The Layers of Revising

by Maddie Day/Edith Maxwell

I’m beginning the last month of revising my 41^st mystery, due October 1, so I thought I’d talk about what that whole process is like for me.

All writers know that finishing the first draft is only the beginning. I plot very little, and I like to charge through the first draft and get the story onto the page. To that end, I leave lots of notes to myself in square brackets throughout the manuscript to check for facts, for research, for consistency with earlier books in the series. My first revision pass is going through and resolving all those.

Then I do passes for plot holes, sometimes writing several new scenes to flesh out an idea or a subplot. I go through the book checking each scene for hooks at the start and end. I make another pass to make sure I have brought in all the senses, but only in the service of the story. I print out the book and read straight through, marking up whatever I notice, then I put in all my green-in self-edits. I see things so differently on paper than on the screen. For me, this is a valuable and necessary step.

I check for elegant language, again only in the service of the story, and make sure any descriptions of people relate to who they really are. And I run a spelling and grammar check.

All that happened a month ago. When the book is as polished as it can be – or when my eyes glaze over as I’m looking at it – I send it off to an excellent independent editor (Amy in Wisconsin).

She returns it with changes and suggestions marked in Track Changes, and she also includes an editorial letter. The letter includes all the hard stuff: “We need more about what happened to Bella.” “We need more about the beef between Stu and Rick.” “Deanna feels a bit underutilized.” “We need more interaction with the Broads and Michelle.” And so on. Amy asks questions and sometimes makes suggestions on how to implement the comment. 

My process is first to go through the Track Changes stuff. I work in Scrivener, so I have the Word document open next to my Scrivener project for the book. As I go, I knock off all the easy fixes, things like the wrong name, adding missing quotation marks, clarifying language, and other bits.

Then I take a deep breath and start addressing the harder edits. What was Rick’s reason for being angry, anyway? I have no idea, but I either have to come up with one or change/remove the scene where he’s irate. And on and on.

What I’ll be doing in the next month is the hardest part of the whole process. The book is done. I’m ready to move on to the next one. Any big changes I make can ripple through the story. I often have to dig deep to figure out how to address each issue. 

I’m sure it’s hard partly because I didn’t do this work before I started writing, as some authors do. I know my protagonist pretty well, but I might not have spent enough time getting acquainted with my villains and other major cast characters. This particular book, Ruthie Drew Cleans Up, is also the first in a new series, so it’s necessary work.

But I can do it. I have a month left before the due date, and except for a few quick family visits (occasional Grammy day care with my grandgirl, which I love), I don’t have any travel or book events scheduled for September. I know I can meet my deadline by showing up for work every day by seven.

After I turn in the book to my Kensington Publishing editor, I might receive a few high-level comments from him, but for some books he simply writes, “It looks great. No changes needed. I’ve put through the payment.” Yay! A few months later I’ll get copyedits, and sometime after that proof pages to pore over and make last-chance tiny fixes (but nothing that would cause page numbers to change).

I go through this process for every book I write. It happened a year ago for my new book, Murder at the Toy Soldier.Despite all these passes and eyeballs on the manuscript, someone (often my keen-eyed sister in Ottawa) invariably reports a typo or a consistency error. Gah. I’m grateful my editor is willing to make the change in the ebook and in the next printing. I haven’t heard of any errors yet for the new book, which released last week. Fingers crossed!

Readers: Do you report errors in books to the author? Authors, how do you feel about being notified of a flaw in your beloved book that you worked so hard on? Is your editing process appreciably different from mine?

Murder at the Toy Soldier: Cape Cod bike shop owner Mac Almeida is extra busy during a cold, wet February as she and Tim do their best as working parents of a preschooler and a baby. With Ella’s fourth birthday approaching, Mac uses her lunch break to shop for a gift at the Toy Soldier. Behind the counter is Zia Carven, a young woman Mac recognizes. Mac finds a gift Ella will love and Zia offers to gift wrap it. Mac plans to pick it up after work, but when she returns, she finds Zia slumped over the counter, dead, with dried blood on a toy rifle nearby. 

Mac’s mother, Astra, confides that she’d been trying to help Zia, and now the police want to speak with her, which worries Mac. Then Mac discovers that Zia had been in town searching for her birth mother, which only multiplies the questions—and the suspects. One thing is certain: Mac and the Cozy Capers book group will have to double down to find a killer who isn’t playing around . . .

Maddie Day writes the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries, the Cece Barton Mysteries, and the Dot and Amelia Mysteries. As Agatha-Award winning Edith Maxwell, she writes Agatha Award-winning historical mysteries and Agatha-nominated short crime fiction. She’s a member of MWA and a proud lifetime member of Sisters in Crime. Day/Maxwell lives north of Boston with her beau and their cat Martin, where she writes, cooks, gardens, wastes time on Facebook, and delights in Grammy duties. Find Edith and Maddie at mysteryloverskitchen.com and at edithmaxwell.com.

Murder Methods, Revisited by Edith Maxwell

I'm pleased to welcome Edith Maxwell as today's guest blogger! 

Thanks for inviting me back to Writers Who Kill, Annette! I’m delighted to hang out here for a pre-celebration of A Poisonous Pour, the third Cece Barton mystery, which releases on Tuesday.

Seven years ago, when I was a guest here, I took close notice of the name of the blog and wrote about all the ways I had fictionally killed people in my books. Since it’s been a minute, and I’ve had about two dozen more books published in those seven years, I hope you’ll forgive me for revisiting the topic.

In the 2019 post, I offered the following list: 

·         Gun – 3

·         Some form of poison – 7

·         Knife or very sharp object – 7

·         Garrote – 2

·         Strangle – 2

·         Pitchfork – 1

·         Push resulting in fatal injury – 3

Those didn’t include the murder methods in my more than a dozen published short stories at the time (I now have three dozen short crime stories in print, with one that might or might not have won an Agatha Award last night!). 

So how’s my list looking today, with my 38^th book about to release?

·              Gun – 4

·              Some form of poison – 10

·              Biological toxin - 4

·              Knife or very sharp object – 9

·              Garrote – 2

·              Strangle – 3

·              Pitchfork – 1

·              Push resulting in fatal injury – 3

·              Heavy object – 6

·              Allergen – 2

·              Starvation – 1

·              Botched surgery – 1

·              Smothering - 1

Note: Some of my books include more than one murder, and the list includes two written but not yet published Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries, thus the numbers in the list add up to more than 38. 

I’m clearly fond of killing people with poisons and biological toxins. I closely follow any workshop or conference session presented by Luci Zahray, the pharmacologist who goes by The Poison Lady. She’s great at suggesting commonly available drugs and plants that are lethal.

I also like to use heavy objects (including bocce balls), but I was surprised, when I tracked down all the murder weapons in my books, that I used guns four times. One of those was in my first mystery, Speaking of Murder. Another time was in the first Country Store mystery, and two were in my historical Quaker Midwife Mysteries. I don’t know anything about guns – neither do my protagonists – and I’m not really interested in learning. It’s no surprise that having a gun as the murder weapon came early in my career as an author. Now it just seems too easy.

Sometimes the title gives away the murder weapon. In Strangled Eggs and Ham, I kind of had to use strangulation to kill the victim. Four Leaf Cleaver? You got it. Also for Deadly Crush, Cece Barton #2, where the victim is found crushed under an auto shop lift. These books are centered in the wine industry in northern California, and the crush is also when they extract the juice from the grapes. Double meanings are always good in a title. 

That brings us to A Poisonous Pour, the new book. Want to guess the murder weapon? You’ll have to read the book to learn which poison. 

Readers: What’s your favorite fictional way to knock someone off? I’ll send one commenter a copy of the new book. 

At the Memorial Day weekend classic car show and wine tasting, northern California wine bar owner Cece Barton witnesses heated discussions with local vintage car owners and overbearing association director Regan Greene. After Regan is later murdered, Cece once again enlists her twin, Allie, as her partner-in-sleuthing to clear the name of Cece’s elderly but muckraking neighbor. But they’ll have to act quickly to investigate various suspects in the case before the trail goes sour. 

Maddie Day writes the Cece Barton Mysteries and other gentle and historical mysteries; as Edith Maxwell, she writes Agatha-Award nominated short crime fiction. She’s a member of Mystery Writers of America and a proud lifetime member of Sisters in Crime. Maxwell/Day lives north of Boston with her beau and their cat Martin, where she writes, cooks, gardens, and wastes time on Facebook. Find her at edithmaxwell.com and at Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Poisonous Pour by Maddie Day: A Review by E. B. Davis

  

Since moving from L.A. to California’s verdant wine country, widowed single mom Cece Barton has gone from Colinas wine bar manager to wine bar owner—with a chaser of sleuthing . . .

It’s Memorial Day weekend and Sonoma County’s Alexander Valley is buzzing with activity. For Cece, business at Vino y Vida is going great, as is her romance with new beau, Benjamin. Meanwhile, Cece’s neighbor, Richard Flora, is stirring up controversy with his newest article, an exposé of Regan Greene, power-hungry director of a valley district organization. Also in the mix is the town’s big classic car show, paired with wine tastings . . .

At the show, Cece spots Regan, who is displaying her restored green ’72 Thunderbird convertible. As Cece pours tastes, she witnesses several heated discussions with Regan—including an argument with wine afficionado and new Colinas hardware store owner Greg Jardis. Otherwise, all goes smoothly—until Sunday brings shocking news. Regan has been murdered . . .

Rumors fly that Richard may have orchestrated the homicide—or even committed it. But Cece knows that’s absurd. And others in Cece’s orbit seem to have discomfiting connections to Regan, from Cece’s employee, Dane, to her winemaking teacher’s sister, Yolanda, to Colinas Mayor Guittierez. And after Yolanda visits the wine bar, Benjamin says he recognizes her from a road race.

Determined to clear Richard’s name, and failing to extract any clues from detectives, Cece once again enlists her twin, Allie, as her partner-in-sleuthing. But they’ll have to act quickly, before the trail goes sour . . .

Amazon.com

 

A Poisonous Pour is the third book in Maddie Day’s (Edith Maxwell) Cece Barton mystery series. Kensington will release it on April 28^th.

 

I am at a disadvantage because I missed reading the first two books. From the current book, the reader derives that Cece Barton has moved to Colinas, CA, in wine country, after her divorce to be with her twin sister, Allie, a real estate agent. Although Cece is described as a single mother, her daughter is an adult, studying in Japan, so we don’t see much of that aspect in Cece’s character. Cece now owns a wine bar in the center of the historic district housed in an adobe building. Most of the wines she serves are from local wine makers. A big question I have is how Cece managed to own the bar, which was formerly owned by the town, for free—an arrangement somehow orchestrated by Allie. But then, that question may have been answered in a previous book.

 

  

At a town car show where Cece is displaying her 1966 Ford Mustang, she witnesses Regan Greene, the director of a regional organization, have arguments with three people, including one of her two servers at the wine bar, the town’s mayor, and the new owner of the hardware store. Regan is
murdered the following night. When Cece investigates Regan’s office, she discovers that her assistant hated her and doesn’t mind a bit that she’s dead. Eventually, the instrument of the murder is discovered to be poisonous wine, but anyone could have injected poison through the cork so that clue doesn’t eliminate suspects.

 

One character I loved is Cece’s ninety-two-year-old neighbor, Richard Flora, a former journalist who still writes the occasional feature. Cece and he find friendship in their backyard gardens where Cece’s two cats wander. One of Richard’s recent articles focused on Regan because of her clashes with the town government. Richard is at first considered a suspect because of his article, in which a sharp perspective on Regan’s management is apparent, but town detective Kelly Daniell gives him only a brief glance.

 

Henry and Ed are a married couple and friends of Cece’s. Henry owns an art gallery. Ed owns a local diner. Both host venues for Cece to investigate and trade informational tips.

 

Another character I loved is Ouro, a golden retriever, who is owned by JJ, a female friend of Cece’s and a vintage car mechanic. He hangs out at the shop with JJ and protects her at her yurt, where they live. Ouro helps Cece when the villain threatens her.

 

The book was a cozy likeable read with a rich backstory and enough twists that it kept me captivated until the last page. The question that remains, which will motivate me to pick up the next book in the series, is what Cece’s beau Benjamin does for a living. His job is a secret!   

E. B. Davis

Diet Killers: Recipes for Readers – Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread from Molly MacRae

Welcome back to Diet Killers: Recipes for Readers. Today’s recipe evokes a comfy teatime. It also involves fresh garden produce, so I’ve paired it with a few freshly picked produce-related cozy mystery series. Let's dig in.  

Elle Brooke White’s Finn Family Farm Mysteries are a whimsical addition to the long list of amateur sleuths working with animal sidekicks. Former advertising executive Charlotte Finn inherits a farm in Little Acorn, California, and ends up dealing with a corpse instead of her crops. Her sidekicks, a teacup pig named Horse and a ladybug named Mrs. Robinson, prove more reliable at solving crimes than Charlotte’s staff or relatives.  

Lynn Cahoon is a master at writing entertaining cozy mysteries. Her Farm-to-Fork series doesn’t disappoint. Set in Idaho, they star best friends Angie and Felicia with their new farm-to-fork restaurant, County Seat. Murder intrudes, of course, and there are loveable animals—a hen named Mabel, a pooch named Dom, and a baby goat named Precious. 

Peg Cochran’s Farmer’s Daughter Mysteries take us to Love Blossom Farm in Lovett, Michigan. There, Shelby McDonald, a widow with two children, keeps the family farm running while writing a popular lifestyle and cooking blog—and reluctantly solving murders. Cochran is a deft hand at creating engaging characters and charming settings. 

Amanda Flower’s Farm-to-Table Mystery series also takes place in Michigan. Shiloh Bellamy leaves her California life behind and cashes in her 401K to save the family farm—by turning it organic, sustainable, and adding a farm-to-table café. It’s a tall order in a small town full of secrets, lies, and deceit. Shiloh has a good sense of humor, though, and family and friends to see her through.   

Edith Maxwell brings her own experience as a former organic farmer and her usual flair to her Local Foods Mysteries. In the books, Cam Flaherty, a former corporate world computer scientist, turns her hand to managing her great-uncle’s small Massachusetts farm. Cam’s rusty social skills make the small-town scene somewhat difficult, but she does her best to plug into the locovore community. Maxwell is great with intriguing plots and winning characters.     

Now for the recipe! Double chocolate zucchini bread is an amazing hunk of flavor. It’s dense, moist, and delicious. The zucchini is like a hidden clue or a suspect lurking out of sight. If you didn’t know it’s there, you might never catch on.  

What’s your favorite stealth ingredient—in your cooking or in your writing? 

 

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread 

 

Ingredients 

1 ½ cups sugar 

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed 

1 cup vegetable oil 

3 large eggs 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 

1 teaspoon salt 

1 teaspoon baking soda 

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

2 cups finely grated zucchini, slightly drained 

1 cup chocolate chips 

 

Directions 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease or spray a large (9”x5”) loaf pan or line it with parchment paper. 

In a large bowl, beat together sugars, oil, eggs, and vanilla until thoroughly combined.  

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. 

Gradually add dry ingredients into the sugar mixture and mix until just combined. Fold in zucchini until it’s evenly distributed in the batter. Stir in chocolate chips. 

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan, spreading so top is somewhat level.  

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean, 65 – 75 minutes. 

The Boston Globe says Molly MacRae writes “murder with a dose of drollery.” She writes the award-winning Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries, the Haunted Shell Shop Mysteries, and the Highland Bookshop Mysteries. MacRae’s short stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and she’s a winner of the Sherwood Anderson Award for Short Fiction. She’s a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and is a past president of the Short Mystery Fiction Society.