Virtual Christmas

A few years ago, during the financial crisis, most in our family were unable to spend much for gifts. We agreed to give the kids smaller presents, but the adults were in a quandary.

Larry grew up with a large extended family. All the kids got something small, but lots of gifts. Auntie Wanda, who worked in a bank, gave each child a crisp, new two-dollar bill. Uncle Francis brought them each a shiny silver dollar. (Kim still has some of hers.) Auntie Margie loved finding loud and crazy socks. She’d shop all year for them. (And Kim insisted on wearing them—with everything.)

Since Larry’s dad was one of six, and most were married with kids, we often had forty or more on Christmas Eve. Dad was the youngest and was sixteen years younger than his oldest sister. We loved having kids and adults of all ages, and we welcomed a new family member every few years.

The adults drew names for gifts with a $20 limit. This meant each couple only had to buy two adult gifts. Names were drawn on Thanksgiving, but we weren’t particularly strict about sticking with the names as drawn. Much horse trading occurred between that date and Christmas Eve.

Everyone knew Cousin Gerry loved getting Larry’s brother, Casey. Both were pranksters, and Gerry loved giving Casey off-the-wall gifts.

One year, she gave him a large box. When he opened it, the only thing inside was a clue to the next gift. She routed him all over the house until he finally located the small box in the center of her cookie plate. It held a $20 bill. Another year, he received a coffee can filled with change embedded in the most awful mixture of white glue, peanut butter, chocolate syrup… Well, you can imagine. He had to run the whole thing under very hot water before he was able to extract his $20 in change.

I always loved getting Auntie Margie. She had very definite tastes, and most of the rest of them found her challenging. What a coup when I was able to please her, and I did so often.

For many years, we hosted the entire family, but as the older generation died out, and the ‘kids’ grew up and moved away, the group grew smaller until we were left with only our immediate families.

As Christmas of 2009 approached, some of us were faced with limited resources. My sister-in-love, Lucy, had just started a new job. Casey’s company had folded, as had mine. Kim had moved to Texas for work and was no longer working two jobs. Our niece, Carrie, and her husband were leaving right after the first of the year to move to Utah. In short, times were financially challenging, and money was tight.

A coworker was faced with the same situation in her family. She had just gone back to work after nine months of unemployment. (I had gotten her a contract job at the same place I was working.)

Her family decided on a virtual Christmas. The rules were simple:

·         Decide what you would give each family member if money were no object and without any restrictions.

·         Write a note to each person, along with pictures or other enhancements (web pages, etc.) to let them know what you’d give them and why.

·         Put your virtual gift in an envelope, and put it on the tree on Christmas Eve.

Everyone took the challenge seriously. And the gifts we received that year far surpassed any material gifts we might have gotten.

I have kept my virtual gifts locked carefully away along with the birth certificates, marriage certificate, and all the other valuable papers. They are that precious.

Kim ‘gave’ Larry a trip to outer space, complete with photos and a web page. I ‘got’ a house in Hawaii.

My brother, who is a classic car fanatic, ‘gave’ Larry a woody and me a ’57 Thunderbird—my favorite car of all time.

Carrie and Loren had just bought a new house in Utah, so they brought the map of their neighborhood. Their ‘gift’ was a house of our choice so we could be near them.

Larry’s gift was a trip to Hawaii for the whole family. His gift to me was to retire and travel to all the places on my bucket list: Machu Picchu, England, Scotland (again), New Zealand (again, Italy (again), and Hawaii (always). Oh, and he’d go along.

My gifts were all intangibles. To Kim, I ‘gave’ happiness. To my brother, confidence, and so forth. Larry’s gift reads as follows:

To Larry I would give JOY

In God and your faith

            In your work and your play

                        In your family and home

                                    In love and marriage

You are the greatest blessing in my life.

            If I could do it all over again,

I would. You taught me how to laugh

            And play and love (the best parts).

I love you.

We haven’t done it again, but someday, perhaps, we will. I’d recommend it to anyone, whether or not finances are an issue.

My virtual gift for you? A joyous and blessed holiday season and a prosperous New Year. May all your fondest dreams come true.

Me Write Science Fiction? – Larry Collins, Guest Blogger

I have always loved reading science fiction and fantasy, starting with Jules Verne, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and H.G. Wells when I was in grammar school. Then later A.E. van Vogt, and Ursula K. Le Guin.

In the 1950s, The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, originally written as one super-long book, broken into three parts by the publisher, led the fantasy realm into what has been dubbed “Epic Fiction” and “Myth Arc” books.

The 1960s and 1970s exploded with myth arc. It is similar to a standard story arc but is larger than can fit in a single book. It demands sequels. Think the Shannara series by Terry Brooks, the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov, the Man-Kzin Wars by Larry Niven, or the Well of Souls series by Jack L. Chalker, all of which I have read and enjoyed.

The 1980s and 1990s saw more character-driven stories. Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling is an example. An epic battle between good and evil is the overall myth arc plot, but how the characters, like Dumbledore, Ronald Weasley, and Hermione Granger, change and grow are what make each book interesting.

Okay, So if I like the sci-fi genre, why haven’t I written it?

Science fiction and fantasy usually involve some epic theme: save the world or the universe. I don’t write big themes. My stories tend to involve a small slice of life. In my mysteries, the protagonist solves a murder or saves a friend, but not much more.

As Carl Sagan wrote, "To make an apple pie, you need wheat, apples, a pinch of this and that, and the heat of the oven. The ingredients are made of molecules—sugar, say, or water. The molecules in turn, are made of atoms—carbon, oxygen, hydrogen and a few others. Where do these atoms come from? …the Big Bang, the explosion that began the cosmos. If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe."

I feared writing science fiction required me to invent an entire universe.

Other types of fiction don’t have those requirements. If you’re writing about the old West or the Civil War, the terrain and characters you’ll meet are well known. If you’re collecting characters from present day, you need only to look to the personalities around you. But if you’re making a futuristic universe and populating it with alien species, you need to make all up. Or so I believed.

In our weekly critique group, one of the authors started a young adult science fiction novel. She had questions on how to portray certain events or define an alien landscape. I was able to help her with examples of how other writers handled similar situations.

I realized, as Joseph Campbell said of the hero’s journey, “…we have not even to risk the journey alone; for the heroes of all time have gone before us; the labyrinth is thoroughly known; we have only to follow the thread of the hero-path…”

So it is with writing sci-fi. I write my own story, told in my own words. But the concepts of time-travel, faster-than-light spaceflight, or alien encounters are well-known. Readers are familiar with them. I need not re-invent everything.

I’ve finally started a sci-fi story, but in mine, the protagonist sets out to save his kidnapped brother. Another character finds a family. And neither saves the universe. Now I find I’m enjoying writing science fiction as much as I have enjoyed reading it.

Interview With Larry K. collins

Today, just for fun, I interviewed my partner in life and in crime (novels, that is), Larry K. Collins. You might enjoy some of his answers.

What started you writing?

I’ve always created stories in my head. From four until age twelve, I stuttered badly. Talking to others was so difficult I stopped speaking and retreated from the outside world. When I was seven, TV’s Space Patrol and Commander Buzz Corry held my fascination. For Christmas, I got the official patrol space station model, complete with two-inch high plastic spacemen (Buzz, his crew, and several villains). My imagination provided many hours of adventures.

At ten, it was Disney’s movie Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. I constructed a complete scale set of the Nautilus out of wood and cardboard. I always made up stories, plots and characters. I liked mine better than what I saw on TV. I just never put them down on paper.

In my sophomore year of high school, my English teacher was also the writing club sponsor. For his class, each Monday morning, every student had turn in a story with any subject, a minimum two pages, single-spaced. Most of my classmates hated the course. I loved it. I began to write down the imagined adventures from my youth. Two of my short stories were published in the yearly school literary magazine, The Silver Pen.

What are your writing goals?

Two years ago, Lorna’s anthology, Directions of Love, won the EPIC eBook Award for best romance anthology. Since then I have had to live with an “award winning author”. Someday I hope to even the score.

What is the hardest thing about the writing life?

I’m a plotter. But I live and write with a pantser.

I spend days in thought. I know the story arc, character progression, and have outlined the logical story path to the end, often before words go on paper. It makes me a slow writer. If I can get a chapter done in two weeks, I’m doing well.

Lorna always knows where the story will end, but her characters lead her on a merry chase through strange and unknown pathways to arrive there. She writes fast and trusts her voices to show the way.

We’ve totally different styles. Yet, somehow when we coauthor, the magic still works.

Do you enjoy blogging? Why or why not?

I have to admit, I’m not big on blogging. I guest occasionally on Lorna’s and others’ blogs, but that’s about it. As I said, I write slowly.

Are there any other genres you’d like to write?

I read and love science fiction and fantasy, but I’ve never written it. That genre tends to be on a grand scale, with all-encompassing stories, saving the universe, or protecting the shire from Sauron. I tend to write smaller stuff. One detective solves one case, or saves one person.

But someday, I just might try it.

What is your favorite of your own books, so far? Why?

The genres I’ve written in are so different, it’s hard to choose. My collection of short stories Lakeview Park is my latest. Each of the fifteen stories stands alone, but they are linked in that they all take place in and around a small urban park in a large city. Writing it gave me a chance put down my observations of people I noticed while walking in a real park, and to go back to my favorite, slice-of-life, short story style.

What are you working on now? Where did the idea come from?

The current book in progress is historical fiction, The Memory Keeper. It takes place at Mission San Juan Capistrano between 1812 and 1890, as told by a Juañeno Indian.

A lot happened during the period: earthquakes, a pirate attack, two-wars, statehood, bandits, epidemics, floods, and droughts. Lorna and I have spent more than a year in research and expect it will take another year to complete.

We have lived about three miles from the mission for the past twenty-five years and became fascinated with the period. We also obtained the help of the San Juan Capistrano historian and a Juañeno storyteller to help us get our facts straight.

Just like all our books, whatever I’m working on at the moment is my favorite.

Thanks, Larry. Even I learned a few things I didn’t know! You can read more about both of us on our website http://www.lornalarry.com.

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

Today I’m on the Blog Hop: The Next Big Thing. 

The last blogger was Marilyn Meredith. After you’ve read this post, hop on over to her blog where she answered the very same questions: http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com/ 

 

Ten Interview Questions for The Next Big Thing:

What is the working title of your book?

Our latest book is an historical novel based in San Juan Capistrano between the years of 1820 and 1890, entitled The Memory Keeper.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

Larry and I both had read Molokai and Honolulu and loved them. Larry said, “Why don’t we write something similar about San Juan Capistrano. It has such great history. So we began doing research. The more we discovered, the more we became excited about the book.

What genre does your book fall under?

This one will be an historical novel. We keep exploring different genres (nonfiction, sweet romance, mystery, fantasy). I guess we’re just easily bored!

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Since our characters are Juaneño Indians, maybe A. Martinez as the adult Tomas with Sacheen Littlefeather as his mother. Since the book takes place over so many years, we’d need actors of various ages. We’d need Hispanic and American actors as well.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Tomas Romero recounts the events of his life as a Juaneño Indian from his birth in 1820 through his seventieth year.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

It will probably not be self-published, but it might be published by an indie publisher.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

We’re still working on it and anticipate it will take about two years to complete because of all the required research.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

We hope it will compare well with Molokai and Honolulu, two of our favorites.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

We live in Dana Point, CA, right next door to San Juan Capistrano. We know several descendants of the Juaneños. Their history has fascinated us for some time, and we now think we’ve found a good vehicle for recording it in an interesting way.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

It is the history of the area, told from the point-of-view of a native. It also includes all the various changes that occurred to the mission during the Spanish, Mexican and finally American administrations. We’ve tried to capture the real emotions of the actual people who lived during this turbulent era.

Learn more about Lorna on her website: http://www.lornalarry.com.