‘Keepin’ It Weird’ News
Dateline: September 30, 2020
You’re in the right place
for a mix of stories you just won’t find
anywhere else…
“Here’s to the allure of the obscure!”
September 2020 Newsletter
In this issue:
1. Crash Landing
2.Circus!
3. Book Cover Reveals
4. Featured Author
1. Crash Landing
My guest this month isn’t so much weird as unique. I’d like to share with you the unique story of a friend–Gus Hawkins–a retired corporate attorney with a fascinating and honorable avocation. He has agreed to share his inspirational story with you directly. Gus?
“Thanks, Gene. I admit to being a Type ‘A’ personality. Most pilots are. We love the challenge of learning new things, improving our skills and being totally responsible for the safe conduct of our flight. We do not accept mediocrity, and most of my pilot friends and acquaintances are committed to flying their very best. Every flight. If something goes wrong, we analyze the root cause until we know what happened and how we will rectify the problem to assure it does not happen again.
“This all ran through my mind on May 2, 2009. I took off in my experimental (home-built) seaplane for a short, post-maintenance flight. Things started to go wrong right after take-off. I executed an immediate turn back to the runway, and caused a power-on stall. I crashed, totally destroying the aircraft and the L-5 vertebra in my back. Immediately after regaining consciousness, I started analyzing what I did wrong. A month later I was discharged from the hospital and started successful intensive rehab.
“The emotional and psychological after-effects were harder to manage. Non-pilots find it difficult to understand how deeply a flying accident can affect the pilot. “It was just an accident,” I heard from family and friends. Fellow pilots found it hard to talk about the subject. I felt that maybe I was the only pilot who had experienced this. My doctor cautioned me against admitting how badly I was affected lest the Federal Aviation Administration pull my license.
“A few years later I met a pilot who had a parallel experience. He wrote a book about the cause of his accident, his recovery from critical surgery, and how he got back to flying. I was not alone!
“While our stated goal is to help the pilot return to flying, each pilot must decide that for him or herself after thoughtful reflection on the causes and consequences of their accident.
“I started studying post-traumatic stress (PTS) and learned the value of peer group interactions. This led to creating an organization called “Back To The Cockpit.” My goal is to help pilots better understand the emotional aspects of a serious incident, and determine their best course of action for dealing with the trauma. While our stated goal is to help the pilot return to flying, each pilot must decide that for him or herself after thoughtful reflection on the causes and consequences of their accident.
“Our organization has a website, www.BackToTheCockpit.org. On it you will find stories of pilots’ personal journeys as well as numerous resources to help pilots better deal with their experience.
“I review NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) accident reports weekly. I then cross-reference non-fatal accidents against the FAA aircraft ownership database and send the aircraft owner a letter introducing Back To The Cockpit and its online resources. To date, I have written nearly 2,500 letters.
“Responses are often interesting, and I truly believe that a number of accident pilots have benefited from our outreach.”
Gus, thanks for your service to fellow pilots and for sharing your story. I’d be remiss if I didn’t share one of your other avocations that further illustrates your dedication to military history apart from your passion for all things aviation.
Folks, Gus has constructed and sails an incredible replica of the battleship USS Indiana. Have you ever seen anything like this?
2. Circus, Circus!
Are you old enough to remember a childhood dream many of us thought might be fun: running away to join the circus? That was before clowns became scary, and circuses drifted away from small towns, relegated largely to museums and odd venues.
Kay and I did run away to see how the circus used to work: first in Sarasota, Florida at the Ringling Brothers Museum. And a year ago, we visited Ringling’s much smaller historical northern haunt in Baraboo, Wisconsin.
Unfortunately, we were too late in the season “up north” for the live acts, animals, and scary clowns, and that made it not only special, but eery (weird!). We virtually had the place all to ourselves! We were amused. You might be too with this sixty-second video clip…
3. Final Trilogy Book Cover Reveals
Gang, I’m chasing a self-induced schedule for my new Mayhem trilogy, but I still hope to publish all three novels by year-end. For now, allow me to express sincere gratitude for the advice and counsel from several of my advance review team over the last few months (you know who you are!) in creating the paperback book covers you see below. I am so excited to share them with you!
Fair warning: you advance readers will receive the final-draft manuscripts in advance of publication for your review. So polish your reading glasses and whip out your favorite hot cocoa recipes. Maybe snag your favorite e-reader and peruse the final drafts in front of a cozy fire–wherever you may be holed up?
Wonderful feedback resulted in the following covers after countless iterations. I think they’re quite close to the final art, graphics and text. As always, there is still time for tweaking.
Remember, a good cover catches the eye, identifies the genre, and compels the prospective reader (book shopper) to read the back cover blurb (on the left below in each case). The blurb should lead to either a look-inside or ideally, a purchase decision.
And when dealing with a series of related books, all the covers, especially the spines (in the middle of each image below) should look like they belong together on a bookshelf, even if they are slightly different colors. That’s called series branding.
I welcome any and all feedback. In fact, I celebrate it! So lemme have it! What do you think, kids? Lemons or lemonade? Balloons or bupkiss? Best viewed on a larger screen. Shoot me an email at gjurrens@yahoo.com.
Oh, and one more reveal. Every author knows the importance of every book’s opening line. That’s where most authors spend a lot of time. So I thought I’d share just the opening line of each book for the heck of it.
Remember, an opening line introduces the main character, usually the hero, and hooks the reader by leaving some provocative question unanswered so they’ll keep reading. This is called the hook. Are mine working?
And now, ladies and germs, here’s the big reveal to fire your imagination. No fireworks, though, as I don’t want to start any wildfires…
4.Featured Author: Dean Koontz
Dean Koontz certainly doesn’t need a boost from an obscure author like me, but I so enjoy his wordplay, I thought I’d share some wonderful phrases from the first two books in his Odd Thomas series. I’m currently gobbling them up at bedtime each night, highlighting cool stuff in each book. Poor Kay… she pities me that my life has come to this.
Yes, I record wondrous words and fascinating phrases from my readings in my Idea Factory database, a methodology I learned from the inestimable James Scott Bell. I plan to share an article I’m writing about this effort on my new website, UpLifePress.com (still under construction). I note interesting ideas for characters (protagonists, antagonists), settings and plots.
So for your literary amusement, here are a few pearls from Odd Thomas and Brother Odd by Dean Koontz. Roll these phrases over in your mind, just for the hell of it, and see what comes out:
- “You can’t take refuge in unleavened reason,
- “The sound of her villainous voice turned my sweat to ice,
- “Pessimism is strictly for people who are overeducated and unimaginative,
- “There is no end to the wailing of senseless rebellion, to the elevation of self above all, the narcissism that sees the face of any authority only in the mirror.“
Wow. The last phrase is my favorite so far. Powerful, huh? Or is it just me?
Well, that’s it for this month.
Stay safe and stay well if you can possibly manage both. Are you looking forward to 2020 hindsight too?
Adieu, my friends.
With pen in hand,
Gene
