Note by Note and Scene by Scene–Suspense Novels: Part 1

On October 13, 2016 By AnnIn fiction, novels, Sundrop Sonata, WritingLeave a comment

After the Kansas Authors Club convention in early October, some participants asked if I would post the content of my class online. The next few posts are in response to that request.

I didn’t set out to write a suspense novel. There was a story in my head and it needed to be told. The genre identity was a puzzler for me. People suggested it would be classified as a mystery, and in a very broad sense, I suppose it is. But in a traditional mystery, the reader is presented in the beginning pages with a crime–often a murder–and spends the rest of the book analyzing characters and clues to figure out whodunit.

That’s not the way it is in Sundrop Sonata. The reader knows early on whodunit but the protagonist does not. Indeed, the poor protagonist isn’t even sure what’s happened. The reader knows. The character doesn’t. This keeps the reader cheering for the innocent and naïve protagonist, wanting her to figure it out before it’s too late.

At the same time, nobody knows why the antagonist has acted so irrationally. In this story, motive is a mystery. The answer is to be revealed as the pages unfold.

How would you describe the difference between a mystery and a suspense novel?

Plot

I like to think that from my very first memory, I have been conducting research for fictional stories. Everything I have ever done, every place I have toured, every age I have lived through–all things are ripe for plucking and setting into a new story.

I have lived almost my entire life on farms or in rural Kansas. But I have traveled extensively throughout the North American continent, as well as a few other places. My interests are many: music–piano music, handbells, symphonies and folk instruments as well. I like the instruments themselves, especially piano technology and construction.

I have a deep love and respect for nature and the environment fostered from many camping vacations in the great outdoors. I chose science as a field of study in college, earning a bachelor’s degree in geology.

I have always loved to read, which led to my interest in writing. And I am a spiritual person with a focus on supporting and uplifting folks, especially those whom others may have looked down on.

There are snippets of all these interests in the pages of my books. I never really know when a tidbit from my scientific training, for instance, may collide with my love of music to weave a new thought into the plot of a developing story. It’s much like making a quilt–you find patches from various scraps of the past and stitch them together into a new creation.

To write a novel is to make a quilt from patches of the past.

What are the areas you take special interest in? What experiences filled your life that will provide background and ideas for your writing projects?

Given that each of us has different interests and different experiences, even if we start out with the same premise, we’d end up with an infinite number of fresh new stories. If I were to suggest that you take a product you know and love that is often imported from another country, and make that product a vehicle for smuggled goods, what product would you choose? What is being smuggled into the country? How would it be hidden? Who is going to discover the plan? And what will they do about it?

No two quilts would ever be identical. We’d all have different stories to tell.

(Stay tuned for Part 2: Character and viewpoint)

It’s September!

On August 31, 2016 By AnnIn fiction, Sundrop Sonata, WritingLeave a comment

Midnight tonight marks the end of August and ushers in a new September. I’m ready. This is the season of red spider lilies, of music and the Walnut Valley Festival, of adventure in a new school year, and piano conventions in Indiana.

Such an important month for the storyline of Sundrop Sonata. And this year, I’m excited to announce that the book will be promoted at the Walnut Valley Festival, September 14 – 18, 2016, https://wvfest.com. It is already available at Gallery 1001 in Winfield, http://www.gallery1001.wordpress.com, Brace Books and More in Ponca City, Oklahoma, http://www.bracebooks.com, and Senseney Music in Wichita, http://www.senseneymusic.com, as well as Amazon.com, http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AZUMTZS.

If you seek a diversion and a suspenseful adventure story about pianos, piano tuners, and their families and friends, there is not a better time to read this book. After all, the red spider lilies (lycoris radiata) will soon be in bloom. Get yours before the lilies fade!

Ten Reasons to Choose a Piano Over an Electronic Keyboard

On February 10, 2016May 23, 2016 By AnnIn fiction, Music and pianos, novels, WritingLeave a comment

A few years ago, after several inquiries about my recommendations, I came up with this list about the advantages of a genuine piano over one of the newer electronic versions.

It’s a bit inaccurate to call electronic keyboards pianos. By definition, pianos have felt-covered hammers and steel strings. (Pi-a-no: a stringed percussion instrument having steel wires that sound when struck by felt-covered hammers operated from a keyboard.–Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary) Electronic keyboards (aka digital pianos) lack these definitive items. They are keyboard instruments similar in some ways to pianos, like organs, harpsichords, clavichords, and virginals, but they are different in nature from pianos.

Why Choose a Genuine Piano?

Musically: digital keyboards are limited musically to what the “programmer” put into its computer programs. Pianos can deliver a full range of musical expression depending on the pianist’s abilities. Keyboards have difficulty producing expression, color, and tone.
Aesthetically: A properly maintained piano in a home adds sophistication. It is a work of art. Electronic keyboards have a less-sophisticated plastic look.
Financially: With proper maintenance, pianos can last a few generations. Few products in today’s world can make such a claim. Digital keyboards are designed to need replacement every few years. Which is the better investment?
Practically: Pianos will work even in a power outage. Their mechanisms are physical rather than electronic. They also need no amplification. Their sound waves are magnified by the built-in soundboard.
Authentically: A piano’s action mechanism allows the pianist to control dynamics and tone color. Though some higher-priced keyboards may have touch sensitivity that attempts to imitate a piano, most do not. Lack of touch control on a keyboard is a big issue for skilled fingers and feet. Pedal usage on a digital keyboard, if available, differs greatly from genuine pianos.
Skill Mastery: Pianos have capabilities and range necessary to play music of all kinds. Some skills can only be learned on a genuine piano. For example: Students who have practiced on a piano, who transfer fortissimo power to a keyboard can watch the digital version scoot across the floor under their practiced blows.
Physically: The development of skills such as eye-hand coordination, fine motor skills, and full body involvement in musical expression is limited in a digital version to what was programmed into the computer by programmers who may or may not have been musicians.
Personally: It is rare for a student who starts on a digital keyboard “to see if they like it” to progress very far in piano study. Serious students need the best piano they can afford in order to minimize frustration. Some piano teachers will not teach students beyond beginner levels who don’t use genuine pianos for home practice.
Emotionally: Piano owners fall in love with their instruments in a way that is unseen with digital keyboard owners. Love your piano; it will love you back.
Spiritually: Under the practiced hands of a skilled pianist, a piano can “come alive.”

I can now add another reason. Electronic keyboards lack the intrigue of an acoustic piano. I cannot imagine making a plastic, computerized keyboard instrument an integral part of a suspense novel, like I did the genuine pianos in Sundrop Sonata. If you are like me and love the real thing, you might enjoy reading the story of Isabel Woods as she discovers disturbing things in some of her neighbors’ pianos.

Sundrop Sonata–A Novel of Suspense by Ann Christine Fell. Available now as an electronic book at Amazon.com.

Words about words

On October 3, 2015May 23, 2016 By AnnIn WritingLeave a comment

Wow. It is an honor to accept the J. Donald Coffin Memorial book award tonight. I am both humbled and thankful to join the growing list of recipients.

Words are a remarkable thing, aren’t they? They are perhaps the single greatest achievement of humankind. With just 26 letters in our alphabet, we are able to write countless words and weave them into thoughts.

Through words we share information. Words can also make us sing with joy or cry in anguish. Words make our hearts race with anxiety, or give us cause to sigh in contentment.

Words connect us to others. And they have no boundaries. Our words connect us to each other—in the same room, across the state, or around the world. They are not even stopped by the boundaries of time but can launch us into the future or transport us into history, connecting us to those from our past.

Writing has been called a unique blend of madness and measure. Those of us caught in the madness write because we must. It’s in our blood. And what we have to say matters. To my fellow writers, I say, “Write. We each are unique and we each have something to say. Follow your inner voice and write your heart out. In the great scheme of things, it matters very much.”

Life is an incredible journey. Thank you, Kansas Authors’ Club and the J. Donald Coffin family, for being part of mine.

Of Turtles and Worms

On June 25, 2015May 23, 2016 By AnnIn WritingLeave a comment

I met a few area writers today at Botanica in Wichita, Kansas, for a writing marathon. Some of them knew each other from previous marathon events. I knew a couple from area groups, and met a few new writing friends. The purpose of the marathon was to help each of us break through whatever blocked our creative muses and just start writing, a good experience for me in a lovely location. It’s not that I have no ideas. Indeed I might have too many. It’s just hard to focus and find direction. The ideas are, as my friend April described it, “like a sprinkler, spraying thoughts everywhere.” And so I was glad to meet Meg and the worm.

“Oh, little worm, you’ll never make it,” Meg said. Stooping for a twig, she allowed the earthworm to coil around it and lifted the creature to the mulched area beside the concrete walkway.

Instantly, I felt a bond with this woman. I’ve done that as well, urging my grandson to transport wigglers littering the church parking lot after a rain back to landscaped areas. His first inclination was to smash the worms. But he soon joined me in the rescue efforts, turning it into a game to see who could save the greatest number of worms.

Kids and nature. What behavior is innate? And what behavior is learned? Are we born with the inclination to assert power over those weaker than ourselves? Or do we have generous hearts until someone convinces us otherwise?

Not long ago, I drove between Douglass and Derby on a paved county road. A mile distant, a car had pulled to the side. Traffic wound around the parked car. I slowed as I approached and watched a young woman step onto the road from the car’s driver seat. She ran two steps toward the road’s center, then looked at my approaching car and stepped back to wait. I slowed even further, noting an object on the road in my lane. Something she lost? No. It was a turtle. As I carefully maneuvered around the turtle, we shared a smile, the girl and I.

In my mirror, I watched her dart to the turtle, carry it across the road, and return to her car.

There is hope in this chaotic world. Thirty-five years ago, I was this girl. God bless her. What happened to me? Too many issues. Too many problems. Emotional fatigue to the point where I sometimes have trouble feeling anything at all. There’s so much to care about, my heart is overloaded.

But I can cheer her on, and others like her. And I can pick something–just one thing–to care about, even if it’s an earthworm crossing a parking lot after a rainstorm. Tomorrow I can pick something else, a turtle perhaps. Or a butterfly, a child, or a friend in need.

Ten Reasons to Write a Book

On October 22, 2014 By AnnIn Healing, Loss and Grief, WritingLeave a comment

Formatting complete, In the Shadow of the Wind is now available wherever electronic books are sold. I take a few moments to reflect on the many and varied rewards gleaned through the process of writing the book. If you’ve been tinkering with a story of your own, not quite sure you are ready to dedicate the time required to finish it, I assure you it’s well worth your efforts. Here are ten of the unexpected joys I’ve discovered in my own journey which you may enjoy as well.

ONE

You will find great satisfaction. If you spend time polishing your words, seek and listen to honest critiques, and complete all the steps required in the countless revisions, you’ll find you’ve created a quality product to present to readers. It is a good feeling.

TWO

From across the country, your family may reconnect with a celebration of your work. Your older sister may depart with a hearty hug and the words, “I am really proud of you.”

Your younger sister may call, laughing, to say, “I want to set the record straight. We do indeed wear underwear!”

Your sister-in-law may write, “I have read the whole book and it is wonderful.”

You may hear from cousins. “I enjoyed it very much. You did a wonderful job telling your story. I cried and I laughed.”

THREE

The book may open new conversations with your grown children. One daughter may brag about you on Facebook. “My mom is a published writer!! So proud of her.” Another daughter may announce, “I learned something, Mom. Now I understand.”

FOUR

Friends from your other career may endorse your book. From Missouri, “I’m at school tuning but I really want to be home reading your book! It’s good.”

From Illinois, “I enjoy every page. This is a real story and you tell it marvelously. What a gift.”

From Texas, “Your diversity is amazing. When a writer can move her readers to laughter, then tears, she has written a worthy story. It was a great read!”

FIVE

Your collection of endorsements grows with each reader.

“It didn’t suck! In fact, your book is excellent. I want another copy to give a friend.”

“I loved it! It was like you were here talking to me. Is there another book coming?”

“It’s a page-turner.”

“I began reading your book and could not put it down.”

“Buy Ann’s book. It’s well worth it.”

“I just finished reading In the Shadow of the Wind; thanks for sharing your life, heart and soul with readers.”

And perhaps my favorite, “Smiles. . .tears. . .and peace. Thank you, Ann.”

SIX
Readers begin to share their own stories, prompted by a scene in your book.

One friend may share how she is nursing two juvenile black squirrels right now.

Another friend may share how a dream of her deceased father woke her from a sound sleep to discover her infant son in respiratory distress.

Another friend may share how her departed mother sent a message of love through a random card sent by a friend in a correctional facility.

You may be invited to lead a discussion of spiritual experiences and healing stories at your church.

SEVEN

Watching your book bloom with a life of its own is as thrilling as it is terrifying. With a bit of awe, you ponder how its appeal spans generations with praise from readers your parents age, through your own generation, to young adults your children’s age.

EIGHT

Your community of friends expands exponentially. You re-connect with lost friends and make many new friends through your writing adventure. Each person in your list becomes a cherished gem in your life story.

NINE

Completing the book is an adventure in building confidence. It may open doors to a whole new world and a whole new you. You may ponder the unforeseen influence each of us has on others. The personality your friends perceive in you may have elements opposite the way you view yourself. Ultimately, you realize your impact on the world is a complex blending of both perceptions.

TEN

With a project completed, you can turn to a new project, renewed and ready to tackle another story. Yes, there is another book coming.

August Birthdays

On August 23, 2013August 24, 2013 By AnnIn Marvin Swanson, My Favorite Giants, WritingLeave a comment

A theme for the chronicles of summer has emerged. In the midst of chaos, when my feeble brain overloads to the point where I feel one more thing will surely short-circuit the whole affair, a new revelation presents itself. Through hours of mind-wandering road trips, bustle-to-wait airport adventures, and the monotony of slathering new paint over walls of a vacant house, or peeling buckets of apples to preserve, I realize the month of August carries significant import for me. August was the month when several of my significant people were born.

This realization started with an invitation to the 100^th birthday party of a lady, born on August 2, 1913, who demonstrated to me what it meant to be a good neighbor. At a time decades ago when repeated crises in my family nearly got the better of me, she was there to help, quiet and dependable. Once I despaired. “I don’t know how I’ll ever pay you back.”

“No need to pay me back,” was her reply. “Just do the same for someone else someday.” Pay it forward. Don’t pay it back.

Then, of course, there is my youngest child, born the 25^th day of August twenty-four years ago, whose impact on my life continues to this day, wondrous and unique.

Between these two, the old and the young, I think of my niece, the precious and oldest grandchild of my own parents, now capably raising a family of her own.

There is my sister-in-law. The better I know her, the more clearly I see our kindred spirit and I understand why I love this family so much.

I have been reminded that my good friend, writing coach, and life mentor, Marvin Swanson, celebrated an August birthday, on the 23^rd day of the month, if my notes are correct. Marvin left the earthly life fourteen summers ago, but through the collection of letters he sent me, he lives again, almost as if he was still nearby.

Born in western Kansas in 1923, Marvin became afflicted with debilitating arthritis when yet a teenager. For over thirty years, he was a correspondence instructor of writing at Fort Hays State University and the University of Kansas. Living close to the campus of FHSU, he rented rooms to students and served as a mentor and a kind-of-foster-parent to those who shared his walls.

Marvin was a founding member of the Western Kansas Association on Concerns of the Disabled. The founding principle, possibly penned by Marvin himself, reads:

We, the members of the Western Kansas Association on Concerns of the Disabled, believe that all disabled persons, regardless of their disability, have the right to choose their own lifestyle. Along with this right comes responsibility. Therefore, we also believe that all disabled persons, no matter the degree of disability, can and should contribute something to society. We have dedicated ourselves and WKACD to the continuation of these principles.”

If contributions could be measured, those of Marvin Edgerton Swanson would rank among the highest humanity has to offer. Though imprisoned in a body wracked with pain, he transcended that condition. His mind, ever observant and quick to compile subtle nuances into gems of wisdom, connected with young and old to contribute to the betterment of life for all.

I met Marvin when I attended college at FHSU. We corresponded regularly for decades, until shortly before his death. His arthritis compromised his ability to wield a pen. Thus the thoughts he inked onto his monogrammed stationery were deeply considered and well-planned in order to wring the most meaning from each word. Reading them again today, he comes to life in my mind. The years drop away and it is almost as if I am young again, curled on his sofa, relating my thoughts to him in exchange for his ageless wisdom.

This new blog category will feature gems of Marvin’s wisdom, gleaned from his letters, because they are worth sharing with the world. His writing career lacked a blog site. Were he still here, that situation would likely be much different. Thus, Marvin, here’s your blog. Should other friends of this remarkable man eventually find their way to this page, I welcome additional gems they have savored from their relationship with him.

Today’s gem, in honor of those letters, and in celebration of Marvin’s birthday, reflects on the importance of writing letters. His letters, surely, carry vitality on their invisible and timeless wings.

In his words:

I’ve been working on an article about the dwindling act of writing personal letters. Up to 80% of our reduced 1^st class mail consists of business letters. Will the personal letter exchange gradually disappear in the electronic communication revolution? The personal letter has many unique advantages.

            Ellen Terry, an actress, began writing to George Bernard Shaw when they were both single. They never met. Both married. They wrote for 25 years. Shaw wrote about their correspondence, which has been published: “Let those who complain that it (the Shaw-Ellen Terry “romantic correspondence”)was all on paper remember that only on paper has humanity yet achieved glory, beauty, truth, knowledge, virtue, and abiding love.”

            Imagine, I can read a letter Christopher Columbus wrote describing America or Edgar Allen Poe’s letter revealing the secret of the real tragedy of his life. They’re in a book with many more entitled The World’s Great Letters. I have it.

            “Letters . . . are, of all the words of men, in my judgment, the best.” (Francis Bacon)

Letters are poignant keys to the souls of friends long gone. We can live through our letters, as Marvin lives on his pages. For the young generation of today, which is so dependent on quick, electronic messages, how will their words echo in bits and bites for those yet unborn?

Reprise TJ Junkins

On March 10, 2013May 11, 2013 By AnnIn My Favorite Giants, Writing6 Comments

On this journey through life, a chance meeting with another person occasionally develops into a unique and treasured friendship. Today I honor World War II veteran and fellow writer Tom Junkins.

I met Tom at the first writing event I attended following my return to writing. About the age of my own father, Tom had devoted his waning years to recording his life experiences. He printed books, bound them, and offered them to his family and friends. He threw himself enthusiastically into the writing life.

Together we traveled to monthly meetings. He provided enthusiastic encouragement for my projects. I helped him produce one of his memoir volumes. In a conversational voice, Tom’s memoirs recorded his stories as if he spoke to his grandchildren. When his health declined, he responded with wit and good humor, in the style I came to know as Tom’s unique voice.

He wrote, “On Friday June the third at five in the evening, my right leg went numb. I called 911. They put me in an ambulance and sent me to Via Christi, St. Francis. They landed on me like a bunch of crows on road kill, ran all kinds of scans and tests, and scheduled surgery with a vascular surgeon for Sunday morning to remove a blood clot.”

Our days of writer’s meetings drew to a close with his move to the Veteran’s Home. Tom still wrote daily, even as he struggled with growing physical limitations. What have I learned from this writer? He displayed grace and courage when facing his health issues. In this way he reminded me of my own father.

But more than that, Tom’s dedication to the written word is testament to the vitality we find in books. By writing stories for his family, Tom created a gift they can enjoy forever. As I sit in my office, I am surrounded by books, by journals of my lost parents, and letters from long-gone relatives and friends. They live through their words. Their essence and personality shine into my life. When I read words written by giants of my past, their voices echo in my mind. And I know they are still with me, in words and in spirit.

One week ago, Tom Junkins passed from this life. His words speak now only from pages he wrote. With his passing, he joined those giants of my past whose journals and letters provide sustenance for my future. I humbly repost this blog in his honor. I will long remember his enthusiasm for writing. Here’s to you, Tom. May your adventures continue into the next life.

Surrounded by Giants