Changing Times

This posting is dedicated to my husband, Bob.

For the past four years I have had the sweet luxury of almost unlimited writing time. Four years ago I left my office job when we had to leave Charlotte for Bob’s new job. We lived briefly in Columbia, South Carolina, before returning to Charlotte for his next assignment. But I didn’t return to work. Our children were all through college and Bob was earning a comfortable income. He wanted me to have the time and energy to devote to writing.

I appreciated every moment of this precious gift. There were days when I put the writing aside temporarily due to other commitments. There was the time I took four weeks off and painted almost every room in our house and the time I supervised the updating of our kitchen, family room, and one of our bathrooms. I occasionally babysat my grandson full time during the summers and part time during the school year, but I managed to keep up the writing schedule for the most part. During my four years of freedom I managed to finish two novels and revise another. One book was published, one self-published, and the third is currently under revision. I’ve also started a fourth novel.

Sadly, my writing freedom has come to an end. Bob’s computer programming contract ended today, and with the current economy the outlook for a new job any time soon is not promising. We’ve known this was coming for some time and have prepared. Two months ago I started looking for a job of my own, but didn’t get a single phone call, let alone an interview. Then I found a job on Craigslist and the whole thing was handled by email-very 21st Century. I am now an "inventory processor" for an Internet company.

The manager is very informal. He emailed me to come in for an interview and said to dress casually. I did so and a couple of days later he emailed me to start work Friday. I had to email back and find out what time to be there. The pay is low, but I’m proud to help in some small way and happy that I’m working with a great bunch of people.

I'm glad I have a job, but sad I can no longer write full time. After I got home exhausted on Friday, I ate dinner and then sat down to work on my new book. I got a whopping 250 words done before I ran out of steam. But books are written a word at a time, and a writer who really wants to write will find a way. I now get up earlier and write before work and even if I only get 200 words down each day, eventually I will have written a book.

My Taboo Topics

Last night when I was thinking about things to write about on the blog today, I found myself thinking more about things not to write about. With the elections this year and the mud slinging so hard it almost comes through the television screen from both sides, it makes politics a hot topic. But I decided that was taboo for me to write about. Oh don’t get me wrong. I’m a registered voter and I vote in almost every election that comes along and I’ve already voted in the big one that comes 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 decided to 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 asked 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.

EBooks

I got into a discussion the other day about the future of reading and books. It's a popular discussion for writers. People think it's only our generation of writers who are talking about it but from reading author's biographies, I know authors have always talked about it. They probably always will.

Of course now, we have EBooks. Depending on who you talk to, EBooks are going to take over the world or they won't ever do anything. I'm somewhere in the middle. I think there will always be paper books but I think they might be too costly for anyone but the very wealthy at some point (history again) and I think everyone else will read EBooks.

It sounds bad for those people who can't imagine reading anything but paper but I like EBooks and I'm confident that authors will make money on them. Our new Berkley Books are out on Kindle and have been doing very well. Local college students are starting to download textbooks on E readers and laptops. They are cheaper and easier to carry around. Just think how great it would be for elementary school children not to have to carry 30 pounds in backpacks each day.

I like reading EBooks because the screen is backlit and the text can be whatever size I want it to be. We've had letters from people thanking us for the Kindle books (not that we have anything to do with it) because they can read again for the first time in years.

I guess it all depends, but I think it must be like the first time paperbacks came out. No doubt hardback lovers were deeply offended. But as long as the words are there and they tell a good story, I don't care what they're on. Things change. Sometimes we have to live with that and learn to love it anyway.

Jim Lavene

The Best-Laid Plans of Mice and Men (and Moms)

This post will likely be on the whiny side.  This is because I currently have a lovely virus with flu-like symptoms.  Not; however; The Flu which I had in 2000 and thought I was going to die.  Get your flu shots, folks.  I had a fever of 104 and was hallucinating.  And I actually had my flu shot that year.  Obviously, the scientists hadn't accurately predicted which would be the virulent strain.  And I suffered!!!!!

Both of my children were home sick from school this week, too, so it should come as no surprise to me that I'm not feeling well now.  My son stayed at home last Monday and then my daughter's school called me Thursday to come and pick her up.  It's not fun when the school calls you.  There's a certain reproachful tone in the school nurse's voice.  Sort of a "You-Sent-Your-Poor-Ill-Child-to-School-Today?!"  Ugh. It's hard to tell if your child is well at 6:30 A.M..  Of course they're dragging then.

Anyway, the point of this post is that plans go awry. I had full expectations that last week and this past weekend were going to be extremely productive.  In fact, I'd done some extra plotting at the end of the previous week so that I'd know exactly which direction my writing was going in. I titled three scenes that I'd planned out, written myself some "stage directions" in italics to remind myself of my course during the scene and where it would fit into the manuscript.  So I was really, really prepared.

Then came the Attack of the Killer Viruses.

I managed to get some more plotting done, but that was about it.  I'm going to play catch-up now. 

What else have I managed to do this past week and weekend?  It's limited, but I:

Read The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher--a true-life crime story from the late-1800s.  Unfortunately, I found it convoluted and bloated with information.  It would be a great resource if you were investigating late 19th century crime in England (and there were some great quotes by Dickens, who followed the case closely), but it wasn't a straight-forward retelling of a true crime, like I expected. 

Read several interesting blog entries:

Andrew Wheeler's blog on sell-ins at bookstores and why book chains skip books.

Brian Farrey's blog for Flux covers his first rejections for his new position as Acquisitions Editor. And how authors shouldn't let rejections get them down.

Mysterious Matters blog wondered if mysteries have become too politically correct.  (I'm not going to touch that discussion with a 10 foot pole.  But it was interesting to read....be sure to read the comments section.)

And I discovered a new blog for book lovers: Bookshelves of Doom . Any blog that features Twitters of Mansfield Park (and who states that "Mary Lennox should give Fanny Price some 'How to Grow a Spine' lessons") is super- cool.

And I made a very interesting discovery, y'all, courtesy of Bookshelves of Doom.  I'm still playing around with it, but here-t'is: http://bookglutton.com/  

On Book Glutton, you can sign up for a free account, then start reading public domain books (these have been out for a while, shall we say?) or you can join a group and read a book online withe them as they read it.  The top five favorite groups are reading Journey to the Center of the Earth,  The Time Machine,  Heart of Darkness, Dead Souls, and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.    This is an interesting concept to me.  I like the idea of a book club, but I don't have the time to visit with actual people.  :)   Maybe a cyber book group would work for me. 

Blogger Tags: no time to write, cool blogs, mystery writing, mystery novel, Book Glutton

Crime Spree

Call it what you like, any event in Wilmington, NC is a great one! My thanks to Dorothy Hodder, Phyllis Smith, Two Sisters Bookery and everyone else behind the scenes. Crime Spree was small, no doubt. Two panels, a few hours. Nine authors (if you count me and Jim as two people). But we had a lovely time. No one could be more welcoming and gracious than these folks.

But Judy Nichols hit the nail on the head. There were scarcely more readers than writers at this event. Despite the fact that we would all love to see Cape Fear Crime Festival revived, the crowd, though enthusiastic was limited. Where were the people? Not out doing much on a rainy Saturday afternoon. We couldn't complain about ball games or days on the beach that took them away.

I guess these events, no matter how nice they are, are doomed unless someone is willing to sponsor them. It has to be more than one bookstore and one library system. There has to be more publicity.

Maybe authors need to get together and help find sponsors who would be willing to put out some money. After all, these events are to showcase US and our books. It would only be fair.

I'd be willing to sink some time and money into Cape Fear to make it sail again. Maybe some of you would too.

Joyce Lavene

The Late Great Cape Fear Crime Festival

We're coming up on the end of October. There's a nip in the air. Porches are decorated with jack-o-lanterns, ghosts and bats. The leaves are changing color (not around here though, where we have just the lives oaks and pin oaks that are green all year round).

And up until this year, this was the time of the Cape Fear Crime Festival.

Sponsored by the New Hanover County Public Library, the Crime Festival offered mystery writers and readers a chance to get together and talk crime. There were panels on characters, plot, humor, legal thrillers, spy novels, getting published, what to do once you got published, and a whole host of information on all things mysterious.

I attended the first conference held in 2001 as a writer wannabee. I'd just finished my first novel Caviar Dreams, but I had no idea what to do with it. Being among the writers there, I felt as if I had finally found "my own people." I realized that writers did not walk around with an otherworldy glow, they were regular folks like me. If they could get published, I could too.

And so I did. By the 2003 conference, I was helping out with registration and participating in panels as one of the authors. And by 2005, I was on the steering committee, helping run the conference.

Unfortunately, conferences like The Cape Fear Crime Festival cost money. Those authors who've written the books you've heard of don't appear for free. Each year, as we reached this point in time, the conference was always operating in the red.

But our biggest problem was that we drew far more authors than readers. Being sponsored by the Public Library, an institution supported by the taxpayers of New Hanover County, the goal was to benefit the patrons of the library. Last year, when I took a couple of attendees to the local Barnes & Noble at a nearby shopping center, I noticed the center's parking lot was packed. Unlike the library lot which had space to spare. Obviously, the citizens of New Hanover County would rather shop at Pier 1 Imports and Rack Room Shoes, than go hear a nearly famous author talk about her latest book. Even if it was for free.

This year the library is sponsoring a much scaled down event called Carolina Crimes, featuring North Carolina authors with books published this year. Eight authors, including myself and fellow conspirators Joyce and Jim Lavene and Susan Adair, on two panels over the course of a Saturday afternoon. Not the hustle and bustle of the two day conferences we used to put on.

But I just spoke to librarian Phyllis Smith, who was in charge of finances for Cape Fear Crime Festival for the last few years. I don't remember ever hearing her sound so cheerful on October 23rd. Usually she was freaking out over the ever escalating expenses piling up.

And I don't miss the stress of trying to get the Conference schedule books out. Or having to deal with the lesser known author who feels he or she has been slighted somehow. Not to mention searching for the attendee who swears he or she registered by mail and there's no record of it anywhere.

I'm grateful for all the past Cape Fear Crime Festivals. I enjoyed every one of them and I always learned something I didn't know. But I'm looking forward to seeing readers at Carolina Crimes, as well as seeing old friends and meeting new ones.

I'm hoping to see a lot of Carolina Conspiracy fans there. Swing on down to the Main Library downtown, at 201 Chestnut Street, Wilmington NC 28401. We start at one o'clock and we'll see you then.

Coming to Grips with Nanowrimo

It's that time of year again -- mid- to the end of October, when lunatic writers everywhere start to gear up for National Novel Writing Month (Nanowrimo to those in the know). Nanowrimo is the ultimate writers' marathon -- the rush to write 50,000 words of an original novel in -- gasp! -- THIRTY DAYS.

Do they have to be good? Hell, no. Getting them all in the right language is considered more than good enough.

But do they have to be 50,000? To win Nano, yes. (Winning means uploading your file with 50,000+ words in it -- Nano's own official counter counts the words and certifies you as a winner.)

What do winners get? Forget a Rolls Royce. Or an agent panting to represent you. Hell, forget even garnering respect. You get a few little downloadable goodies from the Nano website -- www.nanowrimo.org -- and a really good feeling.

And you know what? For most of us, that's a perfectly reasonable exchange.

Because just to know you're CAPABLE of putting 50,000 words -- of any length -- on paper in 30 days is a HUGE accomplishment. That's roughly 1,700 words per day -- for 30 solid days.

Truth is, even LOSING Nano is an accomplishment. Ending with 40,000 words -- or 30,000 -- even 500 after a solid month of trying -- is still more words than you had in October, isn't it? And it proves you can really knock it out with the best of them, when you want to. It puts you seven leagues ahead of writer wannabes who whine about how hard it is and do absolutely nothing to accomplish it.

Last year, my 12-year-old son tried Nano for the first time, and wrote 3,000 words total. (He lost interest fairly early on, or I'll bet the word count would have been a lot higher.) But when I read over his pages, I was amazed: This was good writing, really good, thoughtful writing. Better than anything he'd written for a school assignment.

Doing Nano did wonders for his confidence and self-esteem. I'm thrilled that he wants to do it again this year. And I told him so, both last November and several times since: I was so proud of what he did, especially in taking on such a challenge.

I've done Nano 3 times -- 2005, 2006, 2007. Each time I crossed the finish line with 50,000 + words. Each time I had a piece I was justifiably proud of -- something that hadn't existed before the mad rush of November, except in my mind, and that once captured in black and white, proved I had actually internalized a few things about the craft of writing, over the years.

Better yet -- Nano is a great time to knock out something I've been procrastinating about. It's the no-excuse, no-time-for-looking-back time of year when all that matters is the exhilarating rush of pushing those computer keys as fast as possible. Who cares if you write "prolific" when you mean "profligate"? Nobody!

It's just getting it down that matters.

For most of us, that's where we lose it as writers. Getting it down on the page is where we fail.

Nanowrimo takes that issue away from you, even as it provides you a global support community of other writers all pumping out their own less-than-masterpieces. Just putting it down, good or bad, is what counts.

Oh, and the words, of course. The words count, big-time. (I never use the word count feature of MS Word as much at any other time of the year.)

Try Nanowrimo, if you want the ultimate writers' rush (I swear, it's even better than winning a literary contest or selling a book.) Do it fast; do it dirty; get it done and be proud.

Yep -- I'm ready for sweet November.