WWK--Better than ever--Look for the return of blogs by Linda Rodriguez! She's back--on 1/4. Watch for our new blogger Tammy Euliano--debuting on 1/17
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Margaret S. Hamilton's short story, "Killer Weeds," appears in the January 20 edition of Texas Gardener's Seeds: From Our Garden to Yours. Congratulations, Margaret, who, if you follow Facebook know, is a superb gardener herself!
Congratulations to Jennifer J. Chow for garnering a 2021 Lefty Nomination for Best Humorous Mystery Novel. We're crossing our fingers for Jennifer!
Congratulations to Paula Gail Benson whose "Reputation or Soul" has been chosen for Malice Domestic 16: Mystery Most Diabolical anthology to be released this spring.
KM Rockwood's "Stay Safe--Very Safe" appears in this year's 2020 BOULD anthology. Congratulations, KM!
Margaret S. Hamilton's "Dealing at the Dump" appears in Cozy Villages of Death Fall 2020.
Margaret S. Hamilton's "Black Market Baby" and Debra H. Goldstein's "Forensic Magic" appear in Masthead: Best New England Crime Stories Fall 2020.
Jennifer J. Chow's Mimi Lee Reads Between the Lines (interview on WWK on 11/11) released on November 10.
Annette Dashofy signed with agent Dawn Dowdle of the Blue Ridge Literary Agency. Congratulations, Annette!
KM Rockwood's "Secrets To The Grave" has been published in the SinC Chesapeake Chapter's new anthology Invitation To Murder, released by Wildside Press on 10/6.
Susan Van Kirk's Three May Keep A Secret has been republished by Harlequin's Worldwide Mystery. The WWK interview about the book can be accessed here. We're so glad another publisher picked up this series.
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Monday, February 29, 2016
Meet Liz Mugavero, Author of the Pawsitively Organic Mystery Series
Sunday, February 28, 2016
Of campus visits and character development
Still, we encouraged him to make an official visit on the off chance that he, as a prospective student, might not like what he saw. The visit was everything a parent could hope for: Demonstrations of beloved traditions, a walking tour of campus, meetings with his future professors, opportunities to explore extra-curricular activities. At the end of the day, he believed he'd made the right choice.
As expected.
What I didn't expect was my reaction to the visit, on two fronts.
First, I didn't expect that visiting campus as a mom would be so different from the way I experienced it as a student or see it now as an employee. But the mom lens colored the whole day. Will he be happy in the dorms? Will he and his stuff be safe? What supports are available if he struggles in any of his classes? Will he have opportunities to connect with mentors, pursue internships, participate in study abroad?
Will he get enough to eat?
As a mom, I have different priorities and different responsibilities and different questions for my alma mater.
Second, I didn't expect to get sideswiped by nostalgia. Our walking tour of campus took us through the journalism school building, where I practically lived for my last two years at the university. I've only been back inside once or twice since graduation 30 years ago, and the changes were unsettling. They moved the student newspaper newsroom, the center of my life for half my college career? I felt my heart break a little. I guess I expected time to stand still, even though I haven't?
These two unexpected reactions, part of the roller coaster of my emotions as my kiddo grows up and prepares to leave home, got me to thinking about a problem I'm having with one of the characters in the manuscript I'm working on now. She started off strong but lost her voice halfway through the story. The problem, I think, is that she's not layered enough. She has only one role at the moment, not the multiple roles (alumna, employee, mom) that give characters depth and inspire the strong, sometimes conflicting, emotions that motivate them and make the story sing for readers.
I have more work ahead to write her well. As I tackle revisions, my goal is to get to know her better as a whole person who has diverse interests, a lifetime of experiences, and, maybe, unexpected reactions to the fictional world around her.
Saturday, February 27, 2016
Life, a Plot in Three Acts By Kait Carson
Friday, February 26, 2016
Reviews of The Hollow Needle and The Profiteers
Thursday, February 25, 2016
The Story of Willie Sutton - sort of
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Interview with David Burnsworth
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David Burnsworth |
Tell us about your journey to publication. Was it a bumpy ride?
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
The Science of Story
I am a writer; therefore, I am a collector of stories. I pick them up the way that magpies pluck trinkets from the side of the road. They are seashells on the beach, haphazard treasures left behind by the outgoing tide. They are rivers running from the highlands to the silty deltas. And they are everywhere.
This is because stories are organic. They are as natural and dynamic and symbiotic as the redwood forest. Like all creatures, they have lives of their own, and there's a lot to be gained by viewing them through the lens of biology and anthropology and neurology. Don't believe me? Here are some interesting tidbits about the science of storytelling that I hope will convince you.
1. Stories have DNA. Durham University anthropologist Dr. Jamie Tehrani recently analyzed fairy tales – you know, those popularized by the Brothers Grimm – using techniques borrowed from evolutionary biology. The study employed phylogenetic comparative methods (don't ask me what that means) to investigate the connections between populations and their cultural phenomena, isolating key elements and exploring those "genetic" roots. They discovered that these stories were born 4,000 to 6,000 years ago, some going as far back as the Bronze Age: You can read more about the study at BBC News.

3. Reality is really just a story with different authors. Cops have known this for quite some time – eyewitness testimony is one of the least reliable pieces of evidence. That's because even though we have this idea that the brain makes careful distinctions between reality and fiction, and that anyone who mixes up the two is either lying or delusional, the truth is much more interesting…and subjective.
It seems that the memory-making part of our brain is entangled with the story-making part of our brain. As Jonathan Gottschall explains in The Storymaking Animal, once we start delving into memories, we find that they're substantially fictionalized: "Some of the most confident memories that are residing in our brain just didn’t happen the way we think they happened," Gottschall explains. In other words, we're all editing the plot of our lives in ways both big and small, every day. You can read more about Gottschall's work in this PBS interview
So there you have it – weirdness at the intersection of science and art. What about you? Told any good stories lately?