Mike Worley's Blog, page 10

Contest Winner – Free Book

Congratulations to Heather Burgess of Maine, the winner of the Happy Harvest Hop blog contest, hosted by Rockin Book Reviews.  As the contest winner, Heather received a free copy of “Retribution.”

 

Thanks to Lu Ann Worley (no relation) for allowing our participation in this event.

 

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New Direction for Book Six

After working for some time with the story line of the next book in the Angela Masters series, I’ve decided to switch to a new direction for book six. While the story in the book tentatively titled “Torch” had some interesting elements, it was not coming together as an attention grabbing story.  Additionally, the nature of the crimes involved necessitated the inclusion of several new characters which I felt detracted from the principle protagonist of the series, Angela Masters.

So, as sometimes happens in the writing world, the draft of “Torch” will go to the proverbial file drawer (actually, a folder on my computer). Some of the story might see light was part of future story, but for now, I’m working on a story that I hope will follow in the tradition of the previous Angela Masters novels.

As yet, I don’t have a working title for the story. However, the story’s root lies in a case which occurred in the 1960’s where two officers were shot in their patrol car by a man who was wanted only on a minor warrant. One officer was killed but the other survived to testify against the killer.

As will all of the Angela Masters stories, the book will diverge considerably from the actual facts of the underlying case since these are fictional mysteries, not ‘true crime’ books. However, I find it helpful to start with an actual case, and many readers have told me they find the story has a flair of realism missing from some other novels because of the inclusion of allusions to actual cases.

In any case, I’ll keep my mailing list up to date on the status of the current book.  As always, mailing list members may have the opportunity to review portions of the book prior to publication and will receive advance notification of the release date for the book.

If you would like to join my notification list, click here to subscribe.

 

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Book Recommendation – Kiss of Salvation

I would like to recommend “Kiss of Salvation” by Waights Taylor, Jr. to all my followers and friends. A hard-boiled detective mystery set in 1947 Birmingham, “Kiss of Salvation” is the story of Detective Joe McGrath’s quest for the killer of an African-American prostitute.  Taylor, a native of Birmingham, does an excellent job of putting the reader in the scenes as the white detective searches for the truth amid the racism and class consciousness of a pre-civil rights Southern city, no matter where it may lead him.

From the book description:

“I’m pretty sure the victim is a prostitute, and the MO looks just like the murder last month,” Joe McGrath said. “The victim was garroted, and the body was arranged like an X. Whoever is killing these women is leaving a calling card behind.”

1947 Birmingham, Alabama, cloaks many mysteries under its segregated shroud: glittering social soirées, secret sexual parties, a Machiavellian civic leader, and multiple murders of black prostitutes in dark alleys. Racist police chief, Big Bob Watson, reluctantly assigns Homicide Detective Joe McGrath to the case. The black community stonewalls the investigation. Joe teams up with Sam Rucker, the city’s only black private eye. Working across the racial boundaries of the day, they take us step-by-step to the city’s heart of darkness in search of an elusive vicious killer.

 

I had the privilege of reviewing Taylor’s manuscript and commenting on police policies and procedures. Taylor also meticulously researched other aspects of the civic and criminal justice systems in the 1940’s South.  The result is a story that will keep you turning the pages until the end.

 

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Write a Review. Thank an Author – Help a Potential Reader.

Especially in this age of digital publishing, reviews can make a vast difference in the exposure a book receives. This is particularly true on ebook sites such as Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.

Even if you don’t think the book merits a “5-star” rating, please take a little time to post a short review on the site where you acquired the book. The author will appreciate it.

Even if you don’t have time to write a review, it only takes a few seconds to click on the ‘star’ rating. And if you think the book only merits 3 or 4 stars? — no problem. After all, no book appeals to everyone and your rating (and especially your written review) can help others decide whether the book might be for their taste.

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Where Do You Draw Inspiration?

How much does your selection of where you write impact your writing?  Do you draw inspiration from your writing locale or does it serve only as a place to allow you to put your ideas coherently on paper?

In my case, I think my two favorite locales do both – and they’re quite different places.

My old standby is one particular Starbucks location in Louisville.  It’s fairly large, as Starbucks stores go, but most importantly, it has an area with well cushioned seats and small tables. While I know that some people don’t like to write in a ‘noisy’ atmosphere, I find the coffee shop atmosphere to be a little stimulating, but not so much so that it overwhelms my concentration.  On a side note, I’ve overheard a few conversations that have found their way into background information in one of my books.

Lately, I’ve also found the quiet of mornings on my back deck as being a good place to write.  The clear air, at least in the fall and spring, and pleasant temperatures provide their own brand of inspiration.  Unfortunately, the weather here can turn rainy quickly, and the summers are exceedingly humid.  But for me, it’s a great new place to work when conditions are right.

I won’t give up on Starbucks, but having an alternate location to work can also help that attack of writer’s block that happens to all of us on occasion.

 

I’d like to hear your comments.  If you are a writer, where do you like to write, and why?

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Why Santa Rosa?

A friend recently asked why I chose to set my novels in Santa Rosa, California. After all, I’ve never lived there, having spent most of my working life in Boise, Idaho, before moving to Louisville, Kentucky. It’s a fair question but one with a fairly straight-forward answer.

The primary reason I picked Santa Rosa is its similarity as a city to Boise. Although Boise has grown faster than Santa Rosa in recent years, at the time of most of the Angela Masters novels — the 1980’s — the two cities were of similar size and demographics. Thus, I am able to apply police organizational and operational structure with which I am most familiar to my fictional investigators, even though the real Santa Rosa Police Department may not do things exactly as I describe them in the book. In many ways, that’s good, so that there is some disconnect between the fictional world of Angela Masters and the real world of the men and women of SRPD.

So why not just use Boise? There are a number of reasons, including not wanting to unintentionally project too much of the real Boise Police Department into the story. But the most compelling reason is that Boise, as wonderful and beautiful city as it is, is extremely isolated. For the depth of the story, I needed the characters to be able to travel to other large, but relatively nearby, population centers. That ability just doesn’t exist in the environs around Boise.

Santa Rosa, on the other hand, is only a short distance from the San Francisco metropolitan area, with its dozens of suburban cities, many of which are large population centers in their own right. Additionally, Santa Rosa is just a mountain range away from the Napa Valley. In years past, I spent a considerable amount of time in the Napa Valley, and have always enjoyed my experiences there. It seemed like a perfect getaway for my protagonist.

So, I’m asked, is Angela Masters patterned after a real Santa Rosa, or Boise, detective? The answer is no, and kind of. At the root level, Angi does not represent any one detective, female or male, that I know. However, she has traits that I’ve observed from a number of detectives I’ve known over the years. So her story is a composite of experiences from many different people. And, like any good fictional work, some of it is purely made up, but I hope it all fits together to an evolving picture of a complex and driven, yet occasionally vulnerable, human being.

I have a few friends in Santa Rosa area, and I’m looking for more contacts to make the scenes more true to life. Although I’ve visited the city numerous times, I am not, of course, as familiar with the city in general as someone who lives there. But that’s all part of research. And again, I don’t want the fictional story to cross too much into the reality of actual locations, or the people in them. I’m looking for just enough realism to make it interesting.

And I hope that I have succeeded in crafting interesting stories in the Angela Masters Detective Novel series. The reader is the final judge of that.

 

This post originally appeared on November 7, 2013 and is re-posted for new readers’ information.

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The Trials of English

The English language.  It is at once beautifully complex and maddeningly complex.

As writers, it is our job to practice what Stephen King calls telepathy – not the science-fiction kind, but getting the reader’s mind in sync with our thoughts. We do that through words. But it can’t happen if we use the wrong word.

In a recent article in Time Magazine, Jeff Haden discusses “30 Incorrectly Used Words.”

Of those he lists, my favorites are it’s and its. I cringe every time I see something like “The book was in it’s proper place on the shelf.” It’s is a contraction of it is. A simple test is to un-contract the word — “The book was in it is proper place on the shelf.” Obviously sounds pretty dumb that way.

The same can be said of you’re and your.  You’re is a contraction of you are.  Your is a possessive.  Try this sentence: “Your really making progress with that book.” So, since I own it, I can probably store my ‘making progress with that book’ on a shelf somewhere? How about substituting the un-contracted alternative:  “You are really making progress with that book.”  Makes more sense, huh.

 

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‘Ghost’ On Sale

Next week, September 1-5, ‘Ghost’ will be on sale during a Kindle Countdown.

Beginning at 9:00 AM Eastern Time  (6:00 AM Pacific), the Kindle version of ‘Ghost’ will be only 99 cents.  On September 3, the price will increase to $1.99 – still a savings off the regular price of $2.99.

Go to www.mikeworleybooks.com/ghost and click on the Buy for Kindle tab to take advantage of this special offer.

 

 

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First Place Finish

I am honored to have been awarded First Place in the Published Fiction category in the 2014 Public Safety Writers Association writing competition for “Retribution.”  Thanks to everyone who has supported my writing efforts.

 

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Virtual Release Party

I would like to thank everyone who participated in yesterday’s virtual release party for “Fire Storm”, the fifth book in the Angela Masters Detective Novel series. The party featured trivia questions about the book and some good questions about the publishing process and what goes into the Angela Masters novels.

Through today, “Fire Storm” and the remainder of the Angela Masters Detective Novels are available for only 99 cents for the Kindle version. You can find purchase links on my website.

If there are any other authors who are interested in hosting a virtual party using the Facebook events option, feel free to contact me.

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