Have you ever sat in a classroom and been mesmerized by the subject your teacher or professor is presenting? So deeply impacted, in fact, that it sparks a passion in you that lasts a lifetime?

This life-altering moment happened to me when I was a 16-year-old student in William Cullen Bryant High School. Mr. George Chahallis was teaching my sophomore class the History of the Middle Ages. The topic for the week was the Arthurian Period, when King Arthur, his Knights of the Round Table, and Merlin built and ruled Camelot.

I remember clearly as Mr. Chahallis dove into the life of King Arthur as a boy, raised by the wizard Merlin, and then told the class the story of Arthur drawing the mighty sword Excalibur from the stone. I believe, that it was that very moment in time that King Arthur not only pulled the sword from the stone, and took his place in history. The Bardic King literally presented me the sword and bestowed in me a passion for his life and the time in which he lived.

From then on, King Arthur and I were joined, and I hungered to know more about this great king. My teacher gave me books by authors T.H. White, Alfred Lord Tennyson, and Thomas Mallory. I read every book and wrote reports and essays for not only his class but for extra credit. It was then that I adopted Medieval History as my major as I headed to college. Hence, the passion that borne my books; The Quest for Excalibur, Excalibur and the Holy Grail and soon-to-be-released (December 2008) Excalibur Reclaims Her King, with a fourth book planned to be released in 2009.

Are you a mythical fantasy geek like me? Do you have a similar story of passion and inspiration to share? Are you just bursting to bring YOUR story to the world? Yet you sit in front of your computer or with pen and paper, restrained by just one obstacle: Where do I begin?

Look past this beginning as the great divide. Give me the first sentence. Remember that it can be edited later. Start your story right now, by stringing those first words together.

If you sit there, uncertain while you know what your head and heart are saying, but you just cannot lasso the right words to create that page-turning epic, then I wish to entreat you as I begin a new chapter in my life. With great zeal for mythical fantasy I will be coaching aspiring writers, guiding them to learn more about the art and craft of writing.

A FREE GIFT: If you have started your story, send me the first five pages and at no cost to you, I will analyze them and present you with my notes on your story structure, your opening, your dialogue, and how you activate the imagination of the reader.  One of the most difficult aspects of writing is doing it alone. You don’t have to.  I’m rooting for you, and to demonstrate that, I am offering this free service.

My goal with both of these offers is to help you learn the art of developing a character. To discover what it takes to build a person and give them a soul. To help you dive into plot development. To answer the important questions like:

• How do we pen a story that keeps your readers turning page after page?
• Where will you take your audience on this adventure?
• What mission or message is in the story?
• What are the a, b, c’s of bringing the conflict to the story until it is resolved in the end.

We must be real, stories don’t happen overnight, Tinkerbelle does not wave her magic wand over your computer’s keyboard and the tale is done. We have research to do. We discuss in this three-part series the importance of research to our journey and where we can go besides the library, and the Internet to acquire the tools to bring YOUR story to the printed page.

If you are ready to go forth and write that special story, then I entreat you write the first sentence and join me. Let’s have fun building a story, one that will transcend the boundaries of time.

Contact me at angelica@angelicaharris.com and tell me about your work and why you like to write. 

Last Thursday evening at 7:00 o’clock, Eastern Time Bea interviewed me. The Show was 30 minutes long and to say the least the whole day I was nervous. That nervousness turned to positive energy the minute I heard Bea’s voice on the phone 6 minutes before the show. We laughed about the days events before the show. Her computer crashed and at the last minute, she had to find my information about the show through my publisher’s Virtual Assistant Lauray, and through mine Pam. Not only that, the evening before my cat Rosey, bit through my power cord and I had only 90 minutes of battery back up. The laughter alone relaxed me. Then, Bea told me how much she loved reading my first two books; The Quest for Excalibur and Excalibur and the Holy Grail and how she enjoyed the sample chapters from third book, Excalibur Reclaims Her King, that was the fuel that energized my interview.

On the interview, Bea asked about how I came to love Midieval History. The answer for me was a simple one—in the room of my High School teacher Mr. George Chahallis. He is the reason I love History. Mr. Chahallis made history come alive in his class, but he made it come alive in me, especially tales of King Arthur

As the interview continued, I told Bea how my character Arianna has been my alter ego. In a world of nothing but tragedy and hardship, my protagonist Arianna Lawrence, helped me find my voice and myself among the ruins. When I was weak, she was strong for me. She gave me the voice I needed to live my life and for that, I am truly grateful.

Bea and I talked so much about the characters and about my life experiences, that we did not have time to dive into my writing process. Bea is the author of Edge a Leadership Story, being that we share the love of writing, Bea invited me back, for another show.

We will post the date as soon as Bea and I can find the time to work it out

Bea was a gracious hostess that evening and allowed me to tell the world who I am and why I love to write. I want to say thank you to Bea Fields of Bea Fields and Company (www.beafields.com) for making my first ever Radio experience one that I will treasure for the rest of my life. Can’t wait for the next show, it will be a blast. Come Bea and I invite you to listen in and enjoy

Here is the link to the show—ENJOY!!! After you listen let me know what you think.

<http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Y-Talk/2008/09/18/How-Can-a-Mythical-Fantasy-Character-become-an-authors-alter-ego-to-help-empower-herself-

Angelica Harris with Alec Baldwin ("sigh")

In 1996, I had the pleasure of watching the movie, “Ghosts of Mississippi” starring Alec Baldwin and Whoopi Goldberg. It is the touching movie of the assassination of Civil Rights leader Medgar Evers, and his wife’s Myrlie Evers, played by Goldberg, struggle to have his murderer Bryon De LaBeckwith put in jail. Mr. Baldwin played the attorney, Bobby DeLaughter. At the end of the movie, Bobby, played by Mr. Baldwin, gives the closing speech in court that glitches the ‘guilty’ verdict to have De LaBeckwith incarcerated for the rest of his life.

There was something about Mr. Baldwin’s performance that was so real to me, as I watched the movie. I wished that one day I would meet him. On Authors Night, that wish came true. Mr. Baldwin was the Chairman Honoree for the evening and towards the end of the night, he came around the tables greeting authors and fellow artists. He came to my table where the poster of my third book, “Excalibur Reclaims Her King” (due out in December and designed by Nathan Brown of Writers of the Round Table, www.writersoftheroundtable.com) was displayed, and caught his eye. We spoke briefly and I asked him if he would allow me a photo op. He was gracious and gave to me that beaming smile he is famous for. He asked me to come out from behind my table so we could take a good picture. I did and he was such a gentleman. He gave me the fold of his arm, leaned in and we smiled. My husband John captured the moment.

Alec Baldwin has some new movies in the works and I will be watching out for them. Thank you Mr. Baldwin for a wonderful evening, and for stopping by my table.

Movies already in production.

Untitled Nancy Meyers Project(2010) (pre-production)
Solitary Birds(2008) (pre-production) …. Harry Cainne
My Sister’s Keeper<(2009) (filming) …. Campbell Alexander
Lymelife<(2009) (completed) …. Mickey Bartlett (completed)

This is me signing my book for John Meyer author of "Heartbreaker" a memoir of Judy Garland. He wrote music for Judy and was her rehearsal pianist from many years.

I met Mr. Meyer when he came to my table, entreated that I was signing my books with a quill. He was amazed that someone knew the old-fashioned art of writing with the relic tool and asked me to sign my book, “The Quest for Excalibur” with the pen. Oddly enough, in my book I used the line “Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.”

We began to speak about my work writing Mythical Fantasy, and then Mr. Meyer told me about his

John Meyer and I again at his table

I was glad to meet Mr. Meyer and later he signed his book, “Heartbreaker” with is ‘modern’ pen for me. Within the book is a CD of Judy singing and John playing his piano for her.

As a child and now a grown woman, my favorite songstress will always be Judy Garland. Her voice was the voice that got me through many hard times in my life, especially “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”.

Thank you, Mr. Meyer, for sharing your evening with me and the gift of getting to know Judy from someone who knew her.

Nelson DeMille & Angelica Harris

On August 9^th, 2008, I attended Authors Night at Easthampton Library out in the Hamptons in New York. That night I was honored to be among many writers from the literary field. One of them was Nelson DeMille.

Mr. DeMille’s table was crowded most of the evening with his fans and those who just wanted to meet him. During a break, I went to his table to ask him to sign his book “Wild Fire” and I told him that I enjoyed reading his book, “The General’s Daughter”  He noticed on my name tag that I was one of the author attendees and asked me to join him at his table. It was a privilege to be invited to sit and speak with this prestigious author – to not only speak to him about his work, but mine as well.

To be honest, I thought that Mr. DeMille would be somewhat stand-offish. What I found was a man of gracious nature, who was willing to speak to me honestly about what it takes to be a successful artist/author. After we spoke about both of our works, he asked me to let him know the release date of my book “Excalibur Reclaims Her King” due out in December 2008. As he gave me his information, the buzz was growing around his table and mine. It was back to signing books for our fans and enjoying the rest of the evening.

If you are an author, you know that if you don’t have a publicist or an agent, it is hard to get out there. Especially in the beginning when you are an unknown. After I published my first book, The Quest for Excalibur, I learned about the industry the hard way. My publisher was not going to sit by the phone and make dates for book signings—I had to sit by the phone and advocate for myself; after all, I am not Michael Creighton or J.K. Rowling—at least not yet.

It took many trials and errors on my part to learn the jargon to speak to the Community Relations Managers in the bookstores, and believe me, there were days when the word “No” or “We not interested” made me feel very intimidated. I had to realize that if I did not have confidence in my voice and some plan to offer, they would not say “Yes”.   It took as many as one hundred e-mails or calls and finally, I was able to procure at least two, maybe four dates. There were days when I just wanted to give it all up.  I knew deep inside that my stories were good and that if I believed in my work and myself most of all, I could get out there.

Yes it was hard to be proactive—I took tables at holiday fairs and Community festivals and sat there and sold my books privately. I joined writers online groups, talked to other writers, and found out how to get out there. It is like playing Russian Roulette in that you never know when the bullet is going to fire, but after a time it does land and your work is finally seen.

I learned well the jargon and booked myself at “Meet the Writers” forums where sometimes I did not draw an income, but the proceedings went to benefit a library, or the opening of a clinic or a special charity for children or animals.  I went to conferences and learned how to make my stories not just good, but great—I even took a vending table and sold and signed my books there, just to get heard and seen. The object here is not just to be visible, but to make the contacts—those that will bring the author the success we crave.  

You may say, how can you keep it up?

I will tell you.

When someone reads your book and tells you how great it was or asks when the next book is due out—that is the fire that ignites the writing. When people who are strangers become lifelong friends who support you in your work, again there is the food that feeds the hunger of a writer. When my second book Excalibur and the Holy Grail was published, those same people were there to purchase a book and told me exactly how they felt. Weather the critique was good or bad, you know you are still being read. You make more contacts. It’s not just the media that recommends a book—it is word of mouth. Make friends with your fans!!!

Two years ago I was an exhibitor at the Book Expo America in New York. I met the chairperson of the Virginia Readers Association and he purchased a set of my books and read some of the story over night. The next day he not only invited me, but also my editor Corey Blake to join him at the conference to talk about our work together. It was my first paid gig and I finally felt like I was accepted. After that I was able to make more contacts and was invited to other conferences and was not only talking about my work at my signing table, I  was a speaker at the luncheon—it was a moment in time I will never forget. It is as if I grew wings and I was flying.

Yes, being proactive is so important. After taking tables and vending my work, donating books to charities’ and libraries and being my own publicity manager, on August 9^th I recently attended Authors’ Night www.authorsnight.com  at the East Hampton Library here in New York State. The President of the Library and the Chair Honorees (one of them is actor Alec Baldwin) invited me. I felt honored and privileged to be one of the authors who took part in this wonderful evening of literature. I do however feel that my gift is a privilege, one I take seriously every day of my life.

Being proactive is the game. It takes guts and tenacity, but it pays off in spades. Guess what, I have a third book coming out. Excalibur Reclaims Her King. This one has been four years in the making.  I have invested my soul in this book. I am hopeful for a release the end of this year.

For more information go to www.angelicaharris.com or www.writersoftheroundtable.com.

The best part was forming an incredible partnership with Corey Blake Chairman of Writers of the Round Table and Writers of the Round Table Press. We met six years ago online. I sent him my first book for review and he loved it, though he saw such potential for more depth in my work. My first two books had been edited, but not developed, like the third one, we are currently engaged in.

 Corey was itchy to get his hands on the third book, as he does love Fantasy, with Medieval History Elements. I remember I tested him and asked him to describe an evil in the world. The description he sent to me blew my mind, which was when I started sending to him some samples of my work. He read the first few chapters and saw an epic, but the epic needed much work, and a hook to get the reader pulled into the storyline.

Corey gave me a small push using a magical prop for my protagonist Arianna Lawrence. I ran with it and before we knew it, the story took on a life of its own. It was amazing. But it did not stop there. Corey gave to me assignments towards building my characters: their names, where they came from, and what made each man and woman tick. It was an exercise in forming a three dimensional human being, from conception to birth to literally forming a soul, seeing the humanity, and finding the voice of my characters as they grew and unfolded on the page.

Still, it was not enough. To put characters’ on a page you need a setting, a place in time, and here is where the homework of an author must be done. Since my books are period pieces—my character Arianna Lawrence is a powerful High Priestess who can open time gates to other worlds throughout different periods in history—I had my work cut out for me! Arianna takes readers to her home world in twenty-first Century America back to Sixth Century England where King Arthur and Merlin rule in books one and two. In book three, Arianna goes further back to third Century Rome where she meets Constantine the Great and his mother Empress Helena.  From there, they travel on to Third Century Jerusalem where they must find the Titulus of Christ.

For me, this research became an incredible task, as I have never been to Europe or Jerusalem in my lifetime. So with pleasure, I spent many countless hours in the library, turning the pages of history  and geography books,  surfing on the net and searching Barnes and Noble, and A and E, the Discovery Channel, the History Channels and online for DVDs on documentaries to round out my research. To be honest, after awhile I was eating, sleeping and drinking my work as it became my life’s blood. You know, this is funny: one night my husband went to kiss me goodnight—as I was up late knee-deep in research—and I kissed him back and called him “Arthur”. His name is John! That’s how intense this has become for me. Wow, what a wonderful journey, an adventure.  I will tell you this, doing research is like being a Pirate; you are constantly on your ship, standing on the crows’ nest, with spyglass in hand searching for buried treasure. It is like looking for that diamond in the rough, you know the one you want to polish and look at all shiny and new? When you find what you are looking for, what a find it is. It is like bathing in the river Jordan and then watching the sunrise from the edge of the water where the horizon is eternal.

This is what my stories have become for me: watching the sunrise from the horizon and keeping my eye on the polished diamond as the story continues to unfold. Now, Corey and I turn the page on the editing table where we will draw swords again.  

For more information visit www.angelicaharris.com or www.writersoftheroundtable.com, or contact my virtual assistant, Pam Ivey at Pam@mycreativeassistant.com.

When you drive up Exit Eleven South, heading towards Riis Park in Brooklyn you drive into History. The area, though modern and of our time period, houses some historic landmarks; one is Baron Island also known as Floyd Bennett Field. Constructed in 1929 this airway was our New York Naval Air Station, post World War I and during World War II. The old Hangers that housed the planes of our Armed Forces still stand in ruins with the original hanger numbers on them. One of them, Hangar 5, is now the home of Aviator Sports.

Steeped in history itself, the Air Field once housed some of our troops most prestigious air planes during World War II. Unfortunately, today the field is mostly a Ghost Town and the Managing staff of the sports hangar is trying to build the location back up, hence a Ren Fair. As you drive onto the Airfield, what was once the tarmac where the planes took off and landed, is now the roadway. On the black, if you look carefully, you can still see the lines painted on the ground for the pilots to use to guide them on and off the runway. For a lover of history, it is an awesome sight as you can envision the planes as they once soared through the skies.

My husband John and I, were greeted by Mary Jane McCormick, Executive to the CEO of Aviator Sports, and her assistant David. Mary Jane introduced herself and made us feel very comfortable, seeing to our every need for the day. As we unpacked our wares and set our tents, time passed and the Airfield  transformed into a small Midieval Village right there in Brooklyn, NY. It was 94 degrees that day and I had arrived in jeans and a tank top. I changed into my Midieval garb and I was right at home.  

On the green across from the vendors was a roped off patch of land. Inside the ropes was a tent, two horses and two Ren Actors dressed in full armor. Three times that day the two Knights took to their steeds with lance in hand and performed a Joust right before our very eyes. The crowds cheered as the Knights speared each other reenacting one of the oldest forms of Tournament sports in history. Then they dismounted their animals, unsheathed their swords and clanged their blades, acting as though they were fighting to the death. The Knight who was impaled got up, bowed to the audience and there again the revelry was hailed.

At the vending area were fair maidens who sewed costumes, made jewelry and told fortunes with Tarot cards. Members of the Society of Creative Anachronism showed how food was prepared in Medieval Times, the agriculture of birds and landscaping was present, and others were spinning yarn of wondrous colors. Children and adults were amazed at what they learned.

Then there was me, Angelica Harris, selling my books and telling tales of the Bardic King Arthur Pendragon himself. I had a great time as onlookers came under my pergola and heard my tales of Knights of old and Merlin the Great Wizard. I met some history buffs of the time and we began a forum all to our own about writing and our shared passion for King Arthur and Camelot. It energized me to be in my element. I always enjoy people who love Arthurian legend and, of course, talking about my stories.

This may have been the first for Aviator sports, and I say ‘Huzzah’ to Mary Jane and the staff of the complex. It may have been hot on the field, but the staff made the day cool with friendship and their hospitality.

Have you ever looked at a child or  adult who is suffering and does not know how to express their pain? I have my son and my husband. Two men with hearts of gold and  bodies wracked with unimaginable pain. (Daily anguish caused from a neurological involuntary movement disorder called, “Tourette Syndrome”.) This pain should have turned their hearts to stone but with the help of the Tourette Syndrome Association, their hearts are in tact and so are their lives.

That is what Tourette Syndrome brings to millions of children and adults ever day of their lives. This involuntary movement disorder causes good human beings, no matter what race, creed, or ethic background, to do things with their bodies, they have no control over.

The Tourette Syndrome NYCCP has been in existence for 25 years, and is the nation’s only full-time, freestanding, community-based counseling program for people affected by Tourette Syndrome. This wonderful program is in danger of closing, if we do not do anything about it.

What if your were on the train or bus and someone sitting across from you was jerking his head back and forth and swearing profanities that made you feel sick to your stomach, or made you feel insulted by their behavior. Well let me tell you, that young kid is not cursing because he is some punk from the streets, looking for attention, or trying to pick a fight. He has Tourette Syndrome and he doesn’t want to do that behavior, just as much as you don’t want to see it.

What about the kid in school who just can’t sit still, he tries to—he even goes so far as to sit on his foot just to hold himself down, but the imbalance in his brain chemistry tells him to move, get up, distract the class, clown around, and even cause a mess of problems amongst his fellow students. You tell him to sit down and out of the blue in a snap of a finger he goes into a rage that will not be contained. What do you do?  You know him, he has a problem called ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) No matter how he tries, he just can’t stop. These issues, if not addressed properly and without the right psychological and moral care, can lead to violence and even the death of a student.

Moreover, what of the teenager who sits in the back of the class? He says nothing all day, never participates, has no friends and is invisible to the world around him. You think he’s shy. “Oh he’ll come out of his shell sooner or later,” you tell yourself.  What if he can’t explain himself? What if he’s depressed and you have no idea? What if he’s alienated because of his disorder or abused at home because of it and is afraid to talk?

Last night he killed himself.

That is what disorders do to our children and loved ones. If we keep silent about them our children and our families will die—die to themselves and die to the system. Can we look in the mirror and know that we did nothing to help? I think not. This is a moral and human issue and our children will end up in the streets with nowhere to go if we do nothing.

On June 29, 2008, the City Council approved a new budget for fiscal year 2009 that cut funding to numerous city programs funded by the DHMH, including the Tourette Syndrome New York City Counseling Program (NYCCP) located in Bayside, Queens and in Brooklyn.

The NYCCP was fully funded through the DHMH, and if these budget cuts go into effect, the program will be drastically compromised, and quite possibly, be forced to close.

Explain to me a mother and a wife of two men that I love—how can we look at this issue and close the doors on it? We cannot. We must act and act now. If you know someone with issues pertaining to Tourette Syndrome or any other mental or physical problems it is your duty to make sure that there is help for them. If not, that person may be lost in the system forever, or maybe dead by his own hand.

What are you going to do?

ANGELICA HARRIS: Mythical Fantasy author Angelica Harris, www.angelicaharris.com, lives in NY with her family. She is the author of books The Quest for Excalibur and Excalibur and the Holy Grail. Harris is a member of the S.C. A. and loves Fencing.  At present, she is writing her third book, Excalibur Reclaims Her King, with Corey Blake www.writersoftheroundtable.com due out in December 08.

Angelica’s son and husband, both inflicted with Tourette Syndrome and other co-morbid issues, have found a family and home with the Tourette Syndrome Association.