PICTURE OF LIES - WINNER! 2012 NEXT GENERATION INDIE BOOK AWARD!

DANTE COVELLI

Archeologist Dante Covelli is a complicated man with a complicated past he doesn't talk about. His personal philosophy goes something like this: It's up to me to make things right. Of course, Keegan Thomas feels that's her job, so it's no surprise they don't see eye to eye.

Dante thinks Keegan is nosing around and interfering in something that is not her business by asking questions about a photograph taken on the reservation fifty years before. She, on the other hand, feels she's bringing a gift of memory to young Navajos by providing them a glimpse of the faces of elderly family members they may never have seen before.

Dante questions her true intentions as a journalist, and with good reason. He came to Monument Valley in the first place to keep a low profile and avoid contact with the media. He wonders if she's there to bring up that whole mess from his past.

He thinks Keegan is irresponsible and inconsiderate. She wants him to lighten up. He, like Keegan, tends to bury himself in his work to dull the pain of the past, a pain inflicted by people in whom they'd invested their trust.

PICTURE OF LIES - Keegan Thomas

While PICTURE OF LIES was in development, I put a lot of thought into my main character, Keegan Thomas. The journey on which I planned to send her required a certain temperment and personality as I wasn't going to make things easy for her. She needed to have a good amount of courage and perserverence despite some personal character flaws that could easily paralyze someone into inaction.

As an investigative reporter, her goal in the story is to find people in a fifty-year-old photograph, and discover the whereabouts of a little Navajo girl, now an adult, who was kidnapped by missionaries and never returned. Can you imagine the determination required to do this? It's what she finds out during her inquiries that really tests her mettle. So I had to make her extremely extroverted, driven, and aggressive when it came to things she felt strongly about.

And what I like about her most is that she is able to do her job despite the terrible pain she feels over losing her own child. In her mind, she's to blame her child went missing. She feels responsible, feels that if she'd been a better mother, it would not have happened. After all, she was right there on that same foggy beach .

The stress of keeping it together manifests itself in some mild OCD behaviors. In the throes of anger or stress, Keegan finds herself compulsively counting things - the number of people in the restaurant, the number of black cars that go through a certain intersection before the light turns red, the number of uprights in a wrought iron fence. This quirk does not get in her way. Strangely, it helps her focus so she can move forward. She really needs that focus later when she finds herself stranded in the wilderness, and again at the end of the book when she's at the wrong end of a gun.

Have I modeled this character after myself? Well, maybe, but it's a better, stronger, prettier, taller, thinner, more inquisitive, impulsive, and courageous version of me. Oh, and younger.

The story thread about the missing Navajo child kidnapped by missionaries was inspired by a true event. The real kidnapped child was found and reunited with his natural family while I lived on the Navajo Indian Reservation as a VISTA volunteer.

And if you notice the acknowledgement at the front of the book to Two Spirits - that's true, too. Watch Independent Lens on PBS on June 14 for the real story.

PICTURE OF LIES October 2011 Release

Adance Review copies of my new book, PICTURE OF LIES, went out last week. I love this book and hope you all do, too. The story returns to Monument Valley on the Navajo Indian Reservation where THE CHARMSTONE was set. Different characters, but same locale. Readers who were swept away to Monument Valley while reading THE CHARMSTONE may experience the same journey while reading PICTURE OF LIES. I hope so. I certainly was.

Investigative journalist Keegan Thomas travels to Monument Valley seeking people who appear with her grandfather in an old photograph that was found in his belongings after his death. A string of mysteries evolve from that including the search for an Indian child she is told was kidnapped by missionaries and taken to a boarding school, but never returned. This is especially heartbreaking for her as she's been living a nightmare of guilt and grief since her own little girl, Daisy, was kidnapped practically in front of her eyes.

Her courage and persistence uncover a web of deception that stretches back two generations, and the truth she learns about her own family is the most shocking betrayal of all. Nothing can prepare her for the danger she encounters when she becomes the target of a powerful U.S. senator who will do anything to stop her from telling what she finds out about the people in the picture and what they were up to. Some of the events in the story were inspired by my experiences and the stories I heard while I lived in Monument Valley as a VISTA volunteer.

The next book is already churning around in my head. It's called THE MISSING GIRL, and continues some of the story questions presented in PICTURE OF LIES. You'll see at the end of PICTURE OF LIES where I might be going with that.

REALITY OR REALISM?

How much realism do readers want and expect in a novel? Authors worry about this all the time. Some go so far as to check things like sunrise and sunset time tables, and the GPS location of a certain building in the city where their story is set so their references are accurate.

I say, lighten up my fellow authors! It IS fiction, after all. That's what the willing suspension of disbelief is for.

While I do agree we need to make the guns and explosives accurate, and I do tons of research for my own books, I don't get all bent out of shape if the author of a book I'm reading puts Tom's Tavern in Golden instead of Boulder. In fact, I can't think of a single novel I ever gave up on because the author made something like that up.

After all, it's the story that counts. I try to make my stories compelling and fast moving even if I have to ignore reality at times. I will always put the story first.

After all, one of the first things we learn when we begin writing fiction is that it doesn't have to BE real, it just has to SEEM real.

BOOK TIME

I recently read an interesting discussion on a writer's blog about book time - how to accomplish everything that needs to happen in the abbreviated time frame of a mystery or romance novel. Characters grow and change, travel, meetings and conversations must occur to move the the story forward, but those events aren't necessarily shown on the page. Still the reader needs to be somehow grounded in time and place to avoid confusion. Well, it's a challenge to a writer, for sure.

Book time is something I'm very aware of when I'm writing, but not so much when I'm reading except when I'm reading romance or romantic suspense. Then I have a lot of trouble with characters who hate each other at the beginning of the book then suddenly love each other. There has to be a darn good reason why she loves him after hating him, and I mean something other than a good sexual encounter. He has to do something really extraordinary to make her change her mind during the space and time limits of a 60,000 to 100,000 word book or I don't believe it as a reader.

Otherwise, when I'm reading I pretty much go with the flow of the story timeline without noticing the book time passing unless it's called to my attention by the author. To be honest, the quick 45 minute solution to most television series is why I don't watch much television. When I do watch a TV series, it's usually one that continues the story from week to week, like "The Good Wife" or "Damages" or "Rubicon" or "The Tudors" or "The Event."

One of the reasons I'm so aware of this challenge in my writing is that some time ago I had a previous agent tell me that the "time tags" I used, you know, those lines at the beginning of chapters giving the date or day of that chapter's events, was too distracting. I had to change it and incorporate the book time passing in the text.

Later, in another manuscript, I had an editor tell me that my book time passing references within the text was a bad habit. So I truly struggle with that in all my writing.

Good-bye Droid, Hello LG

I had to say good-bye to my Droid. Oh, it was a great relationship while it lasted! It did wonderful things. I could get instructions for the board games Guesstures and Pictionary. I could search Amazon for books, look up phone numbers and addresses, get driving instructions from MapQuest, find coupons for anything I wanted to purchase, check movie times and TV schedules, and so much more.

But it was a bossy little thing! And it was so sensitive! It took me to websites I didn't want, called phone numbers I didn't mean to, cut off calls I wanted to take, and pretty much had a mind of its own. So I had to let it go.

Hello, my old friend LG! Sorry I left you behind, but I'm back now to pick up where we left off. I missed you.

SAGE CANE BOOK COLORADO BOOK AWARD FINALIST!

I had some very good news recently from the lovely Jen Long at Colorado Humanities & Center for the Book. My book, SAGE CANE'S HOUSE OF GRACE AND FAVOR (written as Christy Hubbard) is a finalist in the 2010 Colorado Book Award!!

I couldn't be more thrilled. It's quite an honor and I'm in very good company. The Colorado Book Award recognizes outstanding contributions by authors, editors, illustrators and photographers in multiple categories: history, literary fiction, genre fiction (historical, romance, science fiction/fantasy, mystery/thriller), general nonfiction, juvenile literature, pictorial, poetry, and young adult literature. See http://www.coloradohumanities.org/ for the list of other finalists. It's impressive.

SAGE CANE'S HOUSE OF GRACE AND FAVOR, written under the pseudonym Christy Hubbard, looks at the hardships faced by women in the Rocky Mountain Gold Rush towns of the Old West. It's the story of how mothers, wives, and daughters transformed their rough and tumble mining town into a family friendly center of culture and sophistication. Reviewers have called the book a "marvelous tale of hope and possibilities," and an "inspiring, well-written historical novel filled with details that are sure to please western history buffs."

And I am especially pleased this book is being recognized in such a presigious manner because there was someone who did not believe in it - AND YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE. Fortunately there was only one. Now I'm not one to say I told you so, I only want to say - thank you Colorado Book Award judges for the recognition. I'm still walking on air.

DROID

My comfortable, familiar LG cell phone was not holding a charge any longer, and there was no replacement battery available, so it was time for a new phone. I got a Droid, and OMG it's like giving me a 747 to go to Safeway!!

The Droid is a mini-computer when all I really need to do is make phone calls, and it took me a day to figure out how to do that. Honestly, at first I thought the phone had a mind of its own, dialing numbers when I didn't want it to.

I do like receiving and sending emails on my phone, though (and will do that as soon as I learn how.) I also like having MapQuest (I need to learn that, too.) I'm sure there are many other wonderful things this Droid will do, but - hey! - I'm writing a book! I don't have much time to spend self-learning this phone. I'm waiting for a Droid for Dummies book. Will someone please write one?

SAGE CANE'S HOUSE OF GRACE AND FAVOR - Released 7-17-09

My new book comes out on July 17th. I'm very excited. It's an Old West Historical set in a Colorado mining town. It's quite a different story than I usually write, and I wrote it under a different name, Christy Hubbard. I loved writing this book. It felt like it was being channeled to me. I think I must have lived one of my previous lives in the Old West.

Here's the story of SAGE CANE'S HOUSE OF GRACE AND FAVOR:

In 1859 a woman needed guts to live in the Old West, and Sage Cane had an abundance. Penniless and in debt after the death of her father, then abandoned at the altar by a fortune-hunting scoundrel, she headed for Colorado gold country to take possession of the hotel she’d inherited from her Aunt Hannah “Honey” Wild. But the hotel is really a bordello called Wild Mountain Honey, and her plan to close it down is met with resistance from Bridger Norwood, the sexy town marshal whose job it is to keep peace in the rough and rugged mining town. Backed by the town fathers, he's convinced the miners need a nice place to go to keep them off the streets and out of trouble.

But Sage wasn’t born to let adversity keep her down or men control her destiny.

Fairplay Creek is a town of, by, and for men, with nothing for women. Not a slip of silk or froth of lace can be found anywhere outside the bordello. While the men mined for gold, drank in the saloons, gambled at the card tables, or visited Wild Mountain Honey, the wives were left behind to scrabble together a home in tents, huts, and dugouts. Until Sage Cane secretly teaches the women in town how to dress for adornment, whisper into a man's ear, and practice the fine art of seduction. Secrets are revealed and secrets are kept, but Fairplay Creek is changed forever.


Thank you RT Book Reviews for your 4 STAR review - "...marvelous tale...Dynamic characters...captivating plot..."

RE-READING BOOKS

I’ve never understood re-reading books.

Often I hear people say they have read a book many times, or they put a particular book on their keeper shelf to read again later. I have a keeper shelf, but it’s for signed first editions, not for books I plan to read again. I can’t think of a book I would want to read more than once. Why would I? I already know what happens.

Plus, as the saying goes – “So many books, so little time.” That’s how I look at it. I have hundreds of books in my bookcase that I haven’t read yet, and new books are released every day that entice me. If I re-read my books, I wouldn’t have time to read all the great new ones coming out.

I don’t buy DVDs, because I don’t even like to watch a movie more than once. Well, maybe there is a handful I will watch if they’re on television, but few enough that I can name them – Shoot The Moon, Two for the Road, Grand Prix, La Dolce Vita, Tombstone. They’re old movies. You probably haven’t heard of any of them except Tombstone. I have a couple of concert DVDs, but haven't watched them more than two or three times.

Usually, I’m reading two or three books at a time, and I try to make sure at least one of them is nonfiction. Here’s what I’m reading now:

“Fire and Ice” by Paul Garrison
“Live From New York, an Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live” by Tom Shales & James Andrew Miller
“The Secret History” by Donna Tartt

Oh, and I have new music, too. Here’s what’s new in my CD collection:

“Dummy” by Portishead
“Ultimate Waylon Jennings” by Waylon
“The Essential Johnny Cash” by Johnny
“The Essential Willie Nelson” by Willie

OH, MY GOSH, DAN SIMMONS!

I just finished reading Dan Simmons "A Winter Haunting" and oh, my gosh, it is spooky! I ended every chapter with a cringe, a glance over my shoulder, and a nervous little laugh.

I don't normally jump at house sounds in the night, but I did while reading this book, and in addition, I checked and re-checked to make sure the house alarm was activiated. (Not that an alarm would have scared away any of the malevolence in THIS book.)

Dan Simmons has skillfully blended reality with unreality, so that it ALL seemed real. Mysterious messages appearing on the computer screen, strange lights and noises in the boarded up second story of an abandoned house, the sudden appearance and disappearance of a stray dog, an overwhelming sense of danger, and all of it overlaid with the cold and gloom of a midwest winter.

MAMMA MIA!

I didn't go to the movies to see MAMMA MIA, I watched it on DVD at home. You have to really, really like ABBA to like this movie. Meryl Streep was cute in it and she looked like she was having a lot of fun. But like I said, you have to really, really like ABBA.

DOUBT

Ah, what a movie!

The movie DOUBT is worth going to see if for no other reason than the sheer pleasure of watching Meryl Streep. Oh, my goodness, she is powerful. Every movement and every muscle exudes energy and meaning.

The story is bound to make most people cringe a little (if not a lot), and the ending will surprise. Listen carefully to every word.

AUSTRALIA

AUSTRALIA.

I walked out.

I would have walked out an hour sooner, but the people on either side of me looked like they were enjoying it. This movie is sappy, predictable and boring, and doesn't know when to end. I've heard it compared to GONE WITH THE WIND. Don't believe it.

Save your money and your time.

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE was nothing like I expected. I guess I didn't know what to expect. I only went to see it because of the rave reviews. The title did not entice me in the least, but it got two thumbs up, and is getting Oscar buzz.

I'm not going to comment on the plot at all, but I will say (and this might be a SPOILER) it had the most feel-good ending of any movie I've ever seen. When it was over, I wanted to stand up and cheer. I did applaud.

Enough said. Go see it.

CHANGELING

I took time off from writing over the holidays to catch up on some of the great movies that are out. I love going to the movies, the whole idea of going to the theater, buying the popcorn, and settling into that cushy stadium seating. I guess that comes from living in Los Angeles, the company town of movies, where going to the cinema was always an EVENT. It's what I miss most about living there. (Besides the beach, of course.)

I usually go to the first showing of the day when there is almost no one else in the theater. Often I have the whole place to myself, and they run the movie just for me. I love it!

The first film I went to see was CHANGELING, a movie not to be missed. Intense and dramatic, yes. Compelling story, yes. And based on a real event that took place in Wineville, California in the nineteen thirties. The events were so horrific, Wineville later changed its name to Mira Loma.

Angelina Jolie was fabulous as she is in everything. The wonderful John Malkovich, another of my favorite actors, is in it. So is Jeffrey Donovan, the cool, sexy star of TV's BURN NOTICE, but I have to say, after watching him for a season in BURN NOTICE, he didn't seem to fit the part he played in CHANGELING. I had a hard time taking him seriously in the role. Jason Butler Harner played the killer and gave the most chilling performance, my choice for best actor in the film.

Clint Eastwood was the director so you know the film has depth.

THE CHARMSTONE DREAM TEAM

I'm here to tell you I have the best readers in the world!

I had a great time meeting Donna, Sherry and Sandy who came all the way from Pittsburgh to stop and say hello on their way to Monument Valley on the Navajo Indian Reservation. There were hugs and smiles all around as we settled in for a chat about THE CHARMSTONE and the book's very sexy hero Durango Yazzie. They loved him as much as I did, and were interested to know that last year he topped an Internet list of "Hero's to Die For."

I suggested they stay at the San Juan Inn in Mexican Hat, Utah. That's usually where I stay when I go to the Navajo Reservation. It's on the San Juan River, a big river rafting site, and centrally located. And I meet the most interesting people when I go there. (Hi Carol and Lawrence.)

So, I signed the Dream Team's copies of THE CHARMSTONE, and my new one, RUNNING FROM STRANGERS, which they tell me they'd pre-ordered before it was released. We laughed a lot, took pictures, and had a great time.

Thanks, ladies. You're the best! Really!

2008-2009 SIGNING SCHEDULE

2008 SIGNING SCHEDULE


November 15 – Fall Writer’s Workshop panel – TBA

November 21 – Sedona Public Library, Sedona, AZ – 6 pm

November 22 – Gilbert Library author’s panel, Gilbert, AZ – 1-4 pm


December 3 – Barnes & Noble, Kierland Commons, Scottsdale – 7 pm

December 6 – Borders , Mesa – 2 pm

December 8 thru 10 – Arizona Library Association conference, Phoenix


2009 SIGNING SCHEDULE

January 7 – Anthem Library

January 12 – Anthem Book Club


March 14 & 15 – Tucson Book Festival

More to come

2008 OLYMPIC OPENING CEREMONIES

Almost everyone I know is talking about it - that powerful Olympic opening ceremony in Beijing. Wasn't it amazing? I don't know which part I liked best - the fireworks footprints walking to the Bird's Nest Stadium, the 2000 ancient drum percussion light show, the calligraphy dancers, the dancers with the electric suits, or the airwalkers around the globe!

My daughter called me first thing the next morning to talk about it. I'm STILL thinking about it. Thankfully she Tivoed it so we can watch it again.

I love to see the athletes march in, too, with their big smiles, their eyes sparkling with excitment and anticipation, their spirits so full of hope. And I'm always amazed to see countries I never knew existed. I swear they didn't exist the last Olympics. I guess I have to study up on my world geography.

And aren't those athletes good looking? Every one of them is absolutely gorgeous. That really speaks to the benefits of a healthy lifestyle of exercise and eating well. There's a special place in my heart for those little countries who only send one or two athletes. I always hope they do well.

I make a point to try to watch the events people don't normally pay attention to. I watched the women's fencing - wow! that sabre event was fast and exciting. I watched the rowing, the badminton, the women's beach volleyball - they said that last one is one of the most watched sports. And I know I won't get through this Olympics without shedding some tears. There are always so many inspiring moments, I can't help but well up.

But I'm really torn with indecision. I'm addicted to the Olympics and suffer withdrawal when it's over. I like to watch everything. But I also have a book to finish. I'm so close to the end, I don't want to lose my momentum. And people are waiting for it.

But, well, there's gymnastics and bicycle road racing today. And, oh yeah, water polo, so I think I'll just check my email and start those last three chapters tomorrow.

Fresh Fiction Blog

I was recently invited to blog on the fabulous Fresh Fiction website. My comments are reprinted below:



STRONG WOMEN

I admire strong women, don’t you? I’m not talking about famous women who have made important world changing contributions to science, literature, medicine or other areas of our culture. I’m talking about the young women of today who set goals, plan their lives, and make intelligent decisions for themselves. Women like Amanda, Tricia and Melissa, the three college students who were with me on the Navajo Indian Reservation as VISTA volunteers. They were smart and sharp, knew what they wanted, and deliberately set out to get it.


But I’m also talking about fictional women. My favorite is Scarlett O’Hara. I read GONE WITH THE WIND scads of years ago, but I will never forget the feeling of empowerment that came over me when time after time, Scarlett stood firm and met seemingly impossible challenges while everyone around her was going to pieces. Remember when she stood in that weather-ravaged potato field swearing she would never go hungry again? It gives me a thrill even now.


And I loved all the fictional heroines of those wonderful gothic novels of the seventies written by fabulous authors like Victoria Holt, Mary Stewart, Norah Lofts, and Phyllis Whitney. When the women in their stories heard all those creepy noises and thumpy bumps in the attic, did they slam the door and run away? NO! They went up that creaky staircase to check it out! I loved that! People joke about it, call those women TSTL (to stupid to live), but I thought then and I think now it took guts to do that. To me, courage is being afraid but doing it anyway.
I’m also talking about the women in my books who I hope readers find inspiring in the courage they show over the course of their story.


In THE CHARMSTONE, set in Monument Valley on the Navajo Indian Reservation, Amanda Bell leaves the comfort zone of her ordinary life in Beverly Hills when she is called upon to travel to a place she’s never been, and where she didn’t know anyone in order to fulfill her estranged father’s last wish. When she arrived in Monument Valley on the Navajo Indian Reservation, a place as foreign to her as if it were in another country, she felt uncertain, out of place, and, yes, afraid. Over the course of the story, she made mistakes that she learned from, overcame doubts and fears, faced mysterious threats, and despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles, persevered.


In RUNNING FROM STRANGERS (due out from Five Star in September), child advocate Allie Hudson finds herself running for her life with a child in her care. She raced across the country to the only person she could trust, hoping he’d forgive her for leaving him practically at the altar. Once there, she endured scorn, uncertainty, rejection, and danger, but she never backed down. She had a child to protect.


In SAGE CANE’S HOUSE OF GRACE AND FAVOR (written as Christy Hubbard, scheduled for release in July 2009 from Five Star), lack of finances propelled Sage Cane, a prim and proper city woman, to relocate to a rough and rugged mining town in a remote area of the Rocky Mountains. She had to learn to survive in a whole new — and to her, impossible — environment. It wasn’t easy, but she found a way to empower herself and the other women in town, and together they turned the entire place on its collective ear. Sort of Girl power in the Old West!


Before beginning that book, I did a lot of research on women who traveled into the historic frontier, and I am in awe of them for the colossal courage they showed in going to a place that was not only new and strange, but dangerous too. Sage Cane is my tribute to them.


Who are some of the strong women you admire, fictional or otherwise?