CRIMINAL TENDENCIES

In our continuing quest for writing excellence (yes, we do strive for that!), here's this month's question for mystery authors Barbara Fradkin, R.J. Harlick, Mary Jane Maffini (aka Victoria Abbott), and Linda Wiken (aka Erika Chase).

What brings a character more to life -- physical description, dialogue, or action?

BARBARA FRADKIN;

Character is effectively revealed in all these ways, and as in writing in general, a balance of description, dialogue and action creates the best effect. All three engage different senses which are essential to providing the reader with a fully rounded impression. Physical description allows the reader to picture the character in the scene as an observer, whereas through dialogue, the reader hears the character and almost feel like a participant in the conversation. Action, of course, sweeps the reader up in the drama and tension. Whether it’s a headlong race through the woods or a delicately sipped cup of tea, a well-written action scene makes us feel the character in our bones.

R.J. HARLICK:

I’m going to say all three and add in a fourth dimension, internal, as in thinking and feeling. Just concentrating on only one or two of these would create a flat, lifeless character that would fade into the page. The reader needs to be able to envision what the character looks like through descriptive text and what he or she sounds like through dialogue. Dialogue and internal monologue also provide a window into the character’s mind, what he or she is thinking and feeling. The character is further fleshed out by their actions and interactions with other characters, with the setting and with the situation. Using all four techniques will transform a character of words into a living, thinking and feeling person, who jumps from the page.

MARY JANE MAFFINI:

We want to know what the character looks like. We don't want that to be either Barbie or Ken, as a rule, but we don't want a lot of talk about it either. Good to know about height, colouring, body type etc. Having said that, dialogue and action really let the reader get to know the character, so in my opinion they're both much more important than appearance. In fact, not every author talks about the physical traits of their characters and some never tell you what they look like. In addition to the dialogue and action, the character has to really need or want some result that isn't easy and may not even be likely. The writer of course will just make it practically impossible for the character to have what is so important. That will have an influence on their actions and action, of course, IS character.

LINDA WIKEN

Of course, all are important elements in presenting a well-rounded character to readers, and in particular, one that readers can easily identify and hopefully, in the case of the protagonist, bond with. However, if I have to pick one, it would be dialogue. That gets to the essence of the character and through the choice of words, can best describe a character's inner being. Of course, dialogue is the beginning. The writer uses it to give a physical description of the character. Dialogue is also very important in the pacing of a mystery. If there's a lot of action and the pacing is fast, it will obviously keep readers who enjoy that style of mystery, coming back for more. Dialogue can also fill in the gaps whereas, it's not readily seen by description nor by the character's actions.


Do you agree? Disagree? Have your own question you'd like to submit? Please leave a comment here or on Facebook!

CRIME ON MY MIND

Building Blocks

My Dad was a builder of houses. I can remember the many times throughout my childhood we'd visit his creations in various stages of being built. I also remember house plans being spread out on his desk in his home office, with pads of paper beside them, and his jottings written down. Sometimes he'd be on the payroll of an architectural firm but for most of his building career, he was his own boss. These were his creations as he took great pride in the finishing touches and building houses of quality.

I often bemoaned the fact that I learned nothing from him. I can't even hammer a nail in straight and usually end up hitting my thumb. Definitely not a chip off the old block.

However, I've come to realize, we're more the same than I'd originally thought. First of all, I take great pride in my writing, as he did in those many, many houses he built. And also, as he was a constructor of houses, I am a constructor of stories.

I, too work from a plan -- the synopsis I create at the outset of each project. I take care in crafting a plot that will be sound, much as a house needs to be strong to withstand the elements. I populate my stories with characters who are real to me as his houses eventually housed families.

Okay...maybe I'm stretching this entire analogy a bit too much. But it's clear to me now. Each time I'm starting a new book, as I am doing right now (#5 in the Ashton Corners Book Club Mysteries) each time I'm editing and often re-jigging a plot line, each time I send a finished manuscript off to my editor, I've created or constructed a book. Just as he did a house. I am my father's daughter. Who needs a hammer and nail!

CRIME ON MY MIND

Getting it done!


I heard on the radio the other day that an expert says that "To Do" lists do not help things get done. Huh? I rely on my list and think it's most effective. Part of that stems from having to write the task down, which helps imprint it somewhere in my brain. And also, I get a great deal of pleasure when I cross an item off the list, although I don't seem to be doing that nearly enough these days.

The expert's reasoning is that it adds to a person's stress, knowing there's this list and therefore you waste time pondering the threat of the list, rather than just getting to the task. She/he recommended doing tasks in blocks of half-hour time slots, then re-assessing or moving onto a new one.

There is sound reasoning behind these claims, I think and could I but ponder it longer, I might even remember some of them. But I have this long list of tasks that I need to get done before the day ends and nowhere does it say, "ponder purpose of no lists".

I enjoy hearing or reading these tips on daily living and sometimes find them quite useful. For instance, free green grapes and add them to a glass of white wine. I'm convinced though, that the only thing that will get me using my time more efficiently is if I hire an executive assistant to take care of all those items on the list, except for the writing novel entry.

That might even allow me to keep on track with this blog and update it as promised. Although, I don't know about that. Life seems to be exceedingly busy these days and it's easy to get sidetracked. And I find that leads to more lists. If it's not written down, it might easily get forgotten.

So it seems I'm not giving up my "To Do" list any time in the near future. Now, I'll just progress to item #1 -- write novel.

Linda Wiken/Erika Chase

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

CRIME ON MY MIND

Who is that character?


You have entered a writer’s home. What happens here goes in my next book! How’s that for a warning sign. Actually, I saw it on Facebook this a.m. and thought that that it could just as easily say, “Beware, author!” After all, everything is fodder.

A couple of evenings ago, my go-to group for laughter (we call ourselves PBS – the Pink Bra Society) got together over food groups, including the wine food group. At one point, as never fails, a one-of-a-kind line was thrown out and the authors in the group scrambled for ‘dibs’. That, too will appear in a book somewhere, soon.

You can’t best these moments for latching onto some sentence, some gesture or even your own thoughts that will make the characters in your book sound realistic. It happens everywhere – at the car service centre, the bank, the hair salon. People being people, interacting and each adding his or her own take on life.

That’s what we strive for when creating characters. Each as unique as the person who will eventually read the book. We want protagonists who become our friends, someone we look forward to visiting every now and then…and as the author wishes, hopefully over a period of many years.

Two basic tools in every writer’s arsenal – look and listen. Try to store locations and events in your mind; hear what people are saying and savour the words. Your manuscript will start taking shape when you draw on what’s around you.

Of course, you probably didn’t need me to tell you that. You’ve likely stored up many ‘dibs’ lines already. Next step…sit down and write. Let it all flow out.

Linda Wiken/Erika Chase

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

CRIME ON MY MIND

Spring Cleaning


No kidding. It may not look like spring outside -- in fact, I think those ground hogs should be fired or at least retired with pension. But it's a good time to start spring cleaning. I don't mean the house -- not at the top of my list, believe me! But rather, your writing "house".

If you're like me, there is a lot of extra paper that seems to breed when you're in the middle of a writing task. Maybe it's just the sloppy filing techniques that slip in and take control. Even if, like in my office, those piles of paper and file folders, and even books, are in neat stacks on the floor (because there's no more room on the desk), they are an eye sore and a reminder that there's work to be done.

And what about those piles on the desk or desks, as the case may be? What is so important that it needs to be front and center until it's dealt with? Okay, maybe that in-basket of bills; that questionnaire you promised, in a fit of being helpful, to complete for someone; the list of email for the stores to be contacted re signings; and of course, the 'To Do' list that keeps getting longer or has yet another page added. I agree, they need to be front and center but isn't it better to deal with them sooner than later?

And how about those TBR piles on the floor. Granted, there's no more space on the bookshelves in any room in the house. But maybe if they were re-located to the floor of another room, the office would look less congested and more inviting. Because face it, there's little appeal in sitting at a desk trying to be creative when the setting is organized chaos. Unless you're someone who works best in the throes of organized clutter.

And when it comes to the actual writing, are you de-cluttered? Are your ideas in order or are there too many of them floating around in your head? Are you focussed on one writing assignment -- that novel, that short story, that blog? Or are you trying to juggle too many ideas along with the desire to proceed with several writing tasks at the same time? Many writers can do just that, have multiple series on the go or different types of projects. But if you're not one of those, its time to recognize that fact and priortize. At the very least, set up a system: the mornings for the novel and afternoons for the short story. Focus on one project at a time.

Also, don't be afraid to let go of ideas that clutter your brain but, realistically, won't ever be put to paper or computer screen. Write them down and file them away, if you don't want to totally abandon them...just stop thinking about them right now.

So maybe this blog is old hat to you. You regularly spring clean and even fall clean for good measure. Your desk is a welcoming surface; your office, an inviting haven; your mind, a focussed creative machine. That's so not me!

I need to get at that spring cleaning...and maybe, just maybe spring won't be far behind.

Linda Wiken/Erika Chase

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

CRIME ON MY MIND

Practice makes perfect!

I don't know how many times I heard that phrase growing up. Practice makes perfect. Half-an-hour of music each day, practice your cursive writing, arithmetic tables, reading skills, table manners, ice skating...it's what we're told to do in order to get ahead. Some of it paid off. And for that, I thank my parents. Although I still grumble that I didn't get to take ballet at an earlier age. Or piano. Or join the basketball team. Grumble, grumble.

These days, the same tenet still holds. Practice makes perfect (a state still being sought and slightly out of reach in most, okay, all instances.) But I try to get a half hour of practicing my choir music in every day; I practice tidying the house as I go along rather than leaving it all to one day; ditto for doing the filing.

It's also important with writing. Now that I'm starting book #4 in the Ashton Corners Book Club Mysteries, I'll start out with that rule as a very minimum for each work day. Because, in spite of all my good intentions, I never did write the book last fall. I kept waiting to see if it was wanted and then, I'd find other things that needed doing. All very legit at the time. So, now it's time once again to get back to the series. And I know that if I practice writing each day -- at least 15 minutes -- it helps.

I know the end product will be more disjointed than I'd like. But that's what second drafts are for. I enjoy the process of reading through and adding the details, fleshing out the southern Alabama town and the lives of the book club members. Of being 30-something Lizzie Turner and seeing the world through her eyes. There is hope. I know I'll get back into the groove. She's waiting there for me in that first draft.

I'd heard about the 15-minute rule before but it had to be a thousand words or nothing for me. And that demand one makes on oneself can be debilitating. My advice to self is, back off, visit with Lizzie and friends for at least 15 minutes a day (it can be done even with a busy schedule), make time for friends.

What advice do you give yourself when writing?

Linda Wiken/Erika Chase

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

CRIME ON MY MIND

Exposing oneself!

I'm kind of a private person. I keep my private life just that -- private. And, what you see via the social media is usually book-related or trivial. That's why yesterday's Facebook 'expose' was really quite irritating. Until you start laughing.

If you missed it (which I truly hope you did), I happened to confirm a friend request which then led to my being tagged in a very risque photo. Now, I don't know if this 'friend' is the spammer or if yet another force is at work here. Whatever.

At choir last night one of my real friends said he laughed so hard he almost fell off his chair. I like that response. Although part of me is in a bit of a huff -- women in their sixties can be sexy, John!

But I digress. I then thought about why I, a private person, am on Facebook and Twitter to start with. Promotion. That's the reason. On my real person site, I'm hoping to encourage readers to visit Mystery Maven Canada. But then I added old time friends, family, choir members, writing colleagues, neighbours...so maybe it's expanded a bit. You think? And now that I do think about it, I included my maiden name to try to re-connect with old high school buddies.

Okay, but my Erika Chase site is really about promotion. In this fiercely competitive, although supportive, publishing world an author really has to work hard at getting her or his name out there. But Erika's site has also morphed into friends, family, writing colleagues...you get the picture.

That got me thinking about my protagonist. Another choir member (it was choir night last night) told me she's reading A Killer Read and hears me in Lizzie Turner, my main character. Okay, I gave her an almond butter addiction -- that's me. The two Siamese cats are also me. But aside from another trait here or there, I see her as her own, although fictional, person. To me, she's a totally separate woman. That's what characters have to be.

Because we experience life and have friends and meet people, they're bound to influence our writing and creep in -- sometimes on purpose but at other times, as a part of that imagination. And what's that based on? Life, I suppose.

So back to the beginning. Would a writer who values her privacy put a lot of her life into her character? Well, I figure, it doesn't really matter. We all start at different points in our writing; we have different goals; we write different stories. No right or wrong here.

So much for today's ramble. I wonder what my real writing will be like today.

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

CRIME ON MY MIND

Trying on a new series for size!

I've been tossing around ideas for a new series these past few weeks. It seems the one I found myself being pulled into is not one that will fly with my publisher, according to my agent. Fair enough. So it's back to the drawing board, although I'll not totally shelve my idea. There are other publishers around, after all.

Coming up with an idea is similar to being let loose in a candy shop, or for me, a chocolate shop. All those shapes, colours, tastes just waiting to be combined and tried. All those ideas of settings, themes, characters, all at a ready. The tough part is narrowing it down to one. And, of course, trying to think of what will grab the editor's fancy.

That's my problem, too many ideas and forcing myself to commit to one. Or two, at this stage. Perhaps it's a good idea to test drive the finalists, when I arrive at that stage. Maybe craft a short story using the characters and setting. See how they feel and read on paper, all fleshed-out. And then, of course, finding a market for that story. But perhaps by that point, I'll have found the set of characters, particularly a protagonist I want to spend a lot of time, years actually, around.

Okay, I admit that taking this approach is really writing for the market, rather than starting with what I feel I need to say and who I want to say it. But it works. By the time I'm well into writing the book, it has morphed into the story I want to be writing and telling. That, after all, is what writers do. And now, back to the brainstorming.

How do you handle it?

So many ideas...so little time!

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

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

WICKED WEDNESDAYS

What's a crime?

As a mystery short story writer, I need to know what constitutes a crime and what doesn't. There's no point in writing a whodunit about something that used to be illegal but now is seen as a mere peccadillo.

As far as I know, killing someone is still frowned upon. And that's a relief because I like to concoct a good, solid murder. But occasionally I'd like to wander into other realms.

I used to enjoy reading mystery writers Emma Lathen and Sara Paretsky, safe in the knowledge that if their fictional financial institutions screwed their customers they would get a suitable legal comeuppance by the end of the book.

But 2008 changed all that. When the thugs on Wall Street caused a global economic recession did they suffer legal repercussions? Did they heck! Many of them went off to the Cayman Islands with huge compensation packages in their back pockets. Many more are still working in high finance and still using their considerable resources and clout to keep any form of banking regulations off the government books.

Compare that, as Graydon Carter in the latest issue of Vanity Fair does, with athletes who are suspected of using performance-enhancing drugs. Society has come down like a ton of bricks on the heads of seven-time Tour de France cycling champ Lance Armstrong and former Major League pitcher Roger Clemens who have both been drummed out of their respective sports.

These two men should have gone into banking where they could have walked away with millions. Or alternatively, they should have gone into politics. Carter says, "One could argue that the lawmakers responsible for overseeing the runaway lending that led to the financial crisis are every bit as responsible as the banks. But not a single elected official has served time in jail or even suffered much of a setback, professionally." So financial and political mysteries are pretty much off the books, I guess.

How about lying? It used to be that being caught out in a lie could ruin a person and would almost certainly topple a political career. Think of Presidents Nixon and Clinton. Today though we have websites devoted to the number of lies candidates in the next American election can tell in a day. My particular favourite is Paul Ryan's whopper about the time he ran a marathon in under three hours. A little digging by Runners World Magazine discovered his time as four hours and a bit. Unfortunately, the discovery of this lie and all his others seems not to have affected Ryan's popularity one whit.

So I guess I'll just have to stick to murder - at least until that is no longer a crime.




Sue Pike has published a couple of dozen stories and won several awards including an Arthur Ellis Award for Best Short Crime Story. Her latest, Where the Snow Lay Dinted appeared in the January issue of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine.

Sue and her husband and an opinionated Australian Shepherd named Cooper spend the winter months in Ottawa and the rest of the time at a mysterious cottage on the Rideau Lakes.

WICKED WEDNESDAYS

Where has summer gone?


I know it's still summer but don't you feel fall creeping in? After the drought of summer has finally broken, can you feel the cool breezes that start each day off, inviting a light jacket or at the very least, a long-sleeved T-shirt for those early morning walks?

As I mentioned on Monday, the plans of summer are also vanishing. The new forays into writing have not taken place -- although I do have a couple of more weeks to redeem myself. Or perhaps I should think of them now as new writing opportunities for fall.

I'll add them to my list of planned activities which include signing up for a zhumba class, volunteering at the food bank one morning a week, and preparing for Bouchercon. That's the next conference on my list, in Cleveland, Thanksgiving weekend of all times.

I also need to register for Left Coast Crime which happens in March, 2013 and the next Malice Domestic. I've already booked the hotel for both these events. And then we'll have the Arthur Ellis Awards in Toronto, the Bony Blythe afternoon, also in Toronto...and by that time, we're well into summer again. How time flies!

And I'm sure there'll be a lot going on at Britton's, too.

Surely, there'll be time to write a short story or brand new series, shimmied into the writing of the first series.

What about you and your writing? Is there ever enough time?

Linda Wiken/Erika Chase

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

MAYHEM ON MONDAYS

Freshen up...

What do you do to keep a series fresh? I ask that as I'm plunging into the fourth book, realizing too that summer is almost over and I haven't done most of the things I'd planned to do.

On that list was firstly, to write a short story. I don't have a market in mind nor a deadline but I thought it would be a good way to stir up the creative juices. I'd also wanted to tackle the first manuscript in an earlier series that never went past three rejection letters. I still like the concept, even after putting it aside for several years but know it really needs a another attack. Maybe I'll change it from first to third person. Maybe it won't get done this summer after all.

An aside about that book -- since I've written it, some of the details have changed such as a location and therefore, the description of that place. So, the question is, to leave it as a book set in the late nineties or update it? Of course, electronics are greatly changed, too which could impact some parts of the story. More to consider. Will I ever get back to it?

I've also toyed with the idea of writing a Rapid Read. I'm impressed with the ease my colleagues seem to be turning out these gems. I notice however, that's still on the list. Not much has been crossed off, come to think of it.

I've always looked forward to the fall. Maybe it came from working for the school board once upon a time as a community worker. All things were possible as new programs were starting and eagerness abounded. So, maybe just maybe, I can multi-track and check something off my list, along with writing #4.

But will it give me that extra benefit of writing an Ashton Corners Book Club mystery from a place of freshness? Time will tell.

So, back to my original question...how do you keep a series fresh? Start another one, perhaps?

Linda Wiken/Erika Chase

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

CRIME ON MY MIND

Looking for ideas!




Where do you get the ideas for your plots? Every writer has been asked that question at least once, and now, I'm asking. The idea came to me because that's the stage I'm at in my writing, looking for a new plot. But don't worry, I won't steal yours because I have found one. Well, two actually so now I've got to flesh them both out a bit and see which one to go with.

I enjoy this stage in writing, always thinking, 'what if?'. I'll write the various thoughts, character names, weapons and zinger lines down on pieces of paper all around the house. I have a pair of reading glasses in each room. Perhaps I should have a large notepad along with them, a gathering spot for these ideas to ease the usual stages of frustration when trying the find my jottings.

Of course, I enjoy all stages of writing. But right now, anything is possible. My character Lizzie is set for any new adventure. I just have to find the right one for her and her book club pals. This, of course, means creating the perfect victim, too. Oh, the possibilities.

Do you pattern your characters, particularly the victim, after people you know? Are you someone who deals with the frustrations of your other job on the written page. Villainous boss equals murder victim? Or better yet, murderer!

Or maybe you carefully comb the morning newspaper, waiting for the ingenious incident that will 'trigger' the crime. The paper is full of suggestions, although many of them are too unlikely to be believed when used in fiction. Maybe the story about a politician who hits 'reply all' gives you a starting point. I think that would make a good one. Don't worry, it's all yours. I have mine...I think.

The next few days, or maybe even weeks will tell if it's a keeper. But in the meantime, I'll enjoy this somewhat lazy patch of plotting time. And these hot, humid days are just perfect for that task.

Linda Wiken/Erika Chase

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

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.

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

The First Sentence

I've been reading Stanley Fish's, How to Write a Sentence: And How to Read One. This is a slim volume (only 164 pages) but it's dense and complex and demanding. It's a rewarding read though and I find myself dipping into it again and again.


It's a book to be lingered over and pondered rather than gulped whole in some sort of speed-reading frenzy. Fish is a connoisseur of sentences and he quotes his favourites liberally. He acknowledges Strunk and White but takes The Elements of Style to another level. He asks the reader to enjoy a sentence that is not just grammatically correct and faultlessly logical but a feast for the soul. In one instance he quotes a particularly fine sentence and then invites the reader to try his hand at composing a similar one. It's an intriguing exercise.

Fish has devoted an entire chapter to first sentences and he quotes some splendid ones. I was interested to note that some of the first sentences we were forced to memorize as children are not his first choice. The first line from A Tale of Two Cities - "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times etc." - is summarily dismissed.

In Fish's opinion first sentences should have what he refers to as "an angle of lean". They incline towards the rest of the novel, giving a hint of where the book is going. He starts with the first sentence of Agatha Christie's Nemesis . "In the afternoons it was the custom of Miss Jane Marple to unfold her second newspaper." Fish tells us the sentence seems simple but in fact it communicates a surprising amount of information. "Miss Marple has a routine," he says, "she follows it and it occurs daily." It is not a custom easily trifled with. The reader knows immediately that there will be something written in this second newspaper that will be pivotal to the novel that follows.

Here are a few first lines that I think meet Stanley Fish's criteria:

"They're all dead now," from Anne Marie MacDonald's Fall on you Knees.

Once read, who could ever forget Ruth Rendell's first line in Judgment in Stone? "Eunice Parchman killed the Coverdale family because she could not read or write."

Declan Hughes gets off a zinger in The Wrong Kind of Blood: "The night of my mother's funeral, Linda Dawson cried on my shoulder, put her tongue in my mouth and asked me to find her husband."

Peter Temple, my favourite Australian crime novelist, writes many exquisite sentences. Here's the first line from Bad Debts: "I found Edward Dollery, age forty-seven, defrocked accountant, big spender and dishonest person, living in a house rented in the name of Carol Pick."

And finally, I'm a big fan of Mary Jane Maffini's Camilla MacPhee series. Here's the first line from Speak Ill of the Dead: "That particular morning all I could think about was getting rid of Alvin." Whenever I read that line I feel an instant empathy for Camilla but it turns out Maffini's fans are divided on the issue. Some of us would cheerfully drown the irritating twerp but others can't get enough of him and have even formed the Alvin Ferguson Fan Club.

Have you a first sentence that you particularly like and that you'd share with us here?


Sue Pike has published a couple of dozen stories and won several awards including an Arthur Ellis Award for Best Short Crime Story. Her latest, Where the Snow Lay Dinted will appear in the January issue of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine.

Sue and her husband and an opinionated Australian Shepherd named Cooper spend the winter months in Ottawa and the rest of the time at a mysterious cottage on the Rideau Lakes.

MAYHEM ON MONDAY

Time off...or not!

It's a holiday today in Ontario -- Family Day. But for me it's a work day. Mainly because I didn't have time to write on the weekend, nor for a few days before that. Life happens, doesn't it?

However, I must admit the reason I'm posting this blog so late is a book. Unfortunately, not the one I'm writing. I made the mistake to opening a book called The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen, one I've had on the go for about a week and pick up whenever I take time out for tea. This morning, I opened it while enjoying my second espresso. My mistake because I couldn't put it down this time -- had to keep going to the end.

It's not a mystery, although there is a murder from the past that plays a role in bringing people together. It's a book about friendship. And, a book about Southern women. And men. I'm reading a lot of books set in the southern states these days, mainly to keep my head in that space for writing my own series. I'm enjoying it there, I must admit. It's a different culture in many aspects, with the ways of the past intermingling with today.

So, that's my holiday. Two hours this morning. Now, it's back to writing although I will have to make it short and get the house ready for my Book Club tonight. That's life again. But that's what I'm writing about...lives involved in a mystery. So, in a way it's research, isn't it? That puts my mind at ease.

How are you spending today?

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

TUESDAY BRINGS TROUBLE

SOUNDS

Writers thrive on words; writers are limited by having to use words. What a paradox. Sounds are all around us, but the only “sounds” we get from reading a book are the pages turning. With a Kindle, not even that. (Sounds inside your head don’t count.)

We writers work around this in several ways. Obviously, we use words to describe a sound. Some writers make sure we know what’s playing on the character’s radio or TV. Jazz, classical, choral works, we “cite” them as part of a character’s persona. This works, but mainly because it requires the reader call to mind the actual musical number. The Brits and Canadians do this better, I think, than my fellow US authors. Still, it’s a workaround.

I was reminded of this twice this week. Apple recently provided a free iBook application whereby “inside” the e-book product you can drag music, photos, videos, practically anything that enhances the text. It’s quite sensational. Intended primarily for educational texts, no reason you couldn’t do a very different edition of your e-book. Apple lists your product free on a website. If you want to sell the product, Apple takes a fee, but otherwise the application is entirely free.

The Icelandic singer Bjork, guesting on The Colbert Raport (you have to watch the program to know why it’s spelled that way), explained that she wrote musical numbers for a recent album with a radically new part of the CD package: a digital piece that accompanies the book if read on, say, an iPad. Funky. Fun.

Right now, I’m trying to find some way of musically painting (with words) scenes from my book-in-progress. It’s a tough task if you want to do more than mention Verdi or Bjork. My standard comes from Michael Mann’s wonderful film The Insider, the true story of Jeffrey Wigand (one of my personal heroes). Mann recreates the controversy of Wigand’s revelations about the tobacco industry and the politics of airing the show on 60 Minutes. Toward the end, when CBS has agree to release the unedited interviews, The New York Times publishes the whole story and as a bundle of newspapers hits the New York street . . .

Wham!

Three notes from a tenor sax pierce your mind, your heart, your very soul. And then . . . again! There can’t be more than eight bars of music, but that sax blows my mind; it possesses the same power and magnificence as the Verdi Requiem. Imagine if you can, combining into three thrashing notes all of Dies Irae, Sanctus, Agnus Dei, Lux aeterna, and Libera me.

All the tension and intrigues of the Wigand story are presented and resolved with that sax. As I write, I can’t get the notes out of my head.

But I can’t write them.


David Cole is overcoming five years of procrastinations and is finally attacking his eighth novel, Ransom My Soul - a somewhat bleak novel of home invasions, drug cartels and human smuggling in southern Arizona, tempered (hopefully) with a fine romance and love story. David's short story, JaneJohnDoe.com, is featured in Indian Country Noir (Akashic Press); he's also working on several non-fiction books about law enforcement, including The Blue Ceiling, a compilation of personal stories about women in law enforcement.

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

LADIES' KILLING THURSDAYS

Reinvention

This is a self-serving blog in which I marshal my arguments for changing my life. I’m using this forum as a means to explore the issue and I hope it resonates with readers who are or have been through the same process.

Apparently Salvador Dali marked three phases in his artistic career by adopting three very different signatures. As my own reinvention progresses I am considering this but as many report that my handwriting is illegible I don’t think any change would be apparent to anyone but me although it might serve as a constant reminder of what I am trying to do.

My reinvention is progressing in a jerky spasmodic way. I am examining various facets of my life and evaluating whether to continue, replace or eradicate.

To hasten the process I have decided to relocate for the better part of a year in the hope that a new environment will foster creativity. In this new location I will not spend hours in the car getting from A to B and this will give me more time for a creative life.

Secondly, I have vowed to eliminate time-wasting pastimes. This will be a slow and painful process but to gain time to do the things I want to do I need to enforce my decisions. Scrabble - is one game a day possible or will it have to be cold turkey? The cryptic crossword - perhaps only on Saturdays. House and Garden television - do I really want to spend my life watching people decide which house to buy?

What will I do with the time I save? Because this is a writing blog one answer obviously will be to write more, to keep myself glued to my chair despite the siren call of the refrigerator, the dutiful response to dogs pleading for more walks or my body’s need for more exercise. I will need deadlines, self-imposed, but there. To require myself to complete a certain number of pages before I allow myself to do something else even if that means working in the evening or getting up very early.

The obituary columns constantly remind us that time is short. I hope I can make better use of my time.




Joan Boswell is a member of the Ladies Killing Circle and co-edited four of their short story anthologies: Fit toDie, 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, 2006 and 2007. In 2000 she won the $10,000 Toronto Star’s short story contest. Joan lives in Toronto with three flat-coated retrievers.