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Hi, Denise, thanks so much for joining us today at the Author Expressions blog. First, let me congratulate you on the excellent review HEAVEN’S THUNDER received from PUBLISHERS WEEKLY.
Question: Could you tell us a little about the main characters in your new novel and also about the plot line?
I think the best way to describe Heaven’s Thunder is to quote some of the cover copy:
Mary Ellen Dennis’s spellbinding new saga encompasses the Cripple Creek Gold Rush, the union rebellions of Mother Jones, and the birth of silent movies.
Fools Gold Smith, born in the “cribs” of a mining town, raised in an elite parlor house, idolized as silent-film heroine “Flower Smith,” is the central figure in this precisely detailed chronicle. Equally memorable is John “Cat” McDonald, an outlaw’s offspring, a rodeo star, and silent-film hero “John Chinook.” Then there is Kate Lytton, wealthy, pampered granddaughter of a Denver entrepreneur, who becomes embroiled in the 1913 Ludlow coal strike. Their interwoven stories make for a compelling novel, rich with a vibrant sense of time and place.
From life on cattle ranches to the drawing rooms of the wealthy, from the bedrooms of bawdy houses to the wooden platforms of the Ludlow Tent Colony, the author paints not only rooms but intimate portraits of the husbands, wives, sons and daughters who walked their space. From parlor girl, pauper and prospector, to patriarch, plutocrat and profligate, the characters are very much alive. Filled with the essences of its setting, blending love, hate, passion, greed, self-sacrifice, human frailty and strength, Heaven’s Thunder is an authentic tapestry of its time.
Question: Do you envision this novel as a stand alone or part of a romantic series?
For now, it’s a stand alone. It took me 10 years to write my saga and 12 years to market it. The Big Pub House editors said they loved the evocative writing but, “Nobody likes sagas.” When I mentioned Lonesome Dove, The Thorn Birds, John Jakes’ North and South (Heaven’s Thunder has been compared to all three), Barbara Bradford and Anya Seton (plus a dozen other bestselling generational saga authors), NY said, “Those are the exceptions.” I said, “Why can’t I be an exception?” and was told, “Because nobody likes sagas.”
Question: What inspired this novel? How did it come about?
Widowed at age 35, I moved to Colorado Springs. I chose Colorado because of Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, even though I don’t agree with her “philosophy” and didn’t know anyone who lived in Colorado. I then began researching my adopted state and learned that two actors had drowned in the Colorado River while filming a silent movie.
Wow, I thought, wouldn’t that make a good book?
My second thought: Of course, I won’t kill off my hero and heroine.
My third thought: Silent films were shot in Colorado???
I gave my characters a backstory, starting with their parents and their births. I do that for all my books, before I start writing them, but Fools Gold Smith and Cat McDonald really tugged at my heartstrings, and I knew I had to tell their stories from the very beginning—before they began their careers as silent film stars “Flower Smith” and “John Chinook.”
The “very beginning” was the 1893 Cripple Creek gold rush.
Question: Can you tell us about some of your other published novels?
My most popular mystery series stars diet guru Ellie Bernstein (in the first book, diet club members are getting killed off at goal weight), but I’ve always wanted to write romances. I started with a paranormal time-travel, HALLIE’S COMET, published by Five Star in 2004 (it’s now up at Kindle). In 2007 I reinvented myself as historical romance author Mary Ellen Dennis, whereupon Five Star published THE LANDLORD’S BLACK-EYED DAUGHTER, inspired by Alfred Noyes’ The Highwayman. “Landlord” received starred reviews and was chosen as one of Booklist’s Top 10 Romances of the year. I sold the paperback rights to Sourcebooks and the novel will be reissued this August, along with an 1875 circus historical: THE GREATEST LOVE ON EARTH.
Question: What made you start writing?
In the third grade I wrote a story called “The Pencil Who Grew Up To Be a Stub.” We were supposed to write a one-page story with an ink pen. I wrote a 5-page, first-person story with a pencil (my protagonist) and received a failing grade. In high school I wrote and illustrated a children’s book, HERBERT THE GIANT, about a giant who lived in a town of nearsighted people. No one knew he was a giant until a peddler who sold glasses came to town. Publishers told me they liked the concept but “the words were too big.”
Undeterred, I wrote short fiction and penned my first [adult] book when I was a lecturer for Weight Watchers. As people were weighing in, I thought: Wouldn’t it be funny if there was some maniac running around murdering skinny people? With that thought, THROW DARTS A CHEESECAKE, the first in my 4-book “diet club” mystery series was born. I don’t always write in my head, but I once overheard someone say that Miss America had to be very intelligent (as well as beautiful). After a silent snort/chortle, I began writing a story—in my head—called THE LAST GREAT AMERICAN BEAUTY PAGEANT about a male beauty contest (with a twist). This was 15 years before the first TV reality show. The horror/suspense story is now at Kindle for 99-cents.
Question: As acquiring editor for Tekno Books, what advice would you offer to those newbies who have novels they would like to submit for consideration?
It sounds like a cliché, but telling rather than showing will land you in the rejection pile fairly quickly. If a writer tells me about a character, I feel no emotional connection. Another no-no: Please don’t make your heroine TSTL (Too Stupid To Live) by having her check out a noise in a dark basement without, at the very least, a rottweiler by her side. Be careful about overusing a word. Check your manuscripts for “just” and “well” and “that.” Tied with overuse of a word would be dialogue tags like “You’re so funny,” he laughed. You can’t laugh and talk at the same time. Try it. Nor can you talk while you are grinning or (my favorite) exploding: “I swear I didn’t do it!” she exploded. I get an image of Wile Coyote landing at the bottom of a steep cliff. Speaking of animals, I don’t like animal tags: growled, brayed, chirped, crowed, etc, and be careful of eyes. I like them to stay on one’s face, not drop to the ground (where they could get stepped on) or sweep the room. And if your character tosses her head, make sure somebody is there to catch it.
I like to give new writers the best piece of advice I’ve ever received. I wrote a scene set in an opulent NYC apartment for my women’s fiction novel, Soap Bubbles (published by Five Star Expressions, now at Kindle). I described the living room in detail, including the eclectic collection of paintings on the wall. It was written from the POV of my soap opera star protagonist. An author I admired read the chapter and complimented me on my narrative; said she felt like she was there. Then she said, “But how does Delly FEEL when she looks at the room?” I rewrote the scene, keeping all my details. Except, when Delly looks at the wall she wishes she could step into a painting. Here’s the rewrite:
"Delly stepped into an enormous living room and blinked at the brightness. The walls and ceilings were pure yellow, the floor a highly-glossed parquet. An eclectic mixture of paintings crowded the walls. Delly recognized Andy Warhol, Peter Max and Renoir. Her gaze lingered on the Renoir, and she wished she could step into the painting. In a Renoir there were no cameras panning for a close-up, no directors screaming for another take, no rejection. Renoir’s flowers have no smell, but they don’t die. Renoir’s people have no smell, but they live forever. Once she had believed that actors lived forever."
Note that I managed to get some of her backstory into one paragraph. This is also an example of what I was talking about before: showing vs. telling. I could have said: “Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe print reminded her of her last acting role,” and that wouldn’t be wrong. But it doesn’t really tell you how Delly FEELS. Can you see the difference?
Denise, thanks so much for being our guest today. You’re a fine writer and editor and we’re honored.
Those of you who have comments and/or questions, please know that they are welcome. So feel free to join the conversation!
