People in background with text Better Together

Thankful for Connections

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by Sparkle Abbey
People in background with text Better TogetherAs we come to the end of summer and head into fall there are so many things happening in our lives and in the world. And so much going on in the publishing world. It’s hard to keep up with everything.

A new series is still in development but with happenings in our personal lives – family things, medical things, and life – things shift.

And wow, where do we even begin with changes in publishing? For us, a major change is that our original publisher is closing its doors at the end of the year. Which on the personal side makes us very sad and on the professional side means that we will soon own the rights to those first ten Sparkle Abbey books. Needless to say, we have a lot of decisions to make about what’s next for the Pampered Pets. It’s a different place than when we started and so many options to explore. And options that are preferable today may not be so attractive at the end of the year. Which is only three months away. Yikes!

In addition to the actual writing and the publishing part of things, it’s also a different world in terms of connecting with readers. Conferences are fewer but book signings seem to have picked up again. On the socials side, Facebook remains popular with our readers, Instagram has grown, Twitter is out, BlueSky is in. And BookTok, it depends on the day. Video is big, live is even bigger. And podcasts remain popular. Right now.

And then there’s AI and it’s impact on, well, everything.

There’s a lot of be sorted out. And while the ease of researching and gathering intel on the publishing world has become fast and easy, the reliability of the information you gather is harder to determine. Which is why we are so thankful for writing friends and the connections that being a part of the writing community brings.

We have each other here on The Stiletto Gang blog to rely on for advice and intel sharing. There are also a slew of connections via Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America and people we’ve met there. As well as our local chapter and our long-time writing group. A wealth of information, education, and support that is truly priceless.

We’re not sure what the future holds but we know one thing for certain. There will always be change.

As we adapt to the latest trends, try new things, and keep telling our stories, we are tremendously thankful for the connections that make this rocky road easier and so much more fun!

 

sparkle and abbey

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.)

If you want to make sure you get updates, sign up for their newsletter via the SparkleAbbey.com website

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Clicking Our Heels – Jobs Each of Us Would Never Want

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Clicking Our Heels Featured ImageClicking Our Heels – The Job Each of Us Would Never Want

In addition to being authors, many of the Stiletto Gang members have or still are working other day jobs. Some of the jobs include government worker, judge, graphic designer, police officer, newspaper reporter, and realtor. Because most of us thrived with our chosen duo career paths, we thought an interesting Clicking Our Heels would be what job or profession each of us would never want.

Donalee Moulton – Cod dewormer. Really, really don’t want to do this.

Gay Yellen – Garbageman. Imagine smelling the stink of it all day, every day, for years and years.

Judy Penz Sheluk – Flight attendant. I absolutely hate airports and flying, not to mention that I’m a complete homebody. Plus, I’d have to put up with all sorts of rude or entitled behavior, and smile while doing it. Not sure I’d be equal to that task.

Anita Carter – Anything medical. I don’t have the stomach for it.

Debra H. Goldstein – Being only a retiree. I’d go crazy.

Mary Lee Ashford – I know some people say they would never want to waitress. Or work in retail. Or man a front desk. I’ve done all those and found them both challenging and entertaining. They are fabulous jobs for observing people. There are a couple of professions that I would not want to take on, though: Stockbroker – too stressful. Factory worker – too monotonous. And I think I’d be horrible at both.

Paula Benson – I admire greatly the women who were the “human computers” in Hidden Figures, but I could not imagine undertaking their responsibilities.

Bethany Maines – Anything in corporate middle management. The cubicle is not my friend.

Donnell Ann Bell – I don’t think I would want the job of a police officer. They require nerves of steel, a heart of gold, patience of a saint, and courage when they’re most afraid.

Saralyn Richard – When I taught public speaking to high schoolers, I challenged them to come up with an occupation that doesn’t require good speaking skills. To my surprise, one student said, “I know one! A fisherman.” I had to smile. Although I pointed out that the fisherman must use speaking skills to sell his fish, the student had a point. So, I wouldn’t want to be a fisherman. Hours of silence would not be healthy for a person with many stories to tell. Also, I wouldn’t want to bait my own hooks.

T.K. Thorne – A cashier has always seemed an awful way to make a living, but my cousin has done it for many years and enjoys the interactions with people, so maybe it is not as bad as some jobs where you are isolated from that altogether. Our world has changed with the ability to work remotely, but I think that may take a toll on us eventually. Like everything else, it has positive and negative consequences.

Lois Winston – I would never want to be a politician because no matter what you do or don’t do, you always have too many people angry with you.

 

 

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.

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Clicking Our Heels – Secret Passions

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Clicking Our Heels Featured ImageClicking Our Heels – Secret Passions

Judy Penz Sheluk – I’m addicted to watching competition baking shows, though bran muffins out of a boxed mix is about as adventurous as I’ve gotten. But I’d love to learn to create wonderful cakes and cookies.

Mary Lee Ashford – Not really a secret passion or at least not in terms of a hidden talent or something I could reasonably pursue. I love music and sure wish I had some talent there. But sadly, that gene skipped me. I will say that I’ve always loved to travel and while we took trips when we could, careers and raising a family took priority. So now in retirement, I’m hopeful that maybe that passion for exploring the rest of the world can take on a new life.

Debra H. Goldstein – To write the great American novel – or at least to keep writing books and stories readers enjoy for a long, long time.

Anita Carter – I enjoy cooking and baking when I have time, but I’m not great at either. Maybe when I retire I should take lessons.

Gay Yellen – I’ve done my share of exciting things in life, and I hope there are more to come. But if I had one wish, I’d love to win the biggest lottery in history and use all the money to improve education and healthcare in this country.

Donalee Moulton – I would love to be a rock star. One problem: I can’t sing.

Lois Winston – Two, but neither will ever come to fruition. I’ve always wanted to go up in space, but I’m too prone to motion sickness for that to ever happen. I also wanted to star on Broadway, but Broadway isn’t interested in singers who can’t sing, dancers who can’t dance, and actors who can’t act.

T.K. Thorne – I think I always wanted to be a visual artist. I never considered I could do it, actually. Until Covid, that was a dormant desire, but I tried it, and no one was more surprised than I was by what has come from it!

Saralyn Richard – My passion for writing had to take a back seat for decades, when I was a teacher, administrator, and school improvement consultant. Finally, in 2013, passion and aptitude met opportunity, and eight books later, I’m living my best life.

Donnell Ann Bell – Not really. I’m a pragmatist. I would like to meet a former critique partner who I lost contact with years ago. He was such a mystery in the first place I would have no idea where to start. He belonged to my online mystery critique group and simply disappeared. He was a great critique partner – helped many of us out, especially when it came to geopolitics and geography.

Bethany Maines – I don’t know about dormant, but I would like to do more travelling, but the budget does not always accommodate my desires.

Paula G. Benson – I’m fortunate to have indulged in my secret passion of performing, writing, and directing theater productions. I’m grateful my church allows me to organize its drama ministry.

 

 

Oops! After 15 Years I Killed My Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers Mystery Blog

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By Lois Winston

Sometimes the universe sends you a signal. Last month, I received one. It began when I was uploading a guest post to Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers, the blog I’d created in 2010 because my editor wanted me to join Facebook, and I had refused. I told her I’d instead join Twitter and create a blog.

I rarely posted on Twitter and eventually closed the account, but I kept up the blog. It changed over the years. At first, I posted new content five days a week. After a few years, I reduced my blogging to three days a week, then once a week. I began having more and more guests because coming up with fresh content, even once a week, is time-consuming, and I also belong to two multi-author blogs. I blog once a month here at The Stiletto Gang and once every seven weeks at Booklover’s Bench. For the last year, I was posting once a month on Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers and hosting guests the other weeks.

Then one day about a month ago, I was uploading a guest post, and Blogger wouldn’t let me add the jpeg of the guest’s cover. I rebooted my computer. Multiple times with no success. I searched the Internet and found various reasons why the jpeg wouldn’t load. I tried other jpegs with no success, and after eliminating all the other suggestions, I tried the only one left. I deleted my cookies. Suddenly, I could no longer get onto my blog dashboard, even after signing in.

I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with Google, leaning heavily toward the hate. Google doesn’t play well with my Mac. Never has. And, of course, it’s impossible to get human help from Google, especially for Blogger, which they stopped supporting years ago. Did I want to waste more hours, days, even weeks trying to get back into my blog, knowing the chances of success were infinitesimal? I’d already wasted hours, the result being that the initial minor problem had grown to a major one. I also wasn’t about to pay a tech expert hundreds of dollars, only to have him or her fail as well.

Maybe the time had come to bid a fond farewell to Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers. The fact that I wasn’t panicking about losing my blog, told me this was an option I should consider. Maybe Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers had run its course after fifteen years. All good things must come to an end. Would anyone even notice or care? Do I care? The more I thought about it, the more I realized I didn’t. Instead, I was looking forward to the time it would free up in my writing schedule and my life.

So, fare thee well, Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers. I bid you adieu as you take your place in the huge expanse of dead blogs floating around somewhere in cyberspace.

Have you stepped away from some or all social media, either intentionally or inadvertently? Were you upset or happy about it? Post a comment for a chance to receive a promo code for a free audiobook download of one of the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries.

~*~

USA Today and Amazon bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is a former literary agent and an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry. Her most recent book is Seams Like the Perfect Crime, the fourteenth Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery. Learn more about Lois and her books at her website. Sign up for her newsletter to receive an Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mini-Mystery.

Nixing the Crime Scene (Part 2) The Ladder Fiasco

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Nixing the Crime Scene (Part 2) the Ladder FiascoDonnell Ann Bell

By Donnell Ann Bell

Last month on my day to blog I talked about a broken coffee cup handle that led to my spilling coffee all over my carpet. Nixing Crime Scene Cleanup as a Career | The Stiletto Gang  I made light of that accident because though cosmetic, no harm was done. Today, I want to continue the saga because the accident that followed, e.g. the cleanup of said carpet and surrounding walls, was no laughing matter.

I’ve always been a “do it myself” kind of person. I clean my own house because I’ve learned that if I hire someone, I clean it before the housekeeper comes anyway. So, when I saw all the coffee that had splattered off onto my newly painted walls, I thought, well, this isn’t the great room with its twelve-feet ceilings, this was the master. The ceiling was only nine feet and the floor wasn’t tile, it was carpet.

Off I went to get our seven-foot ladder from the garage. I climbed the ladder, went up and down several times and completed the task with no problems. On the last fateful descent, however, I wrongfully assumed I was closer to the floor. Big mistake! I estimate I must have been closer to two or three feet off the floor.

I remember thinking when I landed, Thank God for the carpet because I could have been hurt far worse. When I hit the ground, it knocked the breath out of me, and as I lay there with my body parts screaming, I remember thinking Okay, I don’t think anything’s broken. But in the upcoming hours and days, I would discover bruises on my left butt and arm that were in a word Shocking! I’d never bruised so badly.

When I called my friend to complain, she said, “Oh, you didn’t count the rungs!!”

I did not. That was my second mistake. My first mistake was doing it in the first place without anybody home. As age creeps up on me, I’ve been in denial. I thought I was competent and in relatively good shape. You know that old saying about “Assuming,” though.

Source Vecteezy Free Graphics

I could have saved myself plenty of embarrassment and not blogged about my stupidity. But from what I’ve learned, I’m lucky to be here, and I want to share if it prevents another from making a similar mistake.

Falls are the second leading cause of unintentional injury and death all over the world.

  • There are more than 300 ladder-related deaths and over 130,000 emergency room visits related to ladders each year.
  • Ladders were the main cause of 161 fatal work injuries in 2020.

March is National Ladder Safety month. I wish I would have known and paid attention.

For anyone who will climb a ladder in the future, here is a vital link that talks about Safety First and the Three Point Contact rule when ascending or descending a ladder. Here is a great blog about the 3 Points of Contact  3 Points Of Contact Rule Of Ladder Safety

From the blog’s opening . . .The rationale behind this rule is that it ensures stability and minimizes the risk of falling off the ladder. Maintaining three points of contact distributes your weight more evenly. . . . I hope everyone who reads my blog about ladders will take a moment to study this blog and its in-depth information.

I will also add to this information to do as my friend suggested. Count the rungs when you’re going up and going down.

Everything a writer does is all material. However, this isn’t something I’m glad I experienced firsthand. Accidents happen, but this one could have been so easily avoided.

 

 

 

Clicking Our Heels – Do You Prefer Amateur or Professional Sleuths?

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Clicking Our Heels Featured ImageClicking Our Heels – Do You Prefer Amateur or Professional Sleuths?

Lois Winston – I prefer to write about amateur sleuths because I find them fun to write. The amateur sleuth is the quintessential fish-out-of-water story, and as a writer, I can be very creative with that sort of character.

T.K. Thorne – I prefer professional sleuths because, as a former one, I get frustrated with how amateurs have to do things!

Saralyn Richard – Each has its place in the mystery genre. I love the fresh perspective of an amateur sleuth, who stumbles into solving a mystery, but I’m also intrigued by the many strategies a professional detective can use to find truth and bring about justice.

Donnell Ann Bell – It depends. Sounds wishy washy, right? But sometimes light reading is just what the doctor ordered. There are also times a cozy author surprises me by allowing an amateur sleuth to get into some harrowing misadventures (Lois Winston is a great example). But I admit I love thrillers and police procedures. I just finished Barbara Nickless’s The Drowning Game, largely set in Singapore, and I did a beta read for Author Joyce Woollcott whose police procedure is set in Ireland. These authors are so good I feel like I’ve traveled 😊

Bethany Maines – I personally find the research required to make a professional sleuth character believable daunting and prefer amateurs. I also like the element of uncertainty an amateur brings to the table. The reader doesn’t expect them to be Sherlock Holmes and have it all figured out. Being an amateur allows my characters to make mistakes and mistakes make for more interesting reading.

Paula G. Benson – I grew up loving amateur sleuths, but VI Warshawski convinced me that professional sleuths, particularly female ones, were fabulous. Now, I must have both.

Donalee Moulton – At present, I’m leaning toward amateur. I have more freedom and flexibility with how my characters do things – and how they can mess up. But there is a shift in the wind. I have been writing short stories with two new main characters: one is a lawyer and the other a private detective.

Gay Yellen – Samantha Newman, the main character in my mystery series, is an amateur sleuth. However, I enjoy reading other novels that feature professional detectives, too.

Judy Penz Sheluk – No preference. I’ve written and read both. Amateur can be easier, because the author can take more liberties with solving the crime. That said, professional sleuths can be both educational and entertaining.

Debra H. Goldstein – Amateur sleuths come more naturally for me because if the character makes a mistake (because of how I write), it happens. If a professional makes a mistake, I’ve missed something in my research and the readers can rightfully complain.

Mary Lee Ashford – I really do like both for different reasons. The amateur sleuth can fly under the radar on an investigation and often uncover clues that may not be apparent to the professionals. Often they are more adept at getting people to talk and so it can make for some very interesting investigations. On the other hand, the professionals don’t have quite the same restrictions as the amateur. The investigating detective has access to all sorts of intel that isn’t available to the amateur sleuth. Which is probably why so many of us pair the two in order to take advantage of the strengths of both.

Anita Carter – Amateur sleuth. I love reading and writing about the everyday person rising to the occasion and solving the puzzle.

 

 

 

Seasonal Mood Disorder

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Seasonal Mood Disorder Better Known (for me) as December

By: Donnell Ann Bell

Yesterday, I stared out my great room windows to be greeted with darkness—at five p.m. I was still standing upright, hadn’t made dinner yet, and was beginning to yawn.

 

Somehow, I created a nice chef salad dinner, finished my friend Author Barbara Nickless’s, The Drowning Game, which is excellent, by the way, and did my physical therapy exercises. After that, my husband and I played cards and watched a half hour of television.

I did all this because if I went to bed at seven p.m. I would be up at two a.m. So, I worked hard to make it till nine p.m. And despite my best efforts awoke at midnight.

According to Wikipedia, Seasonal Mood Disorder (paraphrasing) affects typically “normal” people with seasonal depression symptoms associated with the reduction and/or decrease in total daily sunlight.

The article also says the following symptoms accompany SAD.

  • A tendency to overeat
  • A tendency to sleep too much
  • A general feeling of malaise or sluggishness

I think it’s ironic that during the busiest time of year, e.g. holiday shopping, Christmas cards, newsletters, parties, travel, in addition to writing a book, my body is telling me to slow down.

I refuse to give in.  To combat SAD, I am:

  • Exercising during daylight hours
  • Stocking my pantry with limited snacking items
  • Standing while writing instead of sitting
  • And watching the clock.

Source: Pixabay Photo by Jonathan Stoklas

 

If I were smart, I’d give up caffeine, but, hey, I’m only human.

The winter solstice, e.g. the shortest day of the year, is December 21 or 22 and occurs when either of the Earth ‘s poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the Sun. (Again Source: Wikipedia).

It could be worse; I could be a bear.  Did you know bears hibernate from October, November until April—or when the snow melts?

 

I think there’s something to SAD. On December 26th, I feel better?  How about you? How’s your energy level during December?

 

 

 

 

The Case of the Pink Tattered Coat

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By Donnell Ann Bell

Look down. What are you wearing? Don’t worry; this isn’t going to be a pornographic blog. I’m just curious if you’re like me.

I don’t stay in my pajamas when I start my day, but I do slip into my most comfortable “grungies.”  It’s hot where I am and as I write this, I’m wearing a sleeveless top and my once-favorite capris, which sadly I ruined by spilling Clorox on them. My point, it would take an emergency for me to leave the house in my current attire.

Which brings me to one of my favorite stories about my daughter-in-law. Well, this story takes place before she was my DIL. She and my son attended the same university, and on winter break, he asked if he could bring home a friend. This was his first year of college, mind you, which caused my husband and me to raise an eyebrow or two, especially when the friend in question turned out to be an attractive young woman.

I recall reacting in a way any reasonable mother might. “Who is this girl? Is it serious and you do intend to finish college, right?”

“She’s a friend, Mom.”

Uh-huh.

As kids tend to do at that age, they were coming and going, catching up with their peers. I was busy writing and didn’t pry too much, even though I was intensely curious. I did learn the basics. She was studying to be an R.N. and at the top of her class. Okay, neither she nor my son appeared to be on the verge of becoming college dropouts.

Source: Pixabay

But because I had so little to go on, I formed the wrong impression. Because my son was so adamant that they were just friends, I built it up in my over-imaginative brain that she’d come home with him because she was poor and had nowhere else to go. I mean the first time I met her; she entered our home wearing a pink coat that was so ripped in the armpit, the tear revealed the facing. Moreover, when she came for a visit a second time, she wore it again!

That was it. It was Christmastime and the mystery writer/amateur sleuth in me was no longer buying the “We’re just friends,” angle.  I said to my daughter, “We should buy Dave’s girlfriend a new coat for Christmas. My daughter thought it was a stellar idea and the two of us went to work searching online.

Still, we didn’t know much about her, just that she might be partial to pink.  Log on to the internet, enter pink + coat, and you’ll be smothered by an avalanche of that color. We wanted to get her a new coat but were at a loss to choose a style she might like.

“I know,” my daughter said, “Let’s ask her mom.”

“You know her mom?” I asked.

“Sure,” my daughter said.

Obviously, my son had confided in his sister, or unlike my daughter, I had medaled in not prying.

So, when we called my future DIL’s mother to ask her opinion, she was horrified. Not at us for wanting to buy her daughter a new coat; she thought that was sweet. But the conversation went something like, “I can’t believe she’s still wearing that thing!”

Needless to say, I learned something about making assumptions that day. My DIL could afford a new coat; she simply loved the one she wore.

In fiction, authors enjoy creating characters in which we sometimes share (and sometimes don’t) personality traits, odd quirks and deep dark secrets. Often, we let the reader know about these perceptions, while our protagonists or secondary characters are left stymied.

The case of the tattered pink coat stymied me.

P.S. These two married two years after they graduated and are the proud parents of three beautiful children. At least I got one perception right. I didn’t buy for an instant they were just friends.

How about you? Do you have something in your wardrobe you refuse to give up? Have you ever had to walk back a mistaken impression?