I was invited a couple of weeks ago by friend and fellow writer Kim Stokely to participate in a "Blog Hop"—it's kind of like a "Sock Hop", but there's no socks...no music...no dancing...and no physical hopping, for that matter...only writing. Okay, so it's nothing like a "Sock Hop", but I agreed because I want to show some of the schtuff I'm working on, and most of all, I want to introduce you to Kim Stokely—her bog is at www.kimstokely.com, and I've included her pic & bio below.
As for the "Blog
Hop" questions, here goes! (As I
answer these, AC/DC is on the stereo, I'm only wearing socks, and I'm hopping
around...now THERE's a vision for ya!)
1) What am I working
on?
Let's see...officially, as
of today, I have one flash fiction story, two short stories, and two novels
waiting to get pried out of my misshapen noggin and slapped down on ePaper.
The flash fiction story,
"Crush", is still in the ether...it whispers to me almost every day,
but I haven't let it out. Yet.
"The Coin" is a
short story I've been working on for quite a while. One person who read what I've done so far
said he thinks it may be the best thing I've written, but we'll see.
The other short story,
"The Dark", is also partly written.
The basic story is in my head, but I don't know where it's going to take
me yet.
JEREMY actually began life
as my second novel after I'd finished THE COMING. It's also partly written, but far from
finished. THE MENGELE EFFECT popped in
my head soon after I'd started writing JEREMY, and well...JEREMY had to
wait. It's still waiting. And probably getting pissed, no doubt.
SKINNER in one of those
story ideas that came out of nowhere. I
know how this novel is going to flow from soup-to-nuts, but I haven't finished
it yet. That whole
day-job-eat-pay-the-mortgage thing keeps getting in the way!
I have trailer videos
posted on my website (http://cvgrossart.wix.com/chuck-grossart)
for JEREMY, SKINNER, and "The Dark".
Just click on "The Hopper" tab.
Now, UNofficially, there's
~6,493,566 story ideas swirling around in my head. I'll let them out, one by one,
eventually. Or my head will explode
first. We'll see.
2) How does my work
differ from others of its genre?
This is an easy
question. I like to write horror, but
I'm not one to dive into the blood-and-gore pool...unless I have to. I personally think if a writer sketches a
basic picture to a reader—and lets the reader pick the paint color, the brush,
and complete the picture themselves—the result is sometimes much more horrific
than I could ever portray through my choice of words. I want to open the door to the scary, dark
basement...and let the reader see what they will when they tumble down the
stairs (after I push them, of course)...I don't know what scares them the most,
but they do, and they'll visualize it all by themselves. I also try to avoid profanity where at all
possible. I personally don't think it
adds anything, unless there's a need for it.
Think about the people you know who use profanity loosely...I'd be
willing to bet they're 1) not very smart, 2) trying to be someone they aren't,
or 3) a 14-year old kid who thinks using the F-word in every sentence is cool. If I ever have a character who happens to be
a dumb 14-year old with a dirty mouth who is trying to act cool, then maybe
he/she will use the F-word in every sentence...but I haven't run into that
character yet (and if I did, I'd probably kill them off quickly because they're
annoying). If you've read Dean Koontz, I
challenge you to find the F-word in any of his books; there may be a few, but
not many. Now, don't get me wrong...if
one of my characters gets an axe in the forehead, they're not going to say
"Owie Owie Owie!" I mean, holy
crap that would be fucking stupid, right?
Shit. Damn. Oops...
3) Why do I write what
I do?
Short answer. Spooky, weird, scary...I like it. Always have, always will. Mwah hah hah...
4) How does your
writing process work?
Now, THAT's a good question. My "process", if you can call it
that, is pretty simple...I start with an idea, have a rough idea of where it
might go, but the stories usually end up writing themselves as I go
along. Very seldom have I written a story that unfolds as I initially
planned. They tend to have a mind of their own! They also tend to wake me up at 2 in the
morning and yell at me to get a pen & piece of paper before I forget. I hate that.
~~~
And now, on to Kim
Stokely! If you're a fan of Christian
fiction, you need to check out her latest novel, WOMAN OF FLAMES. The 5-star reviews it's received on Amazon
speak for themselves...
The wife of a submariner,
Kim has lived in eight states over the last twenty years. She used her
background in Drama (a B.F.A. from the University of Connecticut and a Master’s
Degree from Regent University) to stay relatively sane throughout all those
moves by performing in various plays and musicals, including a one-person show
about women in the Bible. In 2004, the Navy transferred her family to
Omaha, Nebraska, a perfectly logical move that never made sense to her
mother. An avid reader, Kim has written novels in several genres,
including Biblical, Historical, Inspirational Fiction and Young Adult Fantasy.
Kim’s story Winter Trees was a semi-finalist in the Christian Writer’s
Guild’s 2010 Operation First Novel contest. Her non-fiction Inspirational and
humor stories have appeared in several Chicken Soup for the Soul books, Vista
and online at www.theChristianPulse.com.
She is a regular paid contributor to Thriving Family online magazine.
Please visit www.kimstokely.com to
read a story, find out about upcoming performances, or just to say “hi.”
