Guest Post: STEEL HEART

Guest Post from Thomas Pluck

Thanks to Steve Weddle for letting me grab the wheel today. I don't normally read blogs about writing, but I read this one. Because the writers at DSD don't serve up BS.

That is what my collection, Steel Heart: 10 Tales of Crime and Suspense, is about. That's what "steel heart" means. Having a heart of steel, to stand up and say it like it is. There is a lot of "unflinching" fiction out there. I write some of it myself. But when I describe mine, I say it also has heart. Some consider that a weakness, that the "true" stories must pay homage to the god of nihilism, that the one cold truth is that man is wolf to man. If that were true, we'd be all nibbling baby McNuggets like the cannibals in a Cormac McCarthy novel. And I love the books of Mr. 'mac Mac. But their brutality is strengthened by the glimmers of humanity he puts in there. Llewelyn Moss's troubles begin when he gives a dying man water. In The Road, the father cannot see the good left on earth, but his son can, and carries the fire for him.

That's heart. There is evil in the world; I prefer fiction that acknowledges it and explores the decisions that send people down that left hand path, telling themselves that what lies at the end of their road is worth the bloody shortcuts and the trodding upon of fallen comrades. Evil is not the mystery we wish to think it is; it is a collection of choices and the excuses we make for them.

Steel Heart collects ten of my most popular stories. Two starring Jay Desmarteaux, an ex-con who served 25 years for his own collection of bad choices, who still fights to decide what path he will take today. Another with Denny the Dent, the hulking manchild who lives in a Newark junkyard and metes out his own brand of street justice. A Vietnam Vet trying to connect with his son before it is too late. And a wise-cracking P.I. who takes on the biggest mystery of them all.

Each character finds themselves making a decision that will weigh heavy on their heart. In the afterlife of Egyptian mythology, your heart is weighed against a goddess's feather to decide if you are worthy of rebirth or deserving of annihilation. In these stories, the answer may seem clear, but it is never easy. For me, a story lingers like gunsmoke when it makes you consider such a choice yourself. Wondering whether it will leave you with a heart of steel, or just a heavy, steel heart.

Steel Heart: 10 Tales of Crime and Suspense is available from all the usual e-book retailers:

Kobo, through Watchung Booksellers

Amazon for Kindle

Barnes & Noble for Nook

Smashwords, in many formats, including to read online.

Book report: recent reads

Here's a quick look at some recent reads.

NOS4A2 by Joe Hill - In part this feels like Hill's direct engagement with his his father's body of work. But that's probably only partially fair. NOS4A2 directly, engages, uses, has fun with a large number of tropes and ideas that appear in modern horror novels. So by engaging directly with the genre he's also engaging pops, plus there are specific references to King the Elder's novels. But that's all hooey because NOS4A2 is a helluva book. It's got finely drawn characters, it's compulsively readable, it's got some scary moments and moments that will break your heart. If you're only going to read one giant horror novel make it this one. Highly Recommended.

Hombre by Elmore Leonard - I've seen more Westerns then I have read, so I'm trying to make an effort to read some more Westerns, particularly some of the ones that seem like classics of the genre. I've heard Hombre described as the best western ever written, I'd seen the movie tears ago, and I'm a fan of Leonard's so it was a no-brainer to read this one. Hombre is really a study of the titular character but ultimately an inaccurate one because it's everyone else's impressions of him.  One thing that struck me was that this could be adapted for the stage given all of the character interactions and the limited number of set pieces. Highly Recommended.

A Triumph for Sakura by Jason Ridler - The tag line for this one is something along the lines of Vampire Fight Club, and while that is mainly true (or as true as a three word summary can get) what was a welcome surprise was that this was more of a secondary world fantasy. Which is probably just a fancy way of saying that Ridler invests a lot of effort in creating the world in which the story is set. This book is a lot of fun for those who prefer their vampires non-sparkly. Recommended.

Moving on

by: Joelle Charbonneau

This week I turned in the second revision of GRADUATION DAY to my amazing editor.  She is giving it a read and if the manuscript is as strong as I hope it is the book will be off to copy edits!  With A Chorus Line-Up turned in a week before, I am officially finished writing all 7 of the books that went under contract in 2011 (most of which went under contract in the final month of that year).

Phew!  There are days I thought I would never see the light at the end of that tunnel.  It is a wonderful tunnel to travel, but a scary one because there were times I truly believed I wouldn't make it.  I was certain on each book that it was the novel that was going to stop me from getting to THE END.  The only reason I did make it each time was because I told myself I had never failed to get to THE END before.  And I have to admit that hitting THE END on the last of those books was the best feeling ever.

This week I have allowed myself a few non-writing days.   Not to say I've been completely on break.  Last week I was lucky to do two events, an NPR radio interview, signed books at all the Barbara Bookstores in O'Hare airport (so incredibly cool) and a follow-up interview with the Chicago Sun-Times.  But while I did those things and answered a few e-mails, I forced myself to take the majority of the week off from writing.

Wow...that was hard to do.  I'm a writer.  Writers write.  Rarely in 2 years have I taken more than a day off in between projects so this self-imposed writing vacation was a new experience.  And while I have enjoyed reading, teaching and playing marble works and dominoes with my son--the time has come for me to sit down at the computer and start the next project.  I have an idea.  The story is calling.  The terror that I won't reach THE END will begin, but so will the excitement that comes with building this new world and the challenge of telling a new tale.

I've heard some writers talk about getting stuck on editing a book over and over again or having trouble letting go.  A few have asked me if I have trouble giving up a book to the production part of the publication process (Copy edits, page proofs and finally the finished book!).

Strange, but the answer is no.  Perhaps it is my performer background that makes it easier to let go of one story in order to tell the next.  An actor is always looking for their next show.  Kind of like the writer is always looking for their next story.  I will admit it is a little odd to be finished with Cia's journey just as so many readers are starting it, but it is time to move on.  I'm a writer and there is a new story to be told.

Open document.

Begin....

All artists need to find their next project and have to choose to Move On as perhaps best expressed by the incomparable Stephen Sondheim in his writing of Sunday in the Park With George.  If you haven't seen this show or know this song I encourage you to listen!