Terry Odell's Blog, page 144
April 5, 2016
In the Interview Room – Rae James
Today I welcome Rae James to Terry’s Place. Writing as R. Franklin James, Rae authors the Hollis Morgan Mystery Series, a former ex-con turned amateur sleuth.
What’s your biggest distraction when you should be writing?
It’s reading, hands down. When I satisfy my daily word count I can’t wait to get into whatever book I’m reading. Thank goodness, I’m pretty self-disciplined.
Plotter or Pantser?
I’m a 50% plotter. I outline in rough scenes the first 140 pages or so, then I write the ending. I g...
April 4, 2016
Character Redemption
I picked up a romantic suspense book by a NYT best selling author recently, and I’m at the halfway point, wondering why I should keep reading. Why? The storyline/plot seemed interesting, but I’m ready to throw the hero over the ship he commands and hope the sharks eat him. It’s not that he’s an antihero. He’s just plain unlikable.
It’s been said that strong characters can make up for a weak plot, but even the strongest plot won’t engage readers if they don’t like the characters. Of course, th...
April 1, 2016
Check Your Calendars
The Internet will be teeming with all kinds of reports today. Before you believe anything you read, don’t forget what day it is.
Here are a few links for you.
Whatever today brings, have a great weekend, everyone.
March 31, 2016
Throw Some Gas Grips Into Your Story
When I first started writing, a critique group leader gave me perhaps the worst writing advice out there. I was writing Finding Sarah (my first attempt and an original novel), and about all I knew was that it was supposed to be a romance. (That’s another story, since at the time, I’d never read a romance and thought I was writing a mystery.)
About all I knew at the time was that I needed to keep my hero and heroine from resolving their relationship until the end of the book, so I continued to...
March 30, 2016
What’s Cooking Wednesday – Crockpot Taco Chicken Chili
Hubster was down in the Springs dog-sitting and dined on this while he was there. He brought home a little bit to share.
Crock Pot Taco Chicken Chili
Ingredients:
1 small onion, chopped
1 (15.5 oz) can black beans
1 (15.5 oz) can kidney beans
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
10 oz package frozen corn kernels
2 (10 oz) cans diced tomatoes w/chilies
4 oz can chopped green chili peppers, chopped
1 packet taco seasoning
1T cumin
1 T chili powder
24 oz (3-4) boneless skinless chicken breasts
Optional to...
March 29, 2016
In the Interview Room – Mary Marvella
Please welcome Mary Marvella, romantic suspense author. She retired from teaching and writes full time. She has a PDF of Protective Instincts to one luck commenter. Also, she has coupons for a FREE copy of The Gift, a paranormal novella, for everyone. Code and link at the end of this post.
What’s your biggest distraction when you should be writing?
Actually tutoring and editing freelance get in the way. I suck at making schedules!
Plotter or Pantser?
I plot in my head enough to know where I...
March 28, 2016
R.U.E. Resist the Urge to Explain
When I recapped the SleuthFest session on writing suspense, one of the tips mentioned R.U.E., or Resist the Urge to Explain. I promised I’d address that topic by revisiting a blog post I wrote back in 2010.
Anyone who’s undertaken writing has heard “Show, Don’t Tell”—probably more times than they’ve wanted. This isn’t a hard and fast rule, because often telling is more efficient than showing, and done well, gets the point across. But too much telling, especially when it comes across as author...
March 25, 2016
Friday Field Trip – Colorado Spring
March 20th was the first day of Spring. In Colorado, especially in the mountains, that can mean anything.
Here’s the thermometer reading from our deck that morning.
It warmed up, and we had a visitor in our front yard.
On Wednesday, things changed.
Hubster thought he’d clear the driveway.
The birds need to be fed, too.
Ice accumulates on the eaves.
The next day, the sun is out again.
And a visitor is checking to see if the birds dropped any seeds from the feeder.
Have a great week...
March 24, 2016
SleuthFest Recap 8 – From Midlist to A list
This will be my final recap from SleuthFest, and I hope you’ve enjoyed some of my posts. In this session, Kris Montee (half of the PJ Parrish writing team) threw questions at editor/publisher Neil Nyren of G.P Putnam’s Sons (a division of Penguin Random House) and author CJ Box.
The first question, obviously enough was “What is a mid list author?” and the answer was “it’s someone in between being a best seller and low seller.” Nyren addressed how they as publishers worked to make CJ Box the b...
March 23, 2016
What’s Cooking Wednesday – Easy Chicken Pesto Bake
We picked up a jar of Trader Joe’s Pesto with Quinoa on a trip to Colorado Springs not long ago, and here’s a very quick and easy recipe that’s become a ‘go to’ favorite. You don’t need the Pesto with Quinoa; plain pesto will work, or you can mix up a small batch of quinoa and combine it with whatever pesto you are using.
Easy Chicken Pesto Bake
Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
Small jar of Pesto with Quinoa (see above)
4 tomatoes, sliced
Mozzarella cheese (sliced or grated, doesn’t matter)
S&...
