I Failed a Lie Detector Test

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I’ve confessed this to only a couple of people, but I’m now making it public: I failed a lie detector lie detector (polygraph) test.

This happened in the early ’80s, when I was young and naïve—long before I began writing crime fiction. Back then, I believed lie detector tests were infallible. When I failed, I didn’t just feel embarrassed—I questioned my own sanity. Was I a chronic liar and didn’t know it?

Years later, as a mystery writer, I know better.

It started when a friend asked me to bartend Sunday nights at a pricey hotel in downtown Austin. Someone had quit without notice, and he was in a bind. I’d bartended in college, so I agreed to help.

There was just one catch: new employees had to take a lie detector test.

No problem, I thought. It might even be interesting.

It was—but not in the way I expected.

I was sent to a private company across town. My internal alarms went off the moment I saw the man who would administer the test. “Creepy” is putting it mildly. He had greasy, dyed-black hair, dirt under his fingernails, and a stained dress shirt unbuttoned halfway down, exposing a thicket of chest hair. Cheap rings crowded his fingers.

At the time, I didn’t yet have the instincts of a crime writer—but I had enough sense to feel uneasy.

When he took my hand to attach the sensors, I shivered.

The questions began.

Had I ever stolen from an employer? No.
Had I ever been convicted of a crime? No.
Had I ever taken illegal drugs? No.

Then he lingered on the drug question, circling back again and again, rephrasing it each time. Today, I’d recognize that tactic immediately—pressure the subject, unsettle them, look for physiological spikes. But at the time, I was simply confused.

Finally, he asked if I was currently using drugs. I said I’d recently taken antibiotics and occasionally used Motrin.

He moved on, then returned to the same line of questioning.

If I were writing this scene today, I’d have my detective note the repetition, the shifting language, the way the examiner controlled the rhythm of the interrogation. I’d build tension there—because that’s where it lives.

But back then, I was just irritated—and certain of one thing: I had told the truth.

The following Sunday, as I was getting ready for work, my friend called.

I had failed the test.

If this were fiction, that would be the inciting incident—the moment everything tilts. The innocent protagonist accused. The system revealed as flawed. The first crack in what’s supposed to be objective truth.

My friend told me not to worry, said I could come to work anyway, maybe even retake it later.

I told him not to bother. I wasn’t coming back.

Years later, after writing crime novels and researching investigative techniques, I learned what I wish I’d known then: lie detector tests don’t always detect lies. They detect stress.

And stress can come from many places:

  • Anxiety
  • Fatigue or illness
  • Medication
  • Confusing or manipulative questioning
  • Even the examiner’s own bias

In other words, the very conditions designed to “find the truth” can distort it.

That realization changed the way I think about interrogation scenes. In fiction, a lie detector can be a powerful tool—but not because it reveals truth. Because it reveals vulnerability. Because it can be wrong.

And wrong can be dangerous.

I recently discovered that lie detector tests were actively used in courtrooms in the 1950s—the world of my Sydney Lockhart mysteries. Which raises a delicious possibility.

What happens when Sydney—sharp, observant, and far less naïve than I was—is strapped into that chair? When she knows the machine is flawed, but the people watching believe it isn’t?

That’s not just a test.

That’s a setup.

And in crime fiction, setups are where the real story begins. I can’t wait to put Sydney in this uncomfortable situation and then watch her wiggle out of it. She’d do a much better job than her creator.

Have you ever been falsely accused?

 

Believe in your Story and Never Give Up

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By Donnell Ann Bell

I do not consider myself a vain person. Uncertainty follows me on a daily basis. And like most authors insecurity has me on speed dial. But if I write something that corresponds with the vision in my head, then I develop a strong belief in my project. It doesn’t happen with every manuscript. I have a drawerful of attempted projects that haven’t quite measured up.

My debut book, however, the unpublished title Walk Away Joe, earned me a Golden Heart nod and agent representation. Afterward, I set to work on book two. Based on the plot, the title Deadly Recall came to me almost immediately. The story was a romantic suspense spinning off from my elementary Catholic school days and my court reporting legal experience.

The characters in Deadly Recall came to me equally fast. I was so confident in that book, I almost ignored the advice offered by Donald Maass, renowned literary agent and author of Writing the Breakout Novel. I attended a seminar in which Maass warned writers that if they knew who the killer was throughout the book, the reader would too.

What did he know? I remained steadfast in my belief I’d chosen the right antagonist for my story. Yet as my page count increased, reality intruded on my pipedream. I was a brand-new author; Donald Maass was an expert. I remember the precise moment I flipped the script and changed my killer’s identity. It was near the end of the book. To this day, I credit Donald Maass’s advice. Thanks to him Deadly Recall became a more cohesive and suspenseful story.

After I finished the novel, I entered writing contests but didn’t send it to my agent just yet. She hadn’t sold Walk Away Joe, and if Deadly Recall did well, I hoped to convince her I wasn’t a “one-book wonder.” Deadly Recall won several contests, one of which included agents and editors as the final round judges. I confess my head was the size of a pinata when one contest coordinator wrote, “This is so good. Can’t wait to see it in print.”

I was still flying high until weeks later I opened my entry to learn I’d received an honorable mention. Obviously, my writing peer judges liked the story, New York professionals, not so much. Needless to say, I was disheartened. Still, I believed in that book. So, when a well-known editor from a respected house announced she was accepting on-line pitches, I participated. Her response to my pitch? “Nice idea. But Catholic stories don’t sell. Put it under your bed and never get it out again.”

I don’t have to tell you that left a mark! At the same time, I was smarting from that rejection, my agent wrote me about Deadly Recall. She said she’d shared the book with her team, and they all agreed with her that it “wasn’t my best work.” At that, I sent her a 30-day termination notice and cancelled our agency agreement.

Along with the Deadly Recall rejections I was receiving, I was still hopeful for Walk Away Joe. At a writer’s conference, I pitched the book to an acquiring editor of a major house, and she asked me to send it. I sent it, knowing I was engaging in a proverbial longshot as New York publishers rarely, if ever, accepted unagented submissions.

About this time, RWA’s 2010 Golden Heart calls went out, and I was both happy and stunned to learn that Deadly Recall was a finalist in the organization’s largest and most respected contest. This was my second Golden Heart final, so some (not all) of my confidence was restored as I felt it gave me some street creds.

A short time later, I queried BelleBooks/Bell Bridge Books about Walk Away Joe and Vice President Deborah Smith wrote me back saying, “Send it. Send Deadly Recall while you’re at it.” I’ll never forget when BelleBooks sent me an offer letter for both books. I had huge respect for Debra Dixon and Deborah Smith, both legends in publishing, and decided to accept. As a courtesy I wrote the New York editor with whom I’d submitted Walk Away Joe. All my rejection bruises seemed to fade when she wrote back, “Congratulations. This is our loss. I love Melanie and Joe.” FYI, Melanie and Joe are characters from the WAJ manuscript that BelleBooks/Bell Bridge Books subsequently renamed The Past Came Hunting.

In the early days of my publishing career, Amazon, had a marketing tool called Deal of the Day on Kindle. Both The Past Came Hunting and Deadly Recall hit the top ten of the overall paid deals. I was on my way to Santa Fe when Deborah Smith messaged me to tell me Deadly Recall had hit #1 in the overall paid category! For a brief time, my book was listed alongside John Grisham and Clive Custler. Typically, I couldn’t get a signal to capture a screen shot but did manage one a couple days later in which the book still held the #1 spot in three genre categories.

I tell you this long drawn-out story to remind you that while others may not believe in your work, if you’re passionate about it, never give up. Deadly Recall remains my bestselling book. Imagine if I had done what that editor suggested and put it under my bed. Deadly Recall is one of the books in The Stiletto Gang’s Summer Bonanza. The log line is: A terrifying memory is locked deep inside her. A Killer wants to keep it that way. https://donnellannbell.net/books/romantic-suspense-thrillers/deadly-recall/   Now that you know its history, I hope you’ll give it a try. And remember this business is subjective. Whatever you’re passionate about, it’s important to believe!  Happy Reading!

 

“Just One More Thing”

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When you hear the phrase “just one more thing,” what comes to mind? If you were around in the 1970s, you probably remember Columbo, starring Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo of the Los Angeles Police Department. The series won 22 awards and received 68 nominations, with Falk earning four Primetime Emmy Awards. It aired on NBC from 1971 to 1978 and has since been rebroadcast on numerous networks.

What I liked most about the show was its structure: viewers knew the killer from the start and then watched Columbo patiently unravel the crime. Each episode featured a guest star as the murderer—Martin Landau, Janet Leigh, Ruth Gordon, Vincent Price, Roddy McDowall, Leonard Nimoy, even Johnny Cash, to name a few.

I recently rediscovered the series after making a practical—if slightly risky—decision: changing hairdressers after fifteen years. When I learned my husband’s barber had begun cutting women’s hair for less than half what I’d been paying, I decided to give her a try. I only needed a trim—no shampoo, no styling. The first visit took less than ten minutes, and I was pleased with the result.

On my most recent visit, I didn’t have an appointment. Four people were ahead of me, and I thought about leaving—until I noticed the television was tuned to Columbo. I stayed. The episode featured Ricardo Montalban as a matador in “A Matter of Honor.”

When Columbo arrives on a scene—hair rumpled, trench coat wrinkled, cigar in hand—he’s easy to underestimate. His suspects dismiss him as absentminded, even inept. But his polite, seemingly scattered questions are deliberate. Columbo is a meticulous strategist, noting every clue and quietly assembling the truth. He wears his suspects down with persistence, circling back again and again until—almost as an afterthought—he says, “Just one more thing.”

Alfred Hitchcock also used this technique in his movies Rope, Dial M for Murder, A Shadow of a Doubt, and Frenzy. His forte was suspense rather than surprise. The audience knows what happened as they watch the story unfold. Suspense builds tension, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats as they participate in solving the crime.

Back to my barber. I waited nearly an hour that day and didn’t mind at all. I was hooked as soon as Columbo began his investigation. I knew he’d solve the mystery, and I couldn’t wait to find out how he did it. Next time I need a trim, I may skip the appointment altogether. I’ll take a seat, request Columbo on TV, and bring my writing journal. I’ll study the master detective at work and take notes for the next mystery.

Have you ever written a reverse whodunnit?

Are We Looking Up?

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Today is National Look Up at the Sky Day, and the timing couldn’t be better.

I can’t think of a more perfect time to celebrate this day as we try to maintain our equilibrium in what feels like a very troubled world. The proponents of this special Day suggest that we take a moment to go outside and contemplate the clouds as they roll by, kind of a Zen approach to relaxing the mind.

This date also marks another National designation. It’s Reach as High as You Can Day, which encourages us to create a new goal, share our goals, or encourage others to reach for theirs. While these two notable suggestions may provide encouragement for some, I think we can find an even better third one:

The Artemis Moon Mission

Prior to launch on April 1, I heard arguments, both pro and con, about going back to the moon. The two camps seemed to be equally divided as to whether the country should be spending so much money just to fly around the moon instead of fixing more urgent needs here on earth. I could understand and sympathize with both positions, until I watched the press conference with the four astronauts, who had returned to earth less than 24 hours before.

Each one of the four took about two minutes to share their individual and deeply human reactions to their extraordinary experience, and in doing so, restored some hope that humanity will survive. There was no speachifying or preaching, only honest, touching, and often funny insights. I encourage you to watch this uplifting clip. It’s a quick dose of joy.

Seriously, watch the video. You’ll be glad you did.

Initially, I wan’t keen to sit through what I expected to be just one more bloated, self-congratulatory press conference full of the usual blah-blahl rhetoric. But that wasn’t what it was.

Afterward, I wanted to renew my half-forgotten knowledge of what Artemis, the mission’s Olympian namesake, stood for. Twin sister of the Greek god Apollo, Artemis was known as the goddess of the hunt, a protector of children and nature, and a patron of the healing arts. She was a lover and a warrior. One of the most venerated divinities, she had two sides: one nurturing and the other, brutal.

In short, Artemis was an avatar for the best and worst human traits.

And so, my thoughts today are on Artemis the goddess, her namesake mission, and the heartfelt comments from our latest space explorers, words that, while simple, illustrate how qualities like integrity and love can lead to a life worth living.

Whatever anxiety people may be feeling these days, we can still look up to the sky, reach as high as we can, create new goals and give love to those near and far. Perhaps in this way, we can still achieve heaven on earth together.

#ArtemisII #ReachAsHighAsYouCanDay #LookUpAtTheSkyDay

Gay Yellen’s award-winning writing career began in magazine journalism.  She later served as the contributing editor for the international thriller, Five Minutes to Midnight (Delacorte), which debuted on the New York Times New & Notable list. Ms. Yellen’s  Samantha Newman Mystery Series is packed with suspense and laced with touches of romance, heart, and humor. Available on Amazon or to order through your favorite bookseller.

 

Decisions Decisions

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Donnell Ann BellBy Donnell Ann Bell

Some changes are in store for me in the upcoming months. As I write this, I’m about to join the ranks of hybrid author. After 25 years in business, my publisher BelleBooks/Bell Bridge Books/Imajinn is closing its doors. Debra Dixon, who has owned and operated the publishing house (and admirably I might add), will retire.

As far as this author is concerned, as a publisher and editor, Debra Dixon has been exemplary, following through on every commitment she’s made. And to have the author of Goal, Motivation and Conflict as my editor for my Cold Case Series, has been both and education and has made me a better writer. So, now it’s time for this fledgling duckling—I mean author—to decide what she wants to do next. As I await my rights reversion letter, I look at this transition as an opportunity. For the most part, I’m thrilled with the product that Bell Bridge Books produced that bears my name on the covers. Still, like most books, dare I say, every published novel contains surprise gremlins. These gremlins called errors pop up in spite of critique partners, beta readers, editors, copy editors and proofreaders.

My friend Annette Dashofy is famous for saying if a mistake makes it into our books upon publication, after an author’s painstaking review, followed by the numerous editorial eyes on it, that typo deserves to be in there!!😉While I think her philosophy is clever, I respectfully disagree and want that typo corrected. Being traditionally published, I haven’t had the luxury of fixing a digital copy after it’s published. When my books are returned to me, I plan to fix those pesky errors that have plagued me these many years.

Which brings me to something else I’ve been thinking about and would love your opinions. Over the years I’ve received both good and bad reviews. Some readers lamented I didn’t put enough sex in my books, while other readers appreciated that I didn’t. Then there’s the subject of expletives. My mother worked for a doctor who claimed that using foul language was a sign of a weak mind. Moreover, if the speaker did use expletives, it was because he  couldn’t think of anything else to say. As a young woman, I heard that story so many times, I came to believe the doctor had a @#$% valid point!

In my debut novel, The Past Came Hunting, I used expletives. Namely, because my protagonist is a cop. Further, the story begins with a rebellious seventeen-year-old in the process of making the mistake of her life when she hooks up with a California bad boy (later a vengeful ex-con). While my female protagonist cleans up her act (and her language), and the cop occasionally expels an oath, the ex-con absolutely refused to say, “Gosh” and “Darn.” Honest, I asked him!

My debut won several awards, was requested by agents and was responsible for my publication. I remember receiving one letter about the language while the book has hundreds of positive reviews and hit #7 on Amazon’s list as a new author. I’m pretty proud of that. Here’s another question for you. What is it about criticism that we can receive numerous accolades, but we continually focus on the negative?  Also, as I’m going over the book line by line and have the opportunity to sanitize this manuscript, I’m not sure I want to.

Do I still hate expletives? Absolutely. I try hard not to use them. But it’s not about me. It’s about the characters. Fortunately, my other books don’t include a truculent psychopath. Brooke Terpening, another Stiletto Gang member, sent me the following blog written by author Harry Bingham to help me weigh my decision: Click here (content warning).  Mr. Bingham has an incredibly interesting take on the subject. By the way, the article provides an “f-bomb” score. Believe it or not my index is 28/82 = 0.35 which means my book is “unsweary.” Seriously?

Meanwhile, decisions, decisions.

About the Author:

Donnell Ann Bell is an award-winning author who began her nonfiction career in newspapers. After she turned to fiction, her romantic suspense novels became Amazon bestsellers, including The Past Came Hunting, Deadly Recall, Betrayed, and Buried Agendas. In 2019, Donnell released her first mainstream suspense, Black Pearl, A Cold Case Suspense, which was a 2020 Colorado Book Award finalist. In 2022, book two of the series was released. Until Dead, A Cold Case Suspense won Best Thriller in 2023 at the Imaginarium Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. Currently, she’s working on book three of the series. Readers can follow Donnell on her blog or sign up for her newsletter at www.donnellannbell.net.

photo of author Winter Austin

Special Guest: Winter Austin

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by Sparkle Abbey

Today we welcome our friend and fellow Iowa author, Winter Austin! We have some questions for her but before we get started with those, Winter, please share with our readers a little bit about yourself. 

photo of author Winter Austin

I wear many hats; Author, Veteran’s Wife, NG-Army Mom, Awesomest Aunt Ever, Goat & Cattle Wrangler, Fluffy Velociraptor Herder, Dog Mom, and All-Around Butt-Kicker. I’m a long-time resident of the Midwest, mostly living in Iowa, with a decidedly strong lilt to Southern. I’m a self-taught sous chef and darn good customer service representative with a tight hold on my need to be sarcastic or blunt—it’s a struggle, let me tell you. My husband and myself both grew up farm kids, but the military consumed most of our married lives. We had four kids who are all in their twenties now and doing us proud. We’re now settled into the empty nester lifestyle, but I’m trying to drag my husband back into the farming life.

Thanks, Winter. And now to our questions…

What started you on your writing journey? Have you always wanted to write? 

I’ve known from an early age I wanted to be an author. The book and author that cemented it was The Black Stallion by Walter Farley. When I read Farley’s bio and learned he was published in his early twenties, I wanted to do that. I couldn’t get published during my twenties, but my thirties saw it come to fruition. I wrote all the time, nonsense stories, a full western by hand in pencil, and a lot of fan fiction. I leaned toward mystery and suspense in my stories. After the birth of my twins, I got serious about being published. Spent many years learning the craft, how to create plot and conflict, and eventually had to learn how to balance suspense with romance—something I was never very strong at writing but managed to pull off. It’s been nearly 12 years since my very first book was published, and now I’m crafting some long desired storylines.

What types of books do you write? And why did you choose that genre or sub-genre? 

I’m writing in the mystery/suspense genres in the sub-genres of police procedurals/crime fiction.

These genres have been my schtick for decades, going back to my first story that landed me a coveted spot to go a young writer’s conference in fourth grade—a mystery. I do think I can blame my parents for always having some crime/cop/mystery show on while I was growing up that fed into my wild imagination and stories.

What’s your favorite part of writing? 

Creating the characters. I love making people so opposite of myself. I do find I layer in my favorite personalities and characteristics of some of my closest friends and family members into secondary characters in my books, but I always make my female leads women I sometimes wish I could be.

And what’s your least favorite part? 

The actual writing, especially on days when I just don’t want to write. I love writing, I love the whole process, but when the words and the ideas just refuse to come, it makes me wonder why I ever thought this was a good idea.

How much planning do you do before you start a book? 

My process would drive the majority of writers and authors crazy. They claim there are no true pantsers, but I beg to differ, I’m the shining star of a true pantser. I start with the germ of an idea, but it’s so riddled with holes, I don’t know if it’ll ever work. In the last 6 books I’ve written, I have had no clue who the actual antagonist is and what their motivations for committing their despicable acts. Then comes the agony of getting the opening scene down, the inciting incident to propel the story forward. After that, it’s a free-for-all, no kidding.

Where do your very best ideas come from? 

The shower or driving. No kidding. The very places I can’t use a computer to get the scenes and dialogues down, but where the best ideas come. Sometimes I’ll take a break from whatever I’m in the middle of and catch a nap. There have been times where I’ve come awake and realized how things tie in, or why something in a scene I just wrote gave me the final piece of the puzzle I’ve been scratching my head to figure out.

But the plot ideas tend to come from real life events. I just have to find a way to put my own spin on them.

What part of writing is the most difficult for you? Characters? Conflict? Emotion? Something else…? 

Action scenes. No kidding. I always have to rewrite those scenes 3 to 4 times before I get them just right. The actions of the characters and the reactions to situations have to make sense and have to work right. I don’t think I’ve written a novel yet without a fight scene or a gun battle of some kind. If I shoot or injure my main characters, I must make sure it’s not something that in real life would actually be fatal, and that’s hard. You can only get away with shooting your MC in the fleshy part of their leg before it gets old.

What’s next for you? Tell us about your next book and when it will be out. 

I’m finishing up the first and roughest draft for the first book in my newest suspense series. My publisher and I finalized a title and series title recently and The Stiletto Gang readers get the honor of being the first to know. The series will be called A Bounty of Shadows. Book 1 is Ride a Dark Trail. I get to play around in a modern take on an Old West style of story with my ever-present strong female lead. This book is set to release August of 2025 and I can’t wait. Neither can my editor. When I pitched her the idea of a female bounty hunter she jumped all over it. It took us a bit before we nailed down a story idea that my publisher Tule liked and here we are. Beta readers are already singing praises and they’re getting the worst draft ever on it.

That sounds awesome! Can’t wait to read it.  Thanks for stopping by and sharing your story with us and the Stiletto Gang readers. 

book cover for A Requiem for the Dead

Here’s Winter’s most recent release A Requiem for the Dead, a Benoit and Dayne Mystery. 

And readers if you want to know more about Winter and her books, please visit her website: Author Winter Austin

You can also find her on social media in these spots:

Facebook

Instagram

BookBub

Goodreads

Burning Your Zozobra

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While one half of our nation rejoices this week and the other half wonders what went wrong, here comes Thanksgiving, Christmas and Hanukah, when we’re all thrown together at friends’ parties and family reunions. Finding common ground where we can stand together may be difficult as we tiptoe around each other’s feelings after the election.

Four years ago, it also felt like our national unity had frayed, both physically (the pandemic) and culturally (we vs. them). Back then, I wrote a guest post for Jungle Red Writers about a new word I’d learned from an article in The Conversation. This week, our local newspaper reprinted the original essay.

The word is zozobra.

In Spanish, it means “anguish, anxiety, or gloom,” which many of us suffered from in those fear-ridden times.

https://burnzozobra.comI’ve recently heard that in Santa Fe, New Mexico there’s an annual Summer Festival in which they burn an ugly zozobra in effigy as an attempt to chase the gloom away.

And yet, barring a truly effective alternative to lighten our national funk, what better time is there than Thanksgiving to remind us of what’s truly meaningful in life? For me, that includes friends and family (regardless of political differences), the health that still sustains us, and a sense of purpose that keeps us engaged in the world.

Yes, bad things happen every day, and sometimes they happen to us.

But what if we try to minimize the complaining and instead, focus on the positive things we can do to make life better for ourselves and others.

It helps to practice gratitude for the small things that bring us joy.

I am grateful for family and friends, and for being accepted into a writing community where colleagues honor and respect one another, where we share our ups and downs in the wacky world of publishing. To my Stiletto sisters, and to Sisters in Crime and beyond, I would be bereft without your continued friendship and support.

And to our readers! Thank you for reading!

We’re all in this together, come what may. Tomorrow is World Kindness Day. Maybe we could start with that.

Or, if you’re not quite ready to let go of your anxiety, you could plan your very own Zozobra Festival and exorcise the beast.

What are you grateful for today?

Please tell us in the comment section below.

 

Gay Yellen is the author of the  award-winning Samantha Newman Mysteries, including The Body Business, The Body Next Door, and The Body in the News! 

Now available from your favorite bookseller. Readers and book clubs, please contact me at GayYellen.com.

 

 

 

 

 

Surviving the Storm

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Ever heard of a derecho?

I hadn’t, until recently. It’s related to a tornado, and can be just as deadly. Instead of twisting up everything in its path and tossing it around, a derecho’s furious winds wreak devastation in a straight line, like a giant hundred-mile-an-hour freight train.

Last May, one barreled through two hundred miles of Texas, including our neighborhood. It tore through swaths of open landscape and mowed down houses and other buildings, leaving hundreds of thousands electricity customers in the dark.

People died from falling trees. If you want to know what our derecho was like, these videos from the Houston Chronicle pretty much gives you a taste. Yes, it was scary.

In our neighborhood, it was mostly the trees, those majestic century-old oaks in our urban forest that suffered the greatest damage.

And then in July…

Hurricane Beryl hit us with howling winds and high water. Thousands of homes were ravaged. Thousands of businesses lost power—many, for weeks. People lost their lives from the sweltering heat.

After two previous summers of drought, the May derecho, and July’s hurricane, many more stately trees succumbed. Some, still standing, are leaning at ominous angles over homes and streets and sidewalks. Others are stripped down to mere skeletons of their former lushness. So many sad sights where once there was beauty and abundance.

We’re used to summer storms around here. The Body in the News, Book 3 in my Samantha Newman Mystery series, revolves around the aftermath of one of the worst hurricanes to hit these parts in recent history.

Clean-up and repairs from the May derecho weren’t completed when the July hurricane hit. We’re now two months beyond Beryl, yet a walk around the neighborhood still bears sad reminders of the destructive forces of nature. And now…

Here comes another one!

As I write this, the weather service is serving us updates on Francine, the tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico that’s expected to become a hurricane today. It, too, is headed our way, or somewhere between us and New Orleans. In case it arrives ahead of schedule, and we lose power again, I’ll wrap this up and get it posted. But before I sign off, there’s one more thing… 

I’ve come to understand the therapeutic benefit of immersing oneself in a leafy retreat, which is why I mourn losing so much of the neighborhood greenery. However, in the larger scheme of things, life can hit us with more serious hardships at any time, so, it’s important to keep this in mind:

Trees can be replanted. Lives lost are irreplaceable.

Instead of wringing our hands over what is lost, or what may happen next, let’s celebrate the people and things that bring beauty to our lives today.

Let’s appreciate what we have with with renewed attention and open affection.

And, if the mood strikes, while you’re hugging those dear to you, it might also help to hug a tree. Turns out, they can be as fragile as people.

Have you ever weathered a scary natural disaster?

Please leave your comments below…

Gay Yellen is the award-winning author of the of the Samantha Newman Mystery Series: The Body Business, The Body Next Door, and The Body in the News.

 

 

 

Confessions of a dormant writer

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By Donnell Ann Bell

I have three problems when it comes to writing fiction. Simplicity bores me, I have a perfectionist problem, and I write above my pay grade.  Don’t get me wrong. I’m far from perfect. But I work hard to make sure my research is accurate. I also carry “What if?” and minutia to the extreme.

Combine this with life events over the last three years and writing has been a struggle. My Stiletto blog partner Debra Goldstein offered me sage advice when I expressed this problem. Familiar with my situation, she empathized and let me know my writing pause might take some time. Was she ever right!

I’m here to announce, “Times up.”

One of the things that brought me out of my funk was writing a short story. The excitement that comes with creating, plotting and follow through from beginning to end was in a word, “Thrilling.”

Somewhere buried inside me, yet dormant, was the writer I used to be.

And so I’m back to writing, which I consider progress. However, I’m still a perfectionist and still interested in topics I don’t fully understand. But to write something that doesn’t interest me would bore me silly.

Thought I would share some of the things I’ve been researching in case you’re interested.  In my work in progress, the month is October
2019.  My antagonist has escaped and he’s traveling on foot at night. Several issues crossed my mind while writing this scene, including: How will he get from Point A to his temporary objective of Point B when he faces all kinds of dangerous impediments?  Namely, he doesn’t know the area or the terrain, all he’s wearing are the clothes on his back, law enforcement is in pursuit, he’s being tracked by a fellow escapee, and it’s dark!

Which led me to research:

How to hike at night – crazy as that sounds, avid outdoorsmen (and women) do this. But they hike aided by night vision tools, GPS and compasses, walking sticks, appropriate clothing, and the ability to slow their pace, if necessary (which my antagonist mustn’t do at the risk of apprehension.) There are several videos and articles dedicated to night hiking.  I found this one particularly interesting and useful.  https://greatmindsthinkhike.com/hiking-at-night/

The phases of the moon. (Remember when I said I carry minutia to an extreme?) Here’s an example. It occurred to me that October is known for Hunter’s Moons and Harvest Moons, which I could use to my antagonist’s advantage. Then again, what fun would that be? I’m writing a suspense. Another complication occurred to me because the year is 2019. I can’t remember that far back; can you?

There are times I love the internet. There is a site called MoonGiant, which allowed me to narrow down the exact days of my WIP. It also pointed out that the days I referenced were in the Waxing Gibbous phase, which I will reluctantly leave out because my antagonist probably wouldn’t know that. 😊 Want to learn more about MoonGiant. Check out https://www.moongiant.com/

Thank you for allowing me to confess my writing sins–the others you don’t need to know. While I’m trying to break this useless perfectionist quality, I am setting goals and word count challenges.  How about you? Do you have any writing confessions you’d like to share?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book cover for Deep Blue Cover

Guest Interview with Author Joel W. Barrows

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By Sparkle Abbey

Please welcome our friend and fellow author, Joel W. Barrows to the blog today.  Joel is a member of our local Sisters in Crime – Iowa chapter and we’ve mostly conversed via Zoom but recently had the opportunity to meet in person at a fun writers’ retreat – Only Books in the Building – and share some great conversation around a toasty fire with some of the other featured authors.

Author photo Joel W. BarrowsBefore we jump in with our questions, Joel, please share a little bit about yourself.

JB: I am the author of the Deep Cover thrillers published by Down & Out Books. I was born and raised in small town Iowa, though have lived in several larger cities over the years: Des Moines, St. Louis, Washington D.C. … Now, I’m back in Iowa, living in the Quad Cities, where I work as a district court judge. Besides writing, I enjoy boating and playing the guitar.

SA: Thanks! And now on to our first question. What started you on your writing journey?

JB: My wife always wanted to be a writer. Her father was a newspaper editor. She knew I was a bit of a storyteller, like my father. When she read a reference letter I had written for a friend, she suggested I try my hand at writing. One day, after I went on a rant about Big Pharma and what they might be capable of, she said, “that sounds like a good idea for a book.” I went upstairs to the computer. Two days later I had a 15-page outline for my first book, The Drug Lords, a romantic suspense thriller.

SA: And that leads us to another question. What do you write? And why did you choose that genre?

JB: I write about domestic terrorism organizations and the undercover operatives who combat them. I think this is the issue of our time. Many of the books also deal with racism and political issues. They say write what you know. My career has been in law enforcement as a state and federal prosecutor and as a judge. This is an area I know.

SA:  It certainly is and your experience undoubtedly accounts for the realistic details in your books! What about the writing process? What’s your favorite part of writing?

JB:  Inventing characters and writing good dialogue. I have always been a student of the way people communicate, verbally and nonverbally. Other than that, creating the tension.

Book cover for Deep Blue Cover

SA: Characters and dialogue rank up there as favorite parts of the creative process for us as well. So, what’s your least favorite part?

JB:  Really, I enjoy the whole process, though I suppose the research is my least favorite part. But even then, there are aspects of it that enjoy. Outlining can also be a challenge, and it is definitely not my strong suit!

SA:  Partly because we work as co-authors, we have to do quite a bit of planning when we start a project. How about you? How much do you plan before you start a book?

JB: I develop a basic story idea and spend a month or two fleshing it out and doing research. I might then outline the very basic structure of the book. After that, I kind of just let the characters lead me.

SA: Where do your best ideas come from?

JB: My own experiences, the many law enforcement officers, agents and prosecutors I’ve worked with, and the news.

SA:  It seems like some parts of the process come easy for us and others are more of a struggle. What part of writing is the most difficult for you to write? Characters? Conflict? Emotion? Or something else…?

JB: I probably don’t spend enough time on setting, which is something I’m working on.

SA:  What’s next? Are you currently working on a new book?

JB: The working title for the next book is “Deep Orange Cover: The Allegiance.” Let’s just say it involves a very gritty and frightening look at outlaw motorcycle clubs and some of their many illegal undertakings. I promise, it will grab and keep your attention!

SA: Having read your other books, we’re sure that it will! Thanks for talking with us today. We appreciate your time and we will watch for that next book!

Thanks again, Joel. Please check out the links below for more info about Joel and his books! 

Website

Facebook

Amazon Author Page

Publisher

Anita and Mary Lee

Sparkle Abbey is actually two people, Mary Lee Ashford and Anita Carter, who write the national best-selling Pampered Pets cozy mystery series. They are friends as well as neighbors so they often get together and plot ways to commit murder. (But don’t tell the other neighbors.)

They love to hear from readers and can be found on Facebook, Goodreads, and Pinterest, some of their favorite social media sites. Also, if you want to make sure you get updates, sign up for their newsletter via the SparkleAbbey.com website

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