From Flavorwire: Science Fiction’s Worst Planets to Live On

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Everyone loves the idea of traveling to faraway planets and hanging out with aliens, right? Science fiction is such a cool genre — there’s spaceships and jet packs and lightsabers and sexy green women and a guy who travels through time in a phone booth! It’s not all it’s cracked up to be, though, when you start to actually think about the type of planets you see in sci-fi stories…

Ursa Minor Beta

Speaking of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, why’s Ursa Minor Beta such an awful place? Well, as Douglas Adams notes, ”although it is excruciatingly rich, horrifyingly sunny and more full of wonderfully exciting people than a pomegranate is of pips, it can hardly be insignificant that when a recent edition of Playbeing Magazine headlined an article with the words, ‘When you are tired of Ursa Minor Beta you are tired of life,’ the suicide rate there quadrupled overnight.” Yikes. So sort of like Beverly Hills, then?

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Miranda

Miranda might have been sort of a nice place when it was first terriformed by the Alliance in Firefly and Serenity. But then the government decided to experiment with a chemical that was supposed to curb aggression in the planet’s population. What it did instead was make almost everyone so docile that they all stopped moving and slowly died of, well, all the things you die of when you can’t even make the effort to turn your head slightly. The people who weren’t “almost everyone?” They became horrifying monsters who mutilated themselves and raped, killed, and skinned people across the galaxy for no good reason. Not a fun time for anybody, if you ask us.

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Tatooine

Sure, the double sunset must be nice to look at, but you know what two suns means? It’s twice as hot. That’s why the whole planet’s a desert. Seriously, it’s so hot that people have to harvest moisture on farms. Also, slavery is legal, anybody can shoot anyone else they feel like (which is fine when it’s Han shooting Greedo, but not when it’s someone shooting you), and then there are the Sarlaac pits!

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Arrakis

For the uninitiated, Arrakis from Dune is like Tatooine in that the weather is impossibly oppressive, to the point where there is no naturally occurring precipitation – water has to be imported. Also, GIANT SAND WORMS. The only reason anybody lives on it at all is to harvest Melange, a drug that can increase the life span of its user. You know what? If we had to live on a planet filled with sand worms for the rest of our unnaturally long lives, we’d rather just die young, thanks.

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Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, by Doris Kearns Goodwin

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This book tells the story of how a virtually unknown prairie lawyer iselected to the office of President of the United States over three powerful andfamous politicians, William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, and Edward Bates.

Goodwin’s ten year study of the life of Abraham Lincoln and his Cabinet revealsdetails of Lincoln’s life, how he was raised, fell in love and dealt withsituations of monumental historical consequence. His own experiences helped himunderstand and work with people from all walks of life.
Lincoln put together a cabinet of men who were once his opponents. Thesemen became a “team of rivals.” This book includes not only the biography of Lincolnbut tells of the lives of Seward, Chase and Bates, Mary Lincoln, the Lincolnchildren and the extended members of the Lincoln family. It tells of theheartache of the choices made during the Civil War, loss of family and friends,and how Lincoln’s decisions as president shaped the history of our nation.
Goodwin is a gifted storyteller. Her book, Team of Rivals, won theNational Book Critics' Circle Award in 2005, and  is the basis for a Steven Spielberg moviewhich is projected to be released in 2012.
Reviewed by a staff member, First Regional Library
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The House Next Door, by Anne Rivers Siddons.

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Colquitt and her husband Walter live in a upper middle class subdivision outside of Atlanta, with neighbors who are all close friends, and entertain at each other’s house.

There is an empty lot beside Colquitt and Walter's house, that has finally been sold to the Harralson family, a young married couple expecting their first child. The Harralson’s hire an architect to design a house that is stunning. However, even before they move into it, the house has already reached out to destroy them. The night of their "open house" party something horrible happens and they move out, never to be heard from again.

Then move in the Sheehans, a middle age couple trying to get a new start from their tragic past. The house doesn't wait long before destroying them also. Colquitt, unfortunately, witnesses their breaking point, something she cannot talk about publicly . The Sheehans leave the house and move away. That is when Colquitt believes the house is a living thing that survives by knowing people's weakness and destroying them with it until nothing good is left in them.

The house is getting stronger, as shown by what happens to the third family that moves in. What will happen to the previously tight-knit happy community, with an “evil” house in the neighborhood?

Reviewed by a staff member, First Regional Library
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Troublemaker, by Janet and Alex Evanovich

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Alexandra ("Barney") Barnaby’s friend, Rosa, is missing from a weekend getaway trip to the Florida Keys. At Rosa's job, Barney finds a voodoo doll. In walks, Sam Hooker, Barney’s romantic interest and he decides to throw the doll away…

 However, it explodes!

 So they decide to go to Rosa’s house and look for clues. When they arrive they find a box with a hand in it… then the chase is on. It leads them to the Everglades in a voodoo ritual. What will happen next? Will Barney and Sam be able to save Rosa much less themselves?

Troublemaker is third in the Alex Barnaby series and was an entertaining read in the classic cliff hanger style.

Reviewed by a staff member, First Regional Library
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White Doves at Morning, by James Lee Burke

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Robert Perry comes from a wealthy slave owning family and Willie Burke, is from a poor family of Irish immigrants. Both men join the Confederate Army and fall in love with the same woman, Abigail Dowling, who is an abolitionist
from Massachusetts.

The story depicts the ravages of war including battles at Shiloh, and Shenandoah Valley. The story is filled with characters who are loved and others who are hated.

In White Doves at Morning, James Lee Burke has created an unforgettable story of the personal tragedies throughout and following the Civil War. The characters are based on his own ancestors who lived during the Civil War.

Reviewed by a staff member, First Regional Library
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Let Maslow make you a meanie!

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Myra Johnson

Conflict. It’s the meat of the story. The never-ending challenges that keep our heroes and heroines in jeopardy . . . and keep our readers turning pages.

Why does it work? Because we identify with people we worry about. And you really, really want readers to worry about your story characters!

Before you can ramp up the conflict, you need to know what is most important to your central character--what the character would risk everything to protect or obtain. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs can help. (If you’re unfamiliar with Maslow, click here for more info.)

Maslow’s theory assumes that people will attempt to fulfill their most basic needs before moving on to satisfy their more advanced needs. The pyramid below illustrates the different levels, with the most basic human needs at the bottom, building toward the highest psychological needs at the top.




As we step through the levels, think about the central character in your work-in-progress. Where does the character’s current situation place him or her on the pyramid? What types of challenges do those needs suggest?

Physiological needs. This is the bottom and most basic level, what every human being requires for survival, including food, clothing, and shelter. Take away any of those and your character’s life is in serious jeopardy. Think Katniss and Peeta in The Hunger Games, or Tom Hanks’s character in the movie Cast Away. Adventure stories usually rely heavily on survival needs, as do romantic suspense novels like Debby Giusti’s MIA: Missing in Atlanta.

Safety and security. The second level is one step above (pardon the pun) merely surviving. This is the need to believe that what makes us feel safe and secure won’t be taken away from us. It can include everything from financial security to health and well-being. In Tina Radcliffe’s novel The Rancher’s Reunion, the hero is living with Huntington’s disease, but not really living because he’s letting health worries separate him from the woman he loves. In A House Full of Hope, by Missy Tippens, the heroine is a single mother of four who worries that the hero’s arrival in town will result in her family’s eviction from their home.

Belonging. Inherent in every human being is the need to share physical and emotional closeness with others. A few weeks ago I watched the Hallmark movie based on Beverly Lewis’s The Shunning, about a young Amish girl who defies her parents and then is shunned by the entire community. The resulting emotional isolation this character suffered was heartbreaking. Janet Dean’s hero in Wanted: A Family exhibits his need to belong by attempting to find the mother who abandoned him.

Esteem. A step above belonging is the need for self-respect, to be not only accepted but also valued by others. The need for esteem or recognition can drive people to attempt things they might not ordinarily do. A good example is Charity O’Connor, from Julie Lessman’s A Passion Redeemed. Charity feels insecure in her family’s love, and she lets jealousy of her sister Faith drive her to seek validation in unhealthy romantic relationships.

Self-actualization. This is a fancy term for reaching your full potential--or, from a Christian perspective, fully becoming the person God created you to be. Ultimately, that should be the goal for every story character. Not that we should show them reaching perfection by the end of the book, but the reader should believe the characters are continuing to grow and change for the better as a result of the challenges they’ve faced. Look at the heroines in Mary Connealy’s Sophie’s Daughters series. In each novel the heroine must grow beyond her own weaknesses until she finds fulfillment--first through her reliance upon God, then believing in herself, and finally as a strong, confident partner in a satisfying romantic relationship.

The most riveting stories take the central characters through varying levels of needs. As one need is met, the next problem may knock the character backward a level or two. In my novel A Horseman’s Heart, the hero finds belonging and closeness with the heroine and begins to feel valued and important, only to have an unexpected encounter threaten his sense of security and cause him to wonder if it’s time to move on again.

Let’s talk! Can you see using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to create interesting problems for your story characters? Which level(s) do you find your characters working through most often? Would bumping them back a level or two boost your story conflict and possibly prevent the dreaded “sagging middle”?

Leave a comment on today’s post to be entered in a drawing for A Horseman’s Heart. 

North Carolina’s a long, long way from Texas, but horse trainer Kip Lorimer needs to get out of town fast, because the woman who long ago destroyed his last remnants of trust has just caught up with him—again.

Special-ed teacher Sheridan Cross has trust issues of her own, so when Kip shows up with a horse to donate to the family’s equine therapy program, she can’t help but be suspicious. A cowboy a thousand miles from home and living out of a horse trailer? What’s wrong with this picture?

When Sheridan’s mother offers Kip a job as barn manager, Sheridan decides she’d better stick close enough to keep an eye on things, never expecting she’ll soon have eyes only for the handsome cowboy. Can they trust their hearts and find true love, or will their troubled pasts come crashing down on their dreams?

Watch for A Horseman’s Gift, book 2 in the Horsemen of Cross Roads Farm series, coming soon!

Once Upon a Time's Evil Queen Regina: Not Exactly Mother of the Year!

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GOOOOOOOOOD MORNING, SEEKERVILLE!!!! Oh mylanta, it's been raining cats and dogs, buckets and every other thing you can think of in upstate New York! My puddles have puddles!

And the puppies.... (who will start going to their new homes this weekend!!!!)  ... Oh, puppies love to play in puddles. Splashing. Chasing kitties. And toddlers.  It has been officially determined that puppies love water!

For the record:  Let me just say that at no point in this blog post do I EVER equate Mary Connealy to a really ugly animal. Because that's just SO STINKIN' MEAN.

And I'm the nice Seeker!  ;)

Regina Mills/Queen Regina/Wicked Stepmother/Trophy Wife/Dutiful Daughter/Wounded Soul

Now there's a balanced character archetype.

And here she is in her Evil Fairytale Glory:


And here's a You Tube link that takes you to a short montage of Regina...

Click here and then come back!!!!


If you have no idea what I'm talking about, first: WHAT PLANET ARE YOU LIVING ON?????

The planet Mars, inhabited by tiny bits and bytes and mites.... 

That's like pretending Gibbs doesn't exist. Or that Jimmy Stewart was a two-bit actor. Oy.

For the record again:  Queen Regina/Mayor Mills is played brilliantly by Lana Parrilla, one of the stars of ABC's "Once Upon a Time" a crazy fun fairy-tale spin show that puts most fairy tail movies to shame.


Why?

First: Wonderfully taut and tight writing by the writers that brought us "LOST"... Now, I didn't like "LOST" because it had no point, no center, no gravity and it felt hodge podge... And good fantasy should have threads that make some kind of sense, that intrinsically weave a story through circumstance, emotion, relativity and empathy. If you are creating Netherworlds, trying to become too complex can be your downfall. Readers want to understand, to get lost in the 'other place', but that's hard to do if your names.... (Ollibuf, Ornswaggleov, Diaphapheadraanna, etc.) do not bear pronouncing much less remembering. Some fantasy writers/authors get lost in the setting and their ability to use far-out names and made-up governmental regiments. They forget to write a great book. That's a newbie mistake, because if you skip back to great fantasy works, they are amazingly simple... Good vs. Evil.  And eventually, Good wins.

So it's okay to NOT CREATE an entire new language, name system, solar system, on top of writing a story. Use the craft carefully, and that's what the writers of "Once Upon a Time" have done so well, while totally twisting and adding to the fairy tales we thought we knew.

"Once Upon a Time" borrowed concepts from Brothers Grimm, Sisters Grimm, children's books and the writers' own imaginations and layered the show with a great cast of modern day characters trapped in a fictional town in Maine. "Storybrooke" is a town without magic, a town where time stands still, a town whose captive storybook characters in kept in place by some sort of invisible force field.... But today we're writers, focused on character development and the Ultimate Queen Award must go to Queen Regina....


The writers make it easy to hate Regina. She's a user. An abuser. A taker. She is completely manic and undeniably clever, and the writers have used P-A-T-I-E-N-C-E as one of her fortes. Why is this important? Because it's subtle.  You don't have it in-your-face.... Like her savage ways of removing living, beating hearts.... Or her sheer delight when besting a foe... Her utter disregard for children's hopes and dreams....

No. Regina's patience to horde her mental, emotional and physical weapons is a huge part of her success but it's not lauded. Or spoken of. Or alluded to. It's simply there, and that's what makes it brilliant. Quietly layering your characters with qualities that speak to a reader's heart, mind or emotions is the gift of great story-telling. If you MUST explain something, you should probably do a re-write...

We all know that the wicked stepmother/evil queen hated Snow White.  While young and foolish, we thought 'twas merely vanity..... The mirror bespoke Snow's beauty and that became her undoing.

Obviously we were mistaken because now we know that the young Regina was the victim of child abuse herself.... At the hands of a magic-wielding, evil, ladder-climbing, stop-at-nothing-to-make-my-daughter-queen mother....

Who would have thought the sweet Barbara Hershey would be an EVIL QUEEN MOTHER????

Drama begets drama......

After months of viewing, we build some sympathy for "Regina, the child" in this late-season episode. This is her Darth Vader-like background, a glimpse of why we become who we are... and the choices and roads not taken.

Those old paths are the bricks of the future, right?  On those cornerstones we build characters, setting, plot, but not overloading the story with backstory????

HUGE.

Occasionally we would glimpse Regina's pain in her gaze, her eyes, always averted from others, lest they see... but the viewer (or reader) could see it. But they were teensy-tinsy increments, subtle and short....  barely notable. But there.

Regina will stop at nothing. Not back then, in fairy-tale land. Not now in Storybrooke... always plotting, scheming, staying one step ahead. But every villain has a nemesis.

Regina has several.

Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold, played by Richard Carlyle:

As current-day pawn shop owner and lawyer... (grinning here)  Mr. Gold

And as Rumplestiltskin in fairy-tale land of lore....

AND:

Face-off between Mayor Regina Mills and newcomer Emma Stone... Snow White's and Prince Charming's daughter, the "Luke Skywalker" type savior, the key to breaking the curse...

AND:

Her adopted son, Henry...




Henry is determined to prove that Regina is an evil fairy tale queen and his innocent belief in fixing things, breaking the curse, is what draws the adult drama together.  Using a child to draw factions together is a strong and often-used maneuver in story-telling. In romance, it's the "baby" draw... In fantasy it's the "savior" or "hope for the future" pull.  In suspense, it's the "fix it" maneuver. We need a safe haven for our children, one way or another.
Key elements of great story-telling don't change much. You can call it by any acronym you wish (which we know I won't do because you'd have to READ that stuff, and well... Really?????)
Layering characters through setting/emotion/action/reaction is the basis for a strong story.  The writers for Once Upon a Time have done a wonderful job with Regina... Mr. Gold... Henry... Emma... And of course Snow White, the tough but innocent princess-type. 
I'd love to chat about story telling and fairy tales and romance with you today! And if you're a writer and would like to have your name in the cat dish for a critique (and you know, I ALWAYS clean the cat dish before I throw your names in, LOL!) just mention it in your comment. If you just want to be in for the book, leave a comment and you're in, automatically!
And might I just add (yes, shameless plug because selling books is INTRINSIC TO MY CONTINUED GOOD HEALTH!!!!)  that "A Family to Cherish" is simply a deeeeelightful story!

Come on in! Coffee's on and the conversation's startin'!