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Author December 2007 - Britney Porter Act Normal A Stan Turner Mystery Dallas settings add realism for William Manchee's series Under the Tarizonian Repopulation Project, American children are abducted by aliens and transported to the planet Tarizon in exchange for advanced technology. Stan Turner discovers the government’s covert operation when his son Peter is abducted by the aliens. The CIA then recruits Stan, a prominent lawyer in Dallas, to defend a woman named Charlotte Wenzel, who is accused of murdering her husband and children. In defending the woman, Stan is instructed to keep the government’s treaty with Tarizon a secret, to keep his son’s abduction a secret, and begrudgingly, to “act normal.” Plano author William (Bill) Manchee has released volume 8 of the Stan Turner Mystery series, Act Normal. The sci-fi legal thriller explores three cases: the Charlotte Wenzel murder case, a money embezzlement case in Waco, and an arson-murder case involving a local scientist with ties to TI. “There are usually two or three stories in a Stan Turner Mystery and most of them are inspired by old cases,” said Bill, a lawyer in Dallas for 30 years. “I do that to make it more realistic.” The author’s first six books in the Stan Turner Mystery series are strictly legal mysteries. Bill eased into science fiction with his book Cactus Island, volume 7. “Writing is very competitive, and the only way to really get noticed is if you come up with something unique,” he said. “I haven’t seen very many science-fiction, legal mystery books out there.” Bill enjoyed writing his last two science-fiction novels so much that he’s introducing a series spinoff called the Tarizon Trilogy. “It will be the story of Peter’s life on Tarizon. There’s going to be a civil war that he gets involved in.” The books will be “straight sci-fi,” no legal cases, and the author is looking forward to the challenge. “You have to create everything from scratch. It’s fun to create the existence and history of a planet. You create a whole world for your characters.” But Bill may not be able to control his characters’ destiny. “I’m an organic writer,” he said. “It’s living the story. It’s where you have an idea of a few things that are going to happen, but the characters take over. They run the story. They have certain temperaments and dispositions and you have to follow them.” Some of those temperaments and dispositions, Bill picks up from his own family. “My kids are in most of my books, as far as their character and manners,” he said. “As a writer, you use all your experiences. I had a female attorney who was the persona that I used for Paula’s character,” he added. Paula is Stan’s law partner. Every other chapter in Act Normal is told from her perspective. The narrative moves smoothly between the two lawyers. Said Bill, “I was trying to do something different. I thought it’d be good to have a female perspective. It added another dimension to the story.” Bill’s personal story begins in southern California, where he’s from originally. In the late ‘60s, he married his high school sweetheart, Janet, and they’re celebrating 40 years this month. The UCLA, political-science major moved to San Diego in 1969 to attend the University of San Diego School of Law. After a brief duty in the United States Marine Corps, Bill moved to Plano and transferred to SMU Dedman School of Law. In his spare time, he dipped his hands into politics and was active in the Republican Party, becoming Collin County Chairman from 1974 - 1976, when the party elected its first county officials including the sheriff, justice of the peace, and county commissioner. After graduating from SMU law school and receiving his Juris Doctorate degree, Bill began his practice in 1977. Today, he and his son Jim office at Manchee & Manchee, L.L.P. in Dallas. Act Normal is Bill’s twelfth published novel. His first dawned in ‘95 called Twice Tempted, and since, Bill has vowed to write a novel every year. “It is a personal challenge,” he said. “When I began writing, my first publisher went broke, so I spent a year getting the rights back to the book. I was very discouraged, so I started a publishing company called Top Publications.” Top Publications (www.toppub.com) has published more than 60 books and boasts a client list of 35 authors from across the country. “I knew that if I self-published, I would never get the credibility necessary to be successful,” Bill continued. “We’ve had some successes. As a matter of fact, we’ve had a couple of Agatha winners and we’ve published an Edgar nominee.” The Agatha Award is named after best-selling mystery writer Agatha Christie, and the Edgar Award, presented by the Mystery Writers of America, is named after Edgar Allen Poe. “One of the driving reasons I set up a publishing company was so that I could make the statement that I’m going to write a book every year. Most authors can’t say that because their destiny is in somebody else’s hands. But I want to control my destiny.” For more information on Bill Manchee, visit www.williammanchee.com. Excerpt from pages 6 - 9 Mo took off with a jerk and turned left toward LBJ freeway. “Where are we going?” I asked. “To meet Kulchz,” he replied evenly. My skin turned cold again thinking of the alien commander who was in charge of the abduction of thousands of American children. What kind of man was he? Was he really human? ... Kulchz was a tall human with broad muscular shoulders and a rugged face. He looked at me intently as I entered the spacious office that appeared to be made of glass or crystal. There were thousands of lights, control panels, and monitors of every sort. He motioned for us to sit down. The room was furnished with several chairs and a sofa cushioned by a soft, white substance. When I sat down, the seat conformed itself to the shape of my body. As I sank into it, I felt like I was floating on air. Kulchz sat in front of a large, glowing desk. With the faint blue glow
came a steady humming noise that changed pitch from time to time. I looked at it
curiously. Kulchz nodded slightly, “Mr. Turner, at last we meet.”
Hillary Ralles December 2005 - Britney Porter
Thirty fourth-graders at Daffron Elementary zoom in on H.J. Ralles, a children's book author from Plano. "How many of you have read my books?" Ralles asks. Thirty hands reach for the ceiling. "It's great to be back here. This is my fifth visit to Daffron. The very first time I came, I only had one book out. Now I've got five!" Her articulate accent and 13 years of teaching experience captivate the children. "I was born in England. I've got two sons. One is at The University of Texas at Dallas and one is at the University of Oklahoma," says Ralles. "When one of my sons was in fifth grade, he had to do a book report for school. I took him to Barnes and Noble one Saturday and every book I pulled off the shelf he moaned: 'That's boring! I don't like that one, Mum! Put that one back. That one doesn't interest me,'" imitates Ralles. "After an hour of his complaining, I took him home and said, 'What is it with you that you couldn't find one book you wanted to read?' "'Well,' he said. 'I was looking for something that would grab my attention like my computer games or video games.'" Inspired, Ralles raced to the computer to write a chapter of a book that would engage her son, Richard. In 2001, Ralles published Keeper of the Kingdom. "This is a story of a boy called Matt who gets sucked into his computer game, finds himself in the future, and has to play his game from inside to get out," Ralles says. She explains how each book in the Keeper series is a level of Matt's game where he explores an underwater world, encounters villains such as 8-foot venom-spitting lizards, or meets heroes with super-human strength. Book 4, Keeper of the Colony, level 4 of Matt's computer game, will be out at the end of February. "And I have another series, which was never going to be a series at all." Ralles holds up Darok 9 and Darok 10. "This is the story of two different children, Will and Maddie, who are 13 years old and live on the moon 100 years from now. Humans live in Daroks, which are big domed cities on the moon." One boy asks, "Are you going to write another Darok book?" "I'm not sure," Ralles shrugs. "There aren't 11 Daroks on the moon. I may have to build one. I might even take the Darok series to another planet! Maybe Mars!" The children delightfully whisper. Then, Ralles rolls out another surprise. She sweeps a handcrafted blue book above the children's faces. "I wrote this when I was 10 years old in school – the same as you! My mum saved it all of those years. She mailed it to me from England with a little sticky note: 'Hilary this was your first book, not Keeper of the Kingdom.' Isn't the writing neat? But I'll let you in on a very big secret." ... Ralles hunches down to the children's level, "My spelling is terrible!" The boys and girls giggle. "In fact, I'm still a lousy speller. And I wish somebody would have told me years ago when I was in school like you that even if you're a lousy speller, if you love writing, you can still be an author. "I'm here today to help you improve your writing. ... This is my Creativity Box©." Ralles holds a plastic box of note cards. "You see, this is a filing system of ideas. The first section is Title. How can you come up with good titles for your stories? Every newspaper and every magazine has many ideas waiting for you." Ralles displays a poster board with a newspaper's headline pasted to it and reads, "'Officers Recognized as Shining Stars.' What could you write about 'Shining Stars'?" One girl shoots her hand in the air. "Movie stars?" "Well done!" Ralles says. "What about if you hit your head, what might you see?" "Stars!" The children say in unison. "Let's suppose your teacher says, 'Your homework assignment is to write about winter.' Do you know how many times I've marked stories called 'The Snow,' or 'One Winter's Day,' or 'Snow Day'? Ah!" Ralles sighs. "Boring!" "What about 'Stuck'?" Ralles flashes a bold headline in front of the children. "You could be stuck in the snow, stuck on a mountain, stuck in a frozen lake!" "Ooooh!" the children agree. "The second section of my Creativity Box© is the Starting Line. You see, your teacher Mr. Yerger sits down with his cup of coffee and groans when he looks at the pile of stories he's got to mark because he knows what he's going to get: 'One day I went to ...' or 'Once upon a time there was a ...' or 'I'm going to tell you about the time that ...' Ha!" "Horrible. Horrible," mumbles Mr. Yerger in the back of the classroom. "The person who will get the A is the person who will make Mr. Yerger drop his cup of coffee and say, 'Whose is this?' Do you know I wrote the first line of Keeper of the Kingdom 40 times? Not four. Forty." Ralles reveals the first line she wrote for Keeper of the Kingdom: "'The blue ball of light flashed passed Matt's head.' "That wouldn't have gotten published," said Ralles. "It's boring! ... But now let me read the first page of Keeper of the Kingdom: "Halt, intruder! In the name of Zaul, the Protectors command you to surrender!" Matt ignored the warning and continued to run. A vibrant blue ball of light flashed past his head. He fell to the ground and covered his ears as the shimmering sphere of Xeleron struck the wall and exploded with an almighty boom. The stench of burning chemicals filled the air. Tiny fragments of plaster rained down as if he were in the middle of a sandstorm. Matt could taste the dust on his tongue and feel bits of debris tangled in his hair. Two Cybergon Protectors were visible in the distance; the fine silver barrels of their Xelerays were aimed straight at him. A direct hit meant instant death. Matt struggled to his feet and carried on, his life depended upon it. The walls of the corridor flashed by as he frantically searched for a way out. "Halt, we command! You will not escape the Protectors. Surrender or be eliminated!" Ralles puts the book down. "A blue ball of light flashed past Matt's head," she recalls. The children laugh. "Dialogue or speech is a great way to start a story. How are you going to find dialogue? You go to the comics!" "'All rise!'" Ralles reads a Wizard of Id comic. "We usually think of a courtroom, but you could write a ghost story, 'All riiiise,' Ralles says in a shaky voice. You could write a school story. Instead of 'One day I was late for school and Mr. Yerger was already saying the pledge with everybody in the class' – Boring! 'All rise for the pledge!' Mr. Yerger scowled at me as I snuck in the back of the class late for the start of the day.'" "Ooooh." The children giggle. "The next section in my box is Characters. Everybody in this world is different. Freeze!" The children freeze, stiff still. "You may not move your hands. You may not move your arms or your bodies. Now, everyone move their heads. Some of you are kneeling. Some of you have your legs crossed with your hands folded in your lap. Some of you have your legs stretched out. And now you can move." "Ahhhh," the children sigh. "That is being a human," said Ralles. "You see, we can all be doing the same thing at the same time, but we don't do it in the same way. You've got to put details in your story. You've got to make your reader picture your character. "Let's move on. Character Names. In the newspaper there are thousands of names. If you don't like them, switch them around. Let's suppose Mr. Yerger says, 'Write me a story about a billionaire.' If you've got a lot of names, start from there. Calvin Walkins," said Ralles holding up a poster board. "Shana McKay – not bad," she continued. "What about Calvin McKay?" Ralles switches the names. "Sounds like a billionaire to me." The children nod in agreement. "The last section in my box is the Setting. This is where a story takes place. I use pictures. This is the kingdom of Zaul 500 years in the future. It's actually a place in India! "There are wonderful magazines with beautiful pictures. Maybe you'll find a deserted island with a palm tree." Ralles holds a picture of a beach. "This will be for my book Keeper of the Isle." As the lesson comes to a close, the children divide into small groups and rummage through newspapers and magazines to make Creativity Boxes©. Students aren't the only ones at Daffron Elementary who are encouraged to make Creativity Boxes©. Lead teacher for fourth grade Terri Stout shows off her own. "Five years ago, teachers here started making Creativity Boxes©," said Stout, who reads Keeper of the Kingdom to her students every year before Ralles visits. "Her books are creative and very action-packed. My kids hate it when I say, 'OK, we're going to stop for the day.' They'll say, 'Noooo,'" Stout laughs. Ralles speaks at more than 100 schools a year. This year she's visited 114 schools. Her lessons are for fourth- through seventh-graders to prepare them for the TAKS test. "We always see a marked improvement in kids' writing after she comes," Stout said. "She does a lot for Plano schools." All of Ralles' books are on the Accelerated Reader program, a national point-based system schools use to encourage reading. And the Educational Media Association of New Jersey has chosen Keeper of the Kingdom for its fifth- and sixth-graders' Battle of the Books program. Said Ralles, "I hope that my books will increase vocabulary and reading ability, as well as increase a child’s desire to pick up a book and read. I set out to write stories that are in line with children's technological interests today and so promote reading." Ralles was the first children's book author for Top Publications in Dallas. Her books reach ages 9 to 14 and promote values like respect, as adults and children work together to solve problems. Proceeds from the sale of her books benefit the PISD Education Foundation, which has received about $12,000. Ralles and her husband Malcolm have lived in Plano for eight years, and their sons Richard, 19, and Edward, 18, attended PISD schools. Who inspires Ralles? "My fans who tell me they have read my books seven or eight times or that they can’t wait for my next book to come out," she said. "When children write to me telling me how much they have enjoyed one of my novels ... I am eager to get on with the next book." Visit HJRalles.com where Ralles is hosting a competition until the end of December for the name of a pirate in Keeper of the Isle.
Going to the Head of the Mystery Class Most teenagers consider it an achievement to end the school year by acing their final exams. Fifteen-year-old Matthew LaBrot capped his by winning a major literary award. Red Card, the novel he wrote with his uncle, Daniel J. Hale, won the Agatha Award for Best Young Adult Mystery at the Malice Domestic mystery convention in Arlington, Va., May 3.
Legal assistant turns award-winning mystery author By: ANDREA CASHIOLA, Reporter May 20, 2003 After a childhood of writing mystery stories and then stashing them away in a dresser drawer, Kay Finch also hid away her secret passion for writing to pursue a career in business and accounting. Many years later, she rediscovered writing and is now an award winning mystery writer publicizing her debut novel, Final Decree. Finch, a Missouri
City resident, began writing while growing up on her family's Pennsylvania farm. She
secretly drafted mystery stories, including "The Secret of the Hidden Cellar,"
and crafted her finished product into a book using her best penmanship and creating cover
art with crayons on construction paper. But, she never shared her stories with anyone.
"I was embarrassed to let anyone see my stories. Eventually I burned them in the
furnace to make sure no one ever found them." She went out and bought a book on fiction writing and joined the local Fort Bend Writer's
Guild and then the local chapter of the Mystery Writers of America. Writing duo scores with mystery fans 05/07/2003
Playing on a select soccer team that he hated was one of the best things that ever happened to Matthew LaBrot. He just didn't know it at the time. After Matthew got upset with a coach during one particularly awful practice, his uncle, Daniel Hale, tried to cheer him up. At the computer, he wrote an opening sentence about the team. He invited Matthew, then 12, to write the next one. And soon they were into it, taking turns, for the next hour and a half. That's how, over the course of a year, Red Card, a soccer mystery starring teen sleuth Zeke Armstrong, was born. The uncle and nephew sent e-mails and talked about the book on the way to soccer between the teen's home in Greenville and his uncle's in Dallas, each adding to the story as they went along. The book, recommended for ages 9 to 12, was published by Top Publications of Dallas in July. Matthew, now 15, became the youngest person to win an Agatha Award on Saturday, when he and his uncle picked up the prize for best children's or young adult mystery. The Agatha, administered by Malice Domestic in Washington, D.C., is an annual national award voted on by mystery writers and fans. Matthew had to miss a day of school to make the ceremony. The first person they called with the news was Matthew's mom, followed by Mr. Hale's mom (Matthew's grandmother) and their agent. "It felt surreal when they announced the winner," Mr. Hale said Sunday. "I said to myself, 'Red Card, Red Card, why is that name so familiar?' Then I went, 'Oh yes, that's our book!' " It's been a little shock for Matthew, whose uncle had warned him how long it can take to get publication or recognition for writing. At the same time, he says, he always had confidence in the material. "At first it started as a joke, but by the time we finished it, I wanted it to be pretty good," says Matthew, who wrote all the soccer scenes in the book. "I put so much work in it." As did Mr. Hale. Both agree it's been a team effort, right down to Zeke Armstrong's name. "I made up the name Armstrong," says Matthew. "He made up Zeke. We decided to put both our ideas together." For Mr. Hale, 43, a lawyer with an MBA and an aspiring writer with four unpublished novels in a drawer, "it just figures" that the book he wrote for fun was the book that worked best. "I was really working hard on the craft of writing," he says. "I went through the fiction program at SMU. I was taking it all so seriously." The key to Red Card was simply that both writers liked the story, he says. "We're both mystery buffs. We would be in the car, going back and forth to practices, and we would plot it out, saying, 'What do you think of this?' The momentum really grew, and six months down the line we couldn't stop if we tried. We had a good time." And it showed, says Lisa Korth, the former president of Top Publications who bought the book (and to whom the book is, in part, dedicated). "Nothing has leapt out to me as strongly as that one has," she recalls. "I had so many piles and piles and piles of manuscripts, but I just knew when I read it, 'Oh my gosh, there's greatness here.' I e-mailed them immediately. I met them for pizza. They were amazing. I had such a good feeling about this book and about them." Similarly, Linda Rutledge, the Agatha Awards committee chair, says the book has struck a nerve with the mystery writers and fans who vote for the annual Agatha awards. "We select the top five vote-getters for each nomination," she says. "This is a very good book, and it's worthy of the nomination. It's delightful to see a book with a protagonist who models good behavior for young people and tells an interesting story." The other cool thing about it for both Matthew and Mr. Hale is that the project strengthened, rather than strained, their close bond. "He didn't treat me like a little kid," Matthew says. "He treated me like a business partner. We never got mad at each other. I think that's probably because we had such a good relationship before we started writing." Mr. Hale says that Matthew was easy to work with and that 85 percent of Zeke was modeled on his nephew, right down to the cowlick. Mr. Hale claims the other 15 percent, including Zeke's international savvy ("I lived in France and speak French," he says) and the ability to drive a car at an early age ("When I was 6, I could drive a pickup around my family's pastures in Arkansas"). "We have very similar senses of humor," Mr. Hale says. "A lot of times we would have the same idea at the same time." In some ways, too, life has modeled art for Matthew. Just as Zeke tries to keep his identity as an international mystery sleuth from his teammates so he will be treated normally, Matthew didn't want to tell his new classmates at Greenville Christian School that he was a published author. "You get treated a little differently when people know stuff like that," he says. Then he agreed to give a talk at the library in Greenville, and before he knew it, the news spread through the classrooms. "All my friends started making fun of me for a few days. 'So he can read and write,' they said." For Matthew and Mr. Hale, Red Card is also the beginning, rather than the culmination of a larger dream. As they labored over the book, they were already planning out new Zeke Armstrong sports mysteries, including the just-completed manuscript of Green Streak, which is set against the story of an in-line skate racing team. Their model is the Hardy Boys, a series they both loved. They now have four books sketched out, and they have a Web site, www. zekearmstrong.com, on which they are holding a contest for kids who want to tell them what they would like to see Zeke do next. The prizes are an autographed copy of Red Card and an autographed soccer ball. Entries should be submitted to zekearmstrong@mac.com by May 30. "Kids have the most amazing imaginations," Mr. Hale says. "We really would love to see their ideas." Although it may be hard to dream up a more imaginative story than that of an uncle and teenage nephew teaming up to write mystery novels together. "We're the luckiest guys on the face of the earth," Mr. Hale says. Matthew LaBrot and Daniel Hale will meet fans: From 2 to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Dallas Public Library Skyline Branch, 6006 Everglade, 214-670-0938. From 8:30 a.m. to noon May 23 at the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library, 1515 Young St., 214-670-7800. E-mail nchurnin@dallasnews.com 'RED CARD'-CARRYING FACTS Matthew LaBrot came up with the title Red Card, and both he and co-author Daniel Hale liked it for its double meaning. When someone gets ejected from a soccer game, as Zeke's coach does early in the book, it's called getting a "red card." And when the coach ends up in the hospital because someone is trying to kill him, it's as if he's getting a "red card" in life. The coach won't get back in the game of life unless 13-year-old Zeke Armstrong figures out who's trying to kill him. The plot unfolds between soccer games, which is when Matthew and Mr. Hale dreamed up the book, and there are more coincidences with real life: Zeke, like Matthew and Mr. Hale, lives in Texas; Matthew turned 13 while writing the story – the same age Zeke is in the book; and Zeke's uncle's name is Uncle Dane, which is pretty close to Matthew's Uncle Dan
By most people's standards, Dallas attorney William Manchee is a successful man. He has been married to his high school sweetheart, Janet, for 34 years. He has practiced law for 25 years, the last seven of which have been with oldest son, Jim. His daughter Maryanna also practiced law with the firm for two years before taking a job at JPMorgan and Chase Bank. As if that is not enough, the 55-year-old, who has two other sons, Jeff and Michael, struck gold again with a second career. Manchee is the author of the Stan Turner mystery series. On Saturday, he will be signing copies of the latest in the series, "Cash Call," 11 a.m. at Barnes & Noble and 2 p.m. at Hastings. "I never realized that I had any writing skills," Manchee said in a phone interview from his law office in Dallas. A self-proclaimed "movie freak," Manchee said the idea of writing a book came to him after watching the "Shawshank Redemption." He wondered if he could indeed produce his own piece of literature. The idea of writing and the actual work proved to be a bit tougher than Manchee had anticipated. But sheer determination kept him focused and the result was "Undaunted." The completion of the book, which Manchee describes as "a daunting task," brought about another challenge. The competition of would-be writers trying to get a publisher was intense, according to Manchee. "I turned out hundreds of query letters," he said. "Finally, a Canadian company sent me a contract and I signed it and shortly thereafter, they went under," Manchee said. " It took about a year for me to get the rights to the book back." By the time Manchee got the rights to "Undaunted," he was ready to publish his second book, "Brash Endeavor." Since then, Manchee has been churning out a book a year and has vowed to do so for the rest of his life. An initially surprised Janet is now a proud partner, according to Manchee. "She's been very supportive, although it's very tough. Writing is time-consuming. But she travels the country with me (promoting the book). She's not real critical, but I can tell by her reaction. She won't say if it's good or bad, but I can tell by her enthusiasm (if she likes or dislikes something)," Manchee said. Those close to the author could easily say Stan Turner is Manchee's alter ego.That's because much of Stan is based on Manchee's personality, his experiences and his life. For example, Stan is the father of three sons and a daughter. He is a successful lawyer and a bit of a softy, as seen in "Cash Call." In this latest mystery, Stan, unlike Manchee, ends up defending his close friend who was found standing with a shot gun in his hand over the corpse of an IRS agent . Stan's trusted assistant is Jodie, who is based on a former secretary Manchee employed for 10 years. Also taken from reality is a ancient piece of Peruvian pottery Manchee was given by a missionary he once defended. At the conclusion of his case, "I gave him my bill and he said 'Oh, I don't have any money,' and gave me this piece ," Manchee said. "It's a nice piece and it sits on a bookcase in my office." That Peruvian pottery also sits on a bookcase in Stan Turner's office. But Stan is surprised to learn it is filled with diamonds. Manchee said that by using his life and experiences in his books, the amount of research is limited. Still, he says, he does enhance the stories a little for entertainment purposes. Those enhancements make for a good laugh when Janet or his friends, clients or his children think they identify with a character, but in fact, he says, "it is usually someone else." Manchee's third book, " Second Chair," is taken from Maryanna's real life drama. A coed is accused of murder when an anonymous call placed to the police leads to the discovery of a newborn wrapped and disposed in a trash chute. Manchee accompanied his daughter to the trial where she was scheduled to be a witness, but before she was called to testify, the defendant pleaded guilty and Maryanna was never called. In reality, the accused said she cried for help, but no one answered. The problem with that defense was that Maryanna was in the room next door and would have heard her pleas, according to Manchee. Although Manchee isn't sure of the exact outcome of the real case, in "Second Chair" the woman has a better fate. Manchee's next book "Yes, We're Open, a Guide to Small Business Under Siege," is scheduled to be released this fall. It is a non-fiction guide for small business owners who may have various legal questions. He discusses how owners can defend themselves against creditors, the IRS and landlords. The book contains actual cases Manchee has worked on and offers practical suggestions to different issues.
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Move over Rowlings, here comes Ralles |
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| What a difference a year makes. Last January, Plano author H.J. Ralles nervously awaited the release of her first work, "Keeper of the Kingdom," a fantasy she wrote in reaction to her struggles with finding books that appealed to her computer-literate children. A small, local publishing company released "Keeper," a story about a boy sucked into a computer game who must play the game from within and fight for survival. Almost immediately it began attracting fans, not only in the Dallas area but also throughout the southwest. Ralles spent 2001 promoting her novel through signings at countless area bookstores and through traveling to places such as Las Vegas and Tucson, Ariz. She spent much time away from her family in an effort to get her name and her work noticed by as many people as possible. One year later, her hard work apparently has paid off. "Keeper" is in its second printing after selling out its first printing in eight months. Along the way, Ralles was named the Barnes and Noble Author of the Month for the Dallas District in September. The book made several local best-seller lists, and became part of the reading curriculum at Carlisle Elementary School in the Plano school district. "My life has changed completely in the last year," Ralles said. "It's been extremely rewarding while also very demanding at the same time. "I've been all around Texas and several out-of-state locations promoting the book, and it's been tough. But I'm so grateful for the support of my family. My husband and kids have been wonderful and understanding of my schedule." Ralles also credits her publishing company, Top Publications, and local bookstores, namely Barnes and Noble and Borders, for their support in making "Keeper" a success. "My publisher is very author-friendly, and I'm eternally thankful for them," Ralles said. "Area book stores have been so supportive and provided me with added publicity, which is tough to come by when you're an unknown author with a small publishing company. It's definitely been an unbelievable year, and it's all about to start over again." Ralles' second book, "Darok 9," will be released this weekend, and the author will be promoting her new work at least as much as her first. She will take part in a release party for the novel at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Barnes and Noble at 801 W. 15th St. She'll read excerpts from the new book to children and provide instruction on how to design books covers. "Darok 9," set in 2120, is about a young scientist living on the moon, where former Earth inhabitants now live. To aid humans in the extreme living conditions on the lunar surface, he has created a drug that eliminates the body's need for water. Meanwhile, officials running the lunar towns, called Daroks, want the drug and its secrets, putting the scientist's life in danger. The book, along with Ralles' first novel, is meant for readers ages 10 to 13. The author, however, believes adults also can enjoy the action-packed fantasy found in both works. "I really hope adults enjoy it while recognizing it's for kids," Ralles said. "My stories are fast-moving, have good morals and clean language. "The new book is wonderful, and my hope is that it has double the popularity compared to my first one." Although Ralles would love for her books to become nationally known and keep increasing in popularity, the potential for riches and fame is not why she is an author. "I love writing, and I love that my stories are helping to bring kids into reading," she said. "It's all about the kids for me. If I inspire just one, it's all worth it. I don't want to be rich. I do it for my love of children and my passion for reading and writing." Ralles has spent a much time in the last year visiting schools and holding writing workshops for students. She touches on everything from how to unleash the imagination and develop story ideas to insight into the writing and publishing process that goes into producing a book. She has visited several schools around the Dallas area, including several within the PISD. "I can't even count how many schools I've been to in the last year, but I've loved every one of them," Ralles said. A native of England, Ralles has lived in Plano for nearly four years with her husband, Malcolm, and sons Richard and Edward, who are students at Clark High School. She worked as a creative-writing teacher and stay-at-home mom for several years while authoring several manuscripts for her family and friends to read, never dreaming they would be shown to a publisher someday. After her move to Plano, Ralles took courses at Collin County Community College in novel writing and publishing and decided to pursue her dream and find a publisher. She wrote "Keeper" in 1997, inspired by watching her sons' fascination with computer and video games. Ralles is working on the sequel to her first book, "Keeper of the Realm," which will be the second installment in a "Keeper" trilogy. She is a member of the Plano Writers Lab and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Contact staff writer Todd McConaughy at 972-543-2238 or at mcconaughy@hotmail.com.
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| ©Plano Star Courier 2002 |
The Evening Telegraph - Derby, UK 09:30 - 27 December 2001 - A
former Derby teacher has swapped signing the register for autograph books after becoming a
best-selling children's author in America.
H.J. Ralles (43) has taken the teenage book market by storm with her first adventure
novel, Keeper of the Kingdom.
The first print of the book, which tells the tale of a computer game-mad youngster who is
sucked into the fantasy world he plays, sold out in just eight months.
Mrs Ralles, ... will release her second book, a sci-fi adventure called Darok 9, next
month and a sequel to her first is planned for the beginning of 2003.
It is all a far cry from when the mother-of-two was teaching youngsters at Alvaston Infant
School from 1992 to 1994 before she moved to Plano, Texas.
Three years and four books later she finally plucked up the courage to try to get Keeper
of the Kingdom published.
Mrs Ralles said: "I'm amazed at the success I've enjoyed with the book.
"Writing children's science fiction has become a passion and I always dreamed of
having one of my books published but I never expected that the fan mail would pour in and
that schools would put my book on their language curriculum.
"Books have to compete with computer and video games and action-packed movies for
children's attention these days and many children prefer to sit in front of the television
than curl up with a good book.
"I hope my futuristic adventures will encourage them to read more."
In between writing, she spends time with her sons, 15-year-old Richard and 14-year-old
Edward, as well as touring the country for book signings.
She has even had fans turn up on her doorstep asking for an autograph.
Despite embracing the American way of life after moving to Texas when her husband,
Malcolm, took a job there in the aero-engine industry, she still misses some things about
her homeland - in particular the green countryside and traditional English sausages.
She said: "I will always be very fond of Britain but Texas is a wonderful place to
live and the weather is something that I don't miss in Derby."
Mrs Ralles said that many of her former colleagues and friends from the area were
probably unaware of her success across the Atlantic.
At the moment, Keeper of the Kingdom is only available to UK readers through a number
of internet sites but there is the possibility that it will be turned into a film, and
scriptwriters are currently working on it.
Doreen Whelbourn, Mrs Ralles's former head teacher at Alvaston Infant School, Alvaston,
said: "It's fabulous news.
"She's a very bubbly person and she made a very positive contribution during her time here.
"We're all very thrilled for her."
Dallas—In the fall of 1999, fiction author William Manchee visited the island nation of Trinidad-Tobago for the first time, to watch his son play in a professional golf tournament. While in the small third world country, he was fascinated by everything that caught his eyes. After gathering as much information as he could, Manchee knew he had to somehow incorporate the trip into a novel.
And he did. Manchee’s sixth book, Trouble in Trinidad, uses the island nation as a backdrop. Entangling the lives of Plano high school student Kevin Wells and Trinidad’s Prime Minister Ahmad Shah, the story is filled with thrills, action, adventure and romance.
"I like a story that moves quickly, (that’s) full of action (and is) entertaining. (It’s) my escape at night when I get home, " Manchee said in a phone interview from his law office in Dallas. "It’s just writing a good story, (the) genre is not critical. (I) cross genres. I write mainstream—action, romance, suspense, mystery, adventure, thrillers—all of them some type of thriller."
In the book, Kevin sees more excitement than the average teenager does. Active in the school’s Army ROTC color guard program, he participates in the Caribbean Trade Conference in Dallas and saves the Prime Minister from assassination. But in rescuing Ahmad, Kevin is shot and nearly dies. While recovering, his life changes. He meets and develops feelings for Kiran Shah, the Prime Minister’s daughter. He is summoned to Trinidad to testify against the alleged assassin and the adventure begins. Kevin unfortunately, is unaware that the Prime Minister’s enemies are out to kill him.
Many of Manchee’s ideas come to him while he is in a semi-conscious state.
"Usually I get great ideas when I’m sleeping at night, or early in the morning (when I’m) halfway conscious," Manchee said. "I get ideas all the time for novels...some are good and some are not-so-good. When one is really good, I just go with it."
As the plot for Trouble in Trinidad developed, he reflected on school shootings and put a twist on the concept of kids killing others. Instead, he thought, what if a high school student has the opportunity to save someone’s life and who’s going to react that quickly to stop an assassination?
The student who could perform such as task would have to have some reason to be more alert and aware. ROTC would grant him some experiences. The death of a sister would be motivation for a moral philosophy in life and celibacy before marriage," Manchee said.
"Kevin was a little different than the others, tempted, of course. (Peers) would try to get him to react normally, but couldn’t quite do it," Manchee said. "Chastity before marriage. (There are) some kids that believe in (it). It’s rare. (He’s) actually looking for a soul mate."
Trouble in Trinidad was released by Top
Publications Ltd. Co. on September 1. Manchee is also the author of books, Twice Tempted,
Undaunted, Brash Endeavor, Death Pact and Second Chair.
By:JOHANNA M. BREWER, Staff writer July 12, 2001
"The Mayor's dead, your mother's in jail, and you'd rather be anywhere but Kickapoo, Texas."
So says Paula Boyd, in her first book, "Hot Enough to Kill." Boyd will be one of 61 mystery writers attending "Cluefest 2001," a festival of fans and writers being held at Harvey Hotel in Plano, 1600 N. Central Expressway, this weekend. From Friday morning (at 9 a.m.) until Sunday afternoon, Caryl Thompson's Cluefest 2001 will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a potpourri of murderous authors, suspense, awards, and laughs -- some writers now cooking up a stew of chuckles and killers. Thompson, a pediatric home nurse and mystery fan, created Con & Dagger Productions a decade ago because her mother, Terry Thompson, bemoaned the fact that all the annual mystery conventions were too far away and too expensive. Con & Dagger Productions puts on ClueFest, an annual convention honoring mystery authors, their die-hard fans, and dealers who offer readers their regular fix of mystery, murder, and mayhem. "This year, we will have the largest number of writers we've ever had - 61," Thompson said Tuesday. Cluefest writers represent a wide range of lifestyles, from ex-congressional aide to ex-stripper. William Manchee, author of the Stan Turner Mysteries and a congressional aide while in high school, is now a Dallas attorney. After his discharge from the U.S. Marines, Manchee moved to Plano. He became active in the Republican Party, becoming Collin County Chairman in 1974-1976. His first novel, "Twice Tempted" was written to relieve the stress of a busy law practice. "Undaunted" was about a serial killer, love murder and the Marines. He was off and running. His third mystery novel, "Second Chair," was released last summer. Cluefest is billed as the most intimate and down-home opportunity for fans and writers to mix and mingle; they will break bread together at Friday's breakfast, its Friday night reception and the Sunday brunch awards event. "It's a chance to do more on a one to one basis with the writer of your choice," Thompson said. For five of the 10 years the organization has been in existence, The Book Tree in Richardson, owned by Barry and Terry Phillips, was a co-sponsor of the event. Time constraints forced the amiable book lovers to restrict their activities to the book shop they own and manage. However, they continue to manage Cluefest's dealers' room, which will be part of the conference this weekend. Thompson, who works full time at her nursing profession, and her Cluefest gets bigger and more elaborate annually. This year, Con & Dagger will host three days of approximately 34 panels featuring author speakers, author signings, a Friday evening "Death by Chocolate" reception, the awards Sunday brunch, and an auction of donated books, memorabilia and other prizes with the proceeds benefiting a local library. Boyd, the Texas-born writer whose mother and daughter team sizzles up "Hot Enough to Kill", lovingly lampoons Texas lifestyles. Her team of eccentric, self-centered, mouthy mother and chip-off-the-old-block daughter, is a hoot. Boyd, a Colorado resident who grew up near Wichita Falls, said her mother stopped speaking to her for awhile, saying she was nothing like the book's protagonist. "My mother was not taking kindly to the book half way through," Boyd said. "But when she finished it, she said that she thought it would be nice to be more like Lucille." Bill Crider is the 10th anniversary guest of honor. He was Cluefest's first guest of honor and has attended each year's convention since. Crider, born in Mexia, now lines in Alvin. He's recently published his ninth book in a series about Sheriff Dan Rhodes, the sheriff of a "small Texas county where there aren't any serial killers, where a naked man hiding in a dumpster is big news, and where the sheriff still has time to investigate the theft of a set of false teeth." About himself, Crider said, "I attended the University of Texas in Austin for many, many years - my wife, Judy, says I would never have left if she hadn't forced me to get out of grad school and get a real job." "Dead on the Island," his first book in a series about Private Eye Truman Smith, was nominated for a Shamus award by the Private Eye Writers of America. Crider is chairman of the Division of English and Fine Arts at Alvin Community College. To register, and for information about the event, call the Harvey Hotel at 972-578-8555. To contact staff writer Johanna M. Brewer, please call 972 543-2262 or e-mail brewerj@dfwcn.net.
By: TODD MCCONAUGHY, Staff writer January 27, 2001
Plano author H.J. Ralles will hold the first in a series of book signings today at
2 p.m. at Borders Books, 1601 Preston Road. Ralles is promoting her first
book, "Keeper of the Kingdom," a children's fantasy novel geared
toward 10- to 13-year-olds. The story centers on a boy who is sucked into a computer game
who must play the game from within, and becomes a character fighting for survival.
"This is a tale of technology that is out of control," Ralles said.
"It questions what it would really be like to be IN a computer game."
Ralles' inspiration for the story came from watching her children become enthralled
with computer games, and the difficulty she found in finding books that appealed to them.
"They were always so caught up in their games, and I wanted to come up
with stories that could relate to their passions in a literary form," Ralles
said. "I began using my imagination and love for writing to come up with stories that
would enliven children's minds and get them passionate about reading."
Ralles had authored several manuscripts through the years, but never
thought to show them to a publisher. She enjoyed creative writing teaching and being a
stay-at-home mom, but continued to write in her spare time.
"I moved to Plano three years ago and took courses at Collin County Community College
in novel writing and publishing," Ralles said. "I decided to pursue a dream and
find a publisher, only I didn't realize what a difficult task that would be."
The tasks at hand included finding an agent and struggling with big publishers in New York
and other major cities. Ralles ended up signing on with a local publisher, Top
Publications Co. of Dallas.
"There are many pros and cons with small publishers, but its nice to work with
someone local," Ralles said. "They have been so supportive and so helpful of me.
I'm delighted with how my relationship has gone with them so far."
Ralles feels a shortage of material exists for young adults and children to read,
especially for boys. She said there is a great deal of competition for kids to read books.
"We have television, movies, computers and video games keeping kids occupied
nowadays," Ralles said. "I was looking for material to get kids interested in
reading books again."
"Kingdom" brings out Ralles' simple, yet powerful message about the
current state of the world.
"Computers are beginning to take over our lives," Ralles said. "The
question is where this will leave us, and what does the future hold?"
"I think kids will be captured by this story, and it helps me give my enthusiasm
for reading and storytelling back to the kids," she said.
Ralles will embark on an extensive calendar of book signings and other events in the
coming months, including today's visit to Borders, as well as a Feb. 3 appearance at the
Dallas Public Library.
"That day will be spent in a workshop with about 30 kids," Ralles said.
"I'll be working with them on fun ways to write a story, including the use of
newspapers for information and inspiration in the creative process."
Thoughts on the future make Ralles hopeful of the impact of her novels.
"Everyone wants to see their first book published; there is a sense of immortality in
that," she said. "I'd love to be a best-selling author, but what I'm really
focused on is being known as an author that stirs children's imaginations."
"I'm looking to use my imagination, and pass on my ideas and passion to
kids," Ralles said.
Ralles is a member of the Plano Writers Lab, the Golden Triangle Writers Guild and the
Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.
Her second book, "Darok 9," will be published in early 2002. Ralles also
is working on a sequel to "Keeper of the Kingdom."
Thursday, August 17, 2000
'A Spy Within' Popular Novel in Atomic City
By Ian Hoffman
Journal Staff Writer
In Santa Fe, bedside tables are laden with Harry Potter, New Age dieting manuals and Southwest gardening books. But when it comes to reading material, the real City Different is 26 miles away and aswirl in intrigue.
Yes, Virginia, Harry Potter reigns supreme in Los Alamos as elsewhere, trailed by tomes on cosmology, hydrodynamics and programming with Linux and Perl.
Yet in private from their computers in New Mexico's Atomic City, readers of a darker, more paranoid bent also stalk the aisles of the Internet's virtual bookstore; they are folks interested in FBI polygraphs and spies.
According to Amazon.com, the books selling especially well in Los Alamos relative to the rest of the nation are topped by a novel called "A Spy Within."
The title might sound like a quote from a prosecution brief in the federal government's case against former Los Alamos National Laboratory scientist Wen Ho Lee, charged with mishandling nuclear-weapons data.
But it's really local author Lynnette Baughman's tale of the hunt for a World War II Los Alamos spy code-named Perseus.
Next up on the Web bookseller's list of titles unusually popular in Los Alamos is "A Tremor in the Blood," David Lykken's critique of polygraph testing, complete with hints for beating the machine — handy information for lab weaponeers who may have to take lie detector tests in the wake of LANL's assorted security scandals of the past two years.
In January, Congress ordered expanded polygraph testing of employees of the nation's nuclear weapons programs at LANL and elsewhere in response to allegations of Chinese espionage — and some lab workers recently have been hauled in for polygraphs after sensitive computer hard drives turned up missing and then were found behind a copying machine.
Speaking of China and nuclear weapons, a book called "Fire in the East: The Rise of Asian Military Power and the Second Nuclear Age" is third on Amazon's list of books most popular in Los Alamos compared to the rest of the U.S.A.
At Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, scientists are snapping up computer programming books — and "Biohazard: The Chilling True Story of the Largest Covert Biological Weapons Program in the World — Told from the Inside by the Man Who Ran It."
Things are plainly mellower in Livermore, Calif., home to Los Alamos' sister weapons design lab. After subtracting the national best-sellers, Livermore likes "Sharing the Vineyard Table," about a local winery, according to Amazon.com.
Last month's No. 2 at Livermore, "A Tremor in the Blood," has vanished from the list, supplanted by "Bay Area Backroads." But all is not sunshine and wine in Livermore: Ranking 4th and 5th are "Biohazard" and "How to Do Your Own Divorce in California: A Complete Kit."
Los Alamos' local bookstores are largely past their brief fling with spy fever. In February, a lab speaker recommended several nonfiction spy books and sparked a run.
"We sold dozens of them," said R Books manager Melissa Mackey. Otowi Bookstore owner Colleen Olinger reports steadier if unremarkable sales on the espionage front.
But spy-book demand remains hot on the Infobahn, if not on Los Alamos' Central Avenue.
"I could guess that maybe Amazon.com does provide some degree of personal anonymity," Mackey said.
ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL
* Los Alamos author goes to small publisher to get her work in print
In 1992, Lynnette Baughman left her job with the Los Alamos Monitor to write a serious work of non-fiction documenting Soviet espionage during the Manhattan Project and the early days of Los Alamos.
Instead she wrote a mystery novel. Then her problems began.
"I tried to get an agent because I wanted to go with a major publisher," she said. "I kept getting turned down."
In Dallas, writer William Manchee had a related problem. He'd written a book and signed a contract with a publisher. But the company went out of business before Manchee's book went on the market.
Baughman and Manchee were both victims of the changing nature of big-league publishing. Bought up by international conglomerates or merging with each other, the big publishing houses have begun courting big-name and celebrity authors who can write national bestsellers and make the publishers a lot of money. They have been dropping "midlist" writers sometimes authors who have published four or five books.
As a result, said Manchee, "the number of authors that are published each year has dwindled, and a lot of good authors are left with no place to publish."
Manchee decided to start his own publishing company, mainly so he could sell the book he'd already written. But other writers began asking him to consider publishing their books, too.
Baughman, meanwhile, had rewritten her novel. Then, at a crime writers conference, she talked to several writers who had successfully placed their books with small presses like Manchee's.
"I wrote seven letters to small publishers and I got interest from three right away," she said.
Last November, Manchee's Top Publications issued Baughman's "The Spy Within." Based on Baughman's research she also lectures on espionage in Los Alamos' early days the book chronicles a Los Alamos journalist's search for the person responsible for the death of a friend. The search leads the young reporter to a 50-year-old espionage network and a spy code-named Perseus.
But for Baughman, Manchee and other authors, getting a book published is only the first step toward becoming a successful author. The second half of the process is marketing the title.
Manchee said he tells all of the authors he signs that if they want to sell books, they've got to commit to a lot of travel.
"Essentially, the only way we can get a book into a store is to have a booksigning there," he said. "Most of the chain stores love to have the authors come in because the author is a free salesperson. If one signing is profitable, they'll have you come back."
Manchee tells his authors that they should commit to 100 booksignings, at a minimum, if they want a book to sell well enough to be profitable. By mid-spring, Baughman had appeared at 62 signings, in six Southwestern states plus California. She has been invited back to bookstores in Texas and Arizona.
It was a grueling few months, but as a freelance writer whose husband is retired, Baughman was free to travel and enjoyed it.
"There are fascinating people out there and I enjoyed meeting them," she said. "Sometimes, it's people whose lives were saved because of the atomic bomb. I met the niece of (Manhattan Project spy) Klaus Fuchs."
If Baughman has a complaint, it's that her booksigning schedule hasn't left her time to work on her second novel. Another mystery. It's a tale about the death of an aging movie star, set in Las Vegas, Nev., where Baughman used to live.
"A lot of people have told me you should have your second book finished before your first on2p6
e is published," she said. "You've got to have it ready, because your life will change and you won't have time."
Manchee, who has five of his own books on Top's current-titles list, said the process of selling books gets easier as time goes by. According to Manchee, the break-even point for author and publisher is 2,000 copies. He now sells between 3,000 and 4,000 copies of his own books. He calls that volume "good," but a long way from the 10,000 copies that would make a book solidly profitable.
"Once you can sell more than 10,000, then you're doing OK," he said. "I've gotten to the point where chains in this area are buying one of my books when it comes out. But none of mine has sold to the degree I'd like."
Still, he's optimistic about the future of small publishing houses like Top, that can offer writers a small advance plus royalties. Baughman is the sixth author he has signed.
"We offer the same contract they'd get (with a big publishing house), we just tell them they have to bear the burden of publicity," Manchee said.2p6
"We can grow. There's unlimited sources of good material."
Baughman, too, is optimistic about her future. "Tom Clancy was first published by a small press, and so was John Grisham," she said. "He used to carry books around in the trunk of his car for signings. It's something a lot of people go through."
PHOTO: b/w
BAUGHMAN: "It's something a lot of people go through"
Top Publications is a small independent press located in Dallas, Texas. It specializes in mainstream fiction with 10 titles currently in print. Founded in 1998, Top Publications prides itself on being "author friendly," says its founder, William Manchee. Having been appalled at the way his first two publishers treated him, Manchee vowed to create a publishing company that treated its authors with dignity and respect.
"It was so frustrating to always be in the dark. Most of the time I couldn’t get anyone to return my phone calls or emails. On those few occasions when I did make contact I usually got evasive answers or down right lies."
Before his novel ever got distributed his publisher went out of business. While engaged in a long battle to regain the rights to his novel, Undaunted, Manchee self-published, Brash Endeavor. It was while he was promoting this novel that he realized how many other authors there were out there like himself.
"It was at Cluefest in Dallas in 1998 that the idea of starting a publishing company first struck me. L.C. Hayden was there and was getting a great response to her book, "Who’s Susan?" She and I had the same publisher so I knew she couldn’t have very many books to sell. It turned out her entire inventory was in her suitcase."
Manchee signed up Ms. Hayden and soon had Who’s Susan? back in print. Since the fall 1998 Top Publications has added three more authors and hopes to have a dozen or more in the ranks within the next year.
When asked about the quality of writers Top Publications has been able to sign, Manchee says, "Every one of our author’s have received great reviews and critical acclaim for their work. I am very pleased with the quality of our product." Asked about the difficulty for a small press to compete in today’s marketplace, Manchee explains, "It is very difficult and I warn our authors, before we sign them, about this unfortunate fact of life. Consequently we have some of the hardest working authors around. For instance, in December of last year, Lynnette Baughman had over 55 book signings. Last week I had my 200th signing since June 1998."
As to the future Manchee is very optimistic. "There are so many fine authors out there who deserve to be published we can grow just as fast as we want. As we get bigger we will be able to compete more effectively and sell a lot more books." But no matter how big Top Publications eventually gets, Manchee promises, "We won’t take our authors for granted."
This spring two new Top Publication authors will be unveiling their first novels. Texas Weather by Dallas Author, Tricia Allen and Inner Passages by Carl Brookins of Roseville, Minnesota. Also in the works is a new Stan Turner Mystery, Second Chair, by William Manchee.
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Daniel J. Hale & Matthew LaBrot: 
Book signings
will feature author of the Stan Turner mystery series 
"Crime Wave" hits Grand Marais
Mom put pen to paper
to fix son's blahs, then found fame as author
