KN Magazine: Articles
If I Lived What I Wrote, I'd Be in Prison / Carter Wilson
It’d be pretty tough to write a compelling thriller if we all were limited solely to our life experiences. Sure, a few lucky (or unlucky) folks would have truly exciting tales, but for the most part, we’d write stories about paying bills, buying groceries, and coaching rec league soccer teams. Guest blogger and award-winning author Carter Wilson reflects on dealing with the amusing but tricky moments when readers start analyzing the disturbing parts of his books for insights into his personal psychology.
Happy reading!
Clay Stafford
Founder Killer Nashville
Publisher / Editorial Director Killer Nashville Magazine
If I Lived What I Wrote, I'd Be In Prison
By Carter Wilson
I hate the adage “write what you know.”
Hate it.
But I don’t hate it because it’s wrong. As an author, there are plenty of things about your life woven into your fiction, and most of the time, this is done unconsciously. The car your character drives has a striking resemblance to your own. A few choice turns of phrase that you've been known to use pepper your manuscript. Your protagonist’s drink of choice is, coincidentally, a margarita on the rocks, two parts tequila, one part lime, touch of orange liquor, and a drizzle of agave nectar. No salt, not ever.
No, I hate that phrase “write what you know” because too many readers take it as an unalterable truism. By readers, of course, I mean family members. They mean well, God bless ’em, but boy, do they want to know where all that darkness comes from. It has to come from somewhere, because, you know, you write what you know, and if the villain in your book fancies choking out hookers and making totem poles out of their torsos, well, we may need to revisit that time you went to summer camp when you were sixteen. What exactly happened at Lake Chumpagawa, anyway?
My mom always wants to read my manuscripts before they go to a publisher. In an early manuscript, I struggled mightily with the protagonist’s motivation for the way he behaved in the arc of the story. Then it hit me that a lot of his actions could be better appreciated in the context of him having lived through a traumatic childhood event, and I added in a fairly disturbing scene in which said character, as a ten-year-old, is molested by his teacher. (Full disclosure: unless I'm suppressing something, that never happened to me or anyone I knew).
So my mom reads the story and, in perfect Mom-form, graciously tells me she likes it and notes out a dozen or so typos, but otherwise says nothing. A month later (A MONTH!) I’m visiting with her and she says she needs to ask me something. What is it? I ask. Of course, she asks if I’ve ever been molested. Now, at this point, I don’t even realize we’re talking about my book, so the question hits me like a foul ball hurling at my head out of the blinding sunshine. What? Did you seriously just ask me that?
Well, she says, it was in your book. And authors only write what they know.
Imagine that. She had been holding that in for a month, trying to find the courage to ask me. Apparently, she had been calling my sister to recollect anything that could have happened. Of course, my sister recalled to her one time when she vaguely remembered a stranger asking me to go for a hike (and maybe this is the suppressed part) and thought the guy was a little creepy. That story, apparently, was the tipping point for my mother to finally ask. God, I felt horrible. I assured her that, to the best of my memory, the creepy hiker merely wanted to go hiking.
I've had other questions from family members, including, “who was that person based on?” Or, “why don't you like to write happy things?” And once, “What are you hiding?”
Maybe there is a deeply rooted psychological answer for why thriller/suspense/horror writers gravitate toward the dark, but I think the truest answer is this: darkness begets tension, and tension begets a good story. If I truly wrote a book based on what I know from my real life, it would be boring as shit.
So, just to make sure we can be clear here, the following is a list of things I have never personally done:
Crucify someone, literally (Final Crossing, 2012, Vantage Point Books)
Participate in the murder of a child when I was fourteen (The Boy in the Woods, 2014, Severn House)
Talk in my sleep about rape and torture fantasies (The Comfort of Black, 2015, Oceanview Publishing)
When I get gently worded questions about where all my darkness comes from, and how much of it is based on my life experiences, I usually just smile and politely mumble something about the book being fiction and relying mostly on my imagination. After all, an author’s imagination is their greatest tool.
But sometimes, when the mood hits me just right, I don’t reply at all.
I just look at them and smile.
Award-winning author Carter Wilson was born in New Mexico and grew up in Los Angeles before attending Cornell University. He is a consultant and frequent lecturer in the hospitality industry, has journeyed the globe both for work and pleasure, and as a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity. The Comfort of Black is Carter’s third novel. Carter lives in Colorado with his two children. Reach him at carterwilson.com
(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you.)
Thanks to Tom Wood, Emily Eytchison, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.
And for more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.
And be sure to check out our new book, Killer Nashville Noir: Cold-Blooded, an anthology of original short stories by New York Times bestselling authors and newbies alike.
“Murder, mayhem, and mystery! Every story in KILLER NASHVILLE: COLD-BLOODED is filled with suspense, sizzle and startling twists. I loved it!”
- Lisa Jackson, New York Times Bestselling Author
*Killer Nashville is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase a book from the links on this page, Amazon will give Killer Nashville a small percentage of the total sale. Killer Nashville receives zero compensation (other than sometimes the book to review) from publishers who have been selected for the Book of the Day.
If I Lived What I Wrote, I'd Be in Prison / Carter Wilson
It’d be pretty tough to write a compelling thriller if we all were limited solely to our life experiences. Sure, a few lucky (or unlucky) folks would have truly exciting tales, but for the most part, we’d write stories about paying bills, buying groceries, and coaching rec league soccer teams. Guest blogger and award-winning author Carter Wilson reflects on dealing with the amusing but tricky moments when readers start analyzing the disturbing parts of his books for insights into his personal psychology.Happy reading!
Clay StaffordFounder Killer NashvillePublisher / Editorial Director Killer Nashville Magazine
If I Lived What I Wrote, I'd Be In Prison
By Carter Wilson
I hate the adage “write what you know.”
Hate it.
But I don’t hate it because it’s wrong. As an author, there are plenty of things about your life woven into your fiction, and most of the time, this is done unconsciously. The car your character drives has a striking resemblance to your own. A few choice turns of phrase that you've been known to use pepper your manuscript. Your protagonist’s drink of choice is, coincidentally, a margarita on the rocks, two parts tequila, one part lime, touch of orange liquor, and a drizzle of agave nectar. No salt, not ever.
No, I hate that phrase “write what you know” because too many readers take it as an unalterable truism. By readers, of course, I mean family members. They mean well, God bless ’em, but boy, do they want to know where all that darkness comes from. It has to come from somewhere, because, you know, you write what you know, and if the villain in your book fancies choking out hookers and making totem poles out of their torsos, well, we may need to revisit that time you went to summer camp when you were sixteen. What exactly happened at Lake Chumpagawa, anyway?
My mom always wants to read my manuscripts before they go to a publisher. In an early manuscript, I struggled mightily with the protagonist’s motivation for the way he behaved in the arc of the story. Then it hit me that a lot of his actions could be better appreciated in the context of him having lived through a traumatic childhood event, and I added in a fairly disturbing scene in which said character, as a ten-year-old, is molested by his teacher. (Full disclosure: unless I'm suppressing something, that never happened to me or anyone I knew).
So my mom reads the story and, in perfect Mom-form, graciously tells me she likes it and notes out a dozen or so typos, but otherwise says nothing. A month later (A MONTH!) I’m visiting with her and she says she needs to ask me something. What is it? I ask. Of course, she asks if I’ve ever been molested. Now, at this point, I don’t even realize we’re talking about my book, so the question hits me like a foul ball hurling at my head out of the blinding sunshine. What? Did you seriously just ask me that?
Well, she says, it was in your book. And authors only write what they know.
Imagine that. She had been holding that in for a month, trying to find the courage to ask me. Apparently, she had been calling my sister to recollect anything that could have happened. Of course, my sister recalled to her one time when she vaguely remembered a stranger asking me to go for a hike (and maybe this is the suppressed part) and thought the guy was a little creepy. That story, apparently, was the tipping point for my mother to finally ask. God, I felt horrible. I assured her that, to the best of my memory, the creepy hiker merely wanted to go hiking.
I've had other questions from family members, including, “who was that person based on?” Or, “why don't you like to write happy things?” And once, “What are you hiding?”
Maybe there is a deeply rooted psychological answer for why thriller/suspense/horror writers gravitate toward the dark, but I think the truest answer is this: darkness begets tension, and tension begets a good story. If I truly wrote a book based on what I know from my real life, it would be boring as shit.
So, just to make sure we can be clear here, the following is a list of things I have never personally done:
- Crucify someone, literally (Final Crossing, 2012, Vantage Point Books)
- Participate in the murder of a child when I was fourteen (The Boy in the Woods, 2014, Severn House)
- Talk in my sleep about rape and torture fantasies (The Comfort of Black, 2015, Oceanview Publishing)
When I get gently worded questions about where all my darkness comes from, and how much of it is based on my life experiences, I usually just smile and politely mumble something about the book being fiction and relying mostly on my imagination. After all, an author’s imagination is their greatest tool.
But sometimes, when the mood hits me just right, I don’t reply at all.
I just look at them and smile.
Award-winning author Carter Wilson was born in New Mexico and grew up in Los Angeles before attending Cornell University. He is a consultant and frequent lecturer in the hospitality industry, has journeyed the globe both for work and pleasure, and as a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity. The Comfort of Black is Carter’s third novel. Carter lives in Colorado with his two children. Reach him at carterwilson.com
(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you.)
Thanks to Tom Wood, Emily Eytchison, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.
And for more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.
And be sure to check out our new book, Killer Nashville Noir: Cold-Blooded, an anthology of original short stories by New York Times bestselling authors and newbies alike.
“Murder, mayhem, and mystery! Every story in KILLER NASHVILLE: COLD-BLOODED is filled with suspense, sizzle and startling twists. I loved it!”
- Lisa Jackson, New York Times Bestselling Author
*Killer Nashville is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase a book from the links on this page, Amazon will give Killer Nashville a small percentage of the total sale. Killer Nashville receives zero compensation (other than sometimes the book to review) from publishers who have been selected for the Book of the Day.
If I Lived What I Wrote, I'd Be in Prison / Carter Wilson
It’d be pretty tough to write a compelling thriller if we all were limited solely to our life experiences. Sure, a few lucky (or unlucky) folks would have truly exciting tales, but for the most part, we’d write stories about paying bills, buying groceries, and coaching rec league soccer teams. Guest blogger and award-winning author Carter Wilson reflects on dealing with the amusing but tricky moments when readers start analyzing the disturbing parts of his books for insights into his personal psychology.Happy reading!
Clay StaffordFounder Killer NashvillePublisher / Editorial Director Killer Nashville Magazine
If I Lived What I Wrote, I'd Be In Prison
By Carter Wilson
I hate the adage “write what you know.”
Hate it.
But I don’t hate it because it’s wrong. As an author, there are plenty of things about your life woven into your fiction, and most of the time, this is done unconsciously. The car your character drives has a striking resemblance to your own. A few choice turns of phrase that you've been known to use pepper your manuscript. Your protagonist’s drink of choice is, coincidentally, a margarita on the rocks, two parts tequila, one part lime, touch of orange liquor, and a drizzle of agave nectar. No salt, not ever.
No, I hate that phrase “write what you know” because too many readers take it as an unalterable truism. By readers, of course, I mean family members. They mean well, God bless ’em, but boy, do they want to know where all that darkness comes from. It has to come from somewhere, because, you know, you write what you know, and if the villain in your book fancies choking out hookers and making totem poles out of their torsos, well, we may need to revisit that time you went to summer camp when you were sixteen. What exactly happened at Lake Chumpagawa, anyway?
My mom always wants to read my manuscripts before they go to a publisher. In an early manuscript, I struggled mightily with the protagonist’s motivation for the way he behaved in the arc of the story. Then it hit me that a lot of his actions could be better appreciated in the context of him having lived through a traumatic childhood event, and I added in a fairly disturbing scene in which said character, as a ten-year-old, is molested by his teacher. (Full disclosure: unless I'm suppressing something, that never happened to me or anyone I knew).
So my mom reads the story and, in perfect Mom-form, graciously tells me she likes it and notes out a dozen or so typos, but otherwise says nothing. A month later (A MONTH!) I’m visiting with her and she says she needs to ask me something. What is it? I ask. Of course, she asks if I’ve ever been molested. Now, at this point, I don’t even realize we’re talking about my book, so the question hits me like a foul ball hurling at my head out of the blinding sunshine. What? Did you seriously just ask me that?
Well, she says, it was in your book. And authors only write what they know.
Imagine that. She had been holding that in for a month, trying to find the courage to ask me. Apparently, she had been calling my sister to recollect anything that could have happened. Of course, my sister recalled to her one time when she vaguely remembered a stranger asking me to go for a hike (and maybe this is the suppressed part) and thought the guy was a little creepy. That story, apparently, was the tipping point for my mother to finally ask. God, I felt horrible. I assured her that, to the best of my memory, the creepy hiker merely wanted to go hiking.
I've had other questions from family members, including, “who was that person based on?” Or, “why don't you like to write happy things?” And once, “What are you hiding?”
Maybe there is a deeply rooted psychological answer for why thriller/suspense/horror writers gravitate toward the dark, but I think the truest answer is this: darkness begets tension, and tension begets a good story. If I truly wrote a book based on what I know from my real life, it would be boring as shit.
So, just to make sure we can be clear here, the following is a list of things I have never personally done:
- Crucify someone, literally (Final Crossing, 2012, Vantage Point Books)
- Participate in the murder of a child when I was fourteen (The Boy in the Woods, 2014, Severn House)
- Talk in my sleep about rape and torture fantasies (The Comfort of Black, 2015, Oceanview Publishing)
When I get gently worded questions about where all my darkness comes from, and how much of it is based on my life experiences, I usually just smile and politely mumble something about the book being fiction and relying mostly on my imagination. After all, an author’s imagination is their greatest tool.
But sometimes, when the mood hits me just right, I don’t reply at all.
I just look at them and smile.
Award-winning author Carter Wilson was born in New Mexico and grew up in Los Angeles before attending Cornell University. He is a consultant and frequent lecturer in the hospitality industry, has journeyed the globe both for work and pleasure, and as a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity. The Comfort of Black is Carter’s third novel. Carter lives in Colorado with his two children. Reach him at carterwilson.com
(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you.)
Thanks to Tom Wood, Emily Eytchison, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.
And for more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.
And be sure to check out our new book, Killer Nashville Noir: Cold-Blooded, an anthology of original short stories by New York Times bestselling authors and newbies alike.
“Murder, mayhem, and mystery! Every story in KILLER NASHVILLE: COLD-BLOODED is filled with suspense, sizzle and startling twists. I loved it!”
- Lisa Jackson, New York Times Bestselling Author
*Killer Nashville is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase a book from the links on this page, Amazon will give Killer Nashville a small percentage of the total sale. Killer Nashville receives zero compensation (other than sometimes the book to review) from publishers who have been selected for the Book of the Day.
The Pizza Guy / David Putnam
Public Service Announcement: A team’s only as strong as its weakest link.
Great. Glad we got that cleared up. Now we can move on to the really revolutionary stuff.
But wait, how are you going to make that cliché into an interesting story structure, or even just a memorable scene, for your groundbreaking police procedural thriller? Sure, it’s true for a group of cops the same way that it’s true for a sports team, but you can’t hold a reader’s attention by just telling them flat out. You have to find a way to make it interesting and new, through specificity. Longtime cop-turned-author David Putnam offers some real-life examples from his experience with weak links, or, as he creatively calls them, “pizza guys”.
Happy reading!
Clay Stafford
Founder Killer Nashville
Publisher / Editorial Director Killer Nashville Magazine
The Pizza Guy
By David Putnam
Throughout my 31 years in law enforcement, I have run into many Pizza Guys. This is not necessarily a derogatory term; it’s more a classification, and one I coined out of necessity for officer safety. Other agencies, I’m sure, have their own names for them. Not only do they exist in every law enforcement organization, but they’re in every business as well.
I’m an avid reader, and have never seen an author make use a Pizza Guy as a main character—not in the way a Pizza Guy operates in real life. I have pondered using a Pizza Guy in my novels, but as yet have not found a place for one. And if I wrote the events in which I was personally involved with these guys, the reader might call foul and say, “That would never happen.”
For most of my career, I worked SWAT, narcotics, special teams, Violent Crimes, and Criminal Intelligence. These teams were mostly comprised of men and women who’d proved their ability or competence, and were lucky enough to be chosen out of a crowded field of competitors. These teams can be highly technical, and it’s dangerous if every member is not competent and always paying close attention to details.
In a dynamic SWAT entry where the team has to cover and move, cover and move, each member has to be able to depend on each other. An error, even a small one, could be fatal. This applies to high-risk search warrants in narcotics as well.
The unfortunate circumstance in law enforcement—in any job where humans are involved—is that people are chosen for these positions, not because of their competence and ability, but because “He’s a good guy.” Or the guy did a special favor for a Deputy Chief, and the chief is repaying a debt.
The Pizza Guy moniker came about during a briefing on a big operation. As the case agent, I was designating team members and team leaders to execute search warrants at multiple locations. When I finished giving the instructions and asked if there were any questions, one member I had forgotten about, maybe subconsciously, raised his hand and said, “Hey, what about me?”
I looked around and said, “You’re going to get the pizza.”
Henceforth, whenever we had an operation and assignments were given out, there was always one slot left out for “The Pizza Guy”. In most cases, the Pizza Guy, if he were smart enough to figure it out, didn’t mind. He liked the status of being on SWAT, or on Narcotics, but not necessarily going through the door on a high-risk entry.
Here’s a classic example of a Pizza Guy. My team was running down a homicide suspect and we hit a house where the suspect had been minutes before. We’d just missed him. Inside the house, we found another male who was on parole and in possession of a firearm—a felony. We handcuffed him and set him on the couch, pending transport to jail.
When you have multiple Pizza Guys, you try to spread them out, put them on different teams, one each. That particular day, we were running with two. I asked the sergeant to step outside away from the parolee so he couldn’t hear us, leaving the two Pizza Guys to guard the parolee. Pretty soon, one of the Pizza Guys shows up outside to listen in on what the plan was going to be. A couple minutes later, the second Pizza Guy shows up outside and the sergeant says, “Hey, who’s watching the crook?”
We ran back in and the crook had fled with the handcuffs.
In another incident, our team worked a highly sensitive narcotic surveillance, a high profile conspiracy. We rotated the “eye”, the point on the surveillance. Our Pizza Guy took his turn. After a few minutes, I tried to raise him on the radio. He didn’t respond. I had to break from my position to check on him. He was asleep in his car, his seat back. I took a Polaroid picture in case he ever complained about running for pizza.
On the Violent Crimes team, I ran an operation trying to snare a crew of serial bank robbers. I had six teams of two, set up on possible bank targets that the crime analysis unit had given us. Each team of two sat in their cars in the bank parking lots, and if the robbery crew pulled up to rob the bank, the team would put it out over the radio and wait for back-up.
We’d been set up for three hours. Around lunchtime, dispatch advised of a silent alarm at one the target banks. Every team broke from their location and drove like hell to the bank being robbed. The team sitting in the parking lot of the bank being robbed was comprised of two Pizza Guys, and they wouldn’t answer their radio. When we got there, the Pizza Guys looked surprised. They hadn’t seen a thing. They were both eating tacos right in front of the bank.
A plumber driving by saw the suspect run from the bank, spewing red smoke from the dye pack in the bank money, and followed him. The plumber took a huge pipe wrench from his truck and chased the bank robber into a restaurant, where he held him at bay in the restroom until we could get there.
The use of a Pizza Guy in novel might work as in individual incident, but unless the novel was a comedy, I don’t think he would work as a main character.
David Putnam always wanted to be a cop. His career in law enforcement has spanned over 30 years. He has worked in narcotics, served on FBI-sponsored violent crimes teams, and was cross-sworn as a U.S. Marshall, pursuing murder suspects and bank robbers in Arizona, Nevada, and California. Putnam did three tours on the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s S.W.A.T. team, executing dynamic entries, hostage rescues, and serving as team sniper. He has also worked in Criminal Intelligence and Internal Affairs and has supervised corrections, patrol, and a detective bureau.
After 28 years of California law enforcement, Putnam moved to Hawaii where he worked as a Special Agent for the Attorney General, investigating smuggling and white-collar crimes. Putnam is now retired and lives in Southern California where he farms organic avocado trees, reads and writes, and attends writers’ conferences with his wife and fellow writer, Mary. The Replacements follows The Disposables in Putnam’s Bruno Johnson series. Reach him at http://dwputnam.com/
(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you.)
Thanks to Tom Wood, Emily Eytchison, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.
And for more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.
And be sure to check out our new book, Killer Nashville Noir: Cold-Blooded, an anthology of original short stories by New York Times bestselling authors and newbies alike.
“Murder, mayhem, and mystery! Every story in KILLER NASHVILLE: COLD-BLOODED is filled with suspense, sizzle and startling twists. I loved it!”
- Lisa Jackson, New York Times Bestselling Author
*Killer Nashville is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase a book from the links on this page, Amazon will give Killer Nashville a small percentage of the total sale. Killer Nashville receives zero compensation (other than sometimes the book to review) from publishers who have been selected for the Book of the Day.
The Pizza Guy / David Putnam
Public Service Announcement: A team’s only as strong as its weakest link.Great. Glad we got that cleared up. Now we can move on to the really revolutionary stuff.But wait, how are you going to make that cliché into an interesting story structure, or even just a memorable scene, for your groundbreaking police procedural thriller? Sure, it’s true for a group of cops the same way that it’s true for a sports team, but you can’t hold a reader’s attention by just telling them flat out. You have to find a way to make it interesting and new, through specificity. Longtime cop-turned-author David Putnam offers some real-life examples from his experience with weak links, or, as he creatively calls them, “pizza guys”.Happy reading!Clay StaffordFounder Killer NashvillePublisher / Editorial Director Killer Nashville Magazine
The Pizza Guy
By David Putnam
Throughout my 31 years in law enforcement, I have run into many Pizza Guys. This is not necessarily a derogatory term; it’s more a classification, and one I coined out of necessity for officer safety. Other agencies, I’m sure, have their own names for them. Not only do they exist in every law enforcement organization, but they’re in every business as well.
I’m an avid reader, and have never seen an author make use a Pizza Guy as a main character—not in the way a Pizza Guy operates in real life. I have pondered using a Pizza Guy in my novels, but as yet have not found a place for one. And if I wrote the events in which I was personally involved with these guys, the reader might call foul and say, “That would never happen.”
For most of my career, I worked SWAT, narcotics, special teams, Violent Crimes, and Criminal Intelligence. These teams were mostly comprised of men and women who’d proved their ability or competence, and were lucky enough to be chosen out of a crowded field of competitors. These teams can be highly technical, and it’s dangerous if every member is not competent and always paying close attention to details.
In a dynamic SWAT entry where the team has to cover and move, cover and move, each member has to be able to depend on each other. An error, even a small one, could be fatal. This applies to high-risk search warrants in narcotics as well.
The unfortunate circumstance in law enforcement—in any job where humans are involved—is that people are chosen for these positions, not because of their competence and ability, but because “He’s a good guy.” Or the guy did a special favor for a Deputy Chief, and the chief is repaying a debt.
The Pizza Guy moniker came about during a briefing on a big operation. As the case agent, I was designating team members and team leaders to execute search warrants at multiple locations. When I finished giving the instructions and asked if there were any questions, one member I had forgotten about, maybe subconsciously, raised his hand and said, “Hey, what about me?”
I looked around and said, “You’re going to get the pizza.”
Henceforth, whenever we had an operation and assignments were given out, there was always one slot left out for “The Pizza Guy”. In most cases, the Pizza Guy, if he were smart enough to figure it out, didn’t mind. He liked the status of being on SWAT, or on Narcotics, but not necessarily going through the door on a high-risk entry.
Here’s a classic example of a Pizza Guy. My team was running down a homicide suspect and we hit a house where the suspect had been minutes before. We’d just missed him. Inside the house, we found another male who was on parole and in possession of a firearm—a felony. We handcuffed him and set him on the couch, pending transport to jail.
When you have multiple Pizza Guys, you try to spread them out, put them on different teams, one each. That particular day, we were running with two. I asked the sergeant to step outside away from the parolee so he couldn’t hear us, leaving the two Pizza Guys to guard the parolee. Pretty soon, one of the Pizza Guys shows up outside to listen in on what the plan was going to be. A couple minutes later, the second Pizza Guy shows up outside and the sergeant says, “Hey, who’s watching the crook?”
We ran back in and the crook had fled with the handcuffs.
In another incident, our team worked a highly sensitive narcotic surveillance, a high profile conspiracy. We rotated the “eye”, the point on the surveillance. Our Pizza Guy took his turn. After a few minutes, I tried to raise him on the radio. He didn’t respond. I had to break from my position to check on him. He was asleep in his car, his seat back. I took a Polaroid picture in case he ever complained about running for pizza.
On the Violent Crimes team, I ran an operation trying to snare a crew of serial bank robbers. I had six teams of two, set up on possible bank targets that the crime analysis unit had given us. Each team of two sat in their cars in the bank parking lots, and if the robbery crew pulled up to rob the bank, the team would put it out over the radio and wait for back-up.
We’d been set up for three hours. Around lunchtime, dispatch advised of a silent alarm at one the target banks. Every team broke from their location and drove like hell to the bank being robbed. The team sitting in the parking lot of the bank being robbed was comprised of two Pizza Guys, and they wouldn’t answer their radio. When we got there, the Pizza Guys looked surprised. They hadn’t seen a thing. They were both eating tacos right in front of the bank.
A plumber driving by saw the suspect run from the bank, spewing red smoke from the dye pack in the bank money, and followed him. The plumber took a huge pipe wrench from his truck and chased the bank robber into a restaurant, where he held him at bay in the restroom until we could get there.
The use of a Pizza Guy in novel might work as in individual incident, but unless the novel was a comedy, I don’t think he would work as a main character.
David Putnam always wanted to be a cop. His career in law enforcement has spanned over 30 years. He has worked in narcotics, served on FBI-sponsored violent crimes teams, and was cross-sworn as a U.S. Marshall, pursuing murder suspects and bank robbers in Arizona, Nevada, and California. Putnam did three tours on the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s S.W.A.T. team, executing dynamic entries, hostage rescues, and serving as team sniper. He has also worked in Criminal Intelligence and Internal Affairs and has supervised corrections, patrol, and a detective bureau.
After 28 years of California law enforcement, Putnam moved to Hawaii where he worked as a Special Agent for the Attorney General, investigating smuggling and white-collar crimes. Putnam is now retired and lives in Southern California where he farms organic avocado trees, reads and writes, and attends writers’ conferences with his wife and fellow writer, Mary. The Replacements follows The Disposables in Putnam’s Bruno Johnson series. Reach him at http://dwputnam.com/
(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you.)
Thanks to Tom Wood, Emily Eytchison, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.
And for more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.
And be sure to check out our new book, Killer Nashville Noir: Cold-Blooded, an anthology of original short stories by New York Times bestselling authors and newbies alike.
“Murder, mayhem, and mystery! Every story in KILLER NASHVILLE: COLD-BLOODED is filled with suspense, sizzle and startling twists. I loved it!”
- Lisa Jackson, New York Times Bestselling Author
*Killer Nashville is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase a book from the links on this page, Amazon will give Killer Nashville a small percentage of the total sale. Killer Nashville receives zero compensation (other than sometimes the book to review) from publishers who have been selected for the Book of the Day.
The Pizza Guy / David Putnam
Public Service Announcement: A team’s only as strong as its weakest link.Great. Glad we got that cleared up. Now we can move on to the really revolutionary stuff.But wait, how are you going to make that cliché into an interesting story structure, or even just a memorable scene, for your groundbreaking police procedural thriller? Sure, it’s true for a group of cops the same way that it’s true for a sports team, but you can’t hold a reader’s attention by just telling them flat out. You have to find a way to make it interesting and new, through specificity. Longtime cop-turned-author David Putnam offers some real-life examples from his experience with weak links, or, as he creatively calls them, “pizza guys”.Happy reading!Clay StaffordFounder Killer NashvillePublisher / Editorial Director Killer Nashville Magazine
The Pizza Guy
By David Putnam
Throughout my 31 years in law enforcement, I have run into many Pizza Guys. This is not necessarily a derogatory term; it’s more a classification, and one I coined out of necessity for officer safety. Other agencies, I’m sure, have their own names for them. Not only do they exist in every law enforcement organization, but they’re in every business as well.
I’m an avid reader, and have never seen an author make use a Pizza Guy as a main character—not in the way a Pizza Guy operates in real life. I have pondered using a Pizza Guy in my novels, but as yet have not found a place for one. And if I wrote the events in which I was personally involved with these guys, the reader might call foul and say, “That would never happen.”
For most of my career, I worked SWAT, narcotics, special teams, Violent Crimes, and Criminal Intelligence. These teams were mostly comprised of men and women who’d proved their ability or competence, and were lucky enough to be chosen out of a crowded field of competitors. These teams can be highly technical, and it’s dangerous if every member is not competent and always paying close attention to details.
In a dynamic SWAT entry where the team has to cover and move, cover and move, each member has to be able to depend on each other. An error, even a small one, could be fatal. This applies to high-risk search warrants in narcotics as well.
The unfortunate circumstance in law enforcement—in any job where humans are involved—is that people are chosen for these positions, not because of their competence and ability, but because “He’s a good guy.” Or the guy did a special favor for a Deputy Chief, and the chief is repaying a debt.
The Pizza Guy moniker came about during a briefing on a big operation. As the case agent, I was designating team members and team leaders to execute search warrants at multiple locations. When I finished giving the instructions and asked if there were any questions, one member I had forgotten about, maybe subconsciously, raised his hand and said, “Hey, what about me?”
I looked around and said, “You’re going to get the pizza.”
Henceforth, whenever we had an operation and assignments were given out, there was always one slot left out for “The Pizza Guy”. In most cases, the Pizza Guy, if he were smart enough to figure it out, didn’t mind. He liked the status of being on SWAT, or on Narcotics, but not necessarily going through the door on a high-risk entry.
Here’s a classic example of a Pizza Guy. My team was running down a homicide suspect and we hit a house where the suspect had been minutes before. We’d just missed him. Inside the house, we found another male who was on parole and in possession of a firearm—a felony. We handcuffed him and set him on the couch, pending transport to jail.
When you have multiple Pizza Guys, you try to spread them out, put them on different teams, one each. That particular day, we were running with two. I asked the sergeant to step outside away from the parolee so he couldn’t hear us, leaving the two Pizza Guys to guard the parolee. Pretty soon, one of the Pizza Guys shows up outside to listen in on what the plan was going to be. A couple minutes later, the second Pizza Guy shows up outside and the sergeant says, “Hey, who’s watching the crook?”
We ran back in and the crook had fled with the handcuffs.
In another incident, our team worked a highly sensitive narcotic surveillance, a high profile conspiracy. We rotated the “eye”, the point on the surveillance. Our Pizza Guy took his turn. After a few minutes, I tried to raise him on the radio. He didn’t respond. I had to break from my position to check on him. He was asleep in his car, his seat back. I took a Polaroid picture in case he ever complained about running for pizza.
On the Violent Crimes team, I ran an operation trying to snare a crew of serial bank robbers. I had six teams of two, set up on possible bank targets that the crime analysis unit had given us. Each team of two sat in their cars in the bank parking lots, and if the robbery crew pulled up to rob the bank, the team would put it out over the radio and wait for back-up.
We’d been set up for three hours. Around lunchtime, dispatch advised of a silent alarm at one the target banks. Every team broke from their location and drove like hell to the bank being robbed. The team sitting in the parking lot of the bank being robbed was comprised of two Pizza Guys, and they wouldn’t answer their radio. When we got there, the Pizza Guys looked surprised. They hadn’t seen a thing. They were both eating tacos right in front of the bank.
A plumber driving by saw the suspect run from the bank, spewing red smoke from the dye pack in the bank money, and followed him. The plumber took a huge pipe wrench from his truck and chased the bank robber into a restaurant, where he held him at bay in the restroom until we could get there.
The use of a Pizza Guy in novel might work as in individual incident, but unless the novel was a comedy, I don’t think he would work as a main character.
David Putnam always wanted to be a cop. His career in law enforcement has spanned over 30 years. He has worked in narcotics, served on FBI-sponsored violent crimes teams, and was cross-sworn as a U.S. Marshall, pursuing murder suspects and bank robbers in Arizona, Nevada, and California. Putnam did three tours on the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s S.W.A.T. team, executing dynamic entries, hostage rescues, and serving as team sniper. He has also worked in Criminal Intelligence and Internal Affairs and has supervised corrections, patrol, and a detective bureau.
After 28 years of California law enforcement, Putnam moved to Hawaii where he worked as a Special Agent for the Attorney General, investigating smuggling and white-collar crimes. Putnam is now retired and lives in Southern California where he farms organic avocado trees, reads and writes, and attends writers’ conferences with his wife and fellow writer, Mary. The Replacements follows The Disposables in Putnam’s Bruno Johnson series. Reach him at http://dwputnam.com/
(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you.)
Thanks to Tom Wood, Emily Eytchison, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.
And for more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.
And be sure to check out our new book, Killer Nashville Noir: Cold-Blooded, an anthology of original short stories by New York Times bestselling authors and newbies alike.
“Murder, mayhem, and mystery! Every story in KILLER NASHVILLE: COLD-BLOODED is filled with suspense, sizzle and startling twists. I loved it!”
- Lisa Jackson, New York Times Bestselling Author
*Killer Nashville is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase a book from the links on this page, Amazon will give Killer Nashville a small percentage of the total sale. Killer Nashville receives zero compensation (other than sometimes the book to review) from publishers who have been selected for the Book of the Day.
It's All About the Brand / Claire Applewhite
Branding is everything.
Think about it. Have you ever tried to convince your kids that the generic version of their favorite cereal or clothing line is every bit as good as the one with the familiar logo they’re dying to buy? Ever try to convince yourself?
We trust in brands, at least as a means of identifying our likes and dislikes quickly. Our favorite sports teams, restaurant chains, and department stores all have icons with which we associate, often on a deep emotional level.
As a writer, it’s crucial that you set yourself apart from the rest of the market by distinguishing your work with a brand identity. Sounds mercenary? Maybe, but as guest blogger Claire Applewhite points out, the greatest entertainment legends of our time capitalized on this marketing technique to build more than a fanbase—a legacy.
Happy reading!
Clay Stafford
Founder Killer Nashville
Publisher / Editorial Director Killer Nashville Magazine
It’s All About the Brand
By Claire Applewhite
The year was 1959.
Marilyn Monroe wowed us with her drop-dead white halter dress in Some Like It Hot. Elvis Presley shocked us with his sultry style, and I Love Lucy loved Lucille Ball, famous for slapstick comedy and her signature red hair. In 1964, the Beatles performed on the Ed Sullivan Show with “long” hair that barely grazed their collars.
These remarkable icons may be gone, but memories of their unique style endure. While the concept of the “brand” is not new, technological advances provide a fresh awareness that “brand” can create a timeless legacy. For the author with a well-defined brand, strategic opportunity awaits.
What is a “brand?” A brand represents the attributes that you present to your readers, and how your readers perceive you and your creative ability. Clearly, it is crucial to develop and deliver the right message. You must know yourself and your personal attributes before you formulate your message. To gain insight, some soul searching is unavoidable. Consider the following questions:
Why do you want to create this brand? What is your ultimate goal?
What do you believe in?
What are your fondest dreams?
Who, or what, do you love?
How do you spend your free time?
If you received an unexpected financial windfall, how would you spend it?
If you could be someone else, who would it be?
What do you consider an unforgivable mistake?
What is the thing you do best?
List some adjectives to describe yourself.
Now, assess your current image. Is it consistent with your answers? How does it compare to the image you want to present? What changes, if any, do you need to make to achieve consistency? This is the time to make them.
Do you want to focus on a particular niche within your brand? If you want to carve out a niche brand, work to become an expert in that area. Research the characteristics of that niche, so that you can anticipate customer expectations. Review the adjectives you used to describe yourself and compare them to the niche that you have considered. Are the two lists consistent with your brand?
I have always loved mystery and romantic suspense novels and movies, and found that I usually gravitated toward the “noir” style—a subgenre of the mystery genre that focus on themes such as hard luck, obsession, loneliness and despair. The criminal aspects of the plot and the protagonist are intertwined. The characters are usually doomed before we even meet them, but following their descent is somehow fun, as we observe their entanglement in a web of their own doom. Several of my books—the ’Nam Noir series, and Crazy For You—fit this niche nicely.
Speaking of your customers, how well do you know them? What is it about your work that they find unique? Ask them what they think you do best. Their answers may surprise you. Communicate with your readers on a regular basis. Advertise signings and appearances and use social media, or consider an online newsletter. Make your messages memorable, simple and clear. Always answer personal messages. Recently, I received an email from a student who got published. She thanked me for advice and encouragement, which meant a great deal to me. I really enjoy opportunities to get to know my readers, whether it’s a neighborhood book club, a book signing or a speaking opportunity.
Consider the acquisition of a logo. A logo is the bedrock, the very foundation of a brand, and represents what is unique about you and your work, in relation to the broader market. It communicates on a variety of levels to create a connection between you and your reader. The logo embodies the adage, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” It must be memorable, and elicit emotional response and brand loyalty from the consumer. If the medium is the message, the logo is the medium that communicates the message that defines your brand.
Marketing is complex, and is as crucial to your brand as your book. I am a St. Louis author and my books are set in St. Louis. St. Louis locales, expressions, and traditions are utilized whenever possible. Usually, there is a “giveaway” item with a book purchase. For example, to highlight the Coral Court Motel setting in St. Louis Hustle, a replica key chain accompanied each purchase.
I also use visual props and costumes. A cardboard version of Dr. Thomas Spezia, fresh from The Doctor’s Tale, joins Shelby Swain from Tennessee Plates and Bunny Dingwerth from Crazy For You. In addition to bookstores, schedule appearances in places that relate to your brand. I wrote the music and lyrics for my CD, Night Rain, to complement my books, and I have signed both in record stores.
Oh, and about that photo...
In my original photograph, I wore a suit. I thought I looked professional. In fact, I was told I looked like a banker, or as one man said, “You look like Meryl Streep in The Manchurian Candidate.” I concluded that my creative image might have a problem. I consulted a professional photographer, and tried a different approach. The new photo appears on my website beside my logo, and by the biography at the end of each of my books, as well as synopses from my other novels.
Engage social media to convey and grow your new brand. Your brand is a valuable asset, and ultimately, the customer determines its worth and life cycle. Remember to protect it with trademark and copyright laws.
Finally, ensure that all types of social media communicate the same attributes of your brand. In everything you do, be consistent. Like Marilyn and Elvis, be an “original.”
Claire Applewhite is a St. Louis mystery writer and Acquisitions Editor for Smoking Gun Publishing, LLC. A graduate of St. Louis University, her published books include The Wrong Side of Memphis, Crazy For You, St. Louis Hustle, Candy Cadillac, Tennessee Plates, and The Doctor’s Tale. She is an adjunct professor at the University of Missouri, St. Louis. Applewhite has served as a Past President of the Missouri Writers Guild and Board member of the Midwest Chapter, Mystery Writers of America. Organizational memberships include the St. Louis Metropolitan Press Club, St. Louis Writers Guild, Sisters in Crime, Ozark Writers League and Active member, Mystery Writers of America. She can be reached at www.claireapplewhite.com, www.clairedunoir.com or www.smokinggunpublishing.com.
(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you.)
Thanks to Tom Wood, Emily Eytchison, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.
And for more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.
And be sure to check out our new book, Killer Nashville Noir: Cold-Blooded, an anthology of original short stories by New York Times bestselling authors and newbies alike.
“Murder, mayhem, and mystery! Every story in KILLER NASHVILLE: COLD-BLOODED is filled with suspense, sizzle and startling twists. I loved it!”
- Lisa Jackson, New York Times Bestselling Author
*Killer Nashville is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase a book from the links on this page, Amazon will give Killer Nashville a small percentage of the total sale. Killer Nashville receives zero compensation (other than sometimes the book to review) from publishers who have been selected for the Book of the Day.
It's All About the Brand / Claire Applewhite
Branding is everything.Think about it. Have you ever tried to convince your kids that the generic version of their favorite cereal or clothing line is every bit as good as the one with the familiar logo they’re dying to buy? Ever try to convince yourself?We trust in brands, at least as a means of identifying our likes and dislikes quickly. Our favorite sports teams, restaurant chains, and department stores all have icons with which we associate, often on a deep emotional level.As a writer, it’s crucial that you set yourself apart from the rest of the market by distinguishing your work with a brand identity. Sounds mercenary? Maybe, but as guest blogger Claire Applewhite points out, the greatest entertainment legends of our time capitalized on this marketing technique to build more than a fanbase—a legacy.Happy reading!Clay StaffordFounder Killer NashvillePublisher / Editorial Director Killer Nashville Magazine
It’s All About the Brand
By Claire Applewhite
The year was 1959.
Marilyn Monroe wowed us with her drop-dead white halter dress in Some Like It Hot. Elvis Presley shocked us with his sultry style, and I Love Lucy loved Lucille Ball, famous for slapstick comedy and her signature red hair. In 1964, the Beatles performed on the Ed Sullivan Show with “long” hair that barely grazed their collars.
These remarkable icons may be gone, but memories of their unique style endure. While the concept of the “brand” is not new, technological advances provide a fresh awareness that “brand” can create a timeless legacy. For the author with a well-defined brand, strategic opportunity awaits.
What is a “brand?” A brand represents the attributes that you present to your readers, and how your readers perceive you and your creative ability. Clearly, it is crucial to develop and deliver the right message. You must know yourself and your personal attributes before you formulate your message. To gain insight, some soul searching is unavoidable. Consider the following questions:
- Why do you want to create this brand? What is your ultimate goal?
- What do you believe in?
- What are your fondest dreams?
- Who, or what, do you love?
- How do you spend your free time?
- If you received an unexpected financial windfall, how would you spend it?
- If you could be someone else, who would it be?
- What do you consider an unforgivable mistake?
- What is the thing you do best?
- List some adjectives to describe yourself.
Now, assess your current image. Is it consistent with your answers? How does it compare to the image you want to present? What changes, if any, do you need to make to achieve consistency? This is the time to make them.
Do you want to focus on a particular niche within your brand? If you want to carve out a niche brand, work to become an expert in that area. Research the characteristics of that niche, so that you can anticipate customer expectations. Review the adjectives you used to describe yourself and compare them to the niche that you have considered. Are the two lists consistent with your brand?
I have always loved mystery and romantic suspense novels and movies, and found that I usually gravitated toward the “noir” style—a subgenre of the mystery genre that focus on themes such as hard luck, obsession, loneliness and despair. The criminal aspects of the plot and the protagonist are intertwined. The characters are usually doomed before we even meet them, but following their descent is somehow fun, as we observe their entanglement in a web of their own doom. Several of my books—the ’Nam Noir series, and Crazy For You—fit this niche nicely.
Speaking of your customers, how well do you know them? What is it about your work that they find unique? Ask them what they think you do best. Their answers may surprise you. Communicate with your readers on a regular basis. Advertise signings and appearances and use social media, or consider an online newsletter. Make your messages memorable, simple and clear. Always answer personal messages. Recently, I received an email from a student who got published. She thanked me for advice and encouragement, which meant a great deal to me. I really enjoy opportunities to get to know my readers, whether it’s a neighborhood book club, a book signing or a speaking opportunity.
Consider the acquisition of a logo. A logo is the bedrock, the very foundation of a brand, and represents what is unique about you and your work, in relation to the broader market. It communicates on a variety of levels to create a connection between you and your reader. The logo embodies the adage, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” It must be memorable, and elicit emotional response and brand loyalty from the consumer. If the medium is the message, the logo is the medium that communicates the message that defines your brand.
Marketing is complex, and is as crucial to your brand as your book. I am a St. Louis author and my books are set in St. Louis. St. Louis locales, expressions, and traditions are utilized whenever possible. Usually, there is a “giveaway” item with a book purchase. For example, to highlight the Coral Court Motel setting in St. Louis Hustle, a replica key chain accompanied each purchase.
I also use visual props and costumes. A cardboard version of Dr. Thomas Spezia, fresh from The Doctor’s Tale, joins Shelby Swain from Tennessee Plates and Bunny Dingwerth from Crazy For You. In addition to bookstores, schedule appearances in places that relate to your brand. I wrote the music and lyrics for my CD, Night Rain, to complement my books, and I have signed both in record stores.
Oh, and about that photo...
In my original photograph, I wore a suit. I thought I looked professional. In fact, I was told I looked like a banker, or as one man said, “You look like Meryl Streep in The Manchurian Candidate.” I concluded that my creative image might have a problem. I consulted a professional photographer, and tried a different approach. The new photo appears on my website beside my logo, and by the biography at the end of each of my books, as well as synopses from my other novels.
Engage social media to convey and grow your new brand. Your brand is a valuable asset, and ultimately, the customer determines its worth and life cycle. Remember to protect it with trademark and copyright laws.
Finally, ensure that all types of social media communicate the same attributes of your brand. In everything you do, be consistent. Like Marilyn and Elvis, be an “original.”
Claire Applewhite is a St. Louis mystery writer and Acquisitions Editor for Smoking Gun Publishing, LLC. A graduate of St. Louis University, her published books include The Wrong Side of Memphis, Crazy For You, St. Louis Hustle, Candy Cadillac, Tennessee Plates, and The Doctor’s Tale. She is an adjunct professor at the University of Missouri, St. Louis. Applewhite has served as a Past President of the Missouri Writers Guild and Board member of the Midwest Chapter, Mystery Writers of America. Organizational memberships include the St. Louis Metropolitan Press Club, St. Louis Writers Guild, Sisters in Crime, Ozark Writers League and Active member, Mystery Writers of America. She can be reached at www.claireapplewhite.com, www.clairedunoir.com or www.smokinggunpublishing.com.
(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you.)
Thanks to Tom Wood, Emily Eytchison, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.
And for more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.
And be sure to check out our new book, Killer Nashville Noir: Cold-Blooded, an anthology of original short stories by New York Times bestselling authors and newbies alike.
“Murder, mayhem, and mystery! Every story in KILLER NASHVILLE: COLD-BLOODED is filled with suspense, sizzle and startling twists. I loved it!”
- Lisa Jackson, New York Times Bestselling Author
*Killer Nashville is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase a book from the links on this page, Amazon will give Killer Nashville a small percentage of the total sale. Killer Nashville receives zero compensation (other than sometimes the book to review) from publishers who have been selected for the Book of the Day.
It's All About the Brand / Claire Applewhite
Branding is everything.Think about it. Have you ever tried to convince your kids that the generic version of their favorite cereal or clothing line is every bit as good as the one with the familiar logo they’re dying to buy? Ever try to convince yourself?We trust in brands, at least as a means of identifying our likes and dislikes quickly. Our favorite sports teams, restaurant chains, and department stores all have icons with which we associate, often on a deep emotional level.As a writer, it’s crucial that you set yourself apart from the rest of the market by distinguishing your work with a brand identity. Sounds mercenary? Maybe, but as guest blogger Claire Applewhite points out, the greatest entertainment legends of our time capitalized on this marketing technique to build more than a fanbase—a legacy.Happy reading!Clay StaffordFounder Killer NashvillePublisher / Editorial Director Killer Nashville Magazine
It’s All About the Brand
By Claire Applewhite
The year was 1959.
Marilyn Monroe wowed us with her drop-dead white halter dress in Some Like It Hot. Elvis Presley shocked us with his sultry style, and I Love Lucy loved Lucille Ball, famous for slapstick comedy and her signature red hair. In 1964, the Beatles performed on the Ed Sullivan Show with “long” hair that barely grazed their collars.
These remarkable icons may be gone, but memories of their unique style endure. While the concept of the “brand” is not new, technological advances provide a fresh awareness that “brand” can create a timeless legacy. For the author with a well-defined brand, strategic opportunity awaits.
What is a “brand?” A brand represents the attributes that you present to your readers, and how your readers perceive you and your creative ability. Clearly, it is crucial to develop and deliver the right message. You must know yourself and your personal attributes before you formulate your message. To gain insight, some soul searching is unavoidable. Consider the following questions:
- Why do you want to create this brand? What is your ultimate goal?
- What do you believe in?
- What are your fondest dreams?
- Who, or what, do you love?
- How do you spend your free time?
- If you received an unexpected financial windfall, how would you spend it?
- If you could be someone else, who would it be?
- What do you consider an unforgivable mistake?
- What is the thing you do best?
- List some adjectives to describe yourself.
Now, assess your current image. Is it consistent with your answers? How does it compare to the image you want to present? What changes, if any, do you need to make to achieve consistency? This is the time to make them.
Do you want to focus on a particular niche within your brand? If you want to carve out a niche brand, work to become an expert in that area. Research the characteristics of that niche, so that you can anticipate customer expectations. Review the adjectives you used to describe yourself and compare them to the niche that you have considered. Are the two lists consistent with your brand?
I have always loved mystery and romantic suspense novels and movies, and found that I usually gravitated toward the “noir” style—a subgenre of the mystery genre that focus on themes such as hard luck, obsession, loneliness and despair. The criminal aspects of the plot and the protagonist are intertwined. The characters are usually doomed before we even meet them, but following their descent is somehow fun, as we observe their entanglement in a web of their own doom. Several of my books—the ’Nam Noir series, and Crazy For You—fit this niche nicely.
Speaking of your customers, how well do you know them? What is it about your work that they find unique? Ask them what they think you do best. Their answers may surprise you. Communicate with your readers on a regular basis. Advertise signings and appearances and use social media, or consider an online newsletter. Make your messages memorable, simple and clear. Always answer personal messages. Recently, I received an email from a student who got published. She thanked me for advice and encouragement, which meant a great deal to me. I really enjoy opportunities to get to know my readers, whether it’s a neighborhood book club, a book signing or a speaking opportunity.
Consider the acquisition of a logo. A logo is the bedrock, the very foundation of a brand, and represents what is unique about you and your work, in relation to the broader market. It communicates on a variety of levels to create a connection between you and your reader. The logo embodies the adage, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” It must be memorable, and elicit emotional response and brand loyalty from the consumer. If the medium is the message, the logo is the medium that communicates the message that defines your brand.
Marketing is complex, and is as crucial to your brand as your book. I am a St. Louis author and my books are set in St. Louis. St. Louis locales, expressions, and traditions are utilized whenever possible. Usually, there is a “giveaway” item with a book purchase. For example, to highlight the Coral Court Motel setting in St. Louis Hustle, a replica key chain accompanied each purchase.
I also use visual props and costumes. A cardboard version of Dr. Thomas Spezia, fresh from The Doctor’s Tale, joins Shelby Swain from Tennessee Plates and Bunny Dingwerth from Crazy For You. In addition to bookstores, schedule appearances in places that relate to your brand. I wrote the music and lyrics for my CD, Night Rain, to complement my books, and I have signed both in record stores.
Oh, and about that photo...
In my original photograph, I wore a suit. I thought I looked professional. In fact, I was told I looked like a banker, or as one man said, “You look like Meryl Streep in The Manchurian Candidate.” I concluded that my creative image might have a problem. I consulted a professional photographer, and tried a different approach. The new photo appears on my website beside my logo, and by the biography at the end of each of my books, as well as synopses from my other novels.
Engage social media to convey and grow your new brand. Your brand is a valuable asset, and ultimately, the customer determines its worth and life cycle. Remember to protect it with trademark and copyright laws.
Finally, ensure that all types of social media communicate the same attributes of your brand. In everything you do, be consistent. Like Marilyn and Elvis, be an “original.”
Claire Applewhite is a St. Louis mystery writer and Acquisitions Editor for Smoking Gun Publishing, LLC. A graduate of St. Louis University, her published books include The Wrong Side of Memphis, Crazy For You, St. Louis Hustle, Candy Cadillac, Tennessee Plates, and The Doctor’s Tale. She is an adjunct professor at the University of Missouri, St. Louis. Applewhite has served as a Past President of the Missouri Writers Guild and Board member of the Midwest Chapter, Mystery Writers of America. Organizational memberships include the St. Louis Metropolitan Press Club, St. Louis Writers Guild, Sisters in Crime, Ozark Writers League and Active member, Mystery Writers of America. She can be reached at www.claireapplewhite.com, www.clairedunoir.com or www.smokinggunpublishing.com.
(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you.)
Thanks to Tom Wood, Emily Eytchison, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.
And for more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.
And be sure to check out our new book, Killer Nashville Noir: Cold-Blooded, an anthology of original short stories by New York Times bestselling authors and newbies alike.
“Murder, mayhem, and mystery! Every story in KILLER NASHVILLE: COLD-BLOODED is filled with suspense, sizzle and startling twists. I loved it!”
- Lisa Jackson, New York Times Bestselling Author
*Killer Nashville is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase a book from the links on this page, Amazon will give Killer Nashville a small percentage of the total sale. Killer Nashville receives zero compensation (other than sometimes the book to review) from publishers who have been selected for the Book of the Day.
How to Write Killer Emotions / DiAnn Mills
There are several things going on within a story: words, plot, characterization. But the thing that makes it human is the emotion. And the more emotion we can throw into our stories, the more they will resonate with readers.
DiAnn Mills provides a great checklist for helping us along. You might not be able to use all of her techniques within the same scene—or even the same story—but all are good reminders that we are human because we feel, and because we feel we are able to read words on a page and share a character’s joys and pains.
These are tricks to take us from good writing to great writing.
Write with passion!
Clay Stafford
Founder Killer Nashville
Publisher / Editorial Director Killer Nashville Magazine
How to Write Killer Emotions
By DiAnn Mills
The first step in writing killer emotions is to understand a character’s unique temperament, wants, needs, flaws, desires, goals, challenges, and backstory. Once you know your character, you can fill your pages with their deepest feelings. According to Tonya Reiman in The Power of Body Language, there are seven universal emotions: surprise, fear, anger, sadness, disgust, happiness, and contempt. Your character needs to experience all seven, and you have to take them there. But how?
Experts state that up to 90% of communication is nonverbal. Character-driven body language allows the writer to show, not tell, what a character is feeling. There are plenty of resources available online offering codified body language for you, but you can do a lot of real-life research by exercising your powers of observation. Watch the people around you carefully, and you’ll find clues about their feelings hidden in what they are physically doing.
Another technique that invites the reader into the experience is the writer’s usage of sensory perception. Emotions surface naturally as the writer describes what the character sees, hears, tastes, smells, and touches. The reader feels the character’s reactions and internalizes what is happening, much like children watching a movie. They select the character they want to be in the adventure, and are able to live the entertainment vicariously. Every word.
Symbolism, another literary device, touches the reader with emotion when a tangible item means something different than its physical property. A symbol cleverly inserted into the story—a word or phrase that points to a deeper meaning—provides a subtle way for the reader to understand the character’s internal workings. The weather, a number, rushing water, a quirky personality, the way the stars light up the night, and more.
Color inherently carries symbolic weight, and thus can affect the character and the reader. Here are a few examples:
Red is a passionate color that invokes strong emotions, while blue suggests sadness or serenity. Green symbolizes nature and growth, and purple often represents royalty, wealth, wisdom, and spirituality—and can also symbolize arrogance. Brown feels natural and down-to-earth, while pink feels romantic and feminine. White often signifies purity and innocence, and black usually reminds us of power, evil, death, and mourning. Gray blends the meanings of black and white, and symbolizes life and death in many circumstances.
Using emotions also means effective word choice. Diction is important and the sounds of our words usher in feelings. Novels involve conflict, and using hard consonants underscores the harsh sensations of stress and tension in confrontations. In gentler scenes, rely on words that end with “y”: they feel light, even fun—pretty, dainty, lovely, perky. Words with softer consonants are soothing. Adding a long vowel sound to a key moment can slow your reader’s heart rate.
The rhythm of our sentences also creates emotive responses. If a passage seems harsh when you desire to create a calm scene, then it’s time to edit. If your sentences contain a poetic lilt when you intend to show a violent scene, head back to the drawing board.
A bestselling writer purposefully places her character into heart-wrenching moments. Be honest. Be bold. Make the emotions raw. Hold back nothing. If you learn how to weave emotion and symbolism into your writing, you plunge your reader into your story and allow him or her to bond with a character who will never let them go.
DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who believes her readers should expect an adventure. She combines unforgettable characters with unpredictable plots to create action-packed, suspense-filled novels.
Her titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists; won two Christy Awards; and been finalists for the RITA, Daphne Du Maurier, Inspirational Readers’ Choice, and Carol award contests. Library Journal presented her with a Best Books 2014: Genre Fiction award in the Christian Fiction category for Firewall.
DiAnn is a founding board member of the American Christian Fiction Writers; the 2015 president of the Romance Writers of America’s Faith, Hope, & Love chapter; a member of Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, and International Thriller Writers. She speaks to various groups and teaches writing workshops around the country. She and her husband live in sunny Houston, Texas.
DiAnn is very active online and would love to connect with readers on any of the social media platforms listed at www.diannmills.com.
(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you.)
Thanks to Tom Wood, Emily Eytchison, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.
And for more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.
And be sure to check out our new book, Killer Nashville Noir: Cold-Blooded, an anthology of original short stories by New York Times bestselling authors and newbies alike.
“Murder, mayhem, and mystery! Every story in KILLER NASHVILLE: COLD-BLOODED is filled with suspense, sizzle and startling twists. I loved it!”
- Lisa Jackson, New York Times Bestselling Author
*Killer Nashville is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase a book from the links on this page, Amazon will give Killer Nashville a small percentage of the total sale. Killer Nashville receives zero compensation (other than sometimes the book to review) from publishers who have been selected for the Book of the Day.
How to Write Killer Emotions / DiAnn Mills
There are several things going on within a story: words, plot, characterization. But the thing that makes it human is the emotion. And the more emotion we can throw into our stories, the more they will resonate with readers.DiAnn Mills provides a great checklist for helping us along. You might not be able to use all of her techniques within the same scene—or even the same story—but all are good reminders that we are human because we feel, and because we feel we are able to read words on a page and share a character’s joys and pains.These are tricks to take us from good writing to great writing.Write with passion!Clay StaffordFounder Killer NashvillePublisher / Editorial Director Killer Nashville Magazine
How to Write Killer Emotions
By DiAnn Mills
The first step in writing killer emotions is to understand a character’s unique temperament, wants, needs, flaws, desires, goals, challenges, and backstory. Once you know your character, you can fill your pages with their deepest feelings. According to Tonya Reiman in The Power of Body Language, there are seven universal emotions: surprise, fear, anger, sadness, disgust, happiness, and contempt. Your character needs to experience all seven, and you have to take them there. But how?
Experts state that up to 90% of communication is nonverbal. Character-driven body language allows the writer to show, not tell, what a character is feeling. There are plenty of resources available online offering codified body language for you, but you can do a lot of real-life research by exercising your powers of observation. Watch the people around you carefully, and you’ll find clues about their feelings hidden in what they are physically doing.
Another technique that invites the reader into the experience is the writer’s usage of sensory perception. Emotions surface naturally as the writer describes what the character sees, hears, tastes, smells, and touches. The reader feels the character’s reactions and internalizes what is happening, much like children watching a movie. They select the character they want to be in the adventure, and are able to live the entertainment vicariously. Every word.
Symbolism, another literary device, touches the reader with emotion when a tangible item means something different than its physical property. A symbol cleverly inserted into the story—a word or phrase that points to a deeper meaning—provides a subtle way for the reader to understand the character’s internal workings. The weather, a number, rushing water, a quirky personality, the way the stars light up the night, and more.
Color inherently carries symbolic weight, and thus can affect the character and the reader. Here are a few examples:
Red is a passionate color that invokes strong emotions, while blue suggests sadness or serenity. Green symbolizes nature and growth, and purple often represents royalty, wealth, wisdom, and spirituality—and can also symbolize arrogance. Brown feels natural and down-to-earth, while pink feels romantic and feminine. White often signifies purity and innocence, and black usually reminds us of power, evil, death, and mourning. Gray blends the meanings of black and white, and symbolizes life and death in many circumstances.
Using emotions also means effective word choice. Diction is important and the sounds of our words usher in feelings. Novels involve conflict, and using hard consonants underscores the harsh sensations of stress and tension in confrontations. In gentler scenes, rely on words that end with “y”: they feel light, even fun—pretty, dainty, lovely, perky. Words with softer consonants are soothing. Adding a long vowel sound to a key moment can slow your reader’s heart rate.
The rhythm of our sentences also creates emotive responses. If a passage seems harsh when you desire to create a calm scene, then it’s time to edit. If your sentences contain a poetic lilt when you intend to show a violent scene, head back to the drawing board.
A bestselling writer purposefully places her character into heart-wrenching moments. Be honest. Be bold. Make the emotions raw. Hold back nothing. If you learn how to weave emotion and symbolism into your writing, you plunge your reader into your story and allow him or her to bond with a character who will never let them go.
DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who believes her readers should expect an adventure. She combines unforgettable characters with unpredictable plots to create action-packed, suspense-filled novels.
Her titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists; won two Christy Awards; and been finalists for the RITA, Daphne Du Maurier, Inspirational Readers’ Choice, and Carol award contests. Library Journal presented her with a Best Books 2014: Genre Fiction award in the Christian Fiction category for Firewall.
DiAnn is a founding board member of the American Christian Fiction Writers; the 2015 president of the Romance Writers of America’s Faith, Hope, & Love chapter; a member of Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, and International Thriller Writers. She speaks to various groups and teaches writing workshops around the country. She and her husband live in sunny Houston, Texas.
DiAnn is very active online and would love to connect with readers on any of the social media platforms listed at www.diannmills.com.
(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you.)
Thanks to Tom Wood, Emily Eytchison, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.
And for more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.
And be sure to check out our new book, Killer Nashville Noir: Cold-Blooded, an anthology of original short stories by New York Times bestselling authors and newbies alike.
“Murder, mayhem, and mystery! Every story in KILLER NASHVILLE: COLD-BLOODED is filled with suspense, sizzle and startling twists. I loved it!”
- Lisa Jackson, New York Times Bestselling Author
*Killer Nashville is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase a book from the links on this page, Amazon will give Killer Nashville a small percentage of the total sale. Killer Nashville receives zero compensation (other than sometimes the book to review) from publishers who have been selected for the Book of the Day.
How to Write Killer Emotions / DiAnn Mills
There are several things going on within a story: words, plot, characterization. But the thing that makes it human is the emotion. And the more emotion we can throw into our stories, the more they will resonate with readers.DiAnn Mills provides a great checklist for helping us along. You might not be able to use all of her techniques within the same scene—or even the same story—but all are good reminders that we are human because we feel, and because we feel we are able to read words on a page and share a character’s joys and pains.These are tricks to take us from good writing to great writing.Write with passion!Clay StaffordFounder Killer NashvillePublisher / Editorial Director Killer Nashville Magazine
How to Write Killer Emotions
By DiAnn Mills
The first step in writing killer emotions is to understand a character’s unique temperament, wants, needs, flaws, desires, goals, challenges, and backstory. Once you know your character, you can fill your pages with their deepest feelings. According to Tonya Reiman in The Power of Body Language, there are seven universal emotions: surprise, fear, anger, sadness, disgust, happiness, and contempt. Your character needs to experience all seven, and you have to take them there. But how?
Experts state that up to 90% of communication is nonverbal. Character-driven body language allows the writer to show, not tell, what a character is feeling. There are plenty of resources available online offering codified body language for you, but you can do a lot of real-life research by exercising your powers of observation. Watch the people around you carefully, and you’ll find clues about their feelings hidden in what they are physically doing.
Another technique that invites the reader into the experience is the writer’s usage of sensory perception. Emotions surface naturally as the writer describes what the character sees, hears, tastes, smells, and touches. The reader feels the character’s reactions and internalizes what is happening, much like children watching a movie. They select the character they want to be in the adventure, and are able to live the entertainment vicariously. Every word.
Symbolism, another literary device, touches the reader with emotion when a tangible item means something different than its physical property. A symbol cleverly inserted into the story—a word or phrase that points to a deeper meaning—provides a subtle way for the reader to understand the character’s internal workings. The weather, a number, rushing water, a quirky personality, the way the stars light up the night, and more.
Color inherently carries symbolic weight, and thus can affect the character and the reader. Here are a few examples:
Red is a passionate color that invokes strong emotions, while blue suggests sadness or serenity. Green symbolizes nature and growth, and purple often represents royalty, wealth, wisdom, and spirituality—and can also symbolize arrogance. Brown feels natural and down-to-earth, while pink feels romantic and feminine. White often signifies purity and innocence, and black usually reminds us of power, evil, death, and mourning. Gray blends the meanings of black and white, and symbolizes life and death in many circumstances.
Using emotions also means effective word choice. Diction is important and the sounds of our words usher in feelings. Novels involve conflict, and using hard consonants underscores the harsh sensations of stress and tension in confrontations. In gentler scenes, rely on words that end with “y”: they feel light, even fun—pretty, dainty, lovely, perky. Words with softer consonants are soothing. Adding a long vowel sound to a key moment can slow your reader’s heart rate.
The rhythm of our sentences also creates emotive responses. If a passage seems harsh when you desire to create a calm scene, then it’s time to edit. If your sentences contain a poetic lilt when you intend to show a violent scene, head back to the drawing board.
A bestselling writer purposefully places her character into heart-wrenching moments. Be honest. Be bold. Make the emotions raw. Hold back nothing. If you learn how to weave emotion and symbolism into your writing, you plunge your reader into your story and allow him or her to bond with a character who will never let them go.
DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who believes her readers should expect an adventure. She combines unforgettable characters with unpredictable plots to create action-packed, suspense-filled novels.
Her titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists; won two Christy Awards; and been finalists for the RITA, Daphne Du Maurier, Inspirational Readers’ Choice, and Carol award contests. Library Journal presented her with a Best Books 2014: Genre Fiction award in the Christian Fiction category for Firewall.
DiAnn is a founding board member of the American Christian Fiction Writers; the 2015 president of the Romance Writers of America’s Faith, Hope, & Love chapter; a member of Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, and International Thriller Writers. She speaks to various groups and teaches writing workshops around the country. She and her husband live in sunny Houston, Texas.
DiAnn is very active online and would love to connect with readers on any of the social media platforms listed at www.diannmills.com.
(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you.)
Thanks to Tom Wood, Emily Eytchison, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.
And for more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.
And be sure to check out our new book, Killer Nashville Noir: Cold-Blooded, an anthology of original short stories by New York Times bestselling authors and newbies alike.
“Murder, mayhem, and mystery! Every story in KILLER NASHVILLE: COLD-BLOODED is filled with suspense, sizzle and startling twists. I loved it!”
- Lisa Jackson, New York Times Bestselling Author
*Killer Nashville is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase a book from the links on this page, Amazon will give Killer Nashville a small percentage of the total sale. Killer Nashville receives zero compensation (other than sometimes the book to review) from publishers who have been selected for the Book of the Day.
Romantic Suspense—with a Bite! / D. D. Ayres
There’s just nothing like a dog story. Old Yeller, Where the Red Fern Grows, Shiloh, My Dog Skip, Marley and Me—the list goes on and on… Something about those books and movies makes my heart feel like it’s stretching out of me for those brave and loyal canines, rooting for them, hoping that they make it in the end, devastated if (more like when) they—
Oops. Almost caught me getting sentimental there.
Anyway, this week’s guest blogger, author D. D. Ayres, has tapped into that wellspring of universal (well, nearly universal) affection we feel for dogs in her K-9 Rescue Series. She shares some of her extensive knowledge on these exceptional police officers with four legs and a tail.
Happy reading!
Clay Stafford
Founder Killer Nashville
Publisher / Editorial Director Killer Nashville Magazine
Romantic Suspense with a Bite!
By D.D. Ayres
How could I resist the offer from my editor to develop a Romantic Suspense series about cool K-9 dogs and their hot guy handlers? I love dogs. There’s been one almost constantly in my life. Only one problem. I knew next to nothing about K-9 teams. There was research to be done.
I was pretty sure that these highly trained K-9s were not simply smart pets. At least not in the, “Lassie, get help. Timmie’s down the well,” sort of way.
I just hoped that they were nothing like the razor-fanged demons often portrayed in movies when someone is running for his or her life. Luckily, I was correct, both times.
A brief look around the Internet showed me that the professional K-9s in today’s world are exceptional in every way. They help, protect, and save lives each and every day. There are dogs trained for everything from search and rescue, to patrol and apprehension, to medical alert, to explosives detection, to arson investigation, PTSD service and so on. I wanted to write about them all. That’s when my series settled on being about K-9 teams with a different specialty highlighted in each book.
But I quickly realized that all the video-watching and reading in the world wouldn’t give me a genuine sense of what it’s like to live and work as a K-9 team. I needed real-world experience, or at least to have contact with someone who does. This holds true for any writer approaching a subject she or he might not know a lot about but wants to use. Do your homework. The more firsthand experiences, the better.
My first piece of luck was being introduced to Fort Worth, TX Police Officer Brad Thompson as a resource. Brad worked for 22 years in the Special Operations/K-9 Unit, responsible for training and deployment of patrol and narcotic detection K-9s. Brad is a natural teacher. So lucky to have him.
First thing I learned from Brad, which was reinforced in other interviews, is that K-9 handlers looove what they do. They can talk all day about their experiences and what their dogs can do. This is a job that requires dedication.
Second thing I learned was that no two law enforcement agencies handle or train their dogs exactly alike. More about this below. As my expert told me early on, “The only thing two K-9 trainers will ever agree on is that the third one is doing it wrong.”
Here are some of the things I’ve learned while researching the series.
1. K-9 canines are specially bred and trained. Most dogs can’t do what these animals do. Think of them as the Olympians/SWAT/Mensa members of the canine world. They are smarter, stronger, braver than Fido.
2. Many understand English but respond “on the job” to commands in German, Czech, or Dutch. Helps with the time-to-work mentality of being on the job.
3. Handlers are a special breed, and are very passionate about ‘running a dog’.
They routinely spend more time with their K-9s than with their families. They also understand the individuality of their dogs and are tolerant. If a trained dog misbehaves, it’s the handler’s fault.
4. K-9 teams train daily so that “First command” is habit. Add to that a minimum of 20 hours a month of more formal training, to stay fresh and alert.
5. The handler takes care of nearly all the dog’s needs. They keep a K-9 emergency kit in the cruiser, and can administer aid and dress wounds in the field.
6. The Dual Purpose Police Dog is the most common type of K-9 dog, and works Patrol and Apprehension. The mad-demon dog is the last thing a patrol officer wants when dealing with the public. Balanced and professional are words I heard a lot. When commanded to “Fass” or bite, he’s a full-mouth takedown artist. But that same dog must also be able to tolerate crowds at the local footballs games and parades.
7. “Emotion feeds down the leash.” A trained K-9 will know if her/his handler is excited, upset, angry, scared, worried, happy, calm, or in pain and will act accordingly.
It is up to the handler to set the tone for her or his partner.
8. Handlers receive dogs that have already been trained for a minimum of two years. The training handlers receive is in how to work effectively with a trained dog.
After Brad established me in K-9 Law Enforcement methods, I also spent time with breeders, and trainers.
But back to my K-9s. Along with deciding to focus on a different K-9 team, handler and canine, for each book, I have to choose what breed of dog I would use in each book.
I met breeders of Bouvier de Flandres for my new book, Force of Attraction.
No, a Bouvie’s not on the cover. Hugo’s undercover!
Bouvies are new in the U. S. as law enforcement dogs. They look ‘soft’ like cuddly Teddy bears. But on the job, a Bouvie is more like Batman in a bear suit, as my hero learns when he encounters the heroine’s K-9 partner. By focusing on a different breed for each book, I want to show the unique differences that make these dogs special.
For the next book in the series, Primal Force (Sept. ’15), I’ve spent time with Patriot Paws, a service dog-training program in Rockwall, TX, to learn about service and PTSD dogs for veterans. These are calm, person-oriented dogs who can open a fridge, remind an owner to take meds, wake a patient about to have a seizure, answer the door, phone 911, force a veteran out of a flashback, call suicide prevention, pull a wheelchair, bear the weight of someone who’s momentarily lost balance, or move a person out of a situation causing anxiety. My K-9 is a sweet, smart, female golden doodle named Samantha.
I could go on and on. I’m so impressed by the dedication of the men and woman who train and work beside these dogs. Doing my research, I’ve made new friends I would not otherwise have. At the Police K-9 Conference in Las Vegas, last March, I met a 50-year-old woman who’s a Search-and-Rescue K-9 handler. She rappels out of helicopters into wilderness areas unreachable by vehicle—with her dog strapped to her body—in order to find lost hikers. So impressed!
Oh, and yes. Meeting the hot guys is a bonus.
A veteran author of over 40 works of romance and women’s fiction, D.D. Ayres is new to Romantic Suspense. She believes the lure of romance is always the human connection. Put that connection in physical jeopardy, and we learn a bit more about who we really are. With her K-9 Rescue series (The novella Necessary Force, and 3 novels: Irresistible Force, Force of Attraction and Primal Force), D.D. hopes you will enjoy her sexy, suspenseful portrayals of K-9 teams at their best. She is published by St. Martin’s Press and represented by the Denise Marcil Agency. D.D. lives in Texas with her husband Chris, and a soft-coated Wheaten terrier named Zoe. Visit her website at http://www.ddayres.com/
All photos courtesy of D. D. Ayres.
(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you.)
Thanks to Tom Wood, Emily Eytchison, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.
And for more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.
And be sure to check out our new book, Killer Nashville Noir: Cold-Blooded, an anthology of original short stories by New York Times bestselling authors and newbies alike.
“Murder, mayhem, and mystery! Every story in KILLER NASHVILLE: COLD-BLOODED is filled with suspense, sizzle and startling twists. I loved it!”
- Lisa Jackson, New York Times Bestselling Author
*Killer Nashville is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase a book from the links on this page, Amazon will give Killer Nashville a small percentage of the total sale. Killer Nashville receives zero compensation (other than sometimes the book to review) from publishers who have been selected for the Book of the Day.
Romantic Suspense—with a Bite! / D. D. Ayres
There’s just nothing like a dog story. Old Yeller, Where the Red Fern Grows, Shiloh, My Dog Skip, Marley and Me—the list goes on and on… Something about those books and movies makes my heart feel like it’s stretching out of me for those brave and loyal canines, rooting for them, hoping that they make it in the end, devastated if (more like when) they—Oops. Almost caught me getting sentimental there.Anyway, this week’s guest blogger, author D. D. Ayres, has tapped into that wellspring of universal (well, nearly universal) affection we feel for dogs in her K-9 Rescue Series. She shares some of her extensive knowledge on these exceptional police officers with four legs and a tail.Happy reading!Clay StaffordFounder Killer NashvillePublisher / Editorial Director Killer Nashville Magazine
Romantic Suspense with a Bite!
By D.D. Ayres
How could I resist the offer from my editor to develop a Romantic Suspense series about cool K-9 dogs and their hot guy handlers? I love dogs. There’s been one almost constantly in my life. Only one problem. I knew next to nothing about K-9 teams. There was research to be done.
I was pretty sure that these highly trained K-9s were not simply smart pets. At least not in the, “Lassie, get help. Timmie’s down the well,” sort of way.
I just hoped that they were nothing like the razor-fanged demons often portrayed in movies when someone is running for his or her life. Luckily, I was correct, both times.
A brief look around the Internet showed me that the professional K-9s in today’s world are exceptional in every way. They help, protect, and save lives each and every day. There are dogs trained for everything from search and rescue, to patrol and apprehension, to medical alert, to explosives detection, to arson investigation, PTSD service and so on. I wanted to write about them all. That’s when my series settled on being about K-9 teams with a different specialty highlighted in each book.
But I quickly realized that all the video-watching and reading in the world wouldn’t give me a genuine sense of what it’s like to live and work as a K-9 team. I needed real-world experience, or at least to have contact with someone who does. This holds true for any writer approaching a subject she or he might not know a lot about but wants to use. Do your homework. The more firsthand experiences, the better.
My first piece of luck was being introduced to Fort Worth, TX Police Officer Brad Thompson as a resource. Brad worked for 22 years in the Special Operations/K-9 Unit, responsible for training and deployment of patrol and narcotic detection K-9s. Brad is a natural teacher. So lucky to have him.
First thing I learned from Brad, which was reinforced in other interviews, is that K-9 handlers looove what they do. They can talk all day about their experiences and what their dogs can do. This is a job that requires dedication.
Second thing I learned was that no two law enforcement agencies handle or train their dogs exactly alike. More about this below. As my expert told me early on, “The only thing two K-9 trainers will ever agree on is that the third one is doing it wrong.”
Here are some of the things I’ve learned while researching the series.
1. K-9 canines are specially bred and trained. Most dogs can’t do what these animals do. Think of them as the Olympians/SWAT/Mensa members of the canine world. They are smarter, stronger, braver than Fido.
2. Many understand English but respond “on the job” to commands in German, Czech, or Dutch. Helps with the time-to-work mentality of being on the job.
3. Handlers are a special breed, and are very passionate about ‘running a dog’.
They routinely spend more time with their K-9s than with their families. They also understand the individuality of their dogs and are tolerant. If a trained dog misbehaves, it’s the handler’s fault.
4. K-9 teams train daily so that “First command” is habit. Add to that a minimum of 20 hours a month of more formal training, to stay fresh and alert.
5. The handler takes care of nearly all the dog’s needs. They keep a K-9 emergency kit in the cruiser, and can administer aid and dress wounds in the field.
6. The Dual Purpose Police Dog is the most common type of K-9 dog, and works Patrol and Apprehension. The mad-demon dog is the last thing a patrol officer wants when dealing with the public. Balanced and professional are words I heard a lot. When commanded to “Fass” or bite, he’s a full-mouth takedown artist. But that same dog must also be able to tolerate crowds at the local footballs games and parades.
7. “Emotion feeds down the leash.” A trained K-9 will know if her/his handler is excited, upset, angry, scared, worried, happy, calm, or in pain and will act accordingly.
It is up to the handler to set the tone for her or his partner.
8. Handlers receive dogs that have already been trained for a minimum of two years. The training handlers receive is in how to work effectively with a trained dog.
After Brad established me in K-9 Law Enforcement methods, I also spent time with breeders, and trainers.
But back to my K-9s. Along with deciding to focus on a different K-9 team, handler and canine, for each book, I have to choose what breed of dog I would use in each book.
I met breeders of Bouvier de Flandres for my new book, Force of Attraction.
No, a Bouvie’s not on the cover. Hugo’s undercover!
Bouvies are new in the U. S. as law enforcement dogs. They look ‘soft’ like cuddly Teddy bears. But on the job, a Bouvie is more like Batman in a bear suit, as my hero learns when he encounters the heroine’s K-9 partner. By focusing on a different breed for each book, I want to show the unique differences that make these dogs special.
For the next book in the series, Primal Force (Sept. ’15), I’ve spent time with Patriot Paws, a service dog-training program in Rockwall, TX, to learn about service and PTSD dogs for veterans. These are calm, person-oriented dogs who can open a fridge, remind an owner to take meds, wake a patient about to have a seizure, answer the door, phone 911, force a veteran out of a flashback, call suicide prevention, pull a wheelchair, bear the weight of someone who’s momentarily lost balance, or move a person out of a situation causing anxiety. My K-9 is a sweet, smart, female golden doodle named Samantha.
I could go on and on. I’m so impressed by the dedication of the men and woman who train and work beside these dogs. Doing my research, I’ve made new friends I would not otherwise have. At the Police K-9 Conference in Las Vegas, last March, I met a 50-year-old woman who’s a Search-and-Rescue K-9 handler. She rappels out of helicopters into wilderness areas unreachable by vehicle—with her dog strapped to her body—in order to find lost hikers. So impressed!
Oh, and yes. Meeting the hot guys is a bonus.
A veteran author of over 40 works of romance and women’s fiction, D.D. Ayres is new to Romantic Suspense. She believes the lure of romance is always the human connection. Put that connection in physical jeopardy, and we learn a bit more about who we really are. With her K-9 Rescue series (The novella Necessary Force, and 3 novels: Irresistible Force, Force of Attraction and Primal Force), D.D. hopes you will enjoy her sexy, suspenseful portrayals of K-9 teams at their best. She is published by St. Martin’s Press and represented by the Denise Marcil Agency. D.D. lives in Texas with her husband Chris, and a soft-coated Wheaten terrier named Zoe. Visit her website at http://www.ddayres.com/
All photos courtesy of D. D. Ayres.
(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you.)
Thanks to Tom Wood, Emily Eytchison, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.
And for more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.
And be sure to check out our new book, Killer Nashville Noir: Cold-Blooded, an anthology of original short stories by New York Times bestselling authors and newbies alike.
“Murder, mayhem, and mystery! Every story in KILLER NASHVILLE: COLD-BLOODED is filled with suspense, sizzle and startling twists. I loved it!”
- Lisa Jackson, New York Times Bestselling Author
*Killer Nashville is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase a book from the links on this page, Amazon will give Killer Nashville a small percentage of the total sale. Killer Nashville receives zero compensation (other than sometimes the book to review) from publishers who have been selected for the Book of the Day.
Romantic Suspense—with a Bite! / D. D. Ayres
There’s just nothing like a dog story. Old Yeller, Where the Red Fern Grows, Shiloh, My Dog Skip, Marley and Me—the list goes on and on… Something about those books and movies makes my heart feel like it’s stretching out of me for those brave and loyal canines, rooting for them, hoping that they make it in the end, devastated if (more like when) they—Oops. Almost caught me getting sentimental there.Anyway, this week’s guest blogger, author D. D. Ayres, has tapped into that wellspring of universal (well, nearly universal) affection we feel for dogs in her K-9 Rescue Series. She shares some of her extensive knowledge on these exceptional police officers with four legs and a tail.Happy reading!Clay StaffordFounder Killer NashvillePublisher / Editorial Director Killer Nashville Magazine
Romantic Suspense with a Bite!
By D.D. Ayres
How could I resist the offer from my editor to develop a Romantic Suspense series about cool K-9 dogs and their hot guy handlers? I love dogs. There’s been one almost constantly in my life. Only one problem. I knew next to nothing about K-9 teams. There was research to be done.
I was pretty sure that these highly trained K-9s were not simply smart pets. At least not in the, “Lassie, get help. Timmie’s down the well,” sort of way.
I just hoped that they were nothing like the razor-fanged demons often portrayed in movies when someone is running for his or her life. Luckily, I was correct, both times.
A brief look around the Internet showed me that the professional K-9s in today’s world are exceptional in every way. They help, protect, and save lives each and every day. There are dogs trained for everything from search and rescue, to patrol and apprehension, to medical alert, to explosives detection, to arson investigation, PTSD service and so on. I wanted to write about them all. That’s when my series settled on being about K-9 teams with a different specialty highlighted in each book.
But I quickly realized that all the video-watching and reading in the world wouldn’t give me a genuine sense of what it’s like to live and work as a K-9 team. I needed real-world experience, or at least to have contact with someone who does. This holds true for any writer approaching a subject she or he might not know a lot about but wants to use. Do your homework. The more firsthand experiences, the better.
My first piece of luck was being introduced to Fort Worth, TX Police Officer Brad Thompson as a resource. Brad worked for 22 years in the Special Operations/K-9 Unit, responsible for training and deployment of patrol and narcotic detection K-9s. Brad is a natural teacher. So lucky to have him.
First thing I learned from Brad, which was reinforced in other interviews, is that K-9 handlers looove what they do. They can talk all day about their experiences and what their dogs can do. This is a job that requires dedication.
Second thing I learned was that no two law enforcement agencies handle or train their dogs exactly alike. More about this below. As my expert told me early on, “The only thing two K-9 trainers will ever agree on is that the third one is doing it wrong.”
Here are some of the things I’ve learned while researching the series.
1. K-9 canines are specially bred and trained. Most dogs can’t do what these animals do. Think of them as the Olympians/SWAT/Mensa members of the canine world. They are smarter, stronger, braver than Fido.
2. Many understand English but respond “on the job” to commands in German, Czech, or Dutch. Helps with the time-to-work mentality of being on the job.
3. Handlers are a special breed, and are very passionate about ‘running a dog’.
They routinely spend more time with their K-9s than with their families. They also understand the individuality of their dogs and are tolerant. If a trained dog misbehaves, it’s the handler’s fault.
4. K-9 teams train daily so that “First command” is habit. Add to that a minimum of 20 hours a month of more formal training, to stay fresh and alert.
5. The handler takes care of nearly all the dog’s needs. They keep a K-9 emergency kit in the cruiser, and can administer aid and dress wounds in the field.
6. The Dual Purpose Police Dog is the most common type of K-9 dog, and works Patrol and Apprehension. The mad-demon dog is the last thing a patrol officer wants when dealing with the public. Balanced and professional are words I heard a lot. When commanded to “Fass” or bite, he’s a full-mouth takedown artist. But that same dog must also be able to tolerate crowds at the local footballs games and parades.
7. “Emotion feeds down the leash.” A trained K-9 will know if her/his handler is excited, upset, angry, scared, worried, happy, calm, or in pain and will act accordingly.
It is up to the handler to set the tone for her or his partner.
8. Handlers receive dogs that have already been trained for a minimum of two years. The training handlers receive is in how to work effectively with a trained dog.
After Brad established me in K-9 Law Enforcement methods, I also spent time with breeders, and trainers.
But back to my K-9s. Along with deciding to focus on a different K-9 team, handler and canine, for each book, I have to choose what breed of dog I would use in each book.
I met breeders of Bouvier de Flandres for my new book, Force of Attraction.
No, a Bouvie’s not on the cover. Hugo’s undercover!
Bouvies are new in the U. S. as law enforcement dogs. They look ‘soft’ like cuddly Teddy bears. But on the job, a Bouvie is more like Batman in a bear suit, as my hero learns when he encounters the heroine’s K-9 partner. By focusing on a different breed for each book, I want to show the unique differences that make these dogs special.
For the next book in the series, Primal Force (Sept. ’15), I’ve spent time with Patriot Paws, a service dog-training program in Rockwall, TX, to learn about service and PTSD dogs for veterans. These are calm, person-oriented dogs who can open a fridge, remind an owner to take meds, wake a patient about to have a seizure, answer the door, phone 911, force a veteran out of a flashback, call suicide prevention, pull a wheelchair, bear the weight of someone who’s momentarily lost balance, or move a person out of a situation causing anxiety. My K-9 is a sweet, smart, female golden doodle named Samantha.
I could go on and on. I’m so impressed by the dedication of the men and woman who train and work beside these dogs. Doing my research, I’ve made new friends I would not otherwise have. At the Police K-9 Conference in Las Vegas, last March, I met a 50-year-old woman who’s a Search-and-Rescue K-9 handler. She rappels out of helicopters into wilderness areas unreachable by vehicle—with her dog strapped to her body—in order to find lost hikers. So impressed!
Oh, and yes. Meeting the hot guys is a bonus.
A veteran author of over 40 works of romance and women’s fiction, D.D. Ayres is new to Romantic Suspense. She believes the lure of romance is always the human connection. Put that connection in physical jeopardy, and we learn a bit more about who we really are. With her K-9 Rescue series (The novella Necessary Force, and 3 novels: Irresistible Force, Force of Attraction and Primal Force), D.D. hopes you will enjoy her sexy, suspenseful portrayals of K-9 teams at their best. She is published by St. Martin’s Press and represented by the Denise Marcil Agency. D.D. lives in Texas with her husband Chris, and a soft-coated Wheaten terrier named Zoe. Visit her website at http://www.ddayres.com/
All photos courtesy of D. D. Ayres.
(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you.)
Thanks to Tom Wood, Emily Eytchison, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.
And for more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.
And be sure to check out our new book, Killer Nashville Noir: Cold-Blooded, an anthology of original short stories by New York Times bestselling authors and newbies alike.
“Murder, mayhem, and mystery! Every story in KILLER NASHVILLE: COLD-BLOODED is filled with suspense, sizzle and startling twists. I loved it!”
- Lisa Jackson, New York Times Bestselling Author
*Killer Nashville is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase a book from the links on this page, Amazon will give Killer Nashville a small percentage of the total sale. Killer Nashville receives zero compensation (other than sometimes the book to review) from publishers who have been selected for the Book of the Day.
Savvy PR—It All Begins at Home / R. D. Sherrill
We all build as we go, as we grow as we go. R.D. Sherrill has written a realistic blog that proves—in charity and in the book business—that it all begins at home.
This is excellent advice for writers at any stage of his/her career.
As you read, note Sherrill’s success from Book 1 to Book 4, and the mental shift that made it all possible. Apply his thinking to your own book releases, and you’ve got a formula for upping your success.
We all have somewhere to go, right? Might as well be up.
Until next time, Happy Reading!
Clay Stafford
Founder Killer Nashville
Publisher / Editorial Director Killer Nashville Magazine
Savvy PR—It All Begins at Home
By R.D. Sherrill
It took several years and four books for the message to sink in: Before you are a world-wide bestseller, you’ve got to be a hometown bestseller.
Let me explain the growing pains it took to properly launch Murder U earlier this year.
Like many aspiring authors, I was full of hope when I completed my first novel. R.D. Sherrill had arrived! I expected the literary world to bow down to the next big thing. Red Dog Saloon was sure to be a bestseller in no time.
I contacted publishers and agents, all of whom I assumed would respond in short order, offering massive signing bonuses, and perhaps even a flashy Porsche in which I could drive to my book signings. Two years later and I’m still making payments on my own Hyundai. At least I’m getting good gas mileage to those signings.
The dream of immediate success is a pipe dream for a new author. While one in a million may hit a homerun the first time at bat, and a select few may eventually get called up to the majors, most will languish in the minor leagues for the rest of their lives. Sorry to be a buzzkill, but it’s simple math; we can’t all win.
It’s not a lack of talent. Heck, some of the best authors I’ve met have never even published a word. They are intimidated before they even enter the business. There are thousands of writers out there trying to land the same contact. A talented author is simply drowned out by the white noise, and unless your query can catch the eye of an opened-minded agent who happens to be browsing the slush pile, then you’re out of luck.
This is not only true when it comes to the traditional publishing business, but also applies in the new age of independent publishing. More and more people are self-publishing, meaning the competition for readers is reaching heights it never has before. So what’s a writer to do?
It all starts at home.
Sometimes we writers get ahead of ourselves. Before you become a world-wide sensation, you need to capture the hometown audience. Your hometown is your launching pad to success; you can’t take it for granted. It took me four books to understand what my publicist, Ashley Wright, had been telling me since I released Red Dog Saloon.
My day job is a crime and courts reporter for my hometown newspaper. As such, I am pretty well-known around town. I figured that alone would cement the hometown success of my first book. So, I rushed things and put the book out with very little advance warning. I expected everyone I’d ever known to flock to the premiere of my book.
Let me tell you, it’s awkward when you’re sitting in an empty room at the local library with a stack of books and nobody walking through the door. I had six people come to my literary debut, two of whom were relatives.
While the debut fell flat, I did go on to sell hundreds of my first book, as word spread that my stuff was actually pretty good. However, the failed debut was so frustrating that I didn’t bother having launch parties for my next two books, Average Joe and Friday Night Frights. Both books I rushed to market, wanting to have something “new” out there. As you would guess, those two releases sold far less.
Then it came time for Murder U to be released. A debut party at the same local library was scheduled. Unlike before, I put time into promoting the release, even going to the extent of delivering personal invitations to folks who had bought my other books. It was during this advance PR work I found out many people in my hometown of about thirteen thousand had no idea I’d published two books since Red Dog Saloon. Wow.
Here I am, trying to become a world-wide phenomenon, and readers in my own hometown had no idea about my last two releases.
This time I barraged social media, hit all the radio stations the day of my book debut, and made sure that my friends at the paper gave me a color page to announce my new book. And, instead of making it just a book signing—I made it an event with refreshments, door prizes, and a Q&A session.
To say it was an unexpected success would be an understatement. I sold seven books before my billed start time even rolled around. For the first time in my life as an author, I experienced something I never had before—a line waiting for me to sign. I almost sold out in the first hour. And not just Murder U: my other books were selling, too.
I know this is nothing to an established author who has a huge name and hundreds of great reviews, but to a small-town writer like me, it’s something special. And through the launch party, I got several offers to make appearances, some of which were elsewhere in the state. Using connections I’ve made through local civic organizations, I’ve even had a couple of out-of-state invitations.
So my advice is this: Get your base right at home and everything will build upward from there. It sounds simple, but I suspect many of us overlook this obvious fundamental of the independent publishing world.
R.D. Sherrill is an award-winning journalist with the Southern Standard newspaper in McMinnville, Tenn., where he has served as crime and courts reporter and columnist for the past twenty-five years. His most recent novel, Murder U, debuted in mid-July. His works may be found at www.RDSherrillbooks.com.
To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you.
Thanks to Tom Wood, Maria Giordano, Will Chessor, Emily Eytchison, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog. And for more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.)
And for more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.)
Savvy PR—It All Begins at Home / R. D. Sherrill
We all build as we go, as we grow as we go. R.D. Sherrill has written a realistic blog that proves—in charity and in the book business—that it all begins at home.This is excellent advice for writers at any stage of his/her career.As you read, note Sherrill’s success from Book 1 to Book 4, and the mental shift that made it all possible. Apply his thinking to your own book releases, and you’ve got a formula for upping your success.We all have somewhere to go, right? Might as well be up.Until next time, Happy Reading!Clay StaffordFounder Killer NashvillePublisher / Editorial Director Killer Nashville Magazine
Savvy PR—It All Begins at Home
By R.D. Sherrill
It took several years and four books for the message to sink in: Before you are a world-wide bestseller, you’ve got to be a hometown bestseller.
Let me explain the growing pains it took to properly launch Murder U earlier this year.
Like many aspiring authors, I was full of hope when I completed my first novel. R.D. Sherrill had arrived! I expected the literary world to bow down to the next big thing. Red Dog Saloon was sure to be a bestseller in no time.
I contacted publishers and agents, all of whom I assumed would respond in short order, offering massive signing bonuses, and perhaps even a flashy Porsche in which I could drive to my book signings. Two years later and I’m still making payments on my own Hyundai. At least I’m getting good gas mileage to those signings.
The dream of immediate success is a pipe dream for a new author. While one in a million may hit a homerun the first time at bat, and a select few may eventually get called up to the majors, most will languish in the minor leagues for the rest of their lives. Sorry to be a buzzkill, but it’s simple math; we can’t all win.
It’s not a lack of talent. Heck, some of the best authors I’ve met have never even published a word. They are intimidated before they even enter the business. There are thousands of writers out there trying to land the same contact. A talented author is simply drowned out by the white noise, and unless your query can catch the eye of an opened-minded agent who happens to be browsing the slush pile, then you’re out of luck.
This is not only true when it comes to the traditional publishing business, but also applies in the new age of independent publishing. More and more people are self-publishing, meaning the competition for readers is reaching heights it never has before. So what’s a writer to do?
It all starts at home.
Sometimes we writers get ahead of ourselves. Before you become a world-wide sensation, you need to capture the hometown audience. Your hometown is your launching pad to success; you can’t take it for granted. It took me four books to understand what my publicist, Ashley Wright, had been telling me since I released Red Dog Saloon.
My day job is a crime and courts reporter for my hometown newspaper. As such, I am pretty well-known around town. I figured that alone would cement the hometown success of my first book. So, I rushed things and put the book out with very little advance warning. I expected everyone I’d ever known to flock to the premiere of my book.
Let me tell you, it’s awkward when you’re sitting in an empty room at the local library with a stack of books and nobody walking through the door. I had six people come to my literary debut, two of whom were relatives.
While the debut fell flat, I did go on to sell hundreds of my first book, as word spread that my stuff was actually pretty good. However, the failed debut was so frustrating that I didn’t bother having launch parties for my next two books, Average Joe and Friday Night Frights. Both books I rushed to market, wanting to have something “new” out there. As you would guess, those two releases sold far less.
Then it came time for Murder U to be released. A debut party at the same local library was scheduled. Unlike before, I put time into promoting the release, even going to the extent of delivering personal invitations to folks who had bought my other books. It was during this advance PR work I found out many people in my hometown of about thirteen thousand had no idea I’d published two books since Red Dog Saloon. Wow.
Here I am, trying to become a world-wide phenomenon, and readers in my own hometown had no idea about my last two releases.
This time I barraged social media, hit all the radio stations the day of my book debut, and made sure that my friends at the paper gave me a color page to announce my new book. And, instead of making it just a book signing—I made it an event with refreshments, door prizes, and a Q&A session.
To say it was an unexpected success would be an understatement. I sold seven books before my billed start time even rolled around. For the first time in my life as an author, I experienced something I never had before—a line waiting for me to sign. I almost sold out in the first hour. And not just Murder U: my other books were selling, too.
I know this is nothing to an established author who has a huge name and hundreds of great reviews, but to a small-town writer like me, it’s something special. And through the launch party, I got several offers to make appearances, some of which were elsewhere in the state. Using connections I’ve made through local civic organizations, I’ve even had a couple of out-of-state invitations.
So my advice is this: Get your base right at home and everything will build upward from there. It sounds simple, but I suspect many of us overlook this obvious fundamental of the independent publishing world.
R.D. Sherrill is an award-winning journalist with the Southern Standard newspaper in McMinnville, Tenn., where he has served as crime and courts reporter and columnist for the past twenty-five years. His most recent novel, Murder U, debuted in mid-July. His works may be found at www.RDSherrillbooks.com.
To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you.
Thanks to Tom Wood, Maria Giordano, Will Chessor, Emily Eytchison, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog. And for more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.)
And for more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.)
Savvy PR—It All Begins at Home / R. D. Sherrill
We all build as we go, as we grow as we go. R.D. Sherrill has written a realistic blog that proves—in charity and in the book business—that it all begins at home.This is excellent advice for writers at any stage of his/her career.As you read, note Sherrill’s success from Book 1 to Book 4, and the mental shift that made it all possible. Apply his thinking to your own book releases, and you’ve got a formula for upping your success.We all have somewhere to go, right? Might as well be up.Until next time, Happy Reading!Clay StaffordFounder Killer NashvillePublisher / Editorial Director Killer Nashville Magazine
Savvy PR—It All Begins at Home
By R.D. Sherrill
It took several years and four books for the message to sink in: Before you are a world-wide bestseller, you’ve got to be a hometown bestseller.
Let me explain the growing pains it took to properly launch Murder U earlier this year.
Like many aspiring authors, I was full of hope when I completed my first novel. R.D. Sherrill had arrived! I expected the literary world to bow down to the next big thing. Red Dog Saloon was sure to be a bestseller in no time.
I contacted publishers and agents, all of whom I assumed would respond in short order, offering massive signing bonuses, and perhaps even a flashy Porsche in which I could drive to my book signings. Two years later and I’m still making payments on my own Hyundai. At least I’m getting good gas mileage to those signings.
The dream of immediate success is a pipe dream for a new author. While one in a million may hit a homerun the first time at bat, and a select few may eventually get called up to the majors, most will languish in the minor leagues for the rest of their lives. Sorry to be a buzzkill, but it’s simple math; we can’t all win.
It’s not a lack of talent. Heck, some of the best authors I’ve met have never even published a word. They are intimidated before they even enter the business. There are thousands of writers out there trying to land the same contact. A talented author is simply drowned out by the white noise, and unless your query can catch the eye of an opened-minded agent who happens to be browsing the slush pile, then you’re out of luck.
This is not only true when it comes to the traditional publishing business, but also applies in the new age of independent publishing. More and more people are self-publishing, meaning the competition for readers is reaching heights it never has before. So what’s a writer to do?
It all starts at home.
Sometimes we writers get ahead of ourselves. Before you become a world-wide sensation, you need to capture the hometown audience. Your hometown is your launching pad to success; you can’t take it for granted. It took me four books to understand what my publicist, Ashley Wright, had been telling me since I released Red Dog Saloon.
My day job is a crime and courts reporter for my hometown newspaper. As such, I am pretty well-known around town. I figured that alone would cement the hometown success of my first book. So, I rushed things and put the book out with very little advance warning. I expected everyone I’d ever known to flock to the premiere of my book.
Let me tell you, it’s awkward when you’re sitting in an empty room at the local library with a stack of books and nobody walking through the door. I had six people come to my literary debut, two of whom were relatives.
While the debut fell flat, I did go on to sell hundreds of my first book, as word spread that my stuff was actually pretty good. However, the failed debut was so frustrating that I didn’t bother having launch parties for my next two books, Average Joe and Friday Night Frights. Both books I rushed to market, wanting to have something “new” out there. As you would guess, those two releases sold far less.
Then it came time for Murder U to be released. A debut party at the same local library was scheduled. Unlike before, I put time into promoting the release, even going to the extent of delivering personal invitations to folks who had bought my other books. It was during this advance PR work I found out many people in my hometown of about thirteen thousand had no idea I’d published two books since Red Dog Saloon. Wow.
Here I am, trying to become a world-wide phenomenon, and readers in my own hometown had no idea about my last two releases.
This time I barraged social media, hit all the radio stations the day of my book debut, and made sure that my friends at the paper gave me a color page to announce my new book. And, instead of making it just a book signing—I made it an event with refreshments, door prizes, and a Q&A session.
To say it was an unexpected success would be an understatement. I sold seven books before my billed start time even rolled around. For the first time in my life as an author, I experienced something I never had before—a line waiting for me to sign. I almost sold out in the first hour. And not just Murder U: my other books were selling, too.
I know this is nothing to an established author who has a huge name and hundreds of great reviews, but to a small-town writer like me, it’s something special. And through the launch party, I got several offers to make appearances, some of which were elsewhere in the state. Using connections I’ve made through local civic organizations, I’ve even had a couple of out-of-state invitations.
So my advice is this: Get your base right at home and everything will build upward from there. It sounds simple, but I suspect many of us overlook this obvious fundamental of the independent publishing world.
R.D. Sherrill is an award-winning journalist with the Southern Standard newspaper in McMinnville, Tenn., where he has served as crime and courts reporter and columnist for the past twenty-five years. His most recent novel, Murder U, debuted in mid-July. His works may be found at www.RDSherrillbooks.com.
To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you.
Thanks to Tom Wood, Maria Giordano, Will Chessor, Emily Eytchison, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog. And for more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.)
And for more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.)
Reading Them Their Rights? Get It Right! / Neal Griffin
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard medical examiners and members of law enforcement say that solving crime in the real world is nothing like what we see on television. Cop shows make for great entertainment, but they also tend to become the sources of widespread misconceptions about police procedures. In this week’s Killer Nashville guest blog, Neal Griffin gives us a working cop’s point-of-view on the most famously misrepresented law enforcement obligation: reading the Miranda rights.
Read like they are burning books!
Clay Stafford
Founder Killer Nashville
Publisher / Editorial Director Killer Nashville Magazine
Reading Them Their Rights? Get It Right!
By Neal Griffin
Great crime fiction weaves an intricate plot, driven by hard-hitting, gritty characters. Cops and crooks who know how to act and how to talk are central to a dramatic tale.
But how important is it for the writer to get the procedural details correct? Is it necessary to properly describe how a cop stands in a stranger’s house? Or to understand why crooks dig through the trash for receipts of small but expensive items? If the reader is none the wiser, maybe details like these aren’t so critical. But if you want your story to ring true, or you’re just looking to avoid a nasty email from someone who loves nothing more than finding flaws and going public, read on.
Perhaps no single police procedure is more misunderstood than a Miranda warning. Over the years, I’ve had plenty of smirking crooks in the back of my car, who let me know that my failure to advise them of their rights will be my undoing. “You screwed up, cop,” they tell me. “Everybody knows you gotta read me my rights.” Even the most inebriated drunk can recite the opening lines, though perhaps a bit slurred, and accented with a few timely belches: “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will…”
Silly crooks.
A cop with just a few months of street experience is pretty savvy when it comes to avoiding Miranda. Don’t get me wrong. The law is the law; you read ’em when you have to. But most cops tend to avoid reminding someone they just arrested that it might be a good idea for them to keep their mouth shut. Working around Miranda is pretty basic in the real world, so good crime fiction should reflect that.
The rule of thumb is this: custody + interrogation = Miranda. If either is missing, no Miranda warning is necessary. So while a Hollywood cop who reads Miranda as they’re putting on the cuffs might create a good scene for television, it would be more realistic to portray a cop who works around the Miranda warning, by not creating a “custodial interrogation”.
The issue of interrogation is pretty straightforward: if an officer initiates any questioning that can illicit incriminating information, it will qualify. The issue of custody can be tricky, because it’s largely subjective. If you create a scene where a half-dozen armed and uniformed cops are standing over a guy who tried to rip off a jewelry store, he’s in custody from a legal standpoint. The subjective point being, he might not be handcuffed or under arrest, but he probably doesn’t exactly feel free to get up and leave.
The savvy cop, created by the educated crime fiction writer, would take that suspect off to the side, and put them at ease. Instead of immediately pulling out the cuffs, the officer might break the ice with personal introductions and a short conversation about the weather. Then, in a relaxed and genteel manner, he might say something like, “So tell me, what happened before we got here? The storeowner says you tried to rip him off. Is that true?”
Now, the crook probably isn’t going to tell the truth—they generally struggle with that—but you can bet he’ll say something. Or, in cop jargon, he’ll “lock himself into a story”, which sometimes is as good as a confession. But at the minimum, the conversation is underway without a pesky Miranda warning.
Save your Miranda warnings for interrogations in places like station houses with locked doors and holding cells with bars over the windows. Otherwise, write it right and let your cops do their jobs like they would in the real world.
Neal Griffin’s debut crime novel, Benefit of the Doubt, was released by Forge Books on May 12 and went immediately to No. 8 on the L.A. Times bestseller list. Praised for his gritty and authentic voice, Griffin remains a working cop in Southern California. His next book, A Voice From the Field, is scheduled for release by Forge in the spring of 2016, and will once again feature the police characters of Ben Sawyer and Tia Suarez. In the words of bestselling author Andrew Gross, “Griffin is the new kid in town, and he is here to stay.” Neal can be reached at neal@nealgriffin.com and is happy to answer questions on police procedures, but he’s of little use when it comes to beating a traffic ticket.
(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you. Thanks to Tom Wood, Maria Giordano, Will Chessor, Emily Eytchison, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog. And for more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.)
Reading Them Their Rights? Get It Right! / Neal Griffin
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard medical examiners and members of law enforcement say that solving crime in the real world is nothing like what we see on television. Cop shows make for great entertainment, but they also tend to become the sources of widespread misconceptions about police procedures. In this week’s Killer Nashville guest blog, Neal Griffin gives us a working cop’s point-of-view on the most famously misrepresented law enforcement obligation: reading the Miranda rights.Read like they are burning books!Clay StaffordFounder Killer NashvillePublisher / Editorial Director Killer Nashville Magazine
Reading Them Their Rights? Get It Right!
By Neal Griffin
Great crime fiction weaves an intricate plot, driven by hard-hitting, gritty characters. Cops and crooks who know how to act and how to talk are central to a dramatic tale.
But how important is it for the writer to get the procedural details correct? Is it necessary to properly describe how a cop stands in a stranger’s house? Or to understand why crooks dig through the trash for receipts of small but expensive items? If the reader is none the wiser, maybe details like these aren’t so critical. But if you want your story to ring true, or you’re just looking to avoid a nasty email from someone who loves nothing more than finding flaws and going public, read on.
Perhaps no single police procedure is more misunderstood than a Miranda warning. Over the years, I’ve had plenty of smirking crooks in the back of my car, who let me know that my failure to advise them of their rights will be my undoing. “You screwed up, cop,” they tell me. “Everybody knows you gotta read me my rights.” Even the most inebriated drunk can recite the opening lines, though perhaps a bit slurred, and accented with a few timely belches: “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will…”
Silly crooks.
A cop with just a few months of street experience is pretty savvy when it comes to avoiding Miranda. Don’t get me wrong. The law is the law; you read ’em when you have to. But most cops tend to avoid reminding someone they just arrested that it might be a good idea for them to keep their mouth shut. Working around Miranda is pretty basic in the real world, so good crime fiction should reflect that.
The rule of thumb is this: custody + interrogation = Miranda. If either is missing, no Miranda warning is necessary. So while a Hollywood cop who reads Miranda as they’re putting on the cuffs might create a good scene for television, it would be more realistic to portray a cop who works around the Miranda warning, by not creating a “custodial interrogation”.
The issue of interrogation is pretty straightforward: if an officer initiates any questioning that can illicit incriminating information, it will qualify. The issue of custody can be tricky, because it’s largely subjective. If you create a scene where a half-dozen armed and uniformed cops are standing over a guy who tried to rip off a jewelry store, he’s in custody from a legal standpoint. The subjective point being, he might not be handcuffed or under arrest, but he probably doesn’t exactly feel free to get up and leave.
The savvy cop, created by the educated crime fiction writer, would take that suspect off to the side, and put them at ease. Instead of immediately pulling out the cuffs, the officer might break the ice with personal introductions and a short conversation about the weather. Then, in a relaxed and genteel manner, he might say something like, “So tell me, what happened before we got here? The storeowner says you tried to rip him off. Is that true?”
Now, the crook probably isn’t going to tell the truth—they generally struggle with that—but you can bet he’ll say something. Or, in cop jargon, he’ll “lock himself into a story”, which sometimes is as good as a confession. But at the minimum, the conversation is underway without a pesky Miranda warning.
Save your Miranda warnings for interrogations in places like station houses with locked doors and holding cells with bars over the windows. Otherwise, write it right and let your cops do their jobs like they would in the real world.
Neal Griffin’s debut crime novel, Benefit of the Doubt, was released by Forge Books on May 12 and went immediately to No. 8 on the L.A. Times bestseller list. Praised for his gritty and authentic voice, Griffin remains a working cop in Southern California. His next book, A Voice From the Field, is scheduled for release by Forge in the spring of 2016, and will once again feature the police characters of Ben Sawyer and Tia Suarez. In the words of bestselling author Andrew Gross, “Griffin is the new kid in town, and he is here to stay.” Neal can be reached at neal@nealgriffin.com and is happy to answer questions on police procedures, but he’s of little use when it comes to beating a traffic ticket.
(To be a part of the Killer Nashville Guest Blog, send a query to contact@killernashville.com. We’d love to hear from you. Thanks to Tom Wood, Maria Giordano, Will Chessor, Emily Eytchison, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog. And for more writer resources, visit us at www.KillerNashville.com, www.KillerNashvilleMagazine.com, and www.KillerNashvilleBookCon.com.)
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