I love "buddy" movies. Lethal Weapon, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Top Gun. The camaraderie between friends makes a story so much better. Even under life and death circumstances, buddies lighten the scene with humor.
Early in my writing career, I learned about Christopher
Vogler’s The
Writer’s Journey, based on Joseph Campbell’s The
Hero’s Journey. The steps were sort of what I was doing subconsciously. One
of steps the hero takes on her quest is having a buddy (or buddies) to go along
on the journey.
My favorite quote in the movie The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is when Sam says to
Frodo, “I can't carry it (the ring) for you... but I can carry you!”
That’s what friends do—whatever it takes to help his/her friend.
When I wrote Rescuing Mara’s Father, I knew Mara
needed help on her quest to find her father. She gets it from her mentor,
Basco, an old, spaceport mechanic. But mentors don’t go the whole way with the
hero. Friends do. Mara’s BFF is Jako, an 11-year-old boy. Though he’s four
years younger than her, he’s a faithful friend. He declares he’s going with
her, even when his older brother, Lukus, demands he stay with him. When he can’t convince Jako to stay, Lukus goes along, too. Lukus has his own reason to
accompany Mara, but it isn’t to save her father.
Together, the three friends embark on the journey. Mara’s
always been jealous of the way her father favors Lukus, the perfect student. Gradually,
she sees a different side of him. She understands why he has to learn as much
as he can; why he takes care of Jako. By the end of the story, their friendship
is strong. Steadfast Jako never wavers in his loyalty to Mara.
Friends are important in our lives. My husband has known his
best friend since eighth grade. My son’s best friends were made in high
school. My friendships don’t go back that far. But I do remember my best friend
in high school and how much fun we had writing stories. In that period of emotional highs and lows (middle and high school), having a
friend you can tell everything to makes it easier.
As I (sort of) plotted this story, I knew Mara would have friends. They start out the journey with her and are there with her at the end.
What do you remember about friendships in middle and high school?
RESCUING MARA’S FATHER
A Middle Grade
Science Fiction Adventure
3 friends, a hidden
starship, a quest
Blurb:
Her father is gone! Taken by the
Queen of Compara’s agents. Mara has to rescue him before the Queen tortures and
kills him.
Instead of the kind, loving father she’s
always known, he’s become demanding, critical, with impossible expectations—not
just as Father but also as the only teacher in their frontier outpost. Mara
would rather scoop zircan poop than listen to another boring lecture about
governments on Central Planets. Give her a starship engine to take apart or,
better yet, fly, and she’s happy. Now, he’s gone.
Never mind, they’ve had a rocky
road lately.
Never mind, Father promised she
could go off planet to Tech Institute next month when she turns fifteen, where she’ll
learn to fly starships.
Never mind, she ran away because she’s
furious with him because he reneged on that promise. Father is her only parent.
She has to save him.
Along with her best friend,
eleven-year-old Jako, and his brother 15-year-old Lukus, Mara sets off to find her
father. Her mentor, old spaceport mechanic, seems to know why the Queen
captured Father. In fact, he seems to know her father well. But, does he tell her
everything? Of course not. He dribbles out info like a mush-eating baby. Worse,
he indicates he’ll be leaving them soon. And Lukus can’t wait to get off their
planet. Mara’s afraid they will all leave, and she’ll be on her own. Despite her
fears, Mara has to rescue her father.
Excerpt:
“There you are!” Jako kneels next
to me, his urgent voice and torchlight in my eyes wake me up.
I gasp, my heart racing. I must
have fallen asleep. I was dreaming about being chased.
“I’ve been looking all over for
you!” He lowers his torch and scoots back.
As I sit up, I shove my hair out of
my eyes. My braid came undone while I was sleeping. Automatically, I reach up
and use my fingers to comb through my long hair. Jako is breathing hard and
heat rises off his small body.
“Why were you looking for me?” I
ask as I rebraid my hair.
“I was afraid they got you, too.” He
gasps for breath. “I didn’t see you when they took him on board, so I ran back
to your house. The Dunpus brothers were laughing about how the goons hauled you
away, screaming and crying. I knew they were lying. You wouldn’t cry.” His eyes
grow wide. “You should’ve seen their ship, Mara. It was so cool. It was a—”
“Hold on. Took who?”
“Isn’t that why you came up here?
To get away from them?”
“Them who?” I might be awake, but
my mind is still muzzy. “Slow down. You aren’t making any sense.”
Jako grabs my arm. “Your father,
Mara. Coalition goons arrested your father.”
RESCUING MARA’S FATHER is available
as an ebook: Amazon
~ Amazon
UK ~ Kobo
~ B&N
~ Smashwords
in print: Amazon
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8 comments:
Great post about an awesome book!! In high school, I ran with a tight clique of about 6 friends who'd come over with me from middle schools and a new tier of about 4 more within my classes. We did everything together, complete with nicknames and alter-egos. Great fun! Unfortunately only three survived graduation when college and a real job opened the doors to new faces. I don't see any of them anymore but e-mail one who lives in Maine. A sad reflection on the things we leave behind as we go through different life journeys.
I loved the TV series Lethal Weapon until Clay Crawford was asked to leave the show. Bummer. Your new book sounds like a good buddies book. I've never read a book with such young characters but maybe it's time
I never thought of it as a buddies book or movie, but I do love that kind of trope :)
Thanks, Nancy. Kids whose friends go from middle school to high school (or even elementary to high school) have a special bond. I didn't have that, neither did my kids. Horrible parents we were moved when they were in 9th & 10th grade.
Linda, I've never written such young characters before. I loved it. I was disappointed when Clay left Lethal Weapon. Bummer is right! The Danny Glover/Mel Gibson movies were much better. Thanks for stopping by.
Thanks, Maureen. I enjoy that trope, too. It's hard not to let the secondary characters take over.
Lethal Weapon was awesome while it lasted. Buddy stories are great.
Thanks, Denise. I agree.
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