Friday, February 7, 2020

Brainstorming with Guest Mark Abel


Mark Abel

What a blessing and honor it is to host with all of you at Seekerville, a site I have visited so many times over the years, not only when seeking help with craft and wisdom from published authors, but also for encouragement and a spark of joy and laughter. Go Seekers!   
So here I sit, after working on my debut novel for longer than I want to admit, I am finally a published author and just beginning to venture into the turbulent waters of promotion and marketing, but what’s fun about that? Not much, I believe I hear you thinking, and I agree, so let’s talk about something fun. Writing. The next project. The next big idea. But what to write exactly and where to begin? They say everyone has one good book to write inside them and I believe that is true. But will another story call to us, begging to be told? 
My debut novel, Ephesus: A Tale of Two Kingdoms, is a supernatural thriller based on Jesus’s message to the church of Ephesus, found in the book of Revelation. It is one of seven unique messages written to seven different churches and I find myself compelled to press on with the series. I have some ideas about the next book but considering how long Ephesus took to write I am thinking about something completely different. Afterall, I could be working on the seven churches series for the rest of my life! And that’s when the thought began to emerge. Maybe I’ll use a pen name and try a new genre—why not? It doesn’t mean I can’t return to the series later and so here’s the exercise. Let’s Brainstorm our next projects together!

The Challenge:
Select one of the pictures from this post and respond with a story idea. It can be in the form of a what if question, a premise, or a back-cover blurb. But here’s the catch. You are NOT allowed to muse within your current genre. Instead, pick something completely out of your element and let your brain run free. I’ll go first with a YA Action Adventure: 



Jason was not excited about spending his summer with his grandfather. What could be fun about living in the country when all his friends were in the city? The farmhouse was broken down and smelled like musty blankets and nothing seemed to work right. The walls didn’t answer questions and there was no adventure room, not to mention a meal machine or even a Zcube. Indeed, the summer was looking quite boring, that was until Papa showed him the shed and the gleaming machine hidden under the tarp. It was a secret he explained and illegal, but would Jason like to take a ride? Papa explained he would be preaching tonight, whatever that means, and preaching’s illegal too. “That’s why we’ll need to be cloaked without electronics you see, in order to avoid the drones.” Removing a chrome cap, Papa jostled with a metal can from which he carefully poured into an opening. He nodded and then smiled. “It runs on alcohol, my special brew and she’s very fast. Maybe not as quick as your dad’s electric but way more fun to drive. And the sound—like music to my soul—just wait and listen.” Lifting his brows his eyes glinted. “It belonged to my grandfather and it’s called a Ferrari.”

Now it’s Your Turn: 
Pick a photo and imagine it’s your next book cover. Now, pitch us a story idea and let’s see what happens. Remember, it can be as simple as a question or premise. (Example: A salvage collector finds a body inside a refrigerator and then realizes the dead man is him. Ha!) Feel free to weigh in with feedback and/or comments to anyone’s response. Let’s have some fun and don’t be shy about harassing me about my blurb! Maybe we will uncover a story to two!











  
Mark would be honored to give away three paperbacks of his debut novel, Ephesus: A Tale of Two Kingdoms. If you would like to be included in the giveaway let us know in your response. To give people more time to enter, winners will be announced in the Weekend Edition on Feb. 15th.



When Kingdoms Collide History Echoes Through Eternity

Batush had planned to spend his day working in the Library, but that was before he met the unworldly traveler. Accepting a message of challenge, Batush uncovers an ancient scroll buried by those who fear its message. With Bishop Jonness wanting to keep it hidden and Bishop Gallus craving its sacred knowledge—and both willing to kill for it—Batush is in a race to save his family.

In the modern world, Daniel Fairmont has stepped up to serve his struggling church but finds himself at odds with Nick Hamilton and a woman from his past. Soon a mysterious murder triggers a police investigation, revealing threats and hidden scandal. Nick may be zealous for the church, but his passion is for power. And someone is standing in his way. Daniel—at any cost—he must be stopped.   

Swept away in a supernatural clash where they will encounter angels of light and darkness, the paths of two men cross in a battle over what they hold most dear. As kingdoms collide and past meets present, Batush and Daniel must make a choice—a choice of courage and consequence that will echo through eternity.

What Critics Are Saying:
Two mesmerizing worlds separated by more than two millennia—so different and yet so very much the same. I laughed, I cried, and my heart raced as I turned pages. Looking at the clock through bleary eyes—I read on.  —Richard Parker—





Mark Abel is an architect by trade who has dreamed of becoming an author over most of his life. Ephesus: A Tale of Two Kingdoms, is Mark’s debut novel. Mark’s passion in writing Ephesus, and hopefully more books to follow, is grounded in his mission statement as a writer:

Exploring the Mysteries of God Through Story


Mark lives in Tempe, Arizona with his wife Cheri. They have three grown children and one grandchild. When Mark is not writing he is either designing buildings or tinkering with cars. He starts each day with a strong cup of espresso and on some occasions, ends the day with a dry glass of Cabernet. Cheers!   

44 comments:

  1. Welcome to Seekerville, Mark, and congrats on your debut. Ephesus looks intriguing. Plus, I enjoyed the blurb you created for the Ferrari story.

    I'll stop by later to see what others have come up with. The photo of the lighthouse caught my eye. Sorry I can't work on a new story idea this morning. Revisions are due Monday so I need to spend time with my manuscript.

    See you later...perhaps we'll meet at the lighthouse!

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    1. Debby, that lighthouse drew me as well! I hope you have a productive day on revisions!

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    2. Hi Debby! Yes, hope to see you at the lighthouse. Possibly to solve a mystery or two. Good luck with the deadlines and thanks again for dropping by to chat.

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  2. Mark, welcome! We're glad to have you this today! There's nothing like interesting photos to get the mind rolling this morning.

    The lighthouse really caught my eye. I came up with a "what if" from that:

    What if one morning when a lighthouse keeper stepped outside, she found that all visible land nearby had disappeared?

    Can't wait to see what fun/interesting/scary/exciting ideas other people come up with!

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    1. Hi Missy! So excited to be with you and all of the Seekers this morning with my first cup of espresso in hand!

      The lighthouse, yes! I like your what if question and am thinking there is a shimmer effect where the land has disappeared. Intrigued, the man steps onto the shimmer and... What happens next I ask you?

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    2. I like the idea of a shimmer instead of water! She steps onto the shimmer and is transported to another time period. We have a time travel novel! :)

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    3. Love it! Also find it interesting when you said, "she", steps onto the shimmer. So what's up with me assuming the lighthouse keeper is a man? I like your vision much better and maybe the story is called: 'The woman in the Lighthouse'. I would buy that one, sounds mysterious and love the idea that she is a time traveler, but where does she end up and when she turns around is the lighthouse still there or is it gone?

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    4. I think the lighthouse is the same, only it's one hundred years in the past.

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    5. Yes, and the lighthouse is bright and new having just been constructed. What if she then finds a telegram in her pocket notifying her the position of Keeper has been awarded to her? But when she arrives she encounters resistance as a woman has never held the position of 'The Lighthouse Keeper'... Now that has the ring of a NYT Best Seller!

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  3. Congratulations on your debut novel! It looks intriguing. I'd love to be put in the drawing to win a copy.

    And what fun to start out the morning with a little writing exercise. The picture of the old man makes me wonder about him. What if he's a man who spent his lifetime time-traveling and at his end he's come back to watch his younger self for awhile and contemplate whether he'd do it all again?

    Thanks for being here and I'll be interested to see what others are thinking today!

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    1. The photo of the man struck me as well, Glynis. Only, I went in the suspense direction with him. What if he witnessed a murder while sitting on that park bench?

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    2. Maybe he is the guy who is always bothering the police, reporting parking violations and jaywalkers, or other such high crimes. Then when he sees and reports the murder no one believes him and he is now a detective...

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    3. Thanks Glynis, and yes hope you win a copy of Ephesus and hope even more you enjoy it!

      I like your idea about the old man on the bench also and had a similar thought. For sure he is gazing into a past memory. I am thinking it could be a flashback/forward story and ask you: "Who is that young self? What lands did he travel to and was there a lost love? And what is happening in his current life that will bring both stories together?"

      Back to you and thanks again for stopping by to say hello.

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  5. I posted a response in the wrong place, removed and then pasted it above. Sorry if this causes any confusion. Maybe it has something to do with the time travel story...? :)

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    1. Okay, so I'm new at this, I admit it! I'm just hoping I catch on before the end of the day...

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  6. Congratulations, Mark, on your debut novel! It sounds intriguing!

    And I love the idea of brainstorming a story? So, the picture with the wine bottle and the crate(?) behind it got me thinking. I think, if I could write under a different name, I might consider YA.

    Here's the What if I came up with off the top of my head:

    What if a 16 year old orphan living on her own in a deserted shanty on the edge of town finds this bottle in the storage space upstairs, and there’s a key inside it?

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    1. Cool idea, Jeanne! I love YA stories. I read them often.

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  7. Hi Jeanne! I am drawn to the bottle as well and love your idea about the key, that is so creative. I was thinking about a beach and a note in the bottle, (but that's been done so many times before). But upstairs in the attic with a key, is so much better. And what if the key it too big to come out of the bottle? How did it get in there and what happens when the girl finally decides to break the bottle?

    Thanks for dropping by and look forward to reading your story. Does anyone have a good title idea for Jeanne's botted key story? Hmm...

    Thanks for stopping in to join us.

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  8. Sandra Leesmith emailed me. She has been having trouble commenting! So here is is her comment:

    Good morning Mark. Congratulations on your debut novel. My girlfriends that I gave the book to are really loving it. And it looks like you have some terrific reviews. Way to go.

    Its obvious you are a gifted writer. I love the Ferrari blurb and want to read that story. So yes, get to it. Use another name. Many authors do that.

    So you want us to work this morning. I better fill up my cup of coffee. I'm actually intrigued with the bottle. I'm picturing my hero walking along the beach and finding it. Inside is a message that compells him to some action that appears simple, but will become extremely complicated and dangerous. I wasn't thinking time travel at first, but after reading other comments, time travel would work great.

    Thanks for getting the ole brain going this morning. Have fun in Seekerville today. Great place to hang out.
    Sandra

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    1. Hi Sandra! Thanks for dropping in to join us and thanks also for passing my book along to your friends. I am so excited to hear they are enjoying it!

      I was thinking the same thing about the message in the bottle. Hey, what if the message was written by him, to himself from the future? And when he finds the message, (as his future self knows this will happen), what complicated danger is lurking around the corner. And then when he avoids said danger, what unexpected disaster begins to unfold??? Oh no!

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    2. Now THAT would be creepy, Mark! I love it!

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    3. And the ending is on you Missy, tell us what happens!

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  9. Congratulations on your debut novel. I love the picture of the girls on the dock. Lila was always the outcast. While Christina and Pam were always laughing and interacting she always felt like she was on the outside looking in. Fast forward and life has changed drastically for these three friends.

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    1. Lucy, I love this blurb! Makes me want to read the story. :) Thanks for jumping in!

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  10. Hi Lucy - love it! And where are the girls when they re-unite. Is it a 30 year reunion or perhaps the funeral of a teacher the three of them loved. Who are they today, how are they so different and yet so much the same? Way to go Lucy!

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  11. I'm going to be out this afternoon and evening, attending an Enneagram workshop (great for character development!). So y'all carry on! I'll check in later tonight to see how the brainstorming is going. :)

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    1. Thanks again Missy! Enjoy the workshop and thanks again. Will hold down the fort in your absence and hope you are not shocked when you see the stories we are Brainstorming over here at Seekerville.

      Hmm... Okay, how's this:
      Missy Tippens, famous author and blog-master, accepted a friends invitation to the Enneagram Workshop. What's that she pondered, but they said it would be good for character development, so what could be the harm in that? Little did she know, until it was too late, that her mind would be stolen from her and corked inside a bottle to be thrown into the sea. Bobbing to and froe for nearly a 100 years she finally washed ashore to then be found by a Light House Keeper...

      Back to you Missy. We will be eager to hear how the workshop goes! :)

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    2. LOL!!! Well, if my brain floats up on your shore, I hope you'll time travel to bring it back to me! haha

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  13. Wow, What a great day you are having. I tried to comment this morning and Missy posted for me. But I wsa in Safari and so I'm trying another browser.

    I love the idea that he wrote the message to himself. And I bet it leads him to the heroine. And she is someone he would never associate with, but because of the message in the bottle, he has to collaborate with her to prevent the impending danger. What will happen next?

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    1. Hi again Sandra! Yes and yes, I like the tension between the unlikely danger fighters. But tell me, surely he falls for her in the end-it's her eyes after all- those spell binding eyes of emerald. But what if there is a second half of the message that is missing and that is the key that will solve the mystery. It might also be the missing information that tells him what he needs to know about his future bride to be... (After all the message is from his future self to his current self.) Okay, I give up, and admit I need some help here.

      Your turn tell us how it ends!

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    2. Sandra, I'm glad you finally got logged in okay! Safari has been driving me crazy. I wonder if it's because I need to update my OS.

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    3. Missy, I updated my OS and still had problems. Actually have had more problems since updating.

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    4. Mark, Are you kidding? I won't tell the end. But if its a romance you know the end. LOL But its how they get there. That's what is so fun about writing.

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  14. Congrats on your debut Mark! Your novel looks intriguing - is it a dual-time/ time slip? (if it is, there's a great CF Time Slip Readers & Authors group on FB to connect with). I pick the light house picture. My genre is contemporary romance, so I'm going to go with suspense:
    The old lighthouse had been long forgotten by the citizens of Sunset Harbour, a relic of their past and a magnet for tourism. When a group of tourists disappear, all clues point to a sinister plot taking place in their own backyard - and to the keeper they all thought was dead.

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  15. Hi Lee-Ann! Thanks for dropping by and yes, Ephesus is a dual timeline supernatural thriller where both plotlines intersect at the books dark moment climax. I will check out the FB group you mentioned as it sounds like it might be good for me to engage with them.

    The Lighthouse of Sunset Harbor - Now that sounds like a great Mystery/Suspense, count me in. Also like the idea of the tourists disappearing and the ghostly lighthouse keeper. But where I ask is he keeping them...? In the crypt below the lighthouse, that could be it but the bigger question may not be 'where' but rather, 'when' is he keeping them!

    Thanks again for saying hello and let me know if you would like to be included in the giveaway. It sounds like you might enjoy being swept away in Ephesus!

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    1. Yes - please enter me in the giveaway. :) When is he keeping them - spooky and intriguing. :) We'll see you over in the FB group! It's a great group - lots of opportunity for time slip authors to let us readers know when a deal is coming our way. And a great chance for you to interact with your readers and to suggest other time slip novels to read.

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    2. Hi Again and Yes, you are included in the giveaway. Hope you win and also hope you enjoy Ephesus! For sure I will look you up in the FB group. Thanks again Lee-Ann and thanks for dropping by to chat. This has been so much fun, hope to be invited back again in the future. Oh no... which future is he talking about???

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  16. Looks like y'all had fun while I was away! Y'all will have to let us know if you write any of these brainstormed ideas. :)

    I'll give everyone a few more days to enter the giveaway and will announce the winner in the Weekend Edition on the 15th.

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  17. What a great time today. So very humbled and honored to be with you. I will be sure to check in and follow up with any additional comments, and yes, I believe we uncovered a story or two today!

    Thanks again Missy and fellow Seekers. Have a great weekend and take care!

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