribable poverty. As the path levels out, the bus driver shouts at the locals shuffling along, burdened by bundles of coal balanced on long sticks. A few lucky ones have scraggly mules or oxen to carry their load. Old men amble alongside encouraging the beasts wielding whip-like sticks in their weathered hands. There are no villages in sight, so I can’t figure out where these people were going. This is China.

Everything here is veiled in black dust from the mines. The air is thick with it and many of the locals wear black-stained cotton masks or wrap dirty cloths over their nose and mouths to filter out the carbon particles. The driver balances the Jinbei on a ridge between two mountains weaving in and out of the pedestrians, laying on his horn and shouting, while I close my eyes pretending not to see the thousand foot drop-offs on either side. The Chinese don’t have the equivalent of DOT or OSHA, so guardrails don’t exist. Finally, the road turns to hug the face of the next mountain and we veer close to one of the chiseled terraces riddled with human-size mouse holes. These near-perfect arches act as the structural support to keep the mountain rock from crashing inward. Odd black wisps of smoke curl from each burrow and drift upward.

Before today, I’ve said many times, that nothing I see in China surprises me, thus our invented term, This Is China or TIC for short. Today is a first...well a first since the last time something really threw me for a loop in China. As the bus bounces by the mouse holes, I begin to make out the shapes of families huddled around small piles of burning coals for warmth in the back of each. I looked around to see my fellow lao wais are as saucer-eyed as I am. It finally hits me that there are thousands of people walking about and not a single brick and mortar structure in sight.

The mouse holes that began as coal mine shafts had been converted to living quarters for the workers. The fortunate had scrounged pieces of corrugated metal or scrapes of wood to tilt up at the openings shielding them from the wind and rain. The wealthy families near the road had all the luxuries in life, a custom fit wooden doorway at the front, a stove pipe to carry out the noxious black soot, and electricity. The electricity is stolen directly from the main power line secured high on utility poles.

The method is quite simple method if you’re lucky enough to forage some electrical wire and scrounge up a bicycle chain. You break the chain, tie the wire to it and throw it up until the chain wraps around the power line. After enough tugs, the chain cuts through the insulating rubber on the power line and you have free electricity for your hovel. However, if the clever thief is unlucky, the power line is high voltage and the family erects a burial wreath at the site. I’m told this is quite common throughout the countryside.

As the bus ride continues through the mountaintop village, the scene gets more bizarre. One man is using a chisel and sledgehammer to enlarge his cave. By the decorations and signs it seems his son just got married and the family needs more space to grow. This family must be wealthy, as they have cot-like beds along the walls and a door in their cave’s wood facade. These people live on the ground floor, because on the next terraced step above them, there are more mouse holes. I count five terraces and each is riddled with holes. Leave it to the Chinese to invent high-rise caves.

Suddenly my cell phone buzzes; startling me from my gaze. This is China. Hundreds of miles from civilization and the cell phone service is flawless. I flip open the receiver and hear my wife’s static-ridden voice. Before I can describe what I’m seeing, she goes into a diatribe on her hard day and how the garage door opener broke and how she had to use her key to go inside the house and how she broke a fingernail opening the garage door manually. At this point, all I hear is yada, yada, yada and I feel like shouting into the phone, “Sorry, I’m going into a tunnel.” Instead, being the insensitive jerk, that she later called me, I tell her that there are thousands of people living in caves here and they would die to have a door, let alone one that opens at the push of a button. I actually hear myself say, “Get over it and call a repairman.” Thank God I lost the signal shortly after that remark and we continued to bounce along the mountain trail.

Next came the “Sign”. No, not a sign from God, but a road sign with a unique English interpretation. Okay, again, I’ll remind you that we are hundreds of miles from civilization and I’m pretty sure that even the most adventurous Westerner wouldn’t be driving this path, but there it was, in Chinese characters and English: “Easy hair of front trouble, large carry the heavy vehicle.” We all laughed until we understood what it meant. “Easy Here, Trouble Ahead, Large Vehicles Carrying Heavy Loads.” As the tiny Jinbei rounded the curve, there it was. A massive truck, taking all but a few feet of the available trail.


The cunning truck driver immediately swerved to the face of the cliff, leaving the outside and a thousand foot drop, sans guardrail, for us to negotiate. There were a few words and gestures exchanged between the drivers as the Jinbei inched along the cliff face. A miracle moment later it was all over and we were descending into the Huang He valley. That’s the Yellow River.

It’s now been eight hours. Those few inches on the map took six hours to negotiate. As the Jin Bei grinds to a stop, we crawl out to solid footing and take in the scenery. Odd, that we’ve come all this way to see the second largest waterfall in all of China and, stretched out alongside of us, is a mile-wide dried-up river bed with nothing that resembles a waterfall in sight, and we can see up and down the valley for miles. We all thought it, “Where’s the waterfall?” Finally someone dared to ask. “Waterfall is still a few more kilometers. We will have a break here at the Jin Pu Hotel.” There is a unified sigh of relief, both for the opportunity relieve ourselves and that we hadn’t spent eight hours of hell for nothing.


After a short potty break; thank God for western style toilets; it was back in the bus. Chinese toilets are a whole other topic. We bounce down the road for about a mile and pull to a stop next to a cute, petite young woman with an orange coat, wielding a megaphone. But the scenery hadn’t changed and the same thought comes rushing back. “Where the hell is the waterfall?”

The little tour guide raised her megaphone and with a loud screech, started a well-rehearsed speech. Her first interpreted words were, “Sorry, no water.” “What the f...?” A loud, confused discussion in Mandarin erupts and the corrected version is repeated, “Sorry LOW water.”

Still, we look around. The ticking of the bus engine as it cooled signals that we have arrived, and no sign of a waterfall. But there, across the dried up riverbed is a raised concrete walkway to... well... to nowhere. The walkway ended about a hundred yards from where we stood, but sure enough, our tour guide, talking excitedly into her megaphone, started down the path to nowhere. I turned around to see that most of our Chinese hosts decided to hang back to let us discover things on our own. I have this nagging feeling that this was all a huge, cruel joke. So there we were, our Chinese tour guide, shouting into her megaphone to a lone interpreter, who then had to shout to translate what she said to the three intrepid lao wais walking on a raised concrete pathway to nowhere, inches above a mile-wide, dried-up riverbed to see what seemed to be a phantom waterfall.

As our guide continues her well-practiced speech, as we reach the end of the concrete to be met by a dirty, yellow-tinged, jagged icepack. It’s been a very cold winter and the ice has jammed up here. Undeterred by the seemingly insurmountable obstacle, we throw caution to the wind, along with every ounce of common-sense we possess and pick our way along the silt-crusted ice without any clue as to how thick it is or whether we’ll disappear into the icy water below.

Twenty yards further, our little guide stops abruptly, hands out as if trying to regain her balance and shouts. “Louk ie, louk ie!” It took us a moment to realize she was actually speaking English. She pointed out across the expanse of ice to a faint mist rising from the ground. At the same time, I noticed an almost imperceptible vibration in the ice and a low pitched, steady rumble sounded in my ears. Our pace quickened and the low rumble increased to a deafening roar. Still, except for the mist rising, there was no sign of the 2nd largest waterfall in China.

We climb up and over a particularly gnarly mountain of ice and there it is. Hukou Falls. Not anything like I expected, but magnificent, none the less. Again, it’s difficult to find the words to paint a picture in your mind, but it’s as if we stepped back millions of years and were witnessing the Colorado River just beginning to carve out the Grand Canyon across the high plains of northern Arizona. Millions of gallons per minute of yellow-streaked, abrasive water from the Yellow River plummet almost four-hundred feet to the bottom of an inner-canyon no more than a hundred feet across. The awesome power of the river found a weak spot; a crack in Mother Earth; to exploit and worked at it with tireless fury. I stood on a shelf of ice, twenty-feet thick, on the edge of the raging abyss, mesmerized by the sight.

Hukou Pubu translates to Kettle Spout Falls. The yellow, silt-laden water funnels into the canyon in dramatic fashion, throwing up a mist that transforms into a light show of shifting rainbows above. The sound is deafening and the feel is powerful as the rumble resonates through our bodies. Thank God the ice is gritty, as we are drawn in by the magnificence and find ourselves standing on the edge of the ice shelf. One slip and there would be more room in the Jinbei on the ride back.


The next surprise clomps up from behind. A very elder man looking like pictures I’ve seen of Genghis Khan with a long thin mustache, blending with his flowing, grey beard. But this man was skinny as a rail under his shabby course clothes and carried a handmade long-stemmed pipe. A ragged mule stood behind the man wearing a colorful blanket, harness and saddle. We were witness to the famous donkey of Hukou. We knew the donkey was famous because it was embroidered in English on his blanket. For a mere 5 RMB; that’s about sixty-five cents; you could mount the donkey for a quick ride on the jagged chunks of ice and take a picture with your own camera. We found that this was one of eight donkey men that live in Zhongshi Village. They make the journey daily to the falls and earn a nice living. Several have even purchased motorcycles. This is China.

Not many westerners make it to this remote region and we drew quite a crowd as children flocked around us to say “Hello” and ask for money. After ten minutes of handing out Chinese coins and saying “hello” over and over again, our beer company delegation comes to our rescue and we say goodbye to the incredible site. We pick our way back across the ice field and prepare for another 6 hour butt-numbing ride back to the highway. The bus stops again at the Jin Pu Hotel and out hosts inform us that they have arranged a special surprise. The Mayor of Hukou Village heard of our visit and insisted on having dinner with us.

The dining room was clean but spartan. A round table dominated the room and centered on the table’s large lazy Susan was a beautiful centerpiece of birds and flowers freshly carved from local vegetables. Special occasions in China call for unusual food; fried scorpions, and spicy fried cicadas for appetizers, soft-shelled turtle (just like it came from the water) served over a bed of rice noodles along with various servings of vegetables and meats for a main dish and egg white ducks floating on fish soup for a finale. Copious quantities of beer slammed down in Gan Bei toasts were followed by locally made apple wine. Two hours later as the sun dipped below the mountains, we bid Zai Jian to the Mayor and pile back in the Jinbei for the treacherous ride back, this time under the veil of darkness.

How about a nice dish of fried scorpians for the ride back. You can get it in a "To Go" box.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Magna Cum Murder

I just returned from a really great conference, Magna Cum Murder sponsored by Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. First off, kudos to Kathryn Kennison, one of the loveliest ladies I’ve met and a wonderful organizer. Also kudos to Jim Huang, owner of The Mystery Company in Carmel, Indiana and program organizer. I am confident that next year’s Bouchercon is in good hands with Jim at the helm.

What makes the conference special? As an author, you have to earn your right to present on a panel. And that’s a good thing. As a fan spending your hard-earned dollars on a conference, it’s nice to know that you’ll hear something insightful rather than a bunch of people selling something. Funny thing was, some of the authors present were published by small presses like me and the programs they presented were entertaining and informative. These are the same people that Mystery Writers of America are seeking to keep out of their organization. A similar rule was presented to the Bouchercon Steering Group and defeated.

This conference was totally different from Bouchercon. While at Bouchercon, I felt an uneasy “I don’t belong here” feeling, I never felt that at Magna. The authors were great and the fans... well, fantastic. It was nice to be able to connect with readers and writers at such a casual atmosphere and talk shop. In fact, there was a four hour rotating roundtable of shop talk.

Now to go on to the panels I was assigned to. I actually kicked the conference off on the debut authors panel. Now, officially, there were two debut authors. Both of us from St. Louis. However, Joanna Campbell Slan couldn’t make it on time, so I had an hour to fill. Not only that, but the original idea was for Joanna and I to interview each other. Without her, suddenly I was interviewing myself. Thank God for the kindness that is the mystery community.

At the registration desk, a mere twenty minutes before my panel, the guest of honor, a wonderful author by the name of Louise Penny introduced herself to me. I mentioned that I was in a bit of a quandary and she offered to introduce and interview me without even a hesitation. I gave her the questions and my bio ten minutes before show time and Louise interviewed me like she had known me her whole life. I was at ease and she actually made me look good, which is no easy task.

After my panel a wonderful group of ladies asked if I’d sit and chat with them. They even bought me a drink, which was a totally unexpected treat (Thanks Pat). We had a marvelous chat.

The highlight of the weekend was the panel I shared with the fabulous Barb D’Amato and Austin Camacho. We coached a group of people through the plotting of a flash fiction mystery. We managed to get all of 157 words on paper, but what a blast. Austin was fantastic at keeping the group on track and we both noticed that the sweet-looking Barb D’Amato is very capable of some rather dark and disturbing ideas.

I’m not sure if the class learned a lot, except that mystery writing is harder than they expected, but it was a blast for the panel and I believe everybody had a good time.

Lastly I led a discussion on Hollywood Endings - Do we need them? I think I picked the right movie/book as an example. I brought up No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy.

The days were long, but totally satisfying. The company was excellent and shop talk comforting. I’d like to shout out to a reader I met from Haslett, Michigan. I didn’t get her last name, but Colleen, I hope you enjoy the book.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Magna Bound

I'm headed to Muncie, Indiana this weekend to attend Magna Cum Murder. This is an annual conference sponsered by Ball State University. This will be my second conference as a published writer and in many ways, I'm more excted about this one than the Mother of Mystery Conferences, Bouchercon. Why?

Well, mainly every author that I know that is familiar with Magna has said the same thing. They love it. There won't be 1,400 people like Bouchercon, more like 250. There won't be 400 authors, more like 30. It's a chance to connect with other authors, readers and aspiring writers.

An interesting tidbit is that we all had homework to do prior to the conference. Everyone was asked to read Bratt Farrar by Josephine Tey and be ready to discuss it. Of course, there is preparing for the panels. At Bouchercon, the mantra for the panels was to relax and have fun. At Magna, there is a purpose beyond getting to know authors, people are there to learn and I don't take that responsibility lightly. I put myself in the shoes I wore over the past years and I know what I expected for my hard-earned money.

I've drawn 3 assignments: Debut authors, Plotting the Mystery and a group discussion on Do You Need a Hollywood Ending?

Right now, Barbara D'Amato and Austin Comacho and I are corresponding on the Plotting the Mystery discussion. We want it to be an interactive session were we guide the class through the plotting of a mystery.

I'll be reporting back with pictures, hopefully next week. Wish me luck.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Bouchercon 2008 - Charmed to Death

I just got back from my first Bouchercon in Baltimore. It also happened to be my first conference as a published author. For those of you that don't know about Bouchercon, it is THE Conference for Mystery and Suspense. The estimate was between 1,400 and 1,800 people attended this weekend. There were probably 300 to 400 authors there as well.

Being a newly published author and being published by a small press put me near the bottom of the food chain, but you would never know it. The established authors there were fabulously supportive. Let me name drop: Lee Child, Harlen Coben, Laura Lippman, John Lutz, Lawrence Block, Karin Slaughter, Barry Eisler, and many more.


Lee Child


Harlen Coben

So, I walk to the registration desk and the first person I meet is the lovely Annette Dashofy. While you may not know Annette, she is one of my co-bloggers on The Working Stiffs blog. She took me in to see Joyce Tremel, the keeper of the Working Stiffs.


The lovely ladies at my side are Annette Dashofy and Joyce Tremel

Another "First" for me was a panel at a writers conference. Even though our panel was up against Laura Lippman and Lauri King, we pulled in about 150 people. I obsessed about it all the way until I had to introduce myself. As usual when I present, I went on autopilot. I don't remember much about it, other than I managed to answer all the questions and even got a few laughs.


I'm at the far right.

After the panel, I went to the book signing room, along with all the other authors that gave panels during that time slot. Laura Lippman's line was out the door. I was warned not to get upset if I didn't sell any books. Well, I sold 4. That's 4 more than I anticipated, so I was good. Even though I had to guilt someone in Laura Lippman's line to buy one. I was good with that too.

There were ups and downs for me. I went from awe, to overwhelmed, to wondering what the hell I was doing there. I've got to tell you, I was never surrounded by a better group of people. Everybody there, from reader to the biggest author names made me feel like I belonged. I had real nice conversations with Lee Child and Harlan Coben. The group at Murderati, one of the premiere mystery author blogs welcomed me like one of the gang. Let's see, there was J.D. Rhoades, Pari Noskin Taichert, Louise Ure, Robert Gregory Browne, Brett Battles, Zoƫ Sharp and Alex Sokoloff.


Murderati Gang

Also some of the Good Girls Kill for Money were there. I never really saw them all together, but they are such a lovely group. I missed Laura Bradford and Diana Killian.


Sara Rosett and Regina Harvey


Tasha Alexander

Then there were The First Offenders. Lori G. Armstrong, Alison Gaylin, Bryon Quartermous and Karen Olsen. I was having a blast at the bar with Lori and Brett when Harlan Coben strolled up and Heather Grahm and Scott Miller and Janet Reid and my buddy, Lee Lofland. Lee Child was in the bar... Well, it was a gathering of some of the best authors and best people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.


Alison Gaylin Somehow I didn't get a picture with Lori Armstrong.

Of course I have to thank my wife Linda for keeping me company when I needed it and keeping herself occupied when I was busy hobnobbing.


My beautiful wife Linda.

Monday, August 11, 2008

AMERITHRAX SOLVED?

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In case you’re not familiar with the term Amerithrax, it’s the FBI’s code name for the investigation of the anthrax letters that killed five people and injured seventeen in the months following 9/11. Just recently, A person of interest, Dr. Bruce Edwards Ivins died of a drug overdose—an apparent suicide. Dr. Ivins was a resident of Frederick, Maryland, and a long-time anthrax researcher who worked at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases, known as USAMRIID. He was the prime suspect and the government was building their case on him and had issued search warrants for his car and home.

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Reviewing the available documents provided by the FBI and Department of Justice, there are some interesting things that have come to light. There were two distinct levels of refinement of the anthrax spores sent. The first batch was rough though not unrefined. The letters sent to Capitol Hill contained highly refined anthrax of the same strain, like a very fine powder that would suspend in air. The letters were printed in block letters like a child would use, however the FBI suspected that they were written by an adult. They were also mailed from Trenton New Jersey.

I started writing A Reason For Dying about 3 years ago and actually plotted the novel the year before that. The novel begins with Laura Daniels, Assistant Special Agent In Charge as lead investigator of Amerithrax. Of course, she fails to crack the case and lands in the FBI Seattle Field Office. However, here are some excerpts from the novel that I find to be eerily similar.


Chapter Two
Frederick, Maryland
November 28, 2001

Saif Yasin stared into the blackness, straining to see through the icy rain, silently praying to Allah to help him control his anger and decide if the American should die tonight...

... “Josef?” The man wiped rain from his eyes and forehead, and squeezed water from his curly black hair.

“No, Dr. Bates, my name is Sam. You might say I’m Josef’s boss. I have made the trip myself to see you.” Saif casually flicked rain from his overcoat as he stared at Dr. Bates with sharp, calculating eyes. High cheek bones shadowed light brown skin and thin bloodless lips framed perfect English.

“But, I was supposed to meet Josef.”

“Let’s just say Josef was demoted. You will deal directly with me now.” “Look, I know what you want. I told Josef, six grams was the best I could do.” Bates’ voice wavered.

“After 9/11, security got tight. I almost got caught.” Chapter FourJosef Mohammed, Saif’s second-in-command, had found Dr. Reed Bates working for the army at Fort Detrick. The corrupt doctor claimed he could deliver four hundred grams of weapon’s grade anthrax from the army’s infectious disease research program.

Okay, so I had pinned this on an Army Doctor that lived in Frederick, Maryland, Dr. Reed Bates. In A Reason For Dying, Dr. Bates was driven by greed. When he wanted out, he found that he made a deal with people that were ruthless and with no value for life. They kept a stranglehold on him by threatening his wife. We'll have to wait and see what the government uncovers about Dr. Ivins motives, if he did indeed launch the attacks. Here are some more excerpts from A Reason For Dying.

Chapter One

The depletion of manpower now assigned to 9/11, thrust Laura into the spotlight as the lead agent on the anthrax letter investigation. Her first big case and she was nowhere; no leads, no solid evidence, no nothing. Just seven letters written in a childlike manner, several grams of refined anthrax and five dead bodies--hopeless, just like her apartment. Like her life.


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Chapter Five

She knew that all seven letters were in the same handwriting and contained at least two grades of anthrax. The first group of letters, sent to various media offices contained a low grade or cutaneous anthrax. The second two letters, sent to the senators, contained refined weapons grade anthrax.

Even though the grade was different, the anthrax came from the same strain. The strain was very similar, if not the same, as the type used for research by the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick, Maryland.


However, the weapons grade anthrax was refined into an extremely fine powder with low surface cohesion that would disperse and stay suspended in air, which made it easier for unsuspecting victims to inhale or ingest.

Writing a Thriller requires a lot of research and while I researched this thoroughly, I’ve surprised myself at how closely my novel follows the case as we know it. Unfortunately, we may never know Dr. Ivins real motives. In the meantime, we’ll have to settle for the fictional account offered in my novel. And I’m crossing my fingers that the rest of the novel doesn’t have the same similarity to real life. Otherwise, we’re all in serious trouble.

Friday, July 18, 2008

Today is the OFFICIAL Big Day. Even though my book has been available through the dot.coms for a couple of weeks, we are hosting a launch party tonight at Main Street Books in Historic St. Charles, Missouri. I’m expecting 40 to 50 people, mostly friends and relatives. My guest of honor is author extraordinaire, John Lutz. I’m honored and humbled that he would be so gracious as to attend. There are a number of other authors that will be there, friends and colleagues.

My nervousness exists on several levels:

What do I write in everyone’s book? Why on earth would anyone want my autograph? Am I going to spell someone’s name wrong? Am I going to spell my own name wrong? (Okay, that’s not as odd as it sounds, I’m not used to signing WILFRED.) My handwriting sucks.

Will the books arrive? As of yesterday, the day before the party, they had not arrived. That sent me and the owner of the store scrambling to set plan B into motion. I collected 28 books from my stock. I even stole one that someone had bought from Amazon and sent home for me to sign. (That has since been signed and delivered.) Well, as of 10 minutes ago, I was informed that the paperbacks are on the UPS truck in St. Louis and should be delivered today.

Will I have enough refreshments? Ice? Appetizers?

Will I drink too much? Not enough? I’ll have plenty of fine Ameri--, uh, Belgium Beer available.

Well, I’ll post some pictures in the next few days and a detailed report. In the mean time, wish me luck.

Monday, July 14, 2008

I Wrote A Book

I’m sitting here with an ear-to-ear grin plastered on my face. You see, I just received my first shipment of my very first book. Okay, I knew it was a done deal. I knew it was now for sale. I knew what the cover looked like and I’ve read every word in manuscript form.



But there’s noting like holding the real thing. I actually wrote a friggin’ book!

Thursday, April 03, 2008

Idol

Okay, so this has been a good season for American Idol. But there is one thing that has really impressed me. If you consider the talent this season, I’m being impressed by something really small. No, it’s not that the boys are much more impressive than the girls. It’s not that this is the first season that the contestants are allowed to play instruments. It’s not even the 17 year old phenom David Archuleta.

I believe his name is Rickey Minor. You probably don’t recognize his name, but Rickey Minor is the guitarist in the band that plays behind the Idols. In my opinion, he is one of the highlights of this season. You may not have noticed him, but he’s been center stage quite a bit, sitting next to whatever Idol he’s making sound good. For a real treat, watch for him. More importantly, listen for him. You’re in for a treat.

While I’m on the topic of Idol, I’ll make some predictions. I’ll start with the final four:

David Archuleta – This kid has such a pure voice. You can watch the dollar signs in Simon’s eyes whenever this kid sings. I REALLY wish they would record the full version of Imagine. It was fantastic.

David Cook – Being a Missourian, I’m secretly rooting for him. He’s definitely more polished and creative than any of the others.

Michael Johns – Unique voice. I thought he would be a one hit wonder, but he has proved to be more versatile than I thought.

Here’s where it gets tougher.

Brook White, Jason Castro and Carly Smithson. I’m going to go with Brook White. I’m pulling for Jason, because I really like his style and I’m downloaded most of his songs so far. Hallelujah and If I Fell were done extremely well.

Kristy Cook and Syesha are next to go.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

How Well Do You Know Your Characters?

A writer develops characters and then lives with them for a while. In some cases, months or even years. You’d think we’d get to know our characters well. And then someone asks a question that throws you for a complete loop.

Let me explain. I’ve been working on A Reason For Dying since the end of 2004 - 3+ years. The characters in the novel seem like acquaintances, well in some cases, family. Over the course of time, you get to know these fictitious folks. You know what they look like, what they act like, what they like to eat, etc. As a writer, you absolutely need to know everything about your characters. After all, you are controlling their world, making their decisions, setting the course of their actions. They need to be, well, their own person. They need to be consistent. Otherwise they won’t come alive on paper.

When I first started writing, I never would have believed that I would be hearing my characters in my head and in my dreams. But it happens. Just like a mother seems to know what her newborn child wants, an author should know what their characters want and what they will do in any given circumstance and how they will react. I took the advice of other authors and prepared backgrounds on my major characters. I know plenty about my protagonist Laura Daniels that isn’t revealed in the 1st novel and stuff that’s likely never to be written about, ever. But it’s the stuff that defines her character and make her act like Laura Daniels and not Wilfred Bereswill.
Some of my characters are so well defined, my wife, who is invaluable to me as a critique reader, knows when they do something out of place and let’s me know it. So all is well and good, until somebody asked me about Laura Daniels…

What is the arc of her “hero’s journey” story — what internal demons is she facing as she confronts these external terrorists?

Who’s on her side, and who’s going to take her by surprise?

What are her greatest strengths and weaknesses?

What does she personally stand to lose?

And what’s at stake in the larger picture — what does the world stand to lose if she doesn’t succeed?

These are questions I was asked when I got help on writing the back cover copy. These are questions an experienced writer asks if they need to know about your characters. I was able to respond to these questions, but I had to really think about them first, which surprised me.

So, how well do you know your characters?

Monday, March 10, 2008

Yes, things are heating up. The release of my first novel, A Reason For Dying is getting closer to being a reality. Suddenly, what always seemed an eon away is right on top of me. I don’t have a particular date yet, but after talking with my publisher the other day, it seems we’re less than 60 days away from the launch.

After 1 1/2 years of writing and rewriting and queries and rejections and more rejections, came a year of waiting and witing after signing a contract. The past couple of months have been very busy. The things they don’t tell you about being an author. There’s getting blurbs, pulling together review contacts, setting up the web site, author photos, back jacket copy, preparing discussions to talk about during signings, and on and on.

Not to mention the promotion and marketing activities.

Some of the most important writing an author should do is the text that will appear on the book jacket that entices readers to buy your book. Being too close to a complicated, 100,000 word thriller, I had a bit of trouble writing a tagline and the couple of paragraphs that appear on the back cover. I finally found someone who specialized in the task and here’s what we came up with:

Tagline:

“Shortly after the terrorist cell behind the post-9/11 anthrax attacks is ordered to strike again, a mysterious virus sweeps the Western U.S. Suspicions of terrorist links are rising as fast as the death toll.”

Back Jacket:

“Agent Laura Daniels’ career soared when the FBI assigned her to the anthrax letter case after 9/11. But failing to crack the case landed her in the Seattle Field Office, where she feared her life would be relegated to the routine.

While investigating the theft of low-level radiation devices, Daniels is led to the site of Interex Corporation’s controversial oil and gas exploration well just outside Yellowstone National Park, where crucial fossil records lie buried. Arriving at the site, what she encounters is unthinkable — not only have large radiation sources gone missing, but an unidentified virus is killing members of the drilling crew, and shows no signs of stopping.

Now Daniels’ career rides on getting the answers she needs. But as the virus continues its deadly rampage, she discovers the stakes are far higher than she anticipated. And the answer she gets is the last thing on Earth she’d expect.”

My thanks to Mary Erickson for her help.

And here is what one best-selling suspense author had to say:

“A Reason For Dying is an intelligent, heart-thumping thriller that will keep you reading and guessing and reading some more. Bereswill is an author who knows how to engage and hold the reader. His many talents are evident in this strong mix of suspense and action.” — John Lutz, NY Times & USA Today Best Selling Author of Suspense.

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

The 2008 Harbin Ice Festival

There are few things in China that have lived up to their hype. Okay, the Great Wall, but then, you can only see small pieces of it and that's when the air is clear enough to see the next hill. Hukou Falls in Central China was interesting. But for the most part, I haven't been really impressed. Last week, however, I had the opportunity to visit the Ice Festival in Harbin, China.
For those of you who don't know, Harbin is in the extreme northeast of the country, very close to Siberia. It earns the title "The City of Ice" with an average temperature below freezing. The countryside is bleak and hard with an edge that tells you something is different here. The Ice Festival is the bright spot of a bleak long winter.

The people harvest ice blocks from the nearby SongHua River (the same one that was contaminated with a major benzene spill several years ago the shut down the water supply to Harbin for a week.) They also gather snow. From these piles of ice blocks and snow, they raise a magnificent city of ice and wondrous sculptures of snow. The night we visited, it was a balmy -22 degrees farenheit. It was so cold, that my fingers felt frostbit from removing my glove long engough to take pictures.
And I need to shout out to Robin from Vermont. She was kind enough to snap a picture of the group. I noticed her when I heard a girls voice proclaim that it was "F.....g COLD". Enough talk, here are the best of the pictures. Remember, everything you see, except the people are either snow or ice.

The Entrance



The Ice Steps. No OSHA in China.



An actual functioning radio tower of ice.



The Russian Palace of Ice.



Thank you Robin From Vermont. It is a small world. Alos thanks to Sara Fang for being our guide.


My frozen Porsche Boxster. This one was hard to get into.



Just another magnificent structure.



Another huge ice building on the hill.



The Olympic Village.

Snow Budda

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Once again, I’m preparing to leave for China next week. This will be a quick trip, roughly a week and a half, but the distance will be great. From GuangZhou to Harbin. That the North American equivalent of Mexico City to Montreal or from 75 degrees to -25 degrees; a temperature swing of 100 degrees. So, packing for a trip like this will be a challenge keeping in mind that I have to limit myself to one reaonably sized suitcase. The other issue making this a challenging trip is that we will not be in one hotel long enough to have laundry done.

Some of the things I am looking forward to, beyond seeing some very good friends is seeing the progress of a new facility that I was involved in from the begining. Also, the chance at visiting the ice festival in Harbin. Harbin is a city near the Russian border (near Siberia). It is incredibly cold there and every January, ice blocks are carved from the frozen Songhua River and built into ice buildings, replicas of structures and works of art. To top it off, lights are embedded into the ice to give it a surrealistic and dramatic flair at night. Once I get there, however, it will be so cold I’ll be taking pictures and heading back for the warmth of the hotel.



Even though I always look forward to going to China, the timing for this trip isn’t the best. With my book release less than two months away, I’ve been busy with quite a few issues. I’m waiting for my proofs and cover art, looking for authors for blurbs, pulling together a media kit, etc. I’m also trying to keep focused on finishing my second book.

You would think that I could use the time on the airplane to write. I have plenty of it. The leg from Chicago to Tokyo is 13+ hours with another 5 1/2 hour leg from Tokyo to Gunagzhou. But writing on a plane is cumbersome and for some reason I’m not very productive. I’ll certainly have my memory stick, my laptop and an airplane power cord, so I’ll give it a try.

I’ll report back when I return in early February. Hopefully, when I get back, I’ll have my cover art and proofs for A REASON FOR DYING and I’ll be busy with the arrangements for the launch.

Friday, January 04, 2008

My day job closes it’s offices during the holidays. So from December 23rd to January 2nd, I have absolutely nothing to do but lounge around……………..NOT!
For some reason, the holidays seemed busier than ever. Hosting two Christmas get-togethers, returning all the gifts, and then there were the chores and day job items. Yes, I said that the day job offices were closed, but that doesn’t mean much when you’re in the middle of a couple of large project in China and the Chinese don’t celebrate Christmas. I have enough experience to know that the best laid plans are subject to change.

Part of my holiday planning was to work on the proofs for my first book and to make headway on my second novel. Well, I didn’t get the proofs from my editor, so that left me with my 2nd novel. I planned on writing 5,000 words, which isn’t all that much, but I thought it would be a good goal to work toward.

Well, low and behold, I managed a little over 6,000 words, plus I have my mind set on the next two chapters. I would have loved to have churned out 10,000 words, but I’ll settle for 6,000.
Now for my new-year’s resolution. I plan to finish my 2nd novel by May 1st. That’s somewhat optomistic since A REASON FOR DYING is due to be released by April, but I’ll do my best to stick with it.