Beth Groundwater's Blog, page 8

Today's Mystery Author Guest: Mark W. Danielson

As promised yesterday, fellow mystery author Mark W. Danielson is visiting my blog today, with an article about how he developed the plot for his latest release, Spectral Gallows . To read Mark's bio and see his photo, please page down to yesterday's post. Also, Mark is running a contest for a free autographed copy of Spectral Gallows, the cover art for which appears above. Mark 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, Maxx Watts and partner Blaine Spartan blow through the door of The Chuck Wagon Diner, grabbing a table before the lunch crowd hits. They quickly pick up on a heated dialog at the next table concerning police fabricating a suicide ruling. "I tell you, it was murder!" spits out a hulky man dressed in black, slamming his fist on the table. Confronting the two men, "Hulk" bails out, leaving his companion behind. The detectives are told the argument concerned an uncle who hanged himself in the Scott Theater over forty years ago. Riveted by the man's claim, Watts and Spartan visit the dungeon where the death occurred. The phenomena they see and whispers of murder commit them to resolving the case. Had the dead man's spirit been leaving clues or had this all been a diversion so another murder could take place? Uncertain whether to believe in the netherworld, Watts must confront his father's past to determine his future with CSI tech Daisy Woods.

Sounds like an interesting read to me! Below is Mark's article.

Spectral GallowsBy Mark W. Danielson
I’m probably going out on a limb by saying that every novel is inspired by real-life events, but I do believe it.  I found this especially true for my latest release, Spectral Gallows – a story I never planned to write.  At the time, I was well into the sequel for Writer’s Block, the first in my Maxx Watts detective series, when I returned from an international trip, exhausted.  For those who have spent long hours on an airplane, you know how changing time zones and endless vibration can transform you into a Zombie.  Multiply that times ten and you can understand how physically demanding an airline pilot’s two week trip can be.

As I lay in bed, my body trembling, my brain struggling to shut down, an idea came to mind.  Why not write about a character who is drunk on sleep?  The premise excited me so much I jotted it down before I drifted off.  When I was mentally prepared to resume my writing, I set the first sequel aside.  Who knew that agonizing unrest could be a muse for murder mysteries?

For reasons I cannot explain, my shattered physical state easily transferred to a down-and-out Vietnam Veteran suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.  In the opening scene, the vet and his much younger buddy are arguing over a forty-plus year old death in Fort Worth’s Scott Theater.  The veteran was insisting it was murder, not suicide when Homicide Detectives Maxx Watts and Blaine Spartan walked in, referring to the actor who hanged himself in the theater’s basement.  Later, as the detectives visit the theater to see where the death occurred, they hear unexplained sounds like someone calling out murder, except there is no one else around.  By the way, the Scott Theater is a real location that has been certified as haunted by a dead actor’s spirit.

As I said, I didn’t stumble onto this story – it was sent to me in my sleep.  And since my writing comes from subconscious thoughts, I allow my characters to lead me through their stories.  Of course, I could not write this novel without first researching paranormal activity and quantum mechanics.  My paranormal and physics experts’ contributions were stunningly illuminating.

By coincidence, paranormal themes seem to be “in” right now, but that isn’t why I wrote Spectral Gallows.  Not a day goes by when I don’t think about our suffering veterans, past and present, and imagine how difficult their lives must be.  Hopefully my readers will recognize these veterans’ sacrifices as they are drawn into this story.  It was fun pitting believers against non-believers while keeping the reader guessing as to its outcome.  I should mention that although I’ve never had a ghostly encounter, evidence suggests there is far more to our existence than our present dimension.

While every author’s writing style differs, there are only two ways to create.  You either outline or you don’t, and from my experience, the split is nearly equal.  But regardless of which technique is used, a well-written story will always transport its reader to another place.  That’s the beauty of fiction.

Beth, thank you for having me as your guest.  Spectral Gallows will be released on November 15, 2013 in published and e-book formats.  More information about me and my books can be found on my website.

Thanks, Mark! Now, who has a comment or question for Mark W. Danielson? Good luck in the contest!

Tomorrow's Guest: Mark W. Danielson

Tomorrow, fellow mystery author Mark W. Danielson will guest on my blog with an article about how he developed the plot for his latest release, Spectral Gallows . Also, Mark will run a contest for an autographed copy of Spectral Gallows. He will choose the winner from among those who leave a comment.

Currently a FedEx pilot, Mark began taking flying lessons at age thirteen with money earned from delivering newspapers. He earned his Commercial Pilot's License prior to entering the University of Northern Colorado in 1970. He went on to fly the F-4 Phantom II fighter with the 80th Tactical Fighter Squadron in Korea. After moving to Lubbock, Texas, to serve as a T-38 advanced instructor-pilot, Mr. Danielson put his writing career on hold while completing his 300 hp Steen Skybolt bi-plane. He flew that airplane in numerous airshows over Texas. Mark left active duty in 1980 to pursue a civilian pilot career, but later returned to active duty, this time in the U.S. Navy. He earned his MA degree while serving as a jet-strike flight instructor in Beeville, Texas.

While assigned to Miramar Naval Air Station, Mark revamped his non-fiction writing career with numerous periodical articles and was twice recognized as the US Navy's top author. His writing was never limited to military publications, though. Novels provided Mr. Danielson with an outlet that non-fiction could not. Using real events as a basis makes his writing both believable and enthralling.  An actual FedEx DC-10 fire inspired Danger Within. The suspicious crash that claimed the life of US Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown inspired The Innocent Never Knew. His third novel, Diablo's Shadow, was based on a child disappearance and was released in 2008 to critical acclaim.

Mr. Danielson frequently participates in author events, which include the Los Angeles Times Book Festival, Men of Mystery event in Irvine, CA, Barnes and Noble Mystery Author's Night, Cutting Edge Murder, Kids Love a Mystery, and High Jinx on the High Seas. His interests include hiking, fine arts, tennis, and restoring cars and boats.

I'm Visiting the Barnes and Noble Mystery Book Club This Week!

All this week, I am a Featured Author guest at the Barnes and Noble Booksellers' on-line Mystery Book Club. You can follow the thread about my visit, read all about me and my latest release, A Basket of Trouble , and ask me any question you'd like. Here's the LINK.

The Barnes and Noble Booksellers' Mystery Book Club is a great group for mystery readers, whether or not you buy your books from Barnes and Noble or use a Nook to read them. Becke Davis, the moderator, works hard to line up interesting author guests every week to interact with the group members. If you aren't already a member and love reading mysteries, I hope you will join. It's free, so what have you got to lose?

Library Journal Weighs In With a Great Review for A Basket of Trouble!

A Basket of Trouble , the third book in my Claire Hanover gift basket designer series, officially debuts on November 8th, though many retailers already have the book in stock and are shipping copies.

A Basket of Trouble will be publishing a review for A Basket of Trouble in their November issue today that ends with the following pull quote:

"Groundwater’s third series entry (after To Hell in a Handbasket) is an action-packed cozy that successfully weaves in her small business and disability awareness."
  -- Library Journal

That means this book has hit ALL FOUR of the big 4 review publications (Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly)!! Only one other release of mine has hit all four, and that was the first in my other series (RM Outdoor Adventures), Deadly Currents. Needless to say, I'm very pleased with the reception that A Basket of Trouble is receiving from reviewers so far.

And, please check out my interview that was published today in The Big Thrill on-line magazine put out by the Thriller Writers of America! The interviewer has some very interesting questions for me to answer. Go HERE.

A Mystery Lover's Gift Basket Recipe for Halloween Giving

Just in time for Halloween, I thought I'd share with my blog readers my gift basket designer character's (Claire Hanover) recipe for a mystery lover's gift basket.

Recipe for a Mystery Lover's Gift Basket
Color scheme: black, red, and either white or gray

Container: black-painted basket, bucket or box, with a lid or handle sticking up, from which you hang fake spider webbing

Stuffing: dried Spanish moss or red-dyed tissue paper, shreds, or wood shavings

Contents:
- Mystery books such as those in the Claire Hanover gift basket designer series: A Real Basket Case, To Hell in a Handbasket, A Basket of Trouble
- CD of eerie music such as Mystery Movie Scores or Mystery Sound Effects
- Pocket-sized mystery party game or travel Clue game
- Movie DVD: Clue, Mousetrap, an Alfred Hitchcock or Sherlock Holmes movie, or a movie collection (such as Mystery Classics: 50 Movie Pack)
- Chocolate or bubble gum coins or other mystery-related chocolate shapes such as blood drops, knives, or guns (Chocolate Pen is a sample vendor)
- And a selection from the following list:
     -- Magnifying glass
     -- Pair of play handcuffs and/or sheriff's badge
     -- Rubber knife
     -- Glasses, nose, mustache disguise
     -- Spy Gear toys from Wild Planet
     -- Skull-shaped/logo item(s): tea-light candle holder, squeeze ball, notepad, drinking cup (see Oriental Trading's Halloween collection)
     -- Bottle of stage blood from a costume or makeup supply store, or make your own (see How To)

Do you have any more ideas for creative ingredients to add to a Mystery Lover's Gift Basket?

Book Giveaway Contest!

To celebrate the impending release of A Basket of Trouble , the third book in my Claire Hanover gift basket designer mystery series, I am hosting a Goodreads giveaway contest that begins today and ends on November 8th, the book's release date, to award a copy to each of two lucky winners. For my blog readers who are Goodreads members, I hope you will enter the contest and add the book to your to-read lists there.

Exploring Colorado

Anyone who knows me knows that I love my home state of Colorado and I love setting my books in scenic locations within the state. Above is a photo of the Garden of the Gods park in Colorado Springs, which is featured in both the first and third mysteries in my Claire Hanover gift basket designer series, A Real Basket Case and A Basket of Trouble .

I encourage anyone who hasn't yet visited Colorado to do so, at the first opportunity! To whet your appetite, I'm going to share some vacation planning links below.

Colorado Ghost Towns

Colorado Creative Districts for the Arts (Including Salida, where Mandy Tanner, my whitewater river ranger sleuth lives. Her latest adventure is Fatal Descent , the third book in my RM Outdoor Adventures series.)

Top Places to Fish in Colorado 

Colorado Wineries and Scenic and Historic Byways

And if those don't whet your traveling appetite, take a look at this list of articles about traveling in Colorado!

Interviewing Characters to Get to Know Them

I'm over at Inkspot today, the blog for Midnight Ink authors, talking about how I used the tool of first-person interviews to get to know the characters in my books. Please check it out and let me know what you think about the article there.

Stretching the Boundaries of a Cozy Mystery

Sex. Violence. Profanity. Agatha Christie might be rolling in her grave (or secretly chuckling) as the modern world shoulders its way into the cozy mystery genre.

Cozy mysteries are also referred to as traditional mysteries. The Malice Domestic conference defines a traditional mystery—books best typified by the works of Agatha Christie—as mysteries which contain no explicit sex or excessive gore or violence; and usually (but are not limited to) featuring an amateur detective, a confined setting, and characters who know one another.

The term cozy mysteries came from the tea cozy, a cloth cover for a teapot which insulates the tea, keeping it warm while it sits on the table next to a reader ensconced in an easy chair reading a traditional mystery. Jessica Fletcher, the heroine of the television series, Murder, She Wrote, typified the type of amateur sleuth found in a cozy mystery. For a more lengthy description of the cozy mystery genre, along with a list of authors, go HERE.

Many current traditional or cozy mystery writers (myself included) have stretched the boundaries of the genre to include a bit more of the grittiness of the modern world. I'll use my own books in the Claire Hanover gift basket designer mystery series to show how we’ve expanded the genre.

Sex – The bedroom door has cracked open a bit, allowing brief glimpses of a breast or a bare bum, but long descriptions of the sex act itself, with plumbing details, are still not tolerated by readers. As an example of walking this line, an underlying subplot in To Hell in a Handbasket, the second book in the Claire Hanover gift basket design series, is Claire's daughter's propensity for appearing just when Claire and her husband decide to get amorous, stopping the action and being grossed out by what she sees.

Violence – Descriptions of the murder victim often have become more graphic, as in my upcoming November release, A Basket of Trouble , the third book in the series, where mention is made of blood, flies, a smashed nose and a leg bent at a unnatural angle. The total description is still limited to just one paragraph, though. Also, fight scenes and shoot-outs can be included in a modern cozy, but prolonged torture or on-screen rape scenes still aren’t tolerated.

Victim – While in the past, the cozy murder victim was someone who “deserved to die” (thus giving us lots of suspects with motive) and was not someone to be mourned, that's no longer always the case. For example, in To Hell in a Handbasket, the first murder victim is an innocent young woman, a friend of Claire's daughter, who still had her whole life ahead of her.

Profanity – Just as modern society has become more tolerant of some foul language, so has the cozy form. An occasional four-letter word is allowed when strong emotion demands it, but it's usually spoken by a male character or a hardened female character, and rarely by the sleuth herself. In A Real Basket Case , the first book in the series, it's usually Claire's husband, her embittered friend Ellen, or one of the criminals involved who, overcome by emotion, let slip with a brief curse.

Confined setting – Often this is interpreted to mean the setting should be a small town or village, but the important aspect here is that most of the characters know each other so when the sleuth interviews them, they divulge information about each other. This can be accomplished by giving most of the characters a common pursuit, even though the book is set in a large city. An example is the staff and clientele of the same Colorado Springs gym in A Real Basket Case.

Issues - Cozies nowadays often tackle political, environmental or ethical issues that may have only been touched upon in the past. For instance, A Basket of Trouble explores the issue of illegal immigration, from the often ignored perspective of the small business owner who tries to do the right thing.

The one feature of the cozy mystery genre that is usually not stretched is that the sleuth is an amateur. Why is this? Because if professional police forensics such as DNA analysis are used to solve the crime versus the interviewing of witnesses, the finding of clues, and deduction of motives, then the puzzle aspect of the books is lost. Then the readers don't have the enjoyment of trying to figure out who the killer is themselves.

Regardless of how the boundaries are being stretched, I will continue to be a fan of cozy mysteries in all their forms, reading them while ensconced in an easy chair next to a pot of warm tea.

Do you have any limits for what you’ll read? If you're a cozy mystery reader, what do you like best about the genre?

A Ziplining Adventure

About a week ago, I went ziplining with my husband, son, and some friends at AVA's Idaho Springs, CO, location. Go HERE to find out more and sign up for your own adventure. It was a gorgeous day, the location on a cliffside among the trees and overlooking Chicago and Clear Creeks and the town was beautiful, and my companions were having a blast. Here I am starting out on one of the longer lines:


And here I'm coming in for a landing.


Below, I'm hamming it up for the photographer (my husband Neil), as I leave another platform, and below that, my brave son shows how it should really be done, with a leap into the air.



AVA guides Mike and Gail McManus made our adventure both fun and safe. I highly recommend AVA's ziplining course and Mike and Gail as guides!