Judith Post's Blog, page 5

Poor Agatha Christie

I became a fan of Agatha Christie somewhere in my high school years and read her for fun all through college when I needed a break from Charles Dickens and Shakespeare, among other classic English authors. She’s written 66 detective novels, predominately with Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot, 14 short story collections, and plays. The Mousetrap is still in production. She sold more than 2 billion copies of her work.

HH and I usually watch one Christie murder a week, even though we’ve seen many of them before. We love the British atmosphere, the complicated plots, the complex characters. They were a staple on Sunday nights for years. Many of her books have been made into movies. MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS, MURDER ON THE NILE. I’m always happy to check out the new versions of her writing.

Recently, though, I have to concentrate to realize I AM watching a Christie. Producers/writers/somebody has decided they can mess with them. When I watched Murder on the Nile, the movie started with Poirot on a battlefield, wounded, and then sent to a hospital where the woman he loved visited him. Caught something. And died. As far as I know, that was never in the book or any of the previous movies. And it bothered me. Why fiddle with a great book? Who had to make it their own? Of course, it’s happened before. I love Benedict Cumberbatch, but when he played Sherlock Holmes, I never knew what to expect, even though I knew the stories pretty well.

HH and I just finished watching Christie’s new MURDER IS EASY. We’d recently watched it on Brit Box with Miss Marple. When this version started, though, it took us both a while before we realized the young, black Nigerian detective was playing the part of Miss Marple. A Miss Marple mystery with no Miss Marple? That took us a minute. During the cocktail party, the priest doesn’t die. He argues with the rich up-and-comer instead and doesn’t die until he’s on a tennis court. We knew we were in trouble then. We had no idea where or what would happen next. Everything was so different, we couldn’t even remember who the murderer was in the original version.

I’m not sure how I feel about taking original works and doing whatever you want with them. Christie’s stories have been done over and over again. Instead of making a new remake of the same-old-same-old, people are playing them. But why not come up with something original in the same vein? Before Christie died, she killed off Hercule Poirot so that some writer couldn’t use him and muddy up her vision of her famous detective. I doubt she ever considered people taking her books and changing whatever they felt like to make them “new.”

HH and I enjoyed the new MURDER IS EASY. It was a good mystery, but it was only partially.an Agatha Christie. And the incongruities kept tripping me up. But let’s face it. Rules are changing. I know for sure there was no black queen of England like there is in Bridgerton. How far can writers bend history and original works? Maybe as far as they want to.

Kicked Around

I feel like I’ve been kicked around the last month. Sometimes in life, everything comes at the same time. On Feb. 18, we went to Indy for a baby shower for our grandson and his wife’s soon-to-come (April 18) little boy. It was a beautiful, wonderful day. But then, on the 21st, we got on a plane to fly to Floriday to visit our daughter and her husband. Had a WONDERFUL time there, but caught something, and when I came home, I had a horrible stomach flu for a week. It made me miss my writers’ club and a close friend’s birthday bash. Finally felt good enough to meet friends the next Tuesday, and then my other grandson called, and he and his girlfriend came for a surprise visit on Friday, spent the night, and then left Saturday afternoon.

We were giving a big Oscar party at our house on Sunday, so after they left, HH and I ran to the store to buy what we needed for the party.

Our daughter from Indy came at one on Sunday to help cook for the party and enjoy the night. We had a really wonderful time, but after she left on Monday, HH and I were wiped out. And my stomach was still a mess. Not sure if it was all the screwed up schedule or something I ate (I made a dessert with Cool Whip–and I USED to be able to eat it, but it really whacked me this time because they’ve made it “creamer”), and milk is a BIG no-no for me. Anyway, after all the dust settled, I haven’t gotten any writing or reading done. BUT, things are calming for a week or two, so hopefully, I’ll be back at it. But I haven’t been this tired for a long time. The good, old days of staying up all night to study for a college exam are gone:)

This really whacked me!

This is Sunday, and I’m finally starting to feel a little better. I’m on the mend. Not ready to do cartwheels in the back lot yet, but not fading for a nap this afternoon. Hopefully, I’ll be back to full swing tomorrow.

I always start my morning by looking at author central to see how my books are doing, because there’s always hope I’ll be pleasantly surprised. By something. I celebrate every time any of my books goes up in the ratings. Then I go to e-mail and plow through that. And then I hit Twitter. I still like Twitter, even though Musk has taken away analytics because he wants to charge me a decent amount for any information I might be able to use. A bummer. But I like the people I know on Twitter, so I hang in there. I’ve tried a few other sites, but I have to admit, Twitter’s still my favorite.

After I finish the “business” type stuff, I go to my WIP and start working. On an ideal day, I do rewrites on the chapter I finished the day before. I try to finish those before lunch. And then I write a new chapter. I’m a SLOW writer, always have been. There are no 10,000-word days for me. Ever. I have plot points, plenty of ideas, but they come together slowly for me. No surprise. I got great grades in school, but I was always the last person to finish a test. What can I say? I’ve never been quick witted. I’m the person who thinks of clever come-backs on the drive home, never at the time.

I always stop work for a lunch break, because…well, I love food. And so does HH, but I’m always the one who cooks lunch. And supper. Which is fine. Because I love to cook. And experiment. And try new things. HH never knows what he’s going to get for lunch, but he never complains. Today, I made chicken salad with a mayo dressing with white wine vinegar, a tad of sugar, and salt and pepper, and I added diced celery and diced red pepper and jarred banana peppers. It was awesome! Happy HH. Tomorrow, we’ll probably have leftover easy goulash. Yes, our lives revolve around food.

After lunch, it’s back to the computer, and if I’m lucky, I’ll start a new chapter, finish it, and maybe write a little bit more.

And then, it’s time for a break to pester HH, do some chores, run somewhere, whatever, before it’s time to start supper.

We’re retired, and once supper is over, it’s downhill for us. Time for the evening news, Wheel of Fortune (HH is addicted), and TV. Then TV off and time to read. We’re not very exciting, but we’re pretty darned happy. And we have enough friends and family to keep us busy.

I hardly ever write on the weekends. They’re for getting things done and seeing people and having fun. Our days were a lot different before we retired, but boy, do I love the freedom to arrange our days around what we want. If you’re not there, I know how that goes. You write when you can. And whatever your daily routine is, I hope it works for you. Happy writing!

Florida

HH and I flew to Florida to spend five days with our daughter and her husband. We love them both! There couldn’t be a better son-in-law than Scott. HH’s brother and his partner, Stuart, flew down at the same time, so we could all spend time together. We had the most wonderful visit! Robyn and Scott took us somewhere fun every single day, and we ate at wonderful restaurants unless Robyn and Scott cooked delicious meals for us at their house.

Scott is a grill master. He has a green egg grill, a regular grill, and a smoker. And he knows how to use them all. He used the green egg to make us the most tender pork chops I’ve ever had, and Robyn made sauteed mushrooms with a mild sauce to coat them with, along with a fresh corn type side dish. Delicious. One night, Robyn made hamburger/sloppy joe type sliders that were so good, I asked for the recipe. The other nights? We ate at Keegan’s–my all-time most favorite restaurant in the world, and that includes Fisherman’s Wharf., which would be a close second. I can’t remember all of the different places we ate, but most of them were on the water. And it was heaven.

We went to a river walk and a blues festival. Every day was fun.

But on our last day there, somewhere, I caught a stomach bug. I took lots of meds so I wouldn’t have problems on the plane coming home, but once we hit the house, the ugliness started. I figure I was paying for having such a good time. And you know what? Four days out, and I’m finally starting to feel better. I had to miss my writers’ club on Wednesday. I’m going to miss a friend’s birthday party tomorrow night. But it was all worth it. We had a blast!

Celebrating!

Yay! The Body in the Kitchen has gone live. Happy Book Birthday, Jazzi and Ansel!

In this book, Jazzi, Ansel, and her cousin Jerod are flipping an old paper mill warehouse into upscale condos. They’ve already finished the first floor, and Jazzi’s sister-in-law, Elspeth, and her friend Fazal have bought the front condo to make into a bakery. It’s a fun space with black and white floor tiles and canary yellow walls. It has a happy, bistro vibe in a great location–near the river walk downtown. Fazal is a master of breads and uses the bakery to make specialty breads for restaurants in town. He also makes croissants and rolls for patrons to buy. Elspeth makes lots of desserts, and she’s starting to make those for restaurants, too, so business is good.

Fazal’s fellow chef and friend, Jordan, gets a contract to cater a big party. The man’s wife is turning fifty, so he asks for fifty finger foods to celebrate. Jordan asks Fazal for help. Jordan will make thirty appetizers, and he wants to Fazal to make twenty, small desserts. And the party is a huge success. But when Fazal goes to talk over the details with Jordan the next day, he finds Jordan’s body on the floor in a pool of blood. Why? Who would kill Jordan? He was a great friend, a wonderful person. So, Fazal turns to Jazzi for help.

THE BODY IN THE KITCHEN is the 11th Jazzi mystery in the series. Their baby, Toby, is 3 months old now. Jazzi’s happy because she works in the same building that her babysitter lives in. She can go down to nurse Toby when he’s hungry. She loves flipping spaces, but she knows Fazal wants to know who killed his friend. So, she takes time from work to investigate with her old friend, Detective Gaff.

To celebrate publishing THE BODY IN THE KITCHEN and to hopefully, bring more attention to it, I’ve made THE BODY IN SOMEONE ELSE’S BED free until March 1st. So, hopefully, Jazzi and Ansel will get more attention than usual. It always feels like coming home when I write one of their books.

Here’s the link for THE BODY IN SOMEONE ELSE’S BED, which is free.

I Can’t Wait To Read This!

I’ve mentioned how much I love Mae Clair’s writing before. I’ve been waiting and waiting for her to publish a new book, so I’m really excited that she’s going to have a new novel out soon! I’ve invited her on my blog to share the news. Drum roll. Here’s Mae!

Hi, Judi! Thank you so much for hosting me on your blog today. I’m delighted to be here, sharing my upcoming release The Keeping Place, a dual timeline mystery which is now available for pre-order!. Most readers know me as someone who loves weaving urban legends and threads of the supernatural into my stories. The Keeping Place took an entirely different turn.

Well… there is a small thread that does involve an old town legend and a ghost, but nothing that takes center stage as in my other books. This one is about relationships, and what happens to an estranged mother/daughter when the remains of the youngest daughter are discovered ten years after she disappeared. It’s more of a “quiet” mystery than I usually write.

BLURB:
In the town of Hornwood, the past is always present . . .

Nicole Seabrooke has been wracked with guilt since the night of her younger sister’s disappearance ten years ago. Her mother, Glory, tasked her with watching over Janie. Instead, Nicole dragged her to a high school party, then failed to keep an eye on her. Police believed she drowned, but her body was never found.

A decade later, her remains are discovered.

Nicole returns to Hornwood when new evidence indicates Janie’s death may have been a homicide. With the help of Detective Vin McCain, her high school boyfriend, Nicole begins to piece together what took place the night her sister disappeared—a task that further complicates her relationship with Glory and places Nicole in the crosshairs of a killer. One who will do whatever it takes to keep the truth about Janie’s death from being revealed.

Even if it means killing again.

++++

One of the key components of the story is the rail shack. I got the idea for the property from a run-down hovel that stood for more than two decades several miles from where I live. For twenty-plus years I drove by the site, marveling that it hadn’t been torn down. My guess is that the property was tied up in litigation, likely after the death of the original owners. Maybe the heirs (if there were any) lived out of state.

Picture a one-story ranch home, roof caved in, windows busted out, front door missing. Then imagine every single opening jammed full and overflowing with cast-off junk. This place had to be a breeding ground for rats and snakes.

It seemed an ideal place to dispose of a body—which became the idea that launched The Keeping Place.

The excerpt below is from my “past” timeline of 2013, and provides an even better idea of what the place looks like:

EXCERPT:
Sweat beaded the back of Janie’s neck. It soaked into her ponytail by the time she reached the Boone rail shack. Two metal signs pitted with rust holes, partially obscured by clumps of foxtail, marked the place as private property. What remained of an orange NO TRESPASSING notice was nailed to the door, the lower half sheered away, the top bleeding into washed-out pink.

She walked her bike around the back, her path flushing half a dozen grasshoppers from hiding. The hot June sun ripened the smell of woody decay, adding to the pungent reek of toadstools and moss. Catbirds and crows kept up a noisy ruckus in the trees backed by the chatter of insects. Closer to the rail bed, fat nettles and clumps of yellow rocket sprouted among wild blackberries and pigweed.

She propped her bike where no one could see it. Few people bothered with the derelict shack, but it was better not to advertise her presence. Older kids sometimes crept around for a thrill late at night when they wanted to split a six-pack or smoke, safe from prying eyes. During daylight hours, the shack was all hers.

As she threaded through the weeds, she shot a glance at the Hornwood Oak. The massive tree marked the town boundary, the ground on the opposite side of the rail-bed forking into Drem County and Eyelet. Sometimes in an emergency, when Drem County cops couldn’t reach Eyelet fast enough, Chief McCain would take the call. At least that’s what Vin told Nicole when he talked about wanting to be a cop. After graduation, he planned to attend a local college in Bottleneck for a two-year criminal justice degree. His dad told him he didn’t need to go to a four-year university, which made Nicole happy.

Marshall, on the other hand—Marshall who liked looking at creek water and spongey funguses under a microscope—had received a full scholarship to some uppity college in Connecticut. Janie would miss him. He never treated her like an outcast. Maybe because he was one, too.

Avoiding the door at the front of the shack, she bent to paw aside a clump of blackberry fronds. An exterior board had worked loose, hidden by the heavy vegetation. Over the last few weeks, she’d pried another plank free. The opening wasn’t large, just wide enough for a skinny twelve-year-old to slip through. She thrust her backpack in first, then squeezed behind it, immediately scrunching her nose at the putrid mix of mouse droppings and cat urine. Piles of dried leaves clustered in corners, white with spider webbing, edged with mold. Clumps of dirt, broken twigs, and worm-riddled acorns littered the floor. Elsewhere, cast off junk and rubbish covered boards hollowed by rot. Some of the locals used the shack for dumping despite POSTED notices warning off trespassers.

Janie picked her way across the room before scrambling up a narrow ladder to the loft. Last week, she’d wedged a blanket into the corner under the eaves. She’d brought other things, too. Jagged rocks and baubles she’d found by the rail-bed behind the shack. A piece of green glass she’d buffed clean on her sleeve. A stray marble, fat and clear like a lidless eye. A broken keychain with a four-leaf clover for the fob. Treasures kept on a pitted tin lid she’d stumbled over in a mire of weeds. Turned upside down, it served as a makeshift tray, the raised edges corralling her collection like a tiny herd of animals. Everything was secreted away behind a few loose boards, that when pried free, created a cubby-like hole under the eaves.

Her special keeping place.

++++

Thanks again for hosting me today.. I appreciate the opportunity to share The Keeping Place with your readers. I’ve held onto this novel for two years, uncertain how I wanted to publish it. As an author, I naturally like every book I’ve written, but The Keeping Place is my personal favorite—perhaps because it’s so different in tone from my other mysteries.

I still utilize dual timelines, but rather than having centuries between them, my timelines are separated by a mere ten years.

It’s my sincere hope readers will enjoy the story.

RELEASE DATE IS MARCH 5 TH

PRE-ORDER FROM AMAZON

Connect with Mae Clair at BOOKBUB and the following haunts:

Amazon| BookBub| Newsletter Sign-Up
Website | Blog| Twitter/X | Goodreads| 

A “duh” moment

I tried to get more organized recently. Wrote out a list of things to do when I format my books for Kindle. Years ago, I formatted my computer so that I never use the tab key for paragraphs. I’ve made it so that when I finish a draft, all I have to do is hit Select All, and then I justify all of the pages so that they look more professional. I eliminate page numbers, and at the very end of the book, I add a short bio, links for places to find me, and a list of previous books I’ve written. But not all of them. Not anymore.

Often, I write a short blurb so that I have it ready when I hit the Description box in the loading process. And I make sure my cover is 1000 x 625.

When I finished The Body in the Kitchen, I went through each thing on my list, checking them off. Then I submitted it for a Pre-Order, ready to go. EXCEPT, I followed my list so well, I forgot to add recipes after the last page of the story. I ALWAYS share recipes at the end of a Jazzi book. I shared them with my Karnie books, too. But not for Nick and Laurel or A Ghost of a Chance. So, I forgot. Until last night. Woke up at 4:30 and wanted to kick myself.

I can fiddle with my manuscript on pre-order until the 23rd, so this morning, I added 4 recipes at the end of the book. Hamburger Soup. Stuffed Shells. Chili Crisp Chicken and Ramen. And Dirt Cake. Then I reloaded the whole thing, and now, it’s ready to go. It goes up for sale on the 27th. I’m just glad I remembered the recipes before it was too late. And NOW, on my checklist, I’ve added “For Jazzi, you need 3 – 4 recipes!”

My mom used to make our girls “dirt” cake for their birthdays, and they loved it. It’s a cream cheese/pudding blend that you serve in a plastic flower pot, and you crush Oreos for the “dirt.” She always added candy worms that poked out of the dirt. A fun touch. I thought it was appropriate for a kids’ Halloween party near the end of the novel. And if anyone actually uses the recipes at the end of the book, I hope their kids get a kick out of the cake.

Do you like books with recipes? Have you ever used any of them? Or are they just a fun extra?

For any writers struggling out there, Stephen Geez shares some great ideas on how to organize and brainstorm your story ideas, so I thought I’d share:

Outlining Finesse, Part 1

We’ll be greats

On Sunday, HH, my sister, and I are driving to Indy for a baby shower. My grandson and his wife are expecting their first baby–a boy. That will make HH and me great-grandparents. Pretty awesome. There hasn’t been a baby in our family for so long, I can’t remember when babies do what.

In my Jazzi and Ansel mysteries, they just had baby Toby in The Body in Someone Else’s Bed. And I had to go online to print out when Toby could reach for Jazzi’s long, honey-blond hair and snag it. When do babies roll over? Sit up? Hold up their heads? My older daughter wanted to get around so much, that before she could crawl, she’d fist our shag carpet in her hands and drag herself around the living room, like a worm. She walked at nine months, she was so determined. Our second daughter was perfectly happy pointing at something she wanted, expecting her sister to fetch it for her. Which she did.

It’s been sort of a challenge for me to include Toby in the stories enough to show that Jazzi and Ansel’s lives revolve around him right now, but not so much that it slows down the mystery. Plus, since the two of them flip houses with Jazzi’s cousin, Jerod, I try to include enough, but not too much of that into each mystery, too. Along with family and cooking. I’m not sure I always get the balance right, but I try.

Soon, though–our grandbaby’s due on April 18th–we’ll have a real baby in our lives, not just one on paper. And we can’t wait!

Goodreads Giveaway

Just wanted to let you know that THE BODY IN THE KITCHEN is on a Goodreads Giveaway from 2/14 to 2/24. If you enter to win a free copy, good luck! 

You can sign up here: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/enter_kindle_giveaway/383357-the-body-in-the-kitchen

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