Who Pulled Off That Job?

by Paula Gail Benson

Shortly after I saw Ocean’s 8 in a movie theater, I wrote a message about it here, (June 19, 2018—"Older Female Protagonists”) considering the ages of the movie’s female characters and wondering if more heist stories/plays/movies might feature older women.

Each spring, as the time comes for the Met Gala (first Monday in May), I like to watch Ocean’s 8 again. Similar to the televised annual running of the Kentucky Derby, the movie provides a glimpse of what might happen at one of the most sought-after party invitations of the year. In addition, it gives viewers the chance to root for a gang of women operating with precision and control to pull off an elaborate and valuable caper.

A Screen Rant article by Ben Protheroe, published October 26, 2023, Ranking 15 Best Heist Movies of All Time laments that, “The heist genre is disproportionately skewed in favor of male stories,” and compliments Viola Davis in Widows, hopeful that film would set a new trend for gender equalization.

Beezy Marsh

While there are plenty of male heist stories that I admire (one of my favorites being 1992’s Sneakers with Robert Redford, Sidney Portier, Ben Kingsley, Dan Aykroyd, River Phoenix, David Strathaim, and Mary McDonnell), I wouldn’t at all mind seeing or reading more stories with primarily female characters.

I began searching for books that might offer such plots and found two series that I’ve added to my “to-be-read” list.

The first is by Beezy Marsh, British international bestselling author and former award-winning investigative journalist, whose Queen of Thieves and Queen of Clubs take place in London in the 1950s and deal with the rivalries between female gangs.

Ally Carter

The second is American best-selling author Ally Carter’s young adult novels, Heist Society, Uncommon Criminals, and Perfect Scoundrels, whose protagonist, Kat Bishop, comes from a long line of criminal masterminds. I’ve already ordered Carter’s Dear Ally, How Do You Write a Book? that has been described as the teen-aged version of Stephen King’s On Writing.

What are your favorite heist stories/plays/movies? Do any feature women organizing the job?

 

The Pace is Changing - Maybe

The Pace is Changing – Maybe – by Debra H. Goldstein

Recently, I received a birthday card which pictured three people sitting at a fancy dinner party. Above the picture, the caption read: “When we were young, we’d sneak out of our house to go to parties…” Below the picture were the words: “Now we sneak out of parties to go home.” Admitting to myself the truth of this card, I chuckled.

As I write this, I’m still recovering from back surgery that precluded my attendance at many of the conferences I usually attend. I told myself not going was okay because I didn’t have a new book to promote; and, although several of my short stories are slated for publication, they won’t be out until after the current conferences. I consoled myself that I could follow the events respecting the conferences I missed through the posts and pictures friends put on Facebook.

Although I enjoyed the posts, seeing everyone’s fun secondhand was bittersweet. Then, I came upon a post that made me think for a moment. It was put up by a writer I know well and very much admire. The point it made was that the author played hooky from many of the panels and honoree interviews to duck out to explore the host city, have long lunches and dinners with friends, or simply chill with a glass of wine in her room. She noted she still had a great time, but she didn’t feel the need to spend every moment at the high pitch of energy she had done when she was a new author. 

Her comments made me think about some of the behaviors of more established writers that I’d observed at conferences. Many would not be seen for long stretches during the day, or I’d observe them returning late from what had obviously been a dinner with their contemporaries. My past observations and her post made me think about how the birthday card’s message applied to authors. Was it a matter of age? Tied to their having built a following, albeit maybe not a giant one? Being comfortable in one’s own skin? 

It made me contemplate my friends and the goals we’ve recently been sharing with each other. What is it we now want from our careers? 

As I’ve posed the question to people, their joking response is often “money and a New York Times bestseller,” but after laughing, many indicate they are happy where their careers are. They have books they can hold in their hands, they sign autographs, and while they want to write the next breakout novel, most are happy to follow the same trajectory they already are on. A few are beginning to question whether they want to continue writing. They’ve enjoyed the party atmosphere of becoming an author but after assessing the up and down elements of the publishing business, they wonder if sneaking out and going home might sound good. They fear that their writing is predictable, their ideas stale or non-existent, and their desire to be tied to their computers minimal.

Are these passing thoughts or the natural evolution of a writing career? As writers, what do you think? As readers, can you see this dilemma somewhat reflected as you peruse new books and stories by authors you admire?

 

Indie Central: Overcoming Your Fears by Sarah E. Burr

For nearly a year, I’ve been working toward releasing Flying Off the Candle, book three in the Glenmyre Whim Mysteries. As one of my indie-published series, this is the longest time I’ve gone between launching a book. Too Much to Candle came out in 2022, so my readers are long overdue for Hazel and Poppy’s next mystery adventure. 

One of the reasons for the delay is that I arrived at a crossroads last fall: to continue publishing my books solely through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) platform or pursue bringing my books to more readers through wide distribution. Wide distribution would allow this series to be in eBook and print across all book retailers, not just Amazon. I’ve used KDP successfully for years and really have no complaints. I’ve always been a big fan of their Kindle Unlimited program, which allows readers to “rent” books for a membership fee. Full disclosure: most of my monthly income came from Kindle Unlimited page reads at the time. For so long, that membership fee was $9.99, but several months ago, I received an email that prices were increasing. I shouldn’t have been surprised; it seems to happen every year for all the digital services I subscribe to, but for some reason, this price increase triggered me into action. It made me consider pulling my books from KDP’s exclusive platform.

So, I took to Facebook to ask my readers about their Kindle Unlimited usage. Did everyone use it as much as I thought they did? The answer very much surprised me: no. Most of my readers told me they buy their eBooks, get them from libraries, or prefer to read them on other platforms. Some even told me that they hadn’t actually read my books yet because they were only on Amazon. This fact-finding mission sealed the deal; it was time to consider my options for going wide.

I’ll admit I dragged my feet about this for a long time because the task just seemed so daunting. It wasn’t until I was having a conversation with a friend that I realized I was using the very excuse that is one of my biggest pet peeves: I was afraid to take the time to learn something new. Luckily, during this same timeframe, I came across Draft2Digital in my research. Draft2Digital is a book publishing platform similar to Amazon KDP, yet it distributes your work across all book retailers. Draft2Digital guides authors through a straightforward publishing process, whether through eBook, paperback, or audiobook. I couldn’t believe how simple they made it. I used to think KDP was as easy as they come, but D2D makes it even more streamlined. In the course of ten minutes, I uploaded my book file and was ready to publish. Ten minutes. If there’s anyone out there considering self-publishing but may think it’s too hard, read that line again: ten minutes. Self-publishing is more accessible than ever in today’s landscape!

I won’t lie; I was nervous that taking my books off Kindle Unlimited would mean sacrificing a significant chunk of my income. For this reason, I decided to “pilot” going wide with my newest series, the Book Blogger Mysteries. Let me tell you, I was stunned by the results. Instead of being paid ~.01 cents for each page read of my book, readers were kind enough to pick up copies at Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, etc., and I was paid 70% of the cover cost! The difference was staggering. I couldn’t believe I had waited this long to make the jump. Not only did it help my bottom line, but my readers benefited from the change so, so much. With my indie books now showing up in library catalogs, I met a whole new community of readers, and it’s been absolutely fantastic. And to circle back to Flying Off the Candle, I’ve since been working to move the Glenmyre Whim Mysteries off Kindle Unlimited so that the entire series can be available to readers. Hence, the time delay. I’m sorry it took me so long to see the light!

Fear held me back for so long. If you’re in the indie space and thinking about “going wide,” I’m here to reassure you that the time you take to learn the ropes will be worth it.

Flying Off the Candle is available for eBook preorder at your favorite bookish retailer. Paperbacks will be available on June 11, 2024.

How other genres help me be a better mystery writer

Can a romance writer teach you how to write better mysteries? What about a writer of science fiction or paranormal? Or a historical fiction writer? If you’re a cozy writer, must you join a cozy critique group? Does your police procedural require working within your same interest?

I decided to experiment with the question - what could I learn from a completely different genre? I discovered a site called BBC Maestro which offers courses by top talents in an array of interests - writing, design, cuisine, wellness, film producing - the list goes on and on. Bestselling authors like Harlan Coban and Ken Follett were among the writing instructors.

What was my course choice? Drumroll….Writing about Love taught by the bestselling romance author Jojo Moyes of Me Before You fame.

If you know me personally, or if you’ve read my Chesapeake Bay Mystery Series, you might guess I am a bit of a Miss Priss. Let me correct that. I am a priss. Injecting romance is a challenge for me. Don’t even suggest I write a sexy scene. I’m told by my adult children to loosen up but then I’d have to turn my eyes as I input the words. The romance aspect of my protagonist in my series moves very, very slowly. I am long on hints and short on specifics.

Jojo Moyes’ course was actually an easy choice for me because of her class outline. Here’s one of Jojo’s initial comments regarding love and relationships. “…There are big questions when it comes to writing about love. Questions like how do we get it? How do we keep it? And what happens to us when we lose it? When you write about love, you write about the human condition.”

Hmmm. Do I think my amateur, recently widowed sleuth’s internal struggle to move on with her life provides an emotional connection for many of my readers? You bet. Does her personal style of relating to family and friends impact my storylines? Of course. Love isn’t always romantic. It’s a thread that helps my overall series ARC.

Would a romance author’s discussion of tone versus theme help me traverse through my own series with consistency? Could Jojo’s advice on plotting methods, finding voice, building characters, realistic dialogue, apply to my own?

I’m a mystery lover through and through. Mysteries are always the selection I reach for first. I’d like to suggest that exposing yourself to talented writers from other genres could enhance your own writing.

When was the last time you chose to step outside your genre ‘lane’? I’d love to hear your experiences.

What Is Bibliophilic Friday by Nancy L. Eady

Writers Who Kill is published by a group of talented writers (and me) who work together to present fresh content for you, our readers, every day. One way we do this is by having designated blog days. Shortly before August of 2023, I picked up the third and fourth Fridays of every month. The first Bibliophilic Friday blog was published the third Friday of August, and I have tried to keep the tradition going since then, except for November, 2023 and our December hiatus. 

But I never took the time to explain what Bibliophilic Friday is.  It’s probably time I did so. A bibliophile is a person who loves books, so my posts on Bibliophilic Friday are about books I love. And that is the only qualification for a book to be featured in my Bibliophilic Friday column. A Bibliophilic Friday post cannot, in all fairness, be considered a book review since it will invariably be positive. I have a couple of unwritten rules in my own mind for no particular reason that I’m sure I’ll break at some point, including one that the books I choose to write about must have been around for a while, preferably decades, but at a minimum, years.  

I have been a reader ever since I can remember. I am the oldest of three girls, all of us readers.  When we were in grade school in California (Navy brats) and participating in a summer reading program at a library in Chula Vista, California, the librarian becoming suspicious of the number of books we had listed. She questioned us, and to her surprise, we had read all the books on our lists. After that, we were some of her favorite (juvenile) patrons. 

I have enjoyed mysteries as long as I have loved reading, cutting my teeth on Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden and Encyclopedia Brown. I also like science fiction, fantasy, history, science, some classic works (including Polybius’s History of Rome, Julius Caesar’s The Gallic Wars, and Suetonius’s The Twelve Caesars —English translations, not the original Greek or Latin thank you very much). Lest you think I’m too high brow, Barbara Cartland, Isabelle Holland, Phyllis Whitney, and Mary Stewart are my favorites for romances. 

So, I thought I’d take this Bibliophilic Friday to give you fair warning that you’ll never quite know what I will be writing about on the third Friday of every month—except that it will be about a book I loved. 

What are your favorite types of books? How long have you enjoyed reading? 

Republishing a Novel by Marilyn Levinson

Publishing a novel is always a joy. Republishing one might even be better. Months ago, when one of my publishers underwent a serious upheaval, I decided it was time to take back all my books. They had been with that publisher for a number of years and sales were dismal. This was partly my fault because my focus was on writing more books and promoting them. However, I knew it was time for a change. 

Much to my surprise, two publishers I knew approached me, wanting to republish my books. Every one of them! I was delighted. Many of my older books had never received the right kind of marketing and exposure over the years. Now my books would be edited again, receive new covers, and be presented to new readers.

A publisher's offer to republish an author's book is an act of validation. It's saying the book has  great characters and a wonderful story, and they're willing to take a chance that readers will agree. With today's many publishing options available, an author herself can decide to republish a book that's gone out of print because she believes it deserves a new lease on life.

In a way, the books we've written are our children. Like children, they go out into the world and take on  lives of their own. A good book is timeless; it has staying power and doesn't have to have been written in 2024 for it to be popular. Classics like Goodnight, Moon and the mysteries of Dame Agatha Christie continue to read by thousands. Hopefully, many republished books will find a large reading audience too. 

 

How Much Are You Like One of Your Antagonists?

It is often said that writers write what they know. Today, the Writers Who Kill bloggers talk about a characteristic each shares with one of their antagonists and explains how it helps relate to the character they wrote.

Susan Van Kirk - One of my antagonists was a high school teacher like me. Unlike me, he violated a morals clause in his contract, and he decided to murder the person who was going to blab. (Actually, I guess that would be two violations, wouldn’t it?)

Annette Dashofy - Oh, this one is hard. I always try to understand my antagonist’s motivation, such as revenge, but while they respond with violence, I merely kill a character fictionally.

Grace Topping - Gosh, my antagonists were so awful, I hope I don’t share any characteristics with them. However, if I had to pick one, it would one villain’s love of amateur theater, which I enjoy. 

Mary Dutta - Holding grudges. It gives me sympathy for the antagonist, which helps make them a more rounded character.

Marilyn Levinson - I can't think of any characteristic that I share with any of my murderers.

Debra H. Goldstein – Like Jane Clark, I’m often looking for an angle, but not always succeeding.

Sarah Burr - Yvonne Finchmore can be described as an antagonist to Hazel Wickbury from my Glenmyre Whim Mysteries, and Yvonne and I are both trying to leave our mark on the world. Seeing her ambition and how she’s often villainized for it helps me write her more sympathetically and show readers that everyone has their vulnerabilities.

Nancy Eady - One of my antagonists kills her brother-in-law and his new wife because his secondhand smoking gave his first wife, her sister, cancer.  I love my family very much and can understand the need to want to hurt someone who hurts them.  

Shari Randall - Riley Rhodes, the protagonist in my Ice Cream Shop mysteries, loves to travel - and eat. So much so that she writes a blog called "Rhode Food" about all the wonderful dishes she encounters on her travels. When I go on a trip, I don't just plan on the sights I'll see, I also scope out restaurants and local dishes that I want to try.

Korina Moss - The antagonist in my next Cheese Shop Mystery, Fondue or Die, is a pageant director who is very controlling. I can relate to those controlling tendencies, as I have a hard time asking for help and sometimes think it’s just easier to do things myself. 

Heather Weidner - Good question. I am dogged when it comes to finding an answer to an issue or a quandary. I, like some of my antagonists, don’t easily give up.

Molly MacRae - I’ve carried a grudge or two and so have several of my antagonists. Understanding how a grudge has warped my perception let me imagine how a grudge carried too far overwhelmed the characters.  

Lori Roberts Herbst - I find I most enjoy writing antagonists who have a desire for revenge. I'm hoping that's not a characteristic I share, except maybe as fantasy. But I have discovered through my writing that exploring grief is important to me, and it often manifests through the antagonists. How does grief change them? How does it affect behavior? I think I've learned something about myself in processing that.

Margaret Hamilton - Seize the opportunity and run with it. Though their intentions are nefarious, my antagonists are profiting from opportunities that present themselves.

Martha Reed - I can become hyper focused when trying to achieve a goal. The goals my antagonists have are evil and warped. I use my laser focused superpower only for good. 

Lisa Malice - Felix Jager, the hit man in “Lest She Forget,” is a good cook, enjoys a good bottle of wine, and loves his pet (though I’m a dog person, and Felix has a cat). We know this from Felix’s first POV chapter where the reader meets him sitting down to a gourmet dinner to watch an old movie with his cat. Drawing on these commonalities made writing his opening POV scene easier to visualize and write a character that was not one-dimensional.

Kait Carson - Varies by story. Usually overcompensation. I want to fix things to make things better for others. My antagonists want to fix things to make themselves better.

K.M. Rockwood - A tendency to overthink negative interactions with people. Was it personal? Did I do something to trigger it? Was I wrong? Was the other person right? Will this cause lingering problems? I think I’m pretty realistic in my own life, but my antagonists are quite capable of obsessing over things and making poor decisions based on that.

James M. Jackson - I want very much to meet or exceed any commitments I have made. The Happy Reaper shares that attribute with me, although he takes it to a more intense level. His business cards have on one side, "Results Guaranteed."

Connie Berry - They all come from somewhere inside, you know. If I have to choose one, I’d say a sense of justice that may not reflect reality. Not sure I understand that statement myself.

E.B. Davis - Often my antagonists are good people caught in impossible situations, damned if they do or don’t. I’ve felt that at times in my life. Some of my antagonists are protecting others: Two kill pedophiles, another kills someone exempt from prosecution due to diplomatic immunity, a few turn the tables on their abusive significant others, another takes revenge on someone he holds responsible for his mother’s suicide.  

Fun with Puns--and Adverbs by KM Rockwood

The popular Tom Swift novels, which began appearing in 1910 and ran to over 100 volumes in several series, were popular books aimed at children.

Like Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, Tom Swift’s adventures were produced by the Stratemeyer Syndicate. And like those series, several authors were tapped to write the books although they were all credited to one house pseudonym. In the case of the Tom Swifts, the name used was Victor Appleton.

Unlike today, when most authors and editors feel that using the word “said” is virtually invisible to the reader and thus helps the natural flow of dialogue, the various Victor Appletons went to great length to avoid repeating a simple “said.”

Sometimes they used other verbs, like “guffawed,” “hissed,” “pontificated,” which today we often feel intrudes on the attention of the reader. We’d really prefer they pay attention to the story, not the verbiage.

But the iconic Appleton device was to use adverbs. Often adverbs that reflected the statement.

We now have a fun figure of speech called a “Tom Swifty,” where a phrase in a quoted sentence is linked by a pun in its attribution to a speaker.

An early example, from Tom Swift and His Airship, or, The Stirring Cruise of the Red Cloud, is “We must hurry,” said Tom swiftly. Tom Swifties are a form of Wellerism, named after the sayings of Sam Weller in Charles Dickens' The Pickwick Papers, which make fun of established cliches and form.

They can run from the simple: “’They’re freezing us out,’ Tom said icily,” to the more complex, which may require an understanding of an additional reference: “’Our team needs to cut some of these players and find a real slugger,’ Tom said ruthlessly.” (a reference to Babe Ruth)

Some fun Tom Swifties:

“Turn this ship around,” Tom said sternly.
“Sometimes I think I have dual personalities,” Tom said frankly.
“I guess I don’t know how to use a chainsaw,” Tom said off-handedly.
“Someone’s eaten all the apples,” Tom said fruitlessly.
“I forgot what we’re supposed to bring,” Tom said listlessly.
“You’re average, no better,” Tom said meanly.
“I’ve lost the ewe and her lamb,” Tom said sheepishly.

And a few more complex ones:
“You need to get out of the china shop,” Tom said bullishly.
“Let’s go camping,” Tom said intently.
“I can’t find my blue jeans,” Tom said expansively.
“Let's just have some kind of soup,” Tom said wantonly.
“We need to find some washing facilities,” Tom said sinkingly.
“There’s something hiding behind that coffin,” Tom said cryptically.
“We can see through your lies,” Tom said transparently.

Can you think up any Tom Swifties of your own?

Sources:
Wikipedia contributors, 'Wellerism', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 12 December 2023, 03:09 UTC, [accessed 7 May 2024]
Wikipedia contributors, 'Tom Swifty', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 5 April 2024, 13:52 UTC, [accessed 7 May 2024]
Negra, Megan, 3 Reasons to Use Said When Writing Dialogue, writershearth.com 12 June 2020 (accessed 7 May 2024)

The Ups and Downs of #AuthorLife

by Shari Randall

Authors find many events to celebrate on the writing journey. Just a few days ago fellow Writer Who Kills Lisa Malice wrote about being a debut author. Debuts are definitely worth celebrating as well as publication days AKA “book birthdays,” signing a contract, and publishing a new story in a fun anthology. If we’re lucky, also we celebrate nominations and awards and being named to "best of" lists. 

We don’t mention it as much but I think we should celebrate a book or story simply being written. So many people have told me that their dream is to write a book. Writing a book or story isn’t easy – it’s hard to find the time, hard to make the time, hard to start, hard to keep going, hard to finish, hard to edit. Hard – goodness knows – to rewrite it!

 

So I try to keep that in mind and celebrate each step. With every publishing milestone, I stop and think to myself “#authorlife.” Coffee with an editor. Yes, #author life! Typing THE END on a manuscript - #authorlife! It’s my way of stopping to savor, to smell the roses, of this crazy turn my life has taken.

 

That brings me to the less sunny milestones of #authorlife. Series cancellations. Short stories that turned out to be novels and vice versa. Losing beloved editors. Rejections.  

 

I recently passed one of those less-than-sunny milestones - having a series drop out of print.

 

Giving author talks at libraries is one of my favorite parts of #authorlife, and they often include the opportunity to sell books. I needed some copies of my first book, CURSES, BOILED AGAIN, so I ordered some from an online bookseller.

 

The next day I received an email from the bookseller. “Sorry, it’s OOP.”

I wrote back, “OOP?”

“Out Of Print.”

Oh.

That sound you heard was my heart dropping off a cliff. My beloved first novel – out of print. It felt like all my characters had been swept off a beach in a tsunami, without a chance for me to say a proper farewell.

 

Gone.

Well, I was naïve, and honestly, not paying attention. The book was released in 2018. Books that don’t sell a certain threshold go out of print, especially books that were published six years ago, an eon in the publishing business.

 

What to do? Simply wish my characters RIP? Or…..another adventure in #authorlife?

 

I decided to get my rights back, revive the series, and publish it myself. I'm working with a wonderful artist on designs for new covers. A fresh look. I couldn’t let my characters go, and I hope the new covers will entice new readers.

 

I’ll be self-publishing them, so that's another stop on the road called #authorlife. Wish me luck.

 

How do you cope with the ups and downs of writer’s life?

Shari Randall is the author of the soon to be revived Lobster Shack Mystery series. As Meri Allen, she writes the Ice Cream Shop Mystery series, which is still in print and available wherever books are sold  (thank goodness!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

A TOUGH LESSON ABOUT SERIES CHARACTERS

By Korina Moss

I love writing the Cheese Shop Mystery series. Having more than one book allows me to keep the mystery at the forefront, while also growing my characters and their relationships. As the series progresses, I also get to introduce readers to more people and places in my fictional Sonoma Valley town of Yarrow Glen. I love populating Yarrow Glen with new shops and fun side characters. However, this is where it gets tricky. 

Those who have been reading my series from the beginning know my core four characters who make up the Team Cheese sleuthing group: my cheesemonger/cheese shop owner protagonist, Willa; her best friend and neighbor, Baz; and her Curds & Whey cheese shop crew, Archie and Mrs. Schultz. They appear in every book. When new characters and possible suspects are introduced with each book, some of them stick around as “regulars”: Roman from the Meadery, the octogenarian Melon sisters, Lou from the market and his dad, Cyrus (who Daisy Melon has the hots for), Sharice and Ginger from the used bookstore, Hope from the bakery… and on and on. Most of these characters played an important role in the plot in whichever book they were first introduced, but I like to bring them back in subsequent books so the town feels alive and real. 

While this might be great for series readers who’ve been slowly introduced to more and more side characters with each book, for a reader whose first introduction to my series is, for example, Case of the Bleus (book 4), each character is a brand-new person they have to visualize, remember, and understand how they’re connected to the others. It’s easy for a TV series (think Gilmore Girls) to throw in your favorites for a scene or two, but in a book, a reader can get confused or frustrated by too many characters.

This especially became an issue when I was writing book 5, Fondue or Die. This is the first book which primarily takes place outside of Yarrow Glen. For reasons having to do with the plot and progressing Willa’s complicated relationship with Detective Heath, I had to set the murder somewhere outside Heath’s jurisdiction. Hence, I came up with the Dairy Days festival in Lockwood, an adjacent town to Yarrow Glen. Willa and Archie have a cheese booth at the festival, and handyman Baz and Mrs. Schultz, with her background in teaching drama, are helping with the Miss Dairy pageant—the focus of the murder mystery. 

As I was outlining the book, this setup worked great. I had my victim and the six suspects, and all four Team Cheese members had reason to be at Dairy Days. But I also had new peripheral characters from Lockwood, pageant characters, plus a new chief of police. Uh oh, the character list was already bulging at the seams! When I started to sprinkle in our Yarrow Glen regulars who were attending the festival, well, my list pretty much burst. It wasn’t until after I finished writing the book that I fully realized it would be way too many characters for readers to keep track of. 

A lot of writers enjoy “killing off their darlings.” Luckily, none of my beloved regulars ever get killed off, but I did have to get tough with who made the cut for Fondue or Die. It all came down to whether they were essential to advancing the plot. Of course, all four members of Team Cheese are there. Detective Heath and Shep help out, as does A. J., the editor of the Glen Gazette. And I introduce a new Yarrow Glen shopkeeper and another character who might become a regular. (I can’t help myself!) It was tough to do, but it streamlined the mystery, concentrated on our Team Cheese sleuthing group, and gave Detective Heath more time on the page (and with Willa) than he’s ever had before. Overall, it was definitely necessary and made for a better book.

As I’m writing book 6, we’re back in Yarrow Glen, and I’ve brought in some important people from Willa’s past. Of course, there’s a murder and new characters who become suspects. I think it’s inevitable for your character list to grow with the number of books in your series. I’m keeping an eye on how many characters make an appearance in this one, so I can make the changes as I’m drafting it instead of after the book is written. Being ruthless about which ones get a place in each book is still hard for me. (I love the folks in Yarrow Glen!) But I know it’s a necessary lesson learned. 

Readers: Are you disappointed when your personal favorites from a series are omitted in some of the books? Writers: Have you had to wrestle with too many characters? 

KORINA MOSS is the author of the Cheese Shop Mystery series (St. Martin’s Press) set in the Sonoma Valley, including the Agatha Award winner for Best First Novel, Cheddar Off Dead and the Agatha Award finalist for Best Contemporary Novel, Case of the Bleus. Her books have been featured in PARADE Magazine, Woman’s World, AARP, and Fresh Fiction. To learn more, visit her website korinamossauthor.com. 

Confessions of a Debut Author (or How to Avoid Going Crazy in the Weeks Before and After Your Launch)

By Lisa Malice, Ph.D.

I must confess! No, not to murder, embezzlement, conspiracy, or any other nefarious crime. My declaration has nothing to do with anything immoral or otherwise salacious. (I will admit to having deadly thoughts occasionally, daydreams in which I kill people in all manner of ways for all manner of motives, but then again, I am a thriller writer.)

No, today I simply confess that being a debut author—as amazing as it is to finally call myself that—has been an overwhelming experience in the months before and after my December release of Lest She Forget. Every day I’m doing something other than writing my next book—crafting blog posts for Writers Who Kill and guest posts for other authors’ blogs, responding to interview questions, arranging and making in-person and virtual author appearances, prepping for webinars and videoblogs—and updating my website and daily social media posts to capture it all to share this amazing experience with friends, family, and fans. So much to do, leaving me little time for anything else (other than help my daughter plan and throw a fabulous wedding!).

One of three in-person book club meetings in Atlanta during the first week of April 2024.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve found these opportunities exhilarating and fun. But this flurry of activity is something I did not anticipate, as I never thought to ask anyone what to expect about this phase of my debut experience. So, this post is meant to encourage emerging and debut authors to be prepared!

Start this process early! If you are traditionally published, ask the PR/Marketing staff what they will be doing to promote your book and what your role will be. Are they going to bat for you and your book, or are you pretty much on your own? Either way, you’ll need to draw on your own network of family, friends, and connections in the writing community (e.g., writers, readers, reviewers, industry pros) to help you get the word out about your upcoming book.  

Here are a few tips I can offer debut authors to start:

1)  Brainstorm outlets for PR based on your network of family, friends, work associates, volunteer organizations—any group of people with whom you are associated, even if your connections are rather stale. Good things can happen only when you put yourself out there.

 

I am living proof this works. Reaching out to Georgia Tech led to a webinar appearance, during which I shared what I’d learned about networking as a writer. Similarly, my women’s fraternity (Chi Omega) ran a 2-page feature on me, focused on how my college experience impacted my success as a published author—again, very much dependent on my ability to be an active member of the writing community. More locally, I parlayed my ITW connection to a local news anchor into a launch-day TV appearance on FOX 13’s Tampa Bay Reads. 

This 2-page spread from the January 2024 issue of The Eleusis, Chi Omega's quarterly magazine, 

resulted from an inquiry made in July 2023. 

This blurb in the Georgia Tech alumni magazine (April 2024) was requested in July 2023; 

the contact also resulted in a November 2023 webinar appearance

2)  Brainstorm a list of topics related to your book, your writing process, your research, basically anything that shows your potential readers who you are, what your book is about, and why they should place a pre-sale order immediately—then get to work writing in anticipation of guest blogs and written interviews. Edit at your leisure. For guest blogs, shoot for 500-700 words. You can always embellish the piece if more words are allowed. Your book should be peripheral to the post, not the focus of the piece.

My four-part blog series for WWK (“Unforgettable Tales of Amnesia”) drew on books, films, and true-life stories to illustrate the differences between the various forms of amnesia. These pieces could have been researched, written, and edited months before my December launch date—but it didn’t occur to me write these essays until my publisher’s PR staff asked to me (two months before my launch) to write for a few guest blogs.

Blogs are effective in selling you and your book to the extent they are interesting and engaging. Use what is unique to you for fresh perspectives and angles that will draw readers in. For me, that’s my background in psychology. The first two blogs in my amnesia series prove this works. Readers found the information “absolutely fascinating” and shared their own experiences interacting with relatives suffering from memory loss for one reason or another.

3)    Anticipate interview questions and get to work. Again, edit at your leisure, shooting for 250 words max, then file them away for later use. This task is not as hard as you think. Some questions are pretty standard. Other questions will center more on your book, its characters, and the story. Ask other authors, especially those who have read your ARC, for questions. Consider questions that a reader might ask, too. Here are a few I was asked to answer:

·         What was the inspiration for your book? 

·         How did the story develop from its inception to the ending (a roundabout way of asking whether you are a pantser or plotter)? 

·         What research did you undertake to write your book?  

·         What was the most challenging part of writing your book? The most fun? 

·         What are you working on now? 

·         When you’re not writing, what do you like to do? 

·         Is writing more of an emotional or cerebral endeavor? 

·         What words of wisdom do you have for aspiring writers? 

·         What do you do when you find yourself stuck or blocked with your writing?

·         If your book were to be made into a movie, which actors would play your characters? 

These efforts don’t have to be a time-consuming. When you need a break from writing your next book, get started on a blog post or interview question. Edit them at your leisure, then tuck the finished essays in a folder marked “Launch Posts” for quick and easy access when you need them.

Now, let’s hear from you—what tips or advice can you offer soon-to-be-published authors for better managing pre- and post-launch PR/marketing activities?

LISA MALICE is a psychologist-turned-thriller author. Her bestselling debut novel, Lest She Forget, a psychological thriller, was honored with the 2024 IBPA Gold Medal for Best New Voice. Lisa loves being part of community of crime-loving writers, readers, and industry professionals. A compulsive volunteer, you can often find Lisa interviewing someone for feature in ITW’s “The Big Thrill,” planning an author event for her Florida Gulf Coast Sisters in Crime chapter or working the registration table at Bouchercon and Thrillerfest. Learn more and contact Lisa @ www.LisaMalice.com

 

Where Did Your Love of Mysteries Begin? – by Heather Weidner

When I’m asked about where did my love of mysteries start, I always say that Scooby-Doo and Nancy Drew were my gateways to the mystery world. But as I look back on my favorite children’s books, I realized that the first mystery that really hooked me was actually a picture book, Jon Stone’s The Monster at the End of the Book. Grover, the blue fuzzy protagonist, spends the entire book fretting over the monster who is supposed to make an appearance on the last page of the story. In hindsight, this is where I was discovered a passion for suspense, mystery, plot twists, clues, and irony.

Saturday morning cartoons were also the beginning of my mystery-watching addiction that has blossomed to include true crime shows, podcasts, and a host of murder documentaries. There were so many cartoons in the seventies with crime fighters and puzzle solvers like Scooby-Doo Where Are You, Josie and the Pussycats, The Funky Phantom, Captain Caveman, Jabber Jaw, Goober and the Ghost Chasers, Speed Buggy, Lassie’s Rescue Rangers, The CB Bears, Deputy Dawg, Mumbly, and Devlin, and I watched them all.

Cartoons and my picture books started a love that grew to include a whole host of books as soon as I discovered the library. In fourth grade, my friend and I raced to finish the yellow-covered Nancy Drews, and then we moved on to the Hardy Boys and the Three Investigators. (And it didn’t hurt that Shaun Cassidy and Parker Stevens starred in The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Mysteries every week on TV.)

Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, like the Mystery Inc. gang in the Scooby-Doo series, were ordinary kids who were able to solve mysteries that the adults couldn’t. They had freedom to explore, cool transportation, and friends to help them solve the crime and bring justice. I devoured these books and moved on to Two-Minute Mysteries, Agatha Christie, Edgar Allan Poe, and Arthur Conan Doyle.

Mystery and crime fiction followed me to college where I took the best course offered in our English department, Dr. Magnuson’s “Mystery and Detective Fiction.” He introduced us to the history of the genre, key tropes, subgenres, and the “rules” for writing crime fiction, but the best part was that I was required to read an entire syllabus of new-to-me authors.

My love of mysteries started early with cartoons and books. It also didn’t hurt that I was a C. K. (cop’s kid), and murder and true crime were regular topics at our dinner table.

Where did your love of mystery and suspense start?

Martin Walker's The Coldest Case

 

 

 

By Margaret S. Hamilton

 

“Every one of us here is a child of the Cold War, Bruno. It shaped us, defined our politics and reshaped our economies and our systems of government. Not just the Russians and Americans, but we in Europe in our own way became national security states, each of us shaped by our own military-industrial complex. The past always lives on in very profound ways, particularly in our security agencies and defense bureaucracies.” (p. 169)

 

Recently, I realized that I had never read Martin Walker’s 2021 book in his Bruno, Chief of Police series, The Coldest Case, set in the Dordogne region of Southwest France.

 

The book takes place during a summer plagued by wildfires. Bruno is preoccupied with not only emergency evacuation plans and water rationing, but the exciting possibility of a university student creating an accurate face and head from a skull to help solve a thirty-year-old cold case.

 

Technology saves the day, with the student using a precise laser measurement system to map the skull followed by a 3D printer creating the head. Bruno and his colleagues tentatively identify the victim, which leads to an exploration of Cold War era files identifying East German children raised to infiltrate France as adult Stasi agents.

 

This book is quieter than others in the series, with less violence. Bruno enjoys the challenges of his job as a municipal police officer and finds solace in his vegetable garden, on morning runs with his basset hound, Balzac, and riding his horse. He takes the time to reflect on the pleasures of his simple life.

 

Bruno was abandoned by his mother as an infant and raised by an aunt. He yearns to marry and have his own children, but his lover, Isabelle, lives in Paris and is preoccupied with her high-powered law enforcement career. Bruno’s “family” is an ever-increasing number of friends in his community. I sense Bruno is poised for a major change in his life and wonder how it will affect Walker’s long-running series.

 

In The Coldest Case, Bruno helps subdue raging forest fires with an ingenious solution. East German sleeper agents are identified. The birth of Balzac’s first litter of puppies completes the plot.

 

Walker will publish the seventeenth book in the Bruno series, A Grave in the Woods, in September. With his wife, Julia Watson, Walker published a Bruno cookbook in 2023.

 

Readers and writers, do you wish a series would continue forever, or finish at a logical point?

 

https://margaretshamilton.com/

 

 

 

 

 

An Interview With Virginia Kelly

by Grace Topping

Writers often focus on a single genre. However, recently many writers are trying different things, sometimes writing darker, going into Sci-Fi, etc. After years of writing romantic suspense, Virginia Kelly recently released her first mystery, Tangled Secrets. Virginia joins us at Writers Who Kill to talk about this transition.

 

 

Tangled Secrets

Turner’s Crossroads, where nothing happens… Until it does.

Reeling from her husband’s murder, librarian Gabriela Espinosa took her young daughter and sought refuge in the perceived safety of her tiny hometown in the Florida Panhandle. Six years later, the murder of her best friend shatters her sense of security and threatens the walls Gabi built to protect herself from grief.

Suspicion falls on an old friend of her late father’s. Though the man is troubled, Gabi believes he’s incapable of violence. In his defense, she begins asking questions which put her at odds with the local sheriff’s department and a mysterious new deputy.

As she uncovers a tangle of complicated relationships, there’s a second murder. With fear resonating through the town’s sleepy façade, Gabi confronts a dark past that lays bare Turner’s Crossroads’ secrets, putting her, and her daughter, in danger.

 

 

Welcome to Writers Who Kill, Virginia.

 

After writing award-nominated romantic suspense novels, what prompted you to write a traditional mystery?

 

Gabi’s story didn’t work as a romantic suspense novel, despite my efforts. When I realized it was more mystery than romance or suspense, I made the decision to go with a first-person protagonist and concentrate more on the mystery.

 

For you, what was the biggest difference between writing romantic suspense and mystery? Or is Tangled Secrets a suspense without the romance?

 

Tangled Secrets is suspenseful, and there’s a touch of romance, but the biggest differences between this novel and my others are the single, first-person point of view and the emphasis on the mystery.

 

Are there tropes in romantic suspense that you wouldn’t use in a mystery?

 

That’s a great question. I think it would depend on the trope and how much emphasis is placed on it. Several of my romantic suspense novels use mystery/suspense tropes. Romance is universal, so it can be used in mystery, but again, the amount of emphasis differentiates the genres. Personally, I would like to see more crossover between mystery and romance.

 

Does having your main character, Gabi Espinosa, a widow with a young child, change the dynamics of your story from what you were accustomed to writing?

 

I’ve written about a widow with a very young son before. But the story arc, which also included a mystery, leaned on the building relationship between the widow and her late husband’s partner, along with heavy doses of suspense and an overarching mystery.

 

Gabi is a librarian. Do you have a background as a librarian?

 

I do. I’ve worked in academic libraries, at a hospital library, and at a medical school library. All of which required research and teaching. I use my public library extensively as a patron, but work experience in one was long ago. I had to brush up on that for Tangled Secrets. Everyone should use their library’s amazing resources.

 

Your previous books have been standalone novels. Is Tangled Secrets a standalone, or do you plan to feature Gabi in a series?

 

I wrote Tangled Secrets as a first novel of a planned three-book series in order to develop Gabi’s character arc. I strive to make all my novels standalone. None require reading in order. When the second book is finished, I hope Tangled Secretswill be a standalone as well. 

Mysteries in a series usually have a series arc. Did this require you to plot out your book before you wrote it, or did you write it by the seat of your pants?

 

I’m a complete pantser. I desperately wish I weren’t. I’ve tried to change, but have learned to accept my writing process. As I said above, the series will develop Gabi’s character arc. The current plan completes that in three novels. I have a basic understanding of what her arc is and how each novel will push Gabi forward.

 

Which do you find more challenging to write, romantic suspense or mystery?

 

The mystery has been more difficult because of the single point of view. All the reader and Gabi can know as the mystery clues unfold is what she observes. My romantic suspense novels are written with two third-person POVs. This allows the reader to see two perspectives on the story arc and how that impacts two different people.

 

Now that you’ve written a mystery, do you have a preference between romantic suspense or mystery?

 

I think it will depend on the story I want to tell.

 

What was the most valuable thing you’ve learned since you started writing?

 

I’ve learned several valuable things: trust my own writing process; know when to ask for help from several amazing writer friends; read—a lot. Never quit learning.

 

What’s next for Gabi and for you?

 

I’m currently working on Gabi’s second book, tentatively titled Tangled Lies, as well as making yet another attempt at the sixth book in my romantic suspense Shadow Heroes series.

 

 

Thank you, Virginia.

 

 

If you would like to learn more about Virginia Kelly or her books, follow her at www.virginiakelly.net

 

 

Grace Topping is the author of the Laura Bishop Mystery Series.