Mollie Cox Bryan's Blog, page 24

Teaching at the Roanoke Regional Writer's Conference

I had the opportunity to teach at the Roanoke Regional Writer's Conference on Saturday. I love teaching to a crowd of "students" that really want to learn about writing. I'm not sure I'd have the patience to teach a group of people–say high schoolers– who didn't really want to be in my class.

My class was about mystery writing and it was great fun. I like to engage the students rather than just lecture, which usually means I run out of time. We went over the different subgenres of mystery and I asked them to think about which one they are writing in. I also asked them to come up with one sentence to describe their idea. Of course, they were all fabulous and I found myself in awe of this group. I told them to keep me posted about their careers–and I meant it. If I can help them out in any way, I will. It's a tough business and sometimes it's hard to stay focused on what's important and WHY we write, especially when we are new at it and trying to find our voice, along with getting frustrated by the way the publishing business operates. Try not to think about agents and publishers and your Twitter accounts when you're actually writing, I tell them. You have so much to learn in the mean time. It's so important to learn the craft and to enjoy learning it.

Take your time. It is fleeting.

Five things I thought about during my morning run:

1. My Zumba moment over at Killer Hobbies.

2. Roanoke Regional Writer's Conference. I'll only be gone one night. Why does it seem like I have to pack for a week?

3. Barry White singing "I Can't get enough of your love.." over my iPod. What a voice.

4. Great morning for a run. Just warm enough, not too warm. I prefer running outside to anything. But I can't do it everyday because it's hell on my joints.

5. Oatmeal. Yum.

Five things I thought about during my morning run:

1. My character Annie's blog post over at Killer Characters. What fun to write.

2. Both girls sick this morning. And I am struggling. Yesterday, I thought I kicked it.

3. Two weeks from today SCRAPBOOK OF SECRETS is released. Woot!

4. Running is getting harder–I'd rather Zumba. I need to find a way to crank the running back UP.

5. Downton Abbey. I just love it.

Five things I thought about during my morning run:

1. Hey old guy, stop looking at me like that as you huff and puff on that treadmill. Oh wait. You're probably my age. But still.

2. So now I'm doing Zumba three times a week and running three times a week. Taking one day off.

3. This is pretty cool. My publisher asked me to design a scrapbook page for them to giveaway. The photo is not that good but still it's a clever idea. They are also giving away a $25 scrapbooking gift card. You have to LIKE their FB page. Here it is: http://bit.ly/AgDeSf

4. It's always a good day when you're called "Sweet thing."

5. Emma's audition today. Should be interesting.

Year of Change

I put off doing that thing that a lot of bloggers and writers seem to do around the turning of the new year. I don't like making yearly resolutions. I prefer a daily resolve—my life surrounds two children and being flexible is the best I can do, sometimes. So a New Year's resolutions feels like I'm setting myself up for failure. Don't want that.

But the year does bring changes for me—big changes. Not only am I a debut novelist, now I have two weekly deadlines, along with writing my fiction. I've taken on a gig with the Daily News Leader in Staunton, Va., as the restaurant critic and food columnist. What a fabulous opportunity.

Also, I'm blogging weekly at Killer Hobbies, with a bevy of other writers who have written craft-centered mysteries. It's an interesting mix of subjects and a lively group of writers.

In between my weekly deadlines, I try to work on the third novel in my series, but these days a lot of what I'm doing is gearing up for the launch of the first book, SCRAPBOOK OF SECRETS. Just to give you an idea of how these series work, I'm expecting the edits on the second book to come in soon. So, as I gearing up to promote the first in the series, and am writing the third in the series, I'll be in edits for second. Got that?

But I'm having a blast. There's nothing else I'd rather be doing than writing my books and columns. It's going to be a great year. I can feel it. What does your year look like? Any big changes coming your way?

Can Murder Be Funny? by Lois Winston

When I tell people I write humorous amateur sleuth mysteries, they often respond with looks of horror. How can murder be funny? Even within the mystery writing community some people have very strong opinions regarding this particular sub-genre. They find nothing humorous about murder. Personally, neither do I. However, I do find that it usually helps to have a sense of humor to get through much of what life throws at you, and I try to convey that in the way my characters approach life. (I also prefer to read books that make me laugh, rather than have me constantly checking the locks on all my windows and doors!)

So when I began writing mysteries, I knew I wanted to write humorous amateur sleuth mysteries, not police procedurals or dark, gritty serial killer fare. I get enough of that reading my daily newspaper and watching the evening news.

I like to make my readers laugh, even if they're reading about a murder investigation. That's why, when I killed off the fashion editor in Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun, the first book in my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries, I did so with a hot glue gun. And when I killed off a TV executive in Death By Killer Mop Doll, the second book in the series, I used a knitting needle. After all, anyone can kill off a victim with a Glock or a Ginsu knife, but how many killers use a glue gun or a knitting needle?

My mystery series is also populated with a cast of zany characters. I love taking polar opposites and throwing them together to create conflict. My protagonist has a mother who believes she descends from Russian royalty and a mother-in-law who's a staunch communist. Not only are they both living under Anastasia's roof, they're forced to share a bedroom. Zany characters + conflict = humor. Even though it's in the confines of a murder mystery.

The problem with writing humor, though, is that you never know if your readership will "get it." For me, writing humor is the second hardest part of writing a mystery. The first part is creating a story where you keep your readers guessing as to the identity of the killer. As the author, I have to know who the killer is. So it's difficult for me to be objective. Did I leave too many clues? Not enough? The worst thing in the world is to have your readers figure out whodunit by the third or fourth chapter into the book.

Humor is very subjective, though. I've written scenes where I've laughed out loud as I've typed, then again each time I reread the scene. However, I never know if others will find those scenes funny and always hold my breath, fingers crossed, once the book is released.

So you can imagine how absolutely thrilled I was when Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun received starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly and Booklist, with Publishers Weekly stating, "Crafty cozies don't get any better than this hilarious confection…" and Booklist saying, "Winston has hit a home run with this hilarious, laugh-until-your-sides-hurt tale." Kirkus Reviews called the book "North Jersey's more mature answer to Stephanie Plum."

I held my breath once again recently, awaiting the reviews for Death By Killer Mop Doll. Would the critics think it's as funny as its predecessor? Yes! Reviews have started coming in, and I'm breathing once again. Publishers Weekly called the book "droll" and said that "readers who relish the offbeat will be rewarded." Booklist called Anastasia "a crafting Stephanie Plum," and Kirkus Reviews said the book was filled with "oodles of laughs."

Now, once again, it's up to readers. If you'd like to find out for yourself, I'm giving away 5 signed copies of Death By Killer Mop Doll as part of my January blog tour. To enter the drawing, post a comment to any of the blogs on the tour. The full tour schedule can be found at my website, http://www.loiswinston.com, and the Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers blog, http://www.anastasiapollack.blogspot.com. In addition, I'm giving away 3 copies of Death By Killer Mop Doll on Goodreads, http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho...

BIO: Lois Winston is the author of the critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries published by Midnight Ink. Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun, the first book in the series, received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist. The new year brings with it the release of Death By Killer Mop Doll, the second book in the series. Read an excerpt at http://www.loiswinston.com/excerptap2.... Visit Lois at her website: http://www.loiswinston.com and Anastasia at the Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers blog: http://www.anastasiapollack.blogspot.com. You can also follow Lois and Anastasia on Twitter @anasleuth.

9-1-1 Shenanigans (or why you should really LISTEN to your kids)

This is an essay from my collection HONEY, I'M SORRY I KILLED YOUR AQUASAURS.

Have you ever seen the cell phone commercial with the little girl braiding her father's hair and chattering like a squirrel on drugs? He has this bored look on his face, watching the clock, and is very patiently trying to listen to his daughter. I know how he feels—and so does my husband.

Both of our girls are extremely verbal and sometimes they even argue over who gets to talk—given that they often want to talk at the same time. But Emma, our five-year-old, never seems to have a down time, except when she is sleeping. I love to talk with her and listen to her. I want her to know that what she has to say is important. But no human being, no matter how patient, could possibly listen to every word she says.

There's that aspect of listening—the actual physical possibility or impossibility of listening and hearing every thing a bubbling five-year-old can muster. The other aspect of listening is the belief factor. With Emma, the belief factor is key.

She tells so many wild stories that all of her teachers come to me with her tales. They are amused by her active imagination. I am proud of it and want to foster it along. (When I was a child, such storytelling was forbidden. And I often was called a liar and punished.) When Emma tells her stories—and they are stories, not lies— we all play along and listen, assuming that they are stories.

There are times, however, that only the truth is called for—and one of those times recently happened in our home.

The girls and I were outside enjoying the glorious weather, as were our neighbors, who decided to grill. They have one of those grills that sometimes shoot flames into the air and Emma saw the flames, and ran into the house. I was in the garden weeding and Tess was close by.

Emma came back outside and said, "Everything will be fine, now Mommy. I called 9-1-1."

"You did what?"

"I called 9-1-1."

"Why? Is there an emergency?"

"Al has a fire. So I called 9-1-1."

"Emma, listen to me. Did you really call 9-1-1?"

She smiled and shrugged. "I don't know. Let's go swing."

Okay. So I chose to swing. I chose not to believe Emma.

About 15 minutes later, we were in the house and a police officer came to the door. A very serious officer with—I think— a club in his hand, which pounded on my door.

"Yes?" I said opening the door, my heart pounding.

"I'm responding to a 9-1-1 call." (This after two attempts at calling us.)

"You are? " It then dawned on me. And I yelled for Emma. When she presented herself to us, my normally outgoing child buried her head in my hips, her eyes wide as saucers. "You called 9-1-1, didn't you?"

Well, the police officer, much to his credit, melted when he saw Emma. He kneeled down and said "Sweetie, I want you to know that you did the right thing if there was a real emergency,"

She took off running into the bedroom. He wanted to talk to her more, but she wouldn't come out.

"I'm sorry, " I said. "She told me she called and I didn't believe it. I know you have better things to do."

His main concern, however, was not in scolding us. He wanted to make sure that Emma would not be afraid of him or other policemen. He told me to keep reinforcing the positive aspect. And we have and I think she is okay.

As for me, it took a couple of days for me to get over it. As I stood at the door, opening it for the officer, a million thoughts were going through my brain, What have I done? Has my sordid past finally caught up with me? (Not that I even really have one.) Is Eric okay? Has he been in an accident? Not once did I even think that my daughter's story was what brought him to my door.

I am glad—albeit slightly embarrassed—that this happened. I am listening more intently to my children; they do have a great deal to teach me. Sometimes, suspended belief is a blessing and what helps to make life magic. If we listen long enough and hard enough to kids, they will have us cynical world-weary adults almost believing anything and seeing life and all its wondrous "things" through their eyes. Things like the enchantment of fireflies, newborn birds, the rings of Saturn, and police officers that melt at the sight of sweet, imaginative children. Thanks, officer.

Five things I thought about during my morning run:

1.Louise Penny. Okay maybe I've gone overboard with her–I'm now reading another book by her. It's the fourth one I've read. For the life of me, I can't leave this series or pick up another book.

2. I haven't read them in order but they are easy to follow in any case. But I'm glad I'm reading Bury Your Dead, after The Brutal Telling, which IS the order. I'm not going to say why.

3. Here's the thing: I read about her series in the New York Times–the latest book was chosen as one of the best "cozies" or "traditional" mysteries of the year. (I haven't read that one yet.) But it's interesting because I think these books are really blurring some line between the traditional mystery and a more "literary" novel.

4. And she uses the "F" word. Not much. But it's there and cozies don't usually have that word in it. It doesn't bother me–it's not gratuitous. It fits.

5. So this books seems to be more set in Quebec, which is interesting and finds me longing to visit Quebec. Yet, I really love the parts where she goes back to Three Pines. Heck, there's a part of me that wants to live there.

Five things I thought about during my morning run:

1. It's so cold. Maybe I'll go back in the house.

2. No. Wait. I am desperate for a run. Didn't exercise yesterday and was in a bit of a funk.

3. Suck it up, lady. One foot the the next. The next thing you know you'll be warm.

4. And then hot. Sweat pouring. Breath steaming.

5. Hey. Look at that. My neighbor dressed for church. Looking good!

Five things I thought about during my morning run:

1. The way the thick drops of rain clung to the tips of tree branches this morning, looking like crystals dangling from trees.

2. The sparkling streets.

3. Cool, fresh air on my skin. In my lungs.

4. My first post at Killer Hobbies.

5. Chocolate.