The Writing Process Blog Hop

By Mark W. Danielson 

 

  I was flattered when Shamus Award winner Paul Marks tagged me to join the Writing Process Blog Hop. I encourage you to check out Paul’s books and writing methods at www.PaulDMarks.com.  At the end of this post I will tag mystery romance author Terry Odell who will post about her writing process on her blog on June 9th.  Every author's responses are unique, so please take a moment to read and enjoy them.

What am I working on?

Spectral Gallows, the second in the Maxx Watts detective series, was released in October, 2013.  Since then, several personal drawn-out medical issues gave me a taste of what our wounded warriors experience on a daily basis.  Although my back surgery wasn’t so bad, hand surgery made me appreciate having all my limbs.  But physical challenges of are only part of what our returning soldiers experience.  The cost of their emotional and psychological pain is staggering, and the damage unknown.  I explored this element with a Vietnam veteran in Spectral Gallows where he is ignored when speaking of a decades-old murder in Fort Worth’s haunted Scott Theater because he is a society drop-out.  Based on a true incident, it was fun exploring the paranormal in this twisted cold-case novel.    

Although I was well into a sequel, I have put it on hold so I can focus on my colorful grandfather, Maynard Owen Williams.  While working as a foreign correspondent to the Christian Science Herald and the National Geographic’s first foreign correspondent National Geographic, Williams was a true Indiana Jones having dined with T.E. Lawrence of Arabia, witnessed the first shots of World War I in the Ottoman Empire, served as a military attaché in China, and was among the first Anglos to enter King Tut’s tomb.  He claimed that those who entered the tomb were all cursed with death, and true to his word, he passed away – decades later.   He passed when I was eleven, but I’ve gotten to know him through his writing and photographs, which are still available on line.  Whether I can do him justice in a biography remains to be seen.  Regardless, it will be nice getting to know the man behind the lens and typewriter.    

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Every one of my fictional stories uses real situations and settings because it helps people relate.  In Day Stalker, a map of Redwood Regional Park helped readers follow where things were happening.  Oddly, numerous coincidences have occurred over the years.  A tree I wrote about in Day Stalker actually fell as I had described years later.  In Danger Within, I needed to ditch an airliner near southern California’s Channel Islands because salvage divers had to find out why the plane went down.  Years later, a real airliner crashed within two miles of where I wrote about.  Considering how large the ocean is, the odds of that happening seem quite small.  In the early 90s, I wrote about an Air Force general who was murdered, but left to appear a suicide. Two weeks later, the actual Chief of Naval Operations took his own life.  (For a variety of reasons, I never sought publication on this book.)  While these and other coincidences have led some to believe I am psychic, I assure you that isn’t the case.  However, each occurrence is uniquely interesting.

To better answer the question, though, everyone’s life experiences are different so our writing styles reflect that.  Over the past twenty-five years I have written over twenty novels, but only chosen to submit five.  Two of my unpublished stories concern actual wildfires and earthquakes, and while fascinating to research and write, the publishing world generally frowns on Mother Nature as the antagonist.  I’ve also found it more interesting writing new novels rather than invest time in numerous re-writes.  As with so many things in life, it is better to move forward than look back.    

Why do I write what I do? 

Whether made up or real, everything I write has been churning inside for a long time.  When I do sit down to write, the words flow naturally.  As for topics, I never search for them.  Whether they come from media bombardment or my dreams, my stories allow me to vent and resolve problems that could never happen in real life.  I will add that my stories are often very personal and the result of frustration.  As an active airline pilot, I am offended at how the media reports aircraft mishaps.  When passengers are involved, their coverage is non-stop coverage, even if the information is unverified or erroneous, but when a cargo jet goes down and pilots are lost, it barely rates a mention.  Danger Within was the result of a poorly handled investigation, as was The Innocent Never Knew, which boldly tells the story of the cover-up of President Clinton’s Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown’s crash in the Balkans.  Day Stalker was the hardest to write because it involves a missing child, and yet this story of hope came to life through a very real search and rescue.  In Writer’s Block, I killed off a publisher, which is something many authors would love to do.  As mentioned earlier, Spectral Gallows discusses war-torn veterans and the paranormal in Maxx Watts’ attempt to solve a cold-case death.  On occasion I will put a story on hold if another piques my interest, but I never forget where I was.  Normally, one sentence or idea is all I need to write a story.  

    

How does my writing process work?

Two words – subliminal thoughts.  I say this because when I sit down to write a first draft there is a direct connection between my subliminal thoughts and my keyboard.  I prefer writing in a quiet room to avoid distractions.  A ringing phone scares the hell out of me because it brings me back to reality.  Most of the time I get back into the zone, but there are times when I must walk away. 

   

I am much more prolific on the road than at home.  I once wrote 148 pages in four days in Almaty, Kazakhstan, because there were few distractions.  Of course, airline layovers are normally a day or less, but in this case, writing was a great way to pass the time.  

While some authors outline their stories, I let my characters tell their side with no restrictions.  The first draft is always fun because is I have no idea who lives, dies or gets lucky.  This approach keeps my stories fresh, and since I never know who committed the crime until the end, I doubt anyone else will.

I switched to series writing because it is fun expanding characters and sub-plots.  I have no idea how long the vicious Skinheads in Writer’s Block and Spectral Gallows will torment Maxx Watts, but it is always good having unresolved elements in a story.  The best thing about protagonist detectives is their plots and locations are endless.     

Thank you, Paul Marks for including me.  Now I’ll turn it over to romance mystery author Terry Odell.  

From childhood, Terry Odell wanted to "fix" stories so the characters would behave properly.  Once she began writing, she found this wasn't always possible, as evidenced when the mystery she intended to write turned into a romance, despite the fact that she'd never read one.  Odell prefers to think of her books as "Mysteries With Relationships."  She writes the Blackthorne, Inc. series, the Pine Hills Police series, and the Mapleton Mystery series.  Her latest work is Deadly Puzzles.  You can find her high in the Colorado Rockies—or at terryodell.com.

 

A Huge Debt of Gratitude

By Mark W. Danielson

I’ve spent twenty years living in Texas in cities from the panhandle to the Gulf Coast.  Each city and region has its own special characteristics, but San Antonio is by far the most historical because of what is known as The Alamo.  Many know of its famous battle between Texan rebels and the Mexican Army, but few realize our entire western expansion is a result of the defenders of this small outpost.  While it’s impossible to discuss its significance in this blog, I can present a simplified timeline, and why Texas was governed by six countries.

When Spain assumed control from French in 1691, they named the new land Texas [pronounced Tey Has].  As with much of Spain’s western expansion, the Catholic Church established missions to aid in colonization and their interpretation of civilization.  In 1718, Mission San Antonio de Valero was established near a river where crops could be raised.  The hurricane of 1724 destroyed the mission, but the suitable location prompted the church to rebuild its lost structures.  The first stone church was erected in 1744. 

By 1793, the mission role had been fulfilled so secularization designated the compound as Pueblo [meaning town] of Valero.  Threats to Spanish Rule dispatched the Company of Alamo de Parras, later known as Alamo Company, to the compound to occupy it as a fort.  As time passed, the compound simply became known as The Alamo.

In 1806, famed outdoorsman Daniel Boone petitioned to settle in San Antonio de Bexar [pronounced Bay-Har] because of a land dispute in the U.S.  Settling there, Boone became a gunsmith for the Spanish until he was ironically killed by Indians.

1810 brought more war to the region as the Mexicans fought for their independence.  This goal was not achieved until 1821 when a Mexican flag flew over the Alamo.

In 1823, an effort to populate Texas led to the Mexican government offering land to U.S. citizens, granting 4,428.4 acres for a tax of $117.00, payable over a six year period.  Soon-to-be ex-patriot colonists eagerly took the bait and rapidly increased the population from 500 to over 30,000, with James Bowie being among them.   

Ever-present change led to a shift in government in 1824 when Mexico adopted a Federalist Constitution and divided Mexico into 18 states.  Texas was designated the Department of Texas and placed within the State of Coahuila y Tejas.  The political change led to friction between Centralist and Federalist supporters.

The Texas colonial expansion ended on April 6, 1830, when Mexico passed a law to stop the flood of Anglo Americans.  Tired of losing control of their lives, native and colonist Texans began organizing opposition to the Federal government.  Because of ongoing civil strife, the Mexican Army’s Alamo Company returned to The Alamo in 1832. 

As tensions rose, the Mexican Army attempted to reclaim a cannon loaned to the nearby town of Gonzales.  Rebel forces answered with a shot at Mexican forces, yelling, “Come and Take it!” waving a flag with the same words.  The beginning of the Texas Revolution is attributed to this October, 1835, incident.  The Mexican Army responded by fortifying The Alamo, but successful rebel attacks, particularly at the Battle of Bexar [now known as San Antonio] defeated the Mexican forces after a 56 day, door-to-door siege.  With the enemy defeated and sent back in shame, rebel forces claimed The Alamo for themselves.

Unamused by the defeat, President/General Santa Anna [elected to that position in 1833] issued the following orders on December 7, 1835:  “The foreigners who are making war against the Mexican Nation, violating all laws, are not deserving of any consideration, and for that reason, no quarter [mercy] I will be given them.  They have, with all audacity, declared a war of extermination to the Mexicans, and they shall be treated the same way.”  While the Texas Volunteers watched from a few hundred yards away, Mexican forces continued to build in San Antonio.  

Believing it impossible to adequately man The Alamo with volunteers, on January 17, 1836, Texas General Sam Houston wanted to level The Alamo and evacuate it to keep it from enemy hands.  The next day G.B. Jameson presented engineered plans to further fortify it and the compound remained intact.

On February 25, 1836, Colonel Bartes, Assistant Major of President General Santa Anna, demanded unconditional surrender of The Alamo.  Texas Colonel William B. Travis answered with a single cannon shot, to which the enemy responded with harassing bombardment.  Inside, Travis ultimately drew his famous line in the sand, offering open gates for anyone wishing to leave.  Most chose to fight and die as patriots of Texas.  

With thousands of Mexican troops surrounding The Alamo, the inevitable attack began before the sun rose on March 6, 1836.  Exhausted and severely understaffed, the first Mexican troops were able to enter undetected, but soon all hell broke loose.  Outnumbering the Volunteers nearly twenty to one, the Mexican Army promptly defeated the Texans with Travis, Bowie, and David Crockett among them.  Surprisingly, twelve survivors, including Travis’ slave, Joe, were released.  To clear the battlefield, Santa Anna had the rebel bodies burned.

Determined to rid the region of rebels, Santa Anna then marched his troops to the Goliad region where rebel forces were gathered, held in the mission, and then executed on Palm Sunday.  As with The Alamo, women and children were spared to tell the tale.

But rather than deter the rebel spirit, The Alamo and Goliad massacres rallied supporters from the United States.  On April 21, 1836, General Sam Houston’s troops made a surprise raid on the Mexican Army, capturing hundreds, and killing hundreds more.  Santa Anna, who escaped the battle, was captured alone two days later.  As supreme commander of Mexico, his capture led to his seceding the land that became Texas, New Mexico, California, Utah and Nevada.  As a result, Texas became an independent nation.  The Republic of Texas ended in 1845 when voters agreed to be annexed by the United States of America, but in 1861, it flew the Confederate Flag during the Civil War.  Texas flew the U.S. flag again in 1865.     

Again, there is no way for me to adequately tell the tale, but to understand The Alamo is to understand why Texans are proud of their heritage.  When visiting The Alamo, take the outside tour with a docent before going inside, and then take time to listen to the audio tour.  Then walk over to San Fernando Cathedral where Santa Anna raised his blood red battle flag and where the remains of the Defenders of The Alamo are interned.  Do this and you will barely notice the exploding city surrounding The Alamo as Santa Anna once did.

For the Birds

By Mark W. Danielson

My wife and I love looking at the birds explore our yard.  We are fortunate to see bluebirds, cardinals, humming birds, hawks, jays, roadrunners, scissor-tailed flycatcher, blackbirds, vultures, and many more.  Recent experience has shown a great disparity among birdbrains. 

Let’s start with hummingbirds.  One would think these adorable tykes would have short range at the rate they flap their wings, but they actually migrate to Central America by flying across the Gulf of Mexico.  Impressive as it is, they are as short on brain power as they are in height.  Days after a friend told me about getting trapped in his hangar because their only way out is “up”, we had one get “trapped” in our own hangar.  Bear in mind, the large garage door that let it in remained open.  After trying to attract it to bright colors, flowers, and trying to coax it with a large net, the dingaling kept struggling to find its way out through the roof.  I finally raised the hangar door hoping the setting sun would attract it.  Thankfully, it did.  Unfortunately, as I write this, there is another dingaling in the hangar doing the same thing.  Again, I opened the hangar door and hope it’s gone by the time I close it.

Now let’s talk about a larger bird.  The northern mockingbird.  Three times the size of the hummingbird, but has the same pea sized brain.  I make this claim because one managed to get trapped in our small covered entry.  Bear in mind there are open windows on two sides as well as the open main entry available for it to fly out at any time.  But no, this dingaling kept trying to fly through the roof, as it were.  Fortunately, this area is smaller so I was able to chase it around with the pole net until it wore down a bit and dropped altitude.  Finally, it flew out the door. 

Then there are the cardinals who I will describe as birds of a higher power.  The reason they are featured as Angry Birds is they have attitude.  You see, the pair in the above photo have been checking out our house for a while and seem to like it very much.  They approved the courtyard and the front yard, so it was no surprise when they decided to explore the front entry.  But make no mistake, these two were there by choice.  Prime real estate for nesting.  Easy entry/exit.  Dry and protected.  What’s not to like?  So when my wife went into the entry and disturbed them, they looked down from the hanging lamp and scowled.  Yes, scowled.  Thankfully, the interruption proved enough where they left the same way they came.  No raising the roof.  No desperate struggles.  Just a fly away with looks of disgust.  Yes, we love our cardinals.

Perhaps this is why they hold such a special place in the Catholic Church.  Birds of universal appeal and wisdom.  It seems fitting to feature them the day following Easter.       

And yes, the hangar hummingbird did leave before the sun set.  (You're welcome.)

A Lesson in Humility

By Mark W. Danielson

 

I recently underwent hand surgery to repair a trauma injury.  The surgery went fine, the pain was manageable, but the lessons learned will always stay with me.

Being right-handed, losing use of this hand posed many challenges, and throughout each of them I kept thinking about our wounded warriors.  Of course my situation was temporary, but for them, getting by with missing limbs became their new reality.  Throughout my experience, the simplest tasks such as showering, combing hair, flossing and brushing teeth, buttoning pants and shirts, slipping on coats and shoes were extremely challenging, especially since I had a club hand.  Surprisingly, putting socks on was one of the most frustrating events.  Wearing boots eliminated any troubling shoe laces.

My wife constantly offered her assistance, but each time I thanked her and reminded her that this was a great lesson in humility.  It was important for me to bear with my struggles to get a smidgen of understanding about how difficult it must be for these young kids and their families when they return home mangled from a futile war.  Yes, our wounded warriors are the forgotten ones.  They don’t get counted in death tolls, and wait months or years to get benefits while our government throws money at foreign countries and illegal immigrants.  No doubt some will say these soldiers knew the risks when they signed up.  I say they deserve far more respect and financial aid than we give them.

I have had the privilege to hear some of these wounded warriors speak and am always impressed by their dignity and pride.  They do not whimper publicly or place blame.  Instead, they speak of being lucky to have made it back alive.  Most take accept their condition and take on new challenges.  Some even learn to fly specially modified airplanes to free them from their bonds.  Don’t feel sorry for them.  Embrace them and learn. 

I salute these veterans and wish them my best.  Each and every one of them faces tough battles ahead.  Please remember them, and consider donating to the Wounded Warriors, USO, Homes for Heroes, or other worthy veterans organizations before they are forgotten.

Wounded Warriors Project: https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org/Default.aspx?tsid=675&campaignSource=CDRO&source=BS14039

USO:

http://www.uso.org/donatelanding.aspx

Homes for Heroes:

http://www.homesforheroesfoundation.org/