Guest blogger talks about determining a setting in your novel

Bestselling Novelist Karen Dionne talks about how she chose the setting for her newest novel, Boiling Point.

Editor's Note: If you are inspired, awe struck or just emotional about a particular place consider using it as a setting in a novel. A place with such emotional ties adds a rich element to the story.

Karen Dionne is the internationally published author of Freezing Point, a science thriller nominated by RT Book Reviews as Best First Mystery of 2008. 

A second environmental thriller, Boiling Point, about an erupting volcano, a missing researcher, and a radical scheme to end global warming is forthcoming from Berkley in January 2011.

Karen is cofounder of the online writers community Backspace, and organizes the Backspace Writers Conferences held in New York City every year. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and the International Thriller Writers, where she currently serves on the board of directors as Vice President, Technology. 

She is also Managing Editor of the International Thriller Writers' newsletter and webzine, The Big Thrill.

My new environmental thriller, Boiling Point, is about an erupting volcano, a missing researcher, and a radical scheme to end global warming involving geo-engineering. The story takes place during the time of a real volcanic eruption: Chaitén volcano, in Northern Patagonia, Chile.

Chaitén Volcano came to life for the first time in 9,000 years on May 2, 2008 in a major eruption. The magma blasted 3.1 miles through Earth’s crust in only four hours, giving the people living in the town at the base of the volcano six miles away just 30 hours’ warning. The volcanic plume climbed 12 miles into the stratosphere, covering much of Patagonia with ash and drifting as far east as the Atlantic. 

No one lost their life, but ten days later, heavy winter rains washed the ash that covered the ruined mountains into the river, creating a lahar that caused the banks of the Rio Blanco to overflow and destroying 90% of the town.

Because my publisher bought Boiling Point before it was written, I was able to travel to Chaitén volcano one year after the initial eruption for onsite research. I stayed in Chaiten town, even though the town was still evacuated and without electricity and running water, and hiked to within one mile of the new lava dome, where I saw steam vents, heard explosions coming from the caldera, and felt a small earthquake. It was an amazing and inspiring trip that definitely informs the novel!

I chose Chaitén as the location for Boiling Point after I saw this amazing picture of the initial eruption that was making the rounds of the Internet:

 As I wrote the chapters leading up to the moment of eruption, was really looking forward to describing that amazing plume:

"A colossal pillar of ash and gas spewed from Chaitén’s caldera. Molten rock colored the column red as it streaked for the stratosphere, turning the sky around it a sickly yellow. Plumes of steam erupted from the surrounding rocks, cheering the inferno heavenward like hissing demons."

Boiling Point follows several characters’ stories until they all converge at the volcano at the end, and so not long after, I had the chance to describe the plume again from another character’s point of view:

"To the east, the massive pillar of ash stretched into the night. It roiled and pulsed like a living thing, lit from within by great sheets of orange and red flame like a Hollywood explosion that just kept going. Flickering around it and through it were brilliant bolts of lightning, dancing and chasing each other, lighting up the whole plume and the layers of cloud above and below with purple. A terrifying construct of fire and lightning and smoke. A vile, elemental monster, looming over his town, threatening to rain down flame and thunder. Heart-stopping. Terrifying. Like something born of the perverse imagination of a disaster movie director. This wasn’t something that happened in real life. And yet there it was, right in front of him, and Gabriel was watching it with his own eyes."

And not long after that, again:

"And then there was the volcano. At the edge of the caldera, wisps of steamlike mist. Beyond, a smoking hump—a newborn lava dome, barely visible in the shifting ribbons that curled up around it. A brand-new mountain where none had been a day ago. It smoked and shuddered, and even from this distance they could hear it pop and rumble as boulders tumbled down its slopes. The tendrils of steam that spewed from its sides rose up to meet the main column, a vast nightmare tower of churning ash and steam. It rose up into the heavens and mixed with the clouds until Ross couldn’t tell where the volcano’s plume ended and the sky began, spreading its umbrella over the world and raining down ash. Ash that was falling on them."

– and again:

"An angry black column of ash and debris filled the sky, writhing and roiling like something alive, so big, she felt like an ant contemplating the smoke from a roaring campfire. Like the lone survivor of an atomic blast."

–  and again    

"At last, the caldera. She craned her neck as she drove through a passage that was eerily similar to the one she’d entered from the other side barely twenty-four hours ago. Towering walls guarding a narrow entrance, the gates of Hell. Inside, a world of fire, steam, and smoke. Staggering in its immensity and power. Elemental. She could feel Chaitén’s vibrations thrumming through the floorboards. See the rocks crumbling off the cliff faces as she drove between them. Smell the sulfurous odor belching from the bowels of the Earth. Hear the mountain roar. The vast expanse of rocky ground was split apart, riddled with cracks oozing new rock, spurting steam. And in the middle, a hill of red rock that was already the size of a small mountain, vomiting a roiling tower of ash and gas from the center of the Earth, darkening the skies and raining down cinders and ash: the newborn lava dome. Dante’s Inferno."

– again and again and again. I’ll admit, by the time the last character saw the volcanic plume for the first time, it was becoming a real challenge to find a fresh way to describe what was essentially exactly the same thing.

Don’t get me wrong: Boiling Point was a lot of fun to write. After all, the novel has a 40-page climax that takes place IN the caldera of an erupting volcano – it doesn’t get more exciting than that! But having the bulk of the story take place immediately following Chaitén’s eruption created another descriptive challenge, as the following video illustrates:

(Chaitén volcano, Northern Patagonia, Chile. Video by Karen Dionne. To see more photos and video of my research trip to Chaitén volcano, visit www.karendionne.net)

 My next novel, I’m choosing a more colorful setting!

To read an excerpt from Boiling Point, click here.

Today is LIAR'S DIARY Blog Day - Want to Help?

Well, today is the day when the stars of the blogosphere shine on Patry Francis and hopefully we will either make blog history as one of the greatest promotional efforts in publishing history or it will be just another Tuesday.

But none of that is important because no matter what happens it is a special day, a day when fellow writers, fellow human beings unselfishly gave some of their time and resources to help someone greatly in need of support.

Today is THE LIAR’S DIARY blog day when more than 300 bloggers all over the country mention Patry Francis and the release of the paperback version of her debut murder mystery novel, THE LIAR’S DIARY.

We are also encouraging you to buy a copy in support of Patry, in support of life and of all the people who have suffered or are suffering with cancer.

Patry Francis was diagnosed with rapidly-spreading cancer a few months ago and does not have the energy to promote the release of her book after several surgeries. So fellow writers, authors, agents, publishers and publishing professionals have banded together to help Patry promote her book on the blogosphere today.

I know Patry only through emails, but from our short communications I found that she is an amazing and talented person. Here is what she wrote three weeks after she was diagnosed with cancer:

“One thing I learned was that for every ounce of trouble I was forced to drink, I would counter it with two ounces of bliss. Not the cheap bliss I attempted to find in a wine bottle, but the real thing. The kind I saw in that thin shell when I held it up to the light. The kind we all have inside us if we choose to draw on it.

I really think this is where we so often go wrong. When bad things happen--whether it's disease, rejection, mistreatment, perceived or otherwise - we allow it to control us. In other words, we pour ourselves another glass of poison when what we really need is the antidote - a double shot of BLISS.”

You can read the rest of her story of hope on her blog, Simply Wait.

You can also help by buying a copy of THE LIAR’S DIARY at Amazon or at your favorite bookstore. It’s a great read.

Here’s the synopsis:

How far would you go to protect your family? To protect your children? How many lies would you tell? Would you dare to admit the darkest truths - even to yourself?

Jeanne Cross is an ordinary suburban wife and mother with a seemingly "perfect" life when Ali Mather arrives on the scene, breaking all the rules and breaking hearts. Almost against her will, Jeanne is drawn to this powerfully seductive woman, a fascination that soon begins to infect Jeanne's husband as well as their teenage son. Though their friendship seems unlikely and even dangerous to their mutual acquaintances, Ali and Jeanne are connected by deep emotional needs, vulnerabilities, and long-held secrets that Ali has been privately recording in her diary.

The diary also holds the key to something darker. Though she can't prove it, Ali is convinced someone has been entering her house when she is not at home - and not with the usual intentions. What this burglar wants is nothing less than a piece of Ali's soul.

If you are not convinced this book is a page turner, take a look at some of the five-star reviews on Barnes and Noble and the cool book trailer on Powell's Books.

In case you didn't know Patry Francis, here is a brief bio from her publisher:

Patry Francis is a three-time nominee for the Pushcart Prize whose work has appeared in the Tampa Review, Colorado Review, Ontario Review, and the American Poetry Review. She is also the author of the popular blogs, simplywait.blogspot.com and waitresspoems.blogspot.com. This is her first novel.

One last thing, if you have a story of hope or just want to say a few kind words, please feel free to post them here for Patry and others like her. She would like that.

Don't forget to check Susan Henderson's blog, Lit Park, and to see the special gift Patry's husband Ted gave her.

And if you want to know how this great effort started and who are some of the participants check out my earlier post, "Have a Blog? Want to Help a Fellow Author".

Getting Published is a Matter of ...

I recently read in The New York Times Rachel Donadio’s essay on how Elie Wiesel’s NIGHT, a Holocaust memoir, was rejected by 15 publishers, ignored by readers and went on to sell 10 million copies. It was recently taken off the NYTimes best seller list after Oprah Winfrey picked it for her book club last January. During that time, it sold 3 million additional copies and stayed on the NYTimes list for 80 weeks.

CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL by Jack Canfield was rejected by 140 publishers because no one in the business could figure out how to classify it among all the different genres already taking up space in bookstores all over America. The book has sold over 112 million copies worldwide and it has spawned over 170 titles in 41 languages.

What both books did was create new genres. And whenever something new comes along it takes a while for it to be accepted and embraced as another icon in our culture.

I believe it is the same with writing. Established authors try to recreate themselves all the time. Dean Koontz did it in THE GOOD GUY, where he “…did not use traditional methods of character revelation, no back stories in narration or in dialogue until late in the text. All the characters have secrets.”

Michael Crichton veered away from the traditional novel in NEXT, where he compiles a series of different scenes thinly related by his overall theme emphasizing the dangers of gene therapy and genome mapping.

Both books explored new areas of storytelling moving away from the traditional plane.

The moral of this post is to take these stories to heart and never give up on your writing - persist.

It’s a matter of persistence – finding the right agent or publisher who believes in your work and will expose it to the publishing world with the same enthusiasm and passion that you have for your work.

It’s a matter of timing – eventually readers will get tired of seeing the same genre of books on the best selling lists and migrate to other genres. If your book is in the newly accepted genre, it will have a better chance of selling. (However, don’t write a book because you think a particular genre is hot at the time. Just write no matter what genre.)

The right stuff - Lastly, your writing must be engaging, your story interesting and the mechanics of your book flawless. Your work must have the right stuff of good storytelling and a purpose whether to entertain, inform or take up a cause.

Writing After the Holiday Cheer

I’ve noticed there are lots of articles in writer’s magazines and on blogs about getting back to writing now that the holiday season is winding down.

Yes, Virginia, it is a busy time, but a break can improve your writing. It’s hard to be creative all the time, and a change of routine is not only good for the mind and soul, it’s good for your creativity.

What I find works for me is to work on two or three projects at the same time. I’m not saying this is for everyone, but it works well for me. I’m currently working on 3 novels right now. One is complete and two are in the beginning chapters. I’ll work on one for awhile, then put it aside and pick up the next one. What I find is that when I go back to one of the novels after a week or two, I have a whole new outlook on it and I usually improve the writing or the characters or the plot.

I try to write something every night - have to make a living during the day. And I usually write for a few hours in the morning on weekends unless a flash of creativity strikes and then I’ll spend more time writing.

I carry a small notebook around all the time to write down ideas or I use a voice recorder when I can’t use the notebook. I also keep a notebook and pen on my nightstand for those rare dreams or epiphanies that come in the middle of the night.

I find my creativity is more abundant and the writing flows better when I can take breaks and think about my writing rather than thinking about how much I should write.

Happy writing!

It's a Wonderful Life

My wife and I were watching Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life” on NBC the other night for the 100^th time or so. We both have seen the movie so many times we can recite the actor’s lines as they say them. We watch it every year just as we put up a Christmas tree every year. Although we have seen the movie many times, we both thoroughly enjoy watching it again often saying, “This is one of my favorite scenes,” or “I can’t wait to see this part.”

I started thinking about this film and why it is still popular and why it is so timeless. After all, the film debuted in movie theaters on December 20, 1946, it is in black and white and the lifestyle and mores of the era are those of our parents and grandparents depending how old you are. Some of the actors and scenes are corny by today’s standards, but the film remains highly popular. In addition, it was considered a box office flop because it did not generate the anticipated revenue.

As I watched it I could see that the film was made like a well written novel. Great characterizations, conflict, drama and George Bailey’s (played by Jimmy Steward) self realization that his problems were nothing compared to all the things he had done and all the people his life had touched. All the plot points are resolved in the end and two major themes emerge: self sacrifice to help others and that family and friends are all that matter.

This is the stuff of great novels like GONE WITH THE WIND, THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA and others that speak a universal human truth that lives on through each generation. A truth that is not anchored in time and relevant to the values of any era. This is the kind of story telling all writers would love to write and it is the universal thread that keeps us writing against all odds.

If you have never watched “It’s a Wonderful Life” it is one of those films that should be required watching to become a member of the human race. It’s a film you should watch if you are writing a novel because it has all the elements of great story telling.

Here are links to additional information on the film.

A great review by Tom Dirks on filmsite.org

Photos and videos on The Internet Movie Database

Photos and information at Reel Classics

Do You Believe in Reincarnation?

Author MJ Rose believes so, along with 60 million others in America and this inspired her to write, THE REINCARNATIONIST, her ninth book, a suspenseful historical thriller about gripping revelations on humanity and beyond.

Her book, released on Sept. 1, appears to have been smoldering inside of MJ all of her life as she tells how it started although she didn't know it would be a book one day.

"When I was three years old, I told my great grandfather things about his childhood in that there was simply no way I could have known. He became convinced I was a reincarnation of someone in his past. Over time, after more incidents, my mother - a very sane and logical woman - also came to believe it."

Read my interview with this fascinating author on the Algonkian Writers Conferences website.

Publishing Trends Favor Women's Fiction

If you want to get a feel for what publishers are buying these days, check out Agent Andrew Zack's blog at all that's new(s) from A to Z: Looking for...Historical Fiction...and Women's Fiction...

He is now representing manuscripts in the following areas:

• Commercial Women's Fiction
• Literary Women's Fiction
• Romance Fiction, including Romantic Suspense and Paranormal Romance
• Chick Lit
• Smart women's fiction that isn't Chick Lit or Romance

It seems that the majority of agencies are looking in these genres for well-written and compelling manuscripts. Why? According to Mr. Zack,

1. I'm married now and wifey needs more to read;
2. The majority of my interns are women and many are fans of these categories;
3. Fifty percent of all books sold in the United States each year fall into those categories.

Don't be discouraged if your book doesn't fall into one of these categories - there is still plenty of room for thrillers, suspense and other genres provided you have a concept that immediately pulls readers into your book and your writing reflects your voice.

It's just that this is a strong trend right now and like everything else trends change and other genres may dominate the publishing industry.

The Writer's Edge: I write because...

The Writer's Edge: Responses to Why Do You Write?

Writer's responses to David Morrell's fascinating premise that writers write because of personal traumas that haunt them throughout their lives. Click on the link above to read the whole story.