Nancy J. Cohen's Blog: Nancy's Notes from Florida, page 76

Mystery Writers of America

Our festivities for the Mystery Writers of America national board meeting began at a signing event on Friday night at Mysterious Bookshop. Here we chatted with other authors, fellow board members, and fans while sipping wine. A good time was had by all.

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Dinner followed at Sammy���s Noodle Shop. It was great to meet each other in person this way.

Following was an all-day session on Saturday where we got down to the serious business of the organization. I scribbled down many great ideas to try at the chapter level, as I was there in my capacity as president of the Florida chapter.

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Then we had a lovely dinner at Bobby Van���s before it was time to say fond farewells.

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As temperatures had dipped into the teens on Saturday morning and Sunday arrived with dreary rain, I was glad to board the plane for sunny Florida.

For more photos, visit my Facebook Page to view the album.

New York City

Manhattan is always fascinating to visit, and this time was no exception. I came to attend the Mystery Writers of America national board meeting but arrived a day early to take in the sights. Since it was cold out and we were hungry, we began our sojourn at Hale & Hearty Soups.

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Thursday afternoon, we roamed around Fifth Avenue, stopping in one of the clothing shops. It was impossible to try on anything while wearing four layers of clothes against the 20 degrees plus temperature outside. We wandered on to grab pizza for a quick dinner before seeing Kinky Boots at the Al Hirschfeld theater. It was a fun, lively performance with a feel-good vibe.

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On Friday, we ate breakfast at a local deli, getting our fill of nova salmon and cream cheese on a bagel. Then we took a taxi to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Here we started at the Egyptian exhibit, enthralled by the replicas of tombs where we felt like Indiana Jones.

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Downstairs was a special costume exhibit called ���Death Becomes Her��� about ritual mourning outfits in earlier centuries. Somber music played throughout, enhancing the mood. Besides clothing, mourning jewelry like I mention in my book, Died Blonde, was displayed. People used to include hair from their departed loved ones in these brooches and such.

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We ate lunch at one of the museum caf��s overlooking Central Park. The trees were bare this time of year but the cold didn���t deter people from walking the paths there. After lunch, we headed to the Asian section after breezing through the Medieval wing. This area on the second floor wasn���t nearly as popular as others. We breezed through, already tired of looking at statuary.

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Next we stopped by the European artists to see works by famous painters. We got too tired to continue and left the museum. However, we were unable to resist grabbing hot dogs at a Sabrett food stand outside. A lineup of food trucks provided many choices.

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For more photos, visit my Facebook Page to view the album.

 

The Muddle in the Middle

Somewhere in the middle of my current WIP, I froze with hesitation. It seemed as though I could finish the book within the next fifty pages, and I had one hundred pages to go. Where would I find enough material?

I staved off a full-blown panic attack by realizing this same fear struck me with every book. And each time, I made my word count without a problem. So how do I slug through to the end? And what if you get stuck? How can you take the plot in a new direction?

Raise the body count.

This is especially easy in a murder mystery. Just throw in another dead body. Who is dead and why? Who could have done it? How does this deepen the primary mystery? Could two different killers be involved? What if this victim was your prime suspect? Who does that leave?

Have an important character go missing.

If a character disappears mid-point in your story, that���s going to disrupt everyone���s plans and theories. Is this person in jeopardy, or are they guilty of perpetrating the crime? Did perhaps one bad guy betray another and do him in? Or is this act meant to manipulate a good person into obeying the kidnapper���s demands? How do people feel about this missing person? Was he loved or despised? How far will the hero go to get him back?

Create a new character who shows up unexpectedly.

What is this person���s role in the mystery? How does his appearance change the hero���s theories? Who was keeping this character���s pending arrival a secret? Is it someone who was presumed dead or who has been missing for years? What tipped this person off that it was time to appear? This would be the time for that secret baby to come to light or the past husband no one knew about or a former girlfriend with a grudge. Or it���s someone who���s heard about the case and wants to cash in somehow. Could they be a fraud? How does his arrival affect the other characters?

Build on secrets and motives already present.

If you���ve laid the proper groundwork for your story, your characters have enough secrets, motives and hidden depths you can explore as you move the story along. Write down each loose end as you review the high points and make sure you go down each trail until that thread is tied.

You���ll usually find you have enough material if you just keep writing. Snippets of suspicions your characters mention can be plumped out until laid to rest. So give your people enough layers that peeling the onion takes the entire book. Except just when you thought you knew it all, throw in another twist like one of the points above.

What are your tips for getting through the muddled middle?

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It���s not too late! Vote for Hanging by a Hair under Mystery Novels in the Annual Preditors & Editors Readers��� Poll: http://critters.org/predpoll/novelmys.shtml

Vote for Warrior Lord under Romance Novels: http://critters.org/predpoll/novelr.shtml

Win a $25 Amazon/BN gift card or free books from Booklover���s Bench authors, including a first edition signed copy of Moonlight Rhapsody, one of my sci-fi romances, in our January contest: http://bookloversbench.com/contest/

Writing Goals for 2015

Usually I split my career goals into two paths, the creative end and the business of writing. So here are my upcoming objectives for 2015.

WRITING GOALS

Finish and Submit Facials Can Be Fatal, #13 in the Bad Hair Day Mysteries.

Revise backlist mystery titles, including Hair Raiser, Murder by Manicure, and Body Wave.

Commence audio book process starting with Permed to Death.

Hire editor for two standalone mysteries and consider bundling them as a box set.

Begin plotting #14 in the Bad Hair Day Mysteries.

Consider timeline for writing books #4-6 in the Drift Lords Series.

BUSINESS GOALS

Hold launch party for each backlist title as the revised Author’s Edition is published.

Plan promo campaign for Peril by Ponytail, #12 in the Bad Hair Day Mysteries, due out in October.

Enter books in writing contests.

Keep up with quarterly newsletter, blogs and social networking sites.

And what do you hope to accomplish this year?

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There’s still time! Vote for Hanging by a Hair under Mystery Novels in the Annual Preditors & Editors Readers’ Poll: http://critters.org/predpoll/novelmys.shtml

Today begins the next Booklover’s Bench contest. Visit our site and enter now: http://bookloversbench.com. I’ll be giving away a first edition signed copy of Moonlight Rhapsody, one of my earlier sci-fi romances.

2014 in Review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 13,000 times in 2014. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 5 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Goals Met

Happy New Year! It’s traditional on this day to revisit what’s been accomplished over the past twelve months. So I dug up my goal list from this time last year to see what actually got done. Here we go:

WRITING GOALS

Finish Peril by Ponytail, #12 in the Bad Hair Day Mysteries. (DONE; Turned in, edits finished, book is scheduled for release in October 2015)

Do edits for Warrior Lord, #3 in the Drift Lords series, when I get them from my editor. Read through the page proofs until this project is complete and in production. (DONE; Book Released August 2014)

Complete edits on Murder at Your Service, an original mystery that I plan to indie publish. (NOT DONE; put this project on the back burner.)

 

BUSINESS GOALS

Implement marketing plan for Hanging By A Hair, #11 in the Bad Hair Day Mysteries, due out in April. (DONE)

Complete legal preparation for indie publishing venture by the end of January (DONE). Hire book cover designer and book formatter (DONE).

Publish Writing the Cozy Mystery in time for SleuthFest at the end of February. (DONE).

Design marketing plan for Warrior Lord (DONE).

Begin prep work for Thumbs Up, my father’s travel memoir, a true adventure of his cross-country hitchhiking journey in 1929. (DONE AND PUBLISHED).

So it appears I’ve accomplished all but one of my goals. I had two works of fiction and two works of nonfiction published in 2014. That’s quite enough, since launch parties and promo took up the rest of the time. In fact, that’s more than what I hope to do in 2015. In another post, I’ll share my new goals for the coming year.

How about you? Did you get done all you set out to do?

 

Disney Revisited

The Magic Kingdom never loses its magic for us, even though we’re approaching our later years. We celebrated our engagement there, and this year we celebrated our 38th anniversary at this magical theme park.

First we had a lovely dinner at Eddie V’s on West Sand Lake Road. I’d made the reservation and said it was our anniversary, so they greeted us with a “Happy Anniversary.” The white clothed table was strewn with red rose petals and a congratulatory note from the restaurant. Then they offered us a complimentary champagne toast, which we gratefully accepted. Dinner was delicious. We’d definitely return again.

The next morning, we parked at the ticket and transportation center and took the monorail to the Magic Kingdom. The streets were festively decorated for the holidays. A mini-parade was going on so we stopped to watch.

 

 

Then we boarded the People Mover in Tomorrowland. This sedate ride is our speed these days. We skipped another favorite, the Carousel of Progress, to see if we could get in for lunch at the Beauty and the Beast castle. Alas, reservations were full. We proceeded past Fantasyland toward the Haunted Mansion, noting the store that used to hold kitchen wares now sold Haunted Mansion souvenirs. Why not? Every other ride has an associated gift shop. Some of the items were imaginative. We ate lunch in the nearby Colombia House, then strolled around the rest of the park. That’s the beauty of having a condo nearby and annual passes. We don’t have to stay late because we’re trying to make the most of our money. We can go for a walk and a pleasant lunch out then go home to read and rest.

 

Another day found us at Fort Wilderness for another lunch and stroll. We like this wooded park where guests can rent camping sites or log cabins. It feels more like a wilderness area than the other theme parks. It’s interesting how trees have changed color in Central Florida. You’ll see vibrant reds and golds like up north mixed among the greenery. It gave us a taste of Fall.

We couldn’t resist trying the new parking garage at Downtown Disney to see what was going on with their renovations into Disney Springs. Lots of changes are coming. We saw one restaurant under construction called the Boathouse and another one that looks like an airplane hangar. Captain Jack’s restaurant is gone. The Rainforest Café now has a Lava Lounge, and there’s a bridge being built across the lagoon. We ate lunch and watched the latest Night at the Museum movie in the Dine-In movie theater. The film was entertaining, good family fare for the holidays. Here’s the new Starbucks at Downtown Disney. It has a cool outdoor seating area and a reserve coffee bar separate from the regular counter.

 

And we even made time for a restful stroll around our condo lake. Didn’t spot the resident alligator this time. Now we’re at our house gearing up for more holiday parties while I’m trying to get back on a work schedule. I miss those walks around the Disney parks.

Happy Holidays to all!

Turkey Tetrazzini

It’s always useful to have some leftover turkey recipes around the holidays. Here are two of mine for turkey tetrazzini. I recently made the second recipe with accompanying photos. If you wish, you can freeze some fresh cut up cooked turkey right away after roasting. Then when you’re ready for a new dish and aren’t sick of poultry anymore, defrost the turkey meat and create a new dinner. Recipe number two serves 6 to 8 and is a one-dish meal that goes well with a salad.

TURKEY TETRAZZINI – 1

16 oz. whole wheat spaghetti or vermicelli

2 cups chopped, cooked turkey

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 chopped onion

1 chopped green pepper

12 oz. sliced fresh mushrooms

10 oz. can Healthy Choice cream of mushroom soup

12 oz. package frozen mixed vegetables, defrosted

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

¼ cup white wine

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Paprika

Cook spaghetti according to package directions, drain, and set aside in large bowl. In a large skillet, heat oil. Sauté onion, green pepper, and mushrooms until wilted. Add to spaghetti along with mushroom soup, mixed vegetables, cheddar cheese, white wine, and Worcestershire sauce. Mix well to blend. Pour into greased baking dish. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese and paprika on top. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes, or until heated through.

 

TURKEY TETRAZZINI – 2

16 oz. whole wheat spaghetti or vermicelli

2 cubes chicken bouillon

2 Tbsp. butter

12 oz. sliced fresh mushrooms

2 Tbsp. flour

¼ cup sherry, white wine, or chicken broth

¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

1 cup fat free evaporated milk

4 oz. jar sliced pimento

14.5 oz. can peas and carrots, drained

2 cups chopped, cooked turkey

½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

¼ tsp. paprika

Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook spaghetti in large pot according to directions. Drain but save 2-1/2 cups cooking liquid. Dissolve bouillon cubes in this remaining liquid. In a separate nonstick skillet, sauté mushrooms in butter until wilted. Blend in flour. Add sherry and reserved cooking liquid. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Heat to boiling and simmer until slightly thickened. Next: Put cooked spaghetti into large bowl. Stir in mozzarella cheese and milk. Add turkey, mushroom mixture, peas and carrots and pimento. Stir until blended. Transfer to greased baking dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and paprika. Bake for 25 minutes or until bubbly at the edges.

Left Side: Before Baking                        Right Side: After Baking

  

 

Marketing to Bloggers

At a recent meeting of Florida Romance Writers, we heard Ana Ivies speak about Marketing, Blogs and Reader Events. She runs http://wickedbookevents.com and http://anasattic.com which cater to readers.

For those who use affiliate links on their blogs, Ana says blog revenues have decreased since Kindle Unlimited got started. KU “has changed the landscape of reading.” Many bloggers won’t promote KU books. Ana sells books from her sites and puts up free and $.99 book specials there too. She advises authors that KU may be better for backlist titles. Bloggers want to promote new releases. Don’t undervalue your book to $.99 unless it’s a novella. When the third or fourth book in a series comes out, put book one on sale.

Advice For Approaching Bloggers

Find bloggers who review books similar to yours.

Research the site before querying to see if a blogger will promote your book.

Review their submission requirements. Ana says Net Galley is a good way to reach bloggers. Make sure you grammar check your query.

Follow the blogger on social media.

Address the blogger by name. Say, “Hi, I’d like to introduce myself…”

Give your name, book title, and a link to your book on Amazon. When asking to sign at an event, provide all of your links.

Support other authors.

Interact; don’t only promote.

Include all of your social media links in your email signature.

Put your Amazon author link on your FB page.

If a blogger gives you a positive review, comment on it and share it. Express your gratitude. “Thank you for taking the time to read and review my book.”

If you do a blog tour, go over and thank the host for being part of your event. A tour-wide giveaway draws readers in but don’t give away the ebook the blogger is promoting.

What Not To Do

Do not post your book or buy links on a blogger’s Facebook page. It’s okay to comment on a blogger’s FB posts and share their links.

Don’t tag a blogger in a promo post.

Don’t have your street team hijack a thread on her site and flood it with comments. One of two of your fans replying to a post is enough.

Don’t have your virtual assistant pose as you.

Don’t compare one blogger to another.

Don’t sign up a blogger for your email list without asking.

Don’t make fun of 1 star reviews.

Deal with drama privately, not online.

“When you write a book, it’s thirty percent writing and seventy percent promotion.”

Note: Any errors in this article are due to my interpretation.

Contest Alert!

Win a $25 Amazon/BN gift card or free ebooks from Booklover’s Bench authors, including a copy of my cruise ship mystery Killer Knots, in our December contest: http://bookloversbench.com/contest/

 

Brio Tuscan Grille

I love trying new restaurants, especially when they’re right around the corner from where I live. A new Brio Tuscan Grille just opened on the southeast corner of Westfield Mall in Plantation. We had an excellent meal, starting with the tomato and mozzarella Caprese salad. My husband had shrimp and crab cakes and I had grilled salmon. The fish was accompanied by roasted diced sweet potatoes, asparagus and other vegetables. It was delicious and the service was excellent. I can’t wait to go back. We also liked that they served butter instead of olive oil with the crusty bread. Prices are reasonable, and they are open for lunch. And who can resist the mini-desserts for $2.99?

 

 

Contest Alert!

Win a $25 Amazon/BN gift card or free ebooks from Booklover’s Bench authors, including a copy of my cruise ship mystery Killer Knots, in our December contest: http://bookloversbench.com/contest/