Debra H. Goldstein's Blog, page 7

Using Past Lives as Fuel – Meredith R. Lyons

I like to write stories with an element of fantasy or supernatural. I’ve tried to write “normal, real world” stories, but I always end up throwing in a ghost or something. I just run with it now.

It may sound like I basically disagree with that old adage, “write what you know.” But I don’t. Not entirely. I love coloring my stories with my own life experiences.

I was an actor in Chicago for seventeen years. I enjoyed it, loved it—until I didn’t—and have no regrets about throwing my stuff in a trailer after graduating Louisiana State University and moving to the cold north, basically sight unseen. I did a lot in Chicago aside from acting. I ran the marathon twice and got super into martial arts, even competing on a world championship level. But in the end, it was too cold and the cold was too long. I came back down south—though not quite as far—to Nashville.

I still miss those trains though.

Perhaps that’s why I had a nightmare, just a few years ago, about riding the train with a friend after an improv class and the elevated train flying off the rails. If you haven’t read it yet, that’s the first scene in Ghost Tamer. Although I decided my main character should survive the crash and decided to throw some ghosts in.

I weaved the paranormal world that I built around my real world experience. Raely and Casper ride the trains and buses that I still miss. I made Raely an aspiring comedian, just a little step sideways from an actor, and sprinkled those experiences in. And I made it winter.

February to be precise. Which is, in my opinion, the worst month to exist in the city of Chicago. But one of the best to write about.

If you’re going through a crisis of self and running from a soul-eating demon while you try to sort out your new-found ability to see ghosts, you need an uncomfortable, bleak backdrop as far as I’m concerned.

I even pulled in a major character from New Orleans and had fun melding elements from a voodoo shop I went to near the French Quarter with Chicago’s typical storefront architecture when I created her space.

There’s nothing like authenticity. And yes, if you want to write something you know little about, of course you can get help. I’m writing a prison story right now and know nothing about being in prison. I am definitely tapping outside sources. These stories are great, you learn more yourself as you research and you get to bring something new into your writing.

But have you ever read a book that takes place in a city you’ve lived in and you just know that the writer has been there? It gives it an extra boost! I read a book where a character was from Nashville and he mentioned a trail that I run on daily. It was a random line, just to color the larger story the character was telling, but I was ridiculously excited.

I have a book coming out in the spring of ‘25 that takes place in space—never been there, doubt Elon will be extending an invitation—and on an entirely new planet, but I made my main character a martial artist. I am super excited to get those fight scenes out in the world.

Write what you know, but have fun with it, I say.

Meredith grew up in New Orleans, collecting two degrees from Louisiana State University before running away to Chicago to be an actor. In between plays, she got her black belt and made martial arts and yoga her full-time day job. She fought in the Chicago Golden Gloves, ran the Chicago Marathon, and competed for team U.S.A. in the savate world championships in Paris. In spite of doing each of these things twice, she couldn’t stay warm and relocated to Nashville. She owns several swords, but lives a non-violent life, saving all swashbuckling for the page, knitting scarves, gardening, visiting coffee shops, and cuddling with her husband and two panther-sized cats.
Follow her on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok @meredithrlyons or check out her weekly blog each Friday: meredithraelyons.com/faster.

Links:
https://camcatbooks.com/Books/G/Ghost...
https://meredithraelyons.com/
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/mered...

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Artificial Intelligence-A Gift or Return Item? by Linda Lovely

With the holiday gift season coming to a close maybe it’s time to decide if Artificial Intelligence is a present we should open.

In a run-up to the holidays, Artificial Intelligence—AI—captured more headlines than Saint Nick as tech firms like OpenAI, Google, Microsoft and X raced to debut their versions of interactive AI bots. The promise? Ask a question, get an instant reply.

Curiosity probably prompted many of us to try one of these offerings. Me? I played with free versions of CHAT-GPT and DALL-E.

How will such tools impact publishing professionals and readers? The answer isn’t clear.

What Is AI?

AI isn’t one entity. AI describes programs structured like the brain’s neural network and given access to vast stores of info to help them see patterns and predict plausible responses.

The publicly-available chat bots used to create text, images, audios and videos are a tiny fraction of the AI world. AI programs have been tailored to write computer code, ferret out early signs of cancer in mammograms, map whale migration, search police bodycam footage for evidence, create new antibiotics, and cut energy consumption.

Such uses explain AI’s promise to improve health care, boost productivity, protect endangered species, and battle climate change. And we haven’t even talked about under-the-cover AI uses that impact us daily—AI-embedded products that narrow internet searches, map car routes, or predict which movies we’ll like.

The Dark Side

I started researching AI in 2022 to give the villain in my third HOA Mystery the expertise to create deepfake videos and use social media to ID and prey on unbalanced individuals. Scary, right? Especially if said villain lives down the street and wants you out of the neighborhood.

Though my mystery, A Killer App, has been published, I still try to keep up on AI developments due to their potential impact on authors, book cover artists, translators, narrators and readers.

Impact on Authors

It would take multiple blogs to explore how AI may affect all publishing professionals. So I’ll limit today’s focus to authors. I’m among the many writers who’ve discovered one or more of their books was used—without permission or compensation—to train a large language AI model.

The Authors Guild is at the forefront of a fight to prompt tech companies to disclose what books have been scraped from the internet to feed AI systems.

Why? An AI program incorporating multiple works from a bestselling author could be asked to plot and write a book in that author’s style. To fool readers, the AI originator might even publish under a name similar to the author being mimicked.

The result can hurt the real author by diverting potential sales. Even worse is the potential that a poorly-written AI mimic will damage the author’s reputation and brand when a dissatisfied buyer decided not to buy more titles by the real author.

A second danger to authors relates to volume. Amazon recently agreed to put a three-book limit on how many books an “author” can upload in one day. That restricts an AI-generator to upload 21 books a week.

It’s already an uphill battle for authors to be discovered among the million-plus eBook titles added every year. A tsunami of AI-generated eBooks threatens to make the situation far worse.

Currently, books generated in whole or in part by AI don’t have to be labeled as such. That means it’s reader beware. Until that changes—hopefully, soon—I encourage readers to look at sample sections of a book before clicking a buy button. In my limited experience, AI-copy tends toward hyperbole. Checking on author bios and reading reviews from trusted sources provide added safeguards.

Will I use AI in my writing? The Authors Guild believes there are ethical uses. For example, an author might use AI for research or to check a draft’s grammar and reader-level. Given AI’s versatility, I might use it as an aid but never to create plots or draft copy. That would defeat my whole reason for writing books. It would steal all the fun.

What’s your opinion?

Linda Lovely’s A Killer App is her eleventh published novel. A journalism major in college, Lovely spent decades handling corporate PR, including penning hundreds of feature articles for business, trade and travel magazines, writing speeches for executives, and preparing newsletters.

Today, her focus is fiction. Her mysteries, historical suspense and contemporary thrillers share one common element—smart, independent heroines. A member of International Thriller Writers and Sisters in Crime, she serves as secretary for Mystery Writers of America’s Southeast regional chapter. For many years, Lovely helped organize the Writers’ Police Academy.

Her novels have earned finalist recognition in prestigious contests such as Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart for romantic suspense and Killer Nashville’s Silver Falchion Award for best cozy mystery.

Lovely is frequently a guest speaker on a variety of craft and subject matter topics, ranging from how and why to do research if you’re writing fiction to the challenges Artificial Intelligence poses for publishing professionals.

Linda’s website: https://www.lindalovely.com
Amazon link for A Killer App: https://www.amazon.com/Killer-App-HOA-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0CCSKKGGF/f
Chirp link for A Killer App audiobook: https://www.chirpbooks.com/audiobooks/a-killer-app-by-linda-lovely  

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My Wishes for 2024

May 2024 Bring You a Rainbow of Happiness.

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The Bethlehem Writers Group and The Bethlehem Writers 2024 Short Story Award Competition by Marianne H. Donley

I’m a member of The Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC (BWG), a community of mutually supportive fiction and nonfiction authors based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania—and beyond. We are as different from each other as our stories. While we started as a critique group and still meet three times a month to critique each other’s work, BWG also publishes quality fiction through our online literary journal, Bethlehem Writers Roundtable, and our award-winning A Sweet, Funny, and Strange Anthology series.

Each anthology has an overall theme—broadly interpreted—but includes a variety of genres. Except for A Christmas Sampler, all the collections include stories from the winner(s) of The Bethlehem Writers Short Story Award.

An Element of Mystery: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Tales of Intrigue is the latest in A Sweet, Funny, and Strange Anthology. This anthology was a finalist in both the 2023 Next Generation Indie Book Award and the 2023 Killer Nashville’s Silver Falchion.

We are working on our eighth anthology, Season’s Readings: More, Sweet, Funny, and Strange Holiday Tales.

In connection with this anthology, we are hosting The Bethlehem Writers 2024 Short Story Award. 

The 2024 Short Story Award opens on January 1, 2024. The theme will be Holiday Stories (broadly interpreted).

We are seeking never-published short stories of 2,000 words or fewer. First Place will receive $250 and publication in the upcoming anthology: Season’s Readings: More, Sweet, Funny, and Strange Holiday Tales or in The Bethlehem Writers Roundtable.

The final judge of the 2024 Short Story Award is Marlo Berliner, the multi-award-winning, bestselling author of The Ghost Chronicles series.

 

Marianne H. Donley writes fiction in the form of short stories, funny romances, and quirky murder mysteries. She makes her home in Pennsylvania with her husband, son, and a really sweet, bad dog. She is a member of Bethlehem Writers Group, Sisters in Crime, Guppies, Capital Crime, and Charmed Writers. You can follow Marianne’s various social media here: https://linktr.ee/mariannehdonley

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PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLERS: What You Don’t Know About the Genre May Keep You from Reading a Great Book! by Lisa Malice

E.B. Davis is one the many amazing authors with whom I blog-share Writers Who Kill. Her November 15th post spotlighted my debut thriller, Lest She Forget, with an interview and a blunt admission—as a cozy and paranormal mystery writer, she was not a fan of genre and didn’t expect to enjoy my tale. But Lest She Forget surprised E.B. She was “hooked from page one.” Why?

“The main character’s voice is compelling,” she started. “She seems like a good person. Readers know she’s in a tough spot and trying to do the right thing, but she gets clobbered. Then you want to stick around and find out if she can come through her ordeal all right.”  The hard part for E.B. was classifying the book’s genre. “It surely is a mystery, but then we know the bad guy, or at least one of them, so it’s a suspense. There is also a romantic element—one sweet and one sour—that comes into play. The plot keeps the reader wondering—and there’s a big twist.”

Actually, between her synopsis of my tale and analysis of its story elements, E.B. nailed my page-turning tale’s genre—psychological thriller. So, for those of you who, like E.B, may be unfamiliar with this popular genre (AKA “domestic thriller”) but not comfortable with the idea of reading something a little different, I offer a few thoughts to entice you to take the plunge.

First off, let me say that I’m like you, cerebral, left-brained, addicted to murder mysteries—all of which I inherited from my mother, Agatha Christie, P.D. James, and Ngaio Marsh. Sherlock Holmes became my literary drug of choice in high school. As an adult, my tastes gravitated to amateur sleuth series that injected more personality into the heroines as they juggled their work, friends, family, and love interests, with their compulsive need to bring murderers to justice.

As a psychologist-turned-thriller writer now, mystery is always a central part of my stories, but my objective as a writer isn’t simply to lay out clues that readers can use to solve a crime, inject unexpected plots twists into the fray, clear innocents of murder, and bring a killer to justice. My goal is also to trigger the right side of my readers’ brains—where emotions originate—by creating a rising sense of tension, fear, uncertainty, and danger inside the tortured mind of my heroine as she struggles to answer three urgent and terrifying questions: Who is out to kill me? Why? And, most importantly, what must I do to stay alive?

As a subgenre, psychological thrillers share some distinctive story elements with its thriller cousins (e.g., spy, sci-fi, crime)—forward-driving, high-stakes stories with protagonists struggling to prevent a formidable foe (identified early on) from committing murder and mayhem. But psychological thrillers are more subtle. The hero is usually an ordinary person cast into a perilous situation—her sanity, her life, perhaps those of loved ones, on the line—but unsure of herself, her dark thoughts and emotions. What is real, and what is not? Is there really someone out to kill her, or are her fears and suspicions all in her mind?

If you are a film fan, chances are you are already familiar with the suspense and adrenaline rush

 you experience with psychological thrillers, including classic Hitchcock movies (Vertigo, Psycho) and more contemporary films (Gone Girl, Memento, Mulholland Drive).  The latter two movies rely on amnesia to create stories of tortured, unreliable narrators who find themselves struggling to

 recover their forgotten memories and uncover the truth of their lives before their foes, whether real, imagined, can do them in.

Now that you know a bit more about psychological thrillers, how it challenges readers to use both sides of their brain to solve a mystery and save the day, consider accepting my challenge to read a psychological thriller, starting with the back jack copy for Lest She Forget below. What do you have to lose—except maybe your mind and some sleep?

Haunted by a forgotten past. Hunted by a ruthless killer. No one to save her but herself.

After surviving a car crash, Kay Smith wakes from a coma with amnesia, a battered face, and no one to vouch for her identity. Her psychiatrist is convinced that her memory loss is connected to the horrific flashbacks and nightmares haunting her. As she digs for clues to her past, Kay uncovers a shady character following her every inquiry. Who is he? What does he want from her?

As Kay’s probes deepen, she realizes everyone around her has deadly secrets to hide—even her. Emerging memories, guilty suspicions, and headline-screaming murders push Kay to come out of the shadows and choose: will she perpetuate a horrendous lie, or risk her life to uncover the truth?

Buy links: 

https://www.amazon.com/Lest-She-Forget-Lisa-Malice/dp/0744307155/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1700764694&sr=8-1

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lest-she-forget-lisa-malice/1143087233?ean=9780744307153

Lisa Malice is a psychologist-turned-thriller author. She loves being part of the community of crime-loving writers and readers. A compulsive volunteer, you can often find Lisa interviewing an author for a feature in ITW’s “The Big Thrill,” planning an author event for her Sisters in Crime chapter on the Florida Gulf Coast, or working the registration table at Bouchercon and Thrillerfest. Find Lisa at:

www.LisaMalice.com  and www.Facebook.com/LisaMaliceAuthor .

 

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Every Main Character Needs a Sidekick by Sandra Murphy

There comes a time in a mystery where the main character needs to recap the clues, red herrings, misguided non-help, and possibilities without dumping a truckload of previously read information on the page. A sidekick is necessary so the characters can bounce around ideas, ask questions about a clue the reader may have missed, eliminate suspects, and to zero in on the most likely culprit.

Who should the character talk to about this mishmash of truth and lies? Many authors use a best friend, someone who can stay up late, talk, and drink wine, or a family member.

For me, the choice is a furry family member—Ozzie the dog. Sometimes Louie the cat makes an appearance, but really, he’s not a good listener, interested only in food. After all, his last meal was twenty minutes ago when he ate two whole bites and now it’s outdated so he needs a fresh serving, clean dish, please. Ozzie is more flexible and a better listener. When he gives an eye roll as only a terrier can do, I know we’ve exhausted the conversation.

Ozzie and Louie both appeared in The Tater Tot Caper, a short Thanksgiving story, and inadvertently solved the crime. Ozzie also appears as the hero in Waffling on Cherokee Street,

a Bernice and Ken tale in From Hay to Eternity, a collection of ten short stories.

A canine sidekick takes away the stigma of characters who talk to (and answer) themselves, stick Post-Its to the wall, or nag a possible romantic interest who happens to be the cop on the case.

Fictional dogs have distinct personalities from the humorous like Spencer Quinn’s dog Chet, Jeffrey B. Burton’s Vira, (a human remains detection dog—she’s quirky), to more serious sidekicks like Margaret Mizushima’s Robo, Sarah Driscoll’s black Labrador, Hawk, Paula Munier’s Elvis and Susie, or an in between dog like Tara, David Rosenfelt’s golden who listens (kind of) when walking with attorney Andy Carpenter. She is, he says, the smartest dog on the planet. Chaos and comedy reigns when Laurien Berenson’s Faith, a black Poodle, accompanies Melanie on her quests for information, the chaos being the herd of Poodles left at home plus Bud the mixed breed rescue who always finds a way to get into trouble—and out of it by not being at all sorry.

Not to be outdone or ignored (just try to ignore a cat), felines make their appearances too from Sofie Kelly’s magical cats, Sofie Ryan’s Elvis, and Debra H. Goldstein’s Siamese, RahRah.

My latest story features three Mastiffs, who combined, weigh over 500 pounds plus a Chihuahua named Pogo who is lightweight enough to bounce face-high to save the day. The story is titled The Thanksgiving Parade and is part of The Perp Wore Pumpkin, a charity anthology that benefits Second Harvest Food Pantry. Although the stories revolve around Thanksgiving, hunger is a year-round problem. Available at www.mistimedia.com or the usual outlets, in ebook or paperback, purchases from Misti Media mean no vendor fees reduce the amount given to the food bank. Several recipes are included.

Thank you, Debra, for asking me to write. Ozzie appreciates the chance to build his brand!

Sandra Murphy lives and writes in St Louis, Missouri, where the smell of hops on a hot summer day drift from Anheuser-Busch Brewery, down the Mississippi River, to incite her imaginary friends to tell tall tales.

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Carrollton BookFest – West Georgia Writers Conference and Book Fair

April 6, 2024 – 1:30p.m. – 2:20 p.m. – The Cozy Mystery Panel

The 2nd annual Carrollton BookFeat, featuring Rick Bragg, with presentations by best selling authors Hank Phillippi Ryan and Deborah Goodrich Royce is April 5-6, 2023. Debra will be featured on The Cozy Mystery Panel on Saturday, April 6, 2024 from 1:30-2:20 p.m. EST.

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Noir at the Bar – Pepper Place

The Red Cat Coffeehouse@Pepper Place
February 24, 2024 – 6 p.m. CST

Eleven authors + music = a fun Noir at the Bar night. Sponsored by Red Cat Coffeehouse, Cat-n-Bird Winery, The Lumbar Restaurant and DeeDee’s Book Rack, the event will take place at the Red Cat Coffeehouse @Pepper Place, 2901 2nd Ave S #125, Birmingham, AL 35223. Authors reading will include Brian Panowich, Rebecca Forster, Emily Carpenter, Peter Farris, Hayley M. Moon, Liz Lazarus, Bobby Mathews, Jack Sharman, Meagan Lucas, Debra H. Goldstein, and Randy Moon.

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Cozy Mystery Party Holiday Take – Over Event

December 16, 2023 – 11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. EST

From December 15 thru December 17, 2023, fifty plus cozy authors will participate in this year’s Cozy Mystery Party Holiday Take-Over Event. There will be giveaways and discussion opportunities. Debra’s time is December 16, 2023 from 11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. EST.

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Branching Out? By Rosalie Spielman

Thank you, Debra, for hosting me!

I am one happy gal in the fall. Like many of you, I adore autumn—the leaves, the crisp air, the scent of spices in the air and in the pastries, sweaters and cozy socks… One of the additional things I love is seeing the trees being stripped bare.

Don’t get me wrong, I love leaves. I have leaf motifs all over my house. But I also love studying the way tree branches are formed, and that is easier done when the branches are bare.

The randomness of tree branches fascinates me. One goes here, separates into two here, then two more, stretching outward—or inward—in a completely random non-pattern, creating this beautiful botanical creature. I almost like trees better in this form. Another example of nature being amazing.

As I study the tree outside my window, I imagine that each branch is a different writer, with their own jagged path and moments of decision that could lead them this way or that way. Two authors could start in the exact same place, and end up with wildly different results. It is impossible to know where decisions will lead, and all branches are growing, stretching further.

Of course, the branches splitting into new ones can happen at any time. That’s one of the interesting things about the cozy mystery subgenre in particular. Writers of cozies can do all of the different options, even simultaneously. I know writers who have agents who land them with larger publishing houses, but choose to also use smaller publishers, or self-publish, and some unagented writers who work with multiple publishers. The landscape is wide open in this genre.

I am where I am based on my decisions. Now I just have to figure out which little idea bud—or buds—to follow next! Do I write a historical cozy, or a traditional mystery? Do I write a cozy set in a pie shop, or a paranormal? Or—the most exciting option—do I do all of them? Only time will tell which branches will sprout successfully, possibly leading to more intersections.

Rosalie Spielman is a mother, veteran, and retired military spouse. She was thrilled to discover

that she could make other people laugh with her writing and finds joy in giving people a humorous escape from the real world. She writes cozy mysteries for the multi-author Aloha Lagoon mystery series and her own Hometown Mystery series, both with Gemma Halliday Publishing.

She currently lives in Maryland with her husband in a rapidly emptying nest. For more

information on her books or to subscribe to her newsletter, go to www.rosalie-spielman-author.com, follow her Facebook page (Rosalie Spielman author), or join her Facebook group, You know the Spiel! Rosalie strives to provide you a cozy escape...one page at a time.

Rosalie has two releases this fall:

7 November 2023: #3 in the Hometown Mysteries, Murder Comes Home

Preorder: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C9S126XG

**Gemma Halliday Publishing is donating a portion of the presales to a veterans' charity, the Disabled American Veterans, or DAV.
US Army retiree Tessa Treslow and her Aunt Edna put their auto restoration business on hold to host an "American Pickers"-style TV show, hoping their trash might be treasure to fund their new business. But not only do the pickers come with cameras and likeable stars, but a murderer…

3 October 2023: #20 in the Aloha Lagoon mystery series, Hallo-waiian Murder Mystery
https://bookshop.org/a/97908/9798862110265

Aloha Lagoon's own dive tour leader Kiki Hepburn investigates the untimely death of one of her landlady Auntie Akamai's oldest friends in between diving, attending a zombie wedding, and being stalked by a "monster"!

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