Genre Favorites Blogfest: Crime & Political Thrillers

Aloha,


Today is Alex's Genre Favorite's Blogfest, which I perchieve, perchance as a great way to kick off a Monday.

You can join, or find more details by clicking the Blue link.

 

My favorite genre, in any medium, is thrillers -- especially crime and political stories.

While this makes me appear to be one boring, Neanderthal-knuckle-scraping dude who lives in a mental Man Cave, I did once (!) have a romance-reading bone in my body... see below... (although I lost the desire to simply read about romance upon entering pub eatery.)

 

Stephen King (Credit: Shane Leonard)

Though some may scorn the commercial fiction works of authors such as Tom Clancy, Stephen King and John Grisham, it’s their books I (have) turn(ed) to when I want to escape to my imagination, whether aboard a U.S. Navy ship, under a drain in Derry or inside a Mississippi courtroom.

 

 

(Why anyone would want to escape to a raucous courtroom, a sinking submarine or clown around in a Maine drain is another tale...)

For crime thrillers, I love Dennis Lehane and his ongoing series with those wonderfully flawed characters Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro.

 

 

 

 

Now, when it comes to guilty pleasures, I love, love, love memoirs.

Partly, because WIP is a memoir I’m co-writing, but it’s also fascinating to hear the voice of other memoirists, and it’s very motivational for me to read about the struggles of others and know that Donald Braswell’s story is as important as ever.

Are we still on the guilty stuff?
We are?

I’m a voracious reader, so if there’s no book around, I’ve been known to read the ingredients on the shampoo and conditioner bottles and the toothpaste tubes (did you know how little fluoride is actually in a tub of adult toothpaste… less than three percent... it’s shocking :)

In that vein, one genre I used to read, (there was few other choices growing up in Ireland,) was my mom’s bodice-ripping romances, which led to me reading a *lot* of Catherine Cookson, Barbara Taylor Bradford and Jackie Collins.

Jackie Collins (L) and Ann Margaret

Those ladies certainly knew how to spin a tale and totally helped me ask many awkward “What does 'thrust' and 'moaned deeply' mean?” questions while at the kitchen table.

PS: Thanks, Alex for making me write about bodice-ripping and Catherine Cookson in one sentence…

Where do I go to surrender my ManCard?

 

NEVER. GIVE. IN. (Olympic Blog Relay)

Aloha,

I’m part of Nicole’s Gold-winning Olympic Blog Relay over at Write Me A World.

My section of the “race” is about never quitting or never giving in.

One of my favorite inspirational stories about never quitting comes from the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

It’s about the love a father had for his son, his injured son, who just wanted to finish his race – even though he’d lost all hope of qualifying for the next round of the 400m men’s race.

The athlete’s name is Derek Redmond of Great Britain and he and his dad, Jim, are great men.

The other night, I thought I was going to quit.

For real.

I was going to quit querying.

I was going to quit WIP.

Just quit writing.

I was bone marrow tired and tired of falling asleep over the keyboard, my head snapping forward and back while trying to finish the latest query, chapter (or both.)

Annoyed at never seeing any tangible progress versus the amount of work I’ve done, I highlighted the master WIP file and let my finger hover over DELETE.

Sitting there in the near-dark, obviously frustrated, I reflected on the one new paragraph I’d written all week, and I was like, whatever, who cares. I mean seriously.

Then, my phone buzzed, and it was the sweetest “Atta boy, you can do it” text from my wife (who didn’t realize how down I was feeling, but just wanted to send me some encouraging words.)

I put the safety back on, holstered my index finger and went to take a shower. (I have OCD and *have to* shower before writing J), then I returned to the keyboard.

Powering up Pandora, the first song that came on was Hang On by Plumb.

This second chance event caused me to look Heavenward.

“You… You’re very good, you,” I said, à la Robert de Niro in Analyze This.

Spirits lifted by these random events, I got stuck into some good writing.

An hour later, I stopped, looked over the top of my computer and laughed for not seeing the irony in my wanting to quit WIP…

I’m co-writing the memoir of Donald Braswell, a former professional opera singer who lost his voice – his voice!! – in a 1995 hit-and-run accident.

I heard Donald’s story during his first audition on America’s Got Talent (2008.)

He explained how he never quit believing he could one day sing again on a professional stage.

So, how could I quit, when Donald never gave up.

His story is so inspirational and I ain’t quitting, don’t worry. Donald’s story will soon see the light of day, and I’ll leave the rest in the hands of the Lord.

PS: If you watched both the Derek Redmond and Donald Braswell videos, you’ll notice that Josh Groban’s You Raise Me Up is the featured song.

Random, huh? :)

And finally, as Winston Churchill once said:

Never. Give. In.

The Donald Braswell Story - A Career Ends, a Calling Begins

“Let’s not make this a story about me. Let’s make this a story from me to those who’ve lost direction, and are trying to find their way back home.”               – Donald Braswell

Aloha,

Imagine if, in the prime of their career, Derek Jeter lost the ability to hit, Thomas Kinkade the ability to paint or Robert De Niro the ability to act.

Sure, our world would still turn, but the joy many feel witnessing a God-given talent would surely be affected by the loss of any of the above.

Source:Donaldbraswell.com

In 1995, Donald Braswell was a young, professional tenor and a seasoned veteran of the opera world. He was well on his way to becoming the next Luciano Pavarotti or Franco Corelli, and as his star shot toward international fame and domestic fortune, he and “The Met” were often mentioned together.

Then one day, as he surfed a well-managed wave of reviews and performances that had him on course to play Carnegie Hall, he lost his voice following a 10-million-to-one bicycle accident while on tour in Wales.

Yes, a bicycle.

A Texas native, Donald graduated on a full scholarship to Juilliard in 1990. The hit-and-run accident that stole his voice, career and sent his life into a years-long tailspin has never been solved, and the story of how Donald went from staggering from a cold, Welsh road to jogging under the hot lights of America’s Got Talent in 2008 (he placed fourth overall) is so inspirational that it still blows me away – and I know the backstory.

During his first AGT performance, the crowd booed him before he sang a note, but by the time Donald finished Josh Groban’s You Raise Me Up, the shouts of “Vegas! Vegas!” rang throughout the packed theater as if he’d won the whole thing.

Flushed by success, Donald was, however, eliminated in the next round (ouch), but the man who married his high-school sweetheart and is now a father to three girls, made a dramatic return when NBC held an impromptu wild card round following an injury to another finalist. (As one of eight returning performers, millions voted the then-45-year-old back on AGT.)

Piers Morgan even went as far as saying Donald was “The Rocky Balboa of our show; you were knocked out, you came back and you could win the title. You could.” Though the fairytale ended when he placed fourth overall, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber complimented Donald by saying he “was looking forward to working with” him.

During the thirteen years he was out in the cold, the former professional singer worked as a plasterer, sold insurance, swimming pools, as well as new and used cars – anything to help feed his family.

After relearning how to first talk, and then sing, Donald was working at a car dealership when a chance meeting with a homeless-looking man ended months later with the release of New Chapter, his first CD in 2007. Since then, he’s released two more CD’s, including Unchained, which came out in November.

I first met Donald while interviewing him numerous times for several features in a daily Texas newspaper. I was so intrigued by his story that we chatted for forty-five minutes post-interview. Later, we agreed to work on his memoir, and here we are today.

Donald continues to pay it forward by headlining numerous annual charity events, and three years post-AGT, he inspires thousands via his website, and the member-driven international fan club that sprung to life soon after AGT.

Known as “Braswellians” fans represent thirty-six countries, all fifty U.S. states and each Canadian province. (One teenage Iranian, who recently watched the show in syndication, produced a YouTube montage to Braswell’s original song, We Are The Same You And I.)

Since AGT, Donald has performed on many occasions with the San Antonio Symphony, sings solo events, and is part of a three-tenor group called Gli Unici (“The Only Ones.”)

What I admire so much about this humble, Christian man is that he knows he’s been blessed with a second shot to do what he was meant to do, (and I have to admit, I love the never-quit attitude that kept him going all those many years.)

(I guarantee my laptop would be chucked off a tall building if I ever lost the ability to write.)

Source: Donaldbraswell.com

Speaking of ability, earlier this week, Donald took another bite of the Big Apple when he made it back to Carnegie Hall during a Christmas concert appearance with famous composer, Tim Janis.

Dreams do come true - some easier than others. Donald’s dream to appear at Carnegie has come true.

Mine is to have his inspirational story published, and then see someone pulling out a dog-eared copy of the book as they contentedly settle in for the usual long bus ride home.

How has Donald's story affected you?