Tag Archive for: Misa Rameriz

Pleating for Mercy

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by Melissa Bourbon
I’m so happy to be back with the girls of The Stiletto Gang today! Life is so busy, but this is such a great group and I miss them a lot so it’s a treat to visit.

I can’t believe that Pleating for Mercy came out on Tuesday! The very first book in A Magical Dressmaking Mystery series hit bookstores (on the tower in Barnes & Noble, no less!!) and online ebookstores for anybody who loves cozy mysteries, dressmaking, sewing, and/or anything crafty to read.

As I was thinking about visiting the Stiletto Gang, I got to thinking about why I write mysteries. All I could come up with is that they are close to my heart. Okay, truthfully, books of any kind are close to my heart, but mysteries, in particular. The mystery can be large or small. It can be the central focus of the story, or play a supporting role. It really doesn’t matter to me the scope of the mystery elements, as long as it’s there in one way, shape, or form.

My love of mysteries started, like most young girls of a certain age–ehem, we don’t need to talk about age, now, do we?–with Nancy Drew. From there I graduated straight to Agatha Christie. I have a distinct memory of going with my mom to our town’s library so she could check out the last Hercule Poirot novel, Curtain. She was crushed that it was to be Poirot’s last, and her love of these book intrigued me enough to start reading them.

I spent almost all of my high school lunches in one classroom or another reading.

Now, I should say that I’m a light-weight when it comes to these things. Horror movies and books are not for me. I threw Silence of the Lambs across the room once or twice while reading it, and I cover my eyes during certain parts of Dexter (though he and the show are morbidly fascinating and I LOVE it).

But I love the deduction.

So, of course, I when my passion for writing grew until it couldn’t be denied, it was no surprise that it manifested itself in the form of mysteries. I began with the Lola Cruz Mystery series, published initially with St. Martin’s Minotaur, and moving soon to a new publisher with the next three books in the series.

Then I wrote two romantic suspenses, which, of course, have strong mystery elements in them. They’re based on Mexican legends and these will be coming out sometime next year.

Finally, my cozies, A Magical Dressmaking Mystery series with NAL, have brought me full circle to the kind of mysteries I love the most. They are small town, feel good who dunnits. They are like comfort food. They just make me want to curl up in front of a fire and escape into the town of Bliss (if only we weren’t on our 20+ day of 100+ degree weather).

Mystery, mystery, mystery. The characters. The communities. The crime. The puzzle. The deductions. The justice. All of makes for such a satisfying read.

I’m particularly lucky to now be part of a dynamic publishing group. I’m the marketing director for the new boutique publisher, Entangled Publishing ( http://www.entangledpublishing.com/ ). Here, I get to help market so many books, some of them romantic suspense or mystery, many of them paranormal, urban fantasy, and sci fi, most of them with some strands of mystery elements in them. There’s no better job, and I can’t wait for the release of our first titles, also this past Tuesday.
I’d like to know what everyone loves most on mysteries, and how heavy the mystery element needs to be in books you read.
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Melissa Bourbon, who sometimes answers to her Latina-by-marriage name Misa Ramirez, gave up teaching middle and high school kids in Northern California to write full-time amidst horses and longhorns in North Texas. She fantasizes about spending summers writing in quaint, cozy locales, has a love/hate relationship with yoga and chocolate, is devoted to her family, and can’t believe she’s lucky enough to be living the life of her dreams.  She is the marketing director at Entangled Publishing, is the author of the Lola Cruz Mystery series with St. Martin’s Minotaur, A Magical Dressmaking Mystery series with NAL, and is the co-author of The Tricked-out Toolbox and two romantic suspense titles to be released in 2012.
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Praise for Pleating for Mercy:
“Enchanting! Prepare to be spellbound from page one by this well-written and deftly-plotted cozy. It’s charming, clever and completely captivating! Fantasy, fashion and a foul play—all sewn together by a wise and witty heroine you’ll instantly want as a best friend. Loved it!”~Agatha, Anthony and Macavity Winning Author Hank Phillippi Ryan
“A seamless blend of mystery, magic, and dress-making, with a cast of masterfully tailored characters you’ll want to visit again and again.”~Nationally Bestselling Author, Jennie Bentley
“A crime-solving ghost and magical charms from the past make Pleating for Mercy a sure winner! The Cassidy women are naturally drawn to mystery and mischief. You’ll love meeting them! ” —NYT Bestselling Author Maggie Sefton
Visit Melissa at her website http://melissabourbon.com/
And at Books on the House, a website bringing books and readers together!

Misa

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I am not a Sci-Fi girl. At all. My few exceptions to that are that I loved Ender’s Game. But not enough to read the sequels. I love Star Trek, and, of course, Star Wars (but that’s mostly because of Harrison Ford).

So when my man wanted to go see Avatar, I was less than thrilled. But I’m a good wife, and like any good wife, I went with him to see this 3 hour movie. (I should say that had Nine been out, I would have fought hard to see that instead, but husband is a pretty good sport for the most part, so I figure I can sit through Sci-Fi heaven.)

Avatar. I had NO idea what to expect. I hadn’t seen trailers, or read anything online. My only frame of reference was the cartoon Avatar that my kids watch, and that did not appeal to me.

I had no idea, for example, that Sigourney Weaver was in the movie. She’s such a great actress, and plays badass heroine archetypes. That was a perk I hadn’t expected. And the hero Jack Sully, played by Sam Worthington, was appealing, and even more so when he became his Na’vi Avatar.

Even the the animated characters, the indigenous humanoids, were nicely developed overall. Neytiri has a few gut-wrenchingly emotional scenes, no small feat for computer animation. The story itself plays along predictable lines; it’s the special effects that make the movie something special. It’s a spectacular event, and writer/director James Cameron uses every opportunity to make bold statements. He purportedly planned this movie in the mid-90s, but needed to wait for technology to catch up with his vision of what he wanted it to be. He succeeded. Avatar is the top grossing movie of all time (and Cameron is in the top 5 twice–the other movie is, of course, Titanic) and there are rumors of a sequel.

Jake immediately elicits sympathy because he’s a former marine and he’s paraplegic. He’s the quintessential lost soul, searching for how he can ever belong or be whole again. He’s damaged, and the way he’s defined himself no longer fits. He’s in a wheel chair, self-sufficient, but unhappy and wanting nothing more than to have the surgery that can fix his legs.

His brother is dead, and Jake is taking his place on the planet Pandora. Avatars are made especially for the human host, and Jake’s brother, his twin, and he shard the same DNA. Instead of waste the millions (or billions, or whatever it cost) to create his Avatar, Jake is brought in to take his place.

Dr. Grace Augustine is vehemently against Jake going in to make contact with the Na’vi. Jake is not a scientist, is not trained in working with an avatar, and is motivated by his selfish desires, not by a desire to understand the indigenous people of Pandora or to truly help build diplomatic relations with the Na’vi.

Turns out, of course, that Grace and Jake come to a great understanding of each other, and grow to have a mutual respect. That was a nice development and I liked seeing their friendship grow.

I plan to see Avatar again, and take notes on the Hero’s Journey. That is something James Cameron knows how to do with a character. Each character, in fact, is the hero of his (or her) own journey in Avatar, and the steps are quite clear. This makes the movie emotionally satisfying, Sci-Fi or not.

Avatar is a super popular movie. Did you see it? What did you think of Jake as a hero? Was it a satisfying ending for you?

~Misa

Misa

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In a world obsessed with Social Networking, I thought I’d make my post Twitter friendly today (since everyone’s busy, busy, busy with New Year’s Eve festivities!). Here’s my life in 2009 in a nutshell, twitter-style.

http://twitter.com/misaramirez

*”Sadly, future as an Olympic Walker is not to be. Knee surgery and NO MORE WALKING FOR EXERCISE sealed the deal. What am I going to do?!”

*”Book 2 in the Lola Cruz Mystery Series comes on Feb 2, 2010! Other books being shopped now. Articles coming out. More info on developing writing career @ http://misaramirez.com. Working on Bare Naked Lola now. Fun!”

*Favorite books of the year: “The Help; The Sugar Queen; Outliers. Too many to choose just one!”

*Favorite movie of the year: “I think it will be Nine or Sherlock Holmes. Also loved Gran Torino. Great Hero’s Journey. I admit, I really liked Avatar, too, though I’m not a Sci-Fi girl. Want to see Nine.”

*”Am teaching again with SMU’s Continuing Ed Writing Program. Don’t like the commute to Dallas, but love teaching.”

*”I’ve learned to stand up for what I believe. It’s not always easy, but it’s a good thing. I’m too old (43) and opinionated to turn a blind eye.”

*”Favorite mystery: The Thirteenth Tale. I think it came out the year before, but I’m always slow on the uptake with trends and what’s H.O.T.”

*”Hopes for 2010…BOOK DEAL for Quiz Girl, Sister Charms, and continuing the Lola Cruz Mystery Series.”

*”For family and self…health and happiness. Can’t ask for more than that!”

How about you? Anything stick out about your year, twitter-style? Favorite mystery book? Favorite book? Things you’re looking to change for 2010?


Happy New Year!


~Misa

Peace, Love, and Chocolate

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by Susan McBride

In my last post I bemoaned Scrooges so my intention today was to write something filled with sugarplum fairies and sparkly snowflakes and “it’s the most wonderful time of the year” sort of things. Only it didn’t quite pan out. I blame it on The Fray. You see, I had my iPod on shuffle while I treadmilled, and The Fray’s “Over My Head” began to play, and I started thinking of how much there always is to do and how I so often feel like I’ll never keep on top of things. I don’t even have a January deadline this year (merely a proposal to write and my debut in women’s fiction coming out on January 26!). Still, all the things I’m working on behind the scenes–plus getting ready for the holidays–are enough to make me hyperventilate.

In fact, on Sunday while personalizing mailings to some of my favorite library peeps around Missouri, I had a near melt-down. It had just been one of those days…make that one of those weeks low-lighted by a very strange and surreal situation (let’s just say, some people don’t see the line between reality and fiction as clearly as others). Anyway, as I worked on the mailings, the cats kept racing across my desk, scattering paper and scaring me to death; and I kept messing up the letters, wasting toner and holiday stationery. Nothing life or death, but it was enough stress on top of stress that I popped. Luckily, Ed managed to talk me down quickly enough. Having dinner at my Mom and Dad’s also helped, as did trimming their tree and watching my three-year-old niece puke up blue frosting from a kiddie birthday party earlier in the day.

But it got me remembering how I’d promised myself I wouldn’t do this frantic routine anymore or worry about what I couldn’t control. During my breast cancer ordeal, I kept saying, “I will never let stupid s**t drag me down again. I will learn to take things slowly. I will accept that I can’t handle everything alone. I will let myself breathe.” Whoops. Somewhere along the road, when I got to feeling awfully close to back-to-normal, my attempt to be Zen fell by the wayside and my impatient must-do-a-million-things-every-minute side took over again.

The lovely Maggie mentioned in her post on Wednesday how she felt anxious after sending off her latest manuscript, only to remind herself that the most important things in life have nothing to do with reviews or online numbers. Having your health (especially after losing it for even an instant!), having a family who loves you, living your passion: these are what matter. How right she is (honestly, this Stiletto Gang is full of wise women–I have a long way to go in that department!).

So I’ve been reminding myself of the great philosophy that “whatever happens, happens.” Once I began to let go, the bad started fading away and the good took its place. On Monday, I heard from my agents and editor about a good review for The Cougar Club in Publishers Weekly (and the fab Misa has a nice review for Hasta La Vista, Lola in the same issue!). On Tuesday, I received even more amazing news (I’ll share it as soon as I’m able!). It was more proof to me that positive energy flows when I stop worrying and trying to control everything. You would’ve thought I’d learned by now that stressing myself out only harms me (and makes my family concerned). Nothing good comes of negativity. Period.

I do get it. I really get it. And since I’d like to keep it, I’m going to practice my mantra of “peace, love, and chocolate” during the Christmas holiday. I’m not even turning on my computer unless it’s absolutely urgent. I always feel so much calmer and more grounded when I’m fully in my “real-life” as opposed to when I’m doing my “crazed-author-trying-not-to-miss-a-beat” routine.
So in case I’m not around much in the coming week, I want to wish everyone a very happy holidays, whatever you celebrate. May you get off the Internet long enough to really enjoy your friends and family, read a good book or two, listen to music, or find a quiet space to think. And here’s hoping we all learn new ways to free stress from our lives in the year ahead. That’s one New Year’s resolution worth repeating!

P.S. On a very positive note, my kick-off event for THE COUGAR CLUB on January 26 will be a fundraiser for Komen St. Louis! I’d like to put some baskets together to raffle with signed copies of books by cool authors. If you’re an author and are willing to donate a book or two, please email me. And thanks in advance!