ALTON GANSKY, NOVELIST

Hide and Seek

Just got word that HIDE AND SEEK, my fourth novel with Jeff Strucker, is going to release about a month early. Originally scheduled for July, B&H has decided to release the book tomorrow. I must confess, this is my favorite of the bunch. Don't get me wrong, I've loved each book but this one has a hold on me.

Here's the backcover copy:

Amelia Lennon no longer wears a uniform or carries a weapon. An Army trained Foreign Affairs Officer, she’s negotiating a dispute with the Kyrgyzstan government that threatens to leave the U.S. without an airbase in that region. She traded her gun for the power of words, but now she needs both.

While following her government contact - Jildiz Oskonbaeva, the lawyer daughter of Kyrgyzstan’s president - Amelia witnesses an attempt to abduct her. She manages to prevent the kidnapping, but now the two women are on the run in a city that’s erupting into chaos.

Master Sergeant J.J. Bartley is the Special Operations team leader tasked to rescue Amelia and Jildiz. With two new members in his unit - one with a secret that could endanger everyone’s life - J.J. must soldier his unit through crazed mobs intent on overthrowing the government. Back home, his pregnant wife is misinformed that her husband and the team have been killed. But before this is over, Bartley will find out that’s the least of his problems.

And here's the trailer: 

I hope you enjoy it.

Alton Gansky

I Lost a Friend

Sad news came my way over the weekend. Dr. Grant Jeffrey, writers, speaker, prophecy expert, passed away in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 

Sad news came my way over the weekend. Dr. Grant Jeffrey, writer, speaker, Bible prophecy expert, and Christian television personality passed away in Toronto, Ontario, Canada this past Friday. While at a graduation banquet for my alma mater I sat next to Dr. Mark Hitchcock, the keynote speaker for the banquet and the next day's graduation. Someone told us that Grant had been hospitalized. Last night, I learned he had passed into Glory.

My connection with Grant began years ago, first through casual meetings at book conferences (so brief, he wouldn't have remembered it), then we partnered to do a novel for Random House/Waterbrook. Grant wrote his own nonfiction books but wanted a collaborator for a work that would become The Scroll, a Bible-based archeology action-adventure novel. We met in San Diego to discuss the project. Grant was gracious, humble, good humored, and possessed a laser beam-like focus.

Working on The Scroll was exciting and daunting. At times, the scope of the story seemed impossible to put in one book, but we managed it. Grant provided insight into little known areas of Jerusalem and archaeological discoveries.

Grant's nonfiction work (about 30 books) focused on what is, the novel allowed him to explore what might be waiting around the corner. (His other novels were done with novelist Angela Hunt and won the 1999 Christie Award for its category.) His books have been published by Bantam, Harper Collins, Zondervan, Random House and others have printed his books, books that have been translated into 24 languages.

Grant was a researcher and possessed knowledge well beyond what most of will approach. His personal library has over 7000 books. While working on The Scroll with him, he would send me source material I didn't know existed.

In late March and early April, I began getting e-mails from Grant talking about the next novel he had in mind. He metioned he had been ill "with the flu" but would be sending the basic storyline soon. It never arrived.

Grant was a pleasure to talk to and work with. I did not always agree with his take on certain issues but I found no fault or insincerity in the man. I am better for having worked with him.

This morning I was asked to comment on Grant's passing. Here is some of what I wrote:

I have been on the road and only learned of Jeffrey's passing last night. While in San Diego to attend a graduation banquet at my alma mater, I was seated next to Dr. Mark Hitchcock. Someone had just told him of Grant's hospitalization. He had Grant had appeared together several times.

Grant remains an inspiration to me. His dedication to his work was remarkable. He was always working on something. Most of our conversations took place over the phone. He lived in Canada, I in central California. We were able to spend time together in San Diego (my home town) when he was there for a conference. He struck me as one of the brightest men I've met and his wife Kaye was as charming as could be. We were working on The Scroll, a novel for Random House/Waterbrook. Many of the items in the book came from his experiences in Jerusalem and the surrounding areas. I watched a video of one of his visits to the underground tunnels that play an important role in the novel.

Grant had an almost intimidating intellect, valued research, a quick wit and engaging sense of humor. All this while dealing with chronic pain from an injury sustained as a young man. He was an encourager. My wife and I had recently lost a grandchild and had another grandchild facing brain surgery. As a man acquainted with trials he told me, "Sometimes God speaks the loudest when we are in the valleys of life." 

Most of all, he was a tireless worker for the Lord. The work of God was always on his mind. I count him as one of the most powerful influences in my life.

He is missed.

Join me in praying for Grant's wife Kaye and his family and friends.

Al

Looking Over the Shoulders of People You’ve Never Met

When I was in high school, the first day of the academic year came with nervous anticipation, a touch of fear, and new books. Well, not new books. Even back those days, schools worked on limited funds, which meant that most students got hand-me down textbooks. Being the first student to have a textbook was something to brag about. It didn’t happen often.

Still, it wasn’t all bad. I found it interesting to flipping through the pages to see what previous students had written in the margin. It was like being an archaeologist investigating the writings of a previous race. (In some cases it was like reading the jottings of a being from another planet.) If the book had been around for a while, it would contain scribblings from people who had graduated years before. In a sense, it was academic snooping. Who goofed off? Who made worthwhile notes? Who couldn’t resist doodling?

I’ve been reading older works of late. I download them (free I might add) from Amazon Kindle books. This means I can read on my iPhone, iPad, or Kindle. The syncing between readers is a nice feature and keeps me on the right page even if I switch between iPad and iPhone.

There’s another feature with these e-books: the ability to highlight interesting sentences and paragraphs. It’s great for research, but it is also fun while reading fiction. I’m into the second Edgar Rice Burrows book about Pellucidar, a populated world in a hollow Earth. As I read, I occasionally come across an underscored line or two. If I tap on it, a little window pops up and tells me how many readers highlighted the sentence. As with the textbooks of my high school days, it is fascinating to see what others found important.

It also occurs to me that every passage I highlight is recorded and saved on some server, available for all to see. The only problem I see with this is the urge I feel to highlight meaningless passages--sort of a practical joke on people I’ve never met.

Silliness aside, digital books have changed the way we read. Print books will be around for a very long time, but digital books have come to stay and they contain features that no print book has: instant dictionary look up, digital bookmarks, and shared highlighting. World changing features? Probably not but certainly useful.

As a novelist, seeing what readers find highlight-worthy has been instructive. In Pellucidar several passages dealing with the protagonist’s philosophy were tagged. Think of it, Edgar Rice Burrows’ 1915 book is still influencing readers nearly a century later and doing so in a technical format he could never have imagined.

I look forward to seeing what other passages fellow readers found important or moving.

Al

 

Audio Books and H.G. Wells

Of late I've been closing my day by reading some of the early creators of science fiction/science adventure: Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, and Edgar Rice Burroughs. I've focused on their lesser known works. It's been fun and educational. So much has changed in the writing world.

While reading a novella by Wells I came across his prediction of reading in the future. "A Story of the Days to Come" appeared in seriel release in The Pall Mall Magazine from June to October of 1897 and later compiled with other stories in Tales of Space and Time (1899). Some of his estimations are amusing but we must remember that he was writing 115 years ago and setting his story in the twenty-second century so we  have to give Wells some leeway. Many of the things he predicted came to pass such as glass-skinned high-rise buildings. Many others were far from the mark.

What caught my interest was his view of how reading would be done in the 2100s. Here are a few quotes:

"The invention of the phonograph and suchlike means of recording sound, and the gradual replacement of books by such contrivances, had not only saved the human eyesight from decay, but had also by the establishment of a sure standard arrested the process of change in accent that had hitherto been so inevitable."

"I suppose you don't read books?"
"Dear, no!" said Mweres, "I went to a modern school and we had none of the old-fashioned nonsense. Phonographs are good enough for me."

They [the young lovers in the story] furnished their little room with quaint old Victorian furniture, and found a shop on the forty-second floor in Seventh Way where printed books of the old sort were still to be bought. It was there pet affection to read  print instead of hearing phonographs. 

It is unfair to expect a nineteenth century man to nail the arrival of digital books. The best Wells could do was imagine a new use for the phonograph--something hard to find to day. Still, he was ahead of his time in guessing that some other means of consuming content would come along. Granted, he was thinking of audio books and he wasn't far wrong. The first audio books were sold on cylinders. As new mechanisms for playing sound came along, the audio book followed. I listened to my first audio book on cassette. The first of my books to go audio was reproduced on cassette. It was the only way to get it.

Now we download books onto our phones, mp3 players, and computers. We live in an age where print, audio, and digital consumption of content thrives.

It is a wealthy person who has choices.

Is There a Genre Barrier?

THERE'S A RULE IN PUBLISHING that has been around for a long time. Usually it’s an acquisition editor or agent giving advice to the writer. It goes something like this:

Writer: I have this great idea for an action-suspense novel.

Editor: But you’re a mystery suspense author.

Writer: So. A story is a story and that’s what I do. I write stories for people to read.

Editor: But if you switch genres it will confuse your audience.

Author: Why?

Editor: Because it will. Everyone knows that.

This isn’t an effort to make editors sound stupid. They’re not. They’re very bright and extremely talented, but they, like all of us, are a product of the industry. As such, certain ideas creep in and stay.

Is it wrong for a novelist to write across genres? Is it career suicide for a mystery writer to pen a western? Is a gritty crime writer tricking her readers if she writes suspense/mystery? What if a science fiction author has a killer idea for political intrigue?

It is true that some well known novelists have sneaked over the wall of their chosen genre and had a go at something different and met with trouble. I think of Robin Cook, a bestselling medical-thriller man, but who also tried his hand at other things (Sphynx, Abduction, and Invasion). Did those books hurt his later sales? Only Cook and his publisher know for certain but I doubt it.

The late Michael Crichton has stretched his wings with other genres and even screenplays (as well as being the creator of the TV hit ER). True, almost all have some connection to technology gone wild, but there is a big difference between Jurassic Park and State of Fear.

I wonder about these things. Some authors take on a pseudonym when crossing the invisible boundaries of genre. Stephen King wrote as Richard Bachman; Dean Koontz wrote science fiction before settling into his sometimes horror, sometimes suspense, sometimes supernatural-thrillers. A man of Koontz’s talent can’t be expected to sit in a box.

Maybe it’s because I grew up in the seventies that I resist being pigeonholed. For me, it’s all about the story. Story is what matters in this business. I think readers are smart enough to know that writers are artists and artists have to peek over the hedge from time to time.

Al

Fact More Amazing than Fiction

On one of my bookshelves rests a signed baseball. Aficionados of the sport would not recognize the signature. The man who signed the horsehide may hold the record for the shortest major league career in history.

His name is Bobby D.

Many years ago, as a still-wet-behind-the-ears pastor, I met with Bobby and his fiancée. They had come to me to perform their wedding. Since they were not part of the church, I insisted on a series of meetings so that I could be sure of their spiritual standing and readiness for marriage. When Bobby entered the room, I immediately noticed something unusual about the man. He stood tall, had a quick smile, a keen sense of humor, and a positive outlook on life. At first, that surprised me.

It took no medical training on my part to see that he had been in an accident. His right arm hung crooked and bore a long, white scar. His right eye didn’t track with his left when he looked around the room. This man had been through the mill.

His fiancée was a dark haired beauty with keen eyes and spoke as a woman of high learning. I felt a little uncomfortable since they were older than my less than thirty years. After some small talk, I learned the story.

Bobby D. had been a baseball player. He was one of those rare people who are called “walk-ons.” The San Diego Padres held open tryouts one year and Bobby decided to give it a whirl. Turns out, he had a good right arm and became one of the pitching staff. The day came for his first outing. He took the mound, and for the first time pitched before tens of thousands. He lasted just four innings, but that’s not bad for a first go, and certainly not bad for a walk-on player.

That night, Bobby and a few of his friends went celebrating his debut in the major leagues. One auto accident later, Bobby lost the use of his right arm and right eye. Too much alcohol-lubricated celebrating had cost Bobby his career—a career of just four innings. Before him, lay surgeries and uncountable hours of frustrating and painful therapy. Thanks to the quick action of medical personnel and a very special doctor, Bobby got to keep his arm, although it would never pitch a fast ball or slider again.

The person responsible for saving his arm sat next to him in my office. Bobby D. was about to marry the neurosurgeon who had worked on him many months before. Patient and doctor where about to become man and wife.

I performed the wedding and the couple began to attend our church. One Sunday, I watched as the ushers came forward with the offering. Inside the plates, nestled among envelopes and paper money was a white orb—a baseball with Bobby D.’s signature. The ball has no value to collectors, but it means a great deal to me.

Novelists struggle to create scenarios that will be interesting, captivating and stretch the mind of the reader while remaining credible. The irony is that real life  is often more creative than fiction. Bobby D. and his wife are a great story of God’s plotting skills. A man thinks he has it, then looses it all, then finds faith and the love of a brilliant woman to be far more than he ever had before.

There’s a book in the tragic tale of Bobby D. In fact, there are many stories in the lives of the people around us. No matter how skilled the novelist, fiction often pales in the light of actual human experience.

Experienced any good stories lately?

Al

Do You Want a Drill Bit or a Hole?

Years ago Discover magazine ran an article about Amory Lovins (as told to Cal Fussman). Haven’t heard of him? Neither had I, but he’s made a name for himself by having innovative ideas about energy, oil, and the like. He’s a physicist, economist, inventor, automobile designer, and several other things to make mortals like me feel like gross underachievers. In the article he discusses ways to deal with the world’s energy problems, but that’s not why I mention him. Although I found his thoughts interesting, I found his way of thinking even more so.

He made a point by describing a man who walks into a hardware store to buy a drill bit. Lovins asks, “What does the man really want?” My knee-jerk response: Um, a drill bit? But no. The man wants a hole. Okay, that seems pretty basic but how many of us think that way? Much of creativity, innovation, and artistic endeavor comes from asking the right question.

Maybe another example.

At the turn of the last century one of the first (maybe the very first) woman business consultants, Mary Parker Follet, was working with a company that made lamp shades. She asked a question that at first stumped them. “What business are you in?” Like me they went for the obvious, “Um, lamp shades?”

“No, you’re in the light control business.” Seems too subtle to make a difference, but then the, well, light went on. “You mean we can make window shades, too?” The ideas began to flow. The failure to ask and properly answer this question almost doomed the railroads that had difficulty seeing that they were in the transportation business, not the railroad business (which meant they missed out on many opportunities).

Now, what business are writers in? Are novelists in the fiction business? Are periodical writers just in the magazine biz? Are editors in the word refining business? What about publishers? Are they just in the book business?

And what about our man in the hardware store? He’s there to buy a bit, not because he likes the design and feel of it, but because he needs a hole bored into something. What’s your real need; your real desire; your real goal? If everything worked perfectly, what would your writing business look like and how would you measure its success? The man with the drill bit measures his success by the holes that he drills. Those holes are evidence of achievement. What is the writer’s proof of accomplishment?

What business are you in? What is your real goal?

These are questions I ask myself. Life changes us, the industry changes, readers change; therefore we must be flexible. The answer to the question should never be chiseled in stone but allowed to adapt to our ever altering interests, skills, and world.

“What business are you in?” I am in the communication business. I peddle ideas, sell concepts, and market thoughts. Of course, as a Christian, most of what I communicate touches on faith and the way it is lived out.

Am I a novelist? Yes, but I write nonfiction as well. Am I then a writer of books? Sure, but I also write short pieces, blogs, articles, consult, and edit. Okay, then, that makes me a wordsmith. That’s true it does, but I also lecture, give interviews, teach classes. You get the idea.

We need to think wider and deeper. What do we really want to achieve? I asked, “What is your real goal?” Mine is this: I want to make people think. That’s it. Do I want to entertain? Of course, but entertainment isn’t the goal, it’s the means. I want people to say, “Wow,” “Great,” “Gripping,” but most of all I want them to go, “Hmmm.”

I feel most successful when I, through written or spoken words, reach into someone’s mind and tickle it with a new thought.

That’s how I measure success.

AG