Double Life: Sheila Connolly & Sarah Atwell

Interviewed by Sandra Parshall

Sheila Connolly, aka Sarah Atwell, was an art historian, investment banker, nonprofit fundraiser, and professional genealogist before she became a mystery writer. She does her writing in a Victorian house in Massachusetts, not far from Cape Cod, and shares her life with a husband, a daughter, and three cats. This month she debuts with Through a Glass Deadly, first in the Glassblower Mysteries series from Berkley Prime Crime, which she wrote as Sarah Atwell. In August she kicks off the Orchard Mysteries with One Bad Apple, written as Sheila Connolly.

Q. You sold two mystery series to Berkley at the same time. How did that come about? How long had you been writing before you sold these two series?

A. I had been writing for two years before I snagged an agent. Unfortunately he was not a very good agent, but I was new to writing and what did I know? It took me two years to cut the ties with him, and then I started the agent search once again. Since I was writing mysteries (leaning more toward suspense in those days), Jacky Sach at BookEnds was one of my dream agents. I submitted several queries to BookEnds over a year or two, and all were rejected. And then one of the SASEs came back empty.

I went to high school in New Jersey, so I recognized the postmark, and made the brilliant deduction that the envelope had come from BookEnds. I sent a polite e-mail asking for confirmation that it had once contained yet another rejection, and Jacky got back to me quickly. Yes, it was a rejection, but she liked my voice and asked if I would be interested in writing a series for Berkley Prime Crime. She sent me the editor's "bible" (a brief description of the characters and the set-up) and I loved it–an independent, forty-something woman with a fascinating craft and her own business. I wrote three chapters and shipped them off. Jacky loved it; the editor loved it. Presto: The Glassblower Series.

I'm not sure I had even submitted the first book in that series when, with incredible arrogance, I told Jacky that I thought I could handle two series at a time. Luckily she didn't laugh at me. We kicked around some ideas and came back to the book she had originally turned down, which was about a woman who finds herself out of a job and a relationship, and decides to open a B&B in an old house in western Massachusetts. I loved the setting and the characters, but Jacky thought the B&B hook had been overused, and besides, there was this ghost in it. I sent the ghost back to wherever she came from, and started thinking what else was appropriate to the region and hadn't been done to death, and "apples" popped into my head. Jacky liked the idea and tried it out on the rest of the BookEnds agents, and they agreed, so we submitted a package (three chapters, a synopsis, and suggestions for the next two books in the series) and it sold to the same editor at Berkley seven months after the first sale.


Q. How much time do you have to write each book? What kind of writing schedule have you established for yourself – and is it working?


A. The interval varies. We've tried to keep the two series staggered, but sometimes the publisher has other ideas. For instance, the next orchard book is due on July 1, and the next glassblower book is due on September 1. No, I'm not panicking. I completed something like 16 books before I sold anything, which comes out to about three a year–the number is a little fuzzy because I kept revising books.

Of course, I'm still learning about editorial revisions and copyedits and galleys, etc., and it's hard to know how much time they will call for. Then my first editor moved on to another job a few months ago and handed me off to a different editor (who is wonderful), so I ended up doing two rounds of edits for the same book.

In terms of day-to-day work, I'm at my computer by eight most mornings, spend an hour or two clearing e-mails and reading blogs and generally taking care of business, and then dig into the WIP. Although when I started writing I worked on as many as three books at once, now I find I like to focus on one at a time, start to finish, although that's not always possible. I take a very quick break for lunch, then I'm back at the laptop. I do find my "creative" brain shuts down mid-afternoon. But I do this seven days a week, unless life intervenes. Fresh air, sunshine, and human contact can in fact be good for the creative process.


Q. The first book has just been published. How do you plan to promote it without cutting into your writing time?

A. I earned an MBA a couple of decades ago, and you'd think that would make marketing and promotion easy. Wrong! My degree is in finance, so I'm much better prepared to analyze how much money I've spent on promotion, and my expected return on investment.

I've collected a lot of excellent suggestions from other writers as I learned the ropes–and I belong to more than thirty loops as well as multiple real and virtual writing organizations, and I read plenty of blogs. My overall impression is, do what you can without breaking the bank (or losing your sanity), and do what you enjoy. And pace yourself. It's easy to get caught up in either writing or promotion at the expense of the other, and you need to find a balance that works for you. I'm still hunting for that. I like to attend conferences, I blog, I manage a contest for an on-line RWA chapter, and I plan to use all the alumnae and social organizations and craft-based resources I can identify. But the most important part is having a major publisher who can get my books on the shelves, and I've been very lucky with that.

I'm not sure signings are the best way to go, or at least, not a slew of them. My Berkley publicist recommends doing one or two regional (and well publicized) signings and making sure all your local contacts, friends and family know about them. I love independent bookstores, so I would be happy to offer my presence there, if they're willing, and will certainly sign stock wherever they will let me. And I would expect to tap both bookstores and libraries in the areas my series are set–Tucson (which has an excellent small mystery bookstore) and western Massachusetts.


Q. How are your two series protagonists alike? How do they differ? Do you find yourself getting ideas for one while trying to write about the other?


A. My protagonists are definitely different, and I want to keep them that way–that's one reason for not jumping back and forth between the books in the series. I love Em Dowell, my glassblower–she's written in first person, and she's got a sharp tongue and a warm heart. She doesn't take guff from anyone, whether it's her sometimes love interest, police chief Matt Lundgren, or the Chicago thugs who threaten her.

On the other hand, Meg Corey, my orchard owner, starts out bewildered by much of what has happened to her (not least, finding a body), and she's trying to come to terms with an unexpected new life. She surprises herself when she decides to commit to living in a small town and making the orchard pay, even though she knows nothing about growing things. I'm enjoying watching her develop her hidden talents.

I'd have to say that Meg is probably more like me, but Em gets to let loose all those zingers I wish I had the nerve to say. I see them both as women who are fighting to define their place in the world, and who have plenty of room to grow.


Q. How did you research glassblowing?


A. I've actually been fascinated by glassblowing for years, which is one reason I jumped at the chance to write that series. I live near two long-established glass centers, Pairpoint Glass and the Sandwich Glass Museum, so of course I made a beeline to those, found a woman glassblower, and asked all sorts of questions. And then I had to try it for myself, so I took a class. I've gotten to know some of the smaller shops around where I live, and all the artisans are very dedicated people, always experimenting and stretching themselves to try new things. It's a privilege to watch them. It's a very timeless craft.


Q. You’re publishing the Glassblower Mysteries under a pseudonym and the Orchard Mysteries under your real name. Will you promote both series at the same time, using both names, or will each booksigning focus on only one series?

A. My agent made a point of including in my Sarah Atwell contract the right to acknowledge and promote both names, singly or together. But each series offers different promotional opportunities. For the Glassblower Mysteries, I can tap into the crafts angle (and I'm hoping some of the local glassmaking institutions will carry the books); for the Orchard Mysteries I can build on the genealogy background, as well as harvest fairs and apple-related events (it's no accident that One Bad Apple is coming out in August, when apple-picking starts).

Q. Before you turned to writing full-time, you had several very different jobs. Did any of them prepare you for being a novelist?

A. Absolutely, although I didn't know it at the time. I worked as a non-profit fundraiser for many years, which involved writing grant proposals–which are often creative fiction! I also worked as a professional genealogist, both for an institution and as a private contractor, and that sharpened my research skills (as well as providing all sorts of interesting story ideas). Genealogy is always a mystery, and sometimes the best way to tease out a fact is to approach it obliquely or indirectly. That's very useful training for a mystery writer.

Q. What are you looking forward to most eagerly as a published writer? Is there anything you’re apprehensive about?

A. The fame, the glory, the adoring crowds, the wealth... No, I'm not that naive. Since I've loved books all my life, I feel incredibly privileged to have produced one (and then more than one) myself. My books are going to be sitting on a bookshelf next to those of writers I've admired for decades. I share a publisher with Agatha Christie!

And I do relish those moments when people ask, "What do you do?" and I can say, “I'm a mystery writer,” and watch their eyes light up.


Q. What aspect(s) of writing craft have you struggled with? What comes most easily to you?

A. I am extremely lucky that I write quickly. I know there are people who agonize over every word, and get hung up on getting a single paragraph or chapter just right before they can move on. I'm more the Nora Roberts school: produce a vomit draft. You can pretty it up later, but get it down on paper (or screen) first. I don't even hate editing (except maybe the third or fourth time I have to massage one manuscript and I can't remember what I wanted to say any more).

Q. Are you in a critique group – and if so, do you plan to continue working with critique partners after you’re published?

I have belonged to more than one online critique group. One fell apart quickly because our styles didn't mesh. The next one held together for over a year, and even survived some cast changes. It too finally petered out, but I'm still in touch with one member and we swap material. I also have one or two other people who I can turn to for a reality check: Is this working? What's missing here? Would this character do this? And we exchange, which is important. I don't see stopping that, because it's too easy to lose perspective when you're writing, and you need an objective outside eye, and especially someone who can be honest with you.


Q. You’re a member of the Guppies Chapter of Sisters in Crime. How has the group helped you?

A. The Guppies are wonderful. Writing is a solitary occupation, and you spend a lot of time alone, and in your head. And once you get those words out, there's the whole depressing process of submitting to agents and editors and getting shot down, over and over, and most of the time you don't even know why. The Guppies are incredibly supportive, and that's important. We all need cheerleaders who understand what we're going through.


Q. What advice do you have for writers who are still struggling to break into print?

A. Believe in yourself, and don't give up. Getting published is hard. Rejection is a big part of the process, and not everyone can handle that. You have to have faith in yourself and what you're doing. You have to keep writing, because even if you can't see it, you're getting better. And don't take all the advice that's thrown at you. Pay attention to what other writers, agents, editors say, and take from them what makes sense to you. And for goodness sake, enjoy the process!

For more information, visit www.sheilaconnolly.com and www.sarahatwellwriter.com

How Long Can You Go?

Sharon Wildwind

Okay, so that title sounds like the subject line of less-than-desirable e-mail. Don’t worry, there’s nothing intimate or the least bit risque in this blog.

I’m talking about making a commitment or forming a new habit. How long can you keep a promise to yourself?

Have you encountered the colored-silicone-bracelet syndrome yet? Originally designed to promote awareness and support of causes, these bright, soft wristbands have found a new life as part of behavior-modification theory.

Part of that theory is that it takes 21 days to establish a new habit. You put the bracelet on your right wrist, and every time you do something you’re not supposed to do—smoke, swear, make a negative remark at work—you switch the bracelet to the other wrist.

The first goal is to keep the bracelet on one wrist for a set amount of time. It might be five minutes or half an hour, or a whole day, whatever you think you can achieve. The next goal is to double the original time. When you’ve been consistently successful for half an hour, now can you do it for an hour? The ultimate goal is to keep the bracelet on the same wrist for 21 days, the theory being that by the time you’ve done that, you have established a new habit.

Once upon a time a few years ago, I hit a stretch where, between my day job and my writing job, I had a full-day commitment for 16 days in a row. Let me tell you, I was not looking forward to those days. Fortunately, at the same time, I was reading a marvelous book about making very tiny quilt squares. So, I promised myself I would make one quilt square every day for 16 days.

The rules I set for myself were simple: each square had to be 3” on a side; I could use a pattern from the book I was reading or make up my own pattern, but each square had to be different. No cheating and making easy 4-block squares day after day; and finally, I had to finish one square a day. Even if I was sick, or tired, of lacked motivation, I couldn’t let a day slide by and make two squares the next day.

Actually, knowing that there were small bits of colored cloth waiting for me each day made the days go quickly. Some days I did the square first thing in the morning, and that energized me. Sometimes I did it last thing at night, and that relaxed me. Following all of my self-imposed rules, I finished the 16 squares, and eventually—about a year later—put them together into a mini quilt.

As writers, all of us have a “should” list a mile long. Things we really want to do, things we really intend to do, just as soon as we get around to it. So, here’s my tiny contribution to helping you get one thing off that list.

Pick something small—let me emphasize this again: small—from your should list and make up some simple rules about what you’re going to do (or not do) for 21 days in a row. Send me an e-mail with what you plan to do and the date you plan to start and end. My address is in my profile: click on my name under “About Us,” then on “e-mail.” After that, you’re on the honor system.

I’ll check back with you after the 21 days are up. If you’ve kept up the struggle for 21 days, I’ll send you a tiny hand-made box or bag to celebrate your faithfulness to yourself.

So, here's my commitment. I've been woefully slack about reading the mystery journals to which I subscribe. So everyday, beginning today, March 11, and running until March 31, I'm going to read one article out of a journal every day.

Keep that spirit going!
_____
Writing quote for the week:

I look at the writer's journey as a three-part-trip: the struggle to write, the struggle to be heard, the struggle to survive. Each is a mighty battle, unless the writer’s luck is on constant overdrive.
~John Dunning, mystery writer

Mystery Writer Jess Lourey On Left Coast Crime and The Funniest Movie Ever

an interview with Julia Buckley

Hey, Jess! Thanks for being our reporter on the spot at Left Coast Crime. How did you enjoy Denver?

Best conference I’ve ever been to. There were some glitches getting registration set up at the beginning, but it all came together. I give a hats off to Christine Goff and Suzanne Proulx, the organizers. The panels were well-organized, the attendance was strong, and the food was delicious!

You were nominated for a Lefty for your book KNEE HIGH BY THE FOURTH OF JULY. I was chatting with Bill Cameron last week, and he said being nominated for a Rocky has made him quite egotistical. Are you suffering from that malady, too? :)

I am. My head’s as big as a car. In fact, I ran into Bill at the conference, and we got into a fight like Godzilla and Rodan until we remembered that we were up for different awards. Sadly, neither Tim Maleeny nor Bill won the Rocky, though both wrote page-turners. I was proud to lose the Lefty to Elaine Viets, the charming toastmaster of the conference and an all-round hilarious person.

What was the most surprising thing about LCC?

How friendly the people are. Actually, that’s probably not surprising for anyone who’s attended a mystery conference before because the mystery community is incredibly welcoming. At LCC, I met a married couple from outside of Denver who had read about the con in a paper and registered on a whim. They were going to meet up for drinks with some of their favorite authors later that afternoon. They were thrilled! Where else can you hang out with authors and pick their brains like that?

That's pretty cool. What were some fun panels that you attended at the convention?

I enjoyed my own panel, “Dying is easy: comedy is hard,” because Mario Acevedo was a hilarious moderator who shared his plan for world domination through mystery writing (he’s .000001% of the way there). Deb Baker, Terri Thayer, and Rita Lakin’s panel on cozies was notable for the engaging personalities of the presenters.

On Carl Brookins’ suggestion, there were also “Endless Conversations,” very informal give-and-take sessions between pre-published authors, published authors, and fans that took place all day long. They were a great deal of fun because you got to hear a variety of stories and interact with the audience more.

The all-round most best panel, hands down, was RT Lawton’s Surveillance panel. Those who attended got a 45-minute lesson on trailing spies on foot. Then, in groups of three, we were assigned a “rabbit” to tail for 45 minutes in a 5 x 5 block radius of downtown Denver. Our rabbits went into and out of stores and elevators in an effort to lose us. They didn’t know right away who was assigned to tail them, but they found out pretty quickly because we were so inept. My group’s rabbit lost us in a store and came out the other side wearing entirely different clothes with a wig, sunglasses, and a fake baby strapped to her. It was a blast! The goal was to take a picture of the rabbits making an “exchange.”
















Some of the "rabbits" included, at left: Marcus Sakey, Michelle Gagnon, and Jason Starr.

That sounds hilarious!

You’re a mom and a teacher, but you also carve out time to write mysteries and attend conferences. How do you do it? Do you take Geritol every day?

I think I might have overextended myself on this one. I lost my voice on Friday and am down to just a squeak today. I hope my virus doesn’t sweep the mystery community like a, uh, virus. If there are no short stories or new articles in Crimespree this week, you’ll know it’s my fault. Typhoid Jessie.

Your book AUGUST MOON comes out soon; are you writing a fifth Murder by the Month mystery?

My plan is to write September Mourn, the fifth in the series, this summer, and it’s slated for a fall 2009 release. In the meantime, I’m writing a historical fiction novel about a Lakota girl forced into a boarding school in 1903 South Dakota. Most days, I’m pretty sure I’m in over my head on this one, but the research has been rewarding, and the story is important.

Do you ever find time to read for pleasure? If so, what’s been the best book you’ve read recently?

It’s embarrassing, but I don’t have much pleasure-reading time during the school year. I’ve got Sherman Alexie’s Reservation Blues on my TBR pile and need to make time for it. The best book I’ve read recently is William Kent Krueger’s Thunder Bay, which one the IMBA Dilys Award at LCC. That guy can’t write a bad book.

When do you do your writing? Are you a morning or an evening person?

I might be an early morning person but I’m always sleeping then so I can’t be sure. I’m most comfortable writing when it’s dark out, I think because then I don’t feel guilty. My mom always said my sister and I needed to be outside doing something when it was sunny, and that has stuck in my psyche. Writing when it’s nice and bright outside seems somehow slothful and decadent.

Here in Chicago it is still under 20 degrees; I’m guessing that in your home state of Minnesota it might be colder than that—how was Colorado, temperature-wise?

Denver, Colorado, had the weather of a full month in Minnesota squished into one day. You’d step out the hotel in the morning with a winter jacket and hat on, and by lunchtime, it’d be so warm you’d have lunch outside. There was no snow on the ground, which surprised me.

Now that you’ve been reunited with home and hearth, how will you spend your down time?

I just got home around 45 minutes ago and knew I had to email you first thing. Probably I should next check my work email to see if there are any student fires to put out. Then, sleep. But remember that you’re always my priority, Julia. :)

Good to know. :)

Now, on to new things: Spring is coming! Do you have plans for spring break?

Alas, last week was my spring break, but I think I used it wisely. I made wonderful new friends, met supportive fans, and all-round enjoyed myself.

What’s your favorite spring flower?

Lilacs, lilacs, lilacs. They’re my favorite flower period. They might be a bush, though. Can something be both a flower and a bush? Hmmm. What’s yours?

I love lilacs too, and peonies. And of course the beautiful crocuses that nose out first, even while there's still snow on the earth.

Now that you’ve published four books, I’m curious to know if you’ve been contacted by anyone from your past who wanted to get reacquainted? If not, what’s the most interesting bit of fan mail you’ve received?

That’s funny you should ask. After May Day came out, I received emails from a handful of people I went to high school with, and that was fun because although I look like a grown-up, I don’t usually feel like one, and it’s fun to connect with your past like that. I still get a sprinkling of those with each new book, but not as many as I first did.

Your writing is very humorous, so I’m guessing you enjoy humor. Who is A) your favorite comedian? B) the funniest movie in the world C) a novel that makes you laugh out loud when you read it?

You are the best interviewer out there, Julia Buckley! You’ve always got fun but pithy questions. OK. My favorite comedian is Steve Martin, who I’ve had a crush on since I was nine but who I hear is cranky in real life. The funniest movie in the world is Spinal Tap. I’m still looking for that novel that makes me laugh out loud. I’m a fan of Hiaasen and Evanovich, but they’ve never gotten audio responses from me. How about the readers of Poe’s Deadly Daughters? What should I be reading to make me snort?

We'll have to wait and see what those readers say!

Meanwhile, how can readers find out more about the fun (and Lefty-nominated) Jess Lourey?

I’d be honored if anyone’s interested. My website is www.jesslourey.com, and I contribute monthly to the fabulously eclectic Midnight Ink blog. Thanks for the interview, Julia!

Thanks, Jess, for chatting with us on Poe’s Deadly Daughters!

ATTENTION TO ALL WHO ENTERED LONNIE CRUSE'S CONTEST: Mary Beth T. won a free signed copy of Lonnie's book! Lonnie would also like to send a free signed copy of Fifty-Seven Heaven to Kattryn Lilley and Marlyn (last name not listed)--if both will contact Lonnie at nevada1943@yahoo.com with a mailing address. Thanks!

Old Navy: A Battle Cry, Not a Brand Name

Roger Lee Crossland (Guest Blogger)

Retired Captain Roger Lee Crossland is the author of the historical mystery Jade Rooster. Captain Crossland served as a SEAL officer in Vietnam in 1971. In 2002, he was mobilized for duty with Naval Special Warfare Group One in Southwest and Central Asia as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. In civilian life he is a trial lawyer. Captain Crossland says he isn’t old Navy, he just looks that way.

Periodically I see ads for Old Navy ™ clothing on TV, and I bridle. The clothing line has nothing to do with either the Navy, or indeed, anything to do with anything old. The Old Navy label doesn’t even sport an anchor. There isn’t a hint of nostalgia for a phrase that should convey the message of hardened men in hard times, packed in close quarters molded around ordnance and power plants and fighting the forces of nature as well as human forces in faraway places. I suppose I am being thin-skinned, but that brand name just rubs me the wrong way.

The true “old Navy” of the United States began with the publication of Seapower by Alfred Thayer Mahan in 1890. The Navy had been dwindling after the Civil War until this influential book helped the American public understand why the United States Navy existed. The old Navy, as the term is used in the Navy, began with what is now called the Naval Renaissance, the turnabout period for the United States Navy at the end of the 19th Century and the beginning of the 20th Century.

This past December marked the sixty-sixth anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. It also marked one of the high points of the Naval Renaissance. December also marked the centennial of the Great White Fleet’s cruise around the world, which told the World the old Navy was a global force. The American response after Pearl Harbor demonstrated the terrible power of that particular global force.

At the turn of the century, navies were on everyone’s mind. Rarely was the United States Navy the focus of so much public attention. Every boy had a sailor suit and every girl a “middie” blouse. Far Eastern school uniforms were patterned after naval uniforms, the symbol of progress. Grocery stores sold hot items that displayed the image of a sailor to attract customers, products such as Crackerjacks™ and Sailor Boy Oysters™. Children all around the world played with tinplate dreadnaughts.

The ships of the era, hardly toys, were the greatest mobile convergence of technology of the time and steel magic carpets to exotic places. A ship held all the cutting edge technology then known…from electricity to ordnance to steel technology to propulsion to communications to navigation to optics. If you wanted to go anywhere far away, you went by ship. People in the jet age don’t appreciate that. Business men and women today hop on airplanes to Katmandu and it is considered no great accomplishment. At the turn of the century, sailors were the ones who went to the farthest, strangest places and met the most fascinating people.

Warships especially were on the cutting edge. Recruiting posters of the period oozed adventure and displayed sailors with parrots perched on their shoulders or walking next to llamas. Actors like Randolph Scott and Fred Astaire captured the popular imagination in naval uniform, in bellbottom trousers. The United States then extended from coast to coast, so “adventure,” as defined by writers such as Richard Harding Davis, took place outside American borders. A sailor was truly someone special, an adventurer who patrolled the frontiers of the known world, akin to a modern day astronaut with just a tad less theoretical education.

Today we talk of the clash of cultures. This clash is hardly a new phenomenon and actually was part of the allure of the Navy. I set my historical novel, Jade Rooster in 1913, at the height of the Naval Renaissance period. The mystery involves the disappearance of a merchant barque and the discovery of four severed heads in a ship’s boat on the Yellow Sea. and the search for the barque. My story is set at the intersection of a complicated web of clashing cultures whose issues complicate the investigation.

The US and Japan are at odds. Even then, both countries sense the impending struggle for control of the Pacific. Japan is in the midst of a very brutal subjugation of Korea. The Koreans ask for American help, but coal is a very limiting fuel and the US cannot project its power that far. The US is pacifying the Philippines and fighting suicidal Moslem warriors, the Moros, a task that strains its resources.

Steam ships are in competition with sailing ships. Their crews training and routines were very different. Merchant marine sailors and naval warship sailors have little in common. Gritty black colliers are in constant conflict with pristine white warships. Coaling evolutions are dirty and required hours of loading, and worst still, require hours of cleaning. Colliers are the pariahs of the fleet. Warships hate to see colliers coming.

One of my favorite sequences in the book deals with this small clash of corporate cultures. The conflict between the crews of the protected cruiser Baltimore and the collier Pluto reaches a stage where the admiral directs them to work out their differences in a ship’s cutter competition. The rowing race is handled the way grown men engage in competition. No rules and no quarter.

The term “old Navy” has meaning to me. It is a battle cry that harkens to another time, a time of conflict and courage. If I wore the words “old Navy” on the label on the collar of my shirt, the hair on my neck would stand on end. Who knows what dangerous spirits it might invoke from the deep?

Quick rule change . . . hey, it's my post, my rules, or lack thereof . . .

By Lonnie Cruse (twice in one day?)

Okay, it occured to me after I posted my blog post early this morning with the contest for the tenth commenter (see below, I'm not your basic morning person, if you haven't guessed) that no one would want to post a comment at all, IF they could only post once because nobody wanted to be first. So far we have seven posts. Tenth comment still wins, but you may now comment more than once. Soooo, IF you want to try to win a copy of my book, free, autographed, read the blog post BELOW, make a comment THERE, and may the best commenter win.

And I'll add a second prize. In the comment section under THIS post, tell me a quick story about anything you remember from the 1950's (assuming you are old enough to be alive then) and the winner here will get the second prize, a signed copy of my book. You have all weekend to work on this and I'll anounce the winners next week, or ask Julia to post names on her day, Monday, along with her usual post. There will be someone blogging here tomorrow, but you can still post comments to mine after reading theirs. Make any sense? I was afraid of that. If anyone understands THIS post, I'll send you a free PDD bookmark.

Let 'er rip!

Anchors Away - Aweigh - A-???

By Lonnie Cruse


Though my book has been out since December, I'm *officially* launching it Saturday week, (March 15th 2-4 PM, Metropolis Public Library, 313 Metropolis Street, and in case you want to fly in for this event, the nearest airport is over in Paducah and I'll send someone to pick you up!) Where was I? Launching a book.

The library is providing cookies and I'm bringing Coke floats. Anyone wearing something from the Fifties is entered in a contest, winner taking home a free signed copy of the book. So why here, and why now? Here, because the Metropolis Public Library has always been VERY supportive of my books. And the meeting room downstairs is lovely. And I think the librarians are the greatest. Did I mention how supportive they are?

Why now? Because it's March and all threat of bad winter weather is past. NOT! Today we expect two grandchildren and four inches of snow. Hubby is about to hunt up the sled, in case. Hopefully NEXT week will be better. If not, bring snowshoes and maybe we'll make snow cream instead of Coke floats. Whatever.

Writing a book is tough. Can I do this? Will anyone publish it? Read it? Like it? Launching is worse. Will anyone come? Buy the book? Like it? Yes, I'll take some cheese with my whine.

Apparently publishing is getting harder and harder. Fewer people reading every year. Fewer books sold. And that, of course, trickles down to writers. More people seem to be writing and hustling to get published. So competition for readers is stiffer. Sometimes we think about giving up. Surprise you? Me, too. But mostly we keep on writing. And hustling. And worrying. And hoping. And serving things like cookies and Coke floats.

Meanwhile, I'm thirsty. Think I'll just do a test run of a Coke float. Just to be sure I remember how to make them. Hopefully, it will bring good luck. Coke floats were lucky for me 47 years ago when I met Hubby at the Blue Onion drive-in in Las Vegas. You just never know.

Okay, let's make this interesting. Tenth person to leave a comment to this post wins a free signed copy of Fifty-Seven Heaven. And you can't post more than once. Any takers? I'd include a Coke float, but you know how fussy the USPS is about liquids.

Reading for Romance

Elizabeth Zelvin

I don’t write romance, but I read for it. No, I’m not confessing to a secret taste for bodice rippers. I read mostly mystery and some carefully chosen fantasy, SF, and historical novels. But what most of my favorites have in common, regardless of genre, is fully realized, endearing characters and meaningful relationships, especially though not exclusively romantic ones.

Looking first at my favorite mystery series, let’s take Marcia Muller’s Sharon McCone books. I love Sharon, but I’ve never fully bought her relationship, now marriage, with Hy Ripinsky. My pick among those books is Broken Promise Land, when Sharon’s assistant, Rae Kelleher, falls in love with Sharon’s brother-in-law, country star Ricky Savage. Some of it is told from Rae’s point of view, and for me it evokes that achingly emotional phenomenon, falling in love. Now let’s take Margaret Maron’s Judge Deborah Knott series. Like Sharon, Deborah makes a series of wrong choices before she finds a keeper. In her case, it’s a guy she’s known her whole life, Deputy Sheriff Dwight Bryant. And what a delicious twist it is that she lets her inner pragmatist insist she’s settling for a marriage of convenience, while Dwight conceals the fact that he’s been in love with her for years.

Sometimes an author fails to allow romance to triumph or draws the suspense out to my increasing frustration. I don’t think I’ve ever quite forgiven P.D. James for not letting Adam Dalgliesh get together with Cordelia Gray. And I wanted to shake Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, or perhaps her protagonist, Detective Inspector Bill Slider, for several books in a row as he shirked breaking with his irritating wife and committing to his delightful girlfriend.

Several years on the mystery lovers’ e-list DorothyL have taught me that I share my tastes across genres with quite a few other mystery readers. Even the ever-vigilant list moderators will allow members to post about Dorothy Dunnett and Diana Gabaldon. Both write mysteries, but it’s their more popular series, in both cases historicals with just a touch of woo-woo, that are so darn good. Dunnett’s Francis Crawford of Lymond and Gabaldon’s Jamie Fraser both figured prominently in a hugely enjoyable discussion on the list of which fictional characters DLers would happily go to bed with.

Tellingly, the list included Lois McMaster Bujold’s Miles Vorkosigan, who’s a terrific character and as much of a superhero as Lymond and Jamie, but not sexy and gorgeous like them. Miles is only four feet tall with a big head and a condition something like brittle bone disease—but he’s such a great guy that readers were ready to jump his bones. Virtually, of course. And it probably helps that we know how good he is in bed. The Vorkosigan books are science fiction by genre, though they often contain a mystery. My favorite, A Civil Campaign, does not. It doesn’t need one to carry the story: it’s the perfect cross between space opera and comedy of manners. And the romance between Miles and Ekaterin is very satisfying indeed. Bujold dedicates the book to Jane (Austen), Charlotte (Bronte), Dorothy (Sayers), and Georgette (Heyer), and I think she does her sources of inspiration proud.

Considering my tastes, you’d think I’d have a romance in my mystery, Death Will Get You Sober. But I don’t. My protagonist Bruce is too busy getting sober to fall in love, though he goes to bed once each with his ex-wife (whom readers will learn more about in a future book) and a witness. And if he did, both his sponsor and his best friend Jimmy would remind him that AA wisdom suggests no new relationships in the first year of sobriety. Bruce is one of those characters whose perch on the author’s shoulder is the driver’s seat. He won’t be hurried, and I can’t force him. In the second book, he has a romantic interlude, but it’s transitional for both partners. In the third, he’s attracted to a suspect, but it doesn’t work out. In book four, he meets someone who might become a girlfriend and a recurring character. But I don’t know for sure. He hasn’t told me yet.

So for now, I read for romance, but I don’t write it—yet.

My life as a star of ER... NOT!

by C.J. Lyons -- guest blogger

(C.J. Lyons, whose first medical thriller has just been published by Berkley, is a physician trained in Pediatric Emergency Medicine and has assisted police and prosecutors with cases involving child abuse, rape, homicide and Munchausen by Proxy. She has worked in numerous trauma centers as a crisis counselor and victim advocate, and as a flight physician for Life Flight. Publisher's Weekly proclaimed her debut novel, Lifelines, "a spot-on debut….a breathtakingly fast-paced medical thriller" and Romantic Times made it a Top Pick. Contact her at http://www.cjlyons.net.)

After spending 17+ years practicing pediatrics and pediatric emergency medicine, the most often asked questions I get aren't about how many lives I've saved (I don't know), how often I've been sued (never), or even why I went into medicine (a long story).

No, the questions I get asked over and over are: Is it really like on TV? And have you met George Clooney?

My answers are: no (thank god!) and no, but I sure wouldn't mind!

What's strange is that people don't believe real world ER medicine isn't like TV.

Yet, they assume that my novel, Lifelines (just published, yeah!!)—which IS as close as you can get to the real world of emergency medicine and still be entertaining, or at least as close as I can make it—has no relation to reality because it's "fiction."



When did TV become more believable than the characters we pour our blood, sweat and tears into?

Why would people want to think that a xenophobic drug addict with anti-social personality disorder and poor diagnostic skills (he makes three wrong diagnoses for every one he gets right!) like House is the way doctors are in real life?

Or that it's commonplace for attending physicians to seduce their 25 year old interns—grounds for dismissal, sanctions, and lawsuits in the real world—and there are no consequences?

Maybe they like to believe that us doctors really are ignoring our patients in order to have sex in the call rooms…and linen closets…and OR's, stairwells, rooftops, exam rooms, and wherever else those frisky Grey's Anatomy surgeons have done it.

Come to think of it, that would be a great incentive to go to work, knowing that these guys were ready and waiting to fulfill my every sexual fantasy and that I wouldn't have to worry about a pesky little thing called patient care to get in the way of my fun….

Then there's the most insidious TV misperception of all, one that seemed universally held by every patient who came to my ER. It's what I call the Burger King mentality—and I blame ER for creating it.

On ER, a patient arrives with a tummy ache and whoosh….thirty seconds later he's in a room, examined (without removing any clothes, these docs have x-ray vision!!!), a surgeon is found and lays eyes on him, proclaims him an appy ready to burst, and voila! An OR complete with staff, anesthesiologists, and equipment is ready for him. Right here, right now!

Talk about raising consumer expectations to an impossible level. This "have it my way, right away" mentality has grown to epidemic proportions.

Don't get me started…

So, here's the real scoop. Yes, scrubs are comfortable but they do tend to smell after you've been running around for 36 hours or more. Probably why, no, we don't get to have sex in the call rooms, stairwells, ORs or wherever. Actually, when you're working 36 on-12 off, you don't get to have much sex at all…

Yes, it's "cool" to see all the strange and wonderful things people do to themselves, like why for some reason, men always seem to change light bulbs in the nude and somehow fall on them, impaling them you-know-where….

No, it's not at all "cool" to see the reality of what people are capable of: murder, torture, rape, neglect, sheer indifference. Or the damage that a body can sustain: gunshot wounds, motor vehicle collisions, falls, stabbings, etc.

And if we need to blow off steam with a little gallows humor, it's not because we actually think it's funny or because we're jaded or callous—it's because if we didn't laugh, we'd be shutting ourselves in the supply closet and breaking down in tears, which wouldn't do our other patients much good.

Yes, we sometimes make mistakes (like House does on every show). No, we don't typically allow physicians go around disrupting everyone while popping pills.

Yes, working in the ER is fun and crazy and stressful and just about every other adjective in the dictionary.

And no, I still haven't met George Clooney—but if you see him, slip him a copy of Lifelines (on sale now!) and tell him to give me a call. Anytime. Day or night. Seriously.

For him, I'll find a clean pair of scrubs that make me look as sexy as those chicks on Grey's Anatomy….

Thanks for reading!

PS: I'm at Left Coast Crime this week, so grab me and say Hi!

Negative Space

Sharon Wildwind

Once upon a time—at least, I’ve heard stories about once upon a time—that there was a rhythm to being a writer.

That rhythm said:
Never submit a manuscript or look for an agent in August. Everyone in New York is out of town in August. As for December, close up and go home. Publish in May to catch the summer readers and in October for the Christmas market. Never, ever release a book in January. No one buys a book right after Christmas.

The seasonal rhythm of writing has vanished like the dodo bird. Finish a book on Tuesday; start writing the next book on Wednesday. Come home from a convention; get ready to go to the next convention. Submit a manuscript or hunt for an agent every day of the year, with the possible exception of Christmas Day itself. With electronic publishing, publish even on Christmas Day.

Yesterday, in a water color book, I came across this: It’s possible to paint an object by painting the spaces around it. The negative space becomes the thing itself.

The first writing negative space I encountered was in a class I took almost thirty years ago. We were required to keep a daily journal, writing down snippets of overheard dialog, descriptions of people or events; in short, anything that might make a good story. Only, we weren’t to grab our notebook and write these things down as they happened. The instructor asked us to wait a full twenty-four hours before committing to paper.

He said that beginning writers were often afraid to lose the moment. Fearful of not getting the dialog or the description exactly correct, we focused on immediate retrieval. He said that we needed to train our writer’s mind to do two things: first, to develop memory because there would be times that we simply couldn’t get to a notebook. Second, to let the thing we wanted to remember settle. If we couldn’t remember it after twenty-four hours, chances were what we thought so brilliant in the moment wouldn’t make a terrific story after all.

It wasn’t easy to wait. My fingers had this intense desire to scrabble in my backpack, pull out my journal and write. Sometimes I grieved over forgetting. If I’d only written it down yesterday . . .

But gradually, I came to realize the dimensions of what he was trying to teach us. There was a huge difference between things remembered in exact detail, and things remembered as fiction. For some experiences it mattered that I could recall the exact smell, the sight, the colors. For others, it was more important to remember the—gestalt, for lack of a better word—how I was moved by the thing rather than the exact details of the thing itself. Both had a place in writing, and learning how to do both made me a better writer.

I’m just beginning to learn a second lesson about negative space. If the business of writing has truly become a 24/7 occupation, and I believe that it has, then we, as writers, have the freedom to set our own seasons. Yes, there will always be deadlines, coming at us faster and harder, with none of this nonsense about taking August off or relaxing in December. But I truly believe that it will be the negative spaces with which we surround our work that will enable us to survive.

We have to develop a whole range of negative survival spaces. Five-minute vacations that we can take on a moment’s notice. Ways to shut off that nagging “What am I going to do about Elrod’s lack of motivation in Chapter 7?” long enough for Elrod to work out the answer for himself. Entire days off in which we restore, restock, replenish those creative gifts we have been given.
_____
Writing quote for the week:

It takes peace of mind and clarity to recognize and reorder meaningful, personal priorities . . . Many of us assume that we can continue to get along just by winging it indefinitely. We can't. We need an antidote for the hurried and harried lives that threaten to tear us apart.
~Sarah Ban Breathnach, author

Writer Bill Cameron On the World of Mystery and the Mysteries of the World

an interview with Julia Buckley

Bill Cameron is a mystery writer whose debut novel, Lost Dog, received accolades from readers and critics alike. He is also one of the writers in the Lee Child-edited Killer Year Anthology. I asked him to chat about his writing, his nature-watching, and his life in general.

Hi, Bill! It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was hanging out with you at the Madison Bouchercon. How did it get to be 2008?

Through the awful onslaught of inexorable time. Oh, the bitter cruelty the universe casts upon us! But, boy, Madison was sure fun, wasn’t it? We gotta do that again some time!

Okay. This is a very cool photo of you, and solidifies my image of you as a Thoreau-like individual. But is that a giant gun on your shoulder? Or are you a National Geographic photographer? Those are the only two choices.

Yes.

Okay, seriously, it’s my tripod and spotting scope. In that pic I have been caught in the act of attempting to find birds to watch, which turns out to be surprisingly difficult, owing to the fact that I am a giant, noisy, lumbering oaf. Still, I enjoy going out to the woods or getting down to the river bottoms in the early morning and seeing who’s hanging out.

I’d like to pretend like I am a skillful and knowledgeable birder. Sadly, this is a typical conversation between me and my wife Jill while out on the peek:

Jill: Honey, what kind of bird is that?
Me (leafing frantically through the Sibley’s Guide): Um, er, eh . . . it’s, um, brown.
Jill: You’re holding the book upside down.

Still, that picture makes me look like I know my business, doesn’t it? Please don’t tell anyone of the tragic reality.

Well, you've been outed now, because millions of people read this blog. :)

Your book, LOST DOG, came out last year. Has it been fun promoting it?

It has, though at times it’s been tough as well. I enjoy getting out and meeting readers, but because I’m probably more introverted than extroverted, I can usually only handle a little bit at a time.

I’m so much of a fan that even when I do meet readers, inevitably the conversation ranges to any number of books in addition to my own. I love to talk about books I’ve read and to make and receive recommendations. I’ve had appearances where I think I’ve sold more books by other people than by me.

This means you are humble, and that makes you loveable, like Underdog.

What’s the most excitement you ever experienced at a book signing?

The first time someone who wasn’t already a friend or family member came out specifically to see me was both thrilling and really humbling. The hope for any writer is surely to produce work that gets read, but so much of the publication process involves rejection that once you finally get something in print, it can almost be hard to believe anyone actually wants to read it. So when it turns out someone actually does, well, it’s just an incredible feeling.

I love the title of your book. It applies, naturally, to your character, Peter McKrall, and to a lost toy dog in the novel. But do you ever see yourself as a bit of a lost dog? In an existential sense?

Interesting question. The simple answer is yes, though it’s not really that simple. Certainly I draw on my own views and experiences in my writing, but I don’t want to imply the events of Lost Dog are in any way autobiographical. That said, one of the things that drives my work is an attempt to wrestle with my own demons. The pages of my stories become a place to come to grips with the world around me, with the things that trouble me, with the things I find important. So while the events of Lost Dog aren’t directly reflective of me or my own life, the themes are reflective of what I consider crucial.

LOST DOG is a finalist for the Rocky Award, and your short story in the much-lauded KILLER YEAR anthology was called “an irony-filled gem” by the Chicago TRIBUNE. Has the fame gone to your head? :)

Yes. I am insufferable. My wife makes me sleep on the back stoop, I’m so bad. But if I behave for a couple of days running, she lets me back in the house and gives me access to the coffee maker again.

What are you writing now?

I’m currently at work on my third novel, tentatively titled Blood Trail. I completed Chasing Smoke, the follow up to Lost Dog, last year—-my agent currently has it out on submission.

Though the three books are essentially standalones, they are each part of the same milieu and feature recurring characters. Skin Kadash, one of the detectives from Lost Dog, is the main character in Chasing Smoke. Ruby Jane also returns, along with a number of other folks, though Peter does not. In Blood Trail, the primary focus is on two new characters, a young car thief and a woman fleeing her abusive husband, though Skin is also a significant point-of-view character again.

These books are not a series per se, but I do think of them as a kind of thematic triptych. Lost Dog is about confronting loss, Chasing Smoke about acknowledging mortality, and Blood Trail about renewal. I admit the whole renewal thing could tarnish my modest noir cred, but Blood Trail is shaping up to be fairly harrowing.

Because these books don’t comprise a true series, it won’t really matter which order they’re read, or even if all are read, though I try to reward readers who start with Lost Dog and then go to the others in turn. All that said, I still don’t know what will happen in terms of publication of either of the new novels, but hopefully I’ll have good news soon.

In addition to my work on the novels, I’ve written a number of short stories during the last few months, something I hadn’t done for years before the opportunity to write a story for the Killer Year anthology came along. I’ve discovered a new love of the short form, and found myself producing a hardboiled, contemporary version of Rumpelstiltskin, a melancholy short short about puppy love, and a gritty revenge tale. So far, I don’t know what will happen with any of them, but they’re all out on submission to various publications.

Well, as you know, I'm a LOST DOG fan, and I'll be eager to read the next two. And now that you have used the word "triptych," I have even more respect for you. :)

You are, it would seem, the rugged and outdoorsy type. Are you ever called the Hemingway of Portland?

I’ve been called that guy who never gets out of the comfy chair at the coffee shop, and my wife calls me Silly Billy. Somehow I have a hard time picturing anyone referring to Hemingway as Silly Ernie.

Speaking of Portland, you do a lovely job of describing this city in your mystery. Have you received accolades about your gift for creating setting?

Accolades? Goodness gracious!

It has been very gratifying to hear from people who were struck by the sense of place in Lost Dog. I think of setting as almost another character, so I try to treat it as seriously and infuse with the same depth and richness as I would with the people in my stories. Of course, in Lost Dog, the particular Portland I show is colored by the perceptions of the characters through whom it’s seen. Peter’s outlook might suggest a drearier Portland than I actually see myself. In Chasing Smoke, Skin sees Portland rather differently. Both views are, I think, true to life, but both are necessarily incomplete, limited as they are to what the characters in question see.

Would you ever live somewhere other than Portland?

I love Portland, and have no plans to leave. But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t respond to the right opportunity if one came along. I love so many places. If money were no object, I’d probably keep apartments in New York and Paris (for fall and spring, respectively) and a nice beach house somewhere warm. But since reality insists on imposing its demands on life, I’m quite content with my little house here in Portland. It’s a great city, just big enough to offer a rich diversity of experience but not so big that I feel lost in it.

While it’s still cold, I’ll ask this: what are your summer plans?

Real plans, or imaginary? My real plans are to do a little gardening, do a little biking, and mostly just stick to earning a living and writing. With the family I hope to get away once or twice for a little camping or beach time, but we don’t have big summer plans.

Now, in my imaginary life, I’d like to bike with my wife across Europe, stay in lovely B&Bs every night, and then maybe settle down for a month or two on some Greek island. And then take the yacht across the Mediterranean to a few choice spots on the North African coast. Just, you know, fart around—live the life of the idle rich. Except I probably wouldn’t fit in so well with the yachting crowd, owing to my wretched propensity for projectile seasickness.

Still, it sounds awesome, as do the apartments in New York and Paris.

What books are currently on your bedside table?

I just finished Marcus Sakey’s new book, At the City’s Edge. Marvelous. Next for me is David Corbett’s Blood of Paradise. I also just picked up The Guilty by Jason Pinter, and that might be my airplane book for the flight to Denver for Left Coast Crime. I’ve also been snacking my way through Expletive Deleted, the anthology edited by Jen Jordan, which has been delightful. Sadly, there is never enough time to read as much as I would like.

Are there any indelible lessons you’ve learned now that you are a published author?

Whatever you think you know, you don’t. Whatever you think you’ve learned, it’s already obsolete. Last month is old and last year is ancient. But the future is at least two years away.

That is very Zen-like. What words of encouragement would you share with those who are still trying to publish their mysteries?

Don’t give up. You’ll hear that from many published writers, but I don’t think it can be said enough. And yet, I know it’s not always easy. I have struggled to follow that advice myself, despite my adamant belief in it. When the rejections start to pile up (and they do for every writer), it can be so tempting to give up. During the last year, I’ve questioned my own decision to write over and over again.

But in the end, what else can we do but keep writing? We can’t control the marketplace, or the decisions of editors and publishers, but we can continue to put words on the page. And if there’s one thing that’s certain in this business, books can’t be published unless they’ve been written.

So keep writing. If acceptance seems slow in coming, look for satisfaction in the process itself. As frustrating as the effort to get published can be, in the end, I believe writers write because they must. Let that be your focus. The market will find you when the time is right.

That was so profound, Bill! I'm going to frame it on my office wall.

How can readers find out more about you, your books, and your future endeavors?

I used to be a well-behaved blogger, but between the day job and writing, plus all the rest of life, I found that the time required to regularly post was too precious. I don’t forgo blogging completely, but my main info source right now is my website. When I do blog, it’s typically my monthly contribution to InkSpot.

The time may come when I revive my regular blog, but for now I use it only for announcements.

Thanks for chatting with me on PDD, Bill! I'll be looking for news of the new books.