More About Vivian Zabel

We’re back again to take a more in depth look at what Vivian Zabel writes. You can check out some of her books on my little bookshelf to the left. As we noted on Thursday, Vivian has over 15 books she can call her own, well, today we’re going to take see more about Vivian Zabel’s latest book Midnight Hours –


Publisher: 4RV Publishing LLC
http://4rvpublishingllc.com/

Genre: Mystery/suspense/thriller
ISBN-13: 978-0-9797513-3-2
ISBN-10: 0-9797513-3-0
Pages: 228
Starting Price: $27.99

2nd place in the OWFI unpublished manuscript competition, May 2008

Martin Rogers, a homicide lieutenant, positions his power chair at the end of the parallel bars in the therapy room. Over the past months, those bars have become an enemy that cannot be conquered, but which creates agony and despair. He glares at his enemy as they silently wait to conquer him again. An orderly in white stands beside the left side of the bars. Martin fights to overcome the damage caused by a bullet in his back.
After Martin returns from another “wasted” therapy session, the whish of the power chair’s wheels on the carpet and the low hum of the computer create the only sounds in the room as he positions himself at the desk. He closes his eyes before laying his fingers on the keys to type in the code which would connect him to the refuge he so needed. The Internet and the game room give him an escape from constant pain. The woman he met and visits nightly adds to the ability to flee.
Midnight always appears around midnight each night. She tantalizes him, giving him little information about herself; although, she finally tells him her name, Norma Fields. After Martin threatens to cut off the months-long cyber relationship, she offers to send him a picture of herself. She sends an email attachment: a picture of a beautiful woman.
Martin’s interest changes to one that’s professional. An identical copy had been found, folded in the pocket of a paraplegic who had gone over the rail of a hotel room balcony. As soon as he sees the picture, he calls his friends and fellow detectives, Kyle Stone and Frank Thomas.
The three men meet at Martin’s for breakfast and discuss the photo. Kyle mentions that the woman looks familiar. The men decide to find what information they can about the case and about Midnight, Norma Fields.
After Kyle and Frank return to Martin’s house after their shift, the doorbell rings. Kyle answers the door and invites a young woman to join them. Martin gasps as Midnight walks into the room. Kyle introduces Assistant District Attorney Lisa Harris, telling the others, “I told you the picture reminded me of someone.”
Lisa studies the photo and agrees the head and face are hers but not the rest of the body. She joins the investigation.
In the days that follow, the “Midnight team” discover that several men with large accidental death insurance policies, all with Norma Fields as the beneficiary, have “accidentally” died. The search for Midnight intensifies.


And here’s an excellent review to go along with the description –


Reviewed by Brian L Porter

Police detective Martin Rogers is recovering from a shooting, working hard to regain the use of his legs. To fill in the long hours of inactivity, Rogers spends time in an internet chat room, playing cards with a regular group of surfers. That is until the witching hour, when he and the mysterious woman known only as Midnight connect via cyberspace and disappear into their own virtual world. Martin finds himself becoming more and more intrigued and enamoured by the elusive woman, who seems to find him strangely attractive despite his disability. When Midnight refuses to reveal any personal details about herself, despite Martin being openly honest with her, he begins to suspect that the woman he is falling for may not be all that she seems.
Martin confides his concerns to two of his fellow detectives, and soon he and his colleagues are joined by Assistant District Attorney Lisa Harris as a web of previous suspicious deaths of disabled victims emerges, all of whom appear to have been in contact with the mysterious Midnight.
A task force is set up to investigate the murders, and soon Martin, Lisa, and the team are involved in a case so complex, and so baffling, that they begin to feel as though they are chasing a shadow, a clever and resourceful criminal who they describe as being “like fog that disappears in bright light.”
When police dispatcher Denise Woods is attacked and almost killed by the murderer, the police finally believe they are on the trail of Midnight, only to find yet more clouds of mystery as they attempt to penetrate the veil of the elusive killer.
What links Midnight with the name Norma Fields, and is Norma connected to the oddly named Norm Able? What connection does the reportedly dead sailor J.R Olson have with the case?
Vivian Zabel has crafted a beautifully and hauntingly compelling crime drama that leads the reader down one blind alleyway after another as Martin Rogers attempts to unravel the mystery. The tension is wonderfully wracked up as the storyline builds towards its shattering conclusion. Without doubt, this is one for the crime fiction aficionados, a book that cries out to be read, and one which I found very hard to put down once I’d begun. The characters are believable, the underlying romance that builds between Martin and the beautiful Lisa is tenderly and realistically handled, and the fear that things could go disastrously wrong for the heroes of this tale, right up to the end, is so palpable one can almost reach out and touch it.
A great read, tension personified, wonderfully written!

Brian L Porter
Author, A Study in Red – The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper, Avenue of the Dead, Purple Death, and the award-winning The Nemesis Cell.


Next, we are going to take a look at a very short article about internet predators, a very important subject –


Many articles, stories, and media reports have covered children and women who became prey to Internet predators. The problem is serious, and no matter how many warnings are given, the number of victims doesn’t disappear.

The theme of Midnight Hours includes an Internet predator, but the author takes the reader on a twisted path: The predator preys on disabled men. The theme isn’t one that’s normally found in stories dealing with online villains, but it is one that is possible.

The message of the novel is the same as with any story about predators: beware.

Beware of Midnight, because she offers loves and gives a grave to men who fall into her trap.


Here are a few important links of Vivian Zabel’s –


Website: http://viviangilbertzabel.com/

Blogs: http://vivianzabel.blogspot.com/ Brain Cells & Bubble Wrap

http://vzabel.multiply.com/ Vivian’s Site

http://viviansmystery.blogspot.com/ Vivian’s Mysteries

4RV Bookstore
All books http://4rvpublishingllc.com/Store-Books.html

Amazon.com
Prairie Dog Cowboy http://tinyurl.com/5s4uqw
Midnight Hours http://tinyurl.com/5wwgzm

Plus local book stores and Barnes & Noble.com

Thank you for allowing us to take a look at your books, and learn more about you, Vivian, it was a real pleasure!

Meet Vivian Zabel!

This month, I get the pleasure of hosting Vivian Zabel, among the many things that she is, the one that we’re here for today is the fact that she is a superlative and brilliant author. Today, as well as the 3rd, is going to be very full with tons of remarkable information to learn from Vivian. First off, we’re going to learn a little bit more about this author:

Vivian Gilbert was born to Raymond and Dolly Gilbert, July 28, 1943, on Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. The base for years was outside the city of San Antonio, but now the city surrounds the base.

With a military father who was transferred around the world, Vivian often changed schools, in fact when she graduated from high school in Limestone, Maine, she had changed schools twenty-two times.

After graduating from high school in 1961, Vivian returned to Oklahoma where she enrolled in Bethany Nazarene College (now Southern Nazarene University, in Bethany, Oklahoma). During the one semester she could afford to attend, Robert Zabel visited his sister, and Vivian and Robert met. They married February 18, 1962 and are still together.

During the next few years, Robert and Vivian had four children, three of whom lived. A story that shows the love and closeness between the couple is found in the short story “Romance Midst Tragedy,” published in Hidden Lies and Other Stories (http://tinyurl.com/8xrz2p).

As she reared her children and was a stay-at-home-mother, with spells of working in the business world, Vivian wrote short stories, poetry, and articles, which were published. Once her children were in school, Vivian returned to college and, in two and a half years, earned her BA with two majors (English and speech).

Vivian attended workshops, clinics, conferences, and classes about writing during her twenty-seven years of teaching. The further education helped her better teach her students and helped her hone her own writing skills. Finally in 2001 she was able to write full time and write longer works, after she retired from teaching.

At present, Vivian has six books to her credit, two co-authored. Her latest books are Prairie Dog Cowboy (written under the name V. Gilbert Zabel) and Midnight Hours (written under the name Vivian Gilbert Zabel).

Her interests besides writing include her family (husband, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren), reading, helping other people publish their books (through 4RV Publishing), and traveling (which she can’t do much any more).

In a short interview with Vivian, I asked her a couple of questions – I should probably show you rather than tell you –

Heather: How long have you been writing?

Vivian: The first written proof of my writing is some poetry from the third grade. I've been writing ever since I can remember, but my first published work was in the 1960s.

Heather: What started you writing for publication?

Vivian: What started me writing for publication? Reading books, stories, articles, and poetry and thinking, "I can write better than this." And I can.

Heather: Do you have a set time when you write, or just whenever you get the urge?

Vivian: I write every day, but not necessarily on my current project. I may write newsletters, articles, blog posts, or suggestions on material I'm editing. I "write" in my head many hours a day on my current project, even if I don't put pen to paper or fingers on keyboard for that reason. When the characters and plot explode, no matter what else I may be doing, I write on that book.

Heather: Other than yourself, who is your favorite author?

Vivian: I can't say I'm one of my favorite authors. However, those who are alive and are my favorites include Carolyn Hart, William Bernhardt, Jordan Dane, CJ Lyons, Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, Anne McCaffrey, Stuart Woods, J.A. Jance, Tess Gerritsen,and most of the 4RV authors.

Heather: Have you ever had writer's block, and if so how do you usually get rid of it?

Vivian: I don't have writer's block. I may need to work on a transition from one scene to another, but that is a matter of figuring out the best way to write it. I usually walk away from the computer and let the plot wander through my mind until the right method pops up.

Heather: What do you recommend to aspiring authors?

Vivian: Read, read, read, and read some more. Read the genres you're want to write, but also read other genres. Learn how to write and learn correct grammar and mechanics. I've studied, and even taught, writing for most of my life, and I'm still learning and improving.NEVER think what you write is perfect just because you wrote it. Listen to other people who know, who are experts, who can help you improve. Nothing is more frustrating than to have a writer who has a wonderful concept refuse to listen is her/his editors. Hey, I listen to mine, and my work goes through at least six. Some of those edit each of my manuscripts three times or more.Remember, no one is perfect. Some just work harder to come closer to perfection than other are willing.

Heather: How do you invent your characters?

Vivian: When I get an idea for a book or story, I "daydream" the idea, and the characters evolve. They become so real to me I could answer any question someone might ask about them.Did you know that Lisa always wanted to be a cute little blond when she was a child?Also, I notice characteristics of people that would go well in a protagonist or in an antagonist. I definitely use characteristics of people who are mean, hateful, cruel in villains.

Heather: I know a few authors who keep records (almost like police records) of height, weight, background, etc. of their characters, do you keep tabs on your characters, and if so, what do you usually make note of?

Vivian: I keep note cards on my characters. I include physical descriptions, likes and dislikes, education, interests, hobbies. I outline each one as completely as possible.

Heather: Some authors say that they feel as though his or her characters are real, do you feel this way, and what do you think about this?

Vivian: Oh, my, yes, my characters are "real." I'm half in love with Martin from Midnight Hours. I am in love with Buddy from Prairie Dog Cowboy, because I based Buddy on my husband. Kile, the man in my work in progress, is a hunk, and he makes a great hero.I can relate with my female characters, too. I don't allow them to be "poor, little, helpless" ninnies. I want them to have traits that I wish I had, or good ones I do have. The female protagonist in my work in progress, Amber, has a tendency to want to snap at people, but she smothers those reactions because she owns and manages a conference center. Part of her believability is she is human enough to want to react negatively but smart enough not to do so.All my characters are not perfect. They have weaknesses as people do.


Now we’re going to take a look at Vivian Zabel’s Prairie Dog Cowboy, a description, a review, and a short article, scroll down farther and take a look –

Genre: middle grade/ young adult / historical fiction
Publisher: 4RV Publishing
http://4rvpublishingllc.com/
Hardback, 180 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0-9797513-5-6
ISBN-10: 0-9797513-5-7

Time passes so quickly and history is getting rewritten all the time. So much of our heritage is lost with those changes. It is refreshing to see a slice of reality portraying the daily life of 1899 Oklahoma in V. Gilbert Zabel's latest literary work, "Prairie Dog Cowboy".

Buddy Roberts is but a small boy at the start of the story. It isn’t clear right away why his mother is set against the child. Although he has an older brother, he's tending to the cattle at the age of five, all alone with only his dog to keep him company. Buddy is a mindful child, doing what needs to be done, even at such a young age, hoping some day to grow up to be a cowboy. Instead of him and Patch doing the work on foot, he dreams of herding cattle on horseback someday.

Neighbor rancher Caleb Hyman is impressed with Buddy. He wonders, too, why the child works hard while his older brother, Jake, is doted on and spoiled. But, Caleb can see the man that Buddy will become, encourages him, and teaches him to rope. Once Buddy can rope a prairie dog, Caleb promises he'll give the boy a job on his ranch. Not an easy thing to do, but Buddy works hard to reach his appointed goal.

Through the years, Buddy becomes a part of Caleb's family, a friend of Caleb's twin sons, and the unknowing object of affection for their younger sister, Katie. Life begins to take a turn for the better as he approaches manhood. An ironic twist at the end brings the cycle of life in full circle.


Prairie Dog Cowboy by V. Gilbert Zabel

Time passes so quickly and history is getting rewritten all the time. So much of our heritage is lost with those changes. It is refreshing to see a slice of reality portraying the daily life of 1899 Oklahoma in V. Gilbert Zabel's latest literary work, "Prairie Dog Cowboy".

Buddy Roberts is but a small boy at the start of the story. It isn’t clear right away why his mother is set against the child. Although he has an older brother, he's tending to the cattle at the age of five, all alone with only his dog to keep him company. Buddy is a mindful child, doing what needs to be done, even at such a young age, hoping some day to grow up to be a cowboy. Instead of him and Patch doing the work on foot, he dreams of herding cattle on horseback someday.

Neighbor rancher Caleb Hyman is impressed with Buddy. He wonders, too, why the child works hard while his older brother, Jake, is doted on and spoiled. But, Caleb can see the man that Buddy will become, encourages him, and teaches him to rope. Once Buddy can rope a prairie dog, Caleb promises he'll give the boy a job on his ranch. Not an easy thing to do, but Buddy works hard to reach his appointed goal.

Through the years, Buddy becomes a part of Caleb's family, a friend of Caleb's twin sons, and the unknowing object of affection for their younger sister, Katie. Life begins to take a turn for the better as he approaches manhood.

"Prairie Dog Cowboy" is a testament of a time when life was hard, but people weren't afraid of hard work. The day-to-day occurrences represented are an accurate telling of the time, history that should not be lost. Teens and young adults can learn much from this story and I, for one, am thankful that Ms. Zabel has documented this slice of American history.

Reviewed by Jena' Galifany
Author, Editor, Reviewer
http://jenagalifany.bravehost.com/


Setting for the Hyman Ranch in Prairie Dog Cowboy

The seemingly flat, barren land stretches as far as the eye can see in modern northwestern Oklahoma, just as it did over a hundred years ago. Although paved roads and highways now crisscross the landscape, people who travel through often miss the hidden beauty found in river floodplains and unexpected gullies blooming with life.
Ranches and homesteads, many of which have existed for over one hundred years, dot the miles between Hardesty on Oklahoma Highway 3 and Hooker on U.S. 54. Often the land changed owners over the years; however, a few places have remained in the possession of descendents of the original family. One such historical place is the Mayer Ranch, located between Hardesty and Hooker.
The Oklahoma Historical Society declared the Mayer Ranch eligible for the Oklahoma Centennial Ranch Award in 1990. Dallas Mayer, wife of fourth generation rancher James K. Mayer, accumulated the necessary documentation for the ranch to be recognized. Some of the information in her documents makes interesting reading for those who like western history and history of what is now the Oklahoma Panhandle.
Jim Beasley (James Sergeant Beasley), as a teenaged drover, passed through No Man’s Land on cattle drives from Texas to the railway at Dodge City, Kansas. The drivers and cattle often camped along the Beaver River, where grass grew to the edge of the deep, narrow waterway. He and friend Walter Danilson planned to return and stay as soon as they could. Jim knew someday he would settle where he watched wild mustangs browse along the river side. A few drives, and he and Walter returned and didn’t leave. The plans of two friends began a saga that ended in an Oklahoma landmark.
What is now the Mayer Ranch home place became the setting for the Hyman Ranch in Prairie Dog Cowboy. Information about the real ranch and the real homestead set as the setting for the Roberts farm are discussed in the “Learn More” section at the back of the book.


Thank you all for reading, do remember to come back on Saturday to take a look at Vivian Zabel’s latest book, plus an article on Internet Predators.