I finished my first Secrets of the Castleton Manor Library novel. I have been assigned two books in the 24 book series - number 14 and number 23. I just sent #14, tentatively titled A Whale Tale, to my agent. Now I anxiously await feedback from the editor. I am excited about this opportunity, which is a departure from my Rock Shop Mystery series, and the traditional publishing route that has been my journey to date. Typically, an author writes a book, then seeks publication. In this series, different authors are assigned books in the series. My name will be on the books I write. Each must have a literary theme, and use existing characters and setting. Another difference is that readers subscribe to a series, much as one subscribes to a magazine, receiving a new novel every month or so. Readers may subscribe to either hardcover or electronic versions. Have you ever been frustrated waiting for the next book in a favorite series, or been disappointed when a series ended abruptly, without completing the entire story? There is no danger of that happening with the various Annie's Attic series. Here's a little more about the Castleton Manor series, from the publisher's website: Faith is happy to close the book on her hectic life in Boston -- unscrupulous boyfriend included -- and enjoy a fresh, peaceful start in Lighthouse Bay, Massachusetts. The opportunity to work in the grand library at Castleton Manor, the luxury resort that caters to booklovers and encourages guests to unwind with their beloved pets, is a dream come true! Even better, the new job brings Faith closer to her family, offers free lodging in the charming on-site gardener's cottage, and her cherished rescue cat, Watson, is welcome everywhere Faith is. Just as Faith and Watson settle into their soothing, sophisticated seaside surroundings, a rough tide of horrific events rolls in, leaving a series of lies, deceit and murder in its wake! Caught in the middle of this whirlwind, Faith is shocked to learn she is the main suspect in a murder investigation. Will she be able to clear her name before the true culprit succeeds at keeping her quiet at all costs? Find out how the story unfolds when you send for your copy of A Novel Murder! My Castleton Manor novel has the literary theme of Herman Melville's Moby Dick. Faith's cat becomes obsessed with finding a whale, which throws him into the middle of a murder mystery. In other writing project news, I have plans for a fourth Rock Shop Mystery, more short stories, and a stand-alone novel.
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10/10/2017 0 Comments Author EventWoodland Park Public Library 218 E. Midland Ave. Woodland Park, CO 80863 October 11 - 2pm This Wednesday, October 11, I am joining other local authors at the Woodland Park Library. For an inside peek at what authors think of library events, author Maris Soule recently blogged on this topic. Are author events worth the time and effort? She lists the pros and cons of participating here. 10/4/2017 4 Comments Short Story Review: Cabin FeverCabin Fever by David Edgerley Gates, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine September / October 2017 Deputy Hector Moody's truck breaks down in the Montana wilderness. A storm is coming. His day goes from bad to worse when he takes shelter in an old cabin, and encounters two escaped convicts. Then lightning strikes, and the forest fire erupts. Author Gates does a terrific job of making these events seem plausible. The tension builds as firefighters converge on the forest fire, while a SWAT team hunts for both Deputy Moody and the convicts. Gates breaks one of the rules of short story writing, and does it well. The common advice is to not switch point of view in a short story. This is true, unless you are a skilled storyteller. Cabin Fever is told from multiple points of view. One character is Deputy Moody's girlfriend, Doctor Katie Faraday, who sets up a clinic to treat the firefighters for minor injuries and smoke inhalation. "Hector's over in the Gallatin," she told him. "Ranch hands at the Two Forks called in suspicious rustling activity." The ranchers ran cattle on federal land, under permit. The cows ranged fairly wide, and sometimes you lost track. "Well, we've got a thing," Frank Child said. Katie knew what cops meant by a "thing." It didn't usually presage good news. There is a lot going on in this story, told with edge-of-your-seat intensity. 10/3/2017 0 Comments Rocking the Town with LoveOne day while walking through a park with my husband, we spotted a painted rock on the side of the trail. We marveled that someone would create a little work of art, and leave it in the park for the elements to batter or a random admirer to take it home. Later, I learned about 719 Rocks! I was intrigued by the idea of people putting their creativity, heart, and time into projects that they simply gave away. Not knowing where they might end up. Most likely, never learning where their little works of art went. When I saw painted rocks around town, they made me happy. They made me think. People talk about random acts of kindness. The painted rocks are gifts of the heart thrown out into the universe, not knowing where they may land, hoping they bring a smile to a child, or hope to someone who is struggling. People regularly post on the Facebook site that finding a rock helped them turn around a difficult day. I talked the grandkids into painting rocks with me. We set some out at random. Two have appeared on the Facebook page. One traveled from Old Colorado City to a downtown park. I am totally hooked, and have my rocks and paint on a table in the family room. My husband scoffed at first, then insisted he needed the tiny blue and yellow minion I painted for his desk. A recent magazine article explains the groups mission here. The group made the local newspaper here. I missed posting a short story review last week, so today I present two different authors, both with short fiction that made its original appearance in the past. Fatal Flaw by Cathi Stoler appears in Kings River Life Magazine September 23. According to the introduction, this story was published several years ago. It opens with the lines, "A few fates are worse than death. I should know. I’m living one right now." The protagonist Nick Donahue is being held captive, having run afoul of dangerous gangsters determined to obtain a critical bit of information from him. Donahue, a high stakes gambler, insists he not be compared to James Bond, but the suave playboy lifestyle gadding about Europe suggests otherwise. Fatal Flaw is a fun read. Don't take my word for it. You can click here to read it for free. My second review is The Anastasia Syndrome and Other Stories by Mary Higgins Clark, published in 1989. I can't remember whether I bought this at my favorite used book store, or nabbed it from my mother's mystery book shelf. There is a reason Clark is a multi-published best selling author. The stories in this collection were real page-turners. The title story is actually a novella. A woman seeking to learn about her birth parents from a controversial psychiatrist is accidentally regressed a couple centuries too far. Well worth the read, but I'd like to mention the story Lucky Day. Think O. Henry's The Gift of the Magi with a perverse twist. An annoying elderly friend brags about today being his lucky day, then disappears. Nora searches for answers, then doesn't like what she learns. All the stories in the collection are worth checking out. The book is available in the usual places. Often conferences end at noon, with a grand finale luncheon and keynote speaker. Killer Nashville had events going until 3, and even had a social and networking opportunity that evening. Unfortunately, we had many a mile to travel. I had to get home in time for work Tuesday, and we still wanted to see Nashville. I enjoyed the buffet breakfast one last time, then heard another great motivational speech. 8:30 Sunday August 27 – Where Do You Go From Here? The closing speaker Pamela Fagan Hutchins said she has observed that after a conference, people typically do one of three things: they go catatonic, their heads explode from an overload of stimulation and information, or they experience 13 weeks of mouse-on-a-treadmill meteor-to-ashes writing before collapsing. She suggested giving yourself permission to write at your own pace. Her key line was, “You only have to do this today – tomorrow you can quit.” She closed with a line that mirrored the opening speaker’s message, telling the audience to find joy in the milestones. 9:50 Sunday August 27 – Agent Round Table I have a novel that has yet to find a home. I suspect the beginning has issues, so I was eager for the opportunity to run those critical first pages by an agent. Annie Hwang from Folio Literary Management generously reviewed two pages from five authors in a round table setting. Ms. Hwang did a terrific job of explaining the elements she needed to see in the opening line and first few pages. A light bulb blinked on for me, as I understood what she meant, and how my opening was lacking those elements. I think I have a great book, but I need to focus on creating a beginning that instantly lets an agent know what the story and characters are about. At this point, completely saturated with wisdom, inspiration, and more socializing than I typically do in months, for some inexplicable reason I began watching my Fitbit for the time. It was still set to Colorado time. I realized I was fifteen minutes late for a panel on comedy. I decided I could either just not show up, or fulfill my obligation despite arriving embarrassingly late. 10:50 Sunday August 27 – That’s Funny: How to Write Comedic & Humorous Thriller / Mysteries Ross Cavins – moderator; Barbara Collins, Catherine Dilts, Elena Hartwell, Charley Pearson Hopefully I redeemed myself for my late arrival with my response to whether murder could be funny. As an example, I used Carl Hiassen’s inventive and hilarious murders, such as death by dolphin sex. People who had read Hiassen nodded knowingly, as they erupted in laughter. The panelists, who all write mysteries, discussed the fine art of humor. Some had made a study of the elements of humor, explaining the difference between a joke and comedy. They even touched on that difficult concept, what makes people laugh? My husband had packed up and was ready to hit the road. While the drive to Nashville had felt like a mini-adventure, when we headed for home, we just wanted to get there. I’m sure you know the feeling. However, we still needed to see Nashville. My hairdresser had recommended taking a tour bus. While the Olde Towne Trolley wasn't cheap, it was well worth the expense. The few hours we had to sightsee were much more productive with a tour guide giving the history of various points of interest. As we headed back to Colorado, I typed up notes from the panels I had attended. I enjoyed this friendly conference, met several new writing friends and reconnected with others. I left with my basket full of gold nuggets of wisdom and inspiration to keep me going until my next conference. Registration is already open for Killer Nashville 2018. I continue my report on the Killer Nashville writers' conference in August with a panel populated by several stellar mystery authors. 2:00 Saturday August 26 – I’m not the Same Anymore: Character Arcs Catherine Dilts – moderator; J. A. Jance, Margaret Mizushima, Sharon Marchisello, Karen McCullough, Howard Owen I was the moderator for this panel of gifted authors, speaking on the topic of how to maintain character arcs over the course of a novel, or a series. Unfortunately, I didn't get a photo of this panel. I opened by giving two definitions. If you Google character arc, the ever helpful Wikipedia gives you this definition: A character arc is the transformation or inner journey of a character over the course of a story. If a story has a character arc, the character begins as one sort of person and gradually transforms into a different sort of person in response to changing developments in the story. On the other hand, the Narrative First website adds this caveat: Not all growth is transformative. Sometimes a person can grow by maintaining their position, shoring up their resolve against whatever is thrown at them. This is no less meaningful than the kind of growth where someone changes who they are or how they see the world. I asked how authors keep track of character arc, and whether they are ever surprised by their characters. Best-selling author of multiple series J. A. Jance said she maintains a file for characters with details including physical descriptions and weapons they use. Even then, details can slip over the course of a series. This is where Jance told the audience GYAB: Give Yourself A Break. Jance does not outline. She said the story is “all a surprise.” Howard Owen began writing a short story that became a novel series. He pins pictures to a board to keep track of his characters. Sharon Marchisello is a pantser, but does keep a spreadsheet of her characters. Karen McCullough’s Market Center mysteries were planned as a series. She uses One Note to track character arc. Margaret Muzushima outlines her Timber Creek K-9 series. She has been surprised when character arc changed as she wrote the story. I went from moderating, to being on the next panel. 3:00 Saturday August 26 – It’s Not About Selling Books: Social Media for Writers Julie Schoerke – moderator; Catherine Dilts, Michelle Kubitz, Jenean McBrearty, Warren Moore, Shari Stauch I do have a photo of this panel, but by Saturday afternoon some of us were definitely worn out. Instead, check out the photo of the fun elevators in the Embassy Suites Hotel. Some of us encountered Elevator Boy, a young man very serious about pretending to be an elevator operator. Julie Schoerke guided a lively discussion on this panel covering social media venues like Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and blogging. All agreed that aggressively and relentlessly pushing a buy-my-book message is guaranteed to fail. Establishing a presence on social media consistent with your fiction is a better tactic. One panelist was still full of energy. Ah, youth! Michelle Kubitz was knowledgeable about all things social media. She was also runner up for the Claymore Award. I chatted with authors in the book store for a while, then hurried to Room 224 to hear the solution to the staged Crime Scene. I did not get my paperwork in on time to be a contender for the prize, but I had to know whodunnit. 5:40 Saturday August 26 – The Killer Nashville Crime Scene Explained I won’t give the solution, because it would lack meaning. Solving a conference crime scene is a “you had to be there” kind of deal. I will say that former Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) Assistant Director Dan Royse did a great job of explaining how law enforcement would put together the clues to solve an actual crime. Much time, creativity, and labor went into setting up the mock crime scene, the suspect interviews, and the scenario. This was one of the highlights of the conference. My husband and I went to the Networking Open Bar, where we chatted with new friends. My husband decided his new purchases of special Jack Daniels whiskey and liquor were preferable to the free drinks offered at the bar. We met up with Sisters in Crime for dinner at Pasta & Cream, a little place in Franklin. Several of the Sisters were attending the awards banquet. I dragged my husband along with the promise that he wouldn’t be the only guy, but the other Mister bailed at the last minute. Somehow, he survived being surrounded by women authors chatting about murder scenarios. I was exhausted from another full day at Killer Nashville. Next week, I’ll finish blogging about Killer Nashville with Day Three, and closing words of inspiration. I recently read my first Charles Todd novel, A Duty to the Dead. I know. I am slow to the party. I found the mystery, set in WWI era England, totally charming. When I saw Charles Todd listed on the cover of the current AHMM, I couldn't wait to read the story. I did have to wait, though. Life gets busy. When I finally sat down to read The Trophy, I found it a thoroughly satisfying mystery story. I also read i, by Steve Hockensmith. This story is proof that AHMM is willing to take chances with fresh story-telling styles. Told mostly in a series of e-mail exchanges with a scammer, the story was entertaining, and hit close to home for all of us who have received a painfully obvious, grammatically incorrect scam e-mail. By the way, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine has a new and improved website. Visually appealing, easy to navigate, and with lots of insider info, the new website is worth checking out. 9/12/2017 1 Comment Killer Nashville: Morning, Day TwoSaturday, August 26 at Killer Nashville began with another great breakfast in the Embassy Suites Hotel. I sat with a group of authors who were part of the same writing group (photo). I missed the days when I went to conferences with my critique group, but there are advantages to being solo, too. We moved to the Birch room to hear debut authors tell us about their novels. The noise level was high, and the microphone broadcast author voices with widely varying success, but we did hear about some great new fiction. 8:00 Saturday August 26 – Interview with General Tata Conference chair Clay Stafford interviewed A. J. Tata. The General said he always wanted to be an author. He puts everything he’s got into a story. After he thinks he’s said everything he can, then the next idea comes along. General Tata experienced an epiphany in his twenties while watching television. He asked himself why he was consuming entertainment when he wanted to be the one creating entertainment. A career in the military kept him from realizing his writing dream until years later. Great lines from A. J. Tata’s interview: You’re never too old to get shot. The last thing I want in my camp is a dead general. Writing is butt in seat time. General Tata told a story about delivering USO mail bags to troops in a remote camp in Afghanistan. He reminded the audience about the importance of sending To Any Soldier letters and packages. 9:20 Saturday August 26 – Lighten Up, You Are Where You’re Supposed to Be: Keeping Perspective Bryan Robinson let each panelist introduce him or herself, telling a bit about what had happened in our writing careers to make lightening up necessary. I gave my experience of being a Five Star orphan, having two novels published, then receiving an email from the publisher in January 2016 that they were ending their entire mystery line. This earned a few gasps, and some heads nodding in knowing agreement. Great lines from the Lighten Up panel: Bryan: Rejection is not fatal or final. Sheila Sobel: Understand the difference between critique and criticism. Warren Moore: When you receive criticism, listen with wide open ears. The comments may pass right through, but some may stick. I shared that being kicked to the curb by an agent or publisher was not the end of the world. If you were a factory worker, and the doors closed, you’d go out and find another job. Sheila: Sit down and write what you love, and you’re in for the ride of your life. Bob Mangeot gained perspective when a friend told him, “you’re doing something a lot of us would love to do.” He recommending asking yourself “why am I writing,” understand that purpose, and build a writing routine that saves that. Bryan shared the insight that it was “How am I treating my writing life, not how is my writing life treating me.” After my panel, I snuck away with my husband to do some sightseeing. We toured a Confederate Army cemetery, saw the Natchez Trace bridge, and ran into what was probably a copy of the General Lee, the car from Dukes of Hazard television show – slideshow below. Then we hurried back to get me to my next panel, which I moderated. My report on Killer Nashville continues next Tuesday. This week, I review four short stories of various lengths. A disclaimer: I suppose I am not actually reviewing, if that implies passing judgement on a work. If a story appears on my blog, I enjoyed it enough to mention it here. Let's start with the longest story: Night Flight to Bali by Jane K. Cleland, appearing in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine September/October 2017. I estimate this to be well over five thousand words. Sabrina has just lost her mother. She plans to run away to Bali with her married boyfriend Sam. The story unfolds with subtle hints that open layers of intrigue. There are rules for short story writing, and Night Flight to Bali breaks more than one, with success. One is the author must jump immediately into the action. Another is to stick to one point of view. The thing about rules is you shouldn't break them unless you know what you're doing. Cleland clearly does, as the sedately paced opening sets the groundwork for the rest of the tale. The story could not be told as effectively without going into different points of view. By the end of the story, I felt like I'd been taken on a roller coaster ride. The pace quickens, and unexpected twists lead to a closing that implied this wasn't over. Not yet. Minnie's Mincemeat Pie by Dale T. Phillips appears in Mystery Weekly. I'm a sucker for stories about feisty old ladies getting in trouble. Viola is enraged that Minnie takes first place for her mincemeat pie in a local fair every year. At close to three thousand words, this story has lots of dialogue and is spare on description. It almost reads like a play. Viola is determined to get Minnie's recipe. Her contempt for the other woman and her successful pie business is clear. "The old bat had to be in her seventies, not a comfortable fortyish like Viola." Viola attempts to bully her way to the recipe, but Minnie is full of surprises. Yoga Kills by J. R. Lindermuth is a bit over two thousand words. Ed has lost his job, a victim of a factory closing. He would probably veg in front of the TV, but his wife Nan is watching a yoga video and performing moves with amazing flexibility. Nan suggests he's depressed, and sends him to the neighborhood bar. Ed suspects Nan has joined a gym because she's having an affair. He decides to pursue the lithe yoga instructor in the video. Don't make assumptions seems to be a theme of this story, which ends with a delightful twist. Consequences by Leslie Budewitz is a lesson in brevity. I can easily imagine this story as a major plot-line in a novel, yet it works as flash fiction. A campfire, a girl, and an old man set the stage for an encounter in the astonishing pace of less than 150 words. Four short stories, four different lengths. I hope this week's review has whetted your appetite for short fiction from the many venues available. |
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