The Gift of Promotion

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Erica Green

The Gift of Promotion by Debra H. Goldstein
When I was a child, I believed in fairy tales where everyone
lived happily ever after.  With age, I
learned that no matter how hard one wishes, life isn’t always perfect.  In fact, sometimes it simply sucks. This week
was one of those times – my mother died.
My mother was my greatest promoter.  From personal experience as a Holocaust
survivor who came to America at age ten with her nine-year-old brother, she understood
the power a single word of encouragement has. Whether I wanted to be a singer,
even though I can’t sing four notes in sequence, or a comedienne like Carol
Burnett, she never dashed my hopes.  Of
course, she later admitted relief when I opted to be a lawyer and then a judge.
I was afraid she would be upset when I stepped down from the bench to pursue
writing full-time, but she became my largest promoter.
Mom loved giving people a copy of my novel, Maze in Blue, whispering how a new book
has been acquired but its contract isn’t finalized yet, or showing them various
bound anthologies that contain one of my short stories.  She wasn’t quite as vocal about the short
stories or essays appearing in e-publications or magazines.
This week, sitting in the hospital with my mother, I only
had access to my smart phone and I found it interesting that a list serve I
follow was having a heated discussion that exactly reflected my mother’s novel
vs. short story behavior. The upshot of the discussion seemed to be that authors
and readers don’t promote short stories and short story anthologies with the
same oomph as full-length novels or novellas. 
With a tip of my hat to the memory of my mother and the
success and happiness she knew I found in my first year of writing instead of
being on the bench, here’s to the short stories and essays that have appeared this
year:
A Political Cornucopia – Bethlehem Writers Roundtable
featured November 2013 story reprinted on November 24, 2014 by King’s River
Life.  http://kingsriverlife.com/11/24/a-political-cornucopia-a-thanksgiving-mystery-short-story/
Thanksgiving in Moderation – a family fun Thanksgiving tale
included in The Killer Wore Cranberry: a Fourth Meal of Mayhem published by
Untreed Reads. Note:  on December 1,
Untreed Reads is running a CyberMonday sale!!! 
http://store.untreedreads.com/
Hot and Cold – King’s River Life – http://kingsriverlife.com/11/01/hot-and-cold-a-mystery-short-story/  (November 2014)
Bake, Love, Write – one of 105 authors providing a dessert
recipe and essays on romance and writing
Early Frost – The Birmingham Arts Journal (April 2014)
The Rabbi’s Wife Stayed Home – Mysterical-E – http://Mystericale.com  (April 2014)
Who Dat? Dat the Indian Chief!  – my favorite mystery story of redemption
included the short story anthology – Mardi Gras Murder (February 2014)
Two other short stories won competition prizes, but have not
yet been published and my 2012 IPPY Award winning Maze in Blue was reissued by
Harlequin Worldwide Mystery in May 2014.
The list serve discussion highlighted a problem with
promotion of our works that all writers can easily remedy by awareness and
simple actions. Although I have tried to promote equally, I know I can better
use the tools of my mother’s legacy for myself and for others.
My mother gave me the confidence through words of
encouragement to believe I can succeed at new endeavors. I am so glad she had
the opportunity to share in the happiness of my new writing career. Although
there will be no more telephone calls with words of empowerment or declarations
to her friends of how wonderful my writing is, even when it is not, the gift of
using words to encourage, engage, promote, and live life to its fullest will
always stay with me and be something I can share with you and pass on through
my children and grandchildren. 
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Erica Green – a survivor, a role model, and my heroine –
4/8/29 – 11/20/14.

Free Book! Free Recipe! Free Time?

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by Bethany Maines

Ok, it’s the day before Thanksgiving and that means that you
are either baking like a mad fiend or you’re kicking back while someone else
bakes and wishing that you could be done with work so you could go home and get
your holiday on.  My mom does the
hosting for Thanksgiving and that means I skate by making the easy stuff like
cookies, pies, and the cranberry sauce. 
Only I make cranberry relish because it’s easier, and far, far tastier
than the gelatinous glop that comes out of a can.  (See below for the recipe!)

Hopefully, you’re in a similar position when it comes to the
holiday cooking and you’ll have a little free time to read something new this
weekend. And because I’m feeling ever so thankful for readers like you, the first
5 people to comment get a free e-book version of my short story collection
Tales from the City of Destiny. I will also be drawing one name after the five
person cut off, so leave a comment no matter what, and then hop over to the
Girlfriends Book Club for a second chance to win on my second blog of the day!  I will contact all winners by Friday 11/27.
Cranberry Relish:
  • 1 bag cranberries (the bags usually have holes, so a quick
    tip is to rinse them while they’re still in the bag and let the water drain
    out)
  • 1 orange (don’t forget to remove the sticker)
  • 1 cup white sugar (use less or more depending on taste)
  • Optional: pinch of cinnamon 
Directions: Rinse everything.  Chop orange in quarters.  Put orange and cranberries into food processor and
chop.  Add cup of sugar.  Chop until everything is of relish
consistency.  Put in bowl.  Pretend you slaved for hours.  Eat.

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.

Stephen King and I

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by Sally Berneathy


A couple of weeks ago one of my local writers’ groups went to
see Stephen King in person. I’ve been hooked on his books since The Shining in 1977. I got the book in
the mail from my book club just before my husband-at-the-time and I went on
vacation. Of course I took it along. I never want to be caught bookless. During
that trip I spent more time with Stephen King than with my future-ex-husband. I
made the right choice. That ex is long gone, but I still enjoy spending time
with Stephen King.

When I heard he was coming to town, I was a little dubious
about seeing the wizard behind the curtain. I am pleased to report that the
reality is every bit as wonderful as the fiction. Who knew someone who writes
about such dark subjects could be so funny and charming?

Though his talk was geared toward readers, as a writer I got
a lot beyond the entertainment. His comments about his writing process
validated my own process.

He said every book begins, of course, with an idea. That
idea is the best one he’s ever had. The new book will be the best book he’s
ever written, maybe the best book anybody has ever written. Then he begins the
writing process and along about the third or fourth chapter realizes it is the
worst book he’s ever written, maybe the worst book anybody’s ever written. But
he continues to labor, cranking out the pages until the misbegotten book is
finished. Finally, after four to six months of writing, he puts the book in a
drawer and leaves it for a few weeks. Then he goes back to begin revisions…and
wonders who put all that good stuff in there!

I finished Fatal Chocolate Obsession, my fifth book in the
Death by Chocolate series, four days before attending King’s presentation. The excitement,
self-doubt, trauma and exhaustion of creating that book were still fresh in my
mind, and I could totally identify with what he said.

Once I get past the initial luminous idea and start creating
the bones of the book, I realize it’s a terrible book and I have no idea what
possessed me to try to write it. Fortunately, two things keep me plodding
along: My critique group assures me the book is not horrible, and I have a history
of going through the same traumatic process for twenty-three books (twenty-five
if you count the two that never sold but we don’t want to talk about them).

Do I love to write? Absolutely! It’s all I’ve ever wanted to
do.

Is it difficult? Absolutely! I’ve been a legal secretary,
paralegal, real estate agent, and computer programmer. Writing novels is the
hardest thing I’ve ever done. Well, getting rid of the most recent ex was right
up there in difficulty, but that nightmare wasn’t fun. Despite the difficulties,
meltdowns and hair pulling, writing is also the most fun of anything I’ve ever
done.  

Knowing that Stephen King shares my trauma may make my next
process of “It’s wonderful; it sucks; I can’t write this; I have to write this;
will this stupid book never end?” a little easier. Or not. But at least I will know I’m in the best company!
 

 

 

Bouchercon 2014 redux

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It’s been a week since Bouchercon ended and I miss the fun times hanging out with my friends.  For a recap of my trip, click HERE.

While in Long Beach, I went to the Hollywood Walk of Fame; saw the Hollywood sign; saw Steven Spielberg’s compound, and saw the house on stilts that was featured in one of the Lethal Weapon movies.  I also saw many, many, many authors, which you can read about on my blog post.

Sometimes it’s all about the food…
 


and sometimes it’s about other things

and that was my Bouchercon.

What was the last author/reader convention you attended? A book signing?

Why I Can’t “Get a Sense of Humor” about Racist Jokes

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by Linda Rodriguez

UPDATE: Handler has come out with a real apology that acknowledges the racist content of his remarks and is now matching the next $10,000 donated to the #WeNeedDiverseBooks fundraiser. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/we-need-diverse-books

I congratulate him on actually dealing with what he did.
—————————————————————————–

Wednesday night, the National Book Awards took place, and a multiple-New-York-Times
bestseller and hugely successful white male author of children’s books, Daniel
Handler (aka Lemony Snicket), was the host. During the course of the night, he
made several racist jokes, including bemoaning the fact that he hadn’t won a
Coretta Scott King Award (for African American children’s book writers or
children’s literature showcasing African American life–both categories together
make up less than 3% of the field), calling two African American nominees for
the award in poetry “probable cause,” and topping off his whole night of
micro-aggressions with a major watermelon joke directed at African American
writer, Jacqueline Woodson, winner of the award in children’s literature.

Here’s the entire event on C-Span. You’ll find the
watermelon joke just after the 40-minute mark.

The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, NPR, and a number of
other mainstream news outlets covered the awards the next morning and
complimented Handler’s performance as emcee without ever mentioning any of these
remarks. Just as the overwhelmingly affluent white audience laughed and
applauded.

Not surprisingly, people of color and white people of good
conscience were upset by Handler’s behavior at one of the most prestigious book
award ceremonies in the United States. Articles and blogs were written. Twitter
came alive over it. Finally, Handler apologized on Twitter with the usual non-apology—“my
failed attempt at humor.” People rightly asked, “In what world are these things
supposed to be funny?”

Then, the defenders came out. Online comment after comment
after tweet after Facebook post after blog post of “What’s the big deal?”,
“race-baiting,” “Get a sense of humor.” I’m used to them. We all are. Every time someone wealthy, famous, and white (and
usually male) says or does something racist or misogynist, the defenders come
out in force with these same comments. The comments include many that are much
worse and sometimes downright foul, but I won’t detail those here because
they’re from real trolls, while I think the comments I have listed are
sometimes, at least, from people who genuinely don’t see or understand the
racist or misogynistic content of the controversial remarks.

People try to explain why these remarks are a problem. I know I have many times. Usually
without success. Perhaps it will help if I spell it out this time, looking at
the watermelon joke, which caused the most uproar because Handler dragged it
out for several minutes and included Cornel West, Toni Morrison, and Barack
Obama. Woodson is a gifted young writer who has twice before been a finalist
for this ultimate award. Winning it should have been a pinnacle point for her entire
career. At that moment, this wealthy, successful, white male writer in her own specific
field (children’s literature) reminded her publicly that, no matter how much
she achieved, she would always be Other and lesser in his and everyone else’s
eyes.

When you face these kinds of insults and injuries in little
and big ways every day—even if the people who say or do them are truly unaware
of the offense (and let’s be honest, they usually know quite well)—it takes a
toll on you. Then, if you object, if you try to say, “This is wrong,” others
who share the offender’s views tell you not to take it so seriously—“Get a
sense of humor.”

I want to turn that back on them. To all those people who
think it’s funny to insult and stereotype people of other backgrounds and
genders, you get a sense of humor. Learn what’s really funny and not just cruel
and embarrassing and referencing for fun traumas that have been inflicted on
whole peoples. Grow some intelligence and wit, instead of making watermelon jokes
when someone wins one of the highest awards in the American literary world.

REPLIES TO COMMENTS (because Blogger hates me):

Thanks, Pam. Aren’t you getting tired of these idiotic things, too? 

Mary, when they call me ‘humorless,’ I just ask them how something like this can be called humor.

Yes, Kay, it was very belittling. And one would hope that we were further advanced than that by now. Unfortunately, not.

Remembering The Good

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Remembering the Good
By Laura Bradford

Isn’t this a lovely idea?

 

I think I just might try this, this year…maybe even make a jar (with these instructions) and give them to friends for the holidays.

Have you ever given a homemade gift for the holidays (as an adult)? Tell us about it…

~Laura

A Sneak Peek at My New Mystery

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By Kay Kendall

Today
marks a red letter day for me. I sent the manuscript of my second Austin Starr
mystery to my publisher, Stairway Press of Seattle. Part of my celebration is
sharing with you a short excerpt from the book, RAINY DAY WOMEN, to be
published in June 2015.
The
tale is set in 1969, when my amateur sleuth Austin Starr is now the harried
young mother of a three-month-old son. Despite her family duties—to husband and
son—and the demands of her grad student career, she rushes to the aid of her
best friend, Larissa. She is a prime suspect in the murder of the leader of her
women’s liberation group in Vancouver. Soon another member of a women’s group
in Seattle is killed. Austin must find the real killer before her friend is
jailed for murder.
In
the excerpt below, Austin questions Mia, a friend of the dead women’s
liberation leader, Shona. I hope you dig
the sixties atmosphere, when in my book the Pacific Northwest is drenched in
blood, not rain, for a change.

 *******
 “I’m busting to
know what you think of him. Tell me.” I guess my voice got loud because two
passersby gawked at us.

Mia rolled her eyes to the heavens. “More questions.” A heavy sigh escaped her lips. “Jack always said I was ballsy. Of course, I took that as a
compliment. He doesn’t like wimps. The problem with Jack and me, however, was
that we were competitors.”

“At
what?” I said.

“We
competed for Shona’s time, attention, and affection. Jack and I never talked
about it, but my sense is we both knew what was going on. He worked at getting
under my skin, and he succeeded. Jack belittled everything I did, called me
‘poor little rich girl.’ He was jealous of my wealthy family, but I wouldn’t let
Shona tell him how I’d been sexually abused.”

“Sounds
tricky for you to put up with. What happened when he succeeded in getting under
your skin. How did you react?”

She
ran her hands through her short hair and gazed across the street at the tall
trees on campus. I let her drown in her own thoughts for a while, hoping she’d
come out with something useful in solving the puzzle of two deaths. Or, at the
least, one—Shona’s.

After
a few moments, she turned to me and took off her sunglasses. “Once Jack and I
came to blows at a party, and I was the one who ended up throwing the first
punch. He was a drinker, and I did dope. In my experience, our two types don’t
mix well. That night he was ragging on me about being rich, and I had reached
my limit. I drew back my arm, aiming for his arrogant mug, but Shona jumped
between us. I pulled the punch, and it hit her shoulder instead, but not a hard
blow. Jack cackled in triumph and started pushing my buttons again, making
nasty taunts. With Shona there, I pulled my punches in general and just stomped
off.”

“Then
I guess you won’t have an unbiased answer to my next question.”

“Go
ahead,” she said. “Shoot.”

“Could
Jack have murdered Shona, and perhaps Bethany, too?”

“My
honest opinion?”

“Yes,
please.”

 “Jack could be the murderer.” Mia stopped and
put her sunglasses back on. “Absolutely, and there is no doubt in my mind.” 
*******
Kay Kendall set her debut novel, DESOLATION ROW–AN AUSTIN STARR
MYSTERY in 1968. The sequel is Rainy Day Women, will be out in
2015. Her amateur sleuth Austin Starr must prove her best
friend didn’t murder women’s liberation activists in Seattle and
Vancouver. A fan of historical mysteries, Kay wants to do for the 1960s what
novelist Jacqueline Winspear accomplishes for England in the 930s–write
atmospheric mysteries that capture the spirit of the age. Kay is also an
award-winning international PR executive who lives in Texas with her husband,
three house rabbits, and spaniel Wills. Terribly allergic to the bunnies, she
loves them anyway! Her book titles show she’s a Bob Dylan buff too. 
 *******

A New Type of Book Event by Marilyn Meredith

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Recently I received an email from a woman in a neighboring city who is planning a book event in her home. She mentioned the writers she’d invited and asked if I’d like to be a part of what she and another author were planning.

Of course I said yes.

The plan is that there will be advertising in the local newspaper and cards about the event spread around the city and the various towns we writers come from.

On the day of the event, she’ll have a banner in her front yard that says, Neighborhood Book Store.

Inside her lovely home, the authors will be situated in various rooms in her house–there are many.

Because I can’t attend the meeting she’s having with the various authors, I stopped by to meet her and see her home.

In her large kitchen will be wine and snacks which we writers will bring. A couple of husbands will supervise this part.

The event will be held the first weekend in December and sounds like a lot of fun. Whether we’ll have many customers remains to be seen.

Has anyone tried anything like this?

Wearing Cinderella’s Slippers

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This
is my first post for The Stiletto Gang. I feel fortunate to be asked to
join the group. Already, the other posters have sent me warm
welcoming messages, which I very much appreciate. A grand thing about the writing community is the support offered and received. Maybe there is an enabling factor that urges authors who work so much in
solitude to reach out to others who aspire to follow their path. An
overwhelming generosity of spirit flows from writers who have made
their mark to those toiling to achieve success.

From
looking at past posts, I see that I’ll be filling a spot long held by Evelyn
David, one of the founding members of the blog and a very prolific writing team
of Marian Edelman Borden and Rhonda Dossett.
I’m humbled by the opportunity and know I have large shoes to fill. And, I’m
grateful to my fellow posters for handing me Cinderella’s slippers.
I just hope I don’t lose one or, if I do, that it’s returned by a prince!
As
I considered my first message, I kept thinking about shoes. Shoes often seem to
have been used in literature to define women. Consider the epic battle that
ensues when Dorothy gets the witch’s ruby red slippers. Yet, eventually, those
shoes become the vehicle that transports Dorothy home, on her own power.
When
I was young, after school, I would wait in my mother’s classroom while she
attended teachers’ meetings. I would listen to the footsteps coming down the
hall and learned to recognize hers returning.
Later,
when I went out into the workplace, I saw women navigating the sidewalks in
high heels, their staccato tapping emphasizing their focus and determination as
well as their rushing to the next appointment. The sound of their steps signaled
a giddy assurance that they were in the right place and making important
contributions through their work.
When
I visited New York City, I walked along the streets, feeling a stronger
connection with the place as my sneakers trod its thoroughfares. I had read
that Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco, who loved to travel, adored having
someone stop and ask her for directions in a location she was visiting, because
that made her feel as if she were part of the place. I remember my own thrill
when I advised a tourist on a New York street corner. A sense of belonging is
so reassuring.
I
guess my favorite shoe image comes from To
Kill a Mockingbird, when young Scout realizes Atticus is correct in
telling her we never truly understand a person until we have a chance to walk
in his shoes. To me, the scene where Scout stands on Boo Radley’s porch envisioning
all that had happened in their town through his eyes is a truly powerful piece
of writing.

So,
thank you, Stiletto Gang, for including me among your posters. Thanks for your
encouragement and for believing in me, a short story writer who strives to be a
novelist. And, thanks for providing this forum for those of us who love
mystery, romance, suspense, thrills, and good writing.

A legislative attorney and former law librarian,
Paula Gail Benson’s short stories have been published in Kings River Life, the Bethlehem
Writers Roundtable, Mystery Times
Ten 2013 (Buddhapuss Ink), and A Tall
Ship, a Star, and Plunder (Dark Oak Press and Media, 2014). Her next short
story, “Moving On,” will appear in A
Shaker of Margaritas: That Mysterious Woman, an anthology due to be
released by Mozark Press in November or December 2014. She regularly blogs with others about writing mysteries at http://writerswhokill.blogspot.com. Her personal blog is http://littlesourcesofjoy.blogspot.com,
and her website is http://paulagailbenson.com.

Themes – a Very Special Military One

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Themes – a Very Special Military One by Debra H. Goldstein

Themes.  Historical themes.  Plotlines.  These words are running through my head as I lie in my bed, laptop in hand, writing today’s blog (too much information?).  My intent was to describe how, when an idea comes to me, I never know if what I write will turn out to be long or short. The piece only works if I follow the theme to its natural end.  The blog I thought you would be reading won’t work because themes related to Veteran’s Day and visiting the John F. Kennedy Library keep intruding.

Tuesday was Veteran’s Day.  Birmingham, Alabama is known for the large parade it has to honor the men who protect our right to be free.  I exercise at Lakeshore, a gym and facility that offers Lima Foxtrot, a comprehensive sports, fitness and recreation program for members of our Armed Forces who were injured after 9/11.  The program, which was begun in 2006, has served over 1,800 servicemen and women injured in the line of duty and their families.  Alabama isn’t the home of most of these wounded warriors. So far, they have come from thirty-six states and territories to utilize the Lima Foxtrot programs that meld sports, recreation, and the way their lives will be forever changed post their injuries.

Themes of survival are apparent whenever I glance from the able-bodied machines that I am working out on to an individual next to me exercising at a far higher level of intensity on the same type of machine, albeit one that is adaptive.  On Veteran’s Day, I joined in honoring and thanking the men and women of the Armed Services, but because happenstance brought me to work out at Lakeshore, with its integrated facilities, the theme of gratitude to members of the military is brought home to me daily.

Last Friday, when I was in Boston to attend the Crime Bake mystery conference, I had a few free hours so I went to the John F. Kennedy Library.  Kennedy is the first president I personally remember.  He was ruggedly handsome, his wife beautiful, and their children kids like me.  Walking through the library brought back the memories that the public now refers to as our country’s days of Camelot.  In many of the pictures and displays, the themes of youth and hope are juxtaposed against those of civil rights, possible nuclear war, and poverty.  I don’t usually buy souvenirs, but after watching a tape of JFK’s inauguration speech, I bought a mug to remind me every morning of his famous “…ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country” charge to the American public.

I will save talking about how social issue themes form my writing until another day.  I will hold off telling you how redemption and what happened during Hurricane Katrina was the theme behind the writing of Who Dat? Dat the Indian Chief! or how family dynamics is behind Thanksgiving in Moderation because the faces of each of the young veterans striving to move forward with their lives after doing all they can for our country are truly the themes and plotlines to be thought of on Veteran’s Day and everyday of the year.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Thanksgiving in Moderation recently was published in the short story anthology The Killer Wore Cranberry: a Fourth Meal of Mayhem.  Although it is available from many sources, until November 30, Untreed Reads Publishing is discounting it and an extra 10% off of orders over $10
can be obtained by using Code:  Thankful at checkout.  http://store.untreedreads.com/ 
Who Dat? Dat the Indian Chief! is included in the Mardi Gras Murder anthology edited by Sarah Glenn.