Every Author Needs a Goose
A couple of years ago when I was at the feed store buying grain for my chickens, I saw a big silver watering trough full of baby geese. They were adorable. And having no resistance to cute, fuzzy things, I ended up with two—a boy and a girl as it turned out. Since then I have discovered that geese are very handy. They keep the front lawn trimmed and fertilized without me having to lift a finger. Which I appreciate as it gives me more time to write. They are also a wealth of entertainment. My geese, Huey and Duey (Duey’s the goose, and Huey’s the gander) are delightful. They are curious, funny, and have very definite likes and dislikes. They like water—a lot. And they hate yellow—a lot.
Still, I never thought that Huey could help me with my writing. But he does. Sometimes, if the weather is nice, I’ll let them out of their pen so they can play and keep the grass cut short. And I’ll sit out on the porch, pondering plot problems and watching Huey and Duey. Now Huey, being a gander, has a two-tone honk—low, high. So it always sounds like he’s asking a question. Well, one day when I was stuck and had gotten my characters in my new book, Black Ops Chronicles: Dead Men Don’t, which comes out on June 28th, into a quandary, I decided to go sit on the porch and think about it. Huey and Duey were in the front lawn, and after a while, Huey came up to socialize and nibble on my toes. I don’t know why, but he seems fascinated with toes. Maybe he’s trying to figure out how I walk on those funny-looking things. For certain, I wouldn’t be able to swim with them. (He doesn’t know about scuba gear—or the breast stroke.)
So anyway, on this particular day, I’m sitting on the porch and Huey’s nibbling on my toes and talking in his low, high honk that sounds like “Uh-huh?” And I said, “Huey, how am I going to get my characters out of the mess I’ve gotten them into?”
To which he replied, “Uh-huh?”
As I took that to mean that he wanted me to continue, I laid the problem out before my very wise gander and started asking him questions. Such as, “How about if I…” and his reply was always the same, “Uh-huh?” encouraging me to keep asking questions. (Heck, as long as he could nibble on my toes, I could ask him anything and he wouldn’t care.) And as I continued to ask “what if” and “how about” I came up with a viable solution to the problems. Huey makes a very good sounding board.
Some months later, I took an online workshop on solving plot problems. It cost me $40. And the teacher’s “big secret” was to play twenty questions. Or in other words to keep asking questions until you figured out what would work. When you can’t figure out why a character would do such and such, or you can’t figure out where to go next with the plot, start asking “what if” and “how about” questions. As you ask the questions, you’ll likely hit on an answer that will work.
Well, she’s right, of course. But that’s it? For this I paid forty buck? Heck, my goose could have told you that. And he wouldn’t charge you a thing.…well, except that you have to let him nibble on your toes.
A strange man has come to save her…but is he friend or foe?
Anderson Merritt’s been kidnapped, but when a stranger comes to rescue her, she isn’t sure he is who he says he is. He claims to work her father’s boss. But someone close to Andi set her up, and now she doesn’t know who to trust. Every man she’s ever known has seen her only as a tool to get to her father or his money, so why should this one be any different? As the sparks between them ignite, and the danger escalates, Andi has to choose—go off on her own, or trust that some men really are what they seem.
He doesn’t want to hurt her…but he may have to if she doesn’t come willingly.
Ex-CIA black ops specialist Levi Komakov doesn’t believe in hurting women, but when the place is set to blow and Andi won’t cooperate, he has no choice to but toss her over his shoulder and carry her out of danger, determined to keep her safe in spite of herself. But the beautiful little spitfire doesn’t make it easy for him. With her abductors seemingly always one step ahead of him, Levi suspects there’s a rat in the woodpile, but who? Could it be someone close to Andi’s father, someone in the FBI, or someone in the family Levi works for? When a new threat appears, and even the CIA can’t help him keep Andi safe, Levi puts everything on the line—but will it be enough?
Author Bio
Award-winning author, Pepper O’Neal is a researcher, a writer, and an adrenalin junkie. She has a doctorate in education and spent several years in Mexico and the Caribbean working as researcher for an educational resource firm based out of Mexico City. During that time, she met and befriended many adventurers like herself, including former CIA officers and members of organized crime. Her fiction is heavily influenced by the stories they shared with her, as well her own experiences abroad.
O’Neal attributes both her love of adventure and her compulsion to write fiction to her Irish and Cherokee ancestors. When she’s not at her computer, O’Neal spends her time taking long walks in the forests near her home or playing with her three cats. And of course, planning the next adventure.
Black Op Chronicles: Dead Run: http://www.blackopalbooks.com/shop-our-store/blackopalstore/black-ops-chronicles-dead-run
Black Ops Chronicles: Dead Men Don’t: http://www.blackopalbooks.com/shop-our-store/blackopalstore/dead-men-dont
Blood Fest: Cursing Fate: http://www.blackopalbooks.com/shop-our-store/blackopalstore/blood-fest-chasing-destiny
Blood Fest: Chasing Destiny: http://www.blackopalbooks.com/shop-our-store/blackopalstore/blood-fest-cursing-fate
Love Potion No. 2-14: http://www.blackopalbooks.com/shop-our-store/blackopalstore/love-potion