Finding THE VOICE

We've spent the last few days looking for THE VOICE. I know it seems like Joyce and I would've found THE VOICE a few years ago since we've been published almost ten years.

The problem is that we've started a new project and THE VOICE we've tried using with it hasn't worked. We're on about the fifth rewrite and who knows where it will go from here.

It's bad around here looking for THE VOICE. Neither one of us can eat or sleep. We wander around like zombies. If all of the gas stations hadn't been out of gas, we probably could've driven somewhere and discovered it. This way, we're trapped at the house looking for THE VOICE in out of the way places like the roof and the storage shed in the backyard.

I hope we find it before it gets cold. THE VOICE might get too hoarse to speak.

Jim Lavene

A Productive Week, Courtesy of Chaos

  It's been a crazy week for many of us in the Southeastern US.  The refineries and gas lines that went down with Hurricane Ike's destruction created a major shortage in my town of Matthews, NC, near Charlotte.  There have been cars lined up for blocks, people sleeping at gas stations while waiting for tanker truck deliveries, and frustrated and angry people pushing their out-of-petrol cars in the huge queue. It's a circus here.

This means that I basically stayed home all week.  I did my car pool duty with the kids, but skipped the errands.  And, let me tell you, it's amazing what you can accomplish when you can't go anywhere.  I've easily doubled my normal word-count for the week and had more time to do some plotting.

To add to the Little House on the Prairie feeling (it doesn't take much to make me feel like I'm roughing it), our Internet access has been up and down all week because of some nearby construction. Lack of web surfing has also contributed to my productivity.  You won't believe what you can accomplish on a computer without the temptation of going on the Internet.  Maybe you can duplicate the sensation by unplugging your router.  Give it a try! :) 

This being said, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that there really will be the "major shipment" of gasoline that our mayor and governor have been promising.  Where one week was productive, two weeks might result in my going completely stir-crazy. The trickle-down effect to my family could be frightening. ("When Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.")

Interesting blog entries I've read lately (when my ISP allowed me):

Excuses for Procrastinating and Rebuttals (The Renegade Writer Blog)

Ten Common Reasons for Rejection (Mysterious Matters Blog)

Pimpin' Your Book: How to work effectively with your publicist (Fine Print Literary Management)

Insert [Self] Here (Mysterious Matters blog)

Changing in the New Season

Okay, the snap and tang of autumn is finally coming to South Carolina ... and not a moment too soon, for those of us who lived through the hot, sultry summer! It's wonderful to feel a cool breeze and see the trees swaying in the sunlight. Too many reasons to list here why fall is my favorite time of year.

But ... what about the other things that happen in fall?

Like changes. Often BIG changes.

Well, school starts again, of course, and my sons have been in class since August 19th, so that's pretty well launched by now. The careless awakenings of summer -- sometimes at 10 a.m. -- are already long behind me (sigh), though Christmas vacation beckons not so far in the future -- well -- only 3 months -- I can hang on that long.

The boys' school activities are all underway now -- baseball, violin, chess club -- and we're busy again, every week.

And in my life, these busy days of autumn are the days when my life is newest.

Like everyone else, I always started a new school year in the fall, and always had to adjust to new teachers, new classes, new classmates, new situations. I finished my novel, FORWARD TO CAMELOT, in the fall (it was published in fall, too -- 10 days before the 40th anniversary of the JFK assassination, which is the subject of the book). I started many new jobs in the fall. I fell in love in the fall, and years later, I got married in the fall -- and as the association with seasons is so strong, I cannot take a breath of the cool, fresh autumn air without remembering that, and wondering what exciting unseen relationships await me.

Already there are indications of big changes coming in my life -- and as the rhythm of our days inexorably speeds up, so are there more and more events I'm getting involved with, groups I'm committing to, activities I'm jumping into. It's got to be all good -- it's the fall, and the fall will sort out the right from the wrong and put me on the right path -- and if takes longer than fall for that to happen, that's okay too. The chill of winter (or as chill as it gets in Charleston!) is good for cooling sudden unreasonable excitements and quenching my enthusiasm to do too much.

Fall is the great beginning for me, with horizons virtually unlimited, and though there are some distinct changes I already know of ready to launch, I await the crisper days, falling leaves and drying grass to show me even more gifts that right now I can't even suspect. There comes a moment, in mid-October to late November, where every breath is the start of a new adventure. I await that moment with the greatest of pleasure.

Hope your fall is full of adventure, too.

Me and the GIANT SWEET POTATO

At heart, I'm sure I'm a fiction writer. All of my life, I've spun yarns for myself and anyone else who'd listen.

Yet working for the local newspaper, even though it started as a way to offset promo expenses for our books, gives me a unique satisfation. I get to tell other people's stories. Some people are so excited to have someone listen to what they have to say. Some people cry because the things they have to say are so important to them and they never thought they could say those things outloud, much less to a newspaper reporter.

The experience has given me a vantage point I never had before and of course, acres of fodder for future fiction. But it has crept into my heart right there alongside my fiction imaginings and I hate to think of my life NOT being a reporter anymore. Of course with the cost of everything higher than I ever recall, that won't happen anytime soon but sometimes I think about it. Having two careers that I'm passionate about can be REALLY demanding.

Which brings me to the GIANT SWEET POTATO.

A farmer (picture above) was telling me last week about how he'd grown this ginormous sweet potato (one of many). It was over 12 pounds and fed him and his wife for three days. I asked him his secret and he said, "grass clippings, my wife, a good tiller, and we planted the garden three times before anything took."

I thought about the perseverance it took to replant that garden THREE times. How many people would've given up after the first time? They would never have seen those HUGE yams.

I know; it's a sappy way of saying writers should be as persistent, willing to do what it takes to get to the place where they see themselves as authors.

But in telling the farmer's story I realized that we are all after the BIG yam. We don't always want to do what it takes to get it, but it could be out there for us if we rip everything up and try once more.

Joyce Lavene

I'm Back

I took a week off from writing to vacation in Nashville with my husband and my parents. Even though this vacation was special, I don’t have anything special to write about, other than the high cost and low availability of gasoline. After all, just about everyone’s been on vacation somewhere. Millions of people have already been to Nashville. Who needs to hear about my visit to the Stingray Reef at the Opry Mills Mall where I fed overpriced shrimp to huge stingrays that splashed water all over me? I also rode on a carousel at the Stingray Reef since it was included in the price and I like carousels. And I did the usual Nashville tourist things—attended a country music performance at the Grand Ole Opry, toured the Country Music Hall of Fame, visited a plantation, walked around Centennial Park and the Parthenon replica, and took an afternoon cruise on the General Jackson Showboat. Those are the types of things that everyone visiting Nashville does--fun, but not especially newsworthy.
What makes this vacation special is that it may be the last time my father gets to join us on our annual road trip. Dad is eighty-four-years old now. He’s a disabled World War II vet and it’s getting harder and harder for him to get around. He says he may not be able to make the drive from Florida to North Carolina next year. I hope he’s wrong.
My father is a born story-teller, so I’ve got a lot of his stories warehoused in my memory for when he can’t tell them anymore. The family has been after me for years to write down and publish some of Dad’s stories and I probably will--someday. But not now, not yet.

Book Signings

You've contacted your favorite book store and set up a date to sign copies of your new novel. You dress neatly and check to be sure there's no lettuce stuck between your teeth. You stick a breath mint in your mouth and you collect your favorite pen, your camera, and put a couple of tissues in your pocket. You arrive at the store where they greet you warmly and usher you to a table loaded with your books. They've put a bottle of water out for you and tell you they will check on you every so often. You sit down and plaster a smile on your face.

The first customer who enters the store doesn't make eye contact, but goes in the opposite direction of your table and circles around until they find their way back to the shelf behind you. The next one who comes in walks up to the table, handles the book and ask if you wrote it. When you say yes, they say they don't much like mysteries or romance or whatever your book happens to be. They collect a bookmark and move on. A couple of kids run by and knock your stack of books over. Mom runs after them and mumbles "sorry" as she goes by you.

Soon you've occupied the seat behind the table and sold zero books for almost an hour. You're beginning to wonder why in the world you ever thought having a book signing in this store was a good idea. To top off the unproductive day, two people have asked you for directions to the bathroom, one man, who could hardly speak English, fusses at you because you can't tell him where to find books concerning the sicentific study of space satellites on the solar system. You can't help wondering if he is a a college professor or a terroist.

Finally the signing is about over. An employee of the store buys a book and gets you to sign it to her grandmother. That's it. You've sat there two hours, signed one book and now it's time to go home. This signing happened to me and I'm sure any writer out there can tell you a similar experience.

I was disappointed, yes, but I wasn't upset. It could happen to anyone and when it happens to me, I remember a few other signings of big-name writers I've attended.

Admittedly, some of these signings were so crowded it took a long time to reach the author, but others haven't been. A few years ago I went to a signing for Sue Grafton and had to wait in line almost an hour. Then I went to one for Jeffery Dever, a best selling author and very few people showed up. We had a nice one on one chat for over twenty minutes.

Shortly after Maya Angelou moved to Winston-Salem, I went to a signing for her and it was poorly attended. She invited me to sit down with her and we talked for a long time. Later I went to see her again and couldn't get near the table.

So you never know what will happen at a book signing. When I have a one and sell a few books, I'm grateful. When I don't, I remember these other people and realize a bad signing can happen to anyone. Either way, I'll keep writing and keep going to book signings.

Under The Boardwalk...

Geography can be a problem when you're a writer.

Of course, geography can be a problem for non-writers as well. If you don't think so, ask the next person you see where Tajikistan is. Not me though. I haven't a clue.

My geographical problems come in writing about pretend people in real places. Specifically, Wilmington, North Carolina. Here in the Wilmington area we are fortunate enough to have beaches. Not just one but four that I know of. There's Topsail Beach, Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach and Kure Beach. Not wanting to limit myself to any one of those, when I wrote Tree Huggers, which takes place in Wilmington, I created a fictional beach called Winslow Beach. I assumed anyone who knew our city would realize it didn't exist in real life.

At my appearance with the most wonderful Carolina Beach Mystery Book Club, I was called to task about giving Winslow Beach a boardwalk. It was a throw-away line in the book. A reporter says "Oh, that TV series will be filming a scene on the boardwalk at Winslow Beach before they relocate to Canada." Had nothing to do with advancing the plot other than showing what goes on at a newspaper staff meeting.

One member of the book club said she assumed I was writing about Wrightsville Beach, and there isn't a boardwalk there. And she's right. Only Carolina Beach has a boardwalk. I said, yes, but it's my fictional beach and I can give it a boardwalk if I want to.

When you write about real places, you do need to be careful. People who live there will catch your mistakes. And it doesn't hurt to brush up on your geography. I know. In one draft of Caviar Dreams, which takes place in Cincinnati, Ohio, I changed the course of the Ohio River. I had it running east instead of west. A pretty neat parlour trick, but that would definitely get me into trouble with the book clubs.

And you can bet that I won't be writing any books set in Tajikistan,

Bookmarks Book Festival

More than 45 authors gathered for the BOOKMARKS Festival of Books Saturday, September 13 at Historic Bethabara Park in Winston-Salem. I was one of them. From the beginning event on Friday night with a great food buffet, plenty of wine and musicicians, everything was planned perfectly. The authors invited were treated to a gift bag waiting for them at their hotel, plenty of TLC and friendly conversation.

Maybe the coolest thing was the author lunch hosted at the 1803 distillery at Bethabara historic park where the event takes place. The distillery is set up to look like the roadside inn it once was and it was a nice respite from the heat.

Oh and I sat next to Rue McClanahan from the Golden Girls who wrote a book about her five husbands. Apparently there was something to the character she played on TV.

I'd definitely go back again. It was a good time, well managed, and not too far from home. I met some interesting people and sold some books. You can't ask for more than that from a book weekend!

Jim Lavene

http://www.bookmarksfestival.org/.

Murder for Fun and Profit

The Carolina Conspiracy had a panel discussion this past weekend at the Gaston County Public Library in Gastonia, North Carolina, on the topic "Murder for Fun and Profit." The branch sponsors many really interesting programs( http://www.glrl.lib.nc.us/eventsexhibits/events.htm ) and librarian Carol Reinhardt was a wonderful hostess. Our group answered questions, sold books, and ate some delicious refreshments courtesy of the Friends of the Library. Conspirators Lynette Hall Hampton, Richard Helms, Kathleen Delaney, Terry Hoover, and I discussed writing, why we love mysteries, and our books. We never really nailed that "profit" part of the program down, but talked about the other rewards that writing brings us.

It's always fun to get together with the Conspiracy and have a chance to visit with people with interests and struggles similar to mine. We're all typically voracious readers (especially of mysteries), and face the same challenge of a blank page each day. For me, it's a real pleasure to be around other writers. I have to admit to feeling a little like a weirdo sometimes as a mystery writer. I was with a group of moms at the pool a couple of weeks ago and they were talking about their jobs (they all happened to be preschool teachers....an extremely challenging and rigorous job, but also a fairly rated G one.) When they asked me what I did, I mumbled, "Write murder mysteries." I can still see the stunned expression on their faces. Not the most maternal of jobs. And it's really funny when my second grade daughter tells her friends that I kill people in my books. Sigh. And I had been hoping to get away with an explanation that I write Encyclopedia Brown-type books for grown-ups.

So being with the Conspiracy is always a treat. I get to hear other people talk about what inspires them, how they meet their writing goals, overcome their challenges, and fit writing into everyday life.

Free Download of a Classic:

I would download this book, but I already have it in my library--have had it in my library since high school, actually. If you're not familiar with Elements of Style by William Strunk, here's an opportunity to download the first edition for free. E.B. White became a coauthor in later editions--that's right....the E.B. White of Charlotte's Web fame.

Here is the link to Rob Parnell's blog, then click on "Download: Elements of Style.

I've used this book more than any other guide to composition. Strunk's advice to "omit needless words" is just as important (or more so?) now as it was in 1957 when Elements first released.

Online Stuff: The Writing Frump....an anonymous writer's gripes. She seems to get stiffed fairly regularly by businesses who employ her as a freelancer. Very funny: http://writingfrump.wordpress.com/

Useful Advice for Writers--The Writer's Edge: http://writersedgeinfo.blogspot.com/ . Includes information on publishing payout schedules, book deal escalators (I wish!), book pitches, manuscript acceptability levels for contracts, etc.

The Small Publishers Association of North America's list of Ten Things Agents and Editors Hate: http://www.spannet.org/article-frishman-agent.htm

Why, indeed, do we write?

Like Joyce, I have often been asked why I write. The first time was at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. A man stopped by the Sisters in Crime booth, where I was signing, or more acurately, hoping to sign, and stared at me. "Why do you like to do this?" he said. I couldn't think of a thing to say, a very unusual event for me. Why indeed? Partly because of love of story. Partly because I love to read. And mostly, because once I started, I found I just couldn't stop. I had no idea there were all those stories, all those characters inside me, waiting for me to finally get around to letting them out, but there they were and I'm hooked. At first its just fun. Look! I wrote a story. Then you read it, and think, well---. So you write it again, and again, and pretty soon you get up enough courage to let someone else read it. All they have to say is "hey, that's pretty good," and you are lost. At least, that's how it worked for me. I had read all my life, avidly read, panic set in if I didn't have at least one unread book waiting for me on my bedside table. But I never thought I could be a writer. They were lofty people, locked away in garrets somewhere, typing night and day, turning out all of those wonderful stories the rest of us waited impatiently to snatch up. No, I wasn't that talented, that imaginative, that talented. So when I wrote my first short piece, and when it sold to Disney's Family Fun, I was shocked, amazed, and a little scared. I was a writer. When had the muse struck? I didn't remember the lightening bolt, just the hard work once I decided I was going to get that article right. The starting at the page,the reconstruction of sentences, the joy when it finally felt right. And it still feels right. I am on my final-I hope-rewrite of my fourth book and am still thrilled when a difficult sentence, or page, or chapter finally comes right. The deep satisfaction that I get when a character comes alive. Of course, having your editor tell you she/he likes it doesn't hurt either. But I have given up on the muse. It's much to unreliable. I write every day, and every day try to make what I am doing better, try to stretch a little more. I want each of my books and short stories to be better than the last one, and hope that I am succeedin. So, go crank up that computer, stare at that screen and don't get up until you have written something. Don't worry if it stinks. That's what the delete button is for. And remember, tomorrow is another day. Didn't someone else say that? Happy writting everyone. Kathleen Delaney And Murder For Dessert

How To Be Inspired

We had our first booksigning for Wicked Weaves last weekend. Invariably, the question always comes up: what inspires you to write?

A recent poll I read said that a whopping 70 percent of unpublished writers feel the need to be inspired to write. That number dropped significantly among published writers to only 15 per cent.

What’s the difference?

Is it because published writers have succeeded in reaching the first goal on the ladder? Even if they aren’t making a substantial amount of money, they have been published and that’s enough to keep them going? It gives them something to look forward to and keeps the words flowing?

Rejections can be heartbreaking. A friend of mine recently had her first novel accepted—after 15 years of having her novels rejected. That’s a long time to argue with your spouse for more time or feel like you’re cheating your kids or that you’re spending too much money on your ‘hobby’. Especially when you already have a file full of rejections! Her story is one I’ll share here later.

There’s also a difference in professionalism among published authors. They’ve begun to see themselves as ‘working writers’. Even if they’re still working other jobs as nurses and teachers. They begin to think of themselves as writers who teach or writers who take care of sick children. One writer I know who has her first book published and is working on her second, sees herself as a writer who is doing research on her engineer’s job for a novel. That’s a unique approach!

Writing something every day is essential to becoming a stronger writer. Even if you can only devote ten minutes to your craft, it’s better than nothing. This can be a hard business to get into . . . and to stay in. The most important thing you can do for yourself as a writer is become a better writer. You can’t do that sitting around waiting for the muse to strike!

Try sharing the secret of published authors. Think yourself into being a writer. You have to write something each day because it’s what you do. It’s who you are. The world might think of you as a bus driver or a an office assistant but you know better. In your heart, you’re a writer. Go out there and write!

Joyce Lavene

Laptops and Lap Dogs

For those who imagine Chihuahuas to be foul tempered little yappers, let me be the first to say the reputation is completely undeserved. Chihuahuas, when raised right, are sweet and loving dogs. And their size is perfect. Since Chihuahuas are smaller than your average cat, the dog food bill is practically non-existent, and crates, beds, and other doggie equipment are small and correspondingly cheaper than the large versions. A small herd of these little economy dogs is currently milling about in my family room, so I should know.
The Chihuahua population explosion started when my niece Trish moved to North Carolina from Florida. Trish, like nearly everyone else in my family, is owned by Chihuahuas. Everything would have been fine if we hadn’t had to make an emergency trip out of town, leaving Trish to wrangle six Chihuahuas on her own. Her little Pebbles fell in love with our little Leo and before we knew it, Pebbles had gained a couple of pounds and was waddling around looking like she’d swallowed a cantaloupe. Soon the family Chihuahua count was up by four.
Two of the babies have moved on to live in other homes. The remaining two are still here, doing their best to permanently endear themselves to us. They are doing an excellent job and it’s going to be tough to say good-bye when those new parents come along. Still. I don’t want to become one of those collectors like I keep hearing about on the news. You know the ones I mean, the sad cases who simply can’t let go. Eventually they end up with five hundred dogs and a wicked carpet cleaning problem. Besides, I have only so much lap space, especially when the pups have to share with my laptop and my three grown Chihuahuas.
Even though all of them put together don’t add up to one regular sized dog, it’s really hard to write when tiny canines trot across the keyboard at odd moments. Today I told them if they’d let me have mornings free to stay upstairs and write, I promised to spend the rest of the day downstairs providing lap space, occasional treats, and regular walks for all. I’m not sure they heard me.

Things I MAY Never Write About

In my first blog, I told you that when I found out I was going to write one, I checked out blogs to see what the popular topics were. I discovered that you can write about anything. Your blog is your opinion and you can say what ever you want to. And on some blogs I found that some people are really opinionated.

One thing I decided might be taboo for me to write about is politics. Oh don’t get me wrong. I’m a registered voter and I vote in almost every election that comes along. I’ll vote in the big one coming up in November. It’s just that my vote is my business. I am registered with one party, yes, but I have never voted a straight republican or democratic ticket in my life. Maybe I’m wishy-washy, but I agree with things on both sides and I’ve never thought either party perfect on every issue. Oh, I’ll take a stand and I’ll even campaign for an issue I believe in, but just because I’m registered one way, don’t think my vote always goes in that direction.

Another thing I may shy away from is religion. Hear again, I firmly believe that a person’s religion is their business. Yes, I have a belief. Yes, I have gone to the same church for most of my life and yes I support my church. Most of you know that one of my series features Willa Hinshaw, an associate Methodist Minister. Also in these books is her special friend Preacher Trent Freeman, a Baptist, but that doesn’t mean I’m a preacher or anywhere near it. So I have no right to preach to anyone who hasn’t ask me for my religious views. As my mother used to always say, ‘You can tell what a person believes by the way he lives.’ I agree with her.

Now the biggie: SEX. Who knows I may change my mind on this someday, but for now, I don’t intend to write a lot about sex. To me this is the third thing that is your own personal business. You may be married, single or in-between, but as an adult however you handle your sex life is up to you. I’m sure not going to try to push my points of view on anyone. In my books, I’ll lead you to the bedroom, and I might let you peek inside, but when things start to get hot and heavy, I’ll close the door.

Money, taxes, and the state of MY economy are all my business so I won’t be reporting any of these things to you either. The IRS, the creditors, the bank, and my accountant know enough about me in these areas already. No need to spread any of this around.

Two more things, I will not write about are my age or my weight. You can look at the lines around my eyes and know that I’m not a member of the Hannah Montana Fan Club. As for my weight, you can see me shopping in Dillard’s or J.C. Penny’s and know that I no longer fit into the category of size 4- Junior Miss. And that’s all I’m gong to say on these two topics.

That’s my taboo writing list for now. I may add to it later, but unless I change my mind everything else is up for grabs for me to write about.

So How Do Yo Write Those Books, Anyway?

As a writer, I’ve never had much interest in talking about writing. To me it’s like talking about breathing, which is something I do quite well without having to think about how I do it. Of course there are plenty of people out there who are experts on breathing and give classes on how to do it to the maximum benefit. Usually they call themselves yoga teachers or natural childbirth coaches, but what they’re really doing is teaching people how to do something they already know how to do.

I don’t like thinking about how I write, although there are plenty of writers out there who love to dissect the process. They like to have long discussions about outlining, and character development and the latest software to keep track of characters and plot lines.

Not me. I’m a "sit down and do it" kind of writer. I haven’t written an outline since junior high school English class, when we were required to write a major term paper with a detailed outline and notes on 3x5 index cards. As far as I was concerned, it was like getting three separate assignments, each one having nothing to do with the other two, and I was much relieved when I discovered in high school that I could write term papers straight out without the added irritation of outlines and note cards.

I hate outlines and note cards.

Next week I’ll be talking to the Carolina Beach Library Mystery Club and they’ll be asking me how I get my ideas and how I write my books. I’m afraid I’ll disappoint them with my answer, which is that I don’t know where the ideas come from and writing is just cutting through all the excuses and doing it.

My best answer to that question of "How do you write your books?" is a quote from E.L. Doctorow:

"Planning to write is not writing. Outlining, researching, talking to people about what you're doing, none of that is writing. Writing is writing. . . . Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way."

So How Do Yo Write Those Books, Anyway?

As a writer, I’ve never had much interest in talking about writing. To me it’s like talking about breathing, which is something I do quite well without having to think about how I do it. Of course there are plenty of people out there who are experts on breathing and give classes on how to do it to the maximum benefit. Usually they call themselves yoga teachers or natural childbirth coaches, but what really they’re doing is teaching people how to do something they already know how to do.
I don’t like thinking about how I write, although there are plenty of writers out there who love to dissect the process. I’m a just "sit down and do it" kind of writer. I haven’t written an outline since junior high school English class, when we were required to write a major term paper with a detailed outline and notes on 3x5 index cards. As far as I was concerned, it was like getting three separate assignments, each one having nothing to do with the other two, and I was much relieved when I discovered in high school that I could write term papers straight out without the added irritation of outlines and note cards.
I hate outlines and notecards.
Next week I’ll be talking to the Carolina Beach Library Mystery Club and they’ll be asking me how I get my ideas and how I write my books. I’m afraid I’ll disappoint them with my answer, which is that I don’t know where the ideas come from and writing is just cutting through all the excuses and doing it.
My only answer to that question of "How do you write your books?" is a quote from E.L. Doctorow:
"Planning to write is not writing. Outlining, researching, talking to people about what you're doing, none of that is writing. Writing is writing. . . . Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way."


Planning to write is not writing. Outlining, researching, talking to people about what you're doing, none of that is writing. Writing is writing. . . . Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.

IT'S HERE!

Our new book, WICKED WEAVES, is finally out today from Berkley Prime Crime! We got our author's copies last Friday.

It's impossible to describe what it feels like to finally SEE that new book, hold it in your hand and know that you wrote it! It's a lot like having a baby. After hours of labor, sweating blood over the keyboard and worrying about every word, every phrase, it's a relief and an amazing thing to realize you have accomplished this.

You wonder at the beginning how your agent and editor will view this marvelous feat. Once it becomes a book, you wonder if there will be readers for it. Will everyone else love your child? Or will it be shunned and alone on the bookstore shelves (not for long since it will be yanked if that is the case).

Reviewers have been kind to this book but who knows what will happen to it in the everyday stress of living? Will it hold up or fold? Will it be something only a mother could love?

There's never any way to know what to expect. You let it go and hope for the best. We just finished writing the second book in that series (Renaissance Faire Mysteries), GHASTLY GLASS. We sent it in last week as we got the copies of Wicked Weaves. Will it have to live up to Wicked Weaves' reputation . . . or try to live it down?

Only time will tell.

Jim Lavene

Tuesday, September 2

http://www.joyceandjimlavene.com/

Sweet and Sour: Do You Love or Hate Your Work in Progress?

First a disclosure: a month ago, my WIP actually had a different protagonist.  I'm revamping what I'd already written to fit my series protagonist.  So I was already a wee bit irked with my Work in Progress.

But it started to gel.  The words flowed from the Land of Milk and Honey, the old protagonist willingly and cheerfully stepped aside to let my new one take over the job. I felt really, really positive about the direction of the book.

Until...I hit a spot. The bad spot didn't hold me up, but it changed my attitude.  I grimly forged through, gritting my teeth as I hacked my way through the chapter.  I suffered.  I hated my book! 

I've come to terms this week with my WIP by picking up at a different part of the story.  Now things are on the upswing again.  While I was hating my book's guts though, I came across this funny blog entry by author Libba Bray.  You can read it here: http://libba-bray.livejournal.com/36896.html   Because writing a book really is a love story. 

Myteries: I've read some really wonderful books lately. Where Memories Lie by Deborah Crombie is one of them. Crombie's police procedural series, featuring Gemma James and Duncan Kincaid is a winner.  Her latest book centers on the acquisition of an Art Deco brooch that had been stolen during World War II. The investigation triggers a series of murders and a surprising conclusion to the book.  I've found that this series is easy to jump into at any point--this isn't one you have to read in order.  Once you've read a Deborah Crombie book and loved it, you get a nice surprise--she's written 12 wonderful books for your reading enjoyment.

Two other recommendations for mysteries: The House at Riverton (Kate Morton) and The Secret History (Donna Tartt).  These aren't traditional mysteries, but were great reads.  Riverton is a recent release and History has been out fifteen years or so.  They're both long books (Riverton flew for me and History at over 500 pages did drag in a couple of spots) with intriguing premises and fascinating tidbits to keep the readers absorbed. Both books were perfect matches for me: I love period pieces with an "Upstairs, Downstairs" feel (Riverton) and books about snobby, overeducated college students (History). When the authors graciously added a dollop of murder to these books, I was hooked.

Websites: I have a lot of fun with industry blogs. Here's another one that caught my interest: http://queryshark.blogspot.com/  For some reason, it's great entertainment for me to read through these messy queries.  Sometimes I edit other people's queries in my head.  Obviously, I need to get a life...   The other website I've been enjoying is this one: http://mysteriousmatters.typepad.com/  This blog comments on the mystery publishing world (whenever I find something that's specific to the mystery genre on the web, it's a red letter day.) 

What's going on the next couple of weeks?  I'm working on the third mystery and will be making revisions on the second book, too.  I really want to make time to read Lake of Dead Languages, but I might be out of luck for that and just renew it at the library.  I'll try to sign all the back to school forms for my children and remember if it's A day (send middle schooler with clean gym clothes) or B day (send middle schooler with large band instrument.)

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Elizabeth Spann Craig