Saturday 19 January 2013

My Yarn with D.R. Racey


I am exhausted.  It is 12 midnight, Jack has gone home after his wife Isobel assured him there was nothing going on between her and Nic Taylor, though by the look in her deep hazel eyes, I could tell that she fancied him.

To keep peace and harmony, I tuck Nic's phone number and address in my top pocket and shuffle out of the shed of solicitation and locked it up tight for the night.

I need to get my rest for my next visitor, a new friend of mine that I just met down at Hoover Palace, a restaurant owned and operated by one of my favourite residents of this sleepy little town of Petite Forte,  Grey Hoover; when I dropped in for my usual lunch. 

This fellow, was passing on through town on his way to an lycanthrope(werewolf in non-paranormal/fantasy speak) convention two towns over, and after noticing that we liked the same meal, we struck up a conversation.
After finding out he was a fellow writer, I invited him over to have a chat in the shed and share a beverage.

****
The alarm shrilled in my ear, belting out Def Leppard's "Pour some sugar on me" making me crave a large cup of tea.

I struggled out of bed, showered, dressed in something more comfortable this time(I threw out those decade old sweat pants after my embarrassing faux pas with Nic last evening.) brewed some tea and headed down to the shed to prepare for my guest, D.R. Racey. (That is what attracted me to him in the first place, beyond his good looks, was that name... hmmm, how racey could he get?.... I shake my head, I have been single for too long)

I notice that Gerard, Jack, Terrance and Frank were scarce as hens teeth this morning and I count my blessings as I am surprised to see that D.R. was waiting for me outside, with his own drink in hand.

"Welcome, D.R. Racey,  have a seat, sorry that it is not more comfy, but a poor fishing season has forced me to reduce my furniture  to two milk crates, I would normally offer you a refreshment, but I see that you already have one, so make yourself as comfortable as you can."

I was looking forward to having D.R. to myself, but no sooner did he and I take a seat, when the crew with no sense of morality, barged in. 

Of course, Frank had to be crude about seeing me alone with D.R.

"Oops honey, sorry, we do not mean to interrupt you private "session" I know it has been awhile, do you want us to leave?"

I swear if I shot any of them one more scornful glare, my expression would stay that way, but I chanced it as I fought off  the heat that burned my freckled cheeks. "For your information, D.R. is married, not that is your business! Now, bug off, I want to chat with my new friend!"

Snickering, they tipped their hats at D.R. and assembled to the back of the room.

I blushed, smiled and continued on the best I could with D.R.

"Thank you for coming, D.R.  though I have met  you before, these yahoos are unfamiliar with you, share a little about yourself."

"I have been married for twelve years and have three children. I have been writing books for many years as a hobby and completed my first book in 2008. In 2012 I finally ventured into self publishing and published my first novel."

"I have seen  Blood Rites  on Amazon.com and Amazon UK and I would love to pick it up, but before I do, could you tell me a little about it?"

"Blood Rites is a paranormal action novel featuring a werewolf as the main character. Daniel has been living in the Appalachian Mountain town of Boone, North Carolina. He had fled from Williamsburg, Virginia over a hundred a fifty years earlier when he had an affair with his pack master’s wife Karen. Makareus has hunted him ever since and finally tracks him to the small mountain town. Daniel has met a college student named Sara and has fallen for her ever since he started dating her. As the story progresses he has to fight off the lycan pack and protect Sara from the lycans that seek to kill him in the name of Makareus."

"Wow, D.R. sounds intriguing, and so nice to have a werewolf as a main character in the story instead of a vampire!  is there a particular part of the story that you really enjoyed writing?"

"Originally I wrote the book it was a bit too graphic. The sex scenes in it were, well let’s call them very invigorating, but during the final two edits I toned them down a lot. I intended to write a paranormal action book but the original version bordered on erotica. My favorite scene is the fight in the sewers in the second half of the book after they fled from North Carolina and into Nashville, Tennessee."

"Oh Jeez b'y, you can never have a book that is too graphic! Anyone that thinks so, is a prude!!"  Jack interjects, causing a chorus of cat calls, wolf whistles and sexual terms that would make Hugh Hefner blush.

I hang my head in shame.

But just as I think that Jack is done, he breezes on over with his usual question.  I swear he never gets tired of it! 

 "Hey dude, tell us who your favourite characters are!"

"My favorite character is actually Sara. She is Daniel’s girlfriend and is in her early twenties. I can picture her as a blonde well built college student. I can almost see her hair blowing in the wind as I talk about her."

For some reason, this makes me tug on my auburn ponytail, as I look down at my slightly overweight body, but smile as D.R. slips into a dream like haze as he pictures his dream Sara with the perfect body and all that blond hair blowing...

This, however, provides me with a perfect question. 

"Sorry about that, but Jack's question brought  another question to light, If Blood Rites were to be optioned for a movie, who do you see playing your main characters?"

This snaps D.R. out of his revere to answer my question.

"Wow, that is kind of hard to answer. There are so many actors and actresses that could play the roles of Daniel, Sara, Makareus, Dana, and Jennifer.

For Daniel I would say Jeremy Renner or Chris Hemsworth. Hollywood does a great job with makeup so they could easily make either of them look around 28 years old."

Sara is the beauty of the bunch though and Daniel’s girlfriend. So many visions go through my mind of what she should look like and it becomes a blur. I would have to suggest Alexandra Daddario from “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” and “Texas Chainsaw 3D”. Have you seen Alexandra’s eyes? They pull you in like she has put you into a trance. I would like to see her with blonde hair for the movie though.

Makareus would be portrayed by Paul Bettany. He has adapted to so many roles that he could easily portray the role of the lycan pack leader. 

Dana is Sara’s friend from Nashville and is kind of flirty and likes to have fun. Dana would be played by Chelan Simmons and played a roll in “Final Destination 3”.

Jennifer is Makareus’ newly turned mate and is beautiful but deadly along with having a knack for wrath and vengeance. Let me not forget the fact that as a newer werewolf she desperately craves the taste of fresh flesh and blood. She could only be portrayed correctly by Amanda Seyfried from the movie “In Time”. She seemed innocent but she definitely had a mean streak in her."

" You certainly have thought this through, D.R., so much so, that  I feel that they will be perfect and  I could really see those actors  playing those parts."

I pause, thinking about my own novel, and who I would like to play my characters and before I get too lost thinking about  The Vampire Diaries Paul Wesley's deep, rich oak green eyes, lush flaxen hair, that rose tattoo on his upper bicep... instead forcing myself to concentrate back on my guest and wanting to know about his writing style.

 "I was wondering, as a person who writes on the side, during my down time, my writing process starts with forming the story in my head before I put pen to paper, what is your writing process like?"

"I get an idea in my head and sit down with a basic chapter outline. My outline normally starts with twenty chapters and I start plugging main ideals into the outline. As I build on it every chapter may have three to five different themes inside of it. I like to move between characters, especially at critical points to make the reader wait a few pages in suspense. I have been known to be in the middle of a couple making love and you turn the page and the story shifts to another person or it’s the next morning."

"Ah, Racey, you bastard! You sound like a tease!" Terrance shouts, disgusted.

D.R. is a trooper, he simply ignores Terrance's interruption and continues with his explanation.

"While I am building the chapter outline I start building my character and landmark spreadsheet. I pick the character names and give them general descriptions and how they tie into the novel.

When it is all said and done though the outline and spreadsheet change a lot. They are living documents to me and as the story flows I make changes so the strory line stays consistent."

 "All of this sounds fascinating but I heard writing is a hell of a lot of work, why do you do it, what do you get out of it?" Terrance's gruff bellows from the back of the shed.

"I just enjoy writing. My wife thinks I am nuts when I sit on the couch for three or four days in a row and do nothing but write. It is relaxing and it lets me bring something within my mind to life.
Does it make me crazy if I can see my own imaginary characters surrounding me?"

"Wha? You see your imaginary characters too? That is so perfect, I thought I was the only one, in fact, I sometimes have full conversations with them."

When D.R. smiles as he realizes that he is not the only one who sees his characters surrounding him, but when I mention the conversation, he gives me a 'call white coat fellas with the butterfly net' look. 

To distract him from thinking just how crazy I am, I continue on with the next question.

"Thanks for the awkward segue, Terrance. Terrance asked you why you like to write, now I want to ask you, is there anything about writing you don't like?"

"I particularly writing about stuff that isnt real, but I like to be able to try and make it seem like it could be real. I like to think that what I write could actually be real in some dimension."

"When you write, what is it that you hope your readers take away from your story?"

"I just want them to read each page and beg to read the next page. I want a book that someone sits down with and their legs fall asleep on them because they tried to read the entire book in one sitting. I want them to read a book that they think is so good that they won’t even let a friend borrow it because they want to read it again.

I want them to enjoy themselves and of course tell their friends about the book in a way that their friends want to buy the book and experience the journey with them."

"Do you have any other stories you are currently writing or are planing to write?"

"Oh my god. Planning to write? I already have several other books that are waiting to go through the editing process. The first two books in The Phoenix Blade Trilogy are Conflagration and Lineage and are a fantasy series with elves, dwarves, and dragons." 

"Grunder is a science fiction novel set after the Third World War and follows the spaceship Triton One as they make a six year journey to a new planet and begin to colonize it. Baghdad Insurrection is a historical fiction novel set during the Iraqi Surge and follows a National Guard Military Police platoon through a few weeks of their deployment."

I was beginning to feel the stirrings of awe at his volume of fascinating stories when he blows me away with some more.

"Then of course there are books two and three in the Blood Rites Trilogy, Vengeance and Annihilation. I have planned the general ideal of both books but have to finish the chapter outline and start writing them. If you think there was a lot of violence in Blood Rites, the next two books are going to take it to a whole new level.
Lastly, I am going to write the prequel to Blood Rites and focus the story on Makareus and Karen. That novel will cover Karen’s affair with Daniel and his flight for life."

I need a moment for my head to wrap all this amazing information, so I take a deep breath and finish my tea.

"Thanks a million for answering all my questions…and the others, D.R. Racey,  it has been a real pleasure. As I said before, I have seen Blood Rites online at Amazon.com and Amazon UK stores and cannot wait for it to come in the mail."

"You must be frozen solid by now, D.R, my mates have been pretty greedy with the heat, so I am going to let you go so you can toddle on home and warm up, but before you go is there anything else you want to add?"

"Thank you for interviewing me Tina. I really love talking to people about my books because it lets me explain to them what the book is really about. I would love to sit around the fire and read the entire book to a group of men and women. It would be awesome to see the looks on their faces as the story progressed."

"That sounds like a fantastic idea, D.R! If you have a copy on you, why don't you come to the back of the shed, and read your novel to us around our little fire?"

I could not help but chuckle to myself as I see my mates faces go stark white at the thought of having to stand around a barrel full of cardboard and other garbage that served as our fire, as they watched D.R. Racey rush out to his car, and saunter back in, waving his novel, sitting down and opening the first page.

Why don't you all read along by purchasing D.R. Racey's novel at:




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