"Assault" Book Proposal

Title:      Book Proposal
Scene:      Table of Contents
Chapter:    To launch the book.
Project:    Assault
Revised:  © 2011/09/06  23:15
Filename:    F:Writing/Novels/New Assault/Book Proposal.doc
Author:      C. Don Huntemann

Timeline:    2008/03/28 - 2008/03/30
Setting:    Sit-down with an agent at a writing conference.
Source:    "How I Got Published"
Contents:  Pitch to an Agent.
Purpose:    Get representation.
POV:        Don - 1st Person Limited
Mood:      Apprehensive
Intensity: 2, 5, 8
Begin pg:  1  End pg:  15
ToDo:
  1. Complete sample chapters.
  2. Confirm footnotes.
  3. Update F:Writing/Novels/New Assault/Story.xls
  4.
Done:
  1. Created : 2008-03-01  21:46
  2. Microsoft 'Word' count: 6157
  3.
From 'The Scene Primer '
  1. What is the event?                Event.
  2. What is the emotion here?          Emotion.
  3. What is this scene's function?    Function.
  4. The structure of this scene?      Structure.
  5. The pulse throughout this scene?  Beats.
  6.


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Title of the book:      Assault

Table of Contents


Topic                                                      Page

Table of Contents: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Overview:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3

Audience:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Competition: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6

Author Bio:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Format:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Marketing and Promotions:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Outline: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-11

Sample Chapters: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-13

Footnotes and Reference: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-15

Overview

         In 1995, our 20-year-old daughter, Renee, suffered a cardiac arrest from Heroin and became semi-comatose in the Massachusetts medical system for five years.  Three years after her overdose, while she lay in a persistent vegetative state, she was raped by at least one of her nursing home caregivers and impregnated.  She gave birth to Kimee, my granddaughter, two months premature, without prenatal care and complicated by unmitigated contractures.  Kimee is now semi-comatose, too, and Renee died without ever holding her daughter.

         The criminal story has been told in the press.  "Assault" is the real story that took place, mostly out of public view.  I say 'mostly' because the fishbowl environment of a high-profile case is terrifying and bewildering to close family members.  Nothing prepared us for the onslaught of the media, the police investigations, the courts indifference, and the games lawyers and insurance companies play.

Observations from this story:

  1. The institutions we think of as being here to protect us, to help us, to rescue us; all follow different paths for their own purpose.  We had to discern their objectives first, then use them for what they really offered.

  2. Even though the police were looking for Renee's rapist, we had no use for them.  No matter what they did, who they found, charged or convicted; nothing could un-rape Renee, nothing could make Kimee whole, and nothing they would do could prevent any of this from happening again.  Our concerns were primarily to remove Renee and Kimee from the environment where rape was possible.  Those condition have not changed... and probably never will.

  3. Newspaper and media people are not your friends.  They pursue the blood and blame stories to sell their product.  There is little chance their stories will help you after a tragedy.  Don't offer them your story hoping to tell it your way.  They will tell it their way (sometimes with erroneous or deliberate misinformation)... over and over and over.

  4. As much as I mistrusted the press, I used the newspaper as a marketing tool.  Years after the overt story faded, I let a newspaper reporter see Kimee and tell her story for the first time.  I wanted to know if the effort I was puting into "Assault" would be justified.  Was there still some interest?...  Wow, was there!  That is why I am offering this story to you.

  5. There is always a story behind the story.  This is as much a story of a novice writer's attempt to understand what had happened, as it is to create a story that has meaning for others.  Renee's life was short and some might say misguided.  But, recounting the ordeal our culture put her through can stand as a warning for all of us.

Audience

         Baby-Boomers are now just starting to retire.  In a few years they will be entering into the twilight of their lives and may (estimated one in four) be living in nursing homes.  My target audience is the Baby-Boomers while they are still a vibrant and influential part of our culture.  They still control major parts of our law-making, law-enforcement, justice system, insurance, business and medical industries.

         The experience of nursing home care is not like an extended hotel stay.  Things happen in nursing homes that are horrific, but preventable.  Doctors may be overextended, facilities for profit may not have adequate staff, and care may be suspended for cost-savings.

         My daughter was just past her teenage years when she entered the Massachusetts health care system.  Her young age should appeal to the Boomers because, face it, nobody believes they are getting old.  Boomers can identify with her as 'she was just a bit younger than me,' or as 'she was the same age as my own child.'

         Once the Baby-Boomers become recipients in the nursing home industry, their voices diminish in authority.  They become the 'complainers' and are sidelined from policy consideration.  I want to alert them to change the systems now, while they can.

Competition

Assault has similarities to several successful books:

         It's more than a reportage of a tragedy like Karen Ann1 as told to Phyllis Battelle by the Quinlans (1977).  But it does chronicle the last five years of my daughter's life.

         It shows some of the darker side of nursing home care similar to Nobody's Home2 by Thomas Gass (2004).

         My granddaughter, Kimee's, breech delivery is similar to the procedures outlined in Just Here to Save a Few Lives3 by Dr. Pamela Grim (2000).

         Our initial contacts and consultations with legal counsel, multiple court appearances and strategy planning sessions are similar to A Civil Action4 by Jonathan Harr (1995).

         The law enforcement vs. prosecution and the media distortions are similar to the people and personalities morass in Perfect Murder Perfect Town5 by Lawrence Schiller (1999).

         The story of the negotiations and settlements of the first two cases are similar to Damages6 by Barry Werth (1988).

         Life and death decisions, 'warm storage' of donable organs and abortion options are questions we had to face on three separate occasions.  Some gut wrenching choices are depicted for similar cases in Stiff7 by Mary Roach (2003).

         During my research into nursing home assaults, I came across a scholarly tome Practical Aspects of Rape Investigation, A Multidisciplinary Approach8, 3rd edition (2001).  Mistakes and wild goose chases could have been avoided if the police investigators had been aware of procedures outlined in the previous editions of this text available at the time.

         I spoke to one of the authors, Ann Wobert Burgess, DNSc, who is a professor and researcher at Boston College's Connell School of Nursing.  In my telephone discussion with her about sexual abuse in nursing homes, she revealed rape is a serious problem, but under-reported.  Most women in nursing homes are post-menopausal, so pregnancy is seldom a consequence.  She did tell me of other horrific stories though, of abuse and unattended births in nursing homes... which I will not go into here because I am primarily concerned with Renee's story.  But, those stories convinced me that Renee's experience must be told.  Other women are at risk.

Author Bio

         I have been in the engineering profession for 40 years.  This work is my first literary effort intended for general publication.  Heretofore all of my writing has been of a technical nature: reports, proposals, analysis, instructions, observations, etc. for internal consumption.  The stereotypical 'Engineer' handle actually describes me quite well.  However, quiet waters do run deep, and my skills of observation and description served me well for recording the events of this story.

         I completed the November 2006 NaNoWriMo challenge to produce Wines of Winter, a 63,000 word fictional story in one month.  I produced a 101,000 word rough draft of Assault for the 2007 NaNoWriMo challenge last year, part of which is presented here.

         My short stories, poetry and blog are available on my port at http://www.Writing.Com/authors/huntemann.

Format

         I am a fan of Christopher Vogler's The Writer's Journey - Mythic Structure for Writers9, and Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces10.  Although, Assault is essentially a nonfiction memoir of my daughter's and granddaughter's struggles for life, I have attempted to shoehorn their story into Vogler's '12 stages of the journey.'  It is a good fit and is remarkably tellable that way... even to the inclusion of a talisman (our logbook) as Campbell advised.

         A bit of creative nonfiction will be necessary to shrink the over 200 players in the real story to a manageable set of about 12.  The long period of the story is dealt with by using summaries of normally boring expanses of time between significant events.

         The sequence of events is rearranged in the telling to make it easier to follow.  However, one of the primary points of the story is our confusion and bewilderment during the interweaving of our cases through six different courts.  Keeping them straight was a significant task even for our legal team.

         I have over 450,000 words of personal logs and diaries, two filing cabinets of documents, transcripts and affidavits from our legal team, and hundreds of photos of the girls.  My problem has been to shrink it down into something tellable.  My goal is to make the completed work about 120,000 words.

         I have been reading and studying11 the art of non-technical storytelling for about ten years.  I feel I have finally progressed to the point where I should present my work to the 'professionals' in the business.  This is my first pitch.

Marketing and Promotions

         I have retired from my engineering profession and am concentrating on developing writing into a second career.  I will be available for whatever promotion efforts my agent and publisher deem necessary.  I will advertise Assault on my personal web port, http://www.writing.com/huntemann.

         I am not known for my public speaking ability.  However, I have made technical presentations to NASA and General Electric audiences of a 100 people or more.  I have taught several classes in computer hardware and software at Southern New Hampshire University and Macintosh College.  If I 'know' my subject, I can speak about it.  I know my daughter's story.

Outline
(With Vogler's Structure)

Prologue  -  Death on Tremont Street
Renee's overdose.  Observations she might have had.
(The hook: Was she dead... or something else?)

ACT I

Chapter  1 -  Hospitals, Hope and Nursing Homes
The first few months of hospitals, decisions of life and donable organs.
(Readers are introduced to the hero's world.)
(The hook: Kicked out.)

Chapter  2 -  Intruder in Her Room
Show the patients around Renee and workers who care for her.  Introduce the unknown intruder who rapes her.
(A "call to adventure" or a disturbance interrupts the hero's world.)
(The hook: Renee's assault.)

Chapter  3 -  One Damn Thing After Another
Describe the failures of treatment, unknown developments and disbelief of an assault.
(The hero may ignore the call or the disturbance.)
(The hook: Blood on the sheets.)

Chapter  4 -  An Unpleasant Return
Return from a short family business trip to a completely unexpected turn of events.  We have to deal with unreality.  Everything is out of our control.
(The hero "crosses the threshold" into the dark world.)
(The hook: Phone messages.)

ACT II

Chapter  5 -  Of Lawyers, the Law and Litigation
No one to guide us.  Where to turn to for help.  Enter the experts?
(A mentor may appear to teach the hero.)
(The hook: Me - A Person of Interest?)

Chapter  6 -  Of Compassion Lost
Bad advice from the DSS.  Kimee is lost?
(Encounters with the forces of darkness - DSS, Friend or Foe?)
(The hook: DSS to kill.)

Chapter  7 -  Of Justice Lost
The courts are unsympathetic.  Is it nepotism or lots of the draw?
(Encounters with the forces of darkness - The Courts Agenda.)
(The hook: Almost meet.)

Chapter  8 -  Of Freedoms Lost
The overt story, the criminal justice fiasco and the unrelenting press.
(Encounters with the forces of darkness - Criminal Trial and the Media)
(The hook: Press of the press.)

Chapter  9 -  A Second Death
Renee develops complications.  There are no answers and the caregivers are stretched too thin.
(The hero has a dark moment within himself that he must overcome.)
(The hook: Renee's death.)

ACT III

Chapter 10 -  Of Charts, Logbooks, and Affidavits
Act fast to pry the court out of Renee's affairs.  New cast of characters.
(A talisman aids in battle.)
(The hook: “Bullshit!  Clean their clock.”)

Chapter 11 -  Settlements Without Victory
Threats, parries, stalls and delays.  Preparing for the legal battles our way, obstacles to the solution and hiding behind bankruptcy.
(The final battle is fought.)
(The hook: Long wait.)

Chapter 12 -  Winners and Losers
Return to the opening courtroom.  Final arguments, prognosis and the trial.  The media returns.
(The hero returns to his own world.)
(The hook: Final assault.)

Epilogue  -  A Grim Future
The jury deliberates, the verdict and disbelief.
(The hook: The verdict and implications.)

Sample Chapters

         The Prologue has five scenes:

ID: 1590875   (Rated: 18+) Rush to Forever  Prologue, Scene 1, Renee's overdose. by Clint

ID: 1591085   (Rated: 18+) The EMTs  Prologue, Scene 2, EMTs arrive. by Clint

ID: 1591105   (Rated: 18+) Dash to BCH  Prologue, Scene 3, Ambulance ride to BCH. by Clint

ID: 1591112   (Rated: 18+) The ER  Prologue, scene 4, Boston City Hospital Emergency Room. by Clint

ID: 1591184   (Rated: 18+) Next-Of-Kin  Prologue, scene 5, A tough job. by Clint

         Epigraphs to be used in scenes where Renee appears are from Renee’s Song. 

ID: 1370680   (Rated: 18+) Renee's Song  My daughter's view after an overdose. by Clint

         The last scene in the story is a reflection on the future of my granddaughter, Kimee. 

ID: 1357452   (Rated: 18+) Grandpa's Room  The senses between grandpa and granddaughter. by Clint

Footnotes
1  Karen Ann - The Quinlans Tell Their Story, by Joseph and Julia Quinlan with Phyllis Battelle, (c) 1977, Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, NY, ISBN-13: 978-0-385-12666-3


2  Nobody's Home - Candid Reflections of a Nursing Home Aide, by Thomas Edward Gass, (c) 2004, Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, NY 14850, ISBN: 0-8014-4243-5, http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu.


3  Just Here to Save a Few Lives - Tales of Life and Death from the ER, by Pamela Grim, MD, (c) 2000, Warner Books, Hachette Book Group USA, 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020, ISBN: 0-446-67757-4, http://www.HachetteBookGroupUSA.com.


4  A Civil Action, by Jonathan Harr, (c) 1995, Vintage Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, NY, ISBN-10: 0-679-77267-7, ISBN-13: 978-0-679-77267-5.


5  Perfect Murder Perfect Town - JonBenet and the City of Boulder, by Lawrence Schiller, (c) 1999, HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022, ISBN: 0-06-019153-8.


6  Damages, One Family's Legal Struggles in the World of Medicine, by Barry Werth, (c) 1988, A Berkley Book published by Simon and Schuster, Inc., Rockefeller Center, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020, 800-456-6798, [e-mail], ISBN: 0-425-16863-8.


7  Stiff - The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, by Mary Roach, (c) 2003, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110, ISBN: 0-393-32482-6 pbk, http://www.wwnorton.com.


8  Practical Aspects of Rape Investigation, A Multidisciplinary Approach, 3rd edition, Edited by Robert R. Hazelwood and Ann Wobert Burgess, (c) 2001, CRC Press LLC, 2000 N.W. Corporate Blvd., Boca Raton, FL 33431, ISBN: 0-8493-0076-2.


9  The Writer's Journey - Mystic Structure for Writers, 2nd Ed., by Christopher Vogler, (c) 1998, Published by Michael Wiese Productions, 11288 Ventura Blvd., Suite 821, Studio City, CA 91604, [phone], Fax [phone], ISBN: 0-941188-70-1, http://www.mwp.com, E-mail: [e-mail].


10  The Hero with a Thousand Faces, by Joseph Campbell, (c) 1949, Princeton University Press; Reprint edition (March 1, 1972) ISBN-10: 0-691-01784-0, ISBN-13: 978-0-691-01784-6.
Review: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hero_with_a_Thousand_Faces] ...is the seminal work of comparative mythologist Joseph Campbell.  In this text Campbell discusses his theory of the journey of the archetypal hero found in world mythologies and religions.


11  Additional books that helped me write this story:

Telling the Story - How to Write and Sell Narrative Nonfiction, by Peter Rubie, (c) 2003, HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022, ISBN: 0-06-053528-8.

The Situation and the Story, The Art of Personal Narrative, by Vivian Gornick, (c) 2001, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 19 Union Square West, New York, NY 10003, ISBN: 0-374-16733-8.

Thinking Like Your Editor - How to Write Great Serious Nonfiction and Get It Published, by Susan Rabiner and Alfred Fortunato, (c) 2002, W.W. Norton & Company, ISBN-10: 0-393-32461-3, ISBN-13: 978-0393324617, http://www.wwnorton.com.

Writing for Story - Craft Secrets of Dramatic Nonfiction by a Two-Time Pulitzer Prize Winner, by Jon Franklin, (c) 1986, A Plume Book, an imprint of Dutton Signet, a division of Penguin Books USA, Inc., New York, NY, ISBN: 0-452-27295-5, http://www.penguinputnam.com.

Your Life as Story - Discovering the 'New Autobiography' and Writing Memoir as Literature, by Tristine Rainer, (c) 1997, Tarcher/Penguin, Putnam Special Markets, 375 Hudson St., New York, NY 10014, ISBN: 0-87477-922-7.