C.E. Grundler's Blog, page 14

Research…

These days, my life cycles between various modes: plotting, research, writing, and editing. And oh, the plotting I've been doing! Evacuation Route is looking to be a lot of fun, still dark and twisted, but in a more upbeat, caper-style way. Last Exit set the strange tone, and No Wake Zone, which picks up only weeks later in the time-line, is somewhat more introspective. The humor and violence are still present, (would you expect anything less?) but this is a point where my key characters regroup as they sort recent events out and they find themselves faced with new (old?) threats, and readers will see more of what makes Hazel, Hammon, Annabel and even Stevenson tick – and just how screwed up they might truly be.

Jump forward to the following summer. Things have been almost quiet, at least for a little while — but then the shit hits the fan fun begins. Murder charges, police investigations, a con, and a heist the likes of which I've never seen done before… a heist, Jersey-style. Yep. I've been plotting and scheming, and I'm quite pleased with the results. In fact, the last few days I've been walking around grinning and giggling manically. Which brings me to my current position: knee-deep in the research on a grocery list of top-secret topics (I could tell you, but then… well, they could be spoilers,) that will involve a truck-load of books and many upcoming road and water trips. Research is fun. Lots of fun. Especially with the things I'm researching – which is why I'll stick to my variety of madness and mayhem over other genres.

Banging my computer against the wall…

Not literally. I wouldn't do THAT! But I am trying to set up an Author page on Facebook, and link it with my blog and books. I've been blogging for years, mostly about boats and other random topics, maintained multiple web sites since 2001, yet some of the inner workings of FB elude me. But there's no denying zillions of people migrate there to connect and interact, and I'll be the first to admit I keep up on the comings and going of many of my favorite bands through Facebook. And with enough people reminding me I really should set up a page focused on my writing, well, here I am, trying to set up links to my blog and books.

So technically, this is a test. Let's see what happens. And if you do happen to read this and find your way to my still evolving 'Fan Page', take a minute to click the little 'LIKE' button!

Spring has arrived… (whatever floats your corpse, revisited)

The following is a re-post of my post last Thursday at Write on the Water, where it received a resounding lack of comments. Perhaps the subject matter may have been a bit questionable. Judge for yourself… I felt it would be of interest.

 

While the calendar claims that it's only the beginning of March, there's no denying it's been an unusually warm winter here in the northeast. Buds are swelling on the trees, the crocuses have been blooming for weeks, even hyacinths have been clawing their way through the dirt, reaching upward like green zombie fingers towards the sunlight, all well ahead of schedule. And this leaves me wondering: will Floater's Week come early this year?

What is Floater's Week? It's a local event on the waters surrounding New York City. NYC and its neighboring communities hold the title as the nation's largest metropolitan area, with roughly nineteen million people living in a region bordered by the Atlantic and laced with harbors, bays, vast rivers and hidden creeks. It's a city of bridges and tunnels, over two thousand, in fact. Lots of people, lots of water, and lots of access to that water.

With those statistics, it's a given that over time, a certain percentage of deceased bodies might eventually find their ways into said waters. Drowning victims, boating accidents, bridge jumpers, and unfortunate fatalities of criminal activity. As air in the lungs is replaced with water, a body will sink to the bottom, and so long as that water is cold, decomposition is slowed and the corpse will stay put, more or less. But once the days grow longer and water temperatures rise, bacterial activity and decomposition speed up, producing gases that make them buoyant, bringing these bloated bodies bobbing back to the surface in a synchronized resurrection.

So there you have it. Floater's Week. Annually, that perfect mix of conditions usually arrives sometime around mid-April, though, like fishing, it varies based upon a number of factors including position of the body in question and whether or not they may have been additionally 'weighted', so to speak, as well as depth, current, hours of sunlight and so on. And yes, in case anyone is wondering, I have encountered a floater or three in my time on the Hudson. Around here, we see it as a sign of spring.

(And here's a nice, upbeat song by Justin Townes Earle, titled 'Harlem River Blues', about taking a permanent swim in the Harlem River.)

 

Madness, Mayhem… and Flowers? Yup!

I know… two posts in one day.  Still, it's not every day I receive flowers from my publisher, editor and marketing team. And I'll admit, it feels great! That, and I was the guest author on the Kindle Daily Post, Amazon's Kindle Blog: Plotting Madness and Mayhem.

Updating the playlist…

In fiction, I suppose it's inevitable that a certain degree of the author's personal reality will weave its way into the stories. A passage requires an old car or a small boat, and it's only natural that the writer will resurrect some long gone clunker or a favorite little fishing boat. As a writer, we're building this particular world, and we build from our imagination, combined with own experiences. I've often wondered about the story behind Travis McGee's Miss Agnes. Last Exit In New Jersey is loaded with fragments of my personal history. Joe's blue Buick. Kindling. Gary's Dodge. RoadKill's numerous quirks — all drawn together from countless beaters I'd owned over the years. Even my own boat sneaks in for a brief cameo. And the music mentioned throughout the story comes directly from my own personal collection –including the Shooter Jennings CD permanently looping on the radio in RoadKill's cab. But last night, Shooter Jennings was playing somewhere else – right across the river in New York City – at Hill Country over on West 26th Street.

The food alone is enough to lure me in, but combine the most mouth-watering barbeque with exceptional live music, and you have one first rate destination. We'd been at Hill Country only days earlier with a group of friends to see a portion of the Randy Rogers Band, who put on a great show and played till around one in the morning. But last night was the record release show for Shooter's new album, Family Man, out on March 13th. Needless to say, I was there. Quite early, in fact. I'd allowed for transit delays, but every train and subway transfer flowed seamlessly, and I met up with my husband in Queens and from there we arrived in no time. But this gave us plenty of time to eat and then settle downstairs… right in front of the stage. It was really early and the room was still fairly vacant, but among the few other bodies was Mr. Jennings himself.

And that's when the nerves hit. You see, I'd brought along a copy of Last Exit in New Jersey, with full intention of presenting it to him.  I'd even bookmarked the pages with his name and music, (though I'd forgotten to grab post-its, and instead used coupons for a complimentary Lone Star Beer.) But now… what would I say? It was the perfect time: quiet, not many people around, everyone relaxing.  But still, I felt strangely self-conscious. I kept stalling – until my husband pointed out that Shooter was standing alone, right behind me. It was time to nut-up or shut-up. So I introduced myself, explained how I was a long-time fan, (and felt silly – of course I am, or why would I be there, well before the show, no less,) and how my husband had taken me to one of his father's concerts back when we were first dating, (translation: many years ago.) Then I picked up the book, explaining how I'd mentioned his music in the story. And that's when I learned I had something unexpected in common with Stephen King: mine was the second book to include mention of Shooter Jennings. It made my day when he asked if I'd sign on the first page where his name appears! My only regret, I wish I'd gotten the nerve to get a picture with him.  Maybe next time!

And finally the  room began to fill. This was everyone sitting behind me. In front of me… the stage. Sorry for the dark pics — my camera was being a bit cranky. But the night was only getting started, opening with a very talented trio known as Poundcake.

You could see they were having fun, which was infectious. They did some amazing covers and got the now-packed room going, and were even joined by Shooter's pedal steel player. And yes, I added one of their CDs to my collection.

Then Shooter and his band came up and they put on one first-rate show. They moved between some of their more known material and played some tunes from his upcoming album(s) as well. Watching the performance, I was fascinated by the mechanics of creating such a range of sound from instruments, including the keyboard and steel guitar, which gave the music such variety and depth. (Boats, I know. Engines, I know. Music and instruments amaze and baffle me.) I had to smile when Shooter paused between songs to inform "the owner of the blue Buick, your car has been towed, and they found the body in the trunk."  (Had he peaked into the pages of Last Exit?) Satisfying from start to finish, Shooter demonstrated impressive versatility, shifting from raw and gritting to soulful and introspective in a way that has me looking forward to his upcoming releases.

All in all, I couldn't have asked for a better night to celebrate my own little personal launch, and it looks as though I'll be adding a few new albums to RoadKill's playlist.

Where did it go?

I unpublished Last Exit yesterday.

It was a strange feeling. Sales were starting to spike, both on the old edition and the pre-order March 6th edition, apparently fueled by Advance Read Copies currently out for review. It wasn't something I had to do – it was my idea, and Jacque at Thomas & Mercer assured me that until the new edition was released I could keep selling the old one. But I felt that at this point, if an early buzz is building based on responses to the new edition, it was time to pull the original.

Getting closer…

I'd been looking forward to February, knowing that things would start to kick into high gear. And sure enough, just as I'm plotting and scheming my way into the start of book three, Evacuation Route, advance read copies, cover designs and release dates are coming in for the last two books. So here they are.

The very polished and re-edited edition of Last Exit in New Jersey will officially re-launch on March 6, 2012, and No Wake Zone is set for release on May 8, 2012.

Thomas & Mercer wanted to give Last Exit a new, grittier, more hard-boiled cover that hinted to the nautical angle of the story, and to keep a consistent look with both books. And while I was fond of my cover, with the actual Parkway sign for the title and hood of my old Dodge on the Parkway at 3 a.m., I think their design is a better match for the story.

Yesterday I received four concepts for No Wake Zone's cover, and one really jumped out at me. I suggested a minor change that they are currently addressing, and I should have a finalized cover in the coming days, and we've finalized the promo text as well. So for all of you wondering just what happens after the conclusion of Last Exit, here's a hint:

Hazel Moran, the tough truck-driving amateur sleuth introduced in C.E. Grundler's debut novel, Last Exit in New Jersey, returns in this dark and twisting sequel.

Seven years ago, someone destroyed Jake Stevenson's dreams when they murdered his fiancée, Helen Matthews and her family. Since then, tracking down the one responsible – finding them and making them pay — has consumed his life. Stevenson thinks the truth behind the killer's identity and motive might still lie in the most elusive place – buried within the mind of a semi-mad man. But Stevenson may have found the means to access Hammon's suppressed memories, and cleverly he draws Hazel into his hunt. Can she trust Stevenson, or does he have a hidden agenda? Hazel has her suspicions — but she has her own reasons for playing along.

Hammon and Annabel also question Stevenson's motives. To protect Hazel from becoming the next casualty of a forgotten history now repeating itself, they must retrace a treacherous path of deceit and murder. But Annabel thinks Hammon is going about everything entirely wrong, and she's decided it's her turn to start calling the shots, whether Hammon likes it or not. And when, again, someone very close to Hazel dies, she's pushed to the edge. The facts all point to suicide, but Hazel isn't buying that. She's determined to prove it was murder, and she's closing in on answers, only to find someone is changing the questions. No one she trusts will hear her out; they're all certain she's in denial and becoming potentially unstable. But when has presenting a serious threat to herself and others ever stopped Hazel?

As her hunt travels from New Jersey to a Manhattan rave and a vacant construction site outside LaGuardia Airport, it'll take all of her tough, fearless, no-nonsense smarts to navigate a complex and dangerous trail of clues. How far will some people go to hide the truth? And how far will she go for vengeance?

Are we there yet?

It's official. As of today, the edited draft of No Wake Zone heads off to the nice people over at Thomas & Mercer. I still have more tasks ahead, finalizing the promotional text and looking over cover designs. The wheels are already turning at T&M for a spring release, and as soon as I have more official info I'll be posting it here. But as for writing No Wake Zone, I'm done.

Done. Time to kick back, catch my breath, and catch up on life outside the madness of my fictional world. Yep. Done. No more dealing with my admittedly insane characters, who really need some lessons in communication skills and still refuse to play nice. I'm done.  Finished.

I can relax.

Or not. Already my muses are whining like a bunch of bored, restless children on a long road-trip. They won't shut up. No. They want mayhem! They want chaos! They're plotting away; they want my crazy characters to pull off a heist, and not get themselves killed or kill anyone else (unless absolutely necessary, and we all know how that goes,) in the process. And the forecast doesn't look good.

So yes, the gang will return. We're out of the No Wake Zone, and now it's time to make some waves. Lots of waves, in fact, because there's a hurricane headed this way, and as of this morning, I've already started work on book three:

Evacuation Route.

And here's my last two posts at Write on the Water:

But how did you get here??

Prepping for launch day…

Sometimes it can be the smallest of things…

I suppose I have to laugh. It is pretty funny, actually, how the strangest, most unexpected things can bring you to a halt, or at least pretty damned close.

Editor Dave and I have been working practically non-stop at wrapping up the edits on No Wake Zone, and we're closing in on the finish, so Hooray! But Sunday afternoon I had to step away from the computer for a brief time to run some errands, one of which put me out on Route 80, cruising along in the fast lane, when all at once my dashboard lit up like it was Christmas. Specifically, the 'Check Engine' light, along with the glow plug indicator, which was blinking away insistently.

WTF??? Everything felt okay. Fortunately my exit was coming up, so I slowed and looped onto the Parkway, rolled through the EZpass lane, then downshifted to pull into the next exit, right after the tolls…. and…. meh. Worse than meh. We're talking about my little turbocharged diesel Jetta with a sport-tuned suspension, which normally drives like a rocket, but the most it could do was putter along feebly with the anemic performance you'd expect from something that gets 45+ mpg, while traffic whizzed past. To say I was distressed would be a bit of an understatement.

Long story short, it was still under warranty, so straight back to the dealer it went, and was returned to me hours later in its proper, feisty, tire-smoking order. And the cause for this brief lapse into anemic performance? MICE! Apparently, still displeased about being evicted from my basement last summer, they decided the cozy warmth of the little diesel in the driveway would serve as housing, and while they were nestled in and keeping warm, one industrious rodent decided the wiring to my turbo seemed like a tasty snack.

Mice. Really. Now I have to figure out how to keep mice out from under the hood! Any ideas, anyone?

Okay, it's back to work for me. In the coming weeks there will be a number of updates – things are starting to happen in a big way. But before I go, here's a link to last Thursday's Write On The Water post:

The K.I.S.S. approach to Cruising…

Inevitable revisions…

(Brought to you by The Mighty Red Pen)

Yes, I knew they'd be coming, and I'm currently working my way through the edits on No Wake Zone. Once again, it's my wonderful, amazing editor, David, showing me the forest for all the trees in his insightful and often humorous way. But as with Last Exit, this phase has become all-encompassing, monopolizing my time and focus, and in the process I've let some other things slide, least of which being this blog. Put it this way: Readers may wonder where I get my ideas for Hammon's diet, attire and general behavior — but anyone who knows me personally has no doubts. (And yes, I do eat Pringles while I work.) That aside, I've been good about checking in with Write on the Water, and here's a run-down of the last four Thursday's posts:

December 15th – How many fictional murder victims and mystery novels does it take to change a tire? (True and very funny story)

December 22nd – Back to the Future…

December 29th – Shifting Gears

January 5th – Goals for a New Year

On that last post, I should have included posting here more regularly, which is on my list of intentions. The upcoming months promise to be busy ones, and between the launch of two books and some exciting work we have planned this year for Annabel Lee, I should have plenty to post about.