6/22/2017 0 Comments Short Story Review: Twisted LoveThis week, I review two short stories from different magazines with similar themes revolving around unrequited love. First up is a story from Mystery Weekly Magazine. Polly, by Antony Mann, is a creepy little tale. Just how far will Allan go to get a date with a coworker? I enjoy unreliable narrator stories, and I would place Allan firmly in that category. There is a lot more going on, while he presents himself to the reader as a determined suitor. Questions remain at the end of the story which will keep you wondering about the eventual fate of Polly and Allan. The second story is in the May/June Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. Hatcheck, by Steve Lindley, has two threads going simultaneously. The story opens with a lengthy discussion of the annoying habits of "seasoned citizens," as a geezer takes a seat at the bar. I was laughing out loud at Lindley's descriptions, while also catching the poignancy of aging in a fast-paced world. One annoyance is the old man's hat, sitting on the bar, in the way. Brad the bartender offers to take it to the hatcheck. Trudy is the ancient hatcheck girl in the neighborhood bar. The old man opens up to Brad a bit, engaging him in the kind of conversation Brad typically avoids. As this old man's tale unfolds, it is obvious Brad has a crush on a cocktail server - the second thread in the story. Brad's dim view of old people makes him blind to their potentially passionate pasts. The ending of the story takes him by surprise. Weaving two plot threads in the space of a short story is difficult. Lindley pulls it off, and gives the reader a shocker of an ending. Two different stories, two different magazines, both well worth reading.
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6/21/2017 0 Comments Writing From The PeakMy article on the intense April 27 Donald Maass workshop appears on the Pikes Peak Writers blog today. I enjoyed a day learning about emotion in writing at the Pikes Peak Writers Conference Thursday prequel. According to Donald Maass, New York agent and author of writing how-to books that push writers to new levels: "Your protagonist is your vengeance. Let him loose." You can read the article here. 6/15/2017 0 Comments Short Story Review: Two StoriesFirst up, in Kings River Life I read Pop Played the Ponies, by Margaret Mendel. This short story is mostly about the loss of the protagonist's father, but takes an interesting turn with the discovery of her father's secret life. This is not, strictly speaking, a mystery story. There are no startling revelations. It is a nice read about a daughter coming to terms with her father's hidden passion, horse racing. The second story is Mrs Walker and the Lady in the Laundry, by Katie Ginger, in Mystery Weekly Magazine. The annoyingly prim and proper Mrs. Walker has her rigid routine disrupted by the discovery of a body on her backyard clothes line. A traditional mystery set in a small British village, my favorite aspect of the story was seeing Mrs. Walker soften her self-righteous attitude. I really didn't like her much at the beginning of the mystery. Her improved opinion of certain characters by the end improved my opinion of Mrs. Walker. This was a fast moving and entertaining read. I thought I had figured out the whodunit before the end, but kept reading to make sure. I also enjoyed the characters, especially James Dixon. 6/13/2017 0 Comments Sasquatch, Bald Eagles, and MurderThe photo is of a friend's neighborhood in the Colorado mountains. Beth invited her old critique group partners for a weekend writing retreat. While on a walk, we saw a bald eagle. The eagle soared high in the sky. We were in too much awe to snap a photo, and besides, it would have been an indistinguishable speck. You'll have to take my word for it - three witnesses saw an eagle. Which brings me to Sasquatch. I recently saw a ridiculous Sasquatch hunting television program. The men seeking the creature reminded me of the Three Stooges. My husband and I yelled at the TV, "Where are the game cameras?" They kept hearing noises and seeing evidence of Sasquatch, but never captured a photo. A couple well-placed game cameras could have solved the whole mystery. Which brings me to murder. Writers are told to show, don't tell. What if you're writing a cozy mystery? You don't show the grisly details of the murder. If you are Jeffery Deaver, the details are part of the story. The advice to show, don't tell does not apply to every aspect of every story. The lesson of my blog? If you want a photo of a bald eagle, carry a good camera and a telephoto lens. If you want a photo of Sasquatch, set up some strategically placed game cameras. If you want to write a good story? Know your genre. What are the expectations for your thriller, cozy, or police procedural? That will determine the details of importance to your reader. I read two stories in the e-zine Mysterical-E this week. Death by Discussion by Lyn Fraser caught my attention with the opening. Death by sofa bed. Many of us have suffered an uncomfortable night on a lumpy fold-out mattress. This one proves deadly for the unfortunate Raymond. The premise is a book club arranging to have a murder mystery weekend at a cabin. The story opens with the discovery of the murder victim, then goes back in time to the formation of the group, and the actions that bring them to the present moment. Everyone has a motive to kill Raymond. When a snowstorm traps the participants in the cabin, the story becomes a locked room situation. A fun traditional mystery, Death by Discussion invites the reader to puzzle out the clues to figure out who murdered Raymond in the sofa bed. The second story was Investment Opportunities by Sophia-Karin Psarras. Darker in tone, there were layers to the story that unfolded gradually. Recently widowed Joe Lookly, a police officer, investigates the death of an investment company sales manager. As the trail leads in an unexpected direction, Lookly connects the threads to his wife's recent death. For a short story, there is a lot going on, but the author does not lose focus. Sections of dialogue and spare descriptions keep the action moving. The reader learns a lot about Joe Lookly. I found myself not just wanting him to solve the mystery, but also to find peace about his wife's death. It's been a while since I read Mysterical-E. I'll be checking in on the magazine more often. 6/6/2017 0 Comments Seasons and CyclesMy blogging consistency has slipped as summer rapidly approaches. I recently took stock of my writing progress, and noted that for me, creativity and publication seem to run in seasons and cycles. In February, I only logged twenty hours creative writing time, while in April, I logged over fifty hours. But I haven't been able to maintain the pace. I am not a fan of excuses, but I had to consider, what are the events that drag me away from my laptop?
5/30/2017 0 Comments Graupel and GlampingMemorial Day Weekend, we drove to the mountains to do some camping and fishing. As often happens when we camp with our elder daughter's family, it rained. Then it snowed, or rather graupeled. Graupel is a variety of snow that is somewhere between flakes and hail. The graupel didn't last long, and the next day was beautiful. My husband's father hoped to do some fishing, but the day he was with us was the graupel day. Still, he was happy to be in the mountains. We introduced my sister to our version of glamping. Although glamping can be quite luxurious, in our world, it means you aren't sleeping on the ground. We have cots, rated sleeping bags, and even propane heaters if it comes to that. We set up a canopy for shade and shelter from the rain. Our daughter's family has an RV, so during the storm, they watched movies in heated comfort. We didn't catch any fish, but we did go on a vertical hike. We were over 10,000 feet on a beautiful mountain. More photos below in a slide show. The Tattooed Corpse by Jude Roy in Mystery Weekly Magazine takes the reader on an action-filled trip to Louisiana. A private detective is hired by a man who claims someone is trying to kill him. Howard Fontenot dies that night, and PI LeGrand doggedly sets out to discover what really happened. This story was heavy on dialogue, which worked. Short, choppy interchanges between characters got to the point quickly. There are interesting twists in the tale to keep the reader guessing. The pages of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine are regularly filled with interesting stories, but I've noticed recent issues have entertained with a touch of daring. The March/April 2017 issue featured Dale Berry's graphic short, Dead Air. In the current issue, May/June 2017, two stories struck me as a touch out of the ordinary. Home From Home, by SJI Holliday, is told in present tense. If you don't remember your terminology, most stories are told in past tense. "He drove." Present tense would say, "he drives," or "he is driving." You realize with the first line that Holliday is using present tense: "He's enjoying the walk." Sergeant Davie Gray is on holiday in Brighton. Before he gets a chance to relax, a body on the beach draws him inexorably into a mystery. Telling a story using present tense gives the action immediacy. You the reader are experiencing events in real time with the protagonist. In less capably hands, this could be awkward or annoying. Holliday pulls it off, and even gives us a twist ending. Another unusual tale is Twelve Angry Days by Paul D. Marks. Emony Taylor is delighted at her good fortune in being selected as a juror for a trial. As the story unfolds, it becomes obvious she has an agenda, but you are deep into the tale before you have gathered the clues to figure out her motivation. There are twelve people on the jury, which lasts twelve days. Each day is delivered diary-style. "Day 1 Emony Taylor entered the room with the rest of them. Twelve people, most of whom would rather have been anywhere else, including stuck in the perpetual traffic of the 405. But for one reason or another they couldn't get out of it." I was reminded of the epistolary novel, a literary device where a story is told through letters. Bram Stoker's Dracula used this technique. While Twelve Angry Days is not, strictly speaking, epistolary, the diary-style storytelling was used effectively. The reader realizes that time is running out for Emony to achieve her goal. 5/16/2017 0 Comments Rock Shop InspirationI was thrilled when a friend sent me a photo of Lin Ottinger's Moab Rock Shop in Utah. She and a friend visited Utah a couple weeks ago. When she saw the rock shop, she thought of my novel series. This summer, the first two books in my Rock Shop Mystery series will be re-released in paperback. All three are available as e-books. This is the rock shop that inspired my series. When you read the novels, you will notice ore carts filled with geodes in front of Morgan Iverson's shop, just like you see in this photo. My sign is a faded green dinosaur, and the setting is Colorado, not Utah. But the happy clutter is the same. Consider going on an adventure to a rock shop this summer. You might come away with a greater appreciation for rocks, minerals, and fossils. |
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