The Real Naperville, Setting for Hags

My new novel, Hags, takes place in Naperville, Illinois, located in the far west suburbs of Chicago. Naperville is a city of 141,853 people according to the 2010 Census. The median age is 35. Micah Probert, the main character, fits right in at age 38 when the story begins. Median annual family income is more than $117,000, quite a bit more than what Peevy O’Malley, Micah’s ex-girlfriend, earns as a barista. Naperville takes up 38.77 square miles of DuPage County. According to Money Magazine, Naperville is one of the five best cities in the United States to live.

Where is Bob’s Coffee Emporium?
A lot of the action takes place in Bob’s Coffee Emporium, a fictional coffee shop. As such, it exists within the covers of my novel. However, I pictured it on the southeast corner of Main and Jefferson in downtown Naperville. At the time of this writing, a Starbucks sits on that space. It’s smaller than my vision of Bob’s but it’s nice to know you can find a cup of coffee if you visit the neighborhood.

Micah’s fixer upper
If you walk north on Main Street from Starbucks about two blocks, you’ll find where Micah owned his fixer upper house. Denise Appleby owned the house next door. At one time there actually were two rather dilapidated houses on the block, but they were torn down years ago to make way for new construction.

Get Hagged
Mark your calendar for October 8th through October 12th to download your free Kindle copy of Hags, my new horror novel. And if you just can’t wait, you can download a pre-launch copy right now for only $2.99 by clicking here.

Here’s another novel idea…
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Time to Join a Writer’s Group?

The Write Time Writer’s Group meets in Geneva, Illinois, a couple of times a month. We’re not your usual writer’s group, but that should come as no surprise given the makeup of our members. We operate as a writer’s support group following a formula instituted by our founder and past leader, noted author John Kador, who has since moved on to my old neck of the woods in Pennsylvania.

As a support group, we are not focused on critiquing, although we will critique when asked. Instead, our focus is on discussing the craft and writing. We do speed writing exercises using prompts. Each exercise takes about three or four minutes during our meetings.

How well does this type of writer’s group work? I have seen writers move from a vague hobby interest to become excellent writers. One of members has been picked up by the premier agent representing authors in the sci-fi genre. Another writer has had negotiations with a Hollywood agent representing script writers. Several members are indie-published authors. We have a published poet. One of our past members has achieved national recognition for her published poetry. We have a professional editor in the group who helps to keep our grammar on track.

Sound interesting? The Write Time Writer’s Group is a free writer’s group. If you live within a reasonable commute of Geneva, Illinois, contact me about joining.

Get Hagged
Only five days until the launch of my new novel, Hags, on October 8, 2012 with a five-day free giveaway of the Kindle version. Mark your calendar for October 8th through October 12th to download your free copy. And if you just can’t wait, you can download a pre-launch copy right now for only $2.99 by clicking here.

Here’s another novel idea…
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Are You Ready to be Hagged?

Is the lady living next door to you really the gorgeous sweetheart she appears to be? Is she 28 or 128? Welcome to the secret world of Hags, where people are not who they at first appear to be.

In this horror-thriller set in Naperville, Illinois, you’ll meet a demon masquerading as a faerie, complete with gossamer wings. You’ll greet Bob, the diminutive owner of Bob’s Coffee Emporium. And there’s Peevy O’Malley, the 300-pound barista who hates all men because of Micah Probert. Be sure to say hello to Peevy’s evil sister, Janice O’Malley. And no visit to Hags is complete without introducing yourself to Lionel Langdon, the principal of the local high school who twists new meaning from the expression, “Your principal is your pal, young lady.” And I'll introduce you to… but why spoil the tale?

As with all my stories, you’ll meet a group of characters slightly askew of normal, including a few who are too weird and evil to mention in a blog post. And you’ll find some of their innocent victims, the young ladies of Naperville, Illinois. Leave the lights on because this horror story is better than caffeine.

Hags launches October 8, 2012 with a five-day free giveaway of the Kindle version. Mark your calendar for October 8th through October 12th to download your free copy. And if you just can’t wait, you can download a pre-launch copy right now for only $2.99 by clicking here.

Here’s another novel idea…
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Announcing Hags

This Present Darkness meets The Blair Witch Project in my new novel Hags. After 15 years in prison for a rape he says he didn’t commit, Micah Probert returns to his hometown of Naperville, Illinois, where he starts his first day by discovering a human-sized faerie flitting about in his backyard, a dead body in the parking lot behind his house, a pioneer ghost in his kitchen, and a local coffee shop that serves the darkest roast this side of Hades. It’s in this coffee shop that his ex-girlfriend from high school now works and where he runs into her sister, the victim in Micah’s long ago rape trial.

But the real action begins when Micah learns that the beautiful young woman living next door to his fixer-upper, the girl he has just started dating, may actually be a witch as wicked as any from medieval times. Mix in a few dark secrets, a serial killer or two, a hot romance or two, and this novel takes you deep into the heart of horror in the suburbs. Will Micah heed the call to spiritual warfare with the evil forces mounted against him in time to save the city of Naperville? And will he discover the secret identity of the second hag who is out to destroy him?

To celebrate the launch of Hags, I’m planning to give away the Kindle version for free for five days. This five-day giveaway is my way to share my writing with as many readers as possible. I’m hoping you’ll enjoy reading Hags so much that you’ll help me spread the word about my new novel. As I’m sure you’re aware, this type of BUZZ is essential to generating interest, book reviews and sales. I should have the date finalized for the giveaway so I can announce it in the next day or two. If I don’t run into any glitches, the five-day giveaway will begin next Monday, October 8, 2012.

In the meantime, if you haven’t read my first indie novel, Fulfillment, it’s still available. You may click here for the Amazon Kindle version or click here for the paperback. Fulfillment is the Christmas story as pure suspense, thriller, horror, mystery, romance and spiritual warfare. Satan is out to stop the first Christmas by attacking Mary, a pregnant teenager with moxie and connections in high places. Keep your lights on.

Here’s another novel idea…
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Asking the Wrong Question

Asking what happens next is the wrong question because it focuses on plot. You will read for plot because it's too big to miss. But by taking your eye off the question of "what happens next" in favor of "how is the character changing," you’ll find new meaning and enjoyment from reading fiction. Some readers prefer to read for plot the first time through a novel and then go back later to read for the character development or character arc of the story. Others will read for the character arc from the outset, knowing the plot is not going away.

Character arc is all about how the author moves the character through a learning process. As the character learns, so do you. The plot is a device for making the transition enjoyable for you as a reader.

One way to begin thinking more about character arc is to read for the way the character exists at the beginning of the story and then observing how the character is at the end of the story. How is the character different? What were some of the changes the character went through? Here are some things to look for at the beginning of the story and the end.

Increase innocence at the beginning of the story
In order to make a strong character arc, an author may revise their first draft of the story to bring more emphasis to the character arc. One way to do this is to make the character more innocent or naive at the beginning of story.

One device, used in quest-type stories, is to have a wisdom character speak with the main character. The main character denies the truths offered by the wisdom character only to learn later that it’s the wisdom character’s advice that saves the day. Or the author may have two or more young characters mock the wisdom character. Think teenage angst story where the high school students mock their English teacher only to learn later that the lesson the teacher was trying to impart holds the secret of solving the biggest challenge in the plot of the story.

Add experience and wisdom at the end of story
The author will emphasize the completion of the character arc by adding dialogue or action at the end of the story to allow the character to express new-found wisdom resulting from the journey. The innocent teenager, who started out on the road trip fifty short chapters ago, ends up becoming the wisdom character for a middle school sibling who, of course, doesn’t listen and could care less. Or the author may simply have the character reflect back on the now completed journey.

When you read a good story, you can’t possibly miss the plot. It jumps out and bites you. And if it doesn’t, the story becomes the one you put down unfinished. Don’t worry about the plot. Instead, stay focused on the main characters. Read to learn where they are headed, what experiences they are having, what information they are learning, and how they are growing. Enjoy.

For your next novel read, may I suggest Fulfillment? You can read a chunk of it free. You may click here for Amazon Kindle or click here for paperback. Fulfillment is the Christmas story as pure suspense, thriller, horror, mystery, romance and spiritual warfare. Satan is out to stop the first Christmas by attacking Mary, a pregnant teenager with moxie and connections in high places. Keep your lights on.

Here’s another novel idea…
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Read for the Way Authors Change Characters

The more you know about the craft of writing, the more you gain from reading a novel. For many readers, it’s enough to discover what happens in the story. The problem with an action focus is you miss the movement of the characters through a learning process.

You will enjoy the story more if you read for the character arc. Story is about the characters. The plot is merely a device for moving the characters from where they are to where the author wants them to go. Authors can use any number of devices to move the character through an arc, including:

Plot – the events of the story. The plot is the journey. The author places the characters in situations that force change. Every scene requires the characters to adjust in some way as they react to what is happening around them. Even if the modification is as simple as learning one new fact, the character has transformed in some way. As you read, look for the way the action affects the characters.

Hook – a device the author uses to keep you interested in the story. It’s the cliff hanger ending to a chapter that makes you want to keep reading. Authors use hooks at the beginning and end of every scene and sometimes in the middle of scenes. The action of the hook forces change on the story. Such adjustments force the characters to grow or weaken to form the up and down sides of the character arc.

Forced events – plot again. Characters change when they must to survive. The author positions the character in a situation of kill or be killed. When the character works up the gumption to pull the trigger, she is changed forever (so is the villain, but that’s another character arc – one that the author just ended). Gaining knowledge can make the character tougher, meaner, harder or more cynical as in noir fiction. Or, despite the awful things happening around the character, new experiences and knowledge can lead to an understanding of how to stay optimistic in a sometimes cruel world as happens in many romance stories. When a bad thing happens, you have a choice: either you live in a hard, cruel world… or you live in a world where bad things sometimes happen to spoil an otherwise good life. Which way does the author take the character?

How does the way the author changes the characters affect you as a reader? If you read only for the action, you'll still be influenced by the author's choices in creating the character arc for each major character. But you may not be aware of how the story is affecting you other than a vague feeling. But if you follow the character arc, while still enjoying the action, you gain a better understanding of how the story affects you so that you can answer questions like:

• How does the genre you like to read affect you? Do you become more cynical as you read noir stories? Or do you become more romantic as you read romance stories? 
• Why are you drawn to read the genre of novels you enjoy most? 
• Does the author create a reality consistent with your evolving worldview? 
• How does the author undermine your worldview? This can happen when an author gives a noir drama a happy ending, for example. Or the romance author ends a novel with a growing cynicism in the main character.

As you read your next novel, look for the main character’s response to the events of the story. The character's response is more important than the event itself. Character is more important than plot because the lessons of the story are within the characters, not the plot.

For your next novel read, may I suggest Fulfillment? You can read a chunk of it free. You may click here for Amazon Kindle or click here for paperback. Fulfillment is the Christmas story as only Paul R. Lloyd can tell it: pure suspense, thriller, horror, mystery, romance and spiritual warfare. Satan is out to stop the first Christmas by attacking Mary, a pregnant teenager with moxie and connections in high places. Noir-style action designed to keep your lights on.

Here’s another novel idea…
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Are You Missing the Best Part of the Story?

For many readers, the story is all about the plot. They want to know what happens. The danger with a plot focus is you become so busy following the action that you miss the most important part of the tale. You will enjoy the story more if you read for the character arc. Story is about the characters. The plot is merely a device for moving the characters from where they are to where they need to be.

What is character arc?
Character arc is the journey the character is on as he or she moves through the plot. Like real people, characters are at a particular place in their development as human beings (or cyberborgs if you, like YA author Karen T. Smith, prefer sci-fi). And like most of us, fiction characters don’t change unless some outside event kicks them in the butt and gets them started. If you want the character to leave home, kill off the parents. If you want the character to take a cross-country trip, fire them from their job and kick them out of their apartment.

See how the action or plot of the story is dictated by the author's desire to move the character forward? While many readers focus on the murder of the parents or the start of a road trip, the real adventure has to do with how the events of the story change the character.

While you’re focusing on the main character, keep an eye on the other characters. What are the characters like at the start of the story? How do they change along the journey? How are they different at the end of the story compared to the beginning?

For a story rich in character, read my novel Fulfillment. You can read a chunk of it free. You may click here for Amazon or click here for paperback. Fulfillment is the Christmas story as only Paul R. Lloyd can tell it: pure suspense, thriller, horror, mystery, romance and spiritual warfare. Satan is out to stop the first Christmas by attacking Mary, a pregnant teenager with moxie and connections in high places. Fiction designed to keep your lights on.

Here’s another novel idea…
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