Edith Maxwell's Blog, page 121
June 25, 2020
Guest- Kate Young
Jessie: In New Hampshire where summer is in full swing!
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With all the events in real life cancelled recently it is not as easy as it has been in the past to attend author events. So it is with real pleasure that the Wickeds have been hosting guests here on the blog. I am delighted to have Kate here visiting today and to be able to visit her charming fictional town through her post! Kate is offering a signed paperback to one commenter residing in the U.S.
Welcome, Kate!
Hey, y’all! I’m so happy to be here today, and I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy.
At this moment, I should be in Seaside, Florida, beachside with a frosty adult beverage relaxing after my signing at The Sun Dog, one of my favorite independent bookstores. Sadly, all my signings are canceled this year. While composing this post, I’m in my cozy little mountain town, sitting on the back deck dreaming of the day when I can return to my beloved beach and plunge my toes into the grainy depths and feel the caress of the waves against my skin.
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The setting of my mystery series, Peach Cove Island, is loosely based upon the little coastal towns of Seaside, Florida, and historic Savannah, Georgia. Peach Cove has everything, a slower pace of life, beautiful beaches, a historic downtown with hosts of unique family-owned shops, and boutiques. And of course, right in the middle of Main Street is The Peach Diner, owned and operated by my protagonist, Marygene Brown, who is always serving up the most sought-after comfort food.
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When I decided to begin writing cozy mysteries several years ago, I knew that I’d be writing a culinary cozy. Coming from a background of catering and wedding cake design, it just made sense. Marygene Brown, like me, is a foodie through in through. And, also like me, she bakes when she’s stressed, eats too. But she’s so much more. Marygene has a problematic past. She made a bad decision that altered the course of her life. She’s had to struggle to become the woman she is, and to thrive despite her troubles. And I love her for it!
When writing this series, I sought to create an immersive experience. To ignite a reader’s senses, you can smell the salty air and feel the heat on your skin while relishing in the coolness of the surf. While in the diner, you’ll hear the audible sounds of the clattering dishes, scrapes of silverware on the plates, and experience the aroma of all the food being fried, scattered, and smothered. Yum!
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The small island has a host of quirky characters you’ll love to hang out with. The dose of realism within the stories, I hope, will remind us that sometimes life is messy yet not completely defining, and your near and dear will always have your back.
Peach Cove is a beautiful place that, despite all the dead bodies dropping, I hope you’ll wish to visit again and again.
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A word to wise: while on your next visit, you might want to steer clear of early morning swims, they have proven precarious and have been known to send Marygene running to the diner for the comfort of a crispy potato waffle and a sweet pastry.
Readers, When you’re having a bad day, what’s your favorite comfort food? To celebrate the release of Southern Sass and a Crispy Corpse, Kate is giving away a signed paperback. Just leave a comment to enter.
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Bio: Kate Young writes Southern mystery novels. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and the Guppy Chapter. Kate lives in a small town in Georgia with her husband, three kids, and Shih Tzus. When she is not writing her own books, she’s reading or cooking.
Website: https://www.kateyoungbooks.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kayoungbooks
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kateyoungbooks/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKateYoung/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/kate-young-b3339e9c-d2e4-482d-a637-5afd7b064d73
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6527572.Kate_Young
June 24, 2020
Wicked Wednesday_ Unexpected Pleasures
Jessie: In New Hampshire enjoying some of life’s simple pleasures.
This week wraps up our series of Wednesdays on the unexpected and I wanted to leave it on a particularly high note. So, Wickeds, what is an unexpected pleasure you have discovered in your life? If there is more than one I’d love to hear about them all!
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Julie: I find that as I get older I don’t judge myself as much as I did when I was younger. I still enjoy challenging myself through art, for instance. But I’m also, somewhat unexpectedly, a huge Marvel movie fan. In fact, I have them going in the background when I write. I’m not sure why that works for me, but it does.
Liz: When I was younger I never understood the value of being still. I always thought things like yoga and meditation were not for me – that I didn’t have the mental ability to do them. But during some particularly rough times, those things because my lifelines. I meditate every day. I’ve also noticed such a difference not being able to go to an in-person yoga class the past few months and I can’t wait to go back.
Edith: Not self-judging is so important, Julie. As is meditating, Liz. As for me, when I started writing the Quaker Midwife Mysteries, I was surprised by how much I loved (and still do) the historical research. Examining old maps, looking up how people dressed, checking the history of words to see if they were in use at the time, discovering old letters and diaries, and so much more. Right now I – a person who rarely reads non-fiction – am reading The Remedy: Robert Koch, Arthur Conan Doyle, and the Quest to Cure Tuberculosis by Thomas Goetz. Yes, it’s research for a book, and it’s fascinating. Go figure!
Barb: Edith, I love narrative non-fiction and try to pick subjects for my books I want to learn more about. I’ve had some tremendous reads while researching the Maine Clambake mysteries. My unexpected pleasure is my grandchildren. Everyone wants to be a grandparent, right? And I did in an abstract sort of way in that I wanted my children to be happy, and if that happiness included children I wanted that for them. But I was unprepared for the full-on, fast-motion falling in love that flooded me the first time I held each of them in my arms. Just like with my own children. (Which I was also unprepared for.) It has stayed right along for seven years now.
Sherry: I always loved being around large groups of people and being on the go. I still enjoy both of those things, but I also love small groups of two or three. Also the value of staying home — a good thing I learned that one, right?
Jessie: I think you found out just in time, Sherry! I love everyone’s answers to this question! I love learning new things about each of you! I think an unexpected pleasure for me has been the addition of a dog to my life. To be honest, throughout my life I have had a ferocious dog allergy and also a few terrifying and injurious incidents involving dogs that belonged to other families. But in September of 2018, I ended up with a puppy in a roundabout and unexpected way. In a stunning turn of events, Sampson, the poodle, has added so much pleasure to my days. As my children are leaving the nest, he is providing such a lovely, childlike energy and a level of faithful companionship that I did not realize I would value. He helps to give structure to my schedule and aids and abets me in reaching my 10,000 steps each day. All in all, he had been a hypoallergenic miracle for which I am humbly grateful!
June 23, 2020
Scenes From Witch Hunt
Happy Tuesday! Cate here, and I’m excited to say that Witch Hunt, the first book in my Full Moon Mystery Series, is out in exactly one week! Yay!
To celebrate, my protagonist Violet Mooney is taking over the blog today to share a couple of her favorite scenes from the book and give a little fun commentary. Hope you enjoy!
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Hey! It’s Violet Mooney – and I wanted to share a few experiences from my upcoming book! Here’s where I become a murder suspect:
“So what, now she’s trying to blame me? That’s just like her. So what are you going to do? Let her file a complaint about me? Because I can file one too. And mine will have more merit.” I crossed my arms defensively over my chest. Whatever. Let her file a stupid complaint. She’d be the one who looked unstable.
Haliburton and Denning exchanged a look.
“Did you see her again?” Denning asked. “After this altercation?”
I shook my head.
“You’re positive?” Haliburton asked.
“I’m positive, seeing as I was here and she didn’t come over.”
They both looked like they didn’t believe me. But why wouldn’t they? What was Carla saying about me now? I felt a rush of anger at this woman. Why didn’t she leave me alone?
“And you said you were asleep?” Denning asked.
“Yes.”
“I see,” he said, although his tone suggested he didn’t. “Have you been down to the courtyard today behind the Steelworks building?”
I was confused at the change of direction, but shook my head no. “I was at yoga down there this morning, but I didn’t go into the courtyard for anything,” I said. “Why?”
After a long moment of silence, Haliburton said, “Ms. Fernandez is dead.”
Yeah, that wasn’t one of my best days. And then this happened:
“Violet,” the other woman interrupted. “I know it’s been . . . a long time, but you have to know me. In fact, I know you do.” She stepped forward and grasped my arms with long fingers, also covered in rings. Her nails had glitter on the tips, and I could see it sparkling in her hair. When she touched me, I felt dizzy, like I’d come into contact with some illicit substance that affected my nervous system. “I’m Fiona. Your mother. I understand how you must feel—”
But I cut her off.
“That’s kind of a ridiculous thing to say, considering you don’t know me at all,” I said. “So don’t even try to convince me you know how I feel. And even if you are . . . who you say you are, how did you even find me? And why now?”
I was acutely aware of the fact that the middle of the street was not the best place for this conversation. It was a double whammy of embarrassment—being released from police custody and having these two here arguing with me on the street.
How had my day gone so far down the toilet?
“We should get off this street corner,” Zoe said, as if reading my mind. “I mean, if you don’t want to draw attention to us,” she added dryly.
But Fiona ignored her. “I haven’t been able to contact you before now,” she said. “I’ll explain the whole thing later. But it’s because of the necklace. The one you took off today.”
So really, at this point, I was wishing I’d just stayed in bed. But as I discovered pretty early on in this “becoming a witch” process, there were definitely some perks…
I turned and nearly jumped a foot when I saw Zoe sitting at my little table. She wore a long black sweatshirt dress with a tangle of scarves wound around her neck. Today, her Converse sneakers were green. She grinned and waved a piece of toast at me.
“Morning,” she said, around a mouthful. “I thought you might be hungry. Took a guess at what you liked.” She shrugged. “Whaddaya think?”
“What do I think?” I sank into the other chair. “Where did you get all this? And how did you get it in here without my hearing you?” Unfortunately, I thought I already knew the answer.
“I just whipped it up,” she said with a wink. “Help yourself.”
It did smell good, I had to give her that. I rose to get a plate, but Zoe sighed and held up a hand. With a snap of her fingers, a full plate appeared in front of me. She observed her work and nodded approvingly. “Getting better,” she said, more to herself than me. “Coffee is tricky. I usually spill it. Want to try?”
“Uh—”
“Oh, just give it a go,” she said impatiently. “Stop treating these powers like they’re a burden. Trust me, it’s freakin’ fun.”
I knew she wouldn’t let up, so I closed my eyes and concentrated on envisioning a full mug of hot coffee in front of me.
I opened my eyes when I heard Zoe gasp. “Wow. First try? And you did that well? I’m impressed.” She nodded.
I gazed at the perfectly full mug of coffee and felt a stab of pride. I looked at her. “Want one?”She nodded. I did it again, delivering her a mug. She lifted it and touched it to mine. “Cheers, sis.”
There’s not much better than being able to conjure up a cup of coffee, in my mind! I hope you enjoyed the preview, and I can’t wait until this book is out in the world! Would love to hear any thoughts/comments below.
June 22, 2020
On Poems and Writing
Edith here, using all the fans.
I’ve been writing so much during recent months. On Saturday my brain needed a break, and friends who had moved out of town were back. So I hosted a small bring-your-own lunch Solstice picnic in my garden, suitably distanced. After we ate and talked and drank, we each shared a poem or two.
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I read “I Shot a Gun” from Ellie O’Leary‘s new collection, Breathe Here. Ellie is a talented writer I met twenty years ago at the Pyramid Lake Women Writers’ Retreat. She’s originally from Maine but now lives in Amesbury and is this year’s Poet Laureate. I picked that poem because, as a crime writer, I wanted to hear what she had to say about guns. But then I realized it was really about writing.
She talks about being at her friend’s uncle’s house as a girl and being given a rifle to shoot. I knew from that day I would always be a wordsmith, not a warrior was the line that caught me. It goes on:
Figured my aim would be better with words than guns – because when I pulled the trigger my thought was, “Oh, kickback. That’s what that means.” (Sorry, I can’t make the poem’s original line breaks work here.) I hope you’ll look up the book.
Another favorite poem about being a writer is Billy Collins’ “Purity.” He writes, after a few lines:
I take a fresh pot of tea into my study and close the door.
Then I remove my clothes and leave them in a pile
as if I had melted to death and my legacy consisted of only
a white shirt, a pair of pants and a pot of cold tea.
Then I remove my flesh and hang it over a chair.
It goes on from there about wanting nothing between him and his words. I am entirely pure: nothing but a skeleton at a typewriter. Read the whole thing if you can.
It’s good to peruse poetry to give my prose brain a break, and it’s even better to read poems about writing! Now I wonder if my beloved Mary Oliver has one.
Readers: Do you know other poems about being a writer? Share your favorite poem or poet.
June 19, 2020
Heartbreaks and Half-truths
Our friend from our neighbor to the north, Judy Penz Sheluk, has compiled and edited a new anthology of short crime fiction. Heartbreaks & Half-truths: 22 Stories of Mystery & Suspense includes a slew of talented authors, including several long-time Friends of the Wickeds.
Lovers and losers.
Whether it’s 1950s Hollywood, a scientific experiment, or a yard sale in suburbia, the twenty-two authors represented in this collection of mystery and suspense interpret the overarching theme of “heartbreaks and half-truths” in their own inimitable style, where only one thing is certain: Behind every broken heart lies a half-truth. And behind every half-truth lies a secret.
Judy’s here to present something special – how she ended up with the final cover!
Creating a Cover
It doesn’t matter how good a book is, if the cover doesn’t speak to readers, they aren’t likely to part with their hard-earned cash to buy it. I’ve also learned the importance of branding, an expensive lesson as I had all my book covers redesigned last year after a marketing expert at Left Coast Crime Vancouver told me that she “had no idea my books were part of a series.” But I’m guesting on The Wickeds today to talk about Heartbreaks & Half-truths: 22 Stories of Mystery & Suspense, the second anthology under my Superior Shores Press imprint. And pondering various ideas, I decided to share my cover art experience, start to finish.
The first thing I knew was that I wanted the same background, font and style as the first anthology, The Best Laid Plans: 21 Stories of Mystery & Suspense.
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I liked the moodiness of the background, and I wanted all the authors names listed on the front. In my opinion, whether they’re a Derringer Award winner or a relative unknown, they all deserve equal billing. I immediately turned to Hunter Martin, the mega-talented graphic artist who created the concept for Plans. The first step was to develop a blank template for the concept art.
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This was sent to S.A. Hadi hasan, who drew the very creepy hourglass. Along with the template, I sent Hadi a rough sketch and instructions to create a blood-dripping heart, pierced by a rose.
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The first heart was a bit on the skinny side, and it didn’t seem “broken enough,” but I thought it might work. I even went so far as to “finalize” the cover once Hunter put it all together. But as the days went on, I knew I couldn’t live with it. And so, back to Hadi to plump it up, give it a more distinctive crack, and add a leaf to the top of the rose.
The end result is exactly what was inside my head…I really need to be a better sketch artist when I send my instructions. Anyway, I love it, and I hope you do too.
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Readers: what draws you to a cover? Title, artwork, blurbs, author(s)?
Edited by Judy Penz Sheluk. Featuring stories by Sharon Hart Addy, Paula Gail Benson, James Blakey, Gustavo Bondoni, Susan Daly, Buzz Dixon, Rhonda Eikamp, Christine Eskilson, Tracy Falenwolfe, Kate Flora, John M. Floyd, J.A. Henderson, Blair Keetch, Steve Liskow, Edward Lodi, Judy Penz Sheluk, KM Rockwood, Peggy Rothschild, Joseph S. Walker, James Lincoln Warren, Chris Wheatley and Robb T. White.
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An Amazon International bestselling author, Judy Penz Sheluk writes two mystery series: the Glass Dolphin Mysteries and the Marketville Mysteries. Her short crime fiction appears in several collections, including The Best Laid Plans: 21 Stories of Mystery & Suspense, and Heartbreaks & Half-truths: 22 Stories of Mystery & Suspense, which she also edited. Judy is a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, the Short Mystery Fiction Society, and Crime Writers of Canada, where she serves on the Board of Directors as Chair (2020-21).
Release Date: June 18
Publisher: Superior Shores Press
June 18, 2020
Thankful Thursday
Jessie: In New Hampshire where the weather could not possibly be any nicer!
It is time for Thankful Thursday once again! Now, more than ever, it feels good to count blessings. We are happy to share something good on our minds and also to each offer a giveaway to a commenter. So, Wickeds, what are you grateful for right now?
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Sherry: Lily (our Westie) had an ear infection a couple of weeks ago and lost all of her hearing. She looked sad and I kept wondering if she thought we didn’t love her anymore. It has partially come back and I’m so thankful for that. I will give away a ebook of any of my books or a CD audio version of one of the Sarah Winston Garage Sale mysteries!
Liz: Oh no, Sherry! That’s so sad – I’m glad Lily is better. I miss you both so much! I’ve been thinking about that a lot during this quarantine and while it stinks that I haven’t gotten to see you guys, I’m so grateful for my boyfriend – the best quarantine companion, aside from the dogs and cats of course!
Edith/Maddie: Liz, I’m also grateful for my boyfriend (of nearly two decades), although I’m not sure he’s thankful for being the sole brunt of my hugging habit! I have to say I’m truly thankful for the warmer weather, the flourishing produce crops, the pretty spring flowers. After any New England winter and early spring, but especially this one, it’s a time to rejoice. I’ll send the winner a copy of Mulch Ado About Murder, my fifth Local Foods Mystery – which takes place at this time of year!
Julie: Edith, I love the warm weather too! I am grateful for my Kindle and great books at my fingertips. I am giving away a copy of Pruning the Dead.
Jessie: Sherry, I am sure Lily never doubted your love for her! I am grateful for my screen house! My kids set it up for me on Mother’s Day and filled it with comfy seating. I added candles, potted plants and a record player. On every fine day I spend much of it out there either with family or with my dog who just loves it! I am giving away a copy of Murder Cuts the Mustard.
Barb: I, too, am thankful for the wonderful spring weather, which took its bloody time getting here. I’ve been reading out on my balcony as happy as a clam. I’m giving away a copy of Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody, which is in wide release at the end of this month.
Readers: What are you thankful for this month?
June 17, 2020
Wicked Wednesday-Unexpected Endings
Jessie: In New Hampshire where some things are ending and others are beginning.
As we continue to discuss the unexpected this month I wanted to talk about unexpected endings. My youngest child graduated from high school this month, and while that was not unexpected, it has made me think about endings and what unexpected things might fly into my empty nest. Which leads me to today’s topic. Wickeds, which book or film have you read or watched that had the most unexpected ending?
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Julie: What a great question! I was recently talking about the ending of the manuscript I’m working on, and how it didn’t work. It was surprising not in the “oh, she tricked me” way. Instead it was the “where the heck did that come from” way. She told me about reading a book and loving it until the past twenty pages, and how the turn in the narrative was so awful she’s still upset about it ten years later. So in the “I love this ending and it makes sense” realm, I remember the first time I read The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, and how much I loved how Agatha Christie tricked me. In the “Argh, I hate this” realm, the 2005 Pride and Prejudice movie ends with Darcy and Elizabeth dressed in their nightclothes, meeting on the moor. I liked so much of that version, but that ending, while romantic, didn’t belong to that world.
Edith/Maddie: I’ve been reading through all of Ann Cleeves work. In one of her Shetland books (I won’t tell you which), the ending shocked and surprised and saddened me – and yet, I could see that she had to do it. I went searching for reader reactions. Oh, were they pissed off! I messaged Ann on Twitter (we met at Crime Bake and I drove her to the airport, so she remembered me), and she explained why she ended the book that way. She’s a master at her craft. I have much to learn.
Liz: I’m probably in the minority here, but I truly hated the ending of Gone Girl. It wasn’t just unexpected, it struck me as so unreal that I couldn’t even pretend to buy it. It was probably one of the only books I ever read where I felt like I wasted my time with the whole thing because of that ending.
Sherry: Liz, I’m in complete agreement with you and it was the book that popped into my mind too. In my own writing, the third book, All Murders Final, had an unexpected ending for me. And if I’d known there would be more books in the series, I wouldn’t have ended it that way.
Jessie: Sherry, I know what you mean about unexpected endings for series! I wish I could have tied things up differently for the first series I wrote for Berkley. In other people’s work, I would say The Elegance of the Hedgehog. I was so shocked, sad, furious, and then in awe of the rightness of the ending. Such a fantastic book!
Barb: I loved Gone Girl, even the ending. For me the ultimate awful ending was Smilla’s Sense of Snow. I felt so tricked. While I was reading the first three quarters of the book, I was telling everyone I met, “You have to read this!” Then I got the the end and I was so mad. It’s the best example I have of when you ratchet the tension up to 10 on word one and keep it there it leaves you nowhere to go at the end but to walk the book right off a cliff. One the other end, I cried and cried at the end of Lonesome Dove, not just because of the ending, but because the book was over and I would never be able to read it for the first time again.
June 16, 2020
The Romance of Mystery, plus #giveaway
Edith here, so excited to have Annette Dashofy back as a guest on the blog. Her Zoe Chambers mysteries are some of my favorites, and this new book is a biggie. Books in the series have been nominated for an Agatha Award five times. Happy book birthday #10, Annette. Read down for the giveaway!
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When one of Chief Pete Adams’ first murder convictions is overturned, he and County Detective Wayne Baronick are assigned to reinvestigate the case. As new theories about the murder surface, Pete begins to question not only the original suspect’s guilt, but his own investigative skills from the days when he first took over the Vance Township Police Department.
Meanwhile, Zoe Chambers, Monongahela County’s new chief deputy coroner, struggles with the turmoil of two mysterious deaths—including someone close to her heart—as she tries to master her new job and plan her upcoming wedding. But her investigation soon links to Pete’s case, making Zoe the target of a killer determined to keep the truth from getting out. Can Zoe see the danger in time, and get to the church for her wedding…alive?
Take it away, Annette!
When I wrote Circle of Influence, the first in my Zoe Chambers series, I was clueless about so many things. Would it ever get published? Would anyone like my characters? Would it be a stand-alone or would the second in the series also someday see the light of day? The question of whether or not Zoe and Pete would become more than friends never entered my mind. I was, after all, writing a mystery, not a romance.
(insert me smacking my head here)
Early on, I outlined the crimes in detail. I knew at the beginning of each book who the killer was and why he’d committed the murder. I mostly knew how the case would be solved. What I did not plot out was the budding relationship between Police Chief Pete Adams and Zoe. They started out with a ton of emotional baggage. Zoe didn’t want to ruin a beautiful friendship by becoming romantically involved. Pete had already gone through one divorce and was onboard with Zoe’s wishes.
My readers were not.
I figured this out one day shortly after Lost Legacy, the second in the series, came out. A male reader marched up to me at an event for another author and demanded to know when Pete and Zoe were getting together. The question didn’t stun me as much as the person doing the asking. Not a stereotypical romantic-at-heart, but a guy in camo. (Note to self: never make assumptions about your readership.)
When the third book, Bridges Burned, came out, I really started getting flak because the Pete and Zoe relationship had taken two steps forward and three steps back. That’s when I came to realize my readers were more concerned about my characters than about the mystery du jour. And since I’d just signed a contract for three more books, it’s also when I realized I couldn’t keep throwing obstacles in the path of true love.
Sort of.
I’ve continued to toss boulders in their path, but by the end of each book, Zoe and Pete have been in a good place, edging closer to each other, growing more secure in their relationship. And now, the tenth in the series, Til Death, has brought them within a week of their impending Valentine’s Day nuptials. Besides the normal stress of being days away from their wedding, Zoe has to deal with a new full-time job in the coroner’s office and a couple of mysterious deaths, one of which strikes too close to home. Pete is ordered to reopen an investigation into a homicide from his early days in Vance Township when the verdict is thrown out. Plus there’s the little matter of selling his home and moving into Zoe’s farmhouse. And Zoe’s mom is coming to town. And…
You get the idea. They’re thinking they should’ve eloped.
But I couldn’t do that to all the readers who’ve been demanding a wedding. Therefore, you’re all invited to the marriage ceremony! You’ll just have to get through the mystery at hand first.
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Readers: which is more important to you when you’re reading a series? The murder mystery or the characters? Wickeds and fellow authors: do you plot out your characters’ love lives as much or more than the crimes in your novels? I’ll send one commenter a signed copy of the new book (US only)!
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USA Today bestselling author Annette Dashofy has spent her entire life in rural Pennsylvania surrounded by cattle and horses. When she wasn’t roaming the family’s farm or playing in the barn, she could be found reading or writing. After high school, she spent five years as an EMT on the local ambulance service, dealing with everything from drunks passing out on the sidewalk to mangled bodies in car accidents. These days, she, her husband, and their spoiled cat, Kensi, live on property that was once part of her grandfather’s dairy. Her 5-time Agatha-nominated Zoe Chambers mystery series includes Circle of Influence (also nominated for the David Award for Best Mystery), Lost Legacy, Bridges Burned, With A Vengeance, No Way Home, Uneasy Prey, Cry Wolf, Fair Game, Under the Radar, as well as Til Death.
Order Til Death from Mystery Lover Bookstore and request a signed/personalized copy, or find at Amazon or B&N .
June 15, 2020
Creating Characters
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I found writing a new series scary as all get out – whatever that means. Suffice it to say I had a LOT of talks with the editor in my head that told me From Beer to Eternity was crap and that no one was going to want to read a book set in a beach bar in the panhandle of Florida. Fortunately, lots of talks with the Wickeds, Barb Goffman, and [image error]a plotting session with Jessie got me beyond that. And since a deadline loomed I put fingers to keyboard and wrote. Here’s a little bit about three of the main characters in From Beer to Eternity the first Chloe Jackson Sea Glass Saloon mystery.
Chloe Jackson – Chloe’s motto – borrowed from her dad – is: a promise made is a promise kept. Which is how she finds herself going from children’s librarian to waitress at the Sea Glass Saloon. She made a promise to her best friend Boone Slidell that if anything happened to him in Afghanistan, she’d go help his grandmother run her bar in the panhandle of Florida – not thinking it would be a promise she had to keep.
This is what Chloe thinks about her career change: The truth was, as a twenty-eight-year-old children’s librarian, I never imagined I’d end up working in a beach bar in Emerald Cove, Florida. In the week I’d been here I’d already learned toddlers and drunk people weren’t that different. Both were unsteady on their feet, prone to temper tantrums one minute and sloppy hugs the next, and they liked to take naps wherever they happened to be. Go figure.
Chloe is short, with short brown hair and big brown eyes. She has two older brothers who had a lot of influence over her. Getting away from them is one of the many reasons Chloe became a runner. They say she has thunder thighs, Chloe describes herself as a basset hound in a family of whippets.
Vivi Slidell – isn’t the little old lady Chloe was expecting to rescue. Chloe is shocked to find out that Vivi doesn’t want her there and ends up lying so she can keep her promise to Boone. Chloe thinks: Maybe I resented that she wasn’t who I thought she’d be. In my head, I’d pictured swooping in to save the day. It had been my noble cause since the day I’d heard Boone had gone missing. His grandma would be grateful. I’d be lauded. The reality was so vastly different from the notion.
Chloe describes her: Vivi was a beautiful woman with thick silver hair and a gym-perfect body. Seventy had never looked so good. She wore gold, strappy wedge sandals that made my feet ache just looking at them, cropped white skinny jeans, and an off-the-shoulder, gauzy aqua top. I always felt a little messy when I was with her.
Joaquín Diaz – Poor Joaquín—he’s the bartender at the Sea Glass and is stuck between his loyalty to Vivi and his growing friendship with Chloe. He’s Chloe’s first friend in Florida and becomes her support system as Chloe traverses interactions with prickly Vivi.
This is how Chloe describes him: Joaquín’s eyes were almost the same color as the aquamarine waters of the Gulf of Mexico, which sparkled across the wide expanse of beach in front of the Sea Glass. With his tousled dark hair, Joaquín looked way more like a Hollywood heartthrob than a fisherman by morning, bartender by afternoon. That combination had the women who stopped in here swooning. He looked like he was a few years older than me.
Joaquín’s hips swayed to the island music playing over an old speaker system. He was in perpetual motion, with his hips moving like some suave combination of Elvis and Ricky Martin. My hips didn’t move like that even on my best day—even if I’d had a couple of drinks.
Chloe asks Joaquín: “Have you ever thought about dancing professionally?”
“Been there, danced that,” Joaquín answered.
“Really?”
“Oh, honey, I shook my bootie with Beyoncé, Ricky Martin, and Justin Timberlake among others when I was a backup dancer.”
“What are you doing here, then?” I was astonished.
“My husband and I didn’t like being apart.” Joaquín started shaking the cocktail, but threw in some extra moves, finishing with a twirl. “Besides, I get to be outside way more than I did when I was living out in LA. There, I was always stuck under hot lights on a soundstage. Here, it’s a hot sun out on the ocean. Much better.”
Kensington is giving away 100 copies of From Beer to Eternity over on Goodreads. Click here and scroll down for a chance to win.
Readers: Do you like meeting characters in new series? Writers: Do you find starting a new series exhilarating or scary?
You can order signed copies of my books at One More Page Books https://www.onemorepagebooks.com/
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/from-beer-to-eternity-sherry-harris/1134434829?ean=9781496723031
Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/books/from-beer-to-eternity/9781496723031
The audio version will be available soon!
June 12, 2020
Welcome Guest Gretchen Archer
I’m not sure when I first met Gretchen or where — at some conference. But she is lovely and just as funny as her books. I’m so glad to welcome her to The Wickeds for the first time. Look for a giveaway at the bottom of the post. Here’s a bit about Double Trouble the ninth book in the Davis Way Crime Caper series.
[image error]Davis Way Cole smells T-R-O-U-B-L-E when she’s fired from half of her part-time job at the Bellissimo Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. The quarter-time job she’s left with is lulling her to sleep, exactly what she’s doing when Birdy James, centenarian director of the casino’s Lost and Found department, disappears. With five million dollars.
Davis just can’t help believing Birdy didn’t do it, if for no other reason, she’s too old to spend it. If Davis doesn’t find the little old lady and the money fast, she’ll lose what’s left of her job, at which point, there goes her Bellissimo everything.
What she needs is a good luck charm. What she gets is her home invaded by hard-headed women, a soft-hearted little man, and major carpet troubles, the combination of which sends Davis’s already suspicious mind into overdrive, and landing her between a jailhouse rock and a very hard place.
A little less conversation and a lot more action are called for if Davis has any chance of saving herself, her family, her marriage, her job, and the heartbreak hotel she calls home. Thank you. Thank you very much.
On My Nightstand
My first book was published in 2013. I was fifty-one years old. Don’t do that math, and this isn’t the story of You’re Never Too Old. (Although you’re not.) This is the story of how much I enjoyed reading, how voraciously I read, how widely I read before I was published, and how I had to relearn reading for pleasure after.
I went from one side of publishing (consumer) to the other (casualty) quickly, if four unpublished rambling tomes (about absolutely nothing) and 300 rejections can be considered quickly. Truth: I woke up one day and stopped everything I was doing because it wasn’t working. I threw out the rambling tomes and rejection letters, wrote what would be the first in my series, Double Whammy, in four months, landed my dream agent on my first query, had a contract with new and exciting kid on the block, Henery Press, within a few months, and just like that (*finger snap*) my world turned upside down. I had deadlines, reviews, blogs, blurbs, social media, marketing, graphics, author events, conferences, heaps of new people in my life, an inbox forever full of reader email, demands on my time, on my series, on my family, on my sleep, on my checkbook, and, looking back, it all felt very hit by a bus. What’s that thing where nothing happens and nothing happens and nothing happens then everything happens?
That was me.
I’d gained so much, but it took writing and releasing several more books to realize what I’d lost. Reading. I’d lost reading. I’d stopped reading, outside my genre, anyway. When I wasn’t writing, I was reading and annotating pre-published manuscripts written by cozy mystery colleagues, which had me at my desk day and night, and before long, it all felt like work. On the rare occasions I braved the world outside my office, I’d hear, “You haven’t read this? That? The other? Stop everything and read it!” It wasn’t until recently, maybe a year ago, I took that advice. I started reading. Again. I started with James A. Michener’s Texas,where I’m from, then Hawaii, where I’d like to be, and I kept going. I’m so glad to be back in reader world. So happy to contribute to Where the Crawdads Sing conversations. (I, for whatever reasons, didn’t love it. Finished it, but didn’t love it.) (Sorry.) I’m thrilled to be anxiously awaiting Carl Hiaasen’s next release. (Squeeze Me, August 2020. I’ve preordered.) What fabulous books have cleared my nightstand recently? I’m so glad you asked.
How to Walk Away by Katherine Center. Contemporary Women’s Fiction. I’d call it Chick Lit. I thought I knew what I was getting. Girl meets boy, boy treats girl poorly, girl finds the strength to leave boy. No. Not what I got. What girl did was go against every ounce of her better judgement for boy, because she truly thought he was what she wanted and that she was what he needed, only for it to alter the absolute rest of her life. I loved Margaret’s story.
Daisy Jones & The Six: A Novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I have no idea what genre this one is. Hold on and I’ll check. Women’s Sagas. (I didn’t know until just this minute there was such a thing.) I’m not particularly passionate about music, or bands, have been to less-than-I-can-count-on-two-hands concerts in my life, but I liked the era and the concept, so thought I’d give it a chapter. I gave it the next three days of my life. Because I really wanted Daisy and Billy to be together. And I really didn’t want Daisy and Billy to be together. My heart was ripped in two the entire book. Also, ten pages in, I Googled their music. That’s how real the fiction was for me, I thought they were real. I Googled them.
I Can’t Make This Up: Life Lessons by Kevin Hart. Biography. Now why would I be a Kevin Hart fan? No offense to comedians past or present, but I’m not a comedian groupie at all, along with the fact that I’m nowhere near Kevin Hart’s demographic. (See math problem above. Go ahead and calculate my age.) And yet I loved his book. I absolutely loved it. Talk about picking yourself up and dusting yourself off and making (a fortune) something of yourself? That’s this book. If you’re not a Kevin Hart fan, read this book and you will be. You’ll follow his every (almost tragic car accident) move. Heart all his Instagram videos. The honestly with which this man approaches his life, his heritage, his work, and his world thoroughly impressed me. I loved this book.
The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House by Kate Andersen Brower. (History? Juicy Gossip?) Did you know that on her first night in the White House Luci Baines Johnson almost burned the place down? I didn’t either. This book, the Downton Abbey of the White House from the Kennedy years through Obama’s, is loaded with fascinating details and observations told by the service staff, that (interestingly enough) doesn’t change from administration to administration. I was glued to it, I tell ya, GLUED.
Readers: What’s on your nightstand? Giveaway: Signed paperback and swag to one commenter, announced on the 13th, U.S. only, please.
[image error]Bio: Gretchen Archer is a Tennessee housewife who began writing when her three children, seeking higher educations, ran off and left her. She lives on Lookout Mountain with her husband. DOUBLE TROUBLE is the ninth in her Davis Way Crime Caper series.
Not including a link to my website because I haven’t updated my website in two years. I’ve learned that when someone wants to find me, they do. If you really need it, it’s gretchenarcher.com.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2yEHfx3
B&N: https://bit.ly/3e4m9Z5
iTunes: https://apple.co/34oDN5n
Kobo: https://bit.ly/2XjcnN4
Again and again, thank you, Sherry. Your plate is full. It’s wonderful that between your own books and SinC you have time for a blog.
