Procrastinating with Meat Loaf

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Every now and again I have what I call one of my “Agatha Christie Days”—and by that I don’t mean channeling my inner Hercule Poirot, but rather attempting to follow Dame Agatha’s sage advice, which is “to write even when you don’t want to, don’t much like what you’re writing, and aren’t writing particularly well.”

Anyway, I was working on Before There Were Skeletons, Book 4 in my Marketville Mystery series, or more accurately, sitting at my desk, staring at a flashing curser and a blank page, the radio playing softly in the background, when a song came on that changed everything. Oh, not right away—that would have been too easy. But it did allow me one of the best gifts a writer can ask for:

Procrastination in the name of research.

The song was Paradise by the Dashboard Light by the late Marvin Lee Aday, better known as Meat Loaf. Included in his 1977 bestselling album, Bat Out of Hell, the song has remained a cult favorite for decades. At the time, however, it would have been revolutionary, and as luck would have it, my protagonist, Calamity (Callie) Barnstable was in the midst of researching the disappearance of a pregnant seventeen-year-old who disappeared in Toronto in the spring of 1978.

It might be a stretch to call a song coming on the radio an omen, but it was certainly enough to get me googling “Meat Loaf concerts 1978.” And here my luck continued. Turns out that Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell concert tour took him to Toronto’s Massey Hall on Friday, April 21, 1978. A bit more googling and I found a ticket stub for that same concert on eBay (even went so far as to look at a Massey Hall seating chart) and then found a vintage t-shirt from that same concert. Procrastination at its finest.

Naturally, Callie makes good use of my Meat Loaf finds, but I’m afraid that’s as much as I can tell you without a spoiler, but I can share this YouTube link to the official music video

And now for the Shameless Self Promotion part of this post:

Available in e-book, print, and audio (Audible), I describe my Marketville Mysteries as “cold case cozies.” You won’t find any cats, crafts, or cookie recipes, but you also won’t find overt sex, violence or bad language. I like to think that Dame Agatha would approve. Poirot? He’d probably think he could do it better.

Skeletons in the Attic (Book 1): Calamity (Callie) Barnstable isn’t surprised to learn she’s the sole beneficiary of her late father’s estate, though she is shocked to discover she has inherited a house in the town of Marketville with one condition: she must move to Marketville, live in the house, and solve her mother’s murder. Callie’s not keen on dredging up a thirty-year-old mystery, but if she doesn’t do it, there’s a scheming psychic named Misty Rivers who hopes to expose the Barnstable family secrets herself. Determined to thwart Misty and fulfill her father’s wishes, Callie accepts the challenge. But is she ready to face the skeletons hidden in the attic?

On sale for just .99 at all the usual e-book suspects until November 15th. Here’s a multi-retailer link.

Past & Present (Book 2): It’s been thirteen months since Callie inherited the house in Marketville. She solves the mystery, but what next? Unemployment? Another nine-to-five job in Toronto? She decides to set down roots in Marketville, take the skills and knowledge she acquired over the past year, and start her own business: Past & Present Investigations. It’s not long before she gets her first client: a woman who wants to find out everything she can about her grandmother, Anneliese Prei, and how she came to a “bad end” in 1956. It sounds like a perfect first assignment. Except for one thing: Anneliese’s past winds its way into Callie’s present, and not in a manner anyone—least of all Callie—could have predicted.

A Fool’s Journey (Book 3): In March 2000, twenty-year-old Brandon Colbeck left home to find himself on a self-proclaimed “fool’s journey.” No one—not friends or family—have seen or heard from him since, until a phone call from a man claiming to be Brandon brings the case back to the forefront. Calamity (Callie) Barnstable and her team at Past & Present Investigations have been hired to find out what happened to Brandon and where he might be. As Callie follows a trail of buried secrets and decades-old deceptions only one thing is certain: whatever the outcome, there is no such thing as closure.

Before There Were Skeletons (Book 4): The last time anyone saw Veronica Goodman was the night of February 14, 1995, the only clue to her disappearance a silver heart-shaped pendant, found in the parking lot behind the bar where she worked. Twenty-seven years later, Veronica’s daughter, Kate, just a year old when her mother vanished, hires Past & Present Investigations to find out what happened that fateful night.
Calamity (Callie) Barnstable is drawn to the case, the similarities to her own mother’s disappearance on Valentine’s Day 1986 hauntingly familiar. A disappearance she thought she’d come to terms with. Until Veronica’s case, and five high school yearbooks, take her back in time…a time before there were skeletons.

Let’s Talk About Writing: Ngrams

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Ngrams home page

If I was the betting sort of writer, I’d place odds that most of our Stiletto Gang readers (and dare I say it, even the authors), don’t know what an Ngram is. If that’s the case with you, don’t feel bad. I’d never heard of them either until I listened to a webinar on writing historical fiction. One of the tips was, you guessed it: ngrams.

Here’s how it works (Tip: click on an image to view a larger version):

Replace the pre-filled text (Albert Einstein,Sherlock Holmes,Frankenstein) with the expression of your choice. For this blog, I’ve entered tag you’re it (no comma as it would recognize “tag” and “you’re it” as separate searches. Note: the search criteria for Ngrams is currently 1800 to 2022.

According to Ngrams:

“Tag you’re it” first appears in 1897, with varying degrees of popularity over the years, with a peak in 2012. Which means if you’re writing a novel set during the Civil War, “tag you’re it” isn’t going to be authentic to the period (even if you decide to break up the war action with some kids playing).

Ngrams results for Tag You’re It 1800-2022

If you want to drill down further, you can click on a time period to find examples of where the referenced text was found. Which means you may find yourself going deep into the weeds and down the rabbit hole. But hey, that’s what writers do.

Drill down to find references.

Especially when we’re looking for new ways to procrastinate.

The Past Chair of Crime Writers of Canada and a former journalist and magazine editor, Judy Penz Sheluk is the multiple award-winning author of seven bestselling mystery novels, two books on publishing, and several short stories. She is also the editor/publisher of five Superior Shores Anthologies, including the 2025 Derringer- and Silver Falchion- nominated Larceny & Last Chances. Find her at www.judypenzsheluk.com

Readers: Check it out and leave a comment with your Ngrams experience.

 

Creating Characters: Meet Levon Larroquette

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Last month, I wrote about Arabella Carpenter, owner of the Glass Dolphin antiques shop, and a main character in my Glass Dolphin mystery series. Arabella also makes brief, but important, appearance in each book of my Marketville Mystery series.

Arabella has what could best be described as a complicated relationship with her charismatic ex-husband, Levon Larroquette. Levon is an antiques picker (think of the TV show, American Pickers). In book 1 (The Hanged Man’s Noose) we find out exactly why Arabella and Levon became “best friend exes,” in book 2 (A Hole in One), we watch their relationship get a whole lot more complicated. Book 3 (Where There’s A Will) wraps up the series and I believe leaves them both exactly where they are meant to be. No spoilers here! If you haven’t read it, time’s a wasting…

In the books, Levon is described as being “drop dead gorgeous” with “shaggy brown hair and indigo blue eyes.” As a reader, you may have summoned up your own inspiration for Levon Larroquette, but in my head, Levon resembles 40-year-old Kris Kristofferson from the 1976 version of A Star is Born (yes, the remake with Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga was fine, but IMHO not as good as the Babs/Kris version).

So, what do you think? Kris? Levon? Are you seeing it? And what A Star is Born version do you love most?

 

The Glass Dolphin Mysteries are available in all eBook formats, trade paperback, and on audiobook on Audible, iTunes and Amazon. Find them at www.books2read.com/GlassDolphin. 

Enough about me…here’s more about me

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I belong to four 9-hole golf leagues. You might think that makes me a good golfer, but the reality is, I’ll never be really good. Which isn’t altogether horrible. I’m good enough to play with fabulous golfers and not tick them off and bad enough not to intimidate new (or just plain not-so-great) golfers. Anyway, with the exception of one league, I play with (mostly) different golfers each round. Since I’m not from Sault Ste. Marie, where I currently live, this has afforded me the opportunity to meet and befriend new people.

Here’s the thing. While most chatter on the course revolves around golf, there’s always a bit of personal stuff thrown in, especially if you’ve golfed together a few times over the past five years. But there’s one lady, who shall remain nameless, that fits into a category I like to call “Enough about me, here’s more about me.” You know the type. Everything is, well, about them. In fact, the lady in question often forgets to even ask (over 9 holes and 2+ hours) a simple “How are you?”

Now, I like to think I’m not one of those people (though on my website “About” page, I do have a list of podcasts and articles listed under, you guessed it, “Enough about me, here’s more about me.” And because, let’s face it, part of the reason authors blog is to shamelessly self-promote their latest book, award, or podcast news. And so, only somewhat shamefacedly, I give you my August “Enough about me, here’s more about me.” Thanks for indulging me.

House of Mystery on NBC

Here I talk about Midnight Schemers & Daydream Believers, among other things, with host Allen Warren, and as always, he makes me laugh. A lot.

And in award news…

Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award

Last year, I won for Best Nonfiction (Finding YOUR Path to Publication: A Step-by-step Guide). This year, Derringer-award nominated Larceny & Last Chances received a Best Short Story/Anthology nomination. I’m beyond grateful to have this collection recognized yet again. Here’s a bit about it:

Sometimes it’s about doing the right thing. Sometimes it’s about getting even. Sometimes it’s about taking what you think you deserve. And sometimes, it’s your last, best, chance. Edited by Judy Penz Sheluk and featuring stories by Christina Boufis, John Bukowski, Brenda Chapman, Susan Daly, Wil A. Emerson, Tracy Falenwolfe, Kate Fellowes, Molly Wills Fraser, Gina X. Grant, Karen Grose, Wendy Harrison, Julie Hastrup, Larry M. Keeton, Charlie Kondek, Edward Lodi, Bethany Maines, Gregory Meece, Cate Moyle, Judy Penz Sheluk, KM Rockwood, Kevin R. Tipple, and Robert Weibezahl.

And because fair is fair, leave a comment if you want to do some “enough about me-ing” too.  After all, us shameless self-promoters have to stick together.

 

Creating Characters: Meet Arabella Carpenter

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Of all my characters (and there are quite a few), Glass Dolphin antiques shop owner Arabella Carpenter is probably my favorite. Feisty and flawed, she’s a loyal friend who still loves her ex-husband, Levon Larroquette (even if she refuses to admit it). But what I really like about her is her motto: Authenticity Matters. Because, well, it does. Anyway, I like Arabella so much that when I began writing the Marketville Mystery series, I found a way to give her a small role as Calamity (Callie) Barnstable’s oldest friend. But who, or what was the inspiration behind her?

I was taking a creative writing course, around 2010, maybe a year or so later, and the assignment was to write a mystery with the words “blue” and “dolphin.” I started writing a story about an antiques shop called the Blue Dolphin, and for no reason I can remember, the name Arabella popped into my head. I don’t think I’d ever heard the name before (although I have since…it’s sort of like when you drive a white Honda Civic..all of a sudden, all the cars you see are white Honda Civics). The Carpenter? I was listening to the radio and Close to You,  an old song by The Carpenters came on. Arabella Carpenter, I thought. That has a nice ring to it. [Sidebar: I changed the name of the shop to the Glass Dolphin after I found out there was a real life Blue Dolphin antiques shop in Maine.]

Here’s a scene from The Hanged Man’s Noose, book 1 in the Glass Dolphin Mystery series:

Arabella surveyed the stack of unopened boxes. The thought of unpacking years of inventory might have been daunting to some, but not to her. She was determined to savor every moment.

She’d been dreaming about owning an antiques shop for ten years, first with Levon, and then without him. No one could take it away now.

But Levon had taught her well, Arabella realized with a trace of nostalgia. She remembered the days when they’d go picking together: estate sales, yard sales, auctions. Levon had an eye for finding a bargain in the rough. It was unfortunate his idea of picking things up went beyond antiques. For him, everything in life came down to the thrill of the hunt.

But he had taken her on as an apprentice when she had nowhere to go and no one to go to, and for that she would be forever grateful. Under Levon’s tutelage, Arabella learned to love antiques for the history they told, the stories they shared. Take clocks. She could pinpoint the region a clock was made simply because of the primary and secondary woods selected. The same held true for antique furniture. No cheap “Made in China” knockoffs back in the nineteenth century. Craftsmen took pride in their work, unlike today’s shoddy built-in obsolescence.

It was close to four o’clock before Arabella stopped, exhausted and hungry. She admired her wall of clocks. The styles were a nice assortment: regulators and banjos, schoolhouse and steeples, gingerbreads, and ogees. Tomorrow morning she’d hang up the vintage posters, the oil paintings and watercolors, the maps and mosaics, before the movers arrived with the furniture. Everything was going to be perfect.

She sat down on top of a stack of flattened boxes and began to cry.

And now, my favorite line of Arabella’s (so far) in response to a developer’s proposal and the standing ovation he receives from the townsfolk:

“Honestly, there are more horses’ asses than horses in this town,” Arabella shouted over the applause. “How can you people buy what that man is selling?”

Seriously, what’s not to love?

About the series:

A small town named after a nineteenth-century traitor. A feisty antiques shop owner with a passion for authenticity. A freelance journalist with a penchant for the truth. Join amateur sleuths Arabella Carpenter and Emily Garland in the not-so-sleepy village of Lount’s Landing, where secrets, subterfuge, and real estate wranglings sometimes lead to murder.

 

READERS: Do you enjoy it when characters (like Arabella Carpenter) make an appearance in another series by the same author? If so, name an example. Three of my faves are Michael Connelly, John Sandford and Tana French, who excel at this.

 

The Glass Dolphin Mystery series is available as a box set or by individual title in trade paperback and e-book. Individual titles are also available in audiobook and large print, trade paperback, and e-book.

www.books2read.com/Glass-THMN

www.books2.read.com/GlassDolphin 

 

 

 

It’s Release Month for Midnight Schemers (and a giveaway)!

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At long last, Midnight Schemers & Daydream Believers, the fifth Superior Shores Anthology releases this month. The first anthology, The Best Laid Plans, was launched on June 18, 2019, and being the superstitious sort, every one since has been released on June 18th.

Advance reviews have been great:

“What you see in the title is what you get with this book…twenty-two distinctive tales. It took me a while to read the entire book. These stories are like mini novels, in their power. I needed breathing time between them to mull over what made the twists work and what the authors had done to cleverly enable me to hold my breath in belief suspension for the length of their tale. There’s not a clunker in the bunch.”—Joan Leotta, multi-nominated author and storyteller 

“Editor Judy Penz Sheluk has assembled a stellar group of crime fiction authors for this extraordinary collection. Storytelling at its best!”— David Bart, short-story specialist, contributor to the Anthony Award-winning Mystery Writers of America anthology “Crime Hits Home.”  

“From thieves in a seedy Detroit bar to a nasty murder in Santa Cruz, Midnight Schemers & Daydream Believers reflects the creative knack of editor Judy Penz Sheluk, who has arranged these extraordinary stories by a host of talented authors into one fascinating anthology”—Wil A. Emerson, multi-published Derringer nominee.

“The twenty-two stories in Midnight Schemers and Daydream Believers encompass desire, dreams, and revenge in such a varied way that I had to read it cover to cover in one sitting! —Debra H. Goldstein, award-winning author (and fellow Stiletto Gang member)

Here’s a bit about Midnight Schemers & Daydream Believers: 22 Stories of Mystery & Suspense:

Desire or desperation, revenge or retribution—how far would you go to realize a dream? The twenty-two authors in this collection explore the possibilities, with predictably unpredictable results.

Featuring stories by Pam Barnsley, Linda Bennett, Clark Boyd, C.W. Blackwell, Amanda Capper, Susan Daly, James Patrick Focarile, Rand Gaynor, Gina X. Grant, Julie Hastrup, Beth Irish, Charlie Kondek, Edward Lodi, Bethany Maines, Jim McDonald, donalee Moulton, Michael Penncavage, Judy Penz Sheluk, KM Rockwood, Peggy Rothschild, Debra Bliss Saenger, and Joseph S. Walker.

FIND IT AT WWW.BOOKS2READ.COM/MIDNIGHT-SCHEMERS

And now, I promised you a giveaway. Contact me at www.judypenzsheluk.com/contact and mention this post for a chance to win an EPUB or paperback copy (winner’s choice). Winner will be selected on June 17th  and contacted at that time.

It Was an Honor to be Nominated

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Back in March, I shared my good news about Larceny & Last Chances: 22 Stories of Mystery & Suspense getting the 2025  Derringer nomination for Best Anthology.  Then, in April, I learned that two stories in the collection had also been nominated for Best Short Story. Since the initial short story submissions are blind-judged, it really is an honor just to be nominated. Let me tell you a bit about the stories:

Skeeter’s Bar & Grill by Julie Hastrup

The story of a jilted groom wandering into a desolate bar in the Florida Keys during an impending storm. Here are the first couple of paragraphs

Rounding the bend in the road, Jim—Sarah liked to call him James—caught sight of the enormous slate-gray shelf cloud barreling toward him like an alien ship going into battle. It blotted out the sun and the last remaining shreds of happiness in his soul. His fingers brushed the chilled leather of the passenger seat, searching for his phone and the directions it held. It couldn’t be that many more miles to Key West. The slim red line on the screen’s battery icon warned him his GPS instructions were about to end.

He’d made it 420 of the 470 miles from St. Augustine, only stopping twice. Once for gas and once to use the bushes along the side of the road. His hands cramped from gripping the steering wheel like a vice for most of the last eight hours. His eyes burned from squinting into the sun. And from crying. The gurgles in his stomach reminded him he hadn’t eaten since last night’s rehearsal dinner. Time to pull over. But where? All the places he’d passed since leaving the mainland had been boarded up. A road trip during the forecasted storm of the season probably wasn’t the best idea. Then again, he hadn’t chosen the timing.

The other was my own story in the anthology, the story of a woman scorned looking for revenge, not because she was jilted, as Jim, the groom in Julie’s story was, but because she was overlooked. Here’s the intro:

The Last Chance Coalition by Judy Penz Sheluk

I watch Jake McFadden strut into O’Leary’s Bar & Grill with the swagger of a man who’s dabbled with the big time and likes to flaunt it. His hair, now gunmetal gray shot with strands of silver, is still thick, wavy, and carefully tousled. He’s also grown a beard, presumably to hide the sagging jowls of a man in his mid-sixties, though that presumption may be somewhat unkind.

The authors seated at the long, banquet-style table rise, their greetings effusive, and he accepts their adoration as his due. McFadden’s last “critically acclaimed” novel may have been a decade ago (in the publishing world, critically acclaimed is invariably a euphemism for poor sales), but he’s made a serious name for himself as an editor. Anthologies mostly, multi-author collections of mystery and suspense. He’s even been nominated for a Cleopatra Award for his work on Border Crossing, which is what rankles the most.

More than rankles, if I’m being honest. I mean, what sort of narcissistic egomaniac writes about nothing but his own publishing career and caps it off by including his own short story in the introduction—and not even a very good story, at that? What sort of pompous ass forgets to acknowledge the volunteer who spent countless unpaid hours vetting, formatting, and logging submissions?

Jake McFadden, that’s who.

Now, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want Larceny to win at least one of the three awards, but it didn’t. Even so, I meant it when I said it was just an honor to be nominated. Besides, there’s always next year.  And if you’re interested in finding out what happened to Jim and Jake, you can purchase Larceny & Last Chances at www.books2read.com/larceny.

Puzzle Me This, Cover Reveal, and a Promo Deal

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Cover Reveal

I absolutely love jigsaw puzzles, though 1,000 pieces is my limit. My favorite puzzles are made by Cobble Hill, which is a Canadian-based puzzle maker (they also sell to U.S. and internationally). Great quality and the one time I was missing a piece (that happens on occasion), I filled out an online form and they sent me a new puzzle. What’s not to love?

Anyway, because I love jigsaw puzzles, I always enjoy creating an online version for my latest books, in this case, the fifth Superior Shores Press Anthology: Midnight Schemers & Daydream Believers: 22 Stories of Mystery & Suspense. I always make them easy-ish (this one is 45 pieces).

Ready? Click on the photo to get started:


About the book:

Desire or desperation, revenge or retribution—how far would you go to realize a dream? The twenty-two authors in this collection explore the possibilities, with predictably unpredictable results. Featuring stories by Pam Barnsley, Linda Bennett, Clark Boyd, C.W. Blackwell, Amanda Capper, Susan Daly, James Patrick Focarile, Rand Gaynor, Gina X. Grant, Julie Hastrup, Beth Irish, Charlie Kondek, Edward Lodi, Bethany Maines, Jim McDonald, donalee Moulton, Michael Penncavage, Judy Penz Sheluk, KM Rockwood, Peggy Rothschild, Debra Bliss Saenger, and Joseph S. Walker.

Promo Deal:

Release date: June 18, 2025

Price: $5.99 USD/$6.99 CAD

Pre-order to guarantee promo pricing of $2.99 USD/CAD

Find it at your favorite e-tailer: www.books2read.com/midnight-schemers 

Online Puzzle Enthusiasts: How long did it take you to complete the puzzle?

Larceny & Last Chances: Behind the Scenes

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Larceny News!

Larceny & Last Chances - On Sale for .99!I received some very good news recently when I learned that Larceny & Last Chances: 22 Stories of Mystery & Suspense, published by my imprint, Superior Shores Press,  had been shortlisted for the 2025 Derringer Award for Best Anthology. For those of you unfamiliar with the Derringer, it’s a bit like the Short Mystery Fiction Society’s “Oscar” but until this year, there was never a category for anthologies. On making the inaugural shortlist, I sort of felt a bit like Ruth Gordon, when she said, “I can’t tell you how encouragin’ a thing like this is.” after winning the Best Actress Award for Rosemary’s Baby.

Ruth Gordon accepting her Oscar in 1969

I’ll admit winning the Award will be a very long shot, but as they say at the Oscars, “it’s an honor just to be nominated.”

Behind the Scenes

For my post today I thought I’d share a behind-the-scenes look at my process when it comes to putting together an anthology:

November 15, 2023: Call for submissions. I set a deadline of February 15 or 80 submissions, whichever came first. There’s good reason for the cap. Authors invariably will tinkle with putting one comma in and taking one comma out until the last minute. Having a cap ensures that they are mindful that they may have a story with nowhere to submit it if the cap is met before the deadline.

February 10, 2024: Submissions close (80 reached).

February 15 to March 13, 2024: Read/reread all stories (I tend to read as they come in and slot as “maybe” or “no.” If it’s a no, I let the author know so they can submit the story elsewhere. I also have a second (and sometimes third) reader for stories which make my long list (maybes).

March 17, 2024: Final selections, authors notified, contracts sent out.

March 20, 2024: Author list announced. Potential reviewers contacted.

March 20 to April 15, 2024: Editing using track changes in Word. This is a collaborative process between author and editor (me) to make the story the best it can be.

April 20, 2024: ARCs (Advance Review Copies in PDF or EPUB format) sent to confirmed reviewers.

May 2024: Finalize cover art (with a nod to my graphic artist, Hunter Martin).

June 2024: A flurry of promotion: blogs, radio spots, podcasts. Authors are paid.

June 18, 2024: Release day (e-book and paperback)

And here’s a bit about the book:

Sometimes it’s about doing the right thing. Sometimes it’s about getting even. Sometimes it’s about taking what you think you deserve. And sometimes, it’s your last, best, chance. Edited by Judy Penz Sheluk and featuring stories by Christina Boufis, John Bukowski, Brenda Chapman, Susan Daly, Wil A. Emerson, Tracy Falenwolfe, Kate Fellowes, Molly Wills Fraser, Gina X. Grant, Karen Grose, Wendy Harrison, Julie Hastrup, Larry M. Keeton, Charlie Kondek, Edward Lodi, Bethany Maines, Gregory Meece, Cate Moyle, Judy Penz Sheluk, KM Rockwood, Kevin R. Tipple, and Robert Weibezahl.

PS: It’s on sale from $5.99 USD / $6.99 CAD to .99 on Amazon, Apple, Kobo, and B&N in U.S., Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand. Find it at www.books2read.com/larceny
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