An Interview with Ellen Byron by E. B. Davis

 

 

New motel owner Dee Stern has checked out of the familiar comforts in the Studio City and checked in to the quaint village of Foundgold. Running a rustic getaway in the woods sure beats LA traffic—until murder ruins the peace and quiet . . .

Down-on-her-luck sitcom writer Dee Stern is flipping the script. Twice divorced and wasting her talents on an obnoxious kids’ show, the lifelong Angeleno embraces the urge to jump in her car and keep driving. It's a road trip with no destination—until she pulls into a mid-century motel filled with cobwebs and retro charm. Nestled in the shadow of a national park, it’s a time capsule of a place that, like her, could use some work. So, in the most impulsive move of her life, Dee teams up with best friend, Jeff Cornetta—who happens to be her first ex-husband—to transform the aging ranch into the Golden Motel-of-the-Mountains, a hiker’s oasis on the edge of the wilderness . . .

But Dee and Jeff soon realize there couldn’t be two people more unprepared for the hospitality business. There’s also the panic-inducing reality of prowling bears and a general store as the only shopping spot for miles. Living and working in the middle of nowhere takes some getting used to—especially when a disrespectful guest ends up murdered! Now, with the motel duo topping the suspect list, Dee must steer clear of a meddling park ranger, face her past in show biz, and determine if the killer is a local or tourist. Because as she quickly finds out, there are many things worse than a one-star review.

Amazon.com

 

I’ve read four series Ellen Byron has created, and I’ve liked each one. Perhaps I like this one the most because it is set in a small rural California town location, to which I’m partial. A Very Woodsy Murder is the first book in the Golden Motel mystery series, which was released on July 23. The setting is east of the more coastal population centers.

 

Although the setting is more rural, there is an urban mix when main character Dee Stern travels to LA to find out more about the victim. Her father still lives there so the book is not entirely small-town. In fact, an LA agent and his wife have a home in the upstate area so there is a mix of LA and its culture in nearby towns of Foundgold and Goldgone.

 

When Dee and Jeff’s first guest is murdered, they are in the frame. Getting themselves off the suspect list and in the good graces of the townsfolk is their aim.

 

Please welcome Ellen Byron back to WWK.                               E. B. Davis

In the book, you recall times with your great aunt who brought you to the region your book is located. How old were you? Did you change the topography? Thanks so much for having me back! I was 19 when Aunt Molly took me to Columbia Historic State Park. (She was actually a great-aunt but we never specified that with each other.) It’s a restored miner’s village and I found it fascinating. And I did cheat geography! The motel in my series shares a border with a national park, of course inspired by Yosemite. In the real world, Yosemite and Gold Rush Country are at least two hours apart, with very different topography.

 

The book’s location came from your background, but isn’t the main character Dee’s former vocation something you, too, did in a previous time in your life? LOL, yes. Very much so! Dee is a “recovering” sitcom writer. Along with my TV writing partner, I had a twenty-five year career writing sitcoms on shows like WINGS, JUST SHOOT ME, and STILL STANDING. I also worked on a lot of shows that came and went and wrote pilots for every network as well as cable channels. I channeled some of my own experiences into the book. I’ll tell people which ones after they read it, wink wink.

 

Having grown up in LA and working there, what are the biggest changes that Dee must adjust to? Dee is very much like me in other ways besides her former career. I’m a city girl. I’ve always felt safer in a city than the country, much as I love bucolic settings. (Sidebar: this is ironic because my NY apartment was broken into four times and I staved off personal danger on more than one occasion in several cities.) Dee has to adjust to the quiet and not be terrified by every little noise! She also has to ingratiate herself with locals, some of whom don’t look too kindly on an L.A. interloper. And of course, run a business in which she has absolutely zero experience.

 

Dee and Jeff married and divorced, but Dee was also married and divorced a second time. What happened each time? With Dee and Jeff, the marriage was an impulsive decision made right after college that they both quickly realized made no sense. They were meant to be friends, not lovers. Dee’s second husband Kai was also a writer, although of drama, and he was so jealous of her success that it destroyed their marriage. More irony: her career took a downturn but Kai wrote a sci fi series where he created a villain named “Lee Flern” he based on her, and it’s an enormously successful streaming series. So now he’s a huge success while she’s struggling. We’ll meet Kai eventually. I’m looking forward to writing him.

 

When Dee bought the motel/cabins, she also ended up with the former owner’s dog, Nugget. What type of dog is Nugget, and what is he like as a pet? Nugget is a big, loping, lazy brown mutt of indeterminate age. He’s pretty much the opposite of a guard dog except Dee does take some comfort in his size, which comes from the bloodhound in him. Nugget is the kind of amiable mutt who makes himself at home wherever he wants to, which usually means he takes up more than half the bed, practically nudging poor Dee off of it.

 

It’s understandable that Dee needed to change jobs, but why did Jeff agree to become a partner? Jeff is looking for a change too. He’s been stuck in a data analyst position and is itching to explore his creative side – still in tech but creating websites and marketing plans for customers. Living and working at the Golden along with Dee will give him the freedom he needs to take a different career path that includes promoting the Golden and hopefully restoring more retro motels eventually. That’s the dream for both of them. Work magic at the Golden, then use what they’ve learned to breathe life into other moribund mid-century motels.

 

I was surprised that Dee wasn’t more suspicious of Michael Adam Baker as their first guest, especially having worked with him. Why wasn’t she more on her guard? She was so desperate to have his stay be a success that she ignored the red flags. He could be charming, so she convinced herself he was sincere because she wanted him to be. There was also a bit of a feeling on her part that if he accepted her, it meant Dee was a TV insider rather than an outsider, which is what so many of us women writers were during my career. My classic example is watching three male writers on a show I worked on early in my career go into the men’s room together and come out with a story fix. I went to the office I shared with my writing partner and said to her, “Until we pee in a urinal, we will never be equal.”

 

I think Elmira knows her baking is lousy. Isn’t it her joke on the community? She doesn’t know because she lost her sense of taste! I think Elmira was once a decent baker but lost her skill when she lost her ability to taste her creations. This was inspired by a friend of my mother’s who was a wonderful cook until she lost her own sense of smell and taste – way before Covid, BTW.

 

Who is Stoney and how did he get his name? He was named by stoners operating an illegal marijuana grow in the backwoods of the national park, which is a real thing, by the way. I originally named him Tokey the Bear but I discovered there’s a whole website dedicated to a character called Tokey the Bear, along with a Facebook page. He was created by residents of Weed, California, which is a real town.

 

Are Foundgold and Goldsgone located near each other? Is there competition or animosity between them? How was each named? The two villages are only a couple of miles apart. The residents of Foundgold have spent decades intimidated by their more successful counterpart of Goldsgone, which is a restored miner’s village and tourist attraction where the shopkeeper dress in 19^th century costumes and speak like old-timey miners. You’d think Foundgold would be the success story but when I was writing the draft, it occurred to me it was funnier if it wasn’t because when miners found gold, they left to spend it. The Goldsgone settlers weren’t so lucky. They wound up stuck there, which ended up benefitting their descendants. The town boss woman, Verity Donner Gillespie, is extremely competitive and threatened by Dee, who wants to put Foundgold back on the map and make the little village its own tourist destination.

 

[Whispering](Are there actual descendants of the “those” Donners in the area?) LOL, I believe so. But that’s not what inspired Verity. When I was in college at New Orleans’ Tulane University, we did a production of a play called Donner and it turned out descendants lived in New Orleans, if you can believe it. I was the prop mistress for the play and they lent us inherited items like an old wooden crib to display in the lobby during the run of the show. One of my many jobs during the production was to guard these historic heirlooms.

 

Why doesn’t Dee like charcuterie boards? It’s not that she doesn’t like them, it’s that she finds them… affected or something. At least when made by the trophy wife of a Hollywood agent. But Dee develops a grudging respect for them and their maker, Serena Keller-Katz when she accepts that Serena isn’t just a rich hobbyist. She’s genuinely trying to carve out her own path and get out of the shadow of her uber-successful agent husband, Callan Katz.

 

Does California really use inmate crews to fight fires? Isn’t there a big risk of them escaping during the chaos of fires? They absolutely do and the program, which is called the California Inmate Firefighter Program – also known as the Conservation Camp Program -  is world-famous. There’s even a TV show running right now that’s inspired by it called Fire Country. The inmate program is highly selective. There’s very little evidence of prisoners trying to escape and inmates can get their records expunged and go on to careers as firefighters.

 

Will Sam Stern, Dee’s voice-actor father, buy the warehouse as a studio? Not in book two, but you can bet real estate agent Jonas Jones has eye on it for the future!

 

What’s next for Dee and Jeff? I have the draft of book two, Solid Gold Murder, out to beta readers. Heavy rains in California expose new sources of gold, creating a second Gold Rush that draws all kinds to the Golden Motel, including four rich, obnoxious Silicon Valley techies… one of whom meets an untimely end at the bottom of an abandoned gold mine. Dee and Jeff have to solve the mystery of his death so Verity Gillespie’s nasty nickname for the Golden – “Murder Motel” – doesn’t stick to the place and ruin them.

 

WHAT’S IN A NAME? by Valerie Burns

If you've ever watched the Westminster Dog Show, you'll hear the announcer give some very elaborate names for the dogs. That's called the dog's "Registered" name. If the dog is a champion, that title comes first. Often, the breeder will include the name of their kennel next. For example, if the kennel is, "Cinnibon," that's what comes next. Last, is usually something entertaining that will make the dog stand out in a show ring, like "Bedrock Bombshell." In real life, people aren't standing outside saying, "Champion Cinnabon's Bedrock Bombshell, Come." That's too much for anyone. Instead, the dog also has a "Call Name." The call name is a nick name or what you call the dog. In the above example, Champion Cinnibon's Bedrock Bombshell's call name is Wilma. Get it? Bedrock Bombshell? The Flintstone's? Wilma, Fred's wife? In case you're curious, this is the name of a real dog, a boxer that showed at the Westminster Dog Show. Yabba, Dabba Doo!

In my Baker Street Mystery series, Maddy Montgomery inherits a champion show dog, an English mastiff. When Maddy's Great Aunt Octavia registered him with the American Kennel Club, she gave him a memorable name. Octavia loved Frank Sinatra, so she chose, Champion Crooner Ol’ Blue Eyes, One for My Baby, as his registered name in honor of Frank Sinatra (Ol’ Blue Eyes). One for My Baby is the name of one of Sinatra’s biggest hits. Baby is his call name.

Mastiffs are giants. They're heavy-boned, muscular dogs. Males are around 30 inches from the shoulder to the ground (that’s nearly 3 feet) and range in weight from 170-230 lbs (females are smaller). The breed is known for being protective, but lovable, docile, and kind to their humans. They're often referred to as "gentle giants," and make great pets. However, owning a strong, giant breed like this is a commitment that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Training is important and patience is critical. The breed has a large head, and droopy jowls. If you don’t like drool, this isn’t the breed for you. Seriously, they drool like fountains.

One of the best parts about including dogs in my books is that I get to live vicariously through my characters. I don’t own a mastiff, but I get to experience the joy of owning one, with none of the work. If you’re curious what it’s like to live with a 250 lb English mastiff check out my Baker Street Mystery series. The third book in the series, A Cup of Flour, A Pinch of Death released on July 23, 2024.

 

Figure 1 American Kennel Club

The Working Parents’ Olympics by Nancy L. Eady

As you probably know, the 2024 Summer Olympics are underway in Paris, France, except for the 2024 Summer Olympic surfing events, which are being held in Tahiti. Respectfully, I would like to suggest additional events to add to the roster of future Olympics that focus on more day-to-day type activities regular people participate in. We could call it the “Working Parents” division of the Olympics. 

Event One: Rush Hour Racing

Contestants begin at various points equidistant from the race’s end at the height of morning rush hour (for the qualifying heats) at the major city closest to the Olympic venue, with the finish line in the heart of the city’s business district. To provide a challenging twist, the race for the gold is held during Friday afternoon rush hour preceding a three-day weekend and is run from the business district to the suburbs. There would be time penalties given to contestants for road rage, swearing and any unfair tactics imposed on innocent drivers, but a contestant could also earn seconds shaved off of their overall time for successful management of stress and creative, productive uses of rush hour time.

Event Two: The Commuter’s Cup

Each contestant receives a carload of eight children with eight different activities to attend scattered across the Olympic venue. The task is to deliver the children on time to each activity; a contestant is automatically disqualified from the final round if the drive and delivery exceeds 45 minutes. The winner is the one that, in the final race, delivers the children to each designated activity in the least time. Shamelessly exploiting America’s inexplicable and insatiable appetite for reality TV, each car will be provided with a hidden video camera. To make the commuter cup races more realistic, two of the eight children must be related to each other, and there is at least one child secretly assigned the role of whiner and another secretly assigned the role of instigator.

Event Three: Grocery Store Relays

These races have both 400- and 800-meter races. The 400-meter teams are teams of 4, while the 800-meter teams consist of 8 parents. Each member of each team must complete a grocery shopping run in the shortest time possible.  The first four laps of the relay include a shopping list, $100.00 in spending money, and two children, although the ages of the children vary with each lap. To add the element of chance, during at least one lap of each relay race, randomly determined by drawing and hidden from the contestants, at least one child will demand an unexpected bathroom break.

The 1st lap includes a 1 and 2-year-old, the 2nd lap must be completed with a 3 and 4-year-old, the 3rd lap contestant races with a 5 and 6-year-old and (in the last lap for the 400-meter racers), the 4th lap comes complete with a 7 and 8-year-old.  To challenge the racers in the longer competition, the 5th lap will continue with two children, a 9 and 10-year-old, while the last three laps include one child, but with additional circumstances. The 6th leg of the 800-meter relay must be completed with an 11-year-old girl interested in leaving the store with one of everything she sees whether or not she needs it, while the 7th leg includes a tired 12-year-old girl or boy barely willing to move. Finally, the 8th lap must be completed with a hungry 13-year-old boy in a growth spurt – this situation challenges the contestants’ patience and wallet in one fell swoop!

Event 4: Multi-Tasking Muddle

Contestants are placed at various work sites with tasks to complete, some work related, some family related. The tasks require different skills ranging from negotiation skills to typing skills to budgeting. All tasks must be completed in less than one hour; the first contestant who finishes with the fewest mistakes wins the gold.

Event 5: Argument Arena

This final event in the first edition of the Working Parents’ Olympics provides the excitement of a table tennis match with the tension accompanying a scored event such as gymnastics. Teams of parents and children compete together, under topics such as “Room-Cleaning,” “House-keeping,” “Attending Other Events,” and “Activities Beyond Years.” The competition will be geared to different age levels – arguing with a two-year old (which bears a suspicious resemblance to arguing with a computer, except that the computer cries less and reasons more) is very different from arguing with a 13-year-old. Scores are based upon creativity of argument, tone (the less hateful and heated, the better), lack of sarcasm and use of humor. A parental contestant is disqualified if he or she uses the rejoinder “Because I said so,” while a child contestant is disqualified if he or she stomps a foot or makes a fist declaring, “You just don’t understand!” Each argument is restricted to three minutes. 

What do you think? Are there any events you would add or delete or change?  Anyone you care to nominate to represent their country in the first games?  Any children you are willing to donate to the cause? 

What’s in a Name? by Annette Dashofy

This month, I’ve been deeply focused on the novel I’m working on. I’ve burst out of the muddle in the middle and am feeling the draw of the crescendo pulling me toward the final chapters. As a result, when I realized I needed to write this post, I was drained of ideas. All creative thoughts had gone into the book. So, I went to my Facebook group and asked them what they would like to know. What should I write about in today’s blog? 

And wow. I got a lot of suggestions and questions. If you happen to be a member there, I promise I will answer all of them, but the one I chose for today is a topic I’ve shared in the past. Still, it’s a fun one. 

Donna Alber asked: What’s your inspiration for places and character names? 

For starters, let me say names drive me crazy. It’s a writing “rule” that two characters should not share the same first initial. And I understand. Readers devour pages at such a pace that their brain only registers part of the letters. So having a Susan and a Sharon on the same page can be confusing. I don’t want the reader to have to stop and ask, “What? Who?” But it happens. For one thing, even when I keep track of first initials, there are also last names and town names. Somehow, I managed to miss the fact that I have Wayne Baronick who works in Brunswick. 

I was determined to keep this from happening in the Detective Honeywell series. Well, that determination went down the tubes when Eric, a character from the first book who wasn’t supposed to ever show up again, decided to come to town in the second book and now we have Emma and Eric in Erie. 

Basically, I give up. I mean, I try, but there are only so many letters in the alphabet. When you see a character with the name Quinn or Ulysses, you know I’m desperate. 

But none of this really answers the question. 

Inspiration. Let’s start with my Zoe Chambers series. Pete Adams is named Pete after the man who was our local police chief and a good friend of my dad’s when I was a kid. Adams is the last name of friends of my family. Zoe (don’t tell her) was the name of a cute little dog I once knew, and Chambers is the family name of one of my nieces. Monongahela County doesn’t exist, but the Monongahela River does. It’s also the name of a nearby town. A lot of the fictional locations have some obscure meaning to me, if to no one else. 

In the Detective Honeywell series, I’m more blatant with my character names. Ancestry.com is a rabbit hole I get sucked into from time to time. At one point, I was tracing my maternal grandmother’s lineage and came across my five-times great grandfather, Matthias Honeywell. He fought in the Revolutionary War in New York. All well and good, but all I could think was what a fabulous name! 

In the same series, we have Emma Anderson, who was my maternal grandmother. Emma Nelena Anderson Miller, to be exact. My grandfather lovingly called her Nellie, and most of her friends called her Nell. So, I got two character names from one family member. Emma and her sister, Nell. 

The locations in the Honeywell series are largely real, so inspiration comes from taking a trip to Erie, PA, and driving around the area. A lot of the businesses, especially those where crimes take place, are figments of my imagination. But many are real. Emma lives at Sara’s Campground (real--click the link for a virtual driving tour of the grounds--and I must thank the owners for allowing me to use it) but her campsite is fictional. 

The whole portion of the campground where she lives is made up, so don’t trespass and try to find it. It’s not there. Presque Isle State Park is real. So is the Bicentennial Tower and all of the street names. The Blue Pike Restaurant is fictional (although I wish it was real…in my mind, the food there is amazing). The warehouses mentioned and any businesses I placed in them are fictional. The area used to have warehouses there, but they’ve been razed. 

I’m passing the question on to you writers. Where do you get your inspiration for character names and locations? And to you readers, do locations in the books you read make you want to go there? 

And the big one, how much are you really bothered by names that have the same initials?

  

Happy Dance by Kait Carson

Thank you all for suffering through the last year and a half with me. I am pleased to announce that No Return, the novel of my dreams and nightmares, has been completed. Hopefully, it contains more active verbs than that last sentence. Funny how after you spend four months hip deep in edits, those things stand out like neon signs on a moonless night.

So, you might ask, what’s next? In the category of yes, she’s at it again, I’m three days into drafting Death by Deception, book four in the Hayden Kent Series. Here’s a sneak peek at the rough blurb: 

A day on the water turns tragic for Hayden Kent and her best friend, Mallory Corbett. Their plan to bag Florida’s delectable lobsters for a romantic Valentine’s dinner ends when they spot an empty boat adrift. The boat belongs to Pete Delaney, a local dive shop owner and Mallory’s new love. Closer inspection reveals eddies of blood swirling on the deck. As the pair investigate, they learn that Pete’s secrets run deeper than the wreck of the Thunderbolt at high tide. Can they find his killer before they become collateral damage?

It’s such a pleasure to return to familiar characters and landscape. When I finished Death Dive I hadn’t planned to write another Hayden Kent mystery. The story arc was complete, and the characters were all in good places. Instead, I found the further away I got from the Florida Keys, the more I missed it. When Hayden tempted me with a plot I couldn’t resist, I was all in. Because I know these characters so well, plotlines and story twists are flying from my fingers. The only learning curve is to Google the once familiar streets to see what’s changed. I haven’t been to Marathon in eight years. A long time even if you are living on island time. Sorry, Mr. Wolfe, you were mistaken. You CAN go home again.

Writers, have you ever returned to the scene of a past series? Did you feel at home? Readers, do you enjoy new offerings in a series that’s been dormant for a bit?

Kait Carson writes the Hayden Kent Mysteries set in the Fabulous Florida Keys and is at work on a new mystery set in her adopted state of Maine. She is a former President of the Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime and a member of Sisters in Crime, Guppies, and Sisters in Crime New England. Visit her website at www.kaitcarson.com. While you’re there, sign up for her newsletter.

 

 

Ten Writing Maxims You Never Learned in School by Nancy L. Eady

I wrote my first blog post on my personal blog, workingmomadventures.com, in February 2011. In doing so, I knew exactly how this gig was going to play out. Someone, a publisher or agent or other person connected with the book industry, would stumble across my blog, find my writing fascinating, get in touch with me and lead me forward to fame and fortune. It didn’t take long for me to realize that the publishing world works very differently, so I moved to plan B – write a mystery novel. When I wrote “The End” on the first draft, I just knew I would receive phone calls and offers galore, the book would be printed and I would ride off into the sunset in a blaze of glory, surrounded by admirers, a possible movie deal and pockets full of cash. 

Ummm, not so much. I would love to tell you that as of today, I have lots of advice to give you from the mountain top, but the truth is I’m still scouting towards the foothills of the industry. I have yet to find an agent, to sell my novel, to finish any one of the several sequels I have started, or to win any awards.

But even in the foothills, there are lessons to be learned, so I thought I’d share a few that I have gleaned so far. 

1) It is impossible to proofread your own work with 100% accuracy. As one wit said (probably Mark Twain or Ben Franklin – always good guesses when it comes to quotes), “Facts are stubborn things, but fallacies are stubborner.” Our brains are amazing, but they know what we intended to write whether we put it down on paper or not, so they automatically fill in missing words and skip over extra words to help us out. 

2) Any error you leave in your writing will appear in the worst place possible. I learned this one doing legal writing in the course of my day job, but it holds true for fiction as well. I’d catch every single mistake in a brief except the mistake at the very beginning where I gave the brief the wrong name, told the judge the motion was from the defendant rather than the plaintiff, or asked the judge to grant the motion I was trying to get him/her to deny. The same is true for any submission you make or query letter you write. As hard as you work to proof-read your materials, proofread your first and last pages double hard. The worst mistakes always pop up there. 

3) Do not have characters with names starting with the same letter or containing the same sound. Apparently, that can confuse readers. My first novel included names like Ashley, Molly, Maggie, Johnny, Henderson, Herring and Howard. It was the second or third re-write before they changed to names like Heather, Rose, Jackson and Tony. 

4) Find and replace is your friend, especially when you have to change names from Ashley, Molly, Maggie, Johnny, Henderson, Herring and Howard to Heather, Rose, Jackson and Tony. 

5) When you type “The End” on your first draft, it isn’t. Novels take a lot of revision. Some people love revisions and some people hate them, but the revisions have to be done. 

6) When you can afford it, use the services of a professional editor. I was hesitant to do this with my first draft. I didn’t really understand how the process would work and I certainly didn’t want anyone taking over my story. Still, I plucked up my courage and my finances and sent my baby away for a developmental edit. Am I ever glad I did! The editor does not hijack your story but rather works with you to point out its strengths and weaknesses. She or he may provide suggestions as examples for you to follow, but you choose what you do and how you do it. 

 7) Never stop learning. Writing organizations such as Sisters in Crime and their on-line subchapter, the Guppies, offer reasonably priced on-line courses. In addition, many books have been written discussing various aspects of writing. 

8) Persevere. Never, ever, ever give up. Many people quit writing after the first novel goes unsold, the first story is ignored for the anthology, or their blog readership stays in double digits. With rare exceptions, the people who succeed in getting their works published didn’t give up. They kept writing until they got published, even if the first novel, the second novel, the third novel, etc., ended up staying in the desk drawer. 

9) Community involvement matters. And here, I’m not talking about volunteering at your local humane shelter (although that certainly does matter) but rather being involved in your genre’s writing community. It keeps writing from being such a lonely pursuit, gives you contacts in the industry, provides you with emotional support when you are discouraged and provides learning opportunities. 

10) When you have a day job, sitting down at night and opening your laptop to start writing is the international signal for children, dogs and Microsoft Word updates to interrupt you. Go ahead and plan on moving your bedtime back at least an hour, or you’ll never get anything done. 

What maxims has writing taught you so far? 

 

How Long Does It Take to Write a Novel? by Connie Berry

 

One of the questions I’m frequently asked is “How long does it take to write a novel?” I could answer “Ten years,” because that’s how long I tinkered with my debut mystery, A Dream of Death, before it appeared in print. 

True confession: I’m a serial reviser. Without a deadline, I could revise a book until the Second Coming. If possible, I’d follow my readers home from the bookstore with a red pencil. But now I have deadlines. The problem is telling my publisher how long I realistically need to finish a manuscript.

Some writers can turn out two or even three mysteries a year. I’m amazed by that because that kind of discipline has never been my gift. I usually think in terms of a year per novel. To me, that’s ideal—but not always possible. I published my first two mysteries in 2019 because when I got my contract, I had one finished manuscript and another partially complete. I  wouldn’t do that again because the two novels competed against each other for publicity and awards, and a debut novel always garners the most attention. Publishing two books in one year also meant I had absolutely nothing out in 2020. I felt like there was a party going on and I hadn’t received an invitation.

Publishers have schedules, and getting a book to your editor in time to make a deadline might mean shortening the writing process. Is that possible? I ask myself. Would it be better to take my time to produce the best book I can write—or should I buckle down, get my butt in that chair, and make the deadline, trusting that my skills, though rushed, won't leave me?

I wish I had answers! What advice would you give?

How long does it take you to write a novel? Have you ever been rushed by a deadline? 

An Interview with Valerie Burns by E. B. Davis

 

Thanks to Maddy’s social media savvy, Baby Cakes Bakery is becoming a huge success—so much so that she’s attracted the attention of her former nemesis, the fiancé-stealing Brandy Denton. When Brandy blows into New Bison like an ill wind and disrupts a vlog Maddy’s filming, their argument goes viral. After Brandy’s body is found in the freezer at Baby Cakes, Maddy instantly goes from viral sensation to murder suspect.

As Maddy is still reeling from the murder, a stranger shows up in the bakery claiming to have been a friend of Octavia. He believes Maddy is in danger. When a second body washes up on the lake shore, it seems clear someone’s out to kill to keep a secret—and it may have to do with her great aunt.

Maddy rallies her aunt’s friends, the Baker Street Irregulars; Sheriff April Johnson; and her veterinarian boyfriend Michael—not to mention her English mastiff Baby—to do some digging and root out whoever’s behind the killings . . .

Amazon.com

 

The third book into the Baker Street series with A Cup of Flour, A Pinch of Death, Valerie Burns wraps up so many backstory-plot questions that I can’t wait to find out what happens next. Throughout the first two books, there was a question as to Aunt Octavia’s state of mind when she died. Was she paranoid? Main character, Madison, or Maddy is finally able to answer that question.

 

It’s no wonder that Sheriff April Johnson and Maddy are friends. Both suffer from a lack of self-trust. April has no confidence in her intellect. Maddy can’t make decisions easily. When both are backed by Aunt Octavia—April before Octavia’s death—Maddy—after Octavia’s death—together they support one another. But on the case, April is sidelined due to her relationship with the main suspect—Maddy.

 

Please welcome Valerie Burns back to WWK.                            E. B. Davis

Why does Maddy assume she’s under attack when she hears an explosion? As the daughter of a navy admiral, Maddy has spent a lot of time on military bases. So, when she hears loud noises that sound like gunfire, her first instinct is to drop and take cover.

 

Have you ever lived in a place such as New Bison, Michigan? I have lived in a place almost exactly like New Bison. In fact, I spent several years in Southwestern Michigan just down the road from the town that New Bison is based on. Now, I live in a small town in Northern Georgia which is actually smaller than New Bison, but I do miss the beauty of Lake Michigan.

 

Although Maddy has wondered if Aunt Octavia was paranoid before her death, Maddy is now wondering if her heartthrob veterinarian Michael is bored with her. Can paranoia be an inherited trait? Hmm. Good question. Maddy has trouble making decisions and is indecisive. Much of her indecision stems (I think) from insecurity. She’s the only daughter of a navy admiral who makes lots of decisions without hesitation. The Admirals decisions are often decisions of life and death that impact not only the men and women under his command, but the millions of people in this country and others. Her decision to marry Elliott ended badly, which didn’t help her confidence. However, both Maddy and Great Aunt Octavia were mystery lovers who are always looking for clues and red herrings to solve a puzzle. Sometimes, a sleuth can misread or misinterpret a clue, which was the case when it came to Michael.

 

Why does Michael call Maddy “Squid?” Michael is a veteran of the U.S. Army, while Maddy is the daughter of a Navy admiral. There’s a frenemy kind of relationship between all branches of the military. The slurs have no ill-intent, but are representative of the competitive brotherhood shared between the military. ‘Squid’ has become Michael’s pet-name for Maddy.

 

Is a Rivian an electric vehicle, like a Tesla? Yes. The Rivian is an all-electric vehicle that has some dog-friendly features like their Pet Comfort Mode. Pet Comfort allows the driver to establish a comfortable temperature for pets left in the vehicle for short time frames.

 

Are there really some ego-driven people who will do anything for revenge? Sadly, yes.

 

Maddy’s fiancé left her at the altar (literally during a live internet video shoot). How long does it really take to put life-changing events, even if in the long-run positive outcomes, behind? How long has it been since the aborted wedding? Each person is different and the time it takes to recover from life-changing events will differ for each person. Maddy recognized fairly early that she never loved her ex-fiance, which probably helped her recovery. There is no time limit on grief.

 

Baby sounds like a wonderful dog, but how does Maddy deal with all the drool (yuck!)? Maddy has learned to come equipped with a towel for cleaning up the drool. Each breed of dog has pros and cons (excessive shedding, drool, high energy, etc.). Before getting a dog, always do your research.

 

Is there such a thing as “pet comfort mode” for autos? YES! The actual feature may have different names, but the premise is the same. It’s a feature that allows pet owners to set the temperature of their vehicle so that pets remain comfortable when the owner has to run inside for short periods of time and their fur baby has to remain in the car. Some manufacturers include cameras so the owner can watch their dogs on their phones. Others include music to keep your pet company.

 

You mentioned a cortado, a term I had to look up. It’s a coffee drink. Were coffee terms old world or has someone made them all up in the last twenty years since the Starbuck’s craze happened and gourmet coffee places sprang up everywhere? Coffee has been around for a long time. There’s a legend that a goatherder in 850 CE noticed his goats behaved differently after eating berries from an evergreen bush. After sampling the berries, the goatherder experienced “exhilaration.” Coffee plants were brought from Ethiopia to Arabia and cultivated around the 15^th century. As coffee consumption spread across the globe, baristas have found different ways to brew and serve coffee. I suspect the fancy names are a result of gourmet coffee houses and experimentation. From cold brews to red eyes, the possibilities are endless.

 

New Bison has at least one old family of an oil tycoon. Carson Law owns the Carson Law Inn, but she is also a milliner. How does she balance those businesses? Did the oil come from land around New Bison or was it transported from there? Carson Law is the daughter of New Bison’s oil baron, Beauregard Law. The oil wasn’t discovered in New Bison. He was, however, the owner of the company that produced the oil. Carson isn’t involved in the day-to-day management of the business her father started. The Carson Law Inn was her childhood home. Thanks to her dedicated staff who take care of the daily management of the inn, she can focus on her other interests including her millinery business and philanthropy.

 

Maddy does actually make hard-boiled eggs for the Easter Egg Hunt for the Sheriff’s (April’s) department. April is learning how to dye the eggs organically. Why is that important? No one eats the dye—although the recipe at the back of the book looks intriguing. There are several good reasons to use natural dyes rather than chemicals. Chemical dyes may contain ingredients or allergens that some children are sensitive or allergic to. Some of the colors included in dyes available in the US have been banned in other countries. It’s true that children don’t eat the shells, however if the eggs crack during the boiling process the dye can get inside. Natural dyes are also good for the environment.

Which church does Maddy attend and why? Maddy attends First Baptist Church of New Bison. It’s the church that her boyfriend, Michael Portman and his grandmother, Hannah attend. Miss Hannah believes that it’s important for Maddy to be seen with her and Michael, so she can “stake her claim.”

 

Why would Michael partner with his old flame? Did he really expect that Maddy would be fine with it—like not uncomfortable at all? Living in a small town, often doesn’t provide a lot of choice, especially where pet care is concerned. Michael’s ex, Dr. Alliyah Howard, is a good vet. She is highly skilled and brings a lot to the table. She is a canine ophthalmologist, which is rare and would benefit the residents of New Bison who wouldn’t have to take pets with eye problems to Chicago for treatment. She is not only a veterinarian, but is also a human doctor. Michael and Aliyah’s relationship is over. From his perspective, he can’t imagine why Maddy, the love of his life, would be insecure about him or his love for her.

 

We get to know the Admiral better in this book. He seems to have a softer side and knows he messed up Maddy’s upbringing. Have Maddy’s recent life changes brought him relief? After the death of his wife, Admiral Jefferson Montgomery was so deep in grief that he threw himself into his work. He was ill-equipped to raise a small girl. As Maddy has grown up and become more independent, he is able to see his mistakes. He realizes that simply throwing money at his daughter was not providing the love and support she needed. Maddy owns a successful business. She has solved several mysteries and proven that she doesn’t need a husband or her father to take care of her. Although Maddy’s transformation is still in process, she has grown tremendously, which would be a relief to any parent.

 

Are tobacco-chewing men the worst? YES!

 

Will we be seeing more of the Admiral? Will he retire? Will he drive Maddy nuts just when she’s starting to be more decisive? The admiral is finally able to see Maddy as independent woman who is fully capable of taking care of herself. He also likes her boyfriend, Dr. Michael Portman. I think the admiral will enjoy visiting New Bison. He also seems to have gotten along well with Carson Law. I think more visits to New Bison may be in the admiral’s future.

 

What’s next for Maddy and her Baker Street Sleuths? I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but events at the end of A Cup of Flour, A Pinch of Death, play a major factor in next steps for Maddy and her Baker Street Irregulars. So, please keep a look out for the fourth book in the series.

 

Finding Inspiration in Strange Places by Martha Reed

When people find out I’m an author, one of the first questions I get asked is: “Where do you get your ideas?” Since I write crime fiction, I try to play nice and not scare them with my answer. It is true my research rabbit holes tend to go dark and deep, teetering on the borderline of the macabre, but as Manfred Mann’s Earth Band sang in Blinded by the Light, “But Mama, that’s where the fun is.”

Earlier this month, I was handed a cracker of a deep dive research opportunity when I toured the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office (and associated state-of-the-art laboratories) with fellow members of the Pittsburgh chapter of Sisters in Crime.

I’ll admit I earned a few wide-eyed surprised face emojis on my Facebook page when I posted this field trip event.

First, a bit of history. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office we toured opened in 2009. Working downtown, I’d passed the block-long building hundreds of times never knowing what it was. The previous Pittsburgh Morgue looked like a properly ghoulish Victorian House of Horrors. Bodies were stashed in basement coolers. The old morgue was infamous for being the late night Pittsburgh post-Prom date rendezvous location. I kid you not. What can I say? Pittsburghers are my kind of people.

During our tour, there was knowledge on the slabs. The visit turned out to be a goldmine of previously unknown forensic information that I was able to fold into my current developing work-in-progress manuscript. Details like: How long can sealed evidence submitted to the ME’s laboratory be held before the lab receives a court order for its return or its destruction? In the Allegheny County ME’s Office, the minimum hold policy is one year. So, for my story, what does it mean if the evidence is destroyed before the year is up? Was it simply an accidental oversight, or was it enemy action?

Did you know that a baseball cap is a great resource in aiding identification? The brim may hold fingerprints while the sweatband holds DNA. Did you know that one part of the standard equipment of an actual morgue unit is a bug zapper?

In the laboratory, who is responsible for comparing dental records to establish identity (Forensic Odontologist). Who studies bone records to uncover possible trauma (Forensic Anthropologist). Any CSI nerd might guess these two answers, but did you know that a Forensic Engineer studies and deconstructs any floor or building plans that are involved in a suspicious death? Would developing any of these back office laboratory characters or adding a sentence or two about the labs add to your story and give it a better sense of being real?

Crime fiction and mystery readers these days are so over-saturated with CSI TV forensic details that I give thanks whenever I uncover anything new and interesting that might capture their jaded attention and keep them glued to my pages.

Do you have an inspiration resource? What are your surprising sources of inspiration?

Grammar by Nancy L. Eady

To me, grammar is a funny looking word. It is one letter away from being a palindrome – a word that is spelled the same forwards and backwards. It would be “grammarg” if some enterprising person wanted to change it to fit the palindrome mold. If you were trying to guess how to spell “grammar” without ever having seen it, the most likely first guess would be “grammer.” A person who studies and writes about grammar is called a “grammarian.” I am not such a person. 

I have a decent grasp of the basics of grammar, such as what is a noun, verb, adjective and adverb. (Those of you who, like me, are of a certain age, probably can’t think of the word “adverb” without hearing a song in your head that begins “Lolly, lolly, lolly, get your adverbs here.” Thank you, Schoolhouse Rock!) I remember from my school years that a preposition is something that we are not supposed to end sentences or phrases with, except that now it is okay to do so. Or, as Winston Churchill said once when criticized by a young proofreader on ending a sentence with a preposition, “This is the type of arrant pedantry up with which I will not put.” 

The best way to learn about the grammar of your language is to study another language. It wasn’t until I began learning Spanish that I realized the wide variety of verb tenses that exist. According to Google, English has twelve verb tenses: simple present tense, present continuous, present perfect, present perfect continuous, past simple, past continuous, past perfect tense, and past perfect continuous, future simple, future continuous tense, future perfect, and future perfect continuous tense. But at the same time, there is also the “participle” form of a verb, which is when a verb has a “-ing” thrown on it. My best guess is that the participle is folded within the continuous tenses, past, present, future.  I remember the phrase “present participle” because when we finally reached it in basic Spanish, I thought, “Huh, I didn’t know we had that.” 

I always despised English tests that involved grammar questions. They most often consisted of one sentence written incorrectly, with four choices from which you had to select the correct sentence. When I would read the sentences, I could think of several ways to communicate the same sentiment more effectively, but none of those would be in the four choices.

All that being said, grammar is important. A writers’ job is to communicate. If you attempt to communicate in English without following the basic rules English speakers use, chances are you will not succeed. Or, if the mistake is something like using the plural form of a verb with the single form of a noun, the reader will understand what you mean but the mistake will jar the reader out of your work. 

Most writers understand the rules of grammar at an instinctual level. We have a feeling for what is “good writing” versus “poor writing” and grammar plays an important role in that evaluation. But I have never diagrammed a sentence and if you held a gun to me, I still couldn’t name all twelve English verb tenses in spite of having written them out three paragraphs above. That doesn’t mean I’m not grateful for those warriors out there who do make the study of grammar their business. After all, someone needs to keep track of the rules! 

How much did you study grammar before writing? Have you ever diagrammed a sentence? What kind of grammar mistakes do you look for in your editing?  

Sinister Summer Listening: True Crime Podcasts by Sarah E. Burr

I’m always listening to a true crime podcast. Whether I’m cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, driving, or walking the dog, I’m tuned into crime. It helps me with my writing, as I’ve learned so much about police procedures and the current technology out there helping law enforcement to solve crimes. To expand my horizons a bit more this summer, I’ve branched out beyond my usual Crime Junkie, Dateline, and Anatomy of Murder binges (although I very much still listen to them). I’ve been searching for different perspectives and presentations of true crime, and in doing so, I’ve come across some really interesting shows. I wanted to share them with you in case you want to explore the world of true crime.

Dateline True Crime Weekly: This is my new favorite podcast. True Crime Weekly keeps me up to date with the goings on in the world of true crime. Each Friday, host Andrea Canning syncs up with Dateline producers to talk about updates in current cases and trials happening across the country. Through this, I’ve followed Karen Read’s trial and other current events, like the Gilgo Beach Killer, Scott Peterson’s appeal with the Innocence Project, and “Mommy Doomsday.” It’s also very short, running about twenty minutes or less.

Drowning Creek: As an engaged true crime consumer, I feel conflicted whenever I listen to this podcast. The premise of Drowning Creek is that the disappearance of eighteen-year-old Justin Gaines is all but solved. The only reason there hasn’t been an arrest is because the police have a confession, yet no body. However, the person who confessed to Justin’s murder has since recanted his claim and said he was coerced. Now, I’ve listened to enough podcasts to know false confessions happen a shocking number of times. What gets me about this podcast is that the host (who isn’t new to the genre) finds the idea of someone giving a false confession ridiculous. He repeatedly comments along the lines of “Who does that?” Actually, a lot of people do. According to researcher Jerome Skolnick in Above the Law: Police and the Excessive Use of Force, more than six thousand false confessions occur annually in the United States. So, for this show’s host to dismiss the idea really gets under my skin and has made me listen to this limited series with my devil’s advocate hat on. It makes for a different listening experience, which is why I’m recommending it.

Park Predators: Host Delia D’Ambra highlights crimes committed in national parks worldwide. With all the outdoor activities summer brings, Park Predators is a sobering reminder that evil can strike in even the most scenic of places. Not only does Delia share insight into these outdoor crimes, but she also reminds listeners how they can protect themselves while enjoying these majestic landscapes. Through this podcast, I’ve gotten to “visit” some beautiful parks, too, which is an added benefit.

Under the Cover of Knight: This is such a unique podcast; it’s almost hard to describe. I’d say it’s a mix between true crime and slice-of-life. It's an odd combo, but it really works well. Under the Cover of Knight dives into the perplexing life and death of Susan Knight. Susan may have been just an ordinary individual living in a small Texas town…or she could have been a spy. With dozens of interviews with people who “knew Susan best,” the listener begins to wonder whether anyone really knew this woman at all. I have my own theory of what happened to her, which is completely overlooked by the investigative team because (in my opinion) they were too trusting of their sources. I highly recommend this story and would love to hear about your own conclusions!

Cold Blooded: Investigative journalist and host Scott Weinberger is one of my favorite podcasters out there in the industry. His background as a deputy sheriff and reporter provides a unique perspective to all his shows (he also cohosts Anatomy of Murder, my all-time favorite podcast). In this limited series, Scott and Detective Danny Smith (who should be given some type of accolade for being one of the best detectives I’ve come across in true crime) share their reinvestigation into the murder of Miami firefighter Billy Halpern. Cold Blooded listens like a movie happening in real time. It has everything from gangsters to car chases to drug rings to interrogations with felons. This will definitely get your heart pumping!

 

All of these shows are available wherever you get your podcasts. Do you have any recommendations for me?

Turn Up the Heat by Judy L Murray

Seriously? Do I want to turn up the heat? This impossibly hot weather seems relentless. It’s our first topic of the day around my house. Any day we get a drop in temperature, we’re grateful. Which causes me to think about the ‘heat’ in my stories. Is it reflected in my characters’ mental states, their physical actions, and my readers’ enjoyment. Heat in stories can refer to the weather. It often refers to the level of romance. I think of it as a contributor to the level of excitement and ebb and flow throughout my stories. I try to be conscious of how I turn up or lower the temperature level of tension, pacing, anguish or joy. In book one of my Chesapeake Bay Mystery Series, the weather introduces the little waterfront town of Port Anne, Maryland. Books Two and Three are set in summer and fall. Here’s an example from Murder in the Master. Notice how weather helps establish setting while enabling a place, Port Anne, to actually have feelings: …It was May and Port Anne, halfway between Philadelphia and Baltimore, was feeling the winter doldrums shift to bustling anticipation of the summer season. …Striped buoys and nautical flags flapped in the sunshine... Here is a sample of how the warmth of a summer night can turn up the heat between characters: Helen handed Joe the binoculars and covered his hands with hers. She directed his eyes toward a point beyond a nearby cover. ‘It’s a heron sitting at the end of the breakwater. He must be looking for a late-night snack,’ she whispered…Their faces were almost cheek to cheek as they passed the glasses back and forth. I am just a few chapters away from wrapping up the first draft of my fourth book, Villian in the Vineyard. This time, I chose the month of February. February doesn’t easily reflect the hopeful attitude inherent in other times of the year. My characters are not in the throes of summer fun or anticipating the cool, beautiful fall. It also is very different from the holiday cheer of a December story. February is often bleak, treeless, tiresome, sometimes even threatening. However, February provides my readers a new setting while remaining in their familiar, favorite place. Here’s a sample of how weather can affect your setting and characters’ actions: “Oscar? Hello? It’s Helen.” She stood at the tasting room door in the winter quiet and listened to the distant swash of water ebbing against the bay shoreline in the distance. The sky was grey, and a sense of approaching snow hung in the air. “Oscar?” Still nothing. She tugged at the wide door and stepped inside out of the wind… Can weather help reflect a character’s state of mind? Absolutely. Consider the utter gloom and swirling fog surrounding Manderley of Daphne du Maurier’s classic Rebecca that contributed to the young bride’s mental anguish. Would her story be as impactful and believable if set in the sunshine? Here’s a sample from my Villian in the Vineyard: …She turned to the sliders, placed her hands on the cold glass and stared at the dark water. The wind had picked up. It was keening around the edges of the house. “Do you know what Jane Marple would say? This is a wicked murderer and the wicked should not go unpunished.” She faced her children, her cheeks flushed. She dug her nails into her palms….“I am not hiding behind my desk waiting for the next hit.” As a writer, ask yourself, am I using weather to my stories’ best advantage? Perhaps you are a reader with examples from your favorite books? I’m looking forward to your replies. In the meantime, I’m returning back to my hermetically sealed, air-conditioned study to write. Stay cool as you turn up, or down, your book’s heat. Judy

Bibliophilic Friday: LEVIATHAN WAKES by James S. A. Corey (Review by Nancy L. Eady)

Leviathan Wakes is the first book in the science fiction series, The Expanse, written by James S. A. Corey. Mr. Corey is a pen name for two writers, Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, who wrote the series as a collaboration. I read the book for the first time upon a recommendation from Goodreads and I’m glad I did. The science part of this science fiction book is solid, and the situations the characters work to resolve have themes similar to situations working adults the world over find themselves in today.  

The book is set several centuries in the future. Earth has billions of people living on it and has evolved into a single government planet. Mars has not only been colonized but also has gained its independence while its people, who live in domes on the surface, work to terraform the surface. In addition, over ten billion people live in asteroids and the larger moons of the outer planets such as Saturn and Jupiter. When the novel opens, people have lived scattered around the outer planets in this matter for at least three generations.

What intrigued me the most about the first book is that, although not labeled as such, it is a mystery. James Holden, one of the two point of view characters, is the executive officer of an ice harvester spaceship called the Canterbury. Its sole job is to harvest ice from the rings of Saturn, then carry those blocks of ice to asteroids and other stations for their water supply. The other point of view character is Detective Miller, who is a member of the police force on Ceres, a large asteroid with a huge port and several million people living in it. In the first few chapters, Holden’s ice ship is killed by a mysterious stealth ship which destorys it with nuclear missiles while Holden and four other crew members are on a salvage mission nearby in one of the ship’s shuttles, and Detective Miller is handed a missing persons case to work on outside of his regular hours. The novel then takes twists and turns until you learn both who killed the Canterbury and why, and what happened to the missing person. 

The story is told in an alternating format. One chapter tells the story from Holden’s perspective, then the next chapter goes back to Miller, even after the two storylines meet. Ultimately both men find the answers they’re looking for, although those answers do not necessarily provide an “and they all lived happily ever after” ending. The answers and resolution of the novel are, however, satisfying and make sense within the context of the story.  

The writing and pacing are riveting. The plot is action-packed, but you also get to know and like multiple characters.  There is a lot of food for thought on the nature of freedom and right and wrong throughout not only the first book but also the series. Leviathan Wakes also perfectly sets up the rest of the nine-book series. Each book is an interesting, entertaining and sometimes horrifying case study of what various people do when confronted with tools and weapons of unimaginable power. And yet all nine books together explore an overarching riddle that is finally solved in the last novel.  

If you’re looking to expand your reading into a different genre, give Leviathan Wakes a try.