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Is My Husband’s Life at Risk?  by Debra H. Goldstein

My favorite segment of the Mickey Mouse Club (the one that was played in reruns during my childhood) was the Spin and Marty episodes.  I had a crush on Tim Considine.  I had visions of walking down the aisle with him while Annette Funicello sweetly sang “When I Fall in Love, It Will Be Forever.”  Unfortunately, I discovered he wasn’t quite as young as he appeared on my television screen so there was little chance that he would wait for me to grow up.
Life went on and eventually I met Joel.  We used show music for the processional and recessional during our ceremony, and even though Annette didn’t sing and Tim wasn’t a guest, we were in agreement that “it would be forever.”  We haven’t consciously changed our minds or consciously uncoupled, but two of my beta readers are questioning my subconscious mind.  I didn’t even notice it, but lately, I’ve been threatening or actually killing off the husband.  The topic comes up in some of my WIPs and definitely is thought about in “The Rabbi’s Wife Stayed Home” published by Mysterical-E in April 2014. There also is a subtle relationship reference in “Early Frost” in the April 2014 Birmingham Arts Journal.
I’m seriously beginning to wonder what this means.  Do I have murderous intent within my heart?  Has boredom set in?  Have I realized that one of the most important relationships to address in writing is marriage?  Have I been reading too many issues of People Magazine?  I don’t know the answer.
Writers are told it isn’t nice to hurt little children or animals, but husbands don’t seem to fit the protected category.  Obviously writers can’t only kill or pin the blame on husbands. Other characters have to be introduced to give stories textured variety.  It could be the neighbor, the deliveryman, or even the butler whodunit.  I never fully make that determination until the story is writing itself.  That’s because my subconscious often dictates where my conscious writing. In fact, my writing is stilted if I don’t give my subconscious leeway.  I like what I’m working on right now so do you think my subconscious is trying to tell me something or is it just coincidence?  
Joel wants to know, but maybe we shouldn’t tell him. Shh…. 

The Importance of Death, Chocolate and Ex-Husbands

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I’ve been a writer since I was eight years old and wrote my first story…a mystery…in lieu of doing a book report.

Over the years my writing has taken many different turns. Superman inspired me to write about a clever newspaper reporter who solved mysteries. After reading Dracula and watching movies like Wolfman, The Mummy and Frankenstein, I wrote horror stories for a while. I moved on through science fiction to “true” romance stories and actually made a little money in that market. In the ‘90s I wrote romance novels for Harlequin/Silhouette. Now I’m writing cozy mysteries.

While that may seem like a varied repertoire, I sometimes find myself thinking that nothing I’ve written has been of any consequence. My books are funny, suspenseful, and emotional but what do they accomplish? Well, they do pay my bills which is pretty important to me! But I’m not writing the great American novel. I’m not writing to motivate others. I write about murder and chocolate and evil ex-husbands. I write to entertain myself and others.

I regularly get emails and Facebook posts from readers telling me they enjoy my books. That validates that I’m accomplishing my goal of entertainment. But still that lingering doubt haunts me. Should my books be more meaningful? Should I be striving to inspire world peace or fight hunger? My answer is always the same. Maybe, but I have no idea how to go about it! My brain continues to spin stories about murder and snarky dialogue.

Then a few days ago I got an email from a reader saying she was going through a rough time and my books took her away from the sadness and made her laugh for a while.

Wow.

Mission accomplished.

Some writers are destined to write world-changing books. I’m not one of them. But if something I write makes one person’s life better even for a while, then my books do have a purpose after all.

Just The Facts

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76% of American adults 18 and older read at least one book in 2013

  • 69% read a book in print
  • 28% read an e-book
  • 14% listened to an audio book

The average number of books read or listened to in 2013 is 12; median is five.

52% of readers only read a print book; 4% only read an e-book, and 2% only listened to an audiobook. Nine percent of readers said they read books in all three formats.

  • 35% of print book readers also read an e-book and 17% listened to an audiobook
  • 87% of e-book readers also read a print book in the past 12 months and 29% listened to an audiobook
  • 84% of audiobook listeners also read a print book in the past year and 56% read an e-book.

42% of adults own a tablet

  • Among tablet owners who read an e-book in 2013, 78% read e-books on their tablet

32% of adults own an e-reader

  • Among e-reader owners who read an e-book in 2013, 87% read it on their e-reader

Source: “A Snapshot of Reading in America in 2013” Pew Research Center

What group do you fall into?

I consider myself an e-book reader since 90% of books I read are on my e-reader.

–Dru Ann

Resistance

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Hi, Linda Rodriguez here. You know, the author of the Skeet Bannion mystery series, including the most recent, Every Hidden Fear? (My agent has ordered me to put in an obligatory pitch on everything for a week.) Now, let’s talk about writing.
You’ve started your story or novel, and you have a few good
pages that you’re pleased with. You have to go out of town (or do something
else) for a few days, but you know where you’re going with your writing project,
and you can’t wait until you get back to the story you’re working on. When you
do return, you set up time to write and do everything you can to be prepared
and in perfect shape to work. The morning/afternoon/evening to get started
again happens and bang! You run smack into some invisible force that refuses to
let you write those pages that you want and need to write.

This is resistance, and it’s the common companion of the
writer. It’s the enemy, an internal saboteur, fifth column located inside your
head. You may find yourself checking email or Facebook or Twitter, going online
to do some research that suddenly seems imperative and falling down the Google
rabbit hole. You might find yourself organizing your desk or your files or
doing a load or three of laundry. You may find yourself cleaning out closets or
suddenly running errands that you’ve been putting off for days or weeks, which
have suddenly become imperative. Anything, anything at all, but write what
you’ve set yourself to write.
As someone who writes for a living, I’ve a long, close
acquaintanceship with my own resistance. Often, I believe I have it under
control. Then, it shows up in some new form to devil me. Often, it can be quite
persuasive. It is true that any project, especially a big one, will be easier
to accomplish in an organized space. It’s true that some research needs to be
done before you put words to paper. And often clearing the decks before you
work can leave your mind readier to sink into your created world. It whispers
perfectly plausible excuses to me that will end up keeping me from writing or
from writing as much or as well as I want and intend to write.
One of the ways I’ve found to subdue my resistance is to
always have another ongoing project. This takes advantage of one of resistance’s
own techniques to throw it against itself as judo and other martial arts do.   This
does not mean, “Start another book.” All those million new book ideas that that
resistance sends trying to seduce you from your project should just be written
down in an idea notebook or document and promptly forgotten until the book is
over and it’s time to look for new concepts. No, I’m talking about another
project that you’ve decided ahead of time you want to work on in addition to
the main project rather than instead of the main project.
I offer myself the reward of working on this secondary story
when I’ve met my goal on the main project. If it’s a very bad day and
resistance is winning, I might allow myself to work on the other project first
for a limited time to get my writing muscles moving. I set a timer, though, and
when it rings, I must move onto the main book. Often, I may be doing something
that’s more fun on the secondary project, such as research or exploratory
planning and note making.  This makes it
an ideal reward.
The nice thing about using a secondary project in this way is
that, often by the time I’ve finished my main project, my secondary project is
well underway and becomes my new main project while I set up a new secondary
project to help me deflect the power resistance wields over me. Stephen King
once said, “A change is as good as a rest,” and I think he was right. Also,
this technique weakens the power of resistance by making it believe that I am
giving way to it, at least somewhat. Yet, it keeps me productive.
What do you do when you encounter resistance? Have you found
successful ways to defeat it?
I’m going to have to be gone all day for some medical tests, but I will respond to all comments when I get back.

REPLIES TO COMMENTS (because Blogger):

Yes, Marilyn, plodding is what we all must ultimately do. I thank my stars for my difficult childhood that taught me I can always take one more step, deal with one more difficulty, than I think I can.

Debra, this is why I don’t play games. I can get obsessive about things. If I’m going to do that, it had best be about work.

Kay, social media is a real problem for me. I’m fairly extensively involved and have gained a number of my fans that way, but it means I have to stay involved and not just disappear. But social media can become a rabbit hole of time suck for me if I don’t watch myself fiercely.

Lynn, I think that’s one of the toughest things–to write the first part of a book and then have to set it aside to write or finish something else and then try to come back into it and bring it to life again. It works, of course, but oh, it feels like you’re pulling your guts out inch by inch through your mouth.

Yes, Mary, a change works well for me, but I simply can’t always do it because of deadlines, etc. Then it can be sheer hell for a while.

Writers’ Lives in the Internet Age

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By Kay Kendall
Once upon a time the
image of a writer was someone who sits in a quiet room all day long and
scribbles, or types away like a maniac. The key point is that writers were seen
as introverts. Even at the beginning of this new century, that seemed to be the
stereotype.
Then as the decade of the
00’s advanced and publishing began to change, the digital intrusion into the
world of writers hit. The difference from 2004 to today is extraordinary. For example,
when I contacted agents in 2004, most of them would not take submissions by
email. Now that trend is reversed. If an agent wanted to see a partial or full
manuscript, then you snail mailed it. Agents’ websites (for the third that had
them back then) warned against sending attachments. They feared viruses.
Now, only ten years later,
each agency has a website. That is, if the agency survived. Literary agencies
have been decimated by the digital revolution. 
Writers can skip them as gatekeepers and submit directly to small
publishers or choose to go the self-publishing route.
I chaired a panel at Bloody Words 2014.
Once you are a published
writer—or about to become one—that’s when you must hit the marketing trail…Facebook,
Twitter, your blog, your webpage, Pinterest perhaps, and many other parts of
the internet world. This is super time-consuming, and if you skip these steps,
your sales will languish and your publisher will not be happy with you.
For those writers who are
true introverts, living in this new world is torture. All they really want to
do is sit at home in a quiet room and compose their stories. So they are torn,
and I do feel for them. I meet authors like this at writers’ conferences, where
they moan and say how shy they are, how they want to retreat to their hotel
rooms.
As for me, I love the
networking and marketing and meeting readers so much that it’s easy to forget
about the writing at the core of it all…which remains sitting alone in that
room and facing an empty screen and throwing type up on it. For me, that is
torture. Once I get past the first draft, then the rest is glorious.

Pictured left to right: Pamela Blance, me, Gloria Ferris, Lorie Lee Steiner, & Liz Lindsay

Last week I attended a
terrific writers’ conference in Toronto, Canada. It was called Bloody Words
2014, and participants came from all over North America. I met many authors who
were Facebook friends and now are real ones, not just virtual. There was a group
of four women—all writers from the province of Ontario—who made my visit
remarkably wonderful. One said she was an introvert, one was clearly an
extrovert, and two I’d judged to be in the middle. Whatever. We all had a
danged good time, and much of our chat was about the rigors of the publishing
world today. I almost called this blog piece “Misery Loves Company,” but nixed
the idea as too negative, especially when the whole conference was so marvelous
that it didn’t deserve any bad connotation.
Gloria Ferris & her book Corpse Flower

As promised here in my
previous post two weeks ago, I have included some photos from the event. Two
interesting twists to the usual mystery conference were the Books on Legs
runway walk. An author who had a book released in the previous half year would
strut her stuff while wearing an enlargement of that book’s cover. There were
no introverts visible on that runway!

The concluding banquet
was also novel. Attendees were encouraged to dress as fictional characters from
mysteries. Our group had these disguises—one biker chick, one hippie chick, one
pathologist named Kay Scarpetta, and two (count ‘em, two!) grieving widows. The
latter duo hinted that perhaps they had done in their spouses, but they would
never tell.
A great time was had by
all. Books were sold and autographed, contacts were established, and promises were
made to continue networking on the internet and at future conferences. 
But now
I’m back in my author’s lair, where the empty PC screen whispers that I’m 4,000 words behind on completing my manuscript by summer’s end. Or, as my grandmother used to
say, “There’s no rest for the weary.”  
*******

Kay Kendall is
an international award-winning public relations executive who lives in Texas
with her husband, three house rabbits, and spaniel Wills. A fan of historical
mysteries, she wants to do for the 1960s what novelist Alan Furst does for
Europe in the 1930s and 1940s–write atmospheric mysteries that capture the
spirit of the age.
http://www.KayKendallAuthor.com/about

Brothers and Sisters, TV series

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Hubby and I got a Roku recently, and with a lot of help from a daughter and granddaughter, we got the device hooked up. Now we can stream Netflix movies through our computer to our TV. It’s still a bit complicated, have to use three different remotes to get to where we want to be–and hubby hasn’t mastered it yet.


We’ve watched so many series we’ve loved: Call the Midwife, Island at War, a bunch of mystery series from England and now we’re watching Brothers and Sisters which has over 100 episodes.


Here’s the description from Wikipedia:


Brothers & Sisters is a drama from executive producers Ken Olin and Jon Robin Baitz. The LA-based Walker family is an ordinary American family. The adult siblings — Sarah Walker (formerly Whedon), Tommy Walker, Kevin Walker, Justin Walker, and Kitty Walker — try to live up to their parents’ expectations. Alongside their mother Nora Holden, Nora’s brother Saul Holden, Sarah’s husband (now ex-husband) Joe Whedon, Tommy’s wife Julia Walker, Kevin’s husband Scotty Wandell and mysterious Holly Harper. And last but not least Rebecca, Holly’s daughter. Who they originally thought was their half sister but later found out they had a half brother, Ryan instead, the Walkers struggle through their everyday lives.


As you can tell, it’s really a very complicated soap opera–of course with far better writing and acting. We’ve become addicted.


When I first saw the house where the main character lives, I said, “Looks like Pasadena.” My grandma used to live in South Pasadena and when I was a kid, loved walking around and looking at all the mansions.


Not only that we appreciate our own family far more watching this family. The Walker family can not keep a secret. As soon as one confides in another and says, “Now don’t tell anyone this,” it’s barely minutes before the secret is known by all.


In our family, couples have not announced pregnancies so as not to take the spotlight off another’s wedding or other special occasions. And sometime information that we’d all like to know isn’t mentioned. 


We’ve not had any unknown children pop up–thank goodness, though there have been a couple of divorces, but for the most part our married couples work hard at making their marriages work.


One of our grown children did have cancer like Kitty on the show–but no miracle cure like she had–and we lost him. There are a few other parallels that I won’t go into. 


Though hubby and I are having fun watching this series, we’re glad that our lives aren’t quite as complicated as the Walkers’. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve had our ups and downs, and some drama, but not on the level of this imaginary family.


However, it has sort of become a joke that when something happens, hubby will say, “The Walkers have nothing on us.”


Frankly, I’ll be glad when we’ve finally seen all the episodes and can move onto a complicated murder mystery.


Marilyn aka F. M. Meredith

Summer Reading Club

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Do you remember the library programs where you earned points
for every book read?  Of course, there’s
always that kid who read the easy books, just to get the points. But for me, it
was a matter of pride to expand my reading level, especially in the summer. All
I wanted was a good story. And one that would keep me entertained so that my
books wouldn’t run out before I got a ride back to town and the library.

Yes, I was also that geek kid who read the summer readings
lists provided by the English departments in my schools. 
These days on Facebook, we can take quizzes on what books
we’ve read.  Although we don’t get points
towards prizes like mini pizzas. J
I’m doing a 50 book challenge this year on Goodreads.  So far, I’m 9 books behind schedule. But
isn’t that what summer’s for? Stealing time to sit on the deck with your feet
up and your nose in a book? My parents always said that like it was a bad
thing.
For me, I’m focusing on a few cozy’s before I return to
writing The Tourist Trap Mysteries in a few weeks. Then I’ll buzz through Robyn
Carr’s Thunder Point and Virgin River series.
What are you reading this summer?
Lynn
Side Note – If you haven’t read GUIDEBOOK TO MURDER – A
TOURIST TRAP MYSTERY, now’s a great time to pick up your digital copy.  From June 10-24th, Kensington is
running a sale on GUIDEBOOK to get ready for the July 31st release of MISSION
TO MURDER (available for pre-order now.)
$1.99 is a great price to try out a new cozy series. 
“Murder, dirty
politics, pirate lore, and a hot police detective: Guidebook to Murder has it
all! A cozy lover’s dream come true.” –Susan McBride, author of The Debutante
Dropout Mysteries

Does Writing Sour Reading? – by Debra H. Goldstein

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I can’t remember when I couldn’t read.  Picking out letters from the newspaper, storybooks, or off milk cartons made my day. My mother introduced me to the library at an early age and I still can recall how excited I was the day I printed my name and received my very own library card.  

Young Girl Sitting & ReadingMy reading speed also made reading rewarding for me.  I would race through the summer reading program award minimum in a few days and then quickly read enough books to guarantee winning whatever prize I desired.  Reading also made it possible for me to endure boring junior high and high school classes – it wasn’t unusual for me to check out a book before school, read it during the day, and take a different one home to read at night.  A good book always helped me relax during college exam days, when traveling for work, on vacation, or for a few minutes before bed.
PuppiesMy joy in reading changed when I opted to make writing a career.  The pressure of deadlines and wanting to write meant my reading time became more limited.  It also became less enjoyable.

The more I learned about writing, the more critical a reader I became.  I had always analyzed a mystery to figure out whodunit in advance of the writer revealing the culprit, but now I found myself examining each page for the technical way the author hid clues. Weaknesses in voice, plot, or character became so much more pronounced that there were times I feared I couldn’t force myself to finish a book.  When a book dragged, I wanted to take a green pen and cross out the offensive paragraphs.  The few times I found a book that read like the old days, I savored my time with it and usually grabbed more books by the same author.

I have talked to other authors and discovered that some rarely read for fear of stealing an idea while others read books in genres different than they write for the same reason.  Other writers believe that the more they read of any type of book, the better a writer they become.  Think about your reading habits – has writing or wanting to write changed them?

Villainy & Garbage

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By Bethany Maines

I’m sitting in my backyard listening to my neighbors
complain about one of their roommates. Apparently, the miscreant roommate has
three bags of trash sitting by the door to his room that he has failed to take
out. 
“I mean, that’s not a problem…
exactly.”
Each of the guys carefully, and
politely denote their own housecleaning failures. 
“I never make my bed.” 
“You never saw my apartment; I can get meh-ssy.” 
“I have empty bottles in my room too.”  (“Not like that,” interjects the first
guy.)
They each tiptoe up to the line of declaring the roommate’s
behavior an actual problem, but don’t cross it.  Clearly, the garbage is still being contained in the
room.  But equally clear is that
they all find the roommates sloth disgusting.  Note to the miscreant: When 3 twenty-something dudes, who
have only a tentative grasp on hygiene, find your housekeeping habits to
sub-par on the rank of foulness, you just might have a problem.
All of which got me to thinking about villains and bad guys
and wondering whether or not they realize that they are failing at their end of
the social bargain. What if villains are just totally incapable of realizing
that their 3 bags of garbage is offending the other roommates? Getting kicked
out of the house will come as a total shock if you have no idea that a hazmat
suit shouldn’t be required dress for your room. Maybe if Sauron had just been a
little tidier maybe he wouldn’t have had to move in with the Orcs.  If Darth Vader hadn’t grown up with
Jabba the Hut as role model maybe he wouldn’t have gone to the dark side. If
Voldemort hadn’t had to live on the back of some guy’s greasy head maybe he
wouldn’t have been so peeved all the time. What do you think? Do villains
choose to deviate from the social norm, or do they just blow right by the stop
signs without seeing them at all? 
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 and
Facebook.

Stepping into the Big Leagues

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by Marjorie Brody

When I imagined becoming an author, I visualized book signings, travel, interviews and photo shoots, writing on deadlines, searching for fresh ideas,
juggling personal and professional tasks, influencing book cover concepts and designing stickers for book plates, giving presentations, answering
readers’ emails, teaching craft and encouraging new writers, and even creating a new genre, but I don’t think I ever thought I’d be on a panel with
heavy hitters. Oh sure, I envisioned having friends who are best selling authors—and in fact, I do—but to be sitting next to a Hollywood screenwriter
and TV staff writer, attorneys with legal thriller series, and a host of a crime and science radio show, well, I guess my imagination didn’t stretch
that far.

In July, I’ll be on a panel at the International Thriller Writers conference. The topic is “Ego or Id, Unlock Your Character’s Psychology” and the
Panel Master will be Dennis Palumbo. On the panel will be D.P. Lyle, MD, Katia Lief, Laura Caldwell, Lynne Raimondo, and oh yes, a little known author
whose psychological suspense debuted last year, me.
So how will I not be in tongue-tied awe?

I could remind myself that all of these authors started with a single book. I could remember that they write
about what they know (forensics, or criminals and the legal system, or psychopathology and serial killers—well, they don’t need to know about that
personally, I assure you, although on second thought, maybe they do!), and I write about what I know (resilient yet flawed protagonists, and self-deluded, maladjusted antagonists). Or maybe I
could just see these panelist as colleagues who happen to share with me the same field in our second careers.

Or maybe I could remember why I was
asked to join this panel in the first place; someone thought I’d be a valuable addition to the group. So, I guess it’s time for me to knock the dirt
out of my cleats, pick up the bat, and step up to the plate. Who knows? I may just hit a home run. And even if I don’t, it’ll still be fun to play on the team.

Have suggestions for me based on your experience? I’d love to hear them.

Marjorie Brody is an award-winning author and Pushcart Prize Nominee. Her short stories appear in

literary magazines and the Short Story America Anthology, Vols. I, II and III. Her debut psychological suspense novel, TWISTED, delves into the secrets
that emerge following a sexual assault at a high school dance and features a remarkable teen who risks everything to expose the truth. TWISTED was awarded
an Honorable Mention at the 2013 Great Midwest Book Festival and won the Texas Association of Authors 2014 Best Young Adult Fiction Book Award. TWISTED is
available in digital and print at

http://tinyurl.com/cvl5why or http://tinyurl.com/bqcgywl.
Marjorie invites you to visit her at
www.marjoriespages.com.