Lea Wait's Blog, page 157

On Semicolons

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Get a handful of writers together and ask them[image error] about punctuation—not an unreasonable request—and I guarantee someone will harp about semicolons before long. They wouldn’t be alone. While proper use of punctuation makes a lot of people nervous, the semicolon can lead to apoplexy.

Kurt Vonnegut is a notable example. Speaking to fiction writers, he said, “Do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing. All they do is show you’ve been to college.” Vonnegut’s contemporary George Orwell complained about the punctuation mark’s “ugliness, or irrelevance, or both.”

Even politicians have disdained the semicolon. New York mayor Fiorello LaGuardia’s favorite put-down for egghead bureaucrats who got in his way was “semicolon boy.”

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Knowing this history I was pleasantly surprised when I came upon, and liked, Cecilia Watson’s recent book titled, of course, “Semicolon”. Watson takes readers on a romping grammatical/historical journey as she maps the life and near-death of a humble punctuation mark that was once the pet of the literary elite.

A historian and philosopher of science, Watson currently teaches writing at Bard College. Knowing those academic credentials, a would-be reader might understandably anticipate heavy going, but they’d be wrong. Watson’s text is a thoroughly entertaining ride enriched by prose from Milton to Martin Luther King along the way.

Watson points to Raymond Chandler as a writer who really knows how to use semicolons. In the excerpt below she says the musicality and emphasis simply works, and you can almost hear the rise and fall of Chandler’s voice as he brought pen to paper.

“Many have died; but not he, not she; not yet.”

Like many authors, books about the craft of writing are within easy reach in my office. (I favor Stephen King’s down-to-earth “On Writing” and the equally useful “The Elements of Style” by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White.) Once in a while, I consult a punctuation guide (given its title, “The Best Punctuation Book, Period” is my favorite) but not often.

No worries the[image error]re, I learn from Watson. Paying too much attention to the rules of grammar, she says, decreases our ability to speak to readers because that’s what language is about—communication. Grammar is about rules and their application. Communication, verbal and nonverbal, is about opinions, ideas, thoughts, facts, emotions, and more. We writers are communicators, not grammarians.

A final word from Watson for semi-colon fans: no worries, your beloved punctuation mark isn’t going away.

 

 

Good News, Bad News

Bruce Robert Coffin here, manning the helm of the Maine Crime Writer Blog one last time. I have some great news to share, and some sad news. Let’s start with the great news.

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In case you haven’t heard, my third Detective Byron novel, Beyond the Truth, was recently a finalist for it’s third award this year. This time it was up for Killer Nashville’s Silver Falchion Award for Best Procedural. I am thrilled to tell you it won! I just returned from the Killer Nashville Mystery Conference, with my medal in tow. What a fabulous conference. I took part in three panels, untold book signings, banquets, wine shindigs, etc. But the best part was meeting up with old friends and new.

Now for the sad news. I have made the difficult decision to take an extended leave from my duties at MCW. My current writing commitments have become untenable. I realized that in order to maintain my current pace I would need to take a hard look at some of the projects with which I am involved. As tough a decision as this has been, I think it is the right one for me. Spreading oneself too thin is never wise. It can lead to missed deadlines, mistakes, and poor writing, and nobody wants that.

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I want to thank Kate Flora for inviting me to be a permanent MCW blogger four years ago. As you all know by now, Doc Flora has been a great mentor, a great friend, and one of my most ardent supporters. Thank you, Doc.

Thanks also to my fellow Maine Crime Writers. I consider you my writing family. I can’t speak for any other state, but I do know that Maine has a marvelously supportive group of mystery authors, and it has been my absolute pleasure to share the journey with all of you.

Finally, I must thank each of you, our many readers and followers of MCW. Your constant and unwavering support of our blog site means so much to all of us. You’re the reason we keep poking around inside the gray matter for cool blog topics. And while I may be on extended leave, the other MCW bloggers will be hard at it, so keep those likes and comments coming!

Until we meet again, write on!

Traveling Wall Comes to Aroostook County

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Danang, Republic of South Vietnam 1968

Vaughn C. Hardacker here. If you are a follower of this blog you know that I am a veteran of the Vietnam War. It has been over fifty years since I returned from Southeast Asia like many of my fellow veterans, I have physically returned but don’t think I’ve mentally left there yet–nor will I ever do so completely. I still debate with myself about my inability to cope with certain aspects of that experience is due to the way we were treated when we returned or events that happened while we were there.

It is pretty much accepted that being able to talk about traumatic events is a vital step in a recovery process. We were not given that opportunity. Instead we metaphorically went underground. We let our hair grow out (in the mid to late sixties it didn’t require a uniform to be identified as a member of the United States military; a high and tight haircut did that for us), many of us anesthetized our pain with alcohol and drugs, and we even went so far as to deny we had served in Vietnam whenever somebody asked us if we served. To this day when I hear someone of my generation say, “I didn’t go to Vietnam, but I wish I had,” (I’ve actually had numerous people say that) my response is, “You didn’t miss a thing.”

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The Traveling Wall. Washburn, Maine, August 17, 2019.

 

Fortunately times change. Since our military has become involved numerous police actions (Many veteran organizations denied admission to Vietnam veterans using the excuse that it was not a declared war. In other words a police action) the attitude toward we Vietnam veterans has improved one hundred percent. On August 15, 2019 as part of the small town of Washburn’s annual Washburn days, the Traveling Wall came to Aroostook County. What made it special,  the Wall has been to various county locations in the past, was that the event planners asked Vietnam Veterans to be active participants. On Friday, August 16, 2019, I was honored to be asked if I would speak to a group of students

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Captain Roger Gauvin, Second KIA from Maine.

and answer any questions they might have. The event organizers had made arrangements for every K-12 student who was attending school on that day to visit the wall and to meet with us. Without belaying the point, it was possibly the most therapeutic thing that has happened to me in fifty years.

Aroostook County did its bit during those turbulent times. Of the 50, 300 plus names on

the Wall, 32 were from county (one of them was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously) and several of them I knew personally. I have done a lot of research into the war and was surprised to learn that of the first three soldiers killed in the war two were from my hometown of Caribou. Captain Roger Gauvin was killed when the helicopter he was flying crashed as a result of enemy fire on March 15, 1964 (historians mark the beginning of the Vietnam War as March 8, 1965 when the Marines landed at Danang, even though the Veteran’s Administration considers the period 1955 to 1975 as the Vietnam War Era. However, US troops were in Vietnam as early as 1945, as a result of the ending of World War II. Lt. Col. A. Peter Dewey, head of an American OSS mission, was killed by Vietminh troops and became the first American soldier to die in Vietnam. Richard Bubar,

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Richard P. Bubar, Third Maine soldier to die in Vietnam. KIA November 1, 1964. His family and mine were close.

a friend and the first KIA I knew personally, died on November 1, 1964. It has been said that the Afghanistan Police Action is the longest in U. S. history. An argument can be made that the Vietnam War went on for thirty years and is still the longest military action in U. S. history.

In total Caribou, Maine was to lose six of its sons during the war. The event planners had

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Donald S. Skidgel. Awarded Medal of Honor. KIA September 14, 1969.

posters made with each of their pictures and had placed them along the Wall making the experience more meaningful to the students and visitors. Putting a face to the name hit home.

During the two days that I spent at the wall, especially when I met with the students, it suddenly dawned on me that I have reached that point in my life that events that I lived through and participated in are now being taught in history classes–talk about feeling old!

In an earlier post I expressed the difficulty I had responding when someone thanked me for my service. After the way those students in a small northern Maine town greeted me I can finally say: “You’re welcome…and I’d do it again.”

As a final note:

As many of you may know I am the Commandant of the local Marine Corps League Detachment. This year we are having a fund raiser concert to support the Toys For Tots program. Toys For Tots was founded in 1947 as the primary charity of the Marine Corps Reserve. In Maine the only reserve unit is based in Brunswick at the former naval air station. my detachment has tried to fill in the void by assisting TFT in its mission. Last year we distributed toys to over 2,600 children in northern Aroostook County. We were able to do this by raising over four thousand dollars in a November 10 concert (November 10 is the Marine Corps birthday) featuring Georgette Jones, the daughter of country music superstars Tammy Wynette and George Jones. More than half of the profit raised was sent to the TFT national headquarters. This year our concert will be held on November 9 (we selected the November date because of the proximity to Veteran’s Day and the USMC birthday) and will feature Billy Dean a country music top ten recording artist.

We are currently attempting to raise money to pay for Mr. Dean and would greatly appreciate any support we can get. If you are able to help us with a donation please do so. Make any checks out to The Marine Corps League (any amount will be a help) and mail it to me at:

Vaughn Hardacker P. O. Box 121, Stockholm, ME 04783-0121.

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Weekend Update: August 24-25, 2019

[image error]Next week at Maine Crime Writers, there will be posts by Vaughn Hardacker (Monday), Bruce Coffin (Tuesday), Charlene D’Avanzo (Thursday) and John Clark (Friday).

In the news department, here’s what’s happening with some of us who blog regularly at Maine Crime Writers:

[image error]August 27 marks the release of the mass-market paperback edition of Kaitlyn Dunnett’s Overkilt,#12 in the Liss MacCrimmon Mystery Series. It’s already available in hardcover and e-book formats. Always interesting to me are the small changes the publisher makes in the cover from one edition to another. The basic scene is the same for this one, but my name and the title are highlighted with a stripe of green that wasn’t there on the hardcover version.

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Designing Women craft show, Manchester, Maine.

Maureen Milliken and Sandy Neilly will be at the Desinging Women Craft Show from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. The weather is always awesome, and the show is a juried one with lots of great items, Hello Good Pie, the excellent and popular Belgrade bakery will also be selling sweet stuff. Come on and say hi to Maureen and Sandy (Sandy may not be able to make it, full disclosure).

The $2 admission goes to the Sexual Assault Support and Crisis Center in Winthrop, which serves victims of assault in Kennebec and Somerset counties, so it’s for a good cause, too. The show happens rain or shine, but it’s always a beautiful day! Longfellow’s is on Puddledock Road in Manchester, just west of Augusta and easy to find off exit 109 of Interstate 95.

 

 

An invitation to readers of this blog: Do you have news relating to Maine, Crime, or Writing? We’d love to hear from you. Just comment below to share.

And a reminder: If your library, school, or organization is looking for a speaker, we are often available to talk about the writing process, research, where we get our ideas, and other mysteries of the business. Contact Kate Flora

Short and Sweet

Dorothy Cannell: My husband Julian and I like to plan our vacations well in advance. [image error] This is doable because we don’t toddle off from home very often and we relish the plotting and planning stage.  A year ago we talked to our friends Cathy Pickens and her husband Bob about attending the St. Hilda’s mystery conference in Oxford this August.  Julian and I have been once before, but this would be their first time, although they go frequently to England.  They were hugely enthusiastic.  Lots of emails back and forth and major fine tuning at Malice this year.

Julian decided in May that it was time to book our fares.  This enterprise took four or five days.  Should we fly into Gatwick or Heathrow?  The timing had to be worked out to link up with Cathy and Bob who are flying from North Carolina to meet us at Boston.  Reports were made to me hourly.  Even in the middle of the night a voice would mutter in my ear:  “I’m leaning to flying Norwegian, but …”  It was all settled, then it wasn’t, settled again, then scratched. Finally, he emerged glowing with triumph.  He had found a fabulous fare.  British Airways, $380 round trip, Boston – Heathrow.  I told him he was my hero.  And I was delighted.   His fiscal responsibility, a favorite phrase of his, meant I could return home with a caseload of English goodies.  Instantly I started on my list of essentials.

A Marks & Spencer Christmas cake

6 Bakewell tarts

2 Malt bread

4 Battenberg cakes

12 Crunchies

1lb Aniceseed balls

[image error]Alas, A couple of weeks ago my hopes of bringing the England I love home with me were dashed.   We were having dinner at the home of a couple who have become our closest local friends.  Malcolm is English and Carol has lived there on and off through the years, making them particularly interested in our upcoming trip, what we would be doing, where we would be going, etc..  After several minutes of this sort of discussion, Julian tossed out the “amazingly low air fares he’d snatched seemingly out of ‘thin air’.

Carol and Malcolm were suitably amazed.

“Do you have to push the plane off the runway?” Malcolm asked.

“Would it be quicker for you to go by ship?” Enquired Carol.

“Everything just as usual,” said Julian with that beam in his eye.  No limitations, other than you have to pay sixty dollars per suitcase you put through. But that’s no problem.  We’re only going for ten days so carry-ons will be fine.”

Pregnant silence, before I squeaked … squealed out a response.

“You never told me about that little quirk.”

“I’m sure I did?”  Apprehensive smile.

“I’m sure you didn’t.”  If the coffee pot had been handy I’d have tapped him on the head with it.

“We’ll set up a Go-Fund-Me page for you,” said Carol.

Being placed in this pathetic position quite put me off the wonderful dessert she had made, and I could tell Malcolm was wondering what he could say that would douse the blaze in my eyes.  Suddenly I saw the scene in a mystery novel setting – Carol and Malcolm being questioned by Detective Inspector Snarlish following an unpleasant event.

“You say she was angry. How angry?”

“This is so difficult … she’s a friend. Our dogs are friends.”

“If looks could kill angry?”

“We didn’t have our glasses on and the dining room light fixture was on the dimmer.”

“You know we could continue this conversation down at the station.”

I blinked back to reality to hear Julian saying that of course I could put my suitcase through, the sixty dollars was nothing.

Fiscal responsibility is not to me one of the Ten Commandments, but that’s not why I about-faced by saying a carry-on would be fine. I just couldn’t burst his ‘I’ve got a bargain bubble’.  I’ve had those moments of rapture myself – pair of slacks marked down from $70 to $4. Ruined if there if there had been an added cost for alterations.  Besides I’ve had my put-through luggage lost more than I can count.

I am writing this ahead of the blog due date because we will be gone then.  I’m all packed with room to spare for the books I hope to find along with the edibles.

Happy reading,

Dorothy.

The ‘feral’ cats and a thought on writing good characters

I’d been waiting in line for nearly two hours at the Waterville Humane Shelter Saturday when I finally was let into the cat area to see the cats. It was “clear the shelter” day and by the time my number came up, there weren’t many left — which is a good thing for the cats.

I’d wanted one, maybe two, females (I’d had a fella with some spraying issues in the past), but all the “normal” cats left were male.

“We do have some females in the feral room,” the young woman I thought of as my facilitator said.

Even though she said it with the unsaid tag “that you probably wouldn’t want to adopt,” I didn’t hesitate. “Let’s take a look,” I said.

Shelters have a tough job and they want to make sure people leave with a pet that’s a good fit, one the adopter will keep. I understand when they describe “feral” cats in the bleakest possible terms to potential new families. But I also have a lot of experience with cats, and know the really feral ones are spayed and released back into their feral colony.

The cats in this room were a collection of strays, hoarded cats and those who didn’t interact socially when they were brought in. They were quiet, each sitting in his or her own milk crate, some curled on shelves along the walls. None moving or making any noise.

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Milo, in the feral room, with Penny snuggled behind him.

The room smelled about like what you’d expect that room to smell like.

I sat on the bench and watched them as they watched me. I listened to the faciliators describe the cats to other potential adopters in the same bleak terms. Most of those people,  mostly families with kids, took a pass after getting the low down.

The cats all seemed sad, resigned to living in a spare smelly room with a bunch of other cats they didn’t know, and maybe didn’t like. Who could blame them for being antisocial?

I finally settled on a couple — a handsome Maine coon boy and the little tortie girl snuggled behind him, hiding so well that I didn’t see her until the shelter volunteer pointed her out.

I know cats dropped at a shelter can have issues. In the past, besides the farm cat, side-of-the-road cats, kitten-giveway cats I’ve had, I also had one from a hoarder situation I was told “would never be friendly.” Within months she was the most affection cat I’d ever had. I also had two shelter dogs I was told had rough backgrounds and needed a lot of TLC to overcome issues who became the two best dogs ever.

“Feral” is a word that naturally strikes a chord with people, and not a good one. But I know that cats, like people, are more complicated than their label. Driving home with two silent cats in carriers, the writer in me turned that over and chewed on it.

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Penny gets ready to leave the shelter for her new home. This is the best look I’ve had of her in the five days since I adopted her.

Sometimes when writing characters it’s easier to trot out a label and expect the reader to fill in the blank. We read [or hear] a word, and settle on a conclusion and that’s that.

I’d not too long ago read a book that did that with many of its secondary characters, and I found it largely unsatisfying. I often chew over books that fell short or bothered me, sometimes for a long time. I figure dissecting them helps my own writing. Driving home with my “feral” cats, the dissatisfaction with that recent book found its target.

At the shelter, I’d barely listened to the feral descriptions because I knew the cats’ personalities went much deeper than their label. It became clear as I questioned several different people at the shelter that no one knew much about what either cat was really like. I’ve edited or mentored writers who had the same issue when I’ve asked them to desribe characters, and my advice is always the same — scrap the superficial label and figure out who the character really is.

Feral is a necessary description for a shelter that wants to make sure people know the worst-case scenario when they’re adopting.

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Milo likes to check things out from the stop of the stairs.

When writing, it’s more important to know what’s behind the label. If you’re going to label a character, but then explore whether the label fits, fine. Don’t you find that in most good books, it turns out the person wasn’t what he or she was labeled at all?

Other good books dispense with the label altogether. And to clarify, I’m not specifically discussing “feral,” but any cliche label that’s used as shorthand to describe a character.

By fully getting to know who characters are, it makes the story and plot come a lot easier.

In the five days I’ve had the cats, who are now Milo and Penny, Milo has shown himself to be a funny boy who’s wary of me, but curious. He likes scattering cat toys around the house, tends to wander into whatever room I’m in, at least at night, and from the first night seems to sense when I”m going to bed and lounges on the stop step, waiting. Then, of course, he runs away when I come up the stairs.

I have yet to get a good look at Penny. She’s been hiding. I don’t blame her. I look forward to getting to know her. I have a feeling her character is going to be pretty interesting.

Just like writing good characters, it takes a little work and a lot of time, but the story ends up being so much better.

Tree Noise, Eagle Conversations, and Other Delights

This summer, aside from hosting waves of family who treat us to lobster (yum, but am thinking just salads now) and beating back waves of bugs (worst insect season in decades, right?), I’ve been having a genuine outdoors summer: either in the garden, or off in quiet places where I hear only trees, or writing about the outdoors and … bald eagles.

So, in no particular order, I’d like to share some northern summer: my garden, outdoor haunts, and a bald eagle conversation. (Wishing you special tree noise places.)[image error]

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High above Moosehead Lake

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Deer love phlox. Milorganite fertilizer keeps them away!

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(Narrator Patton in an excerpt from Deadly Trespass, due out this fall: find 1st three chapters, here.

I didn’t see the deer carcass on the far side of the beaver dam until a bald eagle landed on it and picked at it. Each jab of his curved beak brought up something red and stringy. He may have been eating, but his intense yellow eyes tracked every move I made.

He wasn’t bald. White feathers overlapped his head and cascaded around his shoulders in a fashionable shag haircut. His feet looked like bright yellow rain boots with knives at each toe. I had a flash of a James Bond movie where sharp, lethal objects snap out of everyday objects and kill people. A bit of white brow sagged over each eye, gathering darkness into his stare.

I reached down to scratch my ankle, and he swiveled his head almost 180 degrees until both eyes locked onto mine—eyes so close across his narrow skull they didn’t even look cross-eyed. They just looked like the most intelligent, pissed off person I’ve ever seen. [image error]The huge bird had eyes that didn’t blink, not even when I sat on a log and hung my feet over the edge of the dam into the pond. Not even when I pulled off my shirt, dragged it in pond water, and put it back on wet.

The eagle was offering a serious inquisition from a top predator to someone lower and more lackluster in the food chain. I felt like I was about to get arrested, so I thought about being polite. That looks tasty. Bet that’s something yummy the boy who lives here left you. Don’t worry about me. I’ve got a granola bar.

No closer. I already spared you once when you arrived.

Got it. You on personal terms with the boy?

I watch him. He watches me. He leaves me meat when he finds it on the road.

You can vouch for him?

How many humans of any age can do what the boy does?

The eagle and I watched a beaver rise from the pond and slap its tail on the water—a warning to his family about outsiders. I shifted on my log perch wondering if these beavers were safe. I’d heard it took about eight minutes for a beaver to drown in a trap—maybe in front of its frantic mate.

I watched it carve a smooth water trail with a swinging tail until it dove back into the pond. The eagle ripped off more red pieces, and I turned toward him. Did you know beavers mate for life? Even I wasn’t good at that.

Death will come when it will come.

Oh, great. An eagle spouting a line from Shakespeare. OK. OK. So far, my only real trapping experience has been my dog bloodied in a trap and now thinking about how that beaver might die. It’s too much.

Too much what? Too much red tooth and claw?

Yes.

The eagle ripped more flesh and gave it a slight toss so he could catch it in the air. Tooth and claw everywhere. Your kind doesn’t even eat what it kills.[image error]

He buried his head in the carcass, and I turned my face into the sun, feeling the edge of cool as shadows grew longer over the pond. At the sound of a rough engine, the bird grabbed a stringy chunk and struggled to lift it and himself into the air.

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How do moose know when Daylilies bloom?

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Sandy’s novel “Deadly Trespass, A Mystery in Maine,” was a recent finalist in the Maine Literary Awards, a recipient of a Mystery Writers of America national award, a national finalist in the Women’s Fiction Writers Association “Rising Star” contest, and a runner- up in Maine’s Joy of the Pen competition. She lives in the Maine woods and says she’d rather be “fly fishing, skiing remote trails, paddling near loons, or just generally out there.” Find more info on the trailer and her website.

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What’s New?

Thank you so much for asking! It’s shaping up to be a busy fall here at Maine Clambake Mysteries Central.

[image error]First up, Haunted House Murder releases on August 27 . This the third in a series of holiday novella collections by Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis and me–and this time the holiday is halloween.

My story in the collection is “Hallowed Out,” about a haunted house trolley tour and a reenactment of a famous Busman’s Harbor murder that goes horribly awry. Naturally, Julia Snowden is in the thick of it.

The book will be available in hardcover, ebook, large print and audiobook editions. I really enjoyed writing it and I hope you enjoy this latest installment in the Snowden family mysteries.

[image error]Next up, on September 24, comes the mass market paperback of Yule Log Murder. This is also a novella collection, themed around Yule Log cakes. I’m always anxious to see what my fellow authors, Leslie Meier and Lee Hollis, will do with the theme and I wasn’t disappointed.

When the paperback comes out, there is also usually a price drop for the ebook. Yule Log Murder is also available in large print and audio editions.

Yule Log Murder was named as a Best Book of 2018 by Suspense Magazine and its fans and was named the Coziest Book of the Year 2018 by the All Things Cozy podcast.

[image error]On October 29, Kensington is releasing “Nogged Off,” my novella from Eggnog Murder as a standalone ebook. Don’t buy this ebook if you already own Eggnog Murder as it is the same story.

I’m excited about this chance for readers who only know the Maine Clambake Mysteries from the novels to access this story via ebook. In the Snowden family universe this story takes place between Fogged Inn and Iced Under. I’ve written elsewhere about how happy I was to be asked to write a novella about eggnog and holiday murder.

“…a creepily convincing tale of tinsel-decked, cookie-scented psychopathology.” Publishers Weekly, (Starred Review).

[image error]Finally, on December 31, comes Sealed Off, the latest novel in the Maine Clambake Mystery series. Here’s the description.

Early October is “winding down” time in Busman’s Harbor, Maine, but there’s nothing relaxing about it for Julia Snowden. Between busloads of weekend leaf peepers at the Snowden Family Clambake and a gut renovation of the old mansion on Morrow Island, she’s keeping it all together with a potentially volatile skeleton crew—until one of them turns up dead under the firewood.

When the Russian demo team clearing out the mansion discovers a room that’s been sealed off for decades, Julia’s baffled as to its purpose and what secrets it might have held. Tensions are already simmering with the crew, but when one of the workers is found murdered, things come to a boil. With the discovery of another body—and a mysterious diary with Cyrillic text in the hidden room—the pressure’s on Julia to dig up a real killer fast. But she’ll have to sort through a pile of suspects, including ex-spouses, a spurned lover, and a recently released prisoner, to fish out one clammed-up killer.

So as you can tell, it’s going to be a busy fall. I also have two manuscripts due after the first of the year. So if you don’t see me around much, that’s why!

Weekend Update: August 17-18, 2019

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Next week at Maine Crime Writers, there will be posts by Barb Ross (Monday), Sandra Neily (Tuesday), Maureen Milliken (Thursday) and Dorothy Cannell (Friday).

On Monday, August 19th, Kate Flora and MCW alum Gerry Boyle will be at the Kennebunk Free Library at 6:00 p.m.

Maine Crime Writers lost one of our founding members this past week. Lea Wait was a good friend as well as a wonderful writer and so we’d like to share some our memories of her here.

Bruce Robert Coffin: Lea Wait was a true friend and inspiration to many. Her passing leaves a large void in the Maine crime writing community. One of the first people I turned to when it looked like my journey to publication would finally happen, Lea provided me with sage advice.

Whether she was battling life, cancer, or a manuscript deadline, Lea always faced the challenge courageously, and head on. My last conversation with Lea occurred while she was in the hospital following a heart attack. Even then her attitude was positive and she remained focused on overcoming another obstacle.  I will always remember traveling to the last several Malice Domestic conferences, sharing conversation, a plane ride, and a cab with Lea and Kathy Lynn Emerson.

Rest In Peace, my friend.

Brenda Buchanan: Lea was a storyteller, through and through. She was a skilled and prolific writer of cozy mysteries, historical mysteries and novels for kids aged eight to fourteen. Her books reflected her knowledge of Maine history, antique prints and needlepoint. She also wrote non-fiction about her life with artist Bob Thomas (Living and Writing on the Coast of Maine) and won an award for poetry when she was young. If you’ve read her work, you’ve had the pleasure of spending time in the worlds she created with such a deft hand.

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Lea was front and center at the 2019 Crime Wave, sharing her insights during a panel discussion with past and present MCW bloggers Chris Holm, James Hayman, Bruce Coffin and me.

It makes all kinds of sense that Lea became a writer because she loved, loved, loved a good story. To spend an hour or two chatting with Lea was to be entertained from start to finish. I was honored to hear tell of her adventures raising four daughters as a single parent, her determination to kick free of the corporate world and live full-time in the beautiful, historic Maine home that had been in her family for generations and her long love affair with Bob. Her wit, energy and  ability to captivate with words led to her to write, and her success was as inevitable as the tide.

I admired Lea for her insight, her courage, her pragmatic worldview and am so grateful to have had her in my life.  

Kaitlyn Dunnett/Kathy Lynn Emerson: I first met Lea way back in April 2003 when we did a talk and signing at a tea sponsored by the English Society at UMA. Her Bob and my Sandy met then, too, both schlepping books for the authors. I won’t say we immediately became best friends, but that was certainly the start of a long and valued friendship, both professionally and personally.

[image error]We didn’t live close enough to each other for many visits to each other’s houses–Maine is a BIG state–but we saw each other at dozens of mystery conferences over the years and we kept in regular touch by e-mail. Together with Kate and Barb, Lea and I were among the founding members of this blog. Back in the early days, the four of us [image error]had a memorable lunch in Portland to discuss where Maine Crime Writers was going next. A few years later, we got together for an equally memorable writers’ retreat. Those memories, and memories of talking late into the night when Lea and I roomed together at Malice Domestic and at other conferences, will be with me forever.

She was a wonderful writer, a true friend, and an inspiration on how to live life to the fullest.

 

Kate Flora: I first met Lea Wait when she was my student in a mystery writing class I taught for Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance. As she became a member of the crime writing community, we became good friends. There were so many impressive things about Lea as well as her writing. Her dedication to her readers and the way she assiduously maintained a mailing list and notified them of new books. The way she

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Kate, Barb, Kathy/Kaitlyn and Lea, Malice 2014

shared her life with all of us–the ups and the downs–so that we could all feel we knew her and were her friends. Her brilliant and far-ranging mind and her curiosity about things. The depth of her historical research and how she brought history to life in her books. And anyone who knew Lea could vouch for the fact that she was a fascinating conversationalist. I used to volunteer to drive her to book events just to hear her talk. I loved both Lea and Bob, even have three of Bob’s paintings, which I understand makes me a collector, and will miss them. The beauty of Lea’s being a writer, though, means that a part of her, and her voice, remains through her work.

Dick Cass:  I first spent any concentrated time with Lea after her diagnosis, when I gave her a ride to last year’s Crime Bake. My first thought, after arriving in Woburn that Friday was this: “My God, that woman could talk for the Olympic team.” And then I realized how much I’d learned in that two hour ride about her, writing, and being a professional in this crazy business. Later on, when Anne and I visited in Edgecomb, I was struck that her largest worry seemed to be whether to sign a contract to write more books. What she accomplished in the last year was a great testament to her work ethic.

Through all this time, though, I’ve been most struck by her grace and courage in the face of very difficult times: loss of her husband Bob, her own initial diagnosis (with its eventual ambiguities), the chemo sessions, the broken ankle, and then, as if her body hadn’t been insulted enough, the recent heart attack. And yet the first thing I heard from her in the Cardiac Unit was this complaint: “I’m bored. I don’t have anything to read.” I delivered a stack of books and enjoyed her being very direct with a senior cardiologist about what was and was not going to happen. No one who knew her would be surprised by that.

Her absence leaves a very large hole in this tribe of ours.

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Lea makes sure the display is just right before the Belgrade Holiday Craft Show in December 2015.

Maureen Milliken: I knew who Lea was, but hadn’t had much interaction with her until we started selling books at craft shows together. It was an eye-opener. If a passserby showed the least bit of interest, Lea was in action, pitching. She had it down. It was a little scary at first. She’d encourage me to do the same with my books, but I’ve never really gotten the hang of it. She’d pitch mine for me, though, and made them sound better than I ever could. She also had the best stuff for setting up a display, and she was generous with it.

A year ago last spring, at Malice Domestic, I was in the nearly empty bar during the banquet — I was a rookie and didn’t realize that EVERYONE went to the banquet — when Lea came in. Her husband had recently died and she said the dinner had tired her out. We sat and talked for some time. She was sad, but philosophical. Once she was diagnosed, every time I talked to her, she was upbeat and matter of fact. I learned a lot from Lea about selling books, dealing with the public and living as a writer, but the best lesson she gave was just how to live. I will truly miss her.

Barb: I am laughing and crying reading these remembrances. Lea was a talker! But she was never boring or monopolizing. She wanted to hear about you, too. I’ve talked in other places about Lea and Bob’s impact on my life–my writing life and my life-life. I will miss her terribly, but I am so happy to have the books, three of Bob’s paintings (I guess we’re collectors, too!) and, of course, my memories.

An invitation to readers of this blog: Do you have news relating to Maine, Crime, or Writing? We’d love to hear from you. Just comment below to share.

And a reminder: If your library, school, or organization is looking for a speaker, we are often available to talk about the writing process, research, where we get our ideas, and other mysteries of the business. Contact Kate Flora

A Baker’s Dozen

[image error]Kaitlyn Dunnett here, today celebrating the fact that all twelve of my Liss MacCrimmon mysteries published to date are on sale this month in e-book format. Yes, I know that a “baker’s dozen” is actually thirteen. Number thirteen in the series, A View to a Kilt, will be out early next year. Thirteen books, by the way, is a pretty good run for any traditionally published mystery series. Back when I started writing series mysteries, most of my fellow authors were delighted when continuing characters and settings they created lasted more than four books. A lot of series never made it past two.

But I digress. You probably want to know more about those sale prices. Kensington frequently runs promotions with the cozy mysteries it publishes, sometimes by author and other times by theme. The Liss MacCrimmon mysteries on sale for the entire month of August fit into both categories. Here’s the scoop, book by book, in order of publication:

Kilt Dead, regularly $6.64, is on sale for $1.99

Scone Cold Dead, regularly $6.64, is on sale for $1.99

A Wee Christmas Homicide, regularly $6.64, is on sale for $1.99

The Corpse Wore Tartan, regularly $18.70, is on sale for $2.99

Scotched, regularly $7.59, is on sale for $1.99

Bagpipes, Brides, and Homicides, regularly $7.59, is on sale for $1.99

Vampires, Bones, and Treacle Scones, regularly $7.59, is on sale for $1.99

Ho-Ho-Homicide, regularly $7.59, is on sale for $1.99

The Scottie Barked at Midnight, regularly $7.59, is on sale for $1.99

Kilt at the Highland Games, regularly $7.59, is on sale for $1.99

X Marks the Scot, regularly $7.59, is on sale for $ .99 (a Book Bub promotion)

Overkilt, out in paperback reprint format on August 27, has been reduced from $22.10 to $2.99

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As a special bonus, the first book in my newest series, Crime & Punctuation, is also on sale in August. The price is $2.99, down from $13.56, and it’s part of Kensington’s “It’s Never the Wrong Time to Get Cozy” promotion which features all first-in-series cozies.

You may have noticed that the regular prices are all odd amounts, and that some of them are exorbitantly high for an e-book. I don’t understand how these prices are determined any more than the average reader does. The publisher is the one who sets the prices, not me. I will note, however, that books that regularly sell for $3.99 or $4.99, and have never been priced any higher are (generally speaking) either self-published or electronic editions of older titles (or both).

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What about free e-books, you ask? “Free” can be explained in a number of ways, especially if the book on offer is the first in a series. In that case, the hope is that readers will be hooked and buy the rest of the books in the series at full price. I’m not saying that a higher price guarantees a more professionally written and produced novel, but in some ways the old adages “you get what you pay for” and “buyer beware” certainly apply to e-books. Personally, I am willing to pay more for an author whose work I know. I’ll take a chance on a free book by a writer I’ve never heard of only if I’ve heard from someone I trust that it’s a good read. Reading samples before buying is always a good idea. And those reader reviews on Amazon and elsewhere? I’d take them with a grain of salt. The good ones may well be written by friends of the author, especially if the book is self-published with Create Space or some other “you too can be an author” platform. The bad ones are equally likely to be written by some frustrated wanna-be writer who is jealous of someone else’s perceived success.

I seem to have gone off-topic a bit, although it is all related to the e-book marketplace. I’ll end by simply saying that although none of the books listed above are free, they are now inexpensive enough to give one a try, especially if you haven’t yet visited Liss MacCrimmon’s Moosetookalook, Maine and the many eccentric characters who inhabit it.

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With the June 2019 publication of Clause & Effect, Kathy Lynn Emerson/Kaitlyn Dunnett will have had sixty books traditionally published. She won the Agatha Award and was an Anthony and Macavity finalist for best mystery nonfiction of 2008 for How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries and was an Agatha Award finalist in 2015 in the best mystery short story category. She was the Malice Domestic Guest of Honor in 2014. Currently she writes the contemporary Liss MacCrimmon Mysteries and the “Deadly Edits” series as Kaitlyn. As Kathy, her most recent book is a collection of short stories, Different Times, Different Crimes. Her websites are www.KaitlynDunnett.com and www.KathyLynnEmerson.com and she maintains a website about women who lived in England between 1485 and 1603 at A Who’s Who of Tudor Women.