A TRIBUTE TO 'A PERFECT HUSBAND'

Thank you for all the wonderful reviews and support!! I wanted to give back to those who have read, those currently reading... and hopefully those who will read and attract some new fans! SAMI SAXTON is kicking BUTT! Here's a what everybody's saying!

5.0 out of 5 stars Titillating Thriller!, February 8, 2012

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down!, February 2, 2012

5.0 out of 5 stars A GREAT READ!!!, February 1, 2012

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Book, January 31, 2012

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is more than a page-turner!, February 21, 2012

5.0 out of 5 stars What a great read!, February 13, 2012

5.0 out of 5 stars Preview Captivated Me, February 12, 2012

5.0 out of 5 stars A PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER, February 10, 2012

5.0 out of 5 stars It's fantastic! Really a great read!, February 9, 2012

Thank you all.

xoox

Douglas

ON THE BRINK OF... SOMETHING...

I sit in wonder and in immense gratitude for the various reviews coming in on A Perfect Husband, my debut novel introducing Sami Saxton to the reading community. So far the response has been unanimous... you don't need to have a tattoo,  a dragon on your back, a motorcycle in the garage or the ability to speak 22 different languages in 22 different countries... Sami Saxton is real, she's human, she is one of us and she's ready to 'kick ass' (with her dog Blue, of course) by her own two hands, her amazing ingenuity and gut instinct. That is exactly how I write. Gut! I don't want the fancy gimmicks, the exotic locations or a back story that differs so much more than what you and I have been through. ENOUGH! But, along with the hype and acclaim for APH there is the other side. I never gave up on my dream. Although few people knew about it, a quiet confidence prevailed. I worked at it...
And, now I feel a despair for those left behind. Is it NOT enough for me to swim in the hope pond. It is NOT enough for me to congratulate fellow swimmers treading water in that pond. It is NOT enough for me to wade out of the frozen water and look back, want support and then have them turn their back. It was easier then, it was easier there... it was easier in the numb waters of hopeful want... but it was NOT for me...
keep writing... keep creating...
It is all in YOU!

ENCOUNTER the new thriller by Douglas Wickard

You know him...
you've known him.
You met him in college... you were sweethearts, lovers... remember?
He wasn't your first...
But you vowed he'd be your last.
For over fifteen years you've been married to him...
had children by him...
created a life together with him...
Then...
he takes a business trip.
Not unusual for his profession... a normal occurrence.
Problem is...
he doesn't return...
EVER!


*  *  *

San Francisco
2010
Five men.
All mysteriously disappear.
No clues...
no ransom notes...
no bodies...
Vanished... without a trace.
ENCOUNTER
Are you available tonight... for a thriller?


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CHARACTERIZATION!

The portrayal; description: the actor's characterization of a (Oh, Geez, really?) a politician. The act of characterizing! The creation and convincing representation of fictitious characters. I drove to the beach today, one to get my tail light fixed, and to have lunch at Hillstone on Wilshire. I LOVE the beach and today was stellar. Tranquil, calm, inviting... on my way back, negotiating the frenzied gridlock of Pico Blvd., I thought about characterization and how much easier it is for me to write female characters... than male. WOW!!! That took the testosterone titers to an all-time LOW level! Here I am, obviously a male and my writing comes easier when I'm working with a female protagonist. I can inject the muscle, the sensitivity, the flirtation without a hitch. Men, on the other hand... I push, shove and squeeze any semblance of masculine order... and when I rewrite the material... it feels that way. It is that way. Tonight I had the great surprise of having a review on GOODREADS where JENN (thank you) from Canada states the exact same thing. She felt uncomfortable that a MALE was writing the female protagonist (in first person no less) from A PERFECT HUSBAND, and then she congratulated me. I made a WOMAN believe the feelings of a disenfranchised, bitter divorce believable. CHARACTERIZATION! But, more than that... I honestly could feel those feelings. I wasn't making it up... fictionalizing! So, what does that make me??? God only knows! Keep writing... keep finding YOU in YOUR writing and obviously... keep creating!!!
Good night!

SOLITUDE... ENCOUNTER rewrite, page 128...

I am a victim of structure. I work better when challenged, multitasking, under pressure, working within a deadline, bringing calm where once chaos played havoc. Ask me to perform, I will gladly be your circus seal, ready to jump through hoops of any height, shape or size... just don't forget to praise me. My life up till now has been a living testament to the subtle nuances (that word, again) of this rigid, strict, relentless program. Ask Sami Saxton, my strong and resilient female protagonist in A Perfect Husband. Now, I face a different conundrum. (THAT work, again!) I am relaxing into my unstructured Life. It is taking some adjustment. I am not used to having the freedom of time, constantly cramming in my two hours of writing each morning before rushing to the gym or my walk or to a job that demands I marry it! And rightly so, I performed my seal tricks well! From where there was once NO time... suddenly there is ONLY time. I catch myself checking my cell phone. A nervous tick. I look for messages, a life vest from the outside that there is a world out there besides me, my characters... and me. I am finding the slippery world of solitude, and in discovering it... rediscovering ME!!!
Keep writing... keep creating!

NUANCE

I am grateful I choose to continually learn from the Masters. Writing is a solitary art, no doubt about it! The hours spent alone within the four walls of my mind can be illuminating, shocking, devastating and downright self-destructive. (let's hope I don't take the last one too far!) The dictionary states the definition of NUANCE as: a subtle difference in or shade of meaning, expression, or sound.  To me, nuance is that pulse, that beat, that slice out of REAL life that takes the reader literally off the page and slaps them smack into another reality, allowing them to suspend belief enough that they are actually reading words, sentences, paragraphs on a page, but so very far away for the written page. I love that feeling, that aha moment! I'm there, right there, with that character, breathing the air, smelling the Chinese take out, eating the leftover turkey from Thanksgiving, burying the dead. And, in order to do this there has got to be the GIFT, a GIFT of nuance! And, as readers you know the difference when you're reading masters versus amateurs... and unfortunately, I put myself into the latter category more times than not. BUT, I am learning. I am passionate, I am driven and I understand the process. The question is... do I have that edge? That intelligence, bordering on genius where every second. every character, every detail is turned up to that pitch. I hope so... nuance!
Keep writing... keep creating!
Some (a few... since I read voraciously everybody) writers who I feel have that GIFT!
Susanna Moore
Bret Easton Ellis
Jonathan Franzen
Bradford Morrow
Stephen King
Adam Ross
Donald Ray Pollock
Like I said... a few!