Murderous Musings

The Churches of Salvador

2012-03-03T00:01:00.000-06:00

by Leighton Gage

Salvador is the capital of the Brazilian State of Bahia.

And has the distinction of having been the capital of the nation for many more years than either Brasilia or Rio de Janeiro.

Back then, the Portuguese empire was nominally, and almost exclusively, Catholic.

A fact which led to the construction of many, many churches.

In the old city of Salvador, the residents say, there was a different one for every day in the year.

Let me show you a few of them.

Over on my other blog, you’ll find an article I wrote back in February of 2010. It's all about Brazilian Wish Ribbons and how they are linked to a certain statue: http://murderiseverywhere.blogspot.com/2010/02/brazilian-wish-ribbons.html

The statue is to be found here, in the Basilica of Our Lord of Bomfim. It’s the most popular church in the city, but it is, by no means, the oldest, or the most beautiful.

The Monastery of Our Lady of Mont Serrat is located on a peninsula extending into the sea and contains some splendid seventeenth century woodcarvings.

The Church of Lady of Rosário of the Blacks is in the historical heart of the city on Pelourinho Square. Pelourinho means pillory and it was here, right in front of the church, that slaves were publicly whipped and subjected to other punishments.

The construction of the building was carried on at night by slaves and free blacks. The black priests of Bahia are always ordained in this church.

The Church of Our Lady of Victory was founded in 1531.

The Church and Convent of São Francisco is considered to be (literally) the jewel of all of the churches in the city. Not so much for the outside…

…as for the interior. The “Church of Gold”, as it’s sometimes called, is considered to be the most magnificent example of baroque art in all of the Americas. That’s the real stuff you’re looking at. It’s on the walls, the columns, the roof and the altars. It’s everywhere. And the gold isn’t all. Numerous tiles adorn the corridors. They depict the entire Bible – both the new and old testaments.

Finally, if you want a great façade, it’s got to be this one:

The Church of the Third Order of São Francisco.

All of these carvings were, for many years, covered with a layer of smoothed stucco.

People had forgotten about what lay beneath.

Then, one day, an electrician was called-in to install some wiring.

Turns out he was drunk, and he had a sledgehammer.

He hit the façade much harder than he’d intended to.

And part of the stucco crumbled away.

I have often lifted a glass in his honor.

John Locke, the E-Book King

2012-03-02T00:01:00.004-06:00

by Jean Henry Mead

John Locke is the author of How I Sold One Million eBooks in Five Months, which includes more than a dozen thrillers and westerns selling for 99 cents.

John, why, after all your business successes, did you decide to write full time?

Actually, I’m still a part-time writer, with a full-time job that keeps me busy most days. But I’ve wanted to write books since I was in high school. I’m stopping to do a mental calculation. Could that have possibly been 43 years ago? Wow. I wanted to try my hand at writing all these years, but never got around to it because life kept getting in the way.

I know you write thrillers, but why westerns?

I had to pause just now to smile. Why westerns? Let me tell you something. Westerns are magic. When you read a western, you’re viewing the world in microcosm, because there’s a fixed time and setting, generally, with endless possibilities. The whole dynamic of a man and woman optimistically venturing into an untamed land with little more than a horse, gun, wagon, meager supplies…and a whole lot of courage—is the very definition of heroism. Courage is at the core of every western. And every good western offers adventure, heart, and a classic confrontation between good and evil.

How much research do you conduct before you begin a novel?

I do a lot of research, but try hard not to let it get in the way of a good tale. For example, my westerns take place in Dodge City, in 1860, and I describe a rough-and-tumble, bustling city in need of taming. Now I certainly know the first house in Dodge City wasn’t built till 1871, and it was a sod house. Why not set my story in 1876, when Dodge was exactly the way I describe? Because the other factual elements work for 1860, such as the terrible Kansas drought and the railroad and the stage coach lines and the trails and Indians and so forth. I could have invented a town or made my characters travel farther, but Dodge symbolizes everything I wanted in a western town, and it has name recognition.

My readers delight in the small things I point out that almost no one ever thinks about, like why Indians of the time were terrible at shooting rifles, or how dangerous it could be for a town woman to use an outhouse in the middle of the night, because where else would a bad guy lurk? But I don’t try to impress readers with the facts I uncover. I make the facts a part of my characters’ everyday life.

In your book, Don’t Poke the Bear, you talk about jail holes dug in the ground to house prisoners in Dodge. Did they actually exist or are your plots based purely on your imagination?

This is an example of the details I uncover and weave into my stories. It is true that almost no towns had jails in 1860. When a town did have a jail back then, it was literally a hole dug in the ground. But in Kansas in those days, it was very difficult to dig deep holes because the ground was often hard, and it was a rare settler who owned a decent pick and shovel that wasn’t damaged!

Do you feel that bringing back “adult Westerns” of the 1980s is going to revive the genre?

I’ve never read any adult westerns of the 1980’s, so I can’t say. My westerns are certainly adult, but they’re intended to be more fun than adult. They’re outrageous, and meant to be read with a smile. My goal is not to change westerns or revive them, but to breathe some new life into a genre that is uniquely American. My thriller readers know I have a soft spot in my heart for my westerns, and many don’t understand it. But I love them, and they make me happy in a way my other work doesn’t.

Why are there women's legs on all your book covers?

This was my publisher, Claudia Jackson's, idea. When I told her 75% of my readers were women, she said we should use women's legs on the next cover, because women are naturally drawn to other women's legs. I thought it was a clever idea, like a brand, so we decided to do all the covers that way. Now, when people see women's legs on a book cover, they know it's a John Locke book. I get publicly criticized for it sometimes, but my readers know it's all in fun. Also, we put a little number on the cover of every book so readers will know which number in the series that particular book is. It's sort of like a "Where's Waldo" but not hard to find! In Vegas Moon and A Girl Like You it's part of the boot. In Now and Then it's in an open coconut!

What’s the most important promotional activity a writer can conduct to make the public aware of his or her book?

Writing a personal blog in your unique voice, and getting it read by your target audience. I explain exactly how to do this in my new marketing book for authors titled, How I Sold 1 Million eBooks in 5 Months.”

Do you feel that ebooks are going to eventually eliminate brick and mortar bookstores?

The word “eventually” makes me lean toward saying yes. Until recently I thought book stores were like movie theaters, meaning there are enough people who enjoy the movie experience so much they’re willing to pay a premium for it. But that’s no longer a fair comparison to bookstores. Movies cost a fortune to make and distribute, and require the efforts of many people to create, which means high quality production can only be achieved a couple hundred times a year. But high-quality ebooks can be created by tens of thousands of excellent authors and distributed instantaneously throughout the world for a one-time cost of a few hundred dollars.

If writers follow your success plan to the letter, what’s the most they should charge for their ebooks?

They should charge whatever price makes the most economic sense. For me, it’s 99 cents. Here’s why: Follow the Stone has sold 60,000 downloads in five months, earning me $21,000. If I had charged twice as much I’d have to sell 30,000 downloads to break even. Let’s go all out and say 40,000 readers would pay twice the price. I’d earn $28,000 instead of $21,000. Did I come out ahead? In my opinion, no. Because in that example 20,000 readers chose NOT to buy my book at the higher price. Those 20,000 readers won’t be buying my second, third, and fourth books, nor will they spread the word to their friends.

Which social media outlets do you feel are the most important to further an indie writer’s career and how much time should he/she spend networking on the Internet?

I’m a Twitter guy. Facebook is probably good, but I prefer the Twitter experience. I don’t know the other outlets. If an indie writer is working social media effectively, he or she can tie a dollar figure to every hour spent at the keyboard. Let’s assume that dollar figure is $50 an hour. If I paid you $50 an hour to work at your keyboard, how many hours would you devote? The key is to learn what each hour of your time is worth. You can’t base it on what it’s worth this week. You need to compute it over the lifetime of the sales. Maybe in the past hour I met someone on Twitter who invited me to do an interview, and that interview resulted in twenty sales. And those twenty people each told three friends who told three friends. And then they all bought my other nine books. What was that hour worth to me? If I did the math correctly, it’s around $910. Maybe I worked another four hours today and generated nothing. Was it a good five hours of work?

Your website, blog and other networking links?

Everything I do can be found in one place: www.SavingRachel.com. When you go there you’ll see my books, my blog, my book synopses, reviews, trailers, and interviews. I hope your readers will stop by, take a look, and say hi.

Aw, Rats!

2012-03-01T17:00:00.001-06:00

by Jaden Terrell

Back in the fall, my two four-and-a-half-year-old gerbils died of old age. After an appropriate grieving period, I started thinking about filling my empty office pet vacancy. I'd enjoyed the gerbils, but they weren't big on cuddling or being petted. They would run over my arms and hands and were a lot of fun to watch, but I was always afraid they'd jump out of my hands and hurt themselves. But they were clean, had hardly any smell, and were friendly and charming all their lives. If the person I'd gotten them from were still in the gerbil breeding business, I would have gotten two more, but since she wasn't, I started to look at other options.

As I'm wont to do, I read articles on a variety of "pocket pets"--sugar gliders (nocturnal), hamsters (nocturnal), African Pygmy Hedgehogs (nocturnal), chinchillas (expensive), ferrets (too big, too musky), prairie dogs (need too much space), guinea pigs (adorable, but I seem to be allergic), and rats.

Rats?

Now wait a minute, I saw Willard. I saw Ben. Shoot, a few weeks ago, an episode of Grimm showed a man being eaten by rats. When Hollywood wants to ramp up the creep factor, what''s the first thing they do? Bring on the rats. (The "rats eating humans" scenes are filmed by teaching the rats to lick peanut butter off an actor.)

But the more I read about rats, the more intrigued I became. Rat afficionados swear by the intelligence and sociability of these little animals. "The average rat is as smart as the average dog," one said, "but the smartest rat isn't as smart as the smartest dog." Still...the average dog is pretty darn smart. I learned that rats dream visually, as humans do, that they can be clicker trained to do tricks and run obstacle courses, and that there are even competitions in agility for rats. Yes, the rats go through the weave poles, jump over hurdles, and walk on balance beams or tightropes. I read about rats who come when called and prefer cuddles and tickles to treats. One study showed that rats "laugh" in ultra-sound. Scientists used equipment designed to record the sounds of bats and modulate them to a frequency humans can hear. They said that when the rats were being tickled and played with, it sounded like a human playground. Some researchers disagree, but the scientist who published the findings believes they are indeed laughing because they do it in circumstances that would evoke laughter in humans--for example, when they are wrestling or being tickled (which they seem to like, since they seek out hands that tickle more than hands that just pet), or when they are given a favorite food treat. Young rats "laugh" more than older rats, just as children laugh more than human adults.

The more I learned about rats, the more I liked the idea of having some. I mean, who wouldn't like a smart, sociable animal that seeks out human company and can learn tricks? So I tracked down the good folks at Phoenix Gate Rattery, a reputable rat breeder (yes, there are rat breeders, rat shows, rat agility competitions, rat fancy clubs, and so on) and filled out an application to "adopt" a pair of baby boys. I went that route rather than the pet store route because well bred rats tend to have better temperaments, be better socialized, and have better health than those bred for pet stores, which are often actually bred as feeder rats and often come home with respiratory infections. It was a lot like adopting a dog from a responsible dog breeder.

It's been an education, learning about bedding, nutrition, mental stimulation, and all the other things that go into raising happy, healthy rats. The boys are almost old enough to wean, and I get to pick them up and bring them to their new home next week.

Will Jared, my detective, ever be the proud (or possibly reluctant) owner of a rat? I have no plans along those lines, but since he has my palomino quarter horse, my elderly Akita, and my papillon, maybe it's only a matter of time.

Happy Leap Day

2012-02-29T08:52:00.003-06:00

By Maxx Danielson (Guest Barker)

Happy Leap Day everyone! Once every four years Dad lets me post a guest blog, and since I’m only three years old, this is a real treat. Normally, I’m jumping for joy, but lately, Dad’s been so busy editing his next book that I barely get any attention. Oh, sure, he’ll play for a few minutes when I press my stuffed squirrel or knotted rope into his side, but then he goes right back into his office and bangs away on the keyboard. At that point I have no choice but to lie down next to him and supervise. My job is never done.

Two days ago Dad went back to work after being home for an extended time. Now it’s just Mom and me, and as much as I love her, I do miss my dad. I don’t really understand why he leaves us for days at a time, but it must have something to do with his black suitcase. Whenever it comes out, Dad disappears. I’m having serious thoughts of ripping up that stupid bag so he won’t leave us again.

It’s been a real interesting winter for me. Denver has had more snow this February than anyone can remember, and that has been a problem for me. You see, I love tromping in the snow, but my coat is so fine and curly that it turns me into a walking snowball. And since Mom and Dad don’t like wet floors, they scoop me up at the door and spend the next five minutes toweling me dry. It’s annoying, but I tolerate it because I love them.

It’s also squirrel season, and I really hate squirrels. As the head of security for the Danielson household, my job is to keep these furry rodents out of the backyard – and I take my job very seriously. They see me coming and they spring up a tree. Sometimes they taunt me when they get to the top and all I can do is bark and wait. If I could fly like my dad, there’d be in trouble.

Dad’s next story is about ghosts, and that concerns me. He keeps telling everyone it’s based on a real haunting in a Fort Worth theater, but I’m not so sure. Personally, I think he’s flipped his lid, but what do I know? All I want is for him to come home.

Dad, if you’re out there, you’re welcome for me taking up the slack while you’re out flying around the country. Four years seems like a long time to wait before I can do this again, but I suppose that’s how it works. For those of you who are Irish, it’s Leap Year, so get engaged. If you’re not, get with someone you love and celebrate the extra day any way you can. As for me, I’ll be at the front door waiting for Dad to come home.

A Christmas Walk on the Wild Side

2012-02-28T00:30:00.000-06:00

I know it’s nearly Spring (in theory atleast) but, although this is set on a day near Christmas, it’s really about howmy mystery writer’s mind works. We were staying with family in a picturesqueEnglish village – thatched roofs, cottages, fields, all the images you’dassociate with a typical Miss Marple mystery. In fact, it’s the village inwhich the UK TV drama The Midsomer Murders is filmed. Christmas was a couple ofdays away. The kids were excited. The overnight snow was quite thick. Afterbreakfast, all gloved and scarfed, I set out to buy the paper – a walk of maybea mile there and back. Not many people about. As I walked, various alternativescenarios unfolded. I’ll switch to the present tense to convey the immediacy,because all these things were immediate rather than consideredrestrospectively.

A burly man in a tee shirt comes wadingthrough the snow towards me. He’s obviously crazy. No one can step outside thedoor in these temperatures without proper insulation. He clearly has no nervoussystem. I know for a fact that he’s going to produce a club, maybe an axe fromthe hedge beside him and I’ll become a stain on the snow and a headline intomorrow’s paper (or, rather, a secondary headline because the burly guy willget the lead). As he passes me, he smiles broadly and says a very cheery ‘Goodmorning’. I smile back, wish him the same, we cross paths and I wait for theaxe in the back of my skull. Nothing.

Further down the hill, a woman with anIrish wolfhound. The dog looks lean, hungry, huge. One wrong move from me andit’ll defend its mistress to the death – mine. We pass, the dog doesn’t evenlook at me. The woman smiles and I get a second ‘Good morning’. When they’rebehind me I wait to hear the command ‘Kill’, the crunch of speeding paws in thesnow and the hot canine breath on my neck. Nothing.

Near the paper shop a group of old women(not as old as me but old nonetheless) wait at the bus stop, no doubt on theirway to their coven. Three of them stand well back, the other two bar the narrowpavement. These are old women, they’ve earned the right to stand where theylike. It’s their pavement. I anticipate having to step into the road to getpast them. I’m pretty sure that, as I do so, I’ll be struck a glancing blowfrom an SUV which will break my hip. In the event, as I reach them, they standback. No ‘Good morning’ but I’m just grateful to get by without mishap or amalevolent spell.

I get the paper. On the way home, I notice ashort, steep driveway leading up to one of the cottages and speculate idlyabout its owner being an old, bespectacled woman driving a Ford Anglia (MissMarple sans bike maybe) who, in these snowy conditions, would scream round thecorner, put the car into a broadside slide, hit the accelerator at theappropriate spot, crest the drive and execute a handbrake turn to skid to thefront door and step calmly out with her shopping bag.

Further on, a man stands filming a young girlwith a sledge and a dog. He’s looking through branches at her. As the unwelcomeimages begin to form, the girl calls ‘Hurry up, Daddy. It’s cold.’

I’m almost home and safe again. Stridingdown the hill comes a tall man with a brisk, military gait and bearing. He’sswinging a black walking stick. Here I should mention that the paper I boughtis The Guardian. I imagine the man seeing it and setting about me with hisstick, calling me a communist and hoping I rot in hell with all the other pinko,planet-saving homosexual intellectuals who are undermining the way of life hefought for. As I prepare myself for the assault, his face lights up into a bigsmile and, again, I’m wished a good morning.

Nothing’s wrong with any of these people.They’re good, friendly citizens. The problem is me. I’m the alien. I’m the onecarrying the Satanic menace through this country idyll. I obviously read andwrite too many crime novels.

Interview with mystery author Robert Spiller

2012-02-27T09:56:00.003-06:00

My guest today is fellow mystery author, Robert Spiller, who writes the Bonnie Pinkwater series. I’ve had the pleasure to be on panels with him and have enjoyed reading his entertaining novels, which are full of action and humor. His published books include The Witch of Agnesi, A Calculated Demise, Irrational Numbers and the recently released Radical Equations.

Mike: Radical Equations is the fourth book in the Bonnie Pinkwater series. Tell us what inspired this exciting mystery novel that combines math teaching, murder and mayhem.

Robert: In 2001 the school I model my series after was destroyed by tornado – a beloved teacher had died and everyone was at the wake, so no one was in the building and no one got hurt. I wondered how it would be if someone had been in the building as the storm raged and dismantled the school. So obviously I placed Bonnie at the heart of this danger. Also I had just hiked the famous Paint Mines hike in Calhan, CO and wondered (again) ‘wouldn’t this be a great place to stash a body?’ Lastly, I had always wanted to do a disappearing body mystery, so this also became a theme of this particular novel. Also, I had become enamored with the 18th century mathematician Leonhard Euler, so I wanted to feature him as the first male mathematician in a Bonnie Pinkwater mystery.

Mike: You make the world of teaching as exciting as that of Indiana Jones. Mathematics puzzles and history also play a part in your series; Bonnie Pinkerwater uses these to inspire her students.Tell us how your teaching experience influenced your mystery series.

Robert: I myself taught high school math for 35 years (this is my first year of retirement). I used many of the puzzles Bonnie uses and discussed many of the mathematicians (particularly the female ones to inspire my female students) that Bonnie talks about. My goal in the books has always been to offer a little education along with an entertaining mystery. I loved teaching and hopefully my readers can get a taste of the life of a person who also loves the profession and who thinks teenagers are just a hoot.

Mike: Why did you choose a female protagonist?

Robert: Bonnie is modeled after a wonderful teacher friend of mine who has many of the qualities that Bonnie possesses: a phenomenal memory, a love of teaching, a boat load of dogs. I thought a female mathematician would be more interesting, especially an older one (in my case a widow). Also I featured historic female mathematicians in the first three books ( a bit of a hobby of mine) and thought a female math teacher sleuth would make a better conduit for this info. The only problem I had was that my real life model was too sweet and nice. Bonnie needed to be a tad more cranky. For that I threw in a bit of myself.

Mike: Why did you select a fictional town (East Plains) to set your story?

Robert: I taught Mathematics for eighteen years in the small Colorado town of Ellicott out east of Colorado Springs. I went to teach there after a business venture failed. I intended to only stay for one year and ended up staying for almost 2 decades. I loved the community, the ranchers, the survivalists, the small town feel of the place. My first year teaching I taught in a building housing all thirteen grades. I knew every child in the hallway. When it came time to write a mystery I naturally fell into this special locale. Plus there are stories and situations circulating out there that I could mine for ideas. I still travel out to Ellicott to see antelope, and red-tailed hawks, coyotes, and miles and miles of prairie. And I still travel there (now named East Plains) in my mind every time I write a Bonnie Pinkwater mystery.

Mike: Motorcycles play a key role in Radical Equations. Is this a passion or something you researched?

Robert: Actually, in my whole life I’ve owned but one motorcycle – and that was for a couple of years while working in Ellicott. That said, the bike was a blast. I never stunt rode but I used to weave in and out of the lines on the road. It’s a wonder I survived. Now I would like to own a scooter. In fact my wife and I call retired life our scooter life even though we don’t own a scooter.

Mike: Your secondary characters are very entertaining. Tell us about the choice of Bonnie's friend, Rhiannon, who is a witch.

Robert: When I worked in Ellicott I knew a family of Wiccans. They were fun and gracious and agreed to teach me a thing or two about the Wiccan life. Gypsy, the mother dressed like Rhiannon dresses in The Witch of Agnesi (the first Bonnie Pinkwater mystery) and Radical Equations (Number 4). The daughter, who was in my class one year, used to have a small hour glass around her neck that held a few of her dead father’s ashes. You might think this kind of morbid but I found it endearing. The girl herself was a sweetheart. A few years back Gypsy died but I never forgot her. Whereas Rhiannon (who is named after the song by Fleetwood Mac) is not a copy of Gypsy, and is different in many respects, she was born with Gypsy in mind. I find Rhiannon the perfect companion for Bonnie.

Mike: Bonnie Pinkwater is always getting in trouble with school district administration. How much of this rebel behavior is part of Robert Spiller?

Robert: I’ve universally been blessed with wonderful administrators, but a number of my teacher friends have complained about principals and superintendents that were surly, non-supportive, clueless, egotists, jerks, bullies, and all around pains-in-the-butts. These folks were channeled into Superintendent Divine (I won’t give his nickname here) and Principal Zwieback (nicknamed Baby Toast). Bonnie has an affliction I stole from Edgar Allen Poe called The Imp Of The Perverse. This is an internal voice that prompts her into rash behavior. She is not always in control of what she says and does, and many times later regrets her actions. Several of these confrontations are with folks who just so happen to be her bosses. I’m not like that at all. In fact I’ve been told I’m a sweetie.

Mike: Radical Equations is full of non-stop action. Tell us about how you developed these scenes of motorcycle chases, tornados, confrontation and murder?

Robert: I’m glad you think so. I’ve tried to balance Bonnie’s cognitive musings (murder related usually) with Bonnie up to her elbows in trouble, and often danger. I like the idea of a fifty-something year old school teacher willing to put herself in harm’s way (and sometimes in harm’s way unwillingly). Bonnie is braver and smarter than me, so she has to perform at a higher level to keep me satisfied I’m utilizing her to her full potential. Plus I know what I like in suspense and mystery. I like to see the main character in one scrape after another.

Mike: You have been published through a traditional print publisher and have also self-published. Share your experiences of the two approaches.

Robert: My first three novels: The Witch of Agnesi, A Calculated Demise, and Irrational Numbers were all published through Medallion Press. I loved working with them but we parted company in 2008. I had already finished writing Radical Equations and was shocked when it wasn’t picked up because I thought it was one tasty little number. I went on to write some other things (two historic YA mysteries in particular) with the idea of following a similar traditional path, although I wanted a somewhat larger publishing house. All the while there was this Bonnie Pinkwater novel just sitting on my flash drive. Finally, I partnered up with Courtney Literary and together we went through the process of birthing a novel on our own. Last December we released the e-book of Radical Equations and late February the print copy of the book will see the light of day. I have loved having a say in the selecting of art, being responsible for final edit (I have to confess I am a bit anal), and all the legions of decisions along the way.

Mike: What and who inspired you most in your writing?

Robert: First and foremost Agatha Christie. Bonnie is my Hercule, my Miss Marple. I love the cozie (not much sex or violence) genre. But I also read a lot of mystery and learn from them. I read Michael Connelly, Jeffrey Deaver, Robert Crais and every read I have these moments when I think ‘that is something I might try.’ As for my all time favorite read: The Count of Monte Cristo.

Mike: Tell us about your writing journey.

Robert: In 1992 my second marriage evaporated and I went on a three week bicycle ride into the Four Corners area of Colorado. I brought along 5 spiral notebooks. I had a vague idea of a science fiction story I wanted to try my hand at. This tale blossomed into the novel The Children of Yei. I won second prize in the Paul Gillette (the writing contest connected with the Pikes Peak Writing Conference). Although no one bought TCOY, I found that I fell in love with writing. I wrote another Sci-fi novel, which I also couldn’t give away. Then I decided to try my hand at a mystery. This story was The Witch of Agnesi. I fell in love with Bonnie Pinkwater and I’ve never been the same again. There’s nothing like holding your book in your hand.

Mike: What's Robert Spiller's writing space and time of day for inspiration?

Robert: I have just recently built an office in my basement (in honor of my retirement from teaching and going full time into writing). The entire space is decked in fabric, billowing and burgundy, the walls and the ceiling. The space is exotic and I love descending into it. I try to write every day, but to be truthful it’s only lately that I’ve returned to my discipline (writing every day). I am working on the fifth Bonnie book.

Mike: How are you finding the retired life?

Robert: I love it, but I miss the kids.

Mike: What's next on your writing agenda?

Robert: I just recently began the fifth Bonnie Pinkwater mystery, Napier’s Bones. I’m also a third of the way into a horror novel that is based on a story my father used to tell. The darn thing gives me nightmares.

Mike: Any final comments?

Robert: Please visit my website: rspiller.com
My Facebook page. Every week I give another math puzzle that folks can solve for fabulous non-prizes.

Also I now have a blog, imagine that. Spillerwrites.blogspot.com
Please, please, please, if you read my books e-mail me : rspiller2004@yahoo.com and talk to me about it. I promise I will always write you back.

Mike: Thanks, Robert. For you blog readers, if you haven’t read any of Robert's books yet, add them to your must-read list.

Mike Befeler

Range Day Lessons

2012-02-27T02:03:00.000-06:00

by Ben Small

It's a good thing my neighbors can't see what I took out of my trunk today. An M4, a M1A, a Glock 34 and an XDm. For those who don't know, the first two are battle rifles, the latter two semi-auto pistols. Two of the above hold thirty rounds or more, one twenty rounds, one sixteen. I'll let you figure out which is which.

Guess you can tell: I spent the day at the range.

There's a certain exhilaration from firing a firearm, a release of tension and a dose of either immediate satisfaction or disappointment.

Sorta like a modern era third date.

And it's tiring. I've been haggard all evening, exhausted, de-hydrated and spent.

Sorta like the morning after that modern era third date.

But there are always lessons learned from a day at the range. And today was no exception. Just observe; you'd be crazy not to look around. People are firing live ammo, you know.

I noticed two things today that at first glance might appear to be unrelated. Not so. Indeed, they represent illustrations of something that writers about shooting should understand.

Let me tell you what I saw.

First, I saw an eight year old girl shooting a .22 rifle from a rest, her barrel supported on a sandbag, the butt end on her shoulder. Her target stood ten yards away, with holes all across its four foot span. The rifle, an old Winchester, a lever gun, its wood stock chipped and gouged, the bluing of its barrel only partially remaining. No rust, no butt-pad. The girl's parents stood behind her, marveling at the way she worked the smooth action, laughing when she said she aimed at the target's armpit. Occasionally, one of the parents would shoot another, more powerful rifle at the table next to her. Their guns were newer, but their setup was the same, barrel on a sandbag, butt on the shoulder. Their targets stood at fifty yards, but their aim wasn't much better than their daughter's.

At another table, a man struggled with accuracy from a brand new rifle. His fifty yard shots spaced too all over his target, the rounds key-holing. I knew his rifle; I own one similar. I knew the ammo he used.

Why couldn't these folks hit where they aimed?

Simply put, it was harmonics, torsional vibration that they'd screwed up. Their stuff wasn't working well together.

As I learned from years of working with engineers who designed complex equipment incorporated into sophisticated systems worked into products which accomplish complicated tasks, everything vibrates, even stationary objects. We just don't always recognize vibration because we can't always see it; we can't always feel it. But when the separate vibrations of components combine into a whole, the vibration of that whole is called "torsional vibration." And when that torsional vibration goes out of tune, things go wrong.

Think of the weird shaking of your car when you hit a certain speed. Go slower or faster and the vibration disappears. Sometimes that vibration can be severe. Indeed, such out of tune vibration can tear some of the components apart. In vibration terms, the out-of-tune harmonics are called "criticals." A critical occurs when something vibrates at its own frequency instead of in a harmonized blend. It shakes, rattles and rolls.

Bored yet? I'm getting to the point.

Let me tell you what each of these people did wrong.

The girl and her parents: They rested the barrel instead of the stock on sandbags. While their rifles were cared for, in no worse condition than most, her parents didn't realize that by resting a barrel on anything, they ruined the barrel's float, throwing off the rifle's harmonics and causing it to fire differently with each shot. A rifle is designed to minimize any direct link interference between the bolt, action and barrel. It's designed to spiral a balanced round straight through a perfectly round tube and out toward a target, all at thousands of feet per second.

Like how Peyton Manning fires a perfect pass to a receiver, scaled differently of course. Ever see a wobbly throw? It's hard to toss a perfect pass when one's arm is smacked during the throw. Same principle for this girl and her parents, their rifles (throwing arms in this analogy) operating at much higher pressures and speeds than any linebacker nailing poor Peyton.

And same result: no accuracy.

The other guy: Wrong bullet weight for his rifling. That's why he had no accuracy, why his target looked as if someone had thrown keys through it.

You see, the guy fired a weapon with 1:9 rifling, and the spiral couldn't stabilize the heavy bullet he used. To spiral, a heavy bullet needs a fast spin. Otherwise it wobbles -- "tumbles" in rifle parlance. And tumbling causes key-holing in targets.

Again, think of a football: the heavier the football, the more spin required to make it spiral.

A 1:9 rifling means a bullet makes one turn in nine inches. A 1:7 rifling means one turn in seven inches. So a 1:7 rifling means a faster spin.

This guy would have been better served with a lighter bullet weight. The rifle functioned properly; he just didn't mate it with the right bullet. The torsionals were off.

Of course, I could have butted in and said something to the girl, her parents and the other guy, but, well...we all know people who do that sort of thing...butt in, that is. One can usually tell when someone wants help. They say something; they scratch their heads, or they stare at you with that lost look. I got none of that. Despite no accuracy, these people were having fun.

Well, okay, I lie...maybe just a bit. During a break, the guy came over and remarked about my tight target groups. As often happens during range-break chats, we discussed our rifles. When I told him I owned a rifle similar to his, he asked what ammo it ate.

Wham, bam! I threw a perfect spiral right through his open ear hole.

Just like Peyton Manning.

And, well...I learned something, too. I learned that if I don't clean my XDm once in a while, it occasionally may not fire.

Some people are just idiots.

Do You Like to Figure Out the Killer?

2012-02-25T00:05:00.001-06:00

by June Shaw

When you're reading a mystery, do you want to figure out who the killer is? Are you disappointed if you figure out that person before the end of the story? Or do you really care about whether you determine the killer at all?

I know lots of readers really care -- I mean REALLY care about determining the antagonist long before the sleuth does. Many readers say they will toss a mystery if they figure out "who done it."

I won't. Whenever I'm reading a mystery, I need to stay invested in its characters--the people who bring it alive. Once I am, then I don't normally care whether I can determine the bad guy or not.

But I seem to be in the minority.

Okay, so I am a big fan of Janet Evanovitch books (some have compared my books to hers, and I'm thriled.) By the time she's letting us know the bad guy, I really don't care who it is. I'm just having fun with her stories.

Of the three books in my humorous mystery series, I have never had anyone say they determined the killer before my main character. No one does. I kind of planned it that way, although actually what I wanted to do was write books kind of similar to Janet E.'s, but with a more mature heroine.

People tell me my books are fun. That's what I was going for.

If you are a mystery reader and can determine the bad guy or gal before my sleuth does, please let me know. I'll tell people, "Your name ... is the only reader of my books that I know of who's ever figured out who the killer was long before my amateur sleuth does." And who knows -- maybe I'll send you a ribbon or something.

So how about you? Do you always like to figure out who the killer is, or do you even care?

CONVERSATIONS WITH CHARACTERS, or, What Happens Inside My Head

2012-02-23T00:00:00.015-06:00

My name is Jackie King and it's a great honor to be a member of MURDEROUS MUSINGS. I thank Chester Campbell for inviting me. I also wish all my friends and readers in cyberland a warm welcome.

http://amzn.to/gMv7CH

THEODORA WESTMACOTT, Grace Cassidy's friend and side-kick, thinks she's in charge of this Mystery Series. She insisted on interviewing me. I had intended to ask Grace Cassidy, lead character in my mystery THE INCONVENIENT CORPSE, to do the honors. However, before that (usually) calm and collected woman could so much as form a question, her quirky pal, Theodora Westmacott, just took over. Short, plump and sassy, this 60-something woman, who taught seventh graders for years and years, loves sticking her nose into other folks business. Especially Grace's.

“Grace is too busy just now, Jackie, but I’ll be happy to fill in for her. I’m well acquainted with your life in general, and will do my best to make you sound interesting. After all, who wants to hear about a woman who spends most of her time hunched over her keyboard in her pajamas? Let me be in charge, I often help out Grace in that way.”

“And it makes her madder than h...” I paused a minute to get control of myself. “Heck,” I finished.

“Oh well, she always gets over it, doesn’t she?” Theodora fluttered her heavily ringed fingers as she always does. (I think it’s to draw attention to the flamboyant nail polish she wears, which today is Passionate Pink.) The woman is so charming it's impossible to stay mad at her, but today I needed to show her who was boss of this series. So I kept arguing.

“You make me sound just awful, Theodora, and I'm not. Just yesterday I went to the ballet.”

“My point exactly, but I can see that I've made you angry. You always seem so sweet, and yet your temper often gets away from you. I’m afraid it’s that red hair, titian haired women are often neurotic, you know.”

By this time I was gritting my teeth and rolling my eyes. “Are there any more of my faults you’d like to voice abroad?” I made sure that my voice showed heavy sarcasm.

“Yes, you take all of the credit for the humor in your series and most of it comes straight out of my mouth. Your readers should be told that actually, you're a very dull WASP and that I'm responsible for my own smart-aleck remarks.”

“Theodora, this is a ridiculous conversation. You’re not even real. I conjured you up out of my imagination. I’ll admit that you’re a lovable character, but I’m the one who puts words into your mouth and walks you across the page!”

“Well we both know that’s not true,” Theodora snickered in a most lady-like way. “I’m always saying something that both surprises and shocks you. Be honest and admit that I’m the one in charge, and sometimes Grace. But right now, Grace is busy baking cookies for afternoon tea here at Wimberly Place, the loveliest bed and breakfast anyone has ever visited. And I don’t care if people do keep getting murdered on the premises.”

“God help me! Somewhere along the line my characters have all gotten out of my control.”

“Tch, tch, darling girl, no need for such drama, just relax and let me guide the conversation. I’ll make you look both sweet and interesting. We do want our readers to keep downloading your books, after all, the royalties paid for your dental implants this last summer.”

“That's enough, Theodora, it's tacky to talk about money. This conversation is already way too long and the only thing you’ve told our readers about me is that I had dental work.”

“Well, you whined enough about it last summer. Next post, if you’ll stop arguing with me, I’ll tell them how you came to write THE INCONVENIENT CORPSE.”

Urgh! Don't listen to Theodora. I promise that on my next post, Thursday March 8, I will hogtie Ms. T and be conversing with Grace Cassidy.

Hugs,

Jackie

Winter Vacation

2012-02-22T00:01:00.000-06:00

(Photo courtesy of Brekenridge Resort)

By Mark W. Danielson

Colorado is beautiful, particularly during winter. With it meringue mountains, cotton clouds, and sapphire skies, what’s not to love? For skiers, February is a perfect vacation time because kids are still in school and the slopes aren’t crowded. Since February weather can also bring ice, snow, and strong winds, it’s also a great time for airline pilots to take vacation. I’ve been doing this for years, and most of the time it’s worked out quite well.

But this February has been unique. It’s brought Colorado record snowfall, which has had skiers flocking to the slopes. But the odd weather patterns have also made the avalanche danger high. Several people have been killed, and more are certain to fall. But since I gave up skiing years ago, I had other priorities. First, do some interior painting to get the house ready for sale. Second, to have fun. Turns out it’s far easier to paint than have fun. Allow me to explain.

Shortly after returning from my January trip, my daughter needed to borrow my car because hers was having mechanical problems. My schedule was wide open so I drove it down, and she drove me back home. The only downfall is she had been sick with the flu. The result? She had transportation and I got horribly sick. That meant I missed my next trip because I was barely able to move. The good news is I lived to paint another day. After getting well, my step son visited for several days and he had been sick with a sinus cold. Needless to say, his visit sentenced my wife and I to more misery, and yes, we’re still battling this virus a week later. On the positive side, our interior painting is completed. On the down side, we have barely left the house all month.

But what staycation is complete without chirping smoke detectors? My rule of thumb is if one battery dies, replace them all, so right after changing several, two detectors started chirping. Okay, I say. Maybe the spare batteries from the cupboard have been in there so long they’ve gone bad. So off to Lowe’s for more batteries, and when I return, Badda Bing, Badda Boom, they’re in. But no sooner that I step back that I hear, chirp, chirp. Fuming, I go downstairs to think. The thing about batteries is there is only one correct way to put them in. The bad thing is in smoke detectors, batteries fit either way, and you need far better eyes than mine to see its polarity markings. So I get my reading glasses, climb the ladder, check the polarity, and determine that yes, I’m an idiot. After properly installing the batteries I hear the wonderful sound of silence. Bear in mind that neither of these detectors chirped before I replaced their batteries.

But wait, that isn’t the end of my staycation fun. No sir, no ma’am, not by a long shot. First, you need to add my multiple doctor visits -- and who doesn’t look forward to them? Then add my multiple physical therapy sessions for my bad back and you have my list of things that made this winter vacation special.

But there is a plus side to all this nonsense. Prior to my getting the stomach flu, Lyne and I had been considering taking a short cruise. You know the type -- one of those last minute package deals that make it irresistible, except four cruise ships suddenly had major illness outbreaks, so maybe our viruses prevented us from spending a couple thousand dollars to be sick at sea.

Of course, there’s always next year. Hopefully by then we’ll be in a different location waiting for our new house to be built. Between illnesses, we did make it to the Denver Home and Garden Show, so that’s something. I’ve also gotten a lot of editing done on my next book. But what vacations really come down to is spending time with my wife, so in this regard, it’s been great. As for the bugs we’ve both suffered though, I wouldn’t wish them on anyone.

Different Words Have Different Places

2012-02-21T00:01:00.002-06:00

By Chester Campbell

People who advise us on the craft of writing fiction are fond of saying make every word count. If it doesn't help define character or move the plot, it doesn't belong in the story. Okay, they allow us a little leeway in painting the setting, so maybe that's the crutch on which we can hang our little peccadillos.

I got a new review by Gloria Feit, who with her husband is probably the most prolific reviewer on the DorothyL mystery listserve. She posts her reviews on nearly a dozen other sites, including Spinetingler and Crimespree magazines and Midwest Book Review. At the end of her review, she commented that I gave a "tip of the hat from the author to Tim Hallinan and his Bangkok mystery novels, and to Lee Child and his Jack Reacher books."

I like to stick in little plugs for authors I know and like. In one scene I had my secondary protag, Jaz LeMieux, reading a Tim Hallinan mystery to take her mind of her troubles. I don't recall how I brought in Jack Reacher. In other books I had used well known authors as well as lesser known but equally great writers like Beth Anderson, an old pal from Chicago.

I've just finished revising an early manuscript of a thriller I plan to put up as an ebook. Much of it takes place in South Korea, and I included a lot of Korean food and Korean customs to give a better feel for the setting. My first visit to Seoul took place in 1952-53 during the little fracas between North and South. My wife and I journeyed there in 1987 with our son and Korean daughter-in-law. During a visit to her parents' home in Inchon, I got a good look at how non-Westernized people lived.

One interesting little tidbit I used in the book was that you should make noises while eating to show the cook that you enjoyed her meal. When my son was married over there while on duty with the Army, it was with a civil ceremony. I Pun, my daughter-in-law (her maiden name was Han I Pun), wanted a real wedding, so they had a formal ceremony at a wedding house. The preacher spoke in both Korean and English. Afterward, we ate at a Korean restaurant and joined several of her girlfriends for a tour of the town. We visited a Korean War museum and the Port of Inchon, where they let my son open a lock to let a boat in. The book, titled The Poksu Conspiracy, winds up with a Korean wedding.

Some of these little snippets probably advance the plot, others may add to character, but they all help give the reader a feeling of being there. And that's what I like to create.

Visit my blog at Mystery Mania

Book Signings in Unusual Places

2012-02-19T18:20:00.000-06:00

by Susan SantangeloGreetings from chilly (though sunny) Cape Cod. Just back from a weekend of book sales/ signings in non-traditional settings. There are two dogs -- English cocker spaniels, to be exact -- in my Baby Boomer mysteries. The breeder of our dogs -- big surprise, they're English cockers -- is great at getting me booked to do signings at dog shows. No, I didn't get to Westminster this year, though she did with one of her dogs. But I spent Saturday in the XL Center in downtown Hartford CT (which happens to be the city where I was born) signing and selling books at the Elm City Kennel Club Dog Show. What could be better than spending the day hanging out with lots of nice folks who love dogs? And I sold lots of books. Plus, I met a prison guard (yes, you read that right) who is also a dog breeder, and he's now become a resource for writing my books. I don't know if I'll ever need him, but it's nice to know he'll answer any stupid questions I may have.Today, back on Cape Cod, I spent the afternoon at a lovely local inn which was the site for a wedding show. Yes, signing and selling books. The title of Book 3 in my series is Marriage Can Be Murder, and I met some very nice brides and grooms-to-be, plus their parents. And I got to ask very nosy questions of some of the other vendors, including one minister who shared a story with me about a wedding she'd performed when the bride's face was covered in red blotches. She attributed it stress/nerves,but as it turned out the bride in fact had the chicken pox! Wow. What a way to begin married life.I don't know how I can work that into my plot, but we'll see.I'm wondering if anybody else on this blog does signings at unusual (that is, not book stores or libraries) venues, and if so, where??

Capoeira

2012-02-18T00:01:00.000-06:00

by Leighton Gage

Some say capoeira has it's roots in the n'golo, the zebra dance of the Macupe of Southern Angola, a tribal ritual in which a young man could win a bride without paying the dowry if he could demonstrate great skill in fighting with his feet.

Others say that Brazilian slaves, recently imported from Africa, who were forbidden to possess firearms, knives, or clubs invented capoeira as a way to fight with the sole weapon left to them: their bodies.

Still others claim capoeira never had a martial side, that it emerged as a sport, or recreational activity.

And that it took place around the slave cabins when the day's work was done.

The truth of the matter is we don’t know how capoeira got started. We don’t even know, with any degree of certainty where the name capoeira came from. What we do know is that this mixture of martial art, dance, music and ritual is native to this country and that it was developed here among slaves brought from Africa.

There are three basic movements in capoeira, four defensive movements, eight basic kicks, fifteen takedowns, twenty-one other kicks and movements. If a given player uses any one of them, his/her antagonist uses another to respond. Mastering the give-and-take of capoeira takes years of practice.

In the Portuguese language, capoeira isn’t “fought”, or “danced”, it’s “played” (jogado).

Two players begin play by taking up a position in the center of a group (roda) formed by other players, spectators and musicians. As play progresses, other players step in to challenge one of the two. The unchallenged one, the one judged to be the loser, drops out.

Rodas don’t occur in silence. They happen to the sound of hands clapping, chants (chulas) and musical instruments.

The chulas tend to be somewhat melancholy. Here’s how one of them begins:

No céu entre quem merece,

Na terra vale é quem tem

You enter heaven on your merits.

Here on earth, what you own is all that counts.

The instruments generally include at least one drum (atabaque), a tambourine (pandeiro) and birimbaus of three different sizes.

Birimbaus are single-stringed musical bows with a gourd at one end to amplify the sound. The strings are steel wires, generally taken from the sidewalls of automobile tires.

It’s the birimbau that commands the movements in capoeira.

To best appreciate a roda, you have to see one, which you can best do by visiting Rio de Janeiro, or Salvador, in Bahia. Hang around in the streets of the old city, or go down to the beach, and you’ll stumble across them all the time.

But I know that many of you will never visit

Brazil

, and there are really no decent videos I know of that transmit the energy you’ll encounter at a genuine roda. So here’s the next best thing, a roda shot at a batizado (baptism) in which students are moving up in rank by demonstrating their ability in the presence of their master.

Self-Publishing with R. P. Dahlke

2012-02-17T00:01:00.005-06:00

by Jean Henry Mead

Rebecca Phillips Dahlke operated her father's crop dusting business in California during the early 1980s, and began writing her mystery series following the death of her son, a career aero agricultural pilot. Rebecca calls her books "murder mysteries with some laughter."

Rebecca will be featured in The Mystery Writers with Sue Grafton, Lawrence Block and a host of other well-known authors. The book will be released next month by Medallion Books.

Rebecca, how did you happen to take over the family business? And was flying part of your job?

I sort of fell into the job when my dad decided he’d rather go on a cruise than take another season of lazy pilots, missing flaggers, testy farmers and horrific hours. After two years at the helm, I handed him back the keys and fled to a city without any of the above. And no, I was never a crop-duster.

Tell us about your writing background.

A few short stories were printed in a now defunct magazine and I was hooked. They say you should write what you know and at the time, I was able to use what I’d gleaned from my own experiences along with stories my son, John, who was a career crop-duster, shared with me. When he died in a work related accident in 2005, I was unable to go back to it until 2010.

How important are organizations such as Sisters in Crime to a mid-list mystery writer?

SinC is like a big fat favorite granny. She’s warm and comforting and tells you you’re wonderful when everyone else tells you your writing is crap!

What’s your writing schedule like? Do you aim for a certain amount of words per day and do you outline?

Well. if I’m very very good, I can smack out 2,000 words a day… but then life gets in the way… like the Monument Fire this last week, and we were evacuated and living in our RV with two dogs and I was eating on nerves about our home burning to the ground instead of writing. I’m happy to say that the house survived and so did we!

What’s the most important ingredient in a good amateur sleuth novel?

I’m glad you asked that question because in A DEAD RED CADILLAC and A DEAD RED HEART, I write about a tall, blond and beautiful ex-model turned crop-duster who, to quote Lalla Bains, says: “I’ve been married so many times they oughta revolk my license.” I wanted to give readers a peek at the not so-perfect -life of a beautiful blond. Lalla Bains is no Danielle Steele character, she’s not afraid of chipping her manicure. Scratch that, the girl doesn’t have time for a manicure what with herding a bunch of recalcitrant pilots and juggling work orders just to keep her father’s flagging business alive.

Between a philandering famous Puerto Rican baseball player husband and her long time widowed father’s triple by-pass, Lalla is now content to run her dad’s crop-dusting business in Modesto, California, and avoid the paparazzi hounds who feast on the remains of those who aren’t famous anymore.

In A DEAD RED CADILLAC Lalla is once again brought into unwanted limelight and as she sees it, the only way she’s ever going to get her life back is if she can solve the mystery . And, as luck would have it, along the way finds the man who becomes the love of her life.

How do you promote your books? And how much time to you devote to online networking?

I believe that authors MUST use as many avenues as possible to promote their work. Branding is a term that comes from major corporations, like Pepsi and Ford and these companies understand that one ad in one magazine is not necessarily going to equal one sale. Your name over and over again, along with the name of your series; like A DEAD RED CADILLAC and A DEAD RED HEART gives you an edge on that branding.

Advice to aspiring mystery writers?

Self-publish because it encourages you to write instead of pinning all your hopes on that NY publisher. Besides, the more you write the better you get. And you’re branding your name, developing a fan base. Who knows, you may get an offer from that NY publisher—which you can then accept or not. Which reminds me; I gotta get busy and finish my latest book, a romantic sailing mystery set in exotic Mexico. I hope to have A DANGEROUS HARBOR ready for publication by the end of this summer.

Thanks, Rebecca.

You can visit Rebecca at her website: http://www.rpdahlke.com/Her Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/RPDahlke
and her Amazon page: http://tinyurl.com/6l8y7gm

B&N page: http://tinyurl.com/6bldn9u

Bill Crider's Dead on the Island

2012-02-16T10:10:00.002-06:00

by Jaden Terrell

I recently finished a PI novel, Dead on the Island, by Bill Crider, an author I hadn't read before. Dead on the Island introduces private detective Truman Smith. Tru has been working as a house painter and trying to recover from the loss of his sister, Jan, whose disappearance has not only left him grieving but doubting his abilities as an investigator. When an old friend, Dino, asks for help to find a missing girl, Truman must overcome his own demons, as well as some dangerous and unsavory characters with an interest in keeping things hidden. Crider's writing is polished, and his humorous, often self-deprecating voice makes Truman seem both likeable and real.

I knew I would like Truman in the book's opening scene, which showed Tru's compassion toward a wild rat who lives near the beach where Truman goes for his morning run. Of course, I'm a sucker for animals. In Janet Evanovitch's series, Stephanie Plum's affection for her hamster, Rex, made me like her immediately, and Jonathan Kellerman's Alex Delaware is made more appealing by his love for French bulldogs Spike and Blanche.

My detective, Jared McKean, has two horses (and later rescues a third) and shares custody of an elderly Akita. In the second book, he and his housemate inherit a papillon, a small breed Jared would not normally choose but which he comes to love.

When handled well, a relationship with a pet can add dimension and humanity to a character. Does a character with a love of animals pique your interest? Can anybody recommend some other authors who use animals to add dimension to their books?

Tales from the Road

2012-02-15T01:30:00.000-06:00

by Carola Dunn

I headed north last weekend to sign my new book, Gone West, and the paperback of Anthem for Doomed Youth in Seattle and Portland, at Seattle Mystery Bookshop

and Murder by the Book. The signings went very nicely--I had a couple come all the way from Vancouver BC to Seattle to see me, and lots of Facebook friends turned up in Portland. However...

Parking on the street in Seattle is murder. So when I saw a parking lot with lots of empty spaces, I decided to park there in spite of the exorbitant cost. I wanted two hours but the only option was all day for $10. Plus $2.20 in tax. And the machine didn't give change. So I put in a 10 and three ones. The machine failed to deliver a ticket to put on my windshield.

The meter provided a number to call to report problems. So I called to report the problem. I entered all the figures they asked for, hoping against hope to get to a Real Person. Instead I was told that my credit card was refused, for a refund call xxx-xxx-xxxx, goodbye, and the automaton hung up. Of course I wasn't ready to write down the number so it sailed right by me. I got out pen and paper and called again. They wanted my credit card number again before they'd give me that phone number. And I wasn't going to give it again--endless loop, endless charges??

Being in a hurry to get to the store, I ended up putting my credit card in the machine and being charged $12.20 on top of the $13 cash. This struck me as a bit pricy for two hours of parking in a half-empty lot.

Several "contact forms" and phone calls later, they're supposed to be emailing me a refund form. As I had to spell my email address five times before she (at least it was a Real Person) got it written down, I'm not hopeful.

The Portland bookstore isn't downtown; it's on the edge of a neighbourhood where I've never had any trouble finding a place. No problem. I had a most enjoyable signing with an audience who asked lots of questions and bought lots of books. And then I set out for home, 100 miles south.

I always have trouble getting onto I-5 southbound in Portland. It's unbelievably complicated whatever your starting point, but I did think I had at last figured out how to do it from the bookstore. I headed for the Hawthorne Bridge, prepared in my mind to make the loop at the other end and hopeful that I knew which way to turn on the surface streets leading to the freeway.

Hawthorne Bridge was closed.

I studied my map. Go north a few blocks and cross the Willamette on the Morrison Bridge, I decided, having once got lost going south to the Ross Island Bridge.

Morrison Bridge was closed.

What was worse, there was no choice of which way to go from there--you were funneled onto I-5 northbound.

You may remember that what I needed was I-5 southbound.

Just in case you're worrying, I didn't end up back in Seattle. I made it home--

but now I'm hoping that trip wasn't an omen for my coming signing trip to San Diego. All I have to do is follow I-5...

Black Valentine

2012-02-15T00:01:00.000-06:00

By Mark W. Danielson

Yesterday was Valentine’s Day. Lyne and I had a great time dining at McCormick’s at the historic Oxford Hotel in Denver. The Home and Garden Show had just opened at the Convention Center so we made a stop there, spending far more time researching windows than expected. Each year, we make the trek to see what we’d like to put in our new home. For us, Valentine’s Day will extend into the next evening when we go out to dinner and then to a concert to see Lady Antebellum. We consider ourselves blessed to have each other and love celebrating this day.

But Valentine’s Day is one of those days you either love or hate, and the number of negative Facebook comments seemed to have outweighed the positive ones. One post stated that fifty percent of the people together this Valentine’s Day won’t be together next Valentine’s Day, and of those couples who stay together, twenty percent will be cheating on each other within the next 364 days. Now, I have no idea who came up with these statistics, but I hope they’re wrong.

Call me a hopeless romantic, but I still believe in monogamous relationships, so long as you’re with the right person. Admittedly, I’ve experienced relationships that didn’t work, and at times shared the bitterness of this lover’s holiday. But as with writing, perseverance prevailed, and I know that Lyne and I will always be together.

So for those of you who didn’t have such a great day, I’m sorry, but remember that Valentine’s Day is not only about romantic relationships, but a day to celebrate our relationships with family and friends.

Words, words, words.

2012-02-14T00:13:00.000-06:00

Last December, I did one of the relaxing,pleasurable things connected with writing; I read through and signed acontract. And, since the first draft of the book to which it relates hasalready been written, it means I can sit back, cash the advance (no, it isn’tenough to get a Ferrari or even solve the debt problem of a small uninhabitedisland but it’s money), and await further instructions.

As I was reading through it, though, it didoccur to me that it had probably taken the lawyers a day or so, three at themost, to draw it up and, on a purely word-count basis, their remuneration wouldbe significantly higher than mine. Fine, they studied for their degrees, workedas juniors (or however the system operates today) and, if anything nasty hitsthe fan, they’ll have to clean it up, so good luck to them.

It is, though, rather ironic that, whereaswe (usually anyway) work to make our meanings clear, their technique is tomultiply the ‘howevers’, ‘notwithstandings’, ‘heretofores’ and let clauses beas promiscuous as they like and reproduce themselves inside swelling paragraphswhich are desperate for the relief/release of a full stop. Different worlds,different words.

Then, when I went to post the signedcontract, I stood in the long Christmas queue at the counter and more wordsjumped out at me. I’ve tried to avoid saying too much here about writers whofail to distinguish between ‘your’ and ‘you’re’, ‘there’, ‘their’ and‘they’re’, ‘its’ and ‘it’s’ and all the rest of them. I’ve come to accept it ingeneral but writers ought to be more respectful of their medium. It’s fine tobreak the rules of grammar but only if it’s for a purpose and only if you knowthem in the first place.

But I thought these other two examples wereinteresting in their different ways. First, a woman with a quite refinedEnglish accent (I’m in

Scotland

,remember) said to the server ‘May I purchase this calendar?’

Now there are all sorts of things thatcould be said about such a request. The calendar was hanging on a hook, with avery evident price tag on it, so the betting was that, yes, she probably wouldbe allowed to buy it. There was the tiniest stress on the word ‘I’ so did shethink it was only for sale to a chosen few customers?

But it was the word ‘purchase’ that struckme. Why not ‘buy’? Does she go home to her husband, partner, elderly aunt, orwhoever she shares a house with and say ‘I purchased a calendar today,darling/sweetie/Aunt Murgatroyd/whoever’? If she does, it’s delightful toimagine the ensuing conversation, which would be full of:

‘Was the vendor helpful?’

‘Indeed, most accommodating.’

‘Will you be imbibing any wine thisevening?’

‘Copious amounts, but first I mustmicturate.’

I’m not being nasty or superior, I love itthat we have these different registers and that people actually use them, butthat word ‘purchase’ seemed so incongruous in a shop full of people stressedout with Christmas shopping and having to wait to buy a couple of stamps. Butthe woman duly purchased her calendar and went home content.

The other example is again grammar-relatedbut interesting in a different way. A young man with a strong Indian accent wasposting bundles of cards to places in the UK,France, Canada and Australia. I’ve had one to onesessions with students brought up in India and they speak a much morecorrect form of English (if slightly outdated) than the majority of Britishpeople. One card in each of the bundles had to be weighed to determine the costof the postage and, at first, through no fault of his own, the man wasn’t doingit right. The reason was that the man serving him was an Aberdonian and spoke inthe local vernacular. On this occasion it wasn’t that the accent was distortingthe actual sounds (although that happens very often) but he was making afamiliar ‘mistake’ by saying ‘Put one of that cards on the scale’. We all knowthat, technically, it should be ‘those cards’ – and that’s what the Indian manhad been taught, so the mixture of singular and plural had him baffledmomentarily. (Another blatant example is the use of the past tense where itshould be the past participle – ‘I’d ran to the bus stop’, ‘He’s gave her apresent’, etc.) But I’m definitely not mocking either man. There are many suchgrammatical ‘mistakes’ that are accepted currency and some of them areperpetrated by characters in my books. If they didn’t speak that way, theywouldn’t be authentic. The important thing is to be understood. I suppose Ionly noticed it this time because of my struggle with lawyer-speak and thewoman’s use of ‘purchase’.

Language is wonderful.

Priorities in the Writing Life

2012-02-13T09:28:00.002-06:00

As writers we are constantly bombarded by demands, either outside or self-imposed. With this in mind, we all need to define our priorities. For me they sort out as follows:

1. Family and friends – Although writing is important, family is number one. When our kids and grandkids are visiting or when we’re visiting them, I do little writing. Since they live in different parts of the country, it’s a treat for my wife and me when we can get together with them, and during these visits grandkid activities take top priority.

2. Writing – Not promoting, not social networking, but actual writing is the next on my list. Nothing ever gets written unless I’m brainstorming, outlining or putting my hands on the keyboard. I include editing in this process as well, since I go through numerous editing passes on each manuscript I write.

3. Exercise – I try to get out for exercise every day. This keeps me both physically and mentally fit. I walk, hike, snowshoe and play platform tennis. Walking provides another benefit—it’s a time I practice my speeches and brainstorm on my current writing projects.

4. Critique groups – I’m in two online critique groups, and these are the next priority for me because this is how I tune my writing through critiquing others and getting feedback to improve my manuscripts.

5. Promoting my current novels – I do numerous events including book signings and speaking at service organizations. My current talk is titled, “How to Survive Retirement.” It advocates a positive image of aging and is a platform to indirectly promote my geezer-lit mysteries.

6. Selling manuscripts – This includes searching for a new agent and sending manuscripts to publishers. I have sold ten contracts myself and keep working on new opportunities.

7. Social networking – Some may place this higher on their list, but for me it hits number seven. I focus on Facebook, follow a number of Yahoo loops and do some Twitter and LinkedIn.

8. Administrative stuff – in last place is all the administrivia that needs attention. Being a morning person, I write in the morning, exercise in the middle of the day and do administrative tasks in the afternoon.

So this is my short list. I’d enjoy hearing how others set their priorities.

The Physical

2012-02-13T00:00:00.009-06:00

by Ben Small

Having reached the ripe old age where I need a yearly physical, I find that I dread this ritual even more than a trip to the dentist's chair.

It's not the blood-letting I fear. One doesn't reach my age without learning to ignore the needle, even though my veins feel otherwise. They jump around and play hide and seek, usually resulting in frustration so intense, the needle-bearer stabs at one, hoping to get lucky. Sorta like the fisherman who can see his bass but can't get it to bite, so he ties on a treble hook and attempts to spike his fish onto the line.

You see, blood running down my arm doesn't bother me. Nor does the red tear-drop tattoo on the cheek of the needler. And I'm man enough to take lab results in stride. Good cholesterol bad, bad cholesterol worse, triglicerides -- whatever they are -- just awful.

Hell, nobody, 'cept Chester Campbell, lives forever or without pain.

So, it's not blood, the needle or lab results that cause me to dodge my yearly physical like Obama ducking budget cuts.

See, it's all about the finger. OMG, the finger.

Yes, women have their own crosses to bear, and I have no clue what indignities or pain they must endure on account of their gender and its plumbing. So I don't know what it must feel like to have my breasts squashed flat against a cold metal surface; my boobs are already flat. And I'm ignorant as to what doctor scopes or fingers a woman must endure in her goody-spot, or how those procedures must feel. That's all woman-stuff. Like child-birth. I just can't imagine what squeezing a watermelon through a keyhole must feel like.

But I know the finger. I get it each year. And every year, my doc's poker feels fatter and longer.

I realize prostate cancer is serious, that for most men it's just a matter of time, but I also know there are blood tests for that, the results of which show up in my lab reports.

So why the finger?

I have two theories on this:

a) My doc enjoys inflicting pain, likes the notion that I won't be sitting for a few days; or

b) My doc spent time in prison.

As to the first, credibility comes from the way he sticks his hand in an ice-bucket before he starts and because he uses Elmer's Glue-All instead of Vaseline. My fine legal training instructs me that these acts constitute intention to do harm.

As to the second, my doc attended Penn State, played football, and has a hand-made corbra tattoo coiled around his neck. I think these are indicators, but I don't know for sure. Every time I ask if he knows Jerry Sandusky, he cites the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments.

I'd go to a different doc, but I can't find one who will take me: I'm eligible for Medicare soon. Besides, I like that this one gives me whatever meds I want without question. Oxycotin's not addictive, is it? Or Vicodin or Percodan? My doc says, "Hey, don't worry about 'em."

So I don't. After all, he's a professional: He must know best. I get 'em by the crate. Yee haw. I saw a unicorn yesterday, and my dog speaks French.

But still, there's the finger. Always the finger.

And how do I know what he's doing back there? I can't see; no eyes in the back of my head...most times. But it worries me a bit when my doc hangs a Do Not Disturb sign on the back side of the door. And it's questionable why he thrusts and grunts during the procedure. Is this part of the physical supposed to take fifteen minutes? Can the prostate be that hard to find?

The first time he probed me, I questioned my doc's credentials. He assured me his degree came in the mail and said if I had further questions or refused to bend over, I could find another doctor. That Medicare thing again, even though at the time Medicare was years ahead for me.

I dodged my last appointment using the toothache excuse. I told his nurse assistant I wouldn't be able to bite down on the rawhide stick he gives me. She wasn't buying that excuse, claiming she had no idea what I meant, and only agreed to re-schedule when I told her the appointments overlapped and the dentist scheduled me first. I got a lecture, but I got the reprieve.

My next scheduled appointment is this week. I doubt they'll buy the toothache or overlapping appointment excuse again, so I'm planning a car wreck. My Tahoe is ten years old and has run over a hundred forty-eight thousand miles, so I could use a new car. Granted, a car wreck alone probably won't do the trick. Cabs, you know. So, I'll strap a rock to the gas pedal, and shift gears as I exit, let the car roll into a rock at high speed. Then I'll roll around in the dust and scuff myself up before I call 911. An overnight stay for "observation" should do the trick. The appointment is for 8:00 A.M., and our local hospital doesn't release patients before 10:00.

So while I'm good this week, I'll be in the market for a new, credible excuse next week. If you have suggestions, please pass them along.

I'll do or pay most anything to avoid that probe.

What Do You Write or Read Besides Mystery?

2012-02-11T00:01:00.000-06:00

June Shaw

If you normally write and/or read mysteries, do you ever read or write in other areas? If so, what would that be?

I've been lucky enough to sell a series with three humorous mysteries. Currently, I'm trying something else. I'm writing a picture book with my granddaughter.

A few months ago eight-year-old Claire (who's adorable) asked if I'd hurry and finish my third mystery so I could get back to writing the book with her. I had gotten the idea for this book and asked her for suggestions. Then I purchased two books about writing for children. I read a number of articles about it, too, and borrowed a lot of Claire's books so I'd feel more competent to write a book (or two or more) with her.

Now it's almost ready! And I do hope you'll be looking for it soon for your own children or grandchildren or just because you love the idea.

HOW TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR PET GHOST by June Shaw & Claire Naquin should be out soon.

Claire is so excited. So am I. We're making a list of people who'll want to buy a copy once it comes out. Anybody want your name added? : )

And no, I won't stop writing and reading mysteries.

JUST FOR FUN

2012-02-10T06:01:00.004-06:00

by Earl Staggs

Back in November, during the Mystery We Write Blog Tour, I wrote this piece just for fun. You won’t find any historically verifiable facts, but maybe you’ll enjoy a chuckle or two.

I called it

The History of Publishing. . .according to Earl

Long, long ago, a bunch of guys were sitting around the cave telling stories to each other and one of them named Hiero came up with an idea.

“Hey,” he said, “we should preserve these stories on rocks.”

So Hiero came up with a bunch of symbols for animals and fish and birds and people and other things. They invented a hammer and chisel and started chiseling their stories on rocks using the symbols. Since Hiero made up the symbols, they called them Hieroglyphics.

I was just a kid then, but I studied hard and became a chiseler.

Then one of the women fell on a basket of grapes and squashed them into liquid and one guy said, “Hey, we can use that to draw our stories on the cave walls.” We took some hair from a mastodon’s leg, tied it to a stick, and used it as a brush. Soon we learned to drop women on other fruits and berries and came up with other liquids. We named it ink, and soon were drawing our symbols all over the cave walls.

That went fine for a while until some guy invented something he called paper. He said, “Hey, let’s put our stories on paper.”

A guy over in the corner named Webster said, “Hey, that’s fine, but enough with the symbols. Let’s use words. I just made up a whole lot of them and someday everybody will be using them.”

So we invented pencils and pens and started putting words on paper. That became very popular, once you got the hang of picking the right words.

Now, some people were better than others at picking which words to use. Webster came up with a word for what we were doing. He called it writing. The ones who were good at picking the best words became known as writers. I was tired of chiseling, so I studied hard and became a writer. It was tedious work doing one page at a time, though.

A few months later — and you’ll notice I’m condensing the time frame to make this move a little faster – a guy named Gutenberg invented a machine he called a printing press. What a boon that was! Put words in a flat plate, smear ink on it, and print thousands of pieces of paper. Oh, my. We were on a roll.

Then another guy had the idea of putting those pieces of paper in a pile and gluing them together. His name was Booker, so we called them books.

About the same time, a couple of guys named Royal and Underwood invented gadgets called typewriters. That made it a lot easier for writers to write books.

That was great. Soon we had stacks and stacks of books. Remember Webster, the guy who came up with all those words? Even he got into the act. He gathered up all his words, put them in a book, and called it a dictionary.

But what to do with all those books? A guy named Barnes said, “Hey, I have a friend named Noble. We’ll go in together and open a store to sell the books.”

Before long, we had huge companies called publishers cranking out books, and we had bookstores all over the world selling them. The whole system needed more people to make it work, so editors, distributors, shippers, and warehousers were born. Another group of people said, “Hey, we’re agents. You writers send us your stuff, and we’ll sell it to the publishers.”

Yes, a lot of people were involved in the system, but it worked. Everybody was reading books.

Meanwhile, up in Seattle, a couple of kids named Jobs and Gates were putting things together called computers. Not the huge things big companies were using. These were small enough to sit on a desk and soon everybody had one. This made it even easier for writers to write. These machines could even communicate with each other over a web that covered the whole wide world called the Internet. Wow! Talk about progress.

Things were about to change, though. A guy named Amazon started selling books over the Internet. You didn’t even have to go to the bookstore. Just order them through your computer, and they’d be shipped to your door. This Amazon guy went one step further. One day, he said, “Hey, look what I invented. I call it a Kindle. I don’t have to ship the books to you anymore. I’ll just send you the words and you read them on this thing. We’ll call them ebooks”

Remember those guys named Barnes and Noble? They said, “Hey, we have one of those, too. We call it a Nook. Soon, there was a bunch more of them. A lot of people weren’t reading printed books anymore. They were reading ebooks in the palm of their hands. Talk about change!

More changes were coming, though. A bunch of writers were sitting around one day and one of them said, “Hey, we don’t need agents and publishers and distributors and all those people. Let’s publish our ebooks ourselves. Since all those other people won’t be getting any of the pie, we can sell them for only a couple bucks and still make more per book than before.”

And that’s how it all happened and that brings us to where we are today. Writers have a choice of going the traditional way through agents and publishers or we can publish our own ebooks.

No one knows what changes the future will bring. It could be the entire publishing industry will crumble, and we’ll go back to preserving our stories on rocks. If that happens, I’ll be okay. I still have my tools and I can be a chiseler again.

If you’ve read all the way to here, you now know everything I know about publishing. If you’re still in the mood for reading, here are some things you can read on my website at http://earlwstaggs.wordpress.com

MEMORY OF A MURDER. A mystery novel with a long list of Five Star reviews. Click on it at the top of the page and read Chapter One.

SHORT STORIES OF EARL STAGGS. A collection of 16 short mystery stories in an ebook. A variety of stories ranging from hardboiled to soft to humorous. Click on “Earls Short Stories” for more information. Now on sale for 99 cents for all ereaders.

Click on “THE DAY I ALMOST BECAME A GREAT WRITER” and read the story some say is the funniest one I’ve ever written.

There’s also “WHITE HATS AND HAPPY TRAILS” about the day I spent with a boyhood idol, Roy Rogers.

Good reading and good writing to you, and let’s make 2012 the best year ever for all of us.

The Tuskegee Experiment

2012-02-08T00:01:00.000-06:00

By Mark W. Danielson

George Lucas’ movie Red Tails has brought well-deserved acclaim to the Tuskegee Airmen. Besides being an action-packed movie, Lucas wanted to commemorate the significance of the so-called “Tuskegee Experiment”. As stated on the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. web site, this was "the Army Air Corps program to train African Americans to fly and maintain combat aircraft. The Tuskegee Airmen included pilots, navigators, bombardiers, maintenance and support staff, instructors, and all the personnel who kept the planes in the air.”In World War II, few black Americans wore a United States uniform. Thankfully, a few Army Air Corps commanders saw through the inferiority labels and created the Tuskegee Experiment to prove blacks could fight for their country as well as any American. The resulting 332nd Fighter Group not only shattered the stereotype, they set a new standard of excellence.My generation, only one generation later, thought nothing of having black pilots and Weapons System Operators in my fighter squadrons. They had two names -- pilots and WSOs, and that mentality has never changed. As an airline captain, I pay no attention to my first officer’s race or gender. What matters is that they perform their job, and as one would expect, most pilots at this level perform exceptionally.The Tuskegee Airmen accomplished far more than having one of the best combat records in World War II and winning the “First Ever” Air Force Top Gun competition at what is now Nellis AFB in 1949. Racial bias hid this fact until 1995, and its associated trophy remained hidden in the Air Force Museum’s archives until 2004 when civil rights activist Ms. Zellie Rainey Orr tracked it down and rightfully demanded that it be displayed. Yes, the Tuskegee Airmen broke the stereotype that blacks were somehow inferior. Since then, most people realize that regardless of race, creed, color, and religion, people are capable of doing whatever they set their minds to. To me, the success of the 332nd Fighter Squadron comes as no surprise me because these people survived every humiliation and double-standard imaginable during their training, and the end result was a cohesive, highly disciplined fighting force known as the Red Tails. As for Hollywood’s portrayal of some of its characters, realize that the movie industry requires a romance story to appeal equally to men and women. TOPGUN was no different, and when my buddies tried to correct the producers on certain inaccuracies, the response was, “We’re not making a documentary.” So with this in mind, I strongly encourage everyone to see Red Tails. As executive producer Lucas said, “I have only one agenda, and that’s for a lot of young people to see this movie.” I agree that young people can gain inspiration from its characters and outstanding flying scenes. Red Tails may also help those unfamiliar with the racial struggles of the time understand what these brave men and women underwent to serve their country. It goes without saying that today’s full-integration policy in the military is the direct result of the Tuskegee Experiment’s success. Photos courtesy UC Riverside archives. For those interested in learning more, check out the Tuskegee Airmen site: http://www.tuskegeeairmen.org/lonelyeagles/default.aspx

Bye Bye Cataracts, Hello Bright Colors

2012-02-07T00:01:00.001-06:00

By Chester Campbell

After reading my colleague Ben Small's recent post on the horrors of visiting your dentist's office, I thought I might give a more positive view on my experiences with the ophthalmologist. It won't be nearly as funny as Ben's hilarious piece, but it might give you a little better feeling if you or a friend run afoul of the dreaded cataract condition.

First, a little history. In the fall of 1947, about the time I started my junior year in journalism at the University of Tennessee, I got a job as a reporter for The Knoxville Journal, the city's morning daily newspaper. The offices were in a building on Gay Street that had once housed an arcade. The news room was on the second floor, which appeared to have been added by closing in the two-story open area. The ceiling was low, marked by a cross-hatch of wooden beams that kept the lights from illuminating beyond a limited area. I felt that poor lighting contributed to my need for glasses by 1950, when I was twenty-five.

Fast-forward some sixty years. My eye doctor had been telling me I had cataracts that were growing. She advised not doing anything about them unless it began to bother me as the surgery might affect the AMD, age-related macular degeneration, in my right eye. But since being diagnosed with AMD several years ago, the disease had not progressed thanks to high-powered vitamin pills called Preservision.

I've had problems seeing to drive at night for a good while, which the doctor attributed to my cataracts. When we got caught out after dark a couple of months ago and I was unable to see an interstate access ramp because of the lights from oncoming cars, I decided it was time for a change. The doctor agreed and set me up for cataract surgery. I didn't realize that along with removing the cataracts, which are a clouding of the lens, they can make permanent improvements in your vision by replacing the old lens with an implant that corrects your problem, which in my case was severe nearsightedness.

The surgery itself was simple, totally without pain. I went into the day surgery center, got set up with an IV (the only pain was a small stick when the needle went in), had a bunch of drops put in my eye, then got a dose of anesthesia which left me able to talk to the doctor but feel nothing of what she was doing. After the operation, she put a patch over my eye, I got dressed, and went home.

She did the right eye first, which was the weaker and also the one with AMD. The day following surgery, I went to the doctor's office and they took off the bandage. Voila! I could see things across the room without glasses. Colors were brighter. Whites were whiter. Two weeks later, she did the left eye. The acid test came tonight (I'm writing this on Monday) when I drove for the first time since surgery. The darkness didn't bother me at all. I could see great without glasses. It's miraculous.

Because I was so nearsighted, the doctor put in a lens to correct my far vision, but I still need a slight magnification for reading and using the computer. Currently I'm using a pair of drug store glasses with minimum magnification, which works fine.

The only problem, which is hardly a problem, is that I have three little bottles of drops I have to use in both eyes. Four times a day for the first week, then tapering off. They're primarily to prevent infection, which is the major complication, and inflammation. I have two sets of bottles, since each eye is on a different schedule.

We walk daily (as much as possible) at the mall, and it's a real treat to see all the colorful stores in bright array. Since I thought I could see pretty well before with my glasses, I didn't realize how dull my vision had become. For the past few years, I've also had a bit of trouble separating blue from green. I can now see blue big and bright again. I'm currently wearing sunglasses even if it's only a cloudy bright day, since the whiteness of the clouds is so striking. I'm told it takes about a month for your eyes to settle down to the way they're going to be, but if it gets any better I don't know if I can stand it.

Bottom line: if you have cataract problems, get rid of 'em.

Chester Campbell
Visit me at Mystery Mania

The Uirapuru

2012-02-04T00:01:00.006-06:00

by Leighton Gage

The Guarani people of the Amazon tell of a handsome young warrior, whose love was sought by all the maidens of his tribe, and who was treacherously murdered by a rival for their affections.

When they went to prepare his body for burial, they found it gone.

He’d been transformed into a bird that filled the forest with song, but disappeared when approached.

The uirapuru.

They say that when the uirapuru sings, the sound of its notes is so beautiful that all the other birds of the forest stop singing - and listen.

Legend?

Only in part.

Because the uirapuru really does exist.

But is seldom seen, and rarely heard.

It's a shy creature with coloring that blends in with that of the forest.

And it sings only at dawn, and at sunset, and for little more than two weeks in any given year.

Those two weeks are the period in which the bird is building his nest.

He’s singing out of love, hoping to attract a mate.

All Brazilians know about the uirapuru...

...but few have been fortunate enough to hear its voice in nature.

The people who live in the Amazon jungle are constantly on the lookout for uirapuru feathers on the forest floor, because the possession of one is thought to bring good luck to both men and women.

But especially to women.

Who are said to use them to capture the passion of their loved ones – forever.

Click here to listen the song of the uirapuru:

World Book Night

2012-02-02T11:20:00.000-06:00

by Jaden Terrell

I got a an email today from Greg and Mary Bruss of Mysteries & More (the wonderful independent bookstore in Lenox Village near Nashville). Because I think what they had to say is very important, I'm including it here. I'm pretty sure they won't mind.

The message said:

Want to be part of a million-book giveaway? To volunteer to change a life? You can, as part of World Book Night, on April 23, 2012. The deadline to sign up to be a book giver has just been extended to February 6.

World Book Night is a campaign to find light or non-readers in the community and hand them each a book. Person-to-person.

It was started in the U.K. last year, and it is coming to our shores on April 23, 2012 – Shakespeare’s birthday, not coincidentally – as well!

The World Book Night organization is printing hundreds of thousands of special free paperback editions, and they are looking for thousands of volunteers to go out on April 23 and give books out across America to get more people reading.

You pick the place: hospital or diner, school or ... well, lots of possibilities. Be creative.

Sign up by February 6 to be a book giver on World Book Night! Please go the website to read up on its mission, the books you can choose from to give away, and some rules and regulations. All you need to become a giver is a little time, a love of books, and the desire to give something to your community.

Think about where you’d like to give away the books before you go online to apply. And thank you!

NOTE: Mysteries & More has been selected as a reception and pick-up point for World Book Night! Literacy can be a powerful resourse in solving the world's problems. Count me in!

For more information, check out http://www.worldbooknight.org.

Anthem for Doomed Youth, US paperback edition

2012-02-01T01:00:00.000-06:00

by Carola Dunn

Anthem for Doomed Youth, the nineteenth Daisy Dalrymple mystery, comes out in paperback in the US today.

Kirkus: "amusing and sprightly"

Mysterious Women: "gripping and fascinating"

An interesting contrast! Just goes to show every reader finds something different.

This is the poem that inspired the book, and provided its title:

ANTHEM FOR DOOMED YOUTH,
by Wilfred Owen

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries for them from prayers or bells;
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,--
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.

What candles may be held to speed them all?
Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of good-byes.
The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;
Their flowers the tenderness of silent minds,
And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.

Wilfred Owen died a week before the Armistice.

Revenge of the Dentist

2012-01-30T00:00:00.004-06:00

by Ben Small

I know why people shy away from dentists, professionally and socially. You don't want to get too close to those guys. They know pain; they inflict it.

You know the anticipatory sensations of an upcoming appointment: a slick sweat across the forehead; the stomach that just won't settle; those last few moments sitting in your car when you calculate any number of fake excuses only to realize nobody will believe you.

Face it: You're chicken, just like me. No dentists, thank you. I don't want no lolipops.

Not long ago, I reported on my ailing tooth problem, the filling which fell out and finally started throbbing on a Friday with no dentists working until Monday. I reported how I called a dentist only to discover he was skiing in Colorado, and that he suggested a temporary filling from Walgreen's until I could see him the next week.

Well, I saw him, and he scraped away the Walgreen's junk that had hardened around my teeth like some form of smooth cement, and squashed in his own temporary junk, then set me up for another appointment when he'd provide a permanent solution.

It's all about more appointments, you know, more fees to do the same thing he could have done a month ago. And no doubt, my dentist wanted me to sweat, to think about that big drill for a month or so.

I know this because during my first visit, when my dentist wasn't laughing at my predicament, he was twirling drilling irons and blood napkins like a cheerleader with a flag-draped baton and cackling like a mad Lawrence Olivier poised with a Black & Decker in a shaky hand.

Okay, so Olivier didn't cackle, just asked, "Is it safe?" Still, Olivier left me this impression, so ingrained in my throbbing jaw that every time I visit a dentist, I look for chair-straps and a head-vice.

Well, tomorrow is the day of reckoning, and I'm busy arranging all my affairs, anticipating it may be a while -- if ever -- before I have another fear-free, clear-headed day. Post traumatic stress, you know. Yes, it's been known to happen to dental patients.

Another reason nobody likes dentists.

My sister is married to a dentist. Now, her husband has always been nice to me, but I do get an eerie feeling whenever I see him. Perhaps, it's because he always recommends a dentist whether I need one or not, then chuckles to himself each time I stare back at him.

"Painless," they say.

Right. Doc Holliday said the same thing, but instead of Novocaine, Doc used a Derringer to put his patients out of their misery. If they awoke, the pain of an aching tooth was nothing compared to a hole in the chest.

So I've developed a game-plan for tomorrow. First, I'll pop a couple Vicodin an hour before the appointment, followed by a maximum dose of Naproxin. Pain and inflammation anxiety: the tools to prevention -- maybe...

Okay, I'll add some Xanax.

Then, I'll hit the vodka bottle. Old timers used booze to null the pain of amputations. This combo -- if it doesn't kill me -- should work for an extraction, root canal, or thorough cleaning, don'cha think?

Of course, there's another advantage to this approach: If I get pulled over for DUI or pass out and go to the Emergency Room in an ambulance, that's an excuse any dentist will accept and I'll have a written record to prove it.

Or maybe this guy is really evil, and he'll check my temporary filling, tell me he's too busy, pass a cleaning pic over my pearlies, and schedule me for yet another visit, thereby ratcheting up the fear factor and the post traumatic stress for yet another period of weeks while finding another way to bill an extra appointment.

Now, I must admit, I'm not a total coward. I can take a needle. But someone poised just over my delicate facial features with a jack-hammer so big it must be held in two hands, with a whirling, buzzing blade that to my ear -- eyes, jaw and forehead too -- vibrates like a Norelco electric razor amplified so it's like I'm inside a cranked up Bose, well, the thought just terrifies me.

And meanwhile, some hairy-armed assistant that may have once been on the East German female shotputting team thirty years ago is reaching for my jaw, saying as sweetly as possible for someone with such a large Adam's Apple, "Now, open up, you."

I think of Rosa Klebb, the shoe-blade.

Then, when the procedure actually begins, and smoke rises in a white plume from my open and defenseless mouth, I think about my tongue.

My tongue. Where is it supposed to go? There's a war going on inside my mouth: shrapnel spraying, heat rising...

Did I mention the smoke?

How do I protect a tongue I can't see, touch or feel?

I panic.

And that's where the leather straps come in. I've seen them before. They leave welts, you know.

Since I didn't see straps on my first visit to this guy, I suspect he uses the Auto-Strap, a hidden robotic device that's the latest in dental office supplies. I saw an ADTA (American Dental Torture Association) catalog in the waiting room.

So tomorrow, I get strapped in and discover just how pissed my dentist really was that I called him during his vacation.

And this may be the last you hear of me...

With Age Comes Wisdom

2012-01-25T00:01:00.000-06:00

By Mark W. Danielson

Ever wonder why so many authors are older? Two reasons come to mind; experience and opportunity. Experience comes with age, and for many, the opportunity to write comes with retirement. For those of you who have achieved financial independence by writing novels, I salute you. For the rest of us who enjoy writing and are able to accept meager royalties, read on.

Since we only stop aging once in our lives, I’ll forego any further discussion on that topic and move on to experience. It is safe to say that our frame of reference comes from whatever we do and see. The more experience we gain, the more things we have to write about and describe with accuracy. Quality writing comes from being able to incorporate our experiences into meaningful settings and dialogue. To “write what you know” is more than an old adage. While it is possible to research topics and then write about them, the prose that follows is usually less exciting than if you had written with first-hand knowledge.

A lack of expertise becomes obvious when writing about technical items. To write and be technically wrong will cost you your credibility. To avoid this pitfall, consider interviewing experts and then write them into your story as characters. I have done this several times because I believe if I required an expert’s opinion on something, then my character probably did, too. Since my lead detective is an average guy, this technique works well. I prefer him not being all-knowing and seeing.

I would wager there are more novelists who are retired than not. I say this based on observation and without authority, but it makes perfect sense. After all, people with full-time jobs must choose how to spend their free time, and for some reason, most that have families tend to prefer spending time with their loved ones rather than pinging on a keyboard. This is where retired folks have the advantage. Their only downside is they never get a day off. Retired or not, creative writing always comes down to time management.

If you want to write, then open your eyes as if you are seeing something for the first time. Wherever you go, take in the scene, its sounds, its smells, its grit. Note the dust on the light bulbs, the scratches on the doors, the wafting drapes, the creaking floors. Build your experience one day at a time, and when you sit down to write, draw upon your experience and fill your pages with emotion. While age may provide more opportunities to write, it’s the words that count. In this respect, the playing field is level.

Readers, eh? Can't live with them, etc., etc.

2012-01-24T06:49:00.000-06:00

One of the questions I find difficult toanswer is the one about whether we have a reader in mind when we write. I knowI go on about the characters being free to do what they like but that’s the wayit feels. So, in a way, when I’m recording their activities and dialogue, I’mbeing the reader (sort of). OK, in the end, it’s the writer-me who’s changingthings around, editing sentences and segments to get the rhythms ‘right’, butthe characters take precedence over almost everything else.

The reason I bring this up, however, isthat in the course of answering an email from Jean way back it struck me thatonce you’ve blogged a few times and got a few comments you’re aware of yourpotential (and actual) readers. Which means that the character you’re watching/creating/recordingis you and you can begin to anticipate what sort of responses he/it mightprovoke in the ‘audience’.

Character-Me (CM): OK, smartass, prove it.

Writer- Me (WM): What?

CM: Make me do and say thingsfor the Murderous Musings readers.

WM: It’s not that blatant. It’smore subtle.

(CM yawns.)

WM: Anyway, if I tried that,I’d be bound to offend someone.

CM: Oh, and we can’t havethat, can we? Better to stay all bland and cowardly and non-controversial.You’re pathetic. Real writers upset people all the time.

WM: Well, I can do that inbooks and stories. No need for it here.

CM: Why not?

WM: Because when you startblogging you make … well, sort of friends.

CM: See? You’re a coward.

WM: Why?

CM: That false hesitationthere – the ‘well, sort of’ bit. Why be so … apologetic about it? Why not justsay friends? Why not commit? You’re afraid you’ll have to send them Christmascards, aren’t you?

WM: No, I’m not. It’s … oh, youwouldn’t understand.

CM: Huh, I can read you like abook.

WM: Oh yeah?

CM: Yeah. Your pathetic habitof chucking in big words now and then and pretending to be clever.

WM: That’s not true.

CM: It is. You’re just coveringyour backside all the time. So busy not offending people you’re actuallylicking their…

WM: No I’m not.

CM: Course you are.

WM: You know, you’re one of thenastiest characters I’ve written for ages.

CM: (Sardonic grin.) Huh, youjust don’t like the truth. You want them all to think you’re a young, vibrant…

WM: No I don’t. I’ve told themI’m a granddad. Even used a shot of my grandson to illustrate this.

CM: Yeah, why? For thesympathy vote. You just hope they’ll say ‘Poor old bugger’ and let you get awaywith stuff.

WM: You know what? You’re justspiteful, one of those guys who need to undermine others because of your owninadequacy.

CM: Hmmm. Interesting. Yourealise I’m you, don’t you?

WM: Er … well, yes. But…

CM: Better keep quiet aboutthe inadequacies then, eh? Better change the subject. Do one of those wanderingoff at a tangent things to convince visitors the British have got a quirky wayof thinking. Image, image, image – that’s all you care about.

WM: If that was true, I’dhardly have messed it up by letting them see you, would I?

CM: Who knows? You’re thewriter. You’re the one responsible for this abstruse, rambling garbage.

WM: Hmmm, thanks. ‘Abstruse’ –nice. That should impress a few…

CM: Oh no, I’m not doing yourobfuscation for you. Hey, stop it.

WM: What?

CM: Making me say stuff like‘obfuscation’. Next you’ll have me questioning whether Schoenberg’s atonalmusic really was degenerate art. Damn.

WM: Right, instead of thehyper-criticism, what I’d really like you to do for me now is an exegeticalanalysis of Joyce’s Ulysses, or perhapsa quick ‘Existentialism for Beginners’.

I’m sorry to say that, at that point,Character-Me clapped his hand over his mouth and refused to continue. See? Thewriter always gets his/her way.

Ideas for Mysteries

2012-01-23T08:28:00.001-06:00

I like that ideas to use in mystery novels can come from anywhere. I often find interesting tidbits in the newspaper. On Sunday there’s a section titled News of the Weird. This always has good stories about incompetent crooks and strange behavior. Even regular news articles provide excellent content. Several ideas I’ve used that were reported: 1. The police raided a senior center and arrested oldsters who were gambling. 2. Two women took out life insurance policies on homeless men, killed them in hit-and-run accidents and collected the life insurance money. Many years ago I was on a federal grand jury and we heard evidence to indict people. One of my favorites was a bank robbery. The police couldn’t find any suspects for two weeks. Then the teller who had been robbed came to the police and said she and her boyfriend had staged the robbery. He disappeared to Las Vegas with the money and another woman and now she wanted the police to go get him. Some of these are more farfetched than I can make up.

Choosing a Compatible Critique Group

2012-01-20T00:01:00.035-06:00

by Jean Henry Mead

I recently formed a mystery writer's critique group with authors whose work is similar to mine. I hadn’t taken part in one since 1999, when I joined a large online group comprised of novice writers. As a journalist for more than a decade, making the transition to fiction was a real challenge. My years as a police reporter was a plus when I began writing mysteries but my prose was too terse and lacked description. So feedback from the group made the difference. The downside was that there were so many members in the group that my writing time consisted of critiquing their manuscripts. My lesson learned was to find a few like-minded writers whose work I admire.

How do you form a good critique group? If you write mysteries, don’t invite a science fiction writer to critique your work. It’s obviously not a match because the genres are so different. Even someone who writes mysteries may not be compatible. If you write cozies, a crime writer is not a good choice and you run the risk of boring your critique partner(s). Choose a small group of writers who are experienced with your subgenre and who enjoy it. Many books are genre specific, such as commercial romance novels, which have a common structure.

Select critique group members who can be flexible. You need reactions to your work, not what someone else thinks you should have written. And don’t join a critique group if you're sensitive to criticism. Some critique members insist on stark realism while others demand strong female characters and happy endings. Some may think you write too much dialogue and not enough narrative. So you must take criticism with a grain of salt. Toss whatever doesn’t apply over your shoulder.

Above all, choose fellow critiquers who don’t have an axe to grind or envy your publishing successes. Writer Nancy Kress has said that some people are less objective than others, “due to stubborn personality traits. Some people must find fault with everything in order to bolster their own superiority. They’re a bad source of constructive feedback. Conversely, others have such sweet natures that they hate to offend anyone. They will tell you everything in the novel works beautifully, even if it doesn’t.”

It’s your manuscript and you don’t have to accept every tidbit of advice, but at least listen with an open mind. Your fellow critiquers haven’t spent months with your characters and plot, and can be more objective, so take advantage of their expertise.

Video interview

2012-01-18T02:00:00.000-06:00

by Carola

Gone West comes out on Tuesday, hardcover, Kindle, and Nook:

I'm now 5 months behind with my Work in Progress, so I hope you'll forgive me if the rest of this Wednesday's post is just a link to a video interview about my career as a writer:

http://www.authorsroad.com/CarolaDunn.html

This was created by a couple who, on retiring, sold their house and bought a motor home with the intention of travelling about and interviewing authors. As they started from Portland, I was one of the earliest.

It's about half an hour long, so if you're interested allow time.

Location, location, location

2012-01-14T00:00:00.001-06:00

Where Do You Like a Book Located?

by June Shaw

When you read a book, do you care about the location of the story? Do you care whether the location is a real place or not?

I don't care about either.

Having said that, I consider a few books where I've cared, and where I prefer for the location to be real.

There are the Barbara Colley mysteries that feature a maid in the New Orleans famed Garden District. Those of us fortunate enough to have been in that area around the gorgeous monstrous homes can envision each house even more beautiful than the next one -- and a maid discovering what happens within their confines. These cozies are excellent reads for the stories and their unique people and setting.

Tell us only that a mystery is set in New Orleans, and readers' minds conjure various expectations. If it includes Bourbon Street, we have one mindset of what will occur and what we'll see. Tell us part of your story will take place in one of the cemeteries with large, above-ground tombs, and we'll envision one thing. Maybe shootings around the tombs. Maybe witches coming from them. Or zombies. How about voodoo?

Almost all of us can list large numbers of mysteries set in Los Angeles. New York. Chicago. Are any of them cozies? I haven't read one yet. A large majority of stories set in those states feature detectives and real, well-known streets and buildings.

Okay, it seems I do know what to expect from mysteries in many real places, and I do enjoy knowing what to expect.

I also realize I enjoy stories in which the author creates a setting, a community, the town's stores and streets. I have done both in my mystery series. I set the first book in a town I created outside Chicago, where I've enjoyed visiting. I love the Gatlinberg area and set the second book in a fictional place near there. I adore taking cruies, especially to Alaska, so gosh, guess the most recent place I needed to bring my spunky widowed protagonist and the hunky lover she tries to avoid so she can rediscover herself? (Of course the cruise line is fictional, although the ship's staff members enjoyed answering my questions like, "Where's a good place to find a body?")

Lots of readers here in south Louisiana have asked why I haven't set my books down here. Gosh, would it be more fun researching my city or a cruise ship?

We'll see. I am considering writing a future book or so set down here. And since Swamp People on the History Channel has become so popular, I might even give names of the real locations. Of course that's one of the things that's so enjoyable with writing fiction. We can decide and discover where we are and what will happen. I can't wait to find out what's coming up next in my books.

How about you? Do you like to read -- or write -- about a real location?

Writing Series Novels

2012-01-13T00:01:00.006-06:00

by Jean Henry Mead

After you write that standalone novel, your publisher may suggest that it become a series. So it’s important that you like your protagonist(s) and want to continue writing about them. Agatha Christie grew tired of writing about Hercule Poirot and wanted to kill him off, just as Conan Doyle attempted to rid himself of Sherlock Holmes.

When I began my Logan & Cafferty mystery/suspense series, I named my two protagonists Shirley Lock and Dora Holmes. They were known as Shirl Lock & Holmes, a corny spin on the detective and his physician narrator. When my publisher closed its doors, I resold the series and changed the names to Dana Logan and Sarah Cafferty. By that time my two women sleuths had become like old friends, whom I enjoy visiting to eavesdrop on their conversations.

Dana is a bit autobiographical while Sarah is like my friend Marge, who is outspoken and often so funny that she has me laughing tears. Dana is a mystery novel buff, who, with her friend Sarah, a private investigator’s widow, buy a motorhome to travel the West, as I’ve done.

Making the two women mobile provides them new settings in each novel. Although two of their motorhomes have been wrecked in the first three books, Dana’s wealthy sister dies and leaves her a considerable sum of money as well as a Wyoming mansion. The money allows them additional mystery solving opportunities as well as extensive travel.

Most protagonists have a job and the author needs to be knowledgeable about the occupation, or at least know the basics. And above all, enjoy writing about the job on a continuing basis, without becoming bored. Another pitfall is to change the tone of the writing. For instance, you shouldn't begin writing a cozy and decide in the middle of the series to darken it to a noir. Readers will complain. I’ve covered various subjects in my series, including adultery, drug gangs and homegrown terrorists, but with humor, so I’ve been able to get away with subjects not usually associated with two 60-year-old feisty amateur sleuths. And readers have fortunately told me that each book has been a fun read.

If your series becomes popular, you may have to continue writing it longer than you had planned. J. K. Rowling was able to discontinue her Harry Potter series after seven books but Sue Grafton is committed to 26. Her schedule has changed over the years and she now only writes three hours a day with one published novel every two years. At 71, she’ll be nearly 80 when Z is for Zero is released, but she plans to continue writing about her private investigator on a standalone basis after the series ends. She admits that Kinsey Millhone is her alter ego and that she enjoys writing about her.

I can't imagine writing 26 novels about someone you don't like and I'm glad that I enjoy my characters, especially my lovesick sheriff.

A Writer's Paradise

2012-01-11T00:01:00.000-06:00

By Mark W. Danielson

Hemingway would have loved this picturesque town on Spain’s southwest shore. Narrow cobblestone streets guide you through its laid back charm. Pristine beaches welcome the Atlantic’s gentle waves. The sun casts magnificent colors as it rises and sets over the ocean. Seagulls swarm over the fishing boats. Cafes overlooking the beach provide perfect settings for enjoying its temperate climate. Imagine sitting from a balcony watching a spectacular sunset and you’ll understand why Rota is an ideal location to kick back and write a tale.
But as tempted as one might be to stay glued to a keyboard, the lure of this town is too great to resist. Markets conduct business in much the same manner as they have always done. The public market offers fresh cuts of meat. The seafood market is located at the dock where fishing boats deliver their catch. It doesn’t get any fresher than this.

Time seems irrelevant here. During the day, the streets are eerily empty and the town seems to sleep, but once the ocean swallows the sun, the vampire-like residents awaken. Almost on cue, when darkness falls, they fill Rota’s town squares and restaurants, laughing and talking with the approval of their tail-wagging dogs. Tail wagging is highly encouraged throughout Spain.
While tourists flood Rota during the summer months, many shops and restaurants close in the winter due to a lack of business. For writers, this doesn’t matter, but for tourists you might want to consider September as an ideal month to visit. Bear in mind that Rota does not have an abundance of tourist activities, but its charm and beautiful beaches rival anywhere in the world. Whether you choose to write or not, this town is definitely worth visiting if you’re going to Spain.

As if it weren't hard enough already...

2012-01-10T00:09:00.000-06:00

Thereare plenty of examples of writers who’ve produced great stuff by imposingrestrictions on themselves. Beckett wrote in French to stop himself giving into his facility with English. The French classical dramatists interpreted the‘rules’ of Aristotle very tightly and had to write in Alexandrines and stick tothe 3 unities. But their constraints were easy to cope with compared with thethings the members of a group called Oulipo do. I’d vaguely heard about thembefore but they were featured in a recent BBC podcast and I was amazed to hear thesort of difficulties they create to make the writing process even trickier.

Thename comes from a French expressionmeaning ‘workshop for potential literature’. (It could only be French, couldn’tit?) The group’s been going for fifty years and you can only join if you’reinvited to. If you ask to become a member, that guarantees that you never will.Mind you, when you hear the sort of constraints they impose on themselves, youprobably decide a visit to the supermarket or a few hours spent staring at awall would be a better way to spend your time.

I’dheard of Georges Perec’s novel La Disparition, which doesn’t have the letter‘e’ in it. What I didn’t know was that it had been translated into English byGilbert Adair (again with no ‘e’s). He then used all those ‘e’s that he’d ‘saved’ to write a novella calledLes Revenentes which uses ‘e’ but no other vowels. A Canadian poet, Christian Bök,was interviewed on the programme and he’d written a lipogram that uses only onevowel in each of its five chapters. Michel Thaler wrote a novel with no verbsin it. And so it goes on. One poet, whose name I’ve forgotten, wrote a book often sonnets whose pages were cut in such a way that you can create any 14-linesequence you like out of them. To see what he meant, imagine those kids’ bookswhich have a head, body and legs on 3 separate segments of the page so that youcan create different combinations by matching the different heads, bodies andfeet. The mathematical permutations when you have 10 poems of 14 lines each aresuch that it’s effectively a book you can never finish reading.

Thetheory is that this triggers ideas, inspiration, and forces you to ‘thinkoutside the box’ (apologies for such a gross cliché). But, apart from it beingan entertaining sort of game to play for one’s own amusement or a way of sayingto the world ‘Look how clever I am’, it’s hard to warm to the idea. I thinkimposing restrictions is valuable. I often get students to remove all theadjectives and adverbs from a piece to show them how it affects the narrativetone and pace and, indeed, changes meanings, but these arbitrary and verysevere restrictions seem to work against full creativity. You may producesomething which obeys all the rules but I can’t help but think that, in doingso, you must surely have had to discard insights and images that would haveadded to the message you were conveying. It’s form taking precedence overmeaning , and the two shouldn’t (and can’t, in my book) be separated.

Tofinish, another example of an Oulipo-type product. One of their techniques iscalled n+7. It involves replacing each noun in a text by the noun which comes 7places after it in the dictionary. The programme gave one about the Creationwhich ended with God saying ‘Let there be limit’, which I rather liked. So I’vejust recast perhaps the most famous opening novel sentence as follows: It is atube universally acknowledged, that a single mandala in possession of a goodfounder, must be in want of a wildebeest.

Research

2012-01-09T09:29:00.000-06:00

One of the fun parts about being a mystery writer is doing research. Clearly, there are the basic forms including searching the Internet, going to the library and interviewing people. Then comes another whole realm of research—visiting specific locations you are writing about. My three published mysteries take place in Hawaii, Colorado and California. Since I grew up in Hawaii, spent time in California and now live in Colorado, I’m acquainted with all three locations. But for my recently published Senior Moments Are Murder, I needed to become more familiar with Venice Beach, California. Fortunately, my daughter lived there for several years, so my wife and I went to visit a number of times. I spent my spare time wandering around Venice Beach. You couldn’t ask for a better place to people watch. Along the boardwalk you’ll find every imaginable size, shape, and type of people in any costume you can or can’t imagine. There are rollerskaters, street performers, sellers hawking their wares, graffiti artists, beachgoers and gawkers. There are also canals in Venice Beach that are worth seeing—only a three block stretch but beautiful.
My upcoming novel, Cruising in Your Eighties Is Murder, takes place on an Alaskan cruise ship, so my wife and I went on an Alaskan cruise as a research expedition for me (tough tour of duty).

The other form of research I get involved in is experimentation. As an example, I had a scene where someone my weight (150 pounds), would need to float in water using only inflated toy balloons. So my research question was: how many balloons would it take to support me in the water? Before you read further, make your guess. At the time I needed an answer to this question, I was still working full time and traveling several times a month to Orange County, California. On one of my trips I bought some balloons and some fishing net. When I got back to the motel that night, I went down to the pool to experiment. I blew up some balloons, stuffed them in the netting and jumped in the pool to see how many balloons would be needed to hold me up in the water. When I did this, there were a group of people in the hot tub watching this weird guy play with balloons. Undeterred, I performed my experiment. I thought it would take about six balloons to keep my afloat, so I started with six and found that number provided more than enough buoyancy. Then I eliminated balloons, one at a time, until I discovered the answer—one balloon could keep me afloat. Afterwards, I went over to the hot tub, which led to a number of questions and a chance for me to pitch my books to a new audience. Hey, everything is an opportunity when you’re a writer.

Mike Befeler

The Holiday Season

2012-01-07T00:04:00.010-06:00

by Leighton Gage

Down here in Brazil, we had four significant events to mark our holiday season.

One: On the 26^th of November a floating Christmas tree was erected in the lagoon of Rio de Janeiro.

It was 83 meters tall, weighed 542 tons and remained in place until yesterday.

Two: On the 27^thof December, I launched my latest book, “A Vine In The Blood”.

And, in that short time, it’s already garnered a number of stellar reviews:

Gage knows Brazil well and has a cast of characters so amusing and so skillfully constructed that this novel is irresistible. – Toronto Globe and Mail.

Rising above Brazilian brutality, corruption, and bribery with uncommon wit and the help of his colorful, appealing colleagues, (Silva) scores a winning goal in an enormously complex kidnap payoff scheme. – Publisher’s Weekly (starred review)

Let’s take a moment to celebrate excellence…(“A Vine in the Blood” is) a great story, well told. – New Mystery Reader

Mr. Gage is a master of the procedural who paints with a fine brush, using the tools he needs to craft a fine novel—and no more. – The New York Journal of Books

Whether it's characterization, plot or setting, “A Vine in the Blood” is possibly the best book in this series. Rating A+ – Kittling Books

Three: The annual run took place on St. Silvester’s Day.

Featuring more than15,000 participants, and including practically all of the great long-distance runners in the world, it’s the most famous race in South America.

Four: Two million people rang in the New Year with a stupendous show of fireworks on Copacabana Beach.

If you missed the tree, the race and the fireworks, all is not lost.

You can still console yourself with the book.

Go here: http://www.amazon.com/Vine-Blood-Chief-Inspector-Investigation/dp/1616950048/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1303077898&sr=8-5

And click on the "Look Inside" feature, to see if you like the writing.

A Somewhat Belated Happy New Year To All!

Now Write Mysteries!

2012-01-04T14:47:00.000-06:00

By Jaden Terrell

About a year and a half ago, a friend and fellow writer, Philip Cioffari, sent me an email saying he was contributing an exercise to a book on writing and that the editor had asked him to recommend another contributor. "Are you interested?" he asked.

Was I interested? Is our papillon, Luca (aka His Lordship of Eternal Cuteness, Light of a Thousand Suns) a beautiful, shining being of goodness and light? Well...yeah.

The book, the fourth of a series called Now Write, is called Now Write Mysteries, edited by Sherry Ellis and Laurie Lamson. I chose my topic, character development, because it's the thing reviewers who read my books comment on most often and most favorably. I wrote about using character relationships to create depth and ended with a series of questions designed to reveal the complexities of a character

A few months ago, I got an email from the editor saying the book would be published on December 29th. I clicked through to the list of contributors and realized I was in the company of some of my favorite authors. In addition to Philip, whose vivid, elegant writing makes me sick with envy, the list includes such powerhouses as:

Graham Brown
Reed Farrel Coleman
Bill Crider
Bruce DeSilva
Wayne Dundee
Hallie Ephron
Chris Knopf
William Kent Krueger
Sophie Littlefield
Louise Penny
Twist Phelan
Cathy Pickins
Marcia Talley
Elizabeth Zelvin

And many more.

Seeing my name on a list packed with bestsellers and award winners was quite a thrill. I checked out the sample writing exercises and was glad to see that I would want this book even if I weren't in it.

If you're a crime fiction writer, Now Write Mysteries might be a good addition to your writing library. I'm off to spend my Christmas gift cards buying mine.

Happy 2012, all. May this coming year bring you joy and fulfill your dreams.

The joys of research

2012-01-04T01:00:00.000-06:00

by Carola Dunn

Sometimes it's a real struggle to find information you desperately need for your story. Sometimes information you didn't even know you wanted just falls into your lap--more information, in fact, than you can possibly use.

My next book, GONE WEST, comes out this month, January 17th to be precise, in hardcover and for Kindle and Nook. It's the 20th in my Daisy Dalrymple series, set in England in 1926.

The story takes place in the Matlock district of Derbyshire. When I started to research the area, I came across mention of a huge health spa, Smedley's Hydro.

The building dominates the small town, so Daisy couldn't avoid noticing it. And lo and behold, there on the web was Smedley's visitors' handbook for the mid 1920s. I couldn't resist using some of the wonderful information, and the hydro ended up playing an important part in the story, though I hadn't ever heard of it when I began planning the book.

Here is an excerpt to whet your appetite:

...........................................................................

Bath Arrangements - continued

ELECTRIC TREATMENT.
    Galvanic or Faradaic          per application 1/6
    Both Galvanic and Faradaic                    2/-
    High Frequency                                2/6
    Diathermy                                     5/-
    Ultra Violet Rays                             5/-
    Electric Ionization                           5/-
    Bath                                          2/-

THE HOT-AIR OR RADIANT-HEAT BATH (DOWSING'S PATENT).
An installation of these baths has been in constant use for some years, and the results obtained have been very satisfactory. Recently the full bath of the latest pattern has been added. The heat is produced by Electricity, and there is consequently no vitiation of the atmosphere by products of combustion. These baths are especially useful in cases where the patient is enfeebled or crippled, or from any cause unfit for the ordinary Turkish or other form of hot-air bath.

    For a Single Bath           7/6
    Course of Three Baths     £1/1/-
    Course of Six Baths       £1/10/-
(If booked at one time and taken within one month.) £ s. d.
NAUHEIM TREATMENT, 
     Bath only                                      0 4 6
     Bath and Schott Exercises                      0 5 6
PLOMBIERES TREATMENT, per application               0 2 6
PINE BATH                                           0 3 6
AIX DOUCHE                                          0 3 0
VICHY DOUCHE                                        0 3 0

Night Attendance for Invalids.-The night watchmen are qualified to give simple treatment in case of need. If required, they will summon medical assistance.BATHS TO VISITORS.
Ladies and Gentlemen desirous of taking baths on their own account, and without consultation, are requested to apply to Head Bath Attendants. Time and place will be arranged so as to avoid interference with Patients going by prescription. Baths in the bedroom, and private baths, are subject to a small special charge in the case of visitors.
For Massage and such other of the foregoing treatments as may be taken by non-patients, the charges are 50 % higher.

Baths to persons not staying in the Establishment., £ s. d.
Turkish or Russian Bath per single bath             0 3 6
                        per series of six           0 18 0

Page 26

The Baths, &c

N0 description can do justice to Smedley's unrivalled suite of baths, renowned all over the world for completeness of equipment and efficiency. Nothing but a tour of inspection, or, better still, actual experience of the incomparable treatment, can convey any adequate conception of the astonishing scope of the health-restoration and health-maintenance facilities, aggregated during many years, and vigilantly modernised to the moment. . . . THE BATHS ARE UNDER THE SAME ROOF AS THE ESTABLISHMENT, THUS DISPOSING OF ANY NECESSITY TO GO OUT OF DOORS, WITH CONSEQUENT RISK OF CHILLS.

...............................................................................

Take a look at the rest--it's fascinating!

Unfortunately I was too far along in the plotting to use the Galvanic or Faradaic bath to bump someone off. Another time...

Writing About Foreign Locations

2012-01-03T00:01:00.001-06:00

By Chester Campbell

Writing mysteries with foreign locations can cause some difficulties, but when I started penning novels in the early nineties, I plunged ahead without hesitation. You do that when you're young (I was only sixty-seven then). My second book, still unpublished, was set largely in Korea, with smaller sections in Hungary and Thailand. I'm currently revising it with a new market in mind.

For the Korean part, I had the advantage of having spent a year in Seoul during the Korean War in 1952-53, plus a visit there during a tour of the Far East in 1987. I also had a Korean daughter-in-law who provided some information on customs in the country. I read lots of other views of the Hermit Kingdom, including those in various travel books.

The title of the book is The Poksu Conspiracy. Poksu in Korean means "vengeance." I found enough expressions in phrase books to give the story a realistic feel. Transliterations of Oriental languages with odd alphabets are notably inconsistent, but I tried to stick with spellings used in the media for better known words. After completion of the manuscript, I had it read by a Korean college student to catch any inaccuracies.

For the portion set in Thailand, I used the area around Chaing Mai, a popular tourist destination in the northern part of the country. In checking on Google, I found the city has grown tremendously in the past quarter century. The metropolitan area now includes a million population. I had visited Chaing Mai as part of that month-long Far East tour in 1987.

The Hungarian setting was a bit different. I had never visited that part of Europe. I read several books to get a feel for the people and the country. My chapters were set in Budapest, and I found a copy of National Geographic that included lots of good photos and details of locations I used in the story.

Using foreign locations in mysteries isn't all that difficult if you're willing to do the research. As best I recall, Martin Cruz Smith wrote Gorky Park without ever visiting the Soviet Union. Reading the book, you'd have thought he had lived there. Have you written foreign locations? If so, how did you handle it?

Visit me at Mystery Mania

Useful Software for Writers

2012-01-02T00:00:00.003-06:00

by Ben Small

I confess to being a computer and software junkie. Yep, guilty as charged. I about wet myself when Apple first came out with the Apple 2, and was one of the first in line when its 2e came out. Since then, I've always had at least one computer, and currently I run four (two desktops, two laptops). And funny thing, none of these computers are Apples. The reason: I don't know anybody who uses Apple, so have no one to turn to when I need help. Yes, Microsoft is maddening, but at least I understand most of Microsoft logic by now and can cure most problems I experience. If not, I have friends who can.

And since I love computers and I write, I'm always looking for software to help me do just that. I use Microsoft Word as a word processor, but when I work on a novel, I use Write-Brain's Power Writer. I'll tell you why a bit later, since I've blogged about Power Writer before.

Recently, however, noting trends of writers preparing book trailers and posting them on their websites, Facebook and on YouTube, I started exploring easy options to allow me to do just that. Problem is, I don't know much about video technology, about video or audio formats.

And then, I stumbled upon Camtica, from Jiteco. Camtica.

Here's what attracted me to Camtica:

"Camtica enables you to create professional screen recordings, presentations, tutorials and more. You can record any desktop activity with voice, webcam and animated mouse clicks. The resulting video can be saved in various formats including AVI and WMV.

"Why do you need Camtica?

 * To create professional screen recordings, demonstrations, presentations, screencasts, tutorials and more

 * To generate effective videos that help you train, teach, sell and more
* To create demonstration videos for any software program

 * To show customers how to use your product
* To create on-demand interactive training, tutorials for school or college class

 * To create a set of videos answering your most frequently asked questions

 * To share your recordings on YouTube, Screencast.com and other videos sites

"Features:

 * Records entire desktop, selected rectangle region, dynamic region around mouse cursor, webcam

 * Records anything on the screen including windows, objects, menus, full screen and rectangular regions

 * Records desktop screen with audio and webcam together - personalizing your videos by including a webcam movie of yourself over your desktop at any position

 * Records video chats, Skype video calls, games, flash movies played on sites

 * Mouse highlighting spotlights the location of the cursor

 * Records video in many video file formats including AVI and WMV

 * Supports various video and audio codecs

 * Free support and advice

 * Free lifetime updates and upgrades

 * System requirements: Windows XP/2000/2003/Vista/Windows 7

"It’s easy to use as one, two, three."

Then I looked at the software controls, the so-called "ease of operation" aspects. I hate complex software, like Dramatica. Life is complex enough without having to spend countless hours learning the ins-and-outs of software I'll use occasionally. These looked simple enough. And Camtica is priced right: $9.95. {Can you believe that price? You can even get it free if you jump through a couple hoops and act immediately.} You can see screen shots of these controls at the website I've linked.

So imagine you have some photos relating to your book's setting or topic. Or a video you want to produce. You want a trailer. Or maybe you got some good reviews, either on video or somewhere else. You want to display these. Camtica gives you simple flexibility, putting some muscle into your creative arts. Sure, you can spend thousands of dollars for complex software to do this, or hire a publicist, graphics artist and a webmaster. But why? In most cases, you'll pay these costs yourself, and if you want to create your own promotional stuff, you'll spend mucho hours in a classroom somewhere.

If you own a quality video camera -- even some smartphone cameras -- and some basic and simple editing program, you've got the tools for quality trailers, just not the software to put it all together.

Camtica gives you that tool.

Check out Camtica. Like me, I think you'll like it.

As for the novel itself, I've used Power Writer for years, have bought more than one copy -- remember, I use four computers. Why? Because Power Writer give me tools Microsoft Word does not, the ability to create a character database, outline-as-I-go and compose screens all connected together. Plus it's got a decent thesaurus and is connectable to Power Structure, Write-Brain's structure assistance software. While this latter program sounded good, however, and indeed, I bought it, I've never used it, because PowerWriter contains enough of these features I haven't needed what Power Structure offers. And Power Writer is easy to use; it follows most of Microsoft Word's features, and when my novel is finished, I convert it to Word before transforming it into any other format I need. Power Writer

Ever forget which eyebrow bears a character's scar? Just copy and paste that description into your character database in the lower screen (expandable), and have no trouble manipulating Search commands to find it again. And Plot points of your outline are automatically grayed into your composition screen or you can enter them into your composition screen and they automatically appear in your outline. Print up either or both.

For character development, I usually turn to books, but I've also used Character Pro 5, which I understand has now been merged with Quick Story into a new software program called Character Writer. Truth be told, I haven't shelled out yet for Character Writer -- although as a software junkie I may do so someday -- because as a trait-tracker and character-depth generator, Character Pro 5 works just fine. Character Writer

New Year, New Resolutions

2012-01-01T10:16:00.002-06:00

by Susan Santangelo

Happy Healthy 2012 to one and all. For me, the healthy part comes first, and then positive thoughts and happiness will follow. I hope.

My 8-year-old granddaughter, Rebecca, told me over the holidays that 2012 is the year for me to "get my sparkle on." Hmm. I wasn't quite sure what she meant by that. More sequins? Rhinestones? Perhaps wearing a tiara now and then?

Well, why not?? Each day is, after all, a celebration and, as the old saying goes, that's why it's called the present.

I've chosen to apply my wise granddaughter's advice to my writing rather than my wardrobe. I've vowed that 2012 is the year my writing will sparkle. I will finish Book 3 in the Baby Boomer mysteries and even start cracking on Book 4.

And, what the heck, I may borrow one of Rebecca's tiaras to wear while I write. It couldn't hurt.

Japanese New Year's Celebration Season

2011-12-30T00:01:00.058-06:00

by Jean Henry Mead

Among New Year's celebrations around the world, the Japanese shōgatsu is one of the longest in duration. The New Year is celebrated on January 1, but the holiday continues well into January. Just as we prepare for Christmas and Thanksgiving, the Japanese take their holiday preparations seriously, especially New Year's Eve, which is known as Omisoka.

Buddhist temples around the country ring their bells a total of 108 times on New Year’s Eve to symbolize the 108 human sins and to rid themselves of the 108 worldly desires. A major attraction is “The Watched Night Bell” in Tokyo, which is reminiscent of the Times Square ball drop. The Japanese believe that the ringing of bells can rid them of their sins of the previous year. After the bells stop ringing, they celebrate and feast on soba noodles.

The New Year season is also celebrated with a special selection of food called osechirvori, or osechi, which consists of boiled seaweed, fish cakes, chesnuts, sweet potatoes, burdock roots and sweetened black soybeans. Another popular dish is ozoni, a mocha rice cake, which is often eaten with sushi and later a seven herb rice soup that is prepared on Jimijitsu, the seventh day of January.

Japanese post offices are their busiest during the end of December and beginning of January, due to the country’s custom of sending postcards called nengjo. Like our oun custom of sending Christmas cards, the postcards are delivered on New Year’s Day. However, the cards are not sent if someone in the family has died during the year. Instead, a simple postcard called mochyyn hgaski is sent to friends and relatives.

Children are customarily given money on New Year’s Day, which is handed out in small decorated envelopes called pochibukuro, which are similar to the Chinese red envelopes and the Scottish handsel. The custom, called otoshidama, began during the Edo period when large stores and wealthy families gave children small bags of mochi, a boiled, sticky rice cake topped with a a slice of Mandarin orange. The amount of money they receive depends on the child’s age but has been known to exceed $120 U.S.

The custom of giving mochi is a dangerous one because it has caused a number of chocking deaths, especially in the elderly. The death toll from eating mochi is reported annually in newspapers following the New Year, yet the custom continues.

Games are also part of the New Year’s celebration, including kite flying, or hanetsuki, and a game called sugoaroku, fukunwarai, which resembles our “Pin the Tail on the Donkey,” using paper facial parts to tack blindfolded to a wall. Other entertainment includes TV programming, which pits members of two teams of popular music artists against each other.

Another Japanese New Year's tradition is poetry, including haiku, a 17 syllable verse, as well as renga, or linked poetry. Some haiku celebrates a number of “firsts” for the New Year, including the first sunrise, first laughter and first dream. And before sunrise on January 1, people often climb a mountain or drive to the coast to watch the first sunrise of the new year while others visit a shrine after midnight.

Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is played throughout Japan during the New Year’s season, often accompanied by a chorus. The symphony was introduced by German prisoners of war during World War 1, and was first played by the renowned NHK Symphony Orchestra in 1925. The Imperial government encouraged performances of the symphony during the Second World War, especially on New Year’s Eve, to promote Japanese nationalism because, at that time, Germany was an ally. The symphony became a tradition after the war and continues to this day.

No matter how you plan to celebrate the New Year, I hope that 2012 is the happiest and most successful ever!

Spell Check Can't Save You

2011-12-28T00:01:00.001-06:00

By Mark W. Danielson

Ever find a typo in a published book? Most people have, and if it’s in your book, you’re mortified. How does it happen? Simple -- computers have made writing so easy that we get lazy. We are so used to reading and writing at the speed of technology that we tend to miss things. The up side is we can type at our thought’s pace. The down side it errors are easily induced.

If you’re like most authors, you use Spell Check and Grammar Check to proof your work. But what happens if your words are spelled correctly and are grammatically correct, but the wrong one was used? Then there’s a good chance it may come out something like this:

“What do you mean he’s dead?” she screamed. “He said he was heeled!” After saying that, she collapsed over his body and wrapped her arm around his waste, feeling the last of its warmth.

The doctor tried consoling her, but she pushed him away. Her actions shouldn’t have phased him, but instead they peeked his interest. “Wear were you when this happened?”

“In bed, of course. He swore he was fine, that the stitches wouldn’t rip, that it was okay to make love. But soon he screamed in pain. I wanted to poor him some water, but he declined. When he winced again, I called 911 and told them their wasn’t a second to lose. Oh, God, what will I do without him?”

“I’m not sure, but you need to weight outside. I’m very sorry for your loss.”

Without claiming this to be great dialogue, it does provide an example of ate dictionary words that sound the same, but are not the intended word. Subconsciously, it’s easy to induce errors, and while most are easily discovered, others sneak in like ants. As you can see, the wrong word can create entirely different images from those intended.

But incorrect words can also be the result of typos or mistakes, and Spell and Grammar Checks probably won’t save you on these. One book I recently finished contained several such errors. In one case, the character is firmly gripping another’s hand demanding he “Sweat it!” Certainly, the intended word was “Swear”, but the error remained. Bummer. The next mistake in this book involved naming the wrong President. The timing and all previous references were of Nixon and Johnson and the author certainly meant to name Nixon, but instead Reagan appeared on the printed page. As Rick Perry would say, Oops.

Writing is easy, but creating an error-free novel seems next to impossible. The solution? Once everything is finalized, find yourself a good proof reader who has never seen your work before. Then, and only then, do you have a chance at submitting an error-free manuscript. Happy hunting.

The season of cheer?

2011-12-27T00:12:00.000-06:00

OK, for the purposes of this aside on the festivities, let’s leavekids out of the equation. Christmas for them is different. Never mind that theStar of Bethlehem doesn’t move nearly as fast as the flashes from their magnumsas they play the kindergarten equivalent of Grand Theft Auto – there aresparkly things everywhere, a huge tree is suddenly growing and twinkling insidethe house and the fat guy with the red gear is on his way. My cynicism about itall is barely disguised but I genuinely am happy that it makes kids happy.

But this isn’t about the kids’ Christmas (or the Christmas forgenuine believers, which, again, I acknowledge is something different andsomething special). This is about Christmas for heathens such as me and eventhose heathens who still pay lip-service to the notion that it’s somehowconnected with a religious faith.

I used to get angry about the whole thing – all the enforcedjollity, the contagion of Santa’s ‘Ho-ho-ho’. I found it sad that people werenice to one another just because it was Christmas and couldn’t see that itwould be good to be like that right through the year. Why not be happy, caringand ho-ho-ho-ish because it’s Tuesday or October or late afternoon? I didn’tlike the profits made from crap goods that wouldn’t even last until bedtime. Icouldn’t see the point of sending a card to someone ‘because they’d sent one toyou’. I was the guy wandering amongst all the ever-so-jolly adverts, listeningto Bing Crosby, George Michael, Wizzard and Slade belting out their singalongsin all the shops and muttering ‘Bah humbug’ at every opportunity. I was thepre-ghosts Scrooge minus his miserliness.

Then, lo, it came to pass (several years ago, actually) that thescales fell from my eyes and I realised what I’d known all along – that’s it’sthe festival of Godot. Waiting for Godotis about all sorts of things. It’s bleak and yet very funny, it’ssimultaneously theatrical and anti-theatrical, and it sums up marvellously howwe live our lives. I want everyone who reads this to have a wonderful happytime, so I won’t stress (well, not much, anyway) the essential self-deceptionof waiting for something which never happens, but that’s what Christmas is. Theanticipation begins earlier and earlier each year – and that’s marvellous, becausethere’s a feeling of direction, purpose, a reason to do particular things. Theexcitement and magic is a daily experience, through late October, November,December.

The mistake is to assume it’s building up TO something. It’s not.Nothing could match the build-up, so Christmas Day arrives, then goes. Andalmost at once the newspapers start including supplements about summerholidays. Philip Larkin’s poem Next,Please is a powerful evocation of our Waitingfor Godot lives and, although it’s not about Christmas, it encapsulates theseason. I’m not going to quote it because its truth (for an unbeliever) mayseem uncomfortable (and for a believer, it’s just plain wrong).

And no, I’m not just being a miserable old bugger. I’m having agood time. I like the excitement, the gaudiness, the superficial impressionthat everything’s OK really. I love the wonder in the faces of the younger kidsand the naked, smiling acquisitiveness of the older kids who’ve learned how towork the system. And I actually think it’s a shame that, in the USA, for somereason, the bluff, complex cheer of the greeting ‘Merry Christmas’ has beenreplaced by the bland ‘Happy Holidays’.

But I really, really do want everyone (of all faiths or none) tohave a great time. So please do.

Geezer-lit Mysteries

2011-12-26T09:24:00.001-06:00

This is my first posting as a new member of Murderous Musings, so let me introduce myself. I’m Mike Befeler, and I write the Paul Jacobson Geezer-lit Mystery series, which includes Retirement Homes Are Murder, Living with Your Kids Is Murder and Senior Moments Are Murder. The fourth book in the series is under contract with my publisher and will appear December, 2012, and is titled, Cruising in Your Eighties Is Murder. I’m always interested in what readers think of the word “geezer.” I’ve had debates with some fellow authors who don’t like the word, but I use it in an affectionate not derogatory fashion because I’m a geezer-in-training. My protagonist is in his mid-eighties with short-term memory loss, has a good sense of humor and can laugh at his predicament. He may have this adversity of old age but is still an active and contributing citizen. So my advice to everyone is to embrace your inner geezer. Thanks to Mark Danielson and Chester Campbell for inviting me to join this blog.

A Christmas Wish

2011-12-24T08:23:00.005-06:00

Christmas is upon us. Glory to God in the highest. Peace on Earth is my Christmas wish to everyone, regardless of their religion. Over the past two weeks I have traveled halfway around the world and back and have seen frantic shoppers everywhere trying to make last minute preparations for their family celebrations. As the hours fly by, it's easy to forget the significance of this holiday. The birth of Christianity. The Son of God, delivered to us. I'm not the most religious person on the planet, but the principles that came with Christ's birth apply to everyone in everyday life, not just at Christmas. If we learn to respect one another, to accept each other with all of our faults and differences, then peace on Earth is possible. During this holiday season, take a moment to tell everyone you know how much they mean to you, and enjoy the blessings that have been sent your way. I speak for all of us on the Musings staff when I say, have a very Merry Christmas.

2011--What a year!

2011-12-21T02:00:00.000-06:00

by Carola Dunn

So much has happened in my life in the past year, not just in the world of books, but I'll stick to that world here.

My 20th Daisy Dalrymple Mystery, Anthem for Doomed Youth, came out in the spring, in both the US and the UK, and later in large print.

Large print


First 6 are mine

My UK publisher set up signings for me at Heffers, the Cambridge University bookstore, and Hatchard's, the 200+ year-old book shop in London. That shop had been there for nearly 20 years already at the beginning of the Regency, the period I used to write about. It makes an appearance in at least one of my books. Believe me that was a thrill, especially when my UK editor sent me a photo of my books featured in their window.

The 19th Daisy mystery, Sheer Folly, came out in paperback.

Two of my Regencies came out in large print.

large print

e-book

original paperback

[I can't get them all to go on the same line!]

Large print


e-book

And all my Regencies, which have been available as e-books for years, at last made their appearance on Amazon, for Kindle. Considering how long ago I wrote them, sales have been amazing.

What a year!