Peg Herring's Blog, page 15

Double Toil & Trouble x 2/3

Here's the new historical romance, and the answers to a few questions.
1. Another romance?
    I know! I didn't think I'd ever do it, but the story was so much fun I had to.
2. Available where?
    Amazon for e-book for sure.
    Amazon in print any minute now.
    Ingram in print someday soon. Since Ingram connects to bookstores, it's nice to have the book offered there, but they take longer to get things set up. Give it a week before you ask your favorite library or bookstore to get it for you.
    Hometown folks-It will be at Tom's, but probably not until March. It's just the way things worked out for me.
3. So what's it about?
   Jenna and Jessie, two more of Macbeth's nieces. If you remember Tessa from Macbeth's Niece, my very first book, you'll see her again. Because it's ten years later, I didn't call this a sequel. It's more like a relative.
4. Where do the characters come from?
If you happen to know sisters named Jenna and Tessa, you might guess my inspiration for these books. People often ask if characters authors create come from the real world, and I guess in my case the original idea does. Once I've chosen a name and a basic personality, though, the character becomes herself and bears little resemblance to the original. I also like the study of names (as anyone who sat in my English class can attest) so I collect interesting ones to use as minor characters. They have no relation to real people, so don't go thinking if my villain is named Gallivant, it's because I once disliked someone with that name.
5. Who should read this book?
If you liked Macbeth's Niece, I think you'll like Double Toil & Trouble. If you didn't read MN, you won't have a problem with the new book, because the situation is different (though still related to the troubles Macbeth's family might have suffered from his deeds). One of the beta readers who loved it gave it to her husband to read, which makes me cringe a little. Still, I think there's enough action in the story to allow non-romance readers to enjoy it (even if they are male).
Other questions? Just ask.

Old People Who Read

Note: I was going to call this post "Old Readers," but I was afraid it might bring to mind the original Kindle. I'm looking at those of us who've read all our lives: Old Readers.

My husband started reading in his fifties. My father started even later than that. That isn't me. I can't remember when I didn't have my nose in a book.

Reading is wonderful, but a lifetime of reading leads to a problem: What to read next. When I was a kid, my choices were limited to what books our school library had, though I eventually moved on to reading my mom's mystery novels (MacDonald, Carr, Christie, etc.), and gothics (Stewart, duMaurier, and the like). As a young adult I read historical pot-boilers from Frank Yerby (lots of rape threat) to Rosemary Rodgers (lots of actual rape). I also read a lot of biographies back then, mostly movie stars like David Niven and John Wayne.

Now I'm pretty old, and I've read a lot of stuff. When people gush about the newest prize-winning or best-selling book, I take a look, but often I find it's very similar to something I've already read. Yes, Harry Potter is cool, but have you read The Once and Future King? Unreliable narrators like the one in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time are all the rage, but have you heard of We Have Always Lived in the Castle?

Past reading experience can spoil the "surprise" of many current books, because we've been there before and recognize the territory. And the "ground-breaking" characters aren't so surprising. Yeah the kids in Paper Towns and The Gold Finch feel lost and disconnected from society, but have you read "Paul's Case" by Willa Cather or anything at all by Thomas Hardy?

So what do I read these days? Mostly mysteries, because although they're "genre fiction" and therefore predictable (according to the experts), they present a puzzle to be solved. The characters can be every bit as interesting as those in "literary fiction," and Harlan Coben, Michael Connelly, Laura Lippman, and Sara Paretsky can rope me in as well as any writer can.

I recently finished a "literary" novel and had a familiar response: So? I read hundreds of pages of stuff that was interesting historically, but the story added up to nothing in the end. There was a war. It was tough. Some lived, some died.

If it had been a mystery, they'd have caught the person responsible for all that grief, put him or her in jail, and seen that justice was done. As an old reader almost immune to surprises, that's what I look for these days.

The Dearly Departed

I miss my daughter sometimes more than others, and hearing of David Bowie's death made today one of those times.
This isn't one of those "poor me" essays. Death is part of life, and I don't want any sympathy. What I want is to say there are times when we'd really like to talk to someone, but that someone is dead. It's a weird feeling, like not being able to finish a task you really need to do.
My daughter was a HUGE Bowie fan. I can't tell you how many times I watched Labyrinth and listened to "Let's Dance" in the '80s. Like a lot of working moms, I wasn't that tuned in, but it was nice to have things we could talk about without me cringing or her rolling her eyes. I was okay with David, Adam Ant, and George Michael, because I liked (most of) their music and understood that their oddness appealed to girls of her age.
When I heard this morning that Bowie died, I wanted to call my daughter and talk about it. I can imagine what she'd say and what I'd say.
I just can't do it.
Like many people, I often wish I could talk to my dad or my mom sometimes. Most days I go for a walk on the property we own, which used to be theirs, and I recall talking to Dad about how much we both loved every square inch of it. And my mom--if only she could hear about my next book!
As I said, you don't have to feel bad for me because I've lost people, and I'm not going to give you that old stuff about telling them you love them before it's too late. In the first place, they know, and in the second, you can't build "I love you" stacks to use up later as you need them.
Today's essay is simply an observation: I miss my dearly departed more at certain
times, and it's usually when there's a conversation I'd like to have that only they would really understand.

Blood & Guts in Mysteries

 In classic Greek theater, violence happens offstage. If someone's going to kill himself, he tells you so then exits. If the hero and the bad guy engage in a duel to the death, they'll thrust and parry "stage right and exeunt." Only one will return. It's partly good taste, the belief that audiences shouldn't have to see such things. I suspect the other part is more practical: a good death scene is difficult to stage--and what do you do with the corpse afterward?

Shakespeare takes the easy way many times, too. People come in carrying dead bodies, like Lear bearing poor Cordelia; or parts of them, as Macduff does with Macbeth's head. Easy to make a fake head, not so easy to make it appear the head of a living actor is being separated from his body.

Today we have all kinds of tricks to make on-stage deaths look real. If you've seen the Three Musketeers decapitate the evil Milady just as the theater goes dark, or the trick of light in Les Miserables that makes it seem Javert is falling to his death, you know how effective those moments can be. Don't get me started on blood and gore in movies. Just don't.

In books, written descriptions of death have become more and more lurid, especially in mysteries, and I for one don't like it. Call me soft, but I don't want to read details of how a terrified victim is killed by inches by a crazed antagonist. Since I don't like to read that stuff, I don't write it.

I just re-read my most murder-filled novel, Shakespeare's Blood. Victims in the book are killed in ways that mimic deaths in Shakespeare's plays, so they're not pretty. What I did to dial back the horror is keep the violence mostly off the page. Bodies are found, and readers learn what happened to them, but you don't have to be there and watch it happen. That creates suspense and concern for the protagonist, an American tourist in Britain who's being chased by a madman. We know what awaits Mercedes if he catches up with her, but we don't have to dwell on how we know it.

I re-read the book last week, because another author contacted me to say that April 23rd is the 500th anniversary of Shakespeare's death. Her book concerns the Bard too, and she wondered if we should do some shared promotion. I agreed, so we'll see what we can put together.

Either way, I like my way of presenting murder. It's never nice to kill someone, but it's a tiny bit nicer if the readers don't know all the gory details.

Soon-to-Be Book--Not What You Expect

Many years ago, my first book came out. Macbeth's Niece is a romance set in--well, the time of Macbeth, around 1053. Here is what Five Star Publishing did for its cover.

And here's what I did when the rights reverted back to me and I re-released it as an e-book. Theirs is prettier, but mine shows more of Tessa's fiery personality.



Why did a mystery writer start with a romance?
Well, they say to write what you know, and as a long-time English teacher, Macbeth is very familiar to me.  I always loved the story and felt sorry for Macbeth, who didn't comprehend that things seldom turn out the way you imagine they will until it was much too late.

The story of a girl living at his castle who has her own adventures and comes to the same conclusion (though with a happier ending) seemed to form itself in my head without much effort (though writing it down was a little more difficult.)

I was shopping two books at the time, and two different agents tried to find a publisher. The thriller was never picked up. The romance was. So I became a published romance writer with no intention of ever writing another romance.

But the story of the macFindlaech family wasn't finished. Tessa had several sisters, and their stories kept showing up in my head. I tried writing two of them but was never happy with either one.
Some time ago I came across the files in my computer and realized that the two girls' stories had to be told together. They are twins, and their adventures are more exciting when told as the sisters are separated, struggle against terrible odds, and then are eventually reunited.

It came together well, I think, and Double Toil & Trouble will be released early in 2016. While it isn't my usual fare nowadays, those who liked Macbeth's Niece will enjoy the adventures of Jenna and Jessie, two more nieces of Scotland's former king.

(Cover art here as soon as I get it!)

A Writer's Twelve Days of Christmas

On the First Day of Christmas, my agent sent to me: a huge check for royalty!

On the Second Day of Christmas, on Audible for me: new audio files
On the Third Day of Christmas, the artist sent to me: one awesome cover
On the Fourth Day of Christmas, the tech guy sent to me: epub mobi formats
On the Fifth Day of Christmas, the readers sent to me:  Five Star Reviews!
On the Sixth Day of Christmas, some good luck gave to me: promo on BookBub
On the Seventh Day of Christmas, my publisher decreed: major U.S.  book tour
On the Eighth Day of Christmas, the news announced to me: New York Times top listing
On the Ninth Day of Christmas, an editor told me: “Couldn’t find an error.”
On the Tenth Day of Christmas, a beta said to me: “Next book’s even better!”
On the Eleventh Day of Christmas, my PR girl told me: Outsold Evanovitch!
On the Twelfth Day of Christmas, some clerk called to tell me: “Oprah loves your book!”




(Yesterday's quiz answers: 5,1,6,8,7,9,3,2,10,4)

30 Days of Christmas Day 30: A Pet Quiz

1. A dark science room                                                   ____Chow Chow
2. Teutonic minder of ewes                                             ____Black Lab
3. Colorful insect chaser                                                 ____Papillon
4. Pugilist                                                                        ____Mexican Hairless
5. Food-food                                                                   ____West Highland Doxie
6. French butterfly                                                          ____Husky
7. Scots mountain girlfriend                                           ____Bluetick Hound
8. Bald southern neighbor                                                                          ____German Shepherd
9. Not fat, just over-sized                                                                            ____Saint Bernarnd
10. Beatified author Cornwell                                                                   ____Boxer









Here endeth our 30 Days of Christmas! Have the Happiest of Holidays,whatever you celebrate!

30 Days of Christmas Day 29: Another Type of Quiz

Fill in the first word, which will help with the next circle



 Answers to yesterday's quiz: 10,8,6,1,9,4,7,2,3,5

30 Days of Christmas Day 28: A Christmas Quiz

By this time in December you've heard all of these songs a thousand times, so match the Christmas song lyric with its title.

1. ...and folks dressed up like Eskimos.
2. You will get a sentimental feeling when you hear...
3. With the angels we will sing, "Hallelujah to the King!"
4. What can I bring Him, poor as I am?
5. "God is not dead, nor doth He sleep."
6. But the very next day, you gave it away.
7. Give him a hammer with lots of tacks...
8. I put a tack on Teacher's chair...
9. For the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth.
10. Let's hope it's a good one/without any fear



____ "So This Is Christmas"
____"I'm Gettin' Nothin' for Christmas"
____"Last Christmas"
____"The Christmas Song"
____"The Hallelujah Chorus"
____"In the Bleak Midwinter"
____"Up on the Rooftop"
____"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree"
____"Silent Night"
____"I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day"

30 Days of Christmas Day 27: Simon's Reply to the Queen

Your Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth (and, by your grace, 'Highness' between us two),


I was honored to receive your missive at this Christmastide, and humbled by your care for a mere subject of your great and prosperous realm. That you take interest in my life here on the outskirts of London is a source of pride to me, and I recall each single time we have met over these many year with great joy.

You speak of growing old, but if I may respectfully disagree, Gloriana cannot age. You are our nation's shining light, and when light fades, the world grows dark.
You spoke of holiday preparations at Greenwich, and though I have not been there, I think I can picture the stonework hung with greenery and the many candles lit for evening festivities.
Things are simpler here, but since you asked, I will tell you of our preparations.

My son Henry cut some holly to put over the doors, and my wife tied it with red ribbon. Its bright green leaves and red berries add a festive air to our simple home. For our Christmas dinner, Hannah is planning brawn with mustard from some pork I received in barter from a local farmer. She will roast it all day in the fireplace, and my old nose can almost smell it cooking now.
It is our custom to invite as many guests as we can manage on Christmas. There will be family, of course, my sister and your old soldier Calkin among them, but we ask the poor into our home as well, to follow as best we can the example of our Lord in feeding His sheep.

Susan is married now, but she and her family will help with the meal. Along with the roast I know we shall see souse, cheese, apples and nuts, and of course plum pudding.

After dinner we will have music. If it is too cold outside, Henry will push the tables in my shop into the corners so there can be dancing as well. Though I am too old and brittle to dance, I love to see the young ones whirling and twirling and hear the pipe and tabor.

It is my sincerest wish that your Christmastide will bring joy to you, for I know it is a burden on you to care for your subjects as much as you do. Know that we love you, and that your old subject (dare I say friend) Simon Maldon prays for your good health and great contentment, always.