Off on the Wrong Start

Our mental state plays an important part in writing our best. Irritability has no place in a writer’s life.

I not only woke up one morning on the wrong side of the bed, but on the other side of the room. In fact, on the other side of the house, next to the side door where the spiders and sow bugs and beetles patiently wait to stampede outside, first thing.

I need quality sleep at night like a tortoise needs its shell…or else I spend most of the day doing a fine impersonation of an unpleasant person. Last night, I didn’t get my required amount.

In the morning, I yelled at my mother, yelled at my husband who had the audacity to ask why I acted “low key,” (my apologies to both), but thankfully, I spared the children. A bowling ball had replaced my head, sitting wobbly and heavy between my shoulders. It didn’t help my cause when the day’s temperature soared to an undignified 100 degrees.

I puttered around the house in a sort of brain fog. Oh, I know that’s now a recognized medical state and describes a mind hindered by stress, anxiety or worry. Confusion or forgetfulness characterize brain fog. My state was different. It was more of a lightweight madness where tiny, virtually nonexistent obstacles seemed magnified. Mine was more like brain smog; useless, frustrated, blurry thoughts cluttered my mind, leaving no room for any light or fresh air to seep in.

The best cure for such a turbulent state or for depression, fear, stupidity or practically any unsteady frame of mind is to try doing something for someone else. Take the focus off yourself. Which is why I decided to go out among the public.

Since I am a sporadic library volunteer, this was the perfect opportunity to assist the denizens of almost all things literary, and hopefully jump-start my mood into something better and more promising.

I went. I helped. I conquered. I stayed longer than usual and didn’t leave until I heard voices. The voices of an eight-year-old girl and her grandma.

Grandma asked me where books should be returned. I showed her. She dropped them in. Girl hollered that she needed the books, and Granny made a big mistake in returning them. At one end, Grandma kept telling me, “Don’t listen to her,” and at the other, the girl insisted that she needed to keep them a little longer for a book club report at the library. This went on for quite some time. Grandma and Girl might as well have been in two different buildings. No communication took place at all. This is a cozy library. Pleasantly plump people cannot squeeze past each other in the aisles.

The girl was right. She gave her report, the books were returned and peace was restored.

After they left, one of the librarians whispered to me, “Have you ever felt like grabbing a kid by her ear and pulling her outside?”

I realized then that the frustrated voices I heard merely echoed my own. “I think the little girl was feeling a little overwhelmed and underheard, that’s all. I’m sure this was not her usual behavior.”

One set of thoughts always drives the other out. Of course, there are people that don’t harbor thoughts, but I know, my dear readers do. By changing direction and attempting to help others, anyone can, in effect, stamp out less desirable states of mind and, in my case, forget about sleep deprivation. Okay, so I wasn’t exactly the most proficient volunteer. I didn’t always shelve the books in perfect alphabetical order, but I caught my mistakes and corrected them.

Don’t allow your mind to accommodate anything less than the best thoughts. For your sake, the sake of those that cross your path and for the sake of doing the very best writing.

What's in a Character Name?

Lemony Snicket, Charlie Bucket, Simon Legree, Voldemort, Sherlock Holmes, Scarlett O’Hara, Huckleberry Finn, Ebenezer Scrooge…the list goes on and on. A character can leap off the page and onto the reader’s shoulder with the right name. The very names themselves burst with personality. How do writers conjure them? Often the name “pops” into one’s head (Corrie Locke jumped right in my head, first thing. I pictured a strong female who believes folding or caving in is not an option and who thrives on dangerous, risky situations). Other times names are carefully selected. I’m going to focus on the latter since there’s no accounting for the popping.

Names set the tone for the book. What if Scarlett had been Susan? Or Huckleberry had been Harry? It wouldn’t be the same. A sampling of the stories behind my namings:

Michael and James: These are the real life, middle names of my favorite men. I wanted classic, strong names for heroes that represented every man…if every man was smart, brave, hot, handy in the kitchen and at the beck and call of the heroine in their lives.

Veera Bankhead: In high school, a student had this unforgettable surname, which I’d mentally filed away. She’s Corrie’s sidekick and friend. Gwenaveera (Veera, for short) is a derivative of Guinevere and reminds me of a resourceful, driven, loyal, noble, virtuous woman, or so I imagined from the Arthurian tales. Veera is resourceful, loyal, noble and almost virtuous, so it was a perfect fit.

Druby: I met a cabinet maker named Druby, which I adopted for this book. The real Druby was talented, handy, and popular, kind of like the fictional character. Hence, the victim in my story was born with a simple, different, yet memorable name.

Paprika: This character’s original name was Kristy, but was changed in a late draft because I felt it was too close to “Corrie,” not to mention mediocre and dull, unworthy of a volatile, unpredictable, and manipulative character. And a spicy one as well.

Clayton Pott: One afternoon, I drove home with a large ornamental clay pot in the passenger seat. I thought, “Look at you, so pretty on the outside, but empty on the inside. It’s all about looks, isn’t it? You shallow, self-absorbed, dirt bag.” The conversation continued in this manner. And Clay Pott was born.

The Two Minute Interview: Author R.W. Wallace

I’m very pleased to welcome author R.W. Wallace to talk about her latest release, THE RED BRICK CELLARS: A TOLOSA MYSTERY

Lida: Hello R.W. Tell us a bit about yourself.

R.W.: I’m a Norwegian who lives in France and writes in English. I usually say I’m linguistically confused, except I’m not, really. Family is in Norwegian, everyday life is in French, and reading and writing is in English. Simple!

Lida: It makes perfect sense to me. What’s your book about?

R.W.: A murdered mayor. A second body reduced to skeleton and dust. The public display so horrific that the police are baffled.

Everyone assumes uninterested heir Louis Saint-Blancat will finally settle down and focus on the politics of Toulouse, France. Louis becomes the center of attention in the press while his mother and sister pressure him to follow the family’s political tradition when all he wants is to track down his father’s killer, then return to his globe-trotting lifestyle.

Determined to ferret out the story behind the perplexing assassination that took place at the very center of Toulouse to advance her career, struggling English journalist Catherine Marty finds an unlikely ally in Louis.

Will the two sleuths discover what is lurking beneath the apparent congeniality of la Ville Rose?

Lida: I certainly want to know what’s lurking! How did you come to write this book?

R.W.: Deciding that I’d set the story in my hometown, Toulouse, France, really got my creative juices going. Instead of having a bland setting with no particularities, I suddenly thought of all these awesome places I wanted to take my readers. I found several anecdotes regarding an ancient church in the city center (today only the bell tower and part of an entry arch are left standing), which made me decide to have the climax of the story right there. I just had to figure out why anyone would go there, and work my way backward.
The two protagonists actually came from a comment made by Jennifer Crusie on her blog. She claimed that “everyone wants to write a Cinderella story.” I didn’t really agree, but all of a sudden my mind started wondering how I would write such a story. So my story starts out with a ball (ahem, funeral), a prince (well, son of the mayor), and a poor girl (sorry, woman, who is low on funds because of a pending divorce). It’s not a love story, though; the mystery took over from chapter one.

Lida: I like your turn on “a Cinderella story.” Do you have a favorite character?

R.W.: Probably Louis. Physically, I based him on several guys I find attractive (and when I named him, he suddenly looked kind of like the French actor Louis Garrel) and some of his characteristics are inspired by my boyfriend – like being able to bring everything back to soccer. So what’s not to like?

Lida: Isn’t that funny how sometimes small traits of loved ones wind their way into our books. Why should I (or any reader) read your lovely creation?

R.W: In addition to being a murder mystery, The Red Brick Cellars is also something of a travel log for Toulouse. If you’re curious about France and want to see something different that Paris (don’t get me wrong, Paris is great, but France has so much more to offer), my novel should give you an insight into this laid-back city that pretends to be a small village despite its almost one million inhabitants.

Lida: I want to know more. Sounds like an exciting read, R.W. Thanks so much for joining me and sharing the juicy details of your new book!

Author bio:
R.W. Wallace grew up in Norway, but has lived almost half her life in South-Western France. Since books were always more enjoyable in English, that is the language she chose for writing. Fascinated with Toulouse and its history, it became the natural setting and inspiration for her stories.
She divides her time between a busy city life in Toulouse and a laidback country setting at the foot of the Pyrénées with her better half and two miniature versions of herself.

Book Buy Links: AMAZON

To learn more about R.W. Wallace, please visit her website.