Kathy Lynn Emerson's Blog, page 26

The Distractions of the Season

Kate Flora: I was wondering, a few minutes ago, who was supposed to be blogging for

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With Connie Johnson Hambley and Bruce Coffin at New England Mobile Book Fair

Maine Crime Writers today. I quickly checked the schedule and OOPS! T’was me. This is the season when we all get overwhelmed by the demands of our calendars, our shopping lists, and our baking, never mind the needs of a manuscript that is just a few weeks away from “THE END” on a rather bad draft. It does not bode well for adding in the task of writing clever, entertaining, or informative blog posts. And yet here we are…

On Saturday night, we hosted our annual holiday party for our neighbors. Ken and I were trying to recall how long we’ve been giving this party. The clue is a Martha Stewart cookbook called Entertaining, which we learned about at a Zoning Board party in 1983. The food the hostess made was so delicious Ken bought me the book, and the next year, according to our fading memories, we started the tradition of a party using those recipes.

Thirty-three years is a long time to have a regular party. We’ve never missed it. There have been mishaps–like the year the power went off just as I was starting to cook the food–we put out dozens of candles, borrowed a camping lantern, and the party went on. Most of our guests didn’t know that the power was off, and when it was restored at 9:30, begged us to turn off the lights.

What cooking for this party made me realize is that what is really special about this season is that if we can take a deep breath and not worry too much, the biggest distraction is also the best one–getting to spend time with people we care about, catching up on what has happened in the year just past. In the crime writing world, one of those “catching ups” is the annual mystery authors night at New England Mobile Book Fair. This year there were forty authors gathered in their new, tight, space, and a chance to celebrate so much. The debut of several new authors. A new and exciting book from others. The advent of another book after a long delay. And we sympathize with those talented authors who are struggling to keep their careers on track.

The highlight of the night was the presentation of the Robert B. Parker Award to Maine’s own treasure, author Tess Gerritsen. For those who don’t know Tess, even if you know her work, you should know that she exemplifies the very best of the mystery writing world–charming, gracious, generous, and unfailingly supportive of her fellow crime writers.

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So yup–I am late with my blog post today, but it is because I’ve been distracted by spending time with people, and celebrating them. It’s the very best kind of distraction.

Weekend Update: December 9-10, 2017

[image error]Next week at Maine Crime Writers, there will be posts by Kate Flora (Monday), Brendan Rielly (Tuesday), Jessie Crockett (Wednesday), John Clark (Thursday), and Kaitlyn Dunnett/Kathy Lynn Emerson (Friday).

In the news department, here’s what’s happening with some of us who blog regularly at Maine Crime Writers:

From Kathy Lynn Emerson (aka Kaitlyn Dunnett): my new website for mini-biographies of sixteenth-century women is now active at http://www.TudorWomen.com and I have also created a Facebook page for the “A Who’s Who of Tudor Women” at my Kaitlyn Dunnett page. I wrote about this project not too long ago. If you missed it, you can read it here: https://mainecrimewriters.com/2017/10/16/over-2000-women-and-still-adding-more-and-a-giveaway/  (Sorry–the giveaway has already been, well, given away.) I’m still tweaking the appearance of the website and adding bits and pieces, but all the information from the old site is now available at the new one.

 

 

 

An invitation to readers of this blog: Do you have news relating to Maine, Crime, or Writing? We’d love to hear from you. Just comment below to share.

And a reminder: If your library, school, or organization is looking for a speaker, we are often available to talk about the writing process, research, where we get our ideas, and other mysteries of the business. Contact Kate Flora

Gardens Aglow at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

by Barb, who’s beginning to feel it’s a lot like Christmas

A few years ago, I had the chance to take a class sponsored by Sisters in Crime New England with Donald Maass based on his book Writing the Breakout Novel. The students were intelligent and enthusiastic and had great questions. One person asked, “As an unpublished novelists, if you know you’re writing a series and you have a great idea, should you hold it back for the second, third or later books?”

Maass’ answer was to hold nothing back. Leave it all out on the page. You need to give it your all to get published. Trust in your imagination that something even greater will be there when you get to later books.

At least that’s how I internalized what he said.

[image error]So when I got the chance to write a Christmas novella as a part of my Maine Clambake Mystery series for the collection Eggnog Murder, I included every tradition from my little seacoast town: the parade of lighted boats, the day everyone shops in their pajamas, the festival of trees, Men’s Night when the shops are open late and provide free gift-wrapping. After all, who knew if I’d ever get the chance to use all that good stuff again?

But then it happened. Kensington asked Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis and me to create another Christmas novella collection. Now what was I going to do?

Luckily, the Boothbay peninsula has added a new holiday tradition. For the past three years, the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens have offered Gardens Aglow. The gardens are dressed with over 500,000 LED lights. (Lea Wait has written about it here.) So I included a fictionalized version of Gardens Aglow in my novella. Therefore I had to go, right?

Bill and I had an absolutely delightful time at this spectacular display. I completely recommend it. I’ve been overwhelmed by our move and by writing deadlines and Gardens Aglow got me into the most Christmasy mood. (Reservations are necessary. Many days and times are sold out.) And if you’d like to make a night of it and eat in a local restaurant, I’d be happy to make some recommendations.

As always, Bill was taking pictures and I’ll leave you with those.

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[If you like Bill’s photos and want to see more, you can friend him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/bcarito and follow him on Instagram at billcarito and bill.carito.colorphotos.]

While You’re Writing Your First Book …

When I was at the Crime Bake mystery conference this fall, two people who were writing their first mysteries asked what, if anything, they should be doing to help their in-progress books sell — to an agent, a publisher, and, ultimately, to readers. They’d both heard advice pro and con (and sometimes scary) about what even an unpublished author should do to market their work.

I assured them that they didn’t need to be a rock star or media personality to sell a book (advice one woman had gotten.) But, yes, in today’s publishing world, whether you are traditionally or indie published, marketing is an important part of your job.

So — here are a few suggestions for (so far) unpublished authors, to show that you’re serious about publishing.[image error]

1 – Write the best possible book you can. I know: that’s what everyone says. But it’s true. It’s possible to get so tied in knots about marketing that working on your manuscript takes second place. Always, now and when you’re working on future books, the writing is the most important part of the process.

2 – Begin to create a mailing list, preferably of email addresses. Once your book is launched, you need to tell everyone you know. Once you are published you’ll start adding your fans to the list. But for now, look through your address book or Christmas card list or the contact list for your last high school and college reunions. Consolidate. Don’t forget your doctors; people you know at church or temple; anyone you do volunteer work with. Your day-job colleagues.  Your relatives – even the ones you haven’t seen for a while. Once you get started, you may be surprised just how many people would like to know you’ve published a book. (And may buy it!)

3 – Reserve a domain name for your website. If you can get your own name, that’s great. If not, try “Joan Doe, Author.” Or “Author Joan Doe.” Do the best you can to get these rights, e[image error]ven if you’re not ready to create your website yet.

4 – Establish a presence on social media. You define what you’re most comfortable; you don’t have to be on everything! Facebook. Goodreads. Twitter. Instagram. The list is long. Do a little research — Instagram is more important than Facebook if you’re writing for children or young adults. On Goodreads you can have (someday!) an author page, but authors basically stay quiet, posting reviews like other members, but not calling attention to themselves. “Friend” other authors on social media and see how they manage.

5 – Join writers’ organizations. Start with those in your genre (Romance Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Historical Novel Society, Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators) and then add any regional organizations (Women Writing the West; Maine Writers and Publishers Association). Writers’ organizations offer insights, contacts, and other valuable information.

6 – Attend conferences in your genre. You’ll meet other authors, and often editors and agents attend these conferences, too. Soak up information. You’ll make friends, and, sometimes connections. (I met my first editor at a conference!)

7 – Read. Read current books being published in your genre. Read to broaden your horizons. Read to research your characters and your plot.

8 – Form (or join) a critique group. (Writers’ organizations may be able to help you connect with other authors in your area. Your local library may even know some.) Or, if all else fails, find an online critique group. You need to get feedback on your writing from someone other than your mother or your wife.

9 – Begin putting together a website. If you decide to blog (it’s time-consuming, but if you have a theme or point-of-view that relates to the book you’re writing, it could be worth it) you could include it here. Write a brief biography. (Include your pets! Readers love pets.) Look at other authors’ websites, and decide what works best for you, and what will look to an agent or editor or reader as though you’re being professional. This includes having a good, clear, picture of yourself that could someday be included in a press kit or on a book cover.

10 – And keep writing …..

Does anyone else have ideas about what a “pre-published” author should be doing?

The Addled Protagonist

Sitting around thinking why so many protagonists in crime fiction, at least at the darker ends of the spectrum, have protagonists who are addicted in some way. From Sherlock’s 7 per cent solution to the “dull routine of existence” to Nero Wolf’s beer to Philip Marlowe’s   [image error]Old Forester, the idea that a crime novel’s protagonist must somehow be addicted has carried a lot of currency. My own protagonist, Elder Darrow, is an alcoholic in both Solo Act and In Solo Time, though practicing less and less as the books go on.

I suppose you can look at it, in character terms, as the necessary fatal flaw a protagonist must have for us to sympathize with him or her, something to make the protagonist human enough for us to want to travel on their journey. But why do so many of our main characters own an addiction? Is it because  something like a drug or alcohol problem is common enough that everyone can sympathize? And if so, is a substance addiction the best way to make a character, as is said so clumsily, relatable?

I got thinking about this more when I read David Swinson’s book, The Second Girl, which features Frank Marr, a retired DC police detective with a serious longstanding cocaine habit. [image error]While the drug problem gives the character a certain edge, it’s such a pervasive part of the character that it made it hard for me to relate to him. I’m not trying to turn every character into a Sammy Sunshine but I’d like to feel as if the character at least recognizes his problem. Marr doesn’t seem to, just manages his way through the dope. Which leaves him dark, dark, dark. Not too much hope there.

So is an addiction required for us to relate to a protagonist and if so, does the addiction have to be cast as a weakness? Lucas Davenport, the protagonist of John Sanford’s Prey novels, is addicted to the hunt and to the violent end of his criminal prey. [image error]If an addiction is more intrinsic to character and less a characteristic like eye color or body odor, does that make the character stronger, more sympathetic to the reader?

If I had to guess, I’d opine that one of the things any addiction in a character provides is a way to keep a reader awake and aware at times when the plot isn’t rocketing ahead, in those inevitable places where the action must subside a bit to give everyone a breather. The addiction in a character says: “What bad decision are you going to make next because of this flaw?” And that decision may not necessarily be fueling the main plot.

I am beginning to think, though, that the subtler kinds of addiction or obsession—to one’s moral code, to one’s character flaws, to one’s deepest desires—make for more interesting protagonists than a single tangible characteristic that may not even be unique to the character. Or perhaps it’s that the addiction needs to be integrated into the protagonist in a way that makes him or her unique, or at least more interesting. Matt Scudder comes to mind—though the bad behavior caused by his addiction is mostly in the past, it has a way of affecting the way he operates in the books’ present.

Integrity of story is what it comes down to. Any addiction or obsession you provide a protagonist (or any other character, for that matter) has to be integral to the character, not a bolt-on like hair color or height. Or a plain yen for Scotch.

Twelve Social Media Tips to Boost your Book Sales this Holiday Season

[image error]A particular joy of crime writing conferences is the chance to meet new people, writers and non-writers alike.  At Murder By The Book, a two-day event at the fabulous Jesup Library in Bar Harbor this fall, I noticed Con Sweeney’s smile right away.

It turns out he’s not a writer, but as a devoted reader of crime fiction, he was in his element at MBTB.

In fact, Con and his wife planned their October vacation around the conference, traveling from their home near Princeton, NJ to hang out for the weekend with keynote speaker Tess Gerritsen and many of the MCW gang.

But Con’s more than a fan, he’s also a social media guru who recently retired from a big corporate job to start his own social media advising business. He offered to drop by the blog today to give us some tips on how to take advantage of the many tools that help us connect with readers this holiday season.  Talk about timely!  Please give a warm, MCW welcome to Con P. Sweeney.

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That New Year’s resolution you’d made to overhaul your social media to support your writing never happened. Now, like all those last minute holiday shoppers, you feel overwhelmed and wish you’d started sooner.

Don’t fret!

Here are a dozen social media tips to take advantage of the last minute sales rush to sell your mysteries:

(Also, don’t worry about the cost. How often do you hear that? I focus on free and near free solutions for my clients.)

[image error]Tip # 1: Engage with Your Readers: Talk about yourself and what you’re doing for the Holidays. Include pictures! Give your readers ideas for gifts but don’t just limit it to your books. Create a list of your favorite mysteries, your favorite Christmas mysteries or dead mystery writers. Or, simply what your favorite Christmas mystery is.

Do this throughout the Holiday season on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and your blog. Increase the frequency as Christmas approaches. Don’t forget while you’re at it to ask your readers to leave reviews for your books on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Goodreads.

[image error]Tip # 2: Create Exclusive Holiday Content for Your Readers: Write a Holiday short story based on your characters and share it via social media. For those who have food or craft themes on their mysteries, include recipes or DIY articles or videos. Promote these regularly on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and your blog. Share in relevant groups and forums that you participate in.

[image error]Tip # 3: Invite your readers to share their Holidays on your social media. They can include posts, pictures, recipes, and crafts. Ask readers to include pictures of their Christmas trees with a copy of their favorite book of yours. Remember as they post to engage with them and keep the conversation going!

Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and your blog are where you should be doing this. You can set up a new Pinterest board for the Christmas trees.

[image error]Tip # 4: Use #Hashtags: Take advantage of existing hashtags such as #Christmas2017, #Christmas, #stockingstuffer, #stockingstuffers, #secretSanta, #Hanukkah, #Kawanza, #mysteries, and #cozymysteries.

Create your own hashtags. These can be based on your book titles, characters, or story location. Hashtags can also be used for book signings, conferences (many of these have their own), Holiday events (Do you go to your town’s Christmas tree lighting?) Hashtags are a great way to promote a charity that you support during the Holidays.

Use hashtags on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. Use no more than two or three per post to avoid being accused of “stuffing”. Post regularly with increasing frequency as Christmas approaches.

[image error]Tip # 5: Host Online Events: Host events specific to your books and invite your readers and their friends to attend. Examples are Facebook parties, online contests, and Twitter chats. These require more preparation than most of the other tips but can give you an immediate, real time experience with your readers from all over. Promotion has to be scheduled and then the event has to be conducted.

[image error]Tip # 6: In Person Events: Let’s not forget reality! In-person events can be promoted on social media. Examples are book signings, conferences, charity events, and community Holiday activities. These can be promoted on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. This can be done before, during, and after. Tell your readers where you’ll be and invite them to come see you, post while you’re there, and do a wrap-up piece afterwards. Post pictures and tag the people in them with you.

[image error]Tip # 7: Recommend Your Favorite Neighborhood Bookstores: You know the ones, the ones that stock your books! If they’re on Facebook then recommend, like, and follow them. (Doesn’t hurt to ask them to return the favor.) Don’t forget to comment on their pages. If they’re on Twitter then follow them, create a list for mystery bookstores, and retweet their posts and start a conversation with them. Likewise, if they have a blog and use Pinterest then engage with them. Don’t forget to use hashtags!

[image error]Tip # 8: Self-gifting: At the risk of sounding selfish during the Holiday season, don’t let your readers forget about themselves. Suggest they pick up some of your titles for themselves to read over the Holidays especially if they’re going to be either hanging around airports or lying awake in an uncomfortable bed while visiting friends or family. Facebook and Twitter are good choices posting with increasing frequency as Christmas draws closer.

[image error]Tip # 9: Do Podcasts: A very good way to create exclusive Holiday content and have your readers hear you, literally! I’d recommend reading from either your books, a soon-to-be-published work, or from the classics (e.g., Poe, Doyle, Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.) Podcasts are suitable for posting on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and your blog. Post regularly during the Holiday season. Podcasts also make very good evergreen content for reuse in later years.

[image error]Tip # 10: Last Comment of the Year Contest: A good way to keep your readers engaged with you throughout the Holiday season is to have a contest where the winner is the last person to post a comment on a social media channel by a certain date and time. For example, midnight on New Year’s Eve is a good choice. (Make sure you specify which time zone or you may have to award twenty-four prizes!)

Facebook is ideal for this but the contest could be run on your blog too. The prize could be anything but an autographed copy of one of your books would work well. Also, engage with your readers as they post. Keep the conversation and the momentum going!

[image error]Tip # 11: What’s Your New Year’s Resolution to Your Readers Going to Be?: This is a hook for 2018. Start laying the groundwork for the New Year by telling your readers what you’ll be doing for them. Ideas could be your next book, more blog posts, more engagement on social media, or attending book signings and conferences. Just remember you’re going to have to do it in 2018!

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and your blog are suitable for this. Post frequently and roll over into early January.

[image error]Tip # 12: Autographed Copies: This tip may require more work than the others depending on how you promote and market your books. If this is doable then point out to your readers that while a book makes a great gift, an autographed copy tells the recipient that someone really went the extra mile to get one from a favorite author.

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and your blog are suitable for this. Just start early to allow for timely delivery during the Holidays.

Hope you find these tips helpful!

Don’t try to put a full blown social media program in place by Christmas. It won’t happen. Select a few that will work for you and that you’re comfortable with and go for it!

Remember too, that you have an ulterior motive here, you’re laying the groundwork for your next book launch and your future social media activity!

Should you have any questions or wish to discuss any of these tips with me, I can be reached at conpsweeney@someddi.com .

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

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Con P. Sweeney

Con P. Sweeney is currently the Managing Director of Someddi LLC, a social media services company serving small and midsized businesses. He has extensive financial and information systems experience from the financial services, information services, and healthcare sectors.

Con has lived and worked all over the world.  After over thirty years of corporate employment, he recently retired from Johnson & Johnson to start his own business, a lifelong goal of his. He  is an avid mystery reader and is an affiliate member of the Mystery Writers of America.  He resides with his wife in the Princeton, New Jersey area.

Con will be watching the comments today, so if you have questions, let’s hear ’em!

 

Saint Nicholas

 

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Several years ago, I penned a holiday tale titled Saint Nicholas. Knowing that many folks find the holidays a bit overwhelming, I wrote this short seasonal story to remind all of us what is truly important, and to provide an emotional lift to those in need. If I’ve done my job well, this story will put a smile on your face and some warmth in your hearts. Feel free to share if you think it might mean something to others. Here’s wishing you and yours a safe and happy holiday season.

B

Saint Nicholas

I’ve always believed that it’s part of the human condition to focus on the negative. Maybe it has something to do with our upbringing, although upon reflection we are all raised very differently so perhaps not. Whatever it is, it definitely exists in each of us. How else can we explain the age old news reporting axiom “if it bleeds it leads?” Police officers are even more inclined to focus on the negative. Being exposed to it day in and day out tends to make one jaded. But, I’m getting way ahead of myself. I should probably begin by telling you a little bit about me before I tell you my story.

My name is Crispin Mallory and, in case you haven’t already guessed, I am a police officer. I’ve been with the same department for thirty years, pushing a cruiser around, investigating motor vehicle accidents, breaking up domestics, chasing down criminals, and writing the occasional traffic citation.

One day, several years back, I was working a double shift. Cops aren’t paid all that well and when an overtime opportunity presents itself most of us are quick to say yes. It was December twenty-fourth and I had just finished my first tour. I’d returned to the station to attend roll call before heading back out for another eight hours. I was tired and not in a particularly festive mood, mostly due to the fact that I had to work on Christmas, which meant my wife and two children would be celebrating without me. Another holiday missed. Such is the life of a cop. Anyway, the sergeant held me back after the briefing, said he had a task for me. I was instructed to return some valuables to a local home for the aged. Apparently one of the nursing staff had confessed to stealing jewelry from some of the residents at the home, to support her drug habit. See what I mean? All negative. The sergeant provided me with the name of the medical administrator and asked me to deliver the items to him.

After checking out a squad car and loading my gear, I got on the radio and requested that the dispatcher show me ten-six (busy) on assignment. I drove toward the nursing home grabbing a drive through coffee along the way.

I parked in the lot and made my way inside. The receptionist was talking to one of the orderlies and they both turned as I entered.

“Hello officer,” the receptionist said. “Merry Christmas.”

I returned the greeting.

“What can I do for you?” she asked.

“I’m looking for Mr. Ashby,” I said. “I’m supposed to deliver something to him.”

“I’ll try his extension.”

I wandered around the lobby as she tried to locate Ashby. Everything was brightly painted and decorated for the season. On the counter stood a small lit Christmas tree. I wondered if the employees were still allowed to call it a Christmas tree.

“Officer?”

“Yes.”

“He’ll be right out.”

I thanked her and continued to look around. Ashby walked up to me and introduced himself as the facility’s head administrator. I explained my purpose for being there and he led me back to his office so we could talk in private.

Once we were seated, I handed him the package and an evidence slip explaining that he needed to sign for the items.

“I am so pleased that your detectives were able to recover so many of the things that our former employee took. I’m sure you can imagine how much these items mean to the residents here. Some of these pieces of jewelry aren’t all that valuable, but they represent gifts from and memories of loved ones. As I’m sure you know, some things are worth far more than money.”

I agreed. After going through each of the items he signed for them and returned the evidence sheet to me. I stood, preparing to leave, when he stopped me.

“I don’t suppose you’d be willing to do me one small favor, would you, officer?”

I wondered why I would need to do another favor for him. After all, I’d just returned a number of stolen items. Shouldn’t that have been sufficient?

“I really need to get back on the road, Mr. Ashby,” I said.

“You’re right. I shouldn’t impose. You’ve got places to go I imagine.”

Now verbally he was letting me off the hook, but his tone and facial expression told another story. I knew he was attempting reverse psychology on me. Something my wife and I did to our kids daily.

“What do you need?” I asked.

“It will only take a second, I promise. But it will mean so much to her.”

Ashby proceeded to tell me about an eighty-year-old patient named Ruth Perkins, who was suffering from Alzheimer’s.

“She’s all alone now,” Ashby said. “Her husband passed last year. They had one son, Nicholas, and he was a police officer. Nicholas was killed during a shootout many years ago. Apparently, he would visit her every Christmas, whether he was working or not and it meant the world to her. Her Alzheimer’s is advanced but she still manages to put several good days together each month. I have no idea how she does it but she does.”

I sat down again as he continued.

“Every month since the death of her husband, just prior to the twenty-fifth, she gets it into her head that Christmas is approaching. She gets so excited and makes a point to tell all of the staff that her son is coming to visit. She even has a ceramic tree that she makes us put up in her room. Of course when the twenty-fifth passes and Nicholas doesn’t show up her condition quickly worsens and she reverts back to her former state. It really is quite sad.”

“What do you want me to do?” I asked. “I’m not her son.”

“I know that, but I thought it might cheer her up to get a visit from an officer in uniform. If you could just stop by and wish her a Merry Christmas.”

I only wanted to get back to my comfort zone. Back to my cruiser. I really wasn’t enjoying the idea of popping in on an already confused old woman, possibly making her situation worse. But Ashby’s reverse psychology must have worked because I found myself saying okay.

He told me that he’d introduce me, then he led me down the hall to her room. I followed, amid the stares and whispers of the other residents. Each of them probably wondering what the cop was doing there. At last he stopped and entered a room. The sign on the door said R. Perkins and a white ceramic tree stood on the table under the window. As I rounded the corner I saw her sitting up in bed, wearing a festive green robe over a red sweater. She was wearing makeup and it looked like she had just paid a visit to the hair dresser. She looked dignified and radiant, like someone waiting to be called upon, not at all what I had expected.

“Mrs. Perkins,” he said. “I’ve brought you a visitor.”

She turned toward me and her blue eyes lit up instantly. “Nicholas,” she cried out. “My Saint Nicholas, I knew you’d come. Didn’t I say he would come? Oh, this is the best Christmas ever.”

She held her arms out to me as I approached the bed. I bent down toward her and she hugged me tightly, even kissing me on the cheek.

“Merry Christmas,” I said.

“I should leave the two of you alone now,” Ashby said, leaving the room before I could protest.

I sat down in the chair beside the bed and she began asking me all sorts of questions. I was afraid that I might say the wrong thing, but as time passed it became obvious that nothing I said would lessen her faith that I was her son. We talked for close to an hour. I told her all about my family and about my work. She asked if I remembered this thing or that and of course I told her I did. The smile never left her face.

I stayed with her until she began to tire. All the excitement had worn her out. She hugged me again and made me promise to return the following day. Christmas Day. I promised that I would and kissed her on the cheek.

I returned to my cruiser and radioed that I was back in service. My heart was full and I was happier than I’d been in a long while. It was clear that my visit to Ruth Perkins had done something positive to both of us. I no longer cared that I’d be missing this Christmas with my own family. Don’t get me wrong, I still wanted to be with them but after visiting a lonely old woman I realized I had no right to complain. There would be other Christmases to spend with my family. Mrs. Perkins’ family was gone leaving her only memories.

I returned to work the following morning. Christmas Day turned out to be busier than any of us had imagined. A light snowfall had left the roads slick resulting in many accidents. The calls for service were already backing up by the time I hit the street.

It was nearly one in the afternoon before I was finally able to take a lunch break. I grabbed a sandwich and a couple of eggnogs at the local market before heading over to see Mrs. Perkins. I was excited about being able to keep my promise to her and looking forward to seeing her face light up at the sight of me.

I parked in the nearly vacant lot and headed inside. The receptionist was a different girl than the one I’d spoken to the previous day. Holiday help I assumed. She asked if she could help me and I politely declined.

“Thank you but I’m all set,” I said. “Just visiting someone.”

I walked down the corridor to her room, stopping as I reached her door. The room was empty. Her personal belongings were gone and the nameplate was missing from the door. I felt like someone had knocked the wind out of me.

“Can I help you, officer?” a soft female voice asked from behind me.

I turned and saw a young orderly. “I’m looking for Mrs. Perkins. Ruth Perkins. Has she been moved?”

“Are you a relative?”

I pondered her question before answering. “Sort of. I just visited her yesterday.”

“I’m sorry to have to tell you this, Mrs. Perkins passed away last night.”

 

Many years have passed since that Christmas. I’m still a police officer with the same department. Heck, I’ve been on so long now that I get every holiday off. I’ve never forgotten Ruth Perkins or her gift to me. Oh, I know what your thinking. That it was I who gave her one last visit with her son. But I think of it a it differently. I believe she’s the one who gave a great gift to me. You see, Mrs. Perkins restored my faith in humanity, helped me appreciate what I have. Her belief that I was her son was so strong and so real that I couldn’t help but feel the same love for her in return. Her faith and her love changed me forever. And isn’t that what Christmas is all about?

Weekend Update: December 2-3, 2017

[image error]Next week at Maine Crime Writers, there will be posts by Bruce Coffin (Monday), Brenda Buchanan (Tuesday), Dick Cass (Wednesday), Lea Wait (Thursday), and Barb Ross (Friday).

In the news department, here’s what’s happening with some of us who blog regularly at Maine Crime Writers:

Lea Wait will be selling and signing her books on Saturday, December 2, from 9 am until 2 pm, at the Holiday Fair sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Church in Brunswick, Maine, at 1 Middle Street, facing the Curtis Memorial Library.

More sale news from Kaitlyn Dunnett: Kilt Dead, the first in the Liss MacCrimmon series, is on sale in the Kindle edition at https://www.amazon.com/Kilt-Dead-Liss-MacCrimmon-Mystery-ebook/dp/B00EFANRM4/ref=as_li_ss_tl?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1511959612&sr=1-70&linkCode=ll1&tag=mrsmrm-20&pldnSite=1 for just $1.99.

 

An invitation to readers of this blog: Do you have news relating to Maine, Crime, or Writing? We’d love to hear from you. Just comment below to share.

And a reminder: If your library, school, or organization is looking for a speaker, we are often available to talk about the writing process, research, where we get our ideas, and other mysteries of the business. Contact Kate Flora

Charmed, I’m Sure . . . and a giveaway!

Kaitlyn Dunnett/Kathy Lynn Emerson here. The other day I was looking for something in my jewelry box and came across my old charm bracelet. Remember those? Or maybe what you remember is something called a charm bracelet that looks entirely different. It depends, I suppose, on how old you are.

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I was born in 1947. In 1963, at least in Liberty, New York, where I grew up, THE gift almost every girl got for her sixteenth birthday was a sterling silver charm bracelet. If she had a sweet sixteen party, her friends might give her charms as gifts, but if I remember correctly, she more often bought them for herself, because every charm was supposed to signify something that was not only special but also personal. Some girls had bracelets bulging with charms. It was a wonder they could even lift their arms. Others, like me, were either on limited budgets or were pickier about what they wanted to commemorate.

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My charms (the ones on the bracelet—let’s not get snarky here!) are few and far between, but each one definitely had and still has meaning. The first, traditionally, was the one that said “Sweet Sixteen” and mine, in the spirit of the times, also featured high heeled shoes. 1963, remember? Not that far out of the 1950s. We’ve come a long way, baby.

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The ballet dancers were the first charm I added. I took ballet lessons through my junior year in high school. Because I was the tallest girl in the class and because I didn’t take toe lessons, I ended up playing the role of the prince in two consecutive recitals. Concurrently, and during my senior year, my focus was on plays, hence the comedy/tragedy mask and the trombone. Why a trombone? Because we did The Music Man as our high school musical my senior year, an experience that had a huge impact on a lot of us. Thank you, Gary Eckhart, art teacher and director extraordinaire.

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You’ll notice another charm between the dancers and the mask. It’s a bit out of order, since I graduated from high school at seventeen (diploma charm), but the drinking age in New York State in 1965 was eighteen, so even though by then I was living in Maine, I had to add something to mark the occasion. I also brought a half gallon of legally purchased dark rum back to college after Christmas break that year. I kept it hidden in my knitting bag. I wasn’t a big beer drinker, but I thought beer steins were cool, and my first alcoholic drink ever (rite of passage!) was a beer.

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Moving on, there are only two more charms. I guess I just wasn’t into charm bracelets the way some girls were. One is the seal of Bates College. The other is a wedding bell.

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Now that I’ve rediscovered the charm bracelet, I’m going to have to think of a way to work it, or at least a charm bracelet, into one of the plots in my Deadly Edits series, where the amateur detective is just a little younger than I am and (what a shocker!) has a great many of my high school memories.

What about you, dear reader? Did you wear a charm bracelet in your younger days? If you did, please share, and tell us about some of your favorite charms.

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GIVEAWAY: X Marks the Scot has no charm bracelets in it, but this eleventh entry in the Liss MacCrimmon series has just been published in hardcover. I have one copy to give away to someone who comments on this post. The winner will be randomly chosen by one of my cats.

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Kathy Lynn Emerson/Kaitlyn Dunnett is the author of more than fifty traditionally published books written under several names. She won the Agatha Award and was an Anthony and Macavity finalist for best mystery nonfiction of 2008 for How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries and was an Agatha Award finalist in 2015 in the best mystery short story category. She was the Malice Domestic Guest of Honor in 2014. Currently she writes the contemporary Liss MacCrimmon Mysteries and the “Deadly Edits” series (Crime & Punctuation—2018) as Kaitlyn and the historical Mistress Jaffrey Mysteries (Murder in a Cornish Alehouse) as Kathy. The latter series is a spin-off from her earlier “Face Down” mysteries and is set in Elizabethan England. New in 2017 is a collection of short stories, Different Times, Different Crimes. Her websites are www.KaitlynDunnett.com and www.KathyLynnEmerson.com

 

 

Incidental Pleasures

Today it is our pleasure to host a guest blog from William Andrews, and introduce you to his Maine-based mystery series:

[image error]William Andrews: I had a call recently from someone who is teaching an adult-education course on mystery novels that deal with thefts of art works and other valuable artifacts.  She’s including my Stealing History (Islandport Press, 2006), the first of what is so far a three-part series featuring Julie Williamson, the director of an historical society in rural Maine who becomes adept at solving thefts—and murders.  I was obviously flattered to have her use the book—and happy that the 65 students in the course would be buying it.  It’s a good fit for her course since it centers on Julie’s efforts to locate several valuable items that had gone missing from her historical society’s archives prior to her arrival as director.

So when she called I assumed she wanted to ask about the missing items, the most valuable of which is an original letter from Abraham Lincoln to Hannibal Hamblin.  She did, but only to ask the obvious:  was that real?  No, made up, like the rest of the book.  She said she guessed that but then talked about what really motivated her call:  the descriptions in Stealing History of meetings of the historical society’s board of trustees.  She loved them and laughed out loud at what various trustees had to say. I shouldn’t have been surprised. Her response was actually typical of comments made at the signings and talks I did when the mystery was published.  It was what people wanted to talk about.  Anyone who has served on a board of trustees of a nonprofit organization—or just attended a lot of meetings–can find familiar types among those I depict:

*the pompous fool who talks not to say anything but to capture air time

*the stickler for parliamentary procedure who thinks Roberts Rules of Order came down alongside the Ten Commandments

*the quiet person who says nothing until he sticks his knife in the ribs of another trustee who presents an argument wholly lacking in logic

*the one who interrupts a discussion to note that of course all of these points had been made 5 or 10 or some number of years earlier and so not worth time now

And so on.  Over the course of my career before I started writing mysteries I sat [image error]through probably hundreds of board meetings, some as the board’s CEO and others as a trustee myself, and the chance to depict some of the behavior I remembered—and perhaps to skewer the people who did it—was irresistible  when I wrote Stealing History.  The next two in the series–Breaking Ground (2011) and Mapping Murder (2017)–continue that little tradition, with the same trustees saying similar things and with new ones starting their own traditions.

So what does all that have to do with writing mysteries?  A friend who’s an avid reader of the genre says that while he likes to figure out Who Done It, his main motive is to find what he calls “incidental pleasures.”  All good mysteries have these, whether directly tied to plot or characterization or, as is perhaps true in my case, because the writer just likes to have fun.  While I think incidental pleasures are to be had in all good mysteries, they probably tend to be more common in the “cozy” sub-genre that my mysteries represent.  Still, when I read hard-boiled, blood-drenched police procedurals, I almost always find and enjoy such incidental pleasures as the witty and sarcastic to-and-fros among hard charging cops, the eccentric behavior of a prosecutor, the culinary peculiarities of a perp, or the sartorial sins of someone’s boss.

I cultivate and enjoy such incidental pleasures, and I’d like to hear from more experienced writers what they think:  Do you like reading them? Writing them? Do they get in the way or help?