A Mondays Update: Pope of the People CD & DVR Launch



YOU MIGHT REMEMBER my friend Tom Quiner, the playwright author of The Pope of the People, a musical version of the life of Pope John Paul II.  He was a featured author on one of my Mondays With Mike interviews on April 25. CDs and DVDs of The Pope of the People are now available for $16.95 each and Tom is hosting a launch party for this Saturday (June 25) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Divine Treasurers Bookstore, 5701  Hickman Road , Des Moines, Iowa. If you are in the area, stop by and check out the Polish treats that will be served.

Mondays With Mike: Modern Dickens Project Update

SINCE LAST FALL, a panel of writers, working with the Iowa Arts Council, have been sponsoring a chapter by chapter mystery writing contest called the Modern Dickens project.  I asked my and award-winning author Kali Van Baale for an update.  Here is her reply:

We’re now open for entries for Chapter 9 until midnight of June 21st. We’re starting to wind down the contest--and the story--with only 4 chapters to go. The challenge for writers submitting at this point of the contest will be to start wrapping up plot points, answering unanswered questions, and tying up loose ends. But the great fun for writers entering at this point, is that they get to decide the fate of our characters and outcome of the story!

We’ve named 8 winners so far (with one winner submitting anonymously under a pseudonym) and didn’t pick a winner in April, as there were no submissions deemed suitable by the editorial panel. We held a public reading at the Des Moines Social Club last weekend, the first time we had all 7 winners and guest author John Domini together on the same stage, and each had the chance to talk about their contribution to the story and their process. There is a discussion thread about the MDP story between several of our authors on Facebook. Go to the Modern Dickens Project Facebook page and click on “discussion” in the left-hand box. Complete details about the MDP, submission guidelines, and the winning chapters (read for free!) are still available on our website: www.moderndickens.org.

Story Overview:

In the dome of the Capitol building, Stephanie Ketchum Acuto, or Stikka, receives a text message from her former lover, Emmy, whose wedding to another woman Stikka is in town to attend. THE DEVIL IS DONE WITH SINNING, DONE WITH EVERYTHING, ANDYOU’RE ALL AS GUILTY AS SHE. Stikka, a former MP who served in Iraq, immediately jogs to Emmy’s apartment in the East Village to confront her about the strange message. There, she finds the police and learns that Emmy has been shot and killed.

Kali Van Baale

A few hours later, eager to escape the stress and grief, Stikka accompanies her boyfriend, a third‐year law student at the University of Iowa, on a call to rural Iowa for the immigrant‐rights organization, Equal All, that he interns for. On the way, they learn that the Bosnian immigrant being held in Zephaniah is a suspect in Emmy’s murder. Once there, Saul and Stikka succeed in getting Semezdin Jelenik released, since they believe the hateful sheriff is just pulling a publicity stunt. Outside, they meet Semezdin’s beautiful daughter Sanita, who follows them on their way to pick up his car. On the road, Semezdin tells Saul and Stikka that he had met with Emmy on the morning of her death. Semezdin’s late son Enver had served with Emmy in Iraq, and Semezdin trusted her expertise in security. He confessed to her his fears that the building his construction crew was putting up was a front for Forcenet Sampson, a company that builds operating components for military contractors and government fighter jets.

The four reach the parking lot, and Semezdin, while walking toward his car, pushes the remote start. The car explodes. Semezdin is not seriously hurt, but the four realize that someone is trying to kill them. Afraid to return to Des Moines, they hide Sanita’s car in a remote barn and flee to a condo in Clear Lake owned by Saul’s friend. On the way there, Saul’s father Abe, a former Des Moines cop, calls to inform them that Stikka is a person of interest in Emmy’s murder and that there’s a warrant out for her gun, which she’s keeping at Abe’s house for the weekend. Later that night, Abe calls again to say that the police couldn’t find Emmy’s gun at the house. Saul and Emmy are confused and worried, and fall asleep watching a strange figure watching their house from across the road.

The next day, Saul, Stikka, Semezdin, and Sanita leave the condo to return to Des Moines, after learning that there’s a warrant out for Stikka’s arrest and that Nash Gilliam, an Equal All worker, found no evidence of an explosion in the construction parking lot. When they return to the barn where they hid Sanita’s car, they find Nash dead, hanging from his neck inside the barn door.

Stikka is arrested for Emmy’s murder and taken to a holding cell in Charles City. The murder weapon was identified as Stikka’s, and her fingerprints on it. Mitchell Stephens, Emmy’s fiancé’s lawyer, meets with a powerful but shady character named Harry, who directs him to join Stikka in Charles City and work as her lawyer as well. Meanwhile, Emmy’s brother, Richard Dundstadt III, the rebellious son of a wealthy insurance family, goes to a scheduled rendezvous in a hotel room and finds that Harry has left him a copy of an email from Emmy to Semezdin. Harry then poses as Richard and meets Semezdin at his hotel, threatening his daughter if he does not take over the work Enver was doing for them.

Stikka is transferred to the Polk County Jail, where she meets with her estranged father, an evangelical minister who begs her to renounce her sodomizing friends. While waiting for her mother to arrive, she reflects on her childhood and the beginning of her college romance with Tony Acuto, her late husband. Saul is called back to Iowa City to meet with the director of Equal All. Returning to his apartment, he finds Richard, an old friend from high school. Richard confesses that he insures drug‐running jets for his father’s company, but without his father’s knowledge. He also reveals that Emmy’s fiancé Dot was his girlfriend, and carrying his unborn child, before Emmy even met her. When the two women meet at Richard’s house, they spend the night together and Emmy convinces Dot to abort her baby. Richard is devastated by the abortion, and his anger and regret drive Dot into a relationship with Emmy. With Richard’s input, Saul begins to doubt his relationship with Stikka. Semezdin calls Richard, revealing that he had met with someone posing as Richard and asking to meet in person to talk.

First Monday With Robyn: Middle graders and the world of Fantasy

by Robyn Gioia

Things are changing everywhere in the writing world.  Including what kids are reading these days. I have been teaching literature since 1990. It has been mine, and many other teachers’ mission to bring the written word to life for our students. Because there are so many distractions out there, like sports, television, and video games, our job has been challenging. But do it we must.

In recent years, students have combed through my classroom bookshelves, looking for the latest books in a variety of genres. This year has been different. Unless it was assigned, a portion of them wouldn’t touch a book with a ten foot pole. It was too much effort. I heard one girl saying Harry Potter was her favorite series and when the real Harry Potter fans starting talking about the books, she had to admit she had never read them. She had only watched the movies. 

Fortunately, I have the pleasure of teaching the advanced reading group. They on the other hand, are voracious readers. So much so, I had several parents throughout the year complaining their kids were reading late into the night, with the old flashlight under the sheets trick. I just nodded my head and said I would talk to them, but was really chuckling inside.

For our last book of the year, we took on Tom Sawyer. The vocabulary would send any academic to the dictionary. They did so well, they actually complained about the lack of new vocabulary words toward the end.  As a reward, I told them they could partner up into literature groups and pick their own books.  I would sit in on their conversations and grade them accordingly.

After teaming up into groups, they discussed what books to read. I made suggestions, but they were only interested in fantasy. Every single one of them. The more fantastic the fantasy world, the more they were interested. One of the groups pulled out a Nook and browsed the bookstore. From the description and the looks of the cover, they agreed to read The Emerald Diary, at over 400 pages.  Just like that. Another group followed their lead.  

When they met in their literature groups, I could barely hear in the room. The noise was deafening. They were so excited about the new worlds they were reading about, they talked over each other trying to give details and events. If someone could have bottled the energy in the room, our country’s fuel problems would be over. The kids weren’t able to talk fast enough to keep up with their enthusiasm.

I made the mistake of asking each group what the plot was about. They couldn’t tell me fast enough. I had to bow out politely after getting the gist of the story, because they were giving a blow by blow synopsis of every detail. I had to stand back and look at the excitement in the room. These kids were on fire!

As I reflect back on the year, I give credit to several things. Parents who model reading to their children, teachers who take their jobs seriously, and last, but not least, the army of hardworking authors who skillfully bring their imaginations to life.  Well done to each and every one.  

Now, I must get back to revisiing my own fantasy.  Happy reading everyone.

Mondays With Mike: Sci-fi author Valerie Gaumont

MEMORAL DAY WEEKEND is a day to reflect and remember, thus I thought it would be a great time to look up an old friend, Valerie Gaumont.  Valerie was a member of the first writing group I belonged to in Des Moines.  All things change, however, and our little group lost a talented writer when she moved on to bigger and better things.  Valerie is now the author of two contemporary sci-fi novels – I’ll let her explain what that all means.

Mike:  Valerie, thank you for joining us today.  You have two books, Pilot and Storm Chaser.  I believe Storm Chaser is the latest; can you give us a short synopsis of it?

Valerie:  Storm Chaser is Book Two in the Channel Rider Series, Book One is Pilot. Both books fall into the category of Contemporary Sci-Fi which means they take place in today’s world with one or two changes.

M:  Okay, let’s start with the first book, Pilot.

V:  Pilot is the story of Elena Calabrese. She was once a Pilot of the Guild of Families which means she was born with the special ability to take sailing ships from earth’s oceans into space. The Guild of Families has, over the centuries, developed an intergalactic merchant network. One of their rules is that no one is to ever find out who they are and what they do. Elena left the Guild because she developed the affliction that seems to ground all of the best pilots in the guild called The Calling. In Pilot the law of secrecy is broken and Elena is brought back into the world of the Pilots and forced to walk a very thin line between the Guild of Families, with their Mafia-like tendencies, and the military. Along the way she also discovers that The Calling is not the affliction everyone seems to believe it to be but rather an evolution of abilities.

M:  And your latest, Storm Chaser?

V:  Storm Chaser is the second book in the Channel Rider Series. In this book Elena is still navigating between worlds and establishing a trading base on earth. She and her team are re-packaging out of this world (literally) goods and selling them on earth. The military has begun to develop their own ships but are still having issues with navigation. Elena also discovers that her new found abilities can lead her to open new channels; something no one thought could be done. Now formerly afflicted pilots are flocking to her to learn to control the calling and the council’s scariest leaders are starting to pay more attention to her than is comfortable.

Both books initially came out with Brown Street Press. Pilot is now an e-book on Smashwords and in a few weeks Storm Chaser will be out as an e-book as well. The third book in the Series, Alliance will only come out as an e-book in July. The reason being that the publishers of Brown Street were a very small indie publisher and with the current economy have decided to temporarily shut down. So I am now kind of on my own with this.

M:  What was your road to publication?

V: Pilot initially started out as a blog. It was a bit of a writing exercise, to be honest. It was designed so that each post would be a chapter and that each chapter would be short enough that someone could read it over their lunch break, which is why Pilot’s chapters are rather short. Charles of Brown Street contacted me and asked if I would be interested in doing a book with Pilot. I was and I did. Storm Chaser was also published as a bog in the beginning, but as I was already thinking of a book at that point, the chapters became a little bit longer.

M:  As a writer, what do you think is more important: Plot or Character?

V:  I know everyone asks that and I have to say I always find it a little bit of a strange question. I suppose I am character driven.

Usually when I write it begins with the thought “Oh I wonder what would happen if someone developed this ability” or “How would you dispose of a dead body if you were a serial killer?” or I’ll see something and ask the why questions. “Why would a 50 year old woman go to an ATM on a Sunday afternoon wearing a pink prom dress?” That sort of thing, and the story will evolve from there. Magically people will appear and move through the scenario I’ve just created and then all of a sudden I’ll be thinking, okay to get the character from point A to point B they need to go into a hospital. So I’ll get the character to the hospital doors and then all of a sudden they will refuse to go into the hospital claiming that they are germaphobic, which will throw me for a loop and sometimes cause me to yell at the page (which is why it is best if I write alone).

All of a sudden I will start seeing the bottles of Purell and the super sized box of Ivory Soap in the linen closet and this will subtly change the scene and the plot. My germaphobic serial killer will react differently to the situations he is in and that will affect the plot.

Other times I will start with a character and try to see how they would react in certain situations. From this a plot will develop. Usually it is a what would happen if, or why would you do that situation and then the characters show up and make a mockery of all of my carefully laid plans. I actually had one character in a story who was just supposed to pass through and make a comment suddenly decide to hide something behind a false brick in a fireplace. It completely changed the plot. So I guess it is character driven. I have the plot like a framework and it gets adjusted as I go. It is a bit like building a car and then having someone buy it and take it to a detail shop for alterations.

I know that is a bit rambling and sounds a little nuts but no matter how interesting I find the plot until my characters wake up, it stays sort of flat.

M: What started you writing?

V: I suppose it was a combination of things. Partially it was that I have always had very vivid dreams. Sometimes I would wake up in the middle of the dream and want to know how it would turn out and so a story would start. Pilot actually came from a dream. In the dream I was standing on a ship in the middle of the ocean and slide from the ocean into the sky. Then of course I woke up and had to figure out the rest.

Other times it was because I would see something and want an explanation when there was none available, such as seeing the 50 year old woman at an ATM dressed in a pink prom dress on a Sunday morning. I did actually see her, but I didn’t know her and by the time I got near the ATM she was gone. I still wanted to know the story so I went home and wrote it.

M: What are your writing habits? In other words, do you write each day, morning, evening, etc.?

V: I try to write every day. Sometimes I will wake up with a bit of dream still lodged in my brain and I will jot it down along with some thoughts. Sometimes it stays there and other times I will start seeing bits of story around it and go into it there. When I am working on a story I will sit down with the idea of getting from point A to point B in my timeline. I usually will get from A to B but it is rarely a straight line. If it is a complex story then I will sometimes list out some of the things I want to actually cover between point A and point B. Kind of like road signs. Sometimes during the day I’ll see something that will spark an idea and I’ll jot it down and then work on it later that day.

M:  Do you have anything upcoming?

V:  Well Pilot and Storm Chaser are being released as e-books as a prelude to the third book Alliance, being released in July. I am currently writing on my blog the story Keeper of the Crossroads. That story is going to be winding down in the next few weeks and then I will sit down, edit, revise and possibly have that out hopefully in October.

M: You have an interesting job with the Louisiana Division of Historic Preservation. Can you tell us a little about what you do?

V: Actually I am no longer with them. I need to update actually. I was with the Main Street and Certified Local Government programs there and I worked with small communities to help preserve and put back into productive use their historic buildings. The job was amazing. I got to meet some wonderful people and do some amazing things. I left Louisiana in January of 2010 and took a job with the WY Main Street program. I did not stay there long however and decided to take some time off from working a regular job to just write. As wonderful as working with Main Street was it kept me on the road a lot and after years of writing in hotel rooms and between meetings I wanted to see what would happen if I just concentrated on writing for a while.

M: What sparked your interest in history?

V:  Architecture actually. Most people don’t think about it but the buildings all around us tell the story of what people were thinking when the buildings were being built. They are physical reminders of different mindsets. We shape the buildings and then the buildings shape us. Also working with Main Street let me go inside some of these buildings in a different way. For example I visited a building that had been continually occupied since it was built in 1912; however, as time went on, less and less of the building was used. The upper floors were once a thriving office space with retail below. In the 1930s the company occupying the upper floors went belly up and the offices were just locked up. The retail spaces downstairs remained in use but the upper floors were blocked off. I was invited to tour the building as the new owner wanted to look at a new use for the upper floors. We went inside and it was as though that in the 1930s the office workers had just walked out taking only the important files with them. Desks were still in place, pencil holders still held pencils. It was an odd glimpse into one of the hidden spaces that we pass every day and pay no attention to. And of course, being me, I wanted to know more.

M:  Besides your writing, do you have any hobbies, or any spare time activities?

V:  I enjoy gardening and cooking. I of course do a lot of reading. Actually for the longest time work and writing took up most of my time. When I wasn’t doing one I was doing the other. I used to do black and white photography and would love to get back into that.

M:  Thank you for being with us today.  One final question, how can readers contact you?

V: Oh let me count the ways: There is Facebook (under my name of course or on the Page Pilot and the Channel Rider’s Series), Twitter (@valeriegaumont) or on my blog. And thank you!

Congratulations to Indy 500 Champ Dan Wheldon

THREE YEARS AGO when Iowa was suffering from the effects of flooding, Dan Wheldon won the Iowa Indy 250 in Newton and donated his winner’s purse to Iowa flood relief.  Today, Dan won the 100^th running of the Indianapolis 500.  Congratulations, Dan, and thanks again for what you did for us back in the summer of 2008.