Six Rivers County

The great thing about writing as well as life is that you can start all over again. Besieged by various life events, illness and depression, the last year has been challenging. Certainly, not life-changing as it has for some of my family and friends, but hard for me to get through. So, here goes. Me starting over. My first as-yet-unborn mystery novel actually grew. I have just finished the last chapter in the second draft. Sam and Mary have discovered a new dimension in their relationship and the over-arching plot of the series is laid down. And I’ve learned a few things on the way to this point. First, having a critique group every week keeps me working. I have a deadline. I need deadlines. That way, I keep writing, even if I don’t always like what I’ve written. I just keep writing. Second, scenes and chapters I’ve written usually go over better with others than they do with me. Of course, I have not shown them to my husband. He’s too close

Where do you find that place between cliché and innovation? In genre fiction, especially mysteries, there is a certain expectation on the part of the reader for elements specific to that genre. I finished writing the 43 rd chapter of Smoked yesterday. In it, I have used a cliché and then dismissed it. The following is a scene in the interrogation room, Sam Terwillager trying to get information out of the prime suspect, Otis Carter. “You don’t have to answer that,” said Harlow, his voice raspy and his eyes never leaving the table top. Carter waved the cliché away. “Jimmy walked ten miles to call Didi to tell her someone took the truck.” One of my critique readers registered her approval. “Use a cliché and then dismiss it for what it is.” (Or something to that effect.)   I hadn’t given it a thought, but I took in what she said. It made me think about writing detective fiction and how to be realistic as well as inventive. But, when a lawyer is advising his client in th

My latest dilemma comes from trying to be realistic about a shooting scene and not gross my readers out. It was hard. I finally did it, though. I told it from the point of view of Sam, who had been wounded on the side of his face. He was in shock and therefore he did his best to deny and block out all that was going on around him.         Now, Sam will have a great scar on his right cheekbone and a hardly noticeable nick in his hairline above his ear. What do you think? Will he be sexier that way?

In my last post, I reviewed a great book. It is number 5 in a series, and I have read all of them. Each one stands on its own, but as a series, they sing. What makes a good series so compelling? A couple of things. First, you get to know the characters in much more depth than you would in just one book. Second, you have that over-arching mystery or conflict that continues to develop through all the books. In each book, then, the author reveals a little more, sometimes coming very close to solving the main character's conflict—that conflict that put them on the path that brought them to the mysteries they solve in each book. My mission in writing Smoked is to give it a prolonged story arc that will follow the main characters throughout a series. The continuing conflict involves a writing professor at Six Rivers University, who must match wits with a syndicate king-pin. The mob boss masquerades as an upright citizen, pretending to be against drugs of any kind, supporting th

I have devoted this blog to my process of writing, and that often includes looking at successful writers for inspiration, even though they may not write books like the mine. Historical mysteries are among my favorite sub-genres. The historical mystery satisfies two jones at once: a puzzle to solve and a lesson in history. One of the best historical mystery series I have read are by Jeri Westerson. She calls them “Medieval Noir,” and they have all the qualifying elements of noir. Crispin Guest is her protagonist. Having been stripped of his knighthood by Richard II, he must make his living in a less than hospitable 14 th century London. Using his intelligence and skills, he has become known as The Tracker, because they didn't have detectives back then. Not unlike Sam Spade, Guest has his flaws and his lost loves. Still, though betrayed by his aristocratic cohorts and the legal system, Guest never loses his sense of honor. In Blood Lance, due out in a couple of months,

You know you're a writer when your mind keeps waking you up with a story idea. I both love and hate the experience. I love it because it reminds me that I'm on the right track of my life. I hate it because it's like a nagging mommy interrupting your dreams to make you get up and work. Since the idea has nothing to do with Smoked or the North Coast of California, I have put it aside in a document file named Rawbits after a faux cereal once hawked by Garrison Keillor. If I did not, it would haunt me, interfering with Smoked, so I would not get anything accomplished on either. I wonder how other writers handle this kind of intrusion on their work. Do you set aside time to work on the new idea while you work on the original opus the other part of the day? Let me know. I'm always curious to see if there are better ways to handle intrusive ideas and characters. That reminds me. I have neglected the historical aspects I wrote about to get my blog started so many