M. Ruth Myers's Blog, page 5

February 9, 2015

Should You Attend a Writers Conference? Part I

It’s that time of year when many a novelist-in-the-making, whether of P.I. stories or other fare, begins to think about attending a writers conference. Should they? Should YOU?


Please note I’m not talking about a fan convention or weekend workshop. When I say “conference” I mean a week-long event where participants attend two or three specialized classes every day, and perhaps one-shot panels or lectures in the afternoon and evening. For example, a writer might attended sessions on novel writing and poetry writing every morning, or sessions on nonfiction writing and play writing. Class choices might even include some specialties, such as mystery writing or SF-fantasy writing.


Tuition for a week of teaching by established writers is pricey.  I’ve taught at some very good ones: the Antioch Writers’ Workshop, Mark Twain Writers Conference (now defunct), Cape Cod Writers Conference (reconfigured). My students always gave enthusiastic evaluations of my classes. Nonetheless, I confess to mixed feelings about how useful a writers conference actually is.


This week and next, I’ll offer input to help you decide whether it’s worth big bucks to attend a writers conference. Keep in mind that on top of registration, you’ll have transportation, lodging and food expenses.


Let me start your decision making process by asking two questions:



What do you want or expect to get out of attending a writers conference?
Where are you on the path of your own writing career?

Give these questions more than passing consideration. Write down your answers. Then stop back on Feb.16 (or 17 if the Monday post is late going up).


In next week’s post, Part Two, I’ll tell you what to expect at a conference. And what you’re not likely to find. I’ll also share ideas on how to get the greatest benefit from your attendance and how to decide if you should wait another year.


Now. Hole up in your Cave of Honesty and come back next week.

M. Ruth Myers writes the Maggie Sullivan mysteries as well as other books. She was on the original faculty of the Antioch Writers’ Workshop.


Filed under: Opinion, Writing Tips Tagged: detective novels, M. Ruth Myers, QmBXqR4C3Zv9Rb2kSt8jC9e8QUU, woman sleuth, workshops, writing conferences
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Published on February 09, 2015 09:42

January 28, 2015

Don’t Dig a Grave for Private Eye Novels

Near the end of 2014 an article in the New York Times magazine carried the ominous title “The Death of the Private Eye”. With a smirk it described how and why the P.I. novel is dead.  Obsolete.  Kaput.


Between you and me, I think the author had been in the sauce.


For starters, he didn’t seem to grasp what the genre’s about. Perhaps that had something to do with the fact he talked about movies and Thomas Pynchon a great deal more than he did giants of the genre such as Chandler and Hammett. At least they got mentioned, unlike more contemporary writers such as Paretsky, Parker, Mickey Spillane, Sue Grafton and others.


The author’s reasoning appears to boil down to this:


1. The Internet and databases have eliminated the need for a P.I. to do anything except sit at his or her computer.


2. Hacker heroes have replaced the now outmoded private eyes.


As to his first argument, Sara Paretsky’s V.I. Warshawski and Cara Black’s Aimee Leduc are just two examples of thoroughly contemporary P.I.’s who show the genre is very much alive and kicking, thank you. They utilize exotic databases, yet they still mix it up in the street. They duck bullets, wheedle information and follow leads they get from sometimes devious and flawed human beings.


Why, if we swallow the author’s first argument, have hacker heroes taken the place of the private eye? Because they are antiheroes with contempt for corrupt institutions, he argues. Because they are venal “yet possessed by a moral authority”. That, he contends, is more important than familiar trappings such as the P.I.’s office, or watering hole, or swagger.


This struck me as simplistic. It also struck me as not truly understanding why readers love private eyes.


I’ll not deny that techie heroes such as Stieg Larsson’s Lisbeth Salander make for a wonderful, page-turning adventure. But I don’t think we should dig a grave for private eye novels just yet.


What do you think?


Filed under: Opinion Tagged: detective novels, P.I. fiction, private eye novels, private investigator novels, QmBXqR4C3Zv9Rb2kSt8jC9e8QUU
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Published on January 28, 2015 10:56

January 16, 2015

Try a New Private Eye this Year

Get acquainted with a P.I. you’ve never visited.  No Game for a Dame, first book of the Maggie Sullivan mystery series, is 99 cents for Kindle users Jan. 16-18.  Also sale priced on Amazon UK.


Maggie Sullivan mystery #1 shows woman private eye


Filed under: Authors Tagged: M. Ruth Myers, Maggie Sullivan mysteries, mystery, QmBXqR4C3Zv9Rb2kSt8jC9e8QUU, woman private eye novels, woman sleuth
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Published on January 16, 2015 12:20

December 31, 2014

8 Novels I Enjoyed Most in 2014

book-pile


Like most of you, I read a lot of novels — some with private investigators, some without — in 2014.  Here are some I enjoyed most.  They’re in no particular order.


A Little Yellow Dog by Walter Mosley — The cadence and language of the narrative is as pitch-perfect as everything else in this story of a polished, street-wise janitor who turns private eye to save himself from a murder charge after a teacher persuades him to keep her dog.  Unfortunately, she disappears, leaving a couple of bodies behind.


The Sekhmet Bed (The She-King) by L. M. Ironside and Libbie Hawker — Set in Egypt in 1500 BC, this story delivers a bang-up story along with a splendid sense of time and place.  It tells the story of pharaoh’s daughter Ahmose, who rules in her husband’s absence and is an ancestor of King Tut.


China Trade by S.J. Rozan — This first novel in the author’s wonderful series about Chinese-American private eye Lydia Chin is rich with the atmosphere of NYC, especially Chinatown and its culture.  Lydia is a tough and resilient gal, even if she does live with her mama, and the mystery is first-rate.


Push Not the River by James Conroyd Martin — The author of this dazzling novel of Poland’s struggle to survive in the age of Napoleon paints scenes and scenery with words.  Though it verges on historical romance, it’s much, much more.


The Wedding Shroud by Elisabeth Storrs — This book, first in a four-book series set in ancient Rome, will be re-released April 28.  Compelling in its well drawn setting and its depiction of different cultures of the time, it also raises interesting questions about religious differences.


Sleeping Dog by Dick Lochte — A jaded, past-his-prime P.I. turns down a 14-year-old girl who wants to hire him to find her kidnapped dog.  His office partner takes the case and ends up dead — and the P.I. and the girl form an unlikely team to extricate themselves from the mess that results. Smart, fun and thoroughly enjoyable with its alternating viewpoints (and views of events).


Vestal Virgin by Suzanne Tyrpak — Set in ancient Rome, this novel paints a fascinating picture of the vestal virgins, their rituals, elevated status and restrictions.  Emperor Nero is in his heyday.  Would it be a spoiler to say there’s a fire?


The Miler by Hap Cawood — This coming-of-age novel captures the world of the 1950s and small towns.  It tells the story of J.J., a high school runner in a Kentucky mountain town that doesn’t have a track team, and the dancing teacher who becomes his coach.  It has the sort of gentle magic more novels used to have when they were written for love instead of money.


M. Ruth Myers writes the Maggie Sullivan mysteries, featuring a female private eye in the years 1938-1947.


Filed under: Authors, Reviews Tagged: M. Ruth Myers, mystery, private investigator novels, QmBXqR4C3Zv9Rb2kSt8jC9e8QUU
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Published on December 31, 2014 09:32

November 24, 2014

2014 Shamus Award Winners Honor Private Eye Fiction

Private Eye Writers of America announced this year’s Shamus Award winners at their Nov. 14 dinner in Long Beach, CA.  The event took place at Gladstone’s Long Beach during the 2014 Bouchercon world mystery convention.


Here’s a photo of the recipients.  L. to R. are Grant Bywaters (St. Martin’s/PWA contest), Sue Grafton, Brad Parks, Lachlan Smith, M. Ruth Myers, and Max Allan Collins.


ShamusAwards


 


I believe the photo was taken by Kevin Burton Smith or Ali Karim.  (There were three photographers — practically enough to qualify as paparazzi.)


A list of this year’s finalists and the winners in each category is at the PWA website and on mystery blogs.


More photos of those attending, and info on writers I met at my table, will follow.


M. Ruth Myers writes The Maggie Sullivan mystery series featuring a woman P.I. in 1930s-40s Dayton, OH.


 


Filed under: Authors, News Tagged: M. Ruth Myers, Maggie Sullivan mysteries, private eye novels, QmBXqR4C3Zv9Rb2kSt8jC9e8QUU, Shamus Awards
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Published on November 24, 2014 08:00

November 19, 2014

Novel with Woman P.I. Wins Shamus Award

Five days and a cross-country plane trip later, I’m still somewhat dazed from winning a Shamus Award at Bouchercon 2014 in Long Beach.  The Private Eye Writers of America named Don’t Dare a Dame the Best Indie P.I. Novel of 2013.


 


2014 Shamus Award from Private Eye Writers of America

2014 Shamus Award from Private Eye Writers of America


 


 


 


I feel humbled and very, very happy to receive this sort of validation from writers in the field which has long been my favorite.  It’s been a long road, and this is the sort of dream I never expected to come true.  My first book, mystery/suspense, was published in 1979.  For many years thereafter, I was constantly nudged to write novels of other types, even though I constantly floated ideas for mysteries with women sleuths.


More photos to come, along with a list of all this year’s Shamus winners and other tidbits on the gathering.  Meanwhile, I wanted to share.


M. Ruth Myers writes the Maggie Sullivan mystery series featuring a woman private eye in the 1930s/40s.


Filed under: Authors, News Tagged: detective novels, M. Ruth Myers, Maggie Sullivan mysteries, P.I. fiction, private eye novels, QmBXqR4C3Zv9Rb2kSt8jC9e8QUU
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Published on November 19, 2014 08:13

November 8, 2014

Private Eye Dialog: Making It Better

At 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15, I’ll give a short talk called “Mime and Dialog” at Bouchercon  in Long Beach, CA.  The session will be in Harbor A of the Convention Center, with plenty of time for questions.


Don’t worry, I won’t show up with my face painted white.  The gist of the presentation is how to give dialog in our P.I., mystery and other crime novels a little more muscle.


No sit-ups will be required.  Steroid use is discouraged.  On the other hand, coffee and input from other writers are welcome.


If you can’t make the session, say “hi” in the hall.


suitcase



M. Ruth Myers writes the Maggie Sullivan mysteries featuring a woman P.I. in the 1930s/40s.



Filed under: Uncategorized, Writing Tips Tagged: detective novels, M. Ruth Myers, mystery, private eye novels, QmBXqR4C3Zv9Rb2kSt8jC9e8QUU

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Published on November 08, 2014 09:47

October 31, 2014

99c Private Eye Novel (and Shamus Award Finalist)

Now through 11/2, Don’t Dare a Dame  is 99c  for Kindle users in the US & UK.  It’s the third book in the Maggie Sullivan mysteries series.


Let’s give the gritty woman P.I. a nice sendoff as she heads for Long Beach and the Private Eye Writers of America Shamus Awards bash in two weeks. (She’s hoping to make it through the evening without throwing a punch or getting any cracked ribs.)


Maggie Sullivan mysteries #3 a 2014 Shamus Award finalist


If you’re there that evening, stop by and say ‘hi’.


M. Ruth Myers writes the Maggie Sullivan mysteries featuring a woman P.I. in the 1930s/40s.


 


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Published on October 31, 2014 08:36

October 29, 2014

Fine New Private Eye Writer

Until five months ago or so ago when he asked to interview me, I’d never heard of Max Everhart.  I predict many people will hear about him now, following publication of his first novel, Go Go Gato.


Everhart has crafted a first-rate private eye yarn in Go Go Gato. From the blonde who walks into his office to the cat in the rusted out car, he understands the genre, folding all the elements hard-boiled fans love into a modern tale about a young Cuban baseball player, greed and betrayal.


go-go


Everhart also displays well-honed writing skills. Dialogue is crisp and believable and pacing is good. There’s just the right amount of complexity to the missing baseball player’s overlooked and devoted sister and to the social activist turned college instructor.


More important – and crucial to any successful detective series – the central character, P.I. Eli Sharpe, is likable.  Among other quirks, Sharpe has a string of former fiancees, most of whom are still friends.  Happily, this is the start of a series.


The novel delivers a couple of twists near the end.  Some readers may foresee one of them.  They’re not likely to expect the other.


Baseball fans of the young star at the center of the mystery have nicknamed him “Go Go” Gato.  Fans of P.I. novels who read this are sure to say, “Go, go, Max Everhart!”


M. Ruth Myers writes the Maggie Sullivan mysteries featuring a woman P.I. in the 1930s/40s.


Filed under: Authors, Reviews Tagged: Max Everhart, mystery, private eye novels, QmBXqR4C3Zv9Rb2kSt8jC9e8QUU
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Published on October 29, 2014 06:53

October 9, 2014

Woman Private Eye Holds Her Own As Half a Team

I confess to bias. Just a small one. Not the kind that spawns ugliness. But the fact is, I’ve long resisted trying any P.I. stories that featured a duo of private eyes.


The pair always seems to be male-female, and I couldn’t shake an abiding certainty that the female would be window dressing to the male.  Cute window dressing to entice women readers. Worse still, I suspected that when things got rough, the spunky gal would be bailed out by her wiser, tougher partner.


Boy, am I glad I put my bias aside long enough to discover the Lydia Chin – Bill Smith series by S.J. Rozan.


Lydia may be younger and newer at the P.I. game than Bill, but she’s the central character. She carries a gun. She’s got guts enough to go up against influential people and street toughs. She’s nobody’s dummy.


China Trade


Having grown up Chinese-American, Lydia knows New York’s Chinatown as few outsiders do. As she walks through its streets, the reader smells its aromas, hears its sounds and sees its people. In China Trade, first book in the series, Chinatown’s complex workings fascinate without slowing a tightly woven plot about the theft of rare porcelains from a small museum.


And Bill? The other part of the duo is a likable, smart P.I. any mystery reader would enjoy. He’s steady. He has sources which complement Lydia’s. He respects her abilities and her judgment. You have to love his name, too. In an era of often ridiculous attempts at originality, his has the confidence of simplicity.


They make a good team, Bill and Lydia. And I’m glad there are lots more books to read in this series.


So if you, too, harbor a teeny-tiny bias — against books with certain settings, or by women authors, or published by indies, to name just a few — try to put it aside just once. You might be rewarded by hours and hours of new reading enjoyment.


M. Ruth Myers writes the Maggie Sullivan mysteries featuring a pre-WW2 woman P.I.


Filed under: Authors Tagged: detective novels, QmBXqR4C3Zv9Rb2kSt8jC9e8QUU, SJ Rozan, woman P.I.
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Published on October 09, 2014 07:21