HOUR OF THE RAT-The Flawed Protagonist

Hi, Kat Sheridan hosting today so Sia can have a well-deserved long holiday weekend off for the Fourth of July!

I have a confession to make. I drink bourbon (and coffee), occasionally to excess. I can out-swear a Marine drill sergeant. I get pig-headed about the dumbest things. Sometimes I make bad decisions, do stupid stuff, or trust the wrong person. I try to do my best, and just hope my successes balance my failures. In other words, I’m human.

Which means I’m also a lot like Ellie Cooper, the protagonist in Hour of the Rat, the latest novel by Lisa Brackmann. I first encountered Ellie in Ms. Brackmann’s debut novel, Rock Paper Tiger. In Hour of the Rat, Ellie once again drags me along on an adventure through sprawling, bewildering, beautiful and treacherous China as she tries to help an old war buddy locate his missing brother, while being chased, used, and abused by shadowy government agencies, and stumbles into a truly terrifying real-world plot line having to do with GMOs (genetically modified organisms—if you want to get the willies every time you eat, look them up).

I’m going to say right up front that I loved this book. The synopsis is at the end, so I won’t repeat it here. What I want to talk about today is Ellie Cooper, and the way too many people may view a protagonist like her.

Let me tell you about Ellie. She was a medic in Iraq, a soldier who got caught in a terrible Abu Ghraib-like situation, and got torn between duty and horror. Her husband left her for a younger model. She got blown up and lost a chunk of muscle in her leg. It causes her deep physical pain and always will. She’s tough as old leather, but feminine enough to be embarrassed about the scars on her leg. She has PTSD. Between the pain and the nightmares, she doesn't always sleep well. She can’t function in the morning without coffee, her beverage choice the rest of the day is often beer, and though she tries to endure the constant physical and emotional pain, she sometimes resorts to popping Percocet for relief. She has a wry, dry, self deprecating sense of humor that comes out sometimes at the worst possible moment. She loves her uber-Christian mother, who drives her crazy, and is trying to heal past rifts with her. She’s an expat living in China, she’s trying to be a good friend to folks who may not deserve it, she’s trying to get her act together, and she’s trying to find some meaning in a world that exploded and spun out of control on her.

I haven’t read the reviews on Hour of the Rat yet, but I read them for Rock Paper Tiger (because I like to see what other people think of a book I adored). I was seriously appalled by folks who took issue with Ellie’s drinking and swearing and flawed decisions. As if they expected her, as a soldier, to say “gosh darn” and return home after the war to bake cookies and join the PTA. This weekend Americans celebrate our freedom, and the men who fought and died for it. Now that women are actively being allowed in combat positions (as if they already weren't de facto in those positions), are we ready for our books to have protagonists like Ellie Cooper?

My question is this: If Ellie Cooper had been Elliot Cooper, a male protagonist, would readers feel the same? Would you, as a reader, be more tolerant of a male character who’d been a soldier, been hit by an IED, who suffered the hell of PTSD, who swore, who coped with too much beer and painkillers, ran into dangerous situations, and was ambivalent about his mother?

Is there a subconscious prejudice toward the realistic portrayal of flawed female protagonists?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Hour of the Rat by Lisa Brackmann

Iraq War vet Ellie McEnroe has a pretty good life in Beijing, representing the work of controversial dissident Chinese artist Zhang Jianli. Even though Zhang's mysterious disappearance of over a year ago has attracted the attention of the Chinese authorities. Even though her Born-Again mother has come for a visit and shows no signs of leaving.

But things really get complicated when Ellie's search for an Army buddy's missing brother entangles her in a conspiracy that may or may not involve a sinister biotech company, eco-terrorists, and art-obsessed Chinese billionaire, and lots of cats—a conspiracy that will take her on a wild chase through some of China's most beautiful and most surreal places.

BUY: AMAZON, B&N, INDIEBOUND

Guest host Kat Sheridan is an aspiring romance author, fond of bourbon and shiny things. Creator of BlurbCopy.com, writing blurbs/back cover copy for indie authors. Bon vivant and diva. Her debut Victorian gothic romance novel, Echoes in Stone, will be published in the fall of 2013.

Those Special Moments

I’m pleased to have suspense fiction author, Steve O’Brien, as my guest today. He’s written several books, including the award winning Elijah’s Coin.

I’ve been around Thoroughbreds growing up and have had family who has worked with racehorses. My brothers will tell you these are phenomenal horses, intelligent and full of heart and fire, and highly competitive. They want to win. I love animals in general and horses in particular. I have three. When I saw this book, I knew I had to read it. A hint, don’t start reading this just before bedtime unless you don’t care about sleep. :-)  It touches the emotions and I have to tell you, I wanted to hurt these villains, oh so bad.

I finally was able to hunt Steve down, lol! I invited him to visit Over Coffee. I love his topic and with a teen myself, I had to laugh as I read his article. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.  

Special moments accompany the lives of authors. Undoubtedly, the first is holding the finished product in your hands. Heck, it could even be an ARC copy, but there is a distinct feeling of satisfaction and completion at that moment.

Another special moment is receiving that first review. Somebody read it, liked it, and wanted to tell others about it.

Other special moments could be receiving a literary award, seeing the book on Amazon and BN.com or doing book signings.

I experienced a few other unique author moments, with unexpected twists however.

Recently, I was browsing through a nearby Barnes and Noble store. My wife tells me I spend way too much time in bookstores. I can’t help it. I’m a serial browser. As I cruised past the “new fiction” section, an image caught my eye.

My book!!!!   In the new fiction section!!!

A rush of emotion overtook me. I wanted to scream out “hey, everybody! My book is here in the new fiction section!”

With great restraint I was able to avoid making a scene. But I felt compelled to pull out my i-phone and snap a picture of my book and its placement. (I did have to ask a customer to move slightly to the left, so I could get the pic. She, of course, figured I had recently escaped from an asylum for the criminally insane, and quickly moved over a section or two).

Months and months of work, edits and re-edits, nights pounding on the keyboard, my book was finally getting equal billing with mega authors like James Patterson and Jodi Picoult. I was breathless. (Okay, they will still outsell me a billion to one, but there I was).

I did not have to walk from the store, as my feet were nowhere near touching the ground.

When I got home, I was nearly bursting with excitement. I was just waiting to pounce on that stock question “anything interesting happen today?” But I couldn’t wait. I whipped out my I-phone and showed my wife. As she was viewing it our sixteen year old daughter walked into the kitchen. I handed her my phone and casually said, “do you recognize anything in this photo?”

She grabbed the phone with both hands and in an instant was awe struck. “Oh, my gosh.” I could feel my chest puffing out slightly and a smile crept across my face. “Oh, my gosh,” she gasped. So cool that she will be able to tell all her friends, I thought.

She looked at me and exclaimed, “Snooki’s book is out!”

Snooki’s book is out?

In a nanosecond, my zeppelin sized ego, came crashing down in flames. I had to point and say “No, honey, don’t you see? Two rows above (gulp) Snooki’s book, is my book?”

“Oh, yeah. Cool.” She handed back my phone and walked out of the kitchen.

Okay, maybe I deserved that. My raging sense of significance needed to be checked. No one can dampen that self absorbed emotion faster than one’s own teenager.

At least I could take comfort that she didn’t reply “whatever.”

Now, to be fair to my daughter, she has been a huge advocate of my writing. (I guess the Snooki book sighting was just too much for her to pass up). My all time favorite text message was not even sent to me. It was sent to my daughter.

Last summer we were relaxing at home and her phone buzzed. It was a text from one of her classmates.

The message read. “Dude, your dad’s book is number three on I-Books.”

Greater words were never written. (Truth be told, the book was number three in the Children and Teens category, but hey number three is still number three).

Never in my wildest dreams did I expect my favorite text message to start with the word “dude.” But it does.

So, for today’s Over Coffee blog, tell me about your special moment, either as a writer or in any occupation. Then tell me about a time your ego was cut down to size. It’s okay, we’re all friends.


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Bullet Work Cover Blurb

When facing our darkest fear, one question remains.

Are we willing to bet everything?

Behind the glamorous exterior of horseracing lies the gritty reality of the backside. Within this fiercely competitive world of owners, trainers, vets, and jockeys something has gone terribly wrong. As opening day approaches, one racehorse is poisoned, another has her leg crushed by a lead pipe and a third mysteriously disappears. Shock and horror grip the racing community.

Then it all makes sense. Greed.

The extortion demands are revealed. Stables are forced to pay protection money to ensure the safety of their horses. Despite all security efforts, the brutal killings continue. For Dan Morgan it becomes personal when his precocious two-year-old filly is targeted. Dan befriends AJ Kaine, a lonely, “horse whispering” young man. AJ is a hotwalker, the lowest of jobs in the backside food chain. But AJ has a secret–perhaps a secret that can corner a killer. With AJ’s help, Dan must crack the extortion scheme or risk becoming the next victim. Excerpt

Buy: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books A Million, Indiebound

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Steve O’Brien is a lawyer and fiction writer. His first novel, Elijah’s Coin was the recipient of nine literary awards including the Next Generation Indie Book Award for Best Novella and Best Young Adult Fiction by the National Best Book Awards. His second novel, Bullet Work was released March 22, 2011. O’Brien lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife and two children.


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What We Do

“I have made a ceaseless effort not to ridicule, not to bewail, not to scorn human actions, but to understand them.”  Baruch Spinoza

My guest is fiction novelist, Ryan O’Reilly.



Ryan is a bit of an adventurer, definitely an observer of life, he’s a businessmen, and freelance writer. I also think his mother has a strong heart to survive watching him go through the many adventures he's had. I’m betting that as with many of us who have pushed the envelope, mom was given a condensed version of many of those adventures.

Ryan has applied many of those experiences and observations in his writing. His article is a very well thought out commentary on the battle of many authors between making a living and answering the need within their soul to put pen to paper.



When I first experienced cacoethia scribendi – the urge to scribble – my immediate consideration was how to fit the art of writing into the business of everyday life. My experience up to that time had been that art and business are non-overlapping fields, and my fear was that I couldn’t make the two harmonize. When I told my parents I wanted to write, that everything else I wanted to do with my life would be in support of that, their response seemed to be mostly misunderstanding. I couldn’t make it clear why someone would want to be a writer. What place, after all, could literature have in a productive society? Why would you want to write?

I don’t think I’m alone in discovering this reaction in others, nor do I think that I am the first writer to have bouts of frustration after years of failing to reconcile the “why” question. After writing columns, articles and three books the friction from that question is still there for me. For a lot of us, there is no “reason” why we do what we do. It isn’t a choice. Writing is simply who we are, and we do it with little thought to money or recognition. For me, for example, I have a bottom desk drawer filled with scraps and fragments that will never see the light of day. At least, hopefully, not while I’m still alive.

One of my greatest joys is the simple act of recording my thoughts and observations; Some I use, and some are relegated to the bottom drawer. But our social evolution seems to frown on energy devoted to anything other than productivity. By many definitions writing is not productive in the sense that it does not result in an advantageous commodity. We who put pen to paper seem to be destined to hold our artistic endeavor at arms length from productive society, simply because the link between them isn’t always clear. We have to justify our art through success by either recognition or monetary compensation.

But that compulsion flirts with ridiculousness.

Those of us who choose to devote a life – or part of a life – to literature and language and learning are in a unique place. We walk between two worlds. Intellectually and emotionally we exist at the intersection of the mythos and the anthropos. The mythos is the ethereal realm of creativity, and the anthropos is the world of strictly human endeavor. Others think of anthropos as “the machine”; the mechanical component of our society. The machine exists as a function of the human mind, and the mythos is our relationship to life as an experience.

It is in the mind of the artist and the writer that the anthropos and the mythos interlock. Writers and artists are, you might say, the stitching that binds them. The artistic output we feel compelled to participate in is the by-product of our position. Art gives meaning to the otherwise banal survival instinct that makes up the business aspect of the world. The position of the artist on the border of the two worlds gives them perspective to see, and that perspective is increasingly important as people seek meaning. The emotional connection people feel in regard to their lives and the world around them depends on the emotion of artistic output. So while there may be no quantifiable justification to write, those who have the ability also have the obligation.

The role of writing in my life is one of substance. A lot of my time is spent doing the things I have to do to survive; work, make logistical decisions, commit to relationships, provide for my family. The rest of the time I spend trying to find meaning and substance in the world.

Spinoza said, “I have made a ceaseless effort not to ridicule, not to bewail, not to scorn human actions, but to understand them.” In my estimation there is no clearer mandate for the writer, poet or artist. Being in possession of this particular gift, and given the perspective that we have, the product of our endeavors must be a truth understandable by others. The components of the stories we tell must be applicable to a greater human experience. We must write about what we know, but write for people we don’t. We write to signify the commonality of all life, and all the stages of life.

That is why we do what we do.

• What compels you to put pen to paper? 

TO NOURISH AND CONSUME:

A HAUNTING RETURN TO A FIERY LOVE TRIANGLE Brian Falk and his best friend, Dabney, share a passion for the beautiful and wealthy Jackie, their childhood playmate and the prize catch of their social set. But, the young men are also drawn to each other a secret, illicit connection that is cut short when Jackie chooses to wed the more moneyed Dabney. Soon after graduation, a devastated Brian flees his hometown and, for ten agonizing years, tries to overcome the anguish that has all but consumed him.

Now he is drawn back to try to answer some of the questions he can no longer ignore: Is he over Jackie? Was what he felt for Dabney really love? Does Jackie still love him? As Brian desperately searches for closure, old wounds are reopened, a new love appears and revelations about his past throw his life into renewed turmoil. Excerpt 

Buy: Amazon

~*~*~*~

Ryan O’Reilly, grandson of the O’Reilly Auto Parts founder, is also the author of the travel novel Snapshot, and a free-lance contributor to various newspapers and periodicals throughout the country. He studied English Literature at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri and is a member of the National Writers Association and the Writers League of Texas. Ryan's wild, often death-defying, adventures have nearly gotten him killed; they've also earned him travel writer street cred (see his Road Trip Tips for MensFitness.com here). O’Reilly divides his time between his business in Austin, Texas and a small farm in Clever, Missouri. http://www.ryancoreilly.com/

REVIEWS—New Holiday Story Releases

I recently read two Advance Reader Copies of two quintessential holiday reads. I hadn't read either author prior to this but these won't be the last books from these authors I'll read.

I thought I'd share them with you here. I also ask you to bear with me for invoking Christmas in mid-October. Me and the stores, huh? Can't escape it, can you?

The first story is written by Sheila Roberts and she will be my guest on October 29^th. 

The Snow Globe

Author: Sheila Roberts

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Format: Hardcover, 176 pages

On Sale: October 26, 2010

Price: $10. 80

Rating: 4 stars

Back Cover Blurb:


On a blustery afternoon, Kiley Gray wanders into an antique shop and buys a beautiful snow globe.


“There’s a story behind that snow globe,” the antique dealer tells her, and explains that the original owner lost his wife and son right before Christmas. When he received the handcrafted snow globe as a Christmas present, the grieving widower saw the image of a beautiful woman beneath the glass—a woman who would eventually come into his life, mend his broken heart and bring him back to the world of the living. For years, the snow globe has passed from generation to generation, somehow always landing in the hands of a person in special need of a Christmas miracle.


When Kiley shares the story with her best friends—two women with troubles of their own—they don’t believe it. But they’re about to discover that at Christmastime, sometimes the impossible becomes possible and miracles really do come true.


My thoughts:


The whole season of Christmas is based on miracles but in our day and age, few believe in the phenomenon.


Ms. Roberts tells a lighthearted and fun tale of three women who, despite diverging lifestyles, have remained friends through thick and thin, good times and bad. Each is facing a crisis in their personal lives. All three are dreading Christmas for differing reasons. They don’t know it, but each is in need of a bit of Christmas magic.


Kiley has lost a job and a fiancé—to her sister no less. Heart sore and depressed she allows her two best friends to take her for a weekend get away. While window shopping Kiley feels drawn to antique store and goes in and sees an old-fashioned snow globe, which she buys. When she relays the story the shopkeeper told her to her friends they don’t believe it. But Kiley believes.

"Actually, Kiley was a big believer, period. She’d been sure Santa was real until she was ten and even after waking up on Christmas Eve to discover her father hanging her filled stocking on the mantel, she kept pretending for another two years. She’d believed in Prince Charming and Mr. Right clear through college. She’d even believed in happy endings until just this past October when her boyfriend, Jeremy Horne, dumped her at her own Halloween party (how was that for tacky?) announcing that he couldn’t fight his attraction for her sister any longer."

When Kiley’s vision comes true she decides to pass the snow globe and it’s magical gift to each of her best friends. What ensues is a heartwarming, fun story about the power of miracles.


I love stories that combine the magic of Christmas and a touch of the supernatural. This one is a real winner and a perfect read for the holidays!

 Book Two:

An Amish Christmas
Author: Cynthia Keller
Format: Hardcover, 256 pages
On Sale: October 26, 2010
Price: $16.00
Rating:  4 stars


Back Cover Blurb:


Meg Hobart has everything: a happy marriage to a handsome, successful husband, a beautiful home in Charlotte, North Carolina, and three wonderful children. But it all comes crashing down around her the day she learns that her husband, James, has been living a lie—and has brought the family to financial ruin. Penniless and homeless, the Hobarts pack up what little they still possess and leave behind their golden life for good. But it’s not the material things Meg finds herself mourning. Instead, she misses the certainty that she should remain married to James, who has betrayed her trust so thoughtlessly. Worse, she is suddenly very aware of just how spoiled her children have become. Meg wonders what her family has really sacrificed in their pursuit of the American dream.


A frightening twist of fate forces the Hobarts to take refuge with a kind Amish family in Pennsylvania, where they find themselves in a home with no computers, no cell phones, nothing the children consider fashionable or fun. Her uncooperative brood confined to the Amish world of hard work and tradition, their futures entirely uncertain, Meg fears she can never make her family whole again.


Celebrating life’s simplest but most essential values, packed with laughter and tears, this is a story of forgiveness and the power of love. You will never forget the special moment in time that is An Amish Christmas.

My thoughts:


A family is supposed to be one of our greatest joys and the bedrock of our society. The sad fact is, for the most part, we’ve lost the concept of working together as a unit for the benefit of the family. In today’s world there are so many conflicts, financial problems, and so many gadgets to distract us from what a family is all about. A person’s worth is defined by their financial standing which seems to give the whole family, and children especially, a false sense of entitlement. It also creates spoiled, disrespectful children who have, along with the parents, lost sight of the qualities of love, mutual respect, the value of spending time as a family. These are some to the common issues Cynthia Keller deals with in An Amish Christmas.


It truly is a heartwarming story of a family reconnecting and learning what truly is important is each other and not what they have or don’t have. Important lessons of forgiveness and love and there is a scene in the book that really brings that message home to the Hobarts.


Just before Christmas, the Hobart and Lutz teens are trusted to take homemade goods to a town store where they are sold. The buggy belongs Jonathan, one of the oldest Lutz siblings, and is special but he trusts his brother to drive it into town. Young Will Hobart tries driving the buggy—he’s not supposed to, and an accident occurs. Amanda Lutz is injured when the buggy overturns, the buggy and baked goods are destroyed, and a trip to the hospital is necessary. This is a scenario that could cause all sorts of blame, anger, and division. Meg and James Hobart are absolutely appalled by their son’s carelessness in the face of such open generosity of the Lutz family. The Amish family assigns no blame and totally refrains from putting the Hobart teens in a defensive stance. The next morning, James and Meg are sick at heart and have no idea what to expect; Lizzie and Will were “pale and practically shaking with guilt.” Both families step up to replace the destroyed goods to meet their obligation to the store. The huge Lutz family warmly welcomes the Hobart women into the kitchen to help. The men welcome James and Will to repair the buggy. What’s done is done and forgiveness extended, but now there are things that must be fixed.

The stalwart sense of values the Amish family has touches the whole Hobart clan and gives them a better set of lenses to look at both the world around them and themselves.


An Amish Christmas is well paced, has strong, well-defined characters and emotional impact. It was a story I truly enjoyed reading.