The LadyKillers

Let's not say good-bye, but rather see you later!

One of the things I've enjoyed about LadyKillers is following Mike's Monday with my Tuesdays. Whenever I wasn't sure what to say, I'd (re) read his blog post, and find a great segue I could work from!

Another thing I loved about LadyKillers is the camaraderie.

I've met some awesome folks here at the blog. When I first started posting here as a regular member, a little more than ten years ago, the administrator was none other than the original LadyKillers administrator: author Rhys Bowen. She began the blog in 2006 with fellow authors Lyn Hamilton, Mary Anna Evans, Meg Chittenden, and Cara Black. Both Meg and Lyn had moved on to other things when I arrived, and Rhys herself left some years later to help found the popular Jungle Red Writers blog. In addition to the current crop of super-great writers and fellow posters, other writers you probably have heard of also contributed over the years: Mysti Berry, Sharan Newman, Rita Lakin, Penny Warner, Simon Wood, Susan Shea, Terry Shames, Hannah Schwartz.... the list goes on. It has been quite the fun experience, from my first post to this, my last.

It's difficult to leave this wonderful virtual community of bloggers and strike back out on my own, but I'm hoping I can twist the arms of various LadyKillers and convince them to drop on by and offer up a guest post now and again at my Silver Rush Mysteries blog site (here's lookin' at you, Mike! ;-)  ). Hopefully some of The LadyKillers' followers will traipse along as well and drop a comment or two, now and again.

So, with that in mind, let's not say good-bye or any of the more final variants (farewell, godspeed, etc.), but rather, "See you around," and "see you later!"

Wishing you all a wonderful new year, plenty of good books to read, and the time to read them!

Hobbies—19th century style

As Michael Black noted in his post yesterday, some characters take up cooking as a hobby. I loved Michael Black's comment about his character Ron Shade—"the only time you’ll see him pick up a frying pan is when he’s going to hit someone over the head with it"—because that is exactly my protagonist Inez Stannert did with a frying pan in Silver Lies.

As for what she does in her "free time," Inez plays the piano, although in the upcoming book, A Dying Note (release date April 2018), she has turned her passion for music from a hobby into a occupation, managing a music-store and teaching piano to select students.

She also has a penchant for playing cards... but there again, that activity was more of an occupation, at least in the previous books. In the newest book, the regular poker games she engages in with the musicians who hang around the store are pretty much penny ante, leaving her to remember the high-stakes games in Leadville with some longing.

She eschews the usual feminine hobbies of the past, which, according to this post, included:

• Gardening
• Croquet
• Lawn tennis
• Reading novels and poetry
• Embroidery and scrapbooking
• Music and singing

Of that list, the only ones that match up with Inez would be reading and music. I can't imagine her in a game of croquet, although a croquet mallet might make a handy weapon!

... And just what are you planning to do with that croquet mallet, Madam?

By UBC Library Digitization Centre [No restrictions], via Wikimedia Commons

 

Fave Foods

This time of year, what ISN'T my favorite??

I love all the turkey and trimmings that come with Thanksgiving, right down to 1950s canned-green-bean-and-Campbell's-mushroom-soup casserole to lime-jello-cream-cheese-marshmallows-walnuts-and-I-forget-what-else "salad" (the only thing salad-y about it being the green color).

From there, we trundle on into December with fa-la-la fudge, frosted butter cookies, turkey soup (because you gotta do something with the leftovers from Thanksgiving!), See's chocolate (which is a year-round favorite but takes on a special shine during December), peanut brittle, almond toffee...

My eyes are glazing over just thinking about all this. And not that I eat all this... they are just some of my favorite foods that are very evocative of the season and take me right back to my childhood. Anyone else have some favorite foods that remind you of the winter holidays and "times gone by?"

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The Witching Hour - Midnight writer

Michael Black wrote a knockout essay on life as a cop on the night shift yesterday, so be sure to check it out.

My life at the "witching hour" is not nearly so exciting as Michael's. At the magic hour of midnight, I'm usually already abed and snoozing. Unless I'm facing a writing deadline. Then, it's a whole different story. And I change from snoozy suburbanite into...

The Midnight Writer (aka The Night Owl).

Midnight Writer / Night Owl

Fiction writing late at night has my preferred process since the start. Given that I also write and edit for the day job(s), by the time I sit down to noodle on my historical mysteries, my analytical/editorial brain is too pooped to sneer at my dialogue and fanciful turns of phrase. Writing at night, often until 2 a.m., allows me to more easily "get in the zone" and spin out the words.

Also, back when I was working on my first couple of books, my kids were still fairly young. By waiting to write until after they went to bed, I was able to write late into the night when the house was quiet and there were no distractions.

That worked well then.

While I was drafting the two middle books of my series, the kids were staying up later than I was (!!).

So much for the peaceful, quiet house from 10p.m. to midnight and beyond. 

During those times, I took a catch-as-catch-can approach, writing whenever I could fit it in. I've never been an early morning type, although I tried. The few times I got up dawn/pre-dawn to write before work, wow, it did NOT go well for me at all. I simply drank way more coffee than usual, stared for long, blank periods at the screen, shivered in the cold early-morning house, and got bleary-eyed and sleepy in the office as the afternoon wore on. For those books, I tended to work more on the weekends, and could occasionally be found hiding out at my good buddy/fellow LadyKiller Camille Minichino's house, banging out 30, 40, 50 pages in her guest room over a weekend, while she fed me, kept me caffeinated, and brainstormed with me on various plot and timing problems.

For the last couple books, I've returned to my natural late-night rhythm, with a twist. The daily process that seems to have worked best for me is the following:

MORNING

• Get up, drink coffee, stagger around, feed the cat
• Read the paper
• Work on non-writing related job tasks (usually editing/proofing/business-related tasks)

AFTERNOON

• do work-related writing (usually until 4p.m.-6p.m.)
• Take a nap
• Drink at least one cup of leaded coffee

EVENING/NIGHT

• Dinner, decompress (usually by watching a little something on Netflix with my sadly neglected spouse)
• Sit down and start writing (starting about 9p.m. to 10p.m.)
• Write until the midnight hour has come and gone and I can no longer see/think straight

So, it seems I'm back to my midnight-writing ways, with the critical added elements of a late nap and a stiff cup of coffee at a time of day when most folks have switched to decaf.

One writing habit I refuse to break: I still run off to Camille's every now and again for a day/night/day much-appreciated writing marathon and brainstorming break. There's nothing like a good friend to bring some much needed perspective into  the late-night writer's life... especially when that good buddy is also a writer. And, did I mention, Camille is also a midnight writer? :-)

Here's to writers—the how and when doesn't matter so much as just getting the words on the page.

P.S. For those participating: wishing you a great NaNoWriMo!

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NEWS and Graphic Violence

NEWS

Ann Parker tossed her draft for Book 6 in her series over the electronic transom, and it was tossed back four days later with a shorter title (A DYING NOTE) and a request for smallish changes. She's going to fix what needs fixing as quickly as possible and lob it back.

Ellen Kirschman rates Mystery Week  a big success with a good turnout for Motives for Murder at the Santa Clara library and a packed house (see the photo) at the Latin American Club for Noir at the Bar.  The Santa Clara panel, Left to Right, is Susan Bickford, Susan Wolfe, Ellen, Robin Stuart and John Bilheimer who was thinking hard. Noir at the Bar authors included Laurie R. King, Cara Black, Tony Broadbent, Jacqueline Winspear, Jerry Kenneally, Kelli Stanley and Ellen. Rather than read from one of her books, Ellen interviewed her protagonist, Dr. Dot Meyerhoff. Here’s a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMc95N-6aDo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HALLOWEEN HI-JINKS

Priscilla Royal: For Hallowe'en, I have a skeleton sitting on my tax papers. As for candy, my favorite is anything chocolate that my internist won't let me eat....

Margaret Lucke: Favorite Halloween candy? Chocolate, of course. Dark chocolate preferred, but if trick-or-treating brings me a treat involving milk chocolate and peanuts -- Reese's PB cups, Mr. Goodbars, peanut M&Ms -- you'll hear no complaints.

Camille Minichino: Here’s a photo of me as a camper one Halloween. A friend dressed me. Those who know me even a little, know how incongruous this is!

Ann Parker: The decorations are going up, slowly but surely. By October 31, I'm calling it done, no matter what.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GRAPHIC VIOLENCE

So, how much violence can you take in the stories you read? And, if you are a writer, how much do you dish out? We'll be talking about graphic violence and its place in fiction plus more, this upcoming week.

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Who knew? (It's what you THINK you know...)

I find myself muttering, "Who knew?" when I come up with evidence that runs contrary to what I thought was true. And, that happens a fair bit, especially when it comes to writing historical fiction.

For instance, "who knew" that undertakers did not do embalming before 1884 or so. Embalming was the province of embalming surgeons (medical doctors). I discovered that tidbit of historical fact during the writing of WHAT GOLD BUYS. Thank goodness I found out early enough that I was able to tinker with the plot and make it work.

And "who knew" you couldn't take a train from Colorado Springs to the East... apparently you had to go up to Denver first. Oooops again. (That was in MERCURY'S RISE.)

I'm sure there will be a few such "who knew?" moments in my latest, FALL ON A DYING NOTE. I guess I'll find out what they are when someone draws them to my attention.

Live and learn, right?

How about you? Do you have any "who knew?" moments you'd like to share?

News and Next Week: Why Do I Write?

News

• Friday, October 13, 12 to 3 PM, Camille Minichino will be teaching a brief class on Science, Technology, and Cultural Change. JFK in Pleasant Hill. 925-969-4600 to register.
• Sunday, October 15, 2 PM, Camille will moderate a mystery panel at the Castro Valley Library, with Ann Parker and others.

 

 

• Margaret Lucke will give a presentation on "7 Secret of Writing Great Fiction," followed by a brief talk about her new novel,  SNOW ANGEL, at Barnes & Noble, 1600 Gateway Blvd, Fairfield, CA, on Saturday, October 14, at 3 pm. Her appearance is part of the store's four-day Writer's Boot Camp program, being held October 12-15.

• Carole Price is still smiling over her soon-to-be-released Vineyard Prey. She thought it would never happen after her first publisher dropped their mystery line.
• Ann Parker is crawling to the edit finish line for her ms,  Fall on a Dying Note (or maybe it'll have a different title. Who knows?). By this time next week, the draft will be to the editor for scrutiny and she'll be "done" by definition (if not by inclination). Then, the waiting begins to hear what changes will be requested from on high.
• Ellen Kirschman has given three news interviews following the mass shooting in Las Vegas. If it had been a scene in her next mystery, no one would have believed it possible. She's participating in two upcoming events:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next Week

Writing is hard. And it doesn't usually pay well. Your family and your day job resent the time spent away from them in a little office nook, or neighborhood coffee shop, or library. So why bother, especially now that the big publishers are consolidating and Amazon owns everything?

Well...maybe there's nothing quite like writing a perfect sentence. Or scaring the bejesus out of a reader with a plot twist she never saw coming. Join us next week as the LadyKillers wax poetical and practical about why they write.

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Animals ON Books (and on keyboards and magazines and...)

Well, there are animals in books, animals below books, animals next to books....

But my very short post features animals (actually, just one, my cat Mia) ON books (and otherwise making herself the center of attention when I am trying to read, write, edit, etc.).

Here she is, in all her feline glory, the Diva Miss Mia. Doing what she does best.

 

Mia's pose as I try to edit my hardcopy draft. Not helpful!

Okay, the "face first" approach didn't work, so she tries the "butt first" approach.

Hey, I need to check something in those reference books. Move along, Mia!

Mia with her "whatcha doin'?" face. My response: I'm trying to write. Find another place to sit, please.

 

... Hoped to take a bit of a break and read that magazine. You can guess what happened here.

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NEWS and Animals in Books

NEWS

Camille Minichino will be at the Good Sam Showcase of Miniatures athe Doubletree Hotel in San Jose, California, on Saturday, October 7, from 10 to 5. She’ll be shopping, selling her books, shopping, and shopping.

 

Ann Parker is editing Book 6 of the Silver Rush series, tentatively titled Fall on a Dying Note (no rhymes! no metals!). Words are flying on and off the e-pages. 40 pages a day is the goal. The clock is ticking to deadline for handing in the ms. Living on coffee and chocolate.

 

Four-footed, two-footed, friend or foe—Animals in Books

 

In the world of cozies, pets are a (long-running) trend. Cats, dogs, pigs, hamsters, geckos, you name it. Then, there is the (in)famous "exploding cows" opener to C.J. Box's Savage Run. We'll be looking at the role of non-human, living, breathing beings in books in the coming week. Grab your cuppa, plop a cat in your lap (or not!) and join us!

 

 

(Two) mentors in my life

Wow... Michael Black has a great post on mentoring, so first of all, back up a day and read it here.

I think we probably all, if we ponder long and hard, can also come up with many people who have stretched out a helping hand when we were just starting out in some field of endeavor or walk of life.

Two people come immediately to my mind (well, there are more, but I'm going to keep this short so you have time to read Mike's post ;-) ). When I was finishing up my bachelor's degree at UC Berkeley, I was in a terrible quandary. I was heading out into the world with a double degree in Physics and English Literature and had absolutely no idea what to do with it. I had wanted desperately to be an astronomer, but was "persuaded" by an advisor (hmph!) that with a C in Statistical Physics, I had no chance in that arena. So, what could I do with a BA degree with two disparate fields? I interviewed on campus and thrashed around in terror, seeing nothing but a wide-open void where a career should be. All my other friends had nailed down jobs or grad school and seemed well on their ways to being... something.

It was my physics professor for the UCB upper-division Physics Lab (for whom I scribbled mountains of reports attempting to explain unexplainable results for my experiments) that "showed me the way." Professor Nabil Amer was very kind, and easy to talk to. Upon listening to me recite my woes re: finding a job, he said, "Well, you can write. And you certainly understand physics concepts. Why not be a scientific editor?" I swear, his words were like a bolt of lightning straight to my brain. He had offered me a way to combine the two areas I had matriculated in, into something that was actually (gasp) a viable career! I ended up doing technical editing, technical writing, and then moseying into employee/corporate communications, before finally circling around to science writing, which I still do as part of my day job(s).

Camille and her "Periodic Table" series got me started on writing mysteries...

The second mentor I'll mention is someone I met in my early days as a tech editor. I returned from a vacation, early in my work career, to find a woman sitting at my desk and in my chair. Not an auspicious beginning, you'd think, but that woman ended up being one of the most influential women in my life—both friend and mentor. Camille Minichino had returned to take a new position at the same scientific research and development facility where I, a shining-eyed newbie just out of college, had just started working. Desks being scarce at the time, our mutual boss had plunked Camille in my little flimsy-walled office in the “cooler” (where all us new employees spent time cooling our heels while waiting for required clearances). From eyeing each other suspiciously, we began talking, and found many points of commonality. She had a Ph.D. in physics. I had a B.A. in physics. We both loved chocolate and coffee, a passion that quickly evolved into regular morning and afternoon “chocolate and coffee breaks.” (One or the other of us always had a box of See’s Chocolates, ready and waiting, in a desk drawer.) We also both loved books, books, books! (And shopping, at bookstores or elsewhere, but mostly at bookstores.)

Camille is the person who brought me into the world of mystery writing and writers, and is the one who set my feet on “a writer’s journey.” Not that I hadn’t been slinging words around with great abandon for quite a while at that point. But fiction writing was a whole different game (even though you use basically the same hammer to pound basically the same nails). When she started writing her Periodic Table Mysteries, featuring Gloria Lamerino, I thought, hmmm. That looks like fun.

She encouraged me to give it a try, so I took a step onto the road of writing a historical mystery. Camille advised me to take a class in writing mysteries. I took another step and signed up for the class. Then Camille dragged me to a local Mystery Writers of America meeting, and I joined. Another step. And another followed, and another…

So, there you have it. Two of the most important mentors in my life, serendipitously linked by physics and writing.

If you're looking for an interesting, quick read about a variety of mentors, check out The Mentor That Matters, edited by Suzanne Fox. Forty folks share short stories about their "mentors that matter." You'll find a piece by me, talking about a special someone with the initial CM. ;-)