Back Door Stories

I watched Into the Woods again last night. For anyone not familiar with it, Into the Woods is a stage musical written by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, which premiered in the late 80s. It intermixes several well known fairy tales (Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Rapunzel), turning each on its ear while still preserving what made us all love them in the first place. It's quite a piece of art, in my opinion at least, and this latest movie production is a delight.

I first loved the musical when I saw a stage production in the early 1990s, while I was an undergrad. In fact, it may be responsible for my abiding love for a whole genre of stories: side door or back door stories, I call them. I've seen other people call them metafictional or parallel literature. 

Whatever you call them, these are stories in which an author/artist/composer, etc. works with familiar material but makes it new by changing the perspective. (Some favorite examples: Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys, Wicked by Gregory Maguire, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith, "Dolan's Cadillac" by Stephen King, the television series Penny Dreadful). 

When this is done well, it's half a love letter to the original material and half something entirely new. Homage and rebuttal, a kind of fan fic which goes down the paths the original piece left unexplored. What could be a better expression of love of a piece of art, than another piece of art inspired by it? I love the way these pieces grapple with the original material, and the interplay between the original and the new version can cast an interesting light on both. When the back door store truly gets to the heart of the original piece, reading (or viewing or listening to) it can feel like finding the original all over again and having the chance to fall in love with it once more.

I've got a few of these kinds of stories sitting on my own back-burners right now that I'm anxious to find the time to write. One riffing on Frankenstein and another on The Turn of the Screw. 

What do you think? Are these kinds of pieces derivative? Or just art grown in the garden of other art? Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. 

Conventional Wisdom: Mysticon 2018

Can you feel it? There's a wave of excitement in the air, a mixture of anticipation and nostalgia which can only come from spending a weekend talking with new friends about old loves. In other words, it's convention time!

I'll be heading to Roanoke, Virginia this weekend as an author guest for Mysticon. It's my second time attending this convention, and I'm thrilled to have been invited back. I had a wonderful time last year. I'm taking my sister with me again, which always increases the fun, so I'm expecting to enjoy myself immensely. 

So, here's what I'll be up to. 

Author Reading: I'll kick things off with an author reading at 4:00 on Friday. I haven't chosen for certain what I'll read just yet, but you can expect some favorite scenes from The Menopausal Superhero series and maybe a sneak peak into my new project, a young adult dystopian romance, working title Thursday's Children. Either way, I'll probably be able to convince my sister to film it, so that my friends and readers who can't make it to the Virginia can catch it on my Facebook page or my YouTube channel. 

Here's a piece from a reading at ConGregate last summer to give you a taste: 

Writing Up Close and Personal: Panel Saturday at 10:00 a.m. Luckily, I'm not a party-girl, because my first panel on Saturday is early by convention standards. We'll be discussing point of view choices and the advantages and disadvantages of each one. My fellow panelists include Crymsyn Hart, Melissa McArthur, Pamela K. Kinney, Peter Prellwitz, and Travis Sivart.

Let's Take Flight: Panel Saturday at 11:00 a.m. Now this should be fun! Jim Gaines, Darin Kennedy, Erin Ashley, Jason T. Graves, Travis Sivart, and me (of course) will spend some time waxing eloquent about the myriad methods of flight in fiction, from rocket packs to umbrellas, capes, and balloons.

Women Rocking Hollywood: Panel Saturday at 1:00 p.m. The success of Wonder Woman, a woman directed, woman-led blockbuster movie that got both critical acclaim and box office results, has us hungry for more. Along with Erin Ashley, Alex Matsuo, Ginger Snaps, Mariah Johnson, and Bob Flack, I'll be exploring what's on the horizon and what our hopes are for the field.

Signing Table: Signing Saturday, 4:00 p.m. Here's my chance to possibly sell a few books and talk with a few readers. I'll have all three of my novels and several of the anthologies including my work available, as well as the sign up for my author newsletter and some freebie bookmarks.

Broad Universe RFR: Reading Saturday, 8:00 p.m. Broad Universe is an

organization devoted to support the work of women in science fiction. I've been a member for a few years now and one of my favorite parts is participating in the RFR or Rapid-Fire-Readings at conventions. Any Broads who attend this con will be invited to read briefly from their work. It's a great opportunity to sample the work of several authors all at once.

The Last Racebenders/Genderbenders:  Panel Sunday 10:00 a.m. This panel discussion will explore the ways that changing the traditional gender or race of a character impacts and changes a story. Amanda J McGee, Darin Kennedy, Alex Matsuo, and Peter Prellwitz, will join me for what promises to be a lively discussion.

Other than all this paneling and reading and signing, I'll also be shopping, eating, gaming, and going to other people's events. Mysticon scored some pretty exciting guests this year, so maybe I'll even do a little fangirling myself.

Watch out Virginia! Here I come!

Sick Day

I'm home sick today. And, yes, I'm actually sick.

I've been sicker, but I'm definitely not well enough to handle 150 middle school children today, so home for a day of rest it is.

Here's hoping it helps enough to give me the wherewithal to handle my very busy Friday-Saturday-Sunday.

Like many the modern woman, I demand a lot of myself. I work a demanding full time job, handle at least half of the business of the home, and still maintain a writing life.

So, what don't I do? Well, self-care. I don't rest enough. I don't always eat well or take proper care of my body.

So eventually my body is forced to give me a smack-down and make me slow down for a moment. And that's what she's doing today.

This whole me-body-mind divide concept is kind of funny, because it's all me, of course. But I do

tend to feel like there are warring forces vying for control of my time, and that they're all within me. My body wants me to fuel it properly with rest, food, and exercise. My mind wants to explore pursuits that absorb it. My metaphorical heart wants "quality time" with those I love.

It's all balance, and when it skews too far in one direction or another, sickness can be the re-set button.

So today, I am taking it slow. Drinking tea, lying still in the dark, reading, and remembering to breathe.

Next time, I'll try to do that BEFORE it makes me sick.

IWSG: Genre Love

It's the first Wednesday of the month, which means it's time for IWSG (Insecure Writer's Support Group). This month's question is- What do you love about the genre you write in most often?

The co-hosts for the February 7 posting of the IWSG are Stephen Tremp, Pat Garcia, Angela Wooldridge, Victoria Marie Lees, and Madeline Mora-Summonte! 

Be sure to check them out after you see what I have to say.
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Mostly, I write superhero fiction. My series is the Menopausal Superhero series, which folds in some women's fiction and comedy, but is still, in many ways, a traditional superhero story.

I get so much joy out of writing these books that it's difficult to pick a favorite part, but I'll give it a go.

First there's the imagination. All writing requires imagination, but there's a special kind of freedom when the limits of reality are removed and you can imagine people doing things that aren't actually possible, like flying, or throwing fire, or transforming into a lizard creature. It can be a very omnipotent feeling, knowing that the only limits your characters have are the ones you have created for them.

Second, I enjoy the exaggeration and drama. There are quiet, personal character interactions in my stories, but there are also scenery chewing monologues by maniacal villains and the occasional opportunity to throw a bus at someone.

I live my life with a good amount of restraint (you have to keep your filters on when you teach middle school), so it's great fun to cut loose and explode on the page through my characters. After all, part of the fun of writing (at least for me) is getting to experience things you don't get to do in real life through your creations.

So, that's the pull of superhero fiction for me. How about you? For whatever you prefer to read or write, what's about it pulls at you?

The Dangers of Sticking Your Neck Out: Reluctant Heroes

The DIYMFA book club question #8 asks about what kinds of stories you're drawn to. What kind of conflict or power play is at work in your current work-in-progress? Do you see certain types of narratives come up again and again in your writing?

Earlier in my writing life, I might have denied that I tended to dwell on any particular types of stories or themes, but I've come to realize that coming back to a certain kind of narrative doesn't mean that I'm a poor or unimaginative writer, but rather that I am not done processing that yet.

Christopher Booker, author of The Seven Basic Plots, lists them thusly:

• “overcoming the monster” plot (Beowulf, War of the Worlds)
• “rags to riches” (Cinderella, Jane Eyre)
• “the quest” (Illiad, The Lord of the Rings) 
• “voyage and return” (Odyssey, Alice in Wonderland)
• “rebirth” (Sleeping Beauty, A Christmas Carol)
• “comedy” (ends in marriage)
• “tragedy” (ends in death)

Those aren't a bad place to start, though I might name some of them differently and love stories that combine two or three of these. But choosing a favorite, hmmmm… 

One of my favorite types of characters, both to read and to write, is the reluctant hero, especially if they are a battle-weary sort, determined not to care this time because it's just a recipe for pain. Characters like Logan aka Wolverine or Rick of Casablanca. 

She's harder to find in female characters. We've got some badass women out there, but they are usually either angry and vengeful or long-suffering and stubborn. 

Of the seven plots above, I think my reluctant hero stories tend to fall into rebirth in that our hero is made to care again (which might involve a quest, or a rags-to-riches change of circumstances, or a a voyage, or overcoming a monster--internal or external).  

My own reluctant hero is Patricia O'Neill of the Menopausal Superhero series. When she first got her powers, she said, "I’m not Peter Parker. I don’t buy the whole ‘great power comes with great responsibility’ racket. I didn’t ask for this, and I don’t owe anyone anything.”

But who was the first of my heroes to actually save someone? You guessed it.

So, what does it mean that I'm drawn to these reluctant hero types? Maybe I am one myself, or maybe I'm the BFF who inspires others to greatness (not a bad thing, given that my day job is teaching). Maybe sometimes, when the going gets rough, I also want to just withdraw and let the world blow itself up without me, but I still care too much to actually walk away. Obviously, my subconscious hasn't worked this one out yet, so I guess I'll be writing a few more reluctant heroes before I'm done. 

Luckily, that's a lot of fun!

Why I Love the BFF

The DIYMFA book club question #7 asks about favorite supporting character archetypes: villain, love interest, BFF, mentor, and fool.

I can think of supporting characters that have won me in every one of these categories, but my favorite?

I think it's the BFF, although I'm not sure I'd name them that. She enters the story as support for the Main Character: a friend, a colleague, something like that. She doesn't seem like she'll be all that important, but it turns out that she has hidden skills and depths, that she understands what the Main Character needs even better than the lead understands herself. She might be dismissed as merely the sidekick, but, often, she is more a hero than the hero.

Where would Frodo Baggins have ended up without Samwise Gamgee? Buffy Summers without Willow Rosenberg? Mary Tyler Moore without Rhoda?

When it's done well, these characters surprise you, without coming out of left field. The writer has laid the groundwork, given the relationship time to build, dropped hints about the skill and insight of the sidekick. And then: POW! Right in the feels!

My own character of this sort is Suzie Grayson. She enters my Menopausal Superhero series as an intern to Patricia O'Neill. You know? The Lizard Woman of Springfield?

Patricia O'Neill as drawn by Charles C. Dowd

Patricia doesn't need anyone. At least that's what she likes to think. So, it's a real surprise to her when this young woman she described as a "twerp" and "little twit" becomes her greatest ally. Hopefully, my readers will get #allthefeels when the big moment comes, just as I did writing it.

(BTW: Suzie has a *great* side-story (if I do say so myself) in this anthology: "Underestimated")

When Resistance Isn't All Good

I'm a stubborn gal. Ask anyone who knows me. So, I resist a lot of things; especially anything that comes with a hard sell. Sometimes that's good. Skepticism and further research has saved me from some very stupid mistakes. Sometimes that's bad, and I take a long time to admit a piece of advice or criticism was spot on and should be followed.

The DIYMFA book club question #6 asks about the role of resistance in our writing lives.

In my writing life, this has perhaps been a snobbery problem. That whole "literary" writing thing.

My first medium for writing was poetry (starting at about age 6), but I also loved to read comic books. I loved to read trashy fun as a teenager (VC Andrews, anyone?), but also read a lot of classic literature (Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, To Kill a Mockingbird). I imagined supporting my family from my stories someday like Jo March of Little Women, but ignored the fact that she did so writing low-brow, fun adventures stories.

So, I had this divide in my soul when it came to reading and writing. Part of me thought that I had to be "literary" to be respectable, that the stuff I did for fun couldn't also be art. I don't remember anyone telling me that, but it was there in my mind all the same making the walls of the box I tried to write within.

This was maybe made worse by taking creative writing classes as part of my bachelor's degree. At my state college in Kentucky, I studied poetry and short story writing with some fantastic teachers, and I really believe that their advice improved my craft…but the assumption was that I would be writing *serious* *deep* *thought-provoking* stuff that feels at home in the Ivory Tower instead of *fun* *dramatic* *exploratory* stuff you might more likely find in the Dark Tower.

So, I spent a lot of years resisting some of the call of my own heart because I thought that wasn't what a "real writer" would do.

Luckily, I fell in with a broad minded crowd in my late thirties. Some of the people in my critique group were NOT writing literary fiction, and they were having SO MUCH FUN! And, when we discussed their work, we were still serious about it. There was still a lot of discussion of craft and the beauty of a line, and building to an important moment: all those things I considered "literary."

I suffered through the crafting of my first novel (it's a women's issues kind of novel, that I may or may not ever revisit to make it publishable) and I learned a lot by writing it, but it wasn't fun. I promised myself, as a reward for finishing it, that I would be allowed to write something fun.

I took this little thought I had about what might happen is the people who got superpowers weren't unattached children with no responsibilities but women around my own age with families, careers, and responsibilities. And it became Going Through the Change, the first in the Menopausal Superhero series, which now includes 3 novels, a set of short stories, and several short stories included in other anthologies.

And you know what? I still feel literary. I still get a rush from creating a beautiful, moving experience for a reader. Even though my women are flying and wielding fire and other unrealistic things, they are also going through experiences that are universal like aging, managing careers, dealing with conflicts in families and marriages, and making friends. It's all there. It's still art.

And I wonder why I resisted so long.