Beth Groundwater's Blog, page 12

Tomorrow's Guest: L. A. Starks

Tomorrow, fellow mystery/thriller author L. A. Starks will guest on my blog. She answers my interview questions, and I'm sure you'll be intrigued by what she has to say. Also, L. A. will run a contest for an autographed copy of the first book in her Lynn Dayton series, 13 Days: The Pythagoras Conspiracy. She will choose the winner from among those who leave a comment.

L. A. Starks was born in Boston, Massachusetts, grew up in northern Oklahoma, and now lives in Texas. Awarded a full-tuition college scholarship, she earned a chemical engineering bachelor's degree, magna cum laude, from New Orleans' Tulane University, followed by a finance MBA from the University of Chicago. Working more than a decade for well-known energy companies in engineering, marketing, and finance from refineries to corporate offices prepared Starks to write global energy thrillers. She continues to write and consult on energy economics and investing through her company, Starks Energy Economics. In addition to her two Lynn Dayton books, 13 Days: The Pythagoras Conspiracy and Strike Price, two of Starks' short stories have been published by Amazon Shorts. Her nonfiction has appeared in Mystery Readers Journal, The Dallas Morning News, The Houston Chronicle, The San Antonio Express-News, Sleuth Sayer (MWA-SW newsletter), Natural Gas, Oil and Gas Journal, and the investor website Seeking Alpha. Starks also serves as investment committee chair of the Board of the Friends of the Dallas Public Library, a fund-raising and advocacy group that supports Dallas' 29-branch civic library system.

A Great Review for Fatal Descent and Other Links

I'm thrilled with a recent review that compared Fatal Descent , the latest release in my RM Outdoor Adventures series, with mysteries written by Nevada Barr and Dana Stabenow, both authors I greatly admire! As the reviewer said, "Groundwater has written yet another exciting and suspense-filled mystery that speeds along with a swift pace to its extremely compelling conclusion." You can read the full review on the Kings River Life Magazine website. You can also enter a contest there until August 10th to win an autographed copy of the book!

Sisters in Crime is also featuring the cover of the book on their website in the rotation at the bottom of the page. The rotation cycles through four displays of members' recent releases.

I've recently finalized plans to speak in the Local Author Series conducted in the Timberline Campus Library at the Colorado Mountain College in Leadville, Colorado on October 8th. You can read about the event, me and my books at their Local Author Series website.

Finally, the Summer Issue of Books and Banter features Fatal Descent in its mystery section. Just click on the words "Summer Issue" to read the PDF file.

A Beautiful Hike on Baldy Mountain Near Breckenridge, Colorado

Last week I went on an interesting and beautiful hike on Baldy Mountain, southeast of Breckenridge, Colorado, with my "Women With Altitude" group. We first hiked up to the abandoned Mountain Pride mine and its ghost town at the head of Illinois Gulch. Nearly a million dollars of ore contain gold, silver, lead, and zinc were pulled out of the mine in the late 1800s.

See the photos below. The first two are of the mine works, and the next three are of structures in the ghost town. As you can see from the fresh toilet paper in the outhouse-without-a-door, there's still someone inhabiting the town, possibly a squatter. Lastly, there's a photo of one of the gravesites past the mine ruins. A rusted tin can dump is near the gravesites.







Next, we hiked to a beautiful meadow strewn with many species of wildflowers, including brilliant red Indian paintbrush, white yarrow, purple asters, yellow sunflowers and goldenrod, dark blue monkshood, and more. We ate lunch in the meadow and enjoyed the views (see below). I'm wearing the green sun hat in the first photo, second from the right. Anyone know what the small blue and gray butterflies are in the last photo?

A Duckies Trip!

Last Wednesday, I went on a duckies (inflatable kayaks) trip with a group from the Summit County Senior Center on the upper Colorado River through the Little Gore Canyon. This is a section of mild whitewater, class II and III rapids, that is ideal for duckies, especially during the low water flows of late summer. Our outfitter, KODI Rafting, took excellent care of us, and the two guides kept a wary watch on us from their rafts, which served as the lead and sweep boats on the trip. We all had a great time, even those in the group who had never paddled duckies before.

The first photo below shows some of our group (I'm wearing the yellow shorts and floppy hat in the middle) during the "safety talk." The second photo shows me in my yellow ducky, and in the third, I'm lounging in a small riverside hot springs pool with fellow paddlers.

Today's Mystery Author Guest: Patricia Smith Wood

As promised yesterday, fellow mystery author Patricia Smith Wood is visiting my blog today. To read her bio and see her photo, please page down to yesterday's post. Also, Patricia is running a contest for a free autographed copy of her recent release, The Easter Egg Murder, the cover art for which appears above. Patricia will select the winner tomorrow evening from among those who leave a comment today or tomorrow and will announce the name in a comment on this post.

In the book, Harrie McKinsey and her best friend and business partner Ginger Vaughn discover that some secrets are best left buried when retired Senator Philip Lawrence hires their editing firm to assist him with a book about the famous unsolved 1950 murder of a cocktail waitress that led to the end of illegal casinos in New Mexico. When the Albuquerque newspaper announces that Senator Lawrence is writing the book, one person with a connection to the case is murdered and another narrowly escapes death. Despite the best efforts of Ginger’s husband and an FBI agent Harrie finds infuriatingly attractive, the energetic pair cannot resist trying to discover who is so anxious to destroy the book, the senator and his big secret. But will their proficiency and pluck be up to the challenge when they land in a dark house with a cold, calculating killer who has nothing else to lose?


Sounds like an entertaining read! Below are Patricia's answers to my interview questions.

1. Who or what inspired you to start writing and when did you start?

I couldn’t wait to learn how to read. I read the comics in the newspapers (with a lot of help from the adults in my life) when I was five years old. By the time I started reading “real” books without pictures when I was eight, I was entranced with the stories and “where they came from.” My mother was an avid reader and encouraged me to become one. When I was nine, I wrote a play that my teacher decided could be performed for the class. That went over so well we were asked to do another performance for the entire school. I was hooked with the idea of creating a story from then on.

2. What tools and process do you use to “get to know” your characters before and while you’re writing the books?

I get to know my characters as they are coming to life on the page. I rarely know exactly what they will be like and what they will say until they tell me.  That’s both exhilarating and terrifying. If I try too hard to “invent” dialogue, it usually has to be rewritten. It turns out the characters, when they come to life, almost always remind me of someone or some trait I’ve witnessed in a person I’ve known.  Sometimes that person is me, and it can be unsettling.

3. How do you construct your plots? Do you outline or do you write “by the seat of your pants”?

I’m definitely a “panster.” In fact the biggest obstacle to my actually getting started writing a book was thinking I HAD to outline. I tried it over and over, and I just froze up. Either that or I came away with pure dreck. When I went to a talk given by Tony Hillerman and heard him say he never outlined, I felt like going up and hugging the man.

4. In the age-old question of character versus plot, which one do you think is most important in a murder mystery, and which one do you emphasize in your writing? Why?

I feel strongly that a murder mystery is equally dependent on plot and characters. I also believe it’s important to have a couple of sub-plots going along to keep things moving. As the plot develops, my characters are set free to do their thing, and that’s when I have the most fun.

5. What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced as a writer, and what inspires you and keeps you motivated?

For years I think the biggest challenge I had was feeling a lack of confidence. I had an inflated idea about how “real” writers always knew what they were doing and how to do it. It took joining some writers groups and actually getting to know writers to make me see they have the same insecurities I had, but they’d learned to deal with them and get on with the writing. That still keeps me going---knowing that it’s just as hard for them as it is for me.

6. What is a typical workday for you and how many hours a day (or week) do you devote to writing?

I don’t have a typical workday as this point. Maybe someday that will come, but right now, I write when I can. For many years I owned a business that took up much of my time. I got in the habit of writing when I got a block of time I could call my own. Even though I’m retired now, I still grab time when I can get it, and then I might write for five or six hours.

7. What advice do you have to offer to an aspiring author?

The most important thing is to just keep writing. Figure out if it’s mystery, romance, thriller, or some other genre you like writing and keep doing it. Next, get into a good writers critique group. It’s preferable they understand your genre and can give you honest suggestions and encouragement. Find your own voice and perfect it. Don’t try to be some other writer.

8. Now here’s a zinger. Tell us something about yourself that you have not revealed in another interview yet. Something as simple as your favorite TV show or food will do.

I am deeply influenced by a good television drama. I pick TV over movies for this because of the timing and sequencing they must attain. When I write, I do it in scenes that I’m watching in my head as it goes down on the paper. At the end of each scene (at least in a mystery) as they go to commercial, they leave you with a zinger of some sort. They want you to stick around and come back after the commercial. In a book, you strive to keep them going from one chapter to the next because you want them to feel they can’t wait to find out what that zinger was all about. And my favorite TV drama is NCIS.

9. What are you working on now, and what are your future writing plans?

I’m working on the second book in the series, Murder for Breakfast. I’m planning to keep this series going as long as I can think up interesting situations for Harrie and Ginger to get themselves into and out of.

10. Is there anything else you would like to tell my blog readers?

The readers might like to know my book, The Easter Egg Murder, is loosely based on the real-life unsolved murder of Cricket Coogler in Las Cruces, NM in 1949. In my telling, the crime occurs in 1950 and the rest of the story takes place in the year 2000 when the murderer is finally revealed.  To read more about it come by my website.  And, visit my blog. There I talk about adventures in writing and anything else that strikes my fancy. I’m delighted to speak to groups who want to know about writing and mysteries.


Thanks, Patricia. Now, who has a comment or question for Patricia Smith Wood? Good luck in the contest!

Tomorrow's Guest: Patricia Smith Wood

Tomorrow, fellow mystery author Patricia Smith Wood will guest on my blog. She answers my interview questions, and I'm sure you'll be intrigued by what she has to say. Also, Patricia will run a contest for an autographed copy of her recently released title, The Easter Egg Murder. She will choose the winner from among those who leave a comment.

Patricia Smith Wood's father, first as a police officer, and later as a career FBI agent, sparked her interest in law, solving crime, and mystery. After she retired from a varied and successful business career (including eighteen months working at the FBI, being a security officer at a savings and loan, and owning her own computer business) she attended writing seminars, conferences, and in 2009, graduated from the FBI Citizens’ Academy. Aakenbaaken and Kent published her first mystery, The Easter Egg Murder, on February 14, 2013. Murder for Breakfast, the second in the series, is underway.

Editing a Galley Proof

I'm over at Inkspot today, the blog for Midnight Ink authors, talking about editing the galley proof for my November book release, A Basket of Trouble , the long-awaited third book in my Claire Hanover gift basket designer series. My main concern is that A Basket of Trouble be a fun and exciting read. Hopefully no readers will be pulled out of the story by stumbling across a typo, spelling or punctuation error in the final book. Have you been pulled out of a story recently by such an error? Tell me about it in a comment there!

Today's Mystery Author Guest: Meg Mims

As promised yesterday, fellow mystery author Meg Mims is visiting my blog today. To read her bio and see her photo, please page down to yesterday's post. Also, Meg is running a contest for a free ebook version of her recent release, Double or Nothing , the cover art for which appears above. Meg will select the winner tomorrow evening from among those who leave a comment today or tomorrow and will announce the name in a comment on this post.

The book contains a murder arranged as a suicide ... a missing deed ... and a bereft daughter whose sheltered world is shattered. August, 1869: Lily Granville is stunned by her father's murder. Only one other person knows about a valuable California gold mine deed -- both are now missing. Lily heads west on the newly opened transcontinental railroad, determined to track the killer. She soon realizes she is no longer the hunter but the prey. As things progress from bad to worse, Lily is uncertain who to trust--the China-bound missionary who wants to marry her, or the wandering Texan who offers to protect her ... for a price. Will Lily survive the journey and unexpected betrayal?

Sounds like an exciting read! Below are Meg's answers to my interview questions.


1. Who or what inspired you to start writing and when did you start?

I started writing "fan fic" before it was called that -- used TV westerns or Trixie Belden characters to tweak what I'd seen on TV or in books. Finally figured out I ought to write something fresh/original.... like 30 years later.

2. How do you construct your plots? Do you outline or do you write “by the seat of your pants”?

For my full-length historical novels, I do an outline and pretty much plot it all out. For my short contemporary novellas, I have an idea for characters, a premise and then I let the story happen. Somehow, it works.

3. In the age-old question of character versus plot, which one do you think is most important in a murder mystery and which one do you emphasize in your writing? Why?

BOTH. Here's why -- if plot is the book's "engine" then a character must "turn it on" and "steer" ... so basically, one cannot move forward without the other. I'm more focused on the heroine/hero remaining heroic, and making the villain equal to them, and justice being served in the end. To me, those are the most important factors. Plus the twist. 

4. What advice do you have to offer to an aspiring author?

Study the craft of writing. Read whole mystery series to discover the characters' arc over a book vs. a series and how each plot develops and is resolved. Never, ever, ever give up writing. Write every day. 

5. Now here’s a zinger. Tell us something about yourself that you have not revealed in another interview yet. Something as simple as your favorite TV show or food will do.

I love watching Cupcake Wars. Primarily because I LOVE cake. And seeing the creativity (victories and failures) plus all that time/effort involved, it's sort of similar to writing a book and hoping it sells. I would *never* do that. I can barely bake 24 cupcakes from a plain mix. LOL

6. What are you working on now and what are your future writing plans?

I'm working on a western short story for the Western Fictioneers Wolf Creek anthology coming this Christmas, plus my own Christmas contemporary romance novella, Santa Claws -- about a cat this time, not a rescue dog as in Santa Paws. And my writing partner and I just sold our cozy mystery series, featuring Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins, to St. Martin's Press that will debut in 2014. We're plotting the second book now, and my agent hopes to sell my Lighthouse Mystery series as well.

Thanks, Meg. Now, who has a comment or question for Meg Mims? Good luck in the contest!

Tomorrow's Guest: Meg Mims

Tomorrow, fellow mystery author Meg Mims will guest on my blog. She answers my interview questions, and I'm sure you'll be intrigued by what she has to say. Also, Meg will run a contest for a free ebook of her recently released title, Double or Nothing. She will choose the winner from among those who leave a comment.

Meg Mims is an award-winning author of western historical mysteries. Double Crossing won the 2012 Spur Award for Best First Novel and was named a finalist in the 2012 USA Book News Awards. Meg published the sequel, Double or Nothing, in March of 2013. She is also one-half of the writing team D.E. Ireland with a new cozy mystery series coming out from St. Martin’s Press in 2014. Born and raised in Michigan, Meg lives with her husband, a “Make My Day” white Malti-poo and a rescue Lhasa Apso, plus a drooling black cat. Her artistic work is in watercolor, acrylic and pen/ink media.

ATVing at Camp Hale with Nova Guides

Last Monday, my husband and I and some friends went ATVing with Nova Guides. They conduct guided ATV tours of Camp Hale where the 10th Mountain Division trained in World War II. We had a great time bouncing around on dirt/rock trails and zooming through mud puddles on the ATVs, learned a bit about the history of the camp, saw some fantastic vistas from overlooks such as Ptarmigan Pass and enjoyed the wildflowers, birds, and animals that we spotted. We finished up the tour with a delicious lunch at their gorgeous lodge (often used for weddings and coporate events). I highly recommend Nova Guides! Below are some photos from the trip. In the second and fifth ones, the two handsome guys next to me are my husband and son.