Beware the Devil's Hug

While I am getting ready to head out to a book festival (and sorry I doubt I'll be online tomorrow) please welcome Marvin Wilson!

Marvin’s new book is entitled Beware the Devil’s Hug. I wanted to know more about the main characters, so Marvin managed to corral them long enough for an interview…

Marvin D Wilson interviews Iam, Destiny, Christian, and Ali – main characters from Beware the Devil’s Hug!

Marvin: I want to thank all of you for being with us today, Iam, Destiny, Christian, and Ali. I know you are all very busy right now with your coalition, CUE, and its efforts to promote world peace and harmony through the dilution of religious dogma and intolerance of peoples of differing faiths. Christian, could you explain to everyone just what CUE stands for?

Christian: Thanks for having us, Marvin, and sure. CUE is an acronym for Coalition for Unity and Enlightenment. It has always astounded me that Jews, Christians, and Muslims, who all love and worship the same One God of Abraham, can hate each other with such intensity. To me, the most heinous oxymoron of all time is the ‘Holy War’. With CUE, we strive to get peoples of differing faiths to have dialog, communicate, get to know each other as human beings, all of us being God’s children and loved by The One. We don’t promote one spiritual path over the other, that’s not our purpose. We have members from Buddhism, Taoists, Hindus, Baha’i, every path on the planet—not just the three One God of Abraham major religions.

Marvin: But you yourself are a Christian, right?

Christian: Yep. Well, I consider myself a bit of a Maverick ... a non-religious, dogma-free spiritualist Christian. I know that Jesus led people to the truth through nonjudgmental, all-encompassing, unconditional love. He did not hate people who did not believe in Him, he loved everyone equally, and that to me is the True Way of Christ, hm?

Marvin: Amen to that, Christian. Ali—you are, of course, a Muslim. And your best friend is a Christian. How did that come about?

Ali: Well, I don’t want to spoil the story for those who haven’t read the book yet, but suffice it to say that twenty years ago I would have killed Christian in the belief that it would glorify Allah. Then one magical day I was transformed by an embrace from that incredible human being sitting right next to you.

Marvin: Yes, and Iam? Can you share something of yourself ... your name, for instance—very unusual.

Iam: It’s everyone’s name, really. We are all, as Jesus said, little Gods in the making, all part of The One, the I Am That I Am. So, I chose to go by that name. Or, as you wrote me, The Old Man. I like that, too.

Destiny: Ol’ Man o’ Mine, that’s what I call him, cuz he is mine. (Destiny shows off her wedding ring with a broad smile)

Marvin, (chuckling): Destiny, you are twenty nine years old, a very pretty young African American woman. The Old Man is old enough to be your great grandfather at least. What on earth attracted you to him so much as to want to settle down and get married to him?

Destiny: It’s not any ‘on earth’ reason, I can tell you that. I used to think he was butt ugly, fearsome looking. Back when I was a hooker I used to get the creeps whenever he approached me. Even a prostitute has to draw the line somewhere. But then when he hugged me—it was unbelievable. Not only was I a changed person, all of a sudden he started looking handsome to me. In a weird, rugged kind of way, but—I don’t know—I looked deeper and saw all this beauty shining out from him. This ol’ man o’ mine is the best looking man I’ve ever known, now.

Ali: And I think that’s the key. Once we look deeper into people, really see them, surface appearances are not at all that important. Initial attractions are, typically, based on physical beauty ... but how many relationships have ended up in ruin because once the sex appeal, the rush of hot lovemaking has waned, the rest of the people involved surfaces and oftentimes they find out they don’t even like each other anymore.

Christian: Yep. And although my wife is what I consider drop-dead gorgeous, I wouldn’t have considered marrying her if she were not a beautiful spirit, through and through. Has a bit of a drinking issue, but hey—and that’s another topic I’m glad you covered in the book, Marvin—the Jesus admonition of, ‘Ye who has no sin among you, let him cast the first stone’.

Marvin: Mmhmm. Well, look, people, our time is about up. Iam, as the main character in Beware the Devil’s Hug, could you close out the session with some parting words for our readers? Some advice for people to perhaps find more fulfilment in their lives?

Iam: Certainly. Want to be loved? Give love. Be love. Want to have good friends? Be a good friend. Want money? Give money. And every day, meet and greet a stranger, really talk to him or her, and make sure and share a hug before parting. A stranger’s hug a day keeps the devil away.

Beware the Devil’s Hug

What if a homeless, smelly, ugly, unkempt old man had a hug so powerful it could cure cancer? Cause a prostitute to stop hooking and seek true love? Shake the demons of addiction free from a junkie? Make a Christian want to embrace and love a Muslim and vice versa? But rare is the beneficiary of his divine embrace - nobody wants to come near him out of fear.

$16.99, ISBN: 978-0984615490, From All Things That Matter Press
Purchase here at Amazon

Author Bio

Marvin D. Wilson has a widely varied and rich life experience background - from Hippie Rock and Roll musician, to nightclub entertainer, to Zen Buddhist minister, to carpenter, to small business owner, to network marketer, to sales and sales training, to skilled trades instructor and adult education teacher, to public speaker and motivational coach, to now in his chosen “golden years” career, a writer and multi-published author with the self-proclaimed, “audacity to write novels”.

Wilson describes his spiritual path as one who is a non-religious, dogma-free, maverick spiritualist Christian, with a strong bent toward Zen, Taoism, and the Law of Attraction, and who believes in the Oneness of all creation and all paths leading to re-awakening to the On e. He is a family man with three grown children and six grandchildren, and works with his son and oldest daughter in their organic compost and vegetable farming business when not writing, traveling, and marketing his books.

Marvin writes primarily in the spiritual/inspirational genre, but likes to pen “cross-over” novels that appeal to a wide variety of readers. His books are uplifting, sometimes weighty, oftentimes humorous, abidingly thought-provoking, meant to instill and create passion and emotion, more than occasionally provocative to the point of controversial, and always “tell it like it is”, real world, no punches pulled writing. He likes to deliver spiritual messages in a non-preachy, often irreverent, sometimes sexy and ribald way, through the medium of an entertaining story.

Hugs Therapy Virtual Tour 2010 – Contest, Prizes and Giveaways!
Visit Marvin’s site - The Old Silly! AFTER leaving a comment to find out how you can win some really cool prizes!
The next stop in the tour - Joyce Anthony

Next Stop and a Blog Nomination!

Today’s stop is over at Patricia Stoltey's place. I talk about how science fiction is often just a backdrop for the story.

Don’t forget to enter my CONTEST for a chance to win a copy of CassaStar – or enter Scribbler to Scribe’s contest. Or both!! (She posted the most awesome Review - I even made her cry!!!)

And this is just too awesome! Nebular at CineMarvellous nominated ME for the 2010 Gold Movie Blog Award! “Smartly-written posts, nice design, hundreds of commentors - it's the full package!!” Nebular, thanks!! However, next to YOUR site, I’m a total amateur. Voting starts in November…

Tomorrow I’m welcoming a guest – Marvin Wilson, a.k.a The Old Silly!

Writing Tips from Expert Marvin Wilson!

Today I am happy to host my first guest - writer, author, & editor, Marvin Wilson!

Stop Butting In

Having a strong and unique voice is considered a good quality in an author. It is one of those intangibles that keeps readers coming back for more. But novice authors often have a rookie habit of "butting in" to the story to interject their own thoughts and/or information. It can be a jarring disruption to the story line. Here is an example:

John walked past the flowering shrubs, enjoying the smell. Forsythias are what he was smelling; they are indigenous to Southeast Michigan. He spotted Mary standing next to the water fountain, walked up to her and said, “Hi, Mary.”

Mary’s face lit up as she said, “Oh, hi, John, long time.”

~~~~~

See how the second sentence is just stuck in there? It stops the story's forward motion while the author tosses in a fact. It is better to deliver information by letting the characters do the talking - like this:

John walked past the flowering shrubs, enjoying the familiar smell. He spotted Mary standing next to the water fountain, walked up to her, and said, “Hi, Mary.”

Mary’s face lit up as she said, “Oh, hi, John, long time. Mmm, what is that lovely scent in the air?”

"Forsythias. They grow all over this part of the state."

***

Here's another example, one right out of a manuscript I recently edited-

Mark, the Attorney General Prosecutor, took his turn to speak. He assured the judge that the Texas Department of Public Safety, a division of the Texas Rangers, was part of the investigation. He also said his office was coordinating with the Rangers, and that pre-coordination had been made with the adjoining county to prosecute the case. This is what the Texas Local Code provides for if the case is against the District Attorney. He stated for the record that if Byar County failed to respond to the charges, the Attorney General Office was prepared to assume prosecution responsibilities.

~~~~~

The bold red sentence, and that's how it stuck out to me when I first read it, is this author spouting off his knowledge of Texan judicial procedure. Nice that he's doing his research, but no need to stop the story dead. The fix is easy. Read it rewritten like this:

Mark, the Attorney General prosecutor, took his turn to speak. He assured the judge that the Texas Department of Public Safety, a division of the Texas Rangers, was part of the investigation. He also said his office was coordinating with the Rangers, and that pre-coordination had been made with the adjoining county to prosecute the case. He cited the Texas Local Code which provides for such relocation if the case is against the local District Attorney. He stated for the record that if Byar County failed to respond to the charges, the Attorney General Office was prepared to assume prosecution responsibilities.

***

Now the information is seamlessly woven into the story, with the author nicely "butting out." With this minor adjustment, his character is able to deliver the information within the performance of the scene.

# # #

Marvin D. Wilson is the author of three published books, I Romanced the Stone (Memoirs of a Recovering Hippie), Owen Fiddler, and Between the Storm and the Rainbow . The novel, Owen Fiddler, received the prestigious AVATAR award for excellence in spiritual books. Wilson has had articles published in multiple Ezines, and has been interviewed on hundreds of blogs, radio and TV shows, both over the internet and on the airwaves. He is a prolific blogger, posting daily on his internationally popular blog at The Old Silly’s Free Spirit Blog .

Wilson is a family man, married for thirty-four years, with three adult children and six grandchildren. He has been around the block of life several times, through the ups and downs, and has survived in good enough spirits to desire to write about life, to write about living life on purpose. Wilson is a self-described “non-religious, dogma-free, Maverick spiritualist Christian.” He writes books that deliver spiritual and inspirational messages in an engaging, thought provoking, often times humorous, more than often irreverent, sometimes sexy and even ribald way, through the spinning of an entertaining tale. Marvin D Wilson is an editor with All Things That Matter Press and does freelance editing as well.

Contact Marvin:
E-mail: marvwilson2020@gmail.com
Twitter: Paize_Fiddler
Facebook: Marvin Wilson
Blog: The Old Silly’s Free Spirit Blog

Thanks again, Marvin Buddy!

Oscars and Guest Blogger Tomorrow

Please stop by tomorrow when author & editor Marvin Wilson at The Old Silly offers expert writing advice!

And I am making my first guest appearance tomorrow at Southern City Mysteries

I've also begun keeping track of Avatar's world wide grosses - check the sidebar every day for the new total. Feel free to participate in the poll as well. How much money will it make?

Oscar nominations were announced on Tuesday.

Avatar and The Hurt Locker both received nine nominations.

Inglorious Basterds received eight - thought that was a hoot!

And Star Trek and District Nine each received four.

Not sure how I feel about Up being nominated for both Best Animated and Best Picture...

Anyone care to place bets now...?

For a full list of the nominees, go to Oscar Nominees