"The Other Side of Glory"--November 28th, 2008

There's a gopher in the clouds...

 

As I venture forward to create this second novel I am bombarded with a vast array of memories and emotions. THIS is the reason I have struggled so much with creating the story behind the story of "The Other Side of Glory." So much of myself--the way I was once in a former lifetime--and so much of those men who stood beside me like true friends will be enveloped within the pages of that novel. Some of it will be exaggerated, as that is my perogative as a fictional author, and some of it will be true. Although, I will NEVER confess between the two...that will be left for the reader to determine...them and the handful of shit-asses from the NIS (Naval Investigative Service) and the CID (Criminal Investigative Department) of the US Marines. Honestly, I don't give a shit either way how people feel about this story...because I can list--almost verbatim--the names of the men and women who will appreciate this story. I will write it for them...and I will write it for my own conscience's sake....no one else...

But in doing so I feel the power of the universe tugging at my soul and offering the signs of encouragement for me to write this story. Just this weekend I have been found by two more of my brothers, a Mr. Jeff Emmel and Mr. Dan Borero. I have looked for them online for the past 10 years, trying every social networking site I am a member of and those I am not. And like my friend Manny Loya I came across a year ago, a man I had not seen since 1998/99, and ironically he moved into the same apartment complex as my brother Joe. They spent several weeks together having drinks before the topic of "books" came up and in that conversation, Manny realized Joe was my big brother. After 9 years we were reunited in the same town... How about that? It was at Manny's old apartment off Loop 820 in Fort Worth where I wrote the introductory pages of "The Other Side of Glory", just after his wife fell to sleep and I sipped my last glass of 40-Creek canadian whiskey.

When I received the invite via MySpace for Dan Borero, I couldn't help but think of moments within the dingy warehouse listed (and named) 903 in North Carolina and the stunts we pulled while working there. I witnessed everything from a fanatical Master Gunnery Sergeant threating to "pop a cap" in a loony neo-Nazi for trying to kill him with "Freon Coffee" and I can't help but laugh at the times we skated out of work for the sake of the gopher in the clouds. No, we never saw an actual gopher in our shop...but you wouldn't know that by how desperatley we tried to convince our (3 time) DUI stricken Staff Sergeant Smith who knew only two things: Auburn University was the greatest in the country...and he couldn't leave the shop until "Mama" came and got him...since he couldn't drive on his own anymore.

Boys...it will be good...I promise you that...and it will be as full of shit as Marines are in their misguided worlds of heroism and insanity.

Stay posted for more details.

Oh and by the way...if anyone knows of a Joe W. Navarro...probably a traveling welder somewhere between Montana and Gainesville, TX...let me know. We desperatley need to talk.

~Bobby Ozuna

"PS: We Wanna Know"-- October 8th, 2008

"PS: We Wanna Know" is my dedication to responding to as many readers and fans as possible. I believe as a writer I owe it to the fans to make myself available, whenever they want to learn more about how I came to write the stories they love. And from an independent/self-publishing standpoint, I owe it to the countless other writers out there trying to "make it" to offer insight into my success as a self-published author, whether that be in guidance, inspiration, approach or simple tips & tricks to help them succeed.

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Renee V. of Euless, Texas asked the following questions:

Q:) What inspired you to write this story?
A.) The true inspiration for this story came from the quiet of the cabin--Justin's cabin and the need to share the pattern of life in which most of us--many of us--go from a place where we give up hope and travel long and hard to return to a place in time where we believe again.

My visit to Seymour and Lake Kemp in 2003 is what triggered the emotions the audience feels so heavily in the opening chapters. The solitude of the night--off the lake, on the porch swing--are the images that forced my hand to begin writing this story. My weekend in Seymour at that cabin with my friend Ralph Ponce and his family was just what I needed to bring a balance back to my soul in relation to my writing. When I returned home with my family that Sunday night I began drafting the opening pages that once upon a time were entitled "The Cabin" and later became "Proud Souls."

Being I write all my stories free-hand first, I still own the original composition book where I wrote the entire draft for this novel. It's tattered and worn out now but soon I am going to scan some pages and post them online for my audience to view. It's amazing looking back today some five(+) years later when reading my initial thoughts on this story; the opening paragraphs are almost identical to the words in the finished (opening) chapter. I think it's cool to stare at the worn out pages--the place where a character and a story began...back in the summer of 2003...

Q:) Who or what was the inspiration for your characters?

A.) That's a very good question and I honestly don't have a direct answer. Most of my characters are symbolic of the emotions we all share as individual beings. Each of them know love, hate, lust, anger, rage, happiness, joy, loss and the feeling of accomplishment--the same as each of us reading these words on my blog--and more importantly, the same as the author. But that does not mean my characters are autobiographical in any way. In relation to Proud Souls, Justin Bower is nothing like Bobby Ozuna, although; Bobby Ozuna loves a dark corner of a bar and solitary moments with a good stout drink just the same. But I am not the only person who has moments where they feel that way. I focus a tremendous amount of energy on studying people--how they move, react to verbal and physical communication and especially the power of the unspoken word. What people do when they don't speak is more powerful than any actions they take when they do. I find the human struggle fascinating and I believe we are here to suffer...living souls entrapped within decaying bodies...and that concept contradicts the very nature of our spirits. Our spirit is what gives us the youthfulness to live, by the full meaning of the word.

In relation to my heroine, Tessa Jameson, I naturally couldn't be any part of her being she is female. But that doesn't mean as a living being I haven't felt the urge to love someone greater than myself and wish for the touch of a special someone who buckles under my fingertips. Tessa James symbolizes the ideals of unrequited love--loving someone who doesn't love us in return. She holds no prejudices to the notion she may not want the person after she obtains their heart or mind. For her, the idea of someone holding her at night is enough to wipe away the years of loss and agony and loneliness. What we see on the physical realm however is her sexual prowess. And unfortunately for her, like many of us, our earnest desire to love someone is often translated in physical form--i.e. sexually--and in small places (small business, small offices, small towns) it is interpreted as being promiscuous and ultimately misunderstood. And worse, we're often judged.

The final two characters--Reverend Hillard Ray Polk and Ralph Winslow Parison--each represent the two mental mindsets by which much of the world makes its decisions--and the author (me). Reverend Polk represents man's desire to believe in something greater--a higher spiritual power--in whichever form you choose. Ralph Winslow Parison represents the secular approach, being the physical laborer. Each one may represent an aspect of me as the author, but like most of my characters I create, they ultimately represent us all. They are not me and I am not them...but then again, I am fond of saying...I confess my sins with my characters...

Q:) How hard was it to get in touch with your feminine side in order to create such detailed descriptions for Tessa?

A.) Haha, I wasn't aware [that] I had a feminine side. But I hope I am safe in assuming I did a magnificent job with her character or you (as a female reader) wouldn't have asked about her???

Oh boy, I have to be careful with this response, because this is where, if I am not careful, my name could become synonymous with the word [Romance] as opposed to simple [literary] fiction. But here's goes nothing ladies...

My official answer: It was easy to create Tessa Jameson and hard to put her on paper. If I missed the mark in relation to creating either of my male figures within the story--Justin, Polk, Parison--it would have been perfectly acceptable. If I said something that was rude or derogatory towards any of the male characters, I would have been excused by a greater percentage of readers because the assumption would have been, it's okay, he's a man...he can say those things. But as a male author, should I misinterpret the emotional and physical embodiment of the wonderful female species, it would have been like committing literary suicide. It's the type of mistake [that] if made, could be career ending for someone like me just breaking into this business.

My trick for creating such a realistic female character (both emotionally and physically)? I used the same technique I apply with EVERY character I create...find common traits that apply to the vast "majority" and focus on them. I can't get into much more detail than that without giving away too much information or sound like a pervert...but let me say this one last thing about her Renee: I spent more time drawing her character than any other in the book--and she's not the hero of the story--but it didn't bother me. I loved every minute of it... (yes, I am smiling).

Q:) Is your next book going to be like the first? And will your next book have a romance story in it or will you go in a different direction?
A.) "Proud Souls" will be nothing like "The Other Side of Glory." I believe a writer shouldn't be limited to the [type] of work they produce. Take Stephen King for example. If you read his early works you might think he was evil and his later works might lead you to believe he is a spiritual man. I think he is neither and both. He is a writer, the same as me. "The Other Side of Glory" will follow two men, Joey Allario and Mikey Alaniz as they "come of age" within a Marine Corps setting, based in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. This will NOT be a war/military story in the sense it is about bullets and storming hills but rather about life and the concept of Good and Evil.


There will be two "love" stories within this next novel (I am a sucker for a good romance story anyhow) but those stories will be seem from two different perspectives. You will have a Good character who falls in love with the idea of having a nurturing woman around and opposite that story, you will have an Evil character who does more nurturing to a battered woman. This [romantic] theme is not the basis of the entire novel--just as it wasn't for "Proud Souls"--but I believe every good story should focus on the connections between man and woman and how they affect our lives, for good or for bad.

Q:) Was this meant to be a romance story?
A.) Haha...there you go again Renee. I wasn't aware "Proud Souls" was a romance story??? But if that is what you took away from the pages, then I am content to accept that because there is a subtle romanticism to my novel. It was important as an author for me to find a different way of bringing about the "lost hero." I could have used the challange of a fight from another male, the call to arms by hoards of men around him or any other cliche means to make Justin snap out of his loss and make a decision to live or die. I felt the most important physical and emotional power in this world--the type that can alter a man's way of life, for good or bad--would be the power of a woman. But in this case, not just any woman. The woman who was going to help Justin recover such a tragic loss and come to terms with his past would HAVE to be the right woman...and for me...luckily, it came in the form of the lovely woman dubbed "town whore"...Tessa Jameson.

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If you have questions you would like to present as part of this blog, send them to: bobby@bobbyozunaonline.com with the subject line of: PS: We Wanna Know.
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I want to thank Renne V. of Euless, Texas for her very thought provoking questions. In my next blog segment of "PS: We Wanna Know" I will answer the questions of another reader. So send them in!!! Don't be bashful ...

Stay tuned for more insight into how I have successfully published my own novel, "Proud Souls" along with marketing tips and tricks, and last but not least, my mental journal of writing my second novel: "The Other Side of Glory."

Oh! Don't forget to subscribe to this blog to stay current with all my content updates!!!

Thanks,

~Bobby Ozuna
"Drawing Stories...With Words"
www.BobbyOzunaOnline.com

"PS: We Wanna Know"-- September 5th, 2008

"PS: We Wanna Know" is my dedication to responding to as many readers and fans as possible. I believe as a writer I owe it to the fans to make myself available, whenever they want to learn more about how I came to write the stories they love. And from an independent/self-publishing standpoint, I owe it to the countless other writers out there trying to "make it" to offer insight into my success as a self-published author, whether that be in guidance, inspiration, approach or simple tips & tricks to help them succeed.

********************************************************************************

Ashley Nicole of Waco, Texas asked the following questions:

Q:) How long have you been writing?

A:) I have been writing on a serious level since mid-2000 when I learned [that] I needed to practice developing my writing instead of simply "writing" stories. I compare that statement to an artist who understands the principles of shadow, perception and depth with relation to a paintng. But, I have been creating stories within my mind since I was a child--a young boy day-dreaming and drawing blanks in class, staring outside the windows imagining worlds not emcompassed by four walls, limitations on learning and pre-determined classroom curriculum.

Q.) How did you get started writing?

A.)  I think I always had a desire to be creative, but whether that energy (I was the class clown remember???) was meant for writing, or perhaps acting or even stand-up comedy--I wasn't sure when I was younger. In my mind I always knew I was different. My mindset, the ways I think, my outlook on life was always different than everyone around me. Someone told me once that I had an artists eye. But on that same note people said I was simply a smart-mouthed kid. Being able to draw outside the lines makes life a bit more difficult than it already is and for someone like me, with a Type-A Personality, it was even harder.

I love telling this story of how I came to share my first real stories. Sometime in or around 2000, I met a man named Ladd Holder. Ladd and I shared common interests in literature; we enjoyed the same authors. I discovered other writers during my times alone with him at lunch or on breaks at work. One day I decided Ladd would be the person I share my works with...and with all my courage, I gave him a few stories. Being impatient, I couldn't wait for him to share his criticisms of my stories. When Ladd finally asked me to sit down with him he told me directly to my face [that] my writing sucked but that my stories were great. I remember being confused about how to take his opinion. On one hand I was thankful he was honest and on the other hand, I didn't want to be his friend anymore.  But like any good friend, Ladd took the time to explain his answer. Quite simply...this is what he said. He said I needed to learn "how" to write. Yes, I was just as confused with that answer as I was about how much my work sucked. But he went on to explain again and like my anology I referenced before, he compared writing to painting. He said I needed to learn point-of-view, how to structure a story with relation to character growth, etc. and he said I needed to spend enough time writing until I discovered my own voice.

I have been working to develop my writing skills ever since, writing for at least one hour a day.

Q.) Do you ever become frustrated with a book and wish you had never started it? I struggle with wanting to put too much detail in a story, do you have any ideas or suggestion for this?

A.)  My present project--"The Other Side of Glory"--is a prime example of my frustrations. I began work on this novel in 2002 and again in 2003 and one more time in 2005, never really getting anywhere more than a good idea and a few rough chapters. Each time I made any progress, I destroyed my own printed copies and deleted my only electronic version. But I am happy to say I am seven chapters in this time around and I have no intentions of stopping.

To answer the second question--about too much detail in a story--well, have you read Proud Souls? The first two chapters are detailed enough to make Tolkien proud of me. I say, whatever the story desires of you...that is what you write. Don't let others dictate how you draft or write a story. If someone doesn't appreciate the detail in your work, tell them where the nearest dime-store is and they can pick up a best-seller and two hours later tell you how much they enjoyed it.

Q.)  Did you ever wish to start another book in the midst of one? If so, how do you discipline yourself not to? Any suggestions there?

A.)  Yes. Even while being utterly consumed by the desires of my inner muse, I still have the earnest desire to start another story--while in the midst of my present project--no matter what that story may be. And personally, I think all writers feel this way. If we did not and were instead tied died by the notion that we can only work on "one thing at-a-time" then we would not be the free-thinkers of the world who once upon a time day-dreamed in classrooms only to later create the worlds others find therapeutic when they wish to escape from their worlds of "normalcy" and depressing "routine." So I say this: If you can write two stories at once or even one-hundred, then do it! That's more escape for the masses and less time to wait for it!

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If you have questions you would like to present as part of this blog, send them to: bobby@bobbyozunaonline.com with the subject line of: PS: We Wanna Know.
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I want to thank Ashley Nicole of Waco, Texas for her questions. In my next blog segment of "PS: We Wanna Know" I will answer the questions of another reader. So send them in!!!

Stay tuned for more insight into how I have successfully published my own novel, "Proud Souls" along with marketing tips and tricks, and last but not least, my mental journal of writing my second novel: "The Other Side of Glory."

Thanks,

~Bobby Ozuna
"Drawing Stories...With Words"
http://www.bobbyozunaonline.com/

"The Other Side of Glory"--September 2nd, 2008

Seemed like only yesterday...

I had a chance to do some "research" for my book, "The Other Side of Glory" this weekend.  This year, my friends from the Marine Corps and I met in Spring, Texas, home of my very good friend-- "Big" George Ledezma. When we started this tradition a few years ago, we all agreed we would change the locale every year, giving each of us a chance to host the meeting and also give everyone else a chance and reason to take a vacation and get away from the horrid plagues of everyday life. And for me personally, all I can say is--it couldn't have happened at any better time...

(Me and my boy, Dennis "Denno" Maund, of Cleveland, Ohio)

The boys and I haven't been together as a group since 1997, when each of us, one by one, started rotating back home and into civilian life, leaving French Creek and our lives as Marines forever.  One by one we slowly arrived at Big George's house...first Ponce and I, as we drove together from Ft. Worth, then  "Denno" flew in with his girlfriend Stacey from Ohio. Apart from Ponce, the rest of us hadn't seen Dennis since 1997. He was just as great and just as soft-spoken as he was in the Corps--no matter what he says.

 

(Me and Steve "Doodie" Velez of Miami, Florida)

Then, when the four of us had just enough alcohol to be late picking up Steve Velez from the airport as they flew in from Miami...well...we picked up Steve and his wife Brenda late from the airport...(Sorry Steve!)  We argued the entire way to Houston International Airport--about the quickest route, which lane to drive in, whether the Cowboys were better than the Texans and lastly, what the hell Steve looked like, as we hadn't seen him at all (any of us) since 1997. We pissed off some patrons on the side of the road, laughing with our heads sticking out the windows like kids, asking if they were Steve or if someone else was him...and then...as we pulled within earshot of security--and a moment before any one of us put our foot in our mouth's--we heard a shout, a familiar call. It was him...our buddy...our friend...our brother...with a little less hair and an attitude the same as he had when we shared a barracks in French Creek.

(Me and Ralph Ponce of Abernathy, Texas)

Within moments of arriving at Big George's home, we were back at it, having our way with words. If any "normal" human being had been around they would have called the cops, a therapist or perhaps even the FED's for the things we were saying. We laughed alot, mostly about the stupid things we did when we were kids, when we were "young" men. So many things came back to mind and more importantly, circumstances and situations I can use for the story, things I almost forgot and others the guys hoped I would forget. The overall consensus however was this: They want me to write this story--their story--every Marine's story--not because they want to be held accountable for their lives back then, but because the essense of who we were when we were younger thrives on knowing it will forever be a part of us. It is the bond that holds us together, even when we have grown up to become union workers, city workers, construction contractors, IT professionals and even writers.

(Me and my boy, Big George Ledezma, of Spring, TX)

We spent the next three days and three nights--between heavy Marine Corps style alcohol consumption--playing spades (or at least trying to), remembering our days in Barracks FC 525 and FC530, our fights with other groups in the Corps and our fights with one another. We remembered a dear friend by the name of Lamar Pompa who passed on after we left the Corps and we remembered names of those we forgot. We discussed the "Magic Place", the off-limits bar that opened after midnight and closed just before sunrise. We remembered all its granduer and mysticism. And a group of Marines having a few drinks wouldn't be complete without the memories of The Driftwood--the highly populated topless bar these guys visited frequently enough to have money taken out of their paychecks on a monthly basis to support their habit of beers and breasts. (I can't believe they would visit such places, but who am I to judge? I am still paying my tab to this day...) We talked about our best times together and we argued still about our worse. We rememberd how badly we wanted to come home and how much we wished to return.

In the end, we had to say good-bye once again, just like we did in 1997. One by one we left, but this time it was different. We were sad, only to leave, but happy knowing the friendships and the bonds we have established over the years IS enough to sustain our lives forever now. We may not see one another for a year at a time, maybe longer as some can't always make it (Mark McManus!!!) But that's the way it goes sometimes. I told my daughter as she just began the 7th grade, that she will face peer pressure from the idiot kids in school who judge others by the clothes they wear or what shoes they have or worse, by how much money their parents make. I told her to ignore those people, because a true friend never judges. Yes, they will hold you accountable for your bullshit, but they never really leave you. Ever.

Walking into Big Geoge's home this weekend was like walking into his barrack's room many years ago. It was crowded, loud and it smelled of dirty men, stale beer breath and cigarette smoke. There were enough profanities to flip Mother Teresa over in her grave and enough friendship to break your heart. I will carry them with me forever and I will write their story as part of "The Other Side of Glory." For their story is my story and perhaps the story of every other Marine who ever dared to dream only to see it broken, hit bottom but did not fail and who knows what it is to believe in Jesus Christ and who isn't afraid to have a drink with the Devil. So with my glass held higher than my pride... I say...as we did back then...

Here's to you...here's to me...friends we'll always be...and if we ever disagree...then fuck you, here's to me!

~Bobby Ozuna

"Drawing Stories...With Words"

"The Other Side of Glory"--August 27th, 2008

This is a very exciting weekend coming up--not just on a personal level--but in relation to my current project: "The Other Side of Glory."

If you haven't been keeping up with my previous posts, "The Other Side of Glory" will be my second novel. I promised to blog the entire process of writing my novel--from draft to polished manuscript--to show other writers and (potential writers) how quickly one can product a 300+ page manuscript, amidst work, family and life. I started roughly a month ago and I am currently writing the 5th Chapter (remember, I write free-hand) and presently working to type the 3rd Chapter. I slowed down due to some heavy SEO research on the Internet--to help optimize this blog and gather more readers--and because of that I am a little behind. But that's just part of the process of writing a book. It doesn't work out the way you wish and despite our efforts to write new material everday, it doesn't always happen. That's life. Until I make enough money from "Proud Souls" to substantiate a life without a job, then writing always comes after all the other duties in the house.

But enough about that...back to my story. This weekend I will meet with some very important friends outside Houston, Texas for a special reunion. These men and their families are part of my past--being six of us total--they are the men of my unit in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The six of us have worked to maintain contact since we were together last in 1997. Since that time I have seen then at different times or different cities, but we have maintained our communication over the years--just as we promised one another on New Year's Eve in 1997.

And more importantly than that--each of them in turn--have demanded I write this story. So to answer the "is this novel autobiographical" question--the answer is Yes and No. Yes, my fictional characters will go through instances and circumstances that were real--maybe not to me, but to someone I knew--and No, there is no character in this novel that is written about anyone I know--INCLUDING MYSELF!

I have spent this past week talking to each of them--Big George in Houston, McManus in Jersey, Velez in Florida and Ponce in Lubbock. The only one I haven't spoken to or seen since 1997 is Denn-o. He lives in Ohio and he is flying in Friday evening. Already this week we have reminisced and laughed on the phone together and each time I talked to one of them, I couldn't help but relive the memories of my time in the Marine Corps.

Knowing how important this story is to each of them, I feel more pressure to produce this story than my first novel. I know I won't let them down, but there is still the pressure to maintain the integrity of the emotions we underwent while abroad.

So far in the story I have introduced Joey Allario--my protagonist, the hero of my story--and two supporting characters--Vincent "Vinny" Lozano and Michael "Mikey" Alaniz. Mikey is the antagonist in the story and he is the polar opposite of my hero, Joey. Vinny's role in the story thus far is to play mediator between the two characters. He provides the balance between two opposing forces. We are introduced to Joey as he flies into Ellis Airport and the reader is given the opportunity to evaluate his qualities as the "good kid" in the story. He is proper, even when people aren't nice to him and as we see in the third chapter, he is non-confrontational. He chooses to walk away from a fight, in liue of "not getting in trouble." He is well-mannered and proper, cordial to the ladies and excited about joining the Fleet Marine Force and his fellow "brothers" within the Marine Corps. What he is about to experience however will be small isntances of disappointment, the type that can alter a man's way of thinking just enough so [that] the inner child who chooses to dream...may die...

Mikey on the other hand is introduced while lying naked with a woman in a hotel room. She is a woman he met the night before and he is soft with her, cradling her in his arms and at the closing of that scene, he tells her good-bye, letting her know he will "never see her again." He is confrontational and his sexual frustrations, his frustrations of being away from home, etc, have him walking on pure emotion. He thinks out his decisions but often chooses his gut instinct over logic or rational thinking. He is the typical "fly by the seat of your pants" leader who is adored by those around him and hated by everyone who isn't because he isn't easy to understand or comprehend.

Well, I am off to finish Chapter 5...where the readers will get an inside look at "Fat Bottom Girls Gentlemen Club" where Mikey will meet a woman who plays a significant (and private) role in his life and the decisions he will make later on... Her name is Victoria Roxby and she works as a waitress in the gentleman's club.

Both my characters will have women in their lives in a private manner--meaning they won't announce their affairs to the friends closest to them. These women will play the mentor role to each man in turn. One of the twists in the story however is where we learn one of the women has shared herself with the "other" man in the story, thereby becoming the catalyst that forces our hero and villian (for lack of proper terminology) to constantly come together.

~Bobby Ozuna
"Drawing Stories...With Words"

"The Other Side of Glory"--August 8th, 2008

I wrote 5 new pages last night...

Last night I finished writing the second chapter and wrote the first page of Chapter 3. It was close to 11:00PM when I stopped; I couldn't write much more and I never force a story....so I found a good stopping point and called it a done.

So far the story has taken a different path from what I originally envisioned--but again--that's the point. I may have a wild imagination, but it will never compare to the stories that present themselves to a willing and attentive soul.

In the early stages of this story I have introduced a man--Pops--who is on death-row awaiting execution for murder in a fictitious Huntsville prison system. He meets a young man by the name of Jace Harding who apparently will tell the old man's story over the course of the novel and eventually direct the audience to how he (Pops) came to commit murder.

From there the story introduces my two main characters--Joey Allario and Mikey Alaniz. Now, knowing every story MUST have a protagonist and antagonist, I have made it very clear who is who in their roles early on. Joey represents the concept of a "good" young man and Mikey, being his polar opposite, will represent the "bad." The first chapter introduces Joey as he ventures towards Jacksonville, North Carolina, home US Marine Corps base Camp Lejeune. We see him as honest, sincere and proper. The second chapter introduces Mikey Alaniz and his very good friend, Vinny Lozano. Vinny's position within the story will be mediator between Mikey and Joey. His role is crucial considering the interaction between the "hero" and "villian" will be limited but still necessary to know their thoughts towards one another as the story progresses.

The reader will meet Mikey and see him interact with a woman (who happens to be lying naked next to him in a bed...as he watches her butt-muscles react to his touch) early on. This particular introduction to his character is imperative, as his character, ego and actions are dictated by those of women. It is part of his substance as a man. The reader will also get a feel for his rage and anger as he will have words with another Marine right away, which will boil-over into a physical confrontation in Chapter 3, where he meets our hero: Joey Allario.

More to come....

~Bobby Ozuna
author of "Proud Souls"
www.BobbyOzunaOnline.com

"The Other Side of Glory"--August 6th, 2008

I wrote two new pages yesterday and then nothing new...

Part of working to write the novel is finding lots of available time to formulate the story--not just on paper--but within your mind. My stories start long before I ever take the first words to paper. Actually, I rarely ever (if I ever have!!!) picked up the pen and started working on a story without FIRST writing the story in my mind.

Recently my very good friend Cathy asked me a question about the whole "time" scenario. She, like many others, wanted to know how I find time to write and market the book and do online promotional work, between having a wife and kids and job. I felt this was a good time as any to address that concern especially since my mind is running full-time with relation to "The Other Side of Glory."

My response: Well, it's not easy. The hardest part for me is finding the time to write and still somehow keep my wife from being irritated with me for "taking time away from the family" and still not give the impression that I am ignoring my children. I work part-time for a company in Southlake, Texas doing (the one thing I hate doing): computer work. I have been a network technician for 9-years and I can't stand it. It's a thank-less job where no matter how smart you are--you are either rewarded with MORE work or considered "the help." Writing is my passion and it consumes every aspect of my life, from my thoughts, my dreams while I am sleeping (and awake) and even (and especially) my attitude.

When I am working to develop a character--or getting to know a character that won't bend for my own imagination--I notice I begin to conform to their characteristics. I suppose that is part of why and how my characters seem "so real" at times. I have to try and get into THEIR minds in order to effectively transfer their persona on paper.

I don't try to purposely take time away from anyone I love, but writing isn't like working a regular job. You don't wake up and clock-in and then find a stopping point and clock-out. The story begins to come alive and you have to find the time to sit down and put those words on paper, before you lose them! If I ignore the sounds within my mind, because let's say, we have practice or a favorite show or movie on television, then what happens is the story begins to wrestle with my (un)willingness to bring it to life. My attitude gets worse because I am ignoring the one thing I am supposed to be doing. And in the end, everyone around me suffers...

You must have an open relationship with those closest to you--and teach them to understand that sitting down to write a story isn't like sitting down to play a game. There isn't an on/off switch for creativity. I have the terrible aspect of believing that since I am not outside my home, but rather in my home writing, it isn't so bad. But I forget--just like anyone else would--that just because you are home...doesn't mean you are home...

So, there is a fine line between working towards a dream and maintaining the family that you hope to provide for when that dream is fulfilled. Yes, one aspect is this: Your partner should deal with the emotional separation as long as you are home, especially considering if & when you reach your breakthrough, they surely aren't going to ignore the money. But to be fair, I have to remember, like all writers should, there is a possibility that you may never reach that milestone and looking back years later may have lost more than you acquired by pursuing a dream.

I know this does not completely answer the question...but it does address one of the harder aspects of being a writer...at least for Bobby Ozuna.

Thanks...

~Bobby Ozuna
"Drawing Stories...With Words"

"The Other Side of Glory"--August 4th, 2008

I am a bit behind with this particular post...but...

On Thursday, July 28th I reached a small milestone within the life of my next novel: "The Other Side of Glory." As many may already know, I write all my stories free-hand--FIRST. I feel you kill the creative flow when you make any first attempts at writing stories at the computer. Whenever I get to a good stopping-point or even finish what I might call a chapter at that time, I stop writing and begin typing. I type that entire completed section of the story and while doing so, I am writing the next section/chapter free-hand again. I find it helps build on teh story as I work to write (free hand) the next section/chapter.

So, on Thursday the 28th of July, after I finished typing Chapter One (and I already had the Prologue) I came to a sudden realization: I am on my way to finishing my next novel!!!! The story was becoming a reality!!!

Yes, I know I was already working on it but until you see it, hold it, feel it and breathe the papers through the pores on your hands, then to me, it isn't yet real. But after printing out those first 26 pages (some 6,000 words typed already) I could not help but remember how I felt in the early stages of Proud Souls. It's hard to believe I have learned so much from my previous works to help this process flow much more smoothly.

The words are flowing out of my mind and onto paper with little resistance now. I am working on finishing the second chapter (typed version) so I can begin writing Chapter Three. Already it's been three weeks and in that time I have two chapters just about down with the third in progress. So for those of you curious to know how fast (or slow) you can write that novel trapped within your imagination--well, here is a realistic look. Even if I wrote one chapter per week--one handwritten version and one typed in that same week--I would have in six to eight months a 24~32 chapter novel which will range in the 300+ page range.

Regardless of what I do now, this new story (like all stories in my life) will dominate my every moment, awake or sleeping, until it is done. The characters I formulated within the creativity of my mind will begin taking on a life of their own, as they introduce the little quirks and habits that make them real.

Until next time, stay tuned for more details and behind the scenes updates on the creation of my second novel--from thought to completed manuscript.

~Bobby Ozuna
www.BobbyOzunaOnline.com

"The Other Side of Glory"-- July 28th, 2008

Understanding there are important "fundamental" concepts that must be applied to every story, in order to help the readers (1.) stay focused long enough to keep reading past the opening pages, (2.) identify traits with the hero of the story so that they come to a determination (quickly) that his/her story is worth following and (3.) establishing the nature of the character for a growth pattern later on as the story develops, I realized I was missing something in the opening Chapter to "The Other Side of Glory."

I opened the story with a pretty powerful (draft) Prologue, introducing the audience to an older gentleman awaiting his death sentence in prison. How and why he got there will be told over the course of the (body of the) story. I think I sparked enough intrigue to keep the reading audience moving towards the first chapter where they are immediately introduced to a young Private First Class in the US Marine Corps by the name of Joey Allario.

I was trying to convey the "nice guy" image early in the story for my character Joey Allario--being this novel will be a play on the concepts of "good" and "evil." The trick however (for me as the writer) will be to draw characters in situations that force my reading audience to decide what/who is good and what/who is evil. Yesterday however I realized I was missing something with relation to Joey's history. I could easily tell the audience great things about him, but that doesn't always work. I have learned its just as important to show the character interacting with people--close to him and people he/she doesn't know--to draw a better image of their quality. So, I went back and added a few more pages to the opening chapter as a sort of flashback scene, where you see the young Marine saying good-bye to his parents. Below is a sample of what I wrote yesterday to build on the idea that PFC Joey Allario is a good kid.



Excerpt from Chapter 1 of "The Other Side of Glory"




The terminal doors slammed together symbolizing the passing of one stage of his life into the other. Standing there Joey couldn't help but think about his family back home--his mother and father and especially his younger sister Helen. He reached into his pocket of his pants until his fingers found a small pocket-sized Holy Bible. Joey closed his eyes for a moment and held the Bible firmly in his hand as though he were holding each of them close to him and within the echoes of the very quiet airport terminal he could see their faces again--as clearly as he did just hours before.

"Sit with me," his father said. "Aqui." Here.

Joey was only hours away from leaving his home in Midland, Texas and all he had known to be normal and good. His mother was preparing breakfast--tortillas, eggs and chorizo--and his younger sister Helen was busy laying out his uniform on his bed.

"Look at my hands," his father said. "See them?"

"Yes dad," Joey said.

"They are the hands of a worker--someone who has earned his money by the sweat of his brow," his father told him referencing the family bible on a nearby table.

"I know dad, there isn't anything wrong with working hard for a living," Joey said. "You gave us a home. That's more than most people can say for themselves father."

"I understand this," his father said. "But one day you will be a father and have children of your own and of all you can give them and all you will give them--the option of having a better life than the one you lived will mean the most to you."

Joey looked around his home, at the furniture and its worn upholstery, the cracked flooring and the simple layout and then he realized something. His mother and father were right about one thing; the home they provided was good enough for them, but he was slowly outgrowing them. He was beginning to outgrow the life they offered and would require more of himself and the things he worked to provide for his life. He would do better than they did, not because he is better but because they raised him to appreciate everything he had, to work hard for what he wanted and to remember where he came from.

Joey ate his breakfast with his family at the table and together they hardly spoke to one another. Each of them in turn were busy picking up or setting plates or serving food as if they were trying to occuply their minds and slow down time. But the inevitable had come. It was time to leave home again.

Joey hugged his mother and took the money she offered into his hand. She always had a way of giving so much of herself in the money she could spare. He kissed her and said good-bye to his sister Helen. She was teary-eyed knowing the brother who stood up for her, believed in her and set the standard for what a strong young man should be--was now breaking away from the nest to find his own way in the world.

"It's a right-of-passage," his sister said. "Now do you rbest and come back home with a treasure of sacrifices and stories to tell."

The last to say good-bye was his father. Just before seeing him off outside Midland International Airport, he took his son in his arms and said only these words: "Don't forget my hands son and the years they labored to get you were you are today. I love you."


***********
...More to come later...
Stay tuned as I document the mental process for creating my second novel: "The Other Side of Glory."

~Bobby Ozuna
www.BobbyOzunaOnline.com
"Drawing Stories...With Words"

"TheOtherSideofGlory"--July 22, 2008

Last night after working on the opening scenes for Chapter 1 of "The Other Side of Glory" I saw more of the storyline coming to life within my mind. Just after watching a little television with my wife Michele and my daughter Elizabeth and immediately after checking all the doors to make sure they were locked, I saw it, another scene that was already vague within my mind. So, as I have said before the story will continue just as it should, at just the right time.

So far the story opens in a (fictitious) prison setting--Huntsville's Walls Unit some forty-years from today (or actually some 40+ years from the setting of the novel). In that opening Prologue the audience is introduced to a character everyone knows as Pops. What we do know is this: He is old--older at least than the young inmate who is introduced as his new cellmate. I thought the young inmate's name was Josh Harding but just today a familiar and important "voice from my past" let me know the character's name is NOT Josh, but rather Jace. His name is Jace Harding and he my friends is the person telling this story. You can say he is the narrator despite me being the author. It doesn't make perfect sense right now, but it will in time...that I can promise.

Just before checking to make sure all the doors were locked and just after finishing a show with my wife Michele and my daughter Elizabeth, I saw more of the story within my imagination. I saw the "hero" of my story, Joe Allario, standing tall in his green Service Alpha's outside the Ellis Airport in Richlands, North Carolina. This story is going to take the reader from a prison in Texas, to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and back to Texas over the course of some 40+ years in the lives of Joey Allario and a man known as Michael "Mikey" Alaniz.

On that note I did hear Pops explaining something important to Jace Harding, but I couldn't make out his words...for some reason the sound within my mind was clouded. Does anyone know what you call the after-sound of a plane passing over your head? You know, you hear the roar of the engine and then the plane is gone, miles away but yet you still hear the sound and roar of the plane...and suddently its gone, sucked out of the sky like a vacuum?

Just curious..it's important for the storyline...

~Bobby Ozuna

www.BobbyOzunaOnline.com

"Drawing Stories...With Words"

"TheOtherSideofGlory"--July 21, 2008

On Friday night I finished typing the first draft to my Prologue for this second novel: The Other Side of Glory. I had to start typing this story over from page one, being the original "draft" from 2002 was destroyed. The only thing I had left of the original 18 chapters I discarded was a .PDF version of the Prologue and first two chapters I started re-typing in 2005, about the same time I transformed my 4,000 word short-story (the Cabin) into what is now my first novel: Proud Souls.

Trying to get back into character and follow a plot written years ago is hard--at least for me--so I started typing again, this time clearing my mind of any traces of Justin Bower or Tessa Jameson. On Monday the 14th, the first night of my re-write, I dreamt the opening scene to this story as clearly as you could see the imagery of a movie. In that dream I realized there were concepts missing in my written words--things such as smell, lighting and emotion. Don't ask me how I come about these things because honestly, I don't know. What I do know is this: Once I partake on a story and try to learn the characters, they reveal themselves to me in dreams while I sleep (when I can sleep) and in sounds and images that distort my vision while I am awake.

On Friday I began typing everything I had written free-hand; as I have said before I write my stories on paper and then transfer that material to typed text. It is that typed version of the story I dub DRAFT One or Two, etc. I spent five hours on Friday night--while my wife and kids were away--drawing the opening scene. There was a point where I stepped away and smoked a cigarette outside. It was dark and I was tired and I was ready to call it quits for the day. I only had approximately 5 more written pages to type before I realized I was going the wrong direction with the story. It wasn't a few seconds after lighting my cigarette [that] I saw the rest of the scene play out in my imagination. It was clear and detailed and it had substance, something I felt was missing from the original draft. I tossed the cigarette aside, ran to my computer and typed the final scene from the opening Prologue. After more than five hours of work I had overcome the first hurdle in this long process.

I have since dreamt the story only once, being I don't have much else written. Tonight I began typing the opening paragraphs to the first chapter. This is the part of the story where I will introduce the audience to both my protagonist and antagonist, each in opposing settings, contrasting the extreme differences in their characters. Remember, "The Other Side of Glory" is a play on the duality of man so my trick (for lack of a better word) is to draw the essence of one human divided into two entirely different human beings. One man will represent what society might deem as Good while the other will represent Evil. How good or how evil each us will have to be determined by the audience in their own way, as I can only create them as they are and portray them in story as they present themselves to me. No doubt however they will show themselves to me. Each in turn will master my thoughts and my mind and in doing so will transform a portion of their characteristics to me. I can only hope the lesser of the two evils doesn't overstay their welcome as that is the price for writing such realistic characters. That is the bain of my existence as a poet, herald and writer.

Someone asked me today how fast I can turn around this story and what "process" I use for completing the manuscript draft. My answer was this: There is no exact formula for writing a novel and I care little about what the experts say with their proven methods and fancy novel writing software. My attitude is this (and it's the reason why I have never taken a creative writing course--or any writing course for that matter): If my writing is truly a gift from God, something I was born with, then I am not going to taint it with shoddy advice from people who can't write, but rather decipher "better" means and alternatives for remembering the storyline, characters and plot. My stories come to me in visions, dreams and whispers. I see them, feel them and live with them until I dare to pour their stories onto paper. The more involved I become and the more of myself I give back to understanding the story--WITH an understanding of the concepts and fundamentals that make a story real--the easier it is to produce the finished product. I would suggest one thing if I had to suggest any outside "material" for understanding the concepts--not HOW--but the practiced methods for creating a story most people would follow. Read Joseph Campbell's "A Hero With A Thousand Faces" and follow-up with Christopher Vogler's "A Writer's Journey." If you can understand Mr. Campbell's philosophies and Mr. Vogler's methods for applying them into modern storytelling, then you are already one leg up on the competition.

Remember this though, it doesn't matter how well you are grammatically or how well you understand the concepts applied by Joseph Campbell or any other "expert" on how to write. In the end, if you can't tell a good story...there won't be anything worth reading anyhow...


~Bobby Ozuna
www.BobbyOzunaOnline.com
"Drawing Stories...With Words"

And Now Introducing..."The Other Side of Glory"

This week I have embarked on a familiar path on a new journey. I have made up my mind to begin writing my second novel, which I have selected from the many first chapters I have written for multiple potential novels over the years. The story is one that I began writing in 2002, only (like Proud Souls before it) to be discarded after eighteen chapters and one year of work. I didn't like, not my writing style at the time nor where or how the story should be written with regards to point-of-view. I struggled at first with writing the story in First Person--but knowing the story is so close to personal experiences despite being fiction--I felt too many people would assume the novel was autobiographical. That and I didn't want people to look at me weird. I tried writing it in Third Person but couldn't determine who would be telling the story--as in which character. In the end it was a chance conversation with a very good friend of mine by the name of Manny Loya that I discovered (or rather, the story discovered me) the means to open the novel I will entitle: "The Other Side of Glory."

"The Other Side of Glory" is my tribute to the time, sacrifices, friendships, dreams and realities of my younger days and my time in the US Marines. Unfortunately, for those of you Hoo-Rah! hard charging Devil Dogs out there or warmongers who appreciate a good military tale, this probably won't be the story for you. I am sticking to my traditional means of writing fiction, using my own flare for enticing an audience, focusing on the struggles of the human condition as I attempt to transform characters as they take the stage in their archetypal roles to create a coming-of-age story of the essence of Good versus Evil.

In my attempt to write this second novel, I must be honest when I say (and every aspiring writer out there should adhere to this warning) it isn't easy nor does the personal satisfaction always outweigh the emotional costs of drawing stories with words. Already in this week I have written an opening Prologue, and on the first night after writing it, I have dreamt the scenes, realizing what was missing in the opening pages. In that initial dream I was introduced (more thoroughly) to the introductory characters, still uncertain how much of a significance they will play. As I have said before, my stories develop in time, as do the characters, and in time--as I succumb to the faint whispers of their voices within my head--they introduce more of themselves and in revealing their secrets and sins, the story becomes more and more complete.

I am going to try something different with this novel. I am going to journal my experiences--mostly the emotional aspect of creating the characters, storyline, plot, etc--in my blog as part of enhancing the experience for the readers. I feel you can get to know me more as a writer, if you know what I am thinking while writing my next book, and perhaps learn to appreciate the completed novel more, when you understand the complexity and emotional turmoil some of us undergo as we (as I am so fond of saying...) draw our stories with words.

So, today I would like to share a (draft) portion of the Prologue to my second novel: "The Other Side of Glory."

I hope you stay with me during the course of this experience, from draft, to thought, to idea, to completed manuscript and ultimately published novel. I think it will be a great experience for all of us and if anything, prove just how crazy I am.


"The Other Side of Glory"
PROLOGUE:

Ask an old man who has spent his years providing a means for his family under the Texas sun to describe the summer heat and he might say it feels as hot as Hell. Ask a State Correctional Officer in the Huntsville prison system and they might say Hell is the place they work, where they clock-in and clock-out in efforts to support a family who will only become disenchanted with them in time, because of the severity by which the emotional turmoil takes its toll on prison workers. Ask a young Marine who has served his country abroad during nonetheless—“peacetime”—and he might say Hell is the emotional state by which men struggle to survive as the natural human instinct to destroy and the condition by which he has been trained wrestles with the notion that he is meant for greater things and somehow he was destined to be the light upon a hill. A beacon of salvation for all humanity. Even still he might say, it is the psychological struggle of the lion borne in each of them, shaken from their bowels, dusted and set loose for all anarchy and rage, only to be caged in spite of the Light they were meant to represent, guardians of peace and justice in an unjust world—the keepers of the very gates of Heaven themselves; He and his brothers might say they were men destined still by the right of their actions to defend a Heaven that will not have them, but instead banish them to the confines of Hell to wage war with the legions of Satan’s army for all eternity.

Somehow that prison guard, that husband and father and yes, even the lowly Marine can at different times all be correct in their interpretations of Hell. It isn’t the existence or the beauty and wonder of Heaven that separates them; on the contrary, their internal faith is the mortar by which they are bound. And sadly, it is the part of their true existence rarely seen or understood because of the external belief and acknowledgement of Hell that seems to pour from their souls.

If you had the chance to ask the man they called Pops, he would have said as passionately as any poet, that Hell was a fictional realm created to scare children, referenced by every religion known under the stars to give balance to their amazing heavens they have portrayed in fantasy, fairy-tale and faith; but in reality, it was a psychological world created within the minds of those who lost their humanity and whose names were scratched from all eternity because of the mishaps created by the demons within the minds of man.; the same demons that drive a husband and father away from his children. It is an ever-present life-force which can drive a man insane, suffocating him and tormenting him to the point where all reality becomes a dream and in an instance, all life passes before his eyes and every story ends the same—behind bars, locked-up and stored away forever—lost to the soul of the world in long corridors of space and in time, altogether forgotten.

And into that same long corridor of the forgotten came two prison guards—one old and one young—escorting between them the State’s newest inmate. He walked with his head down, careful not to make eye contact with any of the other inmates he passed along the way. It was late, so most of the prisoners were in bed, pretending to sleep and others were just beginning their long night of battle with the demons of their minds.

~Bobby Ozuna
Texas Writer & Author
www.BobbyOzunaOnline.com
"Drawing Stories...With Words"