I'm a Researchaholic: An Interview with Joe Finder

Joe Finder will be appearing at the Love Is Murder Conference in Chicago, Feb. 4-6, 2011. For more information go to www.loveismurder.net

1.Unlike most action oriented books, your settings are not exotic. Often the scariest scenes occur in office buildings. Many authors rely on dramatic settings. How do you manage to make such commonplace settings still seem frightening?

The familiar is what we identify with most, and we need to identify with a situation before we can be frightened. Alfred Hitchock understood this. He was the master of taking the ordinary man in the commonplace setting, and turning it into something tense and unexpected. That tension, that fear happens when something disrupts the familiar: the thing under the bed, the noise on the stairs. That’s what I’m interested in.

2.Your hero/ine is often a sort of “every man” or “every woman” who is discounted by others. Why does this type of character appeal to you? It would seem that the pitfall would be a character who is too bland or boring to hold the reader’s attention, and yet your characters are compelling…even if they are slackers. Please comment. Also, you seem to include male characters who are amazed that they’re loved by smart and attractive women. This goes contrary to many male fantasies of being irresistible. Tell us about that.

I think the “everyman” is the ideal protagonist for a thriller, again because of this question of identifying with the hero. I also love the idea of the underdog, the person the reader wants to root for because everyone else seems to underestimate them. Nick Heller can be beaten, and because we know that, the stakes are higher. It’s much more exciting for the reader when he overcomes those obstacles.

Men might pretend to think they’re irresistible, but I’ll let you in on a secret: most of us know that’s a fantasy. Most men have no idea why any woman would find us attractive. Life’s not an Axe commercial. I think both men and women appreciate a more realistic approach.

3. Your books are full of tension and suspense, but it comes from events most of us might imagine ourselves in, such as snooping around in an office where we don’t belong. Or getting caught in a lie. You are a master at upping the stakes and amplifying the threat. How do you do that?

All of my anxieties feed my twisted imagination, or maybe it’s the other way around. I imagine myself in a given situation and ask, “What’s the worst thing that could happen?” Then I play out the scenario in ways that will challenge the reader’s expectations. If a reader thinks, “Oh, I know where this is going,” but something completely different happens, that’s exciting, that’s thrilling.

You have to start with a character the reader cares about, and then put them through a sequence of events that escalate, with moments of real tension — cliffhangers — in between.

4.You write with great precision about technical situations, such as how cargo planes are managed, how corporate secrets are stored, how stock issues and buyouts happen. You list a lot of experts as resources. Please talk about how you do your research. Do you do it all upfront? Or in stages? Do you interview people or ask questions as you go along? Have you ever be headed down the wrong path and then discovered, because of your research, that you needed to rewrite a chunk?

Research my favorite part of the process. I love research. I’d go so far as to call myself a researchaholic. I need to keep myself from overdoing it, because the easiest thing in the world is to put off writing while I check one last fact or interview one more source. Usually I’ll start with a general idea of setting and plot, but the research will shape the setting, and also provide plot ideas; I’ll ask someone, “What could go wrong? And what would you do then? And how could that go wrong?” The big research happens at the beginning of the process, and I’ll gather enough information to get the engines going.

Once I start writing, though, questions about details inevitably come up. I’ll keep track of them as I go, and call or email my sources during breaks in the writing to get answers. So far, I haven’t had to go back to correct something because I learn it’s not feasible. I’ve usually done enough research in advance to give me a pretty good idea of what works and what doesn’t.

5.What’s your process? How do you come up with your concepts? Do you outline? You have a lot of twists and turns, and you manage to end many chapters with cliffhangers. Do you plan these in advance?

Everything starts with the “what if?” question. What if my new neighbors were actually spies? What if someone started taking those “business is war” books a little too seriously? What if the entire leadership structure of a shaky company were taken hostage?

From there, I start populating my scenario with characters. Who’s my hero? Where does he or she come from? What does he or she want? Who and what are the obstacles to this desire?

Then I brainstorm the major “beats” of the story, creating a beat sheet that lays out the major plot points of my story. I don’t get too detailed, because I need to figure a lot of it out along the way. If my outline’s too detailed, I’m bored before I even begin.

I follow the basic formula of “surprise, reverse, reveal.” We start with situation A, which suddenly becomes situation B — except it’s actually C, which turns out to be D. It’s like peeling the layers of an onion, and sometimes — actually, often — I surprise myself. I don’t always know where the cliffhangers turn up, and the ultimate resolution often doesn’t reveal itself to me until I’m writing it.

6. Your book “High Crimes” was made into a movie. You were able to make a cameo appearance and spend time on the set. Talk about the difference between a movie and a book. (You did this eloquently in the interview during the movie trailer, so if you could repeat that here, that would be great.)

My big discovery, in watching HIGH CRIMES become a movie, was how much more scope I had as an author than screenwriters or even directors do. I can develop characters and storylines in a 500-page novel that filmmakers can’t hope to convey in 120 minutes. They just don’t have the time or the space to create the kind of world I try to build in each book. Authors can form relationships not only with their fictional characters, but also with their readers, because of the time it takes to read a book. Even a fast-paced thriller is going to take at least a day to read. At the end of that time, the reader feels a connection to me that I think it’s hard to feel with the director of a film.

Beyond that, I had a new appreciation for the absolute control I have, as an author, over my plot and my characters. Filmmaking and television producing are collaborations, and those collaborations create marvelous things. I can feel the excitement and the attraction of being part of that kind of collaboration, but they’re no substitute for the thrill of being able to sit at a desk alone and create my own stories from thin air, with no one to answer to but the reader.

That said, I think authors can learn a lot from the movies: the importance of having your reader identify with the main character, the need to start as late in the action as possible, the deadly effects of over-narration. I want my books to feel like great movies, but deeper, and more nuanced.

7.Your first book at age 24 was a nonfiction account of the ties that Armand Hammer had with the Soviets. For that, he threatened to sue you. How did you cope with the stress of that? What lessons did you take away?

I loved doing the research, making those discoveries, and putting it all on paper. I didn’t love the controversy. What I learned was that I could still do the research, still make those discoveries, still put it all on paper — but I could do that and actually make the story up, rather than being constrained by the facts.

The research I did for RED CARPET became the foundation of my first novel, THE MOSCOW CLUB. I discovered that I could use even more of my research, in a way that was more creatively interesting, if I turned it into fiction. It was a revelation.

8.Talk about the time in your career when your agent suggested you might have to write under another name to “redeem” yourself. What kept you going? What did you do? What did you learn?

Almost every author I know has had times when something went wrong in the publishing process, where sometimes external issues created obstacles an author had no control over. I didn’t want to write under a different name. Instead, I took a break and did other things, and I took a broader look at the genre I was working in.

I saw what John Grisham was doing, setting his stories in law firms, and noticed that no one was setting thrillers in the everyday working world, the place most people live. I saw that the old 1970s conspiracy stories could be played out in today’s business world — in an office environment that looked ordinary to an outsider, but might have secrets buried within.

So I came up with a new “what if”: what if all those old spy techniques — the moles, the leaks, the theft of secrets, the double agents — were being used in today’s high-tech corporations? And what if an ordinary guy — the Hitchcock hero, someone the reader could identify with — got pulled into one of these operations?

The result was PARANOIA. It took me a couple of years to research and write, and when I was finished I felt that it was something truly new, and something I’d be proud to put my name on.

9.Your agent also told you that humor was incompatible with suspense, and you’ve obviously ignored that. Your humor contributes to your characters and gives the reader a nice change of pace. Tell us why you didn’t take your agent’s advice on dumping the humor.

This was another piece of advice I decided to ignore when I wrote PARANOIA. At that point, I felt I had nothing to lose by letting my own voice come through — and that voice, often as not, is the voice of a smartass.

But again, the humor is part of how my protagonist stands in for the reader. When I first started researching PARANOIA, I walked into Cisco Systems and it was like visiting a foreign country. All this jargon was flying through the air, words I’d never heard before, like “bandwidth” and “pushback” and “escalation.” Humor was a natural reaction to that kind of information overload, not only for Adam but for me, and for the reader. Especially when you’ve dropped a character into a strange and complicated situation, humor is a way to reassure the reader that the characters are taking it all in stride, and they should, too.

10.You grew up as a “third culture” kid, a child who spent several years as an expat. Research has shown that “third culture” kids are more curious, more adventuresome, and more accepting of diversity. They tend to get bored easily. Given that many Americans don’t even own a passport, what could you say to encourage Americans to travel and experience other cultures?

This is a really interesting question. What I would say to Americans is that the world is a mansion, and we live in only one room. There are many ways to open the doors to that room, and travel is only one of them.

When you move a lot, you get used to paying attention to new situations. It teaches you to be an observer, to ask questions, to figure out what you need to know. Those are essential skills for a writer.

I’d certainly encourage Americans to travel, but I realize that it’s not always possible, given time and money constraints. That’s one of the great things about books: they let you experience cultures and identify with people whose values might differ. As many places as I’ve been, one of the best trips I ever took was Eleanor Cameron’s The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet, which I read as a kid. That was the book that first made me want to be a writer, and I might have found it even if I’d never traveled anywhere.

How to Make a Book Safe and More from Angela

Angela Daniels wrote a neat post about her visit to Bouchercon. You can read it here. http://www.fiskateers.com/blog/2010/10/24/mysteries-car-deaths-and-safe-cracking/ And that's a picture Angela took of one of the book safes she made in her second session.

You can go directly to this LINK, and see her how to info. Isn't this just the cutest thing?

A Blast at Bouchercon

I had such a great time at Bouchercon and visiting San Francisco in general. My dear friend Camille Minichino was in charge of the craft rooms at Bouchercon, and she just did a bang up job.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Bouchercon, it's the conference named for Anthony Boucher, and it's the largest mystery conference in the world. The setting rotates from town to town, and since I'd never been to San Francisco, I was happy to have a great excuse to visit.

Another friend, the adorable Angela Daniels from Fiskars, presented two crafts at the conference. Gosh, Fiskars was so incredibly generous! They sent along scissors, tape runners, supplies and bright orange bags.

Angela's first project was covering a composition notebook. I took photos of the results. I'm always amazed at how given the same materials, people put their own creative spin on projects. Aren' t these wonderful?

Her second craft was to make a "secret safe" out of a paperback book. I wasn't able to hang around for all of that because the date coincided with my 28th wedding anniversary, and I wanted to have dinner with my husband.

But I must admit, I'm eager to try that project now. Everyone can use a good safe!

Bouchercon by the Bay

I'll be appearing at the Midnight Ink Booth from 12:30 to 1:30 on Saturday, and in the craft rooms with my friend Angela Daniels from Fiskars at 11:30 and 4:30. On Friday night, I'll be doing a signing at the crop at Scrapbook Territories in Berkeley, CA.

If you've never been to a large conference before, or even if you have, these are great tips from Sunny Frazier.

**

Wear comfortable shoes, clothes that travel, and layer clothes.

Be ready to exchange business cards and have plenty handy.

Ask people to attend your panel as you chat them up. They will love the fact you've asked them to come! You get to sign books afterward.

Plant a few copies of your book in the give-away section. This assures you of a few people in your signing line.

Bring a camera, take lots of photos for your website. Pose with the big names. When people ask to pose with you for their website, comply.

Don't try to hit a panel every hour. You will exhaust yourself and you'll hurt from sitting so much.

Get to the humor panel early. It fills up fast. Same with the bar.

Don't spend all your time bonding with the guys. Women are the ones who buy books.

Always be on your best behavior--especially in the elevator.

Stare at people's chest and read their nametags. It's the only time this practice is acceptable.

Rest. It will seem like the longest long weekend of your life. Slip upstairs and crash for a bit during the day. Stay hydrated.

Bring something "nice" to wear to the banquet. Most of the time dress is casual. This is California, but it IS San Francisco.

Find the hospitality room immediately. See what they have up there to munch on. Sometimes this is the only time you get to eat.

Scope out the entire conference set up ahead of time. Study the conference book and try to memorize faces in the book and a bit about each author. I start weeks ahead using the names listed online.

Smile until your cheeks hurt. You'll feel like you're running for Miss America.

Most of all, enjoy the experience. It's the BIG one!

See you there,
Sunny Frazier
http://www.sunnyfrazier.com/

Fall Wall Hanging

The colors of fall inspire me! I love my photos of fall scenes, and I didn't want to hide them away in an album. So I started collecting twigs, and then I came up with this idea.

Here's how I made my fall wall hanging:

1. Tear a piece of cream muslin 6 1/2 x 15 inches.
2. Using a cross-stitch and embroidery floss, stitch on the three twigs.
3. Add a colorful ribbon tied in a bow. Attach the ends of the ribbon to the hanging with buttons.
4. Matt two photos. Glue these to the fabric.
5. Punch lots of leaves in a variety of shapes and colors. Glue the leaves along the sides of the hanging, taking care to overlap the leave shapes. See the detail photo (below) for ideas.


6. Add buttons.
ENJOY!

Whazzup? Thoughts about Words and a Link

At first I resisted text-ese and slang, but I started thinking about Shakespeare and how he created so many words we use daily, and I changed my mind. I think some of the new words floating about--LOL, Whazzup?, whodunit, chillaxing--are pretty cool.

How inventive was Shakespeare? One site lists 1,700 words that Shakespeare first used in his works. These include:

* accommodation
* amazement
* courtship
* countless
* frugal
* fitful
* lonely
* majestic
* suspicious

He also coined many phrases that we use today, including:

* dog will have its day
* eat out of house and home
* all that gilters
* break the ice
* kill with kindness
* it's Greek to me

The English language grows every year. One reason is technology. We add new words to accommodate (thanks, Will!) new ideas. I was working with a computer tech the other day, a man young enough to be my son, and we discussed how computers of old took up entire floors. How they had to be shut down to cool off. How all the programming was on punch cards. Think of all the changes! It's now commonplace to talk about:

* Mac
* PC
* Microsoft
* Windows (with a capital "W")
* hard drive
* laptop
* Internet
*Wi-Fi
* thumbdrive

And of course, words that once had meanings have changed, so that when we talk about "wireless" we're not discussing a radio.

Another way that words are added is by adopting foreign words, such as jihad, shirah and anime. Since the world is a smaller place (theoretically), we have more contact with other cultures, so we're adopting more words than ever.

Then, we have the zeitgeist words, the words that come out of our culture. These wouldn't make sense to someone who lived in another time, but they are au courant and useful now.

*Obamacare
* "tea party"
* mortgage backed securities
* Madoff
* September 11

And words from the world of science, commerce and medicine, such as:

* Viagra
* supernova
* blood diamonds
* botox

It's interesting how the newest words seem to come with the most baggage. That makes sense when you realize that words spring from political situations or cultural icons/changes.

Some words are only regional. Yesterday I was working on Ink, Red, Dead, which is the tentative title for Book #5 in the Kiki Lowenstein series. I described one of the new characters as having grown up in the "boot heel." Now, if you are from St. Louis, you would understand that this is the southwestern corner of the state of Missouri, and that anyone coming from the "boot heel" is probaby considered a hillbilly by the swanky folks in Ladue.

It's weird how a word can be so loaded. Kiki would never think twice about someone coming from the boot heel, but other people in the book definitely look down upon this woman's background.

Another word I'm using is "scrubby Dutch." Okay, really that's two words. It describes the houseproud German immigrants to St. Louis. "Dutch" is a mispronunciation of "deustch." At first I felt pretty squeamish about this phrase, because I didn't want to be offensive. But a lovely group of my fans met me at a Barnes and Noble in Fenton. They actually asked me to create a "scrubby Dutch" character.

So I did.

Which leads us to another word: EASY.

Yeah, that's what I am. I'm sort of a pushover where my fans are involved.

LINK

Here's a link to a new review of Photo, Snap, Shot. I was delighted that P.J. liked the book, because she's a real expert on mysteries. I was hoping I could grow enough as an author to please her!

Interview with Joan Johnston

Note: Joan Johnston is one of the authors who will be appearing at Love Is Murder, Feb. 4-6, 2011, in Chicago.

1. Joan, you are an incredibly prolific writer as well as a successful one. Tell us about your habits as an author. Can you share any tips for staying focused and productive? You’ve said you write one book at a time. Do you work on other ideas, but only write one at a time? It seems like you must have a lot in the hopper, as well as what you are working on.

I'm currently working on a five-book series called the Benedict Brothers for Mira. The first book of the series, Invincible, will be in stores October 26. The next book in the series, Unforgettable is due October 1. I also just signed a three-book contract with Ballantine Bantam Dell to write a series of historical westerns call the Mail Order Brides. I've been thinking about the western historicals while I work on this contemporary series with a suspense element, but I only write one book at a time. I'm always writing in my head.

I sold my house and moved in August, so staying focused on writing has been a challenge. But I love writing books in a series and want to be sure my novels (both contemporary and historical) are the best they can be. So the secret to being focused and productive is . . . keeping the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair. Being prolific (I'm on a three-book-a-year schedule right now) really is about putting in the time to do the work.

2. You describe your latest books as “romantic suspense.” Could you define that term? How are these books different from your earlier romances?

In a romantic suspense, as opposed to a romance, the suspense is more than just a device to keep the characters together in the same place. I write suspense rather than mystery because I'm not good at keeping secrets. Usually the reader knows who the villain is in my books. The literary question is: Can the hero and heroine, through their combined efforts (that's the romance part), keep the villain from prevailing?


3. Your fans clamored for you to continue the saga of the Bitter Creek characters. The cast is staggering. How do you keep all that straight? Please share any suggestions for plotting and character development. How do you keep all the names straight?

Characters become real people when you write about them, so they're easy to tell apart. But the truth is, I do make mistakes. Readers are quick to point them out.

One of my favorite reader "catches" was the fact that in The Cowboy (first book in the Bitter Creek series) Trace and Callie had a three year age difference, even though Ren was supposedly pregnant with Callie at the same time as Eve was pregnant with Trace. That led to some serious finagling on my part--and a fabulous storyline that resulted in a lot of powerful scenes in later books in the Bitter Creek series (especially The Texan and The Loner).


4. You are obviously good at branding yourself. How did you nail down your brand? What has helped you clarify who you are? How does it help you promote your books?

I've written a lot of the same kinds of books--powerful family dramas--even though they may be historical, contemporary or contain suspense elements. The logo "Escape with Joan" came about when I was looking for a specific brand that I could use to describe the experience I wanted readers to have with my books. I began reading to escape from the stresses in my life, and in this challenging world we live in, that's the escape into adventure and romance that I hope to provide for my readers.
In purely practical terms, it also helps to use the same size and font for your name on the cover, and to have some continuity in the look of your covers. I've been lucky to have long-standing relationships with publishers (Ballantine Bantam Dell, Harlequin, Pocket Books and Avon) who've maintained a Joan Johnston "look."

5. Your publication story is unusual. You went straight to two editors and asked to meet them in New York. Do you think that could happen today? And you are very clear about reading the genre and taking classes before trying your hand at a book. What advice would you give unpublished authors based on your journey?

I still think it's possible to meet an editor at a conference, make a connection and then submit your work directly to that editor without going through an agent. However, for this route to work, you need to have written a book that's publishable without a lot of editing. In other words, the onus is on the writer to know the genre (hence, the rigorous reading I recommend) and have some idea where his or her work fits into the needs of the publishing house to which he or she is submitting.

Which means, if you want to write for a particular house, you need to be reading everything that house is publishing in the genre in which you want to write, so you'll know what they're currently buying. Remember, whatever is being published was bought at least a year ago. This doesn't mean you have to write exactly what's being published; it does mean you have to be in the same ball park. Right now, publishers aren't taking risks. I always remind myself I'm not writing the great American literary novel, I'm writing commerical fiction, which means that it needs to appeal to a broad audience, so the publisher can sell a lot of copies (which is why they're in business).

A note about choosing a genre in which to write: Remember that publishers are going to want another book in the same genre as the first one. They've spent a lot of money (hopefully) getting your book out to an audience, and now that you've established an audience, they want another book along similar lines. So don't write a vampire novel (popular right now) unless you love writing vampire novels. Having said that, I've made a point of watching which way the market is trending and changing what I'm writing to fit the market. So I started in historicals, changed to contemporaries and will be writing historicals again (along with contemporaries). The market moves. You can't stand still.


6. I love your line “go for the choke.” Please explain what that means. Your characters do, indeed, tug at the heartstrings. Please share how you accomplish that.

If a scene doesn't bring me to tears, it isn't going to do the same for readers. I'm looking for ways to provoke powerful emotions, which is what I call "going for the choke." It's always amazing to me that just changing one word--or removing or adding a single line--can "ruin" the choke. So be careful when you write. If you write a great scene and have "found" the choke, don't lose it by editing it out.

Okay, so how do I do it? I'm not quite sure. The "choke" arises out of the scene, the characters and the emotions they evoke. It's a sort of "payoff" the reader has been waiting for--which suggests there are also elements of conflict and pacing. It's sort of like mental instability. You can't define it, but you know it when you see it.


7. Your characters get into some highly unusual situations, but you manage to make the reader BELIEVE these situations could happen. You are a whiz at making the reader suspend his/her disbelief. How do you do your magic?

I wish I knew. I'd write a "how-to" book and make a fortune. The magic probably comes from me believing it, and writing that belief into the book.


8. You read a lot of books by men, but you write for a general audience, and I assume that your fan base is more female than male. What do you, as a reader and author, get from male authors that you don’t get from women?


I love books about war; I love cowboys; I love strong men who sacrifice themselves for the greater good. Women aren't (usually) allowed to write about war, presumably because we don't have credibility on the subject, and more men than women are interested in the subject and men prefer to read a book about war written by men. I'd love to write a book about war (especially WWII). It would be an interesting challenge to try and get it published with my name on it.

I grew up in a family of six sisters and one (much younger) brother and my military father was absent most of the time. Reading books written by men gives me a great deal of insight into how men think and how they attack an issue (although not so much about how they feel). One of the reasons I enjoy W.E.B. Griffin's books so much is that not only does he write about war, but he writes about soldier's feelings about the war and about the women in their lives.

A former attorney, Joan Johnston is the best-selling, award-winning author of 50 novels. Invincible will be available in stores on October 26, 2010. Visit her at http://www.joanjohnston.com

Now Available on Kindle!

I know you've been waiting, and so have I! So I'm pleased to announce that Photo, Snap, Shot is now available on Kindle.

Yes, now you can read Photo, Snap, Shot in whatever size font suits you. You can carry it in your purse along with all my other books, and you won't even have to struggle under the weight of three books...because you can upload Photo, Snap, Shot in your Kindle.

Enjoy! I'm doing my own little happy dance here in my office!

You know, I'd sent emails to Amazon trying to track the progress of this, but to no avail. You see, after my publisher sends out the file, there's a waiting period, and it's up to Amazon to load the file and offer it.

So how did I learn that the book was available on Kindle? One of you told me! I was attending a super class at ScrapbooksPlus! in Chantilly (VA) called "Domestic Goddess" and taught by Sue B. There I was working away on my album when one of the other students mentioned she'd just uploaded Photo, Snap, Shot.

Wow. Have I mentioned lately that my fans mean the world to me? You sure do!

Cork Stamps and a Contest

Lately I've had fun experimenting with cork stamps. I carve them myself from corks leftover from wine and champagne bottles.

Here's what one looks like:

Here's how to make your own:

1. Sand your cork so that the face of it is as flat as possible.
2. Choose a simple shape. If you don't trust your art ability, find a small clip art image. Either glue it to your cork or draw it on the flat edge of the cork with a felt tip marker.
3. Carve out the image. I find that I do best if I use my craft knife and slice straight down into the cork, then I chip away the excess. Your goal is to leave a slightly raised image.

To stamp your image, use a thick piece of styrofoam under your paper. This compensates for the fact that your cork probably won't be as flat as you'd like.

Now, press the raised image against your ink pad and then onto your paper. Don't worry if the entire image does NOT transfer. That's part of the beauty of this art form.

Finally, add dimension to your image with watercolor paint.



CONTEST

If you would like for me to send you a bookmark featuring some of my cork stamping, just comment on this blog. On Tuesday, I'll choose one lucky commenter to win a custom-made bookmark.

Decorating Composition Notebooks

This is a perfect time of year to buy composition notebooks at a great price. Big box chains like Walmart and Target, as well as drugstores like Rite Aid and CVS, all have these notebooks at reduced prices.

I suggest you grab a handful and have a notebook decorating party.

Above are a few of my faves. (Starting upper left, going clockwise)

1. Nana--I started with a red background color on the front and back. Tip: Lightly sand your notebook cover to make the paper grip. Add bits of scrap paper in red tones. I painted a piece of chipboard and used rub-on letters to write "Nana." Then I punched a hole in the upper right corner and tied on some ribbon. Last, I glued a piece of velvet along the spine and added sequins.

2. Shop 'til You Drop--The inspiration for this notebook was a marketing flyer I found. It had all the little shops on it. Since notebooks don't need to be acid-free, think outside of the box and use magazine photos or promotional materials. (Yeah, rah, recycling!) I added my initial from a QuickKutz font and a penny.

3. Gryffindor--I think this Harry Potter sticker came with a Happy Meal or some other sticker pack. I wrapped ribbon around a slide mount and "framed" the sticker.

4. DS--I had some embellishments left over after I did a golfing page for my husband. Again, I used my Quick Kutz lettering tool for the DS. On the very center page (with the stitching) I added a silky thread and a metal tag. I stamped the word "Dad" and colored the tag with chalk.

Think of all the ways you could use these notebooks: party favors, stocking stuffers, thank you gifts, teachers' gifts, and again, why not plan a party around making up a bunch of them? They're easy, cheap, and useful.

My kind of scrapping!

It's My Story, Damn It! -- An Interview with F. Paul Wilson

F. Paul Wilson will be appearing at the Love Is Murder Conference, Feb. 4-6, in Chicago.

1. Paul, you’ve said you don’t believe in gore on the page. You prefer to make the gross/horrific stuff happen in the reader’s head. Would you tell us more about that and why it works so well?

I tend to go by the maxim that less, if done properly, is more. I’ve been through med school and a rotating internship that included surgery. I’ve dissected a human body and I’ve been up to my wrists in blood in someone’s open abdomen. Blood and gore don’t get to me. I’m more disturbed by what I don’t see.

Remember the little girl in The Leopard Man banging on the door to her house to be let in because something was following her? Remember how you thought she’d get safely inside, but she didn’t? Remember how she screamed and went silent? Remember the blood flowing under the door?

I do. And in my mind I saw worse things happening than Jacques Tourneur could ever have shown on the screen. I first saw that scene in the 1950s and I still haven’t forgotten it.

Consider this scene from FATAL ERROR, the most recent Repairman Jack novel: I’ve got a bad guy tied up in a van. He has info he’s not giving up. It’s an improvised situation. The person who’s going to get that info arrives with a paper bag labeled “Ace Hardware,” gets in the van, and closes the door. I don’t need to take you into the van for the details. The Ace Hardware bag is unsettling, but what’s really chilling about the scene is that the person with the bag is an ordinary housewife whose little boy was seriously hurt by this man. Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned … but a scorned woman’s fury can’t hold a candle to that of the mother of a brutalized child. No, you do not want to be in that van.


2. You often write lean. How does one go about learning to write lean? What are the advantages of it? Is it simply your voice or is it a style you prefer?

I let the story choose the style. Lean and mean is good for the Repairman Jack novels—they’re dark and fast-paced—and that’s the style that’s defined my work over the past decade. But if you read The Keep, it’s quite a different style; it’s set in Europe in the early 40s and requires a more elaborate style. Black Wind spans nearly twenty years from the 1920s to the 1940s and involves a clash of cultures; that book demanded still another style.

Lean (but maybe not so mean) works well in the YA Repairman Jack novels. Because I use short, staccato prose, and short paragraphs, the Flesch-Kincaid level for my adult books is around fourth grade. So I didn’t have to change much except the language for YA.


3. Story comes first, you’ve said. How do you meld story and character? Please describe how you move from a story, a narrative thread, to a fleshed out book. How do the characters occur to you?

I rarely start with well-drawn characters because I don’t want the story hindered by what might or might not be consistent with a character. It’s my story, damn it, and you’ll do as you’re told.

In my first draft, the characters tend to serve the plot – but they take on flesh as they react to events or make them happen. Then I go back and further flesh them out into distinct individuals who would be capable (even if the don’t know it) of doing the things they do in the story. I determine what in their past, in their makeup, has made them into this person. And then they become real people.

Repairman Jack was an exception. He and The Tomb served each other. I needed a character who could survive the rooftop battle (even though I didn’t know what he’d be battling), but I wanted Jack to be mine. I took every cliché about the loner hero and turned it on its head. I made him blue-collar, self-taught, and fallible – a reaction to the super-competent, super-trained, always one-step-ahead-of-the-bad-guy Jason Bournes of the times. In fact, I decided on an anti-Jason Bourne – with no black-ops, SEAL, or Special Forces training, no CIA or police background, no connection to officialdom. In other words, no safety net. No one in the system he could call on because he’s under the system’s radar. He has to rely on his own wits and his own network.

Turned out people loved that. They could never be Jason Bourne; they have a better chance at being Jack. He’s a regular guy; people can see themselves having a beer with him.


4. You mentioned your editing process in one interview. Tell us more about it. Any suggestions for how we could all improve our editing? You’ve written so many books. How have you improved your editing skills?

By teaching at the Borderlands Press Writers Boot Camp. Parsing other people’s prose is such detail led to some eye-popping revelations when I returned to my own writing and realized I was committing many of the errors I’d been flagging in others. You know better, but you simply don’t see the errors in your own writing. I became much more conscious of my own prose. I can see a definite difference between my pre- and post-2005 writing. Editing others helped me edit myself.



5. You’ve said that marketing departments got mad at you because you “genre hopped,” talk about how much authors should or should not care about the marketing department. In today’s market, we all seem to want to please our agents and editors. But you seem to have listened to a voice inside, and it has served you well. Could you encourage the rest of us to do the same?

I’m usually two books ahead in my brain, and so I’ve always written the next book that’s ready to go. I’ve felt free to do that because I’ve always had another source of income. That’s one of the reasons a day job is important – it frees you from living advance to advance and allows more elbow room in your writing. You can never ignore your editor and the sales force, but you can challenge them. A day job also keeps you in contact with real people in the real world outside publishing, and that’s very valuable.




6. You have said that no one wanted your horror, which was your first love, until Steven King’s books made it big. Talk about staying true to what you love to write.

I wish I could puff out my chest and say that I’ve stayed true to my muse no matter what, but in reality I don’t have much choice. My brain is wired for the outré. I write weird stuff because that’s how I see the world. My first sale was to John Campbell for Analog – yeah, it was an SF story, but about intelligent mutant rats on interstellar cargo ships, and at the end they ate the bad guy alive. As I said: It’s the way I’m wired.



7. You believe that villains should have a code of honor. Explain that, and why it makes a book “sing.”

Not “should.” I don’t like to “should” on people. Remember, a villain doesn’t think of himself as the bad guy. And I think some of the most interesting villains do have a code that they follow. Fu Manchu and Hannibal Lecter are examples. Kusum in The Tomb had his code. But Rasalom, my big bad guy throughout the Secret History, has no code. He wants to win – by any means necessary. He’s the compleat sociopath, who feeds on pain and misery.


8. You write part-time. Talk about how you use your time, and how you make sure you stay on track with your writing. It’s pretty easy to let other stuff get in the way, and since you are a doctor, it sure seems like you would get some pretty important distractions.

Technically part-time, I guess, but it’s a much bigger part of my time than when I started out. In 1994, after twenty years of writing and practicing medicine each full-time, I cut my practice (I’m in a group) to Mondays and Tuesdays. Those are two long days that leave no time for writing. So, I write Wednesday through Sunday. I try to do a minimum of a thousand words a day on those 5 days. That allows me to accrue 100k words (usually more) in 20 weeks.

As for part-time writing, here's what worked for me: I found a minimum of 3 first-draft double-spaced pages per day did the trick. That's 21/week. At that rate you've got over 540 pages in 6 months. That's a decent-sized novel.

In writing those 3 pages pre day, avoid tinkering with them. This stalls you by fooling you into thinking you're still writing. You're not. And you're losing momentum. Get them down and then leave them alone and go on to the next 3. The time to fix and hone them is after you've finished that all-important first draft. You'll know your characters better then and can go back and make meaningful edits and additions.

When I was practicing full time I'd use commuting time to mentally compose my next pages so that I'd be primed when I sat down at the keyboard. That’s a key point: TURN OFF THE DAMN RADIO AND TAKE OFF THE DAMN HEADPHONES. Stop wasting valuable time listening to other people's words. You're a writer. When you're driving or walking around you should be working on YOUR words -- the words you want to tell other people.




9. You teach writing. If there was one lesson that every student could learn, what might that be? What mistakes do you see people making over and over?

Matters what you want from writing. If being a dilettante suffices, then write when the mood hits you. But if you want to have a career in writing, I think you’ve got to write every day. Even when you don’t have a story, reconstruct conversations, describe settings in new ways, and save it all for later cannibalization. If writing is a career, then it’s got to be part of your everyday life.




10. The scene that sparked Repairman Jack came to you in a dream. How did you happen upon his character? You make a big deal of one of the character’s (Kusum’s sister’s) physical beauty, but you also emphasize that beauty and sexual competency are not ultimately as fulfilling as the union of two souls. Pretty romantic for an action hero. Comments?

As I’ve said, I deliberately designed him as the antipode of the typical thriller hero. I wanted to do the same with his relationships. No new-book / new-girlfriend scenario. That allows for more sex, brings more hormones into play, and that’s exciting, but I decided to go for a stable relationship. I did, however, choose a woman who’s very unlike him – a single mother and a functioning member of society – and, even though they share core values, there’s a lot of conflict. But we can’t always choose who we fall for, and conflict is the heart of drama. The relationship has mellowed Jack, something I didn’t see coming.




11. I find the concept of Repairman Jack fascinating. There’s a Hebrew phrase “tikkun olem” which refers to “repair of the world.” Are you familiar with it? I know your political leanings factor into what you write. Do you see writing as a way each of us can repair the world?

People write for many reasons. For some it’s self expression. For others it’s the words themselves, for others it’s the sheer joy or telling a story. For some it’s an o-c disorder. And for still others it’s because they’re pathological liars and fiction allows them a socially acceptable outlet for their affliction. Too often it’s to achieve a sort of immortality—the hope that something of theirs will go on living after they’re dead. Woody Allen once addressed this in a typically pragmatic way. “I don’t want to achieve immortality through my work—I want to achieve it through not dying.”

I believe the “repair the world” approach causes far more problems than it solves – rife with unintended consequences. All politics are local, all repairs are local. Jack shuns the world. He repairs only his world, and that’s a big difference. I’ll repair things right around me, and you repair things around you, and that guy over there will repair things around him, and so on and so on. And eventually, by default, maybe we’ll fix the world. Maybe not.





12. You’ve created such a tight-knit community among your fans. You even play get-togethers with them. What’s the secret to developing and maintaining such a loyal following? How do you balance your personal privacy with being so available to your fans?

It’s not so hard, really. A littler interaction goes a long way. I answer email, participate in the Forum, go to conventions, do signings where I hang out with readers afterward. I happen to like my readers. On the whole I’ve found them to be very bright and fun to be with. But it’s probably the Secret History that glues us. All the interlocking stories challenge them to come up with more connections binds them to each other as well as me. We’ve become this large, polymorphous organism.

F. Paul Wilson is an award-winning, best-selling author of more than 40 books in genres including science fiction, horror thrillers, contemporary thrillers, and novels that defy categorization. The Keep, one of the novels in his Repairman Jack series, was made into a major motion picture. Visit his website at http://www.repairmanjack.com/

What a Burglar Won't Tell You--But You Will Wish You Knew!

Here are some safety tips from reformed burglars shared by Dr. Sarah Layton, Corporate Strategy Institute.

These are useful tips — from former burglars!

1. Of course I look familiar. I was here just last week cleaning your (or your neighbors’) carpets, painting your shutters, or delivering your new refrigerator.


2. Thanks for letting me use the bathroom when I was working in your yard last week. While I was in there, I unlatched the back window to make my (or my friend’s) return a little easier.

3. Love those flowers. That tells me you have taste... and taste means there are nice things inside.

4. Those yard toys your kids leave out always make me wonder what type of gaming system they own.

5. I really do look for newspapers piled up in the driveway. And I might leave a pizza flyer in your front door to see how long it takes you to remove it.

6. If decorative glass is part of your front entrance, don’t let your alarm company install the control pad where I can see if it’s set. That makes it too easy.

7. A good security company alarms the window over the sink. And the windows on the second floor, which often access the master bedroom — and your jewelry. It’s not a bad idea to put motion detectors up there, too.

8. It’s raining, you’re fumbling with your umbrella, and you forget to lock your door. Know that I don’t take a day off because of bad weather.

9. I always knock first. If you answer, I’ll ask for directions somewhere or offer to clean your gutters. (Don’t take me up on it).

10. Do you really think I won’t look in your sock drawer? I always check dresser drawers, the bedside table, and the medicine cabinet. Helpful hint: I almost never go into kids’ rooms.

11. I won’t have enough time to break into that safe where you keep your valuables. But if it’s not bolted down, I’ll take it with me!

12. A loud TV or radio can be a better deterrent than the best alarm system. If you’re reluctant to leave your TV on while you’re out of town, you can buy a $35 device that works on a timer and simulates the flickering glow of a real television. Find it at faketv.com.

13. If it snows while you’re out of town, get a neighbor to create car and foot tracks into the house. Virgin drifts in the driveway are a dead giveaway.

Source: Orange County (Florida) Sheriff's Department

Winner of the Kiki Lowenstein Fan Club Tee Shirt

Jane Jeffers Thomas won the Kiki Lowenstein Fan Club Tee Shirt.

I put all the commenters into a random number generator, and Jane won.

Meanwhile, I'd like to introduce all of you to my talented and beautiful cousin, Andrea Hazel Hamilton, the watercolorist.



You can read about our family reunion at the Killer Hobbies blog.

Lois Hirt Looks for the Smiles

Lois Hirt writes a column called "Dental Scraps." She's interested in dental references we include in our mystery books. After she read Photo, Snap, Shot, she donated it to the National Museum of Dentistry in Baltimore!

I was happy to meet Lois, and to share the fact that I've had GREAT experiences with my dentists. In fact, I think so much of my dentist in St. Louis that I even named a character after him: Dr. Mike Wallace.

Lois posted on DorothyL that she "loved the lines where Kiki remembers how she and each family member could take a day to worry." She quotes from Photo, Snap, Shot were Kiki says, "That way we'll worry more efficiently. If something happens to any of us on your day, it's that person's fault--and we can blame her."

Actually, that's an idea I came up with for my own family.

I am learning, however, that worrying is a spectator sport where nobody wins. Sigh.

Lois went on to write, "I can’t wait to see what happens next in Kiki's life. I absolutely loved the last two paragraphs of the book. I could just picture it."

Thanks so much, Lois. You put a great big SMILE on my face!;)

Aloha! A Review of PHOTO, SNAP, SHOT by Cindy Chow

Note: Cindy is the first reviewer to notice that Kiki, too, is prejudiced. By the end of Photo, Snap, Shot, she must question her own assumptions about other people


I admit that I completely lack the Martha Stewart gene. My one attempt at a DIY
design project resulted in six - that's six - pieces of my furniture becoming
"'marbelized" in paint. I come by it honestly, though, as ten years of my
childhood photographs reside in shoeboxes at my parents' home, all in their
original Kodak envelopes.

So it takes a lot for me to continue to follow a "crafting" mystery series, as
there's pretty much no chance that I will ever follow the crafting hints and
tips. However, Joanna Campbell Slan's Kiki Lowenstein's Scrap-n-Craft
mysteries is a series that does have the humor, realistic characters, and
complex plots that compel me to read each engaging new entry. The third in this
series, Photo, Snap, Shot(Midnight Ink) continues this excellence and never
disappoints.

Thanks to financial support from her late husband's mother, Kiki Lowenstein's
daughter Anya attends the elitist prep school Charles and Anne Lindbergh Academy
(CALA). It's the last place one would expect violence to occur, so when Anya
discovers the body of her teacher there Kiki goes into full panic mode. The
school is eager to cover up any hint of impropriety or scandal, so it's no huge
surprise that the woman's African American boyfriend, the basketball coach, is
immediately implicated and arrested.


After being warned repeatedly from interfering in previous murders, Kiki's more
than a little surprised when Detective Chad Detweiler actually asks for her help
in clearing the coach, who happened to have been a Little Brother Detweiller
mentored and believes is a convenient scapegoat.

This places Kiki in an emotionally precarious position, as Detweiler is the
married man she dreams about while two perfectly acceptable other men, one of
whom is the man she SHOULD want to love, stand at the sideline. As they say
though, the heart wants what the heart wants. However, any rash actions she may
contemplate are definitely curtailed by her watchful mother-in-law and friends.

As Kiki ventures in the rarefied world of the CALA elite, she discovers that the
headmaster's wife and four CALA mothers all had past ties that unite them in
hiding past secrets. The murdered teacher herself also had a cloudy past
despite her recent path to redemption.


What surprised me so much in this novel was how the chip on Kiki's shoulder that
resulted from her insecurities and feelings as an outsider prejudiced her
against all of the mother's of CALA. Slowly, as Kiki questions and begins to
know more about each woman she understands that each woman is far more complex
than she realized in her initial snap judgments. The author fleshes out each
woman realistically and empathetically in a way that enables the reader to
understand the sacrifices they've made and how they've become who they are..

Rather tortuously, but realistically, Slan concludes Photo Snap Shot with a
cliffhanger that leaves some questions unanswered and definitely has the reader
wanting more. The next Kiki Lowenstein mystery can't come soon enough. I love
Kiki, a character who has grown stronger in will and character as the series has
progressed while never losing her sense of humor.


Aloha,

Cindy Chow
Kaneohe Public Library

You Say Tomato. I Say Album.

To celebrate the release of my friend Avery Aames' new book, The Long Quiche Goodbye, I decided to turn a cheese container into an album. Yeah, I'm always looking for a way to recycle!

1. Cover and backside. I used a rubber stamp of a tomato, colored it in, and adhered it to the round with green masking tape. I also used red masking tape to cover the sides of the round carton.

2. Insides. These are coasters I picked up at restaurants. I drew my images onto water color paper so I could experience with paints. I'm not very good, but I had a lot of fun with this! The paints I used are really cheap. Almost any set you buy will do better. I started by sketching different designs and then painting them. There are six inside pages, each is double-sided. The only paper I didn't paint is the green plaid.



I owned that paper, but it was too bluish, so I used a marker and colored the green a more yellowish tone. Be sure to plan which "pages" will be your front and your back (your final) pages.

Special tips for the inside pages...



1. Always start with your lightest color of paint, the one thinned with the most water.



2. Always prep more paint than you think you'll need because if you remix, the color will be different.

3. Use an archivally safe black ink pen such as the Pigma Micron by Sakura.





4. Make a mistake? Paste a new image over the goof.

5. Try wetting your paper and then adding color for a soft look.

6. Keep a tissue or paper towel nearby to blot the color if it's too intense.

7. Want a plaid? I painted the background color first. Then I made stripes with a thin brush. I added a green stripe with the Sakura pen.



8. The tomatoes making the border on the red plaid pages were created with a cork stamp that I carved. I've covered this in other posts, but stay tuned and I'll tell you how in the next blog post.

9. Not a great artist? Look up images on your computer. Print them out and copy them.

You'll note that all the "pages" are strung together with a double set of ribbon. Make sure to allow enough room for the bend of the ribbon so that your pages stack neatly. Also, the first "page" is a shaker box. The plastic overlay was discarded packaging.

Do you like it? What do you think?

What do you think?

The Art of the Cliffhanger and a Contest!

Okay, I know some of you don't like cliffhangers, but just so you know, I intend to keep writing books that sort of flow into each other. Someone once told me that the first sentence sells the current book but the last sentence sells the next one. I know that I simulaneously love and hate how my favorite television programs end with question mark. But even as I might curse the writers, I find myself eagerly tuning in each week for more.

So what cliffhangers can you expect in the upcoming Kiki Lowenstein books? More specifically in Make, Take, Murder when it comes out May 1, 2011?

First, you'll learn more about Bama Vess, Kiki's new co-worker. Bama (pronounced "Bam-ma" and named long before our president took residence in the White House) is a conflicted woman. She's spurned all Kiki's overtures for friendship. At the same time, Bama does a great job of organizing and running Time in a Bottle. Will she and Kiki make good business partners? What's stopping Bama from being nice to Kiki? Could it be that Bama is as jealous of Kiki as Kiki is of her?

Second, you'll see what happens with Sheila and Police Chief Holmes. This is an old flame, rekindled, but they have a big problem. You see, Sheila is Jewish and Police Chief Holmes is Roman Catholic. Since Sheila is so very, very inflexible...you might guess there will be problems ahead.

Third, Dodie's health problems. Yes, they'll have an impact on how the store runs, and who's involved in Time in a Bottle. That's a given.

Of course, the biggest snafu ahead concerns Brenda Detweiler. There have been hints about problems with her marriage, but what are those problems? And why is Chad Detweiler unwilling to say, "Goodbye?"

You know, I've rarely seen people up and divorce each other. There's always a back-and-forth, a questioning, a sorting out of feelings. I don't think that marriage is a commitment to take lightly, and I truly believe that most people don't. This would be Detective Detweiler's second marriage. Since he's clearly such a cool guy, you have to wonder, what's up? Is he not everything he seems? Or has he simply gotten lost along the way? (My sister keeps teasing me that everything I write seems to be about redemption. Well, I'm a big believer in redemption, the art of the second chance. Most days, I think it's all we have to live for, that hope that we'll be forgiven, that we'll learn something, and we'll do better in the future.)

CONTEST DETAILS

Meanwhile, I'm always curious. Which characters do you want to see return? And why? So here's the deal--you tell me, and I'll choose one of your comments to win a Kiki Lowenstein Fan Club tee shirt! You have until August 15 to comment. (Hey, why not get a friend to comment, too? Maybe she or he will let you share the tee!)

By the way, here's a sweet review of Paper, Scissors, Death,

Made my day!

The World Belongs to the....

Just when I thought I was standing on my last nerve, when I thought I'd scream because right now I feel like I have no control over my life (and I'm a person who values control), a friend sent this.

And you know, it reminds me that the world belongs to the playful.

Okay, deep breath. I can do this.

It's going to be all right. I just need to follow the tail of the fellow in front of me...

'This Isn't Personal'--Interview with Carolyn Haines

Note: Carolyn Haines will be one of the presenters at the Love is Murder Conference, Feb. 4-6 in Chicago.

By Joanna Campbell Slan


Sarah Booth and Jitty came to me in tandem, arguing just as they do in the books. When such fully developed characters visit a writer, it’s truly a gift.
--Carolyn Haines

JCS: Talk about hearing fully developed characters, please. Why and how do you think this happens? Can an author improve the chances of such visitations? Should an author ever ignore those voices and replace them? What if the fully realized characters don’t work with plot.

CH: Last question first. Most good plots come from character, so if you’ve got a mismatch, the book isn’t going to work. I do think most writers hit streaks when the characters are fully alive and in the moment with them. When I write, I almost have to get to that place—I have some subconscious control, but it seems as if I’m merely watching, not engaged in the action.

How to bring about this? I think it’s a matter of focus. Knowing your story, knowing your characters, and a real regard for language. Writing isn’t about slapping words together. It’s about thinking. And language is very delicate. We forget that sometimes. Word choice is vital to character development.

JCS: Your Swedish grandmother, and both your parents, were storytellers. What portion of writing is storytelling? How does someone go about becoming a better storyteller? Can that be done?

CH: Attention to structure can improve anyone’s storytelling skills. Oral telling is helpful, because you can watch the audience, see if they’re engaged, if they’re enjoying. If not, a teller can shift gears and up the pace, cut the descriptions or whatever is necessary to reconnect with the listener. Stories have to be told—or written—in an order that makes sense to the reader. This is structure. Cut away the dead wood. Every sentence must count. The process of editing is the way to become a better storyteller.

JCS: Carolyn, you create truly vivid, one-of-a-kind characters. What are some of the techniques you use? I notice that Jitty’s clothes are always a highlight, as are Sweetie Pie’s sunglasses and scarf. You seem to be able to vary the cadence of your characters’ speech. Dish!

CH: Well, thank you very much. I think clothing and accessories are one of the easiest ways to characterize. They can show a character’s humor or quirkiness or hint at the character’s motive (and sometimes this is a deliberate misdirection). I think what makes a unique character is what’s in his heart, his spirit. Is he greedy, selfish, mean, generous, afraid, desperate? What does he desire? Motive is what makes us do the things we do, and motive stems from our unique psychology. Why do some people feel they must have designer labels and others are confident in thrift shop finds? Why are some people happy in the country and others in cities? These are the questions at the heart of a character. It is often helpful for new writers to do intensive character studies. Write it down. Read it often and remember the moments in the past that have brought your character to this particular place and time where the story begins.

Since I clearly hear how my characters speak, I can write their dialogue most of the time without too much trouble. Long ago I was shy, and I listened a lot. It’s a good thing to do. In fact, I make it a habit of eavesdropping almost everywhere I go. Fascinating.


JCS: You are also the Queen of Cliffhangers within the story. A scene always closes with a hook. Is that conscious? Are you a planner or a seat-of-the-pants-er? Do you think through how to sprinkle your hooks throughout your book?

CH: Again, thank you. I do deliberately structure the scenes to try to push the reader to the next scene, but I don’t outline in any rigid way. I write a proposal for each book, and I know the direction and the culprit. I have an idea of key scenes to write toward, the turning points, and then I just cut loose and write. If the characters take the story in another direction, I go with them. I may have to toss away some pages, but the first draft is the joyful part for me. I give myself freedom to explore, knowing I may toss pages. The hard work is the editing.




Mystery writing demands a certain level of planning. It is my job to plant the red herrings and to sweep the reader along to a certain conclusion—and then twist it. I take that seriously and I work hard at plotting. I am not a natural plotter, so it is a lot of hard work.

JCS: Will you share how you develop structure? Do you use the 3-act play or the Hero’s Journey? Post-it notes or wipe board? Scene-by-scene or outline? Once you get your structure down, do you allow yourself to make changes? How do you decide if the pacing is off? Do you have any test you use on your manuscript?

CH: I mentioned the turning points above. This is a basic outline—an inciting event, first turning point, mid-turning point, third turning point, crisis or black moment and resolution. These are not rigid. And remember there are a multitude of plot points. A turning point is very distinct and actually turns the direction of the story—this is a change that sends the protagonist in a new direction. These are not hard and fast. And while this is a “natural” feeling structure, that isn’t to say it is the only way to tell a story. Think of “Babel” or “Crash” both movies that exemplify storytelling in a completely different way, where spokes of the story move out from the central idea like the spokes on a wagon wheel. The old saying about writing is true—you can do anything you want as long as you make it work.
Structure is determined by the intent of the author. In structures such as “Babel” and “Crash,” the intent is to explore and idea. This is very different from traditional storytelling. But the wonderful thing about writing and books is that there’s room for all approaches to story. And the smart writer lets the story tell him which way to tell it.

For many years I worked with a critique group. I teach now, and my time is limited, but I have a wonderful friend, Suzann Ellingsworth, who is good enough to read for me. And I have a terrific editor, Kelley Ragland. Editing employs the logical part of the brain, and a fresh pair of eyes is critical. I try to send Kelley the cleaning manuscript I can. A professional should never expect another professional to clean up a grammar mess or sloppiness. So I go over and over a manuscript before I send it to Suzann, and then on to Kelley.

JCS: What do you find yourself telling your students over and over? What is the one thing that you feel almost every one of your students could improve on right off the bat? (Think of something that makes you want to get a tattoo…or give one!)

CH: Every scene has to move the plot forward AND develop character. Pretty writing isn’t enough. Yes, language is vital, but it does not void the need for plot and characterization.

JCS: What do you think has changed for writers, given the unease in the publishing world? For example, do you think books need to start faster? Have more dialogue? Less description? Or is it the same as always, just more competitive, so there’s an increased need for authors to really be at the top of their game?

CH: What’s changed is that a book has only a few weeks to grab an audience. It’s almost as if the books, and the authors, are viewed as somewhat disposable. There’s also a tendency now for publishers to jump on a bandwagon and produce what everyone else is publishing. So many of the titles look alike and sound alike. And it is harder for writers—not necessarily to get published but to stay published.

An original voice, a solid story, a book with something to say that’s well said will always get an agent or editor’s attention. The trick then is to translate that into sales figures. There are a lot of problems in the publishing business, but one of them isn’t a lack of talented writers.

JCS: Please explain “plot confusion” and how to fix it.

CH: What I see a lot in new writers is that they keep shifting the focus of the story from one character to another. Not that multiple characters can’t have a point of view or a big part in a story. But it must be ONE character’s story. This is a hard, hard lesson to learn. My first book, a horror novel, was rewritten a number of times because I simply couldn’t grasp this. The turning points follow the protagonist. If a writer can keep this in mind, he or she will likely clear up a lot of plot confusion.

JCS: You are very generous to authors at the beginning of their careers. I know of one person who you mentored to publication. What might you say to someone who is mid-list? How does someone break out of the pack and kick it into high gear?

CH: Unfortunately, a lot of promotion has fallen on the heads of authors. So I say embrace it and learn to use it to your advantage. Meet your deadlines like a professional. Be savvy about the business. Listen to other writers and ask questions. Most writers are shy people but very willing to talk about writing, especially in a one-on-one situation.

And try to give back. A handful of people changed the course of my writing career at one time or another. A couple of them were virtual strangers. I do try to return the favor by helping others. I have this corny belief that we really can make a better world if we get over our fears and selfishness and make that small gesture to help others.

JCS: You write with gusto and humor. Do you think that humor is a necessary ingredient for books? Why or why not?

Humor isn’t necessary in a book, but it is essential in life. I write humorous, and I also write very dark. I read both. Some days I want to be chilled and creeped out, other days I want to laugh. Books fit all kinds of people and all kinds of moods.

CH: How do you personally handle rejection? Any advice?

Give yourself three days to get over the soreness. Go ahead and fantasize about beds of fire ants and other things. Then get over it. This is a business and it’s tough, but that’s true of every business right now.

Once the anger is gone, look at the letter. I’ve learned a lot from rejection letters. Editors and agents don’t often write lengthy rejections, but if they take the time to say anything specific, take note of it. Really take note of what is being said. If it’s “we loved your character but the book lost momentum” that’s something to fix. And if an editor says something like that, believe me, they saw something in your book. Take that nugget and work with it.

Remember, this isn’t personal. It’s a business. If you let rejection defeat you, you won’t have a writing career.
**




Carolyn Haines is the editor of DELTA BLUES (May 2010 Tyrus Books) and author of BONE APPETIT (July 2010 St. Martin's Minotaur). Visit her at www.carolynhaines.com

Are My Books In Your Local Bookstore?

They might be. Or they might not be.

And I can't tell you exactly why. Book distribution...well...it's tricky, and confusing, and a big mystery. Trust me, even Sherlock Holmes could be baffled by the ins and outs of book distribution. My friend Emilie Richards does a wizard job of discussing this on her blog.

So, yes, I know that fans have found my books in chain booksellers around the country. But I also know that sometimes, they don't see my books.

If they've sold out of my books--and I've been told that Photo, Snap, Shot is flying off the shelves, thanks to the great reviews--please consider ordering a copy (or two or three!) from any chain bookseller. They'll have no problem getting copies for you.

I also know of many independent booksellers who do a wizard job of promoting my books. Hurrah for Indie Booksellers! Any local independent bookseller can order copies of my books. Just ask.

Many college bookstores are now carrying my books. If they don't have copies in stock, they too can order them.

There are scrapbook stores who carry my books, and of course, there is always Amazon. They are great at taking preorders. You can also buy my books directly through my publisher by clicking on Midnight Ink.

Meanwhile, here's some ordering information you can use:

1. Make, Take, Murder (Book #4) will be officially released May 1, 2011.
2. Ink, Red, Dead (Book #5) will be officially released April 1, 2012.

Ink, Red, Dead will debut a new character, one that my fans in St. Louis asked me to "invent." Her name will be Bridget Eichen, and trust me, you are going to love her! (Mega thanks to Ruth M. and all the book lovers at Barnes & Noble in Fenton.)

Flip Flip Album

This is a really cute album (okay, I'm bragging, sorry!) that's easy to do. I made it from fun foam. First I cut the shape of the flip flop 3 times. Added the strap and flower to one shape. Glued a second flip flop to that first shape so that the ends of the strap were inside the "sandwich" or the middle. I added the foot. The toenails are packing tape over colored paper so they are really shiny! And last of all, I put on the flower and the lettering. (The third flip flop shape is the back cover, as you'll see.)

The left "page" is the back of the foam flip flop covered with patterned paper on the left side. On the right is an interior page. The interior is mainly 3" x 7 1/2" which gives you room for a 3" x 5" photo easily.

You can see here that the page on the left has a flap that folds down. It's actually a six inch circle glued to the 3" x 7" rectangular page. That gives me plenty of room for more photos. On the right is a page made from a cereal box. Just sand lightly the shiny side and use a great glue like Crafter's Pick by API. It's fabulous stuff and dries clear.

I love changing up the interior pages. The one on the right has a gatefold. So that part with the flower is a flap that opens to 12" wide. Note the scalloped edge along the top and right side. I slipped pieces of green ribbon under the flower embellishment to look like leaves.

On the right is a wooden embellishment I bought with two others for $1 at A.C. Moore. It adds a nice texture, I think. I colored it with marking pens.

On the left is another flap. Under the piece that says Summer Vacation is a journaling box.

This left hand page is a pocket. It's super for ticket stubs, etc.

The right hand page is corrugated cardboard. I painted it with acrylic paint. Heavy, but cool, and it adds another texture. The leaf under the flower was cut from leftover fun foam.

The right page is the back of the corrugated cardstock covered with patterned paper. The right is the 3rd foam flip flop.

What do you think?

Here's what Amy Alessio wrote for Bookreporter.com about Photo, Snap, Shot:

"The plot is intricate and fascinating. Real history is intertwined with fiction to make a layered, believable adventure. There is nothing cute about this cozy mystery...Instead, readers will find realistic characters and plenty of tension to keep pages turning right until the end. Award-nominated author Joanna Campbell Slan’s series continues to be strong."

Aw, I'm blushing!

A Capitol Fourth

Because we supplied the 9' Steinway grand piano for the nation's 30th celebration of the 4th of July, our family was invited to view the party from 12th row seats. Wow, what a great time we had!

Jimmy Smits was the master of ceremonies, and he did a fine job. His comment that his family came here as immigrants--and that America had been very good indeed to the Smits family--touched the hearts of the audience members. It was a timely reminder that most of us came here from another country, and that we owe a lot to this great country.

David Archuleta did a beautiful job with The Star Spangled Banner.

Then Gladys Knight led a rousing "Heard It Through the Grapevine" and got everyone rocking.

Of course, our family was particularly thrilled by Lang Lang, the young Chinese genius. David and I had heard him play the "Stars and Stripes Forever" before, but this time with the Washington Monument in the background, it was a special treat. His hands move so fast as he does the counterpoint of the Sousa melody. Did you know that every instrument has a melody line in a Sousa march? I loved how Lang Lang's fingers were reflected in the fall board of the piano. They took off the lid, and the shots of the inside of the piano with those fabulous strings was totally cool.

Reba McEntire was the last big name performer of the evening. Her voice was as glorious and uniquely American as her looks. I particularly enjoyed her gorgeous blue sequined dress.

The 1812 Overture never sounded better than when fireworks were bursting over the stately white Washington Monument. The obelisk looked like a giant sparkler lighting up the sky!

All in all, it was A Capitol Fourth!

How was your Fourth? Did you catch "A Capitol Fourth" on PBS?

PS Being a mystery writer, I couldn't help but wonder when they used an ice pick to chisel the ice that went into the water coolers. After all the security precautions, an ice pick? Yeow! Oh, and the huge hanging Jumbotron got me thinking, "What if a cable breaks?" I mean, the mind of a mystery author never rests.

For the Love of Rafferty

As many of you know, I "own" a three-legged rescue pup named Rafferty. You can read all about how Raffie became a member of our family, and how he inspires me daily at Coffee with a Canine.