Peg Herring's Blog - Posts Tagged "murder"
WAAAAAAH HOO!
If an author needed motivation to rev up work on the second book in a series, great reviews of the first book might do it. I'm thrilled with the reviews of HER HIGHNESS' FIRST MURDER in PW and LJ this week, and I'm fired up to finish the sequel, which had gotten to that "Muddle in the Middle" stage where it seems like nothing is going to work, ever. Honestly, I've done this often enough to know that I just have to keep going, but nothing boosts a person's motivation like positive feedback.
So as soon as I come back to earth, my butt's in the chair and this sequel is getting whipped into shape.
Read the LIBRARY JOURNAL's starred review at
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article...
So as soon as I come back to earth, my butt's in the chair and this sequel is getting whipped into shape.
Read the LIBRARY JOURNAL's starred review at
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article...
Playing God
I received several comments on a recently published work because it in some ways parallels events in my life. The comments center on the idea that if a certain person of my acquaintance comes up missing, I would have to be suspected, given the plot of the story.
Yup.
Life is unfair, unbalanced, and unjust. People we all know should be punished aren't. Writers have the luxury of deciding whether justice will reign and how it will happen. And we don't even have to give DNA samples afterward.
Yup.
Life is unfair, unbalanced, and unjust. People we all know should be punished aren't. Writers have the luxury of deciding whether justice will reign and how it will happen. And we don't even have to give DNA samples afterward.
Speaking Tudor - Hannah
(Recap) Amazing News! Modern science has developed the ability to bring people from the past to our time. It's a huge secret, of course, but I have discovered the method and brought four characters from HER HIGHNESS' FIRST MURDER to 2010. In the coming weeks, you'll hear what they have to say about our time, their time, the best of times, and the worst of times.
(New post) "I am Hannah, and I work at Hampstead Castle, where the Princess Elizabeth has been staying. I suppose that is why I was brought to your time, but it is not for the likes of me, I must say.
"I am an orphan, sent to Hampstead to make my way in the world. There I learned how to work hard, for Hampstead is a constant trial to its inhabitants. Built long ago, it has no modern comforts, certainly nothing like the homes of today. Still, it is better than the place I come from, a foundling home overcrowded and grim. In truth, Hampstead is grim, but it is not crowded, and there are folk there I have come to know and like.
"When Her Highness was sent to us, we were all very excited. I was nervous at first, but she is not so frightening when one gets to know her. Not that I claim close acquaintance, of course. I know my place. Still, she speaks when we meet on the stairs, and she once took me with her to carry her things home from a shop, and that day it was almost like we were friends, for we laughed at the antics of the street vendors and she asked my opinion on which ribbon best matched her new skirt.
"Now that we are here, in the year 2010, she bids me to be strong and not cower at motorized traffic and the constant din of electonic devices. "They are still people, Hannah," she says. "No matter their wondrous machines and their learned ways." I try to keep it in mind, but I am not used to it. I'm told that here I am as good as anyone else, that there is no servant class. People serve others everywhere I look, but it is apparently different these days. I'm not sure how. I will ask Simon Maldon to explain it. He is common, like me, but ever so much wiser."
(New post) "I am Hannah, and I work at Hampstead Castle, where the Princess Elizabeth has been staying. I suppose that is why I was brought to your time, but it is not for the likes of me, I must say.
"I am an orphan, sent to Hampstead to make my way in the world. There I learned how to work hard, for Hampstead is a constant trial to its inhabitants. Built long ago, it has no modern comforts, certainly nothing like the homes of today. Still, it is better than the place I come from, a foundling home overcrowded and grim. In truth, Hampstead is grim, but it is not crowded, and there are folk there I have come to know and like.
"When Her Highness was sent to us, we were all very excited. I was nervous at first, but she is not so frightening when one gets to know her. Not that I claim close acquaintance, of course. I know my place. Still, she speaks when we meet on the stairs, and she once took me with her to carry her things home from a shop, and that day it was almost like we were friends, for we laughed at the antics of the street vendors and she asked my opinion on which ribbon best matched her new skirt.
"Now that we are here, in the year 2010, she bids me to be strong and not cower at motorized traffic and the constant din of electonic devices. "They are still people, Hannah," she says. "No matter their wondrous machines and their learned ways." I try to keep it in mind, but I am not used to it. I'm told that here I am as good as anyone else, that there is no servant class. People serve others everywhere I look, but it is apparently different these days. I'm not sure how. I will ask Simon Maldon to explain it. He is common, like me, but ever so much wiser."
Speaking Tudor - Simon
Simon Maldon, visitor to 2010 from 1572:
I will tell you a little about my adventure with Her Highness, the Princess Elizabeth. We met due to my father's occupation, for he is a physician. He was called to Her Highness' home when a woman there broke her leg. I met the princess that day, and our mutual interest in languages led to more visits. During that time, strange murders were occuring in London. We knew nothing of it until the killer
struck within Her Highness' household. When that happened, nothing, not even His
Majesty, King Henry VIII, could keep Elizabeth from investigating the crimes. I
became her agent, going where she could not. It was the most dangerous time of my life, but it was also the most exciting. A cripple like me, involved in sleuthing,
connected with royalty, and, for once, important to the world.
I will tell you a little about my adventure with Her Highness, the Princess Elizabeth. We met due to my father's occupation, for he is a physician. He was called to Her Highness' home when a woman there broke her leg. I met the princess that day, and our mutual interest in languages led to more visits. During that time, strange murders were occuring in London. We knew nothing of it until the killer
struck within Her Highness' household. When that happened, nothing, not even His
Majesty, King Henry VIII, could keep Elizabeth from investigating the crimes. I
became her agent, going where she could not. It was the most dangerous time of my life, but it was also the most exciting. A cripple like me, involved in sleuthing,
connected with royalty, and, for once, important to the world.
GO HOME AND DIE
"Sounds kind of mean," someone said of my April 1, 2010, release title, but it fits. Jack Porter's friend and business partner is only home from Vietnam a short while before he's stabbed to death in an alley. Other vets suffer the same fate: they "go home" from the war "and die" soon afterward. Jack wants to know who killed his only friend, and why.
Enter Carrie Walsh, a prim young woman who knows that her life is in need of change. She hates her job, her mother suffocates her with criticism, and she feels she's missing the liberation that other women in the late 1960s have demanded. To the dismay of her mother and her former bosses, she decides to help Jack open the private detection firm he and his fellow vet had planned.
Carrie and Jack sense a chemistry between them, but events intervene. Jack has secrets that shock and hurt Carrie, and soon those same secrets put her in danger. She has taken a step toward a more exciting life, but that step could be one too far. Carrie, too, may go home and die.
Tomorrow, I'll explain the inspiration for GO HOME AND DIE. Leave a blog comment any day between now and April 1 and get a chance at a free copy of this e-book!
Enter Carrie Walsh, a prim young woman who knows that her life is in need of change. She hates her job, her mother suffocates her with criticism, and she feels she's missing the liberation that other women in the late 1960s have demanded. To the dismay of her mother and her former bosses, she decides to help Jack open the private detection firm he and his fellow vet had planned.
Carrie and Jack sense a chemistry between them, but events intervene. Jack has secrets that shock and hurt Carrie, and soon those same secrets put her in danger. She has taken a step toward a more exciting life, but that step could be one too far. Carrie, too, may go home and die.
Tomorrow, I'll explain the inspiration for GO HOME AND DIE. Leave a blog comment any day between now and April 1 and get a chance at a free copy of this e-book!
GO HOME AND DIE
My "vintage" mystery concerns a prim young woman of the '60s, Carrie, who meets a recently-returned Vietnam vet, Jack. Their first meeting is a bit rocky, but they soon learn to appreciate each other's good points. Carrie admires Jack's courage in facing the problems life has thrown at him. Jack admires Carrie's ability to see the good in the world and help him see it as well.
I chose not to dwell on the politics of the Vietnam war. If you're looking for a commentary on why we were there or how people dealt with PTSD, this is not your book. It's simply a mystery that draws some of its plot from the fact that Jack was in Vietnam.
Of course, the pathway in a mystery is filled with bombs and booby traps. Jack has secrets
that Carrie has to deal with. Carrie has hang-ups that Jack can't understand. Their romance seems unlikely at first, then on, then off, permanently. Despite that, they come to trust each other and depend on each other's strengths.
I like characters with obstacles to overcome. While the mystery part of the story demands careful attention, and while the 1960's setting requires detail to recall and/or recreate for readers, it is the characters we care about. Will they survive? Will they grow? Will they find some sort of peace? And, of course, will they somehow, some way, end up together?
Buy GO HOME AND DIE here: http://redrosepublishing.com/bookstor...
I chose not to dwell on the politics of the Vietnam war. If you're looking for a commentary on why we were there or how people dealt with PTSD, this is not your book. It's simply a mystery that draws some of its plot from the fact that Jack was in Vietnam.
Of course, the pathway in a mystery is filled with bombs and booby traps. Jack has secrets
that Carrie has to deal with. Carrie has hang-ups that Jack can't understand. Their romance seems unlikely at first, then on, then off, permanently. Despite that, they come to trust each other and depend on each other's strengths.
I like characters with obstacles to overcome. While the mystery part of the story demands careful attention, and while the 1960's setting requires detail to recall and/or recreate for readers, it is the characters we care about. Will they survive? Will they grow? Will they find some sort of peace? And, of course, will they somehow, some way, end up together?
Buy GO HOME AND DIE here: http://redrosepublishing.com/bookstor...
What Was It Like in the '60s?
My new release, GO HOME AND DIE, takes place in 1969, a time that seems to many people younger than I to have been tumultuous, shocking, and downright odd. My students used to ask if I burned my bra (with snickering) and if I went to Woodstock, apparently believing that anyone under the magic age of thirty was a rebel, an anti-war activist, and, if female, a women's libber.
For the people living through it, however, the 60s were was like all other times. People do what they do. Activists speak out, and other people listen, vote, and act as if the rest of it is none of their business. No one knows what changes will come in the long run and what will remain the same.
For people living day-to-day lives, there was the stuff on TV and then there was reality. I was in college, but I never saw any policemen beating students. There was an anti-war rally on campus once, but no one I knew even noticed it. We had tests to study for.
In my hometown there was angst over who would have to go to Vietnam, but there wasn't a lot of discussion of whether it was "right" or not. Men might not relish going to war, but they understand that if there is one, they can be called upon to fight in it.
In the book, Jack represents what I saw at the time: men who did as they were asked, trusting that someone wiser than they had made a right decision. Carrie represents the average citizen, who recognizes what the war cost the men who fought, no matter who was wrong and who was right.
Carrie and Jack have lives to lead and a murder to solve. Vietnam is a reality to them, but it is not
an "issue". Their main issues are staying alive and dealing with the feelings they have for each other, and that's why GO HOME AND DIE is a Vietnam-era book but not a book about the Vietnam era.
Buy GO HOME AND DIE at http://redrosepublishing.com/bookstor...
For the people living through it, however, the 60s were was like all other times. People do what they do. Activists speak out, and other people listen, vote, and act as if the rest of it is none of their business. No one knows what changes will come in the long run and what will remain the same.
For people living day-to-day lives, there was the stuff on TV and then there was reality. I was in college, but I never saw any policemen beating students. There was an anti-war rally on campus once, but no one I knew even noticed it. We had tests to study for.
In my hometown there was angst over who would have to go to Vietnam, but there wasn't a lot of discussion of whether it was "right" or not. Men might not relish going to war, but they understand that if there is one, they can be called upon to fight in it.
In the book, Jack represents what I saw at the time: men who did as they were asked, trusting that someone wiser than they had made a right decision. Carrie represents the average citizen, who recognizes what the war cost the men who fought, no matter who was wrong and who was right.
Carrie and Jack have lives to lead and a murder to solve. Vietnam is a reality to them, but it is not
an "issue". Their main issues are staying alive and dealing with the feelings they have for each other, and that's why GO HOME AND DIE is a Vietnam-era book but not a book about the Vietnam era.
Buy GO HOME AND DIE at http://redrosepublishing.com/bookstor...
Crawl Inside an Author's Mind
Are you the sort of reader who "psyches out" the author as you read? (Sorry about the '60s verbiage, but GO HOME AND DIE is weighing on my mind!)
I find myself noting elements of character, plot, and theme and attributing them to the author and his/her mood. We know that Mark Twain's work became darker as he aged, due perhaps to the deaths of those he loved but also to day-by-day butting heads with ignorant people.
Characters often say something that rings with the author's sincerity, and while an author should not peer through the curtains of the play, it can happen. At the end of THE JUNGLE, Upton Sinclair's views on government practically bash the reader over the head, ruining (for me) the pathos of the story he has told. Other authors are more subtle, but a reader who's paying attention discerns little gleams of opinion, little gems of individual wisdom.
The book's ending is very telling in terms of author attitude. Someone once commented to me that my characters usually move toward a fulfilling relationship as the book progresses. I can't help it; I like happy (or semi-happy) endings. There will be loss, because life is loss, but there will be the comfort of love, too. In GO HOME AND DIE, the reader should feel satisfied that Carrie has grown as a person and be optimistic about her future. (And as today's author knows, the reader should also hope for a sequel.)
I find myself noting elements of character, plot, and theme and attributing them to the author and his/her mood. We know that Mark Twain's work became darker as he aged, due perhaps to the deaths of those he loved but also to day-by-day butting heads with ignorant people.
Characters often say something that rings with the author's sincerity, and while an author should not peer through the curtains of the play, it can happen. At the end of THE JUNGLE, Upton Sinclair's views on government practically bash the reader over the head, ruining (for me) the pathos of the story he has told. Other authors are more subtle, but a reader who's paying attention discerns little gleams of opinion, little gems of individual wisdom.
The book's ending is very telling in terms of author attitude. Someone once commented to me that my characters usually move toward a fulfilling relationship as the book progresses. I can't help it; I like happy (or semi-happy) endings. There will be loss, because life is loss, but there will be the comfort of love, too. In GO HOME AND DIE, the reader should feel satisfied that Carrie has grown as a person and be optimistic about her future. (And as today's author knows, the reader should also hope for a sequel.)
Hey, E-book Readers
Somehow they just don't seem real. I got word this morning that my e-book, GO HOME AND DIE, has indeed become a published work. But where is the box of books I can unpack and admire?
My brain tells me that an e-book is real. Acquaintances tell me they love them. My publisher tells me it will soon be available on amazon. You can't get more real than that, right?
So I must believe it. To help with that, I'm giving away gift certificates for GO HOME AND DIE. Comment on this blog, and I'll enter your name in a drawing on April 5. The winner gets a PayPal gift certificate to purchase this Vietnam-era mystery. http://redrosepublishing.com/bookstor...
My brain tells me that an e-book is real. Acquaintances tell me they love them. My publisher tells me it will soon be available on amazon. You can't get more real than that, right?
So I must believe it. To help with that, I'm giving away gift certificates for GO HOME AND DIE. Comment on this blog, and I'll enter your name in a drawing on April 5. The winner gets a PayPal gift certificate to purchase this Vietnam-era mystery. http://redrosepublishing.com/bookstor...
I'm on the Radio
Well, not until Sunday. I'm guesting on BLOGTALK RADIO's Red Rose Author show to talk about my new ebook, GO HOME AND DIE. Take a listen Sunday at 2:00 (they're cached so you can listen later if you're busy with Easter dinner at that point.)
Go to http://www.blogtalkradio.com/redrosea...
Go to http://www.blogtalkradio.com/redrosea...
