Random rambles

Random Author Ramble: Taking liberties, shoutouts, and being too “clever”

What started this meander was thinking about research put into fictional books. It’s true there are some great fiction novels that practically exude “this author researched the heck outta this” and then there are others that exude “aw, come on, that would never happen, what is this, Sci Fi?”.

My own personal style? I’m somewhere in between. As some of you know I love, looooove, love things having to do with American gangsters–usually old school gangsters of the Luciano and Capone sort. I also love the rich history of the FBI and other crime-fighting branches of the US Government. Everyone and their dog knows by now that I love the history of Chicago and the history of Nebraska (the two of which have quite a long history of being connected). My family’s from Chicago, I’ve heard tons of interesting stories. I grew up in Nebraska (for the most part) so I’ve an inherent knowledge of that unique whatever that makes up a Nebraskan.

Does that mean I am 100% accurate all the time in my books? Of course not. And, I will confess, intentionally not. Why? Because I’m telling a story, a fictional story. I took some liberties. Quite a few liberties, as only the purists will know. *waves* Sometimes this is to protect the truth, but most of the time it’s because I think that’s our right as authors, in essence, to say, “Yeah, but what IF it were to happen this way?” So, some things are made up and some things are shout-outs. Some things would never happen (particularly with regard to some of my law enforcement characters), and others are as accurate as I can make it. As a reader, I have always enjoyed sorting out what is an actual place, person or thing, versus what the author just made up. So when I write, I write as that type of reader.

For instance, in The Good Life there’s Castle Corner. Which does not exist. Nor does Anderson Adventures. Yet I have shout-outs to all sorts of places that do exist like The Cornhusker, and Karma nightclub, Lo Sole Mio, Runza, Valentino’s, Mahoney State Park, Roncalli Catholic, and yeesh, many, many more Nebraska things. And while Ashland absolutely does exist (I love that town!), I didn’t even bother to try to be accurate in any shape or form. It’s alternate universe Ashland and Gretna, where the Anderson and Valentini families run amuck. Well, not amuck, but dispense shenanigans on the regular. So, when I write, I’m saying have fun on your scavenger hunt of hidden meanings and clues, but don’t take it so seriously!

Unfortunately, I have discovered there are some readers who find that confusing. For instance, just today I was asked about this passage at the end of The Good Life:

“Mmm, I dunno, I usually go for the scruffy nerf-herders instead of peace-keepers,” she pushed him up and tapped the St. Christopher medal around his neck.
“But I sense the force is strong with you… Get it? Because you’re on the force…” She dissolved into snorts on her way to the door.

I can totally understand, based on the dialogue, where the reader might ask, oh, is a St. Christopher medal for law enforcement? And no, I have had to answer a number of times already, that is St. Michael, the patron saint of law enforcement. St. Christopher is the patron saint of travelers. I was trying to be clever that Kyle was Demi’s home port, so to speak, after her travels away from Nebraska. But, as my inbox would suggest, I was too “clever”, meaning not clever at all. Haha! Ah well, I’m sure there were plenty of you who didn’t pay it any mind. Just like I’m pretty sure by now my friends connected to the Omaha Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have learned to just “go with it” and have a chuckle at their fictional counterparts. I’m just telling a story here, people!

What was my point?

As usual, I have no real point except to admit that I enjoy when people discover/recognize my nods to history and real places and people that, yes, I did, on purpose, flirt with the “that would never happen” and I was trying to be clever with hidden meanings. I’ll just have to hope my readers forgive me when I fail miserably, haha!

What about you, as a reader or author, how accurate do you like your stories to be?

 

 

 

A friendly reminder for my friends doing NaNoWriMo…

??????

 

Haha! Nothing like a dose of Jason Statham  to get you motivated, huh?

I’m busy writing on The Good Life, the Dom & Kate novel (which is actually just as much a Kyle Anderson novel).

By the way, not to sound too needy or anything, but feel free to rate/review Third Time’s The Charm wherever you bought it or at Goodreads! I adore all the tweets and inboxes I’m getting, but why not share those thoughts with others?

Don’t be shy, I appreciate you more than you can possibly know! 🙂

#RandomGen Ramble: Irish men are hot because God loves me.

Oh bah, who cares it’s a spurious conclusion? Prove me wrong. ;P

Some of you know I’ve been gushing on Facebook and Pinterest over #HotFrancis, aka dirty Detective Francis Maguire, aka actor Kevin Ryan on BBC America’s show Copper. Don’t know who that is? Wuuuuut? *face palm*

Bahbam:

kevin-ryan

 

Now, I didn’t always think of him as #HotFrancis. In fact, on the first season, I merely registered his existence as Detective Corcoran’s good-looking, morally ambiguous partner who did a WAY better job of ‘keeping it real’ than Corky. I mean, for real, it’s like Detective Corcoran didn’t get the memo he’s a copper in New York City in 1865 where even the Nuns are corrupt, so this wide-eyed look of constant surprise every time the dirty gets done (which is, like, every two seconds) really was rubbing me the wrong way. But Corcoran’s super hot as well and I love me my cops v criminals stories. Especially one produced by Tom Fontana and Thomas Kelly. I mean, you are always guaranteed a gritty, character-based story with these men, instead of shallow, plot-point writing.

But anyway, as I was saying, now there’s this season and Francis just goes on a tailspin from garden variety corrupt cop (90% of the precinct) to joining one of the Irish Gangs (throw-a-rock-and-hit one) and bam, I’m like, lusting all over him. Like, drool buckets, peeps. Kid you not.

*Cue husband sighing in exasperation.*

I think I’ve mentioned no matter the show, my husband is always Team Law Enforcement. So he clings to his precious Corky like a life raft seeing as he’s at least trying to be a good Copper. (Again, while banging prostitutes, doing heroine, and asking The Donovan for favors from Tammany Hall…)

*Cue Gen snorting and rolling her eyes.*

So here’s the thing… I like morally conflicted Bad Boys. The righteously indignant like Corcoran don’t get me gooey nor do the unrepentantly bad like Donovan or Robert Morehouse’s father. I often like their characters for many reasons (I believe I mentioned above there is no such thing as a one-dimensional character in a Fontana show) but I just love the Bad Boy who fights with his conscience and loyalties against his more dominant, darker urges.

He became #HotFrancis for me the minute I realized I sooooo didn’t care he’s killed people, slept with Corky’s wife, and kept her from him, I still see the struggle in him. That scene where he’s yelling at Ellen if she would have chosen him he never would have left her? …. Gahhhhh, I was gone. Because Kevin Ryan made me actually believe Maguire meant it, for all his selfishness and grift.

*Cue husband shaking his head.*

Yeah, it’s not just because Kevin Ryan is a damn-fine looking Irishman, it’s because the character of Francis Maguire is hot.

That’s the power of good writing.

 

/ #RandomGen ramble over….

 

PS–Anyone else think Kevin Ryan would make a good Agent James Hoffman? Wonder if he can do a Chicago accent…

LOL

A wee bit of #RandomGen on a fine Thursday…

I was thinking… periodically I come across blog posts, or articles or whatever that talk about research put into fictional books. It’s true there are some great fiction novels that practically exude “author researched the heck outta this” and then there are others that exude “aw, come on, that would never happen”. My own personal style? I’m somewhere in between. As some of you know I love, luuuurve, love things having to do with American gangsters–usually old school gangsters of the Luciano and Capone sort. I also love the rich history of the FBI and other crime-fighting branches of the US Government. I also love the history of Chicago and the history of Nebraska (which have quite a long history of being connected). My family’s from Chicago, I’ve heard tons of interesting stories. I tried to throw some shout-outs, if you will, to those histories in my Downey series. BUT, I’m telling a story, a fictional story. I took some liberties. Quite a few liberties, as only the purists will know. *wink* I think that’s our right as authors, in essence to say, “Yeah, but what IF it were to happen this way?”

What was my point?

I have no real point (ha!) except to say I deeply enjoy when people discover/recognize my nods to history and real people but, yes, I did, on purpose, flirt with the “that would never happen”. That’s the point to telling a yarn…

 

Speaking of #RandomGen… did you know Al Capone’s older brother Vincenzo–“Jimmy”–lived in Homer, Nebraska? Yeah, for realsies. Went by the name of Richard Hart. And–get this–he was the town Marshall for a while.

I know, right?

Sometimes the truth really is stranger than fiction.

HAVE A FANTASTIC THURSDAY!

*smooches*

Gen

 

 

Thoughts on the use of the adjective “vanilla” (ADULT subject matter)

 

I apologize for the serious and random nature of this post—no wait, I totally don’t. #RandomGen has fused with #RantyGen today with just a titch of #BitchyGen for extra “sprinkles” on my cupcake as my dear friend Penny always says. Feel free to back out of the post if you don’t want to hear it and/or are easily offended.

 

The number one definition of Vanilla (adj) in the Urban Dictionary is: Unexciting, normal, conventional, boring.

In Websters: (adj) lacking distinction, plain, ordinary, conventional

And for the Brits in the room, the Oxford definition: (adj) having no special or extra features; ordinary or standard.

 

I was thinking the other day, and not for the first time, why the use of the word vanilla as an adjective rubs me the wrong way. Think: nails on a chalkboard, Styrofoam squeaking, “Are we there yet?”… sort of irritation. It’s not like I haven’t used the word myself on occasion, or have friends who use the word and I think nothing of it when they do. It’s true. But I came to the conclusion it’s because amongst these few individuals and I, (and you know who you are) we know what we mean by that adjective and it is NONE of those definitions. It simply means “not living a Dominant/submissive relationship or regularly practicing the BDSM lifestyle”. No value-judgment, just a simple manner of categorization so as to know to what particular activities we might be referring in a conversation/book recommendation. So, yeah, “vanilla” is easier to say than all that in a conversation with each other. We understand each other just fine.

But when others use it… man.

I tell you what, nothing irks me more than individuals who want to be understood and accepted for their own choices and yet they, in turn, feel they have a right to judge the value of others’ lifestyles. By its very definition above (and by that I mean Urban Dictionary, Websters, Oxford, common parlance, the manner in which it is used on blog, and in writing) it places  an inherent value, or more correctly, de-value on something.

The very definition is judgmental.

Ordinary… BORING… lacking distinction… unexciting.

My dear blog followers, I count myself blessed and lucky to have friends from all walks of life, cultures, and lifestyles, from the ultra-conservative to the ultra-liberal, from countries near and far. So, I can’t fathom what on EARTH entitles a person in any culture/subculture to make a judgment about the sexual satisfaction a perfect stranger receives no matter HOW they like to get jiggy wid it. What makes certain folk think because some people DON’T engage in a D/s relationship or practice all the elements of BDSM on the regular that their sexual life is “vanilla” ie, as we’ve defined above, BORING, LACKING DISTINCTION, UNEXCITING?

Geeeeeeee, ok. /Sarcasmfont

For YOU, you meant to say, right? RIGHT?

‘Cause I’m down with that. We are beautiful, amazingly diverse creatures, us human beings. We are all different and we all like different things even within a sub-culture. For ME, receiving a spanking would be BORING, UNEXCITING, ORD—well, not ordinary—but HAVING NO SPECIAL FEATURES. Just like for one who craves, with their mind, emotions, physical being, a good ass-paddling NOT getting that would be—I’m extrapolating from the ubiquitous use of the term above—quite mundane in nature and lacking in appropriate stimulation (physically or psychologically). I don’t know for sure though, I’m just guessing. Because you see, otherwise, I don’t understand the use of the word vanilla AT ALL. Surely you don’t mean that because I don’t lead a D/s sexual life that my sexual life is somehow unfulfilling or boring or ordinary or lacking excitement or having no special features. And yet… there. it. is. Inherent in the use of the word itself, which you just used to describe me.

So I say with kindness in my heart (believe it or not) check your prose the next time you speak, just like I make sure and never use value-laden words such a “freaky” “perversion” “abnormal”… Hell, I even stop and cringe before I use the word “alternative” which I know many of my friends engaged in so-called “alternative” lifestyles have no problem with me using. I dithered, I kid you not, for HOURS before I used the word “naughty” on my “Cupcake’s Naughty Corner”, because that word also carries connotations that sex is somehow “not good”. I don’t like using words that place judgment on such a natural human act. After all, I would never want to assume I have the arrogant right to deem another’s sexual life to be “lacking”, “unexciting”, or “boring” because they don’t have heterosexual, monogamous, spank-free sex like I do.

 

A wise man once said:

Different Strokes for different folks…

And a wise woman once said:

“The most important thing is to enjoy your life—to be happy—it’s all that matters.”

 

 

PS–Join me on Monday when I interview Bad Penny on What’s What with the What’s New in her BDSM/Erotica writing universe. YAY! Fun on Cupcake’s Corner of the #NaughtyCouch!

My #FlashFiction “Waiting for Giraffe” is up at The Iron Writer!

Hey guys! In case you hadn’t heard yesterday, Iron Writer Challenge Four is up. You can read our four stories here:
http://theironwriter.com/the-stories/challenge-4/ Then please vote for which one you liked best! (No, it doesn’t have to be mine. 😉 )

Then, maybe have a poke around the website and consider joining us for the Iron Writer Challenge. It is TONS of fun and you don’t have to be an author or writer or a member of ASMSG to participate!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

 

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