24/7

By Mark W. Danielson

It’s hard to believe, but at least two generations have no idea what a rotary phone is. It was a simple communicating device. Just ten digits on a round dial. Stick your finger into the numbered slot, spin it until it stopped, and it dialed as it unwound. The 1946 Bell Telephone ad pictured above reads, “Some day, Bell Laboratories will make it possible for you to dial across the United States as simply and promptly as you dial a neighbor now.” Imagine that. But as late as 1971, I shared a phone line in Greeley, Colorado. They called it a “party line”, though I never heard one when I picked up the line. If a neighbor was talking on the line, I hung up and waited until they were finished. If something was pressing, I could ask that they end their call so I could use the phone, but nothing short of an emergency was so important it couldn’t wait.

But technology changed everything in just a few decades. Music went from LP albums to 8-Track players to Cassette players to CDs to iPods and iPads that sync with our car’s radio. Telephones went from hardwire pulse-dial to digital-dial to portable phones to pagers to car phones to cell phones to smart phones that let you talk while surfing the Internet. Will this rush in technology ever end? With ongoing research on digital information implants and pilotless aircraft, it’s quite possible there is a Terminator in our future.

Technology has also changed how we obtain news. For centuries, newspapers were the sole source of information. Back then, newspaper accounts were highly respected because they were heavily scrutinized by editors who demanded accuracy. Once news became instantaneous with the Internet and 24/7 news channels, quality reporting diminished. Newscasters soon found that retractions were easier than accurate reporting. Blame it on their producers who are so eager to find the next greatest story, ongoing stories such as the Gulf oil spill recovery, Japan’s March 11, 2011, nuclear power plant disaster, or the recent weather related destruction in the Southern United States are soon forgotten.

While on-line banking and e-trading revolutionized the speed of commerce, our electronic leashes now hold us captive. Like Pavlov’s dog, we salivate whenever the phone rings, and regardless of who is currently on the line, we ask that person to pause while we take the next call or answer a text. Somewhere along the line, we surrendered our freedom to employers who expect instant responses. Sadly, the tools intended to simplify our lives complicated them.

Authors are among the fortunate few who can use technology to create worlds without it. In the fictional world, no one rushes to answer phones or risks colliding with other cars while texting or talking on the phone. If someone is talking on the line, our characters on the other end will hear a busy signal. There is no option to press 1 for English or to leave a message. Yet in the real world, these authors can use instant information sources such as the Internet and satellite imagery to create accurate stories and scenes. Some authors like Michael Crichton and Dean Koontz illustrated life with and without technology in their respective novels, Timeline and Lightning. Both books became instant successes.

We can’t stop technology, but we can choose how we use it in our daily lives. At the same time, authors can choose how their characters will use this technology to their advantage. If you are writing a period novel, it is essential that you keep the technology period-correct. For example, a character in the 1980s wouldn’t know what a laptop or cell phone is. To them, Gateway is an entry point, and Dell is a valley. In the 80’s, phone booths had rotary-dial phones, and Collect Calls were an accepted form of communicating. Perhaps it’s time we re-wind the clocks and slowed our pace. At the rate we’re going, technology may be the death of us all.

Mysterious Disappearance at Men of Mystery

By Mark W. Danielson

For the past six years, I’ve been privileged to participate in Irvine, California’s, Men of Mystery event. Each year, fifty authors gather to dine with five hundred wonderful mystery fans. The highlight is hearing two famous authors, such as Dean Koontz, James Patterson, Michael Connelly, Vince Flynn, and Martin Cruz Smith, speak about the business of writing. This spectacular event is the brainchild of Raven Award recipient, Joan Hansen, but would not be possible without her many devoted volunteers. Open to the public, it is normally sold out months before its November date. I am fortunate to be attending again this year.

My latest book, Diablo’s Shadow, was released just two months before the 2008 event. The week before, my book received a five star review from Mysterious Reviews, so we made an information sheet to help promote it at Mysterious Galaxy Books’ event book store. My wife and I checked with the book store that morning to make sure our acrylic-covered information sheet was properly displayed with my books. It was, and looked great.

The MOM event began with the authors introducing themselves, followed by a break where its attendees could wander through the book store and chat with the authors. This was followed by lunch and the featured authors’ presentations. At its conclusion, the book store remained open for a brief period before the authors checked out. This is where the mystery began . . .

When we went to gather my display items, our acrylic Diablo’s Shadow information sheet was nowhere to be found. Since the book store had relocated my books from their original location, we thought that perhaps my display sheet may have been at the previous site, but alas, this was not the case. We looked under the tables, but there was nothing there. We scoured the trash bins. Not there, either. Not even in any empty boxes. Nope, the trail was cold. Now, as one might imagine, the competition among authors is fierce, but I can’t imagine any of them sabotaging my display. Then again, we are talking about murderous people who possess unlimited imaginations . . . How about an obsessed fan? Highly unlikely, considering their polished etiquette and the fact I’m hardly a household name. Besides, these attendees are some of the nicest people I’ve met. So, what about the book store folks? Get serious; they had plenty to pack, and my display is of no value to them. The hotel staff? Oh, please. Why would any of them risk their jobs to take a silly information sheet home? And so the mystery lingers . . .

Months have passed since this mysterious disappearance, so I must let it go. But I vow to return next year with a new and more stunning display! Perhaps I’ll taint it with dye so that anyone caught moving it would have purple hands. Or maybe I shall connect it to an electric current . . . Yeah, that would work if I framed it in metal. Okay, I won’t do either of those things. After all, displays are easily replaced. But beware—whoever you are. I will be watching, and if I find you, you may find yourself written into one of my future novels. Ah, a mysterious mind never stops plotting . . .

The Lucky Break

By Mark W. Danielson

Last weekend, Ben Small and I were privileged to be two of fifty authors who were invited to participate in Irvine, California’s Men of Mystery event. Approximately five hundred people who love mysteries pay good money to have lunch with an author. Over the past six years, I have listened to such impressive key speakers as Dean Koontz, Vince Flynn, James Patterson, and this year, Andrew Gross.

Andrew is best known for co-authoring the first four of James Patterson’s Women’s Murder Club series. On his first book, Andrew received zero billing. On the next, his name made the cover. The third gave him equal billing and made him a household name. His dubious partnership with James Patterson began with a phone call where James told Andrew he “did women well.” Wearing a smirk, Andrew quickly explained that James was referring to his writing skills before admitting that this phone call was his lucky break. We should all be so lucky, but the fact is, a break of this magnitude is merely a foot in the door, and what kept Andrew employed was his quality writing. Without it, his partnership with James would have ended before it began.

After the event, I spoke with Robert Fate Bealmear. Robert drops his last name, using just his first and middle names, and I must say it suits his outlook on writing. Robert agrees that more often than not, fate determines a writer’s success. Having authored over sixty books, many of which have been made into films and television, Robert is truly an acclaimed author, yet he’s still amazed that at 73 years old, Hollywood is still buying his work. I replied that the great thing about writing is whether you are twenty or ninety, good writing is always greeted with enthusiasm.

That evening at dinner, someone asked whether I could make a living at writing. My answer was yes, but probably not by writing novels. I do quite well at selling freelance magazine articles, and unlike novels that pay royalties based on sales, magazine publishers always pay up front. Given this, one might wonder why I bother writing novels. Simply put, it’s because fiction allows me to express and resolve whatever it is that’s bubbling inside me. Whether writing fiction or non-fiction, I will always write, so long as there is a topic worth writing about.