Renee Benzaim's Blog, page 6
January 17, 2015
Have You Talked to a Green Witch Today?
In the introduction to my latest Det. Annie Avants crime fiction novel, GREEN WITCH, DEAD WITCH, I said this:
“Yes, there really are green witches. But they aren’t made of chocolate and won’t melt when you throw water on them. In fact, there are many green witches around the world . . . and white witches, gray witches, good witches, evil witches, garden witches, kitchen witches, cottage witches, and many more. Each person who makes the decision to follow the path of witch, creates his or her own journey.
A green witch is a nature-based witch. Green witches believe that all things are connected and have their own energy. When they perform magic, they use the gifts of nature – herbs, crystals, rocks, plants, flowers, etc. They respect and follow the phases of the moon. They respect the four elements – air, water, fire, and earth. Some add a fifth element – spirit – the universal life spirit that lives in all things.
They have a code – “An Ye Harm None – Do What Ye Will.” What does this mean? Some translate it to mean: “if it is not going to hurt anyone, it’s okay to do.”.
The witches in this story are green witches. I haven’t made up a “witch persona” and I’m not making up a mythical world that my witches inhabit. They live in Kern County just like anyone else. They live among us. They are our friends and neighbors.”
When I first thought about writing Green Witch, Dead Witch, I was making the attributes of my witches as I went along. (In fact, Lily Rose was NOT a witch, she was a fairy named Fiona who could unpack her wings and levitate on the spot). Then, for over a year, I researched green witches. Along the way, I decided to keep Clem Moonstone realistic and change Fiona into a witch just starting her first year of training. Like a real witch would do.
I learned a lot during my research. For instance, if you are familiar with the Law of Attraction, casting a spell is basically the same as invoking the Law of Attraction to bring something into your life. Many real witches know this. In fact, an excellent book on the subject is “Magick and the Law of Attraction: A User’s Guide” by Maggie Shayne. It can be found at Amazon along with other books on the same subject.
Why am I explaining all of this? One of my beloved beta readers was concerned that I was drifting off into the genre of “fantasy.” Here’s what she said:
I think about your target audience being those that liked the first three books or at least they read likely one of them. The books, being a police mystery type book. So that being said, I am concerned that the ending is almost purely fantasy. What I mean is that since I was reading a true to life type mystery I expected to find a realistic type ending. (Cops save the day example) So even though it was great to understand what and how green witches live and learn etc. I thought that the ending of the book would be based in more realism instead of fantasy so that kind of seemed un-natural. I could, kind of, relate if the girl that was kidnapped thought that was true but…. All the cops believing the fantasy was real??
If your target audience were fantasy readers then they would love the ending you have.
The key word in her comment was “fantasy.” I tried my darndest not to include any “fantasy” in my book. I based it on real witches and experiences they had. When I explained this to her, she understood what I was trying to accomplish.
I guess my point is that there are people who follow the path of witch and they are real, everyday people. Whether you believe or not, they exist and they’re really caring women. One of my reviews, which is in another blog post I wrote, said “This story is entirely about Magick – Green magick. The concept is put across very strong that witches do exist among us today and most of them are good witches. The idea is put across very subtly and nicely. In fact it makes you want to meet a green witch.” (Review by Devi Nair).
So, there you have it. If you read Green Witch, Dead Witch, I hope you enjoyed it. If not, and I’ve piqued your curiosity, you can find it here:
Amazon UK
Amazon USA
iBooks
Barnes and Noble
KOBO
SmashWords
Happy reading!
Renee
January 9, 2015
Great Review for Green Witch, Dead Witch
Review by Devi Nair
January 9, 2015
This story is entirely about Magick – Green magick. The concept is put across very strong that witches do exist among us today and most of them are good witches. The idea is put across very subtly and nicely. In fact it makes you want to meet a green witch.
Witches are being killed and it all appears to be accidents. Only someone is suspicious that they are not accidents and witches are in fact being murdered. Detective Annie Avants is dealing with a personal crisis of her own. This case gives her a break from her crisis and she dives nose down into it. However, the murderer appears to be someone of Magick background. Will Annie be able to catch hold of the murderer? Or her lack of magick lead to the murderer going scott free?
Annie is not someone you instantly tend to like. She has all the features of a detective – fierce, independent, brave and at the same time, a bit too careful. Her thinking process is relatable, but there are times through the book when you feel like telling her it is OK to let go and live life spontaneously. And that makes Annie a human. Renee has done a good job creating a detective who is as much human as anyone of us. She is afraid of making mistake, just like any one us.
The book is really nice. I am looking forward to understanding the characters more by reading the previous parts of the series.
Available here:
Amazon UK
Amazon USA
iBooks
Barnes and Noble
KOBO
SmashWords
Crime Fiction and the Chain of Custody
Photo Credit: Julie Elliott-Abshire
Introduction
When writing crime fiction, it’s important to make sure your characters don’t do anything that would compromise the evidence and cause it to be inadmissible in court.
One way this can happen is if the chain of custody is broken.
What is Chain of Custody?
Chain of custody, according to FindLaw, is defined as “. . . the documentation and proper care of evidence, from its seizure by police to its presentation at trial. If the chain of custody is broken, the evidence may lack credibility and could be deemed inadmissible.”
Why is this Important?
Every case that goes to trial is controlled by the evidence that is introduced. This is the only criteria that a judge in a bench trial or a jury in a jury trial are to use to determine the guilt or innocence of the defendant. They are not allowed, by law, to use any other means to come to a conclusion.
The evidence your characters collect and handle throughout your novel have a large bearing on the outcome of your book, especially if there will be a trial.
You also want to think about the credibility of yourself as a writer and your novel. Readers are more sophisticated these days with criminal investigation and will call you out on it.
How is Chain of Custody Established?
The chain of custody starts with the officer that finds it. Here is a list of a personnel that could be part of the chain of custody:
The officer / investigator who recovers the evidence. This could be a uniformed officer, Deputy/Coroner, Medical Examiner, Crime Scene Investigators, Detective in charge of the scene, or someone else;
The person who takes charge of the evidence at the scene. Again, it could be someone listed in Number 1, or an evidence technician designated to take charge of the evidence at the scene
The person who transports the evidence to the Laboratory. Ideally, it should be someone from Number 1 or 2 above;
The person who receives the evidence at the Laboratory. In my story, it went to the Laboratory Director;
The Laboratory scientist who will examine the evidence;
Whomever retrieves the evidence from the Laboratory after it has been processed.
Chain of Custody Form
Chain of custody labels are good for the permanent marking of evidence. They are printed on tamperproof stock and stick to almost anything. They can be used for marking individual articles, packages and containers.
This form must be attached to each evidence container. It is the job of your characters to properly document who found the evidence, who has it and where it is. If this isn’t done properly, your evidence may not be admitted at trial.
Since any person who handles the evidence has to be able to show an unbroken chain of custody, it’s a good rule of thumb to minimize the number of people who come into contact with the evidence. The shorter the chain the better.
Who is Responsible for the Chain of Custody of Evidence?
The Prosecution must account for the evidence from the discovery, collection, analysis, storage, and transfer to the courtroom. Throughout the entire process, including court proceedings and appeals, the prosecutor is responsible for securing the evidence.
If the defense cannot get the evidence excluded pretrial, they will look to discredit how it was handled during the investigation.
Example from my book, Cause of Death
In my book, Cause of Death, I had a sub-plot that involved a piece of evidence. It was a knife with the fingerprints of the defendant who was on trial for a robbery. It was the only piece of physical evidence the prosecution had. Unfortunately, when it was time to introduce the knife into evidence, it couldn’t be located. Even though it was eventually found, the fact that it was missing even for a short time caused the chain of custody to be broken. The evidence wasn’t admissible and the defendant walked adding to the plot.
Summary
Ensuring that your characters don’t accidentally cause a break in the chain of custody of evidence will protect them from charges of tampering, planting, theft, substitution of evidence, and contamination of evidence.
Any time you have a character who has anything to do with evidence at a crime scene, or after, make sure they take the necessary precautions to honor the chain of custody.
(I originally wrote this blog as a guest post on www.coldcasesquad.com, the blog of Joe Giacalone in July 2013.)
December 24, 2014
Green Witch, Dead Witch goes live today!
Green Witch cover
I am excited to announce that the pre-order phase has ended and Green Witch, Dead Witch is now available for purchase as an ebook. The paperback version will be available in a week or two.
I am keeping the introductory price of $2.99 in place until the end of the year.
Here is a description of the book:
WITCHES IN BAKERSFIELD???
Two women, one man, are dead. All three were solitary green witches who met from time-to-time to share rituals and festivals. Not a coven, just a group of like-minded individuals who preferred to practice their witchcraft alone.
The first two deaths appeared to be accidental, but the third death was an obvious murder. Each death occurred in a different area of Kern County – in different jurisdictions – which made it unlikely any connection would be made between the deaths.
The third body was found in an outlying area of Kern County, which put it in the jurisdiction of the Kern County Sheriff’s Office. The detective team assigned to investigate this homicide consists of Lead Detective Annie Avants and her partner, Detective Tom Weston. As the initial investigation begins, they find nothing to make them suspect that this murder is connected to any other death in Kern County.
Clem Moonstone is a solitary green witch who owns a metaphysical shop in Bakersfield. She and Annie Avants have been friends for many years. When Annie and Tom attend the funeral of the victim whose death they are investigating, Annie is surprised to see Clem there. Clem explains to Annie that the young woman whose funeral they are attending is the third person in her circle of friends to die during the past few months.
Annie’s gut instinct tells her to look into the previous two deaths. Clem gives her the names of the other two people and the locations where their bodies were found. After Annie obtains the files and begins to research their deaths, she comes to the chilling conclusion that the first two deaths may not have been so “accidental” and that all three victims may have died at the hands of a serial killer.
It appears someone is killing the witches of Bakersfield.
This book is available at all Amazon stores, iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and in various other formats through SmashWords.
Amazon UK
Amazon USA
iBooks
Barnes and Noble
KOBO
SmashWords
;
December 7, 2014
Green Witch, Dead Witch Available for Pre-Order
WITCHES IN BAKERSFIELD???
Two women, one man, are dead. All three were solitary green witches who met from time-to-time to share rituals and festivals. Not a coven, just a group of like-minded individuals who preferred to practice their witchcraft alone.
The first two deaths appeared to be accidental, but the third death was an obvious murder. Each death occurred in a different area of Kern County – in different jurisdictions – which made it unlikely any connection would be made between the deaths.
The third body was found in an outlying area of Kern County, which put it in the jurisdiction of the Kern County Sheriff’s Office. The detective team assigned to investigate this homicide consists of Lead Detective Annie Avants and her partner, Detective Tom Weston. As the initial investigation begins, they find nothing to make them suspect that this murder is connected to any other death in Kern County.
Clem Moonstone is a solitary green witch who owns a metaphysical shop in Bakersfield. She and Annie Avants have been friends for many years. When Annie and Tom attend the funeral of the victim whose death they are investigating, Annie is surprised to see Clem there. Clem explains to Annie that the young woman whose funeral they are attending is the third person in her circle of friends to die during the past few months.
Annie’s gut instinct tells her to look into the previous two deaths. Clem gives her the names of the other two people and the locations where their bodies were found. After Annie obtains the files and begins to research their deaths, she comes to the chilling conclusion that the first two deaths may not have been so “accidental” and that all three victims may have died at the hands of a serial killer.
It appears someone is killing the witches of Bakersfield
This fourth book in the Detective Annie Avants series can now be pre-ordered at all Amazon platforms as well as iBooks, Nook, and Kobo. To see a preview of the first 20% of the story, go to SmashWords
May 23, 2014
SOUTHERN SECRETS Available in Paperback and FREE Giveaway!
Send to Kindle 
SOUTHERN SECRETS IN PAPERBACK!
I’m so pleased to announce that SOUTHERN SECRETS has been published in paperback by Create Space and in available at online bookstores. Here are some links:
CREATE SPACE: https://www.createspace.com/4810649
AMAZON (all countries): http://www.amazon.com/Southern-Secret...
GOOD READS: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
DO YOU WANT A FREE PAPERBACK COPY OF SOUTHERN SECRETS?
From May 28 – June 27th, you can enter a free giveaway on Good Reads to win a free copy of SOUTHERN SECRETS. This giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY. The winner will receive their copy directly from the printer – Create Space – as soon as the giveaway is finished. Here’s the link:
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...
Remember, this giveaway doesn’t start until May 28th. Good luck! I hope I will be sending YOU a free paperback copy of SOUTHERN SECRETS!
Renee
SOUTHERN SECRETS Available in Paperback and FREE Giveaway! is a post from: Renee Benzaim, Writer
May 21, 2014
Witches in Bakersfield?
Send to Kindle 
WITCHES IN BAKERSFIELD???
Two women, one man, all green witches who met from time to time to share rituals, are dead. Not a oven, just a group of like-minded individuals who preferred to practice their craft alone.
Two deaths that were made to look like accidents; the third, an out and out murder. Each in a different jurisdiction to confuse matters.
Why these three?
Until the third death, no one has tied them together, but now Detective Annie Avants realizes she, and her partner, Detective Tom Weston, may have a serial killer on their hands. The third murder appears to have occurred in the County’s jurisdiction and was determined to be a murder at the onset. Therefore, Detectives Avants and Weston of the Kern County Sheriff’s Office. are assigned the case.
Clem Moonstone is a green witch. She and Annie Avants have been friends for many years. When Annie and Tom attend the funeral of the victim whose death they are investigating, Annie is surprised to see Clem there. Clem explains to Annie that the young woman whose funeral they are attending was the third person in her circle of friends who had died during the last several months.
Annie gets the names of the other three people and, when she begins to research their deaths, she comes to the chilling conclusion that they all could have been murdered by the same person.
Someone is killing the witches of Bakersfield!
COMING SOON TO A BOOKSTORE NEAR YOU!
Witches in Bakersfield? is a post from: Renee Benzaim, Writer
May 20, 2014
SOUTHERN SECRETS is available!
Send to Kindle 
I’m happy to announce that SOUTHERN SECRETS, Det. Annie Avants Series #3, is now available as an eBook at all outlets – SmashWords, iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and all Amazon outlets!
In the next week or two, it will also be available in paperback from CreateSpace.
Here’s a synopsis:
SECRET SOCIETY – HIDDEN TREASURE – REBEL GOLD – MURDER
Det. Annie Avants’ cousin lives in Mena, Arkansas, and has discovered three journals written by one of his ancestors between 1919 and 1921 explaining how he accidently became involved with the KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. The journals give the locations of some of the biggest caches of ‘rebel gold’ hidden during the Civil War.
For years, Zachary Avants has tracked down abandoned family homesteads, looking for information on the lives of his long-dead relatives. Deep in the Ouachita Forest, he finds a caved in cellar where a cabin once stood.
When he climbs into the cellar, he notices an indentation in the back wall of the root cellar. Digging carefully, he uncovers a seaked cast-iron skillet.
Inside the skillet, wrapped carefully in oilcloth, Zack finds three journals that had been kept by someone with first-hand knowledge of the KGC during the Civil War – his great grandfather, Orris Avants.
When Zack takes the journals to a cafe in Hatfield to show them to his friend, Luke, their conversation is overheard and passed on to the KGC. The KGC wants the journals at any cost.
The FBI is also interested in the KGC and their secret caches. Special Agent Connor Smith makes it his mission to acquire the journals and recover as much of the stolen loot as possible.
A tragedy in California wakes Zack up to the significance of his find. He finally realizes that he, his family, and his friends are in danger.
SOUTHERN SECRETS is available! is a post from: Renee Benzaim, Writer
March 12, 2014
SOUTHERN SECRETS Free Sample Chapters Ready
Send to Kindle 
The 3rd book in the Detective Annie Avants crime fiction series, SOUTHERN SECRETS, is moving along nicely. If you want a preview, several of the beginning chapters are available as a free download at SmashWords. Here’s the link: www.smashwords.com/books/view/416331
Within the next week or so, SOUTHERN SECRETS will be available for pre-order at Apple’s iBooks, kOBO, and Barnes & Noble.
The publication date is set for May 1, 2014 at SmashWords, followed immediately by publication on all Amazon chanels worldwide. By the middle of May the paperback version should be ready from Create Space.
Here’s the description of SOUTHERN SECRETS;
SECRET SOCIETY – HIDDEN TREASURE - REBEL GOLD – MURDERAnnie’s cousin lives in Mena, Arkansas and has come into possession of three journals written by one of his ancestors who was deeply involved with the Knights of the Golden Circle. The journals spell out explicitly the locations of some of the biggest caches of ‘rebel gold’ hidden by the KGC to fund a second Civil War.
Zachary Isom Avants is a history buff and professor at a local college who is aware that throughout Arkansas there exist the ruins of many abandoned cabins and homesteads left behind by his ancestors. He is also an avid genealogist. For years, he has been tracking down these abandoned homesteads, looking for artifacts and information on the lives of his long-dead relatives.
Deep in the Ouachita forests, he comes across a derelict shack that hasn’t been touched for almost 100 years. It’s covered with vines and falling down and he almost misses seeing it.
He sets up camp next to the shack and begins clearing away the vines. It’s a small cabin, but he finds signs that it had been occupied by a couple and 2-3 kids. It’s not the typical sentinel outpost shack of the Knights of the Golden Circle, which is probably why no one bothered with it.
When he can safely climb down into the basement, he finds an indentation in the far wall of the root cellar. He carefully digs and finds hidden inside a small opening a cast iron skillet with a lid that has been sealed with pitch.
Excited, he takes the skillet to his makeshift table outside and unseals the lid. Inside, wrapped in many layers of oil cloth, he finds three journals. One is a copy of a day book kept by someone high up in the KGC during the Civil War. The only signature is ‘Avants’. The other two were penned by Zack’s great grandfather, Orris Avants.
Unbeknownst to Zack, the leadership of the modern KGC is aware that these books still exist, but have never been able to find them. When he begins making discrete inquiries in town, the KGC suspects that he has found the long-lost journals. They are determined to recover them. Why? They don’t know what caches the journals expose, and they don’t want treasure seekers finding the hidden treasures.
Throughout the years, the American government has also been interested in the KGC and the millions of dollars they stole and hid. FBI Special Agent Jason Smith overhears someone talking about the journals and alerts his superiors. They, too, are determined to possess the journals and recover as much of the stolen loot as possible.
Zack finally realizes the significance of his find and mails the journals to his cousin, Annie, in California. He knows he is being followed and that he, and his family, are in danger. Then the killing begins. . .
I have enjoyed writing this book and there’s a lot of my personal family history involved regarding the Avants family in Arkansas. Annie, of course, is a fictitious character, as is Zack, but many of the other Avants mentioned were real people. This made writing this story so much fun!
I hope you enjoy the sample. Let me know what you think!
Renee
SOUTHERN SECRETS Free Sample Chapters Ready is a post from: Renee Benzaim, Writer
February 23, 2014
Pre-Orders Through Mark Coker’s Smashwords Can Benefit Both Readers & Writers
Send to Kindle 
When I first read Mark Coker’s blog post about pre-orders, I thought it was a wonderful idea. I only had two weeks until I was ready to publish my second book, so I moved my publishing date forward by a month so I could try the pre-order technique for six weeks.
The book I was ready to publish was the second in my Detective Annie Avants series, Damage Control. The first book, Cause of Death, was doing okay, but nothing spectacular. I needed a way to perk things up for the second book.
Mark Coker, the founder of SmashWords, has just released a SlideShare presentation that outlines the pre-order strategy. I’ve embedded the SlideShare below. The main points are as follows:
How does the pre-order system work:When you place your book in pre-order status on SmashWords, it will be listed as such at Apple, Barnes & Noble, and KoboThis allows readers to reserve their copy before the book is actually released for publicationThe customer will not be billed for the book until the actual release dateWhat are the benefits to you, the writer, and to your reader?Sales will build up for your book before it is even publishedWhen the reader is on your book page, and sees the pre-order, they can act then. You have their attentionSince pre-order sales for Apple and Kobo are credited to your account on the day of publication, there is a good chance the number of sales at one time can boost you into the bestseller listsWhen you get on a retailer’s bestseller list, they are likely to promote your book at a higher levelSome things to keep in mind:Success isn’t guaranteed with a pre-order. There are steps you have to take to guarantee your best results. The first criteria, of course, is writing the best book you can.The timing of your pre-order is important. You should allow 4-12 weeks if possible; however, a short time is still worth the effortThe SlideShare program continues on to give you marketing and promotion tips so your pre-order campaign will be successful.
Here’s the SlideShare: Hit the Ebook Bestseller Lists with Preorders: A Guide to Preorder Strategy from Smashwords, Inc. My Experience with Pre-Order and some suggestions:Keep in mind that during your pre-order period, no one will be able to download your book. Your submission doesn’t have to be edited and revised to perfection. However, keep in mind the following:
Your page count should be close to what the final book will beAll of your front matter must be included and perfectThe % you are offering as a sample should be as close to finished as you can make itHere’s what I did:I published the pre-order on SmashWords and then downloaded the sample. That showed me what was included. This was a good idea because my first sample included a huge note to myself that I wouldn’t want the readers to see! I was able to quickly revise the book and resubmit the book to SmashWords. You can do this up until right before the book is published.
I mainly use Twitter as my social media, so I set up a schedule of Tweets using Buffer with various hash tags that had to do with my genre and novel. This worked well and I received a lot of retweets.
What will I do with my next book in this series?My previous pre-order was for the second book in my Detective Annie Avants seriesThe first draft of my third novel, Southern Secrets, is almost finished. I plan to put it into the pre-order program within the next few days and leave it there for two monthsAs soon as Southern Secrets is in the pre-order system, I will revise the last pages of the first two novels to give a link to the third novel’s book page at SmashWords, as well as the links to the pre-order pages at Apple, Barnes & Noble, and KoboThen, I’ll sit back and watch what happens – and begin serious work on the fourth novel of the series!
Pre-Orders Through Mark Coker’s Smashwords Can Benefit Both Readers & Writers is a post from: Renee Benzaim, Writer
