Now Available

The second edition of The Truth Seekers is now available!

Print copies can be ordered from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and CreateSpace.

E-books can be ordered from Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, iTunes, Kobo, Page Foundry (Inktera), 24Symbols, and Scribd.

Since this is a second edition, I won't be doing much in the way of promotions or giveaways, but you never know - the mood might strike!

New Developments

I've been neglecting this blog for quite some time now, but at last I have something new to pass along!

The second edition of my historical romance, The Truth Seekers, will be available on 5 July 2016 on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, and other channels. The e-book is available for pre-order now, but the paperback is still being sorted. It will be available soon, though!

Also, some may note that I'm blogging and publishing under a different name these days. I've decided to stop writing as Elizabeth M. Lawrence going forward, so all of my future publications, including The Truth Seekers, will now be available only under the author name Mavvy Vasquez.

I'm working on some new projects, as well, and I will keep you posted on their development as they progress. Hopefully not too much longer.

It's good to be back in the saddle again!

Setting: Selection and Significance

By definition, every novel must have at least one setting. Even if a science fiction author were to write about a character floating around in a great abyss of nothingness, that abyss is still the place where things happen (or don’t happen, as the case may be). So how do writers choose the location for their story? How much does that choice matter to the story?

In my first novella, My Apple Tree, the setting was never specified for the reader. It could have been any town, really. The reality was that in my own mind the story was set in Joplin, Missouri, my mother’s hometown. The setting in this case was more important to me than the reader, and it definitely influenced the way I felt about the story and the choices I made concerning the plot and characters. After a devastating tornado leveled a third of the city, I went to visit my family there. What I saw had a profound impact on me, and that overwhelming mix of grief and rebirth was transferred to the story and my characters. So in that instance, the setting was very significant, but not in a way that the audience would necessarily be aware of. Normally, I would post pictures to illustrate my point. Although I do have pictures of the affected area, the devastation and loss these people faced is too personal to broadcast. However, the cover photo was taken at a nearby cemetery where much of my family is buried, and so that, too, has deep personal significance for me.

The significance of setting was flipped around for Wishing Cotton. For this story, the setting I envisioned was entirely fictional. I just needed a summer resort on a beach, with isolated cabins and a nearby funfair to suit the needs of my story. In other words, the setting was determined by the demands of the plot rather than the other way around. Beyond its function to support the story I wanted to tell, the setting has no further significance to me as a writer. Because of this, the only details I provide are ones that are necessary in order to present each scene clearly. Otherwise, the characters could be anywhere else and the plot could remain largely unaffected.

Setting again became important when I wrote my historical romance, The Truth Seekers. For this novel, I used a real-life location as the foundation for the story. Although I employ a great deal of artistic license, my protagonists Geoffrey Hawes and Miranda Claridge meet for the first time in an unnamed fictional community that is based on the very real Chautauqua Institution in New York State. 

Athenaeum Hotel

The grounds of this historic community preserve a great deal of the world that Geoffrey and Miranda would have inhabited, and the focus on philosophy, art, music, and learning lends itself to a novel of this type. It was simple to imagine two Victorian lovers debating the merits of different social and philosophical principles in such a setting. While I did change a number of minor details, such as turning the very real Packard Manor into the governor’s mansion, the architecture, landscape, and pace of the location are kept very true to life.

Geoffrey first encounters Miranda in the Hall of Philosophy, which not only is a real building on the grounds at Chautauqua, but also is the source of the book’s title. 

 

The Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle is the longest continuously running book club in the United States, and for many years, each year’s theme was preserved in mosaics running along the floor of the Hall. Visitors to the Hall of Philosophy can easily find The Truth Seekers mosaic.

In many ways, my love of Chautauqua influenced my handling of Geoffrey and Miranda’s story, but at the same time, it would not have been possible to envision their story in the first place without having experienced the setting beforehand. This is a place where it is easy to picture what life must have been like one hundred years ago, and it is also a place where one can feel the passage of time and the natural continuity of life and love and time. A great deal of the grounds have remained largely unchanged and are teeming with artists, authors, poets, dancers, musicians, theologians, and thinkers. It would be near impossible for a creative person to be in such an environment and not be inspired. Because of this, The Truth Seekers became not only a love story between two people, but it is also the story of an author’s love for a place. I hope that by bringing Geoffrey and Miranda’s world to life, I have also captured in some small way the magic of this small, precious community.

Miller Bell Tower on Lake Chautauqua

In these three examples, you see how differently setting can be used to shape and influence a story and its characters. For writers, it is important to consider the role setting plays in a piece so that the handling of locations and environments complements the tale you are trying to tell. For readers, it is often a subtle influence that can color your perception of the world each new character inhabits. Either way, settings are something to enjoy and explore, even if only in one’s imagination.

The Minor Character

In many ways, the minor character is sometimes easily forgotten. The gregarious taxi driver, the helpful woman at the store, the nosy coworker, and the grumpy neighbor all have their parts to play, but the reader tends to not give much thought to these brief appearances. So why incorporate them at all?

I think it’s not hard to understand that the reader’s experience of a novel and the author’s experience while writing it differ quite a bit. One thing that the average reader may not realize is that no character appears in a story without a distinct purpose. Any novelist worth his or her salt will pay exacting attention to every facet of the novel, including the minor characters. There must be a reason for a particular character to appear in the narrative, and the presentation of that character must maintain a balance that is consistent with his or her importance to the action and development of the story.

In The Truth Seekers, Mrs. Olivia MacDonald serves as the necessary chaperone for her young friend, and so must be blended into the scenes in which she appears. She herself is not a major player, and her voice must not be allowed to overshadow those of the main characters. However, at certain points her actions move the narrative forward, so we need to see enough of her to have a sense of who she is as a person. By way of contrast, the existence of the male lead’s friend John needs to be established, but we don’t need to interact with him a great deal.

In Wishing Cotton, Olive meets Mr. J.P. Croupington (“Pinger” to his friends). This character’s importance begins and ends with the scene in which he appears. So why have him at all? He helps to provide comic relief, but his conversation with Olive also works to create the mood needed for Olive’s subsequent conversation with her friend Blair. So old Pinger provides a necessary element to the narrative, but once his usefulness is at an end, he vanishes from our view.

In the case of quiet John mentioned above, a good deal of his lines were cut in order to achieve the proper balance. Every time a character is introduced into the story, their voice, opinions, and personality are also inserted. The people they are influences the main characters on some level, but their appearance must blend into the story. In other words, it is one thing to have the gregarious taxi driver chat with the main character and give a suggestion that impacts that character’s choice of destination. It is another thing altogether to allow the driver to take center stage. We don't need to see the color of his eyes or have his life story laid out for us. A character that has such a limited part to play cannot be allowed overshadow the main characters.

All the same, minor characters are important, and often the author is able to provide gorgeous characterizations that give the reader a firm grasp on the minor character before he or she walks offstage. When the right balance is present, the minor character can be one of the most vital elements in a novel.

It's That Time Again!

So. Birthday post. What shall we talk about?

Over the past year, I published two short stories: My Apple Tree and Wishing Cotton. Exciting stuff. I’ve discovered through this process that I am more self-conscious of my writing than I’d actually realized. Nothing strikes terror in my breast like putting my work out there for people who don’t owe me favors, loyalty, or money to critique. That fear has always been a challenge I’ve struggled to overcome. The biggest source of pride for me is that I’ve published at all; I’ve left the safety of my computer files and journals and opened myself up for criticism. Even if no one ever reads my books, releasing them into the wild is a pretty big accomplishment all by itself.

I’ve also started edits on my first full-length novel, The Truth Seekers. It’s an historical romance, most likely my one and only. I’m planning to settle down after this. I’m getting too old to bounce around from style to style, so it’s time to commit. All the same, I’ve done a ridiculous amount of work on this book, so it would feel wrong not to share it in a final display of sowing my wild oats. I only hope it doesn’t suck, but that’s a question to answer in my NEXT birthday post.

Just lie and tell me it's brilliant.

My older son finished his freshman year of high school, making it onto the second honors roll despite all the nay-sayers who said that an autistic kid would never make it in a challenging, private college-prep school. 

Captain, my captain.

So nyah-nyah. It wasn’t easy, but as people are discovering about me, I would fight to the death for my kids. I don’t let anyone place limits on my boys – even themselves. Still, I have to admit that his next milestone fills my soul with dread. It’s time for him to learn to drive. Pray to your gods, people. This will be interesting.

"Please, don't let him see a squirrel..."

His little brother, Shorty, finished third grade in one piece. We have some concerns with his development, but that’s a battle we’ll start fighting again once school is back in session this autumn. Shorty is now having a blast at theater camp, and really, what’s the point of being a child if you can’t enjoy it? We’ll cross the appropriate bridges when we come to them. In the meantime, I’m looking forward to his first public performance next week.

The venue will be slightly less glamorous than this.

I became an aunt for the first time, which was really lovely. Although we haven’t met Minna in person yet, we are planning to spoil her like mad. Being an only child, I have always wondered if I would get the opportunity to be someone’s “cool aunt.” Here’s my chance!

Okay, not THAT cool.

Probably more like this.

I got a tattoo on my last birthday, and while I’m not doing that again this year, I did enjoy waiting for my parents to notice. They were just two weeks shy of going a full year. 

Way to miss the obvious.

They have dealt with this heavy blow by never mentioning it and pretending it never happened. I think I’ll give them a year off before I do something that upsets their worldview again.

Not exactly subtle, either.

I have gotten sucked into the world of crowd-funded projects this year. Many of you have seen my posts about The Minister of Chance, which began life as a sonic adventure and is now morphing into a film. The initial reason I loved this project so much was that it reminded me of the days when my father would play tapes of the old radio shows he listened to as a child. The imagination and imagery that went into some of those early productions has been amplified by the Minister of Chance cast and crew. Even without taking into account that this was a crowd-funded operation (and therefore wasn’t making anyone rich), what they have accomplished is really remarkable. The six episodes of the sonic series are available for free download on iTunes or the Minister of Chance website. I can’t recommend it enough. The talent that has come together to bring the Minister’s world to life is astounding, and the people working on this project are just lovely, dedicated, welcoming, and brilliant (as well as stunningly good looking).

Tell your friends! Hell, tell your enemies! We're not picky!

This year, I’ve reconnected with old friends, made new ones, and seen more of the amazing, screwy, wonderful, and insane place we call Planet Earth. I’ve been bowled over by beauty, heartbroken by cruelty, frustrated by ignorance, and frightened by risks.

I still have so much left to do. My husband tells me that I really need to learn to cook eventually, and he wouldn’t mind if I actually folded the laundry now and then. I need to learn the fine art of self-promotion without incorporating an apology for my mediocrity at every opportunity. My computer and I need to have more time apart, because there are some lovely people in my life, and I should take more time to enjoy and appreciate them. My health needs to be a bit more than an afterthought as I chug my eighth cup of coffee, too.

All the same, I’m proud of how I spent this year. It wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t easy, but it took me further on my path. If I had to sum up the theme of my fortieth year, I would say it was this:

Make the scary choice.