Meet the Team Tuesday: Grant

Today's team member is my other brother, Grant. I cannot even count the number of times this guy has sent me an encouraging letter or note at exactly the moment I needed it, or the number of times I was ready to just give up on writing altogether and he has said something encouraging or just reminded me by example of why it is important to never give up. Also among my first readers, and the inspiration behind one of my characters, Grant is often my source for new ideas. Once, when I had writer's block, I asked him to read what I had and give me some ideas for what should come next. He wrote me this paragraph:


    “Rambo will take you there.”
    “Oh good I feel much better with Rambo taking me there.  You imbecile why would I let some homicidal ex marine touting a 60 cal take me anywhere?”
    “Well, he’s gotten better.”
    “Oh goood, he’s gotten better.  Now I’m all relieved and like ‘cheerio’ let’s go adventuring.  You’re all da da da da let’s go find Bambi and tell him that flower’s caught the SNIFFLES!  It’s all over the mountain and through the woods from here.  All mai tais and yahtzee eh?  All lead pipe cinch, eh?  All biscuits and gravy? All add the cream and hold the sugar?  Well let me tell you I didn’t graduate out of pull-ups to be bibbed around by some maniacal man suffering from.. from a lot of angst!  All this pubecent rage!  All this teenage mad at my father syndrome. SHAME ON THEM!!!... no... I’m leaving.... and I’m taking the monkey with me!


It wasn't very helpful or applicable to the story I was writing... which had nothing to do with Rambo, machine guns, or Bambi... but it did make me laugh, and took my mind off my writer's block and onto figuring out exactly how many movies he had quoted and strung together in this unique way. After I read it, he did help me brainstorm a little, and what with the laughter, a very different perspective on the world, and a few ideas, I managed to get past the writer's block and on with my story.

Grant is the "ideas guy" - he is my marketing strategist. He is the one who will be planning out my book-signings and book tours, writing letters to schools, libraries, and book stores asking if I can come hold a signing in their building. He is the guy I go to when I need ideas. And sometimes he sends them to me unsolicited, like the fragment of the story I shared on here a while back about the Mirror.

Also one of my very best friends, Grant is definitely one of the people in my life without whom, King's Warrior would never have been written.