The Connecticut Home for Imbeciles

Post contributed by Amy Lignor of The Write Companion






Everyone has the story.  All folks who have put pen to paper can sit among over-priced cups of coffee and tell others what exactly it was that made them begin their journey into writing. Since we are just beginning with each other, I wanted to open up and allow you into my brain. Here is a world where Freddy Krueger rolls his eyes as he has to take a backseat to annoying vampires and their boring girlfriends, while Scarlett OHara dumps Rhett and travels to the world of Jane Austen in order to kidnap Mr. Darcy and take him home to Tara. After all, HE was the good-looking one.
 
I'm a Connecticut Yankee who has traveled far and wide to find my niche, which means anywhere without snow. So...here I sit, staring out the window at sun and sand, remembering the very moment in my life when I KNEW there was a God who had a sense of humor, and he really wanted me to write down the things I had seen.
 
I had gone to a champagne breakfast at an old, renovated inn in small-town Connecticut when I was about sixteen. Suffice to say, I was not having the time of my life, as I listened to people drone away in slightly haughty tones about the local gossip. I know now that they must've been practicing to be a part of the yet-to-be-seen Real Housewives of Litchfield County. I picked up a large book off the coffee table to tune them out and a page fell out and fluttered to the floor.
 
As I reached down to grab it and hide it (because there was no way I could afford to replace a million-dollar book), I looked down at a black and white picture that showed a young girl leaning exhaustedly against a sign post. She wore a look of utter disgust, but there was a small smile pasted on her face like she knew something she wasn't telling me.
 
The caption underneath said that the renovated historical, high-priced inn I was sitting in was once called the Connecticut Home for Imbeciles, and the girl in the picture was leaning against a diamond-shaped sign embossed with big, black letters that read "Dip." That's when I knew these few things: 1) The higher powers were enjoying a good laugh; 2) The inn pretty much still served the same clientele as it had way back when; and, 3) It was time to leave home. We traveled the country, my daughter and I, and the humor that I found along the way was the very foundation that taught me to document it for posterity and a whole lot of fun.
 
Next week: The Lone Sap State.

Author Interview with Jim Gilliam

Today we're talking with Jim Gilliam - author of Point Deception.

FQ: On the back cover, we learn that like the protagonist in your story, you too ran away from home at 14 and joined the Coast Guard.  Would you tell our readers about that experience?

I was nine-years-old when my parents divorced. I was an only child and I thought it was my fault. I was an avid reader and I retreated to the sanctuary of books where the hero was a teenage boy like Frank Nelson in the Gunboat Series of Books for Boys. These books became my reality. When I finally succeeded in running away from home I only had enough money for bus fare to New Orleans where things happened pretty much as described in the book. I lived out of my suitcase in a locker at the Trailways Bus Depot for awhile, I stayed at the YMCA for a time, I stayed in a flop house for fifty cents a night, I even slept on a roof top under a ventilator duct.  I was living at a Catholic mission for homeless men until I got my dream job on the yacht Windjammer II. I had a series of jobs including working for the Port of New Orleans under the docks replacing old pilings. My mother was a notary and when I left home and I purloined one of her notary seals which I used to obtain a legitimate delayed birth certificate from the Texas Bureau of Vital Statistics. That's how I was able to join the Coast Guard at the tender age of fourteen.

FQ: In addition to sharing the induction into the Coast Guard with Tim Kelly, your protagonist, is there any more of Jim Gilliam in Kelly's character?

Oh yes. The book started as a fictionalized autobiography. All of the characters in the book are based on people I actually knew growing up. So I would say that my protagonist Tim Kelly was about 80% Jim Gilliam.
 

FQ: Rucho is one nasty man.  Was he a fun character to write or were his scenes difficult?

Interesting that you should single Rucho out. He was real and he was the typical school yard bully. I tried to describe him as he really was. I heard he kicked an aging history teacher in the chest during a recess period. The teacher died a day later from a fatal cardiac arrhythmia as a direct result of a cardiac contusion. That guy used to kick my butt on a regular basis until I finally learned how to fight and turned the tables on him. Funny, he never bothered me after that. All bullies are nothing more than cowards.  

FQ: The combat scene on board the Point Deception was very realistic.  Was is written from experience or via a very active imagination?

A little of both. Unfortunately I've seen more than my share of violent death. After the Coast Guard, like Jack London, I bummed around a bit, working as a deputy sheriff, a medical technologist, and finally a navigator on a geophysical survey vessel operating out of the Australian port of Darwin. When I had enough I got serious about life, enrolled in college and became a physician assistant. I did a surgical residency in the Bronx--a lot of trauma and death and dying there--and decided to join the Army as an airborne combat physician assistant. I spent four years in Central and South America providing medical support for the Contras and others. The Point Deception was based on the real Point Welcome. The book is dedicated to Lieutenant Junior Grade David C. Brostrom, USCG and Engineman Second Class Jerry Phillips, USCG killed in action by elements of the U. S. Air Force 11 August 1966. I knew both men, they deserve to be remembered. In the book I attempted to recreate what I imagined that attack was like. It was probably more terrible than I described.  

FQ: Mary Beth and Brenda are two women who stand by their man, no matter what.  How important was it to you to build these characters into the story?  Do you think that through them, their men are more "human"?

Tim Kelly needed the stability of a good woman in his life to make him a whole person. I've been lucky enough to have known some really fantastic women in my life including my mother and my current wife Laura. They helped shape my character. Brenda made Tim, as you say, more human. As for Rodolfo Guzman, there really was such a person, and I met him when I was twelve-years-old. He was reputed to be a boss in the Mexican Mafia. In the book, I made him the good bad guy; the man I knew certainly was. The real Rodolfo was crazy about a woman from my home town of Port Isabel and they later married. Love makes us all human. Don't you think?
 
FQ: There was a definite camaraderie between Kelly and his Coast Guard friends.  Was this something that you too experienced in the Coast Guard and if so, was it important for you to include it in your book?

The book began as a fictionalized autobiography that almost immediately took on a life of its own becoming a Coast Guard story. Enlisting at age fourteen, for a very important part of my life, it was my honor and privilege to be a member of this select group of truly outstanding professionals known collectively as: the United States Coast Guard. I sent Admiral Papp, the Commandant of the Coast Guard, a copy of Point Deception. In his thank you note he said, "Remember you will always have a home with the Coast Guard and be part of the Coast Guard family." I will always cherish that sentiment. 
 

FQ: You mention a sequel to Point Deception.  Would you tell our readers a little about this new story?

Here is a brief synopsis of The Campeche Reprisal the sequel to Point Deception. Undercover narcotics agent Tim Kelly is rescued after seven days of torture at the hands of the Campeche Drug Cartel; he plans to marry Brenda Conrad, the love of his life. When Brenda and her best friend, the daughter of the Governor of Texas, are kidnapped by the Cartel and taken to a secret location in the jungles of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, Tim recruits a local Mayan rebel leader to help him rescue the two women. It should be fun to write.

To learn more about Point Deception please visit our website and read the review at: Feathered Quill Book Reviews.

The Write Companion Opens for Business!

The Write Companion was created by authors who truly believe that the writer is the precious gem in the publishing business. Each and every writer should have the option to let their creativity and imagination shine and end up with a manuscript that will grace both bookshelves and bestseller lists. From TWC you will receive quality proofreading, editing, research, as well as ghostwriting services so that your ideas have a chance to be seen and enjoyed by book lovers across the globe.
 
Each month TWC will offer discounts on certain genres. For example, the month of March is dedicated to the inspirational story. Your angels, love, compassion, and beauty will be rewarded by The Write Companion where you will receive 25% off on all services that you need in order to make your story even more inspirational. Leave a message on our contact form about your project at www.thewritecompanion.com. As an author who has struggled with industry highs and lows, as well as the vast expenses that companies charge the writer, I very much want to help authors polish their manuscripts so their careers can take off! I look forward to working with you.
 
Amy Lignor
Owner


Each week, I will be writing a humorous blog post for the Feathered Quill blog that will touch on various subjects important to the industry like the power of social networking for authors, the world of self-publishing and how it is starting to make the normal way of doing business obsolete, as well as subjects dealing with the art of writing, film, books, the classics, daily life, etc. that will hopefully inspire authors while adding a laugh or two to their day.

Children Shun Tough Books

Wow - this is kind of scary, although I admit I'm not terribly surprised by it: 

"Reading standards among children are in sharp decline as pupils increasingly opt for easy books in school and the home, according to a report published today."  For more information, read the article.

Friday Finds

Friday Finds is hosted

by Should Be Reading

A Dog's Way Home Daddy says, "Most folks got a north star in their life—something that gives their life extra meaning. Mine is music."
Without even thinking, I say, "Mine is Tam."
Abby knows that Tam, her Shetland sheepdog, is her north star, and she's pretty certain she's his, too. But when an accident separates Abby and Tam, it feels as though all the stars have fallen out of the sky and nothing will ever be right again. As the days between them turn to weeks, then months, dangers and changes fill up Abby's and Tam's lives. Will they ever find their way home to each other? Set in the Blue Ridge Mountains, A Dog's Way Home is an unforgettable tale of the many miles, months, and mountains that divide two loyal friends—but that can't possibly keep them apart.

Addie Slaughter: The Girl Who Met Geronimo In first-person narrative, Krueger expertly speaks for Addie Slaughter, daughter of John Horton Slaughter, a Texas Ranger, the Sheriff who tamed Cochise County and an early settler of the San Bernardino Valley in the late 1800s. The adventurous, sometimes heartbreaking, story tells of Addie s trek across the Wild West from Texas to Arizona to Oregon, eventually settling on the Slaughter Ranch near the Arizona-Mexico border. Along the way, her mother dies; she narrowly escapes a stagecoach robbery; her grandfather is rescued when their adobe ranch buildings collapse in an earthquake; her father's earlobe is shot off; and Addie meets the fierce warrior Geronimo. I wanted to show young readers that history is anything but boring, explains Krueger a teacher for 32 years before retiring in 2000. When told with passion and realism, history is exciting, inspiring and captivating. Krueger s book is based on actual stories told to Adeline Greene Parks by her mother, Addie Slaughter, and in-depth interviews with Arizona Culturekeeper Dr. Reba Wells Grandrud, the John H. Slaughter Ranch historian. Most of the book's photographs come from Slaughter family albums and the collection of Dr. Grandrud. Though retired, Krueger works now as much as she ever has. She joined the Phoenix Art Museum docent program and is currently their research chair. In addition to writing research papers, she gives slide show talks and is available for classroom visits to talk about writing, history, art and her book.

Love Each Day: Live each day so you would want to live it again We are used to psychologists, psychiatrists, and other "experts" offering advice about how to be happy and how to live a fulfilling life. Even though the books by these experts can be helpful, sometimes the best way to learn about life is from true stories. Although Love Each Day doesn't specifically tell people how to live a wonderful life, the authentic true stories nevertheless offer timeless lessons about enjoying life. The tapestry of true stories in our lives will always be invaluable. From these stories we not only learn how people from different walks of life live, but also what is important to these individuals. Ultimately, this book inspires readers to spend time treasuring what really matters.

The Trouble With Chickens J.J. Tully is a former search-and-rescue dog who is trying to enjoy his retirement after years of performing daring missions saving lives. So he's not terribly impressed when two chicks named Dirt and Sugar show up demanding his help to track down their missing siblings. Driven by the promise of a cheeseburger, J.J. begins to follow the clues. Is Vince the Funnel hiding something? Are there dark forces at work - or is J.J. not smelling the evidence that's right in front of him?

HarperCollins Open Letter to Librarians

In an effort to keep up with emerging eBook techonology, HarperCollins recently announced changes to their eBook policies for libraries.  This change put many librarians in a foul mood and there was lots of talk about what to do.  Now HarperCollins has sent an "Open Letter" to librarians explaining their change in policy.  Curious?  You can read the letter here.

New Stephen King Book Announced

The next book from the Master of Suspense, Stephen King, has just been announced on his site/via his publisher.  The book, 11/22/63, is about an English teacher who travels back in time and tries to prevent the Kennedy assassination. Rumor is that it comes in at a hefty 1,000 pages (!) but then again, Stephen King is not known for brief stories (short stories, yes, brief novels, um, no).  You can read more on King's official site, www.StephenKing.com