WICKED WEDNESDAYS

Oops...did I write that?

I don't want to wade into the Margaret Wente brouhaha that's popping up in the media these days. Suffice to say that I often enjoy her columns and even bought her book, You Can't Say That in Canada many moons ago. What it does bring to mind, however is the fact that, "there's no such thing as a new plot". Sorry, I'm unable to attribute that but it's definitely not my original thought.

As a writer, that does cause me concern. I read so much, often in the sub-genre I write, so it could happen without my being aware. Oops, I've used someone else's idea, description, location in my story. I do read cosies, even though I know many writers won't read anything similar to what they're writing, mainly for that reason. But I feel I need to stay on top of what my publisher is choosing as new series, in particular. What grabs their attention, and presumably therefore, the support of the reading public.

It's difficult enough keeping a series fresh and moving forward. This information adds some insight into "trends" and possible ways to keep the series alive.

I've been giving a lot of thought to just this aspect of writing -- keeping a series from fading into an untimely ending. I've thought about writing a short story, for some variety in writing styles; trying to do a Rapid Reads; starting a second, totally new series; any or all of the above.

What I do is write a blog a couple of times a week, and mystery reviews. But is it enough? Time will tell.

How do you keep your series fresh? Anything I've mentioned or are you just naturally the type of writer who works with your characters to keep things compelling and at the top of readers' lists?

Linda Wiken/Erika Chase

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

MAYHEM ON MONDAYS

Reading and writing....

For the past week-and-a-half I've been volunteering at one of our many summer music festivals, this one for chamber music entitled Music & Beyond. I've loved the experience of meeting new people, supporting this organization, and getting to hear some amazing music.

It hasn't been without it's downside though. Like the oppressive heat and humidity we're experiencing in Ottawa. Although two of the venues had AC, there was still the time spent walking through the long lines of patrons waiting outside on the sidewalk for the doors to open, after the musicians had finished rehearsing. We'd sell tickets, programme books and raffle tickets, and also offer water, which was always gratefully appreciated.

Another part of the 'adventure' was taking the bus. Not knowing if I'd easily find downtown parking and also dreading the rush-hour traffic, even with AC in the car (I hate using it though, preferring to keep my windows open and a breeze fanning through the car), I decided to opt for OC Transpo. Which meant the second day of transit, after getting a close look at the route and seeing stores and buildings I'd never noticed when driving, I took to reading for the often half-hour drive.

It's a great way to visit some mass market authors I'd never tried before. And, since my publisher, Berkley Prime Crime is American, I chose to spend my time reading other cosy writers from their line. I know, this is a blog about Canadian writing, so I'll focus on how these books have influenced my writing.

I've written the three books in my series with the idea of entertaining my readers...and myself. I've used traditional themes for murder -- revenge and greed being the main ones -- but haven't given over many inches to exploring those themes in depth. There are several examples of crime novels written by Canadians where moral issues are a driving force -- locally, Barbara Fradkin and R.J. Harlick's series come to mind. But I'd never thought to delve deeper with my cosies.

Since I'm spending the summer starting book #4, in case the series is continued, and also fleshing out a brand new series, this has given me something else to ponder. I always enjoy the beginning months of a new book. Anything's possible and new ideas can be tried then used or discarded. And, I'm delighted to have something else to add to that mix. I think it's a time to grow as a writer.

What about you? What has influenced your writing most recently?

Linda Wiken/Erika Chase

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

WICKED WEDNESDAYS

Friends & community!




I spent several hours last night in the delightful company of a group of slightly wacky and totally wonderful friends. We call ourselves PBS -- the Pink Bra Society and guess what we're expected to wear to each gathering! Along with other clothes, of course!

We started out as a group of four, all from the book world, and at that point were known as WDGOM (We Don't Get Out Much), although we found that finding a free evening in common was becoming increasingly more difficult so the name had to go.

As we added more members, mostly again from publishing, we came up with PBS, in honour of one of our own, a breast cancer survivor. Also, because none of us are quite ready to join the Red Hat ladies.

So, we sat out on the deck in the heat and humidity but saved by a nice breeze, shared lots of food and wine and our lives. We all love laughing; we're there to listen and support each other; and, we're great friends.

That's a real life community. I write about a fictional community of friends who together, read books and fight crime. That may be putting it a bit strongly...they read and sleuth. But it's the friendship and community that are integral to the Ashton Corners Book Club mysteries.

The majority of cosy mysteries revolve around friendship and although the crimes can be as devastating as in a harder boiled mystery, it's the manner in which the crimes are described and solved that mark the difference. Friendship, community counts in a cosy.

As in real life!

Linda Wiken/Erika Chase

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

MAYHEM ON MONDAY

In praise of cosies!

Today's blog is a little late in appearing. My apologies. I got carried away reading. And talking on the phone. But the main reason is a book called Pushing Up Bluebonnets by Leann Sweeney.

She's part of the panel I'm on at Malice Domestic called 'The Sound and the Fury: Southern Mysteries'. I'm not too sure what the 'fury' part will entail, though. Anyway, I want to be up-to-speed about my colleagues so I'm reading books by each of them.

When I first decided I'd write mysteries I read most of the cosy writers of that time (late 1980's): Carolyn Hart, Nancy Pickard, Susan Dunlap, Joan Hess to name a few. These were writers I'd meet every year at Malice Domestic and I got hooked on their books.

By the time we'd bought Prime Crime Books, I'd expanded my reading tastes to include edgier mysteries, police procedurals in particular, and some thrillers. And I also gravitated to Canadian authors like Eric Wright, L.R. Wright, Peter Robinson and Gail Bowen. The cosies were getting outnumbered every day.

So along comes this contract to write a cosy series. I'm back to devouring these books, in particular the Berkley Prime Crime line to keep on top of what my publisher is putting out. And of course, most of these authors are Americans and the series are set in the U.S. We have two noted exceptions though, Mary Jane Maffini and more recently, Janet Bolin. I've learned a lot from all these authors.

I hadn't read any of the Sweeney series sub-titled, 'A Yellow Rose Mystery', although I'd sold them at the store. The cover was a bit 'cute', the Texas setting was intriguing but still not enough to make me give it a read. And with the number of new books and authors arriving weekly at the store, I had to pick and choose.

So what a surprise to pick this book up, start reading and not want to put it down. It's about a female adoption PI who's smart, caring and a seeker of truth. The other characters are well-drawn. The plot is complex. The dialogue is just that -- how you would expect these people to talk.

The cover screams, "chick-mystery" but sometimes you can't judge a book by it's cover. It's a cosy in that there's no excessive or overt violence or sex. It's well-written. And that's what I look for in a book. I'm caught up in the cosy world once again but don't give them short-shrift.

Good writing is good writing is good writing!

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

WICKED WEDNESDAYS

Reading while writing

Looking at my TBR pile of books always puts me in a good mood. I see an array of colourful spines with words such as Brad, Mistress, Poker, Janice, Trap and Liver to tempt me. Some will be read before others, of course. Especially those I’m planning to review on Mystery Maven Canada.

Others I’m saving for a chilly early evening read in front of the fireplace. And I know, unfortunately, there will be some that remain on the pile indefinitely, while new titles are added with a frightening frequency. That’s just the way it is. I love keeping that pile topped up. Well, it’s actually several piles located in many rooms of the house.

There’s the bedside stack that sits next to my clock/radio/CD player on the nightside table; the pile of books on the end table next to the sofa in the living room; the books in the TV room on the coffee table; and several towers of TBRs on the floor in my home office. Heartwarming!

I’m sure that many of you can relate to this need to have books at a ready to be read.

The question is, what do you read while you’re ensconced in a writing project? Do you read a mainstream novel while writing a mystery? Poetry, perhaps? Or maybe strictly non-fiction? If you’re writing thrillers, do you read cosies? Or if a cosy series is your bread-and-butter, do you read only police procedurals?

When I started taking writing seriously, meaning with applied deadlines and a goal of publication in this lifetime, I studiously avoided reading the type of mystery I wrote. I’d read that somewhere…authors worried about someone else’s style or maybe even plot points bleeding into their own stories. But I don’t believe that anymore.

For me, writing cosies, I find that a mixture works best. I need the variety of a good caper, a historical thriller, a police procedural or even a non-mystery will bring to my cosy-clogged mind. But I also thrive on reading within my sub-genre. Spending a half hour in some other fictional small Southern town, with a tightly-knit group of amateur sleuths solving the crime helps re-focus my brain and I find the writing flows more easily. I’m certain I don’t transplant those characters, that town, and particularly not that plot to my page. But it does help me “think lighter”, if that makes any sense. And I’m the first to admit that cosies generally are a lighter read. Not, a lesser read, I might add!

Besides, I need to keep on top of what the editors are choosing to publish. Am I moving in the right direction? And what readers will I find once I get there?


Linda Wiken/Erika Chase
A Killer Read coming April 3, 2012
from Berkley Prime Crime

TUESDAY BRINGS TROUBLE

Food that's downright criminal!

I stayed in a lovely B&B in Ste.-Adele, Quebec this past weekend and while the room was just right, complete with balcony, and the village was worth the visit, it was the breakfast that sticks in my mind. I love breakfast, especially when it's eaten at a location other than my house.

Although I wasn't able to eat everything on the menu, it didn't stop me from appreciating what was offered. Eggs baked in cream -- doesn't it sound mouth-watering, especially in French.

Last month I stayed at a wonderful B&B in Victoria, B.C. and had the same experience...a marvelous breakfast menu, different each day. How to feel totally pampered. Did I mention, I love eating breakfast out?

Now, I readily admit I'm not a great cook. In fact, I don't even enjoy it. OK...I may feel inspired twice a year, for no particular reason. And you're wondering, why all this information? What does it have to do with mysteries?

Plenty! Pick up almost any cosy these days, and there's food mentioned in it. The

sleuth doesn't sit down to lunch. It's a lunch of Tuna Nicoise with a glass of Pinot Grigio. Many cosies even offer the recipes at the back of the book. Now, you'd expect that with a catering mystery or BBQ series. But many of these have nothing to do with food, except that the sleuth eats.

So, I'm of the opinion that in order to write a best-selling mystery these days, you need to know your food groups. Better still, know what makes a mouth-watering meal that will keep the reader salivating while the search for the killer continues.
If, like me, you're not a cook then you must do research. Not a difficult task.

I love reading cookbooks, oddly enough. But of course, they must have photos. There's something tantalizing about a cookbook, especially an ethnic cookbook. Even if I never try making a recipe from that book, I will treasure it. And of course, that's one way to do research.

Or you can put yourself in your sleuth's shoes...and eat out. What a great reason to try that new Argentinian restaurant in town! And, you must know your wines, too.

There are even blog sites devoted to recipes. Check out www.mysteryloverskitchen for some popular mystery authors sharing some non-lethal recipes.

This isn't restricted to the cosy set. Many edgy thrillers have revenge plotted across the dinner table. And how many victims have found their fate in a poisoned dish?

After all, isn't this another way of describing characters? As a reader, I want to know his or her tastes in reading, movies, clothing, and food. As long as the information is blended into the story and doesn't slow down the telling. Aren't we all searching for the well-rounded character?


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

TUESDAY BRINGS TROUBLE

Writing taboos...

The book under discussion at last night's Book Club meeting was The Ape House by Sara Gruen. Now, we're a lively bunch, usually disagreeing all over the place. But we were fairly unanimous about this one. It was a very difficult read. In fact, some didn't finish it. And those who did felt the ending tied it up nicely. But, it's not a book I'd read over again.

The reason? Not the writing, which was good, nor the premise about being able to communicate with bonobos. But rather, what happened to the apes. As one member reminded us, this is fiction. However, I have no doubt whatsoever that apes and other wild creatures are treated in very inhumane ways, whether for a true scientific goal or because it furthers someone's avarice. I do not like nor want to read about cruelty to animals. And don't you dare kill one just to further the plot, not that Gruen was doing that.

There's an old saying, don't kill a cat in a mystery. Certain death for the novel. I'll extend that to dogs as well. And I don't think that's because so many of us are cat and dog owners. It's because such inhumane behaviour is unnerving to read about. Probably because we do know it happens.

On the other hand, at Bloody Words and in fact, the panel discussion Mary Jane Maffini blogged about last week, Anthony Bidulka replied to the question about how to ramp up the pace -- "kill, kill, kill". He didn't mean totally and unrealistically increase the body count. He was talking about things like cars. How about a computer? He did admit to killing a cat in one of his Russell Quant novels, only to receive an email from a now 'former' fan who quit reading at that point and refused to read any more of his books. As Anthony pointed out, had he but read on a bit longer, the cat wasn't dead at all. Anthony knew -- never kill a cat!

Cosies, more than other sub-genres, come with a built-in set of taboos. No excessive violence, sex or foul language being some of them. We are writing to please the reader, after all. It's entertainment.

What are some taboos that turn you off a book or author? Please be candid. Your answer may save a writer's career!


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