Stepping Stones – A Micro-Story

As a writing exercise, I've started writing very, very short stories (yes, micro-stories) as exercises. Generally, I use a picture as inspiration. It's a lot of fun and it keeps my brain agile. These days, my ever-shrinking gray cells could use a little more agility.

The goal of a micro-story is to write a complete story in 200 words or less. I recommend all writers do this. Just find a picture or object to inspire you and write away! Just remember to keep it within a predefined limit, e.g. 200 words. This not only gets the creative juices flowing, but it means you have to work at editing, too, which is another skill writers really need to develop.

So, in lieu of a blog about the meaning of life, the universe, and everything writing, I'm including a micro-story.

Hope you enjoy it!

Stepping Stones

 

"You have a ghost?" Willie asked his aunt, striving for a tone of disbelief strong enough to register on the recorder in his pocket.

His elderly aunt's gaze drifted to the patio door. "A ghost?"

"You said a ghost is moving your paving stones?"

"Oh. That ghost. Well, did you see the path?"

"I came in from the patio." He stifled his irritation.

"Then you must have seen—the man in the stones," she clarified. "The man who disappeared almost forty years ago. He moves the stones."

"He's back?" Willie glanced around, momentarily confused.

She got up and opened the door, moving out to the patio. "His ghost. I straighten that path every evening. But come morning, well, you saw it."

"His ghost moves the rocks?" He had her, now. They'd declare her non compos mentis. He'd move in, sell a few priceless antiques, and his bookie would finally lay off. He chuckled. "What—you think he's buried in your path and his ghost is moving the rocks to mark his grave?"

"Of course not." His aunt pulled out a gun. "I buried him a good thirty yards away and started that rumor of a ghost—in case someone decided to dig. They'd naturally dig where the 'ghost' indicated and find nothing. Until now."

His carp-like mouth worked soundlessly.

She sighed and pulled the trigger. "You should have paid your bookie."

 

Surprise, Surprise

Birthday Delight

So I probably should have written this closer to the actual date of my birthday, but whatever. I'm doing the best I can what with overtime and travel required for my monumentally unimportant day job required to actually pay the bills while I rush forward toward eternal fame and glory as a writer… Er, well, something like that.

Anyway—I got a Kindle for my birthday! Some of you may be scratching your head and wondering what the heck that is and other may already be guffawing. It's one of those e-reader devices that is shaped like a paperback you accidentally ran over and flattened to about ¼" thick. Now, yes, at first glance it does seem like a terrible waste of money. But I've been comparing devices and it finally reached the point at which it made sense to me.

I am always leery of recommending devices to other folks and there is certainly been a great deal of press already about the Kindle, but I haven't actually seen others mention the reasons why this purchase made sense to me at this point in time. There are certainly pros and cons to any decision like this. And I wish Amazon had not removed the MicroSD slot, but it still works.

Why The Kindle Works For Me

• First, of course, there's the easy-on-the eyes display which really is like reading a piece of paper instead of a computer screen. And as my eyes are getting old, I can increase the font size (that was the first thing I did) so reading is much, much easier for me.
  
• I have a secret passion for pulp fiction—particularly Victorian and turn-of-the-century ghost stories. And I found several terrific places to download FREE—yes, that's FREE—novels and short stories to my Kindle! So now, instead of paying
  outrageous prices for this fiction and enriching publishers (assuming I can even find copies) for novels that are out of copyright so the publisher really is just scooping up gravy—I can get these books for free! I figure I've already downloaded enough hard-to-find books to almost pay for the cost of the Kindle.
  
• I've developed allergies to just about everything: dust, mold, mildew, and a lot of things that seem to collect on books. Not that I don't still buy books and read them. It's just that I'm already finding that reading on the Kindle is a much more pleasant experience. No sneezing. No itchy fingers.
  
• I don't have to break the spine of paperbacks in order to keep them open to read. I hate doing that, but I can't manage to read a book without doing that.
  
• A lot of my books are crumbling from age and falling apart. I hate to replace them (again—assuming if I can even find them) only to have them deteriorate again. Now, I can buy an e-book, back it up on my computer, and know that it is not going to crumble and fall apart on me.
  
• I can get my magazine subscriptions for Ellery Queen and Alfred Hitchcock's mystery magazines, and even Analog!
  
• Better yet, I can get my books that I need for work—like the Microsoft Active Directory books—and have multiple books on my Kindle when I travel without packing a second suitcase to bring with me.
  
• I have a bunch of e-books that I've never had a way of reading, except on the computer, and after spending 10 hours or so on the computer for work, the last thing I want to do is spend any more time looking at a computer screen. This way, I can look at a Kindle's screen, instead. J
  
• Our house doesn't have room for any more books. And I love re-reading my books, so chances of me getting rid of books is very slim. Now—I can get all of those classics I've always wanted to read but didn't have room for—and get them for free!
  

Wish List

• I've never been able to find all of Virginia Coffman's books. I wish someone would issue her books, as well as the old Mary Stewart and Victoria Holt books as e-books. Now those, I'd buy.
  
• I hope they also start issuing more of the older books, like those written from around 1910 through 1980, as e-books. There are so many that I'd love to read, but just don't have room for.
  

Enough about the Kindle.

Notes About Writing

This shouldn't be all about the Kindle. I've actually been working hard on writing and working with other writers, as well. One thing I ran into recently is the art of making the unreal, real. In reading another writer's work, I found myself thrown out of the story because of the incorporation of a character's action that was so insane that I just couldn't believe it.

When I asked the writer about it, she indicated she had done the research quite well, thank you, and there was one police case where that exact same thing happened. Well, maybe so, but here's the thing. It was stupid when the police did it in that one real case. It was worse when a writer used it and presented it as a normal thing the police always do.

Now we all love to read about the weird and wacky things that happen in real life. But when you use them in fiction, you already have one level of abstraction from reality. So anything you include in your book has to be presented in a realer-than-real way.

So, if you want to include a really wacky thing—even if it did occur in real life—you have to give the characters a better reason/justification/motivation than a "that's just normal".

Let me give you an example. This isn't from the other writer—I don't want to embarrass anyone.

Let's say you've read in the news about a rape case where the policewoman made the victim stand on her head to keep any possible "evidence" from leaking away to it could be preserved until they could collect it. (And believe me—this writer's "normal police action" was equally bizarre.)

If you want to do this for some strange reason, then you can't have the policewoman just say "this is normal police procedure to preserve the evidence." Because it isn't. Police don't routinely do that. So you have to have the policewoman give a really, really good reason for this. Maybe something like, "I realize this is an unusual request and you've already been through a lot, but if you could please stand on your head until the medical staff arrive, I would appreciate it and it might help us find the man who did this to you."

You see the difference? It doesn't take a lot more explanation—but it takes some.

Don't just have your characters do bizarre things—even if you know people who did those same things in real life—unless you give a really good explanation. And most of the time, it is sufficient for the character just to acknowledge that she knows it is a bizarre or weird thing, but she needs to do it anyway. That's all it takes.

It makes all the difference between accepting fiction as real, or tossing a book away because it strains your ability to believe the unbelievable.

 

The Spider That Caught a Hummingbird

The Spider That Caught a Hummingbird


When I went out at noon to check on the hummingbird feeders and refill them, I glanced out the living room window.

There was a hummingbird fluttering in a very strange way and a spider was moving toward it.

So I ran out and grabbed the hummingbird just as the spider's front leg touched the bird's bill.
After a quick examination and removal of all bits of the web, I tried to release the hummingbird, but it more or less just lay there in my hand. I thought, uh, oh, the spider got to the bird and bit it before I extracted it from the web. But after another minute, the bird realized it was free and took off.

The hummingbirds have gotten used to peering at us through the living room window when their feeders are empty. I suppose they are trying to catch our attention to remind us to get on the ball and refill the feeders.

The little female hummingbird, unfortunately, got caught by a huge Writing Spider who had built a web that morning over the window.


And, no, I didn't get a picture of the hummingbird trapped in the web, or lying in my hand. Unlike news reporters/photographers, I felt there was a certain urgency to the situation and I prioritized the hummingbird's well-being over the possibility of a really cool picture. If I had stopped to get a camera, the spider would most assuredly have bitten the hummingbird and wrapped it up in more silk, stressing it further.

I just wanted to get the bird out of the web, cleaned up, and on its way without stressing it any more than it was already. So sue me. :-)

Anyway, that's the excitement for today!
---Amy

August 2009 begins

It's the beginning of August already and I'm going nuts trying to get things done. Thought I would get some actual writing done over the weekend but I had to work some overtime Friday night.

Then, I went down to the kitchen and found a small snake near our sink. I believe it was a baby rat snake, but still, it's not exactly something I wanted to find in the house. Tried to catch it and failed, so I can only hope it escaped back outside the way it came in.

And while I was working on catching the snake, I pulled all the pots & pans out of the cupboard where it slipped inside. Found a dead mouse. Probably what attracted it in the first place. So I spent the weekend sterilizing the heck out of everything in two cupboards instead of writing.

But today, in an attempt to show everyone I'm not exaggerating when I say we have a lot of hummingbirds I made a video and posted it on youtube (we go through 10 lbs of sugar a week, which is made into 7 or more gallons of sugar-water since they consume 1 gal per day or thereabouts). You can click on the link below to see the video, assuming youTube ever finishes processing the darn thing.
Hummingbird Video

I'm still waffling about what to write as far as a new book. And I'm editing a second paranormal (I'm on the second draft of that); a contemporary mystery (hopefully final draft of that); and a historical mystery (second draft).

I'd like to write another historical mystery, but the market for those is next to non-existant so I'm thinking maybe I should start on my next contemporary mystery. Except I just have this really good idea for that historical mystery (really, more of a historical suspense) and I would so love to do that. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

And lest I forget, I'm also working on a trailer for my first paranormal so that when it comes out, I'll be ready to promote until everyone is completely sick of me.

Heirloom Gardening

Male Hooded Warbler (Photo to the left)

As the summer grows hotter and more humid here in North Carolina, I'm working to keep my roses alive and relatively healthy, despite my aversion to spraying and chemicals. And I'm amazed at the serendipity of life in general. You see, I didn't always grow roses, much less heirloom, or Old Garden Roses, as I do now and it is strange to see how a little thing like a rose has played such a large role in my life.

Way back when (well, 15 years ago) I was single and living in a condo. I figured I'd never get married or realize my dream of living in the country. I was resigned. But much to my surprise, I met a wonderful man through my hobby of bird watching and he lived…in the country. The photo of the male Hooded Warbler shows you why I love bird watching to this day, and it's not just because I met my husband through this hobby. :-)

(And in another bizarre bit of serendipity, I went to college to become a biologist, but in the end switched majors. But my husband is a biologist, which means I can pretty much understand what he's talking about and I don't get grossed out by the peculiar contents of the bottles I find in the refrigerator.)

So with a great deal of delight, I sold my condo and moved to thirty acres that back up to a swamp. The mosquitoes and snakes are generally less delightful, but that's another story for another time.

Anyway, we purchased a house that had been built by a woman who grew roses. There weren't many roses left, but a huge Tea rose called 'Marie van Houtte' (shown below) managed to survive the neglect while the house was for sale and "between owners". At the time, I didn't know what it was, but I loved its loose, soft cream and pink blooms. And the previous owners generously sent me three more roses as a house-warming gift. (Folks in the country really are very, very nice.) And I wanted a few more. I bought the standard Hybrid Teas and every blessed one died on me. I figured I had a black thumb. Plus, I really hated spraying because we also wanted to turn 3 acres into a wildlife sanctuary (not to mention that my dogs kept eating the rose hips). I almost gave up.

But while I was getting used to gardening, I started searching rose catalogs and reading up on roses. I found Old Garden Roses, that is, roses that were hybridized before 1900 and generally only bloom once a year but are rich with fragrance. They don't need to be sprayed—yippee! And after a few seasons, I joined a local rose gardening club. I won awards at a few rose shows, and even managed to identify my beloved 'Marie van Houtte'. And I discovered Tea roses and Noisettes that seem perfectly adapted to this area and actually rebloom throughout the summer. In fact, Noisettes were originally hybridized by Mr. Champneys in Charleston, SC, so the southeast is a good home for them.

And while the Hybrid Teas burned up too quickly from the heat, humidity and disease, Tea and Noisettes flourished. In fact, I (perhaps unwisely) purchased two Noisettes, 'Reve d'Ohr', (show to the left) to plant over a metal arbor leading to my vegetable garden. Then I had to add two more metal arbors to hold up the huge climbers. When 'Reve d'Ohr' literally crushed all three metal arbors, I cut them back and my husband built a massive wooden arbor. Within a season, they had clambered over that and covered it completely, providing excellent nesting habitat for a series of wrens, sparrows, and the occasional mockingbird.

Completely absorbed by my new-found friends, I dug deeper into the literature and collected every possible book on roses and historical roses I could. And I ran across myriad stories of the Empress Josephine and her rose garden at Malmaison. She may be credited with really started the systematic collecting, hybridization and cataloging of roses. She even had an arrangement with the French and British fleets in the middle of the Napoleonic wars to allow her to acquire roses and seeds from Britain and to allow a visa for Mr. Kennedy—a famous British plantsman—to come to France and help design her garden. Eventually, her gardens were so extensive and well-known, she had to hire guards to patrol it because people were stealing her roses at night!

At about the time I was reading about Malmaison and Josephine, I resurrected another dream of mine: to be a writer. And between my love of roses and the fascinating historical detail of robbers stealing roses out of the gardens at Malmaison, my historical romance, Smuggled Rose was born! After all, those stolen roses had to go somewhere and we know there was a great deal of smuggling going on, so it's only natural to assume some of those roses made it back to British soil.

That's how, serendipitously, I realized three dreams I once thought I had to abandon: I married a wonderful man; I moved to the country; and I became a writer.

And I grow luscious, beautiful roses and never spray them, at all.

Something Fun—Easy Rose Water

Because it is hot and I do grow roses, here is a wonderfully refreshing face tonic. I use it to rinse my face in the summer. This makes a very small batch. You can easily double it, e.g. 1 cup rose petals and 2 cups of boiling water, but I prefer to make small batches so I can be sure to use it up while it is fresh. This can even be used for some Near Eastern recipes that call for rose water.

½ c. rose petals (pack them in) from bushes that have not been sprayed

1 c. boiling water

Place the rose petals in a Pyrex glass bowl or large measuring cup. Pour the boiling water over the petals. Let steep until it cools.

Pour into a very clean bottle and keep in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!

—Amy Corwin
http://www.amycorwin.com

Romance Writers of America Conference, 2009

Good News (If Any)

Got a few leads to check out (one thanks to writer Monica Burns). Saw many, many friends that I don't get to see very often. All of my critique partners have "hit it big" and are doing exceptionally well--I was so pleased to see them: Monica Burns, Kristi Cook, Charlotte Featherstone, and Jenna Black.

Also got my covers from the art department for my paranormal.

What I'm Reading Now

I'm actually not reading anything at the moment—I'm rather overwhelmed with work. J

What I'm Writing Now

Post-conference, I'm revising my contemporary mystery. My editor will shortly be sending me my first edits for my paranormal, Vampire Protector, so I expect I'll be busy with that soon, too. I'm also considering changing around a few things. I may start offering short pastiches, or short stories, as free reads, first from my newsletter and then perhaps also as PDF-formatted downloads. I've always considered this to be bad—if you are a professional and trying to earn a living, you actually need to earn money for your work and not give it away for free. However, perhaps it would serve as self-promotion, so I could feed my capitalist, "I actually need money to live on streak," with the balm that I'm not really writing for nothing if it works as shameless self-promotion.

What—If Any—Thoughts I have

Went to a bunch of different workshops at the RWA conference. Learned some new techniques (and was again awed by the sheer ego of some writers—I mean even if you are a best-seller, do you really, really think other writers must read you if they are serious about becoming better writers? Of course it could be true and maybe the fact that I don't read most best-selling authors is a terrible flaw that will keep me forever off the NY Times Bestsellers list. It is an interesting notion.)

Found the following information interesting and helpful. It also made me realize that I'm at a slight disadvantage, never having taken a single writing class in my entire life. I'm hoping the conference workshops do qualify, however, as some sort of training.

Jennifer Crusie

Went to a workshop held by Crusie on turning points to solidify the concepts of turning points in a novel and beats in a scene. She did a great job and has indicated she will be posting the information in her blog, with a link from her website at http://www.jennifercrusie.com/.

In a nutshell, some of the information that resonated with me included:

1. You need about 5 turning points, realizing that the beginning and ending themselves are turning points 1 and 5. Turning points are those events that happen in the novel that take the plot into an unexpected direction and worsen things for the protagonist. If it's a great turning point, the reader will react with "Wow, I never saw that coming!"
   
1. One is the turning point that thrusts the protagonist into the action of the novel at the beginning. It should preferably occur on page 1.
   
2. Two is first time you twist the action into an unexpected direction and worsen it for your protagonist.
   
3. Three is the classic "point of no return" where the protagonist has changed so much through all that has happened so far that even if s/he could miraculously return to her life on page one, she would not be the same person.
   
4. Four is the darkest moment for the protagonist. S/he will fact the antagonist and lose everything that she holds dear—for the moment. But the protagonist will make one more super-human effort to overcome and her efforts will lead to turning point five…
   
5. Five is the final metamorphosis, the conclusion of the character's arc/change, and the resolution of the story. The detective unmasks the killer. The guy gets the girl.
   
2. As you go through the story, the turning points need to come closer together. This gives the reader a sensation of things getting rapidly worse for the protagonist, heightens the tension, and makes the book a "page turner" where you can't put it down because things are moving so quickly. For example, in a 100,000 word novel, you might have the turning points at the following places:
   
1. One (of course) goes on page 1, e.g. at 150 words. I'm giving you 150 words to "set the stage" J for the turning point.
   
2. Two could then be placed between pages 140 – 180 or between 35,000 – 45, 000 words. (+35,000 from TP 1)
   
3. Three could be placed between pages 240 – 280 or between 60,000 – 70,000 words. (+20,000 from TP 2)
   
4. Four could be placed between pages 300 – 340 or between 75,000 – 85,000 words. (+15,000 from TP 3)
   
5. Five could be placed between pages 340 - 380 or between 85,000 – 95,000 words. (+10,000 from TP 4)
   
   Of course those page number/gaps between the turning points are just "made up" to give you a feel for how the distribution of turning points *could* be arranged.
   
3. When planning a novel, it can often work best to just write the first draft, i.e. the writer's draft, that lets you get it out on paper and work through the characters. Then remove the first three chapters. This is really true in my case. The first three chapters are frequently used by the writer to get to know the protagonist before really thrusting her into the action and many times, these chapters can be safely removed. In fact, their removal helps the story by moving the first turning point (Call to Action) onto page one where it belongs.
   
4. Then, once the writer's draft is done and the first three chapters deleted J, you can begin the real work of identifying the turning points and cutting/editing/rearranging them so that they occur at closer intervals to speed up the action and increase tension toward the end.
   
5. BEATS in a scene are rather like turning points in miniature. They are the turning points in an individual scene that change the direction of things, reveal new information, etc. Jennifer illustrated it as a conversation between a married couple, as follows:
   
1. Man and woman are arguing about a coffee table. So the first Beat is the start of the argument: "You never liked that coffee table," the wife said. Then they argue about the relative merits of the table, until…
   
2. 2^nd Beat: The conversation has a turning point when the wife says, "You don't like it because my mother gave it to me." Then, they start arguing about the relationship of the mother-in-law to the husband and wife…
   
3. 3^rd Beat: The next turning point occurs when the husband says, "This has nothing to do with your mother or the table. I just don't like you. I want a divorce."
   
6. You'll notice that beats, like turning points, move from bad to worse to worst within a scene.

So Crusie's talk gave me another tool to try in my editing arsenal. I had not thought about marking out the turning points physically and then ensuring they fall at closer and closer intervals as they move toward the book's conclusion. And same with beats. I think it is incredibly useful to highlight both beats and turning points to improve tension and make sure you are carrying the reader along swiftly.

Donald Maas

Went to a workshop held by Maas on creating a breakout (bestseller) novel. In short, it revolves around characterization and creating deep/deeply flawed and yet heroic characters who fascinate readers. The material mostly came from his book/workbook on writing a breakout novel, but it was very, very useful to sit down and write out your antagonist and protagonist's flaws, good qualities, and identify where you are showing these things. Worth noting: antagonists (villains) have to have good qualities, too, you know, to give them depth. And in a romance, the protagonist and antagonist are often the hero and heroine, and they switch roles depending upon point of view as they lock horns in their conflict.

If you have not read Maas' stuff, I recommend the workbook. The value in his information comes in the doing—not the reading of his writing (good though it might be)—so the workbook will actually make you do the writing exercises he presented in class. Applying it to your novels makes for some interesting, "Oh, shoot—I can't believe I didn't do this before" moments.

Characterization is important. If you can't grab the reader and get that emotional investment in the characters, you're going to have a hard time selling the story. Or making anyone read it past page 1.

Other Workshops

I attended several other workshops, including one on High Concept and developing a novel from a High Concept (or identifying the High Concept in your novel). That was very, very useful and interesting. A High Concept is that brilliant idea you can summarize in 25 words or less that people instantly grasp and gravitate to, e.g. "I see dead people." That's the classic High Concept. You need to be able to identify the essence and theme of your story and summarize it in a brief sentence to sell it. Whether you like it or not, after you've spent four or more years writing your opus, you still have to find an editor or agent and sell that darn thing. And that's where it is critical that you come up with a way to grab the attention of these busy, overwhelmed people.

It is an art to come up with these things. I am not good at it, but it's something I intend to work on.

Finally, many of the authors repeated the same notion in different ways. That notion was: Identify your theme(s). This will help you identify which genre(s) will work best for you and allow you to write both to your strengths and your interests. For me, recurring themes in my books are always: redemption and acceptance into society—or at least making peace with your fellow man and yourself. And finding justice. Those themes resonate with me and underpin everything I write—which is why so much of what I write is either a mystery or has a mystery subplot. Often, especially in the case of someone falsely accused, finding justice also means redemption and acceptance back into society. I believe the writer Charles Todd also plays with those themes in his Rutledge mysteries. For Rutledge, solving a murder and fighting for justice is redemption for him, both mentally and career-wise.

There was a lot more I learned, but that was at least a taste. It was a fascinating three days.

The End of June

Wow, what a week. First Ed McMahon, then Farrah Fawcett and now Michael Jackson passed away. Guess that's one secret the health nuts forget to tell you when they insist that running that extra mile and eating that cardboard, uh, healthy cereal will keep you young. No one lives forever. And as far as I'm concerned, I'd rather die two days earlier than eat Kashi for breakfast. Not to pick on one brand or anything, you understand.

So anyway—it's a little scary when you start seeing familiar faces you grew up with dropped under six feet of soil. I'm really feeling that cold wind blowing up my skirt these days, particularly since all the parents on both sides of my family have passed away. The next row to be scythed by Death is mine. Brrh. Chilly.

And morbid. So enough of that, already. No more bad news, please. Nobody dies for the next few days. Promise.

Writing-Related Stuff

Romance Writers of America asked me to participate in a task force studying e-publishing with an eye towards preparing materials for writers considering publication with small press and e-publishers. There has been a lot of controversy about the whole e-publisher and small press issue as it relates to questions like: are small press/e-published authors really considered published since they don't typically get an advance for their books? You see, most writers' organizations have strict guidelines about what constitutes "being published" to distinguish serious, professional writers from your average Joe who self-published his memoirs. Most of the time, the dividing lines are drawn around the following questions:

1. Did you get published by a "recognized" publisher? (Most of these are based in NY—and criteria for publishers to get on the recognized list is generally whether said publisher pays an advance to all of its authors and if that advance is of a certain dollar value…)
   
2. Did you get X dollars for an advance? Some organizations set this at $3,000. Some set it at $1,000.
   

Most e-publishers use a different payment structure. They don't pay an advance, but they pay authors every month or every quarter after their book is released. Generally, authors don't make much with e-publishers, particularly with a first book, but over time, productive authors with e-publishers can make money. Some authors actually make enough to live on, so it can be a good avenue for authors with books that are just too different for the NY big boys to acquire.

Anyway, I'm working to avoid controversy and provide fair and honest information that may be of use to our authors. It's an interesting group and a very complex topic.

Good News (If Any)

Semi-great news: looks like my editor is preparing the contract package for my paranormal. And the fun thing is that my critique partner, Lilly Gayle, has a paranormal under contract now with my publisher, too! So I'm hoping we can cross-pollinate and make guest appearances on each other's blogs sometime next year when our books are released. This is a new genre for me, since I generally write historical/historical mysteries, but it was a fun change of pace.

Once I actually get the contract paperwork and sign it, I'll feel "set enough" to talk more about it. In the meantime, I'm pretty pleased.

Also, I was delighted with Long and Short Reviews nominated my historical short story, OUTRAGEOUS BEHAVIOR, for best story of the week last weekend. What a nice surprise! They also gave me a lovely review, which made my day.

And although I got two rejections for another historical mystery, one of the rejections said the editor would like to look at the manuscript again if I beef up the romance a tad. So I'm giving that a whirl. It would be super if I could have several books come out in 2010, what with this dry spell in 2009.

What I'm Reading Now

I just finished Road Dogs by Elmore Leonard. What a fun read! Here is a snippet of the review I wrote for it…

This is the first Elmore Leonard book I've read and I have to admit, I really enjoyed it. The characters were charming and funny, even when they were beating up folks. It is always interesting to me to see how an author portrays what are essentially very bad people in a moderately sympathetic manner and Leonard is very, very adept at this.

Jack Foley is a bank robber with a very interesting moral code. It's okay to rob banks, but not dupe people. He's honestly a bank robber, I guess you could say. While I find that sort of moral hair-splitting a little distasteful, for purposes of a novel where you don't have to actually associate with these people, it's okay. I like Jack. He's charming and he's actually honest. If you ask him what he does for a living, he's right up front about it. He robs banks and he's just out of prison. Take it or leave it.

Cundo Rey is a little more difficult as a character. He never really gelled for me, but I take it he "starred" in another book, so maybe if I read that first, I'd have glommed on to him a little better. The reader isn't meant to like him as much as Jack, though, and Leonard makes sure of it by Cundo's treatment of his girlfriend, Dawn Navarro.

And Dawn, well, if you think the other two characters are in a moral gray area, well, she's pretty well drifting as close to black as she can without actually being a mass murderer or anything. She dupes folks for money. It's interesting in that I suspect this moral hair-splitting may say a lot about Leonard's sense of morality. It's okay if you do bad things as long as you are honest about it and don't dupe people.

What I liked: Loved the characters' interactions and the peek into the lives of people I would never in a million years associate with in real life. J There's a sort of evil fascination to getting a glimpse of life on the wild side. The plot was twisty, although I have to admit there was an inevitability about events that made it somewhat predictable. This is good in the sense that what happened HAD to happen because of the characters', well, characters. On the other hand, this also made it a little predictable once you understood the characters. It had to go the way it did for better or worse.

What I didn't like: There wasn't anything I hated. But I couldn't really get into Cundo Rey or his backstory. There were just elements that didn't mesh for me, such as his previous existence as sort of a male exotic dancer. I could have wished for a little more of the unexpected, too, in the plot. Nothing really surprised me.

On the whole, I really enjoyed this book. It's definitely on my keeper shelf.

What I'm Writing Now

I'm redoing the historical mystery, The Bricklayer's Helper, to add a touch more romance for resubmission to my publisher, The Wild Rose Press. I'm really, really hoping they will ultimately accept it as they did such a good job with my previous historical, I BID ONE AMERICAN.

What—If Any—Thoughts I have

Writing is a difficult art to learn and requires constant care and feeding. One of the key elements, however, is discovering what gives you joy. For me, my joy in writing comes when I can come up with a humorous situation. The more humor I can infuse into a story, the more I enjoy writing it. The manuscript I'm submitting now, The Bricklayer's Helper, gave me tremendous joy in writing it. Each night, I would lay in bed thinking about what possible terrible—and terribly funny—thing I could do to Sarah and William (my heroine and hero) the next day. I could hardly sleep. I kept wanting to leap out of bed and continue writing. Only sheer exhaustion kept me from doing so.

And while some books I write are much darker, like my paranormals, I know that if I get stuck or depressed, all I have to do is think of the silliest, stupidest, funniest scene I can. My enthusiasm immediately returns, even if I later have to remove that scene.

If you can find what "turns you on" creatively, you can use it to drive yourself forward through all the roadblocks and deadends. Use what you can. You can always edit the junk out later.

Have a terrific weekend!

June 2009

It's June already? What the heck is going on with time, anyway? It seems to compress at random; needlessly, too, I might add.

Good News (If Any)

I'm awaiting word on my paranormal manuscript with The Wild Rose Press. The editor who read the manuscript liked it and is recommending it to the powers-that-be for purchase. So that's a small, tentative hurray with hopes that the powers like it and buy it. That would be sweet! Especially since I got not-so-good news from another publisher who was looking at one of my historical mysteries. She liked it, but due to the current economic climate, the company is restructuring and may ultimately decide not to do it. But I was thankful to her for giving me an honest assessment of the situation. That shows true graciousness and thoughtfulness that is rare today. I hope they are successful at restructuring and that, even if they decide not to do historical mysteries in the future, there might another genre/place for me with them in a few years.

Still awaiting word on a few queries and submissions, but realistically, I doubt I will hear anything before August or September. In the meantime, I'm going to be bundling up query packets for a mystery I'd like to find an agent to represent.

Other good news: my dog Molly is doing fine now after getting bit on the upper lip by a Copperhead. And even better news, my husband and I saw a King Snake on the path and King Snakes eat Copperheads and Rattlesnakes. So I have every hope that the King Snake will eat the Copperhead that bit my dog. It would be so just if that happens!

What I'm Reading Now

Just finished Gold of Kings by Davis Bunn. Great adventure story with just enough romance to be really satisfying to me. When we first meet the hero, Harry Bennett, he's in a Caribbean jail and there's not much worse that can happen to him. Or so we think. But he gets sprung on orders left by a dead man, Sean Syrrell, only to be immersed in an adventure to find a treasure lost for centuries. Accompanying Harry is Sean's niece, Storm, and Emma—an FBI agent who can't seem to stay out of trouble, either.

There's a crafty and nearly unstoppable assassin on their tail and the FBI want to arrest Harry for the supposed murder of another person interested in the treasure they seek. After the first few chapters, Harry might actually have had a more restful and better time of it back in prison!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book—mostly because of good old Harry. The guy just can't stay out of trouble and that is my favorite kind of character. He was a little quirky and a little different and very lovable. Bunn did a fabulous job with Harry and I'm glad Bunn didn't stoop to the obvious and set up a romance between Harry and Storm. The two characters like each other, respect each other, and save each other's bacon, and I enjoyed the interplay between the two a great deal. The relationship was handled with grace and subtly—something rare in many of today's novels.

Storm Syrrell was less entrancing to me, and I have to say I'm a little sick of these "unique" and artsy-fartsy names. I class the name Storm in the same category as Hawk for a man. Get over it already—can't she just be a Jane or Mary? Maybe not Mary, because that rhymes with Harry, but Jane would do. And frankly, after a surfeit of these "romantic" names, Jane actually feels unusual and unique to me. It's even spelled properly.

Sorry, didn't mean to digress about the name. But Storm did seem a little less real to me than Harry—for whatever reason. But it did nothing to mar my enjoyment of the book. If you get a chance to read it, do!

And I just picked up Road Dogs by Elmore Leonard and am enjoying that. Nothing beats a good crime novel, especially with a delicious, understated sense of humor.

What I'm Writing Now

I'm struggling to write at the moment, mostly because I keep going back to edit things so I can do some more submissions. I guess that's progress, too. However, last night I wrote a few more lines in my Christmas novella. I won't make the deadline for it, but maybe that's okay and I can submit it for next year (Christmas 2010). If I can finish that, I want to write a mystery. Not sure if it will be contemporary or historical, but it will be one or the other.

What—If Any—Thoughts I have

Backstory!

What is backstory? It's when an author digresses from the current time/storyline to give the reader some background about something. Usually, it's junk that happened in the past that made the hero into the man He Is Today (or the heroine into the woman She Is Today). Everyone tells you to cut out all backstory. Obviously, you can't cut out all of it, otherwise the reader won't understand what is happening or why the character is acting the way he is. But you can certainly trim it back, usually to just a phrase stuck in where it is absolutely essential.

There is so much written about backstory already, but I think I can boil it down to a few salient points:

1. 
   Don't include backstory that's just history. That is, that has nothing to do with what is going on RIGHT NOW in the book. For example, Melissa Sue is facing a decision about whether to move to the country because she just inherited a huge house. Backstory would be: Melissa Sue was orphaned when she was seven and went to live in a children's home in the Ozarks. And in this instance, the fact that she lived in a children's home in the Ozarks is completely irrelevant and should be excised from this passage. It's only marginally relevant that she was orphaned, and that detail can be inserted in a small phrase, if it's necessary to know that the inheritance was a surprise because of it. That's all. There is absolutely no need to go on and on about the children's home and what the Ozarks looked like, etc, unless it has direct and dramatic bearing on the events at hand.
   
2. Don't include characters (and character names) in backstory for characters who will never be mentioned again. They have no relevance in the current story. Do not take attention away from your main characters by throwing in a bunch of names/characters who aren't even in the current story. For example, if Melissa Sue inherited her house from her great-aunt, that's all you need to say. You don't even need to give the great-aunt a name and history—unless that fact has some relevance to Melissa Sue's current problems.
   
3. Information must be critical to the current problem the character faces. See item 1. And only reveal that information when it is necessary to describe the character's immediate problem. Otherwise, the reader will just be jarred out of the story, tension will be lost, and your pacing will suffer.
   

That's about it.

Best wishes for a successful week!

Amy

Mid-May

I can't believe May is heading toward closure already. We've had a difficult spring since my mother-in-law was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Unfortunately, the chemo was a little rough on her and she passed away right before Mother's Day.

Good News (If Any)

I've got a ton of submissions out. A few of them should be getting back to me next week. Note to the editors reading my manuscripts: if it's not good news, delay all you want.

I did submit a short story today to Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. And I submitted a short-short story to Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine last week. I'm on a short story binge.

What I'm Reading Now

GOLD OF KINGS by Davis Bunn. It's a mystery/action/adventure story similar to the recent mega-hits like The DaVinci Code. It's fun and so far I'm enjoying the change of pace. I like the hero in the story (the poor chump) but I'm so-so on the heroine. I guess I'm a sucker for a guy who keeps getting the raw end of the deal.

I also just finished plowing through a couple of Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Mags. The last few months I've been in a mystery mood. I tend to go in phases like that, where I get the itch to read books in a particular genre. I also bought a bunch of Columbo DVD's. And some of the original Dark Shadows DVD's.

A few months ago, I was in a "ghost story" mood and was shocked to find how few really good, spooky ghost stories there are. There is my favorite, The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson and then…um. Well, now, we start to have a few problems finding others in that vein. Modern horror is okay, but I really, really like the understated, creeping horror without the constant overwhelming blood-baths and orgies. I'm still dying to find some new ghost stories—any length—that are more eerie than gory. I end up going back to this huge volume of tales of the supernatural published in 1940—but I think I've read everything in there at least five times.

Hence…Dark Shadows. This weekend, I'm going to indulge in that guilty pleasure and see the very beginning where Victoria Winters arrives and …

What I'm Writing Now

I was supposed to be writing a historical novella for Christmas, but I just can't concentrate on it. I may have to switch to a contemporary murder mystery, instead. Or a different historical. I have a historical murder mystery brewing that I'd like to write, as well as a contemporary one.

My real problem is that I'm sort of waiting for word on some other manuscripts I've submitted. I don't want to build up a pile of manuscripts in a particular "series" unless I can get the series off the ground to begin with.

Decisions, decisions, decisions.

What—If Any—Thoughts I have

I'm back on my old "characterization" hobby-horse. I keep returning again-and-again to that topic. As a writer, I firmly believe the story IS the character. If you have terrific characters, then the plot will flow naturally from the characters and their predicament. It doesn't take much—all you have to do is figure out what the characters really would do given their personalities and the set of circumstances you initially thrust them into. And then you subsequently have to make every good decision your heroine or hero makes into a bad decision that just gets them deeper into trouble.

Sort of like what happens in real life.

It sounds so simple and yet it is so hard to do well. It's very difficult to give your characters free will and then have them go off into unplanned (and undesired) directions and have to completely redo your plot. As a writer, I really resent my hero's arrogant presumption that he has a life and can make his own decisions, thank you very much, and to heck with what I planned for the plot. And my heroines…well. She's usually even worse.

I really hate having to redo the entire plot half-way through because of uncooperative characters. And I have to do it every single time! Just once, I'd like to win that argument and have the book turn out as I originally conceived it.

Anyway, I do have one tip or exercise. Pick up a magazine every day and randomly select a picture. And then write a 250 word story about that picture. Trust me, if you want to become a better writer, exercises like that will work wonders for your creative muscles.

Besides, it's fun.

Last Week of April

 

Good News (If Any)

I'm initiating queries for a new series of mysteries set in the fictional town of Peyton, NC, situated on the glorious Crystal Coast, an area Blackbeard used to romp around. I've got the first one, Whacked!, written with plans for a linked set of three under development.

My paranormal manuscript has been submitted to my current publisher, The Wild Rose Press. If they like that one, I already have the rough draft of a third one written, with plans for a third under development.

I'm still waiting to hear back from the publisher on a historical mystery I submitted a few months ago, as well as a couple of other submissions.

So, no "good news" per se—and I may be getting a lot of bad news in the way of rejections over the next few months, but hey, it's all in a day's work for a writer. It's comforting to think that even great writers suffer the same humiliation, although I doubt that many of their rejection letters start with "Dear Author".

What I'm Reading Now

The Mercedes Coffin by Faye Kellerman.

Maybe I'm just not in the mood for this or something, but I'm finding the book a little slow going. I mean, when Decker goes to interview a suspect for the third or fourth time and there's still no one home…my interest sort of sags. But I have a couple of brand new books awaiting me, so if I can struggle through to the end, I've got others to look forward to.

What I'm Writing Now

I'm trying to decide about writing a historical Christmas novella. Or working on another mystery—either contemporary or historical. Just not sure. That's the problem with having a lot of submissions running around. Once I hear from any of them, I'll know which direction to take.

So maybe I should just write the novella. Although I may also try a short story aimed at the Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine—just for the fun of it.

What—If Any—Thoughts I have

I've been thinking about suspense versus mystery and my own enjoyment of mysteries. Generally, folks indicate that one of the biggest differences between suspense and mystery is the knowledge of who the villain is. Although if you use that definition, Columbo would be suspense instead of mystery, because you always knew who the murderer was—it was just whether Columbo could catch him (or her) or not.

But I think there's another important factor in mystery, and that is motive. These days, suspense frequently features a serial killer as the villain, and the motive is dismissed as something as trivial as: he's a sociopath; he doesn't like women with blonde hair; he had a bad childhood; or…just because he's bad. Sigh. Maybe that's why I'm not that into suspense. The motive isn't all that important.

With a mystery, even if I know who the villain turns out to be, I still want to know why and how. The motive and method are almost—or more—important than the who. In fact, the why is what is keeping me reading The Mercedes Coffin. I just want to know the motive.

And it's motive that fascinates me enough to write mysteries. Because I'm always trying to work out: what would force a person into a position where he (or she) thinks murder is the only answer? Why doesn't the person just walk away? (Which is, frankly, what I would do—I can't imagine what would make me kill someone—unless he was actually attacking me. I'm more of a walk-away-&-never-to-speak-to-you-again person.)

 

 

Glorious April

We are having absolutely gorgeous weather! All the azaleas and dogwoods are blooming and the hummingbirds are starting to return. Which reminds me that I need to get a few more feeders.

Good News (If Any)

My historical short story, Outrageous Behavior, has been released and is doing much better than I anticipated. And in fact, The Wild Rose Press has a big sale on short stories this month, so it's only 99 cents! A spectacular bargain and a great way to see if you like an author enough to buy longer and more expensive pieces. Outrageous Behavior has been in my publisher's Top Ten Bestsellers list all week (the list is dynamic, based upon sales) and even hit the number #1 slot earlier in the week. So I'm pretty jazzed about it. Besides, I really like the story. If you've ever struggled to be kind and polite while watching those who are bigger, badder and bolder walk off with the prize, then this story is for you.

When etiquette fails, Outrageous Behavior prevails!

What I'm Reading Now

In The Woods by Tana French. I'm only about 150 pages into this mystery set in Ireland, but I'm really enjoying this book. For some reason, the British writing style appeals to me strongly. Maybe it is the wry, understated wording and the vivid descriptions that really bring you into the story and into the characters' heads—but whatever it is, this is an excellent example. The prose is smooth and the characters very likeable, and yet not perfect. The mystery is sad and compelling. I, for one, hope the rest of the book lives up to the beginning. We shall see.

What I'm Writing Now

I'm editing a paranormal manuscript, based upon a rejection/revision letter I got from my publisher. I'm pretty excited about it because revision letters are good and almost always help you produce a better manuscript. And the cool thing—I've already finished a rough draft of another paranormal that features one of the characters from this first one. So if I can work through the revisions (and not mess it up too badly) and see the first one, I can whip out the second one pretty quickly—at least quickly for me. Since I take about two years to produce a decent manuscript, this may cut me down to one year between books in this line, which would be sweet.

And I still have a contemporary mystery that I want to fix up for submission to an agent.

What—If Any—Thoughts I have

Don't write in first person unless you mean it. J That's part of what happened to that paranormal manuscript. I wrote it in first person. I still sort of like that version best, but in the paranormal romance genre, they really prefer 3^rd person. So I rewrote it in 3^rd and I've got to tell you, that was a nightmare. I will never do that again.

Personally, I love first person. And I don't especially want to head hop or know what is going on in the minds of the other characters. If the narrator is doing his/her job, then she's interpreting what the other characters are thinking. Whether that character's interpretations are right or wrong—well, that's the story, isn't it? It shows something about the POV character's astuteness and ability to understand others. Sometimes it reveals a fatal flaw in that character, because of her (or his) inability to interpret the actions and emotions of others at all. And I'm really, really good with that. In fact, I don't really like head hopping or jumping around from one character's viewpoint to another if I'm supposed to be identifying strong with both. It pretty well keeps me from settling down deeply into any one character. Which probably explains why I like first person so well, and why I read so many books told in 1^st person.

Of course, I also like books told by an omniscient narrator and such books may include POV shifts to inanimate objects or animals. But hey, those things don't have deep thoughts to sink into, so I'm good with that. And it's usually done for humorous effect, anyway. Strangely enough, it also seems to be an almost exclusively British thing, too. I read a brilliant book where even the wind had a personality and POV, ever so briefly. Somehow, the British seem to have more fun with their writing, although I've found a few American authors who are also willing to have a little fun, too.

Anyway, I'm rambling. Not to mention, I'm supposed to be cooking dinner.

Have a great weekend!

End of March

Good News (If Any)

No good news, per se. But I did submit another manuscript, The Bricklayer's Helper, last night to my publisher. I really, really hope my editor likes it. I love this story—I wrote it after reading a newspaper article from an old "Broadsheet" from the Regency period in England (early 1800's). An orphaned girl disguised herself as a boy in order to find work. She worked as a bricklayer's helper, then as a footman, for a number of years. She even married her landlady's pregnant daughter (the landlady blackmailed her with exposure) so that the pregnant girl wouldn't have a child out of wedlock. Unfortunately, her efforts came to naught when she was exposed, but it was a fascinating story. This woman chose that path to avoid the only other "profession" open to a young girl with no money or family: prostitution.

Anyway, I sort of took that story and ran with it—making it into a mystery (she's orphaned when her family is killed, and now the killer is after her!) with a bit of romance. The poor heroine hires an inquiry agent who seems more interested in his reflection in the mirror than in finding the killer stalking her. Oh, well. Life is tough for my characters.

This story comes after my previous book, I Bid One American, and features the Archer family again. Those characters just can't seem to keep themselves out of trouble.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Did I mention that Highland Press contracted with me for The Necklace? We haven't started the actual work on it yet, but I did sign a contract. The Necklace is actually a prequel of sorts to I Bid One American, so I'm glad it will be coming out—maybe in 2010, I hope. This one features a cursed gem that's been in the Archer family for a number of years…

What I'm Reading Now

The Little Sleep by Paul Tremblay. I just finished it last night. The main character is a private investigator suffering from narcolepsy—you know—where you fall asleep at inappropriate times and suffer from hallucinations. It was fascinating. Funny and yet dark. The poor guy isn't even sure if he remembers who hired him, or if that was a hallucination. J His life is going down the toilet fast, but he's clinging to the rim, anyway, and I loved it.

If you're looking for a different kind of mystery, I highly recommend this one. I really like off-beat characters and this is one of the better books containing a whole slew of them.

What I'm Writing Now

Starting work on a Christmas story, actually a novella. I need to finish it by the end of June, so I've got to get my thoughts in order. J However, it looks like a murder may take place and a ghost may have been involved. Somehow.

What—If Any—Thoughts I have

Epiphany Moment: The payoff in the world of romance novels has changed. Which I'm sure everyone but me already knew. Duh.

Used to be, the payoff was love and commitment (usually in the form of marriage).

Now, the payoff is sex.

Okay. What-ever.

But it does make me kind of sad. For me as a reader, it can be hard (no pun intended) to feel satisfied at the end of a romance novel. Particularly when there are multiple "payoffs" throughout the book. One more, at the end, becomes meaningless as a "wrap up." Who cares by that point? Obviously, every other reader in the world, except me. All right. I admit it. I'm an idiot.

But here's an example of what satisfies me, from another genre. Mysteries.

You can define the payoff in a murder mystery as the revelation of "who did it," "why they did it," and the restoration of order and justice. Well, that happens once. At the end. It's a real payoff. And like all payoffs that mean anything, you have to wait for it. You get hints, but not the real deal until the end. It's not like the author can restore order and justice and then continue the book—the story is over at that point. And that's one of the reasons I'm a huge mystery fan. Because I like that sense of completeness and order in an essentially chaotic universe. The sense of justice served—but not before the end of the book.

Mysteries and suspense that let me down on the payoff by doing something like allowing the bad guy to escape due to the ineffectual justice system—well, I'm unlikely to read those authors/books again. They are missing the essential point: a satisfying payoff. I get enough of real life in real life. I don't need a book to know bad guys get off all the time due to technicalities. Or they are simply not caught to begin with. That's life. Not fiction.

Or at least, hopefully, not fiction.

Just like the horror authors miss the point if there's no one left alive at the end. King never kills off all his characters. [Spoiler alert] The kid survives in The Shining. Phew. Payoff. And that's why (no matter what you think of him or his writing) he is a master in that genre. Someone has to survive. And hopefully, order has been restored (even if just temporarily beaten back into the dark depths). That's the payoff. He understands that and gives the reader what they need. A really scary story and a great "phew" sense of relief at the end. Good triumphs over evil (at least for five minutes).

So, back to romances and my general sadness. I guess it shows how hopelessly out of touch and out of date I am. I mean, I know women don't care about marriage and commitment, anymore. They are not a woman's sole goal the way they were up until about the 1950's. I get that. Heck, I've been working at a very demanding career now for over thirty years. But for me, romance is inextricably bound with commitment. And yes, marriage—which in my simple mind, is the legal instantiation and proof of commitment. And I've got nothing against sexy novels and such—but unfortunately, sex isn't a payoff—at least not for me. And once it occurs, the "romance" is over. So yeah, if it occurs at the end, I'm good with that—because it rolls up into love and commitment as a satisfying payoff. But if it's been occurring regularly for the last 200 pages, well, who cares at that point? I don't care anymore. The ending is therefore weak.

That's just me—as a reader—though. Just a random, useless opinion.

I'm just one gal who got sidetracked.

March is Going Quickly

I decided to try a new format for my blogs, since I've been falling behind because of my furious work on new manuscripts. I'm really, really working hard to get submissions out there on a number of fronts for both professional and psychological reasons. Submitting manuscripts to publishers is more like buying lottery tickets than anything else. At least it seems that way to me. There's no telling who is going to like what. Sometimes you win, but mostly you lose. The more times you play the game, the more likely you are to win something. Although the lottery is more random in that playing more games does not change your odds of winning.

Psychologically, it's easier to take a rejection if you have four or five other submissions pending because your crushed spirit still has the balm of a few more fruitless submissions that you haven't heard back on. Yet.

Good News (If Any)

I do have 1 short story coming out this month, on the 25^th to be exact. It's a sweet Regency called: Outrageous Behavior. And I already got a 4-star review from Novel Editions, so I hope you'll check it out. Because it's a short story, it's cheap and doesn't take long to read, so I'm hoping folks will find it to be their cup of tea.

And speaking of cups of tea…

I'm attending a Regency Tea given by the Durham Library system in the Raleigh, NC, area. The tea is March 31^st in the evening and it promises to be a lot of fun. If things get too boring (I'm a terrible conversationalist), I have a trick up my sleeve. Many eons ago, before the earth's crust entirely cooled, I obtained a desk of Regency-themed Tarot cards. So, if we can't think of anything to talk about at the Tea, other than the weather, I can whip out my Tarot cards and do a few informal Regency Fortune-tellings. At least that will save me from the dreaded silence that seems to fall when you're facing a bunch of strangers and have no clue what to say.

What I'm Reading Now

I'm reading a few short stories in The Strand magazine. There is a Mark Twain and a P.G. Wodehouse, so I really can't go wrong. I love short stories. When I want something to read at bedtime and for whatever reason don't feel like plunging into another novel, I generally pick up my volume of The Collected Works of H. H. Munroe (aka, SAKI) and read a few of his short stories. It doesn't matter how many times I read them—they still make me chuckle.

What I'm Writing Now

I'm working madly on polishing the final draft of The Bricklayer's Helper. It's a sweet Regency mystery/romance and features the Archer family from my previous book, I Bid One American. It was a lot of fun to write, so I hope my editor agrees and I can find a home for it. I've given myself a deadline of April 3, 2009, to submit it. Then, I'll get to work on polishing up a paranormal I have lying around. I'm considering trying the Nocturne line for that one (if I find the guts to do so). After that query goes out, I'll be submitting a few queries for a cozy mystery called: Whacked!. That one is ready, but I'm trying to pull together a query that agents will bite on. It will be my first contemporary mystery, so we'll see what happens.

What—If Any—Thoughts I have

I'm trying very hard not to think.

So far, I've succeeded.

News

Coming Soon

My Regency short story: Outrageous Behavior is coming out March 25 from The Wild Rose Press! Yippee! If you're looking for something short, sweet and inexpensive, take a look.

Regency Tea & Book Signing

The Cary Library (Raleigh/Durham, NC) is hosting a Regency Tea with romance authors Liz Carlyle, Amy Corwin, Claudia Dain, Sabrina Jeffries and Deb Marlowe on March 31 at the Paige Walker Center. There will be a tea expert there, giving a period correct tea and a book signing afterward.

The Cary library is asking attendants to sign up ahead of time at their location, as seating is limited. The event is free, but you have to sign up and get a ticket ahead of time. We just heard that they are nearing capacity.

Hope to see some of you there!

What I'm Reading Now

You Have the Right to Remain Puzzled by Parnell Hall.
Cozy Mystery

What a riot! I love this book. It's got me laughing with the snarky dialogue and impossibly twisted situations the "Puzzle Lady" gets herself into. I really recommend this (and can't wait to finish it and get some more in this series).

What I just Finished Reading

Whiskey Sour by J.A. Konrath
Mystery

I really enjoyed this book and am giving it 95 out of 100. It's definitely on my "keepers" shelf, and I'll be picking up the rest of his books. I'll start out with my only quibbles: a) The main character's name is Lt. Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels, with the Chicago police department. Well, as everyone knows, the nickname for Jacqueline is "Jac" not "Jack" (which is incidentally the nickname for John). Obviously, he wanted to play on the Jack Daniels Whiskey theme so he had to stretch it. Sigh. It would have been better to leave it as Jac Daniels—he could still play on the Whiskey theme and it would have been smoother; and b) Jack's voice was decidedly masculine. I got used to it, but never really "felt" the narrator's "female-ness". It was like a man pretending to be a woman. J

Small quibbles, nothing bad, probably just moi.

Gotta say, though, this book moved! He carried you right along with the story of a serial killer calling himself The Gingerbread Man who decided to cut a wide-swath through the female population of Chicago. Pretty gruesome, really.

The writing is tight and exciting, and the story moves right along at a fast pace. It's hard to put it down, really. And I love Jack's wry sense of humor.

Total: 95 out of 100

What I'm Pondering

How to write true-to-life Regency dialog without completely boring my audience and making them think all the characters are hopelessly dorky. You have to update it, but the question is the degree to which you can do this without straying too far into way-NOT-historical. I'm working on a Regency mystery—a serious Regency mystery—and it requires accuracy.

What made me think I could do this?

Promo-ho-ness

Contest

You need something to cheer you up, right? You know you do. With spring almost here—but not quite—and that general blah feeling that results from the end of the holidays and arrival of more bills, you're in desperate need of a nice surprise. Maybe even something you can curl up with and read.  Something that will let you read not one, but thousands of good books…

A Sony e-Book Reader! Yeah, that's the ticket!

The Wild Rose Press is running a contest to give away a free Sony e-book reader! The contest runs until March17, so be sure to visit and find out how to enter.  I'm one of the sponsors so you can use the purchase of my Regency romantic mystery, I Bid One American, to enter!  And I was pleased to discover that Book Utopia considered I Bid One American one of the best books for 2008! Thanks!

Post-Holiday Deflation Cure

The holiday frenzy is over.  You've gotten all the gifts you are going to get and are now, unfortunately, paying for them.  And you're deflating like a balloon someone forgot to tie off.

But wait!  It's not too late to get something for yourself.  Something you can curl up with and read.  Something that will let you read not one, but thousands of good books!

A Sony e-Book Reader!

That's right--The Wild Rose Press has got another contest running, just click on the contest link to find out how to enter. This one runs from Jan through March.  And, of course, I'm one of the sponsors so if you decide you'd like to use the purchase of my Regency romantic mystery, I Bid One American, to enter, now is the time to go for it!  I was pleased to discover that Book Utopia considered I Bid One American one of the best books for 2008, which brought me great pleasure.

And just in case anyone wants a small taste to whet their interest, here is an excerpt from I Bid One American...

     Miss Haywood flushed and took another sip of tea, choking when she swallowed too quickly.

     "It's amazing what rubbish they print," Nathaniel said. "You obviously have more sense than to believe what you read."

     "So you two did meet in the garden," Lady Victoria interrupted.

     His grin widened.

     Miss Haywood frowned at him and caught his gaze. She shook her head very so slightly. "We met on the terrace," she corrected.

     Apparently she didn't want the Archers to know Nathaniel had dragged her off into the bushes. And that suited him. She needn't have worried about him admitting that to her guardian. No one had been compromised.  There was no earthly reason to discuss it.

     "Well, nevvy? What of it?" Archer asked. "Garden or terrace?"

     "Terrace, certainly," Nathaniel replied smoothly.

     "Miss Haywood was instructing me on the identification of moths." He tried to recapture Miss Haywood's gaze to reassure her, but she resisted him. "It was all very correct."

     "Yes. And you were very polite, too, as I recall. It quite impressed me at the time," Miss Haywood said. "Exceedingly polite."

     He stared at her. Her sky blue eyes twinkled roguishly above a pert nose lightly dusted with freckles. One long red curl twined over her shoulder, making her mannish scarf anything but masculine. His eyes drifted lower to the slight curve of her chest, remembering what Harnet said about women with slender builds….

     Harnet could say what he wanted, Miss Haywood looked very much like trouble to Nathaniel.

There now, that's enough of that.  Back to blogging.

I do have a tip.  It's one of those things that applies to more than just writing--it really applies to any endeavor.  And it's one of those things that just seems like common sense.  But it is also extraordinarily hard to remember when you are in the throes of whatever you are in the throes of.

Always have more than one iron in the fire.

That is to say, when possible, always have multiple submissions going, and/or multiple projects you are working on.  It's not just because it increases your chances, but because of the psychological benefits, too.

If you have several submissions going, with several manuscripts submitted and/or at various stages, than the failure (rejection) of any one item isn't as devastating.  Because you have other chances to make it.

I'm the first to admit that while this sounds easy, it is not.  It's not that easy to write, edit, and polish multiple manuscripts (or projects) to the point where you can be squirting them out in parallel.  Or have one manuscript accepted for publication, another undergoing the submission process, and another being polished, but the more you can do that, the less any one failure will bite.

Sure, failures will bite.  Don't get me wrong.  But it will bite less if there are other prospects.

And like I said, this is true with just about any endeavor you care to mention.  Including the lottery.  Well, maybe not the lottery.  I'm told having more tickets in no way increases your chance to win since it is random.  But I find that hard to believe.

So get out there and pursue whatever makes you happy, and do it in large enough numbers to win a few successes, too!

Outside the Zone

Lost my first attempt at this blog so...buyer beware.

I recently had reason to remember my own advice about reading outside of your comfort zone.  I get a lot of books for free in exchange for reviewing them, so sometimes I select book I wouldn't normally read.  This is fabulous for finding new authors and sometimes, if you are an author, you also get that buzz of creativity that convinces you to try something different.

Not that I really need to try anything different.  I already have a computer-full of manuscripts I will probably never sell because there doesn't seem to be a market for zany murder mysteries with a touch of romance set in early 19th century England.  Who knew no one else would like such a thing and publishers wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole?

Be that as it may, I recently agreed to review a book by Charlie Huston called "The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death".  It gave me a crazy new idea for yet another book that I'm sure will not sell--but what-ever. 

And although socially, I will claim until my dying day that Huston's book is totally outside my comfort zone, to be perfectly honest, it is not.

It is not the kind of novel a 15-year-old girl should admit to reading, especially to her parents.  (And no, I don't fit into that category.)  It is also not the kind of novel anyone would expect a fifty-something professional woman to be reading.  (And I'll never admit to fitting into that category.)  In fact, I can't think of anyone who could comfortably admit to reading this book to any member of his/her family.  Unless the reader is homeless and has no family members who can read.

But I loved this book.

I mean, any book that begins with the hero engaged in an argument about who is the bigger a$$hole is, well, it's funny.  I know it should not be, but it is.  (I'm trying to clean up my language so that it will match my prim-and-proper exterior, but it's hard when there is so much amusement to be derived from seeing the look on people's faces when a well-dressed, polite, soft-spoken fifty-something woman sprinkles in a few choice swear-words.  It is irresistible.  Sorry.  I digress.)

So I should start by saying, this book is not for you if...

If swearing is offensive to you.

If the thought of exploding bodies fills you with disgust.

If you have no sense of humor (but it has to be a sort of sick, cynical humor).

If you don't find yourself laughing at hopelessly inappropriate moments.  (This is a terrible fault of mine that I can't seem to control.)

If you can't stand to read books with experimental punctuation.

This book is not for the faint of heart or the remorselessly, politically correct crowd.  Or those who insist the normal rules of grammar be used.

And the book is about those marginal characters you see hanging around in the alleys behind tatoo parlors.  So if that disturbs you, this is not the book for you.

Did I mention that I love this book?

It is not, however, without flaws.

Flaw 1:  There exists a certain set of authors who believe that our existing rules for punctuation and grammar are not good enough for them.  They insist on creating their own rules.  (I read a great deal of experimental fiction, so I am not speaking from an uneducated, "never-seen-this-before" perspective.)  They believe this enhances the immediacy of their work.  Or whatever they believe in their supreme over-confidence.

They are always wrong.

Huston obviously believes his system makes the dialog "more real".  He is wrong.  It makes it annoying.  I liked the book in spite of this, not because of it.

In fact, although I got the hang of his punctuation after a couple of pages, there were several places where I had no idea, after reading the section three or four times, which character was saying what.  But, did I mention that I still loved it?  Despite this, I still loved it.

Note, however:  I loved it despite, not because of, the peculiar punctuation and grammar.  It did not help.  In fact, it hindered.

Sigh.

So anyway, in order to present a useful review of "The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death" I read a few of the other criticisms.  If at all possible, I wanted to present some new perspective to help potential buyers make the ultimate decision to plunk down their hard earned money.

Some reviewers remarked about what they considered to be a meandering, slow-to-start plot.  I have to disagree with this, vehemently.  Yes, if you only consider plot to be external events and "stuff" that happens to a character.  Web, the main character, is initially occupied with sleeping and sponging off his best friend.

The initial plot is to dig the hermit-like Web out of his comfortable stasis and make him face life.  While action-wise he spends an inordinate amount of time having extremely funny and snarky conversations with a variety of people, there is more happening than that.

He gets a job and realizes he actually wants to work.  He wants to live again.  And we see the process, in all it's quirky, funny glory as he begins to work, finds himself in a relationship, and is forced out of his shell.  We find out about the trauma he suffered that made caused him to escape into his shell to begin with.

It is about his character development, not about external events/action.

And as with any good novel, once he starts to try to re-enter the world, all sorts of bad things happen to him.  Hence the mystery aspect.

So I have to agree that the first part is slow.  It is what it has to be for Web to break out of his suspended animation and move forward.  In fact, I was so enthralled and jazzed by this book that I had to stop reading it at bedtime and had to actually read it during the day.

Web was endearing and funny and his predicament was so agonizing that I could not stop reading it.  And despite the exploding bodies and gore and things I know I should not laugh at, I read it with a stupid smile on my face and laugh at the back of my throat.

Start of a New Year

Can't believe it's been so long since I updated my blog   but I have a good excuse.  I've been working insanely on several manuscripts.

Over the holidays, I got a good rejection and that's next on my "to-do" list.  If you're scratching your head (or other body part) about the concept of a "good rejection," then here's the deal.

Bad Rejection:  Dear Author, Due to the volume of submissions we receive, we can't possibly be expected to respond to every query with the sort of personal rejection we'd prefer.  Thank you for your submission, but it does not suit our needs at the current time.  We wish you good luck submitting it elsewhere.

Now I don't know about you, but when a rejection ends in "good luck submitting your work elsewhere," it always sounds a little sarcastic to me.  Like yeah, good luck there, sport.

I did get some of those, too, over the holiday season.  Some were sent with a painful apology at sending a rejection just in time for Christmas.  Others are waiting (I can feel them out there) to send rejections after the holidays are over, when you're suitably depressed, anyway. 

But in the midst of all the well-meaning sarcasm, I also got a good rejection.

Good Rejection:  Dear Amy, thank you for your submission.  We read it with interest and although we cannot offer a contract on it at this time, if you would consider revising it, we would love to see it again.  ...And then they list the things they'd like me to think about revising...

Yeah.  I can do that.  You betcha.  And this time, I'm not even close to being sarcastic, because that's the opportunity I've been waiting for.  Maybe not the opportunity, which would be a multi-book contract with nice fat advance, but it is definitely a good opportunity.

Now, not all rejections like that are "good".  In some cases, the changes requested not only don't improve the book, but they actually may lead you down the road to ruin.  (Been there, done that, wrote the book, went broke.)  So you can't just accept any rejection requesting changes as an opportunity you want to pursue. 

If you're sure your book is exactly the way it has to be, and you can put your ego aside long enough to be able to determine this truthfully, then that rejection letter is just a rejection.  Move on.  Submit the book elsewhere until there are no more elsewheres to submit it.

But if the suggested changes ring a bell with you, and you think, Yeah, that's what I wanted to do when I wrote the book in the first place, then you should pursue the opportunity to the fullest extent the law will allow.

Word of Warning: There is no guarantee that you will make that sale after you modify your manuscript.  You may edit it to death or just downright ruin it.  (Been there, done that, too.)  Editing can sometimes make things worse, not better.  And the suggested changes are often just someone's idea of "what I would have done if I had been the author".

In my specific case, I read the changes with a sensation of relief.  Because the editor somehow divined what I was trying to do with the manuscript and suggested I do that.  I won't go into why I went down a different rabbit hole with the manuscript, but suffice to say, I really liked the editors suggestions.

So now I just have to make the changes, polish, and resubmit.  It's exciting and a little intimidating, because I know how easy it is to drop my little glass unicorn of a manuscript and break the horn off, turning it into a plain old glass horse. (To borrow a bit from a much more famous writer.)

And I'll probably be fairly quiet because before I start work on those revisions, I'm working on some other revisions that I need to finish by the end of January for another project.

No to mention that I want to start writing "A Feng Shui to Die" which is going to be a lot of fun.  Seriously.

Then, I have all these submissions I need to start sending out, so that I can start collecting more rejections for 2009.  I've got a goal of at least 100 rejections in 2009.

Hey!  I have a goal!  And I didn't think I was going to have any goals or New Year's resolutions in 2009.

Cool beans. Oh!  Jumping up with excitement  I also want to thank the wonderful folks (or lady) at Book Utopia who put my book, I Bid One American, on her list of best books in 2008!  Not to mention, she noted one thing about me that is just the best!  She said there was a whimsical quality to my writing!  Thank you!  (Sincerely and without sarcasm.)  I love her.  (But not in that way.)

I love whimsy.  And the whimsical.  That's why I like P.G. Wodehouse and Piers Anthony's XANTH books.  And Charlotte Macleod's Convivial Codfish.  Whimsical is fun and funny, and it makes me feel good to know that others see that lovely quality in my writing.  If I thought editors would accept it, I'd be even more whimsical than I am.  Whimsical and sarcastic.  Dark chocolate with an ooshy-gooshy white chocolate center.

 

So, see ya around, and I'll try to keep up with blogging and the occassional e-mail.

Good luck to everyone out there in Cyber-land.  Best wishes to all!

Overwhelmed for the Holidays

This week I took leave from work, thinking I could get a lot done. I'm working to polish up a manuscript for submission so having five days off seemed like the thing to do.

 

The plan started out well. Uh, okay, maybe not. For some unknown reason, I thought it would be a good idea to collect old photos and make scrapbooks for my husband's family for the holidays. Seemed simple enough. Three scrapbooks and I wouldn't have to worry about gifts. First there was the scanning. Ten straight hours. Then there was cutting out the pictures and sticking them into the books. Forget about fancy designs, I did a few little touches, but mostly, I was busy just peeling little sticky tabs off a roll and pasting the pictures to the pages. Another ten hours. One day. Another ten hours the next day.

 

Because the albums had pages that were 12"x12", the book itself added another inch for the spine and about ¼" all around for the covers, making it about 14"x13". So there was the question of a box. Or rather three boxes and a trip to several places to get them. Then I had to cut the boxes down because they were way too tall.

 

Total time, nearly four days and no writing done.

 

And I had such good intentions.

 

Now, not to complain, but while I was struggling with this insanely stupid gift idea, I was also without running water for 24 hours because the pipe from our water pump broke. On the bright side, I learned how to use a hack saw and two kinds of glue, including that pretty purple stuff. Not to mention having to move all the furniture in my office searching for a body. Because something started to…smell in there with that oh-so-distinctive odor. I think it's a dead mouse, but whatever it is, I couldn't find it. I think it might be wedged behind the baseboard and I really didn't want to start tearing my office apart. And there is the possibility it isn't a mouse because I also found a rather nice shed snakeskin above my kitchen cupboard. So there is that. Living at the edge of a swamp does have certain disadvantages.

 

In any event, I can tell you quite definitively that Febreze is absolutely useless when it comes to certain odors. And although it has a certain "mousy" element, I'd really be happier to think it's more reptilian.

 

And here I am, leave almost used up, with a manuscript I haven't touched in a week. Today, I absolutely intend to work on it, although I don't think that work will take place in my office. Not for a few days yet.

 

Oh—almost forgot, I do have some good news. My novella, Christmas Mishaps, is available now as part of the Cotillion Country Christmas anthology. Sorry about this ugly link, but if you are interested in taking a look, here is the link for the book: http://www.jasminejade.com/p-6803-a-cotillion-country-christmas.aspx

I love holiday stories. They are such an excellent way to escape the stress of the busiest season of the year. And this year in particular I'm resolute about taking the time to read and relax. At some point.

Happy Holidays!

Guest Blogger Marianne Arkins

This week, I'm very excited to have a guest blogger, Marianne Arkins.  She is a fabulous writer and has allowed me to post a thought-provoking article which intersects with two of my interests: animals and characterization.

Marianne can be found on the web at:

http://www.mariannearkins.com    and
http://www.reading-writing.blogspot.com

So, without further fanfare and other general nonsense, here is Marrianne!

All of my novels, and many of my short stories include animals in some way. Why? The answer is simple. I think it's a basic truth: the way people treat animals indicates the kind of person they are underneath any false polish they've managed to create.

That's not to say that you must be an animal lover to be a good person. One of my best friends is terrified of dogs, and barely tolerates other fur-people. BUT… if she saw an injured creature in front of her house, she wouldn't walk past it (though, she'd probably call me to help – still, she would feel sympathy and take action). Nor would she go out of her way to run down a dog (or chipmunk or frog or whatever) in the road. She would, in fact, make every effort to avoid it. She became a vegetarian as a teenager because of the way the meat industry treated animals raised for slaughter. I believe all these quirks indicate her basic character.

On the other hand, it's been clearly proven that many of the most horrific serial killers started out their "trade" on animals and worked their way up. A general disregard for life, especially life that is relatively helpless, indicates the type of people they are. In her San Francisco Chronicle article "Cruelty to Animals: A Warning of Possible Violence to Come" Dr. Margo DeMello says, "Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, Andrew Cunanan, David 'Son of Sam' Berkowitz, and Albert 'Boston Strangler' DeSalvo were ALL cruel to animals before they started hurting people."

I had a former neighbor who owned a pit bull puppy. He also had two children, one of whom was a boy of about five years. Once, the puppy came running out of their yard to greet me and my dog as we walked past, leaping about and wanting to play. The boy came to fetch it, and—using a tight fist—punched the dog in the ribs for being naughty. This one action told me more than I really wanted to know about his family life.

Domestic animals are dependent upon us for their care. They're much like children, with the exception that they never stop depending on us. This makes our character's behavior toward animals a way to amplify certain characteristics.

In my eBook, One Love For Liv (available from Samhain Publishing), my heroine dislikes animals of all kinds. Witness her introduction to Spike, a bull mastiff and important secondary character in this story:

Something warm and wet swiped her face, both reviving and disgusting her. She kept her eyes closed and limply swatted at it. Her hand hit fur. "Ugh."

"Spike, back off."

Spike? What was going on? She gave a low moan and tried again to force her eyelids to obey her will, finally succeeding after a Herculean effort. A tanned face covered in five o'clock shadow and smears of black grease swam in front of her. Next to him, its neck surrounded by a studded black leather collar, sat the biggest brown dog she'd ever seen. The creature had drool suspended from its mouth and it looked as if it had swallowed a sneaker with the laces hanging out. Dear heavens, was that what had licked her?

A moment later, she turns to our hero and says:

"I'll sit on the curb. Just get your ugly dog away from me."

"Spike? C'mon, he's gorgeous." He gave the monster a vigorous scratch all up and down its body. "And he's not my dog, but don't worry, he's a marshmallow."

"I don't like dogs."

This isn't a very flattering picture of our heroine, in my opinion, and it wasn't meant to be. She's a snob, and more than a little bit selfish. Hopefully this comes across in how she feels about this overly friendly dog.

In one of my as-yet-unpublished novels, The Possibility of Forever, the heroine begins to fall for the hero because of how he treats her pet rat, Maynard.

Just inside the doorway, she stopped, surprised to see Jed rubbing Maynard gently with the cloth placemat, crooning to him under his voice.

Oh, she sighed silently, her heart doing a little flip-flop in her chest.

Without the impetuous of Jed's treatment of an animal most people would be disgusted by, it would have taken far longer for our heroine to see him as a love interest. It also showed us another side of an otherwise "tough guy".

I love stories that include animals. It's a great way to show (not tell) a lot about the characters… don't you agree?

About the Author:  Marianne was born in California, met her husband in Colorado, got a puppy and got pregnant, then moved with the group of them to the frozen north of New Hampshire where her thin blood keeps her indoors six months of the year. It's the perfect scenario for writing! She has a novel, "One Love For Liv" available in print on December 29th, and a novella "Kitchen Matches" available from Samhain Publishing. She also has eight published stories with The Wild Rose Press. Check out her website or blog for more information or to see what's going on inside her brain. If you dare.