Edith Maxwell's Blog, page 195

A Wicked Welcome to Nikki Woolfolk!

Julie here, sweating in Somerville (where’s fall?)

I have met Nikki Woolfolk a couple of times, but know her best through Facebook. I love reading about her work as a Chocolatier, love of steam punk, and writing career. When I found out that her book, MISE EN DEATH, was coming out on October 15, I invited her to the blog so you would all get to know her as well. Welcome, Nikki!

3 Ways to Create Captivating Characters Without Bogging Down Your Plot

by Nikki Woolfolk

[image error]A tale of whodunit is what makes us pick up a novel, but what make us devour a story are the characters.

Creating engaging characters is similar to being given juicy gossip minus the risk to reputation. In mystery novels, our guilty pleasure of peeking into another life and sharing their worries is rewarded. The author invites us into the sleuth’s world through the relationships between secondary characters, setting, and their career. Those relationships act as a mirror for our main character and sometimes the reader themselves.

Secondary characters

The old adage of how a person treats the wait staff at a restaurant tells you all you need to know about them runs true for fictional characters. Whether it has two legs or four paws, readers learn about the main character by how they communicate with those around them. Instead of info dumping an author can use dialogue between the sleuth and secondary characters to show who they are while moving the plot forward.

Setting

Setting goes beyond a weather forecast. Setting is a time or a place that helps to set a mood for your readers as your characters navigate in the world they live, the cultural atmosphere and historical setting.

Growing up in the West coast, with a father born in the South and a mother born up North gave me a unique perspective. A perspective I was not aware of until I recently gave ARCs of my newest mystery, MISE EN DEATH, a historical culinary cozy.

I did mention the Louisiana summer humidity in the fictional coastal town of Honfleur, but to help immerse readers into the world I used Southern nuances. One way was in a name. Mister Jones. Mister Jones is a fellow student at the school, but his peers are called by their given name without a title.

A few of my New England readers pointed it out believing it an error. My Southern readers or those raised by Southern family did not give it a second thought and continued reading. In Mister Jones I am telling the reader the race of Mister Jones, sharing the cultural dynamics and hinting at the alternative historical universe I’ve created.

Speaking of alternative history…

While attending college I wanted to follow in one of my uncles footsteps and become a psychologist. My studies brought me to see motivation, patterns, behaviors and other factors come into play with people. In the end I chose a different career path, but I kept the “what if” aspect of my psyche when developing characters. The largest what if I chose to explore was the Civil War.

What if the Civil War never had happened?

How would this affect our society? Would women have further advances in career and their place in leadership rolls?

The world I’ve created is not filled with endless gadgets or the window dressing per se. This society and its culture, reflect the positive psychological outcomes made due to the women’s movement, Nat Turner’s revolt succeeding, and the promotion of equal education for all in the States.

Where MISE EN DEATH begins is decades later and the people still have the same fears and joys that connect readers. Cozy mysteries can be set anywhere but are always about the people living and working within the town.

Career

Often times readers are either wanting to live vicariously through the sleuth’s career. The reader trusts the author to draw them into the story, not just read it.

Writing my sleuthing heroine as a chocolatier working at a culinary school was my way to share what few are privy to. Enough people watch cooking shows and read recipes, but in MISE EN DEATH the reader gets to walk in sleuthing chef’s shoes, observe her relationship with her students and see students find their place in the world of cuisine.

In MISE EN DEATH solving the murder of the millionaire Madam Brookmeyer is of great importance to our sleuthing chef, but knowing why it matters lies in the heart of the school and its importance to the students and employees.

Characters are what a mystery story is about, but living in their world as they solve the crime is what keeps us turning the pages.

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ABOUT MISE EN DEATH: 

Alex LeBeau, Chocolatier and chef instructor, wants nothing more than to give her almost grown son a quiet life and a place to call home. Settling in Honfleur, Louisiana, Alex can distance herself from her chaotic romantic past and association with the clandestine group Bellicose Solanum (BelSol).

Things might be looking up for her when she takes a job at a promising cooking school. Her contentment is short-lived when a famous millionaire of Honfleur is murdered during the school’s catering event on an airship.

As the body count begins to rise in an eccentric series of mishaps, all evidence points to one of her most beloved culinary students—her son.

If word gets out about the murder, the culinary school’s reputation is ruined, but most importantly Alex cannot let her son be found guilty for a crime he didn’t commit.

With the help of Josephine, the school potager and voice of reason, Alex hesitantly rallies up old friends from her checkered past to help clear her son’s name.

Armed with the fortune that might (or might not) favor the brave, Alex and Josephine race to find the killer before those nearest to Alex become the latest victims.

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BIO: Nikki Woolfolk is a Professional Chocolatier, Author and active member of Sister in Crime, Romance Writers of America and Mystery Writers of America. Nikki enjoys pulling readers into a humor-filled into a spectacular cogged and geared world.

While sought after for her informative Chocolate Tasting sessions at conventions, Nikki also uses her polymath talents to pen articles on the craft of writing, apply her computer science training to her New Adult Blerd Grrl series (Now That Your Joystick’s Broke), and her culinary and aviation knowledge to create a sleuth chef that cooks up Steampunk adventures under a digirible filled sky. (Mise en Death– a Bittersweet Mysteries series, RIVETED: a Collection of Steampunk Tall-Tales).

Get the scoop on upcoming books, chocolate and appearances. Add your email to our BOOKS & CHOCOLATE monthly newsletter NikkiWoolfolk .com.

Get answers. Get chocolate. Get hooked!

Filed under: Guest posts Tagged: guest blog posts, MISE EN DEATH, Nikki Woolfolk

Stirring the Plot

Sadie/Susannah/Jane here, wishing the cat would stop walking across the keyboard so I can write already...

Hey, Wicked Friends! It’s hard to believe another month has gone by and it’s my turn to do some blabbing on the blog. I hope you all had a lovely September. I think I did–it went by in a blur for me!

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Yes, we have a uniform. No, I can’t tell you what MTB stands for. We are sworn to secrecy.

I’ve spoken before about the wonderful retreats I and my writer friends go on several times a year. One of my posse has a gorgeous Vermont ski house that sleeps a dozen people very comfortably–and believe me, when this all-female group is at its largest, those 5 bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms come in handy!

Today I thought I’d tell you about an aspect of these retreats that you writers might be able to apply to your own groups (and I sincerely hope you all have at least one teammate in your dugout, because it is NOT easy going it alone). Our main focus is always our plots–and we always collaborate. But here’s the thing: we write in different genres. And each genre has its own set of expectations. Depending on who can make it to the retreat, we may have writers working on mystery, Amish romance, steamy romance, urban fantasy, paranormal, women’s fiction, young adult, or even middle-grade chapter books.

[image error]That’s a pretty big range. So how is it that a mystery writer can help plot a shapeshifter novel?

First, we have all known each other for years, are close friends, trust each other implicitly, and are familiar with each other’s work. So we have an innate sense of what will fly and what will not fly for any particular author. The corollary to this is that we have a tacit agreement that anyone can give any opinion without fear of the recipient taking offense. This is huge. Without this kind of trust and honesty, the group simply doesn’t function. We all understand that we are not there to pat each other on the head and say, “Good job!” (although we give lots of support) We are there to make everyone’s story the best it can be. And sometimes that means tough love.

Second, we respect the process. Our retreats are structured so that we have both group plotting time and personal writing time. We rarely deviate from our routine, because if it ain’t broke, why fix it? Our hostess has an MBA, and she keeps us on track if we start to veer off topic. Depending on the size of the group, we have one or two plotting sessions. We sit around her big table, and the writer who is “it” gives us a nutshell version of her story. Sometimes we exchange story premises beforehand, but usually we just wait until we get there, and then listen. The woman at bat may have just a nugget of an idea, or may have most of her plot worked out but needs help ironing out details. She tells us what she needs, and we start firing questions and ideas, which leads to more questions and ideas, and very soon a plot takes shape. It’s frightening, sometimes, how fast it comes together with that many creative brains working in unison. We can usually plot an entire book in a half hour. And then we move to the next.

Third, we all understand the basics of good fiction: compelling characters, a memorable setting, plenty of conflict (both internal and external that moves the story along), a clear goal for every character, which also moves the story, setbacks/failures, a logical and exciting climax, and a resolution that satisfies in some way. These basics cut across genre lines. (Literary fiction is its own thing–but it’s not our thing, LOL!, so I’m leaving that out of this discussion) So if one or more of these element is weak in the story we’re plotting, we can identify it and come up with ways to strengthen it.

And fourth, we understand that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The questions that the women’s fiction writer asks of the young adult writer are quite often something the YA writer might not have considered. Different perspectives make for fresh, innovative stories. And creative energy feeds on itself. It gets faster, bigger, and badder the more it’s nurtured.

What about you? Do you have a friend or colleague you can be completely honest with, whether you’re a writer or not? Can you take constructive criticism without getting offended? Who are your MTBs?

 

 

Filed under: Jane's posts, Sadie's Posts, Susannah's posts, Writing Retreat Tagged: plotting groups, Vermont, Writers

Wicked Wednesday: Santa Claus Stories

[image error]Friends, we are still celebrating Liz Mugavero’s Purring Around The Christmas Tree release. A reminder about what the book is about:

To the townspeople’s delight, the annual lighting of the tree is a spectacular success. Unfortunately, Santa pulled up in his sleigh, DOA. At first Stan is sure it’s Seamus, her boyfriend’s uncle, inside the red suit. But the victim turns out to be an employee from the town’s Christmas tree farm. Rumor has it the deceased was a mean drunk with a soft spot for feral cats. Stan has no idea why he was dressed as St. Nick—or why he’s dead.

Meanwhile, Seamus, a jolly Irishman who comes to America every December to visit his pub-owner nephew, is nowhere to be found. Could he just be off on a Boston bar crawl? Or is something more sinister under the tree? Seamus was supposed to be dressing up and posing for pet pictures with Santa at the shop, but the dogs and cats might have to find another lap to curl up in if Stan doesn’t solve two mysteries soon. Or murder might be the only thing under the mistletoe this holiday . . .

The question this week–Wickeds, do you have a Santa Claus story you want to share?

Jessie: Huzzah, Liz! When I was a small child my mother would read me the story The Jolly Christmas at the Patterprints every year on Christmas Eve. It was the story of a family of mice who end up with Santa dropping into their cauldron of soup hanging over the fire. Quite the kerfuffle ensues. I now read it to my own children every Christmas Eve.

Edith: Congratulations, Liz! I can’t wait to read this new installment. When I was growing up we always read the old standard “Night Before Christmas” on Christmas Eve, and I continued that tradition with my sons. The poem has so many perplexing words and concepts for a child. “Threw up the sash” always made me feel a little queasy, as if Santa had eaten the sash to a dress and then vomited. And for years I thought he put a finger INside his nose – not a foreign concept at all to kids. Here are my sons (at 11 and 14) getting almost too old for the tradition.

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Sherry: Yay, Liz another new book! When my daughter was in second grade we were stationed in Florida and my husband traveled a lot. There was a movie on the Disney Channel that Elizabeth and I had watched about the tooth fairy. One night after I put her to bed, I sat in the family room reading. Elizabeth came out, put her hands on her hips, and said, “Tell me the truth is there a tooth fairy?” I told her no there wasn’t. She lectured me about lying and stomped back off to bed. A few minutes later she repeats the process, but this time asks about the Easter Bunny. Another lecture, more stomping. I sat there dreading what might come next, wondering why Bob was never home for these things. Sure enough Elizabeth comes back out, places her hands on her hips, and glares at me. “I don’t even want to know about Santa Claus,” she announced. Then she twirled around and went back to bed.

Barb: Congratulations, Liz. I LOVE your cover and can’t wait to read this new addition to the Pawsitively Organic Pet Food Mysteries. I love Christmas, and pretty much everything around it. My husband’s father’s family has a party every year on the Sunday closest to the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Santa comes and gives each kid a small gift to tide them over to the big day. I loved this tradition when my kids were small, and my granddaughter has participated the last few years. (With, I admit, mixed results.)

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Julie: First off, HUGE congratulations Liz!! So happy for you!! When I was growing up, my father always took us shopping and out to lunch one day around Christmas, likely to give my mother some time to catch up with the holiday. One year, when we were really little we went to meet Santa. This Santa was tiny, thin, and had horn rimmed glasses. We would have nothing to do with him, insisted that this was NOT Sand, and my sister started weeping. So my father, who was always quick with a story, told us that we were right. It wasn’t Santa. It was too close to Christmas, so he sent two elves down to stand in for him. There were actually two elves in the suit. WHEW. Childhood memories were saved.

How about you, dear readers? Any Santa stories you want to share?Save

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Filed under: Book Birthday, Book Release, Liz's posts, Wicked Wednesday Tagged: Liz Mugavero, Night Before Christmas, Pawsitively Organic Pet Food Mysteries, Purring Around the Christmas Tree, Santa Claus

Six Books Later!

By Liz, enjoying the last taste of summer weather while launching a Christmas book!

So, wow – today is the release of Purring Around the Christmas Tree, the sixth book in the Pawsitively Organic Mystery Series! Six books!? How did that even happen?

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When I first started writing this series, I had a picture of Stan, a picture of Jake, a few ideas about supporting characters, and my lovely little town of Frog Ledge. And definitely the town green.

At the time, although I knew I had at least three books ahead of me, those pictures didn’t project that far into the future (i.e, book two). I knew I wanted Stan to have a meaningful character arc – who doesn’t want that for their characters? – but I really didn’t know at the time what it was.

But, as we know, our characters often end up writing their own stories. I wrote in an earlier blog post about how Stan’s relationship with her family took over unexpectedly. And then those relationships took on a life of their own. Her mother and sister ended up becoming major parts of Stan’s life – despite her best efforts – and therefore, major parts of each book.

While those relationships still have a huge effect on Stan and her character arc, she’s done a lot of growing on her own. She’s forged new relationships, developed her confidence, built a business from the ground up, made mistakes, made friends, made enemies. She’s fallen in love and adopted a new family, and had to learn how to interact with them – the polar opposites of her own family. She’s rescued pets and learned just as much from them as the people in her life. She’s made a name for herself in her community and become indispensable, not only to the key people around her, but to the town and its residents, both human and furry.

She’s more sure of herself now than when she was a corporate big shot with a fancy title and an expense account behind her. And it’s because she’s followed her own path, listened to her own voice and created a life she loves. She’s happy in Frog Ledge, no matter how many murders throw a monkey wrench in her plans. She has her little house,  Jake’s pub, and Izzy’s cafe when she needs a safe place. She’s even got a back-up job as a news reporter if she ever needs one.

As I head into the seventh book in the series, I can’t wait to see what she’ll do next. She’s become one of my closest friends, and it’s been a blast watching her create herself.

I hope you’re all enjoying her journey as much as I am. Thanks, as always, for reading!

Readers, what’s your favorite part of Stan’s personal journey?

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Filed under: Liz's posts Tagged: book release, Pawsitively Organic Mysteries, Purring Around the Christmas Tree

On Persisting

Edith here, with so many tomatoes in my kitchen it’s turning red.

I’ve been thinking about persistence lately. Some of us have talked here and there about how important this trait is for authors to have and cultivate. Why would that be?

Let’s start with finishing a first draft. If you don’t persist and write through to the end, it’s not a book. Not a book you can revise and polish, not a book you can land an agent with, not a book you can sell to a publishing house, and more important, not a book anyone else will ever read. I just finished writing my seventeenth first draft of a novel, and there sure were times I didn’t want to keep digging, keep writing, keep trying to discern what needed to happen next. But I did. The author adage of “Butt in the chair, fingers on the keyboard” really just boils down to persistence.

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Querying agents takes a huge amount of persistence. You just have to keep going until you have one, or more than one, who wants to take you on.  You might have to suffer through a hundred rejections. Once you do sign with an agent, it’s his or her job to persist until your book is sold.

And even before that, you need to persist all over again and come up with another book, the best book you can write, and then another.

Of course we persist in all kinds of other areas of our lives. Maybe it’s coming up with a peace treaty both sides can live with. Maybe it’s conceiving a child. Maybe it’s being patient and firm with a recalcitrant teenage child. Finding good care for an elderly parent. Weeding the garden. Scrubbing a burnt pot. Hiking the entire Appalachian Trail – or just continuing to pedal to the top of a hill.

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A postcard Ramona DeFelice Long gave me. The background names are of women who persisted, from Malala to Alcott, Poehler to Ginsburg, Kahlo to Stanton, and more.

Standing up for the rights of those without a voice is a great place to persist. What if Rosa Parks hadn’t persisted, or Gloria Steinem? Sojourner Truth or Margaret Sanger?

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Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to persist in the first pass revisions of Death Over Easy!

Readers: Where have you persisted with good results? Any place it backfired on you? Which persistent person do you admire?

Filed under: Edith's posts, Uncategorized Tagged: Country Store Mysteries, Death Over Easy, finding a literary agent, Nevertheless She Persisted

Ditching the Comfort Zone by Laura DiSilverio

We’d like to extend a Wicked Welcome to Laura DiSilverio. We’re very excited about her new release, THAT LAST WEEKEND, and invited her on the blog to tell us about it.

Every now and then, I take a baby step outside my comfort zone.

It’s called a “comfort” zone for a reason. Being outside that zone is uncomfortable, emotionally or physically. It’s challenging. It’s a struggle.[image error] It feels like the world is all sharp edges, rejections, and anxiety. I don’t like it out here.

But–

But, if I never stepped outside the comfort zone I wouldn’t become a better writer. If I didn’t try new things, scare myself, make myself vulnerable, put myself at risk, my writing would atrophy. The same holds true for the writing itself. If I don’t push myself to try new things, I don’t feel like I’m growing.

My latest book, THAT LAST WEEKEND, represents a largish step outside my CZ, from a writing perspective. Where my cozy mysteries (15 of them!) and my Young Adult trilogy are written from a single first person POV, THAT LAST WEEKEND has four viewpoint characters, roughly equal in importance. Where my other books had one timeline, THAT LAST WEEKEND takes place in the present and the past. The POV and the timeline necessitated a change to my writing process; to keep storylines and timelines straight, I actually had to do some outlining, which isn’t my usual process.

[image error]If that weren’t enough, I wanted the relationships between the main characters to be as important to the book, as important to readers, as solving the mystery. Don’t worry mystery fans–there’s more than one mystery at play here, lots of plots twists and surprises . . . I didn’t stray so far from my comfort zone that I eschewed dead bodies! (Wait for the book after this one . . .) I want readers to think of this book as being about friendship and how friendships change under pressure and over time. (The friendships in this book are admittedly under great strain since there’s a murderer running around.) I hope you’ll read the book and let me know whether or not I succeeded.

Let me leave you with this thought about comfort zones by Dan Stevens (whom you may know better as Matthew Crawley of Downton Abbey fame):

“The comfort zone is the great enemy to creativity; moving beyond it necessitates intuition, which in turn configures new perspectives and conquers fears.”

One commenter chosen at random will get a copy of THAT LAST WEEKEND so please chime into the discussion!

When was the last time you stepped outside your comfort zone. Was it a deliberate choice, or were you shoved? For instance, I became an empty nester last month, an instance of being shoved out of my comfort zone.

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Laura DiSilverio is the national bestselling and award-winning author of 21 mystery, suspense and young adult sci-fi novels. Library Journal named Close Call one of the Top Five mysteries of 2016, and The Reckoning Stones (2015) won the Colorado Book Award for Mystery in 2016. She offers writing tips and strategies at CareerAuthors.com, a new resource for novelists at all levels. She is a recent empty nester struggling to come to terms with a life that is seemingly devoid of all meaning. (Okay, a bit of an exaggeration.)

Filed under: Guest posts Tagged: Laura DiSilverio, THAT LAST WEEKEND, Wicked Welcome

Tables Turned — Guest Kristopher Zgorski

I love Kristopher Zgorski’s new feature on his wonderful Bolo Books blog, The Bolo Books Composite Sketch. He features someone from the writing industry every Friday and asks a mere five questions. I’ve know some of the people who have been featured, but each time found out something new about them. It got me thinking — how would Kristopher answer his own questions. I was delighted when Kristopher agreed to let the Wickeds turn the tables on him!

But first here is a little more about Kristopher and his amazing crime fiction blog:

My crime fiction review blog, BOLO Books (www.bolobooks.com), will be celebrating five years of existence in just a few weeks – while most of the crime fiction community is at Bouchercon in Toronto, in fact.  With that auspicious occasion approaching, earlier this year I began to think about a new feature I could include on the blog that would be both interesting and more importantly not add to my workload tremendously.  I already spend countless hours a week reading, researching, and writing reviews after all.

Because the name BOLO Books is police inspired, I wanted a feature that would harken back to that concept. I quickly stumbled upon the idea of composite sketch – drawings police artists do when interviewing witnesses to a crime. THAT’S IT!, I thought.  I will start with a black and white sketch type image of a person, ask a few questions, and then end with the full color version of that same image.

With that in place, I needed to craft the questions. I wanted something that was both generic and incisive, which proved to be as difficult and dichotomous as it sounds. Since I wanted this feature to be free of the “sales pitchy” feel of some promotion, I decided to focus on questions that would get to the heart of the person – what makes them tick, who inspires them. I also wanted this feature to highlight everyone in the crime fiction tribe, not just authors, so it made sense to avoid any writing-related queries. But I also wanted to keep it short, so I decided five questions was enough. And with that the BOLO Books Composite Sketch feature was born.

I had the sense that these sketches would be interesting to people – after all, as they were coming in, I myself was finding out fascinating things about people I have known for years – but I had no idea how quickly it would become a go-to stop for people every Friday morning. People from all walks of life have told me that they simply love this feature – even when they don’t know the person at all, they find the idea of getting this insight into them to be very enjoyable. Needless to say, I am glad I had that little brainstorm at the 5th anniversary of BOLO Books.  And I was thrilled when Sherry Harris asked me if I would consider doing a composite sketch of myself for the Wicked Cozy Author Blog.

So with that, here is a bit more about me:

The BOLO Books Composite Sketch

[image error]Name:  Kristopher Zgorski  Location: Columbia, Maryland

This person from my personal life is such an inspiration:

Without a doubt, I am going with my mother here. My mom and her siblings had a rough start, ending up in an orphanage and various foster homes, but they never lost contact with each other and maintained the bonds that only family can forge.  Later in life, she would struggle as a single mother to instill in my brother and I a level of compassion and hopefulness that I will forever thank her for.

One of the people I admire most in the crime fiction community is:

This is a tough call, so I am going to go with three folks who I think are always willing to lend a hand, pass along information and advice, and shower enthusiastic support  – not just as it relates to me, but upon everyone in our tribe. Those folks are: Judy Bobalik, Erin Mitchell, and Hank Phillippi Ryan. The crime fiction community – and the world – is better because they are a part of it.

STALKER ALERT! If this fictional character were real, they would likely need to get a restraining order against me:

Although I know I will be fighting over him with countless people – including some of my closest friends – I’m going with James Alexander Malcolm MacKenzie Fraser – aka Jamie, from the Outlander series.  Hopefully you don’t need to ask why, as I do embarrass easily.

People are always surprised that I am a fan of this individual (singer, actor, or artist):

I’m not sure that any of my fandom will surprise people. It’s about as eclectic as it is possible for an individual to be. I shall answer with two responses however: Georgia O’Keefe because I admire what she was able to do in a time when female artists were fighting an uphill battle – a struggle which continues today – and also because Santa Fe is a bit of a mecca for my husband and I. And in stark contrast to O’Keefe, Frank Lloyd Wright, who by most accounts was probably not a very nice man, but whose architectural design I simply can’t get enough of – there’s a reason we ultimately settled in the craftsman-style home section of Columbia, MD.

My personal catch phase is (or should be):

“Lord have mercy on my soul”  (This sounds way more religious than it really is. But sometimes the things I see, hear, and experience in this world defy any other possible response.)

[image error]Thanks so much for allowing me to stop by the blog, Sherry.  I hope that people enjoyed learning a bit more about me.  All the previous Composite Sketches can be found over at BOLO Books at the following link:

BOLO BOOKS COMPOSITE SKETCHES (http://bolobooks.com/?s=composite+sketch)

There have been sixteen previous Sketches at this point and new ones every Friday morning. Please do stop by, I think you will have a good time!

Readers: How would you answer this question: STALKER ALERT! If this fictional character were real, they would likely need to get a restraining order against me.

 

 

 

Filed under: Guest posts Tagged: Bolo Books, Composite Sketch, Kristopher Zgorski

Wicked Wednesday: Whispers of Fortune

[image error]Wickeds, we are celebrating Jessica Estevao’s Whispers of Warning. A reminder about what the book is about:

Free from the clutches of her con artist father, Ruby Proulx is starting to settle in at the Belden, her aunt Honoria’s seaside hotel. She loves finally being rooted in one place and also feels a sense of purpose as she helps Honoria keep her business afloat by acting as a psychic medium for the hotel’s metaphysically inclined guests.

When one of the guests, renowned Spiritualist and outspoken suffragist Sophronia Foster Eldridge, checks into the hotel for a monthlong stay, Ruby finds her sense of purpose expands outside the confines of home and family. Sophronia takes Ruby under her wing and mentors her in the mediumistic abilities, encouraging her to fight for women’s rights.

But not everyone is as happy with Sophronia’s appearance in Old Orchard. When a dangerous act of sabotage is carried out and a body is found floating in the pool of a local bathhouse, Ruby takes it upon herself to find answers— and in the process learns that her new friend has been hiding some deadly secrets of her own…

Today’s question for the Wickeds–Jessie has built up a wonderful world that touches on spiritualism. Tell us–are you a believer?

Edith: Wow. Just hit us with the easy question, Julie! I have a vague sense of the “beyond” – and vague is where it’s going to stay. I certainly think the universe contains something larger than us all, and that a continuation of spirit beyond our earthly shells is possible. That said, I love Jessie’s Change of Fortune Mysteries and can’t wait to pick up my pre-ordered copy from my local indy bookstore.

Liz: I am a TOTAL believer! I love all this woo-woo stuff – which is one of the reasons why I love this series. The rest of the Wickeds can attest to my, shall we say, quirkiness in this area. I think they love me anyway, even if they do think I’m a bit strange half the time…

Barb: I’m one of the non-woo-woo Wickeds. I don’t believe there’s a place we go when we die, and I don’t believe we’re ourselves (or anyone else) once we get there, so returning to visit is out of the question. However, I fully admit there are many things about our universe we don’t yet understand. There was a time when the rational people believed the sun revolved around the earth and that illnesses were caused by humours. They weren’t entirely wrong. Bodies did rotate and invisible (or should I say not yet seeable) entities cause diseases. We’re always learning new things, so I’m not going to knock anyone else’s beliefs.

Sherry: I’m never quite sure where I stand on this. I believe in God and angels. I believe that some people are very perceptive (Jessie, Julie, I’m looking at you two). After that it all gets a little blurry for me. There’s a dark side of all of this that scares me which is why I hate horror books and movies.

Jessie: I think the world is vast and strange and there are a lot of ways of knowing things, not all of which can be explained. I adore things that can’t be explained. After all, isn’t that the allure of mysteries, that which has yet to be explained?

Julie: Wickeds, you went deep on this one! I am one of the woo-woo people. And I do believe in spirits, and guides. I’m figuring out what it all means, and am fascinated by Tarot cards and their uses. Another reason I love this series–the exploration of this world. Congratulations again, Jessie!

Readers, what do you think? Are you a believer in psychics? Save

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Filed under: Book Release, Wicked Wednesday Tagged: Berkley Prime Crime, Jessica Estevao, Jessie Crockett, Whispers of Warning

The End is the Beginning

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Jessie: In New Hampshire, where she is sorry to say the leaves are starting to color up.

Today is the launch of my sixth book. To be honest, I am still not sure how I got here. It really does seem like just yesterday that I was sitting at the breakfast bar in my kitchen with tears streaming down my face, staring at the words “The End” typed on my laptop computer screen. But it wasn’t yesterday, it was sometime in January of 2008 and the book in question was my first one, Live Free or Die. And it wasn’t really the end. In fact, it was the beginning.

I hadn’t truly understood how much writing mattered to me until I burst into tears as I realised I was not going to be one of those people who had always wanted to write a book. I had become someone who had gone ahead and done so. I still cannot believe I wrote that one and haven’t quite believed my eyes whenever I’ve seen the words “The End” in front of me all the times that followed.

Since then, more books have reached the end and more bouts of weepiness have ensued. Every book has been a pleasure in its own way, including this second Change of Fortune mystery. I hope many of you will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. But even more, I hope each of you will find a satisfying ending of your own that turns out to be a delightful new beginning as well!

Readers,  have you ever reached an end that was a beginning? In order to celebrate the release of Whispers of Warning I will give away a copy to one commenter! 

 

 

Filed under: Book Birthday, Book Release, Change of Fortune Mysteries, Jessie's posts, Uncategorized Tagged: Berkley, historical mystery, Jessica Ellicott, Jessica Estevao, Jessie Crockett, maine, old orchard beach, paranormal, Penguin Random House

The Detective’s Daughter — Lost Language

[image error]Kim in Baltimore enjoying the last days of summer.

“What’s black and white with a cherry on top?” This was my dad’s favorite joke. “A radio car,” he’d say before anyone could answer and he’d laugh as if it were the funniest thing he’d ever heard. A radio car.

A few nights ago two police officers came to have a talk with a man who lives down the street with his girlfriend. She’d been on the porch yelling at him right before they showed up.

“What’s going on?” my daughter asked.

“Not much, just a radio car stopped down the street,” I answered.

“A what?”

[image error]“A radio car,” I said again. She stared at me, a blank expression on her face. “A patrol car, you know, the police.”

This exchange left me wondering. Does anyone still say radio car? What other pre-historic phrases am I using that baffles my family and friends?

Have you noticed people seldom say telephone anymore? It’s either landline or cell. I’ve even had to describe to my kids about  phone booths.

I think back to my own childhood and the phrases my grandmother would use. When she said, “I’m going to lay across the bed,” that meant she was going to take a nap. And that was exactly what she would do, lay across her bed and not on the pillow or under the covers. I still say this, but it means I’ll be napping upstairs and not on the couch.

One of my favorites was the word “jackpot”. And no, it didn’t mean a big prize, in fact quite the opposite. If you were in the jackpot it meant you were in a great deal of trouble, not a winner.

For years we said things such as icebox and hanky because that’s what my grandparents said.

Why is it that some expressions hang on while others disappear? Is it because times change or is it that we move farther from our families these days and the old terms fade away with our distance from them?

My daughter is never going to use the term radio car, or say she’s in a jackpot, but hopefully some of my “old” sayings will be passed along for future generations to wonder over.

Readers: What phrases or words do you remember your parents using that are no longer in fashion?

Filed under: The Detective's Daughter Tagged: hanky, icebox, lost language, old sayings, patrol car, police car, Radio car, The Detective's Daughter