Debra H. Goldstein's Blog, page 20

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year!

May 2020 be a year of happiness, health and prosperity

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Guest Blogger – Heather Weidner – 13 Things That Drive Editors and Readers Crazy (And Not in a Good Way)

13 Things That Drive Editors and Readers Crazy (And Not in a Good Way) by Heather Weidner

Thank you so much for letting me visit the blog. I’m Heather Weidner, and I write the Delanie Fitzgerald mysteries, Secret Lives and Private Eyes, The Tulip Shirt Murders, and Glitter, Glam, and Contraband. The latest one in the series features my sassy private investigator who is hired to find out who is stealing from the talent at a local drag show. Delanie gets more than she bargains for and a few makeup tips in the process. She also uses her skills to track down missing reptiles and uncover hidden valuables from a 100-year-old crime with a Poe connection.

I’ve been doing a lot of self-editing lately. It’s funny how you can see problems in other peoples’ stories, but they’re not always apparent in your own. I appreciate feedback from editors, beta readers, and critique group members that help me catch some of the mistakes as I polish my WIPs. These pet peeves can be a turn off for readers.

1. Editors always warn writers about “showing” not “telling.” They’re right. Readers prefer to see and interpret narrative and dialogue and not to get a play-by-play report like a newscast or a police report.

2. Backstory is good and helpful in small doses. Sprinkle it in throughout the work. Don’t do paragraph after paragraph of data dumps about a character’s past. That’s too much information, and the reader gets bogged down.

3. Sometimes, it’s necessary to have different points of view, and skilled authors do this very well. (Thriller/suspense writers are really good at this.) Typically in mysteries, the story is told from one point of view. When you hop around from different characters, it confuses the reader and breaks the flow of the story. And beginning writers who write in first person (I/me), often switch to another character or show something that happens that the protagonist isn’t privy too. That doesn’t work with first person.

4. Introduce your characters and mix in what they look like. I’ve found that some writers tend to do a dump of several paragraphs of description every time there is a new character. Your writing reads like a police report or a list of facts when you do this.

5. Not every piece of dialogue needs a tag or attribute (e.g. “he said,” “she said). One of my editors calls this “talking head syndrome.” If you’ve made it clear in the paragraph who is speaking, you don’t need the tag.

6. While not every piece of dialogue needs a tag/attribute, make sure that you don’t go for pages and not identify any of the speakers. If there are only two people, the reader assumes that it’s a back and forth, but if you have multiples, you need to give the reader clues. The reader wants to know who is speaking.

7. Read your dialogue out loud. Delete all the chitchat that doesn’t move your story forward. It’s hard. I’m southern, and I like to say please and thank you a lot. The mundane needs to go.

8. People do not talk in complete or formal sentences. It’s okay to have phrases and slang in dialogue. That’s the way people communicate. (I had a person in my critique group once who wanted all the sentences to be complete and proper. This doesn’t always work for the speaking parts.)

9. Writers often want to make sure that the reader understands what’s mentioned in dialogue by adding details about the characters, but sometimes this leads to you stating the obvious. Example: If two sisters were talking, and you bring up another character in dialogue that they both know from childhood, you don’t have to put in all the details to explain who the person is. You can sprinkle in facts in the conversation. The characters should know that Bob is their uncle.

10. When you are at the editing/revising stage of your project, go back and look at the closing sentence of each chapter. Make sure they are compelling enough to keep the reader reading. Beginning writers like to wrap up things neatly at the end of the chapter. You want your reader to read past her bedtime. Don’t give the reader a convenient place to put a bookmark.

11. Know what your crutch words are. These are the words and phrases that you use over and over, and often you don’t realize it. I make a list, and then when I’m editing, I go through in search and destroy mode to get rid of them. “Just,” “only,” and “that” are mine.

12. Make sure that you take every advantage as a writer to build tension. Don’t hurry through scenes that are important. Go back and edit these to build excitement for the reader.

13. Reread your draft. If there are parts where you are bored, your reader is going to be too. Break out the editing pen and make updates to keep the action moving forward. Delete the mundane and the ordinary.

Author Biography

Glitter, Glam, and Contraband is Heather Weidner’s third novel in the Delanie Fitzgerald series. Her short stories appear in the Virginia is for Mysteries series, 50 Shades of Cabernet, and Deadly Southern Charm. Her novellas appear in The Mutt Mysteries series. She is a member of Sisters in Crime – Central Virginia, Guppies, International Thriller Writers, and James River Writers.

Originally from Virginia Beach, Heather has been a mystery fan since Scooby-Doo and Nancy Drew. She lives in Central Virginia with her husband and a pair of Jack Russell terriers.

Heather earned her BA in English from Virginia Wesleyan University and her MA in American literature from the University of Richmond. Through the years, she has been a cop’s kid, technical writer, editor, college professor, software tester, and IT manager.

Synopsis of Glitter, Glam, and Contraband

Private investigator, Delanie Fitzgerald, and her computer hacker partner, Duncan Reynolds, are back for more sleuthing in Glitter, Glam and Contraband. In this fast-paced mystery, the Falcon Investigations team is hired to find out who is stealing from the talent at a local drag show. Delanie gets more than she bargains for and a few makeup tips in the process. Meanwhile, a mysterious sound in the ceiling of her office vexes Delanie. She uses her sleuthing skills to track down the source and uncover a creepy contraband operation.

Glitter, Glam, and Contraband features a strong female sleuth with a knack for getting herself in and out of humorous situations like helping sleezy strip club owner, Chaz Smith on his quest to become Richmond’s next mayor, tracking down missing reptiles, and uncovering hidden valuables from a 100-year-old crime with a Poe connection.

Contact Information

Website and Blog: http://www.heatherweidner.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeatherWeidner1

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeatherWeidn...

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heather_mys...

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

Amazon Authors: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00HOYR0MQ

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/HeatherBWei...

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-w...

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/heath...

AllAuthor: https://allauthor.com/profile/heather...

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyBj...

Book Links

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08... Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/glitt... Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/glit... BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/glitter... Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/glit...

Scribd: https://www.scribd.com/book/434445848...

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Thanking You! – An Announcement of Gratitude

THANKING YOU! – AN ANNOUNCEMENT OF GRATITUDE by Debra H. Goldstein

With Thanksgiving officially over, the family gone, the laundry done, and almost all the leftovers eaten, it’s time to look to the future. On behalf of Sarah Blair, RahRah, Fluffy and the other characters populating Kensington’s Sarah Blair cozy mystery series, I’m excitedly and thankfully announcing their adventures will be continuing at least through 2022!

Kensington originally bought three Sarah Blair books and have now purchased two more. What that means is that because One Taste Too Many and Two Bites Too Many were both published in 2019, there will be additional Sarah Blair books in 2020 (Three Treats Too Many), 2021, and 2022. Sarah Blair, RahRah, Fluffy, the other folks who populated Wheaton, and I are feeling blessed.

Because of YOU, Thanksgiving isn’t over (except for the laundry). In today’s publishing world, the continuation of a series is a tribute not to the author, but to the readers, fans, and critics. Between the reviews left on Amazon and Goodreads, the books purchased in print, e-book, big print, or audio either online or in brick and mortar bookstores, the Sarah Blair series has found a readership. What’s thrilling though is when one of you tells another about One Taste Too Many, Two Bites Too Many or the Sarah Blair series. There are so many books and authors out there that word of mouth is the best sales tool a writer can have today — and it’s a way to keep new series you like going.

So, my THANKS to you. Also, if you have a moment, tell someone about One Taste Too Many or Two Bites Too Many. Both make purr-fect stocking stuffers or sit nicely next to a menorah. Debra

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Guest Blogger: Brenda Whiteside – Where do you begin When Writing a Series?

Where Do You Begin Writing a Series? by Brenda Whiteside

At a recent book signing, I was asked where do you begin when writing a series. The truth is, every writer probably has their own method. I’m in the process of writing my second series. I say process because I learned from writing my first, The Love and Murder Series, that creating a set of linked stories should be a process. Currently, I’m planning three books which will each have their own unique romantic thriller plot, but there will also be an arc for the three books. While each book will leave the reader satisfied with the story, by the end of the third book, the trilogy will reach its own conclusion and satisfy the reader.

When I wrote The Love and Murder Series, I didn’t think that far ahead. There are five books in the series. Each book was a spinoff of the first book, The Art of Love and Murder. While I am happy with how the series turned out, ecstatic with the reviews and readers comments, I had to work a little harder to gel the series in the end because I didn’t think ahead. On the other hand, I had a lot of fun letting the characters from book one demand their own story.

The Power of Love and Murder, book four, came as a result of a minor character in The Art. She was introduced as Penny, but the heroine, Lacy, nicknamed her The Black Fairy because of her penchant for all things black in her clothing. She wore fun stuff, too, such as lace gloves and tiaras. Little did I know when we met her in book one that she was living under an assumed name and feared for her life.

But Penny was only one inspiration for The Power of Love and Murder. Years ago, my brother told us a story of a miserable night in a cheap hotel when he was broke and trying to get from one job to another. As sorry as that story was, we had to laugh. I knew I’d use it someday in a novel. When you read The Power of Love and Murder, you’ll recognize the scene.

Since the holidays are drawing near, The Power of Love and Murder can fit in with holiday reading, too: This Christmas, Penny Spark’s desire to reconnect with family causes her to expose her true identity—a secret she’s hidden for thirteen years from the political powers who murdered her family.

So, where do you begin when writing a series? Decide the kind of series, give some thought to how many books might come out of your ideas, and think ahead. I also keep copious files on each character (everything from eye color to the car they drive), a detailed historical timeline (could even go back a few decades or centuries), location research, event timeline, and any other pertinent files unique to the series.

~~~~~

Brenda Whiteside is the author of suspenseful, action-adventure romance. Mostly. She signed her first book contract in 2009. After living in six states and two countries—so far—she and her husband have decided they are gypsies at heart. After three years on a small farm in northern Arizona, they retired to their RV to think about their next move. They share their home with a rescue dog named Amigo. While FDW is fishing, Brenda writes stories of discovery and love entangled with suspense.

Visit Brenda at https://www.brendawhiteside.com

Or on FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/BrendaWhites...

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TBR and Chocolates

TBR and Chocolates by Debra H. Goldstein

In the Forrest Gump movie, Forrest explains that his mother often compared life to a box of chocolates because you never know what you were going to get. As the days pass, I not only agree with her, but being honest, I find myself eating through that box of chocolates — and loving every single bite.

My favorite pieces are covered in dark chocolate, but I am an equal opportunity eater, once the dark chocolates are gone, I’m ready for the milk chocolates. I’m not very fond of caramel or those flavored ones that all have the same texture but seem to have been shot with a flavor. But, when push comes to shove, I’ll eat those, too.

When it comes to books, especially those on my TBR pile, my reading tastes are like life and the box of chocolates. There are numerous books by certain authors that sit there waiting to be read and other books that go to the top of my list as would any piece of dark chocolate. Some are literary, some biography, some mystery. All are meant to entertain and sustain me.

And they do.

I only wish I had the time to sit and binge read because I know how satisfied I would be. What about you? Do you read only certain books or is your TBR shelf like a box of chocolates?

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Two Bites Too Many Released Today! – What Else Can I Say?

 

Two Bites Too Many Released Today – What Else Can I Say?

Things are finally looking up for Sarah Blair following her unsavory divorce. Settled into a cozy carriage house with her sassy Siamese cat, RahRah, she has somehow managed to hang on to her law firm receptionist job and – if befriending strays at the local animal shelter counts – lead a thriving social life. For once, Sarah almost has it together more than her enterprising twin, Emily, a professional chef whose efforts to open a gourmet restaurant have hit a real dead end…

When the president of the town bank is murdered after icing Emily’s business plans, all eyes are on the one person who left the scene with blood on her hands – the twins’ sharp-tongued mother, Maybelle. Determined to get her mom off the hook ASAP, Sarah must collect the ingredients of a deadly crime to bring the true culprit to justice.

https://www.amazon.com/Bites-Many-Sarah-Blair-Mystery-ebook/dp/B07MB4779P

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/two-bites-too-many-debra-h-goldstein/1130055243?

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Why I Write the Different Blogs I Write and What That Means for You

Why I Write the Different Blogs I Write and What That Means for You by Debra H. Goldstein

When I started writing, I was told I needed to establish a social media presence. My son helped me get on Facebook, I wrote a short tweet on Twitter, and I created a Linked In profile. I also started this blog, It’s Not Always a Mystery. It’s title encompassed what I hope for the blog to accomplish when it appears every other Monday – letting people learn my ideas and thoughts aren’t always mystery related and that the different guest I feature every month may be a famous author or not, but might be writing something you’d like to read.

A year or so later, I was invited to write a blog for The Stiletto Gang, a group of romance and mystery writers. The diversity of the writers involved, in terms of their backgrounds, thoughts, and writings, intrigued me. Most of the time, but not always, the blog I post on the second Friday of each month has a direct tie-in to writing. I also find the blog we write as a group on the first Wednesday of every month interesting because although we are asked the same question, we invariably answer it differently.

Next came an opportunity to join Writers Who Kill. Although everyone on this blog is a mystery writer, we each address our craft from different genres and perspectives. Our backgrounds color our postings. This blog also works differently than any of the other blogs in that we all put eyes on proposed blogs before they are posted. This results in more polished blogs and gives me insight into my fellow bloggers before I might craft a response to what they’ve written. You can find my posts on Writers Who Kill on the third Monday of each month.

Recently, even though I swore I was writing enough blogs, I joined a new group, Booklovers Bench – Where Readers Are Winners. The tagline for this blog says it all. Not only are there monthly giveaways from this blog, but six seasoned writers alternate writing a weekly “Let’s Talk” column. Often, the “Let’s Talk”columns also offer freebies.

Some people argue that blogs are going out of style (Instagram is preferred by one age group and Facebook by another), but to me they are windows into the soul of authors you might fascinating. That’s why, besides the four blogs I’m associated with, I subscribe to several other ones, too. I’d love to have you follow me on all my blogs – the material on each will always be different. Here are the links to join:

It’s Not Always a Mystery: Blog: https://www.debrahgoldstein.com/blog/

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/DebraHGoldsteinAuthor

The Stiletto Gang: Blog: https://thestilettogang.blogspot.com/

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/stilettogang/

Writers Who Kill: Blog: https://writerswhokill.blogspot.com/

Booklovers Bench: Blog: https://bookloversbench.com/

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/bookloversbench

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Guest Blogger: Judy Penz Sheluk – Crossover Characters

Crossover Characters by Judy Penz Sheluk

I love it when an author takes a major character from one book and gives them a small role in another. John Sandford does this to perfection (well, he does everything to perfection) with his Lucas Davenport “Prey” series and Virgil Flowers novels…in fact, his Virgil Flowers series is a spin-off of Prey, which makes it all the more fun when Davenport turns up for a few paragraphs. Michael Connelly masters this equally well, with Harry Bosch and Mickey Haller, among others. Then there’s Tana French, whose Dublin-based detective series cleverly allows a small character in one book to become the lead in another. Sheer brilliance.

I don’t claim to be as gifted as Sandford, Connelly, or French, but I have been influenced by each of them (and many others). And so, when I began writing Skeletons in the Attic, book 1 in my Marketville Mystery series, and my protagonist, Calamity (Callie) Barnstable discovered an antique locket, my thoughts immediately turned to Arabella Carpenter, the protagonist in my Glass Dolphin Mystery series. The Glass Dolphin, you see, is an antiques shop, owned by Arabella, who just so happens to be an old school friend of Callie’s.

Past & Present (book 2 Marketville) is the story of a woman looking for answers about her grandmother, Anneliese Prei, who immigrated to Canada from England in 1952 and was murdered in Toronto in 1956. I’d become somewhat obsessed with the TSS Canberra, the ship my recently deceased mother (also Anneliese) came to Canada on, and so my immediate angle was to have the client contact Arabella for any ephemera related to that ship. Sadly, Arabella comes up empty, but she does have a referral to dig into the case: Past & Present Investigations, the company newly formed by her good friend, Callie.

In my most recent release, A Fool’s Journey, Callie is charged with finding a young man named Brandon Colbeck, who disappeared 20 years earlier without a trace. The case takes her on a trail of deception and decade-old secrets, and along the way, vintage tattoo flash (the term used for generic tattoo artwork) becomes an important part of the investigation. This time, not only did I conjure up Arabella, I also included her ex-husband, Levon Larroquette, an antiques picker (who in my head looks like a young “Star is Born” Kris Kristofferson). Not only is Levon a major character in the Glass Dolphin series, in book 2 (A Hole in One), he’s the prime suspect in the murder of his estranged father.

I’m currently working on book 3 of the Glass Dolphin series, expected to release sometime in 2020. So far, Callie hasn’t entered the picture…but it’s early days and anything is possible! Who knows, maybe one of the minor characters in the Marketville series will come along for the ride. In the meantime, here’s a bit about A Fool’s Journey, which just released on Aug. 21 in trade paperback and on Kindle/Kindle Unlimited:

In March 2000, twenty-year-old Brandon Colbeck left home to find himself on a self-proclaimed “fool’s journey.” No one—not friends or family—has seen or heard from him since, until a phone call from a man claiming to be Brandon brings the case back to the forefront. Calamity (Callie) Barnstable and her team at Past & Present Investigations have been hired to find out what happened to Brandon and where he might be. As Callie follows a trail of buried secrets and decades-old deceptions only one thing is certain: whatever the outcome, there is no such thing as closure.

A Fool’s Journey, book 3 in Judy’s Marketville Mystery series, is available in trade paperback at all the usual suspects, and on Kindle.

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

~~~~~

Judy Penz Sheluk is the bestselling author of the Glass Dolphin Mystery and Marketville Mystery series, and the editor of The Best Laid Plans: 21 Stories of Mystery & Suspense. Her short stories can be found in several collections. Judy is also a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, the Short Mystery Fiction Society, and Crime Writers of Canada, where she serves as Vice Chair on the Board of Directors. Find her at www.judypenzsheluk.com.

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Guest Blogger: Angie Gallion – Life Gets in the Way

Life Gets in the Way by Angie Gallion

When I read Debra’s post about best-laid plans sometimes going awry, I could relate. No matter how hard we try, life sometimes gets in the way.

My writing journey has been filled with life getting in the way. I was a big dreamer growing up and I came from a small pond, so I thought I was something. I had a lot of creative interests, art, theater, and writing. I had a solid, supportive family. I had enough drama to carry me several lifetimes. I was very shiny, back then.

When I was twenty-three I was offered a contract on a novel by a small publishing house. I didn’t understand anything about the real world at that point, I was big fish, you see, in that small pond, and I had big dreams. I was already planning my midwest escape and knew that it would be just a matter of stepping into that glittering world and I would turn to gold.

I should have jumped on board and signed that contract.

I didn’t.

For the years I lived in California, I tried to find my fit in the landscape, hitting auditions, going to casting calls, dreaming with a million other girls who had been big fish in small ponds. I wanted to be a star, but I didn’t have the talent, the fortitude, the family connections, or the casting couch mindset. I worked three jobs to support myself and reevaluated my sense of “big fish.”

Still, I had this novel, that somebody had once said was good. I found my way back to it, when I knew for sure I was copper and not gold, and for the next twenty years, I reworked that book. It moved to California then back to the midwest. A couple of times. Finally, it moved to Georgia and about once a year I would work through it, thinking, I had something special here if only I could finish it.

But I didn’t know how it ended and after twenty-odd years, it no longer looked anything like the book I had presented to that small press in Illinois.

In 2016, I became aware of the indie publishing movement and started dreaming again that I could finish this book and see it in print. Then, for once, I would have completed something.

I worked through it one more time, and finally, the end came to me, and I knew it was right. I found an editor who wanted to work with me and within months that much-transformed novel became Intoxic.

Hallelujah. I finally completed something!

It took me twenty-five years and a whole bunch of life getting in the way, but finally, I had accomplished something.

Then an amazing thing happened. I had more to write, and a small group of readers who wanted me to write it. From 2016 through 2019 I completed four more books, three to complete the series begun with Intoxic (Purgus, Icara, Emergent), and a psychological thriller (Off the Dark Ledge) that was a surprise.

 

My current project, which I had hoped to complete in July, is on hold because early in 2019, life got in the way. I’m just hoping it doesn’t take another twenty-five years to figure out how this one ends.

.~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Angie Gallion was raised in Illinois and now lives with her husband and their daughters outside of Atlanta, Georgia. Angie writes about complex family relationships and often deals with growth through trauma, addiction, or mental illness. Check out her website: www.angiegallion.com .

 

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I Had the Best Intentions, But … by Debra H. Goldstein

I Had the Best Intentions, But … by Debra H. Goldstein

My goal is for a new It’s Not Always a Mystery blog to appear every other Monday. One blog per month is written by me, while the second is by a guest blogger who I believe you will find interesting. My guest bloggers have included New York Times and USA bestsellers, as well as mid-listers and writers who are about to have a first book published. Although the guest blogs usually have a tie-in to writing, mine vary.

On July 15, 2019, I blew it. For the first time in the years this blog has appeared, I failed to post a blog when it was my turn. My intention was to get a blog up, but life got in the way. My time was eaten up my personal non-writing things. Some were good and some were not, but in the end everything balanced out except the one blog didn’t get written or published.

I should feel guilty, but I don’t. The space still had a fantastic blog by Sue Ann Jaffarian that anyone could read (or re-read).

Instead, I used the time to force myself to step back and take a good luck at what is necessary for balancing the next few months. It was almost overwhelming.

Not only am I on occasional babysitting duty for my newest grandchild, I have two books coming out – on August 6, Harlequin Worldwide Mystery is releasing a paperback edition of Should Have Played Poker (https://www.harlequin.com/shop/books/... ) and Two Bites Too Many, the second book in the Sarah Blair series is an October publication from Kensington, but it will be in the stores on September 24 (pre-orders will be delivered then, too …. https://www.amazon.com/Bites-Many-Sar... ), there are several conferences and other speaking engagements coming up, two more short stories dropping, and of course there are the demands necessitated by family obligations. And don’t get me started on the need to work in some exercise and make time to get together with friends.

So, I had the best intentions, but I’m not sorry I missed a blog post. I’ll try to do better in the future. Have you ever had the best intentions, but not quite gotten it done?

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