I guess my post on Writer’s Block got me going. Last fall I started getting ideas for a book called “Angel’s Shelved” about a girl who wondered if her life made any difference. I saw the shelf of Willow Tree Angels in my bathroom and had the thought what if they came to life to help us with life’s struggles. Then the thought morphed to the realization we really do have angels in our lives who help us with things we are going through. I started writing the story in November or December 2016 and finished over 44,000 words by April 2017. The synopsis of the story:
Life, death and love have no boundaries for a cast of colorful characters in Angels Shelved. It is a tale that takes the reader on a journey back and forth between heaven and earth as Emma Lanrete (anagram for Eternal) tells her comatose mother she will give her life one more year to see if it is worth living and to determine if she is enough… “She had a deadline. Ironic use of the word. In 365 days or 525,600 minutes she would disappear or be no more. Giving herself that much more time seemed to make it justified. If in one year she could not see any difference she made in the world, she would leave it.”
I have studied many NDEs (near death experiences) and like to believe we have ancestors in heaven assigned to help us through earth-life’s maze. This story has a mix of characters living and dead, with the ones supposedly dead, seeming more full of life than those living. Some of the heaven dwellers in this story really lived in my family history, those on earth are fictional, but all are connected by a strand woven through the eternities. Hopefully the reader will feel and consider things beyond what their mortal eyes can see and enjoy a surprise romance and twist near the end.
I loved wiring the story and hanging out with the characters, especially Lily and Lewis. I based much of Lily’s character on of one of the first sister missionaries who came to live with us ‘Sister Swain’. Lewis is one of my ancestors who was killed during the Civil War at only 19 from a ball shot from a musket to his groin from my Meyerhoeffer/Hooke family line. I felt really connected with him when working on family history. I did not plan on having them fall in love across the dimensions, but felt inspired to have that relationship develop and loved it. I would walk in the mornings and get inspirations to add to the story. It may not be very well written, but I enjoyed writing it.
I submitted to only one publisher, Shadow Mountain, whom I just heard back from. I knew it was a long shot, but it still kind of stung when they rejected it. Now I am trying to decide if I should self-publish or send it off to try somewhere else. It is a part of me, but I want to do what is best from Heaven’s perspective. Maybe it was just for me, but I will at least have it printed to share with my family on some site, maybe Amazon.
Update: It is now called Angels Unshelved and is being published by a small Christian Publishing Company called Covenant Books.
As soon as I submitted Angels, I woke with an idea for another story. The title came first “Seth Row” . I knew it was about a man who had a show about Death Row. The storyline and characters keep coming like they want to be told. I feel it is an extremely unique premise and am delighted to be a part of the journey with them.
The story is about: Seth’s show “Seth Row” is a household name with his weekly radio, internet and TV specials interviewing inmates on Death Row before their executions. Seth is often the last person to really speak with the inmates before they exit this world and the women in his life articulate that hanging out near the abyss of death rubs off on him, that ghosts of his interviewees follow him home and swirl around his life. Could be possible he supposed. He did not focus on the heinous acts that placed these corrupted humans on death row, but their backstories. The man behind the crime…their life, loves, interests, regrets, beliefs about life after death. He humanizes the villains. Not in an attempt to exonerate their awful acts or give them fame, but to pull back the outer layer and see what makes them tick. His favorite stories were always those where each character is multifaceted . The heroes are not always all good and the antagonists not all bad. Mankind is constantly battling the natural-man inside themselves and Seth believes there is good and bad in every person. It just depends on the wolf they decide to feed. He is the consummate professional interviewer, until he meets the most unlikely death row inmate and things become a bit more personal for him.
I am over half way though the first draft…0ver 30,000 words on chapter 13 out of 20. It has taken some different turns than those I supposed. His long lost dad turns out to be a Catholic Priest now, not when Seth was born. He is very close to his religious mother, Marion. There are some other interesting characters:
1) Amos Applebaum, also known as “Preacher”, his once intense fight and flight instincts had dissipated some time ago. He was utterly resigned to his unfortunate fate and had even made peace with it. His nickname had been bestowed upon him by fellow inmates after Amos began using his one hour of allotted yard time to share his new-found faith. Amos had been “born again” and spent isolated long hours in his cell making personalized proselytizing tracks to pass out to his peers, at first on his napkins and later on the sheets of paper the prison provided him. Admittedly, everyone originally saw his finding-religion as a Hail Mary attempt to get out of his death sentence, but either Amos was taking his charade to the grave or he really was converted.
2) Roy “the Man-boy” Manchester, a cop killer protesting pretty much everything. Very angry. Has a boyish face because he cannot grow facial hair, but has a steroid induced muscly body, some hair growth from it and probably the rage. He was into bodybuilding and causes when outside “the fence” and still was on the inside. Roy had a hot, bimbo girlfriend who left him when convicted, but wrote many women on the outside about his causes, while pumping iron on death row. He even married one who planned to carry on his work efforts. His regrets are not being able to make bigger change in the world due to “that dumb cop getting in his way and making him have to kill him”. He was caught sabotaging a chemical plant or some controversial business. The lack of ‘roids make him a little less volatile, but still intense.
3) Harvey or Harold Testerman was brilliant in research until he slipped over the line of complete sanity, but was proven competent to stand trial. Seth is not so sure. He had systematically burned or bombed down a whole area in testing some of his theories causing the deaths of 10 innocent people…a mixed family of 7, a young married couple just getting started, plus an old woman and her dog. He felt they were collateral damaged necessary for progress in scientific study. It was unfortunate, but if he had to do it over probably would so the same thing again. He is a loner, mad scientist type, who actually was married, but his wife had absolutely no clue what he was doing outside his regular employment duties.
4) Junie Blue is an ex-girlfriend who can not quite let go, but doesn’t really want to be together. More in the “friend-zone”. Keeps sending exorcists and people who deal with metaphysical manifestations to Seth’s house for his own good. Seth likes her, but thinks she ought to move on. He is comfortable with his ghosts.
5) Matilda (Tillie) Morgan is Seth's current love interest, but Seth will not live with her before marriage in respect of his mother’s and his old fashioned beliefs. Wants to save that kind of relationship for marriage. She wants to have a commitment from Seth, but she is not sure she can live with his career and keeps leaving other job options at his apartment. He needs his key back. He really likes Tillie, but wants to find someone who likes him as he is, for what he has to offer in all areas.
6) Halle Valentine is introduced nearer the middle of the book, when Seth falls for one of the paranormal workers that come to his home sent by Junie to purge it. Halle has no problem with what Seth does for a living and finds his career challenging and sexy. She thinks she can help him communicate with or read those at his house. Kooky, but the first girl he can see a future with. Perhaps she is the future Halle Hoeffer.
7) - Bear Buckley is Seth’s camera man and best friend forever. Born Bartholomew Buckley, Bear got his nickname playing football in high school because he would wrap the other team’s offensive in a bearhug before bringing them down in a tackle. He and Seth went to college together. Bear played linebacker for the football team his first 4 years and then stayed to get a degree while Seth kept acquiring more majors. They started this business together, pretty much. Seth’s idea, but Bear as always went along for the ride. Seth produced and starred in the shows, but Bear directed the episodes and ran the cameras and did editing for them. At one time they lived together, but now were grown up enough to have separate apartments and more separate lives. They still stopped in for a drink after work once in awhile and had each other’s back when needed. Bear was much better at lasting relationships and had been with Ainsley long enough they were talking marriage…he was Ainsley’s Teddy Bear …Ugh. Bear worried about Seth, but helped him research Joshua.
8) Joshua is an older teen and death row inhabitant with mysterious background. Went to alternative schools, parent's location and identity unclear, he is pretty much on his own, a street child with no last name (Seth later finds out it is probably Brogan). Speaks philosophically or even metaphorically. Claims his innocence, but in a gentle way. Accused of kidnapping and killing a young girl or boy. He insists he was there to rescue, but when too late, prayed over the small tortured body until death. Does not want to fight for freedom, resigned to his fate.
Joshua is being prosecuted as an adult and Seth finds out they have some connections, possibly his half brother. Seth wonders if he is really guilty.
The producers want Seth to have one live execution on his show- this creates a moral dilemma.
The end is a cliff hanger, not sure if inmate was guilty or not.
1st ending-don’t know if the prisoner gets a pardon or is rescued or if he is executed.
2nd alternate ending in optional epilogue…a judge grants stay of execution. YM is released to Seth’s custody.
(Alternate happy ending, for those of us who like to have things all tied up in a pretty little package to finish out the emotional ride in a positive way, but the first ending is more powerful and haunting.)
Seth Row still has a ways to go and I am a little low on self-esteem about my writing since I was recently rejected, but will soldier on to finish this book as well. I hope it is inspiring and not strange.
Just wanted to do an update that my writer’s block has been erased :-).
Update: Seth Row is in its last draft and has 52,002 words. Readers like it better than my first.
