Monthly Archive for July, 2010

Rollercoaster Month: Blog Woes, Book News & Hot Authors

Published on July 30, 2010 in Amazon Bookstore and General News. 5 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

It has been a rollercoaster month blog-wise. Some of my regular readers may have noticed that for the past few weeks, my blog has had some pretty weird stuff going on. In fact, it went totally haywire. Luckily, I’m on a new server now and the days of error messages are over. Whew! On a brighter note, I just finished taking the Blog Book Tours class and found it very educational. Thanks to the class, I made a few subtle tweaks to help make my blog more user-friendly.

Among the changes, you can find links to my 2009-2010 Virtual Book Tour for Twenty-Five Years Ago Today in the right margin under My 25 Years Ago Blog Tour Stops. Browse through the posts to discover my interviews, columns and excerpts on the host blogs.

Book-wise, things have been quite busy. The Smashwords summer sale runs through July 31st, and until then, you can purchase the ebook version of Twenty-Five Years Ago Today in multiple formats for just $2.24. Don’t forget to use the code SWS25 at checkout.

Production on my picture book The Flag Keeper will start in the next week or two. More on that in the coming weeks.

Here on the blog, in July, we celebrated a 25th wedding anniversary with mystery author Steve Liskow and his wife; mystery, children’s and fantasy author Camille LaGuire recalled writing her swashbuckler novel; zoo mystery author Ann Littlewood reflected on a time of career transitions; and Jenny Milchman told us about her start as a teenage writer.

In August, Unexpectedly, Milo author Matthew Dicks will admit to getting in trouble in high school; Mary Deal will give us an Aloha from Hawaii and share a fictional moment about her Down to the Needle characters; and J. R. Lindermuth will talk about his days of balancing parenthood, a newspaper career and his own personal writing. Also, my Mainly Murder Press pals Suzanne Young and Loni Emmert will drop by in August. Suzanne will let her character Edna Davies share a moment from the past, and Loni will dish about the music biz.

Check out all their books in my Amazon bookstore. Let’s hope for smoother sailing in August!

25 Years Ago Today: Well-Known Writer and Blogger Jenny Milchman

Published on July 28, 2010 in 25 Years Ago Today. 19 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

I’d like to welcome writer and blogger Jenny Milchman today. I first got to know Jenny when I did a guest blog post for her inspirational and popular Made It Moments column and found her to be just as inspirational as the authors she features on her blog. While engaged in her publication journey, Jenny has worked to connect writers and readers in an ongoing discussion of craft.


She is founder and co-host of the series Writing Matters, which draws authors from as far away as New Hampshire and South Carolina to events held at an independent New Jersey bookstore.

She blogs about the writing life at suspenseyourdisbelief.com where she created the Made It Moments forum, which features everyone from Edgar winners to authors published by micro presses, all talking about the process of finding success in this business. Jenny speaks about life as an emerging writer at conferences and for New York Writers Workshop, and has appeared on radio shows as well.

Jenny, I know you’re very busy now with the writing life. What were you doing 25 years ago?

JENNY: Because I was in high school twenty-five years ago, I decided to play it a little loose with the whole number thing, and write about what happened to me twenty-SIX years ago.

After all, high school kids don’t often have a lot of great writing moments to share (aside from the rock stars who published actual books by then)!

But first, a little background. Twenty-seven years ago I was in eighth grade and had just written (and I do mean written, as in by hand) my first novel. It was 98 pages long, had illustrations, and would’ve been classified as YA, I suppose. It was about a girl who had to move right at the end of middle school.

The first lesson you learn in creative writing classes is to write what you know. I wrote about what I wished would be.

That has changed, but that’s for another post.

So, anyway, writing was what I loved to do, what I’d always done. I can still remember entertaining elementary school friends with stories.

And when I turned fifteen, I found out about a NJ-based program called Summer Arts Institute, for high school kids who excelled in theater, music, dance, visual art, and … writing.

I remember that once your initial application, which included writing samples, made it to the next round, you had to stand before a panel of actual authors and sort of audition. It was like something out of “Fame.” I was hooked.

Not just on the writing itself – always the biggest rush (until it comes time to revise, that is) – but on the process of sharing my work with however much of the world I could reach.

I didn’t have such an exciting moment again until an editor at William Morrow wanted to sit down with me and my agent and talk about my first novel. It was something of a mess, and didn’t sell, but this editor took it seriously enough to ask us to lunch, and what can I say? I’m still hooked.

Writing is a business of rushes and disappointment. The road is not meant for plodding along but for clambering uphill with all your might and, more rarely, whooshing down, breezes lifting your hair. I’ve been on it for more than twenty-five years now.

I hope I never have to get off.

Thanks for a great post, Jenny! Be sure to visit Jenny on her blog to discover more about this talented author.

25 Years Ago Today: “Zoo-dunnit” Author Ann Littlewood

Published on July 26, 2010 in 25 Years Ago Today. 6 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

I’d like to welcome Ann Littlewood today. I’m sure you’ll enjoy reading about Ann’s fascinating background as much I did. Ann was a zookeeper at the Oregon Zoo in Portland, Oregon, for 12 years, working with a wide variety of mammals and birds. After a stint in corporate America, she is delighted to be back in the zoo world, at least mentally, writing the Iris Oakley mystery series. She lives in Portland, Oregon, with a sign painter husband and a small but very hairy dog.

Ann, what a fun idea to write a mystery series set in the zoo world. I loved the first book, Night Kill, and can’t wait to read your latest. Your zookeeper experience has obviously served you well. Tell us what you were doing 25 years ago.

ANN: Twenty-five years ago, I was figuring out how to assemble an office wardrobe from scratch, how to walk in high heels, and what an invoice was. I’d quit my zoo keeper job after twelve years and embarked on a career as a technical writer. I would claim the title of Biggest Job Shift Ever, except that a New Zealand relative evolved from itinerant sheep-shearer living in a horse-drawn wagon to senior policy analyst for the government.

But I’m runner-up.

For twelve years, I’d gone to work in rubber boots and brown coveralls and come home physically exhausted. Now I went to work in a skirt and those painful heels and came home, uh, still exhausted. Only now it was from stress instead of scrubbing. A bachelor’s degree and a friend got me this technical writing gig, but I was to revise the manual for the company’s accounting software, and I hadn’t a clue. Fortunately, just as at the zoo, co-workers stepped up and mentored the newbie.

This job and my old job had almost no overlap in upside and downside. One was indoors, the other often outdoors. One paid better, the other had tiger cubs and monkeys. One, you got carpal tunnel syndrome from typing all day long, the other—well, carpal tunnel from cutting fruit and fish for hours.

Technical writing became a great career. But I missed the zoo world, missed the animals and the issues and the people. That’s why I write zoo mysteries – to go back, at least in my head.

To read more about Ann’s work, visit her web site and blog.

Check out her latest book, Did Not Survive, on Amazon. In Did Not Survive, zoo keeper Iris Oakley tries and fails to save her boss from an elephant attack. But is Damrey, the elephant, really a rogue and a killer? Iris uncovers a surprising number of motives to kill Wallace, but Damrey doesn’t seem to have one. Also check out Night Kill on Amazon.

Blast From The Past: Mystery of the Stolen Art Treasure

Published on July 22, 2010 in Blast From The Past. 5 Comments

As I mentioned earlier in my blog, I’ve been writing mystery stories since I was in elementary school. I store them all in a huge clear plastic bin in one of my closets. I stumbled across this one, The Mystery of the Stolen Art Treasure, in a light blue folder. I wrote it in careful handwriting, with a blue erasable pen. If I made too many mistakes in one of my stories, I’d force myself to recopy the entire page until it was perfect. Boy, did I hate recopying pages, but I was tough editor, even as an 11 year old.

Although this manuscript has a few erase marks here and there, apparently I gave myself a break and allowed it to pass as “final.” Here is an excerpt of the beginning:

“Carolyn, it’s time to leave now, darling. We’ll be late if you don’t hurry.”

“I’m coming, Mom. Wait a second…”

“Carolyn, come on,” another voice cut in impatiently.

“I’m almost ready.”

Carolyn Gordon was a lovely girl of about eleven years of age. Long flowing brown hair framed her oval face and her pink monogrammed sweater and red knit skirt set off her twinkling blue eyes.

Gloria, Carolyn’s older sister, burst red-faced into the room. “Carolyn, if you don’t hurry, then it will be Christmas by the time we get to the carnival.”

“My, aren’t we impatient today,” Carolyn laughed. “But don’t worry, I’m ready now.”

“Finally. Honestly, I was just about to ask Mom to leave without you.”

“Well, I wouldn’t leave without Carolyn,” Jeannie, their six-year-old sister, announced stoutly, coming into the room.

Obviously, as a child writer, I hadn’t mastered the technique of jumping right into the action. I took my sweet old time introducing the characters. Around page five, the main character, Carolyn, learns that her friend can’t join her at the carnival as a family art treasure was just stolen. That’s probably where the story should have begun, but heck, I was eleven. The excerpt does demonstrate my fondness for writing dialogue and short descriptions. From time-to-time, I’ll share other excerpts from my childhood stories.

Writers, feel free to tell us about your own childhood writing in the comments. And if you can hunt down an actual excerpt to share, let me know so we can feature it sometime!

Something in Common: 5 Ways to Get Fit and Not Quit

Published on July 18, 2010 in Something in Common. 7 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

As my blog readers know, every now and then I like to feature a topic that has “something in common” with one of my published books. Today’s topic is health and fitness, thanks to my guest writer Robert Boyd, the Managing Director of SportsEquip.co.uk, leading suppliers of ‘capital’ sports equipment and wet pour safety surfaces.

What does health and fitness have to do with my books? Well, Cassidy Novak, the main character in my upcoming December release Sink or Swim, is a personal trainer. She works for a health club and dreams of launching her own chain of fitness centers. Cassidy is dedicated to helping clients reach their fitness goals, and she would give advice very similar to Robert’s advice below.

Here’s what Robert has to say about getting fit:

Incorporating new routines in your lifestyle requires commitment, time, and energy. Even if you know you want to be fit and you recognize your current choices are taking you down an unhealthy path, it is often difficult to get going on a new fitness regime. Getting over the first hill is usually the hardest, but later challenges seem much less menacing once you have established a rhythm of regular exercise and healthy eating.

When beginning your fitness regime, make some time early on for introspection and to honestly reflect on your goals. Devote a bit of energy and make a list of ideas. This will help you define what you hope to achieve and set realistic dates for doing so. Consider past attempts you have made to get fit. What things were most bearable in the short-term, and what habits have lasted? If everything seems to have failed up to this point, what have you not tried yet? Talk with your doctor, a personal trainer, and research the subjects of fitness and nutrition.

Setting goals is an essential part of the process, but in order to keep your motivation high, be sure that you are aiming for the achievable. Set daily goals and rewards for making it to each step along your path to fitness. This will build momentum, as small successes reinforce your routine and increase your motivation during the early days. Once you have managed to integrate activities into your regular routine, the chances of you quitting drop substantially. Staying fit becomes a lifestyle, rather than just a short-term goal.

If you struggle to get going at the beginning, try to form goals based around the activities in your life and the seasons. Summertime is a wonderful period to flaunt your successes, so it is a great idea to get going on your diet in the spring or late winter.

By the time beach weather arrives, you can reward yourself by purchasing a fabulous new swimsuit and heading down to the beach. You might also set specific dates around weddings or other special events, planning to slim down into a dress you have in mind. All of these occasions are wonderful ways to become more motivated when fitness goals seem far away.

Whether you are aiming for a specific event or just for summertime in general, be sure to plan on incremental change, especially in your eating habits. Rather than make drastic changes in your diet that will take pleasure out of your life, focus on reducing portion size and eating more slowly. Chewing more is better for your digestive system, and helps you feel full sooner. Good eating habits are a must as part of any new fitness regime.

Finally, from day one, do everything you can to enjoy the physical activity itself. Pair up with a friend if you go jogging, or create some great soundtracks for your exercise routine. Music is a wonderful motivator for many activities in life, and exercise is no exception. With inspiration tunes and friends to keep you on track, you are sure to reach your goals and get in shape for good.

Thanks so much, Robert, for sharing this inspirational article.

25 Years Ago Today: Mystery, Fantasy and Children’s Author Camille LaGuire

Published on July 15, 2010 in 25 Years Ago Today. 7 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

I’d like to welcome my guest Camille LaGuire. Camille writes mystery fiction, as well as fantasy and children’s stories, and has a fondness for writing anything with humor and adventure. Her stories have appeared in magazines from Cricket to Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Fantasy Magazine to Futures Mysterious Anthology. Her thriller play, Slayer of Clocks, was performed to sold out audiences at the first Discovering New Mysteries Festival in 2007.

Camille, you sound as if you write about some really fun topics. What were you doing 25 years ago?

CAMILLE: In 1984 I had just graduated from the Clarion Workshop in Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing, and I had a problem. I was just a baby writer when I got into that advanced workshop, and I had learned much more about writing than I could handle. Furthermore, I’m not really a fantasy writer, I’m a mystery writer.

I was so frustrated as I tried to write my first great fantasy novel. I could see clearly just how bad my writing was, but I didn’t have the skills to fix it. And I could hear the voices of the other workshop members in my head, criticizing every sentence.

So, I decided that what I needed was experience. I needed to have written a book – even a bad book – in order to write as well as I wanted. And to do that, I had to write something that would shut up the imaginary critics. Something they would hate, and I loved, in a dead genre, so there would be no question of it being publishable.

I wrote a swashbuckler.

It was fun and adventurous and had mystery and horses, and it was good enough to get me into grad school and get me some great personal correspondence from editors. But it was a swashbuckler and therefore not publishable.

Twenty-five years later, I’ve gone on to other things, but my swashbuckler has now found its niche online with electronic publishing.

Read more about Camille’s work on her web site and blog.

Check out her YA swashbuckler, The Adventure of Anna the Great, on Amazon. Here is a description: A young noblewoman dresses as a boy and becomes a stableboy in the royal stables, where she gets involved in the mystery surrounding a kidnapping.

25 Years Ago Today: Celebrating a Silver Anniversary With Mystery Writer Steve Liskow

Published on July 13, 2010 in 25 Years Ago Today. 18 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

I’d like to welcome Steve Liskow, one of my fellow authors at Mainly Murder Press. Steve’s novel Who Wrote The Book of Death? came out in May from Mainly Murder Press, and “Stranglehold,” which won the Black Orchid Novella Award, appears in the summer issue of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. He is a member of both Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime, and has twice won Honorable Mention for the Al Blanchard Story Award. He and his wife Barbara live in Connecticut with two rescued cats.

When Steve shared his idea with me for the premise of his 25 Years Ago column, I was tickled as it involved a silver anniversary and a certain leading lady in Steve’s life. Tell us, Steve, what were you doing twenty-five years ago?

STEVE: During the summer of 1984, I drifted into community theater. By the end of that year, I had designed sound for three productions, acted in three, and produced two—sometimes simultaneously.

For the second play, the director cast a lead actress we had never seen before, and she was terrific. Unfortunately, about the same time we figured out how good she was, our male lead broke his foot. Over the next week, all six actors I invited to replace him turned me down, so I took over the role myself, even though I was already producing and designing the music and sound effects.

Things got even crazier a week later. That amazing actress came to my apartment to help me learn the lines. Seconds after she sat down, my cat climbed into her lap and refused to move. We spent the next three hours speaking over a purr that could drown out a military drum corps. When Barbara finally left, Pepper cried for two hours.

By the time the show closed, Pepper didn’t cry anymore because Barbara seldom left. By New Year’s, we were inspecting apartments, weighing calendar dates, and surveying reception halls.

Mystery writer Steve Liskow and his leading lady Barbara are celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary.

We married on Bastille Day. The director was best man, another actor ushered, and my daughter was the ring-bearer. Naturally, I picked the music.

Twenty-five years ago this week.

If you get a chance, please wish Steve and Barbara a Happy Anniversary in the comments. Their 25th anniversary is July 14, Bastille Day.

Also check out Who Wrote The Book of Death? on Amazon and at Mainly Murder Press. When PI Greg Nines agrees to protect a woman from death threats, he assumes that her name isn’t really Taliesyn Holroyd. Unfortunately, he also assumes she’s really a romance novelist with a book in progress. What else he doesn’t know could bury them both along with the book.

Learn more at www.steveliskow.com.

25 Years Ago Today: Journey of an Aspiring Mystery Writer

Published on July 11, 2010 in 25 Years Ago Today and Blast From The Past. 4 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , .

Twenty-five years ago, I was an 11–year-old bookworm who loved writing stories as much as reading them. My characters immersed themselves in tales like Mystery of the Stone Castle, Mystery at the Skating Rink, The Secret of the Sea Falcon, A Ghost at the Beach, Hidden Treasure, The Mysterious Relatives, and the Mysterious Bank Robbery. I wrote standalones, as well as a series featuring teenage amateur sleuth Cathy Summers and her sidekick Katie.

I wrote a lot about young psychics also, which is interesting as my two books-in-the-works both feature psychic characters.

Just for fun, now and then I’ll post excerpts from some of these old stories on my blog. I thought it would be fun to dig into these stories and see the similarities and differences to my adult writing style. I’m also doing it as a reminder to nurture your children’s talents and interests, as my parents did, and help steer them down the right path. There is a wonderful book called A Walk With Daimon, by Peter K. Delani, which describes the importance of following the right path.

Be sure to nurture your own inner child as well. If you liked painting, writing, music, or drawing as a child and have given it up due to time constraints, that part of you is still buried somewhere inside you. Let it come out to play.

Christmas in July for E-book Shoppers

Published on July 8, 2010 in General News. 5 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

If you own an e-book reader, it’s Christmas in July over at Smashwords. The web site is having a summer sale and many authors are giving away free or discounted e-books throughout the month. I had a great time this week downloading free and inexpensive books, adding about a dozen to my Sony Touch reader.

My mystery novel Twenty-Five Years Ago Today is 26 percent off at Smashwords through July 31, reduced to $2.24. If you’ve been wanting to read it and have a device to read e-books, then now is the perfect time. Use the code SWS25 at checkout for 26% off. For twenty-five years, Diana Ferguson’s killer has gotten away with murder. When rookie obit writer and newsroom editorial assistant Kris Langley investigates the cold case of the artistic young cocktail waitress who was obsessed with Greek and Roman mythology, she must fight to stay off the obituary page herself. The e-book version contains discussion questions for book clubs and a sneak peek at my December release, Sink or Swim. If e-books aren’t your thing, then you can also find the trade paperback version discounted at Amazon.

For those of you who do enjoy e-books and aren’t familiar with Smashwords, then I can’t stress enough that the summer sale is a perfect time to check it out. Smashwords offers multi-format e-books, ready for immediate sampling and purchase, and readable on any e-reading device. While you’re there, check out the titles by author Darcia Helle, a rising new author who guest blogged here in the spring. Her novel Enemies and Playmates is free during July. Also check out the titles by KD Easley.

I’ll write more on the e-book trend at a later date. In the meantime, happy shopping!

Summer News: E-Books, Flags & 25 Years Ago Columns

Published on July 5, 2010 in 25 Years Ago Today and Amazon Bookstore. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

It has been a busy summer so far, both on and off my blog. Twenty-Five Years Ago Today is now in e-book format. It will be available at the price of $2.99 for a limited time, and through July 7, you can use this coupon code to purchase it for $1.99 at Smashwords: PF84F. It’s already on sale for $2.24 at Smashwords for the month of July, but using the above coupon you can get it for $1.99 for a very limited time. The book is also in the Amazon Kindle Store and in trade paperback.

Over the next few weeks, the e-book version will begin popping up on many other online retailer sites through various distribution channels, including Barnes & Noble, Sony, Kobo and Apple. You can read more about the book here.

My children’s picture book The Flag Keeper, which I gave away here as a PDF from Flag Day through July 4, will soon be coming out in paperback. You can receive updates by following the brand new Flag Keeper Facebook page. Look for a book trailer and red, white and blue web page in the near future.

A scene from The Flag Keeper, written bt Stacy Juba and illustrated by Larry Drumtra

Thanks to Tisha Berg for featuring my recent interview at bizmommy.com. She has an incredibly inspirational site for mothers who want to start their own business.

In June on my own blog, we met mystery/suspense author Darcía Helle’s Miami Snow character Nick Donovan; literary and contemporary fiction author Maria Savva told us about the mysterious Red Man from her childhood; and novelist and short story author Stephen D. Rogers shared what working for a direct mail company taught him about writing.

Also, Beth Kanell, author of the young adult book The Darkness Under the Water, shared a powerful memory about a life-changing year in Vermont, and Lynne Murray, author of the romantic comedy Bride of the Living Dead and the Josephine Fuller mystery series, recalled writing her very first mystery novel.

In July, we’ll share a special anniversary with mystery author Steve Liskow; mystery, children’s and fantasy author Camille LaGuire will look back at writing her swashbuckler novel; zoo mystery author Ann Littlewood will tell us about a time of career transitions; and Jenny Milchman will tell us about her start as a teenage writer. In the meantime, check out all their books in my Amazon bookstore and hope you’re having a great start to your summer.

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