Glenn Michaels didn't go to Magnolia at first. His name wasn't even Glenn Michaels.
Tricia Knox started out as a toadie for a scheming woman intent on literally stealing a radio talk show host to work for her... for practically nothing.
The story which ended up as The Legacy of Miss Annie Darden Coggins actually started as a daydream of mine a few years back.
An early draft of the story had a hero named Wayne Jensen escaping his successful syndicated radio talk show as it was about to be absorbed by a woman who intended on blackmailing him to work for her radio station group based in Colorado. Jensen found himself in southern Ohio where he encountered an old flame of his who convinced him to go out on a limb and start his own network so that he could control his own destiny.
Two words... it sucked.
I finished a manuscript about two years ago and shopped it out to a couple of friends of mine including an English teacher and a Librarian. I let it simmer for a while, let my wife read it and came to the counclusion that it sucked.
The second version mirrored the first. I went through several versions of 'meeting the long-lost love', placing the same person in several different situations (a nurse, widowed, retired, with and without grown children, still married but unhappy) and none of them seemed to work. I attached the woman to a talisman... a small pewter pin in the shape of an owl which was given by the hero to his long-lost love some time ago.
Variations to the theme continued for several months until I met Tricia Knox.
Tricia started out as a free-lance writer and publicist for the woman in Colorado - sent to tail Wayne Jensen so that the villainess could keep a tab on him. She eventually finds herself changing sides, disappearing before the "God and Country" ending.
I tried another approach - placing Jensen in Texas without the successful career, working as a drone with Tricia as a co-worker who eventually followed him on his ever murkier pilgrimage up north and for a while, the story was going nowhere.
Several elements of the completed story were already in place when I took a couple of chances.
For one, I took a trip to see my mother in Ohio. While I was there, I came in contact with an old boss of mine, Tyrone Hemry, who was once the manager of WIBO/WPKO in Waverly, Ohio. Part of the discussion had to do with his ownership of a small variety store in Piketon, Ohio. A co-worker at the time I worked with Ty had decided that Ty or Tyrone wasn't a proper name for the owner of a variety store; he would be better off if he called himself "Chuck". We referred to the place as being "Chuck's Bargain Center"; a fact that Tyrone didn't know until I told him while sitting in a diner on a beautiful early January afternoon. I have more to say about "Chuck's Bargain Center" in a later post.
The other chance was taken about a year ago - I took an adult education class on novel writing at the local college. By the time I started, I already had my setting and most of my characters in place. I was still dealing with Wayne Jensen, but Tricia Knox had become more of the co-conspirator. Further, the former 'flame' had disappeared (along with the owl), replaced by Hannah Smith Murphy and the yellow rose.
By the end of the class, the story was 75% complete and in version #6. Last summer, another trip up north to briefly re-acquiant myself with the setting (and snagging the Geocache "Red Streak Crossing" where I left a North Texas geocoin). By the first of November, the story was 98% complete. A weekend as a Team member on N.Texas Cursillo #301 led to the final re-write of the Glenn Michaels character. He had become Glenn Michaels before the second trip to Ohio and he had already attended Cursillo, although he had lapsed - putting it mildly.
Up until a week before I sent the book to Amazon, the title was Finding Glenn Michaels. The back story of Annie Darden Coggins was added - it was a short story written by me between revisions in the past coupl of years - the title was changed, and there we were.
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One other note. In the story, part of the action takes place in what I describe as a hulking old Matador. One, maybe two people other than me would know that the actual car in question belonged to Dane Suter, someone who was on the radio in Chillicothe back in the '70s and into the '90s. Dane was known to many of us as 'The Squirrel', in part because of his high-pitched voice, and in part because he collected things. By the time I left Ohio to live in Texas, Dane owned and had stored every vehicle he had ever owned, including a Vespa Scooter, two Corvairs, a Renault Alliance once used as a postal delivery vehicle, and his mother's 1976 (or was that 1977) AMC Matador sedan in Barcelona trim. I always wondered what happened to that car after he passed. I was happy to have it up and running again for this story.
Be Seeing You!
bdharrell
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Starving Artists
Just before hitting the blogspot this morning, I took a look at the statistics connected with my book - The Legacy of Miss Annie Darden Coggins to discover that as of the moment, I have nearly 200 'copies' out in general circulation... only 10 of them from paying customers. For what I intended, it's not a bad showing, really. I'm writing primarily as a hobby (for now) and haven't been too worried about how much money I will be making on this venture. Amazon won't release the money I've made until after I've sold roughly 50 books... and even then I'll have to wait 60 days before any money appears in my bank account.
That's a long time to wait before being able to eat real food.
The image of those television commercials about 'Starving Artists' shows comes to mind. Most people I know who are artists are doing so out of the love of being artists first. If they happen to make a dollar or two on the way, that much the better. In the meantime, they work at their day jobs to support themselves or their families. I work with several musicians... one who has recently released an album... who happily tolerate having to do what they do in order to support their artistic activities. Numerous friends and relatives (to one degree or another) do the same. There's no shame in it. All any of us do is to adapt to the reality of our situation and keep on plugging.
I certainly am. Aside from blogging and keeping up with Facebook and my e-mail (brc_harrell@yahoo.com), I am busily building my sequel to The Legacy...
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Speaking of "Starving Artists", I encountered mention of an artist on the internet named Anne Darden. I gather that she is a singer and/or songwriter. I am going to make a point of sending her a message of some sort at some point in time, introducing myself and my book.
Part of my reasoning of using Annie Darden Coggins in the book is that the name was one of a woman I once knew who has long since passed to be a part of the Choir Invisible. The Annie mentioned here was one of my grandmother's siblings; she was a fine woman who lived to be a ripe old age and never left her husband, despite what I've made the character do. The Dardens were children of a Confederate soldier and with one exception, stayed rooted in the traditions of Tidewater Virginia. That one exception has a street named after him up in South Bend, Indiana. Go figure.
I've rambled along quite enough this morning... spending twenty minutes writing here instead of working on The Magnolia Chronicles. Besides, I have to get to work at some point today. Gotta keep from starving, you see.
Be Seeing You!
bdharrell
That's a long time to wait before being able to eat real food.
The image of those television commercials about 'Starving Artists' shows comes to mind. Most people I know who are artists are doing so out of the love of being artists first. If they happen to make a dollar or two on the way, that much the better. In the meantime, they work at their day jobs to support themselves or their families. I work with several musicians... one who has recently released an album... who happily tolerate having to do what they do in order to support their artistic activities. Numerous friends and relatives (to one degree or another) do the same. There's no shame in it. All any of us do is to adapt to the reality of our situation and keep on plugging.
I certainly am. Aside from blogging and keeping up with Facebook and my e-mail (brc_harrell@yahoo.com), I am busily building my sequel to The Legacy...
-----
Speaking of "Starving Artists", I encountered mention of an artist on the internet named Anne Darden. I gather that she is a singer and/or songwriter. I am going to make a point of sending her a message of some sort at some point in time, introducing myself and my book.
Part of my reasoning of using Annie Darden Coggins in the book is that the name was one of a woman I once knew who has long since passed to be a part of the Choir Invisible. The Annie mentioned here was one of my grandmother's siblings; she was a fine woman who lived to be a ripe old age and never left her husband, despite what I've made the character do. The Dardens were children of a Confederate soldier and with one exception, stayed rooted in the traditions of Tidewater Virginia. That one exception has a street named after him up in South Bend, Indiana. Go figure.
I've rambled along quite enough this morning... spending twenty minutes writing here instead of working on The Magnolia Chronicles. Besides, I have to get to work at some point today. Gotta keep from starving, you see.
Be Seeing You!
bdharrell
Monday, January 28, 2013
Now an author's blog...
The folks at this blogging site are probably wondering why in the heck this particular blog is waking up after laying dormant for nearly three years.
The reason is simple. I had lost energy on the subject and instead decided to write a book.
Here it is, a week after the book has been 'published' and released upon the wide world, and I am faced with the decision of whether or not to blog about my experiences. Of course I do. The phrase used to be "publish or perish". These days it's "blog or perish".
Eh....
I looked at using my other blog here on Blogspot - Uncle Bruco's Rants and Raves - but have decided against it. Too... ranty and ravy.
I have decided to resurrect this particular blog as my 'writer's blog' because of the title.
The complete phrase as I learned it back in the late '70s was "The best pay you can expect to get in radio is minimum wage and all the records you can eat." I attribute that quote to Steven B. Crabtree - a rotund co-worker and Ohio U classmate from Portsmouth, Ohio.
Steve was an interesting character. We worked together at WKYG in Parkersburg, West Virginia. He was pure hillbilly... driving used Chevrolet Vegas he had resurrected from junk yards, wearing cheap sandals every day of the year (even when it snowed), and 'packing heat'... I could count on him doing his show with a pistol next to the mixing board. He told some interesting stories, including what I consider to be the original "drying the cat in the microwave" story before the internet was even a figment of Al Gore's imagination.
Steve passed on to his reward a few years back - victim to his own obesity. I have yet to hear of the particulars, only knowing about it because of a line in an Alumni newsletter recieved under the previous regime. Anyhoo, I have revived him as a minor character in my book. In the first chapter no less.
Other parts of the book are homage to Steve and other characters I have met on the way while I was working as a radio announcer primarily back in the '70s. The Legacy of Miss Annie Darden Coggins is, among other things, an homage to those days when having a job in radio was having a job where the best you could expect was "minimum wage and all the records you could eat". These days, on-the-air radio seems to be dominated by formulaic formats developed by large group owners who dominate the radio landscape. Clear Channel is chief among the miscreants, gobbling up small stations like some of those I had worked for. To be fair, CC has made life better for the people who work for them... I gather that Dan Ramey, a friend who works at WBEX in Chillicothe, Ohio is doing much better than "minimum..." these days. He has pointed out that at least there's a pension plan in place (in response to a rant I made concerning CC on Facebook), so life isn't so bad after all. "Big Thicket Broadcasting", my substitute for CC in the book resembles the actual corporation in place only in the sense that it's based in Texas. "Big Thicket" is more of a sole proprietership, as we will learn in one of the sequels I have in process.
Did I say sequels?
Yes, I did. Magnolia, Ohio is populated with more than just radio people from 40 years ago. There are other stories to be told... like that of the new Pastor at Community Baptist Church, his family and a dog named Frank; there's Magnolia's official 'homeless person', a rascal who's homeless only as a front; and there are stories about the Mulligans, Miss Lizzie and the 'free spirits' who live on a farm outside of town.
About thirty years ago, a co-worker told me that he expected to be entertained by what I wrote at some point in his life. All I can remember about that co-worker was that his name was Mike and he lived in Waco, Texas. So... Mike in Waco... here we go. I am writing; I am published. Enjoy!
Be Seeing You!
bdharrell
The reason is simple. I had lost energy on the subject and instead decided to write a book.
Here it is, a week after the book has been 'published' and released upon the wide world, and I am faced with the decision of whether or not to blog about my experiences. Of course I do. The phrase used to be "publish or perish". These days it's "blog or perish".
Eh....
I looked at using my other blog here on Blogspot - Uncle Bruco's Rants and Raves - but have decided against it. Too... ranty and ravy.
I have decided to resurrect this particular blog as my 'writer's blog' because of the title.
The complete phrase as I learned it back in the late '70s was "The best pay you can expect to get in radio is minimum wage and all the records you can eat." I attribute that quote to Steven B. Crabtree - a rotund co-worker and Ohio U classmate from Portsmouth, Ohio.
Steve was an interesting character. We worked together at WKYG in Parkersburg, West Virginia. He was pure hillbilly... driving used Chevrolet Vegas he had resurrected from junk yards, wearing cheap sandals every day of the year (even when it snowed), and 'packing heat'... I could count on him doing his show with a pistol next to the mixing board. He told some interesting stories, including what I consider to be the original "drying the cat in the microwave" story before the internet was even a figment of Al Gore's imagination.
Steve passed on to his reward a few years back - victim to his own obesity. I have yet to hear of the particulars, only knowing about it because of a line in an Alumni newsletter recieved under the previous regime. Anyhoo, I have revived him as a minor character in my book. In the first chapter no less.
Other parts of the book are homage to Steve and other characters I have met on the way while I was working as a radio announcer primarily back in the '70s. The Legacy of Miss Annie Darden Coggins is, among other things, an homage to those days when having a job in radio was having a job where the best you could expect was "minimum wage and all the records you could eat". These days, on-the-air radio seems to be dominated by formulaic formats developed by large group owners who dominate the radio landscape. Clear Channel is chief among the miscreants, gobbling up small stations like some of those I had worked for. To be fair, CC has made life better for the people who work for them... I gather that Dan Ramey, a friend who works at WBEX in Chillicothe, Ohio is doing much better than "minimum..." these days. He has pointed out that at least there's a pension plan in place (in response to a rant I made concerning CC on Facebook), so life isn't so bad after all. "Big Thicket Broadcasting", my substitute for CC in the book resembles the actual corporation in place only in the sense that it's based in Texas. "Big Thicket" is more of a sole proprietership, as we will learn in one of the sequels I have in process.
Did I say sequels?
Yes, I did. Magnolia, Ohio is populated with more than just radio people from 40 years ago. There are other stories to be told... like that of the new Pastor at Community Baptist Church, his family and a dog named Frank; there's Magnolia's official 'homeless person', a rascal who's homeless only as a front; and there are stories about the Mulligans, Miss Lizzie and the 'free spirits' who live on a farm outside of town.
About thirty years ago, a co-worker told me that he expected to be entertained by what I wrote at some point in his life. All I can remember about that co-worker was that his name was Mike and he lived in Waco, Texas. So... Mike in Waco... here we go. I am writing; I am published. Enjoy!
Be Seeing You!
bdharrell
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