CRIMINAL INTENTIONS

Okay, time for another writing question for our four authors. If you're new to this part of the blog, it all started last year when the four were on a panel at a Capital Crime Writing event. When their time was up, there were still plenty of questions left unasked. So, I've been working through them, one per month. We're almost at the end of the pile so, maybe I'll open it up to questions from the readers. Does that sounds like a good idea? You can respond on my Facebook page because I know it's sometimes hard to comment on this blog.

Here's the question this time around: How do sidekicks enhance a hero's character?

Barbara Fradkin:

The best characters are studies in contrast. Contrasting looks, style, interests, and personality all serve to make an interaction more vivid and dramatic, and increase the tension and impact of a scene. The most effective sidekicks provide an ongoing contrast and backdrop against which the character of the hero can stand out, and contribute to the push-pull of the scenes they share. Where the hero is whimsical, the sidekick is practical, where the hero is brilliant, the sidekick is befuddled, and so on… Sidekicks shouldn’t overshadow the hero, but serve as a foil against which the strength, bravery, or intelligence of the hero can shine.

Sidekicks enhance the hero’s character in other ways as well; by showing how they cope with friendship, closeness, loyalty in a relationship, and by acting as a sounding board for the hero’s doubts, ruminations, and deductive efforts throughout the story.

Mary Jane Maffini:

The right sidekick can complement the hero's character, speaking about him or her in a way the hero couldn't speak about her or himself. Sidekicks are great at getting the hero to engage in passionate conversation, revealing character with every sentence. Also (if picked with care) the sidekick can take care of some of the more mundane daily activities, leaving the hero free to be heroic. A sidekick can also do things necessary to solve the dire situation that the hero might not be willing to. Blow things up, for instance, or steal cars. I am speaking of my own wicked sidekicks here, not of my blushingly well-behaved heroes.

R.J. HARLICK:

Sidekicks are fun. They add dimension to the main protagonist. They can also be a counterbalance. While sidekicks don’t usually share the same personality traits as the main protagonist, their personality will compliment that of the main protagonist. When writing with more than one POV, a sidekick can also provide another perspective of the story not shared by the main protagonist. They can also be used to convey information not known by the main protagonist. Often in a series with an amateur sleuth, the sidekick is a policeman or woman in order to provide the police procedural aspects in the solving of the murder. I think every good crime story needs an engaging sidekick or two.

Linda Wiken/Erika Chase:

You've heard the old adage about knowing a person by the friends they keep -- well, that's one big reason for choosing sidekicks with care. He/she or they can either enhance the protagonist's image or make a reader question whether or not they like this person enough to read on. They can be used to draw out the hero's ideas and views, to add contrast to scenes where the hero might need to be serious while the sidekick can add some humour, and to say things your hero really shouldn't be saying. These are secondary characters so that's the role they should always be playing. But the main thing is, everyone needs a friend, even our characters. Especially our characters.

CRIMINAL TENDENCIES

Another Friday, another question for mystery authors Mary Jane Maffini, Barbara Fradkin, Robin Harlick, and Linda Wiken. This continues the panel discussion held at the Capital Crime Writers mystery day last May. There were so many questions left over, we're continuing to answer them on Mystery Maven Canada.

Today's question for our writing quartet is: What role in your novel would you give to the person who holds the title of "Most Loathesome" in your life?

MARY JANE MAFFINI:

I vacillate on this: but if someone has been loathsome they can count on being cast in one or all three of these roles in the near future. That's the great thing about crime fiction: sure you bump off the current PITA by, say, dropping them into a limestone pit (if the offense merits it). But nothing prevents you from resurrecting that miserable so and so, changing their hair colour or gender and turning them into some snarling Moriarty. Naturally as a villain be trapped, shamed and finished off in the last chapter. The fun never ends! For minor offenders, there are many pathetic roles they can play in a work of fiction. Just saying,

Be nice to us and we'll be nice to you.

ROBIN HARLICK:

Loathsome. Isn’t it a fabulous word? It conjures up all sorts of unsavoury characters as it rolls off your tongue. A loathsome person could only be a murderer. No ifs buts about it. Making a particularly nasty piece of work would be wasted as the victim. You’d no sooner create this wholly despicable character complete with obnoxious neuroses , than you’d be killing him or her off. Much better to make your worst nightmare the villain and slowly unveil every sleazy detail of their character until wham they get their just desserts.

BARBARA FRADKIN:

If a person is truly despicable, they deserve the worst you can give them. Being a victim is too easy; not only are they dead and done with, but there’s a risk some people will feel sorry for them. But murderer or even suspect fits the bill. I prefer to drag out their suffering by making them squirm. Preferably under the steely glare of my police inspector. He can turn on the thumbscrews, accuse them of all kinds of villainy, call them a liar, and expose their true colours as the novel progresses. For a writer, it’s rather like sticking pins in a Voodoo doll, and just as satisfying. The final triumph? Although the despicable individual will rarely recognize themselves in the book, other people will.

LINDA WIKEN

Good thing this wasn't used at the panel -- everyone finally agreeing on something! How boring. But the fact that our most loathesome person would get the title of villain is not boring. Think of all the nasties you can have happen to that person in the time between committing the deed and going to trial. And, the villain would develop in such a way that the readers would be yelling from their chairs, that's the murderer. Cuff the cad. Those same readers would be so, so happy when justice is done and he/she got what was coming.

CRIMINAL TENDENCIES

Something new in Mystery Maven land!

Today, I'm adding a new feature to the blog. One I hope you'll enjoy and also find to be useful in your writing endeavours. It began earlier this month when Capital Crime Writers, the Ottawa mystery writers association, held a day long session called Capital Mayhem. It included a wonderful interview with Peter Robinson followed by three panels.

The first panel, Kick-Ass Characters, featured local mystery authors Barbara Fradkin, Robin Harlick, Mary Jane Maffini and Linda Wiken (me, as Erika Chase). What a great topic! We decided to have some fun with it and rather than have a moderator, we each came up with some questions, stuck them in a super creepy glass skull mug, and took turns selecting one and answering it. Now, you know this group of writers really likes to talk and have fun, so we only got part-way through all those tantalizing questions. So, I've tasked each of them with answering one of the leftover (but equally important) questions which will appear on Mystery Maven Canada every few weeks. The answers appear in alpha-order, that's as in alphabetical not the others so known to dog lovers. So, stay tuned. And enjoy!

Today's question is:
How do you keep all your characters from becoming one big blur in the mind of the reader?

BF –
There is nothing worse than reading a book in which all the characters are bland and generic, all talking, looking and behaving the same. The more characters there are in a book, particularly of the “walk-on” variety, the more difficult it is to keep them distinct.

The key to creating distinctive characters is to make sure you use only as many characters as you have to, and to make them vivid, unique and contrasting. Vary appearances, names, speech, and backstory. Rather than a bland (and forgettable) description of height, weight and hair colour, give the reader a single vivid image that speaks to the character’s personality as well as looks. E.g. His new wife was a pampered poodle, complete with shiny curls and big pink bow.

Choose each character’s name with care, not only to avoid similar sounding names, but also to match the character’s age, ethnicity, and the image you wish to create. Ethel and Mabel conjure up very different pictures from Candy or Lolita. But beware of stereotypes. Going against stereotype, such as naming a flirtatious sixteen year-old girl Ethel, can make the character even more memorable. And create some built-in tensions.

In the end, however, the best guarantee that your characters will stand out is to make each a fully rounded, real person with specific fears, yearnings, conflicts, and dreams. Each character should have a hope and a fear, however small.

RJH -
Become your characters.

Sometimes a myriad of characters can become one big blur in the mind of the writer too. The best way I know to keep characters manageable is to keep them to an optimum number. If a secondary character doesn’t help move the story along, I remove him or her no matter how much I’ve grown to like them. I also try to give each character a distinctive name and not have any names starting with the same first letter. Too often I’ve become confused myself when reading a book where the characters’ names are too similar. But I suppose how I endeavour to make each character a distinctive person in my readers’ minds is by becoming the characters myself as I write them into the story. This way I can give them a distinctive voice, a distinctive way of moving, of thinking, of speaking, each with their own unique motivations. These secondary characters have to not only look different, but they need to act and speak differently, just like real people.

MJM- This is one of the tricky bits in series writing.

A few tips: every character in a book should have a unique purpose. Don't have two characters do the job of one. Having said that I suffer from a surplus of sidekicks and work hard to make them seem different. For instance, Mrs. Parnell, eightysomething WWII vet and technical whiz, is often found chainsmoking Bensen & Hedges and swilling Harvey's Bristol Cream in contrast to Alvin, the world's worst office assistant with nine visible earrings, leather and bad attitudes.

Dialogue is a good way to distinguish: each main character should have some words that are unique to that character. For example, Mrs. Parnell likes to use military jargon. "We shall fight them on the beaches..." No one else in the book ever does. Alvin prefers to 'Lord thunderin' Jesus, conveying his Eastern roots.

By using the behaviours, clothing, etc and the unique words, you can cut down on a lot of tags and people should know who is speaking or acting.

LW –
Right off the bat, give your characters individual traits, whether it be physical, like whether they gesture a lot while speaking, or maybe it’s a tilt of the head when thinking, or the habit of twiddling one’s thumbs while listening. And then remember to use them. An easy way to achieve this is by picturing each character as they’re speaking, visualising whatever trait you’ve assigned that person, and being sure to add it as you picture it in your mind.

Having each main character speak a bit differently is also effective. It can be as simple as ending each statement with an ‘eh’, or perhaps this person starts each question by saying, “Hmm’. Maybe, because of your character’s background, you decide to add a local saying or colloquialism in his or her speech patterns. Some may even end each statement with a question mark simply because the manner of speaking ends with a high note.

These are all easy cues to the reader and will eliminate the need for endless tags of who is speaking at that moment. Whichever one you choose, visualize it each time you think of your character so that it becomes second nature when writing dialogue.

CRIME ON MY MIND

CANADIANS DOWN SOUTH

Another Malice Domestic just wrapped up and if you've never been to one, especially if you love traditional mysteries, you don't know what you're missing. It takes place every year in Bethesda, MD and boasts a long line-up of writers and fans. It also includes the very popular Agatha Awards which are voted on by the readers and bestowed at the Sat. night banquet. Although Canadians have been nominated in the past,sadly, there wasn't one on this year's list.

But the Canadians did troop the colours! We had an impressive turnout, although we were missing some of our usual travel-mates from previous years. Authors who were there, whose names I'm sure you know are Cathy Ace, Janet Bolin, Erika Chase, Vicki Delany, and Mary Jane Maffini/Victoria Abbott. And we were pleased to see ardent mystery reader, who pops up at all the conferences, Elaine Naiman from Ottawa. Now, I know I shouldn't name names because I know I'll miss someone, like the delightful readers from out West. But, I dared to do it.

It's great to get together once a year, or like some of us who went to Left Coast Crime in Monterey in March, more times. It rejuvenates the writing spirit, and more often than not, we come back with some great ideas on writing and promotion. For many years, before being publishes, I went to hear what the authors had to say and to meet them. I always looked forward to the weekend and never came away disappointed.

There's an opportunity for much the same coming up next month in the form of Bloody Words in Toronto on June 6-8. Sadly, this will be the final year for this wonderful conference. So I highly advise that if you've been putting it off for a better year, it doesn't get any better than this! You'll meet mystery authors from across Canada, along with many from the U.S. and overseas. And of course, some amazing readers. For all the details, visit http://www.bloodywords.com I hope to see you there!

And, if you're in Ottawa, plan on a day of mystery on Sat. May 10th at the Ottawa Public Library when Capital Crime Writers presents a day of Capital Mayhem. For the grand price of FREE, you'll enjoy early morning coffee, Peter Robinson, panels of local mystery authors, plus lunch....did I mention it's free. And, it starts at 9 a.m. Books will be available for purchase, too.

Crime thrives...between the pages, of course. Don't miss out!

SCHMOOZING WITH ERIKA CHASE

1.Who has influenced you the most in your writing career?
There is no single “most”. I owe it all to a long line of people starting with my Grade 8 English teacher, all the wonderful and creative authors I’ve read over the years, to Capital Crime Writers for stimulating workshops and programs, and to my writing group, The Ladies’ Killing Circle. Their critiquing, although not always gentle, has been invaluable in the process of becoming a published author.

2.What are you working on now?
The fifth book in the Ashton Corners Book Club Mysteries, still untitled (eep!). Book number four comes out in Aug. 2014. I am also starting a new series (planning is taking place in my head) which I’ll start in Sept. when #5 goes to the publisher. I’m pleased to announce that the Culinary Capers series will be written by Linda Wiken!

3.In what ways is your main protagonist like you? If at all?
She loves reading mysteries. That’s about it! Oh, yes…there’s the almond butter thing too, another passion we share. Along with Siamese cats and chocolate. I guess there’s quite a bit after all. She is younger though. I won’t say by how much!

4.Are you character driven or plot driven?
Definitely character driven. I start with the characters and their names and out of the choosing of such things as careers and family, a plot works its way into the midst.

5.Are you a pantser or a plotter?
I used to by a pantser, in my pre-published years and we all see how far that got me! My editor at Berkley Prime Crime wants a synopsis for each book and I’ve found that was the key to organizing my thoughts and working through the story. Of course, the end result is never completely according to the synopsis, in fact, I’m usually adding twists and turns along the way. Or maybe even an entire new highway. It’s a good starting place, though.

6.What do you hope readers will most take away from your writing?
An enjoyable story. I hope they’ll feel it was a worthy read and that they didn’t guess whodunit too soon.

7.Where do you see yourself as a writer in 10 years?
I really have no idea. I want to be writing…something. Perhaps that series set in my home province of B.C. that keeps trying to snag my attention. Whatever, I hope the ten years will be ones of enjoyment and satisfaction.

8.What is one thing your readers would be most surprised to know about you?
Like Lou Allin who appeared on Mystery Maven a few weeks ago, I wanted to be a police officer. Sometimes it’s good not to get what you think you want!

9.What do you like to read for pleasure?
I read everything. Mysteries of all types although usually lighter ones, mainstream novels especially those set overseas, magazines, travel guides.

10.Give us a summary of your latest book in a Tweet
Murder is nothing novel for this book club and who can resist a new author in town, stolen books and a body count that’s rising!

CRIME ON MY MIND

Busy month ahead!

If you haven't heard about my latest blogspot woes, this time I've not been able to post my usual Events column. I must admit, I have only so much patience when it comes to anything electronic. Maybe one day, when my frustration is a dim memory, I'll try again. In the interim, I thought I'd use today's blog to highlight some of the book events coming up in November. There are a lot more happening in this city, Ottawa being a city that's brimming with mystery writers, however these are the signings that I know.


Sat. Nov. 9 -- Erika Chase signs her latest, COVER STORY at Books on Beechwood, 35 Beechwood Ave., 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Mike Martin signs his second mystery, THE BODY ON THE T at Brittons, 846 Bank St., 1 p.m. - 3 p.m.

Sat. Nov. 16 -- Erika Chase signs COVER STORY at Perfect Books, 258 Elgin St., 1 p.m. - 3 p.m.

Sun. Nov. 17 -- Sandra Nikolai signs her second book, FATAL WHISPERS at Brittons in the Glebe, 1 p.m. - 3 p.m.

Sat. Nov. 23 -- Barbara Fradkin signs her latest, THE WHISPER OF LEGENDS at Brittons in the Glebe, 1 p.m. - 3 p.m.

Sat. Nov. 30 -- Vicki Delany signs her newest mystery, A COLD WHITE SUN at Brittons in the Glebe, 1 p.m. - 3 p.m.

For a more complete list of book events happening across the country in November, I suggest you visit the Crime Writers of Canada website, always a good place to keep on top of mysterious happenings! www.crimewriterscanada.com

CRIME ON MY MIND

Nothing like a new cover!

Today I'm taking some time for a little self-indulgence. Some space, too.

I've discovered that the next best thing to receiving a box of author comp copies of your new book is that first peek at the cover of your latest offering. Yesterday was such a day. And it's so good to have those types of days when you're slogging towards a deadline.

I've been so fortunate in having an artistic team assigned by Berkley Prime Crime to create each cover. They get it. They have a true sense of the books and this shows every time. All they need from me is a brief description of the plot and my own suggestions for a cover. They don't always follow my suggestions entirely -- sometimes the sales department has its say as to what will work. But with each cover, I've never been disappointed and I can usually find at least a grain of my original idea in the finished product. Most time, more like the entire kernel.

That's the wonder of this business. Sometimes an author hits it right with a publishing team that is open to input, even welcomes it, and is charmingly easy to work with. In those cases, it makes it easier to accept suggested changes made by the editorial team.
And, if the author is really lucky, the publisher gets behind his or her promotional attempts, lending support in many different forms.

Writing is not for sissies, someone once said. How true; it's hard work. But the payoffs are amazing (and I don't mean the royalties kind).

So, please allow me to present the cover of book #4 in the Ashton Corners Book Club mysteries, by Erika Chase, that will appear next fall.

CRIME ON MY MIND

That whole promotion thing!

With my new book coming out in a few weeks -- Cover Story, the third in the Ashton Corners Book Club mysteries -- at the same time as I'm trying to whip through book #4, it's priority time once again.

Every author knows how much time and energy can be, and is expected to be by the publishing world, eaten up with promoting a new book. It is a necessity if you want the sales which lead to a renewed contract. The world of promotion has taken on new complexities over the past decade, as we're all well aware. Social media is first and foremost in most writers' arsenals of tactics. And I'm a part of it -- Facebook pages for the real me and for Erika Chase; ditto with websites and Twitter accounts; Pinterest; guest blogging...you name it, I'll usually try it.

But I've been reflecting while scrolling through all the author promotions that appear each hour on Twitter. What does it all mean? There are too many authors to count flogging their wares, many more than I'll ever read or even have an interest in reading. How does the average reader (that would be me)whittle it all down for allotting reading bucks? I know one thing, I won't rely on Twitter and probably not even Facebook to help me make those choices.

What works the best, IMHO, is the personal recommendation. Friends telling friends, getting them hooked on new authors, sharing the word in the reading wilderness. Of course, a Facebook recommendation by a real friend, someone you really do know, counts as a personal recommendation.

Call me old fashioned but that's what works best for me. Hopefully, for you, too. Or, do I have it all wrong? Has social media tipped the scales yet again and I'm getting left behind in the dust with my meager postings?

And what about the writing part of it all?

Linda Wiken/Erika Chase

READ AND BURIED
Berkley Prime Crime, now available
A KILLER READ, also available at your favourite bookstores and online.
Agatha Award nomiee, Best First Novel 2012
COVER STORY available for pre-order; coming Aug. 2013.

WICKED WEDNESDAYS

The Next Big Thing continues....

It's my turn today! On Monday, Mary Jane Maffini took The Next Big Thing challenge. Today, it's Erika Chase on board! I was invited to take part in this blog circle by my good friend and fellow mystery writer Barbara Fradkin. It’s sort of a ‘tell five friends’ thing. These questions funneled down from our friend Vicki Delany. You can find Barbara over at www.typem4murder.blogspot.com and Vicki at www.klondikeandtrafalgar.blogspot.com.


The Next Big Thing:


What is your working title of your book?
The third book in the Ashton Corners Book Club mysteries is titled COVER STORY and it’s due out early next fall.

Where did the idea come from for the book?
My often-overactive imagination. I’ve been wanting to introduce a ‘colourful’ Southern gal to the mix and I think I’ve found her in Teensy Coldicutt, an old school friend of Molly Mathews who returns to town after many years away, having written her first novel, which she describes as a modern Gone With the Wind. When asked what she’s done about the civil war component, Teensy states she’s compensated with a lot of steamy sex. (Don’t worry….she never reads from these scenes!)

What genre does your book fall under?
Cosy mystery.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
I’d love a slightly younger (sorry, Sandra) Sandra Bullock to play Lizzie Turner, the teaching specialist who starts the book club and is the main character. Still casting for Lizzie’s love interest, Police Chief Mark Dreyfus. I see Candace Bergen as Molly Mathews and Nicholas Campbell would make the perfect Bob Miller.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
The upcoming book launch of Teensy Coldicutt’s first novel unleashes a plot to steal the books, leading to assault, murder, counterfeit money and general mayhem for the Ashton Corners Book Club sleuths.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
The publisher of the series is Berkley Prime Crime, part of the Penguin Group. I’m represented by Bookends Literary Agency.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
I’m on a nine-month deadline with each book so I’d probably say it took about 5 months for the first draft. Or so.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Books by fellow Berkley authors Mary Jane Maffini, Janet Bolin, Victoria Hamilton – all Canadians, too!

Who or what inspired you to write this book?
My contract. And, as I mentioned earlier, the desire to create a colourful new character.

What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?
Each character presents his or her own reading list, offering possible new suggestions for the reader. If you enjoy mystery books, this is the book club for you!

We’ve been asked to link to five other writers but, writers being writers, most are busy writing. I’d love you to visit Victoria Hamilton’s site, though. It’s at http://www.victoriahamiltonmysteries.com. Enjoy this new cosy series!

Linda Wiken/Erika Chase

A KILLER READ
Berkley Prime Crime, now available
READ and BURIED, coming Dec., 2012, available for pre-order
www.erikachase.com

WICKED WEDNESDAYS

It’s launch time!

If you follow Erika Chase or me on Facebook, or on Twitter, you’re undoubtedly aware that tomorrow night is LAUNCH NIGHT! The first Ashton Corners Book Club mystery, A Killer Read will officially make its presence known.

Not that anyone could have missed the fact that it’s now on the bookshelves in local stores and available on line. And, please allow me a little BSP here, as I’m

sure this will happen only once in my life – it made #2 on the Barnes & Noble Mystery Bestseller list and #28 on their overall list last week! I don’t know if I was more shocked or delighted. Probably a dead heat.

So now, two weeks and some days later, it’s the launch. Why bother, you might ask? Everyone knows already.

True. But the point of the launch is to celebrate. I’ll be celebrating with my good friend Vicki Delany as she launches her 11th novel! That’s quite an achievement in itself. Gold Mountain is the third book in her second series, the Klondike Gold Rush series and it’s a lot of fun. Vicki’s really made a name for herself over the years and it’s taken a lot of hard work to get where she is. So, we’re celebrating all of that.

And, we’re celebrating our writing friends and readers. It’s a wonderful, supportive community and I know, Erika wouldn’t have made that bestseller list without a lot of reviewing, tweeting, and liking by friends.

Of course, writers write for themselves. For the pure pleasure of weaving together a story and then sharing it with the readers. So, this is also a celebration of the reader. Without them, who would buy the books? Okay, relatives are a given. But we’re truly thankful that someone chooses to buy, read and enjoy what we’ve spent so many months writing and agonized over through rewrites and edits.

So, I hope you’ll be able to join Vicki and me for our celebration of us and you! And don’t forget…there will be chocolate!

Linda Wiken/Erika Chase

A Killer Read
Berkley Prime Crime, now available
Read and Buried, coming Nov., 2012
www.erikachase.com

MAYHEM ON MONDAYS

What's new?

I have an announcement. I have a website. Or rather, Erika Chase has a website. And I'm both pleased and relieved.

It's been on my To Do list for about a year now. Really. When Erika came into being, we both realized that it would take a lot of self-promotion in a market south of the border that's filled with cosy writers who are very serious about BSP (that's blatant self-promotion, a term that became a promotional manual from Sisters in Crime). In order to compete, and blatantly, get the sales in order to continue the series and continue competing, one needs to become a favoured name on readers' bookshelves.

My agent sent out a manual of promotional tips and as we all know, there's a lot of ways to go about it. A lot of gimmicks, too from the bookmarks to erasers to chocolates one finds in loot bags at mystery conferences. But the methods that have the most value, and take the most work also, are websites, blogs, Facebook and Twitter. The electronic age reigns!

Many are these days re-evaluating the value of the blog. As Vicki Delany pointed out to many of us, The Lipstick Chronicles, a long-standing blog with mainly US writers as contributors, has decided to call it quits. I know there are a couple of others that are re-evaluating the way they go about the blog business. Twitter seems to be the method of getting the word out there. But frankly, I tweet at least once a day, scroll through recent tweets, check on a few people to see what's on their minds (my agent being one of those) and that's about it. There's too much traffic on the Twitter line.

Facebook is becoming a challenge. Some days it's a breeze -- post, read, comment, smile. Other days, there's also too much happening and too little time to spend on it, that's when it's technically working correctly.

So, back to the author's website. I put off doing it because I wanted to have control and be able to change it as needed. Of course, that means I'll have to remember to do that. But, I'm technically challenged, so that seemed a large stumbling block. Not so. Mystery colleague and friend David Cole found this great easy-to-do site that let me build it all. It has a few frustrations (like a box that I cannot get ride of) but aside from that, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

And I was so relieved to be able to inform my editor that yes, I did now have a website up and running. Tick a major stressor off my To Do list. I hope you will visit Erika at http://www.erikachase.com and that you enjoy it. Please send me your comments and suggestions. I'm always looking for ways to make things better.

How about sending me a link to yours?

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

TUESDAY BRINGS TROUBLE

Music and mystery!

So what do you expect when you pick up a mystery that uses a song title as its title?

Music often plays a role in the mysteries we love to read. When using it in the title, such as Michelle Spring's Standing in the Shadows, it can signal the plot, say something about the character, or give a hint at the setting. I read the title and the song takes off in my mind. From that point, it's fun to figure out how it relates.

The fifth anthology from The Ladies' Killing Circle, Bone Dance was music-themed. Each contributing author was asked to choose a song title and write a short mystery to go with it. Check the table of contents and you'll see an array of titles that inspired the mystery authors. Your next step should be to read the stories and see how they tied in. What fun it was to produce that anthology and I think all the authors enjoyed the challenge.

Peter Robinson is well-known for using song titles for his series, and his main character, Inspector Banks, loves a variety of music but mainly jazz. This tells the reader something important about the character, setting him up in the reader's mind as to what kind of guy he is and how he'll react to what's happening in his world.

A musician himself, writer Rick Blechta brings that knowledge to his mysteries, giving the reader an insight into the life of a musician, albeit, one who encounters murder. When Hell Freezes Over takes the reader into the rock musician world -- it's one of my favourites.

My character (or rather, Erika Chase's) in A Killer Read, Lizzie Turner, sings in a community choir which is busily practicing Vivaldi, Mendelessohn and Rutter for its Christmas concert. Hopefully this gives you an impression which becomes part of a well-defined character.

You'll get to know her by how she reacts to the people in her life, her thoughts about the murder, her job, her home, her interactions with the two Siamese cats in her life, what she wears and even the car she drives. You'll get to know her as do you do a friend. And, hopefully want to spend more time with her.

You'll find music in the writings of many other Canadian mystery authors, too. Who are some of your favourites?


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

CRIME ON MY MIND

And yet more book clubs!

Yesterday Sue Pike blogged about her book club and it's easy to see she'd found a good fit. Book clubs abound throughout the city. Most, like Sue's are started and run by a group of readers who got together. Some are organized by a branch of the Ottawa Public Library. Some are through a book store. All have one thing in common -- a love of books.

My book club has been meeting for somewhere between 12 & 15 years, I think. The collective memory is not always a concise one. I've been a member for only a couple of years now but I've come to look forward to our monthly meetings.

We rotate gathering in member's homes and that hostess gets to choose the book. Along with the food. That's an important part of the ritual. Wine and chocolate are 'musts'. And the deserts are memorable. As is our annual April event -- a spa weekend. I must admit, there's not a book assigned for that month, although talk always turns to books.

The series I'm writing is aptly called the Ashton Corners Book Club Mysteries. It revolves around a group of seven people from the small town of Ashton Corners, Alabama who form a mystery book club. My main character is Lizzie Turner, a reading specialist with the school board who also teaches adult Literacy. She and fellow teacher Sally-Jo Baker, draw together a variety of readers of various ages, backgrounds and interests to ostensibly read and discuss a mystery each month. But, of course you know they'll also be solving them. But I promise, there won't be a murder a month.

It's fun writing about a book club because I value what it brings to each of the members and to the writing community. Without readers, why write? And the charming town of Ashton Corners adds another layer to each book in this series. The first book, A Killer Read, will be published in April, 2012 by this gal called Erika Chase. Don't be fooled -- it's really me and having an alter-ego has also been quite the experience.

Maybe my book club will read my book club mystery one day!

What about your book club? Do you belong to one? Tell me about it -- I promise not to mention any names!


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

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