Interview - Part 2 - FIRE, the Hunger

FIRE, the Hunger

Why did you pick the FIRE stories you selected?

I wasn't sure if there were stories that talked about the beginnings of FIRE. I knew there were ancient stories about discovering the wheel. So I went the online library and came across about 10 suitable stories. Plus, a few stories about FIRE gods:  Pele and her anger, and Greek and Roman gods, and a story from South America about the god that protected FIRE in the heath. Some worked and most did not. Then I came across stories from the Native Americans about who spread FIRE: Hummingbird, Beaver, Spider, and then the Monkeys who helped a lost Hunter with FIRE. Finally, I found a warning from the bushmen God Kaang, who "If humans had FIRE no harmony would last between trees, animals, and the humans. No longer could they speak with each other." That became the premise, the theme, for the plot - the dangers of FIRE and fear in animals. And as a child, when camping we had FIRE contained in a pit, and it was dangerously hot and tried to continually escape to eat whatever FIRE could.

FIRE, the Hunger

Interview - Part 1 - 'FIRE, the Hunger'

FIRE, the Hunger

What made you decide to tell fire stories with the intriguing title ‘FIRE, the Hunger’?

When I was a child, I grew up in Colorado and loved the mountains. My Dad, cut timber up Highway 24 by Woodland Park, which at that time was not a city. My intrigue with Fire started then we kept it in the pit and burned our garbage and everything, tin cans, and shoes. Fire was very feared because it would burn the forests and take my dad’s job of cutting timber for buildings and making telephone poles.
When my Dad retired from that job because lumber was scarce in Colorado, we went camping every summer. I think every weekend. My Dad loved the outside so did my Mom; she was from the small farm in Limon, Colorado.
At camp, at night, my uncles made this big fire in a rock pit. They built the pit making sure no trees and no roots were near. They brought their wood or cut the dry wood for the trees. Cutting fire wood is not allowed today, too many fires burnt too many forests. 
We had a beautiful warm, actually hot, Fire at night with dancing sparks. When I looked into the air, the flames danced in the darkness. We were never allowed to start the fire or to feed it the wood. However, we could to roast hot dogs on long sticks and after wards melt or burn marshmallows.
 After the camp dinner, the men sat around the fire while the women cleaned up the dishes and put away the foods. Like a hunter's camp only in the summer with the kids and women could come. The men fed the fire and talked about their fishing adventures they had during the day. Now and then, they would drop into their hunting adventures. As the kids, we got to listen.
When the fire ate all the wood for that night, it was put out. Either smothered with dirt or drown with water on the glowing embers. The men killed Fire, so as not to have it escape into our camp or the forest. Sometimes the kids killed the fire.
Fire did burn if touched, always entrancing, magically, and ate all we gave and could turn into a monster taking what FIRE wanted eating everything in its path. As happened in our neighborhood about 20 years ago; 3,000 homes burnt. Now in North Bay in San Francisco where many friends and relations live. FIRE is a HORROR!
Children should know FIRE's charms and dangers.
FIRE, the Hunger

STORY, STORY, and more stories

STORY, STORY, and more stories ...

For the next month through NaNoWriCAMP, their July 2017 camp. I am pledge to write 10,000 words eight stories about FIRE, actually how gods of the ancients knew the humans should not handle fire---> which does escape from a dirt pit and eats everything around.

My writing progress will be posted with the Clarion Foundation Write-a-Thon for 8 finished stories.  And, stories will be published on my wattpad page called, 'FIRE, the Hunger.'

Where is the authorpreneur?

Frankly, I'm lost on a busy noisy downtown business district in a gigantic intersection lined with sky-scapers, packed with cars, buses, taxis, streetcars, bicycles, scooters, and pedestrians rushing everywhere among the loud noises. 

My car stopped at 'red' light in the intersection with multi lanes going in all directions: emails, websites, blogs, e-newsletters, subscribers, e-publishers, e-bookstores, e-books, PoDs, bookstores, libraries, info-products, podcasts, audios, and video production. All cramped into lanes waiting for the light to change. 

The green light directs "go" in my lane. I drive safely through the congested intersection while others wait, watching. When I'm on the other side, I park my car to open my computer to find 'where', 'when', 'how', and 'why' all the (^*%@*&~) traffic.

Long web lines attach from my computer stretching and dangling somewhere/anywhere from one site across to the next site in one massive jumble of links. I slip into tangle lines entranced by banners, ads, visuals, and promotions that hypnotize with flashing lights and fantastic hooks for marketing my stories. 

First, my blogs storyportfolio for my story art; then TheSTORYRealm for my verbal stories; and BlobBlobandBlogging for writing advice; LinkedIn.com for my resume and business As Is Productions; Flickr and Behance for art and photos; and my website Wordpress; for my e-newsletter Eventing . . . a provider MailChimp which formats email and manages the lists; Facebook with professional pages ART and STORYTELLING; and @twitter; Pinterest for product sales; and google+ general posts.Then there are apps, plug-ins, and widgets for your websites and blogs; Comiclife and Canvas for design; Libsyn, Audacity, iTunes, and Soundcloud for podcasting and audios; webinars; google+ hangouts; and youtube channel for my storytelling videos. For challenges NANOWRIMO and the Clarion Write-a-Thon for writing; an AtoZBlog challenge to keep the stories coming. Then Scribd., Wattpad, and Bubblish for beta readers to enjoy my works-in-progress, on and on and on. 
 
All these sites have connecting links for my readers to post comments and links to their sites or friends.

Thus, Rhyonna's story has copyright, ISBNs, and LCCN# for paperback and Kindle on Amazon with an Amazon Author Page; listed on Smashwords for distribution to libraries and other ebook stores:  iBooks, Barnes&Nobles, Kobo and now on SELL-e for Librarians; and so featured on Goodreads.
 
--> Rhyonna and my stories happily and contently stream through the web catching readers and listener from one site or another. I close my computer and relax, waiting like a spider to capture visitors that stream enchanted through the vast buzz of STORY! Successfully, I accomplished my goal.

I love STORY!

I start my car and drive into the streaming traffic working on my next projects:  Vasalisa and The Elfin Letters.

P'angu, the First Dragon, #AtoZ Challe...

Boundless - P'angu, the First Dragon

BOUNDLESS

Dragons Shape China

  
The first dragon, P'angu, is a traditional story in 'Dragons Shaped China', which is short, I mean scant, a simplified analogy of Chinese history - re-imaged, enhanced, and elaborated as any excellent storyteller does. This will be a Book, soon at Amazon and Smashwords.com.

So where has the writer/storyteller gone, or was?

Long story went to Europe -→

 
Traveled by car around Ireland, in southeast France and northwest coast of Italy then came home with a cough and cold. Resting just enough to go to art camp in Quince, CA. Of, course the cold came back. Sometimes I think if one had processed a ton of new information, and still caught in what they were doing before taking on the new, there is a body break-down, shouting 'rest' 'relax', 'sort goals'.  I had finished the A to Z Story Realm, combined with NaNoWriCamp and on wattpad.com and all the while planning the long saga rode-trip meeting in France grandsons and mother and father. Driving through Europe mostly lost, which is one mass of roads and buildings, crowd. Europeans are helpful and friendly! But as one of my favorite stories, 'The Troubadour' states along his way, "A traveler can never make the wrong turn." We did have adventures.

Short story is I'm overwhelmed -→
and have too many projects to finish and the critic is on me, that is me after me, and I don't know which project?  So still resting.

Rhyonna at Smashword.com

Today's cover 2016

First Cover 1986

One thing, Rhyonna's Fright, the ebook, is at Smashword.com. My link Bobbie Kinkead,  You may download for kindle (device or computer), nook, and palm reader, or just computer. Please honor and respect my rights as author and creator. Will look like a kids book, really about overcoming challenge. I wrote the story as an analogy about my fear of achievement, using the realm of faeries, which is my alter world, I love gardens and the spirits there.  

OH, if you have any thoughts on how marvelous or any critical words, leave a review. PLEASE, take the advantage and read Rhyonna's story.

Characters have public persona!

We take snap shots.

A public persona is how you let others view you, your 'story', which is mixed with a public slant, the 'take' of a viewer, which is your, an adapted personality, the actor. Basically, you as a storyteller, a writer, an artist, or all three, who creates your public persona, 'STORY' which your public sees and hears.
 --> So beware! Do you know yourself in the public eyes! That persona is important when starting a professional career, especially on the Internet. With all the places to market yourself as the creator of ebooks, blogs, podcasts, webinars, videos, book tours; you build that persona. Your photo, still or playful, one or many views give snaps of you. Be appropriate! There is a history forming about you. The colors you wear:  just black or a rainbow, mode, pastels, or just pink. Most important is what you say:  innocent kid-like, intellectual or shy, sexually teasing, professional with humor, or mysterious vage. Words, written or spoken, add to your persona, a voice talking for, to, and with fans, readers, listeners, and supporters, encouraging them, putting down life, critical, or adapting to changes, and actions. They watch and listen building your appearance/character/persona by what they see you played.

-->  Beware, I have a friend that got locked into what was not and has played that part, never being true to the audience, which causes injuries. If you are a strong women and play weak, you will give a wrong picture. If you are a shy person and nervous this is seen. If playing expert but not knowing what is; or always correct, pushy; or maneuvering to be first and in front, or lecturing. These characteristic are observed. Style your public persona/character to be sincere, trustworthy, helpful, maybe humorous, and maybe a bit mysterious? Do not get stuck in who you are not.
 --> Watch yourself in videos and selfies, do them privately, practice. Check who you play, what type of character you see, be critical; you wear this persona all your career! Standing up to tell a story in front of listeners who are observing you as the characters is a great way of understanding persona and yourself, as the narrator, the creator -->You are the BRAND!

The Producer for BobbieTales

Epublishing another character!

Internet epublishing is like a flower growing fast in the Spring of it's life, and stretching and pushing in all directions for energy while spiders crawl, butterflies flutter, aphids eat, bees pollinate, and humming birds enjoy. 

What does epublishing mean besides publishing on the internet? What are the bios, tag words, categories for the word e-publishing of ebooks and PODs? How does one correctly spell epublishing, or e-publishing, or Epublishing; the spell checkers on my computer say it is missed spell in any form. What is marketing of the Authorperneur?  

--> Epublishing is a creative flow that needs a language to be understood.
--> I have began my study: now overwhelmed!

The Producer for BobbieTales

GESTURES

Writing is not easy and the scribe must add more words for the visuals of the story then when verbally told. The gestures of body, face expressions, and the voice add clues to the spoken word for a listener. A read can imagine but if the writer wants more control, more words of description are necessary, only caution not too many or the reader is bored. BALANCE  is the key, and the SECRET is clues positioned here and where within the text for a picture of the scenes and with the characters, just enough, not too much, or, no clues like a picture book or poem. Let the listener/reader illustrate their vision. Picture books do have illustrators still not as good as how the mind sees.

Busy with Write-a-Thons

The best way to pace yourself is with a deadline for what you want to achieve, a goal. Amazing are the results. The ending date is the polished date, the final show. This is the show of labors, the results; which could be a book, movie, painting, or verbal telling. Best is we ingest the process becoming what we did, the goal. What is remembered the experiences add up and help feed the next goal. clarionwriteathon.org

When I first started the process of story, as a child, I was the story, then I saw the story, then I told the story and now after years, I mean years of practice, and goal setting, I can write a story. Yes, I can plot and write a story, after all the practice of the being, drawing, seeing, and preforming the characters, who make the of writing more interesting (spelling and grammar excluded). However, I need a deadline because of all the life that goes around me and I need focus to finish a project - like preparing a fine meal for friends on to be served a certain date. CampNaNoWriMo.

The thinker at work on the 'where'!

The where! Here I am again in my head going over and over the place of the story - this voice and that voice of the characters here and there. Oh! there's the character.

WHERE IS this character?

I see her dancing in the sky. I'm carefully observing what the character looks like, and how does she move, what age. Opps! That's me! I'm looking around thinking. Where? There she is, young about 10 years old, dancing on a dry dirt path, yes, with her friend. Or, is that her brother? Yes, her brother who is younger. They run to catch huge green grasshoppers. The dirt path is dusty and long. Now I see the overview: the long dirt road through the field of tall dry grasses in front of them, the old brick train buildings behind and to the left, and the trees and creek to the right. They are running on the old train road in the old forgotten train yard.

Okay that is the physical place?

How is the character feeling about the path, her brother, and the grasshopper? How she feels is the emotional place for the reader or listener --- the audience.

Where is her mental place?

Okay, I'll float awhile gathering the moment. Happy, tired, excited, or maybe mad? No, she is happy running and dancing. The air is hot, she is sweating. No breeze, still and hot! Only for wind created while running. Opps! the grasshopper she holds spits on her hand, now she jumps, screaming, ICK! No, water to wash he hand. Her brother, much younger, comes over to help. He wipes the 'tocacco' off. She feels love and trust for him. They are on a journey alone with no mom and dad to their grandma's house. They run fast afraid of many bums, which live there. They have seen them and hear the stories of their gangs. The girl is very thirsty and getting tired from the running, now dancing. Although happy to be with her strong brother, they are in a race to reach Grandma's and to enjoy her fresh baked cinnamon rolls with butter which always wait for them.

Now the story unfolds.

Next, dear writer, what do the characters look like?

Storytelling helps the writing!

Oral story, the oldest form of storytelling, vibrates
in our bones. We tell stories all day to many
people. Writing the stories follows the same
structural processes of plot, characterizing, and
scenes as a verbally told story but we use word
symbols for the voice symbols. In verbally told
stories we can use body movement and facial
expressions for the characters. For both crafts,
concise, clear words paint images and bring the
characters alive to hear and see.

When crafting the ‘oral story’ the first sentence is
the set-up -- the when, where, who, and what:

Once upon at time so-and-so lived somewhere and felt something. In a picture
book the first three illustrations are the set-up (when, where, who, and what). In
a chapter book or middle-grade novel it's the first page, and in a young adult or
adult novel the first chapter is the set-up for the story. Then the listeners or
readers are lead by words to the emotional event -- the why: a conflict, problem,
or puzzle to resolve.

Clear, accurate words direct and focus the journey. Plotting starts. For the
youngest audience, one character interacts with someone or something in three
to five scenes. For the more mature audience, many characters interact in the
main plot with subplots traveling an A to Z path with many emotional events.
The storyteller or writer intrigues the audience with twists and mystery to
enhance the story.

Carefully selected written or verbal words focus the characters in action. The
characters move, react, and talk -- not telling but showing the characters in the
scenes. Words connect images to the listeners or readers. The present or simple
past tense makes the drama stronger. The characters push the plot forward.

The emotional actions, reactions, and dialogues of the characters reach out and
emotionally cord, bonding to the listeners or readers, who then plug into motives and feelings of the characters’ or their own. The charge is the emotional impact of conflict, adventure, or the puzzle. The audience is glued into the story waiting for the final charged event -- the how. Satisfying stories have a solution for the audience. The conclusion shows change in the characters, and the ending brings the audience back to their world.

A story can be told in five sentences or written into hundreds of pages to enjoy
for days. To know how your written story affects readers, tell the story to
listeners and watch their expressions. The facial expressions will tell if the story
is good, or needs more work.

STORY seems so simple, however; STORY is complicated on many levels.
Here are websites that post events and classes, fests, and workshops for
storytelling, ultimately helping in crafting the written story.

Stagebridge is a school for seniors in acting and storytelling. In one semester you'll experience teachers and their special skills and styles.You learn how to have fun while developing stories. Check their website stagebridge.

Storytelling Association of Alta California has a calendar of events for storytelling. STORYLINE (SAC newsletter) is a $30 yearly subscription, which lists all upcoming
storytelling events. Check out SAC,  Facebook

SAC Storytelling Festival, 2010 was the 25th celebration Bay Area Storytelling Festival, which is a feast of stories told by selected professional storytellers. Check out BASF for next years events.

National Storytelling Network, NSN for a listing of event and storytellers.

A MUST! An archive of stories since September 2006! A feast for the ears! Jackie Baldwin's radio show, Story-Lovers World!, airs every Sunday from 5-6 p.m. Pacific time on public radio station KSVY in Sonoma Valley. Contact to Jackie visit her website story-lovers.

Bobbie Kinkead is an illustrator, author and storyteller, can be viewed at following web addresses to learn more about BobbieTales and her work:

Welcome to Story Tells 2009

YouTube
Professional Storyteller
National Storytelling Network
LinkedIn
Follow Bobbie on Facebook
Twitter Bobbie!