Rebecca Cantrell's Blog, page 10

Why All Series Should Be Trilogies

A series should always be a trilogy. Who has ever heard of a du-ology? And bi-ology is something quite different. What about a quadrology? Pentology? Nope. Clearly if there is no word for it, it just can't be.

And trilogy is a versatile term. "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" is a four book trilogy. So is "Lord of the Rings," if you count "The Hobbit." Those are some successful quadrologies. The "Harry Potter" books are a septology, which doesn't quite sound as naughty as a sextology...

Literary Influences

Which author, book and/or movie has influenced you the most?

by Rebecca Cantrell

I know you probably expect me to list some great literary fiction that I love, like Doris Lessing and Elie Wiesel. Or maybe thriller writers I've gotten into lately, like James Rollins and Brent Ghelfi. Or maybe mystery writers that make me think, like Anne Perry or Arianna Franklin. And all of those would be perfectly true.

But I'm going to talk instead about books I read aloud, because they've influenced me a...

Sure it's research, but the food is good

If I could invite three characters to dinner, who would they be and what would be on the menu?

I've been feeling cut off from my German inspiration here on the island, so I would have a German night.

[image error]The menu would be provided by Laslzo from "Gloomy Sunday: Ein Lied von Liebe und Tod." It would be his famous rouladen with gravy, potato dumplings, red cabbage and Brussel sprouts.To my right would be any role that Sebastian Koch has ever played (if CJ gets George Clooney…). He could be that...

Sam Spade in a Cage Match with Precious Ramotswe

by Rebecca Cantrell

On the left, wearing a rumpled trench coat and reeking of Scotch, is Sam Spade. He's a tough looking customer, with the face to prove it. But he's out of his element without his trusty gun. Still, it's not going to be easy to take him down. In his corner, he has Effie, his disillusioned secretary. She looks as likely to stuff the threadbare towel down his throat as throw it in. One red lacquered fingernail taps against the liquor bottle.

On the right is a large figure covered

Worse Than Sex Scenes

This is the post I've been dreading writing. I'd sooner admit to my criminal past (OK, I actually finessed that one), than write about my favorite book.
It's not that I don't read. I do. I read constantly. I'm currently reading:
•    HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISON OF AZKABAN (aloud. All the Harry Potters are much funnier that way. I'm sure they'd be even better if I could do accents).
•    FIVE QUARTS (a great collection of essays on blood. Wonderful historical background and a sweet love story too.)
•

Herding Cats

Do I control my characters or do they control me?

By Rebecca Cantrell

I control most of my characters as much as I control my housecat. The cat and the characters usually come when I call. I can pick them up and move them around, but they don't stay where I put them unless they really wanted to go there. I have things that I want them to do, and if I'm very clever, they do those things.

I also have memories of cats and characters gone by. They've done what they've done and I have to make peace wit

Where I Like to Write

Ah, this one's more complicated than it looks. I grew up with four siblings and it seems like we constantly have house guests or extras around. So, I like to write anywhere that no one is poking me, talking to me, waving their arms, sitting on my hands while I type (you know how you are), talking loudly on the phone, asking for food, handing me papers to sign, standing around with bandaids or pressing medical issues, crying, or just in general expecting me to interact with them. This means I usu

Criminal Writerly Habits

Do I have criminal habits?

I have some habits that would be considered criminal in writer's court, punishable by not getting as much writing done as I think I should. Here are the top 5, in reverse order. Try not to be too shocked.

5. Bitching about promotion. I hate it. We all hate it (except for Kelli, but I forgive her because she[image error]'s so darn nice when I complain about it). So, maybe I could just shut up about it. Enough said.

4. Remembering only the bad reviews. I got almost uniformly great rev

Outline or wing it?

Both.

There. Done. My shortest blog post ever.

More details? It won't be pretty.

Don't tell my editor, but I write the first 50 pages blind. I have no idea who the characters are or what they will do. Because I write historical fiction, I know when and where they'll be, and have researched the era and place for hours and hours and hours and…you get the picture. I have some ideas of cool or truly awful historical events and facts I want to look at, but that's all.

After I finish those 50 pages I read

Criminal past

Not having an actual criminal past that I am willing to admit to on the Internet, I decided to talk about the crimes that started me down the road to publication.

When I was on Spring Break near Munich, I skipped out on Oktoberfest and went to Dachau. Wind moaned through the open wooden barracks. I shivered in my 1980s fashionable black leather ankle boots, transfixed by pictures of some of the greatest crimes against humanity ever perpetrated. One wall held a row of colored triangles: yellow, re