James Lewis- Writers Cubed

So I have to apologize to James. I sort of skipped him in my Writers Cubed line-up. I'm trying to do this alphabetically, and you'd think I would have put him before Jo. I can hear my first grade teacher's voice in my head right now, "No, Jenny, The 'a' comes before the 'o'."

Don't let my alphabetizing blunder make you think James is a forgetful member of the Cubed family. On the contrary, he his one of only two Y chromosomes in the bunch, and just happens to have a great mind for writing and story. In fact, I just spent a good hour driving home from Vegas explaining James's brilliant story twist to my husband. It was seriously that good.

First thing's first. James is one of the youngest in a family of 14 kids. He grew up in American Fork, Utah and loves camping and the outdoors. You might think he's shy until you get to know him. Then, WATCH OUT! He entered writing novel-length fiction thanks in part to a passion for film. James initially planned for his book, Black Sam, to be a screen play, but caught the novel bug and hasn't looked back since. James is our resident super hero. By day, he works for some fancy computer company doing heaven knows what for Corporate America. At night, he transforms into a passionate writer, determined to capture the whole scope of his historical tale. Basically, we keep him around for his good sense of humor, valuable tech skills, and his citris-mint chapstick.

Of anyone in the group, I would have to name James our master of dialog. Where I would take paragraphs to set a mood and relay character emotion he can do it in only a sentence. Sometimes only a word. I constantly find myself laughing out loud when I read his stuff. It's that clever.

Lets talk about his story:

Black Sam is based on the true story. I would call it historical fiction with a healthy serving of adventure, a generous side of romance, and a strawberry twist at the end that will literally have you screaming! (good screaming, not the bad, ax-murderer kind).

Here's a quick blurb:

Sam Bellamy never intended on becoming a pirate. After traveling across the Atlantic to accept his captains papers, Sam learns his uncle/benefactor is bankrupt. In Sam's mind, this is only a minor setback in his lifelong goal of becoming a sea captain. While laying the foundation for his future in America, Sam crosses paths with Maria, daughter of one of the most affluent families in New England. Unwilling to bow to the social chasm separating them, Sam turns to the high seas to recover Spanish gold lost in a shipwreck off the Florida coast. If he can not gain sufficient riches and title, he may never gain enough social and financial clout to petition Maria's father for her hand.

You get two excerpts for this one. (Initially, I had just planned on the first three paragraphs of the book, but then decided you really should get a taste of that dialog I bragged about).

Chapter One SHIPWRECK

April 26, 1717 - Whydah Gally - Cpt. Samuel Bellamy - One hundred forty six souls

The dark sea boiled with large angry waves that slapped the tiny ship back and forth as if it were a toy. The storm caught the ship and her crew by complete surprise. As damning as a storm of this magnitude was to a ship, rocks and sandbars were her true enemies, and so the battle for position raged on.

Captain Sam Bellamy stood at the Helm. His large veins popped as his hands gripped tight. Tall, and proud, he was a striking figure. His long black hair once tied in a ribbon, now whipped across his face in wet sticky strands. His soaked shirt revealed a muscular body.

When the storm hit, he had dropped anchor hoping to stop the ship from drifting closer to its demise, but the storm felt no resistance from such a minuscule instrument, and pulled it without effort through the silt and mud. The ship moved closer to shore, and all Bellamy could do was watch. His crew, battle weary, but loyal to their beloved leader, held on to whatever they could, and what little hope was left for survival. They were in the middle of pulling down the sails, when the worst of it hit. Pieces of the tattered canvas still fluttered in the twisted rigging. They could not change the situation, and so they watched and waited.

Here's the dialog excerpt. This scene takes place right after Sam meets Maria.

Sam leaned against a wall in Paulgrave’s office. A smile or an occasional daydream was usual for Sam. However, it was a combination of both that made Paulgrave Williams take notice.

“Okay, who is she?” Paulgrave said breaking the temporary silence.

Sam smiled. “Why whatever do you mean?”

“What is her name?”

Sam laughed. “I actually don’t know her name.”

“How sentimental of you.”

“I just met her this morning, at the cemetery.”

“I really should be surprised by that I think.”

“It was only a brief moment, but it was all I needed.”

“You’re easily pleased.”

“I can’t help it, there was something about her. And she was incredibly beautiful.”

“So what are you telling me exactly? That you’re going to marry this complete stranger who you met in a cemetery less than two hours ago?”

“Well you don’t have to make it sound so weird.”

Good, huh? James has so much talent with words and humor. I sometimes want to just sit back and have him write some of my dialog sequences. I see it going something like this:

"James. I need you to please help my characters convey emotions while showing voice and entertaining the heck out of my reader. Ready. Set. Go!"

The cool thing is, he'd probably do it for any of us in Wrtiers Cubed. He's just a nice guy like that. Big thanks to James for letting me shine a little light on his work. I know he's in the process of moving his blog, but I think you can still check in on him at this link.