The High Chaparral and Writing

23 DEC 17

I'm sitting here on a Saturday afternoon, waiting for some repairs to a car. An early Christmas present for my wife. While I'm waiting I'm also working on adding keywords to each chapter of one of my longer drafts. It's an interesting process. Once I'm done I'll be able to see how the keywords start, stop, and interweave with each other. 

While sitting in the waiting area, I was subjected to watching several episodes of The High Chaparral, a western series I had never heard or seen before. Made by some of the same guys behind Bonanza. My attention has problems staying on task sometimes, especially when a TV is on nearby. :) I liked the frontier feel of the show, something that I want to mimic for some of my stories. There is some nice interplay between the Indians, the soldiers providing law in the territories, and the ranchers and frontiersman settling the area. I have the feeling that some of the shows I watched today will make an impact on one of my stories someday. All I have to do is add some magic. 

So yeah, that's what I'm working on right now. For the last hour I focused on a part of the draft where a group of adventurers wander into a town, a town with an odd set of four festivals, one on each solstice and each equinox. The group happens into the town just a day or so after the Summer Solstice festival, with some unintended consequences. Think Western Twilight Zone, sort of. With skeletons.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Paranormal

09JUN17 What does Paranormal mean to you? I'm supposed to be working on a paranormal short story for an anthology due out later this year. There's too many ideas though! Help!

'Paranormal' [defined as just outside of normal, can't be explained by today's science]  makes me think of Stephen King books like Firestarter or Pet Cemetery. Great books and movies. It also brought to mind the movie Escape to Witch Mountain (yes, I'm dating myself). Remember the harmonica that helped make things move? 

And lastly, because I'm trying to write a short story, I thought of a short story gem I read long ago for some class. It was called "The Enormous Radio" and was written by John Cheever. Great little tale about the unexpected turn of events that follows the radio getting fixed.

The Enormous Radio

So I have all this wealth to draw upon, you'd think it would be easy for me to come up with an idea for a paranormal short story. It's been terrible! There's too much to choose from. I kept throwing ideas around in my head and then thought of another great paranormal story: the Twilight Episode "Little Girl Lost". Great episode. 

But what could I add to a story like these? My first idea for a story like 'Little Girl Lost' would be to throw in some sort of time travel wrinkle to it. 

I've put the story on the back burner for now. I write fantasy for the most part, but I want this piece to be on the edge of fiction and nonfiction. Just on the other side of fiction. So 'almost true' that it makes you think it could happen.

Of course, now that I think about it, there was this article I read about one street over on the east side of the country where everyone up and left without any explanation. Cars and clothes still there. I bet I could write a paranormal story explaining why everyone left. 

The Eerie Abandoned Neighborhood of Lincoln Way

What does Paranormal mean to you? 

Listing of Stories

04 JUN 17: 

I like to write. Short stories so far. Quirky, strange, magical stories mostly. Think Harlan Ellison for those who've read his stuff, or the Twilight Zone. No, not Twilight! Ugh, sparkly vampires, lol. But yeah, like Harlan Ellison. I must have read his short story collections Ellison Wonderland, Shatterday, and Deathbird Stories a hundred times. Magnificent stuff. So creative. Harlan Ellison on Amazon

Anywho, for those that are interested in reading my stuff, below is a list of what I've written so far, with a little description and a link to my Amazon author page where you can purchase them at (Yes! I'm legit. I have an author page on Amazon and everything).

As an added bonus, my wife also has stories in many of these anthologies as well. She writes murder mystery type stuff.


My author page:
Author Page - Frank Montellano

·  Monster - A warrior battles dreams, at the risk of his sanity (Protectors of the Veil, a horror anthology due to be published by Austin Macauley later this year)

·  The Killing Parts - A mourning father figures out how to cheat death, but not without consequences (Fall: Fear & Hope Anthology, available from Amazon)

·  The Legacy - A family of witches, a murder, and the return of the prodigal son (Winter: Ruin & Renewal Anthology, available from Amazon)

·  The Symbol and the Ring - A CSI encounters an ancient evil in modern-day Los Angeles (Summer: Magic & Mayhem Anthology, available from Amazon)

·  Pawn - A chef-turned-thief tries to assassinate the queen. Turns out to be easier than he planned (Spring: Dreams & Nightmares Anthology, available from Amazon)

·  The Last Horn - A man in the entertainment industry tries to get his manhood back (Incarceration Anthology, available from Amazon)

·  The Pinky Promise - Items and a message from the past hint of desperate acts in desperate times (Time Capsule Anthology, due to be published later this year by Wolfsinger Press)

I'm going to keep on writing until I have about fourteen stories to put together in a short story anthology of my own. And then I am going to add illustrations, most from me, and hopefully one or two from my wife. She's much better at drawing than I am.

Picture for today is an inspirational picture. Making this list of stories has motivated me to continue writing. It's Darth Vader riding a rail! Do what makes you happy!