TUESDAY BRINGS TROUBLE

A JURY OF HER PEERS

I never thought anything could compare to the high you get when your first child is born. So it rather shocked me when – Alex and Natalie stop reading now – I experienced something akin to that high again last Thursday night at the Arthur Ellis short list event in Toronto. Yes, I had actually made the short list! And dang, wasn’t that a kick.

But also alarming. I raced home to dig out my ‘bucket list’ written 23 years ago, written in 1989 when I won my first writing award (Canadian Living Magazine). Damn straight, I’ve been kicking around a long time, decades longer than most of my colleagues realize.

This list of What-I-must-accomplish-before-I-die also included such items as “Learn to dance Flamenco,” and “Fly a plane.” Flamenco got a tick in 1996 (damn hard on your feet) and so did plane (except I ran out of money during the whole pilot training thingy and had to metaphorically bail). That list also included a few other items, one of which was x-rated (I invite people to comment by guessing what THAT was. If you’ve read Rowena Through the Wall, you may come close.)

One by one, I had crossed all these items off my list. Except one.

Back in my home office with the lovely arched window and the rickety desk, I opened the old claret journal (paper journal, of course – no smart-phones back then.) There it was, page marked with a post-it tab: “Bucket list.” And the only remaining uncrossed item: “Be a finalist for a major writing award.”

Not the winner, you note. Nope – my goal back then was to be in good company. And dammit, Thursday night put me in the best.

I’ve won six awards for fiction before. This year I was a finalist for the Derringer. But in no way did that begin to reach the thrill of being shortlisted for the Arthur Ellis Award for short stories, at our Crime Writers of Canada event, with so many of my author friends in attendance and cheering me on.

Bless them. Writers are the best people in the world. They are the smartest people I know, always using their minds. And they have big hearts. They know the true joy that comes from being assessed by a jury of your peers, and found worthy.

For on Thursday night last week, I discovered that “A Jury of Her Peers” is the highest court. The title of that celebrated short story by Susan Glaspell rings in head and heart. And I am supremely grateful.


Melodie Campbell is the author of over 40 short stories and 100 comedy credits. Her third novel, The Goddaughter (Orca Books) will be released Sept. 1.
www.melodiecampbell.com

TUESDAY BRINGS TROUBLE

Revisiting...revising!

When was the last time you revisited a manuscript or short story that's resided in your bottom desk drawer for at least several years? I've been thinking about my

first finished novel -- the one I dared to send out to publishers, written in the early 1990's. An earlier attempt at at manuscript did the rounds of my then-writing group but went no further. Thank God!

This one did do the rounds...and managed to garner an impressive array of rejection letters. I've saved every one of those letters, more for income tax purposes than for some grand gesture, like papering the walls of my office. It did get some
encouraging remarks and even went to the second draft stage. However, sadly or gladly, that editor left that major publishing house and my manuscript went no

further. So, it's been entombed in the figurative bottom drawer ever since. Although I did go on to finish number two in the series & start on book number three.

I've been giving it some thought lately, in these days of e-books and the like, wondering if it's time to dust it off, polish it up and do something with it. Like publish it. I still love the main character and I think the plot still holds.

However, time has not been kind to this novel. Since those days computers and the internet have become intrenched in our lives. It's hard to find anyone who doesn't have a cell phone. And even I-Pads, Playbooks and all the variations of e-readers are now common language, if not in common usage.

To update it would be a major revision -- not a bad thing in itself -- but it would also involved changes in plot points and structure. Not so good. Even one of the buildings central to the plot -- the CBC Radio studios in Ottawa -- have changed location and updated equipment. Not a nice thing to do to a writer!

The alternative, of course, is to leave it anchored in the early 1990's. And that would require a revision of some sort early on, to clue the reader into this. Had the plot been set fifty years earlier, it would be more apparent and the tone set much more easily. But this in-between time, barely two decades ago, is still so similar, and yet so different...well, you get the picture. Or the plot. I hope.

I still have time to think this through. I'm coming up to deadline with my second novel in my Ashton Corners Book Club Mystery series with Berkley Prime Crime. At least that one's firmly entrenched in current time.

Have you encountered this dilemma in your writing? And if so, what have been your solutions?


Linda Wiken/Erika Chase
A Killer Read coming April, 2012
from Berkley Prime Crime

TUESDAY BRINGS TROUBLE

Just add the cats!

Have you ever noticed how important cats, (ok, and dogs too but this blog is about cats) are to the writing process? Many books have been written over the years about writers and their cats. Where would we be without them?

There's cat-as-muse. This particular cat is fond of stretching out its full, langurous length across the desk, sometimes choosing a tiny open space between computer and the edge, but most often right on top of whatever you need to be reading at the moment. She lies there inviting you to marvel in her sleek lines, let your mind drift into free association, and thereby return to your task refreshed and enlightened.

Cat-as-editor frequently appears, doing the rounds of the house, and checking in to make sure their are no typos. This requires the cat to walk across the keyboard, pausing on a particular letter, probably one you need to pay more attention to. Or, he may be pointing out that the word you've chosen, the one he's highlighting, is simply the wrong word. Editor Cat is also very good at deleting entire pages but of course, that page wasn't working and needed to be re-written.

Cat-as-diva likes to check in periodically, helping the writer become more focused by posing dramatically in front of the computer screen. And not budging. Note the concentration of Diva Cat. Writers should be able to apply this lesson to their writing, being able to get totally into a scene and be oblivious to anyone who might be asking said writer to move out of the way.

Of course, cat-as-researcher is one of the most important roles. I have two Siamese cats in my mystery book club series. Not surprisingly, I share my house with two Siamese cats. When fictional cats chase each other up the stairs and play fight, it's probably because my two real cats have just done the same. The ability to hear a bag of treats being taken out of the kitchen cupboard when the cats are in the far upstairs TV room...well, that's fiction imitating real life again.

And, let us not forget the most important one, cat-on-the-lap, whose main task in life is to give non-judgmental love and support. And where would a writer be without these?

I suppose that in all honesty, a writer should mention her cats in the acknowledgements of each book. But then we might end up with Ego Cat and who knows where that would lead us!

Are you willing to admit, there's a cat (ok, or a dog) that plays a vital role in your writing? And as a reader, are you looking for the cat?

TUESDAY BRINGS TROUBLE

Writing woes...

This will be short. Because I'm sick.

Gone are the days when I would phone in sick, either unable to physically do the trek and/or worried about spreading germs. These days, the trek is to my office just down the hall and the germs get spread to my cats, like it or not.

But, because I'm a writer, I feel the call of duty or perhaps the guilt, and turn on the computer, hoping to write this blog and also, at least a couple chapters of my book, before crawling back to bed. That's what we do.

As I said, this will be short. Because I'm heading back to bed. The chapters, possibly one, will be done this afternoon.

But I'm wondering, what are the downsides of being a writer? Have you come across any?


Linda Wiken/Erika Chase
Book Club Mysteries coming April 2012 from Berkley Prime Crime
Murder By the Book

CRIME ON MY MIND

Catching the Crime Wave!

That's the headline in the Jan./Feb. issue of Quill & Quire, an exciting prospect for a genre of authors working hard at finding publishers and, once they're found, promoting the books!

It goes on to say that Canadian publishers are "investing in discovering the next big thing in crime fiction". We've seen the advent of a new crime imprint this month from the respected publisher, Anansi and it's called Spiderline. Napoleon & Company has folded into Dundurn Press, which has it's own crime line and hopefully, will continue the RendezVous Crime imprint that Napoleon's Sylvia McConnell worked so hard at establishing and nurturing.

But, reading further, it looks like the big boys on the block, the Random House and HarperCollins types, are looking for the next Stieg Larsson, a book that while having a plot that is all about crime, transcends the genre barrier and bursts onto the mainstream stage.

What does this mean for the more traditional mystery writers? Those of us who plot the cosy crime, or other amateur sleuths, or police procedurals to name a few?

I'd guess it's all good. We may not land a contract with Knopf Canada but when readers get hooked on crime fiction of any sort, they probably will venture into the broader spectrum of mystery. In fact, some readers who are new to the genre, may start at the cosy end. They're now alert to the fact the crime fiction has a presence, gets reviewed and talked about so they want to be in on it.

In these days of so much uncertainty in the publishing world, this is the good news we've been hoping for. There is a "boom in crime fiction" and we're all poised to catch the crime wave. So, enjoy the ride.

By the way, the National Post ran a similar article on Fri., Feb. 18th by Mark Medley entitled "Why are so many people writing crime fiction these days?". (sorry, I was unable to post a link it's easy to find on their website). That settles it...it's happening and right now!

So, what's your answer to Medley's question?


Linda Wiken/Erika Chase

CRIME ON MY MIND

What's that all about?

I'm late in posting today because of appointments. Was out at the crack of dawn, trying to beat the long wait for blood work (the usual annual type) and then just continued on from there. So, thinking I'd cheat a bit, I looked back at the earliest blogs, hoping to find one remotely worthy of re-posting.

What I'm thinking is, it's a good thing to look over the past every now and then. Not to wallow in it. But to see if you can spot any themes or the like. Such as the fact that many of my blogs have dealt with procrastination. Which, is a theme in my life.

I put off making that phone call to the city about the road cut in front of my house. Why? I'm not really sure. Or maybe it's because I know I'll get the same line -- can't do anything until "asphalt season", which translated means there's only the patching stuff available for roadwork until around the end of April. But, I should call and get on the waiting list!

Then, it's answering email. Not because I don't want to communicate with the sender. It's just that it may require extra time or extra action, such as trolling through old files, so that gets left but only for a moment. And as we all know, once it's out of sight, it's out of mind. So when the next 30 email bump it off the screen -- bye, bye.

But the major procrastination is writing. It's far too easy to let life intrude and tend to those appointments (which I'm now making only for after 2 p.m.), the housework (which gets done in spurts, but usually when I should be in front of the computer), or shopping (also being tasked to the afternoon from now on). And, there's the internet. I know we need to keep in touch. I know you'd all miss this blog if it wasn't posted, that my Facebook friends would agonize for hours wondering why I hadn't posted something scintillating, and that Erika Chase would soon be forgotten if I didn't try to keep her name front and centre, building up to pub date.

My favourite one is playing the cat card...as in, my cat is dozing on the keyboard/sitting in front of the screen/playing with the mouse. Can't work now!

See...I'm doing it right now! So enough of this. I promise to try to write less about procrastination and do more about it. Now, this comes with a price. It may upset others' plans. Because you're reading this right now...what else should you be doing?


Linda Wiken/Erika Chase

WICKED WEDNESDAYS

Back to reality!

After a week's vacation in a land where there is green grass instead of mounds of white snow, it's difficult to get back into the swing of things. I look out the window expecting to see palm trees and instead see my bare-branched maples. And snow. Which can be attractive on a sunny day, which it isn't.

If I had a regular job again, I'd be at my desk and back into the routine. With writing as my new job, I could be doing the same. But, this writing job comes with attachments. Check my email -- I'm waiting for some guest blogs to appear. Check in with Facebook -- there's a lot of promoting that's going on there, along with keeping in touch with friends. Design a new business card. Again. Still haven't got it right. Find a flight to Washington, D.C. for the Malice Domestic mystery conference at the end of April. But that requires other decisions being made before booking arrangements can be made. All of these tasks are in the name of being a mystery writer.

Oh, did I forget breakfast again?

Now, it's finally time to write. I view writing a blog as the morning warm-up exercise. Get the brain moving and hopefully, it will glide into creating. Writing my daily goal of pages for the new book comes next. I've tasked parts of my brain with working out plot points while taking my early morning walk. Now, we'll see if that's actually worked.

It's exciting stepping into the other world of writing a book. You're living in a different city, in a different skin, with different concerns for several hours each day. You start liking the folks who live there and get totally drawn into their lives. Sometimes, it's hard to leave them when that other life, the real one, intrudes again. Like, with a dentist appointment or such.

But it's also hard getting back to regular routines after a vacation. You just do it. And, perhaps write about it.

Does anyone else find it hard coming back to reality...whatever the reason?


Linda Wiken/Erika Chase