Writers and writings...

Polishing the Hollywood Crime Novel: a question of integrity

2012-03-07T05:00:00.000-08:00

Today I welcome guest-blogger, Shelly Frome. He's a member of Mystery Writers of America, aprofessor of dramatic arts emeritus at the University of Connecticut, a formerprofessional actor, a writer of mysteries, books on theater and film, andarticles on the performing arts appearing in a number of periodicals in theU.S. and the U.K.. His fiction includes Tinseltown Riff, Lilac Moon, Sun Dance for Andy Horn andthe trans-Atlantic cozy The Twinning Murders.Among his works of non-fiction are the acclaimed TheActors Studio and texts on the art and craft of screenwriting and writing forthe stage. His latest novel is a southern gothic crime-and-blues odysseyentitled Twilight of the Drifter. He lives in Litchfield, Connecticut.

There are times when you have to be on guard. Otherwise writers’magazines, interviews on Charlie Rose and even lead articles in the New YorkTimes Book Review may start to get to you and you’ll find yourself opting for“page-turning success.”

Ina recent issue of one of these guides, a “pro” insisted that readers have alimited amount of time and money, genres like crime fiction are saturated, andyou better be offering immediate, highly accessible entertainment. Another “pro”advised that you need a provocative plot question at the outset if you’re goingto have half a chance of snaring readers’ attention. In one of Charlie Rose’s JohnGrisham interviews, Grisham claimed that readers have an insatiable appetitefor scandal. What they really want is to pick up a book and keep reading tofind out what’s going on behind closed doors. That’s why plotting and pacingare crucial. Never use too many words, says Grisham. Come up with the bestidea, nail it down in one sentence and pitch it to someone who is really savvy—e.g.,“A bright young lawyer joins a high-powered firm but can never leave becauseit’s owned by the Mafia.”

Asanother example of this preoccupation with a sure-fire hook and forward motion,you need look no further than last month’s issue of Book Review. The one featuringElmore Leonard’s photo on the cover and the caption “Back on the Case.”Predictably, the reviewer Olen Steinhauer declared that, as a successful crime novelist,Leonard is an advocate of rat-a-tat acceleration.

Admittedly,the first draft of my Hollywood crime novel Tinseltown Riff was either consciously or subconsciously under the influence. Andthen, luckily, I began to recall Dan Brown’s novels like the DaVinci Code. I remember being so upset because instead ofcreating characters who had a life, he simply kept them running around fromhere to there in search of the key to some scandalous puzzle. There wasn’t eventime to care about the victims, find out who they were and even take a momentto mourn their passing. And that undoubtedly was why Tom Hanks, as the filmversion of one-dimensional Robert Langdon, seemed to have phoned-in his part atevery outing.

Andso I stepped away from my caper for a while. I had all the ingredients Grishamadvocated, but soon all the missing pieces and a sense of truth began to nag atme. Ben, my central character, was too unaware. It was interesting that he was ascreenwriter hack who preferred to remain ensconced in and around Hollywood andwas enamored of old movies. It was also interesting to, in a sense, have theold movie sets of an abandoned studio lot champing at the bit to come aliveagain. And it was also promising to have Ben unwittingly on a collision coursewith a lone wolf tracker in cahoots with a Vegas mob—this, in view of today’seconomy, causing Ben out of desperation to accept a dubious gig.

But,despite this concern with readers’ expectations, I began to have secondthoughts. Once you set these forces in motion, other realities come into play.Nothing ever just holds still for the sake of your plotline. Life-likecharacters have a backstory and are full of contradictions. There’s also theweather, the time of year, what’s going on within this world including the surroundingareas, ever-changing relationships and their interplay. Not to mention the widening gap between what anyonewants and the complications that ensue when you force the issue making theoutcome that much more problematic.

Ifyou work organically, that is. And put aside all the advice from the prosand worries about the market andenhancing your platform. Depending, of course, on what you’re really after.

Confession.I was a starving actor in New York, am keenly aware of the given circumstancesand what rings true, and have an abiding faith in the spirit of the moment.

Privacy -- it isn't what it used to be

2012-02-15T18:43:00.000-08:00

Privacy — what a quaint concept, one that has largely goneout of fashion. At the time I wrote this, I had just gone to see the movie IRONLADY. While Margaret Thatcher’s politics aren’t mine, I did recognize thatthere were admirable aspects to her character, even if I disagreed with many ofher choices. What struck me most strongly, though, was the divide between herprivate feelings and her public face.

We’ve largely lost that divide, for better or worse. Todaywe let everything hang out. Not that I’m necessarily promoting stiff upperlips. Still, while it’s good that people don’t have to suffer in silence now,that we can turn to others for help and advice in dark times, perhaps we’vegone too far. Do we really have to post every personal sensation on Facebookand Twitter?

I’m not sure whether cell phones started the privacydecline, or if it would have happened without them. Working in retail as I do,I see lots of cell phone intrusions. I’m happy to report that many of ourcustomers do issue a polite “Excuse me,” to us and other customers in the storeand go outside to conduct their conversation. Sure, they’re usually shoutingout there, since cell phone reception combined with the normal sounds ofoutdoor spaces, usually results in greater volume. But at least they’re notshouting in our bookstore. Others aren’t as polite. They answer right there,and conduct their book browsing with the help of some unknown person.

That behavior isn’t just limited to bookstores, either. Oncewhile I stood in line at the grocery store, the man behind me called someoneand read all the tabloid covers to that person while we waited.

“Dude,” I wanted to say, “you need a life.” But I was tryingto give him his personal space, even if he didn’t seem to need it.

Recently, I experienced an odd intrusion from the extendednon-privacy sphere. Let me explain. We put Google Ads on our bookstore’swebsite to create an additional source of revenue. It hasn’t worked that well.Since the word “books” is repeated throughout the website, it has mostlygenerated book-related ads. Some for all the many subsidy publishing companiesmushrooming today, and others for our competitors, which are supposed to beblocked but aren’t consistently. You might say that since I invited the ads in,I’m responsible for my own challenges in this area, and that’s nothing Ihaven’t thought of myself.

But I hadn’t expected one bizarre aspect. The Google ads areaccessed by a user name related to the store. While signed OUT of that account,but still in the same computer I use for everything related to the Google ads,I recently conducted a personal Google search among household décor suppliers.I wanted to identify the style of kitchen faucet we have, which came with thehouse, so I could search for a replacement part.

Bingo! Only moments later, faucet ads appeared on ourbookstore’s ads. Coincidence? To test my dawning theory, while still signed outof the account associated with the ads, I performed a few more deliberatesearches. For clothes, shoes, furniture, kitchen gadgets. Sure enough, all ofthose products and advertisers also showed up in our ads.

It gave me an icky feeling, though. On one hand, I now havea tool to better control the ads that pop up on my bookstore’s website, even ifit does seem a bit convoluted to perform seemingly unrelated searches fromanother account for products that don’t really interest me. But it also makesme feel weird and watched when I realize the extent to which we’re beingelectronically monitored.

Remember when we thought Big Brother would be thegovernment? Turns out we were wrong.

I’m happy to share some of my thoughts and aspects of mylife with others. Including this either creepy or clever technique forinfluencing the content of Internet ads. But I’d like to reserve other aspectsfor my personal use. For a while longer anyway. There was a time when we neverwould have thought we’d be forever shouting personal messages into unwiredphones. Who knows where else we’re headed in this brave new world.

Do you lament the decline of privacy, or have you failed tonotice its passing?

Free e-book contest!

2012-02-12T07:24:00.000-08:00

Remember, leave a comment to Zrinka Jelic's blog and you'll be eligible to win a free e-book! Contest ends on Friday.

Guest blogger, Zrinka Jelic

2012-02-08T01:00:00.000-08:00

Today I'd like to welcome guest blogger Zrinka Jelic, author of BONDED BY CRIMSON. Zrinka asked me to tell you that she'll be hosting a contest for a free e-copy of BONDED BY CRIMSON. Leave a comment if you want to be entered.

Thank you, Kris, for having me here today as your guest blogger. My debut novel BONDED BY CRIMSON has been released on January 28th, and it is available in all formats at Black Opal Books, Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, and fine bookstores everywhere.

People often ask me what influenced me to write this book.

There were many things, but growing up in Croatia was definitely the biggest one. The story that was swimming in my head and the final product are two totally different things. My original plot wasn't catching on with my critique partners so I changed it and as I did, I remembered a tragic love story often compared to Romeo and Juliet. So I've got the idea to make my heroine obsessed with this story and she often imagined what would it be like if they were allowed to love each other. What she didn't know was the couple continued to live after their deaths, but centuries later another tragedy struck them and now the man is a widower and a single dad. This also opened a possibility for a prequel which I'm working on. It was challenging to write the descriptive passages in Croatia without making it read as if it's a travelogue. But my crit partners wanted me to describe it better, they said the readers would want to see it. But if I went into too much detail then I sounded as a page from a history book. So I had to think of how I viewed it while I lived there. Playing hide and seek on the remains of a accent Roman Forum, climbing the medieval defense walls, how to describe it to someone who never done it? But that was normal part of growing up for me.

One of your key scenes involves a coffee reading. People ask me if I ever had it done.

Yes, I had it done and I've done it for others. This is such a part of our culture, something to pass time with. At first I faked it as everyone else did. Not every symbol have a meaning so it is ok to make something up. But it is not hard to learn the symbols and it is funny how different people will see different things. But it is creepy when someone who sees you for the first time can read your life from a tiny cup.

I’m also asked what authors I like to read. And if there are any that particularly inspire me.

When I was in high school, I devoured Danielle Steel. But after a while, her books started to feel the same. Then I've got into anything with vampires. So Anne Rice was high on my list. Then I was into Highlanders and that is how I learned about RWA through Mary McCall. As you can see, I like to read any author, but for the past year I've been into Arthuro Perez Reverte and his Alatriste series. It's not a romance, but I always find romance in every book. A few inspired me but what I don't like is when I read enough of that particular author's work I just know what the next book is going to be like But many authors seem to get comfortable in their style and would not change. I like to expect the unexpected.

Some want to know how I juggle writing with all my other commitments

I'm a staying at home mom so I have time in between house work and kids. My youngest napped at the wrong time, so I spent many late nights waiting for him to tire enough so I can put him to bed. It was in those quiet hours of the night, that ideas came to me. Thankfully, he's dropping those late afternoon naps and we make it to bed in a semi-decent hour. In the meantime, we got rid of cable TV. Kids weren't watching it and neither did I. You can't believe how much you can accomplish if you don't stare at the television every night. But I discovered I am an Internet junkie and I wasn't aware of this until one day the Internet was out.

And many are interested to find out what do I miss most about Croatia, living in Canada.

The sea, I'm from the province of Dalmatia on the Adriatic Sea and my family is from island of Essa. You can take an islander from the island, but you can't take island from an islander. I miss the summers there spent on the beaches, and in the evenings met with the friends and sip cocktails till wee hours. I can't compare it to the cottage life here. The lake waters here are ice cold and murky. Mosquitos eat you alive as soon as you poke your nose out, it gets cold once sun goes down. It's not a summer if I have to pull a sweatshirt and socks on.

Where would my dream romantic vacation take me?
Anywhere where there are beaches (not sandy, can't stand sand in my bathing suit), stunning sunsets, crystal clear sea, endless sky, warm breezes playing with the trees

Cats or dogs? Which do I prefer?

My favorite movie is Cats and Dogs, and I just love Mr. Tinkles. "Catz rule". So, definitely cats, but I'm very allergic, so that leaves me with dogs. I can't stay around a cat for more than a few minutes even if I don't touch them. Once the itching starts it's time to leave

Can you share a bit about BONDED BY CRIMSON:

Love isn’t in the cards for her…

After her short failed marriage, Kate tries to rebuild her life and takes a position as a nanny to three small boys. She quickly grows to love them, but their father, terrifies her, while igniting a passion she didn’t know she possessed. Disturbed by his distant manner with his sons, Kate struggles to make him more involved in the boys’ daily lives. Her efforts are mysteriously supported by an entity that cannot really exist. Or can she? And if she does exist, is she really trying to help Kate, or just take over her body?

But when he deals the hand, all bets are off…

Six years after his beloved wife passed away, Matthias is still trying to become the father she wanted him to be. Not an easy task for a three-centuries-old immortal. His search for the ultimate nanny ends when Kate Rokov stumbles to his home and into his arms. The immediate attraction he feels for her seems like a betrayal of his dead wife, a love he’s harboured for over three hundred years. But when Kate is stalked by a deadly stranger, life he clung to in the past begins to crumble and break down. Can Matthias learn to trust and to love again in time to save his family from disaster, or will his stubborn pride destroy everything worth living for?

How about a short excerpt?

He claimed to be immortal, but that was ridiculous...wasn’t it?

Kate’s heart hammered. The experience seemed so real. A low moan escaped her and she bit her lip. Soon warmth surged through her, causing her body to go limp. Her legs gave way underneath her, but Matthias—or whoever this man claimed to be now—wrapped his arm around her waist. His sweet, musky scent clung to her. Ecstasy filled her and she felt as if she hovered in the air. If he intended to kill her like this, she could imagine no better way to die. A voice echoed through her mind, speaking of undying love in centuries old Croatian.

“Wake up,” he whispered close to her ear, his strong arms still locked around her.

“I don’t want to.” Her head wobbled, exuberant with sheer happiness, a kind she had never experienced before.

“You must.” He stroked her hair with tender fingers. “Wake up now.”

“No. I want to stay like this. Forever.” She focused on his handsome face staring at her through her haze.

His smooth cheek brushed against hers. “Me too, but you must wake.”

The fog lifted and his image appeared, clearly now. She blinked once. Twice. What had happened?

She pushed away from him and flattened her back against the wall.

“You, you—”

“You,” he said, pointing at her, “asked for proof.”

Thanks for blogging with me today, Zrinka. Remember, readers, leave a comment if you want a chance to win a free ebook.

South Pasadena! South Pasadena!

2012-02-06T07:41:00.000-08:00

Final day of my hurried So Cal tour, and this busy day was atwo-event one.

Despite the heavy afternoon schedule, we stole a littlemorning time to visit some favorite area spots from when we lived there. Wesavored breakfast in Chatsworth’s yummy Country Deli, where they have hilariousmurals of Orthodox Rabbis settling the Old West. And we took Annabelle for awalk in Granada Hill’s Bee Park, where we walked our now-departed dogs forages. Love the meadering paths and the little bridges that cross the creekthere.

Then it was on to South Pasadena. I adore that downtown SoPas neighborhood, and it’s great to see how bustling and vital it’s becomeagain. We found a newish bakery and bought sandwiches for the late night triphome. Much better than the fast food we usually eat when on the road.

But first there was my Book ‘Em Mysteries signing. Book ‘Emis another one of those bookstores that I really love to revisit, and where Ialways enjoy signing. Barry Martin, Mary Riley and their manager Jean Utleyhave created such a warm, inviting place, where it’s so nice to drop in andchat with an appearing author and where you’re sure to find any and everymystery that you’re looking for. It’s another place where this bookseller lovesto browse.

It was so fun catching up with Jean and her customers,signing books for them, as well as all the old friends who also stopped by.

Then it was onto the South Pasadena Library Community Room,where the Los Angeles Chapter of Sisters in Crime meets. It was such a treat tobe back in my old SinC chapter, where I was president once upon a time. I haveso many fond memories of sitting in that room, listening to great speakers talkabout writing and mysteries, gazing serenely out the giant vintage leaded glasswindows in that room, at a magnificent Magnolia tree just outside. You can see a bit of the tree in this photo:

This time I was there as the meeting speaker, discussing fora strong turnout — despite Superbowl Sunday — about mixing the paranormal intomysteries, as well as what editors expect to see in the various cross-genrefantasy forms that are popular today, and why mystery writers are so wellplaced to capitalize on this trend. Meeting reader Rochelle Staab and I enjoyedsuch brisk sales, the bookseller couldn’t shut down her selling station at thetime when they usually close the room!

Now we’re home at last, after having visited our other,former home. Savoring the nostalgia of a former life. As a writing instructoras well, it’s always rewarding to me to catch up with my former students,learning how their writing is faring today. I got to spend good quality timewith so many of them this trip, including Sharlyn and Shannon Harley, ChrisStarkman, Jane DiLuccio, Susan Kosar Beery, Linda Nakamura, Diane Vallare and Evelyn Moore.I’m probably forgetting others, and I’m sorry about that — you can blame it onmy aging, fatigued brain. It was also especially wonderful to see new SinC/LAchapter president Patty Smiley and my old fellow board member Kevin Gillogly —we three go way back together in SinC/LA.

Still, there’s nothing like returning to your real home, tosleeping in your own bed. No matter how comfy hotel mattresses are, they’renever quite the same.

Best part? Our cat Philly didn’t even stay too mad at us forhaving left him. A good end to a great trip. Thanks to everyone who made it special.

A great new indepdent bookstore!

2012-02-04T17:25:00.000-08:00

Typically, in past years, on the Saturday of my SoCal tour,I’ve signed in The Mystery Bookstore, which is gone now, but I’m sure that noneof the many authors who’ve signed there over the many years it was in businesscan have forgotten it. It’s such a sad loss when a great independent storepasses on, and this one was exceptional. Westwood really cannot be the same withoutit.

But while it is such gloomy news when we hear about the lossof a great indie, it’s just as exciting to mark the birth of a new one. Insteadof The Mystery Bookstore, today, I got to sign at the all-new Mysterious Galaxyin Redondo Beach. It’s not just a exceptionally well-stocked store, it’s also abeautiful one. High tech, too. Especially cool is high def TV in the dedicatedauthor appearance area, on which the appearing authors’ book covers scross invibrant cover.

I appeared today with authors Howard Gordon and BrettBattles. We drew a large crowd, who asked great questions, making our panel extralively and interesting. We all enjoyed strong book sales. My assistant/dogsupported me by hovering under the signing table.

I am so glad I got to see this glorious new indie store! Itwas actually worth another up and back trek on the 405 to do it. (Okay, maybeI’m getting a little too obsessed with that.)

Headed for Thousand Oaks

2012-02-03T15:47:00.000-08:00

Day two on the MAGICAL ALIENATION tour...

Today didn’t start out great. It started too early with ababy screaming in the room next door, which surely must have been separatedfrom ours by a wall made from a used tissue box. Baby was unhappy and remainedso for a looonnng time. Then the Internet that I needed to work on my onlinewriting class went out in the hotel, and we were told it would still be out wellafter we were gone.

But the day began to look up when we found a nearby coffeeshop that not only proved to be quite good, with a chatty, goth barista, butwhere the barista/owner allowed us to bring Annabelle in. It was a little chilly, and I wasn't looking forward to sitting outside, though that's the nature of traveling with a pet.

I don’t know why morecoffee shops don’t allow pets. In most locales, it’s only a health violation ifthe pet goes into the food prep area. I find most animals cleaner than lots ofpeople. I do realize that’s a subjective opinion, and not everyonewants to share their coffee spot with a creature whose idea of greeting is tosniff someone else’s butt. Annabelle is totally different, of course. She’s abookstore dog, meaning she’s not only uncommonly polite, she’s erudite.

It’s a long drive from San Diego to Thousand Oaks, where mynext signing was scheduled, at the Mysteries to Die For bookstore. In thesefirst two days, we seemed to be spending all our time driving. But that’s thenature of book tours, and especially of Southern California — long distancesfilled with lots of cars. We actually made good time considering the distance —not too many slowdowns at all — but this ex-SoCal’er did forget what thatendless sea of cars looks like. Thankfully, it’s been a long time since I spentconsiderable time muscling my way up the 405.

We made it to MTDF with a enough time to do alittle book shopping — owning a bookstore as we do, the one thing I miss isbook browsing, on actual bookshelves (as opposed to publisher and wholesaler catalogs), that is, which someone else is responsible for arranging. touring lets us do that. It also gave me time to catch upwith the customers I see when I go there, and some old friends who alsodropped by.

I love Mysteries to Die For — it’s one of my favoritestores. I always find a nice, enthusiastic crowd waiting for me there, and I always seem to enjoy strong sales. I can also always count on seeing some oldfriends. This time I got to see and spend time longtime friend Suzanne Epstein, and writersDale Culpepper and Pete Goodman.

Tired now, and moving a little slower, after a day thatstarted out pretty so-so, but turned out to be pretty great.

San Diego bound

2012-02-02T20:30:00.000-08:00

We started out early from our home in Northern Arizona forSan Diego, the first stop on my SoCal tour for MAGICAL ALIENATION. I’msometimes at odds with Arizona culturally, but, man, do I love its landscapes.Mostly. It’s a little less dramatic in the Southeastern part of the state, thanmany other parts, though.

I’m definitely a mountain person, so while I did watch forthe occasional craggy mountain that pops up along the 8 Freeway though Arizona,mostly it’s all broad, flat expanses. To relieve the monotony, I retreated intomy imagination. Because lots of this land probably hasn’t changed in centuries,I imagined how it must have been for lonesome cowboys making their way acrossdusty trails, punctuated only by low, spare scrub, from Yuma to Phoenix, ormaybe Tombstone. The Old West is forever stamped on locale in Arizona throughsome of the names that echo with history: Horse Thief Basin, Little SquawRiver, Bloody Basin Road, Dead Man’s Wash and others.

We also listened for a while to a nonfiction audio bookabout olive oil called EXTRA VIRGINITY, which I hoped would relieve the tedium,but sadly, only added to it. I actually find olive oil interesting, and haveever since I signed books in an olive oil store, where I listened to employeeschat up customers. But now I’ve discovered there’s also a point of diminishingreturn.

My husband Joe and I brought our dog Annabelle along, as weoften do when we travel. She’s a good traveler. A little different perhaps asdogs go, in that she doesn’t long to put her face out the window to feel thewind on it. She just curls up and goes to sleep, but she always seems to enjoyher walks in new places. New smells must be the best when you’re a dog.

The 8 got more scenic once we passed into California.Especially the dunes beyond Yuma and the sandstone rock formations in EasternSan Diego County. And I forgot how incredibly beautiful San Diego is! We droveto a park in Mission Bay, where we illegally walked our dog — because dogs areonly permitted there during certain hours — but we three willingly riskedarrest to soak in that glorious view.

I had a small, but enthusiastic crowd at Mysterious Galaxyand we had a delightful exchange before I signed books. It still seems strangeto me that owner Maryelizabeth Hart isn’t there, because I always loved the way she conducted an author talk, but the staff at MG are alwaysgreat.

Good news and good times

2012-01-30T12:11:00.000-08:00

WAHOO!! I just learned that my latest Samantha Brennan &Annabelle Haggerty Magical Mystery, MAGICAL ALIENATION, has received a LeftyAward nomination for the Best Humorous Mystery of 2011, by the Left Coast Crime2012 convention! I’m absolutely dancing on air. Writing isn’t about awards,it’s about doing the work we love. But it is exciting and rewarding when ourreaders and fellow writers choose our novels for special notice. Thanks toeveryone who made this possible. Congratulations to Donna Andrews, Rita Lakin,Jess Lourey, Cindy Sample & John Vorhau, my fellow nominees.

The Lefty Award nomination for MAGICAL ALIENATION makes theSouthern California tour I’ll be embarking on this week extra special. Not onlywill it be great to see my old friends, but really gratifying to share thismilestone with them. You can see the tour dates and times here:

http://www.krisneri.com/appearances.html

Despite the long drive from Northern Arizona to SouthernCalifornia, I’m really excited about this tour, not just because I’ll get tosee old friends, but because it means I’m going home. Although where I live nowis also home.

What exactly does “home” mean? I’ve heard it definedsomething like: “The place where, when you show up there, they have to take youin.” Boy, does that sound comforting. But it doesn’t apply to me. Though Ispent my entire adult life in California, I have no living relatives there,nobody who has to take me in.

I know lots of people — all better heeled than I am — whoown multiple houses, meaning multiple places are home for them. While I wish Icould also afford to have homes in both locales, I’m not sure I would handle itas well as others I see. I suspect that when I was in one house, I would findmyself needing the stuff I left behind in the other. The clothes, the books,the little touches that turn it from a generic shell to the much-lovedsurroundings of the ones who transformed that house into their very personalspace. I guess it’s just as well that I don’t have that two-house problem, afterall.

I’m a Cancer, and we crabs tend to need our personal shellsaround us. We’re homebodies. I guess to me “home” translates into a place that offersfamiliarityand comfort. A place that reflects all the things that define me, those thingsI can name and those that are indefinable even to me. Both the personalsurroundings and the larger space in which I feel safe. Where everything I seereminds me of the good times I enjoyed there, and even the tough times I knew,which have helped shape me into the person I’ve become.

So, yes, Southern California will always feel like home tome. I know when familiar places come into view, I will feel an excited kinshipagain, as I do every time I return, no matter how long I’ve been away.

And I also know that when I return here to Arizona, when mycar reaches the crest of Arizona’s 17 Freeway outside of Camp Verde, with thepanorama of Sedona and the Verde Valley spread out before me, I will also feelthat same sense of belonging.The same sense of being home.

It’s actually a pretty good thing, having multiple placesthat feel like that good, even if I can’t fully explain why.

How about you? Where is home? What does that mean to you?

Stabbing Perfection

2012-01-18T04:00:00.000-08:00

Today I welcome guest blogger, Liv Rancourt. Liv is a writer of speculative fiction and romance. She lives in Seattlewith her husband, two teenagers, two cats and one wayward puppy. Writingstories that have happy endings is a good way to balance her work in theneonatal intensive care unit, and she is thrilled to be publishing her firstnovella with Black Opal Books. Liv can be found on-line at her website, her blog,on Facebook,or on Twitter.

LatelyI’ve been thinking a lot about vampires. There are several of them in my newnovella, A Vampire’s Deadly Delight, and while I didn’t do much research before I wroteit, I’ve been reading up in order to write quasi-intelligent sounding blogposts. You’ll have to let me know how I do.

Icame across an article by Ananya Mukherjea in the journal Studies in PopularCulture.She argues that the reason vampires are so persistently popular right now isthat it takes a paranormal figure to balance all the roles that contemporarywomen are supposed to assume. Women are supposed to be strong andcareer-minded, when they’re not wearing slut shoes and flashing their ta-tas onthe internet. We’re supposed to raise kids and gardens and keep the houseMartha-Stewart-worthy. While working a full-time job. And getting pedicures. Realmen can’t keep up. Only a vampire with many years on earth, old-fashionedvalues, strength, financial stability, and a streak of nasty sexy danger canturn us on.

Thearticle is some twenty pages long, and after reading it I could only agree withher. I’ve sure as heck never fantasized about a reasonably handsome man whosejob blows hot and cold and who never remembers to put the carton of milk backin the fridge. Real men are great for some things, but when I want to get awayfrom it all, find me someone who’s pale and fanged, someone who drives a sleekblack car and who doesn’t care if I forgot to put the clothes in the dryer.

Sowhat did I do? I wrote a book where one of the main characters stabs vampireswith her demon blade, ending their undead lives. It’s a Buffy meets Spidermankind of thing. In hindsight, I can only wonder what I was thinking. Given theperspective of the article, my character’s primary function is to repeatedlykill the perfect man. Wow. That’s enough material for a whole lot of therapysessions.

I’mgoing to put a positive spin on this and say it shows how much I value the RealMan in my life. Hugging someone with a pulse is the only way to go. If he wouldjust put the silverware away correctly, so that all the salad forks go in thesame little slot, he might be perfect, too. What, me, issues?

Thanksso much, Kris, for giving me this opportunity to post on your blog. I very muchappreciate it.

Peace,

Liv

What's in your wallet?

2012-01-11T08:47:00.000-08:00

THE ARTIST’S WAY by Julia Cameron, along with some of herother books, have been incredibly influential in my life and have spurred mywriting career. In case you’re unfamiliar with her work, I like to describe THEARTIST’S WAY and some of the others as do-it-yourself therapy for artists. Iprobably do THE ARTIST’S WAY again every couple of years.

I say “do it” rather than “read it” because, although it isa book, THE ARTIST’S WAY, along with others of Julia’s titles, present aprogram of multi-week creativity-enhancing lessons and exercises, which haveprobably been successful in increasing the creativity of millions of strugglingartists.

Actually, while Julia Cameron’s books are marketed toartists, I’ve been the bookseller at two of her conferences, and I’ve met loadsof her devoted fans who don’t consider themselves as artists of any kind, butwho regard THE ARTIST’S WAY as do-it-yourself therapy for everyone, who’vemade, not artistic growth, but life-growth, using Julia’s lessons andexercises.

With all that said, while I’ve made such artistic stridesthanks to her books, I haven’t found her some of her recent books quite asstirring as her earlier ones. I’ve read them all, but they haven’t had such aprofound impact on me.

Until now. With THE PROSPEROUS HEART: CREATING A LIFE OF“ENOUGH,” which she wrote with Emma Lively, Julia Cameron has once againcaptured the stirring, life-changing lessons and exercises of her earlierworks.

Some of the tools used in THE PROSPEROUS HEART will befamiliar ones to her readers, such as the morning pages, which instructs thosefollowing the exercises to write three solid pages of stream-of-consciouswriting as soon as they wake up, and the recommended weekly walks. But othertools, such as counting every penny in and out, and the time outs aredifferent.

At first glance, this doesn’t seem like a book that shouldhave a stirring impact on me. Sure, like lots of people, I don’t have as muchmoney as I’d like. But I’m not a shopaholic — sometimes it seems as if I wasborn without the shopping gene, since it’s usually my least favorite activity.No smoke coming off my credit cards!

So it might seem strange that a book that helps people tomanage their finances and stop over-shopping and running up debt they can’tafford should have make such a strong impression on me, but it did. That’sbecause, according to Cameron, prosperity isn’t a financial issue, but aspiritual one. She maintains that the opposite of prosperity isn’t poverty, butanxiety. It’s the fear of not having enough that makes us feel the desperationfor more.

She shows her readers how to recognize the abundance theyalready have their lives, but which probably goes unnoticed in their quest forwhatever magic number they think will satisfy them. She points out that themagic number rarely does satisfy. Other exercises easily help readers to bringmore fulfilling prosperity into their lives. For instance, in one exercise, sheinstructs the reader to list five things they’d like, which they can’t afford —and then encourages them to search for some small step they could take in eachof those areas.

When I did the exercise, I listed five large things I’dlike, but when I didn’t immediately think of five small steps I could taketoward each one of them, I poo-pooed the exercise as ineffective, at least forme. And yet, within hours I did think of small steps I could take, and each oneproved to be an inspired choice and wholly satisfying.

But as with all her do-it-yourself lessons & exercisesbooks, my gains greatly exceeded her intended subject matter. While THEARTIST’S WAY and some other titles, including THE RIGHT TO WRITE and others,did help me to enhance my creativity, THE PROSPEROUS HEART made me to appreciatethe level of abundance I already enjoy and aided me in bringing more prosperityinto my life — my greatest gains exceeded the financial realm, and helped me tomake life-improvements in areas that seemed to have nothing to do with money.

The book’s voice — Cameron’s voice, to those who have hadthe good fortune to have heard her — at times quirky, at other times stern, butalways confident in the efficacy of the lessons she has to offer — will comfortthose who’ve derived much from her books in the past, but should also provewelcoming to Cameron newbies. For those of you who might be shopoholics, I’msure you’d derive even more than I did. If THE PROSPEROUS HEART offers you halfof what it gave me, you’ll find it worth the time, money and personal energyyou’ll invest in it.

Breakfast With My Muse

2011-12-28T08:30:00.000-08:00

Today I welcome as myguest blogger Michigan science fantasy romance author Lynda K. Scott, whose latestbook is ALTERED DESTINY.

by Lynda K. Scott

I got up late this morning and staggered into my officewhere my muse, aka Wookie the Alien Kitten-Queen of the Universe, waitedimpatiently beside her food dish. The minute I crossed the threshold, she spunin a tight, miffed circle and gave an annoyed squawk which I interpreted to - "Feedme!"

It's always nice to be recognized for your value and purposein life.

Wookie was in a better mood once she had some kibble in herbowl and began purring like a little motor boat. I figured it was safe to gofetch my own breakfast. Hubby, who the girls (Wookie and her minion, Zuzu)refer to as the Dad, was buried in his newspaper oblivious to everything aroundhim. I prepared our cereals, Zuzu's morning treats and Wookie's cat grass (Icut several blades of grass from the pot I keep on my counter after learningthat it's unwise to give her the entire pot at one time). When I finally satdown, both Wookie and Zuzu were ready. Wookie curled around the leg of my chairand meowed, "Grass, now."

Zuzu gave her a silent look that said "Impatient, much?"But she didn't say anything. That's because Zuzu is far too smart to disparagethe Queen of the Universe. I winked at Zuzu while I held a blade of the freshlycut grass for Wookie. I don't disparage Her Majesty either.

"What are plans?" Wookie asked around her catgrass. Her eyes closed in delight at the fresh taste of grass.

Wookie, being my muse, is always right to the point. Sheknows that left to my own devices I wouldn't do much more than read a good bookor play games on the Internet. Zuzu eyed her treats lined up on the table. Adrop of drool dangled from her lip to plop on the tile floor. I gave her a cookie."I'm writing this morning. 10 pages I need to do at least 50 by the end ofthe week."

"That's good." Hubby grunted behind his paper. Itrattled as he turned the pages.

Both girls watched him for a minute in case he had treats tooffer them. He's a good man but talk about writing leaves him glassy eyed andsuggesting I add weird elements to the plot. Like I don't come up with my ownweird ideas, lol.

That's the problem. Ideas are plentiful. They leap and boundthrough my head wherever I turn during the day and follow me into dreamland atnight. I have plenty ideas. Sometimes I think I have too many. Because when Isit down to write, I get the 'frozen-in-the-headlights' feeling that animalsfeel when a car races at them.

I'm not afraid of the ideas, though. I'm intrigued by them,stunned by them and overwhelmed by them. Which to use? Which character bestworks with the idea? (Yeah, I have characters just waiting for a chance toappear in a story too but that's a subject for another post.)

And, more importantly, when should I write them?

That's my major problem. Parking myself in front of thecomputer and actually putting these weird ideas to use. That's where Wookie,and even Zuzu, come in handy. You see, they like routine. So we do ourbreakfast routine, check with Hubby to see if he has any plans that needs mycooperation, and check the calendar to see if I have any appointments thataren't filed in my memory banks.

Putting the act of writing down as a routine assures that Iwill at least be in a position to actually write. I'm a hedonist at heart so ifI don't do this, I won't write. It's that simple.

I'm not sure how other writers handle it, if they justautomatically head to their writing area, but I need a routine to keep me ontrack. I may not always get my 10 pages or they may be sheer rubbish but bykeeping the routine, I'm making the effort and that's important.

When my breakfast routines are done, Wookie joins me in theoffice, finds her sunny spot and purrs. That's my hint to get busy. So includeyour muse in your daily routines...even if s/he isn't an alien kitten. See if thathelps you get the words on paper.

Thanks for appearing her today, Lynda!

Here's where you can find Lynda on the web:

Website http://www.lyndakscott.com.

Tojoin her newsletter, send a blank email to: LyndaKScott-Newsgroup-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/lyndakscott

Twitter: http://twitter.com/LyndaKScott

FacebookAuthor Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lynda-K-Scott/201599553208653

AlteredDestiny

byLynda K Scott

ScienceFantasy Romance

Availablein ebook formats

Strandedon an alternate Earth, architect and Jill-of-all-trades, LianeGautier-MacGregor must find her way back to her homeworld before she'senslaved...or falls in love with a man who is the exact duplicate of herex-husband.

DevynMacGregor's alter ego as the Reiver Lord is the only way he can fight theQui'arel and their nefarious Bride Bounty, a tax paid with humanfemales...until he meets the oddly familiar woman who claims he is her husband.And who sets in motion the rebellion that will either free his countrymen ordestroy them.

BuyLinks:

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Altered-Destiny-ebook/dp/B00579FKFO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308920443&sr=8-1

Nook http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Altered-Destiny/Lynda-K-Scott/e/2940012882417

Smashwordshttps://www.smashwords.com/books/view/79552

What would you go back to see?

2011-12-14T13:48:00.000-08:00

If a time machine existed, what events would you go back in history to see? Lincoln’s delivery of the Gettysburg Address? John F. Kennedy’s “I am a Berliner” speech? Maybe if you’re particular bloodthirsty, you’d like to go back far enough to see Anne Boleyn beheaded. Or to storm the beach at Normandy for the D-Day invasion.

Except for the beheading, I’d enjoy witnessing all of those events and many more. But an event I have always wished I could have been present for would be to be in that field in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947, when a particular aircraft crashed.

Was it really an aircraft? The government has maintained all these years that it was a failed weather balloon. Probably true, right? Still, witnesses at the time insisted it was a spacecraft and that alien bodies were taken from it. Mostly likely it was just a weather balloon — real life can be so dreary.

The great thing about writing is that it’s just like having a time machine. No, it’s even better. Through my new Magical Mystery, MAGICALALIENATION, I not got to visit that field, I was able create the truth about what really happened there.

And not just Roswell, either. I also got to decide what really goes on at the infamous Area 51 at Groom Lake, Nevada. And if you think you know what those places are all about, you’re in for a big surprise.

MAGICAL ALIENATION once again features fake psychic Samantha Brennan and genuine Celtic goddess/FBI agent Annabelle Haggerty. Cheerful Samantha figures she has finally hit the mother lode in this book, having signed on as the spiritual adviser of the aging bad boy of rock, Rand Riker. It’s all fun and games at first, and Samantha, deserves some fun after her breakup from her former beau, Angus, the ever-hot Celtic god of youth and love and laughter, who, after stealing her heart, broke it by having a fling with a mermaid.

If only Rand weren’t headed to the New Age town of Sedona, Arizona to host a benefit concert for the most hated man in America, militia guru Normal Frankly, accused of trying to kill Arizona’s charismatic senator, Kenny Campbell. Samantha tangles with goddess-in-hiding, Special Agent Annabelle Haggerty of the FBI. Though Samantha and Annabelle were once mismatched partners in crime, they’re now on opposite sides, since Annabelle has become responsible for Senator Campbell’s safety.

Tensions spike when Normal Frankly’s militia pals free him from captivity. In their raid, they not only abduct his judge and jury, but also a passing U.S. Army convoy, allowing them to take possession of prisoner who has been the government’s most closely guarded secret for over sixty years — the Roswell alien.

By writing MAGICAL ALIENATION, I not only had the chance to look into unexplained happenings of the past, I also was able to look into the future, to a time of unprecedented war of the gods that manifested on Earth as an unheard of worldwide storm.

MAGICAL ALIENATION picks up with HIGH CRIMES ON THE MAGICAL PLANE left off, introducing new gods and goddesses, including Fiona, Annabelle’s secretive goddess mother, and the trickster gods of Lugh and Taliesin, responsible for such real present-day phenomenon as bizarre weather patterns and crop circles. There is a reason why Allyson James, the national bestselling author of Stormwalker called Magical Alienation, “…a hilarious tangle of gods and goddesses.”

With gods wielding unimaginable powers, and the shape shifting rock people twisting the very surface of the earth, as Sedona heads into the darkest night the planet has ever seen, Samantha rightfully concludes the fun and games have truly ended, and she wonders which, if any of them, will survive it.

But when Celtic gods are involved, nothing is ever as it appears.

Mostly, I love that they allowed me to travel to a space that was so fun. I hope you’ll find it so, too.

What would you travel back in time to see?

Researching Relaxation

2011-11-28T10:30:00.001-08:00

Today I welcome guest-blogger Amber Polo. In her fictionallife, Amber writes fun, quirky romances and fantasies, such as FLYING FREE and ROMANCINGREBECCA, but her latest publication is a welcome nonfiction book, RELAXING THE WRITER: GUIDEBOOK TO THE WRITER’S HIGH, and CD and MP3, RELAXING THE WRITER RELAXATION CD: A POWERFUL 20 MINUTE RELAXATION METHOD, which provides specialized, much-neededrelaxation techniques for writers.

Sounds relaxing? Well yes and no.

About 5 years ago, I self-published a relaxation CD,Relaxation One Breathe at a Time, ahow-to-do-it with a track guaranteed to put you to sleep. I had only a fewcopies left and the packaging company was out of business. I decided tore-record and make a few changes. And, by the way, why not write a book aboutrelaxation for writers. I imagined a book that would be useful for anyone, butwith special stuff for writers who spend a lot time reading and writing.

Six months later I have a beautiful self-pubbed book, a POD,CD and MP3 download, plus a 10-minute MP3 download of a hand meditation thathelps you focus and relax without leaving your computer.

Full disclosure. I am a librarian and a yoga teacher. I loveresearch and I’m good at teaching people to relax. I’ve read widely and studiedunder many teachers, so plunging into research sounded like a wonderful breakfrom writing romance and fantasy. (It did work. I’m now so ready to step backinto my fantasy worlds.)

I decided to include over twenty major areas and hundreds ofsuggestions. I checked each topic for new material and narrowed the best ideasdown to the most useful suggestions for writers. I kept it short and light, andhopefully fun to read.

The hardest section was what I first called “Drugs.” Ithought it was a cute title to write about the legal “drugs” found in yourneighborhood health food store, that manipulate moods would be fun. My editorreally didn’t like that, even with comments like “do your research” and “everybody is different.” I then interviewed an expert in herbal remedies andalternative practices to be sure I wasn’t going to get anyone one in troubleand changed the chapter title to “Teas and Tonics.”

Two of My Most Interesting Research Topics –

The Writer’s Fork: Since the hand was one of the book’sthemes. I read up on palmistry and found references in two books to a “writer’sfork.” I included what little I learned to the book and later found an expertto interview for more information.http://relaxingthewriter.blogspot.com/2011/11/does-your-palm-reveal-you-are-writer.html.

Shaking: The practice of shaking has become one of the mostpopular chapters. (Remember the Sufi’s – one of which was named Rumi and wrotea lot of good poetry still read today) Shaking can be both meditative and alsoa nice joint loosening exercise to free tension after lots of sitting andhunching over a computer. Anyone can shake without special equipment, cuteoutfits, or joining a club.

I added an appendix of teachers and their books and videosthat I found especially helpful, some who work primarily with writers and othercreatives. I even reviewed some iPhone and iPad apps that might be useful in relaxinga writer.

Over all, the project was perfect for remembering goodadvice and new research. It made me rethink practices I teach in order topresent them simply and safely in print. The downside was that with everyrelaxation technique I studied, I felt I should be doing more to relax MYSELF.I found myself saying, “Writing a book on relaxing is really stressful.”

Relaxing the Writer: Guidebook to the Writer’s High and theaudios aren’t just for writers, but stressed readers and writers will especiallyenjoy the tidbits and quotes from authors. Great gifts for your favoritewriter, too. Check them out here: http://www.wellredcoyote2.com/pd-relaxing-the-writer-guidebook-to-the-writer-s-high.cfm and here: http://www.wellredcoyote2.com/pd-relaxing-the-writer-relaxation-cd.cfm.

A Magical Time!

2011-11-10T09:00:00.001-08:00

Magical Alienation, the second title in my Magical Mysteryseries has just debuted, and I couldn’t be happier!

The publication of a new book is always an exciting andrewarding time, the culmination of loads of work and the realization of avision that has sustained the writer for some time.

But every book in a series is special for different reasons.In the first book in a series, a writer breathes life into characters that haveexisted as mere sketches in her mind, and they often grow in ways that even theauthor hadn’t anticipated. Relationships are forged. A voice the writer onlyheard in her own mind, booms out into the world.

For the most part, the voice booming from the first book inmy series, High Crime on the Magical Plane, belonged to Samantha Brennan, afunny, boisterous fake psychic with a highly eccentric wardrobe. In therelentless pursuit of her goal of being a popular celebrity spiritual advisor,Samantha dealt herself in on an FBI case, the kidnapping of a movie star,apparently by a set of stalkers. Samantha never expected that during the coursethat case her entire world would be turned upside-down. Never would she haveexpected to discover that the agent assigned to the case, Special AgentAnnabelle Haggerty, was also a modern Celtic goddess, descended from the godsand goddesses depicted in the mythology books. And never did Annabelle expectto be paired with precisely the kind of flaky, fun mortal that she deplored.Samantha and Annabelle sure made a mismatched pair.

But there were compensations. Samantha did succeed inturning the ancient, but immortal and ever-hot, god of youth and love andlaughter, Angus, into her own personal love-slave. The stakes couldn’t havebeen higher, though. As the case took one bizarre twist after another, Samanthathought that if Annabelle and her family of deities couldn’t stop Armageddonfrom coming down on them, what chance did a poor little fake have of surviving.

The first novel in a series is in essence a setup, a launchpad for the entire series. A second book is different. Second books sometimes bringsurprising new themes.

In Magical Alienation that means exposing the U.S.Government’s most closely-guarded secret of the last sixty years: the truthabout what seems to have been an alien invasion that occurred in Roswell, NewMexico in 1947, and what exactly has been going on at the mysterious Area 51.

Second books in a series allow the writer to test therelationships forged in the first. Initially, in Magical Alienation, Samanthaand Annabelle find themselves on opposite sides this time around. Annabelle isassigned to the security detail of Arizona’s junior senator, Kenny Campbell,the target of a militia terrorist assault. While Samantha, through heremployer, rocker Rand Riker, actually works on behalf of the most reviled manin the country, militia guru Normal Frankly, who to most observers isn’t quitenormal, accused of mounting a terrorist campaign against Senator Campbell.

We get to meet new characters, including Senator Campbell,with his fuzzy definition of Family Values, and his oh-so correct politicalwife, Kelly. And Rand Riker, Samantha’s new boss, the Aussie, aging bad boy ofrock ’n’ roll, who will do anything to achieve eternal youth.

We meet new gods and goddesses, including Fiona, Annabelle’sbeautiful mother, who’s not quite as adept at hiding her secrets as a goddessshould be. Was she the woman Samantha heard canoodling in Rand Riker’s luxurysuite, or did Fiona harbor another secret? As well as Lugh and Taliesin,trickster gods involved in crop circles and who once beached an iceberg in thetropics, who just can’t get enough fun, as long as it’s at the expense ofmortal Earthlings. And Gwydion, god of enchantment and illusion, whose trickstuns the world.

Second books allow us to visit new places. Magical Alienation takes Samantha and Annabelle to Sedona, Arizona, the Vatican City ofthe New Age, at a time when a monstrous harmonic convergence bringsextraordinary power to Sedona’s famed energy centers.

Mostly, with second books, authors get to introduceshocking, unheard of action. While the mysterious rock people twist the verysurface of the earth and Sedona headsinto the darkest night the planet has ever seen, Samantha wonders which, if anyof them, will survive it.

But when Celtic gods are involved, she should know,nothing is ever as it appears.

The best part of a second book? It’s that it invariablyleads to the third book in the series. I can’t wait to discover what that willhold.

So you want to inject the paranormal into your writing...

2011-10-31T10:47:00.000-07:00

Crossing paranormal with other fictional categories — bethey mystery, romance or general fiction — couldn’t get any hotter. But thereare pitfalls those new to paranormal writing can easily fall into, which candoom a manuscript. Here are some tips to help you avoid those pitfalls:

1. The worst mistake newbies can make is thinking thesupernatural elements are just tack-ons. The paranormal aspects must an integralpart of the storyline. If you can imagine removing the magical elements, whiletelling the same story and having it turn out the same way — you’re not usingit right.

2. Readers need to understand the rules governing themagical aspects of the world you’re depicting. You can explain those rules —and whatever consequences might result — either explicitly or by allowing thereader to absorb their essence by showing them at work. Most writers use acombination of both. Some can be accomplished by including a character thatencounters the paranormal for the first time. The reader can learn how theserules function as the character does, and the reader can share her surprise.

3. You need to decide whether the magical aspects are knownto the general populace of your world, or not. Either way works, but there is abuilt-in level of conflict if your paranormal beings have to struggle to hidetheir natures. In the Harry Potter novels, the muggles — non-paranormal beings— are generally unaware of the wizardry being performed in their midst, whichprovides lots of opportunities for conflict, as well as humor.

4. Characters who possess supernatural abilities must beseen using those abilities, or we need to know why not. For instance, AnnabelleHaggerty, the Celtic goddess/FBI agent protagonist of my Magical Mystery,MAGICAL ALIENATION, needs to be careful how much magic she performs at the FBI,where she must hide her secret nature. But I once worked with a writing clientwho described her protagonist as telepathic with animals, yet the characternever displayed any telepathy in her frustrating interactions with animals,until the three-quarter point of the novel, for no reason that was everexplained.

5. Magical characters must still be real characters, as richlydeveloped as those not possessing paranormal abilities, yet not be perfectbeings, either. Your novel should contain challenging personal growth arcs forthese characters, too, even if they also have some extraordinary abilities.

6. Just as everything comes together in the climax of anyother novel, it must in a paranormal work. The solution your protagonistemploys to meet her goal must rely on both her natural and supernaturalabilities, to bring about a solution that works on both levels. She should alsoovercome her personal challenges, achieving personal growth as she achieves herstory-objective.

7. Most importantly, even magical beings have to earn theirsuccesses. If you allow your protagonist to finalize the action in the climaxwith the effortless waving of a wand, or some solution not inherent within thestoryline, you will lose your reader’s respect. If you change the magical rulesyou’ve already established to allow your character an effortless solution,you’ll also lose that reader. For the reader to continue to suspect disbelief,she must trust in the integrity of your novel. If you want to get around somegenerally accepted paranormal beliefs, find a realistic way to do it. In theTWILIGHT series, for example, Stephenie Meyer circumvented the belief thatvampires can’t go out during the day without burning up by choosing a localethat’s heavily overcast.

Writing paranormal can be extra challenging because so muchhas to be integrated, and it must work equally well on multiple levels. Butit’s great fun to write, and these tips should speed you on your way towardwriting paranormal cross-category success.

Are they out there?

2011-10-24T15:11:00.000-07:00

Given my town's -- Sedona, Arizona -- reputation for being Woo-Woo Central, Isuppose it’s inevitable that some visiting smart alecks ask, “So…any spaceshipsland here lately?”

I usually answer with the straightest of faces, “Themother-ship lands every afternoon in the parking lot, but I wouldn’t advisetaking it, since it’s the local, not the express.”

The usually just stare at me then, and I’m never surewhether they think I’m crazy, or if they are. I’m honestly surprised by howoften we get that question — really, too many times to count. I don’t even knowwhere it comes from. I associate Sedona with crystal stores and psychics, alongwith such non-metaphysical avenues as hiking and great views. Not aliens.

I’m not one of those people who has ever seen evidence ofalien visitations. If E.T. popped up in my kitchen, I think my heart wouldstop.

And yet, as a lifelong science fiction fan, I love the idea.I was weaned on it. Who can forget how, in The Day the Earth Stood Still,Michael Rennie instructed Patricia Neal to give the robot Gort the command,“Klaatu barado nikto,” to keep it from destroying the Earth?

So it’s not a surprise that a sci-fi strain has found itsway into my writing in the forthcoming second adventure in my Samantha Brennanand Annabelle Haggerty Magical Mystery, Magical Alienation, which will debutshortly.

For a writer, fantasy of any kind presents the ultimate “What if…?”situation. The most exciting aspect is when the writer takes actual factsand/or widely accepted urban legend, and mixes in a giant helping ofimagination, to create something that nobody has ever seen before, but whichfeels as if it really could happen right in our world.

The first book in the series, the Lefty Award-nominated forBest Humorous Mystery, High Crimes on the Magical Plane, introduced fakepsychic Samantha Brennan and genuine Celtic goddess/FBI agent AnnabelleHaggerty, along with Angus, the ever-hot ancient god of youth and love andlaughter, who becomes Samantha’s love-slave, as well as leprechauns, bansheesand other mystical beings, who shake up Samantha’s view of the universe.

Magical Alienation picks up with High Crimes on the MagicalPlane left off, introducing new gods and goddesses, including Fiona,Annabelle’s secretive goddess mother, and the trickster gods of Lugh andTaliesin, responsible for such real present-day phenomenon as bizarre weatherpatterns and crop circles. There is a reason why Allyson James, the nationalbestselling author of Stormwalker called Magical Alienation, “…a hilarioustangle of gods and goddesses.”

It explores what may have happened in Roswell, NewMexico in 1947. The craft that crashed there then — which the U.S. governmenthas always insisted was a weather balloon, but which local residents at thetime insisted was an alien aircraft, with actual alien inhabitants — and thepersistence with which this rumor has continued to circulate to this day, hasalways fascinated me. In all likelihood it was a weather balloon, but what funis that? That’s where the “What if…?” scenario and imagination comes in.Magical Alienation not only explores that crash, it probes the mysterious Area51 in Nevada. And if you think you know what those places are all about, you’rein for a whale of a surprise in Magical Alienation!

In science fiction, particularly the old films, earthlingsare often depicted as the buttheads of the universe. We’re seen as beings socareless with our own environment and theirs that other creatures have to comefrom planets across the galaxy to give us a collective slap on the wrist tokeep us from messing up all of space. You have to admit that Michael Rennie asKlaatu seemed the ultimate universal diplomat in The Day the Earth Stood Still,while we savage earthlings sure proved him right when we shot him.

Some of the characters in Magical Alienation can’t disputethat butthead-theory, including Rand Riker, the bad boy of Rock ’n’ Roll,who’ll do anything for eternal youth, Kenny Campbell, the junior senator fromArizona, with his curious definition of “family values,” as well as a rougemilitia unit whose form of domestic terrorism has a decidedly magical twist.

Throw in a horrific harmonic convergence and the darkestnight the planet has ever seen, and it’s not clear which of these characterscan possibly survive it.

That’s why Darynda Jones, author of Second Grave to theLeft, wrote, “It’s intriguing and IMPOSSIBLE to put down! Get this book. Youwill not be disappointed!” And why fantasy author, Jeff Mariotte, author of theDark Vengeance series, described it as: “…fearless, frenetic, and funny. KrisNeri's tale of gods and rock stars and fake psychics has more twists and turnsthan a French braid, and she employs all her mystery-writer's chops to keepreaders spellbound from beginning to end, wondering who’s really who and what’sreally next.”

I just call it the most fun I’ve ever written. And let me remind you, as Samantha discovers, when Celtic gods are involved, nothing is ever as it appears.

Book Review: FIRST GRAVE ON THE RIGHT by Darynda Jones

2011-10-17T19:34:00.000-07:00

Do you woo-woo? I do. I’m really thrilled by the still-growing popularity of the urban fantasy genre and other paranormal fictional forms, not just because I write funny urban fantasy (or magical mystery, as my publisher calls it), but because I also love reading it. A really creative paranormal writer can set my imagination soaring. The problem is that whenever a publishing trend takes hold, some writers jump on the bandwagon and simply rehash what others have done. Look at what happened when THE DA VINCI CODE hit the heady heights of top bestsellerdom — we saw far too many Catholic Church secret conspiracies and capers set in museums. Now, suddenly, everyone who was anyone in history was a vampire — Robert E. Lee, Richard Nixon, a couple of popes... Where is the freshness this genre demands? The new paranormal beings?

Well, you’ll find a particularly wonderful one in the debut novel by New Mexico author, Darynda Jones, FIRST GRAVE ON THE RIGHT, and its new sequel, SECOND GRAVE ON THE LEFT.

Lively, sparkling Charley Davidson is a part-time private investigator and a full-time grim reaper. From her first day in this world, the day she was born, she assumed the job of helping the souls of the newly-passed-on to go to the light. She doesn’t know what happens to them after they do, it’s just her job to help them to move in that direction. But some of the recently-departed don’t want to go, especially when they died as a result of violent crime. Then they want justice before moving on. Since Charley is a PI, the daughter of a retired cop, niece of an active one, and a frequent consultant to the Albuquerque PD, she’s the ideal person to give it to them. In FIRST GRAVE ON THE LEFT, it’s the three senior partners of a law firm — all murder victims — who need her to unravel the cause of their demise before they’re ready to give up this realm.

The ghosts aren’t background figures here, they’re highly engaged, sometimes learning important truths that would have helped them in the lives they’ve just lost during this in-between stage. Some are just transient figures in Charley’s life, as they wait for her to find out who killed them, and deal with those they’re leaving behind, while others are more permanent fixtures in Charley’s life and home. The permanent ghosts are hilarious, especially when they think they’re still performing earthbound activities. And as with lots of ghost stories before this one, sometimes it’s funny when Charley finds herself locked into a conversation with one of the departed, while in the presence of a living nonbeliever who thinks she’s talking to herself, and maybe just nuts.

Distracting Charley during her search for the bad guy is the unsettling, though super-hot, dream sex she’s been having with an entity who has been following her all of her life, who might be dead, but who might actually be something else entirely. The exact nature of this super-supernatural being is just as a fresh and surprising as the precise way Charley’s gift is depicted as functioning.

While a distinctive genre today, urban fantasy is actually the amalgamation of other genres, of crime, fantasy and romance, though the exact percentages will vary by novel, and will often reflect the background of the author. My own, and those of other mystery authors, will often emphasize the mystery, though the crimes reflected will usually take on a supernatural quality. Darynda Jones’s sparkling series is stronger on paranormal romance and fantasy aspects, but while the crimes and their investigation represents a smaller segment of FIRST GRAVE ON THE RIGHT, they are well done, with the need for justice strongly projected, and the resolution highly satisfying.

The best part of this series is its sassy, snarky, sexy protagonist, and the cheeky charm of a voice that will grab you from the first page and won’t let go of you until its satisfying conclusion. Original, engaging, and not to be missed.

-- Kris Neri

High Crimes & AM AZ

2011-10-17T16:26:00.001-07:00

I appeared recently on the AM Arizona TV show to talk about HIGH CRIMES ON THE MAGICAL PLANE. So fun!

Before I went on, I reviewed everything I wanted to say and just hoped to remember it all. During my segment, though, I don’t think there was a thought in my head…except perhaps to hope I sounded okay as I blathered on, and to note how good the hostess’s makeup looked and to hope mine looked as good. It all went by so fast, and I found it impossible to speaking while simultaneously thinking about what to say.

I hoped it sounded good. You be the judge -- see it.

– Kris Neri