Mentors for a Reason, Season or a Lifetime by Debra H. Goldstein

Mentors for a Reason, Season or a Lifetime by Debra H. Goldstein

An unknown poet often is quoted in slideshows, Facebook posts, and books of thoughts to live by as writing: People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. For me, this idiom hasn’t proven true in the writing world. Instead, each writing mentor coming into my life fills all three roles. Each has been there for a specific project, element of writing, or modeling of behavior for an ongoing or defined period of time, but what I’ve learned from each will stay with me for a lifetime.

For example, when I attended my first Malice Domestic, in 2012, I found myself alone in an elevator with Carolyn Hart. I stumbled over my words as I tried to tell Ms. Hart how much I enjoyed her books and was delighted she was receiving the Amelia Award. She was most gracious, even when I tripped over my own feet backing out of the elevator. During the weekend, when she was interviewed, she did something none of the other honorees did – instead of touting only her own accomplishments, she plugged an up and coming writer (Terry Shames). At the Sisters in Crime breakfast, Carolyn and another New York Times bestselling author had a programming idea for the “We Love Libraries” project. Rather than demanding or assuming it be implemented, they asked my opinion as the initiative’s coordinator. I barely kept it together during our discussion. At the end of the conference, again together in an elevator, she kidded “We can’t Keep Meeting Like This,” and I replied, “You’re right, Carolyn.”

Although our paths subsequently crossed occasionally as acquaintances, I believe, even though the season was limited to that weekend, the reason for our interaction was to put me at ease at Malice and in the writing world. It was her example of a grounded personality and humility that will stay with me for a lifetime.

After reading “Thea’s First Wife,” I wrote my first fan e-mail to author B.K. Stevens. In the e-mail, I expressed my awe at the story and asked if she taught internet writing classes. She didn’t, but she wrote me a detailed note of things I should read and could do. We became friends. She was one of a group of people who encouraged me to have the guts to submit my work to Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and Ellery Queen. The last time we were together, before her untimely death, was at last year’s Malice conference when the new Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine issue provided to every attendee featured my story, “The Night They Burned Ms. Dixie’s Place.”

A few weeks after the conference, I received a package from Bonnie which contained several copies of the issue and a note telling me she knew I’d want extra copies and that the story was award winning. Her words alone would have been a compliment, but I wish she could have known other writers and readers agree with her – “The Night They Burned Ms. Dixie’s Place” is a finalist for this year’s short story Agatha Award.

Bonnie, or B.K., was only in my life for a few years, but reading her works taught me technique. Personally, she instilled confidence in me. Both things, and the hope of emulating her willingness to help other writers, will keep her with me for a lifetime.

When I was assigned to a panel with Bill Crider, my impression was of what an unassuming nice guy he was. His bio said he’d been a teacher and the calm way he came across belied that fact. Thinking he was a nice Joe, I invited him to write a guest post for my personal blog, “It’s Not Always a Mystery.” He agreed. A few months before his post was scheduled, another friend called to say my blog was cited in his Ellery Queen column as one that lived up to its name – it offered thoughts on writing and general life from Debra H. Goldstein and her friends. The week I wrote to remind him his promised piece was coming due, he responded he was appreciative of the reminder and would dash something off that day because he was going into the hospital for some testing the next day. I offered to forget his piece, but he wanted to fulfill his obligation. He sent me an excellent piece on writing, which I received while he was undergoing the tests that diagnosed his cancer. I printed the piece that week and reprinted it the week he announced that the doctors advised him the treatments were no longer working and he should enter hospice. (http://www.debrahgoldstein.com/guest-blogger-bill-crider-write-novel/ )

I can reread Bill’s lesson on writing and look at the mention in his column where, unsolicited from me, he gave my writing career a vote of confidence, but it was reading his posts about the VBKs and seeing how he handled himself during his final months that left an impact. Bill was humble, a gentle man and a gentleman. Again, an individual who came into my life for a reason, season, and a lifetime.

The writing world is filled with mentors. They don’t necessarily take inexperienced writers under their wings and teach particular skills, but the way they act, treat others, and live their lives impacts others in small and large ways that can last a lifetime.

When Thoughts Turn to Short Stories

by Paula Gail Benson

With so many activities as summer approaches, sometimes it’s easier to commit to reading or writing short stories rather than longer works. July offers the opportunity for a Camp NaNo experience and wouldn’t it be fun to try something new and different, experiment with a genre you haven’t written before?

I’ve been thinking a lot about short stories lately. At the end of May, we received word that short story writer and longtime supporter of the short mystery fiction community, Sandra Seamans, had passed away. I wrote a tribute to her yesterday on The Stiletto Gang. Many of us credit Sandra’s blog “My Little Corner,” which listed story calls, as giving us the information we needed to make our first submissions.

Joe Bunting

Joe Bunting, a founding member and author for the blog “The Write Practice,” has published some excellent books on writing short stories. These are all available on Amazon:

Let's Write a Short Story: How to Write and Submit a Short Story (2013).

15 Days to Write and Submit a Short Story: Workbook (Let's Write a Short Story 2) (2014).

How to Win a Writing Contest (Let's Write a Short Story Book 3) (2016).

Tara Laskowski

Art Taylor

I found two of Joe’s online articles in “The Write Practice” to be particularly helpful. “Five Steps to Write a Short Story” has the following process: (1) be a reader of short stories, (2) start out by summarizing the story you want to write, (3) then, write the story, (4) revise and edit the story you’ve written, and (5) submit it for publication. In “How to Write a Short Story from Start to Finish,” Joe outlines seven steps: (1) write the story in one sitting as if you were telling it to someone, (2) determine who the protagonist is, (3) list out all the scenes in the story, (4) conduct any research you need, (5) write the story, then rewrite and edit it, and (7) get the story published.

Barb Goffman

Some of the best advice I’ve heard about writing short stories has been at the Malice panels featuring the Agatha nominees for best short story. From this year’s authors, Leslie Budewitz, Susanna Calkins, Barb Goffman, Tara Laskowski, and Art Taylor, I learned a great deal, both from hearing their perspectives and reading their stories. One thing in particular resonated with me: Barb Goffman suggested a year of reading a short story a day. What a great idea for becoming familiar with style, craft, and the types of stories being accepted for publication.

Susanna Calkins

Where do you find 365 stories? One good place to start is with the magazines and anthologies where the Agatha nominees were published. Leslie and Tara’s stories (that tied for the Agatha) appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, while Barb and Art’s were in issues of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. Susanna’s was in last year’s Bouchercon Anthology, Florida Happens. (Also, if you haven’t read them yet, there are still active links on the Malice Domestic’s Agatha page.)

Leslie Budewitz

On Malice Domestic’s anthology page, not only is there a story call for it’s upcoming anthology, Mystery Most Theatrical, but also a list of the Malice Anthology Collection. By Googling “Bouchercon anthologies,” you can retrieve a sizeable list, including the Anthony award winning Murder Under the Oaks, edited by Art Taylor. Speaking of this year’s Agatha short story nominees, how about checking out Leslie Budewitz’ and Susanna Calkins’ websites, which list out their short stories; Barb Goffman’s collection Don’t Get Mad, Get Even that won the Silver Falchion Award; Tara Laskowski’s Bystanders, winner of the Balcones Fiction Prize; and  Art Taylor’s Agatha award winning novel in short stories, On the Road with Del and Louise?

Sisters in Crime’s online Guppy Chapter has a series of anthologies, many of which gave members a first publication. (BSP: my “The Train is on the Tracks” is in Fish or Cut Bait.) Other chapters of Sisters in Crime also have short story anthologies.

Gigi Pandian

Gigi Pandian’s The Cambodian Curse and Other Stories features nine locked room mysteries (including the Agatha award winning “The Library Ghost of Tanglewood Inn”). The Mystery Tribune called Reed Farrel Coleman’s recent collection Short Stack “a master class in short stories.”

John Floyd

How can I not mention collections by B.K. Stevens (Her Infinite Variety), John M. Floyd (Dreamland) (in addition, John recently wrote a post for Sleuthsayers, “Anthology Psychology,” listing the themed anthologies where his stories appear), and Earl Staggs (Short Stories of Earl Staggs)? As a matter of fact, maybe that’s what I should continue to do this summer, fill my messages with lists of short story anthologies.

If nothing else, please consider reading my tribute to Sandra Seamans on The Stiletto Gang. Although her story collection is out of print, I was able to find links to a number of her short stories available online. Reading those, you can see the skill of a true craftsman who loved the short story form.

How about you? Have you read or written any good short stories lately?

Thinking About the First Two Pages

By Shari Randall

Short story writer and novelist B.K. Stevens debuted her blog series “The First Two Pages” in 2015. Bonnie asked short story writers and novelists to analyze the openings of their own work, sharing their approach and techniques for tackling some of the writer’s most challenging real estate.

I met Bonnie at Malice. In the way of conferences, we had a couple of quick conversations that I remember for Bonnie’s deep intelligence and wit. We had things in common – we both had two girls of the same ages, and one of my daughters went to Boston College, where Bonnie and her husband studied. I enjoyed her and knew I’d be looking for her at the next conference.

It was not to be. Bonnie passed away, too soon, in 2017.

Writer, editor, professor, and dad extraordinaire Art Taylor took the reins of “The First Two Pages” after Bonnie’s untimely passing, hosting the feature on his blog, continuing to provide a forum for writers to share the techniques, tricks, and thought processes that went into the crafting of their first two pages.

Art invited some writers of stories in the new Chesapeake Crimes anthology, Fur, Feathers, and Felonies to tackle the First Two Pages assignment. My look at the first two pages of my new story, “Pet,” will run tomorrow.

I won’t lie. Writing my “First Two Pages” essay was a challenging assignment. I felt thrown back into freshman English class, thinking about my own writing in a way I haven’t since college. Art asks writers to “focus on the strategy you used in the passage you quote, explaining what you were trying to accomplish.” He also asks writers to address issues like hooking the reader and handling backstory.

To prepare, I scrolled through several blogs in the archives, admiration growing as I read each essay. Admiration grew into a sense of shared purpose. Writing beginnings is hard, especially for a short story. So much has to be done with so few words: introduce characters, setting, conflicts, tone. Seeing how diverse writers, including many friends from the WWK blog, have tackled this assignment and their first two pages was not only like taking a dozen mini master classes, it was reassuring. Writing the first two pages is a challenge for writers at all stages of the writing journey.

Do you have any tips for writing the first two pages of a story?

Archive of Bonnie’s website: http://www.bkstevensmysteries.com/category/the-first-two-pages/

Link to Art Taylor’s First Two Pages site: http://www.arttaylorwriter.com/category/the-first-two-pages/

An Interview with the 2016 Agatha Best Short Story Author Nominees

The annual Malice Domestic conference, which takes place this year in Bethesda, Maryland, the last weekend in April, celebrates the best in the “traditional mystery.” Its Agatha awards (for Agatha Christie) recognize excellence in novels and stories that focus on crime resolution. This year’s short story author nominees are talented, versatile, and extremely creative, as their nominated stories clearly demonstrate.

Best Short Story:
“Double Jinx: A Bellissimo Casino Crime Caper Short Story” by Gretchen Archer (Henery Press)
“The Best-Laid Plans” by Barb Goffman in Malice Domestic 11: Murder Most Conventional (Wildside Press)
“The Mayor and the Midwife” by Edith Maxwell in Blood on the Bayou: Bouchercon Anthology 2016 (Down & Out Books)
“The Last Blue Glass” by B.K. Stevens in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine
“Parallel Play” by Art Taylor in Chesapeake Crimes: Storm Warning (Wildside Press)

We welcome Gretchen, Barb, Edith, B.K. (Bonnie), and Art to WRITERS WHO KILL to answer a couple of questions about how they weave their magic. Enjoy their answers, then take the opportunity to read their nominated stories (just click on the links above). You’ll be delighted by their inventiveness and skill. Thanks so much and best wishes to you all! -- Paula Gail Benson

TELL US ABOUT YOUR STORY’S PROTAGONIST. IS THIS PROTAGONIST A NEW OR CONTINUING CHARACTER IN YOUR WRITING? 

Gretchen Archer

I wrote “Double Jinx,” featuring July Jackson, to introduce her into the core cast of characters in my Davis Way Crime Capers (Henery Press). July is brand spanking new and here to stay. She goes on to fill the nanny position for my main character Davis Way’s toddler twins in the sixth full-length installment of my series, just released, Double Up.

Barb Goffman

My main character is named Eloise Nickel. If that name somehow sounds familiar, it’s supposed to. Nearly every character in “The Best-Laid Plans” is named after someone associated with the Malice Domestic convention (including the convention in the story: Malice International). Sometimes a character’s name rhymes with the real person the character is named in honor of. Sometimes the character’s name associates with the real person’s name. (For instance, a character in the book named Cherub is in honor of a real-life woman named Angel.) Eloise is a new character for me.

Eloise writes a long-established cozy mystery series. She’s considered a grande dame in the field, and she is being honored this year by Malice International for her lifetime achievement. She’s in her sixties and has a nice grandmotherly persona. This plays to her advantage because when Malice’s guest of honor--Eloise’s nemesis--crosses her (insinuating in Mystery Queen Magazine that Eloise is elderly and her books are boring), Eloise is able to craft a revenge plan that no one would attribute to her since everyone thinks she’s so nice. And indeed her plan is cozy. Eloise aims to inflict pain but not death. And she aims for it to all go down at the Malice convention.

Edith Maxwell

My story’s protagonist is Rose Carroll, an unmarried Quaker midwife and amateur sleuth in an 1888 Massachusetts mill town. She is also the protagonist of my Quaker Midwife novels - the first of which, Delivering the Truth, is nominated this year for Best Historical Mystery! Called to Justice, book two, releases on April 8, and I am under contract for at least five books in the series (so far). Rose is a good listener and cares about her pregnant and birthing women. She experiences ongoing tension between her love for a non-Quaker doctor and the strictures of her faith, but her faith also conflicts with mainstream culture.

B.K. Stevens

“The Last Blue Glass” is a stand-alone story, so Cathy Morrell is a new character. Cathy’s not a glamorous, exciting protagonist. She’s quiet and unpretentious, the sort of person others tend to discount and take for granted. Her most striking characteristic is her devotion to her husband, Frank. She considers him more talented and sensitive than she is, and she does all she can to protect him and make him happy—accepting his decisions even when she thinks he’s making a mistake, putting her own hopes on hold, working hard to help him live his dreams. Almost anyone looking at their marriage, including Cathy, would see Frank as its dynamic center, see Cathy as playing a supporting role at most. But in the end, Cathy discovers that she can be stronger and more determined than she’d ever imagined, and that someone who discounted her may have made a deadly mistake.

Art Taylor

Maggie, the young mother in “Parallel Play,” is a new character, and while I don’t anticipate returning to her story beyond this, I feel she’s maybe as sharply focused a character as I’ve yet been able to create: a woman still trying to navigate new parenthood—her relationships and responsibilities both to her son and to her husband, the whole dynamic—and suddenly finding herself having to defend so much that’s near and dear to her. I wrote this story while a new dad myself, and while none of the parents here are my wife or me (a necessary disclaimer, as you’ll see!), channeling the concerns and pressures of parenthood into the story introduced what seemed to me some greater depth of character and tautness of tension that I’ve sensed in my earlier work.

HOW HAS YOUR SETTING CONTRIBUTED TO YOUR CHARACTERIZATION AND PLOT DEVELOPMENT?

Gretchen Archer

My series is set in a casino, my main characters are the staff of a covert security team, so setting plays a huge role in characterization and plot development. By its very nature, the casino setting lends itself to endless plots centered around cons, scams, and the occasional dead body, giving my characters ongoing opportunities to shine.

Barb Goffman

I wrote the story with the actual setting of Malice Domestic in mind, and it plays into the plot of every scene. The long hallways outside the hotel rooms, the atrium signing area, the bar in the lobby, the bathroom by the bar, the two restaurants attached to the hotel, the three-flight-long staircase connecting the lowest level of the hotel to the penultimate level. I also made use of typical Malice programming, including The You’ve Got Fan Mail panel, the timing of signings, and the honoree interviews. I served as Malice program chair for six years and know the convention inside out. I figured I’d make use of my knowledge.

The setting also affects the characterization of the protagonist and the antagonist, and that’s all I’m going to say about that. I don’t want to spoil the story for anyone who hasn’t read it yet. Happy reading!

Edith Maxwell

My physical setting is the town I live in—Amesbury, Massachusetts—but in the late 1880s. The time setting governs certain crime-solving techniques, of course. Fingerprinting and blood typing were not in use at the time. And it contributes to the characters acting in a manner consistent with the era—mostly. Rose Carroll is a bit of an outsider: she’s a Quaker, didn’t grow up in the town, and is a forthright independent businesswoman of 24. These mattered a lot more back then than they might in contemporary times. Her outsider status also makes her a good amateur sleuth, as does working as a midwife, where she goes places and hears secrets the detectives aren’t able to.

B.K. Stevens

I had fun with the settings in “The Last Blue Glass.” The story begins and ends in Boston, where my husband and I went to graduate school right after we got married. The middle scenes take place at a bar called Taps, located on the road between Lynchburg, Virginia, and Charlottesville. We lived in Lynchburg for several years, often drove to Charlottesville, and once stopped at a coffee house that served, very loosely, as the inspiration for Taps. So I enjoyed the personal connections. Beyond that, the different settings reflect different stages in Cathy and Frank’s marriage. In Boston, when they’re newlyweds, their lives are dominated by Frank’s family and friends. Virginia represents an attempt to break free, as Cathy and Frank try to carve out a radically different sort of life for themselves. But Frank buckles, they return to Boston, and Frank’s family and friends again wield a decisive influence in their lives, bringing conflicts to a crisis. I certainly don’t mean to demonize Boston and idealize Virginia—far from it! I love Boston, and I treasure our years there. But I wanted to have the story come full circle, and the changes in setting helped underscore that structure.

Art Taylor

“Parallel Play” appeared in the latest volume of the Chesapeake Crimes anthology series, subtitled Storm Warning and with weather as the theme. The weather does indeed play a role here—a torrential downpour that helps set the plot in motion and maybe echoes the characters’ emotional storminess as well. But two specific places served as inspiration here as much as the weather. The story’s opening takes place in Teeter Toddlers, a fictionalized version of something like The Little Gym or Gymboree, where parents bring their young children for playtime and socializing. I took my own son to these classes every week for a long while, and I found it fascinating to watch both how the children interacted with one another (or didn’t) and how the parents formed friendships (or, of course, didn’t); thinking about the dynamics of that small community first sparked the idea for these characters and how they become entwined. The other place is a curvy road that leads from a major highway near our house in Northern Virginia to the small town of Clifton nearby. It’s a twisty road with lots of hills, which I hope might match the story’s own plot twists and emotional ups and downs, but the road has also struck me as a lonely stretch, and it’s that loneliness and sense of isolation, not just geographic but psychological, that ultimately proved the driving force for so much of these characters and their journeys.

One More Post about Bouchercon 2016 in New Orleans

by Paula Gail Benson

My blog for today is late. I’m circulating it for peer review at the last moment. Actually beyond the last moment.

Po’ boys and red beans and rice

Why? Because I spent the last week celebrating my birthday in New Orleans and attending Bouchercon 2016. When organizer Heather Graham made the bid to host the mystery conference after Hurricane Katrina, she said she wanted to help rebuild the city one party at a time. I’m still trying to count the number of parties initiated and enjoyed at this year’s B’con. It truly exemplified the phrase “Laissez les bon temps rouler” (“Let the good times roll”).

Since it was my birthday, I arrived two days early. On the Airport Shuttle, I heard about the Dixieland Jazz at Preservation Hall. Once I arrived at the hotel, and enjoyed my view of the Natchez paddleboat, I took stock of the locations of all the restaurants a friend had recommended. I started out at Felix’s where I had shrimp and oyster po’ boys, red beans and rice, and bread pudding with whiskey sauce.

Bread pudding with whiskey sauce

Then, I walked to Gumbo’s, for an appetizer of Oysters Rockefeller dip with fried bow tie pasta before waiting in line for tickets. The time spent was well worth it. I met a delightful couple from Poland who had been at the Hall every night of their vacation to listen to the music. We sat together on a wooden bench beneath swirling fans as the band (trumpet, trombone, sax, bass, piano, and drums) thrilled us with “Sweet Georgia Brown,” “Ain’t Misbehaving,” “Babyface,” “Summertime,” and “Shake and Bake.” I returned to the hotel, walking up Bourbon Street, but it felt more like floating on a cloud.

Oysters Rockefeller dip with fried bow tie pasta

The next day, I explored Decatur Street, finding Beckham’s, a second hand bookstore with a resident cat; several praline establishments; and many souvenir and specialty shops. At Jackson Square, I went into St. Louis Cathedral for mass. My literary introduction to New Orleans was reading Julie Smith’s Skip Langdon novels. I remembered so well the scene from New Orleans Mourning where, after Mardi Gras’ Fat Tuesday, Skip goes to the cathedral for Ash Wednesday service. The cathedral has extraordinary frescos and statuary.

On either side of the cathedral are two museums: the Cabildo features the city’s history while the Presbytère has one floor dedicated to information about the hurricanes that have struck New Orleans and another floor that showcases the costumes, floats, and memorabilia of the Mardi Gras celebrations.

Beignets and Cafe Au Lait

At the edge of Jackson Square is Café Du Monde, which serves beignets, coffee, and hot chocolate twenty-four hours-a-day. I sat there a while, enjoying my treat and people watching before walking to the river overview and listening to the calliope on the Natchez.

Once Bouchercon began, I felt as if I were in a whirlwind, being tossed from one wonderful experience to the next. Rather than packing the souvenir bags, the organizers created a book bazaar and gave participants six tickets to select the reading they wanted to take home with them. Breakfasts and afternoon snacks were available in the hospitality room. At the opening ceremony, we dined on New Orleans cuisine (muffulettas, boudin balls, shrimp cocktail, egg roll, King cake) while the honored guests, dressed in Mardi Gras costumes, rode into the room on mini-floats. A day later, the crowd walked up Canal Street in a parade led by a brass band and stilt walkers to see Lee Child’s interview with David Morrell and hear the announcement of the Anthonys at the Orpheum Theatre.

Opening Reception

The programming and interviews were very well done. I learned a great deal about “Doing Diversity Right” at the Sisters in Crime pre-conference. A shout out to our own Linda Rodriguez, who along with other experts, gave excellent advice about how to write with respect for different cultures and persons with disabilities. The keynote, given by Walter Mosley, was a rousing way to start the event.

I thoroughly enjoyed Michael Connelly’s interview with Harlan Coben and Ace Atkins’ interview with Julie Smith. The celebrations for the 30^th anniversary of Sisters in Crime, the 75^th anniversary of Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, and the 6^th anniversary of the writing group of Donna Andrews, Ellen Crosby, John Gilstrip, Alan Orloff, and Art Taylor all included champagne.

As always, the best part of any gathering of writers was the opportunity to reconnect and hear the news. Being in a city that offered history, mystery, fabulous food, and the possibility for parties on every corner only made it more wonderful. There are so many people I met (another shout out to our own Margaret Hamilton and Linda Rodriguez’ husband Ben, among others), greeted, and truly enjoyed seeing. I’m very grateful for the time we had together.

Almondine

Thanks to everyone responsible for the planning and to all who attended and made it such a grand success.

I can’t end this message without saying a very special thank you to Dennis and B.K. Stevens who hosted a wonderful birthday dinner for me at the Meauxbar Bistro. As Art Taylor pointed out on Facebook, somehow we had seven desserts for six people (including Debra Goldstein and Riley Miller). We were all initially dubious about the Jalapeno Melon Mint Cheesecake, but delighted that it tasted very much like a Mojito (my favorite cocktail and a very literary drink if you consider Hemingway’s preference). And, how can you go wrong with Almond Joy Chocolate Cake?

 

Birthday desserts

Did you go to Bouchercon this year? What was your favorite experience? Has this message been a little too preoccupied with food?