What's New with John A. Daly

Though I haven't been updating this author blog of mine very often, that doesn't mean I haven't been writing. I've actually been writing A LOT over the past year - so much that my fingers rarely go more than a couple of waking hours without touching a keyboard.

The other day, a fellow author with BQB Publishing asked me to join her on a blog chain tour, where I get to answer some questions about what's going on in my writing world. I figured it was a good opportunity to catch my blog followers up to speed on what's new.

Terri Ann Leidich

Before that, however, let me tell you about Terri Ann Leidich, the author who invited me on this tour. Terri's third book, Family Inheritance, will be released in October. It's her first novel, and the pre-release reviews have been excellent! Please check it out, along with her contribution to this blog chain.

Now, onto the questions...

a) What am I working on?

I actually just finished writing the second book in the Sean Coleman Thriller Series. My wife is busy proofreading it as I'm writing this blog. Once she's done identifying all of the embarrassing misspellings and sentence fragments I managed to miss during my own review, I'll fix the problems and send the manuscript off to my publisher. I'm confident that readers who enjoyed From a Dead Sleep are going to love it! Some characters have certainly gone through some changes since the first book.

In addition to the two online columns I write each week (one for BernardGoldberg.com and one for GreeleyTribune.com), I've been busy working on some new marketing efforts for 'From a Dead Sleep,' which include more book signings and other author events.

b) How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I feel that my stories are very character-driven, while most from the Suspense/Thriller genre rely primarily on the plot line to keep readers engaged. I use several points of view and really dig down into multiple characters' psyches to let the reader identify with them on a very personal level. I've been told by a number of readers that they feel like they know the characters I've created by the time they've finished reading my stories, and that always brings a smile to my face.

c) Why do I write what I do?

Though I've never been a great public speaker or a gifted conversationalist, I've always felt like I have plenty to say. Writing gives me a chance to really formulate my words and convey precisely whatever point or story I wish to relay. For me, writing is perhaps the more honest and accurate method of communication.

I write Suspense/Thriller fiction because I like to keep readers on their edge of their seats until the wee hours of the morning. I also like the challenge of ruining their predictions of where the stories are going.

I write commentary because there are a lot of things in politics and culture that truly concern me. Now is not a time in history to be silent if you feel you have something important that needs to be said.

d) How does my writing process work?

I try to write for about two or three hours each morning during the week, after I drop my children off at school. The house is typically empty during that time, so I'm usually able to really focus on what I'm doing. I tend to do my best work in front of a PC in my home office, although the best ideas seem to pop into my head when I'm far away from a computer.

That's it! Thanks for reading my blog.

Next, keep an eye out next week for the next link in the chain. Aspiring author and fellow Greeley Tribune blogger Lori Johnstone will be talking about working on her first book, and the other writing projects she's involved with. For now, here's a sneak peak of her blog:
http://mamabear-livenwrite.blogspot.com/.

Lori Johnstone

Putting My Finger on a Good Blog Topic

Note: This piece was originally written for the Greeley Tribune as a parenting blog.

When you write for a parenting blog, it's not always easy to come up with fresh material each week. Raising children certainly keeps life interesting, but new observations, profound revelations, and entertaining stories don't always present themselves within a span of seven days. That's when you find yourself wracking your brain to come up with something interesting from your past, or perhaps a top 10 list - anything that readers might enjoy, and can be typed up before your submission deadline hits.

I was having one of those uneventful spans two weeks ago, but I was convinced that if I just waited until that Saturday, I would be presented with some interesting material. That would be the day of a school chess tournament that my 9 year-old son was participating in.

I had a spiral notebook open in front of me that morning as I watched my son compete in the tournament against other students in a large room. I contemplated several blog topics during that time. The first one had to do with my son losing his first match in about a minute's time - something I didn't even realize was possible with my limited knowledge of the game. The second one had to do with the ridiculous power trip one of the adults working the registration table was on. After a while, I thought about doing the blog on how much fun my son was having (laughing and joking around with his opponents), even though he wasn't coming up on the winning end of any of his matches.

It was between tournament rounds, however, when what I felt was the best blog topic started rearing its head. After each game, my son wanted to go with me to the parking lot right outside the school and shoot baskets. It's something we almost never do because neither of us really like basketball. However, because the people who organized the tournament wanted to keep the kids busy and out of their hair when they weren't in front of a chess board, they brought a few balls for outside play.

It was a great idea, and we had a lot of fun. Neither one of us were taking it very seriously. We were just shooting some hoops, passing the ball back and forth, and having a good father/son conversation. That was going to be the gist of my blog - something about the unexpected, pleasant distraction of bonding with my son in the midst of a serious school competition.

Right as it was about time to head back inside for round four of the tournament, I took a quick shot. The ball bounced off the bottom of the rim and flew back at me pretty quickly. I got my left hand up to try and tap it back toward the rim, and that's when I felt my pinky finger jam.

We've all felt that sensation before when playing sports. It typically smarts for a minute or so, and then we carry on. That's what I would have done too, if I hadn't raised my hand to find my pinky jetted out to the side of my hand at a sick, completely unnatural angle.

I was stunned by the horrendous sight of it, and was sure my finger had to be broken even though it honestly didn't hurt all that much. My next thought was that I didn't want my son to see it. He had no idea I had even hurt myself and I wanted to keep it that way because he was having a really good time at the tournament. I didn't want to put a damper on things by freaking him out with his father's deformed digit.

I casually walked with him inside, keeping my hand from his view, and watched him pair up with his next chess opponent at a table. That's when I called my wife and told her what happened. I knew that if I waited for her to get to the building, she'd insist on taking me to the hospital. Since that would have likely meant my son being pulled from the tournament early to come with us, I clued another parent in on what was happening, and asked her to tell my son that his mother was on the way if he happened to finish his match before she got there. I then drove myself to the hospital.

As it turns out, the finger was not broken. It was just badly dislocated. It was reset, wrapped up, and I was sent on my way after a couple of hours. My son finished his chess tournament and brought home an eighth place ribbon that he was actually pretty excited about.

"I wouldn't have freaked out if I had seen your finger, Dad," he later told me. "I would have thought it was pretty cool!"

Let's hear it for desensitization, folks!

In the grand scheme of things, having my sore, swollen, stiff pinky taped to my ring finger for ten days isn't exactly terrible. It certainly hasn't kept me from posting pictures of the original injury out on Facebook to gross out my friends. But being that I write multiple columns each week and that I'm working hard on my second book, it's pretty darned irritating. I had to invent a new method of typing just to finish this blog, which took me about two full hours.

On the bright side, at least I wasn't left without a topic to write about this week.

Let's Keep Making Monsters

Note: This piece was originally written for the Greeley Tribune.

Last year, I wrote a column on an experience my family and I had at the Distortions Unlimited warehouse in Greeley. That's where the immensely talented Ed Edmunds and his crew create monsters for the dark amusement industry. Their props, masks and other creations have been featured all over the world at haunted houses, conventions and even onstage at concerts.

We all had a blast that day, learning how Distortions' nightmarish works of art are produced, and getting to meet Ed and his wife Marsha. They're both very friendly people.

At that time, I had yet to watch their television show "Making Monsters" that was airing on the Travel Channel. This was because I didn't know the series existed until a couple of months earlier when Greeley Unexpected began featuring Ed and Marsha on billboards and local commercials.

The third season of Making Monsters was to start shortly after our trip to the warehouse, so I was interested in seeing the premiere. To tell you the truth, I wasn't sure what to expect; I'm not much of a fan of reality television. In fact, if I hadn't just met the show's stars and come away feeling some Greeley pride, I might have not even given it a chance.

Boy, am I glad that I did. I quickly found out it was a well-produced, unique, incredibly entertaining show - one that completely hooked not only me, but my entire family. The Edmunds live in an extremely fascinating world, alongside a colorful cast of dedicated, talented people. I enjoyed learning more about them and their industry.

We liked watching the creative process of taking a general vision defined by a customer, and then designing, producing, and ultimately installing a hair-raising, jaw-dropping spectacle. Witnessing the pride in the Edmunds' eyes and the smiles on their faces as their end-creations evoked screams and shrills from haunted house patrons always made for good TV.

My wife laughed at the quibbling between Ed and Jordu Schell. Jordu is an accomplished Hollywood sculptor whose work has been featured in numerous films. His theatrical personality and comical steadfastness resulted in some genuinely hilarious segments as the two men routinely challenged each other to create the best possible product. Their propensity to pull practical jokes on each other was also a lot of fun to watch.

I was intrigued by the numerous glances into the business-side of an industry driven by artistic expression. When one looks at the imaginative products created by Distortions Unlimited, it's easy to forget that the company is in business to make money. The show explored the relationship between creativity and capitalism. One time it came in the form of a frank discussion about whether or not the artists would do what they do for free. Another time, it was about how the materials and shipping weight for certain products needed to be scaled back for the merchandise to remain profitable.

Highlighting such things might not seem all that notable, but it kind of is - especially in today's culture where the benefits of choices are often recognized but the costs associated with them aren't. In that sense, I think my kids learned a few valuable lessons from the show.

Speaking of kids, Making Monsters was a far more family-friendly show than anyone would have expected, considering that the subject matter included gory creatures and unsettling imagery. There were never any angry tirades or foul language, and no one was ever demeaned the way they are in many shows in the reality genre. Refreshingly, Ed Edmunds even expressed his frustration with the sexualization of the Halloween industry. A strong work ethic was promoted each week, as was a "never give up until it's done" attitude.

For those reasons and more, I was disappointed when Distortions Unlimited posted the below message on their official Facebook page last month:

"Travel Channel has decided not to renew MAKING MONSTERS. It's been wonderful being a part of such an awesome project for the past 3 seasons! We've loved working with everyone at Travel ... and our film crew is absolutely the best!! ... so much fun! Thanks so much to all our customers and to everyone that watches the show ... you guys are the best! Please stay tuned ... we may not be filming MAKING MONSTERS, but Distortions is still making monsters ... forever.

- Ed & Marsha and our super crew (the monsters couldn't happen without you guys!!)"

While I'm used to television shows I like eventually going off the air, this retirement felt a bit more discouraging than the others. This is partially due to the local aspect. The city of Greeley and a group of its fine citizens were highlighted each and every week to a national (probably international) audience. That was pretty neat! My primary beef, however, was that it was simply a great show - one that would have likely become a ratings hit had it only received more mainstream exposure. The fact I live in Greeley and didn't even know about it until its third season was evidence of how poorly promoted it was by the Travel Channel and its conglomerates.

Just when I begrudgingly accepted that all good things must come to an end, I recently learned of a serious movement to get Making Monsters back on the air, either through a return to the Travel Channel or as a new offering on the Syfy Channel. There's a Facebook page that is coordinating both efforts through online petitions.

I have no idea of how likely the endeavor is to succeed, but it seems to me that the good people of Greeley could do a favor for a couple of their distinguished citizens, and for the general viewing public, by jumping on board and simply adding their names to the movement.

We need more quality shows like Making Monsters on television, especially when they're filmed in our own backyard. If you want to help, just check out the Facebook page I mentioned earlier. https://www.facebook.com/LetsGetMakingMonstetsonSyFy.

What Happens When a Mystery Author's Store Coupons Go Missing?

Note: This piece was originally written for the Greeley Tribune.

My life experiences have led me to believe that the default etiquette between strangers in this country is generally one of politeness and respect. We tend to hold doors open for each other, help push each others’ cars out of snowbanks, and alert each other when we spot a stray item fall out of a pocket or purse.

Every now and then, however, I’m reminded that there are certainly exceptions to that rule. One such reminder presented itself last week when I was at the grocery store.

Soon after entering the store, I grabbed a cart and figured I’d take a quick restroom break before I started to shop. I strolled the cart down to the restrooms, and left it just outside of the hallway before going in. When I returned (no more than 30 or 40 seconds later), I was stunned to find that it was missing.

Now, normally this wouldn’t be such a big deal. I would have just gone and grabbed another cart since I hadn’t even started my shopping yet. The problem, however, was that my missing cart wasn’t empty. In the kiddie seat, I had not only left my grocery list, but also a good number of coupons.

I’m not talking about just standard newspaper-coupons, either. I’m talking about those cool, store-loyalty ones that get sent to you in the mail based on your shopping patterns: $3 off items from the meat department, a free carton of eggs, a free box of granola bars, etc.

So yeah, this was kind of a serious situation. Plus I was convinced the cart hadn’t been taken by accident.

No one could have mistaken the cart as being up for grabs or abandoned. First of all, it was parked outside of the bathrooms – not at the entrance of the store. Secondly, the items inside it were quite noticeable, including my grocery list which was large and colorful. As I had only stepped away from it for a half a minute, there was a pretty decent chance that whoever had taken it had seen me leave it there.

Whether they wanted the cart, the coupons, or both, they took something they knew belonged to someone else – and they were probably feeling pretty confident at that very moment, thinking they had gotten away with it.

What that person couldn’t have known, however, is that I write mystery novels. I don’t technically have any investigative expertise in my background, but I do have a keen eye for detail and a passion for putting puzzles together. I wasn’t about to walk away with my tail between my legs. I was going to get to the bottom of who had taken my cart and my exclusive coupons!

The game was afoot.

I quickly checked the nearby Starbucks Coffee exit, just to make sure that the thief hadn’t barreled into the parking lot with my cart, like from an old television episode of Jackass. I saw no one.

I cased the immediate area – first the produce department, then the deli. I knew that the person couldn’t have gone very far with my cart in such a short period of time. I took note of who was pushing a shopping cart and who wasn’t. Luckily, it was around 9 a.m., so there weren’t a ton of people in the store.

My next move was to quickly retreat to the front of the store to grab a new cart. I figured I might as well get my shopping done while I proceeded with the investigation.

I had a couple of strong suspects early on. Due of the physical size of my grocery list and the fact my coupons had been sprawled out across the kiddie seat, I theorized the culprit wasn’t likely to have gathered all of that paper up and shoved it in their pocket. It would have taken too much time and it would have immediately implicated them if I had stepped back out of the restroom early. The action had to have been more discreet – more efficient, like placing an item or items on top of the kiddie seat to cover up the paper in one step, before quickly pushing the cart away.

One suspect had a large purse resting on her seat. The other had bags of produce sitting there. While I proceeded to shop, doing my best to remember what had been on my list, I kept a casual eye on both of them.

Eventually, the woman with the purse lifted it up to grab something from inside of it. I eliminated her as a suspect when I noticed my stuff wasn’t on the seat.

I then focused my attention on the other woman. This was actually easier (and less creepy) than it sounds because we were both working our way up through some of the same aisles, and moving at an even pace.

Minutes later, a huge siren sounded off in my head when I noticed her grab a carton of Kroger ice-cream from the frozen food section. One of my exclusive coupons was for that item! 40 cents off! Next, a dozen eggs. Those would have been mine for free!

After she had collected a few more items, she began making her way toward the cash registers. Having just about finished my own shopping, I did the same – pushing my cart down the next aisle.

That’s when I ran into my friend, Brian. “Not now!” I thought to myself, knowing that I had invested too much time in my suspicions to get caught up in a friendly conversation and miss discovering whether or not I had targeted the right person. I exchanged some brief small talk with Brian, and then took off like I was in a hurry (which I was).

By the time I got to the front of the store, she was already at one of the registers, pulling items out of her cart and placing them on the conveyor belt. I pulled into the aisle next to hers, where someone was getting checked out in front of me. The suspect didn’t notice me as I peered over shelves of chewing gum at her cart.

Once there were only one or two items left in her cart, I finally saw it! My grocery list and my coupons, now stacked together in a neat pile. Busted!

My first thought was to run up to her, point my finger, and yell, “Ah Hah!!!” However, I realized I would likely give her a heart attack and also thoroughly convince everyone else I was completely insane.
Instead, I nonchalantly left my cart in line and walked up behind her’s. The moment she removed her last items and turned her head to place them on the belt, I snatched the coupons and list out of her cart in a sleight-of-hand maneuver that would have made David Blaine proud. I then casually returned to my cart before she even knew what had happened.

If I’d had an extra second, I would have left in the coupons’ place one of my promotional bookmarks that I carry around with me – you know, just to let her know who she had been thwarted by. That would have been even more ridiculous, however, than following her throughout the store. Plus, I’m pretty confident that it wouldn’t have led to a book sale.

When she turned to grab her (my) coupons from her cart, I watched the same baffled expression form on her face that I had been wearing only 15 minutes earlier, when I first realized that my cart had been stolen. It was absolutely priceless. She searched the cart, the floor, her pockets, and of course found nothing. Once her items were rung up, she was forced to pay full price for everything – including items she likely wouldn’t have ever put in her cart if she hadn’t taken my coupons. I admit this brought a smile to my face. She never did see me.

When I told my wife about the incident later that night, she asked me, “If someone in the store had seen you grab those coupons out of her cart, wouldn’t they have thought YOU had stolen them?” She had a pretty decent point – one I admit I hadn’t really thought about at the time. I suppose I was lucky.

The moral of this story, I believe, is to be respectful of others … because you never know if the person you disrespect has way too much time on his hands, and will refuse to surrender his loyalty card savings.

It's Colorado in the Wintertime: Get Out There and Do Something!

NOTE: This blog entry originally appeared on the Greeley Tribune's website: http://www.greeleytribune.com/


Ice-fishing. Having grown up in Colorado, it's one of those activities I'd watched from afar for years, usually on the occasions when I'd find myself riding down a mountain road in the winter time. Up until last weekend, however, I'd never actually tried it.

This has been a recurring theme with me. Since the age of one, I've lived in a state that's overflowing with fun things to do during the snowy season. Yet until I became an adult, I participated in practically none of them.

It's not that I didn't make it up to the mountains much when I was a kid. I did. My parents were always taking my brother and I on camping and hiking trips during the summer. My grandfather was an avid fisherman, and whenever he came out to Colorado to visit, he'd always take us grandkids to a lake or stream somewhere to reel in a catch that my grandmother would later bread and fry up in a pan for dinner.

When it came to winter time, however, I suppose my family wasn't all that adventuresome. We went skiing a handful of times (usually to Loveland ski resort to avoid the high costs and large crowds) but that was about it.

I was in my mid 20s when I tried snowboarding for the first time, and close to 30 when I slapped on my first pair of snowshoes.

I didn't tube down my first hill until about 10 years ago in Frasier, CO. That was also the same weekend I snowmobiled for the first time - next door in Winter Park. I must say that speeding up and down slopes in the middle of the night was a pretty awesome experience.

I had never gone ice-skating until about two years ago. Seriously! I finally tried it out at that remote, rugged area of the state known as the Promenade Shops at Centerra. It was not a pretty sight by the way.

Because I didn't participate in many winter activities as a kid, I've tried to introduce my own kids to what Colorado has to offer this time of year. And if that initiative lets me check a few items off my own bucket list, that's all the better.

Ice-fishing is an annual event for my son's Cub Scout pack, but scheduling conflicts had gotten in the way of us going in previous years. Not this time, however. And last Saturday, we all caravaned on up to Red Feather Lakes, drilled a few holes in the ice, set up some chairs, and dropped our lines in the water.

It didn't matter so much that my son and I didn't catch anything. We just enjoyed the experience of sitting out on a frozen lake, shooting the breeze with friends, eating lunch, and enjoying a cup of hot chocolate. It was something new for both of us, and best of all, we got to do it together.

My son also took in some sledding - down a hill beside the lake. Truth be told, that may have actually been the most exciting part of the day for him, and that was fine with me.

Oddly, my highlight was watching the fish that others caught flopping around on the ice after they were pulled from the water. Much like those scenes from the television show "Deadliest Catch," where enormous piles of Alaskan king crabs are dropped across boat decks, there's something inexplicably hypnotic about it.

And yes, I realize that's not the most PETA-friendly admission to make. Oh well.

Regardless of what you take away from such an outing, it's really the experience that counts. The goal was to get outside and have some wintertime fun. And if you live in Colorado and you're not doing that right now, what in the heck are you waiting for?