Saturday, November 16, 2019

#99 Inside the Emotion of Fiction: "THE MOMENT OF TRUTH" by Damian McNicholl




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****Damian McNicholl’s The Moment of Truth is #99 in a never-ending series called INSIDE THE EMOTION OF FICTION where the Chris Rice Cooper Blog (CRC) focuses on one specific excerpt from a fiction genre and how that fiction writer wrote that specific excerpt.  All INSIDE THE EMOTION OF FICTION links are at the end of this piece. 

Name of fiction work? And were there other names you considered that you would like to share with us? THE MOMENT OF TRUTH. For a time, I called it The Maverick Woman.
Has this been published? And it is totally fine if the answer is no. If yes, what publisher and what publication date? Yes. Pegasus. 2018 Trade paperback

What is the date you began writing this piece of fiction and the date when you completely finished the piece of fiction? I started at my mother’s house in Northern Ireland in May 2015 and completed it May 2016.  


Where did you do most of your writing for this fiction work? And please describe in detail. And can you please include a photo? I had a writer’s studio over the garage before the house sold. It was pretty, overlooked the woods where deer and foxes went by daily. My Mac sat on an old New York library desk from the fifties, which provided inspiration. I don’t have a photo and am busy setting up a studio in the house I live in now.


What were your writing habits while writing this work- did you drink something as you wrote, listen to music, write in pen and paper, directly on laptop; specific time of day? I worked nine to five from Monday through Friday on my Mac on the novel. In the evenings, after a day of writing, I would enjoy some wine. 
          First, I write an outline as I find that works best for me. But then, after I begin the novel, I allow the characters to grow beyond their confines set forth in the outline. I allow them to develop personalities, interests and biases because they must have flaws and do things I didn’t think about when writing the outline. They become real people to me during the writing of the story. But I’m always careful to reign them in if they start moving too far away from the arc of the story.   
What is the summary of this specific fiction work? It’s explores emerging feminism in the 1950s (Above) and examines the bigotry and discrimination a young Texas woman faces when she tries to do the same work as a man. In this case, she tries to become a bullfighter in Mexico. The story was inspired by the late Patricia McCormick (Below) who was America’s first female matador and much feted in the 1950s.


Can you give the reader just enough information for them to understand what is going on in the excerpt? The scene unfurls at an enormous hacienda in Mexico belonging to the wealthy breeder of bulls, Don Raul, and his family. Kathleen has been invited to a Tienta, which is a testing of the young bulls to see which will become brave fighters in the ring, and it is an honor to be invited to work with the animals. She has been feeling a little overwhelmed and unsure of her abilities because there are Hollywood stars, European royalty and enormously wealthy Mexicans in attendance. On the morning of the testing, she is in the breakfast room when her overbearing trainer Fermin enters. (Above Left:   Salvador Dali, Tienta en Espana) 

Why is this excerpt so emotional for you? And can you describe your own emotional experience of writing this specific excerpt? It’s emotional because the scene with her trainer (who demands she call him ‘Maestro’) strikes at the heart of the book. It depicts perfectly how Kathleen must deal with obstacles and prejudices from allies as well as enemies in order to succeed as a woman in the profession she’s chosen. And it depicts how damaging it is to her confidence and psyche, just as in real life if it happened.
It made me very sad as I wrote the scene because I thought about how women struggle to get equality today and we’re in the 21st Century.

Please include the excerpt and include page numbers as reference. The excerpt can be as short or as long as you prefer. Pages 197-198/     The large breakfast room smelled of warm tortillas and fresh coffee. A long table decked in fresh linen tablecloths ran down the middle of the room. As I took a seat beside a friendly general in the Mexican army and his wife, whom I’d met the night before, Maestro arrived. Julio and Silvario sat across from me, their plates as loaded as mine with warm tortas (mine stuffed with scrambled eggs and red salsa), spicy chorizos, and slices of baked ham. Maestro glanced at my plate as he passed by on the way to the row of silver chafing dishes on a wide sideboard at the head of the room.
“So much food,” he said. “There will be a lunch.”
“I’m hungry.”
“Serious matadors don’t eat so much before a testing,”
he said.
I looked pointedly at Julio’s and Silvario’s overstuffed plates. The general and his wife regarded their own laden plates, then mine, and exchanged baffled glances.
“Eat the torta and one slice of ham,” he said. “No chorizo. And as much coffee as you wish.”
“Look at ours, Fermin,” Julio said, and he glanced sidelong at Silvario. “We’re serious matadors and we’re eating well.” He smiled at me briefly, then looked back at Maestro. “Why do you tell her how much she can eat anyway?”
“You know as well as I do she’s testing the heifers soon. Her body isn’t the same as a man’s.” His lips upturned into a sneer. “Maybe you don’t know what a woman’s body is like?”
Julio sighed and rolled his eyes.
“That’s enough now, Fermin,” Silvario said.
“Silvario and I are testing before her,” Julio said then. “Let her eat.” “If you eat like that every day,” replied
Maestro, his gaze sliding to
Julio’s plate, “you’ll soon look like a picador and need to ride a horse into the ring.”
After Maestro left, Julio told me to eat everything on my plate if I was hungry. “He’s no doctor,” he said.
I didn’t eat anymore, though. Maestro was probably right. A woman’s body was not dense like a man’s. The food was heavy and would lie hard on my belly. 

     Were there any deletions from this excerpt that you can share with us? And can you please include a photo of your marked up rough drafts of this excerpt. No, there weren’t any deletions. (Right:  Damian in October of 2018)

Other works you have published? A SON CALLED GABRIEL. This was my debut novel. Pegasus decided to republish it last year. Interestingly, they allowed me to rewrite parts of the novel and give it an entirely different ending. That is very unusual. This was the version the New York Times reviewed.

Anything you would like to add? Thanks for the great interview.

Damian McNicholl is a former attorney and author. His critically acclaimed first novel, A Son Called Gabriel was an American Booksellers Association Book Sense Pick and finalist in the Lambda Literary Awards and ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Awards. His second novel is Twisted AgendasThe Moment of Truth is published by Pegasus Books and was chosen as Houston Chronicle’s 10 Books to Read. Damian has appeared on CBS, WYBE Public Television, National Public Radio and other media outlets in the United States and United Kingdom to discuss his work. He lives in Bucks County Pennsylvania and is at work on a new novel.  

INSIDE THE EMOTION OF FICTION links

001   11 15 2018 Nathaniel Kaine’s
Thriller Novel
John Hunter – The Veteran

002   11 18 2018 Ed Protzzel’s
Futuristic/Mystery/Thriller
The Antiquities Dealer 

003   11 23 2018 Janice Seagraves’s
Science Fiction Romance
Exodus Arcon

004   11 29 2018 Christian Fennell’s
Literary Fiction Novel
The Fiddler in the Night

005  12 02 2018 Jessica Mathews’s
Adult Paranormal Romance
Death Adjacent

006  12 04 2018 Robin Jansen’s
Literary Fiction Novel
Ruby the Indomitable

007  12 12 2018  Adair Valerez’s
Literary Fiction Novel
Scrim

008  12 17 218 Kit Frazier’s
Mystery Novel
Dead Copy

009 12 21 2019 Robert Craven’s
Noir/Spy Novel
The Road of a Thousand Tigers

010 01 13 2019 Kristine Goodfellow’s
Contemporary Romantic Fiction
The Other Twin

011 01 17 2019 Nancy J Cohen’s
Cozy Mystery
Trimmed To Death

012 01 20 2019 Charles Salzberg’s
Crime Novel
Second Story Man

013 01 23 2019 Alexis Fancher’s
Flash Fiction
His Full Attention

014 01 27 2019 Brian L Tucker’s
Young Adult/Historical
POKEWEED:  AN ILLUSTRATED NOVELLA

015 01 31 2019 Robin Tidwell’s
Dystopian
Reduced

016 02 07 2019 J.D. Trafford’s
Legal Fiction/Mystery
Little Boy Lost

017 02 08 2019 Paula Shene’s
Young Adult ScieFi/Fantasy/Romance/Adventure
My Quest Begins 

018 02 13 2019 Talia Carner’s
Mainstream Fiction/ Suspense/ Historical
Hotel Moscow

019 02 15 2019 Rick Robinson’s
Multidimensional Fiction
Alligator Alley

020 02 21 2019 LaVerne Thompson’s
Urban Fantasy
The Soul Collectors

021 02 27 2019 Marlon L Fick’s
Post-Colonialist Novel
The Nowhere Man

022 03 02 2019 Carol Johnson’s
Mainstream Novel
Silk And Ashes

023 03 06 2019 Samuel Snoek-Brown’s
Short Story Collection
There Is No Other Way to Worship Them

024 03 08 2019 Marlin Barton’s
Short Story Collection
Pasture Art

025 03 18 2019 Laura Hunter’s
Historical Fiction
Beloved Mother

026 03 21 2019 Maggie Rivers’s
Romance
Magical Mistletoe

027  03 25 2019 Faith Gibson’s
Paranormal Romance
Rafael

028 03 27 2019 Valerie Nieman’s
Tall Tale
To The Bones

029 04 04 2019 Betty Bolte’s
Paranormal Romance
Veiled Visions of Love

030 04 05 2019  Marianne Maili’s
Tragicomedy
Lucy, go see

031 04 10 2019 Gregory Erich Phillips’s
Mainstream Fiction
The Exile


032 04 15 2019 Jason Ament’s
Speculative Fiction
Rabid Dogs

033 04 24 2019 Stephen P. Keirnan’s
Historical Novel
The Baker’s Secret

034 05 01 2019 George Kramer’s
Fantasy
Arcadis: Prophecy Book

035 05 05 2019 Erika Sams’s
Adventure/Fantasy/Romance
Rose of Dance

036 05 07 2019 Mark Wisniewski’s
Literary Fiction
Watch Me Go

037 05 08 2019 Marci Baun’s
Science Fiction/Horror
The Whispering House

038 05 10 2019 Suzanne M. Wolfe’s
Historical Fiction
Murder By Any Name

039 05 12 2019 Edward DeVito’s
Historical/Fantasy
The Woodstock Paradox

040 05 14 2019 Gytha Lodge’s
Literary/Crime
She Lies In Wait

041 05 16 2019 Kari Bovee’s
Historical Fiction/Mystery
Peccadillo At The Palace:  An Annie Oakley Mystery

042 05 20 2019 Annie Seaton’s
Time Travel Romance
Follow Me

043 05 22 2019 Paula Rose Michelson’s
Inspirational Christian Romance
Rosa & Miguel – Love’s Legacy: Prequel to The Naomi
Chronicles

044 05 24 2019 Gracie C McKeever’s
BDMS/Interracial Romance
On The Edge

045 06 03 2019 Micheal Maxwell’s
Mystery
The Soul of Cole

046 06 04 2019 Jeanne Mackin’s
Historical
The Last Collection:  A Novel of Elsa Schiaparelli and
Coco Chanel

047 06 07 2019 Philip Shirley’s
Suspense/Thriller
The Graceland Conspiracy


048 06 08 2019 Bonnie Kistler’s
Domestic Suspense
The House on Fire

049 06 13 2019 Barbara Taylor Sissel’s
Domestic Suspense/Family Drama
Tell No One

050 06 18 2019 Charles Salzberg’s
Short Story/ Crime Fiction
“No Good Deed” from Down to the River

051 06 19 2019 Rita Dragonette’s
Historical Fiction
The Fourteenth of September

052  06 20 2019 Nona Caspers’s
Literary Novel/Collage
The Fifth Woman


053 06 26 2019 Jeri Westerson’s
Paranormal Romance
Shadows in the Mist

054 06 28 2019 Brian Moreland’s
Horror
The Devil’s Woods

055 06 29 2019
Epic Fantasy
Wings Unseen

056 07 02 2019 Randee Green’s
Mystery Novel
Criminal Misdeeds

057 07 03 2019 Saralyn Ricahrd’s
Mystery Novel
Murder In The One Percent

#058 07 04 2019 Hannah Mary McKinnon’s
Domestic Suspense
Her Secret Son

#059 07 05 2019 Sonia Saikaley’s
Contemporary Women’s Literature
The Allspice Bath

#060 07 09 2019 Olivia Gaines’s
Romance Suspense Serial
Blind Luck

#061 07 11 2019 Anne Raeff’s
Literary Fiction
Winter Kept Us Warm

#062 07 12 2918 Vic Sizemore’s
Literary Fiction-Short Stories
I Love You I’m Leaving

#063 07 13 2019 Deborah Riley Magnus’s
Dark Paranormal Urban Fantasy
THE ORPHANS BOOK ONE:  THE LOST RACE
TRILOGY

#064 07 14 2019 Elizabeth Bell’s
Historical Fiction
NECESSARY SINS

#065 07 15 2019 Lori Baker Martin’s
Literary Novel
BITTER WATER

#066 08 01 2019 Sabine Chennault’s
Historical Novel
THE CORPSMAN’S WIFE

#067 08 02 2019 Margaret Porter’s
Historical Biographical Fiction

BEAUTIFUL INVENTION:  A NOVEL OF HEDY LAMARR

#068 08 04 2019 Hank Phillippi Ryan’s
Suspense
THE MURDER LIST

069 08 08 2019 Diana Y. Paul’s
Literary Mainstream Fiction
THINGS UNSAID

070 08 10 2019 Phyllis H. Moore’s
Women’s Historical Fiction
BIRDIE & JUDE

071 08 11 2019 Sara Dahmen’s
Historical Fiction
TINSMITH 1865

072  08 19 2019 Carolyn Breckinridge’s
Short Story Collection
KALIEDESCOPE & OTHER STORIES

073 08 21 2019 Alison Ragsdale’s
Emotional Women’s Fiction
THE ART OF REMEMBERING

074  08 22 2019 Lee Matthew Goldberg’s
Suspense Thriller
THE DESIRE CARD

075 08 23 2019 Jonathan Brown’s
Mystery/Amateur P.I.
THE BIG CRESCENDO

076 09 02 2019 Chera Hammons Miller’s
Literary Fiction w/ suspense, concern with animals & land management
Monarchs of the Northeast Kingdom

077 09 09 019 Joe William Taylor’s
Literary Mystery
The Theoretics of Love

078 09 15 2019 Linda Hughes’s
Romantic Suspense
Secret of the Island

079 09 19 2019 Max Elliot Anderson’s
Middle Grade Adventure/Mystery
Snake Island

080 09 22 2019 Danny Adams’s
Science Fiction
Dayworld: A Hole In Wednesday

081 09 24 2019 Arianna Dagnino’s
Social/Historical/Adventure
The Afrikaner


082 09 29 2019 Lawrence Verigin’s
Thriller/Suspense
Seed of Control

083  10 05 2019 Emma Khoury’s
Fantasy
The Sword And Shield

#084 10 07 2019 Steve McManus’s
Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
SEVEN DEVILS

#085 10 08 2019 Sheila Lowe’s
Mystery/Psychological/Suspense with Scientific Bent
PROOF OF LIVE

#086 10 10 2019 Jess Neal Woods’s
Historical Fiction
THE PROCESS OF FRAYING


#087 10 11 2019 Karen Odden’s
Historical Suspense
A TRACE OF DECEIT

#88 10 14 2019 Kate Maruyama’s
Love, Loss & Supernatural
“HARROWGATE”

#89 10 17 2019 Sherry Harris’s
Mystery
“LET’S FAKE A DEAL”

#90 10 18 2019 Linda Mooney’s
Science Fiction Apocalyptic/ Post Apocalyptic
“THE TRUNK”

#91 10 19 2019 Jayne Martin’s
Flash Fiction Short Story Collection
“TENDER CUTS”

#92 10 22 2019 Janice Cole Hopkins’s
Inspirational Romance
“IT ALL STARTED AT THE MASQUERADE”

#93 10 29 2019 Kristi Petersen Schoonover’s
Short Story Collection
“THE SHADOWS BEHIND”

#94 11 01 2019 David Henry Sterry’s
Fiction: Sexual Violence
“THE TENDERLOIN WARS”

#95 11 03 2019 Jay Requard’s
Dark Fantasy/Horror
“DEATH & DUST: THE PALE SAND ADVENTURES”

#96 11 04 2019 Caroline Leavitt’s
Fiction
“WITH OR WITHOUT YOU”

#97 11 06 2019 Kelsey Clifton’s
Science Fiction
“A DAY OUT OF TIME”

#098 11 13 2019 John F Allen’s
Urban Fantasy Tale


#99 11 16 2019 Damian McNicholl’s
Historical Novel
“The Moment of Truth”

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