Fiction Writer Spotlight: Steven Ramirez

I'm considering starting an 'occasional series,' to borrow a newspaper term, in which I help you get to know the writers mentioned in my New Year's Day post "Fiction Writers to Watch."

So I'm starting with Steven Ramirez because his short story "Walker" is going to be free this week.

Among Steven's works are a screenplay, Killers, and several short stories. His short story "Walker" will be free on Thursday and Friday (January 10th and 11th) in the US.

You can connect with Steven on Twitter (@GrimBlazer) or Facebook (www.Facebook.com/GrimBlazer), or through his blog, Glass Highway.

My Actor Wish List

Cecile de France
Photo: http://www.jrpac.com

No, this isn't a post about my (OMG! He is like, so hot!) favorite eye candy. It's about the screenplay Star Trek: Quicksilver that I'm involved with, and who I would love to see play its characters.

Starfleet Captain NADO Merinish, half Arbazan, half Bajoran. My pick: Cecile de France. Her character in Hereafter was everything Nado: strong, resilient, intelligent, deep and sensitive. And she has the presence and grace to play both a charismatic leader and a skilled negotiator.

Starfleet Commander Robert MACLOMOND, Human. My pick: Ya got me.

Starfleet Lt. Commander K'VEL, Vulcan. My pick: Suzie Plakson. She's got the talent, the grace, the fire and the subtlety that are indispensable for a major Vulcan role. Oh, and she's even played a Vulcan before.

Suzie Plakson
Photo: aveleyman.com

Starfleet Lt. Commander MOWROGH, Klingon. My pick: Geno Segers.

Starfleet Lieutenant Erin LOBI, Human. My pick: I'm not telling yet.

Starfleet Ensign SHRAGA, Andorian. My pick: I'm not telling that yet, either.

Faine CHANNING, Human. She was born in the late 20th Century and transported to the 24th Century by the terrorist's weapon. My pick: Claire Forlani or Sabrina Lloyd. They both portray a haunting sense of insight that seems to go far beyond their ages, maybe beyond a human lifetime.

Golim TEJAT, Cardassian. Tejat was a member of the Obsidian Order, the Cardassian state intelligence service. My pick: Haven't found him yet. I'll admit it's a tall order: he'd have to fit the very big shoes of Andrew J. Robinson and Martha Hackett, who played Obsidian Order agents before him.

Geno Segers
Photo: imdb.com

SINIJ, Suliban. He was born in the 22nd Century and transported to the 24th Century by the terrorist's weapon. My pick: No clue.

Gul Caybin GILLEK, Cardassian. He's one of his people's top military leaders and comes from one of their 'best' families. Very few actors can meet the standard of regal bearing, haughtiness and cunning set by Linda Thorson as Gul Ocett, and Gillek has the added element of having survived the war that reduced his planet to rubble and killed most of his people. My pick: Hugh Laurie. He'd be perfect.

DREM, Xindi Reptilian. My pick: I haven't picked yet

The Terrorist, Cardassian. He's a psychopath: he survived the same horrors as Gul Gillek, only he cracked. My pick: Robert Picardo.

Have you written a script? Writing one? Thinking about it? What actors would you want to cast in it?

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Star Trek: Quicksilver

Gul (General) Dukat of the Cardassian military
ruled the station where Faine Channing landed
when she was taken from Earth by the
terrorist's weapon.
Photo: Memory Alpha

A little about the Quicksilver script I'm working on (with others): for those unfamiliar with some of the Star Trek references, I have linked to wikis to fill you in. If something doesn't ring a bell, click on it.

Not long after the Dominion War, there’s a Changeling hiding on Earth, and Captain Nado has assembled the quadrant’s foremost experts to catch him. But he isn’t a Changeling at all; he’s a Suliban Cabalist and he doesn’t belong there. (He's from 200 years in the past, for one thing.) Neither does the human from 21st-Century Earth who just appeared one day on a Cardassian space station. Investigation uncovers a terrorist behind it all, and he’s blowing up whole cities at a time. The terrorist himself eludes the team for now, but they are able to locate and destroy his weapon – only to learn that what they destroyed was just a decoy. Captain Nado visits the Justice Minister on the planet where the terrorist is hiding, to ask for his arrest and extradition, but returns empty-handed. Here's what she tells her team:

CAPTAIN NADO (half-Bajoran)

I learned something about who we're dealing with on that planet. Their procedure for apprehending suspects is simply not something the Federation could have anything to do with. They cordon off a ring around the suspect and arrest everyone who happens to be within it, whether they have anything to do with the case or not, and subject them to the most horrible cruelties. I've seen victims of this barbaric practice, talked with them. Some were missing fingers. One woman had her lips cut off . . .

SINIJ (Suliban Cabalist)

So we have to kidnap him?

COMMANDER MACLOMOND (Human)

Apprehension of criminals in non-Federation space without the consent of the local authorities: not only is it illegal, but I can't think of a more surefire way to start a war with about six different species and coalitions at once.

GILLEK (Cardassian military) nods in agreement.

NADO

Options?

TEJAT (Cardassian former spy)

Captain, I believe you're faced with the kind of decision we Cardassians have been forced to make often. Do you participate in the torture of innocent civilians, or stand by and watch while our friend destroys the entire quadrant, one city at a time?

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Catching Up

It's been forever since I've said a thing to you. I won't bore you with all that's happened. Here's what I'm doing now:

• Tweaking Quicksilver, a Star Trek script. Yes, I said Star Trek. I wrote it with two other people, tailored to a particular actress, who had expressed interest in some public remarks. She declined it, so now we're revising it to be suitable for lots of actresses, before we send it off to Paramount.
• Plugging away at Pyte. The plot is good, the outline is good, but it reads like 57,000 words of drivel. I wrote it too fast, as an experiment. I kept reading that editing as you write is a bad habit: just write, and refine it later. Apparently that advice is not for me. I'm rewriting it, but it's slow going.
• Getting ready for NaNoWriMo. I'm excited! Still deciding which novel to write:
• 1. The Suitcase Man. Gretchen is on a road trip, heading back home after a frantic drive to see her father when he had a heart attack. Dad's okay, but now Gretchen has locked her keys in the car. She's broke and far from anyone she knows. That's when she meets Jeremiah, who's offering to pay her $5000 to deliver a suitcase. The reason I hesitate: It's the third book in the series that starts with Pyte. Not sure if I'm not going to write myself into a corner if I don't do them in order.
• 2. An Analysis of the Cardassian Language. Faine Channing is visiting her cousin in Chicago when she suddenly finds herself on an alien space station 350 years in the future. Too bad the aliens, in that century, are at war with Earth. She's interrogated and kept as a prisoner for years until the war is over. This book is her journal. The reason I hesitate: It's Star Trek. Which means if I don't sell it to Pocket Books, I don't sell it at all.

Which one would you write?

Free Online Writing Instruction: Scripts

I recently came across Buzz McLaughlin's blog, and I thought you should know about it.

Buzz is an active feature film producer and partner in the independent production company Either/Or Films. He's the author of many plays and screenplays and of the best-selling book The Playwright’s Process. A Ph.D in dramatic literature, he taught scriptwriting as Playwright-In-Residence for many years at Drew University and currently runs a script consulting service. And he happens to live not far from me (quite close, actually, but I'd have to borrow my brother's canoe).

His blog is called Buzz McLaughlin on Scriptwriting. Some of the post titles:

• "Developing a Script That’s 'Ready”: What It Takes"
• "Locations and Your Script"
• "The Myth of Recognition"
• "The Risk of Self-Exposure"

The latest is called "Leisure Time" and it's Part 7 of a series entitled "Developing Great Characters".

I've just begun reading the posts (there are a lot of them in the archives) and so far I've found lots of good information clearly written in a friendly style. I'm looking forward to learning more. I would like to add just one more piece of advice from my own experience, though: no matter how 'into' the writing you are, don't forget to eat.

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Terrorism in New Hampshire

My current primary 'real work' project is adapting Resist the Devil into a screenplay. It will be a full-length action movie about what happens to three New Hampshire residents when their town suffers a terrorist attack.

I know this is short but I don't want to spill too much this early. Watch here for more later.