Book Hooks is a weekly cooperative blog hop hosted by Marketing for Romance Writers as part of the MFRW Authors Blog.
It's a chance each week for you to discover current works in progress or previously published books by possibly new-to-you authors.
Thank you for stopping by.
Links below lead to other sites also taking part. You can "hop" from mine to theirs with one click.
Feel free to say hello or leave a note in the comments.
Please tell us about yourself.
I work for TRAIL, which stands for Trace, Rescue, and Identification League. Don't listen our competitors, who'd like you to believe it's Thieves, Ruffians, Assholes, Idiots, and Liars. We're the real deal. If it's lost, we find it. If it's in danger, we rescue it. If it's unknown, we identify it. That sums up my job quite well. I'm married to my college sweetheart, and we have five boys. Since everyone seems to ask, I'll go ahead and tell you I'm 6'9" tall. Not the lanky type. I work for a living, so I'm pretty much all muscle. You'd think that would warn people, but no. Bullies seem to ooze out of the floor. I try to defuse the situation, and usually I'm lucky, but there are times when I have to demonstrate that you don't mess with me. Still, I prefer a peaceful solution. I don't carry a weapon unless I have to. Generally, I don't need one. Besides, my partner, Jee Tonopah, is a walking blade. She's always packing something that slices or fires.
What is it that you want, but cannot have? Authors call this the conflict of the story.
In this story, I'm trying to get home. I'd promised my wife I'd be there for more than an overnight stay for a change, and we get called in on a mission.
What inner doubt causes you the most difficulty?
Inner doubt? *rubs back of his neck* Don't rightly know. Maybe that I'm getting too old for all this. I only work for TRAIL so I can afford to be a dad and give my wife and kids a good home. I'd like to settle down. Thing is, Jee needs me. My partner is a well-armed hyperactive jackrabbit with delusions of grandeur. You don't have to worry about that getting back to her -- I've said it to her face. I'd hate to see my dear Jee out on her own, and we do work well together. We'll see. But I think my biggest doubt is that I can keep going. Sometimes you get tired, you know?
What's your external complication? In the story world your author created, explain what it is you fear most.
You see, we're trying to find this young man named Kaiwulf. Now, believe it or not, he can walk through stone. We don't know where it is he's going, or how he gets there. We don't rightly care, to tell you the truth. All we're supposed to do is find him, and bring him back to this dimension. Thinking about how you find an invisible man in another dimension -- that's keeping me up at night.
Tell us about your significant other, that person who makes living worthwhile.
That's my wife, Haylie Jennifer Allard. Everyone calls her Jenny because her best friend growing up was named Haley, and they decided to use their middle names instead. They're still best friends, and that's one of the things I love about Jenny. She's loyal. She's there no matter what. She loves my partner like a sister. That means a lot to me. I spend day in and day out with Jee, and if Jenny had any issue with that, it would mean I'd have to quit. Because when it comes down to it, I'm in love with Jenny, and she means everything to me. That said, I don't get to spend the time I want to, nor the time she deserves. Jenny does an amazing job with our sons, and I wish I could be there more to be part of it.
What would that person say about you?
I'm afraid one day she'll say, "Dane who?" *rolls eyes* Lately, she says I'm not home long enough to please her. Doesn't please me, either. But she loves me.
What special skills do you rely on?
You'd think it would have to do with my size, but the truth is, my size is part of me, like skin color or the color of my eyes. I can use it to intimidate, and I do when needed. But despite all the sharpshooter training, the background in covert ops, and the physical training that goes into being a TRAIL agent, mostly I depend on my memory. I don't have an eidetic memory -- I can't remember every detail. But it's sharper than most people's. TRAIL makes sure we're all well educated, and we're briefed extensively about missions. I can understand more languages than I can speak, and I can speak quite a few. Funny thing, working with Jee, who is not even five feet tall, is that for our size difference, you'd think we would play off the traditional good-cop/bad-cop routine when we need to question people. But we do the opposite. I will usually step up close to people. I'm tall enough that they end up tilting back their heads to look up. When they do, Jee puts herself in their line of vision, usually with a gun in one hand. They can see the threat of my size, and they understand it. But Jee has a hair trigger personality, and when she starts fingering a weapon, they back right down. It's kind of fun to watch.
Elemental Storytelling uses Tropes
Tropes are literary themes that recur across a genre. Think of tropes as the ‘brilliant detective’ of murder mysteries or ‘the virginal heroine’ in Regency romances. Tropes are more than character descriptions, however. They can relate to plot as well.
Films are often identified by their tropes: chick flick, shoot ’em up, RomCon, or the well known Whodunnit.
Tropes are similar to archetypes and clichés, although not necessarily negative in aspect. Tropes can abbreviate writing — and reading.
In the 1990 Arnold Schwarzennegar film Total Recall, the futuristic world had so many futuristic elements that it was hard to recognize roles. In one scene, a woman sitting at a desk casually changes the color of her nails by applying it with a special wand, while she answers a phone. Instantly, her secretarial role became recognizable. The shorthand of her actions told us what we needed to know, without spending time doing it. If a character walks in the room and he’s wearing a white coat and has a stethoscope hanging around his neck, we expect him to be a doctor. The props themselves are part of the tropes for these kinds of characters. It can become a cliche, yes. Even become part of a character archetype. Evil laugh for the villain? Check. But tropes are not necessarily a bad thing. There are thousands of tropes.
To see where these colored boxes come from and to understand their concept, click HERE to open the Periodic Table of Storytelling in a new window.
Ind – Adventurer Archaelogist (Dr. Viva Post)
An older woman, Dr. Viva Post was confined to a hoverchair after a cave in at a ruins injured her spine. She uses a silver “strength suit” to walk or climb limited distances.
Ag – Action Girl (Jee Tonopah)
Jee is the personification of an Action Girl. She can go toe-to-toe with her male counterparts without breaking a sweat. The day she has to be rescued will never dawn. Although she is tiny in comparison to her beefy partner, she is the undisputed brawn to his brain.
Gb – Genius Bruiser (Dane Raphyel)
The Genius Bruiser is a big guy who is also a geek. Dane is far from being Dumb Muscle. He understands the significance of the MacGuffin being sought, as well as some of the history of the Gates Technology (Applied Phlebotinum).
Cal – The Call (TRAIL mission)
Trailing Kaiwulf
The first step in a hero’s journey is the point where our heroes learn they must abandon their well-earned vacations, saved for over a period of years, and go on a dire quest to retrieve a MacGuffin. A Living MacGuffin in this case.
Ob – Obstructive Bureaucrat (Jeff Thompson / Lt. Cmdr. Morrison / unnamed executive)
There are multiple Obstructive Bureacrats for the price of one in this story. Their machinations generally meet dire ends, as befits the annoying natures of the characters.
Phl – Applied Phlebotinum (Gates Technology)
As the tropes site explains, this is science, magic, and strange things unknown to science or magic. In Trailing Kaiwulf, there are various advanced technologies that are unexplained because they seem commonplace to the characters using them (intersteller flight, strength suits, communication devices, etc.). However, the defining “phlebotinum” of this book is the Gates technology. The ruins of twin steel arches over 200 feet high have been found on several previously thought uninhabited worlds. Scientists have puzzled over their intended use. On the planet Ust, they find a dying race that still uses the technology — or would have, if the key to turning on the Gates hadn’t been stolen. Finding and retrieving the person who stole the key is the crux of the story.
Mcg – MacGuffin (Kaiwulf)
Kaiwulf is a “Living MacGuffin” whose presence in the story serves to drive the plot. He’s an invisible man who can enter another dimension, and the heroes of the story must find and return him to this dimension.
Here’s a link to the original post on Melissa’s site for last year’s event.
A popular site for fans is TV Tropes. It started out as a small wiki for TV watchers, and has grown into millions of fans in every media. During the month of July, Author Melissa Snark is featuring a number of authors on her Snarkology site who will discuss tropes in their stories. The series is based on the Periodic Table of Storytelling, which is linked to the TV Tropes site. For this event, Melissa’s site and the TV Tropes site will be linked. Be sure to visit both. You won’t want to miss.
Each author in the Tropes event will have the opportunity to show off the varied tropes within one tale. Here is a list of appearances. I’m up first, on July 7th with The Last Vhalgenn.
July 7 Kayelle Allen
July 8 Jax Daniels
July 9 Nicole Zoltack
July 10 Houston Havens
July 11 Melissa Snark
July 13 Caroline Warfield
July 14 Jude Knight
July 15 Emily Walker
July 16 Mari Christie
July 17 Jami Brumfield
Please visit Melissa’s site and follow her on Twitter to hear more about the event. If you sign up for my newsletter you’ll be the first to hear when the post comes out. Signing up is easy. Just click the link shown above, or enter your email in the link on the left. Why not also follow the blog by choosing one of the options listed? Or sign up for one email when a new book is released by clicking here: Author Alarms Thank you for your support!
JOIN US FOR BOOKHOOKS
Book Hooks is a weekly meme hosted by Marketing for Romance Writers as part of the MFRW Authors Blog.
It's a chance each week for you the reader to discover current works in progress or previously published books by possibly new-to-you authors.
Thank you for stopping by. Please say hello or leave a note in the comments.
JOIN US FOR BOOKHOOKS
Book Hooks is a weekly cooperative meme hosted by Marketing for Romance Writers as part of the MFRW Authors Blog.
It's a chance each week for you the reader to discover current works in progress or previously published books by possibly new-to-you authors.
Thank you for stopping by. Please say hello or leave a note in the comments.
