I’m never happier than when I’m sitting outside on a sunny day, with my cigar and legal pad, with no awareness of time passing, writing one of my books. But before I can get there, first the book has got to be born.
That’s just so cool, when a dream grows into a book. I don’t map these out ahead, like I used to do, long ago, with my horror novels. I just go with whatever God gives me.
And I do enjoy the ride!
My wife has just listened to my 2016 “webinar” with Andrea Schwartz and pronounced it very interesting. She’s never wrong about things like that, so it’ll probably interest you, too, if you give it a chance. I posted it on this blog earlier this morning, so you can easily find it on the home page. If you’re reading this, you’re probably on the home page now. Funny how that works out.
I hope nobody minds if I don’t report on politics this weekend–which I will do, of course, if I think I have to. But only if I have to. I’m feeling just a bit used-up. I think I’d be the better for a nice cigar, followed by a movie. It’s raining, so I’ll need my umbrella.
I do enjoy doing interviews, but no one’s asked me to do one lately.
These are somebody’s idea of “the Top Ten Prehistorical Mammal Predators.” I didn’t actually count them, but I suspect they listed more than ten.
How many of these have appeared in Obann?
Andrewsarchus, Hyaenodon, Smilodon, Entelodont–plus a lot of critters not featured in this video. The books in which those four appear are Bell Mountain, The Cellar Beneath the Cellar, The Thunder King, and The Last Banquet. I do have fun, writing them up–and I hope it’s fun for the readers, too.
Note I have resisted the temptation to invent animals, like giant hamsters or talking clams. I deserve extra sales for that, don’t you think?
You know a writer’s getting desperate when he reviews his own book. Such was my situation a few years ago. No one else would do it at the time, so I had to.
Oddly enough, The Last Banquet seems to be the book most tapped by readers as their favorite in the Bell Mountain series. Well, I was rather clever with the ending, wasn’t I? Sorry, there I go again.
We didn’t make it to the doctor today, but please keep praying for us.
Meanwhile, I’m racing the calendar to get His Mercy Endureth Forever written before it gets too cold outside to write.
I have this weird sense of being powerfully pulled toward the story’s climax without knowing what that climax is. I rely on the Lord to give me the story, and sometimes He doesn’t let me know what I’m going to write until I write it. Without giving anything away, suffice it to say that hellzapoppin in Obann and I have no idea at all, how it’s going to turn out. That makes it somewhat stressful.
I didn’t know how The Fugitive Prince would end until one evening, while walking just a few blocks to get our Chinese food for supper, He gave me the whole thing, all at once–wham! Writing The Thunder King, I had the climax first, before the beginning of the story. And I received the climax of The Last Banquet, all at once, as I walked upstairs to the bedroom. So I never know what to expect or when to expect it.
And so, today, a little more blog, a bite to eat, and back to work. Please, Lord–help me bring the story to my readers; for I write these in your service. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
It was eight years ago, but I think this is still the best interview I’ve had–largely due to the thoughtful questions asked by Chalcedon’s Andrea Schwartz. Here’s the audio for the whole thing, about 23 minutes long. I apologize, in advance, for my slow way of talking. As for my voice, it’s ideally suited for mime.
https://chalcedon.edu/resources/audio/lee-duigon-bell-mountain-notable-people
At the time, I had three Bell Mountain books in print, with No. 4, The Last Banquet, ready to go to press. Here in 2018, I’m waiting for No. 11, The Temptation, to come out, and writing No. 12, His Mercy Endureth Forever.
How many more to come?
As many as God gives me to write.
Remember Arianna Richards, from the original Jurassic Park? I kept trying to get a clip of one of her ear-piercing screams, but had to settle for this one instead.
Anyway, last night I thought of her to play Ellayne in the $150 million Bell Mountain movie that is in the process of not being made. If you’ve read No. 4, The Last Banquet, you know when and where a really piercing scream is necessary.
Yes, the movie contest didn’t fly… but that doesn’t mean you can’t go on playing it.
The other day I talked about villains, so it’s only fair to give equal time to heroes.
https://leeduigon.com/2016/06/17/how-good-should-your-heroes-be/
Recommended: The Heart of Midlothian, by Sir Walter Scott. A young woman’s fiancee is cast into prison for a crime he didn’t commit, and there’s no one to help him–no one but her. Armed only with her faith and with her goodness, she sets out, alone, to do the impossible… Wow!
I’ve always heard that most actors enjoy playing villains. It’s kind of fun to write about them, too. Fictional villains, that is. Not real ones.
https://leeduigon.com/2016/06/15/how-bad-should-your-villains-be/
Note to those who really want me to unravel Obann’s glorious past: Some of that will be done in Book No. 11, The Temptation, so please stay tuned.
Hi, there! I’m Lord Reesh, the villain in the first four Bell Mountain books–and, if I do say so myself, a jolly good one! Oh, boy, wait’ll you see me get what’s coming to me!
Ah, but you can’t see that unless you read the books. And it’s only nine days till Christmas. Do you catch my drift?
These books, especially the ones with me in them, make fantastic presents for friends and family. And they’re so easy to get, even those simpletons on the Obann High Council could do it. Just click “Books” at the top of the page, and you can order any title either directly from the publisher or via amazon.com. Whatever that is. We don’t have it, where I come from.
If we were all in Obann, I could simply order you all to buy the books and sic Judge Tombo on you if you didn’t. You don’t want anything like that to happen!