I’m getting towards the end of an edit of the Joe Island novel. Throughout the arc of the story there are a succession of occupiers of Greece: Italy, Germany, Britain, and then the USA. Each occupier thinks they are unique, but each operates to force the people of Greece to support its own agenda. And so the death-squad system used by the Nazis becomes adapted by the Americans by default. The USA says it only wishes to stop communism—the Greeks say they want to stop dying for American sins, that they want their own country back. They want to be free of the type of colonialism Americans fought in 1776. Is Joe a psychological colonialist, or is he simply a man without a country?
How do you mix comedy with tragedy?
How to create dark humor:
The main character in my novel has wartime trauma and is attempting a voyage in a rubber raft. He was once a bomber pilot, so he has a certain quality of leadership skills he can use on himself. On the other hand he is trying to escape from the evil in his own mind and cannot conceive of how to do that. Perhaps this gives me the opportunity to create some wild flights of imagination to play out in his mind. They contain scenes of an idyllic childhood juxtaposed with scenes from the darker scenes he remembers from literature. He is obviously attempting to avoid his own memories, but I would like to know if these flights need to be funny out loud, or does being merely ironic work for him?
Richard Eoin Nash has a Cursor
Richard Eoin Nash has got some interesting ideas about bringing the Internet towards traditional publishing and vice versa. His new publishing company, Cursor, he calls “a portfolio of niche social publishing communities.” The first imprint of Cursor is called Red Lemonade and his first list is three novels to be published in Spring, 2011. Check out his blog at: http://www.rnash.com/
Joe Island in her mind
My sister, Anne, just after she finished reading Joe Island (set on a Greek Island) said she felt inspired to go to the beach. Luckily for us, she took her camera.
It’s a gray day for you? Go to the beach anyway. Can’t get out? Try this: http://tinyurl.com/39atz36