LADIES' KILLING THURSDAYS

Annual meetings are a good thing.

I came to this conclusion after attending the weekend annual meeting of the Ontario Hooking Craft Guild (no, not that kind of hooking) in North Bay. Many months before I’d signed up, sent my money and committed to making a piece that reflected the theme of the meeting “All Abuzz About Bugs.”

But towards the end of last week when it was time to organize the dogs and myself I wondered if I should stay home, forget about the money and not go.

I didn’t make that decision because organizers know a thing or two about human nature. I’d spent months designing and making the rug, I’d signed up for classes to learn new skills and I knew the merchants would be there with fabric and wool and all sorts of other enticing items. I couldn’t walk away from my commitments.

In addition, I’m sure my dogs were looking forward to a weekend at Happy Tails Camp. So I went.

By Sunday afternoon when it was time to go home I felt rejuvenated, inspired by the wonderful work I’d seen and ready to start new projects. My wallet was lighter as I hadn’t been able to resist the siren call of woolen fabric in glorious shades, of a new frame which promised to allow me to work faster, of a new hook made of exotic wood. I’d met people, shared stories and planned to attend an October retreat.

The meeting had achieved its purpose.

So too with Bloody Words, the annual get together of Canada’s mystery writers. We may grumble and think we won’t go but we’ve made commitments to help or be on a panel or critique. Missing the event is not an option.
When the weekend ends we’ll be pleased we’ve connected to old friends, met new ones, bought too many books and generally had a good time.

Creative people, whether they choose textiles or paint or words usually work alone. Not only do they spend hours by themselves they, or should I say we, sometimes lose our perspective. We begin to doubt the validity of what we’re doing. We question spending our time locked away with our computers, paints or fabric.

The Annual meeting validates our reason for being who we are and it shouldn’t be missed.

A member of the Ladies Killing Circle, Joan Boswell co-edited four of their short story anthologies: Fit to Die, Bone Dance, Boomers Go Bad and Going Out With a Bang. Her three mysteries, Cut Off His Tale, Cut to the Quick and, Cut and Run were published in 2005, 2007 and 2007. The latest in the series, Cut to the Bone, will be published by Dundurn in November. In 2000 she won the $10,000 Toronto Star’s short story contest. Joan lives in Toronto with three flat-coated retrievers.

WICKED WEDNESDAYS

Writing in the Dirt

I spent some quality time this weekend poking in my little garden patch to see what was missing and what was needed, writing my wish list, choosing a suitable sunhat, then driving to my favourite nursery haunt. I had a lovely time wandering the paths dreaming of all the sunny colour combinations that I could create on our little piece of the earth, and visualizing how each plant would look next to the others, how the whole thing would flow.

Swayed by some of the showy perfect photos and descriptive promises, I tried hard to stick to my plan and the list. On Saturday, on my own, that mostly worked. I ticked off several items and only added 1 or 2 small uninvited ones.
On Sunday, my husband joined me, and we had a happy time strolling the paths of our other favourite garden centre, where I easily let him talk me into a couple of quite large potted perennials not on the plan at all. So much for the plan.

When we got home, we plunked down the new pots in the spaces that were planned for their new homes – the ones on the original plan. Then came the adopted ones, not on the plan. We walked around our petite space to see things from every angle, hoping to find an empty spot to fill. Eventually, we managed to wiggle them all in somehow, as most of the original ‘keep it simple’ plan happily went out the window.

This gardening thing to me is a bit like writing – at least the way I approach it. You start with an idea, and sketch out your plan, and it all goes swimmingly – in your head. In your head, it is a beautiful thing.

Then you start. And as you get digging into it, you hit a few rocks, and a few unexpected details, and some flowery stuff that doesn’t always quite fit in with the original plan -- the one that went so smoothly from start to finish, in your head.

Oh well, I think that this is really the fun of both gardening and writing. You can begin in one direction, with an orderly image in your head, and no invasive weeds or too-tall bushes, and with no unexpected dead-end twists or annoying facts ever appearing to tangle you up. But life isn’t like that. And really, neither is gardening or writing. And I think that is what makes it all fun. You never know what is going to grow.



Catherine Lee (Cathy) is a college textbook buyer in Ottawa, has been a bookseller and book buyer by trade for most of her life, and is a member of 2 book clubs. She became a book lover on her parents’ knees at story time & by flashlight under the bed sheets. One of her greatest pleasures is sharing great books with friends, of course while sipping wine. Her blogs appear the final Wednesday of each month.

TUESDAY BRINGS TROUBLE

Word of Mouth

“In a lot of ways, the greatest marketing tool we have in publishing – and probably that will never change – is word of mouth.” This statement on the NPR Book Blog comes from Heather Fain, Marketing Director for Little Brown & Co., so she knows whereof she speaks.

In a village, a tribe, or indeed any circumscribed community, word of mouth is a primary communication tool. Without it, Miss Marple would never have solved the alarming frequency of crimes in St. Mary Mead. Especially when it comes to new authors, the challenge is to foster “word of mouth” so that it spreads beyond a small circle into the wider community of readers. If you only had to sell your book within your town it would be a slam dunk. One book club would do the trick. But how is this achieved when you’re talking about nations, continents or even globally?

Fortunately we have some gaudy new tools whose raison d’etre is the very definition of word of mouth. Facebook and Twitter. When launching The Witch of Babylon I found Facebook particularly helpful. But only for one reason. The great good fortune of friends, relatives and other writers who generously shared news about my book. Facebook and Twitter are flooded with promotions now, and this has probably diluted their effectiveness, although they remain useful allies.

I’d thought of word of mouth as being principally focused on readers telling other readers about your book but when looking into the topic, learned that it begins much earlier on the publication arc. You may have a literary agent who initially talks the book up among industry colleagues. And publishing house staff who are enthusiastic about your novel and talk about it set the ball rolling in a major way. This is otherwise known as creating buzz. Marketing staff make strategic decisions about which ‘influencers’ to pitch in the hope their enthusiasm will catch fire.

Choosing those influencers carefully can deliver great results. One story concerns a novel we’re all now familiar with – The Red Tent – that had a slow start. Within four years it emerged as a huge bestseller. A key factor in the book’s success was word of mouth – the author wisely sent many copies of the book to influencers – in this case, Christian ministers, Indie booksellers and Rabbis - whom she correctly believed would love the book and spread the word.

Today we have Amazon and Indigo reviews, Goodreads, LibraryThing, Shelfari and a host of other enablers to help us. The rise of book clubs has been another great boon. Word of mouth has never had such a wealth of opportunities to get us started. The challenge is, deciding which are best targeted to the character of our book.

In Canada, D.J. McIntosh’s first novel The Witch of Babylon hits bookstores and online retailers as a mass market paperback, today. It will be released by Forge in the United States this fall. Any help to “spread the word” would be greatly appreciated.

D.J. (Dorothy) McIntosh’s debut novel The Witch of Babylon was first published by Penguin Canada in June 2011 and will be released by Tor/Forge in the United States in October 2012. It has been sold in twenty countries around the world. The novel was chosen by Amazon.ca as one of the top five mystery/thrillers of 2011 and by CNN International as one of six enduring historical thrillers.

Dorothy divides her time between her cottage on the shores of Lake Huron and Toronto where she indulges in two loves: live music and museums. She’s a strong supporter of Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists.

THE DEVIL'S DUST
by C.B. FORREST
Dundurn Press

Say it isn't so! That this isn't the final Charlie McKelvey novel! But, alas, it is. Even though detectives have been known to come out of retirement and even rise from the dead, C.B. Forrest, the creator of McKelvey, has stated that this is his final book in the series of three.

That this is the finest in the series makes it even more poignant. That's not to say that The Weight of Stones and Slow Recoil were lesser books. They weren't. In fact, the first was short-listed for an Arthur Ellis Best First Novel. And Slow Recoil was short-listed for Best Novel. They are all well-crafted novels, all award-worthy.

The sad thing about no more McKelvey is that there goes a very human character, someone who has no illusions when it comes to his world and himself. He's an ex-cop by novel three, having survived the death of a fellow officer, his own wounding, the breakdown of his marriage, and most tragically, the murder of his son. He has abused his body and his sense of morality; he has doggedly sought the truth and struggled to help the victims; he has finally, in The Devil's Dust run away from himself but found himself in so doing.

This is not just the story of a rundown cop returning to his home town and then slipped back into cop-mode to help yet another victim -- the town itself. The story goes beyond the drugs that are crippling the town's youth, the backroom deals that put the brakes on the progress each segment professes to be pursuing, and the fact that Charlie McKelvey has cancer.

Forrest has the gift of getting into McKelvey's soul and sharing that with the reader. We live his anguish and his redemption. We feel the despair of the town and the hope. We're invested in tracking down the drug kingpin, solving the murders, and facing the truths. C.B. Forrest is that powerful a writer that the characters are real, therefore the story is also real.

I get it -- why this is the final McKelvey. There is no more to be said about the man. It is a fitting ending to a powerful series. Which leaves all readers wondering what's next for C.B. Forrest and hoping it won't be too long before we read all about it!

The Devil's Dust is a June release! Be sure it's on your reading list! The launch date is Tues., June 12th in Ottawa.

CRIME ON MY MIND

Why do we do it?

That question came to mind via a circuitous route. A colleague asked me how my sales were going and I thought, 'I haven’t a clue'. My next thought was, what’s wrong with me? Shouldn’t I be in tracking mode?

I’ll admit to being terrified when A Killer Read came out, that no one would buy the book. When it hit #2 on the Barnes & Noble bestselling list and #28 on their overall list, I was gobsmacked and then heaved a sigh of relief.

The terror then shifted to the reviews and assorted comments from readers. What do you know…they liked it, generally speaking. There was the reader who didn’t finish it because there were too many references to other titles and their authors. Uh…that’s what the book’s about. There was the email from the reader who pointed out an author error. I thanked her, pleading carelessness. What I really meant was a brain that wasn’t functioning at the time. But in general, the book was well-received.

But I’d never thought to track the sales. Sure, I’m hoping they’re strong so that the series will continue. But basically, I’m writing it because I enjoy doing so and also, because I want readers to feel a connection to the characters and setting.

I feel challenged each time I re-enter this world I’ve created and try to choose the right words, plant the enticing clue, play logic games with myself, and basically make it all make sense.

I think most writers write for themselves first, for the readers second, and thirdly for all those other trappings. Do you agree?

However, I'm now wondering how those sales are doing...

Linda Wiken/Erika Chase

A KILLER READ
Berkley Prime Crime, now available
READ & BURIED, coming Dec., 2012
www.erikachase.com

LADIES' KILLING THURSDAYS

May is madness...

In her blog on Wicked Wednesday, Linda commented on the crazy life of a writer. I had to smile, because it all sounded so familiar. I too have a looming book deadline, May 31, for my latest Inspector Green novel. I am down to the wire on final rewites before sending it off into the publisher’s hands. I too had to interrupt that process to deal with the proofs of another book and to answer the long, convoluted marketing questionnaire sent by the Inspector Green publisher. And with a publisher’s party, a Scene of the Crime board meeting and the Bloody Words Mystery Conference all coming up within the week, I have two trips to Toronto, a panel to prepare for, a manuscript to critique and numerous wardrobe choices to make. Yikes. For a writer who spends most of her days in T-shirts and jeans, finding two clean banquet outfits that fit is enough to boggle the mind!

Meanwhile, in between the rewriting, blogging, Facebooking, emailing and what-not, there are the demands of daily life. An elderly mother who requires a lot more emotional and physical support than she used to, grown children who thankfully still turn to me for advice and support. A house in dire need of a spring cleaning, a yard being overtaken by weeds, a cottage in the midst of do-it-myself renos, and dogs that insist on walks and games of fetch every time I stand up. Not to mention a six-year old computer that requires much prayer and cajoling as it wheezes its way towards its grave.

Oh yes, I’m also supposed to be hosting fifteen people for dinner on Saturday night. Or maybe not. I hope I know that before I head off to Toronto this morning, as I will have to find time to shop.

Sometimes I meet people from my previous (very busy) professional life, who ask me how I like retirement. They remark, with a wistful tone, that it must be wonderful not to have to rush out in the morning, fight the traffic, juggle appointments, deal with pressures, conflicts and deadlines, and all that stuff I left behind. I reply that yes, I love easing into my day by lingering over coffee in my pyjamas, and my blood pressure thanks me for not climbing onto the Queensway every morning. And it’s true that a writer’s pressures are mostly self-imposed. But life has a way of tangling you up in it, and once you embark on a path, it quickly gets cluttered up with expectations. I’m not complaining. It’s a wonderful life, but I do find myself muttering, just like the old days, ‘Once I get through the next two weeks, it will get easier’. It may, but if the past is any predictor of the future, not likely.

Besides, if it did, I would probably get bored and go looking for trouble.




Barbara Fradkin is a child psychologist with a fascination for how we turn bad. In addition to her darkly haunting short stories in the Ladies Killing Circle anthologies, she writes the gritty, Ottawa-based Inspector Green novels which havewon back to back Arthur Ellis Awards for Best Novel from Crime Writers of Canada. The eighth in the series, Beautiful Lie the Dead, explores love in all its complications. And, her Rapid Read from Orca, The Fall Guy, was launched last May.

WICKED WEDNESDAYS

I'm back....

Vacation is over. It’s back to work. Everyone faces that reality at some point or many points in life. However, I got to thinking, what is the perfect place for writing. Actually, what got me thinking was the fact that Erika Chase
was lucky enough to be interviewed by Elizabeth Duncan for her blog. It’s posted now at http://www.elizabethjduncan.com/blog.html

One of her questions was just that –If you could choose anywhere in the world to write your next book, where would it be and why?
I said, Sicily, being still in love with that country – the culture and the scenery, although I have to own up, I never tried writing there.

Having just returned from B.C., I did find an idyllic place to write and I made good use of it, too. Another bit of luck – a timeshare on Victoria’s beautiful inner harbour. I’d glance out the patio doors from both bedroom and living room, out onto the water, the ships at anchor, and a well-used path along the seawall. It certainly helped that the weather was ideal, also.

I could have spent my hours just staring at the scenery, and I was tempted. But it also energized me and as I said, I accomplished a lot, which is a good thing because book #3 is due to my editor on June 1st.

This is not a minor task to complete as I’ve been interrupted by the editor’s edits, a cover conference, pre-publicity for book #1, A Killer Read, a wedding in the Dominican Republic, a book launch, a mystery conference in Bethesda, MD, a mystery festival just outside Pittsburgh, my choir concert, and said trip to B.C. Also coming up, on the fated deadline weekend is Bloody Words in Toronto.

But I’ve discovered that’s a writer’s life. Just when you think you might have a breather (and an actual life), in role the emails and more work appears.

I have also toyed with the idea that next year when I return, it would be great to hook up with a writers' shared office space co-op or some such arrangement. If you know of one, please let me know.

So, thinking about the idyllic place to write is like those mini-vacations I’d hear about at staff development days when I had a regular job. Just sit back, close your eyes, and picture the spot. I’m back in that timeshare. Now that I’ve set the scene…maybe the work will continue to flow.

Maybe.

Linda Wiken/Erika Chase

A KILLER READ
Berkley Prime Crime, now available
READ & BURIED, coming Dec., 2012
www.erikachase.com