Thursday, February 6, 2025

Meet Buster Parker by Eileen O'Finlan

 


All in the Furry Family, Book 2 in the Cat Tales series was just released on February 1st. Many of readers' favorite characters from All the Furs and Feathers are back, but there are also some new ones. I'd like to introduce you to one of the most important new characters, Buster Parker.

Buster is Smokey and Autumn Amelia's new neighbor. He's a white cat with large black spots.  His face is white on his mouth and cheeks and in a wide line that narrows as it goes up. The black fur starts at his eyes and goes back to the top of his head and ears. There is a black triangle from his nose to his mouth that Autumn Amelia finds simply adorable. In fact, his markings remind her of a miniature cow. Also adorable, according to Autumn. Could part of her attraction be that Autumn, who fantasizes about being a pirate, found out he owns a boat on Niptucket Island? Well, she liked him before she knew that, but it sure doesn't hurt. Fortunately, Buster likes Autumn Amelia, too. Before long a romance between the two cats begins to brew. 

In the following excerpt from All in the Furry Family, Autumn and Smokey have gone out for a walk when they see a moving van in the driveway of a house that has just sold and the new owner standing in the driveway. They decide to introduce themselves. Autumn, a locally renowned chef whose reputation is spreading far and wide, wants to welcome him to the neighborhood by making a meal for him.

From All in the Furry Family:
"I'd like to make dinner for you and your family. How many will I be cooking for?"

Buster's eyes widen. "That's awfully nice of you, but it's just me. I figured I'd grab a bite somewhere."

"Oh," says Autumn. "How about lunch? I can drop it off when I leave for work."

"Don't go to any trouble."

"It's no trouble," she says.

"Autumn is a chef," Smokey interjects. "She runs Mama Cat's Kitchen at Oneness Park in Faunaburg. Have you heard of it?"

Buster's eyes grow wider. "You're that Autumn Amelia?"



Later, as they walk back home, Smokey and Autumn discuss their new neighbor.

From All in the Furry Family:
"He's very handsome," says Autumn Amelia.

"You think so?" asks Smokey, unable to keep the teasing from her voice.

"Don't you?"

"I suppose. I think he liked you."

"What do you mean?"

"I saw how he looked at you. He probably can't wait for you to drop off that sandwich."

"It's the sandwich he's interested in, not me."

"Well, you are that Autumn Amelia, after all. I still think he's interested in you."


Autumn and Buster have many adventures in All in the Furry Family as they begin dating and continue getting to know each other.

Buster's character is based on my neighbor's cat of the same name. Here he is enjoying a Christmas gift from my own Autumn Amelia:



Buster Parker is just one of several new characters that I can't wait for readers to meet. Next month, I'll introduce Louisa, a great blue heron, and her friend, Vivian, a flamingo visiting her from Palm Ray.





BACKSTORY: Anecdotes from a writer’s desk by Debra Loughead

 

                                                      

Loughead, Debra - BWL Publishing Inc.


Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about how story ideas are generated. And how frequently the inciting incident in a novel revolves around a particular inanimate object.

The ‘inciting incident’ in a novel is the event that sets the story in motion. It’s the first instant that initially hooks the reader and keeps them turning the pages. The event that forces the protagonist’s ordinary life to suddenly veer off track into the realm of the extraordinary, setting in motion a series of challenges that the main character could never have anticipated. And quite often, the mysterious object that is about to alter the trajectory of someone’s life is discovered early in the opening chapters.

I’ve been reflecting on some of the many famous and classical stories with an object woven into the fabric of the narrative. Often these objects are imbued with magical properties. The iconic novel The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, a young adult Bildungsroman by Ann Brashares is a perfect example of the object as plot device in literature. Four girls, best friends since forever, discover a pair of old jeans that quite curiously fits each of them perfectly well in spite of the fact that they’re all different shapes and sizes. Over the course of a single summer, the girls each have a chance to wear the possibly magical pants, resulting in journeys of growth and life-altering experiences for all of them. 

Of course, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis is another example of an object at the heart of the story. During wartime London, four siblings are evacuated for their safety to a home in the English countryside. While exploring the peculiar old house, the youngest girl stumbles upon a magical wardrobe in a spare bedroom. This leads to a whole new world and countless adventures for all of the children over the course of the entire Chronicles of Narnia seven-book series.

A few more novels and short stories that immediately come to mind: The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Monkey’s Paw, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Gift of the Magi, The Lord of the Rings, several Harry Potter books. You get the picture, and I’m sure you can think of countless others in any and every genre. In each of these cases, an inanimate object just happens to set the story in motion (and so many of them just happen come to a terrifying conclusion!)

Which leads me to my own body of work, as well as Happenstance, my latest novel. Back in 2009 and 2011, two of my short reluctant readers novels were published by Orca Books. In The Snowball Effect, hurling a snowball off a bridge on a snowy winter night results in serious consequences for young Dylan. And in Struck, a teenaged Claire gets caught in a rainstorm, opens a discarded umbrella she finds in a trash can, gets struck by lightning, then returns to her home to find that her circumstances are suddenly changing. Another middle-grade historical novel, Bright Shining Moment, from Second Story Press, centres on a dime that young Aline steals from her mother’s purse so she can contribute to a charity box at her school. That seemingly innocuous incident sets a whole series of circumstance into motion that might never have happened if not for the theft of that one thin dime.

I’d always wanted to explore the concept of an object triggering a series of linked events in longer form, and this is how I came to write my new YA novel from BWL, Happenstance. Telling the story of a lost-and-found moonstone ring from the perspectives of two young adults, Tara and Sophie, in two different voices was a gratifying challenge, one which I’d never attempted before. Each of the girls comes with her own unique backstory and her own set of experiences and struggles, friends and family, personality traits that affect her decisions, and her own intense soul searching as she begins her coming-of-age journey over the course of the novel. And it all starts with that sparkling ring. That object of everyone’s desire, or so it seems. The one that may or may not be endowed with magical properties. A ring that seemingly alters the course of two teenagers’ lives. Or maybe it was all just a matter of happenstance.

If you can recommend any object-based novels that held you spellbound as you eagerly turned the pages, please feel free to share them! Thanks!

 


Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Time: Screw the Bastard by Byron Fry

 

 For details and purchase information click here

Time: Screw the Bastard

 

 

   As a species, humans are nothing if not overly preoccupied with age. Some of us buy into the latest gadget, product or fad being lauded as a savior against the inevitable; some of us handle it in healthier, more active and natural ways. But at some level or other, we all have that nagging clock loudly reverberating around the back of our theater. It alters the performance of everyday goings on up in our attic, as it counts down the seconds before the arrival of what Eliot called The Eternal Footman.

     This has long been on my mind, even as a young man, not because I'm obsessed or unhealthy or overly morbid, but because I've spent my adult life in the Southern California entertainment industry. It's is an oddly surreal culture, in that we're conditioned to think that we have to be ageless. And I guess if somebody meets with the right level of success, they are--to the zeitgeist at any rate, in the same way that they're quickly forgotten if they don't achieve that success--but if we get visibly old, especially women, the phone tends to stop ringing. So hereabouts at least, it's not a baseless concern. And most of us are smart enough to know how stupid that is, and resent the vapid aesthetic that devalues the most experienced sector of the creative workforce. And of course, the entertainment industry isn't the only culture on Earth where this errant thinking holds sway.

     I'm a staunch functionalist at heart, so it's not actually as big a thing to me as it is to many around me. As I see it, those who would be concerned about age--as opposed to caring about what someone brings to the table professionally, or as a human--don't have the right mindset to work with me professionally or to be on my cloud, anyway.

     But whether viewed from inside or outside the plastic capsule of Hollywood, this stigma about getting older is a bad path: it makes us compare ourselves to who we used to be. And this focuses our energy 180 degrees in the wrong direction.

     I had an illuminating conversation with a good buddy one night when I was living in Mammoth Lakes, and the subject turned to this. My promo headshot was dated and I needed a new one, but I was concerned about not looking as young as I had used to. I'll never forget he said:

     "Ah, no, my man...that's not how it works, here's how aging works: It's not that you're older than you were yesterday. It's that you're younger than you'll be tomorrow."

     This simple sentence rocked me back on my heels, and has been my guiding tenet about the aging process ever since. Thus I herein impart it unto you, in hopes that it has the same effect on your efforts and life as it does on mine, namely:

     Get out and do it now. Do everything you can, every day, with whatever you've got. Pursue your time, don't be chased by it. The life you live--this incredible, mind-boggling thing that is existence as a living, thinking organism--will be fuller, and more fun. You can trust the Eternal Footman to be here on his own time.

     Until then, screw the bastard...and screw father time, too.

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

I Miss Snow



         

I miss snow.

I miss my flurry friend.
It's been a few years
since it's come for a lingering visit,
the kind that takes me back to my childhood
no matter the aches in my bones
and joints
or back
or hips
and head.

I miss the play. 
The dance in the sky
that drifts to my soul — 
those floating, fluttering, crystalline blossoms
that alight upon an eyelash 
delicate as a lover's kiss,
yet in numbers,
possess the power to halt the world.

I miss experiencing a clean slate, 
literally
then internalizing it, 
figuratively.
The calm and quiet 
muting, soothing, 
allowing a restless mind 
a few still moments.

I miss the reason for the word
cozy
after a workout shoveling.
Horses tucked in the barn
hay up to their knees
soft light on
floofy blanket and cat in my lap,
good book in my hand,
honeyed hot tea at my side,
good dog at my feet.
Life in a snow globe.

I miss my friend snow.






Sunday, February 2, 2025

Let's get personal with donalee Moulton

 

In a recent post, I shared some questions I’m often asked about my writing. This month I thought I’d get a little more personal with some questions I’ve been asked about me personally. My answers are below.

                                                                                          Order here.

Tell us about your life outside of writing.

Life is good. It is filled with family, friends, and furry critters. There is yoga four times a week; I wish it could be more. That is, I know, I wish I could fulfill. There are wonderful times in the hot tub with the snow falling and bubble baths in the other times when the weather says it’s wisest to stay inside and soak.

Professionally, I’m writing short stories and novels, and doing more developmental, copyediting, and proofreading for writers. That is a joy.

What was the most difficult section/piece you ever wrote? What made it difficult?

That’s an interesting question. As a freelance journalist, I wrote on everything from intellectual property to the armoured truck industry to eel grass. Accuracy was paramount as was engagement. However, the most difficult piece I ever wrote was for “Lives Lived” in The Globe and Mail. It was a tribute to my mother following her death in 2020. It was so difficult to write because it was so personal. I had no perspective, and I feared I would not “get it right.” The only thing I know for sure: Mama, would have told me not to worry. And there would have been a hug.

Which books and authors do you read for pleasure? Is there an author who inspires you?

I relish reading. I was a judge in a Crime Writers of Canada’s recent Awards of Excellence, and I got to dive into more than 40 fabulous – and very diverse – books that kept me on my toes and my eyes glued to the page. When I was younger and I was discovering the wonder and wow of the mystery genre, I devoured authors like Tony Hillerman, Martha Grimes, Ruth Rendell. More recently I have discovered writers like Richard Osman. And Delia Owens’s Where the Crawdads Sing was nothing short of joyous.

What books have influenced you as a writer?

When I was about eight or nine, a next-door neighbor tossed me a Nancy Drew book. She thought I might like it. I sat on the curb between our two houses and read the entire book cover to cover. I loved the puzzle, figuring out who dunnit, and being propelled into a world outside my own.

That same year someone gifted me Charlotte’s Web, and my life was forever changed. Not only could words transport you to new worlds, they could become a part of your heart, change you in ways you could not have imagined. I wanted to do that.



Was there a person who encouraged you to write?

My mother taught me to love language – and to respect it. She cared about words and getting the words right. She was my greatest influence.

What is the best piece of advice about writing that you have ever heard or read? What would you tell aspiring writers today?

Write. This sounds simple. Many days it isn’t. Some call this dedication, others devotion. I’m not sure it matters what it’s called as long as it happens. You will never be a better writer, you will never write another book if you don’t sit down in front of your computer screen and begin to put words in front of you.


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