Kate Collins's Blog, page 312
March 12, 2011
Reflections on This Writer's Journey
As I prepare for the release of The Cat, The Lady and The Liar on April 5th, I've been thinking about my career, one I came to as my second job after being a nurse for 35 years. I've realized that each book is like one of my children, each with its own personality, each connected to events in my life—some events good, some bad, some truly terrible, some absolutely wonderful.
The first book an author publishes is always different, and like a first child, seems like a miracle. How did this ever happen? I remember thinking. Holding a "real book," as my husband likes to say, with my words between the pages, was something almost as memorable as the day my son came into the world. Almost.
My real life kids had weddings within about a year and a half of each other, and in between, I wrote ... wait for it ... A Wedding to Die For. No surprise I felt like I could have actually murdered someone during that time. To be honest, I think it was the funniest book I've written. Truly a happy time, if not stressful.
But life doesn't always treat you kindly, and after I turned in my third book, the notes back from my editor started out with something like, "This book is so sad. You have to make it funnier." I'd been diagnosed with Lyme, so yes, the sadness was there. And perhaps fear as well, fear that the illness would cost me my dream job—mystery writer. My editor is quite good at reading the subtext, and at that point the subtext was pretty heavy. I worked hard to make tthe book better and I believe I succeeded. To this day, Dead Giveaway is one of my favorites.
After writing eight books, I've pushed through the arrival of grandkids, Lyme relapses, a terrible reaction to a simple surgery that nearly killed me, having to take early retirement from my day job because of my illness and so much more. How can those events not seep into the pages? They do, of course, and in unexpected ways.
When my editor asked me to write a new series with cats front and center, I was excited. But unless I could write two books a year, I had to say goodbye to Abby Rose, of my Yellow Rose series, at least for a while. That affected me more than I ever expected. See, I don't have the stamina to write two books a year. Abby's a part of me and it felt as if I left town and bought a new house somewhere far away. I still miss her ... and one day I am sure she will visit me and everyone else again.
That tiny bit of grief over "losing" Abby, filtered into the first cat mystery without me even realizing it. More notes from my editor about a "sad book." I sure had to examine the novel-- and myself. My editor was right, of course. Then I faced my biggest rewrite ever. That sure wasn't fun! But in the end, I have grown to love my new story people. Creating a town from pure imagination was literally and figuratively new territory. The Yellow Rose books are set in Houston and the landscape was already there for me to explore. I thought it would be easy to create fictional Mercy, South Carolina for The Cats in Trouble series. Not really. But the fictional kitties—Merlot, Chablis and Syrah—came with their personalities already set. It seemed magical, really.
So there you have a tiny bit of my story, and I'll bet every writer has their own journey—different and yet the same. But one thing we have in common—we were all readers first. We are readers, just like you. What parts of your story are memorable, changed your direction or surprised you? I would love to hear about them.
Born Without The Scrapbooking Gene
I love the whole idea of scrapbooking. I love all the elements that true scrapbookers use. The lovely background papers, the 3-D elements. Pictures. Rubber stamps. Embossing powders. Die-cutters.I've collected newspaper articles, pictures, and other stuff highlighting my literary career and, not only have I bought a lovely scrapbook, I've bought two books on the subject to tell me how to put everything into some kind of coherent order, and yet I've nothing to make it happen. I've admired the scrapbooks I've seen made by other people, but I feel intimidated by the whole idea. Added to that, I just don't seem to have the crafty gene.
And so all of it sits in a pile in my office closet, waiting for time and inspiration to hit . . . but somehow, I doubt that inspiration will ever come.
I've still got nearly all my rejection letters from scores of agents--including the one that came from what would be my 4th agent for a book she would sell for me some five years later. Should I include that in my scrapbook as an ironic piece of my personal history?
Meanwhile, the pile gets higher every year and I get no closer to assembling all this paper into an orderly progression of my literary career.
What about you? Do you save stuff no one else could possibly care about?
March 10, 2011
Mutant Hair
Okay, so there I was the other day, washing my hands in the bathroom sink when I spotted...it.
A hair.
Sticking out of my cheek.Way out. It was about an inch long.
I had a bit of girly-girl panic as I leaned in to get a closer look at this mutant hair and held my breath as I reached for it, ready to yank it out (that sucker had to GO).
Then, as I grabbed it, I realized it wasn't actually attached to my cheek—it had fallen there. It was a bristle from my kabuki foundation brush.
Whew! Crisis averted. For now. But I know there are mutant hairs on my horizon, and trust me, they will be plucked, exfoliated, Naired...eradicated.
Why does getting older have to be so painful...and filled with panic? Maybe I need to be more Zen. I'll work on it. For now, pass the tweezers, will ya?
Heather
Down With Bullies!
By Ellery Adams (This blog appeared on Lorna's Pet Peeves blog last week, so I apologize to those who aren't getting new material from me today!)
My father went to high school in a rough area of New Jersey. He was a skinny nerd and quickly became the target of a bully and his gang of followers.
In class, this bully would prick the back of my dad's neck with a thumbtack, warning him that if he ever "squealed," he'd get the beating of his life.
My dad believed him.
As the days passed, he just couldn't take it anymore and he decided, even if it meant getting the bea
ting of his life, to confront this bully. He went after him in a hallway where there would be lots of witnesses, deliberately acting as crazy as he could, and paid for his recklessness with more bruises than he could count. But after that, the bully left him alone, in search of easier prey.
When I was in the 3rd grade, a girl named Ingrid used to steal our lunch money in the Girls' bathroom. One day, my best friend refused to give it to her and this girl, who'd been left back two times and was therefore much bigger than your average third grader, slammed my friend's face into a wall of lockers, giving her a bloody nose. I jumped on Ingrid to stop her from hurting my friend further and that's when the teacher came in. We all got suspended and Ingrid continued to steal lunch money for the rest of that year. She went on to be a terror in middle school.
I know that bullies are usually insecure, self-loathing individuals. Once upon a time, they were simply the biggest and meanest, but in today's schools they are harder to spot. They use text messages and emails to wound their peers, deliberately trying to ruin another student's life. Even in the adult world, we face bullies. We've seen them at work, at sporting events, and on the highways.
In my recent release, A Deadly Cliché, I write about how bullying can mutate the darkness inside a person, drawing forth ugly responses and a desire for revenge. Wouldn't it be something if our every day bullies had been put in their place from those first days at elementary school and not allowed to grow into monsters?
Do you have any experience with bullying?
March 8, 2011
Welcome Mystery Author Linda O. Johnston
The Month and MeYes, I know that's probably not grammatical, but I like the alliteration. In any event, this is March... yet another M word. March is always a favorite month of mine every year. My birthday is this month. So are many relatives' birthdays, including my older son and my younger dog. Today is the anniversary of the night my husband and I met.
And this year the month is even more special. March 1 was the debut date for BEAGLEMANIA, the first in my new Pet Rescue Mystery series from Berkley Prime Crime. It's a spinoff series from my Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mystery series.
Since the debut, I've been on a wonderful panel with a lot of mystery writers at the new Flintridge Bookstore in Flintridge, California--on March 3. I've also done a signing of my own at Mystery Ink, a bookstore in Huntington Beach, California, on March 5. Two pet rescue organizations brought dogs available for adoption to Mystery Ink. A friend involved in pet lifestyles brought a Toyota Venza with special dog-protection accessories to show off, and also gave away dog bowls. Best of all I had a delightful signing experience. Sadly, though, the event didn't result in any of the dogs finding new homes.
Am I finished with March yet? Nope, this month also holds more signings: March 12 at Mysteries To Die For in Thousand Oaks, March 19 at Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena--in conjunction with an adoption event by the Pasadena Humane Society--and March 26 at Bookstar in Studio City at the same time as another pet adoption event on the sidewalk outside. By the way, my name is in lights in Studio City. Bookstar is a Barnes & Noble store in a former theater, and they've already put my name on the theater marquee!
Plus... well, as you can tell, I'm doing guest blogs this month.
Not many of you reading this reside in Southern California, so you won't be at my signings. You will, I hope, see why this March is an amazing array of stuff going on, thanks to my new series.
Let me tell you a bit about that series. The protagonist of my new Pet Rescue Mystery series is Lauren Vancouver. She was introduced in the eighth Kendra book, HOWL DEADLY, and she also appears in the ninth, FELINE FATALE. She is the head administrator of HotRescues, a no-kill private animal shelter in L.A.'s San Fernando Valley. She doesn't have to worry about funding, since HotRescues is under the auspices of Kendra's new guy friend Dante DeFrancisco, who's really rich. But she has plenty of other things to worry about. Worrying, and doing something about it, is at the heart of pet rescue. It's also at the heart of being a protagonist in a cozy mystery series. When I tell you that, in the Pet Rescue Mysteries, "no-kill" means pets, not people... well, I'm sure you get it.
The first Pet Rescue Mystery, BEAGLEMANIA, begins with a rescue from a puppy mill. Some of Lauren's later adventures will involve an animal hoarder and a shelter that takes in unadoptable pets.
As a result of researching the new series, I got started in pet rescue, too. Not to the extent that Lauren is involved, but I volunteer at a local animal shelter, where I'm a dog adoption counselor. I'm also the new L.A. Pet Rescue Examiner for Examiner.com. That, in addition to my writing, will fill up most of the rest of my March.
Oh, but I can't forget to mention that while I'm at home writing, I'm at the bark and call of my own dogs, two adorable Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. I keep telling them that they don't know how good they have it--after I've seen so many dogs in shelters just waiting for the right person to take them home. As spoiled as they are, they just make their next demands. Like they're doing this very minute, as I write this. Time for me to obey...Come visit me at my website: www.LindaOJohnston.com
You can also friend me on Facebook.
I additionally blog weekly on KillerHobbies.blogspot.com on Wednesdays, where my Killer Hobby is supposed to be pets--but we all know that pets aren't hobbies. They're family!
March 7, 2011
A Sweet Spirit
As I've mentioned on several occasions, I have four wonderful daughters who are literally scattered around the country. My second oldest, Melissa, lives and works in Manhattan. This past weekend, I received a sad message from her. Her dear sweet cat, Sid, had suddenly become quite ill. Vet visits were not encouraging. A large malignancy was suspected. Sid is seventeen years old. During the weekend he went downhill fast. He'd stopped eating & drinking water, then suddenly his legs gave way. He could no longer stand up. He could no longer move. Melissa rushed him to the vet on Sunday, yesterday, and....well, the decision was made to to keep Sid from suffering. Sid passed peacefully yesterday afternoon.Melissa has been grieving ever since, understandably. Sid had been with her for seventeen years. A steady, constant companion, Sid was one of the calmest, most loving cats I've ever known. He came into Melissa's life as part of a pair: Sid, a Snowshoe mix and his sister, Nancy, a Himalayan mix. Sid and Nancy were named after members of the '80's rock band the Sex Pistols. Melissa was an "80's" girl.
When Melissa called me with the news, I told her I believed that Sid's wonderful spirit was still with her. I believe our beloved pets' spirits remain with us. They are Love. Pure and undiluted. And they bring us joy.
** Note: This is not an actual photo of Sid, simply the closest I could find on the stock photo website late at night.
March 6, 2011
The Soul Scrub
by Kate Collins
Since my husband's passing, I've had a lot of time to reflect on life – his, mine, and just life in general. I've had a difficult time looking back, seeing photos of our lovely time together, but I know eventually I will be able to without pain, just with joy.
These reflections have taken me way back in some cases, back to my youth, and to some times that I wish I had a chance to do over. After some painful soul searching and a lot of praying, I feel now that I need to make amends for a few of those times. My husband's sudden passing has taught me that life can end in the blink of an eye, leaving things unsaid and undone. There may be no tomorrow. So maybe taking a cue from the show "My Name Is Earl," is a good thing.
I'm calling this a soul scrub. Get it scrubbed out now so I don't carry it with me for the rest of my life -- and beyond.
Are there things you wish you could do over? People you wish you could apologize to but are too ashamed? Friends who you've hurt, causing a rift? Have you ever taken the brave course and apologized?
March 5, 2011
Welcome Mystery Author Beth Groundwater
The Setting For Deadly Currents
Deadly Currents, the first book in my new RM Outdoor Adventures mystery series starring whitewater river ranger Mandy Tanner, takes place in the Arkansas River valley in central Colorado. This scenic valley is sandwiched between the Sawatch Range of the Rocky Mountains to the west and the Mosquito Range to the east. Contrary to the surrounding snow-capped peaks, the valley is so dry and sunny that it is known as Colorado's "Banana Belt." Like many of its residents, Mandy loves being outdoors in all seasons, soaking up the sunshine and whitewater spray from the river's rapids.
Cottonwood, willow and alder trees grow along the river banks and higher up, the hills are forested with Ponderosa pine and Douglas fir. In these forests, you might spot mule deer, elk, bighorn sheep, foxes, beavers, muskrats, skunks, rabbits, and maybe even an occasional rattlesnake. Birds are abundant and so are fat fish, so birders and fly fishermen flock to the valley along with rafting, hiking, skiing (on nearby Monarch Mountain) and mountain biking enthusiasts. After a full day of communing with nature, many head for the local hot springs to relax sore muscles and commune with each other.
The Arkansas River that Mandy patrols is the most commercially rafted river in the United States. Half-day, one day, and multi-day trips are available from about sixty different outfitters on its various sections. Trips range from easy family-oriented floats to white-knuckle rollercoaster rides bound to get you wet. Sections include the Numbers expert run upriver and north of the town of Buena Vista, through Wildhorse Canyon, the most popular Brown's Canyon, the easy "milk run" through the town of Salida, Big Horn Sheep Canyon, and the heart-stopping Royal Gorge above Canyon City. Like many who live in the valley, Mandy never tires of being on the river, and neither do I. The photos below show a rapid in the Numbers section and me imagining Mandy's rescue of a swimmer in another rapid.
Mandy lives in the fun, funky town of Salida, which has about 6000 residents. Salida was founded by the Denver and Rio Grande railroad in 1880 and was one of twenty finalists for the title of "America's Coolest Small Town" at Budget Travel magazine. The headquarters of the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area, where Mandy works, sits in the center of town. Also there is the historic Victoria Tavern (see photo below), where Mandy hangs out with her ranger and river guide buddies after work.
Salida's streets are lined with lovely red brick Victorian buildings housing tempting restaurants (such as favorite river ranger lunch spot Mama D's in the photo below), art galleries and antique emporiums, outdoor sports stores, and an array of shops including one of my favorite independent Colorado bookstores, The Book Haven (http://www.thebookhavenonline.com/), seen in the second photo below.
Every time I visit Salida or take a rafting trip on the Arkansas River for fun or research, I say to myself, "Why don't I come more often?" It's a beautiful setting for Mandy Tanner's adventures, and could be great setting for yours, too, if you visit. In the meantime, you can experience the Arkansas River valley while reading Deadly Currents. I hope you'll join me there!
Have you ever read a book, fallen in love with it's setting, and made a trip to that location? What about Colorado? Ever visited my home state? Tell us about it! Remember, everyone who comments will be entered into a contest for a free copy of Deadly Currents.
If you'd like to see what the other stops are on my virtual book tour, go to: http://bethgroundwater.com/2011_Virtu... , and if you'd like to order an autographed copy of Deadly Currents, go to the website for Black Cat Books (http://manitoubooks.com/) and click on "Contact Us". Either call the phone number or fill out the form with your contact information.
Bio & Book Blurb:
Beth Groundwater writes the Claire Hanover gift basket designer mystery series (A Real Basket Case, a 2007 Best First Novel Agatha Award finalist, and To Hell in a Handbasket, 2009) and the Rocky Mountain Outdoor Adventures mystery series starring whitewater river ranger Mandy Tanner. The first, Deadly Currents, will be released March 8th. Beth lives in Colorado and enjoys its many outdoor activities, including skiing, hiking, and whitewater rafting. She loves talking to book clubs, too, and not just for the gossip and wine! Please visit her website at bethgroundwater.com and her blog at bethgroundwater.blogspot.com.
The Arkansas River, heart and soul of Salida, Colorado, fuels the small town's economy and thrums in the blood of river ranger Mandy Tanner. When a whitewater rafting accident occurs, she deftly executes a rescue, but a man dies anyway. Turns out, it wasn't the rapids that killed him—it was murder. Tom King was a rich land developer with bitter business rivals, who cheated on his wife, refused to support his kayak-obsessed son, and infuriated environmentalists. Mandy's world is upended again when tragedy strikes closer to home. Suspicious that the most recent death is connected to Tom King's murder, she goes on an emotionally turbulent quest for the truth—and ends up in dangerous waters.
Is Spring In The Air (or the ground)?
Yesterday Mr. L and I ventured into the backyard on a quest ... for the first signs of spring.And we found them.
Daffodil points.
I know, I know--there's officially a little over two weeks left before the first day of spring, but after this brutal winter, we're eager for spring and then SUMMER!
Summer, with hot lazy days sitting on the porch and READING for PLEASURE.
Summer, with junking forays to find treasure for a pittance.
Summer, hot dogs on the barbecue. Potato Salad. ICE CREAM CONES!
Summer, blue skies, falling asleep with rain on the roof and the occasional crack of lightning and thunder. Gardening. Flowers. Veggies.
But to get there, we have to go through spring.I'll take it.
How eager are you for spring and summer?
--------------------------------------------------
P.S. On Monday, March 7th, I'll be the first guest host on The Crime Scene Facebook page from 11 am until noon (Eastern Time). I hope you'll come and visit and feel free to ask questions. You haven't heard of it? Go on over and check it out--first you have to like it to participate--click the link. THE CRIME SCENE.
March 3, 2011
What Would You Smuggle?
Awhile back, our local high school stopped selling regular soda in their vending machines. They only carry diet flavors now, vitamin water, and sports drinks like Gatorade. This was done to help kids cut calories and make healthier decisions. (Let's not discuss how, perhaps, they should have gotten rid of the vending machines altogether.)
More recently, the high school banned salt in the lunchroom. No more little packets of the white stuff to dump on fries or burgers or...anything. All for the same reasons. (Let's not discuss the quality of the majority of food they serve to begin with.)
But teens are industrious. And sneaky. And some of them, entrepreneurial. I heard from someone who shall remain nameless to protect their identity that a young woman at school has been smuggling in salt packets (taken from local fast food eateries) at lunchtime. And here's the kicker—she's selling them at five cents a pop! And it should really be no surprise that she's selling out of them. (Heck, if I was in that lunchroom, I think I'd buy one—fries with no salt??? Yuck!)
This situation made me think about other things that might be banned. And what I'd be desperate enough to smuggle in if I was eating lunch in that cafeteria everyday. I figure, hygiene-wise, if they stopped using napkins for some eco reason, I'd definitely smuggle in some of those. If they cut chips because of the salt content...I'd smuggle those in, too. Have to have chips with my sandwich. And maybe some chocolate if they banned that... A Ho-Ho or something. (And let's not talk about how the high school completely ignored the fact that things always taste better--and are more desirable--when told you can't have them.)
What would you fear being cut, and in turn smuggle right back in?
