Beth Groundwater's Blog, page 23

Today's Mystery Author Guest: Liz Lipperman

As promised yesterday, fellow mystery author Liz Lipperman is visiting my blog today. To read her bio and see her photo, please page down to yesterday's post. Also, Liz is running a contest for a free autographed copy of Murder for the Halibut and will choose the winner from among those who leave a comment!

The photo above is the cover for Liz's January 1st release, Murder for the Halibut , the third book in her Clueless Cook mystery series. In the book, a sports writing job would have been the perfect catch for Jordan McAllister, but in Ranchero, Texas, all she could reel in was the food column. Though she may not know her way around a kitchen, she has no trouble finding herself in a kettle of fish.

Tempted by the offer of a free Caribbean cruise, Jordan accepts a spot as a judge in a week-long big-time cooking competition aboard the Carnation Queen. She just better hope no one finds out that her famous palate is far from refined. But there are bigger fish to fry when arrogant chef Stefano Mancini falls face first into his signature halibut dish during the first event. While evidence suggests that the handsome Italian chef’s death was an accident, Jordan thinks otherwise. But she’ll have to keep her wits about her—and the sea sickness pills handy—if she’s going to solve this one.

Sounds like a fun mystery to me! Below are Liz's answers to my interview questions. Please leave a comment for her, and if you have a question of your own for her, ask it!

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

First of all, thanks, Beth, for having me on your blog today. Now to the questions. I always knew things came out better when I wrote them. I even used to write letters to my high school sweetheart (now hubby) when we’d fight. My career choice was nursing, however, and it wasn’t until I decided to go back to get a Professional Arts degree and took Creative Writing as an elective that I began to think seriously about writing. On the final exam my instructor wrote, “You ought to think about a career in fiction writing.” That did it for me.

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

I start with names and usually spend a whole day researching for the perfect ones. I love to pick ones that have cool nicknames. Then I write detailed character profiles on every character in the story, and I go from there. Sometimes, I even decide which actress/actor will play them in the movie version!!

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

I am a card-carrying plotter. To those who don’t write, this means I have to have it all mapped out before I even write a word as supposed to some of my pantser friends who just sit down at the computer and write. I start with a catchy title and then do profiles on all my characters as well as plot points for the entire book before I ever write one word.

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?

We all know that mysteries involve action and plot. However, I don’t write police procedurals where the action has to be so detail-oriented. Plus, I thought I was a romance writer for a lot of years and learned how to write great characters (at least I hope I did!) So, to answer your question—mysteries that have both are what I write and love to read. I call them Romantic Mysteries, and I love it when a reader tells me she loves my characters. It just truly makes my day.

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

As I mentioned, for a lot of years I chased the romance genre with a stack of rejections to prove it. The very first book I ever wrote was about a nurse who was kidnapped and smuggled into Colombia where she eventually takes up arms with her captors to fight off the Cali Cartel. Can you see why it was rejected by the romance editors?? When I finally found an agent who said she loved the story, I was elated. Of course, she couldn’t sell it, either. It wasn’t until that agent left the agency and I was passed down to my present agent (whom I absolutely adore) that I discovered I was a mystery writer. After reading the story, she looked me in the eye and said, “You know you’re not a romance writer, right?” You could have knocked me over with the proverbial feather. That’s when I penned my first mystery (a romantic suspense now available on Amazon.) And BTW, that first story about Colombia will go up as a romantic suspense in March.

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

I am retired from my day job, so I have no reason not to write every day. However, I find every excuse in the world not to. When I’m on deadline, I have absolutely no dust bunnies anywhere!! I have to be in the mood and sometimes, it just isn’t happening. Plus, I edit everything a million times before I send each chapter to my critique partner. Consequently, I am a pathetically slow writer, but the good news is that when I write “The End,” there are usually very few edits. To answer this question, when I am on deadline, I try to write 25 pages a week. I usually don’t and end up in panic mode before the deadline. I call myself a crisis junkie and like to think I do my best work then.

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

You are only NOT a writer when you quit doing it. No matter how many roadblocks you’re running into, keep at it. When I finally sold to Berkley, I signed a three book deal on a proposal. That meant I had three NEW books to write with four already completed ones on my desk. Those are the ones selling now!!

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.
 
My mother had four boys and then said she prayed too hard for a girl and got five in a row. I am next to the baby and my younger sister and I have always been close both in age and size. My older brothers always sent similar Christmas presents to us, and being the devil that I was, I used to unwrap them and choose the one I wanted before wrapping them both up again. My children pay for the sins of their mother since I only put numbers on all the presents to this day because I was so naughty. One year I lost my cheat sheet. That was a fiasco!

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

I am now writing the second book in my A Dead Sister Talking series for Midnight Ink. This one will release next year. Currently, I am getting my first Romantic Mystery, Mortal Deception, written as Lizbeth Lipperman, ready to come out in print. This month, Murder for the Halibut, the third cozy in the Clueless Cook series from Berkley came out, and as I mentioned, in March the Colombia story, Shattered Dreams, will release. Then in May, Heard It Through the Grapevine, the first of the series from Midnight Ink debuts, and in October, my fourth cozy titled Chicken Caccia-Killer releases. Sheesh! I’m tired already.

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

Readers can go to my website and read excerpts from all my books as well as to connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. There’s also a link to email me, and I would encourage people to do that. I love talking about my books.

And I have a question for you readers. What do you like best—the character driven books or the ones with a lot of action? One lucky commenter will received an autographed copy of Murder for the Halibut.

Thanks, Liz! Now, who has a comment or question for her? Good luck in the contest!

Tomorrow's Guest: Liz Lipperman

Tomorrow, fellow mystery author Liz Lipperman will be a guest on my blog. Also, Liz will run a contest for a free autographed copy of Murder for the Halibut, choosing the winner from among those who leave a comment!

Liz also writes for Midnight Ink, my publisher, but she's visiting tomorrow to talk about her recent book release from Berkeley Prime Crime. Liz Lipperman started writing many years ago, even before she retired from the medical field. Wasting many years thinking she was a romance writer but always having to deal with the pesky villains who kept popping up in all her stories, she finally gave up and decided since she read mysteries and obviously wrote them, why fight it? She now calls what she writes Romantic Mystery since there is always a hunky hero and a lot of flirting.

In October of 2011, the first book of her Clueless Cook cozy mystery series, Liver Let Die, debuted from Berkley Prime Crime. Since then she has published two more. The latest, Murder for the Halibut , releases today. The first book of her new series from Midnight Ink will debut in May. She writes her cozies under her real name and her mainstream mysteries as Lizbeth Lipperman so that her cozy readers will know the books written under this name are not G rated. Liz lives north of Dallas with her high school sweetheart hubby. When she’s not writing, she spends her time doting on her four wonderful grandchildren. She loves hearing from readers.

In her guest post tomorrow, Liz answers my interview questions, and I'm sure you'll be intrigued by what she has to say. Then, feel free to ask her some questions of your own in the comments.

On Hiatus: Happy Holidays!

I am taking a couple of weeks off from blogging to celebrate Christmas and New Year's with family and friends. I hope whatever winter holiday you celebrate, be it Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or something else, that you are able to spend it with people you love and who love you. So peace and happiness be with you and happy holidays!

I'll return to blogging on New Year's Day, with a teaser for a guest who will appear on January 2nd.

Two Free Book Contests on Goodreads

To share some holiday cheer with my readers, I'm hosting two book giveaway contests on Goodreads. One is open to all Goodreads members, and the other is a secret contest for a select few that requires a little extra work, so the odds of winning are MUCH higher.

Here's a link to the first contest for a free autographed copy of a trade paperback edition of To Hell in a Handbasket, the second book in my Claire Hanover gift basket designer series. Hurry, because this contest ends on December 21st!

HERE

Now for the second contest. To enter, you must not only be a Goodreads member, you must join my Q&A group there: Q&A with Beth Groundwater.

Then, as stated in the "Book Review Contest Instructions," topic, you need to post a review on one of my books on Goodreads.

Lastly, under the "Reviews from Group Members" topic in the group, post a link to your review. You can enter multiple times by posting a review for each one of my books. And if you've already reviewed one of my books, you can enter that old review, too.

To get the link for your review, click on the book in your "read" book list, then click on "My review" on the book's page, then copy the link that shows in your browser window when your review comes up. That's it! I'll accept entries in this second secret contest until December 31st.

If you have any questions about either contest, feel free to ask me here or in my Q&A group. And, if you want to share these contest with mystery-reading friends, feel free to tell them! Good luck!

A Great Review for To Hell in a Handbasket

I recently found a great review from a mystery reader/reviewer for the second book in my Claire Hanover gift basket designer series, To Hell in a Handbasket . The Mysteries and My Musings blog said: "This was a great adventure murder mystery that will be hard to top." Read the full review HERE. Featuring winter sports such as skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling, To Hell in a Handbasket makes for a great winter holiday read! Amazon and Barnes & Noble both still have the book on sale for 21-33% off list price, depending on format. Got any mystery readers on your holiday gift list?

Author Visits to Book Clubs

Today I'm blogging at Inkspot, the blog for Midnight Ink authors, about author visits to book clubs. I give tips for arranging for an author to visit your book club either in-person or via speakerphone or Skype. I hope you'll read the post, and if you are in a book club, I hope the post will motivate you to ask an author to visit!

Wishing, and Oprah, and Movie Rights

The holiday season is one for making and fulfilling wishes. As you wish upon a star this holiday season, what are you wishing for? Are you aiming high?

My wish is for my mystery novels, all of them of course, to hit the New York Times bestseller list. I'm not picky, a top ten spot for each of them will do. ;-)

Then, I wish for Oprah Winfrey to pick one of my titles to feature in her O Magazine.  Then I want her to interview me on her Oprah's Next Chapter show on her OWN TV network. Then I wish for the resulting furor over my writing to result in movie rights offers to come rolling into my literary agent's office. Am I wishing for too much?

I don't think so. It's only by aiming high and turning those wishes into goals that you can start working to achieve those aims.

For example, a cousin of mine wanted to be an astronaut when she was growing up. She decided that science was the path for reaching that goal and earned her Phd in Biology. She was never selected for the space program, but she became a leader of the research team at the Marucci Center for Blueberry Cranberry Research at Rutgers University that discovered the active compounds in cranberries that prevented urinary tract infections. When the work went public, she became an instant celebrity.

Would she have gone that far in her biology career without the goal of becoming an astronaut? I don't think so!

So, what are you wishing for this holiday season, and how can you turn that wish into a goal?

I'm in the Rotation!

This is just a quick news flash that the cover art for my November re-release of To Hell in a Handbasket, the second Claire Hanover gift basket designer mystery, is now featured in the rotating books banner at the bottom of the National Sisters in Crime website. Go on over and take a look, and see what other great mysteries fellow members have published lately!

Also, my acquisition editor at Midnight Ink, Terri Bischoff, is interviewed today at the Chiseled in Rock blog of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. I love that her photo there shows her fishing. She could be an advertisement for my Wicked Eddies release!

Information About A New Mystery Publisher

From one of the principals, Pat Dennis. I'm just passing along the information. I know nothing about the press myself.

Adventure Publications, an award-winning publisher of outdoor guides (www.adventurepublications.net), is accepting fiction manuscripts for its new series of outdoor/wilderness mysteries. We are looking for mystery fiction that will appeal to both the mystery reader and the outdoor enthusiast. The books will be produced in both print and e-book format. Example of authors we love are: Nevada Barr, Victoria Houston, C.J. Box, William Kent Krueger and Beth Groundwater. Currently, we are seeking novels set in the Midwest, Southwest, Northwest, Northeast and Rocky Mountains.

Email your submission to: fiction@adventurepublications.net. Email queries sent to any other address will not be read. We do not open email attachments, unless we request them. Your entire submission must appear in the body of the email and not as an attachment. The subject line should be “QUERY” along with the title of your manuscript. Please email the first chapter and a synopsis along with a cover letter. Also, in your email, please include the number of words in your completed manuscript, as well as a bio, and pertinent writing and/or outdoor wilderness experience. If you prefer, you may snail-mail your query, along with your first chapter and bio to Fiction, Adventure Publications, 820 Cleveland St S, Cambridge, MN 55008.

I am kind of stoked that they included my name in that list, along with some of my favorite authors!

Review for A Real Basket Case

I just ran across a lovely review from a mystery reader/reviewer for the first book in my Claire Hanover gift basket designer series, A Real Basket Case . Read it HERE. Amazon and Barnes & Noble have both books in the series on sale for 21-33% off list price, depending on format. Got any cozy mystery readers on your holiday gift list?