The Open Mind

I had a friend, years ago, who hosted a lovely jazz brunch
every Sunday to which she would invite her neighbors, young and old.  One Sunday, one of her elderly neighbors
asked her if he could bring a friend and of course, she said yes.  She told me that she expected an elderly
friend of her neighbor, someone retired and who lived in her
neighborhood but who she didn’t know. 
What she didn’t expect was the man who entered—young, single, Italian, gorgeous—who later on became her
husband.
They have been married for almost twenty years.
I think of this story often not just because I see her
pictures on Facebook and marvel at the life she is living now—sophisticated,
continental, international—but because I have been known to jump to a
conclusion or two myself and I respected my friend’s ability to keep an open
mind, to meet new people in spite of age.  What they all had in common, this group that got together, was a love of jazz and of my friend’s buffet spread. She thought she’d be setting another place for a new older friend–someone she had yet to meet–not a
single Italian national only too happy to meet a nice girl.  

Like my friend, I try not to make judgments
about people and/or situations before I have all the facts or before I have the
tools to make my own assessment but I have failed occasionally. (Well, more
than occasionally but shy of “often.”) I have met many people over the years
about whom I have heard not-so-great things, things that lead me to believe
that they weren’t worthy of my time or friendship only to find out that not
keeping an open mind—and listening to gossip—had robbed me of the chance to
make my own opinion or to forge a new friendship, devoid of others’
impressions.  Many of these people have
become my friends.  (It also begs the
question:  just what is being said about
me?  But that’s a blog post for another
time.)


It’s a hard thing to do, to be open to every person and experience, to not
bring any preconceived notions to bear but I’m slowly training myself. As I
told a friend once, “I can only go by my own experience in how someone treats
me.  They may be the village idiot, but
as long as they nice to me and my family, I will accept them.” 
I try to do the same with my writing.  Sometimes I think things are going to go one
way—or that a character will act a certain way—only to find out that they (or
more to the point, my mind/imagination)
had other plans.  They had their own
preconceived notions about how a scene was going to go, how they would react.
Who they would like. 
Who they would loathe. What they would do.  Where they drew the line.
In these cases, though, I’d be foolish not to listen.  They are telling me what they want, what they
like.  In the case of my
work-in-progress, the second Maeve Conlon book, I’m two-thirds of the way in
the manuscript and still getting to know some of my characters.  One who I thought I loved I have grown to
despise.  Another who I thought I
wouldn’t like has become very sympathetic. 
But I’m keeping an open mind. 
Because like my friend, there is a single woman in there and if the time
is right, a handsome Italian may come her way.
Maggie Barbieri

Family Reunion

By Dru Ann L. Love

I recently attended my first family reunion ever. We gathered in North Carolina to meet my mother’s paternal family that still resides in the area. My mom went up north when she was 18 years old and hasn’t been to her father’s hometown ever since, until 6 years ago when by chance we met two of my cousins who live in the same town where my niece attends college.

Then last year, the cousins started prepping for a reunion on Facebook and that’s where I discovered all these lost cousins and relatives I’ve never known. I was determined that both me and my mother would be attending this reunion and what a joyous time we had.

I learned the history of my family – and saw the house where the matriarch grew up and raised her 12 kids. Eight descendants of the twelve children were there from over ten different states. The oldest person attending the reunion was 95 and the youngest was two. I learned that we have an author in the family, educators, events planner, philanthropist and entrepreneurs to name a few.

I feel truly blessed that I have found and reconnected with my family.

Have you ever attended a family reunion? What was the outcome?

When Mystery Meets Romance


I write traditional mysteries with a darker edge. I don’t
write romantic suspense, much as I enjoy reading it when done well. I write
mysteries with a strong female sleuth, Skeet Bannion, who has no time for men,
except as colleagues, friends, and relatives, who’s protective of her freedom
and doesn’t want to sort out the messy entanglements that romance and sex bring
with them. Skeet prides herself on not being a cowboy cop who’s always taking
stupid chances, so what’s she doing falling for a bad boy? Talk about taking
stupid chances!

What is all this romantic mess that walked in and tangled up
my current WIP? Skeet’s practical and sensible, and she learned a hard lesson
in the failure of her marriage to a charming, flirtatious hunk. She prefers to
keep her heart under lock and key. So how did this dangerous, probably criminal
mercenary slip into its inner recesses?

As a reader, I prefer my mystery straight. A little sexual
tension maybe, but let’s keep the focus on the important thing here, which is
finding the killer. As a writer, I prefer the same. Yet, in my last Skeet
Bannion book, Every Broken Trust, a minor
character walked in and decided he liked Skeet and would become a major
character—and to my shock, Skeet developed an attraction for him that she’s
done everything but drop a nuclear bomb on to destroy, all without effect. Now,
in the WIP, Every Hidden Fear, Skeet
is losing ground in this battle against this new guy who’s probably going to
rip her heart out. How did this happen?

Yes, there’s a murder to solve and a killer to catch. Yes, there
are innocent and not-so-innocent people to save. Yes, Skeet’s as busy as ever
with no time for silly attractions. Yet, there they are, staring into each
other’s eyes and breathing heavy. It’s enough to make anyone sick.

Like most authors, I have to stay true to my characters and
honor their choices. But honestly! Yes, he did look kind of hot when he showed
up in the last book, all kitted out like an assassin, ready to rescue Skeet
from danger. Of course, Skeet wasn’t having any of it, thank you very much. She’s
quite capable of rescuing herself and any number of others from danger and did.
So why didn’t he just go away?

Such are the dilemmas authors face.

Do you like romance mixed in with your mystery? Do you
prefer to keep them separate? What do you think of characters who take over and
grow beyond what they’re supposed to be? 
And would you fall for a dangerous guy
with a classified background and a nice sense of humor who looks kind of like
Johnny Depp?

What’s in a Name?

by Bethany Maines

First off, a shameless plug. The third City of Destiny short story has been released – The Devil’s Invitational!  Only a buck and my personal favorite short story to date.  And now back to our blog…

One of the best parts of being a writer is inventing
characters and places. I have to admit that this is also one of the
hardest.  It’s difficult to find a
name for a character that sounds both authentic and memorable. The temptation
is to give a character a name that is memorable simply by the power of its
sheer awesomeness, like Colt Savage. 
For the record, Colt is a real person. I really know him. But if I named
a character Colt Savage would you believe in that character? It’s possible that
I might be able to squeeze him in as a rodeo cowboy and have it feel authentic,
but unless this the twenties and I’m writing Tarazan novels, I’m fairly certain
that a hero named Colt Savage would make you roll your eyes. Just because a
name is real doesn’t mean it sounds real (Yeah, North West, I looking at
you). 
I learned this lesson the hard way. The villain in my second
novel, Compact with the Devil, was named Brandt Dettling because I saw the name
on a “Battle of the Bands” poster for a local pub. I had assumed that Brandt
Dettling was a band name, and therefore fair game to repurposed into a
character. After all, who would actually name their child that?  It just didn’t sound real. How was I
supposed to know he was a real person and that my cousin actually knew him? Party awkwardness ensued, and from then on I
have attempted to give my character entirely fictional, but realistic names.
In the pursuit of real sounding the names, the hardest part,
for me, are last names. They are littered around us – everyone’s
got one.  But when I’m sitting at a
computer with a first name on the page, coming up with a last name is pure
torture.  In the past I’ve used
author names (text books are especially helpful for this one) and movie
credits, but both of those mean I have to get up and move away from the typing
place. And once I leave the typing place writer ADD sets in and I won’t get
back for another hour.  These days
my favorite tools are IMDB and the wonderful interactive surname map of the US
at National Geographic – it shows the most common last names by geographic
area.  IMDB.com is a website that
list the cast, crew, and a synopsis of virtually any movie and TV show. So now
instead of picking a movie and squinting at the credits, I pick a movie and
click the “full cast and crew” button. 
I usually ignore the actors (too well known) and head straight for the
crew.  There’s a wealth of
wonderful names just waiting for my character to try on. And of course when I’m really desperate I turn to the random
name generator.  I like
BehindTheName.com, but there are several others. They rarely give me an entire
name that I will actually use, but it will spark an idea and give me at least a
starting point. No more Brandt Dettling moments for me.
   
Bethany Maines is the author of
the Carrie Mae Mystery series and 
Tales from the City of Destiny. You can also view the Carrie Mae youtube
video or catch up with her on 
Twitter.

Am I just crazy?

by: Joelle Charbonneau

So last night my mother, grandmother and I had an unexpected adventure at the ER.  Okay, my grandmother probably wouldn’t refer to that particular trip in such positive terminology, but hey–I’m the one writing this so I get to label the trip to backless gowns and gurneys as I wish.  Right?  Technically, I can’t blame my grandmother for her lack of enthusiasm for the journey to the hospital.  She was sick.  So far, it looks like a pesky viral infection was causing her issues.  Here’s hoping that she’ll be on the mend and avoid any other ambulance trips in the near future.

But while we were waiting for doctors and nurses and admitting staff, CT scans, blood work and all sorts of other tests, I found myself looking at this concerning situation with rose colored glasses.  I mean, needles and vocally unhappy patients (and there were a great number of those when we first arrived) aren’t really my cup of tea but WOW was it all interesting.  I couldn’t help looking at the people around me and wondering what their stories were.  I also found myself taking note of all the interesting gadgets in the place.  Heck, I’ve been in ERs before, but this was the first time I saw the cool flat screen monitor that listed every room number and displayed icons next to that room to show the treatment the patient was undergoing.  My personal favorite was the purple spaceship with the word ZOOM! above it.  The teddy bear was also cute, but made my heart ache a little since it was the symbol for a pediatric patient.  There were symbols for blood draws, Fall risks, various types of doctors and a whole lot of other things that made zero sense to me, but helped the staff know exactly what patient needed what when.

I was impressed and desperately wanted to ask dozens of questions.  How was the system developed?  How often is it updated?  Is that the main way the staff communicates in the ER?  How easy would it be for someone to bribe a staff member to update the board with the wrong test in order to learn something incriminating about the patient?

Oops…the writer in me is showing.

The thing is, while the ER adventure wasn’t on my agenda tonight and clearly wasn’t what I was interested in doing with my time, I found myself engaged by that world and the energy within it.  I couldn’t help looking at it with fascination and instead of being irritated at the SLOW passage of time (and really–time does seem to pass at a turtle’s pace in that place) I chose to look for the interesting things happening in those hours.

Which makes me wonder…am I just nuts for thinking that way or are other people wired the way I am? When stuck in a less than desirable situation do you look for the interesting and quirky in the adventure?  Do you think about what makes the place you’re in tick and wonder at the personal stories of the real life characters that surround you?  If so, what’s the last place you remember doing unexpected research or finding yourself entertained when you probably should have been tearing out your hair?  And if not – feel free to tell me I’m crazy.  Trust me, I won’t be offended!

What Do You Hear?

One of my favorite lines from the television series Battlestar Galactica is when Admiral Adama, wanting to know the status of the fleet, asks Starbuck, “What do you hear?” Her standard answer when conveying the message that all was well was, “Sir, nothing but the rain.”

Well Stiletto Faithful, we’ve been hearing nothing but the rain too. All is well in Evelyn David’s world. This spring and summer we’ve held the Cylons at bay and managed to produce two new mysteries, and just this past week, an audio book. All is going very well!

I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries, the first book in our Brianna Sullivan Mysteries series, is now available as an audio book at Amazon through Audible.com and at iTunes. We were very lucky to obtain the services of a wonderful narrator, Wendy Tremont King. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that Wendy will be available to be the voice of Brianna Sullivan for the entire series. We’ve discovered that Brianna’s adventures in Lottawatah, Oklahoma, are perfect for the audio book format!

Hell on wheels or a psychic in a travel trailer? Brianna Sullivan gave up her job finding missing luggage for the airlines in order to seek the freedom of the open road. Her first stop? The small town of Lottawatah, Oklahoma. Using her psychic abilities, Brianna takes on a multitude of jobs to earn gas money, help out the local police detective, and direct some troubled souls towards the light.

The tenth book in the series has just been published in e-book and trade paperback. Lottawatah Fireworks continues the spooky, yet funny saga of reluctant psychic Brianna Sullivan as she solves mysteries, romances the local police detective, and directs ghosts towards their final destination. A little darker in theme than previous books, Lottawatah Fireworks takes Brianna on an emotional journey that stretches the bounds of friendship and love.

In Lottawatah Fireworks, Brianna’s fiancé surprises
her by buying a ramshackle hunting lodge, ready to call it home. The cabin
comes complete with no plumbing, no electricity, and the ghost of a recent
murder victim. It’s up to Brianna to find the truth of who killed the man and
why.

Lottawatah Fireworks (The Ghosts of Lottawatah, Volume 3) is a paperback compendium of the three most recent adventures including: Good Grief in Lottawatah, Summer Lightning in Lottawatah, and Lottawatah Fireworks.

Not to leave out the news of our other mystery series – you know the one with the “big” dog? Yes, Mac and Whiskey are back! Don’t miss Murder Doubles Back! An old cold case heats up for Mac and his team as they search for a teen who has been missing more than ten years.

Private detective Mac Sullivan has
been haunted by the case of Amanda Norman, a teenage girl who disappeared into
thin air during a class trip. But someone is determined to stir the embers of
that cold case. Each year Mac receives a postcard that asks a simple question:
Where is Amanda Norman? This year, Mac decides he will answer the question once
and for all in Murder Doubles Back.

Admiral Adama’s standard response to Starbuck’s “Nothing but the rain” was, “Then grab your gun and bring in the cat.” Cat and gun aside, we hope all is right in your world and that you are enjoying your summer reading! Leave a comment and tell us “what you hear.”

Evelyn David

Sullivan Investigations Mystery
Murder Off the Books KindleNookSmashwordsTrade Paperback
Murder Takes the Cake KindleNookSmashwords Trade Paperback 
Murder Doubles Back KindleNookSmashwordsTrade Paperback
Riley Come Home (short story)- KindleNookSmashwords
Moonlighting at the Mall (short story) – KindleNookSmashwords

Brianna Sullivan Mysteries – e-book series
I Try Not to Drive Past CemeteriesKindleNookSmashwordsAudio Book
The Dog Days of Summer in Lottawatah KindleNookSmashwords
The Holiday Spirit(s) of LottawatahKindleNookSmashwords
Undying Love in Lottawatah- KindleNookSmashwords
A Haunting in Lottawatah – Kindle – NookSmashwords
Lottawatah Twister – KindleNookSmashwords
Missing in Lottawatah – KindleNookSmashwords
Good Grief in Lottawatah – KindleNookSmashwords
Summer Lightning in Lottawatah – Kindle NookSmashwords
Lottawatah Fireworks – KindleNookSmashwords

The Ghosts of Lottawatah – trade paperback collection of the Brianna e-books
Book 1 I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries (includes the first four Brianna e-books)
Book 2 – A Haunting in Lottawatah (includes the 5th, 6th, and 7th Brianna e-books)
Book 3 – Lottawatah Fireworks (includes the 8th, 9th, and 10th Brianna e-books)

Zoned for Murder – stand-alone mystery

Romances
Love Lessons – KindleNookSmashwords

The Basics

By Laura Bradford

I’ve been thinking a lot about parenting lately. Maybe some of that is because my oldest is getting ready to go off to college and a large portion of the hands-on part of my parenting (at least where she is concerned) is diminishing.

She either gets it at this point, or she doesn’t,  you know?

Trust me, I’m still very active in her life. We talk, I know what’s going on, and I guide as much as possible. But she knows manners by now, knows right from wrong, etc.

If I had to pinpoint one thing I feel was a critical component in my parenting, it was consistency.

How about you? What do you think is most important?

~Laura

The Camp Experience

I never went to summer camp as a child.  Back in the early 70s, when I was growing up,
you went outside to play, hoping that one of the thirty or so other kids on
your block was up and awake and had already eaten their Cap’n Crunch or Lucky
Charms and was just waiting for a chance to start a game of baseball in the
street or do one of the other things we did a long, long time ago.  Back then, your parents didn’t know where you
were all the time and they were never nervous. 
They knew that you’d always return when you were hungry and that you
were running in a pack.  Stranger danger
wasn’t a thing and everyone knew that as soon as the first street light came
on, the day was over.
So, it was a surprise to me when several years ago my oldest
daughter asked to go to sleep away camp and then a few years later, when her
younger brother expressed an interest in going, too.  We are now parents who send their kids to
sleep away camp, something I never thought I would say.  Child #1 aged out (she’s in college now, it’s
own form of sleep away camp) but child #2 continues to go for a month every
summer and I have to say:  I’m a
convert.  No electronics, living among
new people, structuring your days to make the most of your stay—these are all
components of the sleep away camp experience and while I long for the days
mentioned above, camp definitely has its merits.
I have friends who went to camp from the age of six until
they were fourteen, spending eight weeks in the camp environment, doing things
that only other campers have experienced—bon fires, “color wars,”
sing-alongs—things that are mostly unfamiliar to us non-campers. A friend of
mine has parents who met at sleep away camp and who have been together for
sixty years. Another friend can name the first girl he ever had a crush on and
can reminisce for hours about his time at the only camp he ever attended, a
place in Pennsylvania that still holds a special place in his heart. Although I
grew up with enough kids to constitute our own summer camp, our experiences
were limited to those we could do in our small town (a hamlet, really) and with
each other, people we saw every single day of every single year because we rode
the school bus together, sat beside each other in the school cafeteria,
attended the same church. When I hear the stories of sleep away camp, from both
friends and my children, I wonder how the teenaged me would have adapted to a
new environment in the woods with a group of people she had never met.
I’d love to hear your stories.  Did you go to sleep away camp or did you grow
up like I did, playing with the kids in the neighborhood?  What is your favorite camp memory?
Maggie Barbieri

Figuring Out What to Write Next in a Series

I’m going to refer to my Deputy Tempe Crabtree series and how I come up with the next book to write.

For those of you who are not familiar with Tempe, she’s a resident deputy in the large area surrounding Bear Creek, a small village in the Southern Sierra. (Sierra means mountain.) It’s in the central part California.

Tempe is part Indian, one of the Bear Creek Indian tribes. (There is no such thing, but the Bear Creek Indian Reservation that appears in the story is much like the Tule River Indian Reservation. The Indians who live there call themselves Tule Indians but most of them are Yokuts.)

 Because of Tempe’s experience using an Indian ritual to call back the dead, she is sometimes visited by the ghosts of those who have passed on. Not a comfortable experience. 

Tempe is married to Hutch Hutchinson, the local preacher. He doesn’t approve of some of native ceremonies she’s participated in, though he’s become more tolerant through the years.

Tempe has an Indian friend named Nick Two John who she often consults when she can’t figure something out. At times, Hutch, has experienced a bit of jealousy over his wife’s friendship–but now he and Two John are friends.

I’ve written about murders in and around Bear Creek and even on the reservation. I’ve taken Tempe away from the area to investigate crimes.

While thinking about what I was going to write next I thought it might be fun to write about a haunted house.
When I began writing more ideas popped up concerning devil worship, evil spirits, old crimes, and of course, murder.

The book, Spirit Shapes, is done and at the publishers awaiting the editing process.

While waiting, I’m working on the next in the Rocky Bluff P.D. series.

Readers, what do you expect in an ongoing series?

Writers of series, where do you get your ideas for the next book?

Marilyn

Available now as a print book and ebook.

There’s No Place Like Home

By Evelyn David
 

One week from tomorrow, we move. It’s exciting, it’s scary;
it’s a new adventure, it’s the end of an era. You name the cliché and I’m sure
I’m living it. I only wish I could be like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz and make this move by clicking my heels together. Alas sorting, donating, packing, is hard work and not for the meek of heart. But we’re gradually working our way through this old house, room by room, closet by closet.

We moved to this house with four children. They’re now grown and
living in their own homes. We are only the second owners of this
almost-100 year old house.  It’s always
been a family home. The original owners had seven children. One of the
grandchildren works in our village and often tells me about the glorious
holiday parties, filled with family, friends, and good food that were held
here. This house is built for celebrations, both big and small. So friends and family have joined us for birthdays, holidays, bar and bat
mitzvahs, graduations, engagements, and more recently, to welcome the new generation. This old home has done well by
us. It is easier to leave it knowing that a new family with young children is
moving in.

Our new house is just one mile from this one. One town over.
It’s much smaller and much newer than this one, but there is still plenty of
room for holiday celebrations and family get-togethers. Our granddaughter
called the other day, double-checking that we were taking all the toys to the new
house. I may have jumbled up the kitchen packing, but I assured her that I knew
exactly in which box were her favorites playthings.

I know, as do you, that a house is not a home. I could live
in a pup tent, as long as I’ve got hubby with me, kids and grandkids visiting
regularly.  In the meantime, while I’m
packing, why not enjoy Lottawatah Fireworks, the new Brianna Sullivan paranormal mystery. Brianna’s fiancé surprises
her with a cabin in the middle of nowhere with no electricity, no plumbing, and
the resident ghost of a recent murder victim. Sure sounds like Home Sweet Home
to me

Marian, the Northern half of Evelyn David

 
 

Sullivan Investigations Mystery
Murder Off the Books KindleNookSmashwordsTrade Paperback
Murder Takes the Cake KindleNookSmashwords Trade Paperback 
Murder Doubles Back KindleNookSmashwordsTrade Paperback
Riley Come Home (short story)- KindleNookSmashwords
Moonlighting at the Mall (short story) – KindleNookSmashwords

Brianna Sullivan Mysteries – e-book series
I Try Not to Drive Past CemeteriesKindleNookSmashwords
The Dog Days of Summer in Lottawatah KindleNookSmashwords
The Holiday Spirit(s) of LottawatahKindleNookSmashwords
Undying Love in Lottawatah- KindleNookSmashwords
A Haunting in Lottawatah – Kindle – NookSmashwords
Lottawatah Twister – KindleNookSmashwords
Missing in Lottawatah – KindleNookSmashwords
Good Grief in Lottawatah – KindleNookSmashwords
Summer Lightning in Lottawatah – Kindle NookSmashwords
Lottawatah Fireworks – KindleNookSmashwords

The Ghosts of Lottawatah – trade paperback collection of the Brianna e-books
Book 1 I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries (includes the first four Brianna e-books)
Book 2 – A Haunting in Lottawatah (includes the 5th, 6th, and 7th Brianna e-books)
Book 3 – Lottawatah Fireworks (includes the 8th, 9th, and 10th Brianna e-books)

Zoned for Murder – stand-alone mystery

Romances
Love Lessons – KindleNookSmashwords