Month: February 2017

Hold On Tight To Your Dreams

Posted in Blog, Short Story, Writing1 Comment

Hello there. Welcome to jimmiekepler.com, the blog of a writer, poet, and polymath named Jimmie Aaron Kepler. This is Jim Kepler.

On my blog, I communicate about how I write, my writing process, and how I manage to do it while maintaining a life. From time to time I’ll interview other authors on the same subjects.

I don’t have all the answers. Like you I struggle. My struggle is a thirty-five plus years journey of writing while working a day job, being a husband, father, grandfather and caregiver.

Presently I work full time as an Applications Support Engineer for a Fortune 500 privately held company. I average 45 hours a week on my day job. I spend another ten to fifteen hours a week in my car during my daily commute. I am the primary caregiver for my wife of forty-plus years who is battling Stage IV Melanoma Cancer and Neuroendocrine Cancer. I also am the primary caregiver for my ninety years old father who lives 50 miles from me with all of the city of Dallas, Texas and its traffic in-between. He still drives and lives on his own.

Today I am the blog’s guest. My name is Jim Kepler. I earned a bachelor of arts degree in history with minors in English and military science from The University of Texas at Arlington and a master of religious education and master of arts degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. I later earned a doctor of education degree as well as completed the core curriculum of a computer science degree.

Relax, I promise not to hit you over the head or between the eyes with the Bible. I confess I write science fiction with faith where I include Christianity and other belief systems. I try to avoid the Seven Deadly Sins of Religion in Science Fiction.

Since high school, I wanted to write. I was told writing was not a real job for a man who would someday need to support a wife and children. Graduating from college, I did three years active duty as a commissioned officer in the US Army. I then headed to grad school.

When I finished graduate school, I started taking writing seriously. I attend my first writer’s conference. There I was offered a nonfiction magazine article assignment. I jumped at the opportunity.

Over the next fifteen years, I wrote, sold, and had published one to three articles a year. I was paid at professional writing rates. I penned a weekly newspaper column for fifteen years. I also wrote a nonfiction book, sold it, and then had the kill fee clause in the book’s contract executed. I was paid twenty percent of the contract by the publisher to cancel the book. I was devastated. I started losing my motivation to write.

Then life seemed to get in the way. I did a major career change where I started doing a large amount of corporate training, technical writing, and curriculum writing. I also went back to college and faced the common challenges of career, parenting three teenagers, having my wife develop a serious illness, and caring for aging parents.

Because of this, I took a ten years break from writing articles. I still wrote and worked on a few poems. I also started writing and publishing book reviews in the military history field as well as blogging. I did not write any book-length manuscripts, magazine articles, short stories, etc. during this season of life.

In 2007 I was revisited by my Muse. She encouraged me to start writing again. This time I started over as a newbie. Instead of writing nonfiction I decided to write short stories, historical fiction, and my favorite, science fiction.

That same year I started the next great American novel, joined an excellent writers group, and started writing and submitting short stories and poems. Along the way, I sold a few short stories as well as placed at some writing contests.

The writing contest affirmations of my skills helped my ego and increased my drive. Somewhere in this time, I learned the need to focus. My focus was improved by listening to podcasts on writing like Mur Lafferty’s “I Should Be Writing” and Joann Penn’s “The Creative Penn.”  Dean Koontz and Diana Gabaldon also were podcasting during this time and provided great insights and motivation.

I took me three years to complete that first novel. It was historical fiction. I went the traditional route pitching it to agents at Cons, small press acquisition editors, and publishers at more Cons, and finally self-publishing the first novel to minimal sales. It proved to be of great value as it showed me I could complete a book. I have since written the first two books of a four-book science fiction series.

Through the years I found myself wanting to be a full-time writer so bad I could taste it. I modeled the habits of the people who successfully transitioned from day job to full-time writer. I started writing an hour a day before work, giving my best time and effort to my writing before going to the day job. I would also write for two to three hours on Saturday.

So I’m chasing the dream. In the weeks ahead we’ll pursue the dream together and meet other writers pursuing their dreams.

And you’ll be reminded to hold on tight to your dreams.

One Great Way to Write a Short Story

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ETBU CertificateI am a “second-rate” short story writer.

Why would I say that? “Exhibit A” shows the answer. It is a certificate documenting my second-place finish in the short story writing contest of the East Texas Christian Writer’s Conference. I have never won a short story competition but have finished in second place a number of times.

I have written and even sold short stories. Over the years, I have entered short story contests. I am still seeking that elusive “first place” in a short story contest.

In my quest to win a contest, I have become a student of the short story form. Here is what I call “One Great Way to Write a Short Story.” It begins with planning.

PLANNING IS ESSENTIAL

I would never start writing a short story without at least a rough outline to tell me where I am going.  I recommend jotting down the answers to a few questions. The answers provide the framework for where the story is going.

The first step in writing a short story is a planning exercise. Plan your short story in advance by answering questions in three areas:

The subject – Who is the main character? What is the problem?

The story –What is the character’s motivation to solve the problem? What actions occur to address the problem?

The resolution – What are results of the character’s acts to resolve the problem? What change does the character undertake because of that action?

HOW I DO IT – STEP BY STEP

1. The Character

I decide about whom I am going to write. You have one central character in the story. It might a soldier returning home. It could be an astronaut. It might be about a businessperson. The reader will identify with that person.

2. The Problem

What is it that the main character struggles with that he or she may not have an instant need to resolve? It is a problem the character has had for a while but has not had an immediate need to solve. An example would be if I were writing about a businesswoman who obtained an executive position using a falsified resume. She may not have an immediate need to deal with the issue.

3. The Motivation

Why does the main character decide to solve the problem? I’ll use the businesswoman with the falsified resume as an example.

It could be that she has accepted a position on the board of directors for a prominent community organization like the United Way. The local media decides to do a feature story on her background. In this case, I need to put in the appropriate backstory – her claiming to have a prestigious Ivy League graduate degree when she had dropped out of college before obtaining her undergraduate degree. Now she is in a position that requires an accredited four-year college degree as well as MBA. She realizes she is about to be found out with embarrassment to herself, her employer, and maybe she could even have to resign.

4. The Action

What does the main character do to solve the problem? What does she do to correct the situation? Maybe she confesses to her company’s president, or she may try to resign quietly from the board of directors for a prominent community organization for personal reasons trying to avoid being exposed and hoping it will just go away.

5. The Result

What happens because of the character’s attempt to solve the problem? Maybe she tells the president and he dismisses her. The employer takes legal action against her demanding restitution from her for fraudulently obtained wages. He takes her to court and wins. She is required to make restitution of tens of thousands of dollars and has her reputation destroyed.

6. The Change

Perhaps at this point, the character struggles financially, loses her large home and country club lifestyle. Maybe her friends desert her. She is unable to get a job because of her lying on the resume. She could go back to school and complete the education she had claimed.  Maybe she becomes an advocate for ethical business practices.

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

Remember the main character needs a good reason for what they are doing. They need to act consistently to who they are. You need to set up every incident in the story. If the character obtained a high position using a falsified resume, make sure you set this up by doing a flashback or remembrance where she is sitting typing the resume and then clicks submit thinking no one ever checks a resume. If you bring it up, you must conclude it. This refers to the conflict in the story. If you have any conflict, you need to resolve it before ending the story.

Once you have planned your short story, you will be able to write it. My guess is by following these simple principles you too can write a short story. Moreover, just maybe it will be “second-rate” or even better.

This article original appeared in “Author Culture,” September 17, 2014

Enjoy the short story “The Cup.”  The idea for it came from a writing prompt in my writer’s group. In ten-minutes I wrote the thumb nail first draft.

The Cup

by Jimmie Aaron Kepler

 

“It’s too hot! Get the coffee out of me now before it scalds me to death! Get it out!”

At first I looked around the room trying to find where the yelling was coming from. As I did a visual sweep of the area, I noticed the patrons staring in my direction. The voice originated from the lone ceramic cup on my table. I stared at it.

“It’s too hot. Oh, it’s too hot. I can’t take it anymore!” screamed the cup once more. “Get the coffee out of me now before it scalds me to death! Get it out! Please, hurry, hurry.”

Can’t be. My coffee cup is crying out in pain. Must be a trick, yes a trick.

My graying hair stood on edge. I had felt a strange current moving through the room just as the cries began. It slammed hard into me sending an electric charge through my body. It knocked me into my chair.

“Is there a problem?” asked John craning his neck to look around the counter. He was the manager on duty. His gaze had both a concern and what the heck are you doing tone.

“The cup I bought from YOU is screaming,” I said in a loud voice.

As if on cue the cup yelled, “It’s too hot. I can’t take it anymore. Get the coffee out of me now before it scalds me to death! Get it out!”

The cup’s wailing was so thunderous that it drowned my voice as its misery tones echoed off the walls of the coffee shop.

I had a barista empty the coffee from my cup. The cries stopped. I had it refilled. The lamentation returned.

There was no mistake. The howling originated from the ceramic cup with the Starbuck’s logo on its side. The cup seemed sensitive to hot beverages; when filled with hot coffee the blood curdling screams returned.

Pour out the hot liquid and the noise stopped but then drops of moisture formed and flowed down the side of the cup like tears.

“No,” I will not refund your money,” John said when I tried to return it. “I can’t resell used coffee cups. The health department would shut me down. If the health department shut me down where would you buy your coffee?”

“But it’s haunted,” I pleaded.

“It must be some sort of a voice throwing kind of trick on your part,” he said. “If you don’t cut it out I will have to ask you to leave. I do reserve the right to refuse service to anyone.”

Everyone continued staring at me and the cup.

“But, you sold me the cup. Something is wrong with it.”

I decided to get the cup examined. But before taking it to a professional, I gave it a cursory inspection.

I looked in the cup. There was nothing inside but the glaze paint and a few drops of cold coffee.

I looked at the handle of the cup. I was just a handle. There were no tiny speakers or sensors.

Turning the cup upside down, I carefully scrutinized its base. Again I found zilch.

“Maybe there is a heat sensitive computer chip embedded in the bottom of the cup?” suggested a recently hired barista. He was an electrical engineering student at the university.

I nodded.

“It may have a second circuit with a voice recording track where it yells when the liquid is of a particular temperature,” he added.

“Brilliant!” I said. Of course that had to be it. It was the only theory or comment I heard that made sense.

“We can take it to the lab at the university. I have a teacher that has access to the x-ray machine …” he said.

“Yes,” I interrupted.

“He can find even the smallest microchip.”

So we set up an appointment with Dr.Wolfgang Reinhold and his x-ray machine. He was skeptical that the cup screamed when hot liquid was placed in it. The professor initially was convinced it was some cheap parlor type trick until he held my cup in his hand, visually examined it, filled it with hot coffee, and nearly dropped it as it began screaming, “Get the coffee out of me now before it scalds me to death! Get it out!”

“Can’t be; this can’t be happening,” he said.

The barista and I nodded in agreement. We both were still as confused as the engineering professor.

“There has to be a scientific explanation,” said Dr. Reinhold.

The doubt in his voice was not reassuring.

“That’s why we want to get the x-ray,” said the barista who was studying engineering.

“Yes, the x-ray. I will prove scientifically that this is someone’s cheap trick, said Dr. Reinhold.

 

#

 

He just kept looking at the monitor and the nothingness it revealed.

“Let me check the calibration,” he said. “There must be something wrong with the x-ray machine.”

He fiddled with some buttons, knobs, and checked settings on the computer.

“Well?” I asked.

“I think you need Dr. Spurgeon Smith,” said an exasperated Dr. Reinhold.

“Who is he?” I asked.

“He’s a religion teacher,” said the barista.

“Religion?” I questioned.

“The cup must be possessed of Satan. You need an exorcism to remove the demons,” said Dr. Reinhold.

“What the devil?” I said.

“No, not what the devil, but where is the devil or demon? And the where is he question’s answer is he is living in that cup!” Now get it out of here. It must be possessed!” said Dr. Reinhold as he pointed to the door.

 

#

 

I called making an appointment with Dr. Spurgeon Smith. It was several days before he could see me and my cup. In the mean time, I made the mistake of washing the cup.

The police were called by my neighbors as the screams from the cup escaped my dishwasher and penetrated the apartment walls.

The police were not amused.

“What are you trying to pull?” said the older sergeant.

“I am not trying to pull anything,” I assured him.

“It is coming from your dishwasher,” said the younger patrolman. His hand was visibly shaking as he pointed to the appliance. “I think you have someone in there.”

“This isn’t funny,” said the sergeant. “He opened the dishwasher door in mid wash cycle.

“Hey, what are you doing?” I shouted. “You are getting soap and water all over my kitchen floor.”

“You can clean it up,” he snapped back at me.

“The screams stopped,” said the younger officer.

“Of course it quit. When you opened the door it stopped the wash cycle,” I said.

Well for the next ten minutes I explained about the cup to the policeman.

Two days later when I finally got out of the mental unit at the hospital I made my way back home, picked up the cup and made my way to the appointment with Dr. Spurgeon Smith.

The reverend doctor had no explanation. He filled it with holy water, of both the cold and hot variety. The cold holy water had no effect.

When the hot holy water was poured in the cup, there was an immediate response.

“It’s too hot,” screeched the cup. “Get the hot water out of me now before it scalds me to death! Get it out!”

 

#

 

I thought of throwing the cup away or smashing it. Each time I began to smash it with my hammer the drops of moisture would form on the side of the cup like tears. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. What if it were somehow … alive? I couldn’t destroy a living thing.

I was being psychotic, even obsessed by the cup. I feared how the other cups would behave if I destroyed my Starbucks’ cup.

Over time, there would be a large puddle of water under and around the cup if I left it alone. Apparently the droplets of moisture would form on the cup’s side and slowly trickle down like tears when it was left unaccompanied, so I decided I couldn’t leave the cup by itself.

The cup started going with me to work. A well meaning co-worker filled it with coffee. Immediately throughout the office was heard “It’s too hot,” screeched the cup. “Get the coffee out of me now before it scalds me to death! Get it out!”

The cries faded rather quickly as security escorted me and my cup from the building. I was told my final check would be in the mail.

 

#

 

The cup and I got a job with a travelling carnival. People would pay a small amount to see me pour hot coffee into it and then hear the screams. Three local television stations and two national cable news channels did a story on my cup.

Everyone said it had to be a trick, a fraud, fake, but no one could figure-out how the cup screamed and cried. The cup and I were making enough money, but we didn’t have any extra.

Then it happened. Someone kidnapped my cup. I even received a ransom request. The wanted me to pay them $100,000.00 to have the cup returned.

As I read the note, I started laughing. I chuckled for five minutes. Tears of joy began streaming down my cheeks.

I again felt an electric charge throughout my body. This time I could feel it exiting and moving from my room. I relaxed for the first time since the cup entered my life. I was free. Free. Free!

For the first time in months, my now totally gray hair wasn’t standing on edge.

 

#

 

Many years later I was traveling out west. One evening in my hotel room the local television station carried a news story about a small carnival that was in the city. They had a news story about a screaming cup.

I quickly checked out of my hotel room, got into my car and sped far away as fast as I could.

In the distance, I thought I heard a faint, “It’s too hot. Get the coffee out of me now before it scalds me to death! Get it out!”

And somewhere out west the cup shed a tear.

Final Note:

I’m an entrepreneurial Indie author. I published the short story on Amazon. It’s highest ranking was on August 1, 2016.

Overall it has an Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,546.
#23 in Kindle Store > Kindle Short Reads > 30 minutes (12-21 pages) > Literature & Fiction
#27 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Horror > Short Stories

It is also ranked as high as # 36 in the UK and # 60 in Germany Amazon markets.

 

Buna, Texas and the Polka Dot House

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Buna Polka Dot HouseIn southeast Texas at the southern end of Jasper county is a community called Buna. I lived in Jasper County from 1984 through 1993 and again in 1996. Buna was my home in 1992 and 1993. I had the blessing of serving a wonderful group of people as associate pastor of the First Baptist Church of Buna.

Two large questions filled my mind when I first talked with the church’s search committee about joining their staff. The first was how the community got its name. The second concerned a certain house in town.

Buna was named by the owners of the lumber mill. I was told the Beaumont Lumber Company mill in southern Jasper County was first called Carrolla. It was named for the Carroll family. They were prominent Beaumont lumbermen and industrialists. The site was renamed Buna, however, in honor of one of the family’s cousins, Buna Corley. So Buna was named after a cousin of the saw mill’s owner.

The second question concerned that certain house. At first glance the house was nothing special. It was painted white like many other houses. At second glance I realized it was different. There were spots on the house. Cleaning my glasses didn’t help. The spots were still there. As I got closer I realized the spots were actually polka dots. The polka dots were painted blue!

Several members of the associate pastor search committee taught me the history of the house as they knew it.

Some told me a couple bought the house after World War Two and couldn’t agree on the color to paint it. They said the wife wanted a white house, but the husband wanted it painted blue. He grudging gave in painting it white to please the wife. Then he painted blue polka dots to please himself. I believe it was the Odell family that purchased the house.

Not all on the search committee agreed with how the house got its polka dots. Others told me the Davis family owned the house and later sold it to the Odell family. Some thought it may have already had the polka dots before the Odells got the house. One said no matter how many times the Odells painted the house white the dots just kept bleeding through the white paint so they finally gave up and kept the polka dots.

Buna water towerApparently the house originally had red and blue polka dots, though I only remember the blue ones. They were a royal blue, just like the high school colors.

Through the years the house has been a residence, florist, gift shop, home of the Buna Chamber of Commerce, and a few even remembered it housing the sub-courthouse of Jasper County.

Any residents of Buna that know the real or rest of the story please feel free to leave a comment.

Does Buna, Texas still have the little white house with blue polka dots? I don’t know for sure. I haven’t been to Buna since just after Hurricane Rita. That certain house was still there then.

A reader shared this website with me that has more info on Buna’s Polka Dot House: http://bunapolkadothouse.wix.com/bunapolkadothouse. Also please read the below comments to get the rest of the story from local residents and kinfolks of Buna’s Polka Dot House original owners and polka dot painters.

Jimmie Aaron Kepler is a novelist, poet, book reviewer, and award-winning short story writer. His work has appeared in over twenty venues, including Bewildering Stories and Beyond Imagination. When not writing each morning at his favorite coffee house, he supports his writing, reading, and book reviewing habit working as an IT application support analyst. He is a former Captain in the US Army. His blog Kepler’s Book Reviews was named a 100 best blogs for history buffs. You can visit him at http://www.jimmiekepler.com.

Honor’s Flight: Fallen Empire, Book 2 by Lindsay Buroker

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The Science Fiction & Fantasy Marketing Podcast was my introduction to author Lindsay Buroker. Beware – spoilers follow!

“Honor’s Flight: Fallen Empire, Book 2” in the Emperor’s Edge series has the crew of Star Nomad Star Nomad returning to Perun looking for Alisa’s lost daughter. They are also dealing with the artifact that Alejandro has with him. The adventure continues as things do not happen as Alisa hoped once back on Perun.

When Alisa arrives on her home planet she isn’t welcome. She’s former Alliance pilot. The planet is under control of the Empire. As if this isn’t bad enough the worst is yet to come. Her daughter has been taken by Starseers. The sets the stage for the rest of the story.

Alisa engages in a desperate search for her daughter as Alejandro is trying to gain more information on his orb.

The after effects of the war between the Alliance and the Empire ring through the book. We see what happens when a government is defeated. We see the after effects on the victor not being able to fill the void of the previous government at all levels.

Lindsay Buroker has crafted another excellent book. Great story telling, wonderful character, and some wonderful humor keep me turning the pages. I especially like Alisa’s interactions with Leonidas. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for them. The grilling Beck and engineer Mica add depth to the story.  The characters grow together as they travel and strive for survival. I confess I have become a big fan of Lindsay Buroker. Her writing is brilliant and I love the humor. I haven’t decided if it is intentional or just the author’s voice. Either way, it rocks.

Two Things I Learned About Writing – Lesson 2017 – 002

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chalkboard-1927332_640Sharing what I learned about writing is one of the main reasons I blog. Each week I listen to several podcasts, read blog posts, watch videos, and of course read.

This week I learned:

New President Anxiety

I was listening to the beautiful Shipping & Handling Podcast where two literary agents talk books, fandom, writing, and beyond. The hosts are the entertaining Bridget Smith of Dunham Literary Inc. & Jennifer Udden of Donald Maas Literary Agency. The hosts talking about the new president and post-election anxiety brought me back to the real world. I live in Texas. Texas is very conservative. My circle of coworkers and friends, except my writer’s group, and my daughter and her husband are excited about the turn to the right in Washington. I heard the women expressing the anxiety most of my circle of friends had experienced during the previous president’s administration. Bottom line – I realized many creative types have been near paralyzed with anxiety because of the election. For that, thank you, Bridget and Jennifer.

Petal to the Metal

The Petal to the Metal: A Podcast with Rachael Herron and J. Thorn. On the podcast, two authors come together to share their successes and failures every Wednesday for short conversations dedicated to leaving the day job for your dream job. It is a newer podcast. I listened to all four episodes. My personal writing goal is to make enough money to write full-time. They helped me realize that making the transition is as scary as I think it will be. The point out you have to work it like the full-time job that it is. Some months the income will be microscopic, others it will be enough. They discussed the need for multiple streams of revenue. The mentioned teaching classes on writing at colleges, being a writing coach, speaking about writing and writing books, articles, and courses on writing.

Photo credit: CC0 Public Domain

Source: https://pixabay.com/p-1927332/?no_redirect

Writer’s Life: Remembering My First Sale

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Today I was sitting back and reflecting on the writer’s life. It got me to thinking. How did I get that first sale? That first book review?

The first sale involved learning the system. I attended a Smokey Mountains Christian Writer’s Conference. I was a want to be writer. I learned some of the basics of magazine article writing. Maybe the most important happening at the conference was meeting editors and publishers. I talked to several publishers who expressed interest in working with new writers.

All the editors required that I write on speculation. That means I write on the subject they assign, but they have no obligation to buy my work. It allows them to see if I can follow their rules, meet their deadlines, write saleable copy, etc.  It lets them see how thick-skinned you are and if you take criticism too personal.

I had a kind editor who loved taking a few rookie writers under his wing each year and mentoring them. I had to rewrite six times before he bought the first article. My payment was 2 1/2 cents per word.  I received a check for $12.50, three copies of the magazine – one for me, one for my parents, and one for my wife’s parents. Plus my name was on the by-line. The article was published in a little magazine called “Sunday School Leadership” published by Lifeway Christian Resources. Its circulation was over 250,000 subscribers. It was read by my church members, seminary classmates, and members of the 40,000 plus Southern Baptist Churches in the USA as well as most directors of Christian education of all denominations.

I wrote an article or two for this editor every year for the next 15 years. It took me over a decade before I got a cover article. Once I did get a cover article I got one every year until he retired.  The first article is very basic. It is attached and titled: Who Does What?

I wrote the article in the Emory University Library in Atlanta, Georgia. I lived close to the campus. It was a favorite place for me to hang out and study.

In 1989 I was approached about reviewing books. At the time I would put a book review about once a month in my church’s newsletter. My editor was on the mailing list and said I wrote good reviews. He recommended me to a colleague. The thought of having someone give me a book for free to read was exciting to me. I bought and read about 100 books a year. The article for the first book I reviewed is attached with the simple title “Book Review”.

I wrote this article while sitting in my church bus. I had taken the senior adults from my church to an event in the Smokey Mountains. We had the afternoon free and had gone to tour the Vanderbilt Estate in Asheville, NC.  One lady refuse to visit the house. She was protesting paying homage to the wealthy and decadent lifestyle I think. Even though the cost of the tour was prepaid, she refused to go on it. It was fall and cold in the mountains. I would not let her stay on the bus by herself. So, I sat out there on the bus all afternoon and wrote. I can write anywhere I think. The dear lady is still living and around 90 years old and still has strong convictions. The picture is of the Vanderbilt Estate.

What is my point? My point is if you love to read and write you can probably leverage it into a paying gig.  You will never get rich. I was reminded at the DFW Writers Workshop last spring that less than one percent of all writers are able to support themselves writing full time. So don’t quit your day job. If love writing why not go for it? Just write!