From Skunks to Turtles.

As a writer I have recently stepped out and tried my hand at play writing. It is a different medium than book writing mainly because with a book the writing process is completed once the book is finished. With a play the work really isn't completed without a staging of the play.
I have been very fortunate with my play Turtle Soup. Its a comedic reenactment of a true life occurrence that took place in Churubusco Indiana back in 1949. The cast we assembled for this production has been invaluable to me. No one scrutinizes a play more than a theater director and a group of actors. If you are open minded and listen to the feed back you get back it really helps to sharpen the piece.
As a playwright you know what you want to come across to an audience, but at times we can become blinded to how something is actually working on stage. The cast helps you to see the work through eye other than your own. So much was added to the story that I am convinced that the rehearsals of the premier production are just as essential to the writing process.
The cast we assembled for Turtle Soup has been so enthusiastic and insightful. I would like to post a special thank you to everyone.
Terry and Lisa Ellis.
Dennis and Lauren Nichols
Elijah Knapp
Ron Stauss
John G. Jedinak
Joel Miller
Rayna Long
Levi Rossiter
Jeff Salisbury
I have spent so much of my writing time with Skunk-Guy and the Flinch family that is was a nice break to move over to some other characters. Both stories take place in the same Indiana area. But completely different time periods. And strangely enough both stories are centered around a person who is obsessed. Seems to be a prevailing theme with my work.

Skunk-Guy Goes Looney

One of the great things that I love about the Skunk-Guy legacy is that it draws people in. It creates a sort of game that people want to play along with. Contributing their bit whether it be a bad pun, a story line, the name of some villian or just a query to become a Skunk Scout.
I would like to introduce you to the latest Skunk Fever victim that I have had the pleasure of running into. Her name is Maeghan Looney.
One Saturday morning I logged into my Facebook page and found some very unexpected beautiful illustrations of the Stinking Stalker himself.
Her style as you can see is distinctive it can be very dramatic or adorable. She has a very sharp technique with the wit in her layout and use of space.
I was knocked over to see someone take Skunk-Guy and make him look so cool.
I had known Maeghan less than a year. We were in a stage play called An Inspector Calls. We had chatted a bit about our mutual interest in writing and drawing. I had showed her the Skunk-Guy books and she mentioned she liked the costume design. Then the run of the play was over and we went our separate ways.
But when I saw her take on the outfit and the character I was floored. I am long over due to update my webpage and you can believe me that these illustrations will definitely take a prominent place on the site. Very nice work Maeghan. Now if I could only get you to illustrate an entire graphic novel.

How It All Began

If a picture is worth a thousand words. Then a moving picture with sound must be well into the hundreds of thousands. So this would make this blog entry the biggest one I have ever done by word count alone.
Ignore the fact that they miss-spelled my last name. They obviously didn't have spell check on their video editor.

Skunk-Guy III Now Available

I haven't posted for quite a while and there is a number of developments to report.
First is the fact that the third Skunk-Guy novel is out.

Skunk-Guy: Skunk On The Run is available to order at www.skunk-guy.com
This latest edition has Skunk-Guy running for his life. He finds himself wanted by the police and when he tries to prove his innocence it turns out to be a deadly trap. Pretty heavy stuff for a fourteen year old.
This story introduces the Skunk Squad. An element brought in from the real life exploits of the original Stinking Stalker of so many years ago. Many people had called into WOWO radio back then wanting to be part of the fun. They were eventually sworn in as Skunk Scouts. These callers were caught up in the fun of it all and each one added their own quality to the Skunk-Guy legacy.
From a story stand point the idea of the local community being active crime watchers for Skunk-Guy has a lot of potential for adventure and comedy.
Another development was an enchanting feature article posted in the Fort Wayne News Sentinel. As a result of this article I have been reconnected to a couple of old friends that I haven't seen in decades. You can read the article by clicking on the link over on the right.
Outside of the Skunk-Guy saga I had the thrilling experience of having a stage play, that I had written produced. You can't imagine the excitement of hearing your words coming out of other peoples mouths. I will post more about that later.
If you have read any of the Skunk-Guy books and would like to post a review please let me know where you have posted the review. Or if you would like you can post the review in the comments window here and I will move it to a review web site.
That's all for now.

You Just Never Know.

I got an unexpected phone call the other day. It was the mother of a young man whom I had met at the Imagine Schools last January. This boy was one from the crowd of kids who clammered their way to my chair at the end of our question and answer session. He had written a letter to me and when he stepped up to talk he scribbled his address on the back, handed it over and said 'please write to me.'
I had been quite busy with a very demanding play that I was doing at the time and I didn't get back to him as quickly as I might have. After the show had closed I got back to my literary efforts and I found his letter. I jotted off a note making sure to answer the questions he had asked. I sent it off and thought nothing of it.
Well, two days later I get a phone call from this young woman who wanted to know who was writing letters to her son. I was taken aback but at the same time I completely understood where she was coming from. She said that when he had recieved the letter he was elated and was so excited. It concerned her that she knew very little about me and so she had to call.
We had a delightful conversation and she shared that her son was having some difficulties in school but that he really liked the idea of writing. She wanted to know if he could write to me again, 'of course' I said 'any time.'
I thought Wow! Here I started out writing because I had a funny story to tell but I end up being a mentor for a young writer in the making. Life certainly is funny isn't it.

The Missing Title

As this new year begins I have just completed the first draft of Skunk-Guy III. The title that I originally had set for the book has since gone to the wayside. As I was writting the book it became obvious that the my original title gave the ending away. We couldn't have that now could we. It would take the fun out of reading it. So now I am faced with a book draft with no title. It's not that we can't come up with a good title but I have a feeling it will take some doing. I mean I just didn't come up with Norman & The Stinking Space Goo over night ya know. It was an arduous process, many elements had to be considered, several titles were tested and in the end the stinkest title won out.
This third volume introduces some new characters and brings back some more familiar ones. Norman finds himself facing a tremendous challenge when a revenge plot threatens to blot out Skunk-Guy all together, nuff said.
I am also planning my second annual trip to the Imagine School on Broadway this month. I will get to judge a spelling bee and then have some fun with the kids as we talk about Skunk-Guy and writing and whatever else is on their mind. A very nice way to start the year off.

Fort Wayne History

I was waylaid from working on the third Skunk-Guy installment by a fascinating project. I completed the script for a two act stage play based on the fantastic turtle hunt in Churubusco Indiana back in 1949. It was a story rich in local lore and humor, but more importantly it was a historic event.
As I move back to working on the Skunk-Guy books I appreciate all the more the historic elements woven into these stories. Even though the saga of Skunk-Guy takes place only thirty some years ago. A lot has happened since then. It is not the same world now that we lived in then. I even added special footnotes to the second novel explaining many of the differences from then and now.
The Fort Wayne Three Rivers Festival, which is going on right now, played a prominent part in the second book. The third book will follow suit. Fort Wayne land marks will find them selves a part of the plot such as the Wells Street truss bridge and the Historic Fort Wayne Fort that was just getting started back in the 70’s.
To the average 9 year old who reads the books the historic elements may not seem all that remarkable. But to those of us who grew up here it may rekindle some nostalgic recollections of of our home town. To anyone else in the world who has never heard of Fort Wayne, well, they may find that our neck of the woods is a pretty neat place to live.
I seriously doubt that there will be much of an influx in the populace here as a result of Skunk-Guy, but I love the place and I hope it shows.