Lee Strauss's Blog, page 14
June 24, 2016
Free or .99 Book Friday – Delayed Death by Beate Boeker!
Who doesn’t want to spend time in Italy?
These books look cute and fun. On my TBR pile.
Delayed Death is Book #1 in the Temptation in Florence Series, a cozy murder mystery romance series with a strong dose of humor and romance.
The title of the series comes from the lingerie store that the protagonist, Carlina, owns and runs, Temptation, on one of Florence, Italy’s, premier shopping streets. The Temptation in Florence Series follows the life, adventures and loves of Italian-American Carlina, and of her extended eccentric Italian family, many of whom live in apartments in the same building in central Florence.
The family’s eccentric members and their whims and wishes are a never-ending source of amusement for Carlina. While often treated like the family’s Cinderella, Carlina is also a sexy, saucy, funny thirty-two-year-old woman.
When a crisis occurs, right at the beginning of Delayed Death, and Carlina gives in to her domineering cousin’s wishes, Carlina sets herself on a collision course with police Commissario Stefano Garini.
Check out all the books in the “Temptation in Florence” series:
Delayed Death (volumen #1) – ASIN: B00AGUZF6S
Charmer’s Death (volume #2) – ASIN: B00BAFOKZU
Banker’s Death (volume #3) – ASIN: B00CELFP44
Expected Death (volume #4) – ASIN: B00MMMPO1Y
Only .99!
June 23, 2016
Second day of summer – finally and almost
Is it just me, or is summer as a season shrinking? I remember in years past sitting on my deck at the end of April, soaking up the sun and sighing with relief – six months of good weather to look forward to before winter. Now it’s June, and I’m checking the weather every day, looking for a sun break.
Did I mention I make a lousy Canadian? I don’t like cold or snow, so summer is important to me. I’m afraid it’s barely going to get started before I’m bemoaning the fact that it’s almost over.
Maybe I’m just getting old. That part is true. I am.
But, today the Sun DID Shine! I spent the morning at the Farmer’s market with my friend (who happens to be my editor) Angelika.
(I don’t know why this picture shows up sideways – it’s upright as I write this.)
After we spent several hours in a french bakery talking about what’s going to happen next with Marlow and Sage in Twinkle Little Star, and the over all A Nursery Rhyme Suspense.
(if you’re ever in Kelowna, visit http://www.sandrinepastry.com)
Then I ended the afternoon kayaking with my husband.
I believe this is what’s called making hay while the sun shines!
The forecast is for rain, but that just means buckling down and writing – also a good thing. Love me some Marlow and Sage 
June 21, 2016
Author Tip Tuesday – Tip #6 Midpoint Reversal
What is the midpoint? It’s just what it sounds like. It’s the middle of Act 2, the middle of your book, 60minutes into a 120 minute movie. As writers, when we reach the midpoint, we know we are half way there. Time to celebrate!
It’s also the point where you’re reminded that you still have half the book to write. But you got this far. You can make it the rest of the way.
So what exactly happens at midpoint?
Well, the story got kicked-started early on (within the first 30 pages) with the Inciting Incident. Then we gave it another push at Plot Point 1 propelling us into Act 2. The thing about Act 2 is that it’s twice as long as Act 1 and 3, so even though there are only three acts, the midpoint gives us four equal (ish) parts.
I like the phrase I first heard coined by author Janice Harding. She calls it the midpoint reversal, because ideally, something major should happen here to completely turn the story on its head, and throw the protagonist into a tizzy. It’s the lack of such of an event that creates what’s known as the saggy middle. You’ve probably read books like that (or maybe you’ve written books like that, I know I have), where you feel like skipping pages to get back to the exciting stuff.
Here’s a free tip. It should ALL be exciting stuff.
Planning a reversal of fortunes in the middle helps to give a story that extra punch.
The midpoint of HARRY POTTER (the first book) happens when the three friends get past the three-headed dog and claim the stone that Voldmort is after. This is the reversal event because possession of the stone changes their position of power (now they have it) and it makes them, and especially Harry an even greater target of Voldemort’s. Now they are in real danger, and the tension amps way up.
In HUNGER GAMES the midpoint happens at the Cornicopia. The Hunger Games begin and Katniss thinks Peeta has betrayed her.
By the midpoint in PERCEPTION Zoe knows what happened to her brother, but she doesn’t know why. She and Noah find a big clue together, which propels their search. It also marks a turning point in their friendship, which is strictly forbidden by their social classes.
In SUN & MOON the midpoint happens when Katja finds out what’s behind the locked door in Micah’s apartment. Her discovery puts everything she thought she knew about Micah into question.
The midpoint, or any of the major structure points, doesn’t always have to be a big external event. Sometimes it’s a subtler, internal affair.
In GINGERBREAD MAN the midpoint reversal isn’t anything that other people could witness. It’s a change of heart for Sage about her opinion of Marlow. She moves from not believing him to believing him, which changes everything.
This is what the scene looks like:
>>>He took another bite of his sub. “They can’t see me, you know.”
“Who?”
“The cops. No one can know who I am or that I’m here.”
Right. Already a Marlow Henry on campus. I saluted. “Okay, Mars.”
“Mars?”
“That’s what I’m going to call you. So I don’t have to say Marlow and the other Marlow.”
“That’s cool, I guess.”
Marlow, or rather, Mars, disappeared into the bathroom. I finished my sub by the time he emerged. I held back a grin. “You look…”
“Like a geek?”
“No, I was going to say…clean.”
I couldn’t stifle the laugh this time. He looked like a kid in his father’s clothes.
“Shut up.”
“You’re welcome.”
Mars returned to Teagan’s laptop and started typing.
“What are you doing?” I scooted my chair up to him and noted that he definitely smelled better.
“Might as well use the time waiting to see if Teagan left any other clues.”
A wave of black washed over me. “Oh my God, I can’t believe I forgot.”
He turned and raised an eyebrow. “Forgot what?”
“She got this creepy message last week. Someone called the gingerbread man.”
I felt him stiffen. “Show me.”
I scrolled through looking for the message. “She showed the police and they said they’d keep watch.”
His eyes darkened. “What did the message say?”
“You’re next.”
He pushed away from the desk and into a standing position. “You’re next? You’re next?”
“The police just thought it was a prank because none of the other victims had gotten a warning message. They said they’d watch our dorm. And her.”
Marlow waved an arm flippantly. “And yet, she’s not here and neither are they. You need to call them again, Sage. Talk to someone else. We’re wasting too much time.”
His urgency amped up the level of fear I felt from concerned to desperate. My fingers shook as I dialed.
<<<
Can you identify your midpoint?
Next tip is, you guessed it, Plot Point 2.
June 17, 2016
Free Book Friday – I Spy with My Little Eye by Lee Strauss!
I wrote this short story with my reader’s list in mind – it’s only available for my newsletter subscribers and will never be for sale or available anywhere else. It can be read alone, but is best enjoyed after Gingerbread Man the first book in A Nursery Rhyme Suspense series.
I hope you’ll grab your copy and sign up for my reader’s list!
(PS. If you’re already on the list – no worries, I’ll be sending a link to you shortly!)
June 16, 2016
Celebrating life’s milestones…
My youngest just graduated from University of British Columbia Okanagan with a degree in science.
It’s an accomplishment for us both.
June 14, 2016
Author Tip Tuesday – Tip #5 Plot Point 1
We determined in the last tip that the inciting incident is the answer to “It all started when…” In other words, if this event never happened, the story couldn’t have unfolded. This happens early on in the first Act. In future tips I’ll cover what kinds of things happen in each Act, but for now, I’ll go over what defines each major point.
The First Plot point (sometimes called a plot pinch or break into Act…) is a key event that happens at the end of Act 1 and propels us into Act 2.
M.d Tabish Faraz describes it this way:
“Plot point 1 or the first turning point in a screenplay is the event that takes place either by the will of the protagonist himself or without his will and forces his circumstances to a whole new direction. The plot point 1 is the result of the inciting incident.” (italics mine)
Though Mr. Faraz is referring to screenplays, this structure is applicable to novels as well.
When you are plotting out your novel, you are looking for an event or situation that forces your main character into a new, unforeseen direction.
In PERCEPTION, plot point one happens when Zoe disguises herself to spy on Noah Brody and is caught. This places her in a situation where she’s forced to trust him even though she doesn’t. She’s uncertain if she’s safe with him, but her need to find her brother forces her to go against her instinct.
In HUNGER GAMES plot point one happens when Katniss and Peeta are alone for the first time on the train to the Capitol–they know that in order for one of the to win, the other one has to die.
In HARRY POTTER, the first plot point occurs when Harry and Ron rescue Hermione from the troll. This event forges their three-way friendship.
In SUN & MOON, the first plot point happens when Katja meets Micah’s American mother and she announces to her son, “This girl isn’t right for you.” Katja is torn – she want’s the rude woman to be wrong, but deep down she believes her.
In GINGERBREAD MAN, the first plot point, the event that pushes us into Act 2, is when Teagan Lake is murdered in one world, but still alive in another.
This is how it looks in the scene:
Marlow:
>>>My fingers quivered along with my goose bump-covered body and I slumped as I read the newsfeed.
Third rape and second murder victim identified as Detroit University freshman, Teagan Lake. Her body was found in the park at the north end of the campus. Police are investigating and talking to persons of interest.
A picture of Teagan was posted alongside the story. It wasn’t the same one she used on her chat profile. Her hair was longer, and the blue streak was missing.
My mind went crazy. Despite the newsflash in front of me, I couldn’t accept it as truth. My fingers seemed to work autonomously from the logical part of my brain.
@averagegeek99 to @art4ever: Are you there? Please. I don’t know why you’re mad at me. I just need to know you’re okay.
I pinched my eyes together. I was insane. Of course she wouldn’t respond. Dead people didn’t hang out in chat rooms.
Then I heard the ping.
@art4ever: Yes. I’m here and okay.
I knocked off my glasses in surprise. My heart took off like pebbles scattered across the pond. It couldn’t be her. Could it? I scrambled to fit my glasses back on my face and began to type.<<<
Review your favorite movies and books and see if you can determine the Plot Point 1 scene.
I’ll cover Midpoint Reversal in the next tip.
June 10, 2016
Free or .99 book Friday – Black in White by JC Andrijeski!
“My name is Black. Quentin Black…”
Gifted with an uncanny sense about people, psychologist Miri Fox works as an off and on profiler for the police. So when they think they’ve finally nailed the “Wedding Killer,” she agrees to check him out, using her gift to discover the truth.
But the suspect, Quentin Black, isn’t anything like Miri expects. He claims to be hunting the killer too and the longer Miri talks to him, the more determined she becomes to uncover his secrets.
When he confronts her about the nature of her peculiar “insight,” Miri gets pulled into Black’s bizarre world and embroiled in a game of cat and mouse with a deadly killer–who still might be Black himself. Worse, she finds herself irresistibly drawn to Black, a complication she doesn’t need with a best friend who’s a homicide cop and a boyfriend in intelligence.
Can Miriam see a way out or is her future covered in Black?
A paranormal mystery romance, introducing brilliant, dangerous, and otherworldly psychic detective, Quentin Black.
Praise for JC Andrijeski’s Writing
“Andrijeski delivers a whopper of an action flick…” ~ New Myths
“The sexual tension is scorching…” ~ The Muses Circle
“Amazing characters in an out-of-this-world scenario…” ~ The Indie Bookshelf
“The most impressive display of world-building I have seen in a while.” ~ I (Heart) Reading
June 8, 2016
What would happen if Adolf Hitler woke up in modern-day Berlin?
“What would happen if Adolf Hitler woke up in modern-day Berlin? In a bestselling satirical novel, he’d end up a TV comedy star . . . [Look Who’s Back] has unsurprisingly sparked debate in a country that has grappled for decades with Hitler’s unconscionable legacy.” -Time
My husband and I watched the movie on Netflix last week. It’s not often that I read or watch something that stays with me for a long time – but this film did. Maybe because I’ve written a book set in WW2 about children coming of age in Hitler Youth, or maybe because I live in Germany part-time and have often visited Berlin.
Maybe it’s because of the striking similarities to the way some contenders in certain upcoming elections are presenting themselves.
Maybe it’s because we’ve grown up pointing fingers: we’d never fall for Hitler’s charm and rhetoric!
And yet, with the current refugee crisis… here we are.
When I watched Look Who’s Back (Er ist Weider Da – it’s a foreign film and must be watched with subtitles) I didn’t realize it was based on a book – now on my TBR list.
Timur Vermes’ record-breaking bestseller, Look Who’s Back, is a satirical novel that imagines what would happen if Hilter reawakened in present-day Germany. The book was a massive success in Germany, selling more than 1.5 million copies. Janet Maslin of The New York Times called Look Who’s Back” desperately funny . . . an ingenious comedy of errors.”
In the novel, Adolf Hitler wakes up in 2011 from a 66-year sleep in his subterranean Berlin bunker to find the Germany he knew entirely changed: Internet-driven media spreads ideas in minutes and fumes celebrity obsession; immigration has produced multicultural neighborhoods bringing together people of varying race, ethnicity, and religion; and the most powerful person in government is a woman. Hitler is immediately recognized . . . as an impersonator of uncommon skill. The public assumes the fulminating leader of the Nazi party is a performer who is always in character, and soon his inevitable viral appeal begets YouTube stardom, begets television celebrity on a Turkish-born comedian’s show. His bigoted rants are mistaken for a theatrical satire-exposing prejudice and misrepresentation-and his media success emboldens Hitler to start his own political party, and set the country he finds a shambles back to rights.
With daring and dark humor, Look Who’s Back skewers the absurdity and depravity of the cult of personality in modern media culture.
June 7, 2016
Author Tip Tuesday – Tip #4 The Inciting Incident
We touched on the Inciting Incident briefly in Tip #2, The Bones It Hangs On. The Inciting Incident (sometimes called the Catalyst or the Inciting Event) is the trigger that starts the story. It’s not necessarily the first thing that happens in the book, but it should occur within the first 30-50 pages depending on the total length of the book. It’s the completion of the statement: It all started when….
In HUNGER GAMES, the inciting incident happens when Prim’s name is chosen to fight in the Hunger Games, and Katniss volunteers to take her place.
The inciting incident in the first HARRY POTTER book happens when Hagrid shows up to whisk Harry away to Hoggwarts. If this event didn’t happen, Harry would’ve unhappily grown up living with the Dursleys and the rest of the story wouldn’t have unfolded.
In PERCEPTION (young adult dystopian), the inciting incident happens when something doesn’t happen – Zoe Vanderveen throws a surprise party for her brother only he doesn’t show. This leads to her futile search for him and to her reluctant plea for help from the last person she thinks she can trust.
In SUN & MOON (inspirational romance), the inciting incident is when Katja’s wallet is stolen and she can’t make her rent.
In GINGERBREAD MAN (mystery thriller) the inciting incident happens in chapter six. Marlow warns Teagan to be careful, that a girl on campus has been raped, but when Teagan searches for news of the attack she can’t find anything. Though Marlow’s warning makes her wary of going on her coffee date with Jake, she goes anyway. Jake leaves her and shortly afterward someone announces a rape just happened on campus.
So, it all started when… a rape happened in Marlow’s world before it happened in Teagan’s world. Since no one realizes this is the case yet, it sets up a lot of tension and mistrust between Teagan and Marlow.
Here’s how it reads on the page.
>>>Before she could leave, a girl Teagan didn’t know blew into the café and screeched to a group of girls at a booth across the room. “You won’t believe this! Someone was just raped in the park behind the library!”
Teagan’s blood cooled, pooling at her knees and she slid into a nearby chair. She grabbed at her chest and swallowed dryly, trying to process what she’d heard. Someone was just raped. So, how did Marlow know? How could he possibly know about something before it happened?
Unless? Teagan could barely cope with the next thought. Unless he had planned to commit the crime himself? Blood rushed from her head and she felt faint at the thought.
Teagan ran home and locked the door to her dorm behind her. She would remove herself from the chat forums and never talk to Marlow again. Oh, God, how she wished now that she’d never given @averagegeek99 her name!<<<
Think about the book you’re reading now. Can you pinpoint the inciting incident? What is the situation where you could say, if this didn’t happen the story couldn’t have unfolded? What about your current WIP (work in process)? Do you know what your inciting incident is? Is it easy to identify? At least to you?
June 3, 2016
Free Book Friday – Death on the Range by Nikki Haverstock!
When a competitive archer is murdered at the training facility where Di has just started working, she’s thrust into the middle of an unofficial investigation before she can even settle into her new life.
With her roommate Mary and a Great Dane named Moo, she begins to unravel the mystery around the death of the victim, but can they solve the case before they find themselves in the killer’s sights?
A wholesome cozy murder for every sleuth in the family
This is the first book in a brand-new series set at the fictional Westmound Center for Competitive Shooting Sports in rural Wyoming.
“Funny, charming, and occasionally deadly.” ~ NYT bestselling author Zoe York
Target Practice Mystery #1
“A humorous first-in-series cozy mystery featuring a darling dog, a sassy heroine, and an amusing cast of characters.” — USA Today bestselling author Zara Keane
FREE ON AMAZON
