Seven Facts About Chasing Monsters

This cover was also done by Terra Weston

Chasing Monsters is my current novel. That was an interesting time in my life, as these facts will tell you. The novel attempts to answer the question... What happens when a paranormal investigator befriends a demon with a soul?

1. This novel was inspired by a Friedrich Nietzsche quote: "When chasing monsters, one must be careful not to become one."  I got all SORTS of ideas from that quote, and I ran off with it. My husband gave me a Nietzsche book of quotes. I've learned that while Nietzsche was interesting, he was also a raving lunatic that hated women and Christians. The book starts dry and dull, becomes insightful and ends wacky. I suspect his rambling came from the syphilis that eventually killed him.

2. My main character, Noelle, was named after a beautiful ghost child I dreamed about. My Noelle doesn't look like her. Ghost Noelle was about seven years old with curly brown hair and big brown eyes. The freaky part is, I went apartment shopping with my sister that afternoon and she got the apartment right across from the cemetery I dreamed Noelle was from. No, I didn't look for her, but I'd like to. That might be a great paranormal adventure.

3. The investigators in the novel are real people : I was a member of Edmonton Paranormal at the time. Yes, they knew I was writing the book, and yes, those people knew they were in it. I changed their names, and didn't divulge ALL of their personalities---there was some poetic license. I don't recommend using friends as characters. It's hard to maintain their privacy while remaining true to their personalities.

RIP Gary Larsen Photo by: Julia Hollman

4. One character was as true as I could make him: Because about two months after Gary asked if he could be in the book too, he died. He's 'Joey', and I strived to make his character as real as he was in life. I met him first at my Meatcutting Class, at NAIT, and when I came to Edmonton Paranormal alone, he was the only person I knew. I wanted Gary to have some kind of legacy, because he was only 50 years old, and a kind man who led a quiet life. I don't want him forgotten.

5. Jake's house doesn't exist, but if it did..: I placed it between the towns of Busby and Legal. You would use the left-hand turn off from Legal, and it would be about half-way to Busby. I used to drive that way all the time to meet with my last remaining critique partner, and I liked the area for a story.

6. Oh, and the church exists too: My bestie and I went for a road trip to find museums and we took a few back roads. We were a little bit lost when we found it, so I can't tell you where it is. I'm not even sure I'm showing the right picture, but it was a historic site, and I remember it being white with silver turnip top structures.

I THINK this is.... not sure. We saw lots of churches that day

7. BONUS FACT: The woman who designed this cover, as well as the ones for Thoeba and Aphrodite's War is now a country singer and songwriter. Her name is Terra Weston, and while country music isn't my thing, she'sDAMNED talented. Oh, her voice! I had NO  idea she could sing! I tried to include a link, but it didn't work. Terra, if you read this, can you comment with something?

Dedicated

Photo by Julia Hollman

If you read my last blog, you'll know that 'Chasing Monsters' will be coming out soon. Hopefully before the year is out. You'll also notice I dedicated it to the memory of a man named Gary Larsen. I've lost track of how many times I've written and re-written that dedication. There actually is something harder to write than a synopsis.

When Gary asked to be in the novel, no one could have guessed he'd be gone two months later. It was a horrible shock. I remember Ehren calling me out of the blue, and I was a little surprised to hear from him. He didn't usually call that early in the day. I asked how it was going, and he said, "Been better."

When he told me, I couldn't believe it. I remember screaming "Oh my God!" several times before I gave in to the tears. I was writing at the time, and tried to continue after the phone call, but I couldn't concentrate. I dropped everything and drove to Ehren and Julia's house, where a bunch of us sat around hugging, shaking our heads in disbelief, crying and trading stories about Gary.

I'm not just frustrated because of the dedication I'm writing.

I'm upset with myself, because I know that 'Joey Bekker', Gary's character, evolved beyond his personality, and any of his friends who reads it will recognize him, but will notice...it's not really Gary. I wonder what he would think of the transformation I gave him.

The Gary we knew was a sweet, soft spoken man Danish man who emigrated to Canada with his parents when he was a boy. He had a parakeet he adored, and all animals loved him. He was rarely seen without an energy drink, and he liked to hang outside with the smokers, even though he didn't smoke. He just liked to listen and be part of the conversation. His favorite band was Deep Purple. He had a fart app on his phone. He was a devoted paranormal investigator and enthusiast.

I met him in Meatcutting class at NAIT, January 2000, where we teased him about how such a small guy could eat so much. He was maybe 5'2, but wolfed food like starved quarterback. The day before our class toured the Lilydale chicken plant I dreamed that I entrusted my lunch to Gary, and he ate it. Tried to tell me around a mouthful of Subway sandwich that he didn't know what happened to my Turkey Bacon Sub. When I shared that dream, everyone around us nodded and said, "Yep. That's Gary. Why would anyone trust Gary to guard food?'

And after the tour was over, Lilydale gave us a variety of chicken wings to sample. Apparently Gary was the first NAIT Meatcutter student, in the history of the trade school, to ask if he could bring the leftovers home. He was probably still hungry.

I wanted Gary's character to be special. I wanted Joey Bekker to live longer and louder than Gary could. I wanted Gary's character to be BIG-- Fearless. I wanted Joey Bekker to live where Gary had not.  I guess that's why 'Joey Bekker' doesn't seem much like Gary anymore, but I'm still glad I did it.

We gave Gary a memorial. It was all he got. Gary's parents predeceased him, and he had no siblings, so he was cremated with permission from relatives from Denmark. We'd offered to pay for a real funeral, but God only knows what that funeral home did with his ashes. I'm still really pissed over that.

That's why this dedication and this novel are so important. Gary led a subdued life, and got the bum's rush into the afterlife. He was a good man who deserved more. Now I can finally give him something for the world to remember he was here.

People come into your life for a reason. Sometimes I wonder if Gary came into my life specifically because I needed to understand the full impact of losing a friend to death. Maybe he was here to make sure Chasing Monsters got written and published. Because I promised him.

I'm sorry if I rambled. I'm sorry if I bored you, but I understand now why I needed to write this blog. I needed to write it because no matter what those little sentences say in the beginning of 'Chasing Monsters', they'll never tell you enough about how I feel right now--How the tears still burn behind my eyes years later.

Still Chasing

Chasing Monsters will be dedicated to the memory of this man.

I should tell you now. CHASING MONSTERS is going to happen. I am currently going through it for maybe the...fifth time (?) before I hand it over to Heather Savage of Staccato Publishing for editing and formatting. I still need to get an ISBN code and a cover artist, so I can't be sure WHEN it's coming out.

Sorry it's taking so long...When you're self-published you have to think about COST$. It's your problem when you're self-published, and if you follow this blog at all, you'll know I've had a trying year or two.

But there is a strange advantage to the wait. I haven't actually looked at CHASING MONSTERS in over a year. Which means I can be objective. And I can see aaaaaaaallll the flaws. Thank GOD I didn't put it out as soon as the beta readers were finished with it!

Shout out and apologies to my fellow Staccato family member David Fingerman, the horror writer. (By the way, if you love unpredictable horror? Try "Two Degrees Closer to Hell. Brilliant and fresh. David Fingerman-Closer to Hell) I'm actually embarrassed that I gave him that last version. It must have been a tremendous CHORE for him to slog through, but he gave me the honesty I craved.

I remember taking a lot of his advice to heart, as it was great, but I felt he just didn't like so much of it. Well, NO WONDER!!

The original CHASING MONSTERS reads like a 'Young Adult', which is a genre for teens. NOT my intention. Apparently, I wrote like a goof for a year. I'm not saying YA is goofy, I'm saying I made my characters sound too light hearted and casual for a novel with so much sex and violence in it. Oh, and Noelle sounded a lot like some eighties valley girl. "Omicrap".  (Groan)

I'd like to put CHASING MONSTERS out by the end of the year, but I hate making promises. I can promise I'll try hard to get it done by Christmas. I'll let you know <3

Oh shit...There are dedications, acknowledgments and a back cover to write. Wish me luck!