Edith Maxwell's Blog, page 214

Wicked Wednesday: Writing Goals for 2017

[image error]Wickeds, we all have deadlines, series, proposals, and blog posts that are keeping us busy. What are your writing goals for 2017?

Sherry: Since I went to the Sisters In Crime conference on Adapting Your Work To Hollywood in Los Angeles last April I’ve wanted to write a story to try and sell to the Hallmark channel. I’ve pondered and discarded many ideas and think I’m finally on to one. I’m also writing a couple of new proposals. And working on what is next for Sarah!

Barb: For the first time in years, I don’t know what my writing year holds. Maine Clambake #6, Stowed Away is due in March. Then I’ll work on the proposal for the next three, along with a short story I’ve promised to an anthology. The rest of the year is a blank. Fingers crossed for a series renewal, but if not, there are plenty of things I want to accomplish.

Edith: I’ll be writing three books: Cozy Capers Book Group Mystery #1, [image error]Quaker Midwife Mystery # 4 (IF my contract is extended…), and Country Store Mystery #5.   Oh, yeah, and keeping up with blog posts, book releases (three in three months), two short story anthology releases (bringing total releases to FIVE in three months), and every other writing task. But I’m living my dream and wouldn’t have it any other way.

Liz: Lots on the horizon! Like Barb, I’m working on book six in the Pawsitively Organic series, due April 1. After that, will also be writing a proposal for three more (so more finger crossing!). I will also be working on book two in the Cat Cafe series by Cate Conte. And I have another passion project that’s been in various stages of editing for a long time. This is the year that I want to get it finished and sold. And who knows what other fabulous opportunities will come along??

Julie: I am working on copyedits for CHIME AND PUNISHMENT, and then have two more novels to write. So I am working on a plan for the year that allows time for writing, and for editing. I love Sherry’s goal of thinking Hollywood. If I can figure out the time, I need to try and write a screenplay, or a stageplay, and learn how that works.

Jessie: I am plotting away on my next mystery in my Beryl and Edwina series. I have a proposal to write, revisions for one book to complete and copyedits coming up for Whispers of Warning, the next Change of Fortune mystery. It looks like it will be a busy year!

Writers, friends, and fans: What are your work goals for the year? How about hobby goals, or other pursuits?

Filed under: Wicked Wednesday Tagged: Cat Cafe Mysteries, Cate Conte, Country Store Mysteries, Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries, Maine Clambake Mystery, Pawsitively Organic Mysteries, Quaker Midwife Mysteries, Stowed Away

Writing advice from Hallie Ephron: Enjoy the mess

Today we want to give a Wicked Welcome to Hallie Ephron. When I first joined Sisters in Crime New England, Hallie was the President. Over the years she has been a cheerleader, a mentor, and a friend. She is also a very gifted teacher, and has just released an update for her book WRITING & SELLING YOUR MYSTERY NOVEL. My well worn copy of the original will soon share space with this updated version. We’re thrilled that she agreed to visit the blog today. Welcome Hallie!

[image error]When I started writing what would be the first edition of WRITING & SELLING YOUR MYSTERY NOVEL back in 2003, I had four mystery novels under my belt and spoken on panels with enough of my fellow writers to know that there are almost as many ways to plan a mystery novel as there are writers.

Just for example, listen to what these uber-successful writers have to say about planning:

“An outline is crucial. It saves so much time. When you write suspense, you have to know where you’re going because you have to drop little hints along the way. With the outline, I always know where the story is going.” —John Grisham

“I do a very minimal synopsis before I start, and I know where I end up, I know sort of stations along the way, but I give myself freedom to kind of just discover things as I go along.” —Louis Bayard

“I just dive in and hope the book comes out at the other end. And as I get to the character, slowly the plot develops like a Polaroid.” —Tana French

Hmmm. It’s not very helpful to someone writing their first crime novel to be told there is no one way. But, having worked with many published and unpublished writers, what comes through over and over is that each of us has our own talents and deficits, and it’s wise to start by accepting that as a given – it’s both your greatest weakness and your greatest strength.

Do you outline? It’s a question you hear over and over at author panels. I’d be rich if I had a dollar for every time I heard a writer answer quoting E. L. Doctorow, “Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” The truth is, you may like writing as if you’re driving at night in fog, but it doesn’t work for everyone.

Some of us are naturally planners (okay, we’re anal) and need to write a detailed outline or synopsis before committing ourselves to an opening scene. Others are pantsers (delusional free spirits?) who’d rather fly by the seat of their pants. If I’m not surprised, they like to say, then how can I expect the reader to be surprised? Most of us do a little of both, and in different proportions according to the demands of of the project underway.

I, for one, can pants along, groping and hoping for a while. But at some point, within the first 100 pages, I need to pick my head up out of the weeds and take the long view. That might involve attempting an outline or synopsis, or maybe just a pack of 3×5 cards with the main plot points. If I don’t, inevitably I write myself into one cul de sac after another and end up with an “out” file that’s longer than my manuscript. So I write a little, plan a little, write a some more, plan some more…

My plan becomes my rock as I work my way toward THE END. Usually it works, as long as I’m not afraid to blow up the rock if need be.

My sage advice is: Do whatever works for you. To that end, the “Planning” section of the REVISED AND EXPANDED edition of WRITING AND SELLING YOUR MYSTERY NOVEL is packed with planning exercises to try on, like so many hats. They’ve worked for other writers and might work for you. There are exercises for planning the premise, the crime, the protagonist, the villain, the web of characters, the setting, the dramatic (it had better be!) opening, and of course, the three acts that comprise the plot. The planning section culminates with a MYSTERY NOVEL BLUEPRINT summarizing every aspect in a handy dandy chart that you can complete, and goes on to take an equally hands-on approach to writing, revising, and selling your novel.

Fortunately, in this new edition, the blueprint (and all of the other exercises in the book) can be printed out and completed. Got to love technology.

For more about WRITING & SELLING YOUR MYSTERY NOVEL: REVISED EXPANDED: http://www.writersdigestshop.com/writing-and-selling-your-mystery-novel-revised-and-expanded

An excerpt on developing a premise for your mystery novel. http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/there-are-no-rules/develop-premise-mystery-novel

What’s your planning process? Brainstorm? Outline? Synopsis? Grope and hope? And does it change from one project to the next?

***

[image error]HALLIE EPHRON is the New York Times bestselling author of ten crime novels, including YOU’LL NEVER KNOW, DEAR (Wm Morrow 6/17)). She is a four-time finalist for the Mary Higgins Clark Award. A revised and expanded edition of her Edgar-nominated WRITING AND SELLING YOUR MYSTERY NOVEL(Writers Digest Books) is just out from Writers Digest Books. For twelve years she was the crime fiction book reviewer for the Boston Globe and won the Ellen Nehr Award for Excellence in Mystery Reviewing.

Filed under: Guest posts, Writing Tips Tagged: Hallie ephron, Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel, Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel: Revised Expanded, You'll Never Know

Ma’s Ginger Snaps from Iced Under

by Barb, barefoot and just out of the pool in Key West (don’t hate me), but writing this post for my friends up north

[image error]Iced Under, the newest Maine Clambake Mystery, takes place in the dead of a Maine winter. In the book, Julia Snowden’s mother, Jacqueline, bakes these cookies with her granddaughter Page to keep her entertained on a snowy day. In reality, these are cookies my grandmother made.

From the book–

When my cousins get together, one memory we all share is my grandmother’s ginger snaps. It was a joy to find them in your mailbox at camp, or on a bluesy day in your college dorm. They always came in a coffee can, lined on the inside with wax paper and taped shut. The cookies provided instant comfort and could be hoarded or shared, depending on your mood.

[image error]Ingredients

1½ sticks butter, melted

2 cups granulated white sugar

¼ cup molasses

1 egg, beaten lightly

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon ginger

¼ teaspoon each cloves, allspice, nutmeg, mace

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Mix the melted butter, 1 cup of the sugar, and the molasses. (Put aside the remaining cup of sugar.) When the mixture is cool, fold in the lightly beaten egg. In another bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, salt, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, and mace. Add the dry ingredients to the wet. Mix thoroughly with a mixer or food processor.

Dough will form itself into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and put into refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Shape cold dough into balls using a small melon baller. Roll the balls in sugar to coat completely. Place the balls at least 2 inches apart on parchment paper on a cookie sheet, to allow for expansion.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.

Enjoy!

Readers: Do you have a favorite recipe for an inclement day? Tell us what it is!

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Filed under: Barb's posts Tagged: Maine Clambake Mystery, recipe

Pen Ready, Smile Bright: a practical guide to book signings — Guest LynDee Walker

[image error]We are so happy to welcome back LynDee Walker, the Agatha Award nominated author of the Headlines in High Heels Mysteries. The sixth book in the series Lethal Lifestyles came out in September 2016!

Lyndee is giving away a copy (paperback or ebook) of Front Page Fatality – the first book in the series to someone who leaves a comment!

Here are some of LynDee’s experiences at book signings:

Hey, fabulous writer friend, congratulations are in order: your book birthday is finally here! This calls for a celebration—and what better way to celebrate a new book than a bookstore signing party?

But but but…signings are scary! People! Sales! Pressure! What if it bombs? Or what if it doesn’t (especially if you write about fictional people because real ones make you want to run screaming for a safe room)?

Here’s a secret from six books deep in these trenches: nobody ever really knows what to expect from a signing (okay, I bet Stephen King and J.K. Rowling haven’t wondered if anybody will show up in a pretty long time. I also bet neither of them is reading this, so if you are, take heart), and there’s fun to be found in every book event.

Another secret: it’s always a crapshoot. You can prepare for a signing at the same store on the same Saturday of the year the exact same way, and you’ll speak to a standing-room-only-all-the-way-to-the-back-of-the-shop packed house the first time, while the second, balloons and cookies will only manage to grab the attention of three people in two hours (one of them might actually buy a book, too).

In this relatively solitary pursuit, it’s easy to let that second scenario punch a double-wide hole in your self-confidence. Take it from someone who’s been there: it’s not personal. It’s not a reflection of your talent. And the very next signing you do could be a blowout.

Let’s take samples from the events I’ve done in the past four years, shall we?

[image error]My debut’s launch party set my personal bar pretty doggone high: we had it at the most adorable bookshop, in a part of Richmond that featured prominently in the book, on a Saturday in February. I fretted for weeks over traffic and parking. I watched forecast models like I’d suddenly been hired by channel 8’s storm team. Tuesday that week it was sunny and 70 degrees. Yes, in Virginia in February. Saturday morning it was gray and frigid with ice pelting anyone who stepped outside.

“That’s it,” I told my husband. “This is over before it starts. Who’s fighting Shockoe Slip traffic in this mess?” (And I’m an optimist, y’all.)

Pretty much everyone, it turned out. I am blessed with a wide circle of friends, and they turned out en masse—plus, the first two rows of chairs were full of people I’d never set eyes on who just came to hear about the book. The store was packed from stem to stern, we sold a bajillion books (well…more than 50), and I signed stuff until my hand cramped. Fabulous day.

In 2015 when my fifth book launched, I put all the same care and planning and broadcasting and inviting into a launch at my local (awesome) Barnes and Noble. The manager had signs all over the shop for weeks, I was on TV talking it up, and I was pumped.

The day before the event I got frantic call from the store: the books had been ordered but had not shipped.

How the heck do you have a book signing with no books? I grabbed the five copies I’d gotten from the publisher in the mail a couple days before and went to the store hoping for the best.

The cool spin on this news: we sold out of books!

The not as cool honest truth: I sat at the table for two hours and sold exactly those five books. There was never anything that could be called a line. Every single cookie was eaten by a child who walked up and said “can I have one?” while their parent stood far enough back that they didn’t have to talk to me. BUT. One woman drove almost 100 miles round trip to get me to sign her book. See? There’s always something fun.

Like that time I went to sign books at Bouchercon only to find myself right next to Charles Todd. The only time it could possibly make anyone feel self-conscious that there are ten people in line to get their autograph is when there are a hundred in the next line over. BUT. Charles and Caroline were lovely people (most book people are), and he leaned over at one point and whispered “you’re new. You’ll get there.”

Fast forward to September 2016, the launch event for my sixth book. Same Barnes and Noble, same wonderful store staff, same 2 p.m. Saturday time slot. I did the same PR, I sent cute wedding-themed invitations, and I crossed various appendages.

The books (big stacks of all six titles) arrived a week in advance. Everything was set and ready. I worried that we’d only sell three this time and they’d never ask me back.

I ran into the store right at two (small child emergency on my way out the door, naturally) and plopped into the chair. By the time I sat up from bending to pull pens from my bag and tuck it under the table there was a line the likes of which I hadn’t seen since…maybe ever. It took almost two hours to get to everyone (full disclosure: I did chat with anyone who wanted to chat, because that’s my favorite part of this gig. I’m that woman who makes new friends in the grocery store checkout line). And while a few of my girlfriends were there, by the time you’re on book six, this whole “LynDee wrote a(nother) book” thing is old hat to your circle and they have their own stuff to do and will download it to their iPhone later, thankyouverymuchandcongratulations. Most of these people didn’t know me for anything but my work. And that was pretty darned fun, right there. I kept glancing to the back of the line to smile a “please don’t leave,” at whoever was last.

At the end of the day we’d sold out of four of the six titles, the store manager was beside himself, one of my readers had brought me (amazing) home-baked pink high heel cookies, and my face hurt from smiling.

I had no idea when I left for the event that it would go that well. And I have no expectation that my next one will do the same (but I can hope).

So readers, know that we love you even more when you drop into events to say hello, and writers, walk in with your pen ready, your smile bright, and your best “I got this” attitude. Whether there are two people or two hundred, something fun will happen. Pinky swear.

[image error]Readers: Have you been to a fun book signing? And authors have you had a good/bad experience you want to share?

Bio: LynDee Walker is the author of six national bestselling mysteries featuring crime reporter Nichelle Clarke, beginning with the Agatha Award-nominated FRONT PAGE FATALITY (2013).

The newest book in the series, LETHAL LIFESTYLES, was published on September 27, 2016.Before she started writing mysteries, LynDee was an award-winning journalist. Her work has appeared in newspapers and magazines across the U.S. She adores her family, her readers, and enchiladas. She often works out tricky plot points while walking off the enchiladas. She lives in Richmond, Virginia, where she is either playing with her children, working on her next novel, or admiring beautiful shoes she can’t wear.

Filed under: Guest posts Tagged: Book signings, Front Page Fatality, Headlines in High Heels Mysteries, Henery Press, Lethal Lifestyles, LynDee Walker

Touring Your Own Town

By Sherry — Winter is returning to Northern Virginia

[image error]I had a lovely start to the New Year with two great friends visiting — Liz Mugavero and Christine Hillman Keyes. I met them (along with so many other people) at a writers conference called Seascape and we ended up rooming together. You can read more about that here.

Christine is from Australia and so we decided to do a little touring. It was a rainy, chilly day but hey, nothing can stop an Aussie or her intrepid friends. Our first stop was dropping Liz off at Union Station in Washington, DC (boo-hoo)! I’d been in the building once before but they were renovating and had netting up all over the place. The station opened in 1907 and the building is beautiful.

Here are more pictures:

The outside is amazing too!

[image error]After we left Union Station we drove along the National Mall. Here’s a picture of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. One of these days I’ll make it inside!

Next we headed to Arlington Cemetery. I’ve been there several times and it always so moving. This is the first time I’ve visited during Christmas when all the wreaths are out on the graves.

Christine and I decided to brave the rain and take a walk. The first picture is on our way to visit John F. Kennedy’s grave and the second is a view of the Lincoln Memorial from JFK’s grave.

 

[image error]We headed to Georgetown next taking a route by the Kennedy Center and Watergate Hotel. Of course we got a bit lost on the way to the restaurant and lapped the Kennedy Center a couple of times. We pointed out Georgetown University and drove by some lovely old homes.

At lunch we had a view of an ice skating rink and the Potomac. After lunch we decided to head to Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home. It has been a really long time since I’d been there. They have an amazing new visitors center and museum. The good thing about touring on rainy days is the lines are short and the tour groups small!

You aren’t allowed to take photos inside the house so here are a few of the outside.

There’s nothing like touching the banister that George Washington did. It was a lovely way to spend the first day of 2017!

Readers: Do you have a favorite place to take your guests?

Filed under: Sherry's posts Tagged: Georgetown, Mount Vernon, National Museum of African American History, Washington DC

Wicked Wednesday: Planners

[image error]

Ink & Volt Planner, decorated by Julie

Well, it is 2017, and we all know what that means. Time to break out a new planner! For some of us, this decision took up a lot of time in late 2016. Wickeds, do you use a paper planner? Any particular brand? Do you use it for all aspects of your life, or one part only? What do you like best about your system? Let us know!

Liz: I love planners. I love planning for planners. And I love trying new ones. I have a couple that are high on my list to try, but towards the end of last year I got the Rituals for Living Dreambook and Planner from Dragontree. It doesn’t have pre-populated dates so you can start whenever. There’s a lot of planning involved meant to help you articulate your dreams and goals so the actual work makes sense and is following a path. I did a lot of the pre-work at the end of the year and now I’m looking forward to trying the actual monthly planning piece. It breaks it down as nitty-gritty as you want, with monthly/quarterly/yearly goals, monthly/weekly/daily tasks and life planning, and even gratitude reflections. I’ll let you all know how it turns out!

Jessie: Like Liz, I adore planners. I find that by writing things out by hand I manage to meet more of my goals. This year I am using a new planner from Ink and Volt and so far, it is all I could ask of a time management/ course setting tool. It has a great weekly spread with just the sort of flexible structure that helps me to mindfully manage my time without squeezing the joy from my existence. There are monthly goals and a habit tracker which I am using to develop a meditation practice. Since I work from home I use a single planner for my professional and private life. I have a second notebook that I use to track quarterly goals, evaluate my long-term plans and to record appreciations on a weekly basis. I know that sort of planning isn’t for everyone but it has worked extraordinarily well for me for several years. In fact, I don’t believe I would have my career without it.

[image error]Barb: I love my planner. That must be a writer thing, based on what Liz and Jessie said above. However, being a person who loves her routines, I didn’t search out a new one this year. I’ve been using a Levenger Circa junior-sized notebook for almost two decades. I use the monthly calendar tabs as dividers and all my notes– business, volunteer, vacation journals, writing, home life, to-dos, etc.–are chronological. After three or four months, I archive the calendar pages and notes. I just did this for September-December 2016. I’ve found over the years, that I can remember when something happened much more easily than accessing the information any other way, so the chrono style suites me much better than dividing things into categories, some of which, inevitably don’t make sense in the long run. The one exception is my current book or short story. Because the Circa pages are so easy to move, I can take notes out of my chrono notebook and put them into the notebooks housing my writing projects. My husband makes fun of me for still using a paper calendar. But then, during our more-or-less-weekly meetings to sync up, I make fun of him because he has to wait for his computer to boot up and then needs all the details in order to make an entry.

Sherry: Oh, Barb — it’s not an all writers thing. I use my phone and my calendar for planning. My husband and I share a calendar so we can see each other’s events. It’s cold, it’s sterile, but it works for me. However, Liz was here over the weekend and she was looking at planners while we were out. I have to say her enthusiasm for them and all the beautiful ones we saw did tempt me. But did I succumb? No. I’ll make a note about it on my phone and set a reminder.

Barb: Sherry, laughing at this! I do think if my husband and I shared a calendar, we’d be better informed. But then we’d miss all those lovely “discussions.”

Jessie: Barb, my husband and I sit down every Sunday for a weekly planning and appreciations/goals date. It is one of the highlights of our week together. I had no idea anyone else did that!

Edith: I don’t use a planner and I still use a paper calendar – two, in fact, plus a table [image error]of due dates and release dates. This year I finally got comfortable with my Google calendar, and I love that it syncs itself between my phone and my computers. (That SO ages me – of course our phones are also computers these days! Oh, well. I claim my position as the oldest Wicked and I’m proud of it. I earned these wisdom wrinkles.) The picture to the right is from two years ago. Nothing but the year has changed on the wall in front of my desk. I love my Tibetan Nuns Project calendar. It’s compact, easy to carry somewhere, and doesn’t take up a lot of real estate. And I also “archive” my calendars – that is, I don’t throw them away and can check back to see when something happened or where I went.

However, my additional responsibilities as President of Sisters in Crime New England has already overtaxed my planning skills, and it’s only been four days… I’ll figure something out. And for writing, I just put everything in Scrivener. So far it’s working for me. Why change that?

[image error]

Last Year’s Decorated Planner Pad

Julie: I am a planner addict as well. In fact, Jessie introduced me to Ink and Volt, and so far I LOVE IT. Because of the way it is structured, around yearly and monthly goal setting, it inspires. But since time isn’t broken down into hours, but instead in blocks, it melds well with my “at some point this afternoon I have to write thank you note to donors” rather than “I failed because it was scheduled from 1-2, and something else happened.” I also use Google calendars for meetings and appointments, and update the paper calendar daily, but writing things down, including notes, color coding, making accountability lists? I love it. I was a huge Franklin Covey fan, so I use parts of that system as well. I also have a Bullet Journal that I use for notes, plotting, inspiring quotes. Basically, my planner is a diary that helps me stay organized. Other great planners include the Passion Planner and Planner Pad. I am intrigued by Liz’s Dragontree Planner, and may explore that when I have more time to noodle.

 

Friends, do you use a paper planner? What system do you use? Any tips or tricks you’d like to share?

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Filed under: organization, Wicked Wednesday Tagged: circa, Franklin Covey, Google calendar, Ink and Volt, Levenger, Passion Planner, Planner Pad, planners, scrivener, Sisters in Crime New England, The Dragontree, Tibetan Nuns Project, Wicked Wednesday

Recapping 2016 and Looking Forward to 2017

You know, dear readers, we Wickeds haven’t been blogging together all that long. Four years this May, is that right? And though Jessie, Barb and Edith (aka Tace Baker) had published books prior to the Wickeds forming, this blog coincided with the launching of several series. 2016 was a bumper crop for all of us, and 2017 promises to top this year. So we thought today we’d celebrate this past year, and give you some books to look forward to in 2017.

[image error]Jessica Estevao/Jessie Crockett/Jessica Ellicott

2016:

Whispers Beyond the Veil by Jessica Estevao, Book 1 Change of Fortune Mysteries, September, 2016

2017:

Body of Water by Jessie Crockett, Book 2 The Granite State Mysteries, Spring 2017

Whispers of Warning by Jessica Estevao, Book 2 Change of Fortune Mysteries, September, 2017

Murder in an English Village by Jessica Ellicott, Book 1 The Beryl and Edwina Mysteries, November, 2017

[image error]Sherry Harris

2016:

All Murders Final, Kensington

“The Lighthouse” in Edgar Allan Cozy

“Anna, Belle, and Lee” in Edgar Allan Cozy

2017:

A Good Day To Buy, April

[image error]J.A. Hennrikus/Julianne Holmes

2016:

Clock and Dagger by Julianne Holmes

2017:

Chime and Punishment by Julianne Holmes, August

J.A. Hennrikus will have news soon!

Edith Maxwell/Maddie Day

2016:

Delivering the Truth – April (Quaker Midwife Mystery #1)

Grilled for Murder (as Maddie Day) (Country Store Mystery #2)

Murder Most Fowl – May (Local Foods Mystery #4)

“An Intolerable Intrusion” in Edgar Allan Cozy – January

“The Mayor and the Midwife” in Blood on the Bayou: Bouchercon Anthology 2016 – September

2017:

When the Grits Hit the Fan (as Maddie Day) March (Country Store Mystery #3)

Called to Justice – April (Quaker Midwife Mystery #2)

“The Tragic Death of Mrs. Edna Fogg” in Malic Domestic 12: Mystery Most Historical – April

Mulch Ado About Murder – May (Local Foods Mystery #5)

[image error]Liz Mugavero/Cate Conte

2016:

Murder Most Finicky (A Pawsitively Organic Mystery Book 4), January

2017:

Custom Baked Murder, (A Pawsitively Organic Mystery Book 5), December/Jan.

Pawsitively Organic Mystery Book 6, December 2017

Cate Conte’s first, Cat About Town, Aug. 1, 2017

[image error]

Barbara Ross

2016:

Fogged Inn, Maine Clambake Mystery #4, February

Eggnog Murder (with Leslie Meier and Lee Hollis), October

2017:

Iced Under, Maine Clambake Mystery #5, January

Stowed Away, Maine Clambake #6, late 2017

Sheila Connolly

2016:

A Turn for the Bad (County Cork Mystery #5), February 2016

Dead End Street (Museum Mystery #7), June 2016

Seeds of Deception (Orchard Mystery #10), October 2016

Search for the Dead (Relatively Dead Mystery #5), October 2016

2017:

Cruel Winter (County Cork Mystery #6), March 2017

A Late Frost (Orchard Mystery #11), October 2017

Susannah Hardy/Sadie Hartwell

[image error]2016:

Edgar Allan Cozy (Susannah, Barb, Edith, Sherry, Sheila)

A Killer Kebab by Susannah Hardy

2017:

A Knit Before Dying by Sadie Hartwell, August

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Readers: What’s on your docket for this year’s reading? And were you able to keep up with all our 2016 publications? (Don’t worry, it’s not quiz!)

Filed under: Book Release Tagged: Barbara Ross, Cate Conte, Edith Maxwell, J.A. Hennrikus, Jessica Ellicott, Jessica Estevao, Jessie Crockett, Julianne Holmes, Liz Mugavero, Maddie Day, Sherry Harris

Finding the Story

This is my first post of the new year on the Wicked Cozies. How did it get to be 2017? Last year was a roller coaster ride. Let’s hope this year is a bit calmer (but I’m not counting on it).

When I bought my cottage in Ireland last summer, the estate agent (that is, real estate agent) told me the place hadn’t been lived in for (he guessed) ten years. It was not derelict, so someone had been taking care of it, but I’m not sure when it was offered for sale. Of course I was curious about why anyone would walk away from a perfectly fine little cottage, but there were a lot of other things I needed to deal with, like opening a local bank account and getting home insurance and scouting out where to get appliances and furniture.

The first “clue” I found was that one of the two chimneys (the one that had never been used) was stuffed with a newspaper to stop warm air from heading straight up the flue. The paper was dated 2006, so it kind of fit the timeline.

Just as I was leaving in June, I took a brief peek in the attic, just to see what it looked like, and to check out the water heater for the heating. I didn’t have a ladder, so my handyman loaned me one. It was a wee bit too short, but it was enough to see that there was a large suitcase sitting on the attic joists. My spidey, er, mystery sense went into overdrive, but I carefully closed the attic hatch and promised myself that I’d come back to it later (after my handyman had cleared out the mice—but I told him not to throw the suitcase away).

 

Fast forward to November. The mice were gone from attic. The ladder was still too short, but handyman handed down a smaller box of what looked like toys belonging to a young girl, plus a few items from the now-open suitcase. He also muttered something about “Nigeria” which made no sense at the time. Still no time or opportunity to put the puzzle pieces together.

I had only one name to work with, that of the woman who signed the sale documents. I had the estate agent’s vague idea that maybe she’d had family in the area. And I had a couple of butterfly decals on the window in the back bedroom.

As a mystery writer, what do you do with these bits and pieces? You weave a story, of course. So I did. Oh, all right, I used my genealogy skills to search on the only name I had to try to find out who the family was, where they’d been. But that was enough.

The husband was born in 1929. He was a banker/accountant. His wife was born in 1930, and appears to have been a nurse in England, although there’s a chance she was born in Skibbereen in West Cork. They had one daughter, in 1956. They lived for a time in Ghana, but they and their suitcase had to travel by way of Nigeria for a home visit in 1960, which explains the label. I didn’t find any other ship’s passage listed for them in online sources, but after 1960 they were probably traveling by air, and passenger lists aren’t available. He passed on in 2005, but his wife is still living in England.

I’m not sure about the identity of their daughter, but there are several possibilities. One charming item in the suitcase appears to be a typed list of items that appear to be required for a boarding school or summer camp, which fits with the girl’s age—they might have sent her back to England for schooling.

The rest of the suitcase? From what I’ve seen it seems to be filled with the kind of books that summer visitors would read, plus a guidebook or two for Ireland. Definitely 1960s or 1970s vintage. They’re still waiting in the attic. The box of children’s toys? I still haven’t dug into it, but there’s a Hello Kitty (created in 1974, says Wikipedia) on top. Again, it fits.

I may never know why the family stopped using the place, or why they put so much time and money into modernizing it with electricity and indoor plumbing (although I’m grateful!) without getting to enjoy it. The wife is well into her eighties—and maybe she held on to it because she had happy memories of the place, or it was too much to deal with after her husband died. Or maybe the daughter is a practical sort and realized the investment was worth it.

But finding the story, based on a few scattered clues, has made the place seem more “human” to me. That’s why we write mysteries—to discover the story.

 

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Surprising Recipes for New Years Eve

By Julie, resolute in Somerville

[image error]A few year’s ago I had a dinner party themed around disgusting yet delicious recipes. Since I grew up in the 60’s, I had a lot of recipes to choose from, and will mention a couple below. Wickeds, what is a disgusting sounding yet delicious tasting recipe you’d like to share with our readers?

I’ll start. Cocktail Meatballs. In a crock pot combine frozen meatballs, a jar of grape jelly and a bottle of chili sauce. Put it on warm, and walk away. DELISH.

Here’s another one, courtesy of my friend Helen. A jello salad no one hates:

1 can of 8.25 oz crushed pineapple

3 oz. pkg of raspberry jello

16 oz can of whole cranberry sauce

1 tsp grated orange peel (I think this is optional)

11 oz. can mandarin oranges, drained

1 cup whipped cream

Drain pineapple and save the syrup. Add enough boiling water to make 1 cup. Dissolve jello in hot water. Add 1 cup cold water. Stir in the cranberry sauce and orange peel (if desired).Chill until partially set (about 2 hours). Fold in oranges and pineapple. Fold in cream. Pour into 6 cup mold. Return to refrigerator to finish setting.

One more–fudge made with Fluff. You know, the recipe on the side of the jar? So. Good.

Edith: I tend to avoid packaged foods almost completely (well, except for Cape

Cod potato chips – I swear they have crack in them…). But for a party dip, you just can’t go wrong with dried onion soup mixed into full-fat sour cream. And here’s another version. I thought it was my sister’s secret recipe, until I read it on the back of the Knorr’s soup packet. It’s not disgusting, per se, but just don’t read the sodium content.

Spinach Dip[image error]

Mix up and chill 1 box (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, cooked, cooled and squeezed dry, 1 container (16 oz.) sour cream, 1 cup mayonnaise, 1 tsp dill weed, 1/2 cup chopped parsley, and 1 package Knorr dried vegetable soup mix. You can fill a hollowed-out a loaf of sourdough and use the chunks of bread and veggies to dip, or just serve in a bowl.

I also make Can’t Fail Fudge – which uses mini marshmallows instead of Fluff (got that family recipe from my older sister, too). Truly can’t fail!

Liz: Ok, so who wants to eat healthy on New Year’s, right? Well, maybe New Year’s Day, if you’re starting a new resolution. Either way, you’ll like this healthy twist on green bean casserole from my go-to recipe girl, Kris Carr. Some of it might sound a little strange, and if you’re allergic to nuts don’t try it (it’s baked in cashew cream) – but really, it’s amazing!

Sherry: I have a chocolate sauce that uses marshmallows. When I tried to explain this to a large group of people from other countries who were dining with us, they didn’t know what marshmallows were. I got out the bag and passed them around. They all thought the marshmallows were disgusting.

Edith: So funny, Sherry! I can believe it.

Jessie: Our New Year’s Eve tradition involves oil fondue which is no longer fashionable, but I don’t think of it as disgusting. We fire up a slew of pots filled with peanut oil, melted cheese or even chocolate if the group is interested. People sit around talking and cooking bits of vegetables and meat for hours on end. We dip pound cake and fruit in the chocolate for dessert. Some of my favorite meals have involved this retro favorite. In fact, we are planning to host a fondue party tonight!

[image error]Barb: Every Christmas my family makes a beet jello mold ring. We call it “borscht jello” and serve it with sour cream. I know, I know, it sounds disgusting, but it is delicious and the pretty red rings looks so pretty and Christmas-y on a bed of greens. (Actually, this is a terrible photo. It looks way better than that.)

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Filed under: Group posts Tagged: beet salad, borscht jello, Can't Fail Fudge, cocktail meatballs, Fluff, fondue, jello salad, Kris Carr, marshmallows, retro, Spinach dip

The Frozen Water Trade

by Barb somewhere between Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina as you read this

[image error]The fifth Maine Clambake Mystery, Iced Under, debuted this week. In it, I try to fill in some of the blanks in Julia’s mother’s family history.

Pieces of Jacqueline Snowden’s story have been told in each of the Maine Clambake Mysteries. From the previous books, we know she lost her mother young, that she inherited Morrow Island, and that her once-wealthy ancestors build Windsholme, the abandoned mansion on the island. What I’ve never told is how her family made their money and how they lost it.

I’ve known for a while that the Morrows made their money in the frozen-water trade. The idea that New Englanders, in the early part of the nineteenth century, shipped ice halfway around the world has long fascinated to me. In researching the story of the ice trade, I found not one, but two amazing stories.

[image error]

Frederic Tudor

Frederic Tudor was the originator of the ice trade. As early as 1805 he had the idea that ice cut from ponds in Massachusetts could be shipped to the West Indies for the enjoyment of the colonists there. Literally everyone he knew in Boston thought this was crazy. In the years that followed he experimented with different types of insulation (sawdust turned out to be best) and set about getting exclusive contracts to sell the ice in tropical cities. It took much time, the purchase of ships had to be financed, ice houses had to be built at his destinations. The War of 1812 set back the calendar. He went to debtors prison twice for debts accrued pursuing the venture. However, by 1826 Tudor was at last making a fortune, harvesting ice from Fresh Pond in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and sending it to Cuba, Haiti, New Orleans, Savannah, and Calcutta. Henry David Thoreau awoke one morning to see sixty men and teams of horses cutting ice on Walden Pond. Though he hated the intrusion, Thoreau was taken with the idea that water he had bathed in would end up in India. The frozen water trade was a genius business because ships often came to Boston with coffee and other goods from around the world and left empty, with granite boulders used a ballast. New England had no cash crop and little in the way of natural resources. The ice was free, except for the labor, and it came every year.

[image error]Tudor’s family life was somehow even more colorful than his business. At fifty, he married for the first time, a woman thirty years his junior and went on to have six children. We know as much as we do about his business because all his diaries reside at the library at Harvard Business School. After he died at the age of eighty-one, his wife went through the diaries, editorializing. The theme of her complaints was that he was “relentless.” Tudor’s sister had an affair with Joseph Bonaparte, ex-King of Spain, when both lived in New Jersey (because, of course…). His niece was the mother of the Irish Nationalist Charles Stewart Parnell. One of his descendants was one of my favorite New England author/illustrators, Tasha Tudor.

[image error]I borrowed a good deal of Frederic Tudor’s history for Jacqueline’s ancestor Frederic Morrow. Two excellent books about Frederic Tudor are The Ice King: Frederic Tudor and His Circle, by Carl Seaburg and Stanley Patterson (Massachusetts Historical Society and Mystic Seaport, 2003), and The Frozen-Water Trade: A True Story, by Gavin Weightman (Hyperion, 2003).

The end of the ice trade is as interesting as the beginning and brings us another fascinating character, Charlie Morse of Bath, Maine. By the time Charlie got into the ice business in 1897, it was no longer necessary to ship ice to exotic places. Rural people and immigrants had poured into America’s cities and ice was need to preserve food and cool off from hard, physical work. New York City alone consumed four million pounds of ice a day.

[image error]Charlie Morse had rights to cut ice along the Kennebec River in Maine. He had the Tammany connections in New York City to shut out his competitors, leaving their ships unloaded in New York harbor. But he took it too far, jacking up the price so high one summer, the press declared it a war on the poor, and eventually Charlie went to prison. He was a rogue and a speculator, just like Frederic Tudor, and he, too, was called “The Ice King.” He also had a colorful and crazy personal life.

I appropriated some of Charlie’s deeds for Jacqueline’s ancestor William Morrow. If you want to learn more, I recommend Bath, Maine’s Charlie Morse: Ice King & Wall Street Scoundrel, by Philip H. Woods (The History Press, 2011).

The ice trade was eventually done in by modern refrigeration. The age of the Ice Kings had ended, and though great fortunes were made and lost, it had lasted less than one hundred years.

I love stuff like that–those moments in time that seem so important with empires built like they’ll last forever–and then, “poof” they are gone. The stories I wrote about Jacqueline’s ancestors are ultimately fiction, but they are rooted in history. Unfortunately, because it’s a small part of Iced Under, I could barely scratch the surface of this fascinating business and the larger-than-life characters behind it. I hope the book inspires some readers to learn more.

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Filed under: Barb's posts Tagged: Charlie Morse, Frederic Tudor, Iced Under, Maine Clambake Mystery