WICKED WEDNESDAYS

The Good Old Days of Crime Fighting!

When writing yesterday's blog, I got to thinking that crime fighting a couple of decades ago was a much tougher job than it is today. Think about it.

The sleuth didn't have a cell phone with which to call for back-up, phone the perp to see if they were actually home before attempting a little B&E, or a date to cancel that night's romantic dinner because the stake-out went into overtime.

Nor was the sleuth able to do a search on the Internet for background information on the suspect, use Google Streetscape to scope out said suspect's street in search of likely places to park un-noticed, or in the case of police, carry out a nice little scam on unsuspecting scammers.

Think of how much easier today's sleuth has it, when he/she can whip out an IPhone or Blackberry & with the appropriate apps, find a Greek Take-out close by to the stake-out, check what time a movie ends thus know what time the suspect might be leaving the theatre, or find the nearest hospital, if need-be.

And that GPS -- wow! Driving to that warehouse containing the missing storage bins is a breeze. Plus, don't get me started on the wonders of digital cameras.

I think the previous generation of sleuths deserves a lot of admiration and praise. They really had to work hard at getting the bad guys. That is, unless your sleuth was Agent 007. So, do all these techno tools result in a sleuth who is more lazy and perhaps just not quite as smart?

What do you think?


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

TUESDAY BRINGS TROUBLE

Revisiting...revising!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

MAYHEM ON MONDAYS

Is it Monday...already?

Mayhem on Monday has been the story of my life. Although in recent years, Mondays still mean mayhem but not in the same hideous way they used be. Nope. Gone are the days when mid-afternoon on Sunday I’d start to obsess about the next morning in all its nightmarish qualities.

As a child the worry was undone homework or impending math tests or the need to sit quietly muzzled among the long rows of other kids, wishing to be almost anywhere else — with the exception of the Principal’s Office. Flash forward and school has become work. On Sunday afternoon, the specter loomed of perma-meetings starting at the crack of dawn and grinding inexorably through the day, while the mile high inbox teetered. And of course, there was the unrelenting pressure of locating two shoes from the same pair in the dim early morning. This didn’t always happen successfully, but that’s a story for another day. I haven’t even mentioned the traffic!

No matter how much I liked my jobs — the work was very interesting and I had excellent colleagues many of whom are still friends — I could never manage being a morning person. And as for being a Monday morning person: are you kidding? Mayhem doesn’t come close.

Now, if there’s any mayhem on my Mondays, it happens in a good way: cheerful, empowering, fun. The fictional game of creating murder mysteries has many lovely advantages, quite aside from the ongoing game of wits with readers, the fun of playing with characters’ lives and the joy of dreaming up bizarre and dangerous scary experiences for them, not to mention bumping off people.

Here are my top ten reasons to love Mondays now:

· Working in my pajamas
· Drinking endless cups of coffee, made the way I like it
· Having the right – no, make that the obligation – to nap
· Enjoying the advantage of having my dogs cuddled up
· Getting paid for telling lies (oh the thrill!)
· The commute to my kitchen is less than a minute. No snow. Bare feet!
· Being able to bump off anyone who has annoyed me in even the smallest way (Hear that Mr. Big Shot in the Cadillac Escalade? You are toast)
· Reading two papers in the morning and having that count as research (yes, that includes comics and horoscopes because I make the rules)
· Talking out loud to myself and knowing it’s definitely in the job description
· Meeting the nicest people without leaving the house! You know who you are – friends, readers, former colleagues, cozy mystery lovers
· What’s not to love? Hey, my whole week is like that!

And as for you, gentle Monday reader: what’s the best or the worst about your Mondays? Are they filled with mayhem? Or are they marvelous? Don’t hold back.


Mary Jane Maffini rides herd on three (soon to be three and a half) mystery series and a couple of dozen short stories. Her thirteenth mystery novel, The Busy Woman’s Guide to Murder, which hit the bookshelves this spring, is brimming with names, no two the same.

CRIME ON MY MIND

Choosing a book...

What are you reading right now? And how did you choose it? If it's part of a series you're hooked on, that doesn't count. In particular, if it's the first time you've read that author...why that book?

'You can't tell a book by it's cover'. How many times have you heard that old gem? Well, often you can. Especially these days when many publishers try to convey the most amount of information about the book in as few details as possible. Too much on the cover and the reader's eye may move along the shelves. But, just the right combination of colours, the picture or drawing, and of course, the title will draw the reader to reach out and choose that book. For an initial read of the jacket, at least.

So then it's up to the cover blurb which, if the reader's hooked, leads to the reading of the first paragraph. Pass that final test, and a sale is made. Of course, there are variations to this pattern. But often it's the cover that makes the first impression.

So, before this 'first sight' stage, what brings the reader to your spot on the bookshelf? Reviews in the newspaper and magazines, on-line blogs and websites such as Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter...any place there might be a mention of the title and author.

This all works. But I believe the best marketing tool is word of mouth. A friend recommends a book, you'll probably read it, if you know your tastes are similar. The librarian at your local branch suggests a title; your local bookseller is excited about a book; someone in your book club mentions what they've just bought. It all makes an impression.

Even seeing a book on someone's table makes an impression. And if you see that title enough times, even without the persuasiveness of a voice, then connect that title to that book you're eyeing in the bookstore...a sale is made. Seven times is what it takes, the marketing experts tell us. That could be a combination of recommendation, review, Twitter, park bench...you get the picture.

What does this mean to authors? Perhaps nothing more than to get your mentions in (or out)whenever possible. Which is what we do, with signings, workshops, at conferences, speaking to book clubs, Facebook sites, review copies, bookmarks and so much more.

Think about that book you're reading. What made you choose it?


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

LADIES' KILLING THURSDAYS

Lazy, Hazy Days…

Summer has arived! A time for relaxing outside in the most comfortable chair you own, with a glass of something chilled at your elbow and a good book in your hand. You may or may not be asleep.

My most cherished reading place is a Muskoka chair on the dock at my cottage. I listen to the lapping of the water against the shore and the call of the loons out on the bay. Besides a nice cold drink, I usually have my binoculars at my side so that I can check out that bird or that odd shape in the water. Sometimes it’s a beaver, sometimes a turtle wondering if it’s warm enough to sun. Hours go by when I don’t get a whole lot of reading done, or writing for that matter. But isn’t that the best kind of reading in the summertime? Languid, lazy, reveling in the words and the scenes?

There are drawbacks. This weekend I set down Vicki Delany’s Among the Departed on my chair and went up in search of lunch. As usual, a few things distracted me and when I went back to the dock, there was no sign of the book. I decided I must have brought it up with me, so spent some fruitless moments looking around the cottage before returning to the shore. I remembered quite a wind had come up at noon. Here my trusty binoculars came in handy. I searched the shoreline until I spotted something white floating just below the surface of my neighbour’s dock. Sure enough. I fished it out, stepped on it to squeeze as much water out of it as possible, and laid it out to dry. By then it resembled an Elizabeth George tome. I have managed to finish it, but it was a wet experience. Luckily, well worth it! I couldn’t turn the soggy pages fast enough.

I don’t get nearly enough time to read, and with three books currently on the go, two of which have deadlines, I can see my summer flying by without much chance to read all the books I want to. But I thought I’d share the list, in no particular order…

A Busy Woman’s Guide to Murder, by Mary Jane Maffini. I am actually half way through this lively book, having brought it to Bloody Words in Victoria, but it accidentally found its way into Vicki Delany’s car for the return trip home, so I will have to wait until Vicki and I connect. Busy Woman is the quintessential summer read. Light and fast-paced, full of wit and zany characters.

Death of a Lesser Man by Thomas Rendell Curran. A historical police procedural set in 1947 Newfoundland, with a strong sense of the people, place and times. This is Tom’s long-awaited third book in a great series.

The Witch of Babylon by Dorothy McIntosh. I'm very excited to read this debut novel which combines history, an exotic setting and a touch of witchcraft. Perfect for a hot summer night.

Crime Machine by Giles Blunt. Another wonderfully atmospheric police procedural in Giles’ John Cardinal series, set in fictionalized North Bay. It too has also been a long time coming..

Some Welcome Home by Sharon Wildwind. I’m really looking forward to this first in Sharon’s series about a Vietnam War nurse veteran. I met Sharon finally in person at Bloody Words, and immediately bought the first in the series.

Illegally Dead by Joan Donaldson-Yarmey. I picked this book from a selection of Alberta books offered by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts at Bloody Words. I am looking forward to learning about a brand new (to me) author; reading about the gorgeous scenery of the Crow’s Nest Pass is a bonus!

The Sentamentalist by Johanna Skibsrud. Okay, I had to have at least one book on my list that was not a Canadian mystery. I bought this one earlier in the spring when it won the Giller Prize, and since there have been differing reactions to it, I’m eager to read it for myself.

This is my short list. I also have a long list, which I may not get to at all this summer. It includes the latest from Peter Robinson (Bad Boy), Louise Penny (Bury Your Dead), Maureen Jennings (Season of Darkness, due out in August) and Kate Atkinson (Started Early; Took my Dog).

What is your favourite summer reading place, and what’s on your short list?



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

WICKED WEDNESDAYS

Research, research and then, more research...

Write what you know or know what you write? If you have no choice & it has to be the second option, then research is the answer. Of course, all writers are aware of that fact. Even if you know a topic, there's still something to be learned and then woven into your story.

But if you're setting your mystery in a location, either fictional or real, where you've never traveled, this could be tricky. If you can visit the place, by all means do so. That's the best way to get both a visual and more subtle feel for it. The intangibles, such as how people treat each other, the fragrant smell of a flowering shrub, the angle of the sun in early evening...you can read about these things but once you've experienced them, it will be evident in your writing about them.

If it's a fictional town, I recommend modeling it on a real one. Someplace nearby that you can visit. A town that looks like and feels like the place you're writing about. Then change the street names, the flowers and shrubs (if you're in a totally different growing zone), and of course, the name of the town.

If it's a real place but you can't get there, take heart. Mystery novelist John Spencer Hill who wrote in the mid-1990's, set his two Detective Carlo Arbati novels in Florence, Italy. John, who lived in Ottawa, admitted he had never visited Florence. But you'd never guess that when reading The Last Castrato and Ghirlandaio's Daughter. Of course, I've never visited it either but when reading the books, I felt transported to Florence and that's what mattered. He did it by reading books about and set in Florence, and using a map. I'm sure he had other methods, too but this was before such things as Google Earth, Streetscape, and the wealth of research information available via the Internet. (Sadly, John died before being able to finish his third novel in the series.)

Google also offers wonderful photo albums, such as house styles (I used it for antibellum mansions) and reference pages with images of foliage.

Besides the vast array of information using the Internet, there are bound to be numerous books about the area in question. Your public library is a good source for these reference books and even fiction novels set in your chosen part of the world.I also borrowed a workbook with CD for actors which taught southern dialects. It helps me when creating dialogue to hear that southern lilt in my head.

If you're a member, the CAA is a great source for maps and their popular Tour Books. And, don't forget to use DVDs. Here again, they offer visual and audio cues that help in building your location.

And, don't forget to ask. If you know someone who lives in that region, or can find a friend of a friend...don't hesitate to ask for help. You'll probably find they're dying to talk about their towns.

I'm sure there are a lot of other methods for writers doing research. What have you found useful in research locations?


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