New Novel by New York Times bestselling author CJ Lyons

Most of the readers I know are constantly searching for new authors, especially those who know how to entertain us with a good book. C.J. Lyons is a pediatric ER doctor now writing full time. I discovered her books a couple of years ago and was delighted to find someone who knew what they were writing about and had the ability to craft a gripping story.

Number one New York Times bestselling author Lee Child has called CJ Lyons' work "Everything a great thriller should be--action packed, authentic, and intense."

That kind of praise is about as good as it gets, especially when coming from someone like Lee Child. Lyons has also been on the New York Times bestseller list, and we can expect her to repeat this feat with her current offerings.

Lyons is currently busy on her Thriller series about Lucy Guardino, an FBI agent who is able to balance her careers and still have a life. Her just released novel SNAKE SKIN is now available at Amazon.

Here is a brief description of her book:

Just your average Pittsburgh soccer mom, baking brownies and carrying a loaded forty-caliber Glock... A loving mom and wife, dutiful daughter, consummate professional, and kick-ass federal agent, Lucy Guardino is living the perfect life, until the day she comes up against a predator more vicious and cunning than any she's ever tackled before, one who forces Lucy to choose between the life of the young victim she is fighting to save and her own daughter's....and Lucy's dream life is shattered. "Combine Dirty Harry with a loving wife and mother and you might end up with Lucy Guardino…You won't be able to put this one down." 4 1/2 stars, RT Book Reviews

Click on the title of this article to sample or buy SNAKESKIN

Little White Lies

Regardless of the type of novel I am writing, the emphasis is always on the human relationships between the characters. Murder mysteries, spy novels, and all the rest would not be worth my time if the reader was not emotionally impacted by the relationships.

One of the best police procedural novels I am aware of involves the murder of a street person that seemed not to have a past. No one knew him, no one loved him, but his death affected the homicide detective deeply. The police officer’s marriage was falling apart and the author created a poignant contrast between his failures as a husband and the derelict on the autopsy slab in the morgue.

Human relationships are important, and I often draw from what I observe in the real world. Here is a recent incident that will probably appear in one of my novels.

Five young women, probably in their early thirties, were blocking the center aisle in Wal-Mart as I tried to squeeze past. The man with them said, “You girls take your time. I’m going to the automotive section and prowl while you’re shopping.”

Megan: “Rob, do you know how insulting that is?”

Rob: “What did I do?”

Megan: When a woman passes her twenty-fifth birthday she doesn’t want to be called a girl.”

Rob: “I thought you were twenty-four on your last birthday.”

Megan, with a smile climbing slowly up her face: “Just take your time Rob. I love you.”

Three Rules For Writing a Novel

W. Somerset Maugham said, “There are three rules to writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.”

I think fellow author Jack Bludis came close to discovering the first rule when he said, “I think a writer must like what the writer likes before he can please anyone else.”

Most authors spend a lot of time trying to analyze books that sell well, attempting to discover that tiny element that creates a ‘bottled lightning effect’ and sends sales soaring into the stratosphere. There are all kinds of tweaks that we can give to our manuscript to improve the story, but if you don’t like the darn thing yourself, then why should someone else?

The writers of the television series, ‘Breaking Bad,’ came up with an improbable scenario. A science teacher has a desperate need for money for cancer treatments. He produces and sells methadone to meet that need. This story works because the writers sell us on a character caught in a desperate situation. A similar state of affairs is the character in Stieg Larsson’s novel ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.’ Lisbeth Salander is everything a character should not be, but she grabs the reader’s attention with a vengeance and doesn’t let go for the next 700 pages. If you analyze Larsson’s writing, scene by scene, you discover that he is far from being the best writer around. He is a storyteller who knows how to create an adorable character, and he does that very well. So maybe the question we should ask ourselves is not about our new marketing plan, but about the story itself. 'Do we like what we are writing, or have we fallen into the habit of producing a certain kind of story because they seem to be moving well in the marketplace.'

I’m going to back up to the opening scene of my current WIP and examine all of the characters afresh. I want to fall in love all over again with Lori, Sandi, and Chris. I hope in the process of doing so, the reader will catch that magical spark and fall in love with them too.

You can view Jack Bludis novel, Dirty Work, by clicking on the title of this article.

Bad Romance Chinese Style

I love all things Chinese, their culture, their lyrical language, and especially the wonderful people who run our local Chinese restaurants. I was somewhat surprised when I ran across a video of a group of senior citizens performing their version of Lady Gaga’s musical hit, Bad Romance. They have changed the words of the song, but they seem to be having as much fun as I had in listening to it. Click on the title and watch the video. You’re going to love it.

Death of the computer monitor?

There are bad ideas and then there are BAD ideas. The video linked to the title of this article is one of those ideas that I hope never catches on, but you never know. Microsoft is developing a computer control system that doesn’t require a monitor or keyboard. A projector contained in a device attached to your shoulder transmits a keyboard on any surface and you can use this image as a touchpad. You can use your hand, the office wall or your picture of Lady Gaga as a screen, rather than having that troublesome monitor and keyboard in front of you. One of the selling points in the video is the suggestion that you can walk over to the office wall and perform your work there.

Experts who have studied the effects of engineering on society have determined that a lack of innovation can be very detrimental. The assertion has been made that Germany lost WWII because they were too inflexible with their designs. It was too hard to work new developments into their assembly lines and they quickly fell behind as the Allies introduced a steady stream of improvements into the war effort. But there is a flip side to development and this is the point of this article. One thing that has a crippling effect on progress is the desire to reinvent the wheel every Monday morning. Examples of this are all around us in the workplace and in our homes. Take a chair for example. Chairs have been around somewhat in their present form since the time of the Grecian Empire. Despite the efforts of companies to change the basic form of a chair, the fact remains that chairs fit the human body and you mess with the basic design at your own peril.

Some brainiac at Microsoft has evidently forgotten the fact that sitting in a chair in front of a keyboard and monitor is the best way to get most computing task done. I don’t want to project a keyboard on a wall or the palm of my hand. I can type 60 words per minute on a keyboard, and there are a lot of words in a novel. Most of them have to be typed over and over in the creation of a manuscript -- a process that takes months or perhaps years to complete. Before the guys at Microsoft become too giddy, they should realize that some task performed on a computer are much more complicated than composing a message on Twitter. ‘mte u n clelnd ths wknd’ might not be the message to get the job done.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/this-could-be-big-abc-news/death-keyboards-monitors-omnitouch-202115388.html

JUNK

I have a junk drawer where I keep-- well, junk. I was prowling through it yesterday and picked up a watch I discarded more than ten years ago. It was a cheap sports watch and I discarded it when the face became scratched and the band stretched and broken. When I looked at the display I was astonished to see the watch was still working, and was only a few minutes off the correct time.

It would be amazing to know how many batteries of different types are manufactured each year. I can remember when the battery-powered devices in the average home consisted of no more than a flashlight and perhaps a small radio. Now there are countless devices we use every day that require batteries. Increased efficiency is making batteries more practical for power hungry devices such as power tools and automobiles. All of this makes me wonder what would happen if the population of the earth suddenly disappeared. How long would those watches, toys, and other battery powered devices continue to tick along just waiting for an invasion of some intelligent species to flip the switch and gaze in wonder at the results?
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Lady Gaga: A Decade of Difference Performance

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Any writer wanting to create an earth-shattering piece of literature would do well to examine the real world and what leaves the average person breathless.

Consider this: When you enter a crowded room, who do you notice first? Is it the wimps; the girl with the lank hair, or is your eye drawn to the person who radiates attitude and confidence? If she happens to be standing next to the most macho guy in the room, you aren’t likely to look away.

I ran across a discussion on a forum recently where a group of writers were trying to define the elements a story. Plot was the main definition tossed about. By the time I finished reading the various opinions, I decided that I didn’t want to read any stories created by this group. A story is characters; who they really are, and how the plot affects them.

A recent event that caught the attention of the world was the television special, ‘A Decade of Difference: A Concert Celebrating 10 Years of the William J. Clinton Foundation.’

The featured entertainer was Lady Gaga and she gave a spine tingling performance before a world audience. Whether you like Clinton’s politics or approve of him as a person, you have to realize that he continues to be one of the most powerful men in the world. His association with any charitable cause is a guarantee of success. The same can be said for Lady Gaga. I would really like to get hold of the lyrics of her songs with a red pencil and do a little revision, but I don’t need to approve of every word she sings to enjoy her performances. Like her or not, she has caught the imagination of the world with her music and her involvement with the anti-bullying school program’s effort to educate and protect our kids.

Lady Gaga performed her naughty song, ‘Bad Romance,’ which brought to mind Clinton’s indiscretions while in office. His slightly embarrassed expression during the performance-- while continuing to have a good time-- is a character study in itself. Lady Gaga’s bold performance is something that will probably continue to attract our attention in the same way as Marylyn Monroe’s birthday song to President Kennedy.

If you missed the performance, click on the title to this article and watch the video. The women among us will probably find themselves combing a hand through their hair and thinking, ‘I could do that,’ and the men will probably play the video twice.

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Steve Jobs

There have been some interesting and informative articles written about Steve Jobs since his untimely death. Jobs was a genius who contributed to the advancement of electronics in countless ways. In all of these recent articles, I have noticed that no one mentions something that so many of us enjoyed during the early ‘80s. Most of us who bought our first computers during that era longed for software that would transform an expensive chunk of plastic and circuit boards into something useful. It is hard for anyone who did not experience this era firsthand, to visualize a time when computers came without software, and computer shops had few programs to offer to the customer.

Steve Jobs and Steven Woziniak were dedicated computer hobbyists who visited flea markets and computer clubs whenever they set up their booths. Some rather advanced computers were being produced by hobbyists, and the operating systems (DOS) evolved over a period of months as many would-be programmers contributed their ideas and code. Without getting boringly detailed, DOS is the bedrock of code that most computers still use today to make them operational. Basic is a simple program, and if I remember correctly, composed of about 64 lines of programming code. Jobs and Woziniak launched their business in a modest way by assembling their first Apple computers by hand and marketing them at computer meets. Their great accomplishment was not that they invented anything, but instead brought order out of the chaos of an evolving system.

In those early days, there were dozens of computer magazines that had three to four programs in each issue. Apple computers came with a Basic Compiler, which allowed the owner to create his own programs. The computer owner could type them in and create a simple word processor, spell checker, or a primitive spreadsheet that actually worked. Many of them were assembled from bits and pieces of code borrowed from magazines. Basic was such a simple language that you could grasp how it worked in a matter of a week or two and produce some rather complex programs. Much of the fun of programming was typing in lines of code, then hitting run and watching for some minor miracle to occur on the screen. If it didn’t work, you looked for errors, retyped, and tried again. The first program I created on my own was a simple program that alphabetized a long list of names I had collected for a history project. My second effort was to write a word processor program I hoped would be better than the one I purchased on a floppy disk for a ridiculous price. The program actually worked and it was a heady experience to hit ‘run’ and see it appear for the first time in all of its clunky glory.

That particular era of ‘do your own software’ did not last long. Sensing a lucrative market, software developers soon hit the market with their own products and made Basic programming redundant. I quickly moved up through the jungle of programming languages, from Basic, to QBasic, to ‘C’, C++ and to UNIX. I still remember, with a great deal of nostalgia, the days when I sat in front of my monitor and programmed with a ‘seat of the pants’ kind of logic. It was a heady experience and something that I enjoyed immensely.

Andy Rooney

I have always been a fan of Andy Rooney, and I am saddened that he is leaving 60 Minutes after 30 years on CBS. There were over 1000 appearances where he spoke on a variety of subjects, all of them worth contemplating.

Rooney’s main appeal is the fact that he was a curmudgeon at times, often saying the things the rest of us would like to say if we had the opportunity and the guts to do so. He talked more about the common things of life than he did about the big issues, although he covered those as well. He was at times controversial, raising the ire of different groups, including religious leaders, politicians, gays, and the American Indians. Even when he was mildly caustic, we knew that he was speaking from experience, and not just quoting a sound byte some 21-year-old speechwriter had plucked from Wikipedia.

Rooney’s experience with the real world started with WWII where he flew on one of the first bombing raids over Nazi Germany, and later was one of the first correspondents to visit a Nazi death camp. Having been a pacifist, his experience of seeing these horrors firsthand made him realize that some wars were justified, and this was one of them.

While Rooney sometimes erred in his own outspoken way, he was quick to apologize and get back on course. We need more like Rooney, with a clear vision and a willingness to speak out on the absurd things in society. This Sunday’s appearance on 60 minutes will be his last regular appearance, after 30 years of enlightening and entertaining us. He will be sorely missed as a regular contributor, but will probably appear at intervals to share some new insight. But even if he doesn’t, there are enough of his essays to ponder over for many years to come.

I hope you take well to retirement, Andy Rooney, but don’t hesitate to come back and switch the legs of any of us who are disobedient. The human race is sorely in need of correction.

How Appealing Are Your Characters?

When I first ran across the name, Lisbeth Salander, on a blog, I wrongfully assumed it was the name of a romance writer. The woman who wrote the article gushed on about Lisbeth, although she was rather vague about what made her like her so much.

Then my daughter gave me a thick novel by a Norwegian author named Stieg Larsson. Six hundred plus pages seemed rather excessive for a suspense novel, but at her urging, I plunged in. I loved the story Larsson had created, and was quickly captivated by Lisbeth.

We authors have a tendency to push physical attributes to the limit in our novels. Our women are often drop-dead gorgeous. They have endless legs, bushels of hair, teeth like ivory, and don’t get me started on the eyes. Lisbeth has none of these attributes. Instead, this twenty-four-old young woman has the frail body of an adolescent, no breasts, lank hair, and a leave-me-alone antisocial attitude. So what, you are wondering, is her appeal.

Lisbeth is a high school dropout because she was so bored in class that she had no desire to succeed. No one suspects that she has a genius level intelligence and also a photographic memory. But it is not her intelligence that makes her so appealing. Her intelligence is her weapon against an ever-encroaching society that makes unreasonable demands on all of us to conform and submit. Lisbeth knows how to resist the aggression that hovers just under the surface of established authority. To put it another way, Lisbeth does what the rest of us would like to do if we had the guts and opportunity to hit back.

Not since Scarlett O’Hara has there been a character so capable of captivating our attention. Grab a copy of The Girl with the Dagon Tattoo, and you will soon be punching your fist in the air as Lisbeth scores point after point against those who seek to dominate and torment her. You are going to love Lisbeth.

Oh, and another thing. Did I tell you that this frail creature is undeniably sexy?

A True Test Of Patriotism

Whenever a presidential election rolls around, the news media desperately searches for sound bytes that will capture the essence of each candidate as effectively as a Polaroid shot will capture a grandchild on Christmas morning. Many of these defining moments come during political debates where accusations are hurled right and left. Most of the really good points concern the candidate’s patriotism or the lack of it therefore. During our last election, an issue was made of Obama’s place of birth. Four years before, there were questions concern the military records of George Bush. As this coming election heats up, there are likely to be many other issues concerning the candidate’s ability to wax patriotically. There is a question making its rounds, wherever latte is served, that captures the essence of the moment. I hope Wolf Blitzer is aware of it and will direct it to each of the candidates in turn. It is actually more revelent than many of the things that will be asked.

Question: What would you do if you heard someone playing the National Anthem while you were seated in the bathroom? Would you stand?

I rest my case.

Rock 'N Roll

Rock ‘N Roll music has always been popular in America because it speaks a language, and has a rhythm that appeals to every age group. During the 50s, many parents frowned when some of the more lively songs burst from the radio, but they were often caught tapping their foot in accompaniment with the music. In recent years, Rock has taken many different avenues -- crossing over into Country, Pop, the ballads of the 60s and 70s -- you name it and it is there for the listening pleasure of every age group. Despite the changes that Rock has seen in the last fifty plus years, the decade of the 50s is still golden among Rock fans of every age. Elvis was king of that era, and still is, but there were many others who made beautiful music. One of the guys was my cousin, Arby ‘Buzz’ Prentice. Buzz was a funny guy, down to earth, and loved his music. He recorded quite a bit of it during the decade of the 50s. After his recent death, his nephew, Steve Sanders placed seven of his uncle’s songs on the Internet. In some of them, Buzz is talking about the music and the recording sessions at Sun Studios and on other occasions at small radio stations. My first reaction was, ‘they should have edited out the dialogue before they placed it on the Internet.’ But as I listened to it, it reminded me of that wonderful era and the down to earth way in which the early Rock stars communicated with their audience. I shall always remember Buzz with great fondness and am proud that his music is rising up the charts at last. I am looking forward to some more of it being posted in the near future. Click on the title of this article to listen to some of Buzz's music.

I love Rock N' Roll!