Lori Rader-Day's Blog, page 10

BIG news! Mary Higgins Clark Award nomination

Today I learned that The Black Hour has been nominated for the Mary Higgins Clark Award. This is huge to me. I’m so thrilled and overwhelmed and all the big emotions. Upon further reflection, I also realized that I was getting nominated for an award named after Mary Higgins Clark that is for books written in the manner of Agatha Christie, in the year that Lois Duncan is receiving her Grand Master status from the MWA.

Those three women are the reason I am me, the reason I’m the reader and writer I am today. I can’t wait to attend the ceremony. A win would be tremendous, but I already feel like I’ve won something very special, and if I get to meet Lois Duncan (I’ve already met Mary Higgins Clark!!), then you know I will have won the prize I really want. What if Mary is there, too?

*fans self*

In other news, The Black Hour also happens to be up for the Best First Mystery Lovey Award at Love Is Murder in a couple of weeks. I have to wait until APRIL to hear about the Higgins Clark. How ever will I pass the time?

Oh, right. My agent, who called to congratulate me today, is waiting on 50 pages of my next project. That should keep me busy.

 

 

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Three Questions with…Susan Froetschel

I feel like I’ve known Susan Froetschel for so long, I can’t remember where we first actually met. Love Is Murder in Chicago, I think? Last year? Was that only last year? We’re both members of Mystery Writers of America Midwest Chapter, but I know her work best because we’re published by the same press, Seventh Street Books. Susan is writing super smart mysteries, here; make no mistake. The second book in her award-winning series, Allure of Deceit, is out February 3, and shortly after that, I’ll be seeing her once again at Love Is Murder—can’t wait!

In Allure of Deceit, a young inventor and his wife are murdered, leaving behind a will that surprises family and friends alike. One parent must direct a vast fortune toward charities in the developing world. Stakes are high and cultures clash—motives for fraud and murder.

If that sounds as awesome to you as it does to me, check out the first in the series, Fear of Beauty, to get ready for it!

Welcome, Susan!

ALLURE OF DECEIT is about charity gone wrong. What inspired the book?

My focus on a novel about charity began with an op-ed for the Christian Science Monitor about US generosity for charities, donor whims, and the loss of income-tax revenue due to write-offs during a time when government services like schools are being cut. For a world with more than 7 billion people, charitable giving often offers a piecemeal approach to solving big problems with all the forethought of a lottery. Charitable giving can be riddled with inefficiencies. Should a few donors set priorities for a community? Why does one school get a windfall and not others? Is this how society should provide needed services?

Afghanistan, especially the fictional village of Laashekoh, is the setting for a story about a clash of cultures over charity, the incentives for greed and manipulation. Zakat—mandatory annual donation of 2.5 percent of one’s savings and possessions to assist the poor, travelers and others, not just income as in Christian tithing—is one of five pillars of Islam. As a suspense writer, I imagined the puzzlement of a small productive village in Afghanistan being considered a recipient for aid from distant lands.

What kind of research do you do for your novels?

Since 2005, I have been reading, editing, and writing about the forces of globalization for YaleGlobal, and essays on globalization of God, assertive ignorance, and celebrity activism have provided context for my novels. I follow the news on Afghanistan and read English language newspapers from the country. I have studied historical books and photographs of the country from the 1920s and 1930s at Yale’s Sterling Library. I have worked and talked with students from around the globe, including immigrants and refugees from South and Central Asia. I have hiked in deserts and forests, crawled through caves, and cooked meals over wood fires.

Mostly I draw on my own life experiences and memories: As a child, assessing when to withhold details and ideas from my adults. Raising an adventuresome son with a mind of his own, and observing how children manage inequality. Spending time on farms owned by family members and others, witnessing the challenges and pride in growing food for others. Tutoring adults who could not read, and talking about their motivations and quests for secrecy. Every encounter can contribute to a novel. I gathered research for Fear of Beauty and Allure of Deceit, but for the Afghan characters stripped away assumptions about modern conveniences or the type of common knowledge that comes with literacy.

You’re writing about places in the world lots of people will never go—what is the one thing you wish people knew about the Middle East and/or your work about it?

My books are optimistic, less about terrorism and more about the seeds of resentment in families and communities that can instigate extremism—the frustrations and dangers of not being able to read, escape the shame of one’s parents, find work to support a family, or voice one’s doubts.

All is not bleak or hopeless in that part of the world. One out of five people on earth are Muslims, and most are not extremists. Parents shape their children’s attitudes and fears on how to handle change, disappointment, or opportunity, including speaking our minds and worshiping as we choose, voting for and questioning our representatives, pursuing an education and thinking critically. Our world is small, the forces of globalization are intense; the repercussions of injustice, ignorance, poverty, and climate change in another land are far-reaching. We must do our part to live deliberately.

Susan Froetschel is the author of five mystery books set in Alaska, London and most recently Afghanistan. Fear of Beauty was nominated for the 2014 Mary Higgins Clark Award, Mystery Writers of America, and recipient of a gold medal for suspense from Military Writers Society of American and the youth literature award from the Middle East Outreach Council. She lives in Michigan.

 

 

 

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The writing resolutions, 2015 style

This week I’ve seen about a hundred different stories about resolutions: how to set them, why they never work, how not to set them, why you’re wasting your time. You know, a lot of these stories have been anti-resolution, and I get why a story like that might seem more interesting than a pro-resolution story.

I have a pro-resolution story. Each year I list a few goals, email them to my best friend, receive her list, and tuck both lists away. At the end of the year, we check in.

No, we never do all the things we say we want to. We are not technically superheroes. But you know what? We do get a few of them done.

Like last year, I said I wanted to read 50 books. I didn’t. I read 46. Who among you is going to fault me for not reaching that goal, when I also wrote a book last year? Put your pointing fingers away. Checkmark for Lori.

Last year I said I would finish the draft of Little Pretty Things. I did! I didn’t do it as quickly as I would have liked, but I did it. Checkmark.

I also said I would start another book. Welllll, YES, I DID THAT. I didn’t start *drafting* a new book, but I started *thinking about* a new book. Checkmark.

I won’t bore you with the whole list. I pulled through on several goals, and I dropped the ball on a few more. That’s pretty much how it works. Does that mean I shouldn’t set goals, because I didn’t reach 100 percent?

One of my goals for 2015 is to get back to posting here more often. I won’t take that checkmark quite yet. Visit once in a while to see how I do?

You want the list?

• Write 50 pages and a synposis for next project

• Draft of next project by September 1 (fast! So fast!)

• Draft a few pages of another idea I have, to see if I know how to do it (no hints, sorry)

• Draft one new crime story

• Read 50 books.

So as you can see: No small plans around here. The likelihood that I can do all these things is very low, but I like trying.

Happy New Year to you all!

 

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Fun gifts for mystery writers

I just spent the afternoon with a group of mystery authors to celebrate the holiday season. What a great group of people. But a great group of people with dark senses of humor, to be sure. I got to thinking…are we hard to shop for?

Not at all! Here, a few ideas for the mystery author (or reader) in your life:

A blood spatter pillow. I’ve got mine, thanks to my best friend. She gets me.

A little tiny Edgar Allan Poe of their very own. They will want one nevermore, with your assistance.

An ice cube tray that makes gun-shaped ice. You know, for parties.

This mug. Writers drink a lot of caffeine, and mugs get caffeine to your face.

A bathmat that will freak out their roommate.

A trip to the Poe Museum?

Fun murder-centric entertainment.

Fun murder-centric entertainment from the Queen herself, Agatha Christie. This one. This one. And this one. If they’ve read all the Agatha, get them this instead.

Anything pretty from Moleskine. I like the graph paper notebooks. Check out while you’re there. Yeah, it’s not how you’ve been saying it. Who knew?

Time, if you have any power over how they spend theirs. If not, wine.

And, of course, gift cards to their local independent bookstore. Of course, while you’re in that store, make sure the store carries your friend’s books, buy one, read it, and post a positive review wherever you have a login or are willing to get one (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, Library Thing, etc). If you’ve already done those things (you’re a great friend), share your friend’s work with someone who might like it. Word of mouth is the best gift of all.

Happy holidays!

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LITTLE PRETTY THINGS is off to my editor!

YAAAAAAAAAAYYYYY!!!!!

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Cover reveal! First look at LITTLE PRETTY THINGS!

Good news, campers. It’s now available for pre-sale!

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The winner of Mark Pryor’s THE BUTTON MAN!

The big winner of the advanced reader copy of Mark Pryor’s THE BUTTON MAN is …DRUM ROLLLLLLLLLL:

Julia Buckley!

Happy reading to Julia, and thanks to all who participated!

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CONTEST: Win a copy of THE BUTTON MAN by Mark Pryor!

Remember that nice British chap we had on the blog a few weeks ago? Well, he has a brand new book out, and if you’re new to his work, this might be the perfect chance to jump in. THE BUTTON MAN, you see, is a prequel. Boom.

THE BUTTON MAN: In this prequel to The Bookseller, former FBI profiler Hugo Marston has just become head of security at the US Embassy in London. He’s asked to protect a famous movie-star couple, Dayton Harper and Ginny Ferro, who, while filming a movie in rural England, killed a local man in a hit and run.

So, hashtag free hashtag book. Who wants an advanced reader copy of THE BUTTON MAN by Charming Mark Pryor?

Comment here with your favorite mystery to win! (Comments are moderated, so give your comment a bit of time to post.) Winner will be chosen on FRIDAY, September 12.

 

 

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Meet Nathaniel Barber, your new awkward crush

Diann Adamson, also known as DJ Adamson, invited me to take part in this blog hop. Her book, Admit to Mayhem (out in October), rides along with Lillian Dove, a recovering alcoholic, as she discovers a house on fire, with victims inside. She turns amateur sleuth when it becomes clear the fire has been purposefully set—and that her life is also in danger. Read an excerpt here.

In The Black Hour, I created two protagonists. Amelia Emmet is a sociology professor who studies violence, and then is the victim of a student she’s never met. She obviously gets most of the attention, and the story really is hers to tell.

But then there’s Nathaniel. It’s his turn.

Nathaniel Barber started out as a student who arrives at Dr. Emmet’s office door too early, too eager.

From my perspective as I wrote this scene, he was a character meant to show Amelia’s new attitude toward students. Since one of them shot her and cost her a year of her life, she’s justifiably nervous around them. She hates their big backpacks, which might conceal anything.

But Nathaniel had more to say. He became half of the book.

I won’t pretend the muse did it. What happened as I wrote the first fifty pages or so was that I became keenly aware that Amelia was still in a lot of pain. She couldn’t race around campus tracking down the answers she wanted. She would need to stay put. But here was Nathaniel, buttoned-up eager beaver. What did he want? Only to train his own sociological interest in violence on what had happened to Dr. Emmet.

Amelia Emmet was fun to write because she’s done playing around. She gets to say whatever she wants. She gets to shock people and make them understand they’re being ridiculous around her.

Nathaniel—or Nath (pronounced “Nayth” in my head, since people sometimes ask)—was fun to write because he’s so charmingly strange and vulnerable. He’s hurting from the things that have happened to him, too, but they’re quieter, more personal things than what’s happened to his teacher. They weren’t newsworthy, but they’ve wounded him just the same.

Introducing Nath was sort of an accident, then a lucky accident, and then—a really lucky accident. Having the two characters to play off one another gave The Black Hour its energy and structure. My favorite parts of the book are still the moments in which readers get more from the story because Amelia and Nath act individually or keep things from one another. Together, the two of them make all my accidents seem purposeful and planned.

Thanks for checking out The Black Hour to meet both Nath and Amelia. Look for more interesting protagonists coming up next week from these two amazing writers:

Ever distractible, you may find Lisa Alber staring out windows, dog walking, or drinking red wine with her friends. Ireland, books, animals, photography, and blogging round out her distractions. She is the author of KILMOON (Muskrat Press), the first in the County Clare mystery series, and a recipient of an Elizabeth George Foundation writing grant. Watch for her blog hop post next week at http://lisaalber.wordpress.com.

 

 

 

M.P. Cooley‘s debut crime novel ICE SHEAR (William Morrow) is one of O, The Oprah Magazine’s Best Books of Summer 2014 and was called “an excellent debut” by Publishers Weekly in their starred review. A native of upstate New York, she currently lives in Campbell, California. She worked in publishing for a decade, acquiring business, accounting, and economics books. Currently, she works in administration at a nonprofit organization in Silicon Valley.

 

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Three Questions with…Ben H. Winters

Ben H. Winters and I met for the first time at the Public Library Association conference in Indianapolis last year, where we and Laura McHugh did a dinner-with-librarians event together. Having dinner with us was a prize. But I’d been aware of Ben’s work earlier, because we both belong to the Midwest Chapter of Mystery Writers of America (he writes from Indianapolis), and Ben won, ahem, an EDGAR AWARD for his book The Last Policeman. It was hard not to be aware of Ben.

 

Now the third in his award-winning series, World of Trouble, is out. You’re probably aware of Ben, too, but if not, today’s your lucky day.

 

Tell us the story of how the idea behind The Last Policeman series came to you?

I was in the fortunate position of having a solid ongoing relationship with a small press, that being Quirk Books, publisher of my unlikely first novel, Sense and Sensiiblity and Sea Monsters. I knew I wanted to do a detective story but I also knew that Quirk was the kind of publisher that wanted some sort of angle, a “big take” on whatever it was I wanted to do. So I think that’s how I arrived at the twist, although I quickly realized that my civilization-destroying asteroid had gifted me with a lot of narratively and thematically interesting places to go.

 

What do you and Detective Hank Palace have in common?
Well, we’re both tall and thin and ungainly, and we both have been known to use the phrase “holy moly,” despite the contention of some readers that no real human says that. Other than that, we are very different people. He has a keen eye for detail, an ability to connect the dots on complex problems, and a relentless focus on one thing at a time. These are not qualities I share. Oh also he has a loyal dog who has occasionally saved his life—I have a lazy cat who occasionally barfs on my office carpet.

 

What advice could you give to a writer considering the challenges (and joys?) of writing a series?

Make sure that each book is centered around one case, or one event, with a beginning, middle and end. With its own big questions, big themes, and big conflict that works toward satisfying resolution. A true series is made up of very strong individual novels, not a bunch of pretty good novels that together become something great. I am currently obsessed with Walter Mosley’s Easy Rawlins books, and each alone is magnificent. Especially A Red Death. Go read A Red Death.

 

You heard the man. Go read! Thanks to Ben for answering three nosy questions and for hosting me on his site a few weeks ago. I got to talk about the Midwest as a sizzling hotbed of murder.

 

Ben H. Winters is the author of eight novels, most recently World of Trouble, concluding the Edgar-award-winning Last Policeman trilogy. His work for kids includes The Secret Life of Ms. Finkleman and Literally Disturbed: Tales to Keep You Up at Night. You can find out about him at BenHWinters.com or follow him on twitter @BenHWinters or at Facebook.com/BenHWintersIsAWriter

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