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Friday, September 5, 2014

The Novelization of the Television Show Wings? (A Guest Post by Melissa MacVicar, author of EVER LOST)

HAWM, bloginettes.  Some of you may recall my victorious triumph over fellow author Melissa MacVicar in the Upset on the Internet (aka the Great 2013 Review Rumble) and her subsequent humbling act of contrition.  And for those of you who don't remember, I just conveniently reminded you.

Never let it be said, however, that I am an ungracious winner.  I was very pleased to invite Melissa back on the blog in honor of the release of her sophomore novel, EVER LOST.  She'll be answering a question that's very near and dear to my heart.  Make sure you stick around until the end, because our mutual publisher, Red Adept Publishing, is hosting a giveaway in honor of the blog tour.  BUT FIRST...let's meet our guest.

About Melissa MacVicar:



Melissa MacVicar has lived most of her life on Nantucket Island. A true native, she's able to trace her ancestry back to the island's first settlers. After attending The Pingree School, she went on to graduate from Franklin and Marshall College with a degree in English. She also received a master's degree from Boston University School of Social Work.  When she turned forty, Melissa decided to renew her adolescent passion for fiction writing. Having once thought writing a novel to be an impossible dream, she's proud to be achieving her childhood ambition.

Melissa currently lives with her husband and two children on Nantucket where she teaches 7th grade Writing Composition.  When she isn't teaching, parenting, and writing, Melissa enjoys eating expensive chocolate, jogging, and watching her beloved Patriots. 

You can find out more about her on her website, Twitter, and Facebook

I understand you're a local Nantucket author. Tell me, when will you be completing your novelization of the classic '90s TV series Wings? And can you tell us a little more about it?


The Novelization of the Television Show Wings?

Alternate title: Stephen Kozeniewski’s Delusions Revealed


Nantucket elicits a variety of responses from people, and I believe I have experienced just about all of them. Most recently, a cashier at a grocery store in Rhode Island, upon hearing we were from Nantucket, said, “Oh, that’s like, part of Martha’s Vineyard, right?”

By way of an answer, I simply nodded and hummed, because really, I don’t feel it is my responsibility to constantly correct the delusions of others. Live and let live, I say, delusions and all. I’m sure I have a few doozies of my own, and I prefer when people just let me hold onto them. Truly, it’s easier that way. Usually, they are harmless in nature. Only when they have to do with weapons of mass destruction do I feel the need to step in. 

So when my online author friend, Stephen Kozeniewski, (SK: you could've just said friend...) just asked me to write a blog post, one of his delusions about Nantucket was revealed—the one about the television show Wings. Yeah, the one where people think that show is real.  (SK: I said Wings was real?)

Because it had been a while since I had seen the show, I fired up my Netflix and stared watching. Seeing the show again was excellent. It has classic sitcom humor and early nineties charm. Like when one of the brothers, Brian, calls a gate at Logan Airport to leave a message for his ex-wife with the attendant. With no cell phones, I guess that’s how it was done. Seems so long ago, doesn’t it?

And after watching several episodes, I realized that the writers of the show actually got many things about Nantucket right. Shocking but true. This person had clearly traveled through Nantucket Memorial Airport and probably consulted several locals as part of his research. He or she might have even spent a few years living here based on their insights. So for Stephen, my friend and sometimes arch enemy, I have listed the top three things that the writers of Wings got right. After all, I want him to be clear about what he’s delusional about and what he’s not.

1. The Fog

Yes, the fog. As I sit here today, finishing up this post, there is pea soup fog out my window. The fog horn, an eerie, repetitive wail from Brant Point Lighthouse, sounds in the distance. Fog is a fact of life here and often closes the airport. In one episode of Wings, a wealthy passenger even tries to pay to have the airport cleared of the fog so he can leave. If only! I think the fog inspires the ever prevalent ghost stories that people like me write. Spooky indeed!

2. Everyone has a history.

Crystal Bernard’s character Helen Chapel works the lunch counter at the airport, just like her father did before her. The Hackett brothers remember her as the overweight girl they went through school with and the good brother, Joe, thinks of her like a sister. Helen was teased and bullied by the brother’s ex-girlfriend/wife, the elusive Carol. The show and the real island is full of stories like this so in this case, the writer is spot on.

3. Despite difference, we are like a family.

Even though they don’t always get along, the characters that populate the fictional airport on Wings are bonded by common circumstance. Locals today on island are very much the same. We will gripe about a person one day and go all out to help them the next, very much like we would for our own family. Our collective isolation makes us stronger. We know we are all better off because of each and every one of us doing our job and taking care of the community.

In closing, I want to thank Stephen for inspiring me to revisit the little gem that is the television show Wings. It reminded me of some of the things I love about Nantucket, and what life was like in the not too distant past before the internet and smartphones began to rule our world. As far as me novelizing the show, it is already too perfect just as it is in all its sitcom glory. I highly recommend indulging in a few episodes if you are ever in a need of a good laugh in a short amount of time. I can assure you it’s better than reading Stephen’s twitter feed. (SK: :'( )

That’s all for now! Check me out at the links below!

Website
Twitter
Facebook

About EVER LOST:



New town, new school, new ghost.

Jade has a dedicated boyfriend, an overprotective mom, and a full scholarship. Uprooted from Nantucket, Jade is installed off-island at her dad’s new house so she can attend snobby Layton Academy. Leaving Charlie behind is sheer torment, but living with her father has plenty of dangerous distraction—in the form of a terrifying spirit haunting her new school. Hottie classmate Mateo Fernandez can’t see the ghost, but he knows its story. He’d like to know hers, too, but Jade still misses Charlie, even though distance seems to be changing him.

With support from Mateo and the mysterious Noemie, Jade commits to helping the agonized spirit cross over. As she delves into the ghost’s past, the disturbing secrets Jade learns draw her into a deadly confrontation with a desperate man. If she can’t play his demented game, the spirit’s harrowing fate could become her own.

The novel is available for purchase on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iStore, and Google Play.  It is also listed on Goodreads and the RAP site.

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2 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thanks for being had, Melissa! It was a great post and you're a great sport. :)

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