Writing – Page 4

June 2, 2019 By Lucie Winborne 3 Comments

30 BOOKS AND 30 THANKS: MIKE DELLOSSO

To be perfectly honest, I likely would have never read or even heard of Mike Dellosso if I hadn’t accepted assignments to proofread two of his novels for Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas.

Even then, I nearly turned down the first one when I saw that it took place in a dystopian society. See, dystopian really isn’t my thing (notwithstanding the fact that I have for years been a devotee of “The Walking Dead” TV series, which is about as dystopian as you can get.) But I put aside my prejudice and said yes.

And was I glad I did.

Without giving too much of the plot away, Midnight is My Time follows disfigured loner Andy Mayer and his young, blind companion, Missy, as they head north in a post-apocalyptic world to an unknown future. Along the way they are almost continually beset by threats of assault and death from a bevy of bad guys—including one of a decidedly inhuman nature. But what is the true, unrealized reason behind their journey? Or the source of the superhuman power Missy unexpectedly summons in times of the greatest danger?

Ah, dear Reader, you’ll have to check out the book for yourself. I promise you’ll be on the edge of your seat.

Next up from Mike was the romance/drama A Million Miles from Home, featuring Ben and Annie Flurry of the perfect life, the perfect family, until a sudden and tragic loss upends their world and sends Ben and his daughter Lizzy back to his childhood home. But will he find the help he seeks there, when memories of that home are shadowed by Ben’s formerly abusive, now supposedly changed father? How will home-taught Lizzy adapt to and even overcome her new physical limitations as well as a new, public school?

Mike manages to answer all of these questions from the vantage point of his Christian faith without proselytizing or sugarcoating. His characters are always believably human, with relatable foibles, needs, and desires.

Suffice it to say, the man’s a storyteller. Here’s part of what I wrote to him today:

Dear Mike,

Not all that long ago I had the great if unexpected pleasure of serving as a proofreader for your novels Midnight is My Time and A Million Miles from Home. I say “unexpected” because in the spirit of complete honesty, I almost turned down the first book due to my general dislike of dystopian literature. (Okay, I’ve read all of two books in that genre, so undoubtedly I was unduly prejudiced.)

May I tell you how glad I am I took that initial assignment? How you kept me up until 1:00 AM on a week night to see what fate Andy and Missy would finally face even though I had to get up for work less than six hours later? How I voluntarily thumbed to a chapter of a book of the Bible that I have tended to avoid like the legendary plagues of Egypt and certainly haven’t glanced at for years? How I recognized parts of myself in the second book, marveled at how effectively you told such wildly different stories in such wildly different voices, leaving me alternately tearful and fearful, resentful and hopeful, till finally gladdened by the rebirth of hope?

Well, I guess I just did. So here’s my thanks for honoring the storyteller within you, for sharing your gift with me and thousands of other readers. I hope you’ll continue to do so for years to come.

Do yourself a favor and check out the gem of a voice that is Mike Dellosso. I’m betting you’ll thank me for it.

June 1, 2019 By Lucie Winborne 1 Comment

30 BOOKS AND 30 THANKS: JANIS OWENS

Six years ago, my good friend Joyce and I had the great pleasure of listening to a talk (and sampling a little Southern cooking) by Janis Owens at the Orange County Regional History Center in Orlando, Florida. Janis was in town to promote her latest book, The Cracker Kitchen, and though I like to eat much more than I like to cook, I knew I’d be going home that day with a copy. After all, as a proud seventh-generation Southerner, how could I resist recipes such as Easter Bunny Cake, Mama’s Cornbread, Wilted Country Salad, and Banana Split Cake, not to mention Roy’s Famous Biscuits? (Yea, Lawd!)

(Forgive me, Janis, but I’m passing on Baked Armadillo, Rattlesnake, Roast Possum and Sweet Potatoes, and Stewed Squirrel. I’m not that Southern. In other words, I’ll be joining you at that local Hardees. Or Chick-fil-A.)

I was as charmed by Janis’s open, down-to-earth manner as her recipes. My friend Joyce even discovered after the talk that they had some common ancestry (well, they say everyone in the South is related somehow). Over the past six years I’ve enjoyed her Facebook posts both amusing and moving, her family photos, stories about her mama (and Big Mama—every Southern family has a Big Mama), almost envied her friendship with the late, great Pat Conroy, and thought more than once: Gee, I wish she lived closer, because I’m pretty sure she’s a kindred spirit.

Here’s part of what I wrote to her this week:

Dear Janis,

Back in 2013 I had the great pleasure of meeting you at the Orange County Regional History Center in Orlando, where you were speaking to promote The Cracker Kitchen. My friend Joyce and I accepted your kind invitation to “Friend” you on Facebook, and ever since we’ve both enjoyed your posts considerably. This year another Facebook friend, author/editor Andi Cumbo-Floyd, took on a project I decided to emulate—30 days of thank yous to 30 authors she admired. So this is my thanks to you—for your humor, your pride in being a Florida Cracker, your stories, your pictures, your memories, your knack with words (“Kingdom of Newberria” immediately springs to mind, but there are so many more), and your commitment to honing your craft and sharing your gift with others. While to date I’ve only delved into The Cracker Kitchen, your novels American Ghost, The Schooling of Claybird Catts, Myra Sims, and My Brother Michael are all on my “To Be Read” list. So thanks again, Janis. The literary world is a better place for having you in it.

Do yourself a favor and check out the gem of a voice that is Janis Owens. You’ll thank me for it.

May 30, 2019 By Lucie Winborne 2 Comments

A FACEBOOK POST INSPIRED ME . . .

Earlier this year, author/editor Andi Cumbo-Floyd embarked on a 30-day project to send letters of thanks to authors whose work she admired and that had particularly touched her. One letter, one author per day.

While I admired the thoughtfulness of the idea, it didn’t make that strong an impression on me at the time. Yet the memory of it popped into my head on several seemingly random occasions, until I knew I wanted to try something similar. As a writer (even a sometime one) myself, I knew about the feelings of isolation and being misunderstood, or worse, unvalued and invisible, that are just as much a part of the profession as the joyful flashes of creation and discovery.

But at first (and I’m embarassed to admit it) I wasn’t sure I could even come up with 30 authors. Living ones, that is. I enjoy and frequently reread the classic authors of yore—Jane Austen, Louisa May Alcott, the Bronte sisters—but how many had I read lately of my own generation, or even century?

My worry turned out to be unnecessary. The names started coming quickly if not all at once. Certified Florida Cracker Janis Owens. Missy Robertson of “Duck Dynasty” fame. Mike Dellosso, who turned a short passage from Revelation into a thriller that had me staying up till nearly 1:00 a.m. on a work night. The list went on.

So I’ll be sending notes to 30 authors. Thanking them for the enjoyment they gave me, for the gift of their unique way with words, for their commitment of time and effort in putting those words to paper for the rest of us to enjoy. I’ll also be posting links to their websites and/or works, so you can check them out as well.

I hope you’ll join me.