Edith Maxwell's Blog, page 168

Guest Judy Sheluk: A Superior Writing Retreat

Edith here, so happy to have the amazing Judy Sheluk back as our guest. Past & Present, her new Marketville Mystery, is out today! She’s giving away a Kindle version to one lucky commenter here today, too.[image error]

Sometimes the past reaches out to the present. It’s been thirteen months since Calamity (Callie) Barnstable inherited a house in Marketville under the condition that she search for the person who murdered her mother thirty years earlier. She solves the mystery, but what next? Unemployment? Another nine-to-five job in Toronto? Callie decides to set down roots in Marketville, take the skills and knowledge she acquired over the past year, and start her own business: Past & Present Investigations.

It’s not long before Callie and her new business partner, best friend Chantelle Marchand, get their first client: a woman who wants to find out everything she can about her grandmother, Anneliese Prei, and how she came to a “bad end” in 1956. It sounds like a perfect first assignment. Except for one thing: Anneliese’s past winds its way into Callie’s present, and not in a manner anyone—least of all Callie—could have predicted.

Take it away, Judy!

Followers of the Wicked Authors know how much Edith Maxwell loves getting away for a writing retreat. While she makes it sound fabulous, the one time I tried a weekend retreat it was filled with something the organizer (an award-winning poet/author) called “poet’s walks.” While the rest of the group was wandering around aimlessly smelling flowers and twisting branches and leaves between their fingers to feel the texture, all I wanted to do was get back to my Philipsburg Blue home office where I could write without pretense. Or people. (I cannot imagine writing in a coffee shop any more than I can imagine writing while skydiving, not that I skydive, but you get the idea.)

And then, in 2015, my husband, Mike, and I sold the house we’d lived in for 25 years, moved to smaller town, an even smaller house, and bought a cabin an eight hour drive away on the shores of Lake Superior (our place is in Canada, but the Michigan side is known as the Upper Peninsula).

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I can still remember Mike coming back from scouting cottages (the Canadian term for cabin). He’d fallen in love with one about 20 miles northwest of Sault Ste. Marie. “Let me get this straight,” I said. “You want to buy a place eight hours away, in Northern Ontario, on a lake that is almost always too cold to swim in? Sounds fab.”

“I know,” he said, obviously missing my sarcasm. He can be annoying like that. We bought the cottage.

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Now, I’m going to fess up and admit I wasn’t in any hurry to get there. I’d never been further north than Muskoka, a prime vacation resort area a two-hour drive from Toronto, and my idea of roughing it is a hotel room without a king-size bed. And then I saw Lake Superior.

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This past July, I spent a month at the cottage, writing on my iPad at the kitchen table every morning, the ever-changing water in full view, my dog, Gibbs, lying by my feet.

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Usually a slow writer, I pounded out 35,000 words on book 3 in the Marketville Mystery series. A hot mess, to be sure, given the limitations of Pages and the patchy internet that doesn’t allow for endless research, but I’ve never felt more connected to anything I’ve ever written. And that’s when I realized what Mike knew from the moment he saw our place: he’d found me my very own writing retreat.

Of course, he’ll never let me forget it. He can be annoying like that.

Readers: Don’t forget, Judy is giving away a Kindle version of Past & Present to one lucky commenter here today,

Edith: Here’s my advance review (can you tell I loved the book?): Judy Penz Sheluk nails it with this intriguing Marketville mystery that, as the title says, stitches together an investigation into the past with people’s lives in the present – including that of protagonist Callie Barnstable herself. Her new missing persons agency digs up fascinating dirt, delves into the seams of a vintage traveling case, and even consults a woo-woo analyst to arrive at an answer for both the client and Callie. The characters were real, and the plot twists and turns, with a satisfying but surprising ending. Treat yourself to a new present-day read – you won’t be disappointed.[image error]

Judy Penz Sheluk is the author of the Glass Dolphin Mysteries (The Hanged Man’s Noose; A Hole in One) and the Marketville Mysteries (Skeletons in the Attic; Past & Present). Her short stories appear in several collections.

Judy is also a member of Sisters in Crime International/Guppies/Toronto, International Thriller Writers, Inc., the South Simcoe Arts Council, the Short Mystery Fiction Society, and Crime Writers of Canada, where she serves on the Board of Directors, representing Toronto/Southwestern Ontario.

Welcome Guest Korina Moss!

It’s Liz, so happy to have Korina Moss here with us today as a soon-to-be-published author! I met Korina a few years ago at an event I did with a couple of the Wickeds, and since we lived close by we kept in touch and she was kind enough to share her writing journey with me. I was so happy when she told me she’d found an agent, so I invited her here to share her story. Take it away, Korina!

Thank you, Liz, for having me on your blog. I’ve been a fan of the Wickeds for a long time.

One question readers might like to know is how an author gets her start. Well, look no further—Here I am, getting my start!

The idea for my cozy mystery developed years ago when my son was a toddler. I’d been [image error]trying my hand at writing young adult mysteries, but I came to realize that I wasn’t familiar enough with teenagers to write for them. YA books are not the Nancy Drew books of my day. But I liked the feeling of a nice hometown, some good friends, and a clever mystery. I’d started to read cozies and discovered I could write the kind of mystery I wanted with adult characters. So I developed an outline about a married mom of a toddler living in a small college town in Connecticut. I figured when my son started school, I’d finally have time to write it. Unfortunately, he had some challenges that were only illuminated by attending school, and everything else got put on hold for the next eight years. When I finally got back to my book, he was ten.

I decided to still write the book I’d envisioned, but I had to make some changes, mostly due to the burst of technology and social media. For example, I had to take smart phones into consideration, since they’re more pervasive now than when I first came up with the story. I also made the main character a mom blogger. Since her son is still four, I now have to dip into my memories of those pre-school years, but I also have lots of parents on Facebook and Twitter who help me keep up on all things toddler.

It took me two years to write the book and then two more in my quest for an agent. The process went like this: Send to agents, get rejected, revise the manuscript, repeat. It wasn’t until I met some generous cozy mystery authors – several were Wickeds, in fact—did I learn that being a writer doesn’t have to be a solitary endeavor. With their advice, I found an editor. With her suggestions, I turned it into a better book. With all of their encouragement, I gained a newfound confidence. This summer, I finally had three agents interested in representing me.

After all these years envisioning nabbing an agent, I confess, I didn’t think much beyond it. It’s like when you’re pregnant for nine months (or in my case, going through the adoption process for nine months)—you only think of when the baby will finally arrive. That’s it. Hurrah! I finally have what I wanted! But as all of us moms know, that’s not the end, it’s only the beginning. The same holds true for a book.

Once you have an agent – or a baby – you’ll work harder than you ever have in your life. And you’ll be more tired, but also more fulfilled. You do things you didn’t know you were capable of.

And just when you think you know what you’re doing, something new arises and you have to figure your way through it. Nerves and accomplishments go hand in hand. Raising a child and becoming a published author are both exciting journeys.

I spent the entire months of July and August revising my mom blogger mystery for my agent. When she finally said it was ready for her to submit to publishers, I knew that I would no longer be able to put my mark on it. It was like sending my son to his very first day of school—No more straightening his collar or wiping a smudge off his face. Just as I’d done with my son, I now had to let my book stand on its own.

[image error]My cozy mystery is now being considered by publishing houses, as my son begins his freshman year of high school. My hopes and fears for both my “babies” are the same: Will they connect with people? Will they flourish?

My fingers are crossed for both.

QUESTION: Readers, have you ever left a project for a long time and then returned to it? What changes did you have to make? What were your results?

Korina Moss is represented by Jill Marsal of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. Her first cozy mystery short story will be included in an Elm Books anthology titled Death by Cupcake due out in spring 2019. She lives in Connecticut with her teenage son and their cat, Carl.

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You can connect via her blog www.korinastake.blogspot.com or twitter @KorinaLMoss

Wicked Wednesday-Back to the Drawing Board

Jessie: In New Hampshire, working away on the outline for her next book!

[image error]As I have been working on plotting my next Beryl and Edwina mystery I have been giving a lot of thought to the world I have already created with this series. All this mulling got me to thinking about things that are already established and how they impact those things yet to come. So I wondered if any of you have aspects of your work you wish you could go back to the drawing board about? Given the benefit of experience is there anything you would change about the way you have set up your fictional worlds or the inhabitants of them?

Readers, if you could go back to the drawing board in your own lives where what would you change or improve?

Barb: I’m laughing about this because it’s something I’ve thought about a lot lately. For one thing, I wouldn’t give series characters names that end in the letter s, like Chris and Gus, because it creates a mess with possessives. Chris’s. Gus’s. See what I mean? I must be a glutton for punishment, because the non-Clambake book I just wrote has a character named Doris. She’s only in the one book, but, sheesh. I also wouldn’t give characters non-gender-specific names, like Julia’s boyfriend Chris or local cop Jamie. I’m always having to work a pronoun or physical description into the first mention so new readers don’t get wildly off the track. Finally, I’m kicking myself that I didn’t call Main Street in my little town Maine Street. That would have been so easy, and yet I missed it!

Julie: Barb, I hear you on the “s” names. In my current WIP I have Gladys. I’d love to rename her, but she’s a Gladys. I’m writing my third series now, and I’ve made the town of Goosebush a little more complicated than I should have. After three towns, I should know better. I have a rough map, but I placed it on the south shore of Massachusetts, and I’ve realized I have reconstructed the south shore of Massachusetts. One of the nice things about three series is that I’ve learned to slow down the romance and ramp up the mystery, and that’s paying off.

Sherry: I would have made Sarah a little bit younger than 38 and if I’d known the series would go beyond three books, I might have ended the third book differently. And I probably would end the fourth one differently too. It has a huge cliff hanger about Sarah’s personal life and some people didn’t like it.

Jessie: Even though I posed the question I don’t think there is anything I would change yet for my Beryl and Edwina books. I am certain something will arise eventually but the series is still new enough that I think I am in a honeymoon period with it all!

 

The Detective’s Daughter – Dream House

[image error]Whether we are dreaming of Manderly or inspired by the red earth of Tara, we each have in our minds a vision of  an ideal place to call home, our dream house.

I spend some time each day…okay, a lot of time…searching houses on the internet. One of my favorite sites is For The Love Of Old Houses, a popular group on Facebook. Most of the houses listed, at least the ones I really like, I could never afford. Instead, I take notes so that maybe one day a character of mine might reside there.

Place plays an important part in stories. I like to visualize my characters sitting around a table in their kitchen discussing life. I always begin to build my characters in the kitchen because, in my opinion, that’s where you discover the most about people.

Our kitchen in South Baltimore was the heart of our home, it was control central. Everyone had their place – and knew their place – around Nana’s table. It was more than just a spot to take your meals. We listened to the radio, talked on the phone, paid bills, put jigsaw puzzles together, played 500 Rummy, wrote out Christmas cards, dyed eggs, and sat up late nights completing homework assignments. Every important  conversation and decision in my life took place there until I was about twenty-nine years old.

I remember when my Aunt Betty found her dream house. I was around five years old when she and Uncle Charles packed up their small row-home in Brooklyn Park and moved to a single-family home in Catonsville. There thy had a large backyard, a wide front lawn and a driveway. Aunt Betty had a longer commute to work, but that did not diminish the joy she had living in her new home.

As she grew older, she seldom spoke of the home she’d now lived in for over forty years, instead her stories centered around the home she’ lived in for several years in San Francisco. This is the home she’d shared with her parents and sister. Those memories became her haven.

I have thought over the conversations she and I had about her life in San Francisco and even had the privilege of accompanying her there so she could give me a tour of the city where she’d grown up.

It’s only been recently that it’s occurred to me; it wasn’t one home that Aunt Betty favored, it wasn’t one particular dream house. Her home, her shelter was her family. Her dream was for her parents and the place they’d lived all those years ago at the Presidio, overlooking the bay and listening to the fog horn.

As I admire photos of castles and cabins and old Victorians, in my heart I’m searching for that home where we gathered around a large table and were together every night. My dream home.  [Pictured below is the home where I grew up.]

Dear Reader, tell us about your dream house.

 

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A New Addition!

Jessie: In NH where the weather has been warm enough to make me long for the beach.

[image error]As so often happens in my world life has imitated art. I gave my first protagonist a Mini Cooper. Now I drive one. I set a series in England and last spring I went for a leisurely visit.

But recently, the most notable imitation of all has occured. Last Saturday, after many months of polite lobbying my son Theo brought home a poddle puppy. While I was very happy to provide one of my protagonists, Edwina Davenport, with her own little dog, I had not anticipated the arrival of one in my own household. You see, I have fairly severe allergies to dogs, cats, grasses, trees and many foods. We haven’t had a dog in more than 20 years.

In fact, my pet experience has most often been in the realms of goldfish and a beloved African Grey parrot named Miss Kim.  But, sometimes one must put one’s children first, swallow down allergy tablets and research the least allergenic of breeds. I am delighted to report that Sampson has had minimal impact upon my health. He has had quite a serious  impact upon my heart. With his bright eyes and calm demeanor he has utterly won me over.

That’s not to say it has not been a small adjustment.  Many years have passed since my  children have needed the sort of careful attention to their safety and oversight that this puppy seems to require.  And I must say, mercifully none of my children were as enchanted by rolls of toilet paper as Sampson seems to be!

[image error]While he has clearly  understands that my son is his primary person, he has been completely charming to everyone else in the family as well.  He loves to play with his toys with any one who visits.  Any family member who stands still for more than a few seconds will find him sitting on top of their feet. Even my husband who is not exactly a dog enthusiast has been caught giving him a thorough scratch along his belly and racing through the house, a chew toy in hand making silly noises.

This whole puppy thing is new to e my family and I wish I could ask Edwina Davenport for some tips. She makes it all seem so easy as she takes her beloved Crumpet out for a good romp in the yard or snaps on his lead and promenades him into the village. We are still figuring out the best way to slip his harness over his floppy ears!  All and although, I think it has been a success.  And I wonder,  does this mean dog food and veterinary bills are a business expense?

 

 

Readers e do you have any tips to share about raising a puppy or even about dogs in general?  I have two copies of my new release, Murder Flies the Coop, for randomly drawn lucky commenters. Of course, there’s a picture of a dog on the cover! 

Welcome Guest Edwin Hill — The Evolution of Hester Thursby

You know how you meet some people and feel like you’ve known them for a long time? Edwin is one of those people and I’m so glad he could join us today.  Here’s the cover copy for Little Comfort the first book in his new Hester Thursby Mystery series.

[image error]Harvard librarian Hester Thursby knows that even in the digital age, people still need help finding things. Using her research skills, Hester runs a side business tracking down the lost. Usually, she’s hired to find long-ago prom dates or to reunite adopted children and birth parents. Her new case is finding the handsome and charismatic Sam Blaine.

Sam has no desire to be found. As a teenager, he fled his small New Hampshire town with his friend, Gabe, after a haunting incident. For a dozen years, Sam and Gabe have traveled the country, reinventing themselves as they move from one mark to another. Sam has learned how trusting wealthy people can be—especially the lonely ones—as he expertly manipulates his way into their lives and homes. In Wendy Richards, the beautiful, fabulously rich daughter of one of Boston’s most influential families, he’s found the perfect way to infiltrate the milieu in which he knows he belongs—a world of Brooks Brothers suits, Nantucket summers, and effortless glamour.

As Hester’s investigation closes in on their brutal truth, the bond between Sam and Gabe is tested and Hester unknowingly jeopardizes her own safety. While Gabe has pinned all his desperate hopes of a normal life on Hester, Sam wants her out of the way for good. And Gabe has always done what

Sam asks . . .

(A note from Edwin: A contract with a reader is important. You, reader, should know what you are getting into before you spend time and money on a book. So, while LITTLE COMFORT features a librarian sleuth and a dog named Waffles, readers of this blog should know that it is not a traditional mystery or a cozy. It includes some sex and violence, and deals with very disturbing subject matters.)

The Evolution of Hester Thursby

Authors often reflect on the challenge of writing a second novel, and how much more challenging it can be to meet the expectations of others versus your own expectations. After all, for most writers a first novel comes right from the heart, and you wind up serving as chief coach, critic, and motivator for the  many months (or years) it takes to finish. If you are fortunate enough to write a second novel, it likely comes with the expectations of readers, an editor, and a publicity team.

I just finished writing my second book in the Hester Thursby mystery series – and am drafting a proposal for a third – and it has me reflecting on the evolution of Hester as a character and protagonist, especially now that I have an entire “Hester Thursby universe” to draw on as I write.

Hester is a librarian who works at Harvard University’s Widener Library. She lives in Somerville, Massachusetts with her “non-husband” Morgan, his three-year-old niece, Kate, and their basset hound mix, Waffles. Hester and Morgan have a pretty non-traditional living arrangement. They own a house with three apartments, and keep their own individual living spaces. The only one who’s allowed to travel from apartment to apartment without permission is Waffles, who shimmies through a dog door at the back of Hester’s closet. Oh, and Morgan’s sister, Daphne, who also happens to be Kate’s mother and Hester’s best friend, disappeared about three months ago, leaving Kate behind.

So that paragraph describing Hester’s home life was pretty easy to write – let’s just say I know it by heart now. But how long did it take me to get there? Only about seven years!

LITTLE COMFORT began as a story about a grifter named Sam (no last name), a sort of anti-hero in the style of Patricia Highsmith’s Tom Ripley, someone who knew how to charm his way into just about any situation, and also had the wherewithal to know when to exit. In the winter of 2007, I wrote a single scene set in a bar on Charles Street in Boston, where Sam reflected on a crime (I didn’t quite know what the crime was yet, but I knew I’d get to it) and the need to get out of town fast.

I didn’t really know where to go from there, but I liked the character, and the concept. I also had other things to distract me from writing, and I certainly didn’t have an editor asking for a manuscript, so I let the scene sit on my computer while I quietly ruminated on the story. The first thing I did was give Sam a last name, which happened when I met my friend Nancy’s beagle, Sam Blaine. That helped, but what he really needed was a foil, someone who could stand up to his scheming and manipulation. So Hester was born.

Hester started out a woman with black hair. And I believe her name was Susan.

I know that sounds too simple, but that really is all I had. Remember, I was my own chief motivator!

I wanted Hester to be someone who questioned things and was curious, but I didn’t want her to be a cop or private investigator like Kinsey Milhone. I contemplated making her a psychologist – one of the careers I’d have gone into in another lifetime – but I thought there were a lot of thrillers out there doing that already, and doing it well (see Nicci French). And then I was at the library doing some research and got to talking to the research librarian about some of the projects he’d worked on over the years and found his stories fascinating. Because I was working at a glacial pace at this point, it took me about a month to connect that conversation to my novel, and Hester’s career was born.

Hester still didn’t have a home life. I knew she’d have a dog, and that dog would be named Waffles (post below if you know the “Waffles” reference – I’ll reveal it at the end of the day). I layered in Morgan, a veterinarian (and another career I might have opted for in another lifetime), but at first the two of them lived apart. It wasn’t till I came up with the idea of their living in the same house in different apartments that Hester and Morgan’s relationship started to take shape. I contrasted them as much as I could. Hester is a slob; Morgan is a neat freak. Hester watches ‘80s slasher movies on an ancient VCR; Morgan watches NAASCAR on a huge, brand-new television. Hester remains fiercely independent while loving Morgan and the life they’ve created together with all her heart, while Morgan wants something more traditional, which he only admits occasionally. Hester refuses to give an inch on that independence, which can cause some tension in their house, especially now that Kate’s on the scene.

Once I figured out these details about Hester’s life, it was easier to turn to the mystery part of the story. And having all of these details worked out as I tackled the second book certainly speeded things up in the drafting process. Novel One in the series took seven years from start to finish; Novel Two took just over a year. Let’s see how quickly I can tackle Novel Three!

So what happened to the scene that started it all, the one with Sam sitting in a bar on Charles street reflecting on an unknown crime? I cut it. LITTLE COMFORT is Hester’s story. I needed something to help me find her, and that scene was my introduction.

Readers: if you had another life to live through writing, what career(s) would you explore?

Bio

[image error]Edwin Hill was born in Duxbury, Massachusetts, and spent most of his childhood obsessing over The Famous Five, Agatha Christie, and somehow finding a way into C.S. Lewis’s wardrobe. After attending Wesleyan University, he headed west to San Francisco for the original dotcom boom. Later, he returned to Boston, earned an MFA from Emerson College, and switched gears to work in educational publishing, where he currently serves as the vice president and editorial director for Bedford/St. Martin’s, a division of Macmillan. He lives in Roslindale, Massachusetts with his partner Michael and his favorite reviewer, their lab Edith Ann, who likes his first drafts enough to eat them.

Visit edwin-hill.com to learn more about Little Comfort.

 

A Fresh Perspective

By Julie, settling into post-St. Petersburg life in Boston

[image error]Two former SinC presidents (Roberta Isleib and Catriona McPherson) with current president Sherry Harris.

Barb, Sherry and I went to Bouchercon this past weekend. It was in St. Petersburg, Florida. Bouchercon is a huge mystery convention, and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed the first time you go. But this time around I didn’t have a panel so I could spend time seeing folks and catching up. I was also cycling off the national Sisters in Crime board, so it was my last board meeting with a terrific group of folks. The highlight of the weekend was seeing Sherry assume the role of President of SinC. She’s going to be great.

St. Petersburg was a fun place to visit. I didn’t stay in the conference hotel, which meant that I got a lot of walking in, which was terrific. It is an excellent food city, and we had some great meals.  The conference hotel had a frozen Rose (Frose) drink that was delightful, and helped mitigate the heat a bit. All wonderful.

[image error]THE AVERAGE BUREAUCRAT

I also gained a new perspective while I was in St. Pete. The Dali Museum is there, and I paid it a visit. I’ve known of the work of Salvador Dali, of course. But the visit to the museum, and the ability to see his work in person offered me a chance to reflect on it with fresh eyes. The painting of his estranged father, The Average Bureaucrat. Yikes. Not only that it was of his father. But the bowed head of the bureaucrat hit me hard in its truth.

When I was younger Dali amused me. I’ll admit now I didn’t get it. As a middle-aged woman, I see a depth to his work that moves me. I still don’t understand it all, but I want to try. Maybe it’s all the research I did for the Clock Shop series, but his exploration of time , science, and the human condition is incredible. His technical skill can’t be disputed. The mind behind the work is fascinating. I bought a book so I could begin to learn more about the man and his work.

[image error]STILL LIFE–FAST MOVING

I’m not sure why, but his painting Still Life–Fast Moving fascinated me. Does that ever happen to you? Something hits you hard, and you have to keep looking at it? I liked it so much I bought this small print of it. I think it was the cauliflower in the clouds that did it. The more I look at it, the more I see. How great is that? Could that be a metaphor for this next phase in my life?

The timing of my visit to the Dali Museum was perfect. I was open to letting Dali into my subconscious, and am enjoying the effect.  I’m not sure if it is the work of Dali or my reconsideration of it that has given me pause, but something shifted in me after my visit. A desire to get back into a museum going habit and use art to challenge my perspective is blooming, and I have no intention of ignoring it.

PS, I also got a mug with melting clocks. Because how could I not?

How about you, dear readers? Have you ever revisited an artist or a work a few years later and understood it on another level?

Wicked Wednesday-Back to Basics

Jessie: Enjoying the crisp air and perusing knitting patterns!

[image error]This month we are exploring the theme of going back in some way or other. Today I am wondering about the basics in your writing lives. Do you have a routine that provides the basis for your work? What about recurring themes that can be spotted in most of what you write? Do you have some basic supplies you have to have on had to do your best work? What about snacks?

Edith: I definitely have a basic work routine. Being a lifelong morning person, I’m always awake before seven and usually before six. I make my coffee and hit the upstairs home office. I need about an hour of catching up on the internet (email, blogs, facebook, and saying good morning to Dru Ann Love). No matter what time I got up, without fail at a few minutes before seven I check in on Ramona DeFelice Long‘s Facebook sprint post and report for duty. She has a group of loyal writing champions (her term) who also check in. We then turn off all distractions and write for an hour, whether first draft or revisions. It’s a great start to my workday and a lovely support network. Thanks, Ramona!

Liz: I definitely have basic snacks…potato chips to get me to and through a deadline. As for routine, I try to write at least something in the morning before work so I feel like I’ve jumpstarted the day. Otherwise, I wind up feeling behind and then it’s feels harder to catch up later on. And at least five days a week, I do either yoga or a class at the gym. It definitely helps keep my creativity and energy levels up!

Barb: I have been thinking about basics a lot lately. There were things I did early on, using brainstorming techniques, building character bios, analyzing the text from one revision to the next, that I don’t do anymore. Were these activities–

Scaffolding techniques that I needed when I was teaching myself to write a book that I don’t need anymore?
Forms of active procrastination because I didn’t know what to do next? OR
Thinkwork that improved and deepened my writing?

I honestly don’t know the answer, but I have vowed to make time with my next book to revisit some of these old activities and see if they add to my stories.

Julie: I am in the process of re-imagining my life and working from home, so this is a topic I’m thinking a lot about. So far I have been a failure at balance, working 15 hours a day. That has to stop. Also, I’m considering how I reconnect, realign, with my purpose rather than creating work to find a purpose. What can I do to make that work? Habits I’m trying to reinforce include meditating 15 minutes a day, writing 2 scenes (at least) a day, moving 30 minutes, spending an hour on my writing business life. I’m working on getting my new business off the ground, so the rest of the day (and a lot of the night) are spent on that. Hopefully once the school launches I can create more space,and work on balance. In that phase, I want to think about my writing, and my next creative challenges.

[image error]Sherry: As much as I’d love to settle into a routine, I’m not very good at them. However, since I’m adding the new series to my writing this year. I’m trying to settle into two writing periods each day. One in the morning starting at ten and one in the afternoon starting at two. I like writing in the afternoon best. As for snacks — I have to have popcorn!

Readers, what are basic staples, routines and pleasures you see in your own lives? 

#Giveaway–Steamed Open–Maine Clambake Mystery #7

by Barb, back from Bouchercon and catching her breath

Hi All! Advance Reader Copies for the seventh Maine Clambake Mystery, Steamed Open, are here. Comment below to enter to win one of two signed copies.

I’m excited about this new book which focuses on the tasty mollusk for which the clambake is named. Also, Maine coastal property rights. (Not what you expect them to be.) And, we finally get more of Julia’s boyfriend’s Chris’s family story.

Here’s the blurb:

[image error]It’s summertime in Busman’s Harbor, Maine, and the clamming is easy—or it was until a mysterious new neighbor blocks access to the beach, cutting off the Snowden Family Clambake’s supply. Julia Snowden is just one of many townspeople angered by Bartholomew Frick’s decision. But which one of them was angry enough to kill?

 

Beachcombers, lighthouse buffs, and clammers are outraged after Frick puts up a gate in front of his newly inherited mansion. When Julia urges him to reconsider, she’s the last to see him alive—except the person who stabs him in the neck with a clam rake. As she pores through a long list of suspects, Julia meets disgruntled employees, rival heirs, and a pair of tourists determined to visit every lighthouse in America. They all have secrets, and Julia will have to work fast to expose the guilty party—or see this season’s clam harvest dry up for good.

The book comes out December 18. But for now, two lucky winners will get an early peek. Watch also for later giveaways on my Facebook page here, and on Goodreads, here.

Good luck and thanks for entering!

Readers: Leave a comment to be entered to win one of two Advance Reader Copies of Steamed Open. Giveaway closes September 15, 2018 at midnight EDT. US and Canada entries only. Thanks!

Guest Annette Dashofy with Cry Wolf

Edith here, so very delighted to host the prolific and talented (and my friend) Annette Dashofy on the blog.  We are occasional retreat-mates, too (read below), and I absolutely love her Zoe Chambers Mysteries. The new book, Cry Wolf, is nearly out, and you won’t want to miss it.

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Rural Pennsylvania’s Vance Township Police Chief Pete Adams is down an officer and has been dealing with extra shifts as well as a pair of bickering neighbors, one of whom owns a machete and isn’t afraid to use it. Golden Oaks Assisted Living is outside Pete’s jurisdiction, but a murder in the facility his Alzheimer’s-afflicted father calls home makes the case personal.

Paramedic and Deputy Coroner Zoe Chambers has been itching for an opportunity to take the lead in a death investigation. She gets her chance when her boss is hospitalized and not only assigns her to the Golden Oaks homicide but puts her in charge of the county coroner’s office. As if she doesn’t have enough to handle, a long-lost, over-protective, older half-brother walks into her life threatening to drive a wedge between her and the man she loves. A second dead body leads them to realize the case may have dark ties to a distant past…and if Zoe doesn’t untangle the web of lies, Pete will be the one to pay the ultimate price.

Take it away, Annette!

A Visit to the Idea Store

Every writer who has put a story out into the word has been asked where their ideas come from. One author (I can’t remember whom—sorry) responded to this query with “From the Idea Store.”

In reality, ideas come from anywhere and everywhere. I’ve taken my own family issues and folklore and morphed them into stories. I’ve picked up tidbits from local news stories and used them as springboards into fictional crimes. I take life, ask “what if…?” and add a healthy dose of creative license as my recipe for a mystery.

One of the key plotlines in Cry Wolf came from a blip of a news story. A man in a rural area attacked his neighbor with a machete. I don’t recall the details. I don’t even know if I listened to the rest of the report. That one line was all I needed. Machete, I scoffed. The

[image error]Knife from Camillus Cutlery, picture from Cuttingedge.com.

guy’s a farmer. It’s a corn knife. The rest of the opening unfolded with an ease I can only wish was true of all scenes. Why would a farmer attack his neighbor with a corn knife? Because the neighbor is a clueless city dude who refuses to believe his fresh grass clippings could harm the farmer’s horses.

[image error]And by the way, that’s very true. Fresh grass clippings can be lethal to a horse’s delicate digestive system. (Read a Zoe Chambers Mystery, learn a lesson about equine biology.)

While a great many of my story ideas come from news stories, some drop into my lap when I least expect them. Last summer, I attended a retreat led by the fabulous Ramona Long. The wonderfully Wicked Edith Maxwell was a fellow attendee. One evening she and I sat around chatting, and from that relaxed conversation, a seed sprouted in my brain.

What if a previously unknown relative suddenly came into your life?

Zoe Chambers grew up without her father. The lack of a supportive male role model in her life shaped much about her. What if she learned she had an older brother? How would that one person, one element in her life, change who she was? After decades of taking care of herself, what would she do if someone offered to help and wanted to look out for her? And how would a protective older sibling affect her relationship with Pete Adams? Especially if that sibling didn’t share Zoe’s affinity with law enforcement?

Oh, the conflict. I love exploring issues like these.

Wickeds: do you have a source you keep going back to for story ideas? Do you ever fear you’ll run out? Readers: do you prefer a story with threads that ring true to reality for you, or do you prefer total escapist fantasy?

[image error]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 Zoe Chambers mysteries have received three nominations for the prestigious Agatha Award. Cry Wolf (September 2018) is the seventh in the series.