Edith Maxwell's Blog, page 212

Guest: Leslie Karst

Edith here, happy to host my friend Leslie Karst again. And she’s giving away a copy of [image error]her brand-new book to one commenter here today. I loved the first book in the series and am delighted my copy popped up on my Kindle this morning. Check out this starred review from Publishers Weekly (it’s no mean feat to score stars from them):

“Engaging characters, terrific writing, and a savory blend of musical and culinary erudition…polymath Karst sauces her plot without masking its flavor. And she’s a dab hand with the red herrings.”

Take it away, Leslie.

I am especially thrilled to be a guest of the Wicked Cozies today, as this is the release day of A Measure of Murder, the second in my Sally Solari culinary mystery series. And in celebration of all things wicked, I present a post about telling lies.

When Is a Lie Really the Truth?

Not long ago during a morning bike ride, I stopped to chat with another cyclist as we lifted our skinny-tire road bikes over a section of railroad tracks. “Lovely morning!” she commented, and I responded in kind. “I’m not often out this early,” the woman added, “but it’s great.”

[image error]

Self portrait

“Oh, this is when I usually go riding,” I answered, “because I have a dog who always wakes me up early.”

The woman chuckled and gave me a knowing smile before riding off. Now, this may not seem like an out-of-the-ordinary exchange, and you may in fact be wondering what point it could possibly have. But here’s the thing: My dog, Ziggy, almost never wakes me up in the morning. She pretty much always sleeps in—well past the time I ever get up.

So the point is, I lied to the cyclist. And for no apparent reason. The fib just flew out of my mouth, unwarranted and unplanned. Now, why the heck did I do that? I wondered as I pedaled off in the opposite direction.

Weeks later, I was contemplating a suitable subject for this Wicked Cozies blog post and decided it would be fun to write about something “wicked.” And then, remembering my interaction with the woman at the railroad tracks, it occurred to me that telling lies is certainly considered wicked—at least in most circles.

Okay, then: Why did I make up that story about my dog?

[image error]

What my dog really looks like in the morning

Perhaps the first thing to do is recognize the difference between outright lying and embellishing. Or exaggerating. Or telling tall tales. Every story-teller wants to spin a good yarn, so the tendency is to embellish. And if your audience is enjoying what you’re doing, you kick it up a notch. Just look at the tales of Paul Bunyan and his giant blue ox. Or the “news” stories reported by Mark Twain when he worked as a journalist, which often failed completely to distinguish between fiction and fact.

So maybe when I told my fellow cyclist about my dog waking me up, it was simply because the real story—that I just seem to wake up early these days—was boring. And even though I wasn’t consciously thinking about it, my unconscious self wanted something better. (My previous dog, by the way, did wake me up early every single morning, so wasn’t an out-and-out lie.)

[image error]

The urge to tell a good story never ends

But tall tales don’t exist solely for their entertainment value. They serve a far greater purpose, and are often “truer” than the literal truth. When used as metaphor, exaggeration can make a point far better than any real account ever could. This is what archetypes and mythology are all about. Through embellishment, they cut straight to the essence, to those attributes which make us human, make us “everyman.”

Okay, so my little fib about Ziggy doesn’t rise to the level of the adventures of Odysseus, or of his modern incarnation, Leopold Bloom https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_Bloom . But the urge to tell a compelling story comes from the same place.

And maybe that need to embellish, to tell that tall tale, to create that metaphor, is what makes us writers. Because when done well, stretching the facts—or even making them up whole cloth—isn’t lying about what happened. It’s actually telling the truth.

[image error]

Child’s rendering of a Greek hero

Readers: Have you ever caught yourself telling a fib for no reason other than to make your story more interesting? At what point do you think this moves from mere “embellishment” to actual “lying”? (Remember, one commenter wins a copy of the book!)

 

In A Measure of Murder, chef Sally Solari joins her ex-boyfriend Eric’s chorus, but at the first rehearsal for the Mozart Requiem, a tenor falls to his death on the church courtyard—and his soprano girlfriend is sure it wasn’t an accident. Now Sally’s back on another murder case mixed in with a dash of revenge, a pinch of peril, and a suspicious stack of sheet music. And while tensions in the chorus heat up, so does the kitchen at her restaurant Gauguin, set aflame right as Sally starts getting too close to the truth. Can Sally catch the killer before she’s burnt to a crisp, or will the case grow as cold as yesterday’s leftovers?

[image error]The daughter of a law professor and a potter, Leslie Karst learned early, during family dinner conversations, the value of both careful analysis and the arts—ideal ingredients for a mystery story. She now writes the Sally Solari Mysteries (Dying for a Taste, A Measure of Murder), a culinary series set in Santa Cruz, California. An ex-lawyer like her sleuth, Leslie also has degrees in English literature and the culinary arts. She and her wife and their Jack Russell mix split their time between Santa Cruz and Hilo, Hawai‘i. Visit her online at http://www.lesliekarstauthor.com/ and at https://www.facebook.com/lesliekarstauthor/

 

Filed under: Guest posts, Uncategorized Tagged: A Measure of Murder, Crooked Lane Books, Leslie Karst, prevarication, Sally Solari Mysteries

What’s in a Name?

by Sheila Connolly

I have multiple names. I know, since this is a blog written by writers, you will immediately assume I mean pen names. Nope, it’s more complicated than that.

When I married, decades ago, I did not take my husband’s surname. I was making a feminist statement, see? Besides, Connolly was closer to the beginning of the alphabet than his surname, Williams. Also less common, although many people manage to misspell it. (There is no E in it, people!) I worked at Bryn Mawr College for a time, and since I had access to the alumnae database, I looked to see how many female graduates of my era had changed their names upon marriage. Eleven percent. That’s all? So much for that wave of feminism.

But I was reminded of this most recently when my husband and I refinanced a mortgage. The bank did a background credit check, as they should. My husband appears under only one name. I show up under four. Most are odd mash-ups of my surname and his. One of my doctors has me listed as Connollywilliams (yes, all one word).  Since our health insurance is in his name, most of my health care providers think my name is Williams. I do not have a single ID that lists me as Williams. If I am hit by a falling tree and found unconscious, I have no idea what the ER people will make of me. Yes, I carry an insurance ID card–with only my husband’s name on it. Not mine.  There is none with my name. We’ve tried to explain that to the provider, and they just don’t get it.

I wrote my first mystery series for Berkley under a pen name. Who was I to argue with a major publisher? I was insanely grateful to get a publishing deal at all. At least they let me choose the  name, and I picked one from a long-ago ancestor, with a surname that started with A, so the books would appear at eye-level on bookstore shelves. Didn’t save the series.

Connolly was a better strategic choice, since that put me right between Michael Connelly (one of those pesky E people) and John Connolly (no relation), so I knew people would at least see my books in passing. I guess it worked.

When we write our books, we have to make a lot of decisions about names. What’s the hero/heroine’s name? This is a person we hope we’ll have to live with for a long time. Do we chose a name we wish we’d been given? Do we honor a relative, living or dead? Do we pick something traditional and simple, or do we strain to invent something trendy, hoping that it will be more memorable? Do we use ethnic names or stick to neutral ones?

And what about the villains? We can’t waste a favorite name on a killer. Is there someone we want to slime, even though he or she may never know it? A hostile employer? An offensive neighbor? An annoying cousin?

There are even a few rules. Don’t use too many names that start with the same letter and are about the same length in a single book, because people will get confused. Don’t use names that are too weird or unpronounceable (I waver about using Siobhan, which I love as a spoken name, but the spelling is nothing like the way it sounds), because that takes a reader out of the story, which you don’t want. For a while it seemed like every writer had a main character named Kate (that trend seems to have cooled).

Names matter. It may be that they’re important only to the writer, like an inside joke, or the writer may be trying to convey something to the reader (naming a character Napoleon certainly sends a different message than naming him Joe). They are the first gift we receive when we’re born, and they follow us after death, engraved on our tombstone.

Writers, how do you choose your characters’ names? Readers, do you have favorite names? Names you hate? Names you think have been overused?

Filed under:

After The Contract — Guest Shari Randall

I met Shari through the Chesapeake Chapter of Sisters in Crime. Shari is one of those people who you feel immediately comfortable with. Maybe it’s because she’s a former children’s librarian. She is the first of three guests who will be talking about their experiences since they’ve sign a book deal but whose books aren’t out yet. Shari’s first book is set to come out in March of 2018.

Many thanks to Sherry and the Wickeds for the invitation to chat about What Happens After the Contract.

When I signed my contract with St. Martin’s Press for the Lazy Mermaid Lobster Shack Mystery series my first thought was – all that paper! While I was wading through it I gave thanks for the many friends who helped make that moment possible.

After the contract…and the champagne….and chocolates…and celebration…and congratulations… It sank in. I faced that empty page. Now I have to get to work.

So I did two things. Then I realized something and did one more.

One, I kept writing.

[image error]Two, I did a Lobster Shack Tour. My Number One Fan and I hit the road, researching (okay, eating) at lobster shacks from Noank to Woods Hole and beyond. Except for Maine. I’m conceding Maine to my esteemed fellow lobster lady, Barb Ross, and her Maine Clambake mysteries.

For many years I’ve seen so many author friends juggle writing their books with all the other things that are expected of a modern author: blog tours, giveaways, publicity, appearances, marketing. I realized now that all that was my job, too. I saw the difference, to me, between being a writer and being an author. Let me explain.

Writing is the nuts and bolts, the craft, getting words on paper. That’s what the writer does.

Being an author. Ah, that’s different.

Before I signed my contract, my mental image of “author” was a fantasy formed by episodes of Dynasty and Murder She Wrote. Instead of the reality of hours of butt-in-chair in book jail, my Fantasy Author Self was at signings, dressed in flowing scarves and jangling bangle bracelets. My sparkling laugh – very Mary Higgins Clark or maybe Joan Collins – floating over hundreds of fans sipping champagne, where every detail of the event has been arranged by my fawning publicist, a George Clooney lookalike named Charlton. My fantasy agent says things like “After the twenty-state tour, you’re going to Canyon Ranch for a vacation, I insist” and “Lucas wants the film rights! Streep wants to play Aunt Gully!”

But then I wake up.  Arranging booking signings will be my job. Writing blogs will be my job. Marketing will be my job.

This realization brought me to the third thing I did. I learned as much as I could about what is expected of an author, by asking questions, doing research, and taking classes. One of the best classes was Simon Wood’s 21st Century Author, which I took online through the SINC Guppies. Simon explained the many requirements of the 21st century author – creating a persona, using social media, publicity, marketing. Exhausting, but necessary.

Where is Charlton when I need him?

There is no Charlton.

So as I go back into book jail to work on Book Two, I still give thanks for that contract. But now I know that writing the book is just the beginning.

Readers: What experiences have you had that were different than you thought they’d be?

 

Filed under: Guest posts Tagged: After The Contract, Lazy Mermaid Lobster Shack mystery series, Shari Randall, St Martin's Press

After The Contract

We are looking forward to having three guests — Shari Randall (Feb. 3), Aimee Hix (Feb. 10), and Debra Sennefelder (Feb. 24) —  this month who all have contracts for books, but their books aren’t out yet. They will be talking about their experiences leading up to their books being published. Since all of us have been in the same boat we thought it would be fun to share some of our experiences too.

Jessie: I would say to try to have as much fun with the journey as you possibly can. Releasing a first book involves so many new experiences and it can be a bit overwhelming at times. But it only happens once this way, so taking as much pleasure in it as you can is my best advice.

Sherry: After the jumping around and champagne popping ended, panic set in. What had I gotten myself in? I start envisioning empty launch parties, bad reviews, trolls, the series being dropped before it hit publication. In other words the wild imagination that makes it possible to write took a very dark turn. I took some deep breaths and started reaching out to my author friends for help and support. The Wickeds are my safety net and lifeboat. Find yours!

Barb: You will find yourself lost in a strange land. Traditional publishing is like no business you’ve ever been in. And no one will explain it to you, since most people who work in it have done so since college and to them, everything they do seems, “normal.” Don’t be afraid to ask questions, even though when you do, you’ll be able to hear the sighs of impatience on the other end of the line or e-mail. And as Sherry says, ask your writer friends.

[image error]

Part of Edith’s book two guest post schedule from May, 2014

Edith: All of the above! Plus, try to stay organized. I reached out ahead of time and requested guest blog posts around the time of my release, and was even invited to do a few. I felt like I was going to lose track of them all, so I created a Word table, a kind of spreadsheet. I listed each blog, the blog topic, the due date, the sent date, and the release date. It helped so much to see the schedule and know I wasn’t dropping the ball somewhere. Then for the second book I already had a list of friendly bloggers.

Julie: Great advice on this feed! I’m going to add advice that Hank Phillippi Ryan gave me–enjoy every moment of this journey. We tend to hit a goal post and immediately move it down the field. Instead stop, and say “I did this.” You will never be a first time published author again. Enjoy the journey.

Liz: Love all of this advice – especially the celebrating of your accomplishments. You’ll only have one first book, so enjoy it to the fullest. Take pride in everything you’ve done, enjoy the company of fellow writers and don’t be so focused on getting to the next place/book/success that you don’t stop and appreciate the moment.

Readers: What advice have you given people when they embark on a new journey?

Save

Filed under: Group posts Tagged: Debut authors, getting organized, guest blog posts

Wicked Wednesday — Favorite Romantic Movie

[image error]We will have a “We Love Our Readers” giveaway every Wednesday in February. Leave a comment for a chance to win no later than midnight the Thursday after the post. This week one reader has a chance to win Whispers Beyond the Veil by Jessica Estevao and All Murders Final by Sherry Harris.

According to History.com the day we call Valentine’s Day is named for a Christian martyr and dates back to the 5th century, but has origins in the Roman holiday Lupercalia.

There’s a whole world of romantic movies out there. Wickeds, do you have a favorite?

Liz: I have to go with one of my eighties classics: Dirty Dancing. Loved, loved, loved Patrick Swayze since I was a kid, and he was amazing in this movie. I lost count of how many times I watched it as a pre-teen/teenager, and still whenever I come across it on TV I have to stop and watch it all over again.[image error]

Edith: I love that movie, too, Liz! I’m going with Bridges of Madison County. I can watch that movie a million times and still weep. Streep and Eastwood, well, I have to stop writing about it or I’ll start crying. … But now that I think about it, Dr. Zhivago comes in a close second.

Jessie: I love You’ve Got Mail. Meg Ryan always makes me smile! Add Tom Hanks and I can watch the same film over and over!

Barb: I am a sucker for romantic comedies. I have seen Four Weddings and a Funeral more times than I care to admit, even to myself. I will drop everything and watch When Harry Met Sally anytime it is on. I could go on and on, but I won’t.

[image error]Sherry: Love Actually is my go to romantic movie. Of course my deep love for Colin Firth may influence that choice. (The cover even says it’s the ultimate romantic comedy — I rest my case!) I also love Sweet Home Alabama with Reese Witherspoon and Josh Lucas. I love his voice.

Julie: Truly, Madly, Deeply.  Alan Rickman. Juliet Stevenson. One of the most romantic movies I’ve ever seen. Sadly, not available on DVD. I haven’t seen it for year–if anyone knows how I can, let me know!

Readers: What is your favorite romantic movie?

Save

Save

Filed under: Wicked Wednesday Tagged: Bridges of Madison County, Clint Eastwood, Dirty Dancing, Dr. Zhivago, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Love Actually, Meg Ryan, Meryl Streep, Patrick Swayze, romantic movies, Sweet Home Alabama, You've Got Maile

Crime Solving Couples by Carol Perry

by Barb, suffering the 75 degree temps in Key West

Please welcome Friend of the Wickeds (FOW), Carol Perry, author of the Witch City Mystery series from Kensington. Today is release day for her latest, Murder Go Round! Congratulations, Carol –and take it away!

[image error]

Thanks for sharing my special book birthday for Murder Go Round! It’s the fourth book in the Witch City Mystery series where all the action takes place in Salem, Massachusetts—the magical city of my birth. (Born there on Halloween eve, as a matter of fact.) In this one, my crime solving couple, Lee Barrett and Pete Mondello, along with Lee’s Aunt Ibby and O’Ryan the cat, get involved with murder (of course,) involving an old carousel horse, a silver Russian samovar and the late Tsar Nicolas II.

Quite serendipitously, I received an invitation to serve on a panel of mystery writers at the upcoming MWA Sleuthfest next month in Boca Raton, Florida. The assigned topic: “Crime Solving Couples.” I immediately began thinking, remembering, reminiscing about all those wonderful detecting duos I’ve enjoyed over the years in books, TV, movies, and yes, even radio.

[image error]At first, the couples that came to mind were the married, or at least romantically involved, men and women who worked—sometimes in beautiful harmony, sometimes from opposite starting points– to bring the baddies to justice. Think Dashiell Hammett’s Nick and Nora Charles; Richard and Frances Lockridge’s Pam and Jerry North; Sidney Sheldon’s Jonathan and Jennifer Hart; and more recently, Kathy Reichs’ Dr. Temperance (Bones) Brennen and Seeley Booth; Anne Perry’s Charlotte and Thomas Pitt; Dennis Lehane’s Kenzie and Gennaro.

I began asking friends and family, fellow writers, strangers I met in line at Barnes & Noble—“Who’s your favorite crime solving couple?” Everybody has one—usually more than one—most often, a lot more than one! I found myself saying “Oh, yeah. That one! Me too. Loved it!” The list grew. Carolyn Hart’s Annie and Max Darling, Agatha Christie’s Tommy and Tuppence Beresford: Rhys Bowen’s Molly Murphy and Dan Sullivan; Margaret Maron’s Judge Deborah Knott and Deputy Dwight Bryant. The titles kept on coming. Some of the stories take place in the past, some in the present, a few in the future. It seems that there’s no end to the possibilities we writers have in creating couples who solve crimes.

My heroine, Lee happens to be a scryer. (She sees images, often unwelcome ones, in reflective surfaces.) Pete, the man in her life, is a straight-arrow, just-the-facts-ma’am police detective who isn’t comfortable with things paranormal. Throw in her cat, O’Ryan, who used to be a witch’s “familiar” and poor Pete is surrounded by high strangeness. So Pete and Lee approach problems–like murder–from different angles. (Liz’s Stan and Jake seem to work that way too, as do Barb’s Chris and Julia.)

Not all of the couples who fit into this category are of the one man, one woman variety. Think of Holmes and Watson, Batman and Robin, Cagney and Lacey, Carolyn Haines’ Sarah Booth Delaney and Tinkie Richmond, Martha Grimes’ Richard Jury and Melrose Plant– and I’m so looking forward to Jesse’s Beryl and Edwina series!

The more I’ve thought about this, the more possibilities for mystery plots have suggested themselves. Some men and women solve crimes together, but never quite reach “couple” status, even though there’s sexual tension throughout the adventures. Think Scully and Mulder in “The X Files,” Maddie and David in “Moonlighting”

What a rich field of ideas for writers! Couples can combine their varied methods of mystery-solving as Pete and Lee do in Murder Go Round. In the Bones stories, Temperance approaches the problem from a scientific angle while Booth sticks to legal procedure. Combining two personalities for crime solving offers a neat kind of a BOGO for writers. Maron’s Judge Deborah must try not to get involved with Deputy Dwight’s investigations which might wind up in her courtroom. We get to double the tension of the story as each of the pair has his/her own “moments of danger.” Banter between the two, whether loving, scary or amusing, helps to advance the plot and develop the characters.

Wickeds, fellow writers and readers, who are your favorite crime solving couples? I’m envisioning a mile high pile of sleuthing duo books to add to my TBR collection.

Save

Filed under: Guest posts Tagged: Murder Go Round, sleuthing couples, Witch City Mysteries

Book Title Angst — Guest Susan Van Kirk

Welcome back, Susan Van Kirk. Life is interesting — since I met Susan a couple of years ago we found out that she taught one of my high school classmate’s children. I love small world connections.

[image error]Susan: I’m always intrigued by the cleverness of book titles because I go through torture and agony trying to come up with mine. Somehow it comforts me to remember that even F. Scott Fitzgerald had trouble naming The Great Gatsby.

I’m now the author of three Endurance mysteries and an e-book novella featuring Endurance detective, TJ Sweeney. Still, figuring out a title for the first mystery about the town of Endurance was an excruciating experience back in 2012. It disturbed my sleep and interfered with my brain during every minute of my waking and sleeping hours.

I played bridge and thought of titles (no answers, but I think it helped my bridge game to be distracted.) I paced the kitchen floor and thought of titles. I watched the presidential returns—and thought of titles. I talked to my children, who live two thousand miles away, and who wondered why I was so distracted.

You get the picture.

When I began writing A Silent Place to Die (my working title), I believed it would be a cozy mystery. One of my readers questioned why my title was so gruesome. On further thought, it sounded very un-cozy, even to me.

[image error]What to do? What to do?…

I explored titles from other book series. Maybe they would help me. Rescue animals are featured by Linda O. Johnston in Hounds Abound, The More the Terrier, or Beaglemania. The culinary titles of Diane Mott Davidson (Catering to Nobody, Dying for Chocolate, Chopping Spree) sound wonderful, but my main character doesn’t have a dog and is a terrible cook.

Sheila Connolly’s orchard series uses apples in her titles since her main character owns an apple orchard. Very nice. Julie Hyzy’s manor house mysteries—with a main character named “Grace”—have “Grace” in every title: Grace Under Pressure or Grace Among Thieves. My main character is also a “Grace,” and it would be so easy to connect her name with various ideas in my titles—you know, Amazing Grace.  But no, Hyzy got there first.

So, I put myself into Grace Kimball’s shoes, and I recalled pieces of literature by American writers that my fictional Grace would have taught at Endurance High School. The books in her library are by her old favs: Fitzgerald, Poe, Thoreau, Emerson, Longfellow, and others.

Then I remembered.

[image error]Ben Franklin. He was an original, discussed in many American Literature classes throughout the nation, and a favorite of my Grace. Like Julia Spencer-Fleming’s titles from Christianity, Ben Franklin’s aphorisms are part of American culture and thinking. Here, you finish his thoughts:

“A penny saved is…”

“God helps those…”

“Early to bed and early to rise…”

Maybe I was on to something.

How about “Three may keep a secret…”? Would you automatically finish that with “…if two of them are dead”? Oh, Ben Franklin, you are so clever! My town of Endurance hides dark secrets, and often they lead to murder. Three May Keep a Secret. I had my first title.

[image error]The second book in my series, Marry in Haste, was just published. Thank you again, Mr. Franklin. Marry in Haste is the story of two marriages, a century apart, both sharing a terrible secret. When Grace’s boyfriend, Jeff Maitlin, buys a huge mansion and borrows money from a bank, he sets off a chain of events that put Grace in danger. I based Jeff’s house on a Victorian I lived in when I first moved to Monmouth, Illinois. Built in 1885, it had over 4,400 square feet of living space. It became my fictional Lockwood House.

One of Grace’s former students, Emily Folger, is arrested for her banker husband’s murder, Grace cannot believe it. As she sets out to prove Emily’s innocence, Grace finds the 1893 diary of Olivia Lockwood hidden in Jeff’s house. Olivia, a naïve 17-year-old, marries the powerful Judge Lockwood. She is dazzled by his mansion, and despite the 26-year difference in their ages (as well as rumors about the death of Lockwood’s first wife), Olivia is sure they will be happy. However, as Ben Franklin wrote, “Marry in haste, repent at leisure.” Both Olivia and Emily should have listened to him.

Ben Franklin has not disappointed me. The last book in my series will be out in May, and its title is Death Takes No Bribes. Although she is retired, Grace Kimball goes back to her old school when the principal is murdered. Who would kill such a good man? Now she must face the possibility that one of her former colleagues is a murderer.

[image error]My e-book novella is titled The Locket: From the Casebook of TJ Sweeney. I didn’t feel bad about leaving out Ben’s wisdom on this title since it features TJ Sweeney rather than Grace. However, its premise is like the other Endurance mysteries since Detective Sweeney investigates a murder from the 1940s when the big bands came through Endurance and played at the Roof Garden. Dancing in the moonlight … romance in the air … and murder in the shadows.

I still haven’t found a way to use Franklin’s “Lie down with dogs, Rise up with fleas,” or “A countryman between two lawyers is like a fish between two cats.” Still thinking …

Readers: Do you have a favorite book title? Writers: Easy or hard to come up with titles?

[image error]Susan Van Kirk grew up in Galesburg, Illinois, and received degrees from Knox College and the University of Illinois. She taught high school English for thirty-four years, then spent an additional ten years teaching at Monmouth College. Her first Endurance mystery novel, Three May Keep a Secret, was published in 2014 by Five Star Publishing/Cengage.  In April, 2016, she published an Endurance e-book novella titled The Locket: From the Casebook of TJ Sweeney. Her third Endurance novel, Death Takes No Bribes, will follow Marry in Haste. Contact Susan: Website and blog:  http://www.susanvankirk.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SusanVanKirkAuthor/ Twitter:  https://www.twitter.com/susan_vankirk GoodReads:  www.goodreads.com/author/show/586.Susan_VanKirk

 

 

 

Filed under: Guest posts Tagged: Allan House, Ben Franklin, Death Takes No Bribes, Marry In Haste, Monmouth Illinois, Susan Van Kirk, The Locket, Three May Keep A Secret, Titles

Wicked Congratulations to Barb, Jessie, and Edith!

Malice Domestic is a conference that celebrates the traditional novel. The Agatha nominations were announced this week, and Barbara Ross, Jessica Estevao, and Edith Maxwell were on the list! The awards will be given out April 29. We’ll all be there, dancing in the aisles.

[image error]

Filed under: Malice Domestic, Uncategorized Tagged: Agatha awards, Barbara Ross, Delivering the Truth, Edith Maxwell, Fogged inn, Jessica Estevao, Malice Domestic, The Mayor and the Midwife, Whispers Beyond the Veil

A Wicked Welcome to Diane Vallere

[image error]We’re delighted to welcome Diane Vallere back to the blog! Diane writes several series, is currently the President of Sisters in Crime, and is one of the best dressers around.

Putting The Cart Before the Horse | Diane Vallere

I had a birthday a few weeks ago, and one of my friends pointed out that I was born in the year of the horse. Which I quickly pushed to the back of my brain, because, outside of my Jordache jeans in Junior High, I’ve never been much of a horse person.

It wasn’t until later when I was emailing a writer friend about an idea I’d had for a new series that the subject of horses returned. I told her how I’d spent the morning mocking up covers for the as-yet-unwritten-series, and I wrote, “there is a cart, and there is a horse, but I am often confused by which one goes in the front…” which led to an amusing conversation about motivation.

She wrote: “On the cart and the horse and the barn door that’s slamming closed somewhere (I’m mixing my horse metaphors—is the barn door even relevant?). My opinion is that sometimes you need to make sure you have the cart in place first. This is important because when the horse eventually comes out of the barn(?) it will know where to stand.”

Frankly, this is so true that now I’m thinking anybody who doesn’t put the cart before the horse is wasting valuable time. Because here’s the thing: we all have ideas, goals, aspirations, objectives. We all want more. We all have projects on the back burner, projects that might not be more than the tickle of a thought at the part of the brain that other people use for long division (because our creative brain is already so full that our ideas are now spilling over onto the math side). And a lot of us have a plan to achieve some of those ideas/goals/aspirations/objectives. But in an increasingly busy world where our time is already split among countless obligations, our projects get scheduled when we have the time. And our ideas? They stay on the back burner.

It is known among successful people that if you can visualize the outcome of a project, you have a much better chance of completing the project. Seeing a cover for an as-yet-unwritten project isn’t counterproductive. The cover is simply a visual prompt that solidifies a concept: it’s not just an abstract thought. It’s real. This project can happen. This project will happen.

I say put the cart before the horse. Heck, push the cart off a hill and race to catch up. Unbridle your ideas! Let your passion—not your schedule–inspire your creativity. You’ll be amazed at how freeing it is to chase after that runaway cart. And when you catch up to it? You’ll be amazed at how much you accomplished when you weren’t even looking.

*********************

[image error]Bio: 
After two decades working for a top luxury retailer, Diane Vallere traded fashion accessories for accessories to murder. PEARLS GONE WILD, #6 in her award-winning Samatha Kidd Mystery Series, came out December 2016. Diane is the president of Sisters in Crime. She also writes the Madison Night, and Lefty Award-nominated Material Witness and Costume Shop mystery series. She started her own detective agency at age ten and has maintained a passion for shoes, clues, and clothes ever since. 

www.dianevallere.com

F: facebook.com/dianevallere

T: @dianevallere

IG: @dianevallere

YouTube: DianeVallere

Filed under: Guest posts Tagged: Diane Vallere, Pearls Gone Wild

Leaving the Comfort Zone

Jane/Susannah/Sadie here, who just tried to schedule a dinner date with a friend…on Super Bowl Sunday. In New England. 

Clearly, I’m a little out of touch on certain things.

Since it’s January and all, I thought I’d share with you one of my goals for the New Year. And that is:

Do Things That Require Me To Step Out Of My Comfort Zone

Even just writing that down and putting it out there requires my taking a risk (Success #1, LOL!). I’m pretty sure most of us are in some kind of routine of actions that may or may not be serving us anymore. I may not have been paying attention to the football postseason schedule, but I have been paying attention to things I do just because I’ve always done them that way. For some things, that’s okay (my technique for boiling water, as an example, doesn’t really need tweaking). For others, well, there could be better ways of accomplishing goals and I’ve vowed to be open to new methods.

Health. Like a lot of people, I use January to make a commitment to get healthier. But this year, instead of vowing to lose weight and exercise more, I decided to try something new. For the last several weeks I’ve been following, not a weight loss plan, but a plan that eliminates foods with the potential to cause inflammation and allergies/sensitivity. It is very strict–no dairy, grains, sugar, legumes (which means no peanut butter *sob*), or processed food. Eventually, I can introduce these foods back into my diet one at a time and see what’s causing me problems. I’m not gonna lie. It’s been difficult. But not impossible.

And the results have been astounding. Aside from an almost unbelievable double-digit weight loss, I am sleeping like a baby. I no longer crave a nap in the afternoon. I almost never crave sugar anymore. And most wonderful of all: the chronic stuffy nose I’ve had my entire life is now completely clear. I am giddy with all this extra oxygen. All this, because I took a chance on something that looked too scary, too darned hard, before.

Knitting. Yes, knitting! I taught myself to knit, from instructions in a magazine, when I was 7 years old. I have always had a quirk in my knitting that has required me to fiddle with patterns. Stitches came out with a little twist, unless I knitted into the back of the stitch (basic knitting involves putting the needle into the front of the stitch). Most of the time I can make it work, but some more complicated lace and eyelet patterns just don’t. I have never been able to figure out why–and I never asked anyone to watch my technique and tell me. Finally, I sat down with a basic how-to-knit video on YouTube, and I understood. It wasn’t the knit stitches that were the problem. They came out twisted because I was wrapping the yarn around the needle the wrong direction on the purl stitches on the back side of the knitted fabric. This seems like a small thing but it honestly was like solving a mystery–one I’d put off addressing for decades. Now to train myself to do the purls correctly!

Writing. This year, I vow to write something other than a cozy mystery, in a completely different genre. To stretch myself. To see if I can do it. Just to see what happens. I’ve already begun the research and some of the outlining. I’ll report back on this one.

How about you? Have you taken a risk lately? Tried something new? 

 

 

 

Filed under: Jane's posts, Sadie's Posts, Susannah's posts, Uncategorized Tagged: Books, comfort zone, knitting, risk taking, Super Bowl