I was tagged by E.E. Giorgi in the MEET MY CHARACTER BLOG TOUR. I met Elena at the Watercooler, and have had a crush ever since. Her debut novel, CHIMERAS, is an ultra cool story that grabs you by one of its taglines: Detective Track Presius has a unique gift: the vision and sense of smell of a predator. And I hear she has two new books set to go. So thanks for the tag, lovely Ms. Giorgi. Here are a few words about DASH:
Q. What is the name of your character? Is he fictional or a historic person?
Dash is a fictional guy who’s had a bad run of luck. His girl cheats. He’s fired from his job as a reporter after netting a great scoop. And when he decides to go on his honeymoon solo the jetliner crashes in a remote area of the South Pacific. Things get weird when he’s awakened in a damp lava tube cave by two women who might want to eat him.
Q. When and where is the story set?
Um, yesterday. Tomorrow? The story takes place on the island of Valelailai, which translates to toilet in the local language.
Q. What should we know about him?
Dash would very much like to have faith in god. Any god, that is, other than the Volcano God, who might be responsible for his plane crash. He is introduced to a variety of deities by a young island girl who’s hoping to be the next child chosen by marauding slave traffickers. Dash is torn by the fallibility of gods, and the strange balance of their power and selective effectiveness. His best friend on the island, by the way, is a former god who allowed his people to die during one of his alcohol-induced blackouts.
Q. What is the main conflict? What messes up his life?
Dash would be totally on board with fathering a white child as an offering to the slave traffickers, but was injured in the crash and cannot produce the goods despite some spicy ceremonies from the single native women.
Q. What is the personal goal of the character?
Sometimes his goal is to save himself. Sometimes it is to save the villagers, even though most hate him because of his skin color – and the fact that his crashed jetliner’s fuel poisoned their lagoon. Mostly his goal is to not become a human sacrifice.
Q. Is there a working title for this novel, and can we read more about it?
Dash in the Blue Pacific. Everyone is welcome to stop by at ColeAlpaugh.com, or join me on Facebook. I used to have a page for each new book, but tossed that idea. Readers and co-authors are family. You might want to turn away during soccer season, since I tend to rant a lot.
Q. When can we expect the book to be published?
The wonderful folks at Coffeetown Press tell me DASH will see the world on April 1, 2015.
Here’s a blurb:
Dash did calculations in his head. He guessed they had about four minutes to live. Not that he was an aeronautical expert—or any kind of expert, for that matter—but sitting alone in the upright position, he had nothing better to do after the engines went silent. When he’d attempted small talk, the elderly woman in the aisle seat had responded with an unfriendly grunt.
He shielded his eyes and craned for a view out the oval window, searching for flames and sniffing the air for trouble. Perfume and sweat. Someone close was a smoker. Setting fire to model airplanes as a kid seemed less cool now that he was aboard a full-size jetliner about to crash.
He had rubbed the fingertip pads that turned rough from pungent glue those summer days, hands trembling as he tied string to one wing and then held a lighter to the tail. He turned fast circles, flaming goo spraying across the lawn, black smoke curling into the trees.
The cabin speaker was full of static, and then a mouth came close to the microphone. “Cindy?”
Dash looked at his row mate. She was too old to be ‘Cindy.’ Cynthia, maybe. The woman caught him staring and glared back. He tried a smile.
“Are you there?”
Now on to meeting two great writers who accepted my invitation to join along. Stop by and visit them when they post on August 18th!
My writing partner, Regan Leigh, who has a style and voice that humbles me beyond words. For a taste of her immense talent, you can find one of her beautiful stories in WINTER WONDERS.
The fun and extremely talented author LK Gardner-Griffie. Her first three books in the teen choice award-winning Misfit McCabe series have been conveniently bundled. Her work totally rocks.
peace
