P is for Pharma

Hallo everyone! Hart here. If you've been following along this month, you may recall that on the D-day (D is for Deceit), I promised to tell WHO was doing the DECEIVING in The Seventeen... Even if you HAVEN'T been, you probably have the gist now...

See!  They OOZE Evil!!!

At the risk of getting political, Pharma is a FAVORITE villain of mine... I tend to find the industry borders on evil even without the suspension of disbelief called forth in fiction (profits before people annallat), but add in just a small twist and BUWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! True rottenness. I've used Pharma as the primary villain before—in A Shot in the Light—but in that case it was a few people within who were the bad actors. In the case of The Seventeen, it is more a structural or institutional reality—the lack of rules is what enables a greedy industry to run rough-shod over people. What about you? Do you have a pet industry or group you like to think of as “the great evil”? Any pharma defenders out there? Any plans to raid your local pharmacy in the event of an apocalypse? (seems to be the thing to do, eh?--anti-biotics most commonly)

O = Other Worlds

Do you love alternate realities or other worlds?

As a young reader, I couldn't get enough of them, although they looked something like this:

And now they look more like this:

Source

In The Mirror People (my contribution to the Parallels anthology), my other world looks like this:

The concept started out as an idea: What if it was someone's job to mimic their reflection? I sat down to write and these words glared back from the computer screen:

Every day I stare into the eyes of a cold-blooded murderer.

Well THAT wasn't a direction I'd considered going. Regardless, I had to see who this narrator was and what was going to happen to him. Jak appeared on the page and I have to say, he's one of the best characters I've ever had the privilege of transcribing. (I say transcribing because our journey together didn't feel like writing. He told me his story, no reservations.) What if two dimensions were actually dependent on one another, but only one side was aware of the relationship?

Yeah, bend your brain around that one, eh?

Do you have a favorite dual reality story?

(Remember, comment and be entered to win one of 10 copies of Parallels.)

N = Normal

Today we (Mel and Sylvia) wanted to discuss the word "normal".


Hello everyone, Mel here.

Just like a science experiment needs a control to make it valid, a story needs a normal; a typical person or scene so that when the atypical arrives it will be recognized. But what if the normal was the
story? What if the character was just a regular guy, a girl next door type? What if it was your best friend, or you?

In "Haunted," the main characters are John and Andy. Both are normal. Both have jobs and dreams. Both could be your best friend. Both could be you.  My story is the normal. That’s the problem. When and if you read it, you’ll understand.

Until then,

MEL


Sylvia here -

As society changes, so does our definition of normal. However, it is usually perceived to be "conforming to some preconceived standard of the usual or expected." If you live long enough, and you pay attention to what's happening around you, you'll witness a shift in what is deemed as "normal".

In "WIN", the story begins with one set of standards for "normal", but the situation changes drastically by the end of the tale. Just as in real life - expectations and circumstances change. The definition of the word may remain the same, but your views of it will NOT.

How often do YOU use the word "NORMAL"?

*DON'T FORGET  - EVERY COMMENT OFFERS YOU A CHANCE TO WIN A FREE COPY OF PARALLELS TO BE GIVEN AWAY AT THE END OF THE "A TO Z CHALLENGE."

M=Memories

The idea of memories making us who we are has been featured a lot in science fiction.  The film Dark City features characters who have new memories implanted night after night, and their alien overlords watch them to see how they behave.  Memories are occasionally blocked by trauma or by mysterious agents that want to keep crucial information contained.

Memories are powerful.  We learn from past experiences.  We’re informed by them in the decisions we make.  When memories are altered or blocked, what kind of impact does it have on who we are?  Can you ever truly control someone by controlling their memories?

My short story “Felix Was Here” deals a lot with memories. Resurfacing memories are the catalyst for all that happens.  And, as it turns out, she’s not the only person who’s struggled with this.

The following excerpt from the story finds Betty speaking to someone who understands her plight.

*     *     *

Image courtesy of endiku at morguefile.com.

“What happened that night?” Betty persisted.

Simon sighed. “It was bad. The man didn’t just have an episode. He broke down entirely. No matter how much Verity and I tried to talk him down, it seemed as though he didn’t hear us. He kept talking over us both. He went on and on about his brother Tommy, even though there’s no evidence he ever had a brother at all. He kept saying ‘They sent him to war! They sent him to die in a war we’re not supposed to know about! They used tricks and drugs to make me forget. To make us all forget.’ It sounded ludicrous at the time.”

She drew in a sharp breath. “At the time?”

*     *     *

Don’t forget!

Every comment gives you a chance to win one of ten copies of Parallels: Felix Was Here!

L is for Lily: Meet Lily Reynolds from Scrying the Plane

Image Source: Luna Jubilee / !bang poses

LilyCrazyCrafter: Hey. Anyone out there?

AZVizTor: ??

LilyCrazyCrafter: Don't be a shy sheep. I'm stuck in my room right now. No one to chat with. My parents are so ticked off at me, and don't even get me started on my sister. Ruiner of homework, destroyer of my best Minecraft house. Never mind. Pretty soon I'm out of here. Got a party to crash, if you can dig it.

AZVizTor: Party?

LilyCrazyCrafter: Sorry, I can't invite you. You could be on the other side of the planet, and I'm not an idiot. It's not like I'm going to tell some stranger where I live. But yeah, this party is going to be intense. Dude running it has VRP access. You been on the VRP?

AZVizTor: No.

LilyCrazyCrafter: Me neither. It's so bogus they won't let anyone under 21 hook in. What's the big deal? 

AZVizTor: What is VRP?

We all get sucked in - Self portrait by MattysFlicks

LilyCrazyCrafter: Dude, are you from this planet? How can you not know about the Virtual Reality Plane? Interactive Internet? You just need some Sleep Ease and a converter box, not to mention someone to attach the leads to your temple chip. Do you even have a temple chip?

AZVizTor: No.

LilyCrazyCrafter: Well that explains a lot. Guess your parents are super religious, huh?

AZVizTor: ?

Minecraft wolf from Pierre Gorissen

LilyCrazyCrafter: Sorry, didn't mean to pry. But maybe you could get a chip implanted on your own someday. It can't be that bad if they put them in two-year-olds. I can't remember. But man, I can't wait to check out the VRP, especially Minecraft. I'm going to run from zombies, tame a wolf, or ride a trolley. It'll be mega! Hope I don't end up brain-dead or anything--haha.

AZVizTor: Brain-dead?

LilyCrazyCrafter: Well, gotta go. Wish me luck! I'm meeting a friend and...I'd better not say anything more. You could be a narc for all I know! Toodles.

K = King

Stephen King is one of the most prolific speculative fiction writers of our time. He has more than 50 novels under his belt, many of which have been successfully adapted into movies, miniseries and even comic books. Although he is primarily known for his horror books, he also dabbles into other speculative fiction genres, like in his alternative-reality book series, The Dark Tower.

Originally published as a serial in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, the first book in the series, The Gunslinger, has been described as a cross between high fantasy and spaghetti westerns. It tells the story of a lone gunslinger in pursuit of the "Man in Black" and the titular "Dark Tower." The story would eventually morph in an eight-book series, with a long-awaited movie currently in the works.

Stephen King is also well-known in writing circles for his 2000 Memoir, On Writing, in which he shares some tried-and-tested advice on the subject matter.

J = Juxtaposition

Juxtaposition – comparing two items side by side in an effort to point out the ridiculousness or power of one of those things.

I once had a professor tell our class that if we ever used this word, then we didn’t really understand what it meant. No offense to that professor, but I believe society understands this term very well, we just don’t use the term in our every day vocabulary.

The truth is that beauty and ugliness coexist in every setting. The constant contrast gives each one more power than it would have alone.

Authors use this in their writing when they want to heighten the tension, or bring special attention to a scene or character.

Examples:

   1)      In dialogue - “I hate loving you,” or “I love to hate him.”

   2)   Novels, movies, plays, and even comics often feature characters with opposite attributes or personalities in order to create interesting conflict - Betty and Veronica, Felix Unger and Oscar Madison, Beauty and the Beast, Carl Fredricksen and Russell, Buzz and Woody, as well as so many others.

   3) Opposing forces of good versus evil - even within the same character is another popular choice.
   4) Setting and circumstances can be opposites as well.

I  In "WIN" I used human fascination with technology, and contrasted it with a groups inability to access that technology. How might those people be different? Which would be better for society - more or less technology? 

The Parallels anthology explores these aspects through ten different tales. We hope you’ll dive in and share your thoughts with the authors. How did our use of juxtaposition help or hinder the stories?

What are some of your favorite examples of juxtaposition in other books and movies?

Don't forget, every comment you leave is a chance you have to win one of ten copies of Parallels: Felix Was Here.