Debra H. Goldstein's Blog, page 11

May Day is Today!!!!!

By Debra H. Goldstein
Today, May 1, is often referred to as May Day. Traditionally, it is associated with celebrating flowers and spring, although at one point, it was put on calendars as being the first day of summer. Rituals associated with May Day flowers include leaving friends and strangers cone-shaped baskets of flowers attached to their doors, but running away before the doorbell is answered. There are other observances attached to May Day from crowning a May Queen and dancing around a maypole (English), having a street carnival (Finland), gifting people with dogwoods or lilies of the valley (France), to having a seasonal feast in honor of spring (Italy).

This May Day, I’m keeping it simple. I’m pretending I rang your doorbell and left you this bouquet of flowers to celebrate spring. Enjoy it!

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TBR – To Be Read – To Be or Not To Be?

By Debra H. Goldstein
Once again, my TBR (to be read) stack is out of control. I know I shouldn’t buy anymore books, but I can’t help myself. It seems that every time I’m on a panel, I need to buy at least one or more of the books written by the authors I appear with. I can’t help it. Their comments and descriptions of their books call out to me.

The same thing happens when any of the writers I share blog space with (The Stiletto Gang, Booklover’s Bench, Writers Who Kill) or who appear as guests on my own, It’s Not Always a Mystery, has a new novel. It’s even worse when I’m introduced to a writer’s works a few books into a series. If I like the one I read, it is humanly impossible for me to refrain myself from reading all of them.

When we downsized a few years ago, I donated my personal library to a rural library that had a wonderful building but no money for a collection. I only kept three or four bookcases of children’s books for my then upcoming grandchildren and another for my cookbook collection (yes, the woman who doesn’t cook collects cookbooks). The biggest bookcase we moved housed my TBR collection. As I write this, TBRs are piled on my desk, my dresser, and an old fashioned telephone table.

During the past few months, I wasn’t writing, but I was reading a book every day or two days. I made a dent in my TBRs, but I quickly filled any gaps in the bookcase with new books. What’s worse, I’ve taken to buying e-books for my Kindle. It is amazing how a click here and there probably means my kindle has more unread books on it than are on my bookshelves. I shudder to think about the numbers of books waiting to be read. To be or not to be is the question.

How about you? Do you keep up or are you overwhelmed by your TBR list?

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From Violinist to Writer: A Personal Journey

By Erica Miner

“To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly.”

                         — Henri Bergson

During my 21 years as a violinist with the Metropolitan Opera in New York, I often thought I would be playing that fiendishly difficult but most splendid of instruments for the rest of my life. After all, I had chosen the violin over my other artistic passion—writing—back when I was in grade school.

 When I was growing up in Detroit, seemingly 100 years ago, the public school system boasted a noteworthy afterschool program. At the age of 7 or 8, I remember being placed in a program for Creative Writing. I’m not sure why—some teacher must have seen a spark of some kind in me—and I don’t recall much of what I wrote (it was, after all, a century ago). But I do remember loving the process of creating characters and plot lines and weaving them all together to tell stories. That experience elicited in me a lifelong love for writing.

Not long after, however, I started studying the violin. As it happened, I was very good at it; but the violin, especially for a young child, demands total commitment. Writing took a back seat to the devotion I had to demonstrate in order to fulfill my musical potential.

Nonetheless, in the ensuing years, I continued to write. In high school, I journaled every day. (Those journals eventually became the basis for one of my early novels.) When I ended up playing in the Met Orchestra at the world’s most prestigious opera house, I still managed to take writing classes whenever I could fit them into my schedule. But opera dominated my life. I felt like I could express my love for it by playing the violin for as long as I could.

Then, one late afternoon as I was driving home from a long rehearsal at the Met, a vehicle traveling too fast for the wet conditions crashed into me. The life I had so carefully built came tumbling down, as I struggled with the resulting injuries. Ultimately the damage to my hands proved impossible to overcome. I had to retire prematurely from the job I adored and give up the instrument I thought I would play forever.

It soon became clear that the creative outlet I desperately needed a to replace this grievous loss was to return to my lifelong passion for writing. I moved to the west coast to study screenwriting and won a number of awards in competitions. Egged on by my writing teacher’s encouragement, I published my first novel, which won the Fiction Prize in the Direct from the Author Book Awards.

Inspired by some nefarious happenings at the Met, coupled with my wicked imagination, I became enthused about writing a murder mystery that would take place among the dark corners and hidden stairways of the Metropolitan Opera House. The protagonist, a young violinist, was based on myself when I was just starting out at the Met. I signed a 3-book contract with Level Best Books, who recently released Aria for Murder, the first in the series, with two sequels in the pipeline.

I’m sure I always will miss playing the violin, as well as the glamour and glitz of performing at the Met. But I feel blessed to express my creativity by writing. Instead of playing the violin to tell other people’s stories, I get to create my own. What could be better than that?

 

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Former Metropolitan Opera violinist Erica Miner is now an award-winning author, screenwriter, arts journalist and lecturer. Erica’s debut novel, Travels with my Lovers, won the Fiction Award in the Direct from the Author Book Awards. Her screenplays have won awards in the Writers Digest, Santa Fe, and WinFemme competitions. Aria for Murder is the first in her Julia Kogan Opera Mystery series being published by Level Best Books. A resident of the Pacific Northwest, Erica also lectures on opera and writing on both coasts and internationally.

eminer5472@gmail.com            https://www.ericaminer.com

Buy links for ARIA FOR MURDER:

Amazon BooksBarnes & Noble

 

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GETTING UNSTUCK

By Anne Louise Bannon

Knowing how many of my writer friends genuinely struggle to get their novels completed, it would not be politic, as they say, for me to complain about getting stuck. After all, I am rather prolific. I attribute this to my obsessive nature and my background in journalism, which means that I am used to spending hours at a keyboard relentlessly producing copy.

But getting stuck happens to all of us, including me, and that’s where I’ve been for the past two months. It is not a fun place to be. I’ve had the bare bones of this story in my head for quite a few years, actually. I know my first scene or two (I do most of my writing in my head, long before I start banging keys). So you would think that it would be no big deal to write the first bits, then fill out the outline, then get going. Right? That’s my usual process and I’ve learned to trust it. Not with this book.

This, by the way, is not a complaint. It’s just a reality and I hope that what I share here will help you get through being stuck. After all, if someone like me, who produces a lot, can get stuck, then when you do, it doesn’t mean that there’s something wrong with you. It just means that you got stuck and you will get unstuck. It happens to every writer I’ve ever met.

Fortunately, I learned early on that sometimes the best way to get unstuck is to do the exact opposite of what you’re used to doing. Like I noted above. I have a process. I have learned over the years that it’s what works for me. It’s just now working now with my current work in progress.

I’m a straight through kind of writer. I start at the beginning of my story and write it all down, chapter by chapter. It’s beginning, middle, end, done. I do not start in the middle of the book, write my scenes out of story order or anything like that. If I get hung up on a bit of research, then my writing stops until I’ve resolved it. I can’t keep going and go back to that scene.

Only this time, the last two scenes of my current work-in-progress got to me and would not let go. Hmmmm. So I wrote the last scenes first. 

I have never, ever done that before. But you know what? My plot is coming together. The characters are bugging me and their essential conflicts are starting to play out. I should have an outline in another couple/three weeks, then it’s just banging keys until I’m done.

I don’t know if I will ever do this again. I know my personal style and trust that it will see me through as it has so many times before. But shaking things up isn’t hurting, either. I don’t know how much I will re-write those last couple of scenes (I know of one bit that I forgot to add and will probably add it shortly). That doesn’t matter. The ball is rolling and I’m unstuck.

 

It soon became clear that the creative outlet I desperately needed a to replace this grievous loss was to return to my lifelong passion for writing. I moved to the west coast to study screenwriting and won a number of awards in competitions. Egged on by my writing teacher’s encouragement, I published my first novel, which won the Fiction Prize in the Direct from the Author Book Awards.

Author Anne Louise Bannon’s husband says that his wife kills people for a living. Bannon does mostly write mysteries, including the Old Los Angeles Series, the Freddie and Kathy series, and the Operation Quickline series. She has worked as a freelance journalist for magazines and newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times. She and her husband, Michael Holland, created the OddBallGrape.com wine education blog, and she co-wrote a book on poisons. Her latest novel is book four in the Old Los Angeles series, Death of an Heiress. She and her husband live in Southern California with an assortment of critters. Visit her website at AnneLouiseBannon.com or follow her on Facebook, (https://www.facebook.com/RobinGoodfellowEnt/).

 

 

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Coffins in the Living Room: a Triumph of Teamwork

By Sandra Benson

When you imagine an author, what do you see?

Is it someone bent over a desk, passionately scribing out a story? Perhaps the author holds a pen over paper, or tattoos a rhythm intently on a keyboard. They are in a small room in an attic. Or, maybe in a shabby-but-charming apartment in a big city?

They are authors and they weave their tales in splendid isolation. They work alone.

Yeah, that’s what I used to think, too. I’m a newbie writer. An emerging author. A babe in the woods. And I entered this writing world as a confirmed introvert, foolishly thinking that lined up nicely with writing.

I was so wrong.

Two years ago, I started putting serious effort into writing. At the same time, I decided to join some writers’ organizations. One of them was the Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime. Maybe I’d take a course online and learn something, I thought.

It never occurred to me that it was other people who would help me become a better writer. Today, with my first story, “Manual for Success”, recently published in an honest-to-gosh book, the Guppy anthology Hook, Line and Sinker, I’m gobsmacked that I ever thought I could do this alone.

The anthology asked for stories about cons, grifters and their victims. I spent weeks and weeks trying to come up with something, but my imagination was as dry as the desert. After 30ish years practising law, any plot about fraud came out overly technical and as dull as dishwater.

Let’s be brutally honest, here. I was drowning in the dishwater. So were my hopes of ever seeing one of my stories in print.

I frowned. “Business fraud? Boring.”

My spouse took up the cause. “How about home party sales? Say… selling coffins?”

Wait a minute. The character of Krystal Markham, eager new sales rep for EverRest funeral supplies, sprang into my head. Her living room stuffed with sample coffins… that she paid for with her teenager’s entire college fund. Such a great investment. What could possibly go wrong?

Grinning wickedly, I pounded out the story. Then revised it. Then revised it some more. It was… not bad, but I was so deep inside the story that I couldn’t see it clearly. I ran it past my critique group.

Until then, I had been sharing chapters of my bestseller-in-training with the other members of my group. This short story was a totally different project.

The other writers read it carefully. They had constructive suggestions. Most important, they believed in it. One of them told me this was a publishable story.

She was right.

Now that I’ve crossed over that line to become a published author, I again find myself in a whole other world. Now there are cover reveals and reader reviews and click-through buying links to discuss with my co-authors in the anthology. And yes, this stuff matters.

I’m hanging on for the ride and trying to learn as much as I can. The good news? Since my first publication is being shared with so many experienced, gracious and generous writers, I’ve got people around who can show me the ropes.  Because, as I’ve learned, writing is not a solitary activity.

Retired lawyer Sandra Benson is a member of Sisters in Crime. Now that she has her first ever story in print, she’s all set for her debut novel, Last Chef Standing, to hit the bestseller’s list. Just as soon as it’s finished.

Until then, she’s going to keep procrastibaking at her home near Victoria, BC. See what’s new at https://sandrabenson.com/.

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It’s Not Always a Mystery – Until It Is

By Maddie Day/Edith Maxwell

Thanks so much for inviting me over, Debra! It’s been such a delight to be on this publishing path with you for the last however-many years.

When I thought about what to write for a coveted guest spot on Debra’s blog, I rolled the title of her web site around in my mind. This is the last post of the not very many I’ve written for the release of Four Leaf Cleaver. (What can I say? I was disorganized in the fall, and the book is my 29th published mystery. With three mysteries in three series coming out each year, I don’t always stay on top of promotion.)

“It’s Not Always a Mystery” – hmm. Is it always a mystery or isn’t it?

The books I write are always mysteries, on the traditional/cozy/historical spectrum. That high-level label is a given. Open one of my books and you can safely say, “It’s a mystery.”

My plot at the start of my writing process? That’s mostly a mystery. I do scribble (okay, type) a page or two of prose recounting a possible plot and send it to my editor before I start writing. That serves as a dim road map as I feel my way through the story. But it’s also a map with dead ends and without lots of new roads that pop up hour by hour. Frankly, I’d rather not know what’s going to happen before I write it.

Another mystery is when characters do and say things I did not intend and had no idea were going to happen. Do other writers feel like you’re channeling when that happens? It’s delightful and isn’t an everyday occurrence. I find how it happens completely mysterious.

Also a mystery for someone writing into the headlights as I do? Who the murderer is. During the start of the book, I come up with three to five plausible suspects. But because I’m following them around and writing down what they do, I’m sometimes not sure which one was responsible for that dead body that pops up toward the beginning of the book. I’ve had books where I am three-quarters done and it still isn’t apparent. I scold myself, saying, “Pick one, already!”

So, in line with Deb’s blog title, what isn’t a mystery for me?

Deadlines. I have three or more hard submission deadlines every year, and I’ve never turned in a book late without prior permission. Right now, for example, I’m writing a first draft of Deep Fried Death, Country Store Mystery #12. The book is due April first. Normally that would be plenty of time for this efficient writer. Except…my son is getting married in Puerto Rico in two weeks and I plan not to work for about twelve days before and after the celebration. I asked my editor for a two-week extension. Because I’m never late, he said, “Sure.”

Hark work. Yes, being an author involves working hard. No mystery there. I show up at my desk ready to work by seven every morning. Some days my 1500 words flow out easily, sometimes writing them is a really strenuous weight workout. But I show up, fingers on the keyboard, and they get written.

Support. I’ve never worked in a more generous, supportive professional community than crime fiction writers. Sisters in Crime has a lot to do with that. I’ve had mentors and peers who uplift me (including Debra). I’ve become lifelong friends with teachers and friendly author pals.

But maybe everyone can be kind and helpful because we get to write dark and nefarious doings on the page, describe backstabbers (sometimes literally) and bad people, and then resolve it all to the benefit of the community. We get to be nasty in our fiction and then put the world right. Why should we be mean and stingy in person?

Readers: What’s one mystery you face, and what one thing isn’t a mystery?

In Four Leaf Cleaver, there’s no mistaking Saint Patrick’s Day at Pans ’N Pancakes, where the shelves of vintage cookware in her southern Indiana store are draped with Kelly-green garlands and her restaurant is serving shepherd’s pie and Guinness Beer brownies. The big event, however, is a televised Irish cooking competition to be filmed on site. Unfortunately, someone’s luck has run out. Before the cameras start rolling, tough-as-nails producer Tara O’Hara Moore is found upstairs in her B&B room, a heavy cleaver left by her side. Now, not only does Robbie have a store full of festive decorations, she’s got a restaurant full of suspects . . .

Maddie Day pens the Country Store Mysteries, the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries, and the new Cece Barton Mysteries. As Agatha Award-winning author Edith Maxwell, she writes the Quaker Midwife Mysteries and award-nominated short crime fiction. A proud lifetime member of Sisters in Crime, Day/Maxwell lives with her beau and cat Martin north of Boston, where she writes, gardens, cooks, and wastes time on Facebook. Find her at EdithMaxwell.com, Wicked Authors, Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen, and on social media: BookBub,Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

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That Devil Called Doubt

By Donnell Ann Bell

Because Donnell’s hand is in a cast, we agreed for this guest post to be an oldie but goodie.

Focusing on a human emotion that rarely goes away, Donnell and I hope That Devil Called Doubt proves useful. I’m sure you also join me in hoping Donnell’s hand heals quickly.

Ever since Adam took the apple from Eve, man has been doomed to experience doubt.  To bite… or not to bite… Hmmm.  The answer’s not always so simple.

I’m not claiming that writing is like eating from the Tree of Good and Evil.  However, doubt can be akin to a serpent that slithers around a trunk.   In my case, the serpent transforms into a little guy with horns in a red suit.  The fiend sits on my shoulder and debunks everything I write.  “Your descriptions are lacking, conflict is weak.  You’ll never be as good as…

Sound familiar?  It should.  I haven’t met a writer yet who thinks as Muhamad Ali does, that . . . “I’m the greatest.”

Rumors abound that Stephen King threw Carrie in the trash. And I don’t think doubt is exclusive to men named Stephen.  I ask you.  How many of us have manuscripts still in a drawer?  No need to raise your hand.  I’ve got your names and numbers.

There is nothing more personal to a writer than writing.  The words that flow into sentences, evolve into chapters then culminate into books are part of us.  The characters we create are real—maybe more so—than the stranger standing beside us.  We’re truly odd creatures in that respect.  We have a rare ability.  To produce three-dimensional characters we know as intimately as we know ourselves.  Imagination is a gift.  Believe it or not, so is doubt.

Cicero wrote, “By doubting we come to the truth.”  Profound words if you ask me.  When I wrote my first book, I experienced no doubt.  I truly believed from the depths of my being that it was bestseller material. Sandra Brown had nothing on me.  Then I joined my first critique group.

These ladies kicked me in my proverbial backside, something I’m still smarting over, but for which I’ll always be grateful.  I had no knowledge of POV, no understanding of goal, motivation and conflict, adverbs were my friend, and I pitied anyone who didn’t have my amazing talent.

Ahem… Thank the stars I found them. These people and numerous writing groups instilled in me some marvelous tools.  But along with this eye-opening knowledge came—you guessed it—the doubt.

Does it ever get any easier.  Honestly?  I don’t know.  But I have learned some things that can help disparage doubt, and I’d like to share these tips with you.  Remember, this is what has worked for me.  Every writer must find his own way.

Become Educated:  Many writing organizations offer on-line workshops. Read!  Read everything you can!  Whatever you’re writing, understand the genre.  Learn the differences, what the public likes and what sells.  But use caution.  Write what you love, write the story that’s in you.Spare Up Your Free Time:  I have learned firsthand that free time isn’t free.  It’s the venue in which I daydream and plot, something crucial to a writer.  I’m not saying don’t get involved.  I am saying know your limits.Develop Your Muse and Get Unstuck:  Ever heard of the sagging middle?  The point where you wonder which direction you should take?  Besides daydreaming there are several ways to pull out of a writer’s bog.Write the scene in multiple POVs:  This allows you to tell the story in the strongest way possible.Outline:  In-the-mist writers often utter expletives when it comes to this chore.  I’m an in-the-mist writer.  I don’t always stick to the outline.   Still, it leads me in a general direction and my muse takes it from there.Play word choice games:  If you’re still adrift on that life raft of uncertainty, try something I learned during Open Critique. Take a word and put it on a piece of paper.  For purposes of this article, let’s use a word that surrounds doubt.  Let’s take the word dubiously.  Forgive the adverb.

Okay, the word has nothing to do with my current work in progress, but I’m stuck.  I want the muse to flow.  So here goes.  Dubiously.  Dubiously, I allowed my gaze to wander the darkened street.  It had been hours since I’d lost the tail.  But a voice inside snaked out its warning.  I wasn’t alone.

I’m sure if the word or words you select surround your WIP, you can do much better.  Still, I’ve found these tools work.  Heck, I may even have the start of a new story!

Does doubt ever disappear?  My guess is probably not.  Unless you’re as naïve as I was.  Still, think of it this way.  Only by developing tools, giving into your muse and transferring those words onto the written page, can you advance your writing career.  Using this knowledge and inspiration, each scene will blossom to life, and so too your confidence.  Yes, the above is merely my opinion.  But here’s one truism I do know.  Only by writing can we banish that devil called doubt.

Donnell Ann Bell tried to write a conventional romance. When the body showed up, she gave up the ruse. She preferred mystery and police procedure. As the co-owner of Crimescenewriter, a forum started by a veteran police officer, Donnell has learned from some of the finest LEO professionals in existence. Her first suspense, Black Pearl, A Cold Case Suspense (2019) was a 2020 Colorado Book Award finalist. The second book in the series Until Dead was released in May 2022. The author of four award-winning romantic suspense novels, she’s glad that body showed up. www.donnellannbell.com

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Living our Best Lives by Maggie Toussaint, writing as Valona Jones

By Maggie Toussaint
Are you living your best life? Topic information abounds, so it’s confusing to navigate the choices. The standbys of eating selected foods and adopting more activity in your life vary by body type, blood type, blood component balance, starting health, and genetics, but the overall trend is the still the same: eat less, move more.

Most of us have “good” reasons not to be our best selves… It’s too stressful to diet and exercise. I like to eat. I have a bad knee/hip/back. My job is too stressful right now. I just broke up with my partner. A family member is very ill. It costs too much to diet and exercise. I’m too big (or little) to do it safely. I have other complicated health issues.

We want great health and abs of steel without the work. It’s no wonder we fall into bad habits. After all, no one wants to give up their comfort foods.

Character health is tailor-made for fiction due to its inherent conflict. When I created the world for A Magic Candle Shop Mystery series, I envisioned Tabby Winslow’s family’s well-being depended on them living in one location. Simultaneously, I used snips of Savannah, Georgia’s history and its reputation of losing track of burial sites as a basis for establishing the shop’s supercharged location.

The port of Savannah attracted Native Americans, European explorers and missionaries, and colonists from around the world. With such a turnover of residents, the number of unrecorded graves is unknown. Also, Savannah endured three Yellow Fever Epidemics with hundreds and thousands dead in a short time. Consequently, Savannah has several mass grave sites.

Though these mass grave locations are known, I took a creative license and moved one underneath the candle shop. This jumpstarted the paranormal edge of the story and provided a supercharged energy field. Because twins Tabby and Sage Winslow read auras and manipulate energy, this influx is a game-changer for them. If they can’t keep the family business profitable, they’ll lose their business, their home above the shop, and their opportunity to live their best life.

In real estate the mantra of “location, location, location” drives sales. With the candle shop in a prime location near the waterfront, the shop is often targeted by developers. The upshot? The Winslows must remain ever-vigilant about threats.

Maintaining a high level of alertness for a prolonged time is physically, mentally, and spiritually exhausting, so I parlayed that energy drain into the story framework. Further, the Winslows psychic abilities are a closely held family secret.

Are the fictional Winslows living their best lives? Absolutely. Now it’s your turn. Are you living your best life?

SNUFFED OUT by Valona Jones

Twin sisters Tabby and Sage co-own a candle shop, but will it all go up in flames in Valona Jones’ series debut, perfect for fans of Amanda Flower and Bailey Cates.

30-year-old fraternal twins Tabby and Sage Winslow own The Book and Candle Shop in Savannah. Sage is hot-headed and impulsive while Tabby is calm and collected, making them the perfect partnership. When one of their customers is found murdered, from a blow to the head, that partnership is put to the test.

Blithe McAdam had been seen in a heated argument with shop clerk Gerard, which immediately makes him suspect number one. The twins are convinced of Gerard’s innocence and start digging into Blithe’s past. But no one is cooperating. The neighbor who found the body isn’t talking, medical examiner Quig won’t give any details about the autopsy, and nasty rumors begin surfacing about the drowning of Blithe’s father years earlier—evidence that could seal Gerard’s fate.

Tabby and Sage dig desperately for the truth. But it’s not only their friend who’s in peril. With the clock ticking, the twins find themselves in the grip of an unseen and deadly energy that has seeped into their midst—and in the sights of a ruthless killer.

Links to purchase the book:

Kindle  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09XM5PKP7/  

Nook https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/snuffed-out-valona-jones/1141345375?ean=9781639102068

Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/snuffed-out-2

Amazon hardcover  https://www.amazon.com/dp/1639102051/

Barnes & Noble hardcover https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/snuffed-out-valona-jones/1141345375?ean=9781639102051

Bio:

Valona Jones writes paranormal cozy mysteries set in Southern locales. Her work blends mystery and the unexplained, along with a sprinkle of romance. A former scientist, she’s drawn to the study of personal energy. She sharpened her people-watching skills as a lifelong introvert and thankfully had a bank vault full of personal observations when she began to write fiction. Valona is a member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. She lives in coastal Georgia, where time and tide wait for no one. Visit her at https://valonajones.com .

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The Joys of Writing Something New

By Lynn McPherson
It’s been a big year in my writing life. I got an agent and, very recently, signed a three-book deal with Level Best Books. I’m absolutely delighted. And relieved. Now I’m gearing up to go back to what I love to do—writing!

For me, there’s nothing more exciting than starting a new book. I even treated myself to a brand new notebook and a supersize pack of multi-color sticky notes. Woot woot!

To get things started, I went to my happy place—the library, of course. Butt in chair, pen in hand, and then… nothing. My mind went blank. It’s been so long since I’ve started a new book, I couldn’t remember what to do. Has this happened to anyone else? Yikes. Not a good feeling.

Luckily, resources were available nearby.

I borrowed How to Write a Mystery: A Handbook From Mystery Writers of America, edited by Lee Child. I’ve also begun to read Story Genius, by Lisa Cron.

After some quiet reading, I began to jot some notes. Nothing concrete, just some thoughts about the who, what, why, and how. Ideas started flow at last.

The truth is, I’d forgotten how intimidating it can be to think of writing an entire book. Then I remembered one key point: a book is not written in one long stream-of-consciousness (at least a book written by me). It’s a process. And to get it started, there’s only one thing that must be done. Sit down and write.

So now, I’m back to being excited. I’ve been thinking about the plot, a new list of characters to develop, scenes to plan, and dialogue to conjure up. I’d forgotten how much I love writing character arcs, coming up with a list of plausible suspects, and all the other fun steps of writing a mystery.

With my first three books, I had a very loose outline and was more of a pantser (someone who writes by the seat of their pants). This time, I’m determined to try something more structured. There are so many different ways to outline, it’ll be a fun exercise to experiment with various methods and see what works and what doesn’t.

What are your favorite parts of writing? Do you have a favorite method for outlining or are you a true pantser?

Lynn McPherson has had a myriad of jobs, from running a small business to teaching English across the globe. She has travelled the world solo, where her daring spirit has led her to jump out of airplanes, dive with sharks, and learn she would never master a surfboard. Lynn served on the Board of Directors for Crime Writers from 2019-2021. She is the author of The Izzy Walsh Mystery Series and can be found at http://lynnmcpherson.net/.

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How the Story Came Together

By Debra Sennefelder
One question authors always get is where we get ideas from. Another top ten question is how do they plot their books? Today I’m going to share a look behind the scenes of my process.

The idea for SLEUTHING IN STILETTOS started from a few disjointed thoughts.

I wanted the mystery to revolve around another shop owner in Lucky Cove.I wanted Kelly to be dealing with the fallout of her cousin’s murder over the summer.I wanted the primary murder suspect to be someone close to Kelly.I wanted the story to take place in autumn and end right after Thanksgiving.I wanted something else, but I can’t share because it’s a spoiler.

With those ideas, I was off brainstorming the story. For this stage, I typically use a notebook and find comfy places in the house (or in warmer weather, out on the patio) to jot down all the things that could happen. It can take me up to three weeks to write a complete outline for a book.

After brainstorming ideas, I get out the index cards and start filling them out. Usually, each card will have one to two sentences.

I’ll spread out the cards and start arranging them into scenes. Sometimes a few cards will become one scene because the idea isn’t enough to carry a whole scene or move the story forward.

When I have the cards in order, I take them to my computer and create a document. This will be more of a bare-bones outline. Once it’s complete, I’ll let it sit for a few days while I work on something else. For example, I might have copy edits, or I have to prepare for a release, or some admin work needs to be done.

After letting the story percolate, I return to my outline with a notebook ready to jot down notes as I read through the document. I’m fleshing out the plot, noting what the murderer is doing as my sleuth follows the clues – actual and red herrings. As I work through the outline, I’ll add character descriptions, notes about the setting, snippets of dialogue, and links to research articles.

Once the outline is finished and it could be up to twenty-five single-spaced pages, I begin writing. I take one scene at a time and keep writing until the first draft is complete. There’s no editing during this part of the process. My word count varies depending on what other work I must do, but I aim to write six days a week.

While writing the first draft of SLEUTHING IN STILETTOS, I found that a few ideas I had early on didn’t work. It can be scary, but I had confidence that new ideas would pop up. And they did. And they were so much better than what I’d initially planned.

There you have it, my process. Of course, every author’s process of plotting a story is different. What’s important is that we write the story.

If you’re an author, what’s your process of plotting? If you’re not an author, do you have any author questions you’d like to ask?

About Sleuthing in Stilettos:

Kelly Quinn, owner of a high-end consignment shop, is a booster for her Long Island town’s small businesses—but now a store owner’s murder has brought big trouble . . .

Locals in Lucky Cove seem to harbor hostility toward Miranda Farrell, proprietor of a new shoe store. Nevertheless, Kelly invites her along to a Chamber of Commerce meeting. But soon afterward, Miranda’s body is found in her shop, with Kelly’s uncle—who’s had multiple public arguments with her—standing nearby. Could her uncle really have committed murder over a business dispute? Or is Miranda’s death related to her late husband’s long-ago embezzlement case?

Kelly feels compelled to investigate, despite her detective boyfriend’s objections—not to mention her commitment to promoting Small Business Saturday. But her effort to pump up sales may fall flat. After her presentation to the committee is sabotaged, the Chamber gives her the boot—and tongues start wagging. Now she has to do some fancy footwork to find the killer . . .

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Debra Sennefelder is the acclaimed author of the Food Blogger Mysteries and the Resale Boutique Mystery Series. An avid reader who reads across a range of genres, mystery fiction is her obsession. Her interest in people and relationships is channeled into her novels against a backdrop of crime and mystery.

Her first novel, THE UNINVITED CORPSE (A Food Blogger mystery) was published in 2018. When she’s not reading, she enjoys cooking and baking and as a former food blogger, she is constantly taking photographs of her food. Yeah, she’s that person.

Born and raised in New York City, where she majored in her hobby of fashion buying, she now lives and writes in Connecticut with her family. She worked in retail and publishing before becoming a full-time author. Her writing companion is her adorable and slightly spoiled Shih-Tzu, Connie.

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