Cahpter 4: The Ghost

Are you still with me through Chapter four of

  

If you haven't experienced this chapter yet, make sure you go to Wattpad and red it. 

http://w.tt/1WilYJY

Or just buy it... cause it's that good. 

http://www.twclawson.com/works.html

This is the real life inspiration for the B&B in Rebecca Moon 

It might not look like much, but it's creepy as hell! Obviously I added some exaggerations to this house, because I'm a flipping writer, that's what I do! But this is a house I have seen a lot while drive out to see my mother and it always stuck out to me, how odd it was and at night how creepy it seemed to become. 

There was a period where the house was abandoned, owners couldn't handle it or something, the point being that they were gone. And it had stayed dark, empty and creepy for about a year or so. except for one night. I was driving past it, away from my mom's place, and I had stopped to call my (then girlfriend, now) wife. As I sat across the street from this godforsaken clown home, I saw movement in the upper window. 

Now, as reasonable and logical man of... sometimes science, sometimes God... I felt as though there had to be a reason for a person to be in that house. But, as a young 20 something year old human being looking at a creepy house at like 1am,  I just about Sh*t myself.  It's not that I thought there was a real ghost in the building, or that a demon was watching me from the window, it was just a sense of unknowing. 

That building had been alone, abandoned and dark for so long, and now there was someone in the house like a frigging creeper of the night, and it was unnatural. In my world, in my life, it was wrong for there to be someone in that house, my mind literally couldn't comprehend a person being in there. So of course my wife on the other end of the phone heard me stop mid sentence and breath heavily for a moment. Then when I had confirmed that there was indeed a face looking out the window... at me... I began to (in the manliest fashion possible) scream like a little girl. Screaming obscenities and using Science's name in vain I dropped the phone a drove off for my life. 

I ended up calling my wife back and letting her know that I indeed did not die in a horrific car accident, but had seen something that would haunt me in my dreams for several years. 

One of the coolest things I think about with this chapter is that Rebecca Moon and Ty share a quick moment before drifting off to sleep, and this just goes to show that despite being pushed past the point of utter exhaustion, they are still bonding. Rebecca is so tired, so weak and so confused inside, that she cant see the darkness around her. Ty as well, is so caught up in his spell, that he lets something else pull the wool over his eyes. 

But even through this, their uncertainty their pain and worry, they hold on to each other. Rebecca is such a right and wrong type of person, that she can't do anything but what she things is good. Catching Ty off guard, he can sense this in her and begins to feel the twinge of guilt for involving her. Rebecca's innate goodness is convicting Ty of things that he can't even come to terms with, but it also gives him hope.  

They are making each other better people and at this time they have no idea that it's happening. They are drawn to each other like gravity pulls the moon and the earth. It is a force of nature that Neither of them can control or understand completely. But that is where things begin to soften the ground for the seed to be planted. 

And that is where the Seed of love will flourish.

Song for the Chapter: Noticed - Mutemath
 A very good song, by one of the best bands ever. Seriously go check it out right now.

Appreciation.

@ohiostategirl07 for starting the Under the Sea book club on Wattpad.

@Dandirawr for accepting me into the UTSBC (book club) on wattpad.

To both of you, thank you for starting and working on the club and the thread. You guys are awesome. If there is someone else that is doing stuff and I am ignoring them, please forgive me, I didn't see. Just yell at me and I will up date this blog.

@Pandean for having a very critical point of view on my work so far. You may not understand it, but it makes me happy to see when people take some interest in my work. even if they were forced into it by the Book club.

@Bia317 for being awesome. Probably the best person I started following this week.

@Claire-Merle for voting on my book. Whether you were just humoring me, or you actually like it, I'm very happy that you took the time to swing by my profile.  You're a huge inspiration to my writing, and i can;t wait to finish your book.

T.W. Clawson

 

Chapter 3:Gremlins

Hope you enjoyed Chapter 3 of

 

If you have yet to read it, then head over to wattpad and read if for free. 

http://w.tt/1URdWag

Or Go to my website and pick it up as an e-book, or paperback.

TWClawson.com

OK! Chapter three! Hope you felt a little twinge of suspense, as well laughed a little. And what?! A talking cat?  

Yes, this is a real movie... on Netflix... That my wife and I watched all of... twice...

Anyway, Darcy can speak! hope you enjoyed that little twist, and his attitude toward the world. He fills the need in a every great adventure story to have a sort of side kick companion. Peter pan and Tinker Bell, Link And Navi, Turner and Hooch, The Doctor and K-9, Sonic and Tails, Yorick Brown and Ampersand... Ect. ect. ect.

Darcy is the essential tool that every great adventurer needs. A companion that has absolutely no reason to need the adventure. They are a tag along, an exception, nonessential in an absolutely unrelenting way. Darcy knows things, but he doesn't need to tell them to the others, he wants things, and he will play his cards the right way to get what he wants. But there's something more, he needs Rebecca. He knows how much she cares for him, and how much she is willing to put up with him, he doesn't know this about any one else.  It's a symbiotic relationship. He keeps her alive, and she keeps his tummy full.

Gremlins... What do ya think of those little nasty buggers. The idea of a Gremlin came from the same place as the Fairies, Pixies and Sprites. They of the same classification, the same kingdom, but a different race of being. While Sprites are in communion with nature, and Fairies protect nature, Gremlins are a force of nature. Having given themselves over to its wilds so much, that they are nothing more than a self aware Bee hive. Something that was not expressed throughout this book, but is slightly alluded to later, is that the gremlins were sent. It was no accident that they appeared when they did. But that's enough on that for now.




This was, hopefully, an exciting chapter. But one part I absolutely love is when Rebecca comes back from tying off the wench and the whole scene of Gremlins and Cat and Ty freezes.  Then with shaking ferocity the gremlin yells out for attack. I seriously laughed as I wrote it. In my mind, I'm watching a movie and writing it out as I go. So to see this in my head, playing over and over as I'm writing it was a little to much.

I was at work while writing a lot of this, and me busting into uncontrollable laughter was even more odd. But then I made my co-worker read the passage, and she looked at me with a face of contempt. Clearly not amused by the imagery I had given, I began to write it out more and more trying to place the image that I saw in my head, into yours (the readers). Maybe this might help.

Go back and read that passage (if you would like) and listen to this song while you do so...

I'm going to talk you through it real quick. This might seem weird, but it makes reading this passage a million times cooler. Like your a trailer voice over guy. It also helps if you get into character... *which I did

depending on how quickly you read it you can start in a different spot.  But at 1:24 into the video, you should began to read the last time Ty calls out to Rebecca.  The line goes

“Rebecca please! Come back quickly!” 

Read at a quick but steady pace. By the time 1:45 comes up on you, you should be about to say Rebecca's line, and you have about 15 seconds to read through the next chapter detailing the frozen moment. Then the crescendo comes back as the Gremlin  yells out for attack at 2:05

This might seem odd to some, that I might go into such detail on one tiny part of one tiny little book, but to me, this is what makes a book. Small detail, imagery that the author sees that he rest of the world doesn't.  I see and hear this in my head, and unfortunately books don't have sound tracks, so this is as close as I can get. There is no way for me to expect that everyone will do this, but for those that try it, and more specifically those that succeed in getting the moment that I had writing it, I hope you enjoy this.

I do, actually take back what I said about books not having Soundtracks. Because I do have a list of songs that I listened to, and That I think inspired my chapters a little more. I missed last week, so I will include it here:

2: Bloom - ODESZA

3: Tick Tick Boom - The Hives

Writing is so much more than Telling a story. It's about making a connection. Surpassing time and space and sharing an emotion that sits within me. A good writer reveals a plot, but more than that they make you feel what they feel. If you can read this passage of my book and laugh like I did, then I did my job as a writer. If you need the music to understand what's happening in my head, then at least I can do something to help you.

People that I want to shout out to this week are:

@marjalilli - Because you continue to challenge me. So welcome back. I'm also glad you liked the first couple chapters and I hope you continue to appreciate the book. And the scenes with the cat are necessary. I'm hoping that you have read this far and realize that Darcy is a very important character, which is why he was so important in the first chapter.

@DannyFlinn - You made my day when you read my book. Seriously, a terrible day, that was brightened by you and you words. Thank you.

@sammydrf - It's an odd connection to make, but valid none-the-less. The magi of Bethany thing is going to become pretty important later. I hope you continue to enjoy the book.

See you next week!
T.W. Clawson

Chapter 2: Faries, Pixies & Sprites

So you have made it to chapter 2 of

 

Good for you, hope you enjoyed it.  If you haven't read the chapter yet, head over to Wattpad and check it out.

http://w.tt/1Tontas 

Or go to my website to buy it!

TWCLAWSON.COM 

This chapter was SO much fun to write. As you will notice throughout the rest of the book, there is about two or three parts to each chapter. This is simply because of the way I wrote it. I wrote 1,500 to 2,000 words a day and considered that a chapter, later I went through and combined each part into a newer larger chapter. 

This chapter had the two parts I wrote for the three girls that help Rebecca begin her great journey. These were completely and utterly ripped from reality and given new form in this book. I wanted to add an element of surprise to having three small flying girls show up at Rebecca's door, and that was that these were indeed three different girls. They all have very specific personalities and backgrounds.

Taken from my wife's very amazing cousins and best friends, Joy, Trish and Ara are three of the silliest and endearing characters I have ever written. And sitting down to make a person into a mythical creature always makes their personality shine. Just as my wife's cousins are completely different, but could commonly be mistaken as very much alike, so too are the creatures that knocked on Rebecca's door.

Fairies have always been the sort of staple when it comes to small flying glowing things. I have seen everything from Peter pan fairies to Hellboy, and fairies have always been very dynamic and easily changed to fit a story. I didn't want to change them so much, but rather show a difference in what people thought were fairies.


With a Pixie you have a much more earthy type of build. Bug like wings, mushroom cap, and flesh. They seem less like a mystical creature and more like a giant ass bug, or something of the sort. Pixies are a child like creature that wants to have fun and enjoy the area around them. They make mud pies and break sticks like a karate chop. And of course in the case of Trish, hide things to teach people a lesson.

 



Then you have Sprites (no, not Spirits and certainly not the soft drink, but I think most of you may know that.) Sprites are creatures that commune as a part of nature. they are often seen as a water fairy or something of the sort. But I think it's important that each of these races and classifications has it's own history and purpose. Ara is a water Sprite, who can communicate with other water sprites, because they are all connected, like a river to the ocean. She is not a Pixie who couldn't care less for a puddle of water.





Finally The Fairy. Joy is a fairy, a figure of light in the darkness. She talks, herself, about being the defender for the woods. The fairy I think is a creature that stands alone for the most part, and sees the darkness around them, but embodies what the human spirit could only dream of. They stand firm in the dark, but shine brightly and with a sense of fun.  They are beautiful because that's what we as humans wish to be.







After the first week of being on Wattpad, I am renewed in my excitement for this book.

I have made a few friends and am continually learning about the community online. In six days (because I'm writing this on a Friday) I have had over 130 views of my book. if we continue in this pattern exponentially, I think I might pee my pants!

Starting next week, with chapter three, I will be joining some Book Clubs, and trying to get a few more readers. I hope that If you are reading this, then you enjoy the story so far (or have bought it and enjoy all off it!) and that you will share the story with your friends. Whether on Wattpad, or in real life, I hope you will pass this on.

And I will end this with my first week appreciation.

@Chloe_xl - For making me fell like a good writer.

@FatedPhoenix - For being the first to comment on the story, I'm glad you liked it.

@Lord_Xusecer - For leaving a critique that absolutely made my day wonderful.

@nateisfunny - For asking for chapter two. I hope the demands keep coming. Remember you can always just buy it on kindle for like $3.

@marjalilli - For making me make a cover that I was not OK with, but happy to see finished.

@oliviarose85 - For starting the EXCERPT thread. It has been really fun to follow along with that. Even if I'm terrible at chatting online.

Thanks, everyone. Have a great week!

Chapter 1: The Boy in the Bottle

Welcome to the First chapter of
 



I hope you enjoyed it, or if you have yet to read it then, go back and READ the DERN thing!
 

https://www.wattpad.com/201718218-rebecca-moon-and-the-boy-in-the-bottle-chapter-1

 The first thing you need to know about this book is that it was written as gift for my wife. Yes, her name is Rebecca, and I’m gonna be honest the metaphors and analogies aren’t that complicated in this book. But they weren’t meant to be, they were meant to be jokes and funny little things that I know my wife would laugh at while she read this book. So if it feels like you're missing out on some big inside joke… the fact is, you probably are.

I also wrote this book For National Novel Writing Month (or Nano Wrimo). A challenge to all writers, amateur and professional, to write at least 50,00 words in the thirty days of November. I took up this challenge and by Nov. 24th I had 53,000 words. I'm not saying this to tell you how great I am, but rather to inspire anyone reading this to take up the mantle this next year and do it. Cause If I can, then so can you.




Soundtrack Track 1: At Home - Crystal Fighters


Listen along each week and hear the music I listened to while I was writing.



But lets get away from those stiff background things and get into the story.

WHAT THE HECK!

What is happening to our young protagonist. Lets meet her real fast. Rebecca Moon is a sweet loving girl who, if you didn't catch it in this chapter loves video games. She is approximately sixteen, thought I don't talk about it to much. I want the character to be slightly ambiguous so she is acceptable to a wide range to people. The younger generation will most likely make her a year or to older, so that they can imagine life yet to come for themselves, while the older generation will make her a little younger, to create an innocence and nativity that they can enjoy watching.

I wrote this chapter with my wife in mind, a younger version of her as it is. A girl who didn't seek out the world around her, but rather enjoyed her solitude.Of course this character is not exactly my wife, the imagery, though, is best summed up with her. While I'm sure wife would kill me if I posted a picture of her as a representation of the character in the book, Here is a self portrait of her when she was younger. A gift that was given to me years ago when we first started dating.

This world that Rebecca Moon is now apart of is something unfamiliar to us all. Yet some how, it calls out to us every single day. Every time we feel something watching us from the shadows, every time we hear a noise we can't explain. The fear that grows inside us from no reason, this is the world that Rebecca is being thrust into. The explanation for those odd occurrences, the reveal of the monster behind the darkness.

What I love about Rebecca is that while she is being taken to a new world, a new realm of existence, without knowing it mind you, she is still innocent. She is more concerned with her Cat, than the  monsters. The first and most important thing about the boy in the bottle is that he's naked.   Rebecca is real girl, who has real idea's about what is right and wrong, and sometimes it takes her longer to understand the real situation at hand, because she is so caught up in her own prejudices.

Darcy, the cat, was absolutely named after Mr. Darcy of Pride and Prejudice. It is my wife's favorite book, and favorite characters of all time. If she wasn't obsessed with giving her cat's ridiculousness names... then this would be a great name for her cat.

Cat's (and their ridiculous names) of my wife:




Tat/ Tatafur

 

Bubba

 

Pabu

 

Panda/ Panda Rat/ Rat



Pickels/ Dills/ Killer/ The Scardest Cat.  (In full honesty, this is not a picture of the real Dills. but I couldn't find a pic, so I supplemented with a generic pic. But this is her color and how fat she really was. in reality I don't think I could have found a better picture... )

And finally...





Momo, Mosby, Moser, Asshole...



The one Color of Cat that my wife says she wishes she could have one day is a Tabby, but she flips out every time she sees a calico, and so I thought in a perfect world Rebecca Moon would have her perfect Mr. Darcy Calico Cat. Also I't almost impossible for a Calico to be Male, which makes Darcy even more rare. Some slight metaphors in there... just so you know.


The monsters in this chapter are Goblins. Though I didn't decided that until much later in the book, They do play a pretty important role, which you will find out later (Muhahahaha!) . I have never been able to find an appropriate picture of them, because my Goblins are slightly original.
Out at my wife's childhood home, Coyotes were out every night. The Few nights that I stayed there, I could hear them around the house scampering around and yelping and howling. It's a blood curtailing and intense sound that made my hair stand on end.  The inspiration for the goblins in my book are those coyotes. The idea that we as humans have rationalized something terrifying, made normal a monster that hides in the darkness.

They are not the Goblins from Troll 2:




Song for this chapter: At Home - Crystal Fighters

I hope you have learned a little more about the first chapter of the book and I hope you enjoyed reading it this far. Keep an eye out for the next chapter of the book on Wattpad, Or if you want feel free to check out my webpage to learn more about buying the entire book at once.
Leave a comment here, or on Wattpad and let me know what you think. If you buy the Book out right, then feel free to leave a review, or talk with me here as you read along.

twclawson.com

 See you guys soon!

T.W. Clawson

It's out.

Guys, if you can't hear my excitement through these words, then you need a hearing aid.





My book is out! and it's ready to be bought! I'm gonna keep this short and simple.

Go by my book on Amazon, either as an E-book or as a Trade paper back. You can get there by going to my website.

http://www.twclawson.com/works.html

Starting this Saturday, you can read one chapter a week on Wattpad, and each blog post for that week will be a behind the scenes or special features sort of look at it.

Thanks guys, everyone. If you read this, then thank you. Tell you friends and come back for more!

T.W. Clawson.

Written for my Wife

In the coming weeks, I will be posting about a book that I have written.

I just wanted to talk about it outside of itself a little before that. The purpose of it and what joy it gives me to release it online.

Several years ago I was homeless, unemployed, nonplussed and depressed. Living an a small loft above a very (VERY) generous couple's garage, I sat around trying to figure out what to do with my life. And while those were by and far a couple of the worst years in my life, I none the less was born out of them a better man.

Three things happened almost simultaneously, seeds of things that have born great fruit and I pray will continue to do so.

The first was when My dad called me over to his house, to experiment at designing a few shirts for a MMA athletic clothing line. I will spend little time on this, but the fact is it made me realize how much I enjoyed graphic design. And I continued to design my own shirts since then. Starting a (terribly unsuccessful) clothing line, and then starting a shop that is doing kind of, slightly, some what... well.

Second was when I applied for a job at Fred Meyer in Canby, Oregon. Now when I say I applied, what I really mean is that I demanded a job. I had literally been out of work for about a year and a half (despite the one month I spent in a place that I can only describe as hell, so I don't count that). If you have ever been out of work, then you will know how if feels when every single person you know only has one thing they talk to you about, and it's always the same question, over and over and over.

The fact was, I had found a lot of jobs that were good, but they didn't think that they had found anything good themselves, so I was never contacted again.  And thus, I continued on my trajectory of failure in the employment sector. But then I had finally had enough. I heard that there was an opening for the Starbucks in the Fred Meyer in Canby, and I thought... I could do that.
 I walked up to customer service, after getting the name of the HR lady, and simply told the CS associate that I was there to speak to Deb in HR. I was dressed to the nines and had my resume in hand. As well, I wasn't taking no for an answer.
Luckily, the nice lady at desk called Deb on the phone and told her that I was there to see her, she smiled, hung up the phone and directed me on how to get to Deb's Office.  Confidently, I walked back to the office and opened the door. As I peered into see Deb, I could see her shuffling folders about her desk and looking for something.

"Hi, I'm Tyler. I'm hear to speak with you." I said confidently, yet  light and quietly.

Deb looked up and seemed a little deterred. "Hi Tyler," she said getting out of her chair to shake my hand. "I'm so sorry, but I can"t seem to find your application anywhere in my stack. What was your last name?"

I laughed slightly. "Clawson, and it's OK cause I don't have an application in. I'm sorry about that."

We both sat and I looked her directly in the eye as she started to calm down. "See, I wanted to speak with you before I put in the application online. I know for a fact that you're hiring for Starbucks and I want to make sure you know who I am when I put in my name."

Deb smiled a sly smile... an approving smile.

"Anyway, I just thought I would introduce myself and give you my resume and make sure you know that I will apply as quickly as I can."

She told me to fill out the application, and then two days later called me in for an interview. I didn't know it, but the day I walked in and demanded attention, an opening in the Electronics Department had arrived. (a dept. that I was much more capable of working and my resume showed that.) They interviewed me... Deb the HR lady, The Manager of the Dept. and then a third interview with the Store Director all with in an hour. Then before I could walk out the front door of the store, they were calling my phone to offer me the job.

This was a win, and while I complain and have lost a lot of devotion to my job at Fred Meyer, I will never forget the fact that they saved me. This was the second thing to happen that started to turn my life around.

The third thing was this:

Five children were sitting in a field. They sat looking at the world around them from the peaceful grasslands of their grandmother’s backyard. It was ten acres of green grass and sporadic trees, with a narrow road driving down the side of the property and a small collection of maple trees mixed with firs, and some oddly colored trees that would forever be uncategorized following along the path. On the far side of the field an orchard of apple trees sprang to life, creating a home for wild animals. Their grandmother's home sat behind them with a large tree off to the side, supporting a tire swing hanging down.

Now, at this (dark) time in my life, I knew I wanted to write comic books and movies and all that jazz. I have always been a dreamer and tried to tell stories. But I never wanted write a novel. It was too much, to big. It was work. But nothing was working out for me. Movies are expensive and I would have to start at the bottom. Graphic Novels require an artist, I have no illustration skills. But Novels would require only writing my ideas on a page.

I had even taken an old comic book that I had written and I began to add to it to turn it into a novel. Because I thought "I have already written most of it, now it won't be to much work to adjust it a little." So if I was going to write a book, then it was going to be the easy way. But then, as I was getting pretty far into it, I suddenly found myself without the flash drive that had stored the entire piece of work. I had literally lost my "novel" and would have to start over.

In a deep and dark depression one night, within my cave in the forest (my loft five miles outside the nearest town.) I wrote this small passage. Then I wrote an entire page. Then I had finished the chapter. Then the first act of the book, and soon things had started to come around. I moved back into town in a shitty mobile home, which I paid way to much rent for, I started fixing my car up and I started to have something close to a life.

I then finished the first draft of the book, and God provided an editor and people around me that helped me craft it a little more. And soon (though it really took a very long time) I had a finished book, that I was querying agents for representation. And that's where I sit now.

There is one piece of this that I haven't mentioned yet, because it's something very special to me. My wife, Rebecca. Through everything, literally everything, she was there. Encouraging me, helping me, freeing me. Despite my terrible situation, she stuck it all through with me, on a promise that we might one day be wedded. If you have never had dark and terrible times, then it's hard to explain how much the encouragement of another person is.



Even the one time I tried to break up with her, for her own good, she wouldn't have it. (we weren't married at the time.) I tried to give her a life with out me, with out my pain and hurt and darkness. And she refused to accept it, she wanted me for every thing I was. Dark parts and all. It's a wonderful and moving thing to have in my life, a person who loves me like that.

And she does.

So (and I promise I'm almost done.) when I started thinking about a small book I could write, to try and self-publish so as to get more attention, I had to think about what it was I wanted to write about. Naturally I thought about the wonderful and unbound love of my wife. And that's what this book is. This is a book that tells the world of the love that I have been given. It is a book that shows my wife, that I have seen her greatness and it has inspired an entire book. This book was written for her, and inspired by her. She is my dream come true.

She is my Rebecca moon.




"Yummy coffee and a good book, written just for me. Thank you Tyler!" - from Facebook post.





























T.W. Clawson

Date and Cover Release!

I know that many of you, and by that I mean the 7billion people who live on Earth, don't really care, but for those of you that do...

I'm releasing my book, Rebecca Moon and the Boy in the Bottle!

I'm setting it for Thursday, January 21st on amazon for both Paperback and E-book. As well, Starting that Saturday, the 23rd, I will be uploading one chapter on Wattpad weekly.

If you wanna see my big plan for everything, check out an older post that lays out everything a little more.

http://imthewritestuff.blogspot.com/2016/01/soon-very-soon.html


And, as I'm sure you have scrolled down to see, below is the cover art for the book. As off this moment of me writing, there is only one physical copy in existence, and my wife has it on her book shelf. Check it out!

 

 

 

So there it is.
I will be updating my Blog and my Webpage: http://twclawson.weebly.com/
You can follow me and purchase the book on my website as well as (if they all work out...) in several stores in the Portland area. Which I will post as soon as it available.