Category: Writer’s Notes

Information and opinions from fellow authors covering monthly topics such as Contests, Conferences, Mentors, and Writing Clubs. Even seasoned authors learn something here.

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Writer's Notes

A Chat with Author George Cramer

Mona Lisa Sisters by George Cramer

By George Cramer

The Mona Lisa Sisters by George Cramer

The Mona Lisa Sisters is a tender journey into the making of a family. The novel is full of careful historical detail and the pleasure of European trains and cities and plenty of mystery to keep the pages turning, but the greatest delight is Lura Grisham herself.

– Ramona Ausubel, author of Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty

An enrolled descendant of the Karuk Tribe of California, George Cramer, brings forty years’ investigative experience to crime and historical fiction. He holds an MFA-Creative Writing Program from the Institute of American Indian Arts.

George conducted and managed thousands of successful investigations throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia. He kept his investigative skills honed by volunteering as a Missing Person’s investigator at the San Leandro, California Police Department.

In addition to the Public Safety Writers Association, George is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and the California Writers Club. He is a contributing author to several anthologies and the Veteran’s Writing Project. Other than writing, his love is long-distance motorcycle riding his 2001 Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic.

George’s debut novel, The Mona Lisa Sisters, was published in 2020.

When and how did you begin your writing journey? Before my sixty-eighth birthday, I was laid off from a fantastic job when H-P bought out Palm, Inc., beginning a journey through the world of age discrimination. One day, I saw a note about a writing class at the Dublin Senior Center—whose doors I swore never to cross. I took the class and fell in love with writing. Overcoming forty-five years of report writing was difficult. One day, the instructor randomly passed out photos to the class. “Take fifteen minutes and describe the scene.” I did not do as instructed. The second I saw the image of two young girls staring up at the Mona Lisa, I knew I was going to write a novel. In fifteen minutes, I had a rough sketch of what began an eight-year ride to The Mona Lisa Sisters.

I knew I needed help and formal training. For help, I joined the Tri-Valley Branch of the California Writers Club, followed by the Public Safety Writers Association. I went to the local community college for formal training, Las Positas, and pursued an English degree. I followed by the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe, New Mexico, for an MFA.

Writing at sea

IAIA introduced me to a group of superlative authors and mentors. My cohort mentors were Ramona Ausubel, Ismet (Izzy) Prcic, and Marie-Helene Bertino. These fantastic people guided my writing throughout the program and remain in my life.

Thonie asked about projects and what book I’m reading. That’s tough. For pure enjoyment, I just reread Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley. Two book clubs selected The Mona Lisa Sisters, so I’m reading eleven of the other books selected for the year. I’m reading a half-dozen other novels for a project I’m excited about.

When I began work on Mona Lisa, I set aside a thriller/police procedural spread over forty years, 1930 to mid-1970. I hope to have it published by the end of 2021. I’m also working my way through a crime trilogy. I never knew retirement would be so hectic.

George Cramer

The Mona Lisa Sisters is available through Amazon and the IAIA Book Store. You can reach me at gdcramer@msn.com and visit my blog at https://gdcramer.com. If you stop by, please leave a comment and follow.

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Writer's Notes

6 Must-Know Online Resources for Writers

Desiree Vallena's Online Writing Tools
Desiree Vallena’s Online Writing Tools

By Desiree Vallena

Desiree is new to Writers Notes but is a welcome addition. I’ve been writing for many years but all of these tools are new and very exciting! I’m sure no matter how long you’ve been at the keyboard, you’ll find something interesting. ~~ Thonie

Whether you’re looking for educational content or a community, there’s never been a better time to be a writer — all thanks to the good ol’ World Wide Web. From the most granular details of craft (we’re talking word choice and comma placement) to the big picture of how to become a professional writer, there’s help out there for every step of the writing process.

With that in mind, today I want to introduce you to some tried-and-tested online resources that have helped me over the course of my writing career — from technical tools, to creative stimuli, to my productivity essentials.

1. OneLook’s reverse dictionary

If you’re anything like me, you sometimes find yourself completely unable to conjure a particular word you’re thinking of. The perfect word can be right on the tip of your tongue — or should I say fingers, since it usually happens while writing — but will somehow still evade you.

If this affliction troubles you too, I recommend trying out OneLook’s reverse dictionary. Just type in what you can recall (whether that’s a definition, a related word, or the vague idea) and OneLook will provide you with a group of suggested words, organized by relevance. A great quick fix for when you’re struggling to come up with the perfect… oh, what’s that word again?

2. Story Planner

There’s a lot of debate among writers over the best practice for how to plan a novel. From “pantsers” to “Snowflake Method” devotees, you’ve probably had enough of other writers trying to sell you on their way of doing things.

Luckily, Story Planner helps you wade through the sea of planning methods by letting you try them all on for size. Their different planning routes (which all come with a handy indication of how much time they’ll take) provide you with a framework to guide your process. It’s a straightforward, no-nonsense approach that will help you figure out what works best for you.

3. Grammar Girl

You’ve almost certainly heard of Mignon Fogarty’s powerhouse of a blog, Grammar Girl — and for good reason. If you’ve ever stumbled over a piece of grammar, or wondered what the rules actually are for using a question mark with parentheses (seriously, inside or outside?), Grammar Girl will lead you through it in an easily digestible format. Be sure to check out her podcast while you’re there!

4. Plot Generator

For the more fortunate among us, story inspiration can strike spontaneously, and in the most unexpected places. But what if an idea doesn’t just magically fall into your lap? Even the most creative writers can go through dry spells inspiration-wise, and that’s where the Reedsy Plot Generator comes in.

This page will automatically generate tons of unique story ideas for you. A word of warning: the ideas can be pretty random, so while you may not always find an oven-ready plot among its suggestions, this plot generator is a super-entertaining tool to get your creative juices flowing. You never know what might spark off your next big idea!

5. Critique Circle

One of the best parts of being online as a writer is the opportunity to access huge communities of like-minded folks. Critique Circle is one of the corners of the internet that provides just that. This online critiquing platform connects writers with fellow writers (and readers) who give constructive feedback, free of charge.

You have to provide three reviews to be eligible to post your own work for criticism, meaning the community consistently pulls its weight — and while the level of detail you receive from your critique does vary somewhat, Critique Circle is still a great place to get eyes on your work if you don’t have writing pals in real life. If you’d like to join this type of platform, be sure to check out Mary Feliz’s tips on how to be an asset to your critiquing circle here.

6. SelfControl

As Susan McCormick points out in her excellent guest post, there are ample sources of  distraction for the work-from-home writer: “the view outside the window, the dog angling for a tummy rub, the children clamoring for a snack or a game” and so on. And since we’re all stuck at home for the foreseeable future, how can we overcome these little daily disturbances? While it’s difficult to control external distractions, one thing we can do to maintain focus is limiting our online distractions. And there’s a tool for that: SelfControl.

No, I’m not just being passive-aggressive. SelfControl is the actual name of a browser extension and app, which lets you block certain sites for the set periods of time you choose. If you’re a chronic procrastinator like me, you can block out your main time-suck sites, whether that’s Facebook, YouTube, or cute puppy Pinterest boards. Fewer distractions equals more focus, so eliminating online noise should help you write faster and get more done!

I sincerely hope you’ve found these recommendations helpful, and that they’ve inspired you to explore new ways of using the internet to help you on your writing journey. Good luck!

Desiree Villena is a writer with Reedsy, a marketplace that connects self-publishing authors with the world’s best editors, designers, and marketers. In her spare time, Desiree enjoys reading contemporary fiction and writing short stories. She tries her best to take her own advice when it comes to writing, but couldn’t get by without her secret seventh tool: a strong cup of coffee.

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Writer's Notes

Guest Post: How NOT to Pitch Your Book to Bloggers and Reviewers

Smothered by G.P. Gottlieb
Click here for a 30% off deal from the publisher:
G.P. Gottlieb’s Smothered
A Whipped and Sipped Mystery

Today’s guest is a prolific author/blogger, G. P. Gottlieb, who shares her tips for pitching. Great pointers here!—Thonie

By G. P. Gottlieb 

“I would be delighted to be interviewed for the New Books Network. Thanks. Here’s my email.”

I just deleted that message. I am host for New Books in Literature, a podcast channel on the New Books Network. Although I interview authors of both commercially and independently published fiction, I focus on independent presses, which I believe deserve more attention. My purview is contemporary literary fiction and I have recently also started interviewing one literary mystery writer each month. To find authors, I review pitches from publishers and publicists, read journals, get recommendations from other authors, and scroll through my social media groups.

I am also an author (my first culinary mystery was released in 2019) and know how hard it is to find readers, so I’m surprised that so many authors and publicists don’t take the time to prepare before contacting me. They don’t look me up on the NBN website or listen to any of my podcasts, all available on the site for free. If they checked, they’d see that there is a place to pitch their books, they’d notice that there are many different NBN channels, and they’d learn that I’m the host for New Books in Literature.

For my own marketing purposes regarding my soon-to-be-published second culinary mystery, I’ve spent hours researching potential mystery book reviewers, podcasters, bloggers, and other sites. Before sending a request, I check the host’s review policy, I triple-check the spelling of the host’s name, and I confirm that the host is interested in culinary mysteries. I bet that most people who accept pitches would rather get books that interest them, presented thoughtfully, than three pages of blurbs about a book they won’t read or shot-in-the-dark messages which, like me, they’ll just delete.

I like to think of it as creating a relationship instead of asking a favor of someone I’ve never met.   Thonie Hevron, a mystery author who posts guest essays and book reviews on her website and in all the usual places, talks about professional courtesy. “Don’t waste another’s precious time. This business is about relationships, not what you can get from another,” she says, adding, “Some of the most satisfying professional and personal relationship I have are with authors I’ve met online.”

She’s way friendlier than me, but I finally figured out how important it is to become Facebook friends with authors I’ve interviewed and with bloggers and reviewers who have helped me publicize my culinary mystery. Even if I just follow them and they don’t follow me back, I get more of a feeling that we’re all in this together.

There is no guarantee that these suggestions will assure you a successful book launch or wonderful sales, but maybe they’ll help you establish a better relationship with bloggers, bookstore owners, and podcast hosts who just might dedicate some time to helping you publicize your book.

Be clear and upfront in the subject line. Type: “Book Review Request,” or “Guest Blog Post.” Remember that your e-mail could be one of hundreds in their inbox. One of my colleagues always responds, even if the subject line says, “You Must Read My Amazing, Award-Winning Novel.” That colleague is a sweetie-pie. I’d delete it in a heartbeat.

Acknowledge a human being in your greeting. Don’t start blabbing about your book without some kind of greeting. “Dear G.P.” is fine, or “Hi, Best Blog in the World.” Being friendly goes a long way.

Acknowledge the site before launching into a pitch, maybe say something about it. “Brilliant questions in your penetrating interview with W. Shakespeare. My novel is also set in England!”

Don’t give a host work to do. If it’s a mysterious title, explain it. If you message my Facebook page, say you’re requesting an interview and give me your FB link and email address. I’m not going to take the time to google you. And one message will be sufficient – I hate how FB Messenger interrupts whatever I’m doing.

If you don’t hear back, don’t send a follow-up request. Just put that host/blogger/reviewer in your ‘Not this time’ file. You can try again with your next book. Or the one after that. For this book, I sent out nearly 100 requests for reviews and received about 25 responses. It’s a numbers game. Just send out a lot of requests.

Don’t argue with a potential host/blogger/reviewer: If I tell you I’m not interested in ‘Mystery of the Lost Shoe,’ don’t tell me that it’s completely different from anything I’ve ever read. As my NBN colleague, C.P. Lesley, the friendly host for New Books in Historical Fiction writes, “If the host tells you she has no time in her schedule, don’t write back demanding to know when space might be available.”

Make sure to ask what format the host prefers: Don’t add attachments until they are requested. And if the host prefers reading a physical book, don’t go into a lengthy explanation about why it’s only available as an eBook. Yup, that happened once. You are asking someone to invest time in helping you market your book, so offer to send the format they prefer, even if it costs more.

Follow the host/blogger/reviewer on social media: Denise Fleischer, who reviews books and offers book promotions at Gotta Write Network says, “This is the single best way of thanking someone who helps publicize your book.” Denise also suggests that you consider the nominal fee sometimes charged for coordinating a blog tour and thank the host/reviewer/blogger on your social media.

I’m sure, or relatively sure, that I don’t need to mention this (I can ‘hear’ you rolling your eyes) but it would be nice if you conclude your request with a “thank you.”  

Good luck, fellow authors!

About G.P. Gottlieb: (https://gpgottlieb.com)
G.P. has worked as a musician, a teacher, and an administrator, but she’s happiest when writing recipe-laced murder mysteries. Battered: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery and Smothered: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery take place in the spring and summer of 2019 and a third book in the series will center on a murder that occurs during the city of Chicago’s lockdown in May 2020. G.P. Gottlieb has always experimented in the kitchen and created her delicious vegan cookies and cakes in direct opposition to what she learned in courses at Chicago’s French Pastry School. She is host for New Books in Literature, a podcast channel on the New Books Network, the mother of three grown children, and lives with her husband in a Chicago high-rise that is strikingly similar to the building portrayed in the Whipped and Sipped Mystery series.
Smothered A Whipped and Sipped Mystery

Click here for a 30% off pre–sale price from the publisher!

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Writer's Notes

Getting Ready

Felony Murder Rule is due out any time now. I just received promotional postcards and bookmarks created by unique talent and friend, Michel Wing. Here’s where I’ll announce when and where Felony Murder Rule will be available for purchase in eBook (Kindle) and print copy.

Thonie

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Mystery Readers Only Writer's Notes

Guest Post: Maris Soule’s Take on Coming Up With Ideas

Girl running in empty, dark tunnel. Symbolizing escape, looking for exit or freedom. Toned BW photo
A Killer Past by Maris Soule

By Maris Soule

I’m often asked, “How do you come up with your ideas?” Well, Mary Harrington took form during a walk with my husband. We’d just watched the TV show Nikita (A rogue assassin returns to take down a secret organization) and I said, “I wonder what she would be like in her seventies?”

Hmm. I had a character. A woman in her seventies who regularly works out at the gym and has kept a low profile since moving to Rivershore, a small, rural town in southwest Michigan. She’s a widow whose grown son thinks, for her safety, she should move out of the two-story house she’s called home for almost forty-four years. A woman with secrets.

Mary Harrington became real to me, but now I needed an event to change the course of her life. I came up with two. First, she’s featured in a magazine article about the mental and physical advantages of older people staying active. Her picture is included, showing Mary working out at the gym, and the article goes out on the Internet, where it can be (and is) seen by people from her past. And then, the night before Halloween, Mary’s car breaks down two blocks from her house, and two gang members see her as easy prey. When one of the punks grabs her, Mary discovers old habits are hard to forget, and the gang members are the ones who end up in the hospital.

Of course, I needed a foil, someone intent on discovering why Mary isn’t willing to admit she bested the boys. Enter Sergeant Jack Rossini, Rivershore’s lone investigator. He’s a widower and younger than Mary by over a decade, who finds her fascinating, especially when he discovers there’s no record of her life prior to her arrival in Rivershore and is told by the F.B.I. to drop his investigation.

I loved writing this book. It was fun verbally pitting Mary against Jack, creating a son who thinks his mother can’t take care of herself, and a snobbish daughter-in-law who wants to trace Mary’s family tree. To the mix, I added a drug pushing gang and a man from her past who want her dead.

As an older woman myself, I hate being classified as “elderly.” The word conjures up images of feeble and weak. Yes, I can’t do everything I used to do when I was younger, but I still remember some of the Judo I learned in my teens. Don’t try grabbing my arm and pulling me somewhere I don’t want to go. And I may not see the target as well as I did in my younger years, but I can still put some bullet holes near the center. I never learned how to use some of the weapons Mary had hiding in her basement, but it was fun doing the research.

So, what would a woman who was an assassin in her twenties be like in her seventies? Meet Mary Harrington who has A KILLER PAST.

Maris Soule

About Maris:

Maris Soule has had thirty books published, ranging from romance and romantic suspense to mystery and thriller. Over the years, her books have won and placed in more than a dozen contests. Born and raised in California, she was working on a master’s degree in art history when she met and married her husband. She taught high school art and math for eight years before turning to writing full time. The Soules, who have two grown children and two granddaughters, now live in Michigan in the summer and Florida in the winter.

Visit her at:

https://www.marissoule.com

http://facebook.com/marissoule

https://www.facebook.com/MarisSouleAuthor/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/305476.Maris_Soule

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Writer's Notes

Guest Post: Where I Get My Ideas From

The Corpse Who Knew Too Much

By Debra Sennefelder

As a published author, I get many questions about the writing process, and one of the most common questions is where I get my ideas from. The answer is that ideas are everywhere. That’s the easy part. The challenging part is being able to identify whether an idea can sustain an entire book. There are times when an idea hits, and an author instantly knows that it can carry a book, and I have to say it’s a great feeling when that happens. Luckily, that happened for my new release, THE CORPSE WHO KNEW TOO MUCH.

For the fourth book in the Food Blogger Mystery series, I was inspired by my curiosity about cold cases and my interest in podcasts. As I listened to these shows, I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to listen to a podcast about a crime that I was familiar with. Perhaps one that happened in my town or to someone I knew. That started the wheels spinning for me, and ideas began to flow.

Some of the best true crime podcasts I listened to had a foreboding vibe, atmospheric music, and a well-written script that drew me into the case. I wanted to bring that ambiance into the book by inserting snippets from the podcast, Search for The Missing.

When I sat down to write up a summary of this book, I knew I wanted it to revolve around a true-crime podcast focused on a twenty-year-old missing woman’s case. Hope Early, the amateur sleuth in my Food Blogger Mystery series, was a teenager when Joyce Markham went missing. Joyce was the mother of Hope’s friends. A hum of anxiety rippled through the town at the disappearance because no one knew what to expect next. Would another wife and mother disappear? Was it an isolated case? Or, had Joyce had simply walked away from her life?

There are other times when a real-life incident serves as inspiration. For the second book in the series, THE HIDDEN CORPSE, the unexpected visit of a neighbor’s elderly mother to my house started that ball rolling. By the end of the day, I had the book’s opening and an essential thread for the story all planned out.

Then there are news stories that can spark an idea. Most recently, there was an intriguing, almost unbelievable story on the news, and my ears perked up immediately. By the time I found the report on the news channel’s website, I had the story’s base already formed, and I can’t wait to write it.

Earlier I noted that it’s a part of our job as an author to determine whether an idea can carry a novel. Another aspect of our job is the manage our active imaginations. It’s very easy to be lured away from a work-in-progress to something new, shiny, and full of potential. The struggle is real, and I’ve found keeping a trusty notebook always within reach a valuable tool.

I hope this insight into where this author gets her ideas helps you better understand the writer’s brain. Sometimes it can be a scary place, but it’s always entertaining.

Novel Synopsis:

Food blogger Hope Early takes on a cold case that’s heating up fast . . .
 
Building on her recipe for success with her food blog, Hope at Home, Hope is teaching her first blogging class at the local library in Jefferson, Connecticut. She’s also learning about podcasts, including a true-crime one called Search for the Missing, hosted by Hope’s childhood friend, Devon Markham. Twenty years ago on Valentine’s Day, right here in Jefferson, Devon’s mom disappeared and was never found. Finally Devon has returned to solve the mystery of what happened to her mother—and she asks Hope to help.

The next day Hope discovers Devon’s apartment has been ransacked. Her laptop with the research on her mother’s cold case is missing, and Devon is nowhere to be found. When her friend’s body is later discovered in a car wreck, Hope is convinced it’s no accident. Clearly, Devon was too close to the truth, and the cold-blooded killer is still at large in Jefferson. Now it’s up to Hope to find the guilty party—before the food blogger herself becomes the next subject of another true-crime podcast . . .

Includes Recipes from Hope’s Kitchen!

About the Author:

Debra Sennefelder is an avid reader who reads across a range of genres, but mystery fiction is her obsession. Her interest in people and relationships is channeled into her novels against a backdrop of crime and mystery.

Her first novel, THE UNINVITED CORPSE (A Food Blogger mystery) was published in 2018.When she’s not reading, she enjoys cooking and baking and as a former food blogger, she is constantly taking photographs of her food. Yeah, she’s that person.

Born and raised in New York City, where she majored in her hobby of fashion buying, she now lives and writes in Connecticut with her family. She’s worked in retail and publishing before becoming a full-time author. Her writing companion is her adorable and slightly spoiled Shih Tzu, Connie.

Buy Link:

Directs to Kensington’s website for retailers.

Shortlink – https://bit.ly/2UwuEUD

Longlink – https://www.kensingtonbooks.com/9781496728913/the-corpse-who-knew-too-much/

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Writer's Notes

Getting it Right-Technical Advice for Novelists by Danny R. Smith

Police and detective stories have withstood the test of time, and they are not going away anytime soon. If you’re writing crime novels but have no law enforcement experience, how do you get it right?

Most crime writers have no personal experience with the crimes about which they write, nor with the resulting investigative processes and procedures. If you don’t know the subject matter of which you write, you somehow need to learn it.

It is not enough to rely on what you have read or watched for entertainment as your main source of expertise. If you do, you will inevitably get it wrong. Maybe you’ll be close, but for me, personally, close doesn’t cut it.

Authors Who Get it Right

One of my favorite authors has always been Elmore Leonard. Unlike most, the “King of Dialogue” had the remarkable ability to write as a twenty-year veteran cop, and as a twenty-year convict, though he was never either one. Clearly, he spent a tremendous amount of time studying both, and he probably had great technical advisors along the way.

Joseph Wambaugh is a cop-turned-author, the trailblazer of authentic police procedure novels. Now, as decades have passed since he worked a beat himself, Wambaugh consults today’s cops so that his writing is authentic and true to the time.

Michael Connelly has a host of LAPD technical advisors, and he gets the details right most of the time. (He could use an advisor from the sheriff’s department because he has made glaring mistakes when speaking of my former department.) As a former cop-beat reporter, Connelly knows the importance of being technically correct in characters and scenes, and I give him credit for that.

How to Find Experts

One great resource for crime writers who have no police experience is Writer’s Detective, a website and blog hosted by a California police officer named Adam. (He uses the pen name B.A. Richardson, as he is still an active duty law enforcement officer.) He also has a Facebook group where he and other experts will answer questions. If you join the group, you will learn who has true expertise and learn to rely upon them and ignore some of the others who love to answer every question, though they have no experience themselves.

Many writers use Adam’s services, and I can personally tell you that his advising is always spot on. He also now hosts a podcast, and it is my understanding he will be releasing a book that will offer even more technical advice for writers.

Another great resource is a recently-retired Milwaukee PD sergeant named Patrick O’Donnell. He published a book on the topic as well: Cops and Writers. Though I haven’t read the book, it has good reviews, and I contributed to some of the material he used to write it.

Along the lines of Facebook groups, there are other great resources for writers. Legal Fiction, which is hosted by an attorney, and Trauma Fiction, a group hosted and attended by medical experts, are both worth joining for writers who need direction in those areas.

Lee Lofland’s book Police Procedure and Investigation: A Guide for Writers is another great resource for writers. Lofland is the founder of Writers’ Police Academy-MurderCon, “a special training event for writers of all genres, with a specific focus on solving the crime of murder,” and is a highly regarded consultant for writers.

My Experience

I have personally served as a consultant on several books. I’ve been mentioned in a couple, including one by a best-selling romance author. She had found me through a friend and asked if I would be willing to answer questions and provide some guidance while she wrote her book. I made myself available to her for several months as she worked on her novel.

Some consultants charge for their work, which is completely appropriate. However, many authors don’t make enough (or any) money on their books and do not have a budget that would allow them to pay for technical advisors. My technical advising thus far has been without compensation, but I wouldn’t do it again unless the person asking for help was a friend or associate, and the commitment was minimal.

Are All Cops Experts?

If you do find a cop or someone retired from law enforcement who is willing to help, make sure he/she has expertise in the area you seek. Not all cops are investigators. (In fact, most are not.) Not all cops are experts in traffic enforcement, or gang enforcement, or arson investigation. If you want an expert, find someone who could qualify in a court of law as an expert in the field of whatever it is you are seeking information.

A word of caution: There are those who have “supervised” and claim expertise in the field to which they were assigned. In some cases, this may be true. But most often, at least in the field of homicide investigation, supervisors do not conduct investigations themselves; rather, they oversee the work of their staff. That does not necessarily make one an expert. Many of the supervisors who were selected to go to the homicide bureau at LASD had no investigative experience because it was not necessary that they did. Their roles as supervisors had nothing to do with being investigators.

What Does it Cost?

The aforementioned Facebook groups are examples of where to find free advice. Just make sure the person offering the advice has some level of expertise and didn’t Google the answer to your question. (You could have done that yourself.) Books can be inexpensive, and of course, podcasts and blogs are free.

If you do find someone with expertise who is willing to help you without compensation, you should be very appreciative of his/her help. The knowledge they share with you was hard-earned, and likely has a greater value than even they know. The romance author I mentioned thanked me in her book. I didn’t expect anything more than that, but you might consider sending a gift certificate for a coffeehouse or maybe a steakhouse as a way of showing your appreciation. Most importantly, don’t use them and move on. I reached out to that author I had helped when I published my first book, and she never responded to me.

Writing Advice for the Cops

Conversely, if you are a cop who is determined to tell your story, you, too, should get it right — the writing part of it. Learn to write so that your prose is enjoyable to read. Writing to entertain is far different than writing police reports and affidavits. I learned that valuable lesson the hard way, having submitted some of my early work to an editor and an agent at a writer’s conference only to have it returned peppered with red ink. The harsh reality was that I had a lot to learn (and still do) about writing. Since I didn’t take college courses on creative writing, there was much I didn’t know, such as identifying and slaying as much passive voice as possible and paying attention to proper sentence structure.

Hire an Editor

Lastly, I have an editor. She is invaluable to me. Every published author has at least one. If you are self-publishing, you need to find a qualified editor (or two) and submit everything you write to her for review. Doing so has freed me to write more and worry less about commas and trying to figure out that whole lay, lie, lain, and laid thing (my greatest grammatical nemeses).

Best of luck to all of my fellow writers, authors, novelists, dramatists, bloggers, scribblers, and other assorted and glorious wordsmiths.

A Good Bunch of Men

About Danny R. Smith:

Danny R. Smith spent 21 years with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the last seven as a homicide detective. He now lives in Idaho where he works as a private investigator and consultant. He is blessed with a beautiful wife and two wonderful daughters, and he is passionate about his dogs and horses, all of whom he counts among his friends.

He is the author of the bestselling and award-winning Dickie Floyd Detective Novel series, and he has written articles for trade publications. He publishes a weekly blog called The Murder Memo, which can be found at dickiefloydnovels.com.

He is a member of the Idaho Writers Guild and the Public Safety Writers Association.

Blog: The Murder Memo

Books: Dickie Floyd books

Thonie: I thought I’d add my comment to Danny’s post.

As a LE veteran, it galls me to find gross inaccuracies in the novel I’m reading. Some errors I can put down to the author using a municipal agency procedure applied to a state agency. They can be vastly different. Here in NorCal, I never heard “vic” or “perp” except on TV. A cop character’s language can speak volumes to their make-up. Danny’s list goes a long way to helping the author with resources. Another is Citizen Academies. My local police and sheriff’s office do academies (including one in Spanish) which help introduce the cop culture to the public.
Also an agency Public Information Officer may be able to help. If nothing else he/she could point you to a department or individual who may be able to answer your questions. Authors can make contacts via these two above avenues.
One last thought: cops are suspicious by nature. Cold-calling seldom bears fruit. If you need assistance, do your research first. Find out what you can from the internet, etc. about the organization. Cops also hate wasting their time. If you are professional (make an appointment, business cards, etc.) they are more likely to help. The trick is simple: build a relationship. As Danny said earlier, the romance author he helped didn’t return the “favor” when he reached out. He probably won’t help her again.

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Writer's Notes

Guest Post: Raising the Stakes

Airborne by DiAnn Mills

DiAnn Mills

Every writer strives to keep readers turning pages, and that means raising the stakes in every scene. We want the reader to endure sleepless nights, forego cooking meals, forget to pick up the kids from school, and whatever else it takes to keep them engrossed and experiencing our stories. Every line of the story must build suspense.

The following are a few ways to help writers raise critical stakes for tight, emotive scenes.

Caught in the Crucible

Are the characters caught in the middle of something they possess, either mentally or physically, in which both refuse to let go? The crucible is greater than the characters’ desires, like two children who want the same toy.

Sol Stein suggests using the “crucible” as a means to drive the plot forward. He defines the technique as an environment, either mental or physical, that bonds people together. The crucible is greater than their desires, and neither is willing to give it up.

Choices and Doubts

Have you ever given up on a goal or decided the challenge wasn’t worth the trouble? Considered quitting? Abandoned the dream for a while? We want our characters to mirror our emotions, and we want them to overcome their fears to succeed.

Consider the choices confronting a character. Have him/her choose between two rights. Which one? Why? Still looking for more conflict? Force the character to choose between two wrongs. Imagine the guilt, the responsibility, the consequences, and the circumstances surrounding the dilemma. Make the character’s life messy, with a believable storyline and characters who embrace unpredictable yet realistic behavior.

Chapter hooks are as vital to the story as the hook in the beginning. End each scene with high stakes, an outer or inner struggle that spins with emotion. This technique will keep the reader up all night turning page after page to discover what happens next.

Complications

How can a writer seriously affect the plot and the characters’ lives to raise the stakes? This can be done by:

  • New information
  • Unexpected complications
  • Changes in relationships
  • Eliminating a character
  • Subplots
  • Opposing goals
  • Problems: physical, mental, spiritual

A “Whoa, I didn’t see that coming!” scene foils readers who think they can read the beginning of a novel then skip to the climax and resolution.

Emotion

Readers want to experience what a character is feeling and understand why. A character’s personality dictates reactions, and the greatest emotion comes from facing a conflict head-on. This is an area where word choice and body language collide and add depth to the suspense.

Imagine a scene where a character’s loved family member is in danger. The character’s emotions are on one level, while the logical side of the character must find a way to remove the danger.

Don’t cheat the reader by failing to use every ounce of emotion and action to build higher stakes.

Fears and Weaknesses

This forces the character not only to struggle but also to face an inner and outer antagonist. Research the character’s backstory to incorporate fears, blind spots, betrayal, and weaknesses. Weave these traits into the character’s goal or problem, then show how the quest is impossible without overcoming the fear or weakness.

Point of View

The point of view selected by the writer is crucial to the story’s rising stakes. The POV choice is best made by “who has the most to lose” if a goal isn’t reached. The person who has the highest stakes will be the one whom the reader forms a sympathetic bond.

Roles

Provide the character with more than one role in the story and make life difficult for the protagonist and/or antagonist. For example, a police officer may wrestle with arresting a drug dealer if the suspect is his best friend’s spouse.

Antagonistic Setting

Tension, conflict, and suspense explode when a setting is unfamiliar and hostile. Not only do the stakes raise for the character to survive, but it may also force the character to grow into a better person. How does a writer accomplish an antagonistic setting? Begin by concentrating on a few traits of a villain: determined, powerful, an outward appearance of beauty or charm, and the ability to deceive. The adversity of setting can be obvious or hidden but include it in ways that force the character to make tough decisions and then accept responsibility for those actions.

Raising the Stakes is not an engine additive to a story. It’s a process that begins long before the first line is written. High stakes are a mindset that influences every technique of novel writing and coincides with character goals. Look at your story. Where can you raise the stakes?

DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who believes her readers should expect an adventure. She is a storyteller and creates action-packed, suspense-filled novels to thrill readers. Her titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists; won two Christy Awards; and been finalists for the RITA, Daphne Du Maurier, Inspirational Readers’ Choice, and Carol award contests.

DiAnn is a founding board member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, a member of Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers. She is the director of the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference, Mountainside Retreats: Marketing, Speakers, Nonfiction and Novelist with social media specialist Edie Melson where she continues her passion of helping other writers be successful. She speaks to various groups and teaches writing workshops around the country.

Connect with DiAnn here:

Website: https://diannmills.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/diannmills

Twitter: https://twitter.com/diannmills

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/diann-mills

Categories
Writer's Notes

Guest Post: Gloria Casale

This is an excerpt of Gloria Casale’s autobiography. Gloria is a renaissance woman born before her time. A nurse, physician, expert in bioterrorism transport, infectious diseases who received advanced training in anesthesiology, preventative medicine, and public health. I’m proud to say Gloria gave me the idea for a sinister plot line in my third novel, With Malice Aforethought. She’s a friend as well as a colleague.

Look for it on Amazon November 30th! But today, you can buy her two novels on Amazon. Links are below the bio.

An excerpt from Gloria Casale’s autobiography:

Early 60s.

            The prince married the princess and they lived happily ever after.  

            I didn’t marry a prince, I married a two case of beer a week drinking frog. When he graduated from college he took a job with a company in New York City. It came with three martini lunches.       

            There was no ‘happily ever after for us.’

            This was before ‘the pill,’ before Women’s Lib, before Equal Rights for Women. Women quit their jobs the day before they got married or as soon as they were six months pregnant. Most husbands didn’t want their wives to go back to work until their youngest child graduated from high school.

            It took four years, a lot of marital discord, and two children for me to get the frog out, put the house on the market, and move to Mom’s house.

            In less than two weeks I had a job as Evening Supervisor in a hospital in Newark. 

            I took care of the kids during the day and worked in the evening. Any crisis meant  a midnight or one a.m. departure time. That translated to a two a.m. arrival in Garwood.  Mom didn’t understand.

            Arguing with her on a nightly basis wasn’t worth it. I found an apartment in Newark. As I put the last box in my car, Mom kissed us goodbye and said, “Come for dinner on Sunday.” 

            Back then, the labor law in New Jersey put nurses in the same class as waiters, waitresses, taxi-drivers, barbers and hair dressers. We didn’t have to be paid even minimum wage.           

            My husband wasn’t paying the agreed child support. He never took the kids for their weekends. My mother-in-law told me to stop being selfish. “After-all,” she said, “spending weekends in New York City with his buddies was expensive and time consuming. I had to understand, his new life was taking his entire salary.”

            I didn’t understand.  My pay check barely covered the child care, phone, utilities, food, gas for the car and rent on my two bedroom apartment.

            The guy I dated all through high school and college and everyone thought I would marry showed up at my mother’s house one evening. She gave him my Newark address and phone number.

            He’d finished basic training and was getting ready for his first deployment to Viet Nam. The night before he left for Ft. Benning he took me out for dinner. When he kissed me good night he told me he was going away, that he probably wouldn’t survive, and he told me not to wait for him. Looked like it wasn’t going to work the second time around either.

            Money got tighter and tighter. I checked with a divorce lawyer. It would be at least eighteen months before I’d get a hearing. “Go to Reno,’ he said, “you only have to be a resident of Nevada for six weeks. Then you can get married again.”

            Married again? That was the last thing I needed.

***

About Gloria Casale

Dr. Gloria Casale is an award-winning author of Bioterror: The Essential Threat and newly released Shadow Road. The first book in her second series, Counting Down, is expected to be published in the next twelve months. The series details the lives of ten women from one neighborhood. Twenty-five years later the women are disappearing one by one at yearly intervals. A serial killer is determined to murder them all.

Gloria is also currently working on An Emergency Medicine Memoir she hopes to have the first of a two to three-part series released in the next six months.

Gloria grew up in a small town in New Jersey and earned her medical degree from the University of Kentucky and completed advanced training in anesthesiology, preventative medicine, and public health. She received training in bioterrorism and bioterrorism response at the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases and is a recognized expert in the international transport of disease. Gloria also served as a consultant to the Division of Transnational Threats at Sandia Laboratory.

The author has been an invited speaker to members of the US military and various ports associations on the topics of bio-weaponry and the international transport of pathogens. She currently lives in New Mexico with her tuxedo cat Hugo.

Website: https://www.gloriacasalewrites.com/

Bioterror: The Essential Threat

Shadow Road

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Writer's Notes

JL Greger: Branding Your Covers

By JL Greger

A striking, informative book cover is a powerful way for you as an author to attract the attention of readers. Branding your covers is a way to help these customers to quickly identify your next books and become loyal readers of your series.

What is branding? 

Branding is a marketing strategy that makes your product easily identifiable. In terms of cover designs, it means presenting a consistent appealing product.

Styles of branding on covers

Sometimes publishers will put the same cover design on all the books in the series with only variations in color and of course the title. Aakenbaaken & Kent did this when they republished F.M. Meredith’s Rocky Bluff PD series. I’ve seen it done for other classic, long series. It certainly looks great on a book shelf and works well when the writer has an established audience.

Many well-known authors “brand” how their name appears on their books. Consider Sue Grafton’s series. Her name always appears in the same large, non-serif type set across the top of each of her book covers and usually a large signature letter dominates the cover design. Of course, the titling of her books (A is for .., B is for…) is one of the strongest branding techniques in mystery writing. Michael Crichton’s name in large, no-serif print dominates the top of each of his covers.

Most novelist use more flexible branding techniques on their covers.

Practical example of flexible branding

The heroine in my Science Traveler Series is woman scientist living in the Southwest but consulting sometimes in exotic locations like Bolivia, Cuba, the Middle East, or India. Thus, I decided to feature a woman’s face or at least her eyes on the covers of all my books. Each cover hints at the location of the novel. My cover designer Barbara Hodges chose to put my titles and name on the book binding vertically. This makes them easy to identify on the shelf when the rest of the cover is not visible.

Now, look at your book covers. Which is your favorite? Why? Can you use elements from this cover on your future books’ covers?

Blurb of latest novel: A Pound of Flesh, Sorta: Leaders of drug gangs in New Mexico don’t want scientist Sara Almquist to testify at their upcoming trials for murder and racketeering. After Sara gets a package of sheep guts contaminated with the bacteria that causes the plague, FBI agents rush to protect her. But is the package a threat from the gangs to stop her from testifying or a public health alert by a whistleblower?

Note: The woman’s face and the Southwest theme in the cover for A Pound of Flesh Sorta. Note the use of my flexible theme on two other covers.

Bio: J. L. Greger is a scientist turned novelist. She’s published nine mysteries and thrillers and two books of short stories. She lives in the Southwest with her dog Bug, a character in all her novels. He’s featured in a photo on the back cover of most of her novels.

JL Greger and Bug