Chris McClelland, Author

  Celebrating Memorial Day is a uniquely American way to honor our service men and women who have given so much for our country.  I remember, during a time in my life when I was visiting the Orlando VA daily, that I often saw on T-shirts the slogan, "All gave some, some gave all," and this saying impressed upon me the sacrifices made, time and again, generation after generation, to keep this country free and to defend the Constitution.  This is a time for cookouts, franks and beans, time with family and friends to remember those lost and those we still are lucky enough to have with us.  It is in the spirit of this celebration that I offer two digital books for the weekend, In Love and War, which takes place during WW II, and is a love story between an American pilot and a German young woman.  I am also giving away a novella, called "Under Old Glory", about two Mormon brothers from Utah who enlist during World War I.  In both of these books I explore the very real co

 Harlan Coben has been a Suspense/Thriller writer I have been following for some time now, and with his latest jaw-dropping, twisting and turning, edge of your seat thriller, he has transcended his chosen genre. I have always tried to take him at his word: taking seriously the proverbial promise of buckle up and get ready for the ride of your life! But with this latest novel, we see a new level of philosophical insight, emotional depth, of humanity, and the very human experience of being a father. And a son. Of being a member of a family. David, the main character, escapes from prison to find what could be the boy that he has been convicted of murdering. The drive, the motive of this man’s story makes it a pure masterpiece. Approaching a genuine work of written art. And Coben has cleaned up his prose in a major way. Nary a trite expression to be found. Mr. Coben has come into his own both as a story-teller and a stylist with the written word. This story has heart, and approaches a puri

Since ancient Athens, and the book Poetics by the philosopher Aristotle, creative writers have had access to a number of implements to create interesting, compelling characters. This series of blogs is designed to give the awareness and skill to create great stories, and we start this series with character development. The key is having and developing an overpowering motivation for the character, something he or she vitally wants or wants to avoid. This drives the character’s action, and creates conflict, or tension, between characters in a story. Handled correctly, such a dynamic drives the plot forward and propels the narrative, capturing and holding the attention of the audience. What propels a story is tension, or conflict, where typically characters are in adversarial situations and compete to gain what they want and avoid what they do not want. The main character is usually, but not always, a sympathetic character that is likable to the reader on some level. He or she may also be

  Hello, all! Sending good greetings to my readers and hoping this fine May day finds you well.  I have been praying a lot more often, and trying to watch the news a lot less, to maintain a positive mental balance.  I don't know what you have experienced around prayer, I have experienced its power time and again in my life, a healing power that brings me closer to the Being I call my Heavenly Father. So I know it works, even if I see the daily news and all the evil and horror of our modern world.  In the future, I may be taking on this topic in writing to be published, but for now I will just say that ethical, moral and theocratic issues have been on my mind. Also, I figured I originally started my blogs as a way to communicate about the process of creative writing.  I have attended conferences and workshops all over the country on this subject, and was a community college creative writing instructor for over seven years during my time in central Florida.  While in Florida, I becam

  So I am now 58, as of May 2nd.  It doesn't seem like it, especially in light of working out much more frequently and swimming twice a week.  For my birthday, my wonderful wife Erin gave me four new books to dive into, and I've already acquainted myself with each of their introductions.  The first one is from the Renaissance painter Vasari, called Lives and is a book I have heard touted all my adult life and I'm looking really forward to getting into these biographies of the Masters of Art from that time period and especially how they all gathered to Florence.  Also got a book in Italian, called Il Mistero della Casa in Sicilia, a mystery story.  Also, a friend I have made through the LDS literary community, Gabriel Gonzalez Nunez, and his Book of Mormon Sketches.  He seems an intelligent writer and translator and I would like to learn all I can from him.  Lastly is Rumors of War, from the great LDS writer Dean Hughes a historical novel about LDS in WW II.  I am looking fo