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C. Lee McKenzie

Young Adult and Middle Grade Author

Let Me Tell You A Story & #AtoZChallenge 2017 & Tomatoes On The Way!

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Let me Tell You A Story about my movie cast for Double Negative. This is my last post about this movie cast, so here’s one more character from the story, and I loved casting him.

Mathew McConaughey

Jimmy, Hutch’s dad, isn’t a bad guy, he’s just disillusioned by the cards he’s been dealt. When he realizes he can actually do something to help his son, he does. 

Meet Jimmy!

So what’re we gonna do about this school thing, Hutch?” Dad’s “thing” still comes out “thang” even after twenty years living away from Texas.

When I answer him, I’ve already picked up that sound and Texas is in my voice, too. “I guess I’ll have to stop ditching?”
“You get to Kranski’s office and talk over the problem. If he wants a conversation, you best give him one, son.” 

Double Negative

I’m really enjoying stopping in at different blogs and seeing what they’re posting for this year’s A to Z. Here’s one that caught my attention, 55 Word Crime Stories. It’s very clever. Take a look. And if you like movies as well as the alphabet, by all means, visit BB Creations.



Tomato Report: It’s happening. Just look at all that potential. There’s a metaphor circling my cerebral cortex and I’m oh so tempted to break into metaphor right now. But I’ll spare you that. . .for today.


Quote of the Week: “Tomatoes and oregano make it Italian; wine and tarragon make it French. Sour cream makes it Russian; lemon and cinnamon make it Greek. Soy sauce makes it Chinese; garlic makes it good.” – Alice May Brock (I confess I know her not at all.)


In Double Negative some people get a second chance. Do you believe in giving second chances? Are you stopping by some A to Z bloggers and saying hi? Do I have you primed for a tomato feast? And who is Alice May Brock? 

 

Let Me Tell You A Story & #AtoZChallenge 2017 & Those Tomatoes!

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Let me Tell You A Story about. . .my movie cast for Double Negative. For a few weeks I’ll be sharing my cast and a bit about them.

Amy Schumer

Casting Nyla and Maggie was challenging. I imagined them as strong, unique females characters.  

Here’s a Nyla line after one of the “mean girls” tries to embarrass her in class: 
“I would take the time to tell you exactly how inane, how deplorably bad your taste and sense of propriety are, but since you do not have the capacity for processing more than a single syllable or a single idea at a time, I won’t waste my breath.”

 Yay for Nyla!
Maggie was a joy to create. Smart, feisty, 70, and now facing a final challenge in her life. While writing this story I wondered who was saving whom. Was Maggie saving Hutch or Hutch saving Maggie? Here’s Maggie as I imagined her, and one short scene where she’s describing her appointment with a psychiatrist. 
“Oh, he meant well, but that last question made me snap. ‘Who’s the president?’” 
“Uh oh.” The priest leans back in his chair, his hands behind his head. “And you told him, right?”
“You bet. A tax and spend liberal who shouldn’t be licensed to drive a car let alone run a country. That’s who.” 
Heather’s rubbing her eyes.
“Of course, then I backed up because I realized this kid had voted for him.” She turns to her daughter. “I gave him the answer, Heather.”
One Reviewer Says: “I really loved Nyla and Maggie. They’re very different, but both brilliant and—in Maggie’s case—hysterical, and I am literally sitting here at my computer grinning just thinking about them.”


Double Negative

Here are a couple more #AtoZ Challengers that I’m enjoying from the sidelines this year. Give them a visit, and you won’t be disappointed. The theme here is Materials in Mythology and Speculative Fiction, so if you’re a sci-fi reader, this one’s for you! And if you want some Speculative Fiction with a Telepathic twist, visit J. Lennie Dorner on his daily post from A to Z.

Tomato Report: They’ve been moved to the sunnier greenhouse and soaking up the rays of this April.


Quote of the Week: This meme says it all!



Do you like to read about feisty female characters regardless of their age? Are you visiting some interesting A to Z blogs this year? Are you at all passionate about garden-fresh tomatoes?

Let Me Tell You A Story & #AtoZChallenge 2017 & Tomatoes?

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Let me Tell You A Story about. . .after the fun of seeing Double Negative in print, I decided to have some more fun and create a movie cast for my characters. For a few weeks I’ll be sharing my cast and bit about them. 

Brant Daugherty


The MC was easy. Brant Daugherty’s the perfect Hutchison McQueen. He’s a bright kid who’s virtually illiterate and living in home where he’s either abused or ignored. 

Here’s the first time you meet Hutch.

 Kranski’s office might as well be home. I spend more time with him than I do with Dee Dee, and for good reason: the principal’s friendlier than my mom. 

Double Negative

AND 

I have Winners to Announce: 
Rachel, Cassey, Laurel, Katy, Katie, Theresa
Their books are on the way!

While I didn’t take the challenge this year, I have been visiting some bloggers who did. Here’s someone I just discovered and enjoyed a lot. You might want to give Chris Votey a visit. His theme is great fun. Don’t miss Hilary’s posts. As always they’re the best and D will have you in stitches. Ducks do that!

And about those tomatoes! I’m going to start my Monday Tomato Report. I never plot my books, but each year I plot how I’m going to have the juciest, the freshest, the most amazing tomatoes on the planet. And this year, I’m going to share that progress with you.

SEEDS from Tomato Bob! 

Yes, there is a Tomato Bob, and each year I order my hybrid seeds from him. He sends me a cheery note and these delicate little packets of potential. Then in February I plant all of that potential in loamy soil and set them in the greenhouse.

Here are my little greenhouse darlings in March!

Quote of the Week: “Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.” Brian O’Driscoll, Irish Athlete

Does Hutch get to you with this beginning? Are you doing or following others on the A to Z Challenge? Do you wait all year for the perfect tomato? 

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