Women of Mystery

Weekend Spatchcock of Mixed Tastes

2009-11-21T19:17:00.000-05:00

1) Where did Okay (or O.K.) come from? I was wondering about this other day, and if you scroll through the answers, the expansion from 1830's American slang seems solid, especially when I consider how well other replacement or rhyming slang persists through public affection for using it, and how contagious slang usage is, my homeys and BFFs. Okay is a super-successful international export. And although I don't use K.G. for the know good homonymic version, I still use N.G. for No Good, and like that I'm keeping history and incomprehensibility alive.

2) Srsly, I can't remember whether I ever posted this, and realize my memory could improve with doodling while surfing, obviously, or obvo, as you like.

3) Brian May is the fabulous lead guitarist of the rock band Queen, and since 2007, an astrophysicist with his PhD. Perhaps way back in 1975, you had the same desire to work time dilation theory, an outgrowth of Einstein's Special Relativity, into an acoustic tune of epic exploration and pathos. Here's how May did it during an era when wombat-dancing listeners just assumed he was being metaphorically loose and groovy.

4) I hardly feel I ought to have to explain the image above (link via this blog), but as Thanksgiving approaches here in the U.S. many people are considering how to prepare the traditional big bird. Removing the spine, allowing one to butterfly the turkey for more even, faster cooking is one method. So, will you or won't you be following this recipe and S patchcocking for the holidays?

Six-Word Saturday

2009-11-21T12:24:00.005-05:00

Over at the Showmyface blog Cate invites you to participate in Six Word Saturday to describe your life (or something). So, here's my entry for today:

Revising, tweeting, chocolate breaks in between.

This talented lady also runs the OneMinuteWriter blog. She gives you a prompt and you can post a response that takes a minute to write (her site even has a timer). I gave it a shot when I read the prompt was "Police," about a police encounter. If you'd like to read my entry, which she chose as the winning response, you can do so here.

You can follow Cate on Twitter here.

These are short and sweet, so why not consider participating in Six Word Saturday or a prompt at the OneMinuteWriter blog sometime soon?

Friday Links-o-Relevance

2009-11-20T08:48:00.005-05:00

Unlike the silliness I spread on evenings and weekends with the careless abandon of excess cell phone minutes, these are actual, bibliocentric links I'm slotting into the week proper.

1) In this WSJ article, Alexandra Alter has 17 diverse and accomplished authors briefly share their methods for How to Write a Great Novel. It proves again there's no right way, just what works. If you're surfing the web because your prose is stuck, you can give one of these approaches a try, and if you think your personal methodology's weird, you'll be comforted.

2) When Publisher's Weekly recently announced their top 100 book picks for 2009, none of the top 10 were written by a woman. That may simply be how the compilation of ratings randomly shook out this year, but around the webiverse, some people are explaining why they're considering it a boys' club weenie roast.

3) Harper Collins has launched a beta version of a new site and concept, authonomy. In their words, they hope to connect readers, writers, and publishing professionals

"...unpublished and self published authors to post their manuscripts for visitors to read online. Authors create their own personal page on the site to host their project - and must make at least 10,000 words available for the public to read. authonomy can comment on these submissions – and can personally recommend their favourites to the community. authonomy counts the number of recommendations each book receives, and uses it to rank the books on the site. It also spots which visitors consistently recommend the best books – and uses that info to rank the most influential trend spotters. We hope the authonomy community will guide publishers straight to the freshest writing talent – and will give passionate and thoughtful readers a real chance to influence what’s on our shelves."

If you like this idea, or are trying it out as a reader or writer, please let us know in the comments. Is this the future, another way to replace good individual editors, both?

BTW: I think this method, by Harper Collins, is surely a more transparent, less-exploitative way for a publisher to find new talent than the implications of, oh, say, Harlequin Horizons $elf-publishing arm. Just hearing about the latter, I didn't love it, and perceived lots of issues for both HH and traditional Harlequin authors. Well, this particular new innovation is also drawing fire from Mystery Writers of America, and more worrisomely for the romance mothership, from Romance Writers of America, too. This last link from Jackie Kessler's blog also gives a detailed explanation of why this isn't "self publishing" a legit choice if transparent but true "vanity publishing." Preditors and Editors agrees- look in the H's.

UPDATE: It's hard to keep up with this one as it runs, but I've been referring to Lee Goldberg's blog since working against deceptive practices in (self) publishing is one of his huge crusades as an author and MWA Board Member. I've learned that Science Fiction Writers of America have joined the fray, like RWA, in having removed Harlequin from their list of approved publishers. That means, if you're not aware, that having your work published there doesn't qualify as "pro" level per the organization's guidelines. I'm sure they'll make provision to grandfather in those authors who've made careers up to this point writing professionally for Harlequin. But as of now, future works are lumped with amateur or vanity publishing, and that matters.

Is it time for Harlequin to pull up the stakes and call it a circus already?

Entitled

2009-11-19T07:00:00.012-05:00

Last week a friend handed me a book I knew I’d have to read. It’s title: If I’d Killed Him When I Met Him (… I’d Be Out of Prison Now). With a title like that, how could I resist? The author, Sharyn McCrumb attributed it to a friend who overheard the words from a battered woman who was in jail for murder. Ms. McCrumb is a wonderful writer and a New York Times best-selling author, but this book, an early Elizabeth MacPherson novel, hadn’t made the list.

I wondered why. With such an interesting title and a fun, well-plotted story, it seemed like it would have been a sure-fire winner, at least in my opinion.

This got me thinking about titles and the importance that they have not only in describing a book’s contents, but also in attracting readers and ultimately sales. Through online research, I learned that conventional wisdom has it that it’s easier to market and sell a book with a great title—preferably a short, catchy one. The Exorcist and Blink are two that come to mind.

I also learned that a good title is one people tend to respond to, and perhaps more importantly, retain, much like Pride and Prejudice, the #2 listing on the BBC’s poll of the 100 most popular books. Furthermore, a good title should also be one that the media catch on to and use over and over again, like Catch-22.

We’ve all heard of Jaws ( a book which sold 20 million copies according to Wikipedia's list of best sellers). This blockbuster novel spawned several movies and from them, the famous tag line: “Just when you thought it was safe...“ A line that’s become part of the vernacular, as has the intro music. Da dum. Da dum. All keeping the popularity of the book alive and well for many years.

So, can you judge a book by its title? The Great Gatsby started out as Trimalchio in West Egg until editor Maxwell Perkins changed it. Somehow he understood what would hatch successfully and what wouldn’t.

Some titles, like The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo seem provocative. Others, such as The Time Traveler’s Wife may appear straightforward. And some, like The Kite Runner, merely hint at what’s to come. Of course, each of these titles can be interpreted by the imagination and the inclination of the reader. And each has its own twists and turns that have gone beyond their titles to make them best sellers.

Many well-known authors depend on repetition and reader memory to move their work along. Titles by John Sanford include 12 titles in his Prey Series while James Patterson’s Women’s Murder Club is working on their 8^th crime.

Wondering about which new titles might attract me as a reader, I took a trip to my local Border’s, to see what was on offer.

Titles in new fiction included Invisible by Paul Auster, Looking Glass by Alice Sebold, Ice by Linda Howard and The Atlantis Code by Charles Brokaw.

Among the Best Sellers, I found Last Night in Twisted River by John Irving. Pursuit of Honor by Vince Flynn, Ford County by John Grisham, and The Given Day by Denis Lehane.

While all seemed interesting and fit the criteria of short and catchy, none had that immediate, got-to-read-it-grab of If I’d Killed Him When I Met Him, at least for me.

I’m hoping that the titles of the two novels I’m working on, Keeping Secrets and Telling Lies, will spark interest of that kind among mystery readers.

What titles are you planning for your work? Will they be short and sweet? Long and expressive? Emotional? Descriptive? Or something entirely different? Will they spark accolades, adoration and sales? Please post a comment and let us know what you think.

Will Amazon Save the Planet?

2009-11-18T06:00:00.009-05:00

I confess: Occasionally (blush) I purchase a book at Amazon.com. I try to wait until I have several to order, but the good folks at Amazon are not adept at consolidating shipments. And sometimes, when the first of my deliveries arrives in a box several times larger than its contents, I forage in my closet for shoes with stiletto heels. I need them to pierce the air pillows that cradle my shrinkwrapped paperback book.

For me, the madness began on a warm spring night in 1980. (Pre-Amazon. Pre IBM PC. Pre-shrinkwrap.) That night, I rejoiced along with my landlord and his son (Note: the kid was not all that much younger than I) at his high school graduation party. And I overheard what – on the face of it – was an ordinary exchange between the graduating senior and a family friend:

GUEST: “So where are you off to in September?”
SENIOR: “I’ll be going to [something something] Engineering School.”
GUEST: “Congratulations...another engineer in the family! Any particular specialty?”
SENIOR: “Yeah. I’m a Packaging major.”

A good deal of wine shot from my nose. I looked around, but nobody else was laughing. Did none of them recall 1967? Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate? That iconic cinematic moment in which the bourgeois and bourbon-laced career-advice, “Plastics!” started a hapless social revolution? The message seemed lost on the class of 1980.

Things have changed, and I would know better now, but at the time I had no idea that such a career existed, or what a degree in it entailed. The senior’s proud father was quick to enlighten his party guests. I looked dubiously at George (I’ll call the kid George). One month before, he’d been grounded for revelry that involved a visit from the town police. I winked, but he didn’t pick up on my sympathy. He had swallowed the packaging plan, hook line and sinker.

I think of George every time I shred my skin trying to open a product sealed in clam shell packaging. And I think of George when I hear about the continent-sized mat of plastic debris that floats out in the blue Pacific.

George has a lot to answer for, as does Jeff Bezos at Amazon, as do a number of huge manufacturers, as do people like me, the (nearly reformed) insatiable-consumer. But today at Amazon.com Bezos refers to ‘wrap rage’ and posts plans for Frustration-Free Packaging. He has actually launched a certification program for vendors who find frustration-free ways to package their products.

You can read what amounts to an FAQ here but the bottom line is this: Certified packaging is “recyclable and comes without excess packaging materials such as hard plastic clamshell casings, plastic bindings, and wire ties. It's designed to be opened without the use of a box cutter or knife and will protect your product just as well as traditional packaging. Products with Frustration-Free Packaging can frequently be shipped in their own boxes, without an additional shipping box.”

Who knew? I congratulate Amazon. I hope it doesn't take the Georges of the world a decade to implement their new designs.

- Lois

Remembering Dick Stodghill

2009-11-17T08:43:00.012-05:00

Dick Stodghill passed away recently. He was a reporter, a columnist, a novelist and a short story writer. He was also a husband, a father, a grandfather and a World War II veteran.

I never met him but I feel as though I knew him through his blog and through his comments here, and on Criminal Brief and on the message board of the Short Mystery Fiction Society. And, of course, I have read dozens of his short stories.

Dick was always kind in his comments to other writers and he often made me laugh. Once, over at Short Mystery Fiction, he mentioned that when he would have his sandwich for lunch, he liked to turn on one of the old black and white movie television channels. Sometimes he watched while he ate and went back to what ever he was doing. Often he would stay with the movie to the end. I envied that he’d kept his free spirit even at age 84.

I encourage you to visit Dick’s website and check his sidebar, covering topics from the Normandy invasion, to some of his newspaper columns, to a list of Interesting Mystery Links, and I am pleased to note that Women of Mystery was among those links.

One link brings you to Dick’s short story list. It’s quite long and references stories published in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine, Thrilling Detective, Hardboiled, Espionage, Amazon Shorts, and Louis Lamour Western Magazine.

There are also two free reads.

"Second Chance" was published in the August 1983 issue of Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine.

I read Second Chance for the second time this week. Here are two sentences I would share with you:
“But no one knew I was coming and few realized or care that I am here. Soon someone will tell her, though, and that’s why I’m watching now, before she knows.”

Dick’s Jack Eddy stories have been running in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine since October 1988. He provides a link to one that was published in 2008.

Please click on the link to his blog called Stodghill Says So.

Scroll down to the October 30th post and read how Dick saw the changes in his life coming toward him. If you read nothing else, read the last paragraph. Dick’s philosophy of life is an inspiration. My favorite phrase: “Eat, drink and make merry; it all comes out the same in the end.”

As to my two sentences written, here they are:

God love you, Dick. Your words will be missed.
*******************************************************************
If you have two sentences read and/or written posted on your site, please let us know in the comments section, or you can post your sentences in the comments for all of us to enjoy.
Leah has a great comparison over at The Goat's Lunch Pail. Her two read from Oscar Wilde ask a question and her own two written hint at the answer.

Terrie

My Town Monday: Office Leavings from New York

2009-11-16T00:27:00.001-05:00

Around here in Westchester County, everything's in full-blown, blazing departure. My yard can be freshly cleared, and two days later, it looks like this again.

There's a lot of color remaining, but you can tell we've crested the hill and face the downslope. For some, I know this is a sobering time to start dreading everything that comes with the holidays and winter. While I understand, I never can feel it. The leaves come down, and my sprits rise with the bonfires. I love the feel of the air, and there's no sweeter warmth than Indian summer. I begin overhauling my life, whistling happy tunes and tidying up the corners. Who wants to hunker down in a hovel?

With other donate-ables, I just sent 8 boxes of books away, painful but necessary. My work space is getting clean, clear, and expansive, along with my thoughts. I've tossed garbage and refined my filing. I've got a fresh palette of notecards to organize my novel's research, so I can spread them over the now-empty carpet in groupings as a colorful schematic reminder. Wonder where I got that idea?

This time of year, I make plans to carry me through to spring, and as I'm a bulb that does its best work underground, the quiet, dormant season is my most productive. Soon, and very soon, the sweetgum tree above will look like it does below, exposed in all its architectural wonder. And I will be, once-again, working.

Do you find you can work during this time of year, or do you need to take a holiday yourself until the days start getting longer again?

For more My Town Monday musings, go to Clair Dickson's clearing blog.

Sunday's Confessional

2009-11-15T16:29:00.003-05:00

From Cute Overload, natch.

"Yep, that's me--Sloth. The cutest of the Seven Deadly Sins."

Sure, I prefer to think of it as temporary tangential actuation, but in fact, it's soooo lethally cute, I may just have a little lie-down. How's your lazy Sunday?

In Color

2009-11-14T09:14:00.000-05:00

For a city girl, I do like my country music. I’ve never found a country radio station here in New York City, but on the music section of my cable tv, I have a number of country stations, including one that plays bluegrass and good ole country. I have always relied on the awards shows to give me a little hit of country, but lately the music is more pop ( Carrie Underwood) than country ( Charlie Daniels.)

Still, last Wednesday night I watched the CMA awards. I was rooting for Jamey Johnson to pick up an award for his song In Color, which sure has a lot of country in it. And I jumped up, sang and cheered when In Color won the Best Song award. You can see Jamey perform it on this YouTube.

Courtesy of Cowboy Lyrics.com here are the first two lines:

“I said, Grandpa what’s this picture here It’s all black and white and ain’t real clear”

For the rest of the song, Grandpa talks about what was underneath the pictures taken during the Great Depression, in World War 11 and at Grandma and Grandpa’s wedding.

Again, courtesy of Cowboy Lyrics, here is the song’s finale:

“That’s the story of my life

Right there in black and white

And if it looks like we were scared to death

Like a couple of kids just trying to save each other

You should have seen it in color

A picture’s worth a thousand words

But you can’t see what those shades of gray keep covered

You should have seen it in color”

I loved the song the first time I heard it. If it comes on while I am puttering around the house, I will stop and listen with full attention. I sing it constantly. (Yes that was me behind you on line in the market yesterday.)

After all, isn’t that what we writers do? We take the thousand words in shades of gray, we layer in the color and we bring the story to life. At least, that’s the goal.

Terrie

Like We've Been Saying: Shorts Rule!

2009-11-13T00:12:00.001-05:00

Say hello to the most paleo of yesterday's news, by Tom Gauld via DoobyBrain. The above portrays a dusty attitude of antiquity right up there with the belief you'd never see lame' leggings in daylight on anyone but a hooker making bail. Loud stretchy pants are back, and on the upside, so is the short story. The only way this is a yawner to you is if you've been reading us or along with us brevi-holics for more than a microsecond.

[Actually, digressing slightly to Laura's recent post about being a "planner" or a "pantser," I believe I've discovered I'm more of a Bermuda shorts writer. I like the reliable structure of a nice Madras with some wildly improvisational kneecap. Therefore, I'm planning out my NaNo again and starting over from GO, the good news being that I think I can finish a legit book-length first draft by year's end, and that's very exciting indeed.]

Not to be serially immodest, but at our local Sisters in Crime chapter, we have a boffo program on short stories planned for next week. From hint fiction to the tweeted, from e-zines to anthologies and fiction magazines, you know that WoM have been and are loving the shorts. And we have been talking with delight as fans and writers about the revival in the form. Well, we can all now thank the Wall Street Journal for finally sipping the now-lukewarm mug of clue!*

*So petty of me, because I do think it's great to see the trend confirmed, and an iTunes short market would be fun to test out. Now, if they'd only get the cataloguing and organizational features improved enough to really make short groupings vibrantly usable on the Kindle et al.

Happy Friday the 13th, everyone!

Wave-ing

2009-11-12T20:11:00.002-05:00

Do any of you out there in blogland use Google Wave? I have an account (it's currently by invitation only as it's still in Beta), and I think it would be a great critique group tool, but since I only know one other person who has it, I can't really try out many of the features. If you, too, have a Wave account, give a shout!

I Read It in the Huffington Post

2009-11-12T10:00:00.000-05:00

Say the words, “Guess what I read in the Huffington Post?” and I would assume that you want to share the latest political gossip or governmental news. Since I am presently struggling to break my addiction to the twenty-four hour news cycle, I should cover my ears and screech, “No. don’t tell me.” And then I should shout, “Na na na na na” until you shut up and go away.

But I didn’t and so I discovered what everyone else probably already knows, the Huffington Post has an excellent literary section with some terrific blogs. You might want to take a look at Suzanne Morrison’s post describing how the books we re-read are the true indicators of our personalities. Sounds great to me—no more taking those quizzes in old issues of Cosmo while I’m hanging around the beauty parlor.

And last week, Jason Pinter had a detailed interview with the likes of Oline Cogdill, David Montgomery, Sarah Weinman, Patrick Anderson and Kate Stine on the State of the Crime Novel.

The breaking news banners throughout the blogosphere tell us that Lou Dobbs has left CNN. Perhaps the book lovers will take over the news world. Wouldn't that be grand?

Terrie

How's Your NaNo?

2009-11-11T23:22:00.002-05:00

My brain hurts. I am way behind on words, having had to work at a trade show this past weekend. I am cranky, and it's hard to get my characters to do what I want them to.

But I am doing a little better than I used to at skipping scenes I don't feel capable of writing and moving on to the next thing. I used to have to write in a totally linear fashion--nothing could go down without everything leading up to it being laid out entirely.

I often hear people talk about "planners" vs. "pantsers." Planners outline, whereas pantsers write by the seat of their pants. But of course, nothing is quite that binary. Or, very little is. And nothing in the world of writing. At the latest Mystery Writers of America meeting last night, Chris Grabenstein talked about how he sets "tentposts" rather than outlining. These are the major plot turning points. That's almost an outline, but not quite. I couldn't do that, myself, because I don't know those plot points ahead of time. (I'm a true pantser. I'd written half of my first mystery before I even knew who the murderer was.)

This time out, however, I am trying to do a little better, to think three, or even five, scenes ahead instead of just one. What about you guys? Do you do any pre-planning, or just sit down and go for it? Do you write a complete outline? If I've asked you this before, forgive my brain-dead state. I've generated way too many words in the past eleven days.

Celebrating Veterans Day

2009-11-11T05:00:00.007-05:00

Veterans Day began as “Armistice Day” to celebrate the end of fighting between the allied nations and Germany, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. The following year, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 11th “Armistice Day.” In 1938, it was changed to “Veterans Day.”

In honor of Veterans Day, I have an assortment of links to share.

Last week on Twitter, I read a tweet from Kaylie Jones (author of Lies My Mother Never Told Me and A Soldier’s Daughter Never Cries; her father, James Jones, wrote From Here to Eternity and The Thin Red Line): “An amazing program that takes WWII vets to see their war memorial in DC. 1000 WWII vets die each day,” along with a link to the emotional but heartwarming video.

If you know a veteran who is willing to be interviewed, the Veterans History Project is looking for volunteers to conduct these interviews. Read more info about this wonderful project that is archived in the Library of Congress here.

Looking for a parade? Check out the U.S. Parade Directory on Vetfriends.com.

In honor of Veteran's Day, entrance fees to all our national parks and forests will be waived on November 11, not just to veterans and active service members, but to everyone.

This month, the Smithsonian Channel is premiering a special six-part documentary, “Apocalypse: The Second World War,” as well as other programs that feature the stories of vets.

Several businesses are honoring veterans and active-duty military personnel:

On Wednesday, November 11, at all 1900 locations, Applebees is offering a free entree from 11 am to midnight to veterans and all active-duty military.

This Monday, November 16, Golden Corral is offering free buffet meals (including beverage and dessert) to current military and vets from 5 to 9 p.m.

According to the Loving a Soldier, Living the Life blog, Build-A-Bear Workshop stores are offering a 20% discount on any one transaction to military families from November 11 through November 15.

Cabela's is having a Hometown Heroes Celebratio n on November 11th and 12th. They are offering Employee Discounts to Military Personnel, Veterans, Law Enforcement, Firemen and EMS.

According to the Air Force Times, Home Depot and Lowe’s are offering military discounts.

Happy Veterans Day to those who are serving or have served our country, and their proud families. I salute you!

Two Sentence Tuesday: A Beautiful Book about Books

2009-11-10T07:00:00.013-05:00

I recently had the pleasure of reading The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, a wonderful story that takes place in Barcelona from 1945 to 1966 and stretches back in time to 1932. The novel is filled with danger and intrigue, seduction and revenge and tragedy and love-- all revolving around the passion of books. Nearly every page has two sentences that captivate the reader. I particularly liked the following two:

A secret's worth depends on the people from whom it must be kept. My first thought on waking was to tell my best friend about the Cemetery of Forgotten Books.

Now here are two sentences from the novel I'm working on:

The fiery edges of the setting sun angled sharply over the distant peaks while lingering slivers of orange flew across the landscape like a bettor homing in on a hot table. The scorching orb that had claimed the Strip all day, sharing the wealth of its white-hot light no longer had the juice.

Would love to know about anything you're working on. Post a link or your words in the comments, and we'll update this post throughout the day!

• Terry Odell has intriguing forgotten evening sentences in the comments

• Barbara Martin also has sentences in the comments, these on Canadian history

And The Winner Is...

2009-11-09T19:05:00.004-05:00

The winner of our giveaway is Helen Kiker! Helen, please email me (laura.kramarsky [at] womenofmystery.net) your mailing address, and I will get your books out to you! Sorry...no help for getting to the Great Wall of China, though.

My Town Monday: The Burren, County Clare, Ireland

2009-11-09T08:08:00.004-05:00

In the comments section on Laura’s latest book giveaway , Kar mentioned that she would love to see the Burren in Ireland. It seems Kar’s mother speaks of it in an almost mystical way. And well she should.

The Burren National Park is nestled in the northwest corner of County Clare, Republic of Ireland. Clare itself is located on the west coast of Ireland and, like its namesake our own Clare2e, is renowned for its sheer beauty and dramatic appeal. Clare is surrounded by Galway Bay to the north, the Atlantic Ocean on the west and the River Shannon, Ireland's longest river, to the east.

The haunting landscape of the Burren is a rare karst limestone surface where alpine and Mediterranean plants rare to Ireland grow side by side. You can read all about it here.

To take a remarkable seven minute tour of the Burren, ending at a traditional Irish music session in O’Connor’s Pub in the town of Doolin, click on this You Tube posted by Clarebannerman.

Since we’re in the neighborhood, I thought you’d like to visit the Cliffs of Moher. This thirty second You Tube posted by mgk84 offers a clear vision of the continuous grandeur of the Cliffs.

Listen closely to this You Tube posted by Jwm735, and you will hear the howl of the wind whipping around the lofty overhang.

A few years ago, I walked the Cliffs of Moher on a cold and rainy day. As the wind pushed me to and fro, I decided that none of my ancestors came to America on the coffin ships. They had only to stand atop the Cliffs of Moher and the wind would blow them straight across the Atlantic Ocean to New York harbor.

For more My Town Monday posts, please check in with Clair Dickson over at My Town Monday central.

***********************NEWS FLASH**************************
If you entered to win The Semantics of Murder by Aifric Campbell and Thursday NightWidows by Claudia Pineiro on Laura’s post earlier this week, she will be announcing the winner here later today, so come on back.

Terrie

Buzzing Your Book on Facebook

2009-11-08T06:00:00.006-05:00

You've checked your proofs and returned them to your editor. Or maybe you've just finally typed "The End" on the last page of your first draft. Whichever it may be, you're ready to turn your attention to promotion. But what should you do?

Social networking sites are hot right now and are excellent promotional tools for authors--if you know how to utilize them. Publicist Sandra Beckwith knows, and she's offering a teleseminar next Wednesday, November 11, called "Boost Your Book Sales with Social Networking." With the help of marketing expert Dana Lynn Smith, author of The Savvy Book Marketer's Guide to Successful Social Marketing and several other e-books on book marketing, she'll discuss topics such as:

Why you must be plugged in online
How to choose the right networks for your book
The biggest mistakes people--even online veterans--make while networking online
How to manage your time so you're not overwhelmed
Powerful profile secrets
The right (and wrong!) way to attract friends and followers
Why 1,000 followers could be better than 10,000 on Twitter
Tips for Twitter tweets that get results
The crucial difference between Twitter "replies" and "mentions"
How to use contests and promotions to attract followers
Why a Facebook profile isn't the same as a Facebook page
How to use Facebook events for book promotion
Why you want to start a Facebook group--and how to do it right
Crucial differences between LinkedIn and Facebook
The biggest blunder newbies make on LinkedIn
How to build visibility on LinkedIn with groups and discussions
How to promote your book in virtual reader communities

"I think social networking is an especially valuable resource for fiction writers," says Sandra. She adds that "the content [of this teleseminar] is particularly relevant to novelists."

A publicist for 25 years, Sandra is the author of two books on publicity. She also publishes an electronic newsletter called Build Book Buzz and keeps a blog called "Build Buzz." Both can be found via her Build Book Buzz website.

The 90-minute teleseminar costs $29 and is scheduled to get underway at 7:00 pm EST. For more information and to register, click here.

Bee cartoon courtesy of Image Envision.

Selected Shorts Program & Writing Contest

2009-11-07T12:31:00.007-05:00

I love learning something new every day, so I was thrilled to read Terrie Farley Moran’s recent post, “Talk Radio,” about “Selected Shorts,” a program at Symphony Space in which short fiction is read by actors in front of a live audience, which is recorded and broadcast on radio. You can download the current program after they post them on Monday evenings - follow the instructions here.

I’m active on Twitter (follow me @katcop13) and I read an RT (re-tweet) by Symphony Space from Selected Shorts: “This week’s radio show: Mary Stuart Masterson, Campbell Scott and Marian Seldes - Tales That Surprise,” along with a link to the PRI (Public Radio International) Station and Program Locator.

I’m glad that Symphony Space re-tweeted the message from Selected Shorts. I immediately began following @SelectedShorts, and guess what? I learned something new. Symphony Space is sponsoring a short story writing contest: The 2010 Stella Kupferberg Memorial Short Story Prize, with guest judge Nathan Englander. “The winning submission will be read as a part of the Selected Shorts performance at Symphony Space on April 7, 2010. The story will be recorded for possible later broadcast as part of the public radio series. The winner will received $1000.” The winner will also receive two tickets to attend the performance in which their piece will be read!

The theme is “Apartments and Neighbors.” Submissions must be titled and no longer than 750 words. Entries must be received by January 29, 2010. There is a $25.00 fee to enter the contest, either online or by snail mail.

I know many of you are busy with NaNoWriMo this month, but maybe it’s something to consider in December.

The contest page describes the impressive background of the guest judge: Nathan Englander is the author of the PEN/Malamud Award and American Academy of Arts and Letters' Sue Kaufman Prize-winning short story collection For the Relief of Unbearable Urges and the novel The Ministry of Special Cases, winner of The Harold U. Ribalow Prize. His fiction has appeared in The New Yorker, The Best American Short Stories, The Atlantic Monthly, and The O. Henry Prize Stories. Englander has been a Guggenheim Fellow, a Fellow of the Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers, and was selected as one of "20 Writers for the 21st Century" by The New Yorker.

Thanks to Terrie, Twitter, Symphony Space and their Selected Shorts series, for contributing to my daily dose of new knowledge!

Don't forget: there's still time to enter the Semantics of Murder giveaway - leave a comment on Laura K. Curtis's post. You have until midnight Sunday night.

Happy National Bookstore Day

2009-11-07T08:46:00.008-05:00

A few weeks ago, Lois tipped us all to the first National Bookstore Day. You can read her post here.

Hooray! Hooray! Today's the day!

While you are out doing your weekend chores please stop by your local bookstore and treat yourself to a bit of time browsing the aisles. Before you leave be sure to wish the proprietor a Happy National Bookstore Day!

And yes, I did steal the graphic from Lois' post.

Terrie

Wright to the Rescue

2009-11-06T07:00:00.003-05:00

This week I was in need of a pick-me-up.

One, I'm off in a minute to undergo a procedure that required a really fun prep yesterday. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, never mind. You don’t want to.)

Two, half the people I know have flu - both the seasonal and barnyard variety - and I’m weary of avoiding crowded rooms. I had long ago scheduled my own (seasonal) flu shot. On Tuesday I showed up at the doctor’s office for my injection, only to learn he had used his last vaccine on the patient before me (!) and had no idea when his stores would be refreshed. As for H1N1, he expects his supply in a couple of years.

Three, I was panting to provide you here with the news of my discovery of Pandora Radio, a website with a single platform: “To play only music you'll love”; and they do, they really do (try dropping in “Neil Young” and see what you get). Then I realized I was the only person on the planet who was unaware of Pandora’s Music Genome Project; imagine my embarrassment if I’d actually published a “guess what, you guys!” post....

So you can understand why I turned to Steven Wright for solace. Besides, to read Steven Wright one-liners (though admittedly not as fun as watching his stand-up performances, which you can do here) offers a fine dose of the giggles and is the perfect prescription for what ails me. Note, as well, that his last name is “Wright” so the subject is pertinent for this blog. Furthermore, to read his witticisms is a study in the art of writing humor. (I’m repeating the remedial class.)

So...although it took awhile to come around on the guitar... here are my selections. Please note that each is relevant to the Women of Mystery. Please savor each one - imagine Wright's droll delivery - and let the line roll around in your brain:

“When I die I’m gonna leave my body to science fiction.”

“How do you tell when you’re out of invisible ink?”

“Why is it a penny-for-your-thoughts, but you have to put your two cents in?”

“I got contacts, but I only need them when I read, so I got flip-ups.”

“Curiosity killed the cat, but for awhile I was a suspect.”

If these aren’t enough to cheer you, you can always turn to Slashdot for Fruit Bats Have Oral Sex Too.

- Lois

A Different View

2009-11-05T23:57:00.004-05:00

During the political season we in New York are bombarded by radio and television political ads not only for our own local races but also for races in our neighboring state of New Jersey. So, now, a couple of days after Election Day, I feel as though I know way more about the candidates for governor of New Jersey than I do about some members of my own family.

Well, Harlan Coben, mystery writer extraordinaire and former president of the Mystery Writers of America ,wrote an op-ed piece in the New York Times about his life-long friend, Chris Christie, the governor-elect of New Jersey. In this terrific essay, Coben reminds us that politicians, are, after all the shouting and the hoopla, just folks. Folks with whom we may disagree, but folks none the less.

As a fervent idealist who still thinks we can change the world if we stick together and do the right thing, I sometimes need to be reminded so that I don’t expect miracles to occur five minutes after I cast my vote. Thanks, Harlan.

Terrie

"Talk" Radio

2009-11-05T09:30:00.006-05:00

I’m always bragging about being a life-long New Yorker and like everyone else born and raised here, I think I know everything that goes on wherever and whenever it happens. So I’m embarrassed to admit that although I have been addicted to reading short stories since I was a kid, I never knew about Selected Shorts, which has apparently been going on without me for nearly two decades.

Actors read classic and new short fiction before a live audience and the event is broadcast on the radio. The annual season of the live events at Symphony Space begins in the mid-fall and ends in mid-spring, and usually consists of three short story readings. Symphony Space's Artistic Director Isaiah Sheffer hosts the live event, although many Selected Shorts also feature guest hosts, often well-known writers, who will also choose the stories to be read that evening. Works read have included the classic writing of Chekhov and Maupassant, the near classics of Alice Munro, John Updike, Dorothy Parker and Alice Walker, as well as new literary talents, such as Pulitzer Prize-winning Jhumpa LaHiri and Jonathan Franzen.

In New York City Selected Shorts airs Saturdays at 10 PM on 93.9 FM and on Sundays at 1 PM on 820 AM. You can also find Selected Shorts on Public Radio International affiliate stations in the United States. The radio program airs weekly throughout the year.

I’ve always appreciated books on tapes, but literature by radio is a new concept for me. How about you? Is there a literature show in your neighborhood? Do you tune in?

Terrie

The Semantics of Murder: Review and Giveaway

2009-11-04T04:01:00.008-05:00

The Semantics of Murder by Aifric Campbell isn't a typical crime novel, though crimes--legal, moral and ethical transgressions--lie at its heart. Rather, it is literary fiction with a murderous slant, a moody and dark examination of characters both horrific and fascinating. We don't watch an investigation unfold, we watch lives implode, and the resolution, such as it is, brings a very different kind of closure.

The story takes place in present-day London, and in flashbacks to the California of the 60's. The protagonist, Jay Hamilton, is a psychologist in London, famous for a book about the division between "nature" and "nurture." Jay himself couldn't care less about the division, nor does his book fall on one side or another, which has made him popular with all sorts. He is well off, with a swank office and a practice that allows him to choose his own patients.

Unfortunately, Jay chooses with an eye to providing fodder for his novels, written under a pseudonym, novels he cares far more about than he does about his practice or, indeed, his patients.

One might expect that it would be Jay's murder that is at the heart of this novel, but it is not. Instead, it is his brother's. Jay's brother, in whose shadow he lived throughout his youth, was a famous mathematician. (Campbell based the murder on the true story of Richard Montague, a famous professor of Philosophy at UCLA in 1971. Like the fictional Robert Hamilton, Montague was both gay and promiscuous, and the theory--never proven--was that he had picked up the wrong young men to bring home with him one night.) After his brother's death, and his mother's--for she decided to die after the only son she cared for had been murdered--Jay moves to London and begins his life anew.

Old ties are not so easily broken, however, and when a biographer decides to write about Robert Hamilton, old secrets are apt to be dug up. And Jay has more than enough secrets of his own, especially since one of his patients, the subject of his latest story, is coming unglued.

Aifric Campbell writes beautifully, with a lyrical sensibility that is the best thing about this book. In the beginning, I thought there were a few too many similes, but either she toned them down after a couple of pages, or I became so engrossed I no longer noticed them. We see through Jay's eyes, and the way he views things is always disturbing, sometimes downright horrifying, but also fascinating. Although he thinks of himself as essentially practical, we can also see his illusions and delusions, his strange, off-kilter lens.

Campbell is Irish, and there's a distinctly Irish-writer sensibility to this book. I wish I could explain it better. But there's always something weird and gloomy (in the best sense of the word) to these books...or maybe it's just the ones I tend to buy, like John Connolly's thrillers or Christian Moerk's Darling Jim. That's not to say there's fantasy in The Semantics of Murder, because there isn't. But, perhaps, the fantastic element comes from the very mundaneness of the darkness.

It's worth noting that if you're the kind of person who likes to look at reviews on Amazon before you commit to something, you'll want to check out its Amazon.co.uk page rather than just the US page (the book is available from Amazon US, but there are more reviews on the UK page since the US edition hasn't been out as long). And the author's own website is chock full of goodies, too, like the fascinating history of the real Richard Montague.

I'll be giving away a copy of this book, along with a copy of Thursday Night Widows, a noirish novel by Claudia Piñeiro (see blog reviews here and here), on Monday. Piñeiro is an award-winning author, and this is her first book to be translated into English. Since it takes place in Argentina, let's try something fun here...if you'd like to win these books, leave a comment by midnight on Sunday telling us someplace in the world you'd like to go. We can't send you on a trip, but maybe we can give you a two-book giveaway getaway to the darker sides of London and Argentina!

Two Sentence Tuesday - How's Your NaNo?

2009-11-03T01:14:00.001-05:00

Well, it's two days in, and I am already behind. Just by a couple hundred words, but still!

But it's Tuesday, and I *do* have sentences! First up, to I read, from Roxanne St. Claire's Make Her Pay. Her books are fun, fun, fun.

Lucy chuckled. "I've heard euphemisms for stealing before, but that one is in a league of its own."

And a few I wrote:

Joy might have replied, but the sound of chimes indicated that the Leader was about to take the stage for the blessing of the meal. And this was no “good bread, good meat, good God, let’s eat” prayer, like the ones Tara had grown up with. No, the Leader usually droned on for a good fifteen minutes about the Powers and their importance and their great beneficence before shutting up and letting them eat.

So what about you? Read anything? Write anything? Where can we find it?

Leah J. Utas has a treesome over on her blog.
Crystal Phares has some NaNo sentences on her blog
Terry Odell has left some sentences for us in the comments since she has a visitor on her own blog.