Hey! Where are we?

Setting. That Place where the book sends you, where -- if the author is fortunate and talented -- you want to stay. It's vivid and evocative and necessary to the story.

If you're a writer, one of the things you learn is how to create a setting that serves as a vehicle for visual and emotional impact, that helps define characters, that subtly influences the opinion of the reader.

If you're a reader, stick with me. This isn't just about writerly tips, but about how understand a bit more of what the writer does can add to your enjoyment of their work.

When author Joyce Yarrow talks about setting, she talks about the "Place of Place." It has been inspirational to her body of work. She bought a ticket and followed her P.I. protagonist from New York to Moscow, and from that experience populated her novel Russian Reckoning with fascinating characters as well as evocative surroundings. 

Author Jeanne Matthew as purchased several tickets -- from Austrailia to Norway to Greece and more -- and used the knowledge she gained to give purpose and depth to all her characters, not just her cultural anthropologist protagonist.

Kait Carson stays closer to home with her Florida-based novels, using setting as a character that can turn from benign and beckoning to dangerous. Her characters must learn to cope.

Author Lisa Stowe pulls the setting even closer -- within the confines of a valley in the mountains of Idaho -- to build tension and danger while showing the reader the worth of her characters. 

These authors (click on their names to find out more about them and their work) all make setting do "double duty" by being a character in and of itself, by showing aspects of their characters that make them more real to the reader, and to influence the opinion of the reader. 

Yes, we're a sneaky lot. We use sight, sound, touch and smell to access the reader's emotional triggers and draw them to a character or push them away. Dialog and action can sometimes be too obvious or overused.

So, how do we do it? I'll tell you my process. The authors above aren't much different -- I know because I've talked to them all about this very subject. 

I start with each scene and ask myself what it should accomplish. Are the characters in that scene brave, bored, excited, in love, frightened? A combination? Are the words coming out of their mouths truth? When I can answer that question for each character, I can then decide how to let the reader know. Their reactions to their environment can help me do that. When Thea walks into the cavernous archives at the Burke Museum (Levels of Deception), we learn a lot about her by her overwhelmed reaction and then resolve to figure out how to accomplish her task. Oh, and by the way, the reader has also been handed a gift: the scene is a foreshadowing the nature of the conflict yet to come and how Thea will tackle it. Cool, huh?

I can also use setting to show a character's comfort or discomfort level. Every time Thea goes to the barn and methodically goes through her riding routine we are reminded of how she reestablishes her own sanity. Paul Hudson feels at home getting his hands dirty on a paleontology dig. One wouldn't expect him to be comfortable in a billionaire's home. However, when we see him there we also see how he's comfortable enough in his own skin to not be overly impressed or be swayed from his goal. Good for him. We like him for that!

A character's "world view" is going to be reflected by their interaction with setting. Someone whose work, traditions and habits center around, for example, roaming the city streets in the week hours is going to have very different observations and feelings than a character whose work and habits have him frequenting the servant's domain in Downton Abbey -- even if they are both up to no good. 

Setting can show us a character's strengths and weaknesses, comfort and discomfort, motive, desires ... all without a single "tell". If you're a writer, make setting work for you. As a reader, you can smile when you catch the author being clever. A good writer won't mention anything that doesn't have a purpose. Setting is one of those things.

I highly encourage everyone, be you reader or both reader and writer, to check out the authors I've mentioned. They are talented women with wonderful stories, all there for your enjoyment. Catch them at being clever!

Blog Hop, Hop, Hop

Author Diane Vallere writes the Mad for Mod Mysteries and Style and Error Mystery series. They're as much fun as she is, and so I'm delighted she's asked me to join this Blog Hop! The questions (below) are passed from one blog to another and give the curious an oportunity to see a variety of answers. You can go back to Diane's post by clicking on her name, and next week ... well, why give that away right now? Read my answers to the four questions and you will be rewarded with the name of the next participant!


1. What am I working on?

Except for some final editing, I've finished the sixth Thea Campbell Mystery, Saving the Queen of Diamonds. It's quite a puzzle with a number of brand new characters and a very sticky problem. Look for it very soon!

While my editors have been having their way with STQOD, I've been working on a short story featuring the protagonists from my series, Thea Campbell and Paul Hudson. They get married (again) after book 5 (Shooting to Kill) and before book 6 (Saving the Queen of Diamonds). "Again?" you ask. Yes, it's true. If you've read Shooting to Kill, you know why ... if you haven't, well, like I said to one fan who asked (after book 3) are they ever going to get married? Yes, but it will be a disaster.

2. How does this differ from others in its genre?

It's a romance ... with characters from a mystery series. I wrote it in response to fans who wanted to know what happened at the "other" wedding. Thea and Paul are together at the beginning and at the end, which is an unusual tactic for a romance story since generally the co-protagonists are antagonistic at the beginning and must work through issues in order to get together at the end. Never fear, however. There is plenty of conflict. Mystery writers live for conflict!

3. Why do I write?

I started writing, seriously (by which I mean "to produce a novel") because I needed something to do for a creative outlet. I'd had to step away from a career I loved and to fill the void and keep from feeling terribly sorry for myself I decided to see if I could write a whole mystery. It took me three years to produce my first book, and I still love it. Now I write because I enjoy it. It's challenging and fulfilling. And I've met so many wonderful, intelligent people I never would have met otherwise.

4. How does my writing process work?

My writing process is always being refined. Way back when, I started by just ... starting. However, over the years I've become a big fan of plotting my stories. I like a road map, as do my characters and my muse. I'll often start with a body or a crime, then build the story of the victim and the antagonist before I figure out how my protagonist will interact with them. It's much easier for me to write my protagonists' story if I know what the bad guys want and what they're willing to do to get it.

Next week Lisa Stowe, author of The Mountain Mystery Series (The Memory Keeper, Sparrow's Silence, and coming soon, Ghost Road) answers to these questions will be on her blog The Story River.

Clues & Red Herrings -- Part IV

We've arrived, at last, to my final post on Clues and Red Herrings. It's quite a list, and surely not exhaustive -- although if you've been following this from Part I there's a good chance you're exhausted by now. So, without further ado, here's the last four;

The use of “sympathetic traits” to characterize the “bad guy” – the reader will assume innocent motive. You could probably have him confess to the murder and if you play it right, only a fraction of your readers will believe it. But do be careful that the clue that he’s capable is also provided – otherwise your reader will toss your baby across the room.

For example: 

The arrogant womanizer who, although divorced, spends four nights a week of quality time and every Saturday with his eight-year-old daughter, never misses a school function and remembers birthdays and special occasions. He’d never have killed that librarian!

Body language that speaks of a lie, anxiety, or discomfort to a degree that is inappropriate … and then omitting the reason for it until a later time. Reader and characters alike will be suspicious!

**This is a whole course in itself, but it helps to put yourself in the character’s head. What are they trying to hide? It may or may not be related to the crime, but it should show in their body language.

For example:

True story. I watched, on TV and several years ago, the trial of a woman accused of plotting the murder of her daughter. What mother would do that? It couldn’t be true! The woman denied the accusations, swore she had nothing to do with the attack on her daughter. Then the prosecutor asked her directly if she tried to kill her daughter. She said no. And nodded her head repeatedly. 

Yikes.

You try this. Have someone ask you a question, “Did you ___?” Answer it knowing the truth is “yes”, but try to say “no.” If you’ve been raised in a culture where head nodding is “yes” then this will be very hard to do.

Just in case you were wondering, the woman was convicted. Phew.

The “Lie Sandwich” aka The “Truth Sandwich”: To make a lie appear more believable, insert it between things known to be true. The same can be said for having a truth dismissed as inconsequential or an outright lie – hide it within other falsehoods, or among things the reader will discover are untrue.

For example: 

A conniving little witch pouts as her husband grows angry over how much money she’s just spent. She interrupts his lecture, saying, “I love you and I think of you every moment of the day. I’m sorry I spent your Christmas bonus on these shoes, but I saw how you couldn’t take your eyes off Mary when she had on those red Jimmy Choos with the three inch heels and I wanted you to look at me like that, too.”

Sorry? Right. One of them is going to end up dead – do you think?

The sub plot: Another case of Know Your Characters and Your Story. Sub plots have their own arcs. This can be especially effective if there is ongoing suspense to divert reader attention from the subplot. that subplot will come across as a “break” for the reader in the tension when it is actually the villain in action.

As examples, I'll use two of my own mysteries. If you've read them, you'll know if they're red herrings or clues. If you haven't, well ... who can blame me for enticing you?

In An Error in Judgment, is the disarray in Sig's private fossil collection that co-protagonist Paul is helping to straighten out related to the murder or is it simply a device to showcase a character’s personality and abilities? 

In Shooting to Kill, is Andrea's wealth related to Don's death? What about Thea's secret? 

Not every subplot has to be related to the crime -- nor should they be. It's fun for the reader to figure out if there's a connection.

How'd You Do?

To find out if you've succeeded, get beta readers lined up and ask their opinions. Specifically, at what point did they figure out who committed the crime. And while they're at it, have them point out the clues and red herrings they notice along the way. 

I hope you've enjoyed this rather lengthy series of posts and gained some tools to add to your writing (and reading!) arsenal. Did I miss something? Add your thoughts in the comment section!

Clues & Red Herrings -- Part III

When I first started writing, a dear friend (and author of many books) gave me a piece of excellent advice. He said, “When things are going smoothly, put your protagonist in a tree and throw rocks at him.” In addition to torturing your protagonist in the usual confrontational manner, a mystery writer has the ability to frustrate the living daylights out of their characters with clues that make no sense and red herrings to lead them on unproductive goose chases and push them to the edge of defeat. To that end, we shall continue;

The contradiction: He said/she said. This is any information, subtle or obvious, and imparted by at least two different characters that gives lie to an event. Who’s lying? Who knows! Put them together in a room for a fight, put them in separate scenes to confuse the sleuth.

For example:

A witness might declare, “It was exactly three o’clock when I saw him go into the bank. I know this because I had an appointment with my doctor two doors down at three and I was running late.”

The man in question might say, “I left the bank at two fifty-five to catch the bus at the stop on the next block.”

If this is critical information in solving the crime, you can have fun driving your sleuth nuts with it.

  

The omission: A character doesn’t mention something when they should – well at least when the reader expects them to because it’s consistent with their character to say something.

 

For example:

A catty woman tells her co-worker, “I saw your husband last night at Smitty’s Diner with a red head.”

The co-worker, a woman we know needs to believe in her husband’s fidelity, shuffles some papers and says, “He loves their hash browns.”

Uh oh. Trouble is brewing. Is the wife planning it … or will she be the victim? 

The misinterpretation: In real life, people can be given the same information and, for various reasons, interpret that information differently. This goes for your characters, as well. You can use all things/people/situations both familiar and unfamiliar (and therefore dismissed as commonplace or given too much importance), but misinterpreted to the writer's advantage. When specifics are missing, the possibilities are your oyster.

For example:

What does it mean if someone says to you; “You have to do more if you expect to get ahead here”?

“More” is hardly specific, and delightfully common. We think we know what it means; Work longer hours, work harder. But to someone else it could it mean; Arrange an unfortunate accident for your supervisor. Sabotage the competition. Have an affair with the boss.

See what I mean?

The outright lie: Good standby. But watch who uses it (someone who normally tells the truth or is a habitual liar?) Again, know your characters.

Do you really need an example? Thought not.

The tantalizing hint: the partial, intriguing  bit of information that leaves out the most important stuff.  These things happen all the time in real life. In your novel, it’s the equivalent of an end-of-chapter cliff hanger, but in a bite-sized form. Keep in mind you don’t have to spill all the information you possess. Putting off the moment you let your reader in on the rest of the tidbit will keep them turning the page and give you multiple opportunities to torture your sleuth.

For example, your friend’s FaceBook post:

I knew I shouldn’t have opened the letter I got today.

Not only do you NOT know what happened because of it (although it seems it wasn’t good), but you don’t know who the letter was from or what it said (Frankly if your friend does too much of this nonsense you’d be justified in unfriending them. It’s annoying).

Here’s another famous example from comedian Louis Black: “If it weren’t for my horse I wouldn’t have spent that year in college.” As the man says, there is no conceivable logic to that statement and if you think too hard about it your mind will explode.

The common thread is; Only additional explanation will satisfy the reader. 

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You might think that this is it – the final list … but … like the ad says, there’s more! Digest this and we’ll move along to the next bit in a couple of days. Enjoy!

Clues & Red Herrings -- Part II

Ready for Part II of Clues and Red Herrings?

Great! Let’s get down to the nitty gritty. Remember, don’t lose sight of your story or your characters as we discuss places to hide clues and showcase red herrings. The places are the same, as are the techniques. It’s a matter of (see Part I) character and story that will aide in these.

The lists: Pay attention to the weight of the items in the list. A good clue will seem inconsequential or at least blend in with the other items. Should there be a clue or a red herring in the list? Yes! Otherwise you need a different, excellent, reason for including a list in your discourse. Your reader isn’t on a trip to the grocery store.

Here’s a passage I made up (that isn’t in a story);

If you didn’t know you were in a small town, our weekly paper would tip you off. The pitiful lack of pulse pounding events had most stories sharing the first page. Today, Pamela’s murder shared the above-fold space with the city council meeting’s debate over the wetlands, while a suspected arson fire and a lengthy report on a successful neighborhood garage sale rubbed shoulders below.

Which is a clue or a red herring? I don’t know, but there should be one or the other.

Proximity: Something happens, an object discovered, or something is said that is then overshadowed by unrelated emotions or circumstances. The reader’s attention is then diverted from the clue to something “more important”. A crisis in a sub plot works well here.

You can use this technique with a red herring also, but you’ll want to bring up the event/object/something-said later on to give it some weight as a red herring. Otherwise, you’re just building word count – no one is impressed with that (even your characters).

The physical item: The fact that it is noticed or mentioned is powerful. You don't have to do things to it, it doesn't have to be out of place, but those are options.

Here’s an interesting point; the more you (or your characters) mention the object, the less intriguing or powerful it becomes (unless you’re meaning it as a joke, then that’s a whole other blog subject). However, if you mention it on page eleven and don’t bother to do so again until page three-hundred and twenty, your reader will probably have forgotten about it. Learn to strike a balance. 

The Setting: The actual place the story occurs can provide significant cles and red herring opportunities. Time of day, day of the week, weather, time of year -- all can contribute. The added bonus is they make your setting more alive, more vital to the story and, some say, a "character." If you have a strong setting consider incorporating some elements of it into your clues or red herrings. 

For example, if the weather is particularly hot of cold and the body is found outdoors, time of death may be difficult to determine. 

If a character typically gets a day off on Wednesdays and that's when the crime occurs, who's going to believe he actually sneaked into his office to finish up reports in the morning? 

Authors like Nevada Barr, who sets her series in different National Parks, uses setting as a major character. Laurie King's Sherlock Holmes mysteries are set in a number of different locations -- the moors, a gypsy camp, the Middle East -- and all contribute important clues to solving they mystery. 

Remember, if your point of view character is new to the setting they will likely notice things that could misdirect or direct. If the setting is their usual haunt, then your reader may notice things that make useful red herrings. 

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Is there more? You bet there is! Part III is coming soon. There's many more ways to be nefarious (as a writer, of course!). You'll want to go through your draft and see if any of the above mentioned techniques can work to your advantage. Remember -- don't force. Weave!

Clues & Red Herrings -- Part I

Everyone knows what clues and red herrings are, right? A clue is anything that leads to the truth. A red herring deceives and misleads. If everyone knows what they are, then why do I keep hearing variations of these questions?

How do you build them into your mystery?

How do you hide the bad guy?

How do you plant clues a reader may miss?

How do you construct red herrings to misdirect?

Where should the clues of means, motive and opportunity as well as the red herrings be planted?

How many should there be?

Over the course of six books, I’ve learned one or two things that will help answer these questions. One is that clues and red herrings don’t just spring into being. You have to be as deliberate in hiding and misguiding as you are to adhering to the slavish demands of the creative process.

The other is, no matter how clever you are, not every reader will miss the clues you plant, and not every red herring you plant will be swallowed. On the flip side, some readers will see clues and red herrings where there aren’t any. You have no control over this. You can work on what you do have control over; your story, your characters and how you put them together. This is the basis of well hidden clues and believable red herrings.

A mystery is a distillation of many stories – the protagonist’s, the antagonist’s, the villain’s, the secondary characters’, the victim’s. Understanding all your characters’ stories well will help you weave in clues and red herrings.

While it is possible, and some say preferable, to know what kinds of clues and red herrings you’re going to include in your story before you type the first word of the first draft, it’s probably in subsequent editing passes where you’ll insert, or rearrange those items – or find opportunities you didn’t realize would be there. To be successful clues and red herrings should be part of the weave of the story.

So, what do you do first?

A little analysis helps give a starting point. Knowing how your protagonist is going to proceed will help you decide where the clues and red herrings should be placed. Whether you’ve finished your first draft or are ready to start plotting, figuring out what kind of a mystery you are working with will help you sprinkle in clues to motive, means and opportunity in the right places.

Know your story

Here are the three basic types of set-ups for the mystery story;

Fair play: There is more than one suspect – often times a lot more. Each character has motives the sleuth investigates and dismisses one after another until the bad guy is caught.

Quest: As the sleuth uncovers one clue it will inevitably lead to another. The red herrings lead to dead ends.

Puzzle: the sleuth uncovers pieces which are in no particular order until the whole picture fits together. It will also be at that time that the red herrings will become evident

Next,

Know your characters

You will have gotten to know the players in your drama either by walking with them through the story’s first draft of by constructing a dossier before hand – or through a combination. However you’ve done it (and character building is a volume in and of itself) you should be able to answer these questions for all of your main characters and probably several of your secondary ones as well. 

What do they want? Goals, needs, desires.

What do they notice in the story & how important is it to them?

What kinds of things will divert them from seeing the truth?

What are their limits, strengths, weaknesses – and what do they believe them to be?

How do they react to conflict?

Remember, although you write your story from your point-of-view character's goals, actions and reactions, the other characters have them, too, and will influence the obstacles your sleuth must overcome.

Yeah, it’s work. And in all likelihood, you’ve got some heavy thinking to do. The laying in of clues and red herrings is not a small topic, so it’s going to take me several blog posts to cover the specific techniques, and all of the techniques are based on story type and character. So … do your homework and hang on to what you find out.

Next time: The tools to conceal and mislead.

The Long, Strange Road from Gonzo

Jeanne Matthews is one of my favorite authors. Her world-view, and subsequent wit, hit close enough to home to make me identify with her characters and are just enough off-center to make me see with with new awareness. I've often wondered how she does it, where that ability to perceive the commonplace with fresh clarity comes from. I asked her to write a piece for me and she graciously has provided a peek into her process. 

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While excavating my garage in an attempt to bring order to the midden I call home, I found a few disintegrating pages of a story I wrote in 1969 during a road trip from my hometown of Atlanta, Georgia to Seattle, Washington.  The yellowed, handwritten pages lay moldering at the bottom of a cardboard box that had obviously provided shelter and nutrition to generations of mice and moths.  I tried to remember how many garages in how many towns that box had been stored over the decades – too many to recall off the top of my head.  In a misty-eyed glow of nostalgia, I sat down on a crate of old Betamax tapes and other relics of the past, and started to read.  The first few lines yanked me back in time and mood.  “We gazed out at the deserted highway that stretched across a barren waste into infinity.  Time dragged, as if our little car were being pushed back by the relentless winds.  When at last we pulled into the one-pump town of Bill, Pat said, ‘God, if I lived here I’d kill myself.’” 

  Pat was my traveling companion and the catalyst behind our odyssey across the country.  Her boyfriend David, a second lieutenant in Uncle Sam’s army, had been stationed at Fort Lewis, from whence he was soon to ship out to Vietnam and he yearned for a summer of love before heading off to war.  Both Pat and I taught school and had the summer free.  I owned the most road-worthy vehicle, a ’68 VW bug.  Pat owned the maps and AAA guidebooks.  We decided to make the drive an adventure, taking in as many sights along the way as possible.  We included on our zigzag itinerary Mark Twain’s old stomping grounds in Hannibal, Missouri; Will Cather’s childhood home in Red Cloud, Nebraska; and Hunter Thompson’s home in Aspen, Colorado. At the time, Hunter was gearing up to run for Pitkin County Sheriff on the Freak Power ticket and he was also inventing a new writing style called Gonzo – exaggerated, wildly subjective, and shamelessly self-conscious.  He’s the guy, by the way, who said that the only people who know where the edge is are the ones who have gone over it.  In both his personal life and his writing, Hunter sought the dangerous edge of things and wasn’t afraid to dive off.  It was his belief that the journey to the grave should not be a safe ride.  He wanted to “skid in broadside, shouting ‘Wow!’” 

As I reread my long-ago account of that summer of ‘69, I detected an undeniable strain of Gonzo.  The landscapes smacked us in the eye with their transcendent beauty, or else pierced us to the heart with their desolate bleakness.  The characters we encountered riveted and revolutionized.  They didn’t just introduce us to some interesting new ideas.  They transformed us forever.  The action whipped along at breakneck pace from the Havasupai Indian Reservation at the bottom of the Grand Canyon to the folly of Scotty’s Castle in Death Valley, and the dialogue was dense with exclamations of imminent peril and “kill myself” moments.

   A charitable reviewer might describe the story as “fraught.”  A less charitable one, well . . . a number of less charitable assessments come to mind.  But don’t let’s go there.  I was young.  It was my first go at a novel and no writing is ever wasted.  It’s a learning experience.  Time brings perspective.  It also brings less breathless verbs and histrionic adjectives.  The days of Gonzo recede in the rear view mirror.  Still I can’t help but feel a sort of wistfulness for those girls who drove 3,000 miles across the country looking for the edge, and for the wannabe writer who was so thrilled by the adventure that she skidded into her story broadside, shouting “Wow!” 

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Jeanne Matthews is the author of the Dinah Pelerin Mystery series; Bones of Contention, Bet Your Bones, Bonereapers, and Her Boyfriend's Bones. Read them in that order (if you're one of those people) (otherwise, have at it. You'll enjoy the books regardless of the order). She lives in Renton, Washington with her husband and enjoys traveling and learning about other cultures and their mythology. Along with authors Joyce Yarrow, Lisa Stowe, Jane Isenberg and yours truly, Jeanne is part of Women Who Kill -- a group of intrepid authors who visit libraries, bookstores and other venues (that are brave enough) to entertain and impart writerly wisdom to the curious.

A Second Chance for the Written Word

Joyce Yarrow is an amazingly talented woman. Not only is she a writer of considerable ability, but she is a singer-songwriter, screenwriter, multi-media performance artist and member of the world vocal ensemble, Abráce. 

She is also an adventurous traveler having done research for her book  

Code of Thieves (previously published as The Last Matryoshka) in Moscow and getting to know the local police (no, she wasn't arrested, but did get to tour a prison). India was one of her more recent destinations, where she was asked to lecture on "The Place of Place in Mystery Writing" at the University of Allahabad. Pretty impressive stuff for a girl raised in the south east Bronx, New York!

Not surprisingly, the accomplishments of other talented individuals interest her. With the Olympics in full swing just this past few weeks, Joyce found herself drawn into a kind of kinship with figure skaters. Writing and skating ... so different, yet -- well, I'll let Joyce explain. In her well-chosen words, the writer in you will likely find some inspiration and the reader in you will gain appreciation.

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Recently I posted the following status on Facebook:

As a novelist, no wonder I love the idea of figure skating so much – you start off with a jump that propels the storyline, lead into some fast fancy footwork accompanied by longer arcs of character development, finish with a giant leap into the unknown and a dizzying spin - and then you’re judged!

Fact is, I’ve got structure on my brain due to a rewrite I’m doing of a literary/crime novel.  A feeling of barely controlled chaos is inevitable when approaching a task like this and questions abound: – What plot points do I change and why? Are some of these characters I worked so hard to create actually expendable?  Is pace more important than lyricism? Why is this SO hard?

In the midst of this angst, clarity has gradually emerged. In a work of fiction, the author continually makes choices that change what happens next. As I slowed down and examined the important crossroads in my protagonist’s story, I began to see that I could actually enjoy this! I mean, how many second chances do we get in ‘real life’ – here was an opportunity to open some doors that had been left closed, to confront an adversary more forcefully, to take a few more risks than before in the endeavor to end up in a better place. Who wouldn’t want to do this if given a choice?

The most unexpected arrival has been a new adversary who will keep my protagonist on her toes. He scares me – a good sign – but my heroine will rise to the occasion. I’m happy to say I’ve made  some ‘clean jumps’ and will skate to the finish in spite of a few slips on the ice.

I’d better get back to it – since I have a deadline. To my writer friends – happy revising. To my reader friends – enjoy the results!

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Joyce's published novels include Ask the Dead (Martin Brown Publishers) and Code of Thieves, Istoria Books e-book edition (published as The Last Matryoshka by Five Star Mysteries in hardcover). She is a Pushcart Nominee whose stories have appeared in Inkwell Journal, Whistling Shade, Descant, Arabesques, and Weber: The Contemporary West. You can find her at JoyceYarrow.com . Her books can be found online and in book stores everywhere. Her newest book, a romantic suspense co-authored with Indian writer Arindam Roy, is awaiting a title. Keep your ear to the ground -- you wont want to miss it.

 

Inspiration -- Jane-style

Jane Isenberg was already a successful writer when I met her ... oh, several years ago, at my very first Sisters in Crime meeting. Her first book, a memoir titled Going by the Book, won the James N. Britton award. Her Bel Barrett Mystery Series was well-known and well-loved. She has degrees from Vassar College, Southern Connecticut State College and New York University. On top of that, she taught English for forty years. Was I intimidated? You bet. Should I have been? Not at all. Jane has a warm humor and a sincere kindness that she lavishes on those who know her. She's retired from teaching now and lives in Issaquah, Washington with her husband Phil Thompkins. She's still writing, and still winning awards, though. The Bones and The Book is her latest, and won the prestigious Willa Award in 2013.

Inspiration for Jane seems to me to have come from rising up and meeting challenges. Here's her story.

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The Bones and the Book, a historical mystery set in Seattle's small Jewish community during the Gold Rush

and in 1965, was inspired by an idea I got 3,000 miles east of Seattle and a century and a century and a half later. In the mid-nineteen nineties I visited the Tenement Museum on Manhattan's Lower Eastside. The tour of the place where so many of our immigrant ancestors lived was fascinating and moving, but it wasn't until I hit the gift ship that inspiration struck. That's where I spotted a note card imprinted with a facsimile of the business card of a fortune teller named Dora Meltzer who had once lived in that very building. I assumed she was an Orthodox Jewish immigrant, and she intrigued me because fortune telling is prohibited by the rabbis. I figured she must have been very gutsy to disobey rabbinical strictures, and I've always had a soft spot for women who defy the rules men make for us. Standing there n line at the cash register with my credit card and that little note card in my hand, I figured this Dora Meltzer had a story and I wanted to know what it was. As I paid, it occurred to me that the only way I'd ever know her story was to make it up. That's when I decided that someday I'd write a book featuring an Orthodox immigrant girl who comes to New York's Lower Eastside at the turn of the Nineteenth Century and tells fortunes. Someday didn't come until I'd finished writing the last of my Bel Barrett Mystery Series in 2005.

By then, I'd moved from the east coast to Issaquah, Washington where, to my astonishment, for the first time in my life, I often found myself the only Jew in the room! Oy vey! This proved daunting, because my new

Jane, getting acquainted with the
neighbors

neighbors were curious about Jews and asked me many questions. If I found being Jewish here challenging in 2005, what had it been like for those Jews who came a hundred and fifty years ago? I began to explore Washington State history and the history of Jews in Washington. I focused on Seattle where Jewish hisotry is exciting because of all the conflict within the small Jewish community itself. As a conflict-averse Jew, I was upset to learn that Seattle's Jews didn't always play nicely together, but as a mystery writer I was delighted! Without conflict people don't get murdered. Free to begin my mystery about the immigrant Jewish fortune teller, I decided to move her to Seattle where the action was. Besides, the story of Jews on the Lower Eastside has been told many times, while the story of Seattle's Jews had yet to be fictionalized. I'd be researching and writing what I didn't

Jane, hanging with the local
wildlife

know, and that was a little scary, but also intriguing. My dicey decision was validated in 2013 when The Bones and the Book won a Will Award for Original Softcover Fiction from Women Writing in The West!

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If you want to find out more about Jane Isenberg and her books, here's a Link To Her Website and Jane's Blog - Notes to My Muses (you'll love this, I promise!)

Ideas from the Ooze, and Adjacent Locations

Author Kaye George is a powerhouse. I've known her for almost the entire span of my writing career and am continually amazed at her ability to not only produce a quantity of excellent work, but a broad spectrum as well. Her humorous Imogene Duckworthy mystery series is set in down-and-out Saltlick, Texas and will make you laugh outloud, her Cressa Carraway musical mystery series speaks to one of her great loves -- music. The People of the Wind series is about Neanderthals. The Fat Cat cozy mystery series will be coming out in 2014. 
A Patchwork of Stories is her collection of short stories, but you'll find her in several anthologies and magazines. Not only that, she reviews for "Suspense Magazine," writes for newsletter and blogs, gives workshops on short story writing and promotion. And she has time for her friends and family. When I figure out how she does it, I'm going to bottle it and make a million. 

So, here she is. Take notes -- and be sure to ask some questions!

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Where do ideas come from?

Sometimes I know where my ideas came from and sometimes I don’t.

Well, they all come from inside my head, I know that.

I figure that everything a writer hears, sees, smells, touches, and tastes goes into what I call the primordial ooze in our brains and we’re not entirely responsible for what comes out.

I do know that my Imogene Duckworthy series arose from frustration. I was tired of getting rejection after rejection--hundreds of them--and decided to write something over the top to amuse myself.

Apparently I amused other people, too, because my readers are asked for a 4th book. I hope it gets done sometime this year or next! Since I was going for humor, I couldn’t think of a better place to set it than the one we had just moved from, a tiny town outside Wichita Falls. That city is named for a man-made water fall, since the original one (which was more of a steep rapids) washed away in a storm a long time ago.

Pretty funny to me!

My Neanderthal series, People of the Wind, arose from my life-long fascination with

Neanderthals and the fact that so many discoveries are being made about them recently. I get so excited about all this, I just had to write about it. I even had a DNA test and found that I’m 2.9 percent Neanderthal. And I have the t-shirt to prove it.

That was the hardest project I ever did, though. It involved tons of research (which, I admit, I loved) I had to decide whether they really could speak (that’s up for grabs), how their society was organized (also debated), whether the buried their dead (some think so, other don’t), and most importantly what kind of style could I use to convey that kind of world.

Tough, but fun! Can’t wait to get back to that world, 30,000 years ago, for a sequel.

This brings me to my Cressa Carraway Musical Mystery series. That was the source of much of the frustration mentioned above. I heard, over and over, to write what you know. I’m a musician so, in the first serious project I tackled, I wrote an amateur sleuth who is a musician.

Should be a cinch, right?

After those hundred of rejections, I realized this might not be so easy. Well, in the midst of them I figured that out. With the help of writing groups, writing courses, and an awesome publisher, Barking Rain Press, Eine Kleine Murder came into being. I’m so pleased it was so well received.

Still writing what I know, I used my mom’s cabin and the actual Illinois lake resort for the setting. I grew up swimming there as a child and love the place. Where all those weird characters came from is anybody’s guess, but no one like them lives there--good thing. They’re a bunch of weirdos.

As for my short stories, telling how they came into being would take a long, long time. From anywhere and everywhere. One thing I’ll never do is run out of ideas. I have folders full of them--so many ideas that I’ll never live long enough to write all of them. That good old primordial ooze.

Kaye at the site of some inspiration!

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Visit Kaye at her blog Kaye George, There's links to her books. Here's another link to Kaye's Books -- this one to Amazon, where you'll find a complete list. 

Owls and Other Muses

Lisa Stowe, my guest today, may not be a familiar name to you, but she has a long writing and editing history. I’ve known her since Death By A Dark Horse was named something else, and was in its initial, very rough, form.

At the time, she headed up a writers’ group at our local library. What impressed me was her quiet attention to each budding writer and her ability to discern just what each piece of work needed – then deliver the information in a manner that both challenged and encouraged the author rather than dispirit.

Knowing I’d found the help I needed, I handed over my rough draft of DBADH. When she was done reading it, her suggestion was to start the story a little farther into my manuscript. I swallowed hard, and pondered her advice for three days because, as all writers know, cutting out your darlings is painful. At last, because I trusted her, the first seventy-five pages were severed, and … I knew I’d done the right thing. Since then, she has taught me much and encouraged my growth as a writer, for which I am very grateful.

I think you’ll understand, when you read her contribution to my blog, why I feel she is well qualified to coax a story from a writer. She has a gentle warmth and humor that make her wise words difficult to forget.

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Someone once told me that my guardian spirit was an owl. She then said she’d never seen so many around one person, that they perched along my roof line and in the trees. I thought that was a cool image, although I didn’t know if I should be thrilled or terrified. Another friend researched owls as guardian spirits and told me they were the keepers of stories.

So where do stories come from? Those guardian spirits that hold them safe.

Sounds good, doesn’t it? I enjoy thinking I’m surrounded by owls. Kind of like being in Hogwarts. Dropping stories down as I need them, rather like owl pellets in word form.

The reality is something different though. Rather than coming from an owl, I find myself listening in on conversations. I recently heard a woman talking about remodeling. It was, to be honest, a boring story. I started thinking it would be way more fun if this happened, and then if that started up, and then this person could jump in, and then what if…

And instantly I’ve daydreamed my way into something entertaining, while smiling and nodding to a story about plumbing problems.

Sometimes it’s a question that intrigues me. The Memory Keeper started because my father thought a bordello madam was his biological mother. He died before finding out and I knew the question would haunt me forever if I couldn’t answer it. So I did, in a story. What if she was his mother? What if a young woman looked for her grandfather’s history, looked for that madam, and old buried secrets came out in the open? What would those secrets be, and who would care?

For me, when I ask that question, the answer I receive isn’t a complete book, or even a full story. Usually I see the very last scene. I always know what the last line of the story is, and the writing process is figuring out how to get to that point. The questions get me wandering down a foggy path toward a clear ending.

‘What if…’ is a magical question. I ask it when eavesdropping on life.

And of course, by waiting for an owl to poop an idea down on my head.

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To read more about Lisa and gain writing insight, visit her blog The Story River. If you need an editor, she is Outlaw Creek Editing. To spend some quality time with beautifully written, absorbing mysteries pick up The Memory Keeper and then Sparrow’s Silence at any retailer. They’re in print and e-book format. Here’s some links to make it easy for you:

Amazon: Lisa Stowe, author   The Memory Keeper    Sparrow's Silence 

Barnes & Noble:  All books in print and e-format

Smashwords: All E-Books

All other retailers -- search Lisa Stowe or the book title.

Inspiration

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I'd like to introduce all of you to a friend of mine, Diane Vallere. We've known each other for years, belong to the same organizations, served on committees together, but ... we've never met. Gotta love the internet! I'd know her in an instant if I saw her on the street, and I know enough about her to tell all of you that she is one of the most creative people I've ever met. 

Diane is a prolific author of  short stories (in 3 anthologies), full length novels that include two separate series; The Style and Error Series and the Mad for Mod Series -- so far a total of 7 titles -- and is working on a Fabric Shop Mystery Series for publisher Berkley Prime Crime. 

Phew! 

She also worked for years as a buyer for one of THE most famous luxury goods retailers, traveling the world to runway shows, shoe markets and lingerie fairs. Is she qualified to write what she writes? Darned toot'n! She's got the fashion industry nailed, and her books make you feel like you're part of it (I know this because I've read them all). Diane is also supremely qualified to hold forth on the genesis of ideas for entertaining stories, but I'll bet you've figured that out by now. So, without further ado, here's Diane!

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Diane's newest!

Most people who know me know how much I love Project Runway. And the one thing that resonates with me each week is how the designers are given their inspiration and immediately told to sketch their ideas. Thirty minutes, and then off to Mood Fabrics. The designer who can channel their inspiration and merge it with their brand quickly has a much easier time when it comes to selecting material and assembling a dress.

In a way, I approach my books like a designer. Each series is a collection; the combination of my books make up my brand. And the inspiration can come from anywhere: a line at the bank, a day at the beach, an appointment with a personal shopper, an old movie. The best way for me to keep rejuvenating the pool of ideas in my head is to keep exposing myself to new things.

This is the single most important part of my full-time writing life.While juggling writing with a full time job, I didn’t have the luxury of staring at a blank page. I had to be able to turn on my writing when I had a pocket of time. That was a great skill to develop. But that skill was born out of a different skill: the ability to find ideas in everyday life. In order to turn on the writer during my 1 hour lunch break, I needed to have a cache of ideas ready to be mined.

I keep a composition book for every project that I’m working on, and any time something strikes me that might work somewhere in a book, I jot it down in the notebook. (I am a compulsive composition book buyer for this reason). I buy them in coordinating sets of three to represent three books in a series. If I get an idea for a future book, I can tear out the page and clip it to the cover for the next book in that series.

Example: Because I knew I wanted to use a counterfeiting crime as part of the plot of THAT TOUCH OF INK, I was especially tuned into anything involving money. I watched how people acted at the bank. I paid attention to people who used cash instead of credit. When something struck me, I’d write it in the designated composition book. When I needed to shake loose an idea, I’d flip through the composition book until something felt fresh. That doesn’t mean I only had ideas about counterfeiting crimes during that time. In fact, I was so in tune with those characters that I got the idea for the third book in the series too. Since my writing schedule didn’t allow for me to write it right away, I started a new notebook with those ideas. (I started the third book in November and found a lot of ideas that just needed to be fleshed out!)

Getting ideas is easy—as long as I keep myself exposed to what is going on outside of my computer!

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Want to find out more about Diane's books? Go to her blog DIANE VALLERE (Go on, click on her name), and read excerpts from her books. All her books are available in print and e-book formats. She's got links to Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Nobel, Indiebound -- you name it. You'll find her everywhere. I can guarantee a delightful read!