That 'Oh Crap' Moment

By now, most of us have heard of that 'Aha!' moment popularized by Oprah. It's the term used when you receive a life-changing epiphany--a new thought or understanding that you didn't have before. It's very cool when it happens. Sort of makes you feel smart and special when you understand something on a deeper level.

In my Indigo Eady Paranormal Mystery series, I use something similar, only it's more like, 'Oh Crap!'.

That 'Oh Crap' moment is when my main character, Indigo Eady, realizes trouble is afoot. That both she and her gang of teenage paranormal investigators are in deep doo doo and the task ahead is not going to be easy. In fact, it's going to be hard.

I like to make it clear to my readers that doo doo is happening, so at the end of the first chapter in each book, when Indigo understands what the problem is, she actually exclaims,

 "Oh crap!"

In Givin' Up The Ghost, it's that moment when Indigo realizes that her missing friend's father is a ghost, and therefore, not only dead, but murdered.

In A Guilty Ghost Surprised, it's when Indigo realizes that her little cousin has returned--from heaven.

While I use the term Oh crap! literally, it works like the thesis statement of an essay that directs the focus or point of the paper through to its final conclusion. It's a writing device that says, here's the problem, how are you going to solve it? When you write mysteries, that's what the book is about: how to solve the problem.

And of course, when you're writing for tweens and teens, words involving excrement of any kind is always good for a giggle.

I didn't consciously set out to employ the oh crap! writing device, but now I really enjoy using it.

What about you?

 

Do you use writing devices, either consciously or unconsciously?

 

What are they?

Characters And Creative Control

Writers always get questions about their characters and whether or not they’re based on a real person, someone the author knows. The answer is often that the characters are a combination of personalities of different people the author knows. It’s definitely safer not to name names, but I have a few that I want to share.

In my Indigo Eady Paranormal Mystery series, my main character, Indigo Eady, is half English, half Native American. It was no accident that she shares a last name and characteristics (black hair, blue eyes, similar ancestry) with my grandmother, Juanita Gwendolyn Eady. My grandmother was Scotch-Irish and Cherokee. Having raised my sister and me a lot of the time, she was a big influence in my life. I wanted to honor her, and that was the best way I knew how. I also have a church in Givin' Up The Ghost named after my mom, and a bartender with the name and physical attributes of my dad.

Now take my character Badger, the love interest of Indigo Eady. I knew he had to be cute, but a little scruffy. And real; kind and tough, but with a little hot-headedness in order to get by in the world. He had to be like Sam (Jared Padalecki) on Supernatural.

 

Then there’s Chance, from A Guilty Ghost Surprised. He’s a ghost dog that hangs out at a haunted mansion to protect the ghostly owner, who can't move on. The character Chance is based on my daughter’s real life dog, also named Chance. Of course I sought her permission to use Chance in the role. It might have been strange to see your dog on the cover of a book, not to mention between the pages, as a ghostie.

Luckily, I have an awesome illustrator, Corona Zschusschen, who understands my quirkiness with such things as putting my granddog on the cover of my book, and making Badger look like the hunky Sam.

 

Check out the likenesses from A Guilty Ghost Surprised on the left, compared to the photos on the right:

 

Jared Padalecki photo courtesy of Creative Commons

The illustration of Badger is uniquely him, but with the similar facial features of Jared Padalecki. Much as I'd like Jared/Sam on my cover, there could be some copyright issues if the likenesses were too similar.

 

With the illustration of Chance, I had no copyright worries. As you can see, it's completely Chance, facial features and all.

 

Creative control of this sort is the best part of being an indie author; we can put loved ones in our books and on the covers.

 

What about you?

Do you base characters on
people (or pets) you know?

A ParanormYA-Palooza

Today is a very exciting day here at Untethered Realms:-)

Gwen Gardner, author of Givin' Up the Ghost is releasing the much anticipated sequel, A Guilty Ghost Surprised.

Angela Brown, author of Neverlove, is releasing a hot novella follow up, They All Fall Down.

Together, they are also known as the Ladies of Partners in ParanormYA. And as members of Untethered Realms, we're thrilled to share in the ParanormYA-palooza! They're traveling the blogosphere on a Book Blitz Tour that you can follow by checking out their stops for the day here.

And make sure to get in on the giveaway as well :-)
a Rafflecopter giveaway

About A Guilty Ghost Surprised: Indigo Eady and gang are back with a  feather and a Chance setting off another twisting-turning investigation to bring a cold case, and loved ones, closure at last.

AGGS buy links: Amazon and Barnes & Noble

About They All Fall Down: Free of their duties as Cleanser and Harvestor, Abby and Basil try to move on with their lives. But some secrets remain. And what is done in the dark won’t be good when it comes to light.

TAFD buy links: Amazon and Barnes & Noble

About Partners in ParanormYA:

Gwen Gardner and Angela Brown - YA paranormal authors embarking on the adventure of a lifetime. Share with us as we take the Indie journey to bring our works to the world. Buckle up! There'll be mystery, mayhem, action and emotional roller coasters...oh, and a few things that go bump in the night.

Hauntings are scary but we love interaction:

Angela’s author FB page | Gwen’s author FB page

Tweet Angela | Tweet Gwen

Angela’s blog | Gwen’s blog

A Duo of Untethered Authors Baring it All...Well...Sorta

It is with great pleasure and a thrill in our hearts that Gwen Gardner and I (Angela Brown *hugs*) reveal the covers for our follow up stories to our currently available novels: Givin' Up the Ghost (Gwen) and Neverlove (Angela)

*cue drumroll*
...
..
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A GUILTY GHOST SURPRISED by Gwen Gardner (Add to Goodreads)

An Angel Among Us

Paranormal happenings at the Eady household are the norm. Recently, things have become downright peculiar. Childish giggles at odd hours of the night lead Indigo Eady to her little cousin, Bryan, a guileless cherub spirit, complete with Spider Man pajamas and a set of faux angel wings. The problem is that Bryan died nearly three years ago in a hit and run that killed him and his mum. The driver was never found.  Now the gang must solve the mystery of his death in order to send him back to heaven.  But where to start when the trail is three years cold?

Indigo Eady

Indigo Eady is not clumsy. At least, that’s what she keeps telling everyone. Can she help that the overactive spirit community of Sabrina Shores causes her psychic abilities to short-circuit? It’s unfortunate that her cute friend Badger is often on the receiving end of her mishaps. At times, she is positively hazardous to his health. Even so, sparks fly in more than one direction.

THEY ALL FALL DOWN by Angela Brown (Add to Goodreads)

Abby and Basil: New love reaches new heights as they finally give in to their lust and desire for each other.

Q: Consumed by the Devourer within and his base need to claim Abby as his own.

The crave: What it all boils down to. A crave for souls. A crave to keep love intact beyond betrayals. A crave for a second chance. A crave for power and The Fall of mankind.

“Love can conquer all” is put to the test and salvation may be impossible when it’s “ashes, ashes…they all fall down.”

About Gwen

Gwen Gardner is a native Californian living in sunny San Diego, where her love of reading and writing led to a BA in English literature. Life is now complete with her husband, two dogs and a daily call from her daughter.

Since ghosts feature prominently in her young adult Indigo Eady Paranormal “Cozy” Mystery series, she has a secret desire to meet one face to face - but will run screaming for the hills if she ever does. Gwen adores travel and experiencing the cultures and foods of different countries. She is always up for an adventure and anything involving chocolate - not necessarily in that order.
Haunt at the following: Blog | Twitter | Facebook

About Angela

Angela is a lover of Wild Cherry Pepsi and chocolate/chocolate covered delicious-ness. Steampunk, fantasy and paranormal to contemporary - mostly young adult - fill her growing library of books. Mother to a rambunctious darling girl aptly nicknamed Chipmunk, life stays busy. Her favorite quote keeps her moving: "You may never know what results come of your action, but if you do nothing there will be no result." ~ Mahatma Gandhi
Haunt at the following: Blog | Twitter | Facebook