Month: August 2018

Categories
Writer's Notes

Mentors: Paying it Forward

Death Over EasyBy Edith Maxwell

I came late to mystery writing and I had never formally studied creative writing. Once I joined Sisters in Crime, mentors seemed to be everywhere. I signed up for twenty-page manuscript critiques at the New England Crime Bake conference. I joined a writers group of more experienced writers than me and worked through scenes from my work-in-progress. I attended a weekend workshop with three multi-published mystery author teachers and made some lifelong friends among several of the other unpublished aspiring authors.

I’ve never met a more supportive group of people than crime writers. Once I finished, polished, and found a publisher for my first mystery novel in 2012, I took a deep breath and asked four well-known New England authors if they would write endorsements. They all said they would, and did.

Now I have three multi-book series contracts. I have fifteen novels in print, an additional five completed and in various stages of production, and at least four more under contract. I am living my dream, and it’s time to give back, to pay the generous mentoring forward.

crime-bake-logoWhen a new author asks if I will write a cover blurb, I say Yes (with the caveat that I’ll endorse it only if I like it, but I’ve only had to decline two). When a member of the critique group I finally left asks if I’ll read a new draft of her short story, I say Yes. When the Crime Bake committee asks if I’ll critique one or more twenty-page manuscript samples, I say Yes. I agree to talk to library writing groups and chime in with answers in an online unpublished-writers group.

And when I was asked to serve as Vice-President of our large New England chapter of Sisters in Crime, I had to say Yes. I had left my day job to devote my time to writing fiction, and it was my turn to give back. I wouldn’t be where I am without the workshops, networking, and friends I’ve made in SINC and in our chapter. I’m now in my second year of serving as President, and in my first of two years as co-chair of Crime Bake.

Does mentoring, encouraging, giving back take a lot of time and energy? Sure. So far I’ve never missed a book deadline, though, and I want to help newer writers coming up. I think we can all find opportunities, small and large, to encourage creativity, and frankly paying it forward feels good.

 

Readers: Who have you mentored? How do you find ways to pay forward generosity and advice you’ve benefited from?

 

MaxwellDayBio:

Agatha- and Macavity-nominated author Edith Maxwell writes the Local Foods Mysteries, the historical Quaker Midwife Mysteries, and award-winning short crime fiction. As Maddie Day she writes the popular Country Store Mysteries and the new Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries. She is president of Sisters in Crime New England and lives north of Boston with her beau and two elderly cats. She blogs at WickedCozyAuthors.com and KillerCharacters.com. Read about all her personalities and her work at edithmaxwell.com, and please find her on social media – she loves to talk to readers.

 

Death Over EasyBlurb:

In Maxwell’s latest mystery, Death Over Easy (written as Maddie Day), restaurateur Robbie Jordan is ready for the boost in business a local bluegrass festival brings to South Lick, Indiana, but the beloved event strikes a sour note. The celebration is cut short when a performer is found choked to death by a banjo string. Now all the banjo players are featured in a different kind of lineup. To clear their names, Robbie must pair up with an unexpected partner to pick at the clues and find the plucky killer before he – or she – can conduct an encore performance.

 

 

Categories
Writer's Notes

Critique Groups: Another Thrillerz Member’s Two Cents Worth

 

By Andy Gloege

f prints magnifierAndy is a member of Thrillerz, my critique group. With four members, we’re a small group of dedicated thriller writers who meet every two weeks. At last night’s meeting, Andy had something he wanted to add to July’s topic. I asked him to write it down. I thought I’d share it with you. Andy always has an interesting take on members’ work–unique and valuable. In this vein, he has something to say that other authors didn’t mention. 

I added the song Dixie Chicken to a playlist on Spotify last week. I was a disc-jockey thirty years ago, and that song—a southern rock classic by Little Feat—played a lot. When it shuffled onto my car stereo I finally realized the point of the whole thing: everybody at the Commodore Hotel bar knows the chorus. They’ve all learned it from the same ingénue.

This is exactly why I appreciate my critique group. Somehow thirty-years back my headphones were off while I handled other things, and I missed the point of Dixie Chicken. Writers have to wrangle ninety-thousand word manuscripts into some sense of cohesion. Writers are human. Stuff will get missed. A good critique group makes notes on grammar, sentence structure, and theme. It also points out things the author might be too far inside the second-draft to clearly see: might Batman’s cape catch on that flagpole? If the killer wears stretch-pants, won’t everyone notice the gun? Instead of oregano, maybe you meant tarragon?

The world is an imperfect place, and filled with distractions. Errors of memory and judgement happen all the time. While writing a novel is a solitary experience, a good critique group makes the writer feel part of a community of artists, and develops its own internal chemistry about the kind of assistance each member needs.

Also, they won’t let you miss what’s going on at the Commodore Hotel.

~~~

notebook-308849_960_720Andy Gloege is a former writer and editor for CBS News. Currently working on a novel, he lives in Sonoma County, California, with his wife and son.

 

Categories
The Call Box

The Call Box: Random Thoughts

By Ed Meckle, Retired LAPD

polic-call-box-pedestal-lapd-gamewell-DCAL2786_dt1Any copper’s career is made up of many, many hundreds of moments frozen in time, some memorable for one reason or another and some gone as they occur.

I have tried to take note of as many as I can remember as they come back to me. Here, then, are two.

I was a police officer assigned to Metro on a training loan to Juvenile, working alone I am seated with the Vice Principal (VP) in her office at a local high-school about to interview a grand theft suspect. 

Th student is sullen and given to one-word answers or shrugs and I am getting nothing. 

He finally asks, “Why are you accusing me? You don’t have no evidence of nothing.”

Bluffing, I ask, “How about your finger prints?”

“I never been arrested, and nobody ever took my fingerprints so how could you think they was mine?”

Where this thought came from I will never know but I said, “You were born in a hospital, weren’t you?”

He shrugged.

“WERE YOU?”

He nodded—yes.

Ok. “Ever see your birth certificate?”

No answer.

Inkedbirth cert_LI“Well, if you had you would have seen that little baby footprint they put on there.”

No comment.

“That footprint is the same as your fingerprint.”

The VP gave me a “What in the hell are you talking about look?”

My frown and shake of my head silenced her.

Sometime later he stated he might have been there and might have touched something.

The VP just rolled her eyes and gave me the tiniest of smiles.

~~~

revolver-982973_960_720Many, many years later after I retired I received a phone call from a man who had done some handyman work for me years before. Remembering I had been a police officer he wondered if he could ask my advice regarding a problem.

He lived on the second floor of an apartment building in a small nearby town and while seated at his kitchen table cleaning his legally owned handgun noticed what he took to be rust spots on the barrel.

Knowing he could see them better in the sunlight rather than under artificial light, he stepped onto his balcony, held the gun up and examined it.

At that precise moment a woman across, the way saw him and did what some women are prone to do—screamed at the top of her lungs then ducked back inside her apartment. 

Hearing the screams but not seeing the woman, unnerved him to the point of ducking back inside his own apartment wondering what had just happened. Should he go back and check? Does the woman need help? Should he call the police? What to do?

The decision was made for him when he heard sirens, the sounds of running feet, shouts and then the whomp, whomp of a helicopter.

After a few minutes of silence, he opened his door to find a police officer, gun drawn, crouched close by. 

“Get back inside,” the officer commanded.

“What’s wrong,” he asked.

“Stay inside. There’s a man brandishing a gun on the loose in the building.”

I gave him the advice he needed to get his gun back.

 

Categories
Writer's Notes

Mentors: My Personal Mentor

CircleFrontCoverPrintKindle (1)By Barbara Bent

Mentor: An experienced and trusted advisor

No matter where you are in your writing career there are people who know more than you do. If you’re fortunate enough to be friendly with one of them who is willing to teach you the ropes, you’re very lucky. Conferences, workshops, contests and online classes are all helpful, but if you want advice that’s tailored to you and your journey in publishing, it’s best to have a mentor to guide you along the way.

I have been writing for many years. In fact, my personal mentor and I were in a critique group together years ago. Still, I run my writing by her before we devise a plan. Certainly, she wants to know that she’s not promoting a bad piece of work

My personal mentor has everything I need. She has written novels, been a reviewer of nationally known books, as well as a contributor to a well-known blog site. She has hundreds of contacts among powerful authors and publishers.

More importantly, she was a member for many years of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers—known as AFIO and regularly attended their meetings in Washington DC. Because of that association she has asked that I not use her name

I just self-published my first book using a freelance editor to help me, and my co-author avoid common mistakes. I know grammar, I know enough not to hand an agent a manuscript under a bathroom stall door, but I need contacts to help me sell my book, get my name out there and establish a presence.

My mentor’s advice is not always easy to hear, but it’s solid and the publishing world is ever-changing and mysterious. Especially now when so many with unedited, self-published books are clogging the internet.

Because of her background, she is a brilliant Strategist.  Faced with any situation I’ve given her, she has provided a solution. Here is where her advice has served me well. Before I attend conferences, I often go over the list of attendees and the sessions with her. She will advise me as to which authors she knows well, which speakers are the best and everyone I should introduce myself to.  By following her advice, I’ve met some lovely authors, agents and publishers who also suggested contacts for me. My network is growing faster than it would have without a personal mentor

In a sense having a good mentor is like having someone introduce you into society. You know who the players are, who will be friendly, who can help you and will be willing to and how to make the most out of the hectic allotment of your time at these jam-packed events.

She has saved me hours of time, by guiding me in the right direction. Eventually, I probably would have figured some of this out but how nice to have a knowledgeable, generous friend, show me the ropes.

I will always be grateful to my personal mentor for opening many doors for me that would have otherwise been closed.

~~

My co-author Paulette Lippman and I first came up with the idea of Circle in a writing workshop almost 40 years ago. We continued to write but not with very much speed until about 5 years ago when we picked up the pace. Since we now live in the same apartment building, it was easy to have meetings.
I live and work in New York. My first published pieces were confessions. I then moved to short stories for The Star magazine when it was a tabloid. This is my first novel. I’m a member of RWA, MWA and The Authors Guild.

CircleFrontCoverPrintKindle (1)

CIRCLE
What goes around comes around
The perfect beach read for any season

Two fiftyish women are thrown together in a client broker relationship. Through the ups and downs of single life, online dating with dreadful dates, the two of them influence and change each other until one day they realize they’ve come full circle and have, at last attracted what they wanted
Available on AMAZON in paperback and eBook.

Categories
Writer's Notes

Mentors: A Wise and Trusted Guide

BB pub photoBy Barbara Brett

Often when we see someone who has achieved sudden, even surprising, success, we refer to that person as a “self-made” man or woman. In reality, I think there is no such thing. We, and our successes, are all bits and pieces of the people who, along our way, took time out of their lives to give us a helping hand. Sometimes they did it with a word of advice or encouragement. Sometimes with a sympathetic listening ear. Sometimes in a way we may not have been aware of at the time—if ever. I’ve been giving that a great deal of thought since Thonie invited me to write about mentors. Thank you, Thonie, for a big awakening.

There are long and short dictionary definitions of the word “mentor.” I think that “a wise and trusted guide and advisor” says it all. Our first mentors, though we may never have thought of them as that (certainly not when we were teenagers!), are our parents. They are the ones who guide us through the perils of growing up, who teach us right from wrong, who believe in us and encourage us to do our best. Then come our teachers, and after that the people we work with and meet along the way.

Of course, not all of them are mentors. I’ll always remember my high-school freshman English teacher who told me I couldn’t write well and only reluctantly let me move on to a creative-writing course. (Years later, when I sold my first story, I remember looking at the check and thinking, “Take that, Mr. H–!” So, maybe he gave me a negative push in the right direction.) But, soon after the disastrous Mr. H, there was my high school journalism teacher, who gave me all the tools I needed to succeed in my career as an editor and as an author.

According to Oprah Winfrey, “A mentor is someone who allows you to see the hope inside yourself.” That was certainly true of so many of my teachers and professors. In addition, they helped me recognize that I had the ability to turn my hopes and dreams into reality. Think about the mentors in your life, and you’ll see that they have done that for you too.

I never really thought of myself as a mentor. When I was a magazine editor and a book editor, I worked hard to encourage my staff to be the best they could be, and I’m delighted that so many of them have moved on to great success in their careers. Was that mentoring? Only they could tell you. I also worked hard with authors to help them revise their work so they could create the best story or book possible. Was that mentoring? I thought it was just doing my job. And then, at a writers conference several years ago, a woman rushed up and hugged me. “I just heard that you’re Barbara Brett,” she said, “and I had to come over and thank you. When I was writing stories for you, you worked so hard with me. You taught me all I know about plotting and creating characters. That’s why I’m on the best-seller list today!” I felt overwhelmed, yet gratified, too, to learn I’d helped someone’s seeds of talent blossom into success. So maybe I was a mentor. I’m happy to report that that author is still on the best-seller lists.

Part of the mystery of mentoring is that though we can recognize most of the mentors in our own lives, we are often unaware of how much we have been mentors to others. So whatever we are doing, we should do our best—and maybe in that way, we’ll be helping others to do their best too. Still, in our own lives, we should remember the wise words of Diana Ross: “You know, you do need mentors, but in the end, you really just need to believe in yourself.”

~~

BBrett cover Secret Agenda jpgThey are the most powerful men in America: billionaires born to privilege and linked by their membership in the nation’s most elite fraternity. They have always snatched what they want. From the halls of their ivy-league college to the counting houses of Wall Street, nothing has ever stopped them from reaching their nefarious goals. But as they gear up for their biggest takeover of all—the presidency of the United States—they discover to their horror that someone else has a secret agenda too. One by one, they are being castrated by an unknown attacker….

SECRET AGENDA—a riveting mystery of political ambition set in the glittering heights of New York society and darkest depths of Wall Street depravity!

 

 

Categories
Ramblings by Hal

Ramblings: Citizens Arrest

By Hal Collier, Retired LAPD

Citizen Arrest is a law enforcement term used when a citizen arrests an
individual for a misdemeanor crime not committed in an officer’s presence.
Most cops hate citizen arrests. We like to make our own arrests. We prefer
to hunt elephants commonly known as serious offenders, like murder, robbery and rape.

During the hours that I worked (midnight to 8 AM), where I spent most of my career, we seldom had to deal with citizen arrests. We were free to track down a pachyderm.

Sears_building_Los_AngelesNow, Hollywood had more than their share of businesses that had shoplift
details. Sears, Zody’s (Remember Zody’s?), Save-on. Most of these had
competent theft detection employees. They didn’t call us until they had arrested the suspect and completed the arrest report. We also had an agreement that they wouldn’t call us unless the shoplifted dollar amount was over $35. Didn’t want to tie up two cops for hours on a $2.00 crime.

Every once in a while, a private security guard would make an arrest and call
us to take his arrest. That meant no arrest report and usually a minor
offense. There was a Hispanic bar on La Brea that hired a new security
guard. He arrested a patron for a minor battery and called us. He hadn’t written a report, and his arrestee need medical attention. We spent the next four hours cleaning up his arrest. No elephants that night.

Police-Report-Stolen-LaptopAfter a few more arrests by the same security guard, we decided to move him up to the Zody’s class. One night, we arrived at the bar on another citizen arrest. We told the security guard to get his car keys. When he inquired, “¿Por que?” (Spanish for “Why?”) I answered, “Because you’re going to write the arrest report.”

Now, English was a second language to this poor guy. After two attempts at writing a report, it was evident that writing English was also new to him.

I felt like an English teacher but after a few hours he completed the arrest report. Funny, the bar closed an hour before he finished.

Another strange thing: we never had another citizen arrest call to that bar.

Hal

Categories
Writer's Notes

Mentors: So What Is A Mentor?

By Cathy Perkins

mentoring

The term “mentor “ gets thrown around a lot, but what does it really mean?

I’ve spent a huge chunk of my adult life as a manager, then senior manager and director for one of the big four international accounting firms. By definition, my role included developing the people who worked under me—not just their technical skills, although those were essential, but also their relationship skills. Being able to explain and interpret complex transactions, laws and financial requirements to a client, for example, is a key component of the job at this level in the industry.

But was I a mentor to these younger people?

I gave that a lot of thought as I wrote and rewrote this article. My role was to reinforce how the mentee’s current job and contributions fit into his or her long-term career goals, as well as how they personally fit into the bigger picture of the company’s goals. This is probably the classic mentor description.

Sidebar – Speaking of classics, did you know “mentor” comes from the character “Mentor” in Homer’s epic, The Odyssey? Mentor was a trusted friend of Odysseus, the king of Ithaca. When Odysseus fought in the Trojan War, Athena (as Mentor) served as friend, guardian and counsel to Odysseus’ son Telemachus. (Let’s hear it for high school English classes.)

Curious as to how other people viewed mentors, I spent some time online, reading numerous articles about mentors. I found the definition and description varied, depending upon the industry. In social services, for example, especially when working with young people, there’s often an emphasis on core values, fun, volunteering and empathy.

I liked my job and a lot of the people I met over the years, but beyond the shared core values, I didn’t see a lot of crossover to this description. Instead, in a broader sense, I saw a mentor as someone—regardless of the industry—who took a special interest in helping another person develop into a successful professional.

So how does that apply in the writing community?

Over the past few years, I’ve met so many people in the writing community who are incredibly generous with their time and knowledge, who’ve been willing to offer a guiding hand. Sometimes a friendship developed that has lasted for years; with others, it’s been a helpful gesture in the moment.

Are the people in the first category still mentors? Perhaps. The guys at the South Carolina Writes Workshop took me in as a total newbie, encouraged me and tactfully offered suggestions about conflict and structure for a novel. When I moved west, the Yakima Ladies listened to my chapters at our critique sessions and their absolute belief in my ability to weave character, dialogue and conflict meant as much as the woman who pushed me to seek publication.

Initially, all of these wonderful people went out of their way to encourage and teach me the necessary skills of the craft of writing or introduced me to other people who could further that knowledge. While we’re less likely to share that beginning guidance today, the trust and information sharing is still definitely there.

What about the second group? While “mentor” implies a continuing relationship, I can immediately think of people who befriended me at conferences, introduced me to agents, editors, and other authors, and generally offered the critical piece of help I needed in that moment. That generosity is it’s own special category of “mentor.”

Holly Price, the heroine in my current mystery series, is unexpectedly running the family after her father has a midlife brain-fart, runs off with his yoga instructor, and leaves his wife and the business in a precarious position. She’s traded a high profile specialty position in Seattle for a lead role in the family accounting practice. In her Seattle position, she’s never had to be a manager/mentor for the staff and she’s not sure she knows how to do it. Fortunately, Rick (her right hand man) believes in her and her ability:
“I know you used to work for a transaction group,” Sammy said. “What does ‘due diligence’ mean?”
Holly considered how to answer in guy terms. “Before you bought a used car, you’d want to know it ran, right?”
Sammy gave her a look that said, Well, duh.
“So you’d check for Bondo, rust. Get a Carfax report to see if it’d been wrecked or trashed by a flood. Maybe have a mechanic run tests.”
“Got the picture.”
“Buying a ‘used’ company is the same thing. Is the asset labeled ‘building’ an office tower in Pasadena or a burnt-out shell in Watts? Are there liabilities hidden somewhere that are going to come back and bite you?”
“And you want to look at one of our clients?” Rick’s surprise showed in his voice.
She nodded.
“Anything I can do?” Sammy asked.
“Thanks, but not right now.”
Sammy headed to his cubicle and Rick followed her down the hall. As soon as they entered the conference room, he said, “You’re better with the staff than you realize.”
A faint blush warmed her face. “Thanks.”

~~
So-About-the-Money web versionSO ABOUT THE MONEY (Book 1 in the Holly Price Mystery series) romps through eastern Washington with its rivers, wineries, Native American casinos, and assorted farm animals. Add in some wicked fun chemistry between the CPA amateur sleuth and a local detective and she better solve the case before the next dead body found beside the river is hers.

To celebrate the most recent release in the series, SO ABOUT THE MONEY is current on sale for only 99 cents!

Universal buy link – https://books2read.com/u/bOANPQ

In-It-For-the-Money-web2

IN IT FOR THE MONEY (Book 4 in the Holly Price Mystery series)

Holly Price traded professional goals for personal plans when she agreed to leave her high-flying position with the Seattle-based mergers and acquisition team and take over the family accounting practice. Reunited with JC Dimitrak, her former fiancé, she’s already questioning whether she’s ready to flip her condo for marriage and a house in the ‘burbs.

When her cousin, Tate, needs investors for his innovative car suspension, Holly works her business matchmaking skills and connects him with a client. The Rockcrawler showcasing the new part crashes at its debut event, however, and the driver dies. Framed for the sabotage, Tate turns to Holly when the local cops—including JC—are ready to haul him to jail. Holly soon finds her cousin and client embroiled in multiple criminal schemes. She’s drawn into the investigation, a position that threatens her life, her family and her increasingly shaky relationship with JC.

Universal link https://www.books2read.com/u/mYoARp
An award-winning author of financial mysteries, Cathy Perkins writes twisting dark suspense and light amateur sleuth stories. A contributing editor for International Thriller Writers’ The Big Thrill, she also coordinated the prestigious Daphne du Maurier contest.

When not writing, she does battle with the beavers over the pond height or heads out on another travel adventure. She lives in Washington with her husband, children, several dogs and the resident deer herd.
Catch up with her on Facebook ( https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCathyPerkins )
Or Twitter ( https://twitter.com/cperkinswrites ) or follow her on BookBub (https://www.bookbub.com/profile/cathy-perkins )

Categories
More Street Stories

Guest Post: Danny

Please welcome Keith Bettinger, a retired police officer from Suffolk County, NY. Keith has offered us several stories which we will see in the coming weeks.

By Keith Bettinger

Being the guest speaker chairperson for the Shields of Long Island at the time, I needed to find a Christmas meeting speaker for the December meeting. I was fortunate to find John Carlsen. At that time, John was a Deputy Inspector with the Nassau County, N.Y. Police Department. He and his wife, Kathleen had a son named Danny. John came to the Shields meeting because he had a story to tell, a story about Danny.

boy-in-a-wheelchairDanny was a unique child. Prenatal ultrasound showed a condition named hydrocephalus, or commonly referred to as “water on the brain.” Suggestions were made to terminate the pregnancy. After a great deal of discussion, prayer, and tears, Kathleen and John said no. They would have their child and love him no matter what.

On June 6, 1983, Danny was born. Not only did he have hydrocephalus, but he also had spina bifida. Within an hour of his birth, Danny underwent dangerous surgery. Danny wasn’t expected to survive, but he did. Doctors said he would never walk or talk. Kathleen and John never gave up hope.

Danny grew up to be a loving, wonderful child. He went to school. He had many friends. None of them looked at Danny as being handicapped. Danny just used special equipment to get around and get around he did. He competed in the New York State Games for the Physically Challenged and did so for six years, winning more than twenty gold medals.
Danny also became a Youth Ambassador for March of Dimes. He was a natural for the job, having a warm smile, and the gift of gab. He was a born politician. Helping the March of Dimes was important to Danny. Every time his photo appeared in the paper, he called his father at work and said “Hey, Dad, I’m famous again!”

Being different from other children never stopped Danny or his family. He and his parents did everything other families do. They went to baseball games. They visited Disneyworld. They even toured the Smokey Mountains by helicopter. Danny was so well known and liked, that in 1994, his community invited him to be the official lighter of the village Christmas tree.

Danny endured many surgeries during his childhood. He seemed to give strength to the people around him. He had an amazing sense of humor and a quick wit. At the same time, he was sensitive. He wasn’t embarrassed if hugged and kissed in front of his friends. As John said, Danny was one of a kind.

Danny visited his father and the officers assigned to the bureau. Danny loved police officers, and the officers enjoyed his visits. Like many kids, Danny wanted to be a cop. At home, Danny would write his own police reports about the activities in the neighborhood. He told his parents when he grew up, he was going to be a police officer.

Maryland State PoliceThis troubled John and Kathleen. As Danny grew up, they always encouraged him to do his best, that he could be anything he wanted to be. After all the encouragement given their son, how could they tell him, the one thing he really wanted to be, was beyond his reach?

One day in August 1995, Danny woke up with what appeared to be a cold. His parents looked after him that morning. John was sitting on the bed with Danny when Danny stopped breathing. He had developed myocarditis. His parents called 911 and Danny’s heroes – the police responded. They came with their patrol cars and ambulances. John gave his son CPR and the officers helped. They rushed the child who wanted to be just like them, to the hospital. Doctors did their best, but to no avail. If you ever tried to save a child’s life and lost, you know the anguish. Few people know the agony of trying to save their own child and losing that battle.

hearseAs devastated as they were, John and Kathleen decided to let Danny give the gift of sight to those in need. Doctors harvested his corneas and sent them to other hospitals.
At the funeral John and Kathleen were amazed to see how many people loved Danny. More than one thousand people attended his wake. Everyone came to pay their respects; friends and relatives, school bus drivers, teachers, and of course his police officers, all came to say their goodbyes.

The day of Danny’s funeral he received full police honors. Members of the Emergency Services Unit were his pallbearers. There were rows of police cars outside the church. Police Officers stood at attention and saluted while bagpipes played. School Crossing Guards stood in formation. Motorcycles escorted the procession to the cemetery where an honor guard waited for Danny; mounted officers, and his friends from Emergency Services. Officers saluted, crying.

John and Kathleen wanted to share Danny with the people who received his eyes. They contacted the eye bank and asked for a meeting. After a while, a letter arrived. One of the recipients, wanted to meet them. He wanted to thank them for allowing Danny’s cornea to be donated and giving him the gift of sight. Kathleen and John wanted to let this young man know what a wonderful child Danny was.

When they met this man, Ray, they realized once again, God and Danny work in mysterious ways. Ray was about to lose the sight in one eye due to the infection. Danny’s cornea saved not only Ray’s sight, but his job as well. The job Ray was able to keep is the job he wanted and enjoyed; Ray is a New York City Police Officer.

Danny finally got the job he always wanted.
~~~

Keith Bettinger is a retired Suffolk County, NY Police Officer. He’s been writing for law enforcement publications for over 25 years and has received 18 awards for his articles, stories, and books. He has written two books, Fighting Crime with Some Day and Lenny, and End of Watch. He has also contributed his writings in many anthologies including the recently released, I Pledge Allegiance…

 

 

Categories
Writer's Notes

Mentors and Mentees: I’ve Been Both

Shlian Silent SurvivorBy Deborah Shlian

I am a physician (now retired) and a published author of medical mystery/thrillers since the 1980’s. I would never have had the successes I’ve enjoyed had I not found mentors along the way – as I moved along in my medical career and now as I continue to write my novels while the publishing world changes around me.

As a young doctor, fresh out of residency, I joined a large integrated healthcare system (Kaiser Permanente) in Los Angeles. There I found an amazing clinician, outstanding teacher and natural leader who became my first real mentor. Growing up in the early 1960’s, at a time when family and career roles were still fairly differentiated by gender, this view required adjustments from parents, friends and particularly school counselors who regarded nursing or teaching as much more acceptable careers for women than medicine. Indeed, the idea of career itself was “something to fall back on”, to be dusted off should a husband die, or family economics really get tight. Full time wife and mother was the generally accepted proper role for a woman of that era. Dr. Rasgon thought that kind of thinking was baloney and encouraged me to become the best clinician first and then to consider a leadership role within healthcare. Because of his mentoring, when an opportunity to become Medical Director of UCLA’s Student Health Service opened up, I decided to take the risk and put my hat in the ring. I got the job.

At UCLA, I took on the responsibility of oversight for 33,000 students and a large staff of physicians, nurses and non-clinical staff. As my administrative duties expanded, my boss, who became my next mentor, encouraged me to consider getting a Masters in Business. He convinced me that acquiring a working knowledge of the language and concepts of business would allow me to straddle the role of clinician and non-clinician administrator. I enrolled in UCLA’s Anderson School of Management and graduated with an MBA.

While in business school, I decided to write a nonfiction book about the rise of managed care (I had practiced in one of the oldest HMOs in the US and had a unique perspective on what I saw as a revolutionary change in medicine). Unfortunately, publishers in New York in the 1980’s had barely heard the word HMO and told me that the concept would never fly east of the Rockies! A friend who wrote screenplays (Leigh Chapman) and who became my first writing mentor suggested writing a novel and weaving my concerns within a story. Unfortunately, my first attempt was too didactic; I didn’t even try to have it published. However, with my mentor’s encouragement I began to study the craft of novel writing. Robin Cook, a physician and best-selling author, was just getting popular at the time and it was clear that in the context of fiction, he could tell a story that also dealt with some difficult life issue.

The choice to write mysteries versus any other genre seemed natural. To me, a good doctor is really a detective. He or she must take various clues (patients’ symptoms, their physical signs and their story or history) and figure out what’s really going on – that is, make a diagnosis. Since the 1980’s I have co-written three medical mystery/thrillers with my husband (Double Illusion, Wednesday’s Child and Rabbit in the Moon), co-written two in an ongoing series with a physician colleague from California (Dead Air and Devil Wind which feature radio talk show host Sammy Greene).

All of these novels so far have been published by major publishers and all have won several literary awards including four Royal Palm Literary awards from the Florida Writers Association. Rabbit in the Moon won the Florida Book Award’s Gold Medal. Two of my novels have been optioned for screenplays.

Between my last novel published in 2011 and a new mystery/thriller I completed this year, the changes in the publishing world had accelerated. My agent had passed away, I wasn’t happy with my experience with my most recent publisher, and I was suddenly a stranger in a whole new world.

Here’s an irony. A young writer (John Ling) who I have been mentoring for several years has now become my mentor! When I read John’s first self-published short stories, I recognized his talent and encouraged him to write a larger work. His first and subsequent thrillers are as good as any of the top thriller writers around the world (I was one of this year’s Edgar Awards judges, so I think I have a good sense of talent). Despite my advice, John, who is extremely savvy about social marketing, chose to self-publish his novels. Happily, he has become a bestselling author and is one of the few writers these days who is actually making a living as a novelist.

So, with John’s encouragement, I have decided to take the leap and self-publish my newest thriller Silent Survivor. Given that most major publishers are outsourcing the marketing to authors, it makes sense to go down the learning curve and maintain control of your project. I understand that for many authors, this is still a difficult mindset. It has been for me. But I am now relying on the encouragement of my mentor and hoping for the best.

According to Steven Spielberg, “the delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own image but giving them the opportunity to create themselves.”

Bottom line- my career path in both medicine and writing has not been a straightforward path. With each opportunity came a choice and a certain risk. Luckily, I found mentors along the way who helped me consider these forks which have made all the difference.

~~~

Shlian head shot

Deborah Shlian is a physician, healthcare consultant and author of numerous nonfiction articles and books as well as six award-winning medical mystery/thrillers, three co-authored with her husband, Joel. Rabbit in the Moon won the Florida Book Award’s Gold Medal. Her newest medical mystery/thriller, Silent Survivor, won First Place, Royal Palm Literary Award from the Florida Writers Association.

 

NOTE: Every dollar from sales of this book is going to veterans’ charities that deal with PTSD as well as charities that help women who have experienced sexual assault 

 

Here’s the link to Amazon (the book won’t be available until July 31st): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D7JD1QF?ref_=pe_2427780_160035660

 

Here’s the link to the trailer: https://youtu.be/QsmiKrIzgpU

 

Categories
The Call Box

The Call Box: Take Care of Your People

By Ed Meckle, Retired LAPD

The noted poet and playwright, Oscar Wilde, is credited with the phrase, “No good deed goes unpunished.” Nonsensical when first heard, it makes sense when you think about it. Described as a “sardonic commentary on the frequency with which acts of kindness backfire.” 

As a 19-year-old corporal, then 20-year-old sergeant in the Marines I learned many things. Number one was, “Take care of your people.” Now, a 34-year-old lieutenant with the LAPD, it is ingrained, something I did not think about; something I just did.

detectiveI had worked “upstairs” for some years as a robbery detective and really liked the division.  As day watch commander at Wilshire Division I considered myself lucky to have such a good job. It was a good place to work, an old station house but comfortable with a great boss, Captain Pierce Brooks, solid sergeants (over half on probation), tolerable crime stats, and a good group of mostly young officers. 

We were 25 years post-WWII and the veterans were starting to retire. My only concern was trying to put together my daily deployment (car plan) when over half the watch is composed of young officers on probation.

They were a good bunch and I remember losing only one who after the lengthy vetting, and unforgiving academy should suddenly discover he was not suited for and did not like the work. 

Suggested reading: some of Hal’s older blogs, “Recruits from Hell.”

As part of this mix I was blessed with *James Ballinger. He looked as though he stepped from a recruiting poster. Former Marine NCO (non-commissioned officer), former fire-fighter (smoke jumper with the Forest Service), sharp as a tack, mature beyond his years and was developing into a really good street copper. The kind of officer you wish you had a dozen of.

Then, as though done specifically to screw up my life, I got “the letter” from personnel division.

Ballinger had some sort of “heart condition” that had evaded the examining physicians when he took his entrance physical. Now discovered in hindsight, his probation was terminated, and he was fired.

I was to collect his badge and gun and have him report to personnel division to complete the paper work. 

Without a second thought, this was now “my problem.” Ballinger explained that it was an error on personnel division’s part. He had supplied paper work to the city to explain the situation. If the city cardiologist had even read the report this would not be a problem. 

cardiologistOne of the young women that worked the records section was the daughter of a cardiac surgical nurse. I told her, “Call mom ASAP and get me the names and numbers of the three best cardiologists in LA.”

Ten minutes later, number one’s receptionist is explaining that he is booked for 6 months. I heard myself saying things like, “exceptional young man, veteran, career-ending, injustice, terrible error, life and death,” and so on.

She replied, “Tell him to be here at 5 with his paper work. I can get him 10 minutes with the doctor.”

I tell Ballinger to buy a potted plant for the receptionist and ”go get it done.” He got an hour. The city doctor had been a student of “our consulting physician.” The cardiologist authored a report which the city accepted and reversed the termination. 

When I got the good news some time later I felt smug for having beaten city hall and saving one of “my people.”

To put me in my place and show me who was boss, they transferred Ballinger for no apparent reason.

Twelve years passed. I am retired, when in December 1981 a major scandal rocks Hollywood division. A dozen officers and one sergeant are arrested for being part of a burglary ring. All are fired or resign in disgrace. The sergeant is *James Ballinger.

I felt as though I had been punched in the stomach. 

In June of 2014 Hal wrote a four-part series detailing the activities of all the parties. A must read.

Lt. Dan Cooke the press relations officer was quoted “We will get over it, but we will never forget it.” 

* James Ballinger is not his true name, he went on to have a successful career in another field  so I will let it rest there.

As to heart trouble, he wasn’t the only one affected. He broke mine.