Standing Out in a Crowded Genre

We are delighted to welcome Lois Winston as our guest on Writers Who Kill.

 

Standing Out in a Crowded Genre

by Lois Winston

 

Life is often about pivots. No matter how we think our life goes, it rarely goes as planned. Sometimes we need to pivot, and sometimes that pivot becomes life-altering. My career as a cozy mystery author was a major, life-altering pivot, thanks to a conversation my agent had with an editor. The editor was looking for a humorous crafts-themed amateur sleuth mystery series. Based on my day job as a crafts designer and Talk Gertie to Me, my award-winning humorous first novel, my agent suggested I try writing such a series.

 

Before I began what was to become my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, now at thirteen books and three novellas, I embarked on extensive research. I read dozens of crafting cozies to get a feel for the genre. I discovered most centered around a craft shop in a small town. The amateur sleuth was either the shop owner, an employee, a customer, or a close friend or relative of the owner. 

For years I had heard an author should never follow trends. If you want your book to stand out in a crowded genre, you need to put a unique spin on the conventions of that genre. So I began to brainstorm as to what I could do differently but still produce a series which readers of crafting mysteries might embrace. 

 

I decided to take my protagonist out of the shop and stick her in a different crafting profession. I made Anastasia the crafts editor at a women’s magazine. To my knowledge, no other author had ever featured a crafts editor as an amateur sleuth.

 

Then, I went a step further. Another observation I made in studying amateur sleuth and cozy mysteries, was that most of the protagonists were busybody snoops who channeled Nancy Drew or Jessica Fletcher, often believing they knew more than the professional investigators assigned to the crime. 

 

In real life this would never happen, but fiction—especially genre fiction—is all about the suspension of disbelief. Readers of amateur sleuth and cozy mysteries are happy to suspend disbelief for a good whodunit. However, once again, I wondered what I could do differently to make my series stand out, while still giving readers the satisfying read they expected.

 

What if I made Anastasia a reluctant amateur sleuth? 

 

My amateur sleuth would like nothing better than to turn back the clock to a time not so long ago when she led a typical middle-class life with a devoted husband, two great kids, and a job she loved. But that’s not going to happen. For one thing, I’m not writing time-travel mysteries. Also, writing an ongoing series means the protagonist needs a reason to keep sleuthing. In all books, no matter the genre, the main character needs goals, motivation, and conflict. What better conflict for an amateur sleuth than having her conflicted about sleuthing?

 

A successful book needs a story arc with a protagonist who is not the same person at the end of the book as she was at the beginning of the book. This is called character growth. But in an ongoing series, you can’t resolve all the protagonist’s goals, motivations, and conflicts at the end of the book. Doing so will end the series. You want to keep the reader coming back for more of your character’s adventures. But at the same time, you need your character to learn from her experiences, moving closer toward her goal with each book.

 

In Assault with a Deadly Glue Gun, the first book in my series, I set the stage for what will be Anastasia’s ongoing goals, motivations, and conflicts. The series opens with her discovering that her recently deceased husband led a double life, more devoted to Lady Luck than his family. When he drops dead at a roulette table in Las Vegas, Anastasia discovers he’s gambled away all their savings and left her with huge debt and a loan shark demanding she pay off her husband’s gambling debts—or else. In each book she tries to find new ways to earn extra money to whittle down that debt. But since this is an amateur sleuth mystery series, she also winds up dealing with unsavory characters on the wrong side of the law, not to mention constantly tripping over dead bodies.

However, no amateur sleuth operates in a vacuum. She needs friends and family in her life. Creating conflict within a protagonist’s personal life adds another layer of depth to a series. Not only does the amateur sleuth need to figure out whodunit in each book, but she also needs to deal with life’s normal problems. Adding fully developed secondary characters that readers will enjoy will keep them coming back for more. 

 

In my series, Anastasia deals with a nasty Communist mother-in-law. Lucille is the character readers love to hate. I receive the most fan mail about her. Some readers wish I’d kill her off. Others (many of whom have difficult mothers-in-law of their own!) hope I never do because she’s so much fun to hate. However, since I’m writing a humorous series, I went further. In addition to a Communist mother-in-law, Anastasia’s mother is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and both mother and mother-in-law are often forced to share a room in Anastasia’s home. Conflict. Conflict. Conflict. You can never have too much.

 

Whether you’re writing a crafting mystery series or any ongoing series in any genre, the same advice applies if you want your books to stand out:

 

1. Give a unique spin to your protagonist, her profession, and/or the setting of your series.

 

2. Set up an overall situation that will allow the protagonist to make progress toward reaching her goals and resolving her conflicts as the series progresses from book to book.

 

3. Develop secondary characters that add depth to your series and create additional problems for your protagonist. 

Sorry, Knot Sorry, the latest book in my Anastasia Pollack Mystery series, is currently on preorder. In it, Anastasia continues to be motivated toward reaching her goals and resolving her conflicts, but the dead bodies keep coming.

What is it about a series that keeps you reading? Post a comment for a chance to win a promo code for a free audiobook of one of the first nine Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries.

 

Sorry, Knot Sorry

An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, Book 13

 

Magazine crafts editor Anastasia Pollack may finally be able to pay off the remaining debt she found herself saddled with when her duplicitous first husband dropped dead in a Las Vegas casino. But as Anastasia has discovered, nothing in her life is ever straightforward. Strings are always attached. Thanks to the success of an unauthorized true crime podcast, a television production company wants to option her life—warts and all—as a reluctant amateur sleuth. 

 

Is such exposure worth a clean financial slate? Anastasia isn’t sure, but at the same time, rumors are flying about layoffs at the office. Whether she wants national exposure or not, Anastasia may be forced to sign on the dotted line to keep from standing in the unemployment line. But the dead bodies keep coming, and they’re not in the script. Craft tips included.

 

Buy Links (preorder ebook now. Available June 4^th, along with paperback and hardcover editions)

Amazon

Kobo

Nook

Apple Books

 

Bio:

USA Today and Amazon bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is a former literary agent and an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry. Learn more about Lois and her books at her website where can also sign up for her newsletter and find links to her other social media: www.loiswinston.com

The Happy Hooker by Lois Winston

The Happy Hooker

By Lois Winston

No, this is not a post about the world’s oldest profession. It’s about opening hooks. Because attention spans aren’t what they used to be, authors have precious few seconds to grab a reader’s attention. If you don’t hook a reader with the first page of your book, chances are, she won’t read the second page.

Too many writers make the mistake of opening their books with long passages of description and back-story. Bad idea! Especially when you open with a description of the weather.

There’s a reason Snoopy kept getting all those rejection letters whenever he submitted his novel, which opened with, “It was a dark and stormy night…” It’s also the reason that a well-known annual writing contest for the worst opening lines in books is named for Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, the author of that famous line. It appeared in his 1830 novel Paul Clifford. If you’ve never read the complete opening sentence, here it is:

It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents--except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.

Pretty bad, right? The sad truth is that too many writers open their stories in a similar manner. That’s why I’m a firm believer in hooking a reader with the very first line of my books. I want my readers to be intrigued enough by that first line to continue reading.

A book’s hook doesn’t have to be defined by the first sentence, but that first sentence should

make the reader want to read the next sentence. And then the next. Those first sentences should form a paragraph that makes the reader want to read the next paragraph. And then the next. Until the reader has read a complete page that makes her want to turn the page and read the next page. And finally, those first pages should create a first scene that has sufficiently hooked the reader so she can’t put the book down. She has to keep reading to find out what happens next.

The opening of a book should suck the reader into the world the author has created. Back-story can come later, trickling in to tease the reader to continue reading, not as information dumps that pull the reader from the story. A good opening will include only the barest minimum of back-story that is essential for that moment.

As for description, it should be woven into the narrative and dialogue. Nothing bores more than long paragraphs describing everything from the length of the protagonist’s hair to the color of her toenail polish. It, too, pulls the reader from the story. And pulling the reader from the story is a definite no-no. It adversely affects the pacing of a book. Good pacing, especially in a mystery, is imperative for a well-written novel.

Solve any murders over the weekend?”

That’s the opening line of Stitch, Bake, Die!, the tenth and newest book in my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series. I hope it entices you to want to read the next sentence…and the next…and the next….

Do you have a favorite first sentence from a book you’ve read?

Stitch, Bake, Die!

An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, Book 10

With massive debt, a communist mother-in-law, a Shakespeare-quoting parrot, and a photojournalist boyfriend who may or may not be a spy, crafts editor Anastasia Pollack already juggles too much in her life. So she’s not thrilled when her magazine volunteers her to present workshops and judge a needlework contest at the inaugural conference of the NJ chapter of the Stitch and Bake Society, a national organization of retired professional women. At least her best friend and cooking editor Cloris McWerther has also been roped into similar duties for the culinary side of the 3-day event taking place on the grounds of the exclusive Beckwith Chateau Country Club.

The sweet little old ladies Anastasia is expecting to find are definitely old, and some of them are little, but all are anything but sweet. She’s stepped into a vipers’ den that starts with bribery and ends with murder. When an ice storm forces Anastasia and Cloris to spend the night at the Chateau, Anastasia discovers evidence of insurance scams, medical fraud, an opioid ring, long-buried family secrets, and a bevy of suspects.

Can she piece together the various clues before she becomes the killer’s next target?

Crafting tips included.

Buy Links

Paperback (available Oct. 4^th)

Kindle https://amzn.to/3ylMivw

Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/stitch-bake-die

Nook https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/stitch-bake-die-lois-winston/1140036766;jsessionid=25A7F9659AD9C525D5EAB0BECCEA6D09.prodny_store02-atgap06?ean=2940162610267

Apple Books https://books.apple.com/us/book/stitch-bake-die/id1582066729

USA Today and Amazon bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction under her own name and her Emma Carlyle pen name. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is a former literary agent and an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry.

Website: www.loiswinston.com

Newsletter sign-up: https://app.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/z1z1u5

Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers blog: www.anastasiapollack.blogspot.com

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/anasleuth

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Anasleuth

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/722763.Lois_Winston

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/lois-winston

Keeping an Ongoing Series Fresh By Lois Winston

"Ladies and gentlemen: the story you are about to hear is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent." If you’re old enough, you may remember those words from the intro to Dragnet. Like most series from television’s infancy, the same could be said for the plots. They followed a standard script with only minor tweaks each week.

Older traditional mysteries often did the same, but today’s readers don’t want to come away from a book feeling the author has simply recycled a previous plot by making a few minor changes to how the victim died, where the body was discovered, or which friend/relative of the sleuth is being wrongly accused of the crime.

Readers want the familiarity of the voice and style of a favorite author and her sleuth, but they also demand fresh content with each book. This is fairly easy in a limited series. For a longstanding series, it becomes a more daunting challenge. However, there are ways authors can continue creating fresh content with each subsequent book. I’ve employed all of them in the nine books (to date) and three novellas in my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series.

When I began writing the series, I’ll admit, I didn’t give longevity much thought. I had only previously published a chick lit novel and a romantic suspense when my agent asked me to try writing a cozy crafting mystery because she knew an editor looking for one. With my background as a crafts designer and editor, my agent thought I’d be the perfect person to write such a series. Here’s how I’ve kept readers coming back for more:

Tip 1: Create a Versatile Protagonist

I knew immediately that I didn’t want to limit myself by writing a series about a potter, a jewelry maker, a craft shop owner, or a group of knitters, quilters, or scrapbookers. I turned to my own professional history and made Anastasia a crafts editor at a women’s magazine. Such a character enables me to tap into a wider range of plot ideas. Not only does each Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery take place in a different venue, I’m also able to highlight new crafts in each book.

Tip 2: Create an Interesting Backstory that Runs Through the Series

In Assault with a Deadly Glue Gun, the first book in the series, Anastasia learns her recently deceased husband had hidden a longstanding affair with Lady Luck. He’d wiped out their savings and plunged them into debt greater than the GNP of many Third World nations. Anastasia not only inherits that debt, she finds herself saddled with her cantankerous communist mother-in-law and her husband’s loan shark.

To stave off the bill collectors, she rents out the apartment above her garage, formerly her home office, and takes on various moonlighting gigs. Between her day job and the moonlighting, along with plots that take place in her community, I’ve been able to set books in such varied locations as a TV studio, a convention center, a nursing and rehabilitation home, a Christmas bazaar, and with A Sew Deadly Cruise, my latest book and the ninth in the series, a cruise ship.

Tip 3: Introduce Additional Secondary Characters as the Series Progresses

Many traditional cozies are structured around a small town with a handful of citizens with whom the sleuth interacts. That’s fine for a limited series, but if you’re hoping for an extended run, it’s a good idea to introduce new ongoing characters occasionally. Given the popularity of romantic cozies, I gave Anastasia a love interest but not the more traditional law enforcement boyfriend. Or have I? Anastasia’s renter is photojournalist Zachary Barnes. But is Zack’s day job really cover for a more clandestine profession? Or is Anastasia’s imagination running amok? For now, I’m keeping her and readers guessing.

I’ve also introduced some other characters over the course of the series. Anastasia’s half-brother-in-law and his kids show up in Revenge of the Crafty Corpse. In Decoupage Can Be Deadly readers meet Tino Martinelli, ex-Special Forces, who’ll do anything for “Mrs. P.” In Drop Dead Ornaments I introduce Anastasia’s son’s girlfriend Sophie Lambert and her father Shane. Not to be outdone, there’s Anastasia’s mother and her serial husbands.

Tip 4: Be Inspired by Current Events and Human-Interest Stories

Using real events can date a book. However, they’re great for inspiring plot ideas. I’m a news junkie and have used stories I’ve read about or seen on the evening news to create plots by wondering “what if?” I keep a file of articles and often read through them for ideas whenever I need something to move my story to the next level.

Being a Jersey girl and writing about a Jersey girl, I had to incorporate organized crime into some of my stories. Not only did I go to school with Mafia princes and princesses, my grandfather was instrumental in putting many of their grandfathers behind bars. How could I not tap into that heritage?

I’ve also used actual murders as springboards for my own plots, as was the case in Handmade Ho-Ho Homicide, and I’ve incorporated such disparate subjects as Munchhausen by Proxy and Vajazzling into two books. The thing to remember is that everything is fodder for story ideas when your goal is to keep readers clamoring for more of your sleuth.

Bio: USA Today bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” Learn more about Lois and her books at www.loiswinston.com.

An Interview With Lois Winston

by Grace Topping

I’ve been reading USA Today and award-winning author Lois Winston’s books and following her career for years. It was a pleasure getting to learn more about Lois, her books, and her career both as a writer and an agent. 

Homemade Ho-Ho Homicide

An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, Book 8

Two and a half weeks ago magazine crafts editor Anastasia Pollack arrived home to find Ira Pollack, her half-brother-in-law, had blinged out her home with enough Christmas lights to rival Rockefeller Center. Now he’s crammed her small yard with enormous cavorting inflatable characters. She and photojournalist boyfriend (and possible spy) Zack Barnes pack up the unwanted lawn decorations to return to Ira. They arrive to find his yard the scene of an over-the-top Christmas extravaganza. His neighbors are not happy with the animatronics, laser light show, and blaring music creating traffic jams on their normally quiet street. One of them expresses his displeasure with his fists before running off.

In the excitement, the deflated lawn ornaments are never returned to Ira. The next morning Anastasia once again heads to his house before work to drop them off. When she arrives, she discovers Ira’s attacker dead in Santa’s sleigh. Ira becomes the prime suspect in the man’s murder and begs Anastasia to help clear his name. But Anastasia has promised her sons she’ll keep her nose out of police business. What’s a reluctant amateur sleuth to do?

Welcome to Writers Who Kill, Lois.

You’ve written a number of books in the Anastasia Pollack series. How do you keep such a long-running series fresh?

Lois Winston

That’s a great question, Grace. Too often I’ve heard readers say they’ve given up on a series because the author just kept writing the same book over and over again.  Although each book in the series can be read as a stand-alone with the mystery resolved by the end of the book, I have an ongoing personal story arc for Anastasia, hoping readers will want to know what happens next in her life. I’ve also introduced new characters and woven their story arcs into Anastasia’s story, expanding her world. In the most recent book, Handmade Ho-Ho Homicide, I brought back a character from Book #4 at the suggestion of one of my readers who really liked him and wanted to read more about him. I’m hoping other readers enjoy Tino’s return as well.

Your most recent Anastasia Pollack book, Homemade Ho-Ho Homicide, is set at Christmas time. How do you incorporate murder into a book without making it a downer for the holidays?

That’s where the humor comes in. I’ve dealt Anastasia a pretty rotten hand (just ask her!), but I’ve also instilled her with a sense of humor, which I’ve learned can help us get through even the worst of what life deals us. Remember A Christmas Story? You can either cry over the ruined turkey or head out to the nearest Chinese restaurant.

Your books are frequently laugh-out-loud funny. How do you balance the seriousness of murder with humor?

Because I no longer write dark, gritty suspense, it’s not that difficult. In cozy mysteries, the murders occur “off-camera” and are never described in lurid detail.

What is it about Anastasia that causes her to look after relatives who should be shown the door?

Anastasia may be cynical and sarcastic at times, given what has happened to her, but she’s a deeply caring person with a heart of gold and would never turn her back on someone in need. That doesn’t mean she’s a pushover, though. She believes in tough love when the situation warrants it, as is evident in the way she sometimes deals with her mother, Lucille, and Ira.

In your Anastasia Pollack series, you provide not only intriguing mysteries but also crafting projects. How do you manage to keep up with writing, blogging, promoting other writers’ books, and developing craft projects?

I’ve found a way to clone myself (but don’t tell anyone!)

You’ve seen different sides of the publishing world as an agent and a writer. How did your experience as an agent affect your career as a writer?

I know what it’s like to receive a rejection letter, and I know what it’s like to have to tell a writer the agency wasn’t interested in her baby. Publishing is a business like any other business. It’s all about profit and loss. That’s a hard concept to accept, but there are so many factors that come into play as to whether a book is accepted or rejected. Sometimes it has nothing to do with the writing. Working on the other side of the table helped me understand that.

You’ve written successfully in multiple genres (mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction). Do you have a favorite among them?

Definitely mystery. For the foreseeable future, I plan to concentrate on writing more Anastasia books. I’m not done torturing her. (Don’t tell her!)

Which do you find harder to write, fiction or nonfiction? Which do you find the most satisfying?

The voices in my head have insisted I spend my time writing fiction. I let them have their way because it’s much more fun to make things up than deal with cold facts.

In two of the nonfiction books you wrote, you share the wisdom you’ve gained during your career. Has writing and publishing changed much since you started writing? What has been the biggest change for you?

Absolutely! When I started writing, there were many more traditional New York publishers, most of which had been around for decades if not a century or more. Then suddenly companies began gobbling up each other. Or they went bankrupt. Now there are fewer places for authors to sell their books. Competition for available slots is stiff. Advances have been slashed for all but a handful of top tier authors and are now paid out over longer periods of time in multiple installments. Royalties are no longer based on retail price but on “selling price.” Try figuring out what that is from your royalty statement! And to top it all off, authors are now expected to do much of the promotional work that their publishers once did for them. 

However, authors now have another avenue available to them. Self-publishing was once frowned upon as something a “real” author would never do. That’s no longer the case. Many traditionally published authors have walked away from their publishers to publish on their own. It’s no longer the stigma it once was. Of course, the downside of that is too many people who really need to learn how to write first are publishing books that should never see the light of day. Once upon a time, we filed those early efforts under the bed to cavort for eternity with the dust bunnies while we developed our craft. That’s no longer the case with many writers dashing off not-ready-for-prime-time books and putting them up on Amazon and other sites.

As a USA Today best-selling and award-winning author, do you feel pressure each time you set out to write another book? 

Definitely. I want to continue to grow as an author and have each new book better than the previous one.

What’s next for Anastasia? Any plans for another series?

I’m in the process of formulating the plot for Anastasia’s next adventure and will start writing soon. Right now I’m in what I call “mulling-mode.” 

As for another series, I do have one. The Empty Nest Mysteries feature a husband and wife team. It’s my homage to the old Thin Man movies but with a modern twist—the wife is an amateur sleuth and her husband tags along to keep her out of trouble. There are two books in that series, Definitely Dead and Literally Dead. At some point, I’ll write a third, but right now I’m devoting all my time to Anastasia. Otherwise, I’d need to clone yet another Lois, and I don’t think my husband could handle that.

Thank you, Lois. 

Handmade Ho-Ho Homicide

Buy Links

Paperback https://amzn.to/2qOQuXJ

Amazon https://amzn.to/36agP2m

Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/handmade-ho-ho-homicide

Barnes & Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/handmade-ho-ho-homicide-lois-winston/1132607263?ean=2940163093748

iTunes https://books.apple.com/us/book/handmade-ho-ho-homicide/id1473711082

Bio:

USA Today bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction under her own name and her Emma Carlyle pen name. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is a former literary agent and an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry.

Website: www.loiswinston.com

Newsletter sign-up: https://app.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/z1z1u5

Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers blog: www.anastasiapollack.blogspot.com

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/anasleuth

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Anasleuth

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/722763.Lois_Winston

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/lois-winston