The Official Website for the author who wrote The Magic and the Mayhem
In The Magic and the Mayhem every one of John’s children is different. For those of us who have raised a child we know that just one child is capable of demonstrating each of his kids’ behaviors, sometimes all in one day.
Cecelia is the “spoiled” one. She has been raised with all of the advantages. She knows what she wants and wants it now!
This blog is dedicated to my writing and will hopefully give other first time novelists an opportunity to learn from my journey. I try to write every day. My first (writer's) draft is written without any thoughts as to where the story is going. After the initial twenty pages or so I put together an outline because the characters really do take on a life of their own, and it takes a certain measure of discipline to remind these "made up characters" that you're the boss. Following an outline allows your story to have a fluid beginning, middle, and end. Without an outline and a dedicated resolve to follow it the story will be scattered and may never find its end. I usually read through a chapter ten or more times before I'm satisfied enough to move on to the next one. I never let anyone read my novel until its ready to go to the editor. I chose to self publish The Magic and the Mayhem using www.lulu.com. Self publishing gives authors a tangible product so they can introduce their work to the world, get feedback, and strengthen their skills. Some people think its cheating and that it somehow invalidates an author's work but the more traditional publishing houses are virtually impossible to gain admittance to. It's obviously not impossible but getting into the game is like hitting the lottery. I recommend self publishing along with routinely submitting your work to reputable publishers but while you're waiting, keep writing!
Red
January 11th, 2009 at 10:46 pm
Is there any particular reason why you wrote a book from the perspective of a single man?
Julie
January 12th, 2009 at 9:19 pm
A lot of things inspire writers to write. When I started The Magic and the Mayhem I had no idea where the story would lead. I generally write whatever comes to mind and after about a week of writing a story emerges that I can influence to go one way or another. This is perhaps when characters emerge who have a story to tell based on my personal biases. Adding antagonists, which are sometimes people and sometimes situations, help lead the main character through the triumphs and failures of life’s lessons.
One theme in most of my stories has to do with the lonely or abandoned heart. In this book, the abandoned hearts seem to be the children’s or their mothers’ but I hope the idea that John Drake’s heart was at least lacking something based on his actions as a younger man were conveyed.
I do feel a certain and particular need to speak to young men who for whatever reason find themselves absent from the lives of their children. A child depends upon a father obviously for financial support but for emotional support as well. As The Magic and the Mayhem began to take form, I realized that when men walk away they’re virtually cutting part of their own life’s growth away. At the end of the day the void turns inward leaving them with an angst that cannot be healed or reversed. The part of the psyche that could have been formed is empty, except that the rest of the world celebrates fatherhood, something that, even though they bore children, they have unwittingly bowed out from the right to participate.