House of Cards, S.3: Just tell me what they WANT

By noreply@blogger.com (Alexandra Sokoloff)

Like so many of you, I’m sure, Craig and I binge-watched Season 1 and 2 of House of Cards, ripping through each season as soon as they came out, in no more than two days each. Especially since Season 2 was even better than Season 1, we were waiting with bated breath for Season 3, ready to watch the whole thing in a weekend. Finally, the day arrived. We settled down in front of a fire, with the cat and Pop Chips, and prepared to be riveted.

And…

It never got off the ground.

We let whole days go by between episodes. We watched other shows (Boardwalk Empire, love it! And may I say, a 1000% better character and performance for Paul Sparks in Boardwalk than in HOC 3), and other movies (Drop is so tense I spent pretty much the whole movie balled up in the corner of the couch).

Don’t get me wrong. I would watch Kevin Spacey sleeping, and I would watch HOC just for the way Robin Wright walks and holds herself and gets out of a car. I’m not about to give up on it.

But it does give me an excellent opportunity to rant about something I’m always telling you all here, and in the workbooks, and in workshops.

Because Season 3 makes a beginner’s mistake that is really quite shocking for such an accomplished show.

We don’t know what Frank Underwood WANTS.

Remember, the INCITING INCIDENT (or CALL TO ADVENTURE) starts a DESIRE in the protagonist, and they make a PLAN and gather ALLIES, either consciously or subconsciously, to go after that desire.

(If you need a refresher on internal and external desire, go here).
For Seasons 1 & 2, Frank and Claire want to be President (that is, they want Frank to be President and they both will rule). Very clear. They’re willing to do anything to get it. And the guilty pleasure of the show is that we know we shouldn’t want that for them, but we do anyway.

Well, in Season 3, they have become President. So now what do they want?

Okay, Frank wants to get re-elected, yeah. But why? He’s not exactly reveling in the power that he has. He’s certainly not driven in the way he was in Seasons 1 and 2. He just doesn’t seem to want it that much.

And yeah, he wants to pass and implement his America Works program. He may be a little bit more enthusiastic about that than wanting to be re-elected, actually. But why does he want it? In order to leave a legacy, his biographer says. But do we feel that? More importantly, do we want it FOR him, or want him NOT to get it? Aren’t you a little perplexed about why Frank wants AmWorks, and not at all sure why you should care?

This is why I am always saying – You have to tell your reader/audience what your main character (s) wants, and just as importantly, you have to make sure that WE WANT IT FOR THEM.

Or, just as effectively, you have make sure that we actively DON’T want them to get whatever it is.

Now as always, you may not agree with me. Maybe you were riveted by House of Cards, Season 3. Maybe you can even tell me exactly why we should care whether or not Frank gets AmWorks, or whether or not Claire gets to be Ambassador, or whatever it is SHE wants (to actually be President, I’m assuming…)
I wish you would!

But it’s absolutely fine if you disagree. Remember, there’s no accounting for taste! The point is, HOC 3 is not working for me, and I have analyzed exactly what it is that’s going wrong for me and made a mental note never to let that happen in my own work. That’s practicing my craft, and that’s what I’m always encouraging you all to do.

So, HOC fans – what do YOU think? I’d love to be told off on this one!

– Alex

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If you’re in the UK – Amazon.uk has dropped the price of HUNTRESS MOON and BLOOD MOON to just £1 each for the entire month of April, leading up to the release of Book 3, COLD MOON. Fantastic deal!

(And yes, that’s a sneak peek at the COLD MOON cover – not finished, yet!)

Buy on Amazon UK £1.00 Buy on Amazon UK £1.00

Buy on Amazon US: $3.99 Buy on Amazon US: $3.99

Pre-order on Amazon UK

Pre-order on Amazon US

Via: Alexandra Sokoloff

    

4.9.15 – 7 Minutes With… Bryon Quertermous

By JT Ellison

I’m beyond thrilled to have my friend and very first editor Bryon Quertermous on the blog today. Bryon gave me my first break – accepting a short story I wrote for Demolition Magazine’s “Women of Crime Fiction” issue. That story was X – a title of his own choosing which was much better than my original – and I’ve always been indebted to him for taking a chance on a complete newbie. Now’s my chance to return the favor. Bryon’s debut novel, MURDER BOY, came out last week, and it’s burning up the charts, which isn’t a surprise to any of us who know him. Here’s what I thought about the book:

“Rough and raw and fast and furious and genuinely funny, with a dizzying array of villains and a hefty dose of madcap adventure, Bryon Quertermous’s love letter to the crime fiction genre, MURDER BOY, is an awesome debut from a talented, assured voice. MURDER BOY is a winner.”

As for what I think about Q? He’s a great guy, with a cool family, and a VERY twisted mind. So without further ado, may I present Bryon!

_________

Set your music to shuffle and hit play. What’s the first song that comes up?

“Smoking Gun” by Robert Cray. I love this song so much and it NEVER comes up in shuffle. Must be my lucky day today.

Now that we’ve set the mood, what are you working on today?

I’ve got some freelance editing projects I’m trying to wrap up so I can put more effort into finishing the second book on my contract (man, that is fun to write) called RIOT LOAD. On the surface the book is about a sperm bank robbery and a writer trying on a new career as a private detective, but at its core it’s about adjusting to fatherhood and dealing with real life after that one big dream in your life comes true. I’m very excited about the book but just last night realized I was attacking it in completely the wrong way and had to go back and rewrite a big chunk of the beginning. Oops.

What’s your latest book about?

It’s called MURDER BOY and it’s about a writer named Dominick Prince, a student in a Detroit creative writing program who has wasted a lot of great opportunities in his life but is determined not to waste his latest opportunity for a chance to live and write in New York City. The only thing standing in his way is his elitist thesis advisor who refuses to sign off on his final project because he thinks crime fiction is beneath a good writer. So, like any normal person would do, Dominick hires a bounty hunter to kidnap the professor and things go very, very wrong. But, as with the other book I mentioned, what it’s really about is my own struggle with writing and wasted opportunities and failure to reach my stated life goals in an appropriate time frame.

Where do you write, and what tools do you use?

I have three little kids and a day job so I write anywhere I can. I like coffee shops and the McDonalds in town, as well as dive diners and book store cafés. My main tool is a laptop and that’s all I really need. I have an awesome little MacBook Air that works like a dream and also has software on it called Freedom that shuts me off from the internet so I can actual get stuff done. Though I do have to put an asterisk on this because I sat on the final draft of MURDER BOY for almost a year absolutely unable to figure out how to end it. But one cold fall day in an Arby’s in suburban Milwaukee, I grabbed a stick pen and a composition notebook and started writing by hand and was finally able to work out the ending. I enjoyed the experience and may try it again if (when) I get stuck again.

What was your favorite book as a child?

I read so fast and so varied that I never really had a favorite book. The first book I really remember speaking to me though was when I read THE OUTSIDERS in junior high. It was such a great book and hit me at just the right time that it really stuck with me.

What book are you reading now?

I’m reading Lou Berney’s new one THE LONG AND FARAWAY GONE. It’s really amazing. I love it because Lou started like me by writing two fun caper style crime novels and I can only hope to eventually write a big book that’s even half as great as this one is. Everyone should go buy it RIGHT NOW.

What’s your favorite bit of writing advice?

Write 1,000 words a day. This seems to be pretty divisive writing advice and I know it won’t work for everyone, but for me, it makes all the difference. I need to be working on the book every day for everything to work right with it. When I start skipping days and only putting in minimal effort is when things start going poorly. Writing 1,000 words is enough to keep the pages piling up at a steady clip but isn’t so taxing mentally as to undercut the effort.

What do you do if the words aren’t flowing?

If I haven’t been writing regularly, I’ll force myself to do my 1k every single day whether the words are good or not, and it usually only takes a day or two to clear the cobwebs. If I have been writing regularly and find the words suddenly go quiet, I read through the book to figure out where I went wrong. Writer’s block, for me at least, is almost always the result of a stupid decision I made somewhere in the book that took it in a direction it had no business going in.

What would you like to be remembered for?

I know I’m supposed to say my family and all of that, and it’s really true I hope I leave a legacy of great kids who change the world and are great people and good citizens. But I can’t shake the desire to be legendary. I want to be remembered as a writer who pushed the genre in a new direction or did something new with an old form.

_________

Bryon Quertermous

Bryon Quertermous is the author of the novel MURDER BOY and the forthcoming RIOT LOAD. His short stories have appeared in PLOTS WITH GUNS, THUGLIT, and CRIME FACTORY, among others, and in the anthologies HARDCORE HARDBOILED, THE YEAR’S FINEST CRIME AND MYSTERY STORIES, and UNCAGE ME. He was shortlisted for the Debut Dagger Award from the UK Crime Writers Association. He currently lives outside of Detroit with his wife and kids.

And here’s a little more about MURDER BOY, now available wherever books are sold!

Dominick Prince is out of options. He’s lived in Detroit long enough to use his experiences of crime and poverty to fuel his writing, but he’s ready to move on to bigger and better things. Dominick’s thesis advisor, the elitist Parker Farmington, refuses to let Dominick pass his class, thinking the genre of potboilers beneath him. Which means rather than becoming the next literary sensation, Dominick will spend his life asking customers if they’d like fries with that. And if that’s the only plan, kidnapping doesn’t seem like such a bad plan B.

So if Farmington won’t pass him willfully, Dominick will make him do it forcefully. And once he has Farmington’s signature, fame and fortune are within Dominick’s grasp. But while Dominick may have a devious and brilliant mind on the page, in reality he’s more Betty White than Walter White. And before he can write ‘the plot thickens,’ Dominick’s plan begins to go horribly wrong. Teaming with Farmington’s jilted mistress and her loose-cannon bounty hunter brother, Dominick finds that if even the best laid plans go awry, then his doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell. And being a great writer won’t matter much if he’s six feet under.

Via: JT Ellison

    

4.6.15 – NEW ANTHOLOGY ANNOUNCEMENT – BASED ON: WORDS, NOTES AND ART FROM NASHVILLE

By JT Ellison

I have a surprise for you! I’m involved in another EPIC anthology project. This is WAY more than just stories — it’s stories from local Tennessee authors, songs based on those stories, and artwork based on them both. I’ve been dying to share this incredible project with you — and here it is. If you’re in Nashville, this is an absolute MUST literary/songwriting/art event. Happily, anyone interested in Nashville will have access to this one-of-a-kind anthology.

My contribution is a never-before-seen, greatly expanded version of a short story I wrote called THE NUMBER OF MAN. It’s a love story, of sorts. With a twist. A very twisted twist.

Read on for lots more information, and a great opportunity to participate in this truly unique anthology.

_______

On Monday, June 15th, 2015, East Side Story and the Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville will celebrate the release of what could possibly be the most epic creative collaboration of Nashville artists … ever. Titled BASED ON: Words, Notes, and Art from Nashville, the project is a special collection of short stories, songs, and visual art prints which are all inspired by one another and blended together into the fold of a single book (cd of the music included). The one-night release concert extravaganza at Belmont’s University’s McAfee Concert Hall performed by a majority of the contributing artists will commemorate the launch of this unique project.

Please find more information about the list of contributors and the release event at the end of this message.

Aside from collecting corporate sponsorships, we are running a limited chance for YOU to individually help with the production of this Nashville project. The first 200 folks who donate $100 will receive an autographed copy of the book/cd, one ticket for admission to the release event, and a receipt for a $50 tax deductible donation.

If you would like to be one of the first 200, please send a check addressed to Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville to:

Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville
1900 Belmont Blvd.
Nashville, TN 37212

Please include a memo with your check that states: For East Side Story Anthology.

More about this incredible project:

BASED ON: Words, Notes, and Art from Nashville

What: BASED ON: Words, Notes, and Art from Nashville (book/cd & event)

When: June 15th, 2015

Where: Belmont’s McAfee Concert Hall (event), East Side Story and http://www.abcnashville.org (book/cd sales).

Artist Participants from BASED ON:

Authors – Chuck Beard, Paige Crutcher, Tony Earley, JT Ellison, Cary Graham, River Jordan, Ariel Lawhon, Betsy Phillips, RashadthaPoet (Rashad Rayford), Victoria Schwab, Shawn Whitsell, and Tommy Womack. (intro by- Craig Havighurst /afterword by- Robert Hicks)

Musicians – Kyle Andrews, Boom Forest, Carolina Story, Michael B. Hicks, Griffin House, Phil Madeira, David Mead, The Coal Men, The Lower Caves, The Rough and Tumble, Tristen, and Brooke Waggoner.

Visual Artists – Adam Baker, Cory Basil, Carl Carbonell, efharper (Emily Harper Beard), Michael McBride, Barry Noland, Rebecca Sloan, Julie Sola, and Ian White.

What to Expect: The Arts & Business Council is thrilled to join with East Side Story to present Nashville’s first-ever, all-local major collaboration between Nashville musicians, authors, and visual artists. This book/cd and release event will be like none other in town before. It will be hosted by Music City Roots host Craig Havighurst and include various local creative artists, leaders, and more.

How YOU can Help: In order to produce the anthology book/cd and launch a successful release concert June 15th, we are raising a pool of monetary awards for the local sponsors that fit with the project the best and we want you on board! Your generous support will take care of the release event costs and also pay a local copyeditor, printing company, music producer, and recording studio for their services to make the book/cd in Nashville from start to finish. All proceeds from this project will go directly to Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville in order to help them continue to leverage and unite the unique resources of the arts and business communities to create a thriving, sustainable creative culture in Nashville.

Via: JT Ellison

    

4.4.15 – CROSSED Digital ARC Giveaway

By JT Ellison
a Rafflecopter giveaway

From NYT bestselling author J.T. Ellison comes the long awaited prequel to her Taylor Jackson series. CROSSED, the story of a madman trying to create his own end-of-days apocalypse, introduces Lieutenant Taylor Jackson to the young, troubled FBI profiler Dr. John Baldwin.

In 2014, the boxed set curated by Brenda Novak’s Online Auction for Diabetes Research (title A SWEET LIFE) raised almost $100,000. This year we’re back for a second helping, and you can indulge, too! This fascinating limited edition collection features thirteen brand-new thrillers by New York Times and USA Today Bestselling authors.

Make a difference while you read! All proceeds from the sale of SWEET DREAMS will be donated to the Diabetes Research Institute via Brenda Novak’s Online Auction for Diabetes Research.

SWEET DREAMS includes stories from acclaimed authors such as:

Allison Brennan / J.T. Ellison / Cynthia Eden /Heather Graham / Liliana Hart / Alex Kava / CJ Lyons / Carla Neggers / Brenda Novak /Theresa Ragan / Erica Spindler / Jo Robertson / Tiffany Snow

PRE-ORDER SWEET DREAMS NOW!
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo

Via: JT Ellison

    

£1 Sale!!! HUNTRESS MOON and BLOOD MOON discounted at Amazon.uk for April

By noreply@blogger.com (Alexandra Sokoloff)

Amazon.uk has dropped the price of HUNTRESS MOON and BLOOD MOON to just £1 each for the entire month of April, leading up to the release of Book 3, COLD MOON. Fantastic deal!

(And yes, that’s a sneak peek at the COLD MOON cover – not finished, yet!)

Buy on Amazon US: $3.99 Buy on Amazon US: $3.99

Pre-order on Amazon UK

Pre-order on Amazon US

The Huntress/FBI Thrillers

Special Agent Matthew Roarke thought he knew what evil was. He was wrong.

FBI Special Agent Roarke is closing in on a major criminal organization in San Francisco when he witnesses an undercover member of his team killed right in front of him on a busy street, an accident Roarke can’t believe is coincidental. His suspicions put him on the trail of a mysterious young woman who was present at each scene of a years-long string of “accidents” and murders, and who may well be that most rare of killers… a female serial.

His hunt for her will take him across three states, and force him to question everything he knows about evil and justice.

——-

Book 1 of Thriller Award-winning author Alexandra Sokoloff’s Huntress/FBI Thrillers, Huntress Moon, became a #1 Amazon mystery/thriller bestseller and was nominated for a Thriller Award for Best E Book Original Novel. The series has now been picked up by Amazon’s Thomas & Mercer imprint. The highly anticipated Book 3, Cold Moon, will release on May 5.

Told in continuous, serial format like True Detective and The Killing, and utilizing the intricate psychological/forensic procedure of Criminal Minds, the Huntress series sets a cast of complex FBI investigators in pursuit of an unforgettable female suspect who has been called “a female Dexter.” The story combines nail-biting suspense and a twisting mystery plot with deadly erotic tension, and has garnered hundreds of rave reviews from readers who find themselves sympathizing with its haunted male lead and unexpectedly empathizing with its highly unusual killer.

For thousands of years women have been the victims. Isn’t it time someone turned the tables?

Via: Alexandra Sokoloff