From Russia with Blood Guest Blog with Michael J Lee

Writing action scenes

There are three things you have to worry about when writing a paranormal adventure, love scenes, supernatural scenes, and action scenes.

I’m going to talk about action scenes. Strangely enough this was covered in my college creative writing course. My professor handed out a copy of some poor anonymous sap’s writing.

My god it was horrible.

It was full of blood and pain and suicide and we couldn’t stop laughing. The overwrought descriptions turned what was supposed to be tragedy into farce. Then my professor handed out and example of published fiction. This was a story about a woman in the eighteenth century who was kidnapped by Native Americans. The writing was terse and the violence conveyed with only a few simple sentences. That lesson stuck with me.

That lesson has been brought home time and again when I read scripts for contests. There are a lot of action scripts out there and unfortunately most would be writers try to be the next John Woo. They load up their scripts with gunfights that last five pages or more. The ironic part is that kind of overwriting SLOWS a story down. After a while I was beginning to think Shakespeare had the proper idea. He would always just write “They fight.”

Then a few years ago I stumbled across a post on thriller writers. I found the examples fascinating especially those of Lee Child. The way he wrote, it put the reader in Jack Reacher’s skin as he was struggling to stay alive. I could finally see how the proper action scene was supposed to be executed. It’s about character.

The more I learn about writing the more it comes back to character. In fiction it doesn’t matter what a scene looks like, what matters is how it feels to the characters. You don’t need to choreograph a fight like Bruce Lee. What you need to do is make the reader feel every punch and kick. That’s what I tried to convey in From Russia with Blood. I want the reader to feel like they are in the field with Ian as he’s being stalked by four assassins. I want them to be with Larissa as runs for her life across Connecticut streets. If I’ve done that, then I’ve done my job.
From Russia with Blood
By Michael J Lee

400 year old vampire Ian Redd joined British Intelligence during the Cold War. But after the Berlin Wall came down they decided they no longer needed his services. He was retired, almost permanently. Ian escaped and has lived the quiet life in a small town until a professional hit team arrived at his doorstep. Who sent them? That’s a question that will lead Ian into the arms of a beautiful woman named Larissa Barton and into the most dangerous operation of his unlife.

Larissa Barton’s life has barely begun and it’s already gone off the tracks. She’s back in her hometown working as a barista. But things change when Ian Redd enters her life. Dark, mysterious and gorgeous, Ian is her only protection her from the people and creatures who suddenly want her dead. With Ian by her side Larissa plunges into a world of magic, werewolves, vampires, spies and assassins and discovers her own secret past.

"One part James Bond, one part Dracula, and a whole lot of action and adventure. From Russia with Blood kicks ass!" - Vivi Anna, award winning author of the Valorian Chronicles


About the Author:

Micheal J Lee was born in the Midwest and has spent time out on the East Coast and in LA.

He learned the craft of screenwriting the hard way, as a barely paid reader. That’s how he got a good feel for writing form and the craft of storytelling. His approach to a story is a lot like Bruce Lee's approach to fighting, absorb what is useful.

Lee published his first paranormal romance, My Frankenstein, recently. It's been an adventure – and now he’s on to book 2, From Russia with Blood.

http://myfrankensteinebook.blogspot.com/

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4849011.Michael_Lee

My Frankestein Giveaway and Michael J Lee Guest Post

Author Michael J Lee's Favorite Scene In My Frankestein

My favorite scene in the book comes towards the end. It’s the finale in the foundry. That’s where the stories of the three main characters come to a climax. I picture the scene where Adam breaks down the door in the pouring rain and calls out Viktor’s name. It’s a real trailer moment for the story. (Couldn’t actually use it in my trailer for budget reasons.)

Another one of my favorite scenes is towards the middle after Eva has fallen into the river. Viktor uses his machinery to save her life. I liked it so much I moved it ahead to the prologue.

What I like about it is that it shows where I’m striking out on my own. Viktor isn’t assisted by a slovenly hunchback but by a professional engineer. And his search to conquer death has taken a few interesting detours. It’s also the point where Viktor and Eva’s relationship takes a critical turn. It was one of the very first scenes I imagined when I first planned the story. It seemed to me that Viktor could use his technology as a modern defibrillator. And what could be more dramatic than using it to revive the story’s heroine? It was a very straightforward scene when I first wrote it as a screenplay. When it came time to convert it to a novel I had a few more choices to make. I decided to keep the scene from Eva’s perspective and it’s very dark and gloomy at the beginning because she’s just been pulled from the river. I personally have no experience with near death experience. I wrote it from the point of view of someone who was slipping from this world into an unknown darkness. That part still gives me the chills. When this chapter became the prologue I had the opportunity to rewrite the scene from Viktor’s point of view. It’s more dynamic here. Viktor is using all his skill and knowledge to defeat death and he won’t be denied. Both scenes were very rewarding to write.

I also really enjoyed some of the more horrific sections. I’m a big creature feature-loving kid at heart and these scenes brought me back to my misspent youth. Two scenes really stand out. One takes place in the alley and the other one by the river bank. I was careful not to just write gratuitous violence. What happens in these scenes is horrible but it’s necessary as far as Viktor is concerned. He’s going to protect his work no matter what. They both have different tones. The alley scene is a fight. I’d say it’s almost like a slasher in some regards, though not as bloody. The riverbank scene is more emotional and more haunting. It has to do with grief and remembrance of those who are dead. Both scenes give the narrative a nice kick but they are also pivotal scenes in the plot. These are the points of no return for the characters.

After pouring so much work into these scenes along with the rest of the book I’m very excited to see what the audience reaction is.

Did I do good?

That’s not for me to decide. I hope others enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed writing it. But I’ll just have to wait and see.

Book Description:

In a small village in early 19th Century young Eva is enthralled by the new young baron, Viktor Frankenstein. Viktor promises to transform the traditional little town into a beacon of science and gives the book loving Eva access to his fantastic library. Eva becomes his student and assists him in a secret experiment, though she is kept in the dark about its ultimate aim. Soon after that Viktor introduces Eva to his “cousin” Adam. Adam is horribly disfigured with stitches running across his face. Viktor claims he is mute and simpleminded, but Eva takes pity on him and sets out to teach him to speak.…

What follows is a combination of tragic romance and classic horror as Eva is pulled between Viktor, who grows jealous and takes murderous steps to ensure his secret, and Adam, who possess tremendous strength and rage yet deep inside is innocent and vulnerable.

In his debut fantasy novel, Michael J. Lee retells the classic story by Mary Shelley as a dark romance with steampunk overtones.

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