FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon
Wednesday, May 29,2013
M CEW EN AUTHORS SNIPER NOVEL Rain doesn’t dampen
“I find it more chal and I’m pretty happy with the involvement o f none
helicopter pilot being held lenging in that you are it, and so is the publisher.” other than living legend free spray day
by Taliban insurgents in responsible for your char
In light of all this writ Steven Spielberg.
-Continuedfrom PAGE ONE
Afghanistan.”
T he tria l a tto rn e y
teamed up with fel
low writer Thomas
Koloniar in the cre
ation o f the 400-
page book. Kolo
niar is the author of
the post-apocalyp
tic novel “Cannibal
Reign”; he holds a
Bachelor of Arts in
English literature
from the University
of Akron.
Though the novel is
obviously McEwen’s brain
child, he said Koloniar’s
input was invaluable.
“I ’m still practicing
law, so when it comes to
dialogue and a lot of things
that need to get done in
finishing a novel...it was
really important to me to
have other people 1 can
work with.”
McEwen described the
process as a team effort.
“We both have ideas;
we toss them back and forth
to each other. 1 have greater
access to those who create
the story line because I live
in San Diego, where a lot of
SEAL teams are based. In a
novel where you’re using a
lot of real ops to base your
characters and scenes, it’s
important that you have that
reality-based information,”
McEwen said, adding that
Koloniar’s background in
literature brings a special
aspect to their working
relationship.
“He is definitely a much
more proficient editor of our
work. He’s very strict as far
as his use of prose, so it’s
been good for me to work
with him in that regard,”
said McEwen.
He said the pair knocked
out the writing relatively
quickly.. .for a novel
“Once the ideas were
formed, we knocked it out
in about nine months,” he
said, adding that the entire
process of writing and sell
ing the book took about a
year.
He said the process of
writing a fiction book was
both easier and more dif
ficult than nonfiction.
acters’ development and
knowing where the story
is going to go with
th em ,” M cEwen
said. “With nonfic
tion, it is what it is,
and you just make
it as interesting as
you can in the tell
ing. Your latitude is
wider with fiction
but you also have
the responsibility
for character devel
opment and to stay consis
tent with it.”
He said he enjoyed fic
tion writing because he was
able to choose the ways in
which the character would
express his views.
“The character that is in
‘Sniper Elite’ is extremely
patriotic, extremely pro-
U.S., extremely pro-U.S.
military, an amalgamation,
very efficient in what he
does. That was more enter
taining for me in the final
stages o f the book,” said
McEwen, “to give you the
exact ending you want to
have.”
And what is that end
ing, that vision?
“The book essentially
envisions a United States
that is hesitant but ulti
mately uses the full force
of its power to save the life
of one soldier who had been
taken hostage in Afghani
stan,” he said. “In essence,
the message of the book is
that I would like to United
States to take that attitude
in every conflict. Either we
give it our all or we make
it our decision not to be
there.”
The book will officially
be released June 4 but is
already available for pre
order through some sites.
It will be available in hard
cover, ebook and audiobook
from retailers like Amazon,
Barnes & Noble, Books-a-
Million, iBooks, Walmart,
iTunes, audible.com and
others. McEwen said re
sponse to the book has been
good so far.
“There’s been some re
ally good reaction on both
hardcover and Kindle,” he
said. “It’s doing pretty well
ing, the Gazette asked McE
wen about a statement he
once made about never
wanting to be a writer.
“I guess I’m getting to
like it more,” he quipped,
then clarified, saying he'd
never envisioned it as a
career.
“It wasn’t as if I didn’t
like to write to tell stories or
share a vision, but it’s a dif
ficult thing to break into,”
he said. “For most people,
it doesn’t, if you will, pay
the bills. For most writers,
it’s a difficult way to make
a living.”
M cEwen obviously
likes the process of writing.
With his second book about
to be released, he’s already
looking forward.
“ I ’m already in the
middle of doing a sequel
to ‘Sniper Elite,’ and I’m
excited about that as well,”
he said.
Meanwhile, on the big
screen...
Although “Sniper Elite:
One Way Trip” will not
be officially released until
next month, the novel has
already been picked up by
director Ridley Scott and
Scott Free Productions,
which has turned out mod
em classic action films like
Alien, Gladiator and Black
Hawk Down. Plans are in
the works to make the novel
into a feature film.
It may have been this
final piece of success that
put McEwen at a near loss
for words.
“It’s pretty amazing,”
he said.
Then again, there is
more to tell.
A lso on the m ovie
front, the “American Snip
er” movie is moving for
ward, with more big news
and big names. The project,
based on SEAL sniper Chris
Kyle’s autobiography, al
ready packed clout due to
the involvement o f Hol
lywood heavy-hitter Brad
ley Cooper—Cooper has
been developing the project
as producer and will also
star in the film. Now, the
“American Sniper” movie
has taken another leap with
“It was kind o f like
affirmation of what was al
ready an amazing project,”
said McEwen of Spielberg’s
involvement. McEwen is
serving as a consultant to
the movie. “That Spielberg
actually picked it up and
made a decision to invest
his time and efforts in it,
was a great honor to Chris
and Chris’s memory.”
Word o f Spielberg’s
involvement hit the press at
the beginning of the month.
The film mogul has appar
ently been on the hunt for
a project to follow up the
award-winning Lincoln.
Spielberg will also pro
duce, along with Andrew
Lazar, via Mad Chance Pro
ductions, and Peter Morgan.
Jason Hall wrote the script
and will executive produce.
The movie will be a Warner
Brothers/DreamWorks co
production. A first-quarter
2014 start date is planned
at this time, with no word
on when the project will
wrap.
F o r M cE w en , th e
“American Sniper” book-
to-m ovie deal has been
“an amazing run.” From
18 weeks on the New York
Times bestseller list— 13
weeks at number one—to
Spielberg at the helm of
the movie, he says h e’s
not making any guesses on
where it could go next.
“ It’s hard to see the
future. It’s already had such
an amazing success,” McE
wen said. “To expect where
it went to this stage is outra
geous in itself.”
“Spike,” the mascot for Weed Awareness Week, waves to
passing cars during the Free Spray Day sponsored by the
Morrow Soil and Water Conservation District and the Natu
ral Resources Conservation Service. Undeterred by the rain,
area homeowners were given up to two gallons of free spray
to help eradicate problem weeds and promote weed awareness
locally. This is the third year for the free spray day, which is
growing in popularity. “People love this; we always have a
good response,” said Morrow SWCD Manager Janet Greenup.
-Photo by Andrea Di Salvo
Rich in history, low
in numbers
By Caitlynn Bailey
The Heppner Garden
Club has been disbanded
due to its lack of members.
They are now known as
the Heppner Volunteers, a
group of people who pro
vide services to the commu
nity and, more specifically,
the community garden. The
garden has relocated from
its previous residence on
Riverside Street to its cur
rent one near the Heppner
High School Greenhouse
4MÍRICÁN SHIPIR
on the Agricultural Land
Lab.
The H eppner C om
munity Garden has been
around since 1995 and has
been open for the public’s
free use. It continues to
provide an opportunity to
those who choose to put
forth their time and effort to
gardening. The only things
needed are the seeds for
planting, an able back and
pair of hands, and the time
to care for a plot. Sadly,
Sniper Elite: One Way Trip only very few individuals
will be released June 4 but is and even fewer younger
available for pre-order now.
kids have taken advantage
h
*»<•’« i r .M ite iiit i.tf
SCOTT McEWEN
of this great opportunity.
Some people find a
garden too time-consuming
and wonder, “ Why go to
all the trouble to grow a
garden, when I could buy
produce from the grocery
store?”
The benefits of a com
munity garden are vast. In a
sense, a community garden
beautifies an area and gives
a calm, cultural feeling to
a town. It provides a stop
ping point for conversation
and is an easy way to meet
new people. A community
garden can also be for all
ages. It helps children bet
ter understand where food
come$/rom. When given a
spaee of their own, children
can develop a sense o f ac
complishment while watch
ing their seedlings grow.
A community garden
can be a powerful thing. If
you don’t use it to your and
everyone else’s advantage,
you could lose it. So make
your way to the Heppner
Community Garden and get
a plot of your own.
Funding available for county cultural groups Harvesting 100 years of
Each year, the Morrow
County C ultural C oali
tion receives funding from
O regon’s Cultural Trust
to support culture and the
arts in Morrow County. It
is time for qualifying orga
nization to start preparing a
Funding Proposal Request
Form to take advantage of
available funds.
Qualifying groups or
projects might fall under
any o f these categories:
literary, historical preserva
tion, visual and performing
arts, or humanities and cul
tural organizations.
Organizations are in
vited to submit completed
Funding Proposal Request
Forms to Morrow County
Cultural Coalition by Au
gust 1. Proposed projects
must include a timeline
and be completed by July
30, 2014.
Organizations need not
have IRS tax-exempt status
to apply. Project proposals
must meet criteria noted
on the Morrow County ap
plication. Funding awarded
will vary in amount ac
cording to the needs of the
proposed project and the
amount o f county funds
awarded by the Oregon
Cultural Trust.
Grants are awarded for
no more than 50 percent
of the total project cost.
Proposals funded in 2012
included: North Morrow
Community Foundation,
Windy River Elementary
School Writing Festival,
Boardman Park and Rec
reation D istrict Funtas-
tic Kids, and the Morrow
County Chronicles.
To receive a Funding
Proposal Request Form,
contact Susan Russell, Mor
row County Cultural Coali
tion, 69247 Kunze Lane,
B oardm an, OR 97818,
541-481-4277. Funding
for Morrow County Cul
tural Coalition proposals
originates from contribu
tions and donations to the
Oregon Cultural Trust. To
learn more.about support
ing culture in Oregon, or
individual and business tax
credits for donations to the
trust, visit www.cultural-
trust.org.
memories at the
Morrow County Fair
The Morrow County
4-H program is looking
for any 4-H memorabilia
(Morrow County and non-
Morrow County alike) to
share in a display at this
year’s Centennial o f the
Morrow County Fair, held
August 14-17, 2013.
Local 4-H organizers
say photos, ribbons, tro
phies, pins, exhibits citizens
made or their grandparents
J * * * f '‘
Fishing P e t T.
Free
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
and Morrow County Parks
OREGON
r
are sponsoring a F R E E
YOUTH FISHING DERBY,
Fish 4 W ildlife,
W h ere : Cutsforth Park
W h en : Saturday, June 1,2013
S ta rt T im e : 8:30 am
E n d T im e : 11:00 am
For c h ild re n 14 y e a rs old an d y o u n g er
A ddress: 58430 W illow C re e k R d .f H eppner, O reg o n
For more information contact Betty Gray at the Morrow County Public Works Office (541) 989-8214
made when they were in
4-H, or any other memora
bilia would be a great ad
dition to this year’s display
recognizing the hard work
and memories from 4-H
throughout the years. They
also say they are happy to
make copies or take photos
of items people don’t feel
comfortable to have out on
display.
Contact the Morrow
County 4-H office or 4-H
leader Doashea Qualls at
541-676-9642 for more
information.
M embers can check
out the 4-H section of the
Morrow County Fair Book
(can be found on our web
site) for entry details at the
2013 fair.
“We hope to have a
great showing of exhibits
and their exhibitors this
year,” says a county coor
dinator. “Let’s make it a
great Centennial Celebra
tion Morrow County!”
Anyone interested in
volunteering either before
or during the fair, call the
4-H office for complete de
tails: 541-676-9642. They
say they can always use
help with various things,
from cleanup and decorat
ing, to sorting and assisting
with exhibits.
For m ore in fo rm a
tion about 4-H in Morrow
County, check out http://
extension .oregonstate edu/
morrow/, and follow them
on Facebook.