Open Book Blog Hop Archives - Page 3 of 106

Is It Real? Open Book Blog Hop #540

August 3, 2026 By Captain Maiel 4 Comments

Topic #540

Have you included any of your major life events into your stories?

Welcome back to another Open Book Blog Hop, Friend! The authors included in this ongoing learning series wish to thank you for your reading. Even more so, we appreciate that you share our writing with friends. If you’re new to the series, welcome aboard. The authors engage and impress weekly. Prepare to become a regular reader.

Writing historical fiction makes this an absolute yes. Real historical events are major life events, just shared by a lot more people. It’s hard to not include them in that genre. Everything hinges upon them. However, I try to be more creative than just focusing on actual history. In writing fiction, there is leeway. That said, I don’t like to teach wrong history either.

Literary license is a term that has been used in the past to cover up irresponsible behavior by authors in regards to history, realness, and important topics. While we would like to hold them responsible, we cannot ignore that the audience often passively accept what they read as fact, giving it no critical thought. They adopt the writing into their memories and attach it to realities. For the most part, when confronted, they’ll understand it isn’t for real, but they often have poisoned their understanding of a history by the fiction they attached to it. There is a better way!

A great example of this is how we remember our national histories and cultures. Very often, what is remembered is a fictionalized version over the real, built up from years of media consumption that doesn’t challenge sanitized and unsophisticated views and storytelling. Look to John Wayne films meant to entertain, not teach, but also leveraged to build consensus around what a population desired to believe about itself. When unchallenged, this becomes the history over the actual history. It’s more successful in being learned because it is fun, glitzy, and avoids complicated feelings.

With my historical writing, I don’t want to partake in this type of consensus building. It leads to misplaced and nationalistic notions that can actually build to violence. Thank you, I’ll pass on contributing to that outcome. But can we, as writers, avoid it entirely? As I said above, we can’t entirely hold the writer culpable. There are those who want fiction in place of fact. When presented in glitzy stories, it’s an easier pill to swallow. When history dresses in less complicated language and omissions, we cope with it best. It’s seductive.

I totally understand. Real history is such a dark tale. That said, we cannot sit here with a binary of black and white. That’s how we continue to repeat terrible acts against one another. Humans are so grey–a brilliant mix of bad and good, complicated and messy. That’s more interesting than blowing sparkling smoke up the ass of the reader to make them feel better about themselves. Let them be wholly seen as complicated individuals. So what. We all have work to do on ourselves and our behavior.

Likewise, I write about more personal experiences to let those complicated people out there know they are not alone either. For instance, if Trailokya reaches one or two victims of domestic violence (DV) before they end up in the most dire of straits–I’ve done my job well. The thing is, DV isn’t one of those histories that we face head on and discuss to prepare our future generations against it. We teach them not to bully, to love the Earth, and that war is bad. Do we ever teach them the red flags that a partner might wave in their face so they can protect themselves?

Worldwide, red flags are swept under the rug and excused. You’ll see manipulative behavior promoted as strength, common sense, or even care. Relationships are already complicated. How do we parse what is normal and what is a warning sign? My thought was to rip the mask off of this. I take a inarguably strong character, who should never fall to manipulation, into such a place in their life, with everything going for them, and show how their world just seemed to conspire to create that situation. In essence, it is the culture and people in it who set us up to accept others that are not good for us, giving us all the excuses to forgive and allow when we shouldn’t.

You’re helping them heal. They have issues, and once they figure that out they’ll be a better person. They love you, and you should cooperate better to help them. They’re not succeeding because you’re not holding up your end of things. You need to try harder for them. Forgive them, because they didn’t mean to hurt you. They’ll do better next time. You have to provide them a soft landing. They work so hard and struggle, give them a break. He’s so really cute, though, I can’t believe he’d do that. He could have anyone, but he picked you, be grateful. It’s your role.

open book blog hop — ^{Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash}

It’s incredible the things we will hear from others in the periphery of our relationships. Their family and friends, our family and friends, then acquaintances and outsiders, sometimes leaders, all operate in ways that assist the perpetrator–aware or not of what they do–because the culture is constructed to do so. It’s as if the original human abuser set it all up to perpetuate the manipulation for eternity. Maybe they did (after all, look at history).

Taking everything I learned and compacting it into a tale that I drew from decades of dreams and nightmares is me telling a real shared human tale, hoping to save someone from the suffering, and create ripples in my community that will reach across the spaces between us and teach. Domestic violence is so nefarious. The survivor is forever changed, often permanently harmed, yet the laws don’t reflect this. How do we change any of that? We teach what it is, how it manifests, and how to help protect against it until we can get legislation that addresses this economic and health drain to our community from such a damaging act.

It’s an uphill battle, but making a difference for a few matters. Let’s see what the other authors have written into their work. I know a few have, but I’ll let them tell you about it because they make it so interesting! Don’t forget to subscribe before you go. Drop that email in the box on the top right. The hop will arrive in your inbox without the need to search for us. Easy as pie! See you next time.

Alternative Fiction and Real People in Novels – Open Book Blog Hop #539

July 27, 2026 By Captain Maiel 4 Comments

Topic #539

Have you modeled any of your characters on a real person?
How do you disguise them (if needed?)

Writing alternative history, colloquially called alt fic, can be fraught with legal pitfalls. If you don’t trip on legal issues, you could trip and break your credibility. You have to be mindful of how and why you use real individuals as characters. I advise going with long dead individuals over recent historical figures. Also, if you model a character on someone in your personal life, don’t tell them that, if you value them in your life. I’ve done both.

The Baron, Morgentus — ^{Morgentus, The Trailokya Trilogy. Is he real or made up? Ask my dreams.}

You might say, well, who cares. I’m not writing my work to coddle anyone. That’s fine. Be prepared for the fallout is all that I am really saying. Be sure you cover yourself to avoid legal suits or any other difficulties that may arise. Even when you tell someone in your life that they show up in your book, they will remain judge and jury of how you depicted them. You can’t predict how that will go, even if they are flattered by knowing this. Once they read it, you may be in the dog house there forward. Don’t be surprised. There are hundreds of authors out there who have talked about how that goes. Sitcoms have made episodes. Cinema has mentioned it. Write what you know carefully!

In my historical drama, I have included long deceased historical figures. The events of the book take place during a tumultuous historic event that changed my country forever. It still haunts us and we still have yet to grapple with all the pieces. The events that followed were touched by its ripples. Today, even, we are touched by its ripples. An important tale.

Those figures, however, don’t take too much part in the drama. They are there like set dressing. Their actions can catalyze the events throughout the story that affect the characters. In addition, I am mindful of the history and take care to portray them as accurately as possible, without getting alternative to the point of absurdity. My whole point was to immerse the characters into actual history. Thus, it’s key that I respect everything as it happened and was.

Likewise, my spy thriller follows the same formulas. This was difficult. We’re talking Nazis. How do you separate your horror, grief, and anger for what they did from maintaining the accuracy? For me, it was about portraying them accurately as not to give them one inch in which to redeem themselves. The research was taxing, in that it revealed how very human they are. However, this has prepared me for current days and watching others realize that horrible people are as nuanced as every other person. I truly wish they were just monsters with no gray areas to mask them. We’d identify them quickly and save so many from them.

Writing that dark story paved the way for how I was able to handle my dark paranormal fantasy. It taught me how to respect other cultures while carefully weaving links between them to create a fictional realm. The most difficult part was having the home world of the heroes being called Zion. As this book posits that we all hail from a parallel universe we barely remember, and parts and pieces (including language–words) comes through with us, I went through picking words that held an essence of memorability.

Well, that’s very perspective based.

Open Book Blog Hop, Blue Honor — ^{The Photo that became the cover of Blue Honor, featuring Jack.}

To choose this name, I lined up multiple terms for heaven through multiple theologies and cultures. I considered them for ease of remembering, age, and sound. There wasn’t any nefarious favoritism toward them. Absolutely, literary analysis could write for days about the meanings of place names, the clashes they may echo, and bias. To this, I would remind others, that while I use an Islamic term for Hell, which is a fantastic word, there is no support of Zionism here. Islam has a word for their hell world. I did not say hell was for Islam. Regions in Jahannam carry Greek names. Am I also saying the Greeks are bad? Maybe it is more suitable to say that, having suffered so much, they know what hell is? Likewise, having suffered so much, Judaism knows heaven. Let’s not support such division.

By the way, the commander of Walhall in Zion is based on Persian culture. Memory is unreliable. Words change ownership in the human realm. Events and the zeitgeist change how we view history and words. For instance, it’s seems to be the thing to hate on a group of people because of their governments. I’d be screwing myself if I backed such ideas. Let’s be honest, the USA isn’t doing well out there right now.

The Afterlife in Different Cultures: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism
Ark Historia

A main idea threading through the series is that we misremember a lot and thus mischaracterize things where we are now. We have developed a language apart from the home realm, so many languages over time, cherry picking things and changing their meanings. Keeping with the above example, you find that the bad guys are seeking reentry into Zion, and therefore they’re more like Zionists, trying to open that door through violence and force. On the other side, all of the peoples of the universe in which humans find themselves are trying to stop that and build peace. They want to maintain the separation, as it serves the point of the plane (our universe) existing at all.

A lot of misunderstanding, misinterpretation of texts and memories, goes on between the characters. Of course I added to this tumultuous text by basing a lot on personal experiences and individuals who have come in and out of my life. Some are composites, some are pieces, and some might be whole. The book is based on dreams I have had. Therefore, they hold a lot of symbolism or representative details.

You’ll find some real people alluded to in the work, too. I kept to references because the book is weighty enough! It deals with such serious things, like domestic violence, bigotry, and world events. Another pile of bricks would have made it so heavy. Besides, lessons learned from the historical work: you don’t need to put them there at all. Alluding for effect felt a bit lazy. Why bother? For instance, mentioning Malcolm X at the Parker House was more of a sidebar random fact that has not come up again. Could it come in a later sequel? Perhaps I have been laying the ground work. I don’t know yet. In hindsight, it just felt pointless when I started the series, so I avoided being so pointless.

ai rendering of a wwii spy from OP-DEC, Marcel in a leather jacket

As mentioned above, compositing behaviors into a character is the best way I have found to include everything that I needed. Face it, we are shaped daily into the humans we presently are by hundreds of interactions with known and unknown other individuals. To write them all in the book would be a confusing and arduous task. Instead, if it felt formative enough, the instigators get melded, packing them into fewer and fewer people. They stay or go as needed.

Take note that it is useful, if you can have a recurring character that can be that person who does the things instead of creating new flats for each. That said, once they have done their part, they often part ways. This break in connection fully symbolizes the loss of their influence. That doesn’t necessarily mean that person is gone from my real life. Death or parting, therefore, becomes (not less serious) a break from.

Remember, in the series, death is just a transition from one plane of existence into another, and the characters can move around. Going to Oblivion is the unmaking that would result in never returning, and none of the characters know for certain that that is the end for them. All they know is, a negative entity returns no more to any realm from there, that they have recognized. Unmade, perhaps they go back to Nirvana to start over? In a way, isn’t that the same as ceasing to exist, to be unmade so wholly you are not recognizable?

With that heavy thought, please click on the links below to see how the other authors answer this fantastic question. I am curious to learn how they navigate this potentially sticky situation. Don’t forget to subscribe before you go (top right). The hop will arrive every Friday to your inbox without having to hunt for us. See you next time! Thank you for stopping in and spending a moment to read my thoughts.

What’s Up, Writer? Open Book Blog Hop #538

July 20, 2026 By Captain Maiel 6 Comments

Topic #538

What are you working on right now? (as far as writing goes)
What’s going right? What’s going wrong?

I’m no stranger to talking about the realities of a writer’s life. We’ve all read about those giants of the literary world and their goings ons. What about the average writers of today? What are they doing? Is any of that stuff still true among them or was it ever true? You’d be surprised.

Just like any other group, we are just a slice of the population. There are addicts and straights, gays and closeted, faith driven and atheist. We cover the gamut in gender and backgrounds. There are writers with pasts and writers making pasts. Some of us are striking while others are unassuming. Pick your flavor. We are like Baskin Robins!

Once you understand that about writers, you see why some only ever write a book and others write loads. There are multiple factors that feed into an author being able to write the next book. Ideas aren’t the only limitations. Finding the research you need is another hurdle. Time yet another. Resources and so on, all play their part to slow us down. For me, it’s maintaining this blog, the social media, raising a child on my own, working full time at another job because writing won’t pay the bills, traversing the screenwriting scene (or not), convincing others I’m legit, and all the minor tasks of living (from using the facilities to feeding myself) that take time away from writing time.

This question has come at a time when I am deciding what my next steps are. I have a draft of OP-GHO, and have had that draft for several years now, resting while I focus on being a mother. I also have plans for Trailokya, but I can’t decide if I should deal with OP-GHO first, which probably I should to even out the number of historical versus paranormal books in my list. The overwhelm I feel at the start of that project is real. Where do I start to consume the elephant? Making the wrong decision now can make more work later. So I just spin on decisions unmade.

Don’t despair. Yesterday (Friday evening before this post), I was googling about the creatures in Trailokya and re-confirming for myself that I had gotten the language around it right. The idea is to start now. If I have to make pivots, this way I can. It was really wild to have my own books quoted back to me! Holy cow that blew my mind. That was not expected at all. And, I thought seeing my image online was wild. Yes, you can ask google about the Trailokya Trilogy and me. Weird, wild stuff.

The great news is that I feel confident that I will get back to this stuff when I feel like I have time to spare to it. The day job takes a lot of mental energy, so I find myself deeply tired at the end of the day. In fact, I resent that job for making me feel I can’t give my daughter more. It’s really draining me and it doesn’t pay me enough to be doing that. Retirement is on the horizon, and I think, despite the lower funds, that it will be worth it to walk on. Something has to give.

If you’re wondering what the other authors are up to, click on their links in the scroll box below. Before you go, drop your email int he subscription box on the top right. The hop will arrive in your inbox each Friday without having to search for us. We will see you here next week! Thanks for dropping by.

Blue Cat and the Blues – Open Book Blog Hop #537

July 13, 2026 By Captain Maiel 7 Comments

Topic #537

Is there a childhood toy or book or item that you wish you still had?

There is a single item that I wish I had back, which should be in my possession. However, a family member whose greed reined above all else took this item away from me before I had it. A tale as old as time. Furthermore, something I will speak of if prompted, but otherwise don’t dwell upon, because not giving him that satisfaction is my reining power.

When I was young, my gran had promised me a mid-century tall blue cat sculpture. It had bright orange flowers down it’s back. She kept it on top of a bookcase in her room. I adored it. She said it was mine when she left this world. Unfortunately, for me, the fact never got written down. None of her family, except my mother and father cared to try and even get it for me when the time came. In fact, my uncle, the youngest of her children, in line with his character, sold and gave away everything. He put a lot of it in his antique store, exploiting the load of items for his financial gain.

This particular item went to his girlfriend at the time who happened to like it. There was no question and no one has been able to get it back. Likely, it went off to someone else or broke by now. Therefore, I have no hope of regaining the item. My uncle loves this. He and I fell out over the fact that he publicly berated his daughter for her sexuality. I told him it was weird to be so tied up in his child’s partner choices, and that as a parent he should love her regardless of these matters. We did not talk after this. However, my girly thanked me for my input on her behalf. Hopefully, it got thru despite him and his narcissistic control.

My uncle has been a cruel and self-absorbed dick for his entire life, and I am not sad to see him. Furthermore, rhere is no sadness for me. I learned he’s miserably depressed. He should be. His failure to build a good and worthwhile life is entirely his fault, due to his cruel choices and use of friends and family. It’s a sad state of affairs, but he chose it.

When you lie about others and cause rifts in your own family, you reap what you sew. The truth will always come around. The facts are, he got my grandparents to move from their lifelong home into a retirement home. Once my grandad had passed, he pushed my grandmother around and took every bit of what she had. She grew ill from the stress of it, and when she died, he absorbed all of that, too. He sold it all off, except for his properties that he slum lords over. This guy is never satisfied and will eat everyone near him.

I’m glad his daughter moved away and therefore has distance. She seems happy. If social media is any tell, she is living her best life. Her mom has healed a great deal, too, after her brush with this guy. At least they have their daughter to be a net positive between them. I love that kid! Way back, I helped my gran take care of her quite a bit. I would do drawings for her and play with her, keeping her well entertained. It’s not a surprise she’s an artist. Her mom is artistic and she had my influence to back that up.

If that blue cat managed to find its way back into my life, it would be a miracle of Saint Anthony.. That said, I won’t dwell upon it. Karma is taking it’s price for such actions, and I am happy and successful without it. Besides, the blue cat would never heal the break in my heart that came when my gran left this world. I miss her. Only in dreams do we meet now. And, to be honest, I think she is how my daughter got to me, if you believe in such things. I saw her so frequently while I went through IVF and pregnancy. Thanks, Gramma. I love you. What an amazing connection and bond we still must have.

Click on the other author links below in the scroll box to find out what they would like back from childhood. Don’t forget to drop your email in the subscription box. This way, the hop will arrive in your inbox every Friday without the need to search for us. See you back here next time!

That Lasting Mark – Open Book Blog Hop #536

July 6, 2026 By Captain Maiel 3 Comments

Topic #536

Here’s a blast from the past – Feb. 2019 to be exact.
What have you done to make the world a better place?

This could end up a contentious post if I wrote about my activism here. Yet, that said, my writing speaks to it quite a bit. I am not shy on social media, either, openly leaving a mark. You’ll find me standing up for what I believe is right. I speak truth to power and I have paid for it with a lot of anger directed toward me and my family. Yes, death threats.

neon sign that reads: All we have is words. All we have is worlds. Words need a reader. A writer creates worlds. — ^{Photo by Alexandra on Unsplash}

In my estimation, anyone threatening you with death hasn’t a leg to stand on for their supposedly righteous arguments. What they fear is a loss of control and power. That means, I am doing the right thing. Whether it leaves a mark or not. You can disagree with me on how equality and service to others should be meted out. However, you cannot be disgusted with me for seeing the humanity in others and the need for change away from a bias loaded with hatred. I’ve changed hearts and minds over the years, bringing healing to my connections. That is the only mark I need, and I don’t need it known, either.

Getting braggadocios about such accomplishments feels a bit like the opposite of what I’m aiming for. For instance, when someone’s beliefs turn to violence, through emotional or physical controls, or vile rage they should really question the foundations of their beliefs. What are they in this for? Is it bragging rights? Do they just want some kind of power or illusion of it? A political party should never be your whole personality. Nor should a religion, or fandom, or anything of the like. Certainly, you can be upset about real unfairness in the world, but you should never cross that line into red-faced-vile anger. And, boy, do I understand the helplessness of not being able to help others. But is vileness really the mark you want to make?

That stated, I will never understand the desire for cruelty; the need to see poverty performed and to get a high off of it, because it makes one feel superior. And it makes me so angry! I am not the one to have a discussion with a bigot, whatever level they bigot at. I’m direct and don’t pull punches. Those who enjoy the cover of sidestepping and nuance that could imply they don’t know better or something like that–they don’t like mirrors that show they’re not covering anything up. They explode and threats follow.

I’ve been watching people truly get off on being mean and abhorrent for well over a decade or two. So when I am able to change that vileness into positive energy for change, I make that effort. Sure, I can get in the muck with them and have. They need a good cut to the chin sometimes, despite my not liking violence. Very much, we need good soldiers fighting the violence back. Hatred will take lives and we should protect those we can when we can. Short of violence, good old-fashioned shaming is effective, too. Make people ashamed of being vile again!

You’d think in 2026 we’d be well-passed this. However, where I live there is an active brainwashing to distract from the true culprits of inequality, all based in the fear that they will lose control. Let me be direct: money corrupts and those who love money corrupt others to protect their hoards and enable further hoarding. Whether they ultimately fear poverty the symptoms are always hoarding and the maniacal desire to control others. It mirrors domestic violence, but it’s a club of narcissistic sociopaths overseeing the abuse of the masses. Keep them in-fighting, they won’t see us playing them. Keep them busy struggling, and they can’t think too much on anything else. Punish the thinkers to keep them down and silent, make them seem crazy or dimwitted. The cycle goes on and on and on.

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash, a couple clasp hands across a table between coffee cups.

I speak out against the power and control enacted against the many by the few, but I also have spent my life giving back through the day job to the people. I don’t like to talk about this portion of my life, so I will keep it brief until I retire and move on. My work has given back in providing services to marginalized groups and educating others around them, how they can do better by these groups, and improve life for everyone. Vital services in a few sectors. My career has been more meaningful than I often give myself credit! Tooting my horn is not something I am comfortable with, especially when inequality and other problems persist. I just continue the work.

Another way I give back is conscientiously raising my child to be a good human. We can all give back to our broader community by pouring into our little humans the lion’s share of compassion and knowledge. Deep conversations, respecting her humanity, explaining why, and ensuring the programing she consumes is inclusive all, feeds into making a person who will go forth into the world understanding that not color, gender, language, culture nor anything of the like makes someone less than or more than. It just makes them a person. You’ll have to take them each on their own terms.

My daughter, at nine years of age, understands better than many adults my age that some struggle more than others and there are histories that feed into it. The kid understands that she is no more deserving than others simply because she looks a way. She values her education over her appearance, and her self esteem is booming. She is a helper, not a hinderer.

If the only thing I did was raise a well-rounded, compassionate human with the drive to be something of value to humanity–that would be enough. My parents had raised me the same, so I do more because this world needs more. While the Dalai Lama has become a controversial figure in recent years, due to his inappropriate behavior with children. There is a prayer that I have up in my work cubicle that rang true with me prior to this. Sometimes you can’t part the artist from the art, but I think these words can be parted from him. It is a dharmic idea, untethered to him. A long held Buddhist ideology, if you will.

A Prayer of Peace ~ 14th Dalai Lama

May I become at all times, both now and forever
A protector for those without protection
A guide for those who have lost their way
A ship for those with oceans to cross
A bridge for those with rivers to cross
A sanctuary for those in danger
A lamp for those without light
A place of refuge for those who lack shelter
And a servant to all in need.

I take these words seriously and always have. Whether they are from the lips of Jesus, Mohammad, or the Dalai Lama, this is how I believe humans must view themselves in their community. It is an idea that spreads peace through service, and prizes giving over hoarding. We were never meant to hoard resources or build control over one another. Until we learn this, there will be suffering, want, and war.

My hope is that I will help turn the balance (leave my mark a bit) in the right direction, arm in arm with the many others who work with me for such a future. Our future generations deserve this. We must learn to rebuild true community and reject individual isolation that makes us ripe for abuse. Yes, be a responsible individual, but see yourself as a community member. The cruel one’s cannot operate in a well-formed community. Leave that mark.

Click on the links in the scroll box below to find out what the other authors have done to leave a mark in their world. I think their books have done a lot of giving, because a good book can do so much for people. It’s healing, for one!

Before you go, drop your email in the subscribe box so the hop will arrive in your inbox each Friday. We will see you back here next week!