KN Magazine: Articles

11/19/21 11/19/21

Starting As a Writer by Dale T. Phillips

THE SUCCESSFUL INDIE WRITER

Some of the basic questions a starting writer has:

How do I write?

What do I write?

How do I publish?

How do I promote and sell?

How Do I Write?

“If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”

― Stephen King

King is right on this. To be successful in selling fiction, you really must be in love with reading. You’ve got to know how words are put together to make a compelling story, you’ve got to know what works in telling a story, and what doesn’t work. You’ve got to know the field you’re competing in. If you write in a genre, you must know the tropes and conventions of that genre. Storytellers enjoy the stories of others, and learn from them. Walking through a house frame doesn’t make you a carpenter, it’s having the tools and skills and experience to know how things are put together. As a master carpenter is a craftsman, making things fit, functional, and looking good, so must you be with your writing.

You don’t need a college degree, or specialized training. While it’s helpful to improve through workshops, writing programs, mentoring, critique groups, reader feedback, you can learn much on your own through focused study and practice, practice, practice. Always be improving. The more you write, the better you should get, because the study and the practice works to improve what you do. The “Ten-thousand-hour rule” is much more complex than just putting in that number of hours to get successful. You need specific, focused practice.

There are hundreds of books that tell you how to become a better writer, and they can be your writing program. You should be familiar with at least some of the best of them, and absorb their lessons. See what the writers you admire recommend. Every year, you should have gone through some craft lessons that will make your writing better. Even now, I’ll come across some piece of advice that helps me get unstuck from some thorny issue I’m having with the telling of a tale. These are tips from professional writers who’ve been there, and most of your issues will have been discussed somewhere. Having a broad and deep knowledge of the lessons of the writing craft books is a substantial help in becoming a successful writer.

Are you familiar with how tales are told in different Points of View (POV)? Story arcs? The hero’s journey? Beats in story structure? The unreliable narrator? Foreshadowing? The surprise ending or twist? All this and more should be part of your craft knowledge.

The answer to when to write is whenever you can, and whatever works for you: morning, noon, night, lunch breaks, vacations, whenever. Having the habit of writing is supreme, because it makes you practice a lot, which gets you better quicker, and produces more output. A mere 500 words a day, most days, gives you the word count of several novels in the course of a year. Don’t wait for the perfect time or for inspiration, they may not come as often as needed. Put words down as often as possible, even if they’re not good. They’ll get better.

What Do I Write?

The question of what to write is a personal one. Some writers set about creating books for the market they think are popular types, chasing the latest publishing fad. This rarely works in traditional publishing, because the long development times mean the fad will likely be over by the time the book is ready to come out, or the fad too quickly gets glutted with similar books. The best thing about Indie publishing is you never have to worry that a particular book won’t get published, due to it not being commercial enough for someone else to make a lot of money from.

Traditional path writers have to constantly worry about being dropped by their publisher if a book doesn’t sell well, so they strive to be as commercial as possible. While they do, there’s usually the desire to write “the book of the heart,” one that matters to them, but may not be as commercially successful. In the Indie world, every book can be the book of the heart. And when you write books that deeply matter to you, you’ll likely find a devoted readership, and more personal success, rather than writing blah books you don’t care about, even if they put food on the table.

My metaphor for this is that fast-food chains make money selling a lot of junk food, which fills a need for many. I prefer to run a top-level restaurant, which produces memorable meals that create a good life experience.

How Do I Publish?

To the question of how to publish, there are now different, good options, and each writer must decide what path is best for themselves.

There’s a lot to learn about the world of publishing these days. Lucky for you, there’s a great deal of good information about at your fingertips, distilled down for you to easily absorb. If you want to be successful, it’s good to know what’s happening in the writing and publishing world. Various articles, blogs, and newsletters give great information on current writing and publishing events. Writer organizations let their members know about areas of concern. Some sites warn of various dangers, such as predatory people or trends. Be aware of your world.

Publishing in general:

Research! Learn the business before you publish.
Go Indie to control your career.
Go wide for Discoverability (how can readers find your books?)- Formats, Distributors, and promote for free in as many places as you can.
All formats- print, ebook, audio, others as they become available, for example, graphic novels.
Use the big distributors- Amazon/Ingram’s Lightning Source for print, Smashwords/Draft2Digital for ebooks, and options like ACX/Audible for audio.

How Do I Promote and Sell?

To the question of how to promote and sell, there are hundreds of books which go into great detail about how to do just that. You should have at least a basic understanding of what’s involved, and decide how much you want to take on versus how much time you have to write. Remember WIBBOW, which stands for Would I Be Better Off Writing?

It’s going to take some work, because you’re competing against millions of other books, many of them quite good. What’s going to set your above the others, to make people want to pay money for yours? You won’t have time or energy to do every darned thing. But the more you do, the better your chances.

Some writers have expectations of huge sales with their first or second books. While it does happen from time to time (lottery wins), it’s not a reasonable goal. Mostly a readership has to be built over time. Around 96% of all books don’t sell more than a few hundred copies. So anytime you meet or beat that average, you’re a success! Study the concept of the Long Tail for an idea of how your work might grow over time.

If your view of success is limited simply to how much money you’re making in the short term, you’ll probably never be happy or successful enough. Human greed and desire are bottomless. In the words of robber-baron millionaire John D. Rockefeller, when asked how much money would make him happy: “Just a little more [but to infinity].”

Think of your writing career as a Johnny Appleseed metaphor, where each book is a single tree planted, each copy an apple from that tree. It takes time, and it’s tough to make a living selling apples off just one tree. But if you’ve created an orchard, with quality and quantity, word will eventually get around. And you don’t have to stick with just apples: you can sell cider, jelly, pies, all other formats. Continuing that metaphor, give people who haven’t tried your product a free taste, because you know it’s good, and they’ll be back for more. Give copies away, so they’ll find your other work. Ebooks made this easy and free. Writers get more well known when their books are read for free in libraries. For the most part, forget about “piracy”: superstar author Neil Gaiman talks a lot about being pirated, and giving away his work for free, and watching his sales go up!

There are still articles published saying how expensive it is to self-publish. If you pay too much for the many services available, it certainly can cost a lot. But there are so many free tools and inexpensive methodologies that you don’t need to spend a lot of money. Do your homework!

So those are your expectations. Are you still ready to tackle this venture?

Dale T. Phillips has published novels, story collections, non-fiction, and over 70 short stories. Stephen King was Dale’s college writing teacher, and since then, Dale has found time to appear on stage, television, radio, in an independent feature film, and compete on Jeopardy. He’s a member of the Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. Visit Dale at www.daletphillips.com.

11/19/21 11/19/21

Sponsor Profile — Murder On the Beach Mystery Bookstore

We, at Murder on the Beach Mystery Bookstore, count outside book events as an important part of our business. Outside events however, require a lot more physical work than waiting on customers inside the store. Those boxes of books don’t schlep themselves to the hotel! So it is a great pleasure when selling books outside the store is as much fun as Killer Nashville was.

KN2021 was not only a profitable venture, but an exciting one as well. We were introduced to many new authors, and got the opportunity to refresh our relationship with some old friends as well.

This month (November 2021) Murder on the Beach, the only mystery bookstore in the state of Florida, will be 25 years old. A New York Times reporting store, MOB specializes in mystery (adult and children’s), thrillers, horror, and true crime. We feature many author booksignings and events, including James Patterson, Michael Connelly, Alafair Burke, Charlaine Harris, Randy Wayne White, Tim Dorsey, Lisa Gardner, and many others, two book discussion groups, and rare books.

We offer virtual writers workshops, FLAuthorsacademy.com, taught by published authors from around the world, and literary lunches in partnership with local restaurants. We are the official on-site bookseller for many writers conferences including the Palm Beach Poetry Festival, Killer Nashville, Mystery Writers of America SleuthFest, Florida Romance Writers, Romantic Times, Florida Writers Association, and numerous Brandeis, Hadassah, and library author events.

11/19/21 11/19/21

Killer Nashville Interview with Tosca Lee

NYT Bestseller

Tosca Lee is the New York Times bestselling author of eleven novels including The Line Between, The Progeny, The Legend of Sheba, and Iscariot. Her work has been translated into seventeen languages and optioned for TV and film.

She is the recipient of multiple awards including two International Book Awards, Killer Nashville’s Silver Falchion Award, ECPA Book of the Year in Fiction, and the Nebraska Book Award.

She recently sat down to talk writing, her author journey, and inspiration with Killer Nashville.

You live and write on a farm in Nebraska in what you describe as a plot twist you never saw coming.

That’s true. I was a city girl completely until I met my future husband—a farmer and single father of four—in 2013. He proposed at one of my book signings the following year at Barnes & Noble and we married in 2016. Today I write in the renovated upstairs of the 1940s portion of our farmhouse. During planting in the spring and harvest in the fall, I sometimes take lunch for Bryan and I both and eat with him in the planter or combine. He introduced me to farm life, I introduced him to ComiCon and Thrillerfest.

You’ve just returned from the Sharjah International Book Fair in the UAE, where you made several visits to area schools to talk to middle and high school students about writing. What advice did you give them?

I was so impressed with the students I met—they asked very good and sometimes difficult questions about the writing process, how I approach my routine, handle rejection, continually improve, and how to know when a story is finished.

What are a few things you told them?

Never give up. Write what you love to read. Read voraciously. Learn from rejection and never take it personally.

Have fun. If you’re doing that, you’ll always weather the setbacks and bumps along the journey.

I also shared several of my top rules for writing:

Write like no one will ever read it, like you’re hidden away writing in your secret notebook with a flashlight. That’s how you avoid worry about what people will think and get the good stuff.
Get the clay on the wheel. In other words, finish that draft and then go back and perfect it. So many people want to write a novel, for instance, and dream of a career in writing. But if you don’t finish that book—or short story or essay or whatever is—you will never be able to have that.
Know how you work best and honor that. Not everyone outlines. Not everyone writes by the seat of their pants. Some people need music, low-level noise, interaction, and collaboration. Some need silence and isolation. Some like feedback from a critique partner along the way. Some prefer to protect their ideas like fragile budding sprouts.

You originally wanted to be a classical ballerina growing up—how did the switch to writing happen? And how has that background in dance impacted your writing journey?

I did—from a young age, ballet was something I pursued vigorously. While my friends were watching TV after school, I was in the car on my way to class in a larger city an hour away. I spent my summers at intensives and dance camps away from home and began to audition for schools like the American Ballet at age 13. But I got an injured a year later with a slow recovery that caused me to evaluate my future and explore future career goals. Meanwhile, I’d always been a writer—was first published with an essay about my dog in third grade and had won several contests in school. I just hadn’t really thought of it as anything other than a fun departure from reality like the books I so enjoyed reading.

Your father was instrumental in your decision to pursue writing. What was it he said or did that inspired you?

I came home for spring break my first year of college at Smith and my dad and I were in the car together and I was talking about what it was I loved about reading fiction and my favorite books. How a great novel was like a roller coaster, or a door to another world that, once the story is over, you miss and want to return to. I blurted it out that day: “I think I’d like to write a novel.” I wanted to know if I could build that roller coaster or construct that secret passageway for someone else to enjoy the way my favorite authors had for me.

That day, my dad made me a deal. He offered to pay me what I would have made at my summer job as a bank teller if I instead wrote my first novel, did it 40 hours a week and treated it like a job. That summer I wrote my first novel—an epic, sweeping tale of the Neolithic people of Stonehenge. It got soundly rejected by Writer’s House the following year and still lives in my basement. But they did compare it to Clan of the Cave Bear—a book I had loved growing up. And that kept me going.

Who else was instrumental in your early journey?

Teachers. Teachers encouraged me to write from a young age. Pat Kaltenberger and Anne Cognard in high school. My professor and advisor at Smith College, Craig Davis. Daniel Mueller, whom I spent two summers studying under at the University of New Mexico Creative Writing Program in Taos.

And other writers, whether they knew me or not, whom I studied as I read for years.

You were first runner-up to Mrs. United States 1998, and also spent several years traveling the world as a Gallup Organization consultant. How do these experiences impact your writing life today?

I’m so grateful for both of these portions of my journey—and the ballet, too, which taught me tenacity from an early age. I came into this writing career already comfortable with radio and TV interviews. After leaving Gallup in 2011 to write full time, I also had 15 years of public speaking, which is an immense boon. Today I enjoy talking to readers any chance I get, presenting at book fairs and events, and teaching others what I’ve learned along the way.

Your most recent two novels, The Line Between and A Single Light are part 1 and 2 of an apocalyptic duology centered around a pandemic. Both books released in 2019—the second just four months before COVID struck. What was 2020 like for you?

Surreal. I’d just written about a society entering lockdown after a hotspot of a new pandemic appeared in Washington before moving swiftly throughout the U.S., about Canada closing its borders, and the search for a vaccine.

But surreal also because, as a writer, I kind of entered a state of creative catatonia. I beat myself up for not taking advantage of all this time alone and getting more done. But we had three boys home from school and a house torn up for renovation and sometimes you just have to give yourself grace. It turned into a special time in which I read live to my readers online, and got to spend more time [with them]—even if virtually—than I ever had before. I did wonder how the pandemic would affect the readership of The Line Between and A Single Light. I assumed it would be a lot less fun to read fiction about something that had become reality…

And then The Line Between won the Silver Falchion last year—were you surprised?

SO surprised. Especially when I saw both books had finaled and then to have one of them win was such reassurance in the midst of uncertainty and uncertain times. I’m just so grateful. Weirdly, these two books have now won more awards than my previous ones put together.

What do you attribute that to?

I’d like to think it has to do with the fact that the theme is love, hope, and light. I named the sequel A Single Light based on this idea that it only takes one act of kindness, of love, of heroism to save the world a moment at a time.

She is the recipient of multiple awards including two International Book Awards, Killer Nashville’s Silver Falchion, ECPA Book of the Year in Fiction, and the Nebraska Book Award. Her work has finaled for the High Plains Book Award, the Library of Virginia Reader’s Choice Award, the Christy Award, and a second ECPA Book of the Year. The Line Between was a Goodreads Choice Awards semifinalist for Best Mystery/Thriller of 2019. In addition to the New York Times, her books have appeared on the IndieBound and inspirational bestseller lists, Library Journal’s Best Of lists, and as part of Target Stores’ “Target Recommends” program.

Lee’s work has been praised by Publisher’s Weekly, The Historical Novel Society, Booklist, Kirkus, Woman’s World, BookReporter, The Dallas Morning News, and The Midwest Book Review, as “deeply human…” “powerful…” and “mind-bending historical fiction.” A public speaker with over 25 years of experience, Lee is a featured presenter and guest of honor at writer’s conferences and literary events throughout the nation. She is a member of the Tall Poppy Writers, Rogue Women Writers, and Mystery Writers of America and was recently elected to International Thriller Writers’ board of directors.

Born in 1969 in Virginia, Lee earned her bachelor’s degree in English from Smith College. She also studied at Oxford University. A former Fortune Global 500 consultant with the Gallup Organization and first runner-up to Mrs. United States, she lives in Nebraska with her husband and three of four children still at home. For more on Tosca, please visit: www.toscalee.com.

11/19/21 11/19/21

What Mystery Writers Can Learn from Hitchcock Movies by Saralyn Richard

Recently I purchased a collection of Hitchcock CDs as a birthday present for my husband. He and I both enjoy watching them, even when we’ve seen them scads of times before. What’s especially fun about this collection is the bonus footage in the form of production notes, movie trailers and posters, and information offered about the movies by those involved in making them.

As a mystery writer, I’ve gobbled the insights like—um, movie popcorn—and I’ve learned a lot about what made Hitchcock’s movies so successful. The following are some of the takeaways:

At the heart of every suspense thriller is a likable, relatable character. The character need not be perfect; in fact, her flaws may be what draws the audience in, sympathizing with her. The character’s point of view, revealed by dialogue, body language, and smart camera shots in the movie, creates the heart-pounding tension we feel when the character finds herself in danger. Marion Crane, for example, Janet Leigh’s character in Psycho, is a thief and a liar, but her crime is mitigated by the fact that she took the money so her boyfriend could pay off his debts. Also, when she interacts with Norman Bates at the motel, she is touched by his situation and offers him friendly advice. In short, Crane is a decent person who falls into a trap. She could be any of us, stuck in a remote motel room late at night.
Every Hitchcock movie, regardless of how terrifying, has a generous dose of humor. In The Man Who Knew Too Much, there is a hilarious scene when Dr. McKenna and his wife (Jimmy Stewart and Doris Day) have a meal in a Marrakesh restaurant, and everything from the seating to the food to the eating utensils goes awry. Another such scene occurs in the taxidermy shop owned by Andrew Chapel. One would think that in a tension-filled drama, such frivolity would be out of place, but no. Hitchcock uses the lighter scenes to turn down the tension enough to create a dip before the subsequent scene, where the terror is heightened. It makes us feel as if we are on a roller coaster, rolling along softly, up, up, up to the top, just before speeding into the stomach-dropping dip that will have us shrieking aloud.
Specific details matter. Hitchcock was known for using camera movements to mimic a character’s gaze, and whatever the camera focused on became important. Nowhere was this better illustrated than in Rear Window, when the Jimmy Stewart character, a man with a photographer’s eye for detail, spies on his neighbors through binoculars. Details such as the height of flowers and the placement of a woman’s handbag on a bedpost become important clues. In The Birds, camera shots of a pair of sweet-looking lovebirds in a cage serve as a symbol of generosity and love, as well as the wrath of nature.
It’s okay to have a MacGuffin. A MacGuffin is an item or goal the protagonist is pursuing, but it has no narrative value to the rest of the story. In 39 Steps the narrator is chasing a stolen set of design plans. In North by Northwest, the microfilm of government secrets that Vandamm (James Mason) is trying to smuggle out of the country is necessary to explain the character’s motivation, but it is otherwise irrelevant to the action of the movie. The MacGuffin corresponds to a red herring in a mystery novel, or to the premise that gets the action moving, but falls off in importance as time goes on.
Plunging into the dark side of human nature. No one, in my opinion, captured the darker emotions on film better than Hitchcock. In Vertigo, an Everyman Jimmy Stewart obsesses about the Kim Novak character to such a degree that after he believes her to be dead, he forces another woman to dress and act the same. In Marnie, we are stung by the effects that Marnie’s mother’s rejection has on her daughter—including sexual frigidity. These “underside” emotions were largely avoided or covered up by moviemakers before Hitchcock, but Hitchcock’s dauntless exploration of these themes made his movies psychologically more credible—and more gripping.
Finally, Hitchcock was known for pushing against the boundaries of censorship. Whether it was using unique filming to have Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman kiss for more than three seconds in Notorious, or implying homosexuality in Rope, incest in Shadow of a Doubt, or rape in Marnie, Hitchcock never shied away from uncomfortable images. In fact, he reveled in them. In an interview with French director Francois Truffaut, Hitchcock said, “"My suspense work comes out of creating nightmares for the audience. And I playwith an audience. I make them gasp and surprise them and shock them. When you have a nightmare, it's awfully vivid if you're dreaming that you're being led to the electric chair. Then you're as happy as can be when you wake up because you're relieved."

These are but a few of the insights I’ve learned from binge-watching Hitchcock movies. Although psychological movies and mystery novels aren’t exactly the same, and writing has evolved in the half-century since Hitchcock’s last movie, the Hitchcock movies can give us some inspirational tools for our writing.

Award-winning mystery and children’s book author, Saralyn Richard was born with a pen in her hand and ink in her veins. A former urban high school educator, she’s living the dream, connecting with readers through her books: A Murder of Principal, Naughty Nana, Murder in the One Percent, and A Palette for Love and Murder. Saralyn participates in International Thriller Writers and Mystery Writers of America, and she teaches creative writing. Website: http://saralynrichard.com.

11/19/21 11/19/21

Do You Suffer From Writer's Block? by James Glass

Do you suffer from writer’s block?

Have you hit the wall? If so, you’re not alone. Most of us do from time to time. The words won’t come or if they do, they’re all jumbled. The story doesn’t seem to move in any direction. Or worse, you stare at a blank page or screen for hours. Terrible, I know. It’s natural. Baseball players get into a hitting slump, so it’s fair to say, writers also run into a bit of a slump.

Don’t worry. As a retired Navy veteran, we have a saying, “Don’t give up the ship!” This is also true is of writing. “Don’t give up the story.”
Every writer I’ve ever known has hit the wall at some point. Some may give up. Actually, that’s not true. Many people who start their first story will quit because they run into the wall. The more time you procrastinate, are unable to come up with ideas, the more you get discouraged. However, what makes you different from the rest is you continue to write. “Don’t give up the story.”

How do I overcome this slump? What if I can’t get back into the story? What if I’ve gone as far as the story will take me?

All great questions. One thing I’ve come to recognize is that I tend to run into a wall at a certain point in all my books. The plot may be weak or too simple, the characters all sound alike, or I haven’t written enough action to keep the readers attention. If you find yourself in the similar situations, this is when writers lose confidence in their writing. And like me, if you stay in this mindset too long, you can’t move forward in the story. So where do you go from here?

If I find myself stuck and can’t move forward in the story, I’ll go back and see how I can make the plots more exciting, the characters more compelling. Find ways of getting the writing spark back. If I can’t, then I will jump several chapters ahead and see if this gets me out of the rut.

If this doesn’t work, it’s time for me to set the story aside for a while and work on a different project. This might be another novel or short story. If I still remain stuck in some writing virtual abyss I will try one last thing—writing prompts.

Writing prompts are geared to kick-start your muse, flex your creative mind. Below are examples to choose from. Aim for a hundred words. If you feel inclined write more, do so. There are no rules. One of these may turn into a short story or your next novel. The skies the limit, cliché I know.

You hit a deer with your brand new car. While the car is in the shop you discover something about the car you never would have known if you hadn’t hit the deer.
• Your best friend gives you a surprise party, but you’re not the one who’s surprised.
• You find a key. You don’t know what it fits. You set out to solve the mystery, asking yourself, “Why did I hang onto it?”
• You’ve been captured by cannibals. How do you try to convince them not to eat you? If that fails, how do you attempt to escape?
• You receive a message on your answering machine. There are only 3 words before the message is cut off. “I need help …”

Writing prompts can help you hone your writing skills. They can also be fun. Now you have something to start with, yet the rest of the story is up to you. If you don’t like the examples above, go online. The internet has plenty you can choose from.

Do you ever hit a wall in your writing? How do you deal with it? How do you overcome this challenge?

James Glass achieved the rank of Command Master Chief before retiring after 22 years in the United States Navy. After retiring from the Navy, he exchanged his rifle for a pen. He and his family moved back to the Florida Panhandle. James is also the President of the Panhandle Writers Group.

11/19/21 11/19/21

Reinvigorating That Manuscript You've Put Aside by Philip Cioffari

Many of us have at least one manuscript tucked away in a drawer, one perhaps we’ve written some time ago. We know it’s not right yet, not publishable as is. BUT we still believe in it. We know in our hearts it’s a worthwhile project, if only we can get it into proper shape. Here are some ways I’ve used to approach that manuscript from a new direction, to give it the life it’s capable of.

Change the Point of View

Seeing the story through another character’s eyes can often give us a radically different insight into our material. We discover elements of the story we hadn’t seen before, and we see familiar elements in a totally different way. In a manuscript I’d been working on for years, I changed the POV from limited third to first person. It brought me to a confrontation with my main character that was immediate and forceful. It opened up aspects of his personality that I’d previously been blind to. I was able to go deeper into his psyche, into the emotions that drove him. I fed off that energy as I rewrote the novel.

Change/Adjust the Voice.

We know the importance of narrative voice, those qualities inherent in the voice of the teller of the tale. They help define the narrator, help us feel who that person is. By tinkering with that voice, we can create a more empathetic, accessible, vivid character. (This is most obviously recognizable in a first-person narrator, but it is equally though perhaps more subtly evident in third person narration as well.) Again, in reference to the manuscript. I mentioned above, I tightened up the language of the narrator, used fewer words, gave those words more of an edge, made the sentences and phrases shorter and more abrupt, used more fragments rather than complete sentences and within those fragments used more present participles instead of past tense, all of which made the quality of his voice sharper, tauter, harder-hitting, which not only brought out his personality more fully, but also added to the overall tension of the novel.

Change the Beginning and/or the Ending.

Sometimes as simple a thing as changing where we begin the story can jump-start the work with a burst of new energy. I try to find a new angle to introduce my character and the situation he/she is facing, perhaps a place later in the narrative, a place farther along on the rising tide of tension. It can also be helpful to reconsider the end of the story. Of course, we want the most fitting, powerful conclusion we can conjure, but there are many options for that. We sometimes fool ourselves into thinking the ways we begin and end our stories are fixed, immutable. But coming back to a manuscript after some time has elapsed allows us the opportunity to re-evaluate what we thought was absolute.

Change the Main Character.

I know—a daunting prospect. But the payoff can be surprising and enlightening. Like changing the POV, the story takes on a new dimension that opens up unforeseen possibilities. In my novel, The Bronx Kill, I had three young men who were all candidates for being the main character. In early drafts of the book, I had chosen one of them as lead. But something was missing; there was a lack of energy. I didn’t create the vitality I wanted until I chose a different one of them as lead. And once I did, within a matter of a few pages, I could feel the difference in energy: the novel had come to life. (I should add that, when you make any of these changes that I’m discussing, you’ll probably know fairly quickly if you’ve made the right choice. You’ll feel an excitement you didn’t feel before. You’ll feel the story coming alive in a new way.)

Add a new Character.

As daunting as that sounds, introducing a new character can open up a story in surprising and beneficial ways. While working on my first novel, Catholic Boys, an editor suggested that I might want to add an adult character. The original version of the novel consisted of a group of young boys who discover a dead body near their housing project in the Bronx, in the swamps where they play. The main character was one of those boys. The editor commented that adult readers might be more engaged if there was an adult character they could relate to. His suggestion struck a nerve and, within hours of when he made it, I had come up with the character of a housing detective whose job it was to investigate the death. I became so enamored of this detective that he became the main character in the novel and the story, ultimately, became his story. Much of what I had written thus far became part of the unfolding plot of his life, his investigation. Adding a new character changes the dynamics of the relationships of all the characters in the story. Like the stranger who arrives unexpectedly at a party, everything is suddenly in flux; nothing remains the same. Possibilities abound. (Side note: with the twenty-first version of that book, I found a publisher.)

Add a Character or Plot Reversal.

If a character feels flat or one-dimensional, I try letting him/her do something completely unexpected, maybe something that on the surface seems totally out-of-character. This adds an element of surprise and mystery that enhances the character and thereby serves to engage the reader. It can open up a previously unexplored side of a character. So, too, for the plot. If it feels humdrum or dull, I find a way to insert a reversal of a situation or set of circumstances. Aristotle, in his Poetics, put great store in this as a dramatic technique. He called it Peripety—as in Oedipus Rex when Oedipus calls upon the blind prophet Tiresias for help in finding the cause of the plague that has beset the kingdom. Tiresias, because he is blind, is led in by a young boy as his guide. Because he does not like what Tiresias has to say, Oedipus curses him and casts him out of the palace; but later in the play Oedipus, who has blinded himself, is led away in exile with a young boy as his guide, a complete reversal of circumstances for a once mighty ruler of the land. Reversals can come as a consequence of a character’s actions, or as a consequence of fate. Handled deftly, either can be effective in raising the intensity of the plot.

Change or Enhance the Setting(s).

Often overlooked or under-rated, setting can give both texture and verisimilitude to our work, so where things happen in our stories, I believe, should be accorded careful attention. Setting is a reflection of our characters and their actions, and in many instances it can become a character in itself. So I try to make my settings be practical as well as symbolic, atmospheric as well as sensual. Setting can easily be a driving force of fiction. Certainly that has been true for me. In my novel, Jesusville, the setting consists of both the barren, arid reaches of the New Mexico desert and the refuge for troubled priests situated in that desert; each intensifies the other. In my novel, Dark Road, Dead End, it is the brutal physicality of the Everglades that plays as much of a role as any human character does. I tend to think that where things happen is as important as what happens.

A final consideration.

Something that has helped me when I return to a manuscript that hasn’t yet realized its potential is this: I try to re-connect to the inspiration/impulse/desire that made me want to write it in the first place. Then I examine what I’ve written in search of those pages or details that feel disconnected from that original impulse. That has always seemed to me a good place to begin.

Philip Cioffari is the author of the novels: Catholic Boys; Dark Road, Dead End; Jesusville; The Bronx Kill; and If Anyone Asks, Say I Died from the Heartbreaking Blues; and the story collection, A History of Things Lost or Broken. www.philipcioffari.com

7/9/21 7/9/21

Finding your Character’s Blind Spot by DiAnn Mills

Every character has a blind spot, an area where he/she is most vulnerable. Within that emotional darkness, the character lacks understanding, ignores or is unaware of a potentially harmful situation. Through a series of planned deception, the opposition successfully deceives and manipulates the character.

The reality can be painful and devastating, but it can be a vehicle to usher in truth, growth, and change. Discovering a blind spot uncovers information about the character’s behavior, and the knowledge paves the way for motivation and plot. Blind spots aren’t limited to antagonists. Our protagonists can be resistant to lies, charm, or an intoxicating lure.

Writers root blind spots in backstory, the character’s life experiences that affect the character’s goals, conflicts, and desires before chapter one, line one of the story. From the backstory, we discover how flaws and weaknesses can create areas that deceive the character. The story player who is conscious of the tendencies can overcome them through soul-searching investigation. But the character who disregards a blind spot will eventually face the consequences.

Protagonists and antagonists share similar traits of blind spots.
Both types of characters are capable of being deceived.
Both types of characters can notice the problem.
Both types of characters are capable of overcoming their weakness.
Both types of characters have a choice.

Dealing with a blind spot is an opportunity for transformation, either before or after the story begins.
CLICK TO TWEET

For the Protagonist
Dealing with a blind spot is an opportunity for transformation, either before or after the story begins. Sometimes the writer shows an unveiling of a blind spot to create emotional tension that endears the reader to the character. These characters have traits to become dynamic heroes and heroines.

Two scenarios can take place:

The protagonist realized the blind spot during the backstory. He/she overcame the problem. The character now uses the past to help other characters who have not reconciled with the weak trait.
The protagonist didn’t recognize the blind spot, but other strengths masked the weak area, giving the character a boost to their status. Dealing with the unaddressed issue is imperative to the plot.

High stakes result if the opposition discovers the weakness, decreasing the chances of the protagonist to reach his goal.

For the Antagonist
Just like the protagonist, if the opposition discovers the blind spot, the antagonist will struggle to reach his/her goal. This can be a method of stopping the inappropriate behavior.

Two scenarios can take place:

The antagonist has never discovered the blind spot. The character covered any inadequacies with abilities to manipulate others that originate in charm, wealth, or power.
The antagonist refused to recognize a frail part of his landscape. Arrogance overrules any desire to change.

Methods of Revealing Blind Spots

Characterization
While the writer is developing the character, details from the past and present indicate the vulnerable areas to use a blind spot. The how is initiated by the opposition using the weakness when the character least suspects it. The why is reflected in the character’s goals, weaknesses, and personality. The use may only be once, but numerous occurrences allow the character to look fragile and perhaps unstable.

Plot
A blind spot can whirl in the midst of a character struggling to achieve wants and needs, adding stress, tension, and conflict to the storyline.

Emotion
Emotion is how the character believes feelings should be internalized, displayed, or hidden. This is a mix of inherited traits and learned behavior. The character who handles emotions in an unhealthy manner often encounters blind spots that hinder appropriate reactions to life’s problems.

Symbolism
A symbol is a tangible item that means something psychological to the character—and translates the same emotional response to the reader. By providing an evocative and emotional experience, we enable a reader to identify elements of the story beyond the written word. A blind spot often reaches into the depth of a character’s psychological makeup and manifests itself in a symbol.

Dialogue
While dialogue is fresh, new, and has spirit, within the words a character speaks reflects what occupies his/her mind. A blind spot translates to denial or avoidance in what a character says and often in conflict with another character(s).

Every character has a potential blind spot. It’s up to the writer to discover the flaw and use the information to the story’s advantage. CLICK TO TWEET

Setting
A character who has an obstructed view of a setting cannot comprehend the savagery at which a setting can turn against him. They are taken unaware by an environment either mental, physical, or spiritual.

Every character has a potential blind spot. It’s up to the writer to discover the flaw and use the information to the story’s advantage.

How are you using a character’s blind spot to move your story ahead?

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

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

Connect with DiAnn here: www.diannmills.com

12/19/17 12/19/17

The Cognitive Benefits of Reading / Jane Sandwood

We all know that Nashville is bursting with songwriters, but it's also home to many outstanding novelists, poets, and screenwriters. It’s a place where creativity abounds, making it a great place for writers to come together and form a literary community. But, in order to become a great writer, one has to be an avid reader, which is why it is essential to know how reading can impact our ability to create.

There are many advantages to reading—especially for the benefit of your brain. Readers will recognize the way that a good book makes them feel, and these good feelings are ultimately a result of the brain responding to your reading in a positive way. Just as routine writing habits are rewarding, so, too, is developing a reading habit that gives you the power to fuel your mind each and every day.

Here are 3 important ways that reading benefits your mind and imagination:

1. Spikes Brain Connectivity and Function

According to a neurological study at Emory University, reading a novel affects the brain’s function in a healthy, constructive way. Reading a novel stimulates the left temporal cortex, which is the section of the brain that allows you to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. Reading, therefore, improves embodied cognition in the brain, as a good book produces a heightened connectivity in brain function that can last for hours.

2. Engages You In Deep Focus—Like Meditation

A second benefit is the ability of books to help you relax. Having a similar effect to meditation, reading helps to reduce stress—even more so than listening to music, taking a walk, or drinking a cup of tea. Reading for just 6 short minutes can lower your heart rate and ease muscle tension, making it a great way to focus deeply and relax your brain.

3. Improves Emotional Intelligence

A third effect that reading has on the brain is its improvement of our emotional intelligence—or our ability to be compassionate and empathize. Researchers have found that people who spent time reading fiction showed an increase in empathy one week later. These findings conclude that reading stimulates the area of the brain that allows you to emote and to interact more positively or empathetically with other human beings.

Thus, in its ability to facilitate brain connectivity, inspire you to relax the mind, and improve your emotional intelligence, reading is an all-around beneficial tool to keep your brain healthy and functioning to its fullest emotional and mental capacity.

(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, Joseph Borden, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.

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.

*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.

12/12/17 12/12/17

The Joys and Challenges of Writing a Series Character / Joe Clifford

I write the Jay Porter thriller series (Oceanview Publishing). With three in the bag (Lamentation, December Boys and Give Up the Dead), and numbers four and five under contract, I am preparing to dive back into the bleak wintery world of Lamentation Mountain.

Oftentimes when I tell someone I write a series character (usually at Christmas parties I don’t want to be at), I get one of two responses. Well, I get a lot of different responses, but two of note. The first is “Hey, I’ve got a great idea. How about I tell you, you write it, and we split the money?” As tempting as that offer is, I pass. The second, more interesting question is whether I find it stifling, artistically speaking. Whereas many of my responses in uncomfortable social situations tend to be standard, here my answer is always authentic and unique.

Like the books and characters in the series, the answer evolves; and like most of life’s compelling examinations, a great deal of conflict presents itself. There are parts I find stifling, but not for the reasons most think. Generally, I get asked this question by other artists, other writers. We are, after all, in this game to forge new ground. How many Jack Reacher books can Lee Child write? As many as he wants! I’d kill for his career, as I am sure most writers would, at least those of us who write genre. And that is where I’ll start.

Part of writing genre is ascribing to a template. I will avoid the word “formula” because it has such nasty connotations. I started out as a literary fiction writer before making the switch to the Dark Side. Even now I retain enough of those sensibilities that I can get slapped with the “literary thriller” label, which I love but drives bookstores mad.

When one says something is contrived, what they mean is he or she can see the strings. Readers don’t want to see the strings. They want to be submerged, lost, whisked away in the fantasy. But all art, by definition, is contrived; we make something out of nothing, create an illusion. One wrong move and it can all fall apart, exposing the machination behind the curtain.

But I like having that map, knowing I am not flying blind; I like a flight chart that gets me from Ashton to Arizona.

In the Jay Porter books, I get to chronicle the life of a man I care very much about. As crazy as it sounds, Jay has become as real to me as most of my friends. I certainly spend more time with him than I do most of my friends. Jay began as part me, part my half-brother, but now, after three books, he has grown into a wholly original creation. Deeply flawed, self-sabotaging, good intentioned but often perverted by anger, rage, and misunderstanding a dream that is just out reach, Jay resonates because of these conflicts (or so I’ve been told). I think it was Mailer who said our heroes need to be larger than life. I counter Norman that they need to be slightly less than. Because that rings truer for me. We all know the life we want. How many of us get it?

To this end, no, there is nothing stifling about watching a creation come into this world, and not unlike parenting a child, having to surrender ownership to allow that child to become what he needs to be, not what you want him to be. When I begin a Jay Porter book I have a loose idea of a plot, and then I see where Jay takes it. This is the very opposite of stifling. It’s exciting, unexpected, and I am often just as surprised (and infuriated) by Jay’s choices. But I find the ride richly rewarding. I hope my readers do too.

But there is a stifling component to writing a series. And like I said it’s not what most think. The hard part is that when you write a series, it becomes harder to write outside that world. Your style becomes immersed and associated with that one character and series, which makes it tougher to write different books. I’ve written several standalones, books I think are just as good as the Porter books, but it’s been harder to find them homes. I’ve heard if I “made them a Jay Porter book” . . . But that is what I am trying not to do in those situations.

Still, this is a minor gripe. I work as a professional novelist. How many writers would love to say that? I am humbled and honored by the opportunity.

Joe Clifford is acquisitions editor for Gutter Books and producer of Lip Service West, a “gritty, real, raw” reading series in Oakland, CA. He is the author of several books, including Junkie Love and the Jay Porter Thriller Series (Lamentation, December Boys, Give Up the Dead), as well as editor of Trouble in the Heartland: Crime Stories Based on the Songs of Bruce Springsteen. Joe’s writing can be found at joeclifford.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, Arthur Jackson, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.

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.

12/5/17 12/5/17

KERRIE DROBAN / DOING TIME FOR THE CRIME

As a criminal defense attorney (by day) my clients often complain they are “doing time for the crime” (as if that’s unfortunate). After writing five true crime books that primarily focus on the one percent of crimes (motorcycle gangs, mafia and deep cover investigations) no sane author should explore, I too have done “time for the crime” and have learned a few things: First, everyone has a story, not everyone has a voice; second, it’s the storyteller’s job to investigate Truth (the whole truth, nothing but the truth, so help me!!) But what is the Truth, and whose Truth is it? How the author derives at that Truth steeped in a world of sociopaths, violent subcultures, unpredictable sources, hidden identities, deep cover investigations and subjects whose norm it is to distrust everyone including the storyteller, involves tenacity and guts. The author is cast in a dual role, as both journalist and novelist.

And unlike typical true crime books (like my own, A Socialite Scorned: The Murder of a Tucson High Roller) that center around a brutal murder, the pathology of the killer(s) and the subsequent investigation, most of mine have involved first-hand accounts with limited (if any) court records or other documentation and corroborating sources who, for safety reasons, cannot ever be divulged.

In my latest book, The Last Chicago Boss, the story is written from the perspective of Peter James, the “Boss” of the Chicago Outlaws Motorcycle Club, one of the most violent biker gangs in the world and a chief rival of the Hells Angels. His was an extraordinary rise to power and, like every book I’d written before, his presented unique challenges. For starters, we lived on opposite coasts. I had never been to Chicago. He was dying (which meant I had to build rapport quickly and obtain all the information I needed in less than six months) and disliked the idea of being recorded (his survival in the club, after all, as a “Boss” relied on his ability to avoid government surveillance).

So I improvised and implemented the following: Rule #1: make the subject comfortable. Rule #2: Let the subject guide the disclosures. Rule #3: Listen. Listen. Listen. Rule #4: Interview often (the Boss and I spoke every Sunday for three hours for over six months). Rule #5: Keep everything (you never know what will make it into the final manuscript or what might fill in the gaps). Rule #6: Respect the Subject’s boundaries, if he tells you it’s “off the record” keep it “off the record.” Rule #7: Don’t worry about organization when information gathering, that will come later.

After six months of interviews and hundreds of pages of notes I had a compilation of fascinating, funny and at times terrifying tales; I needed a Hook and a way to organize the material into a compelling narrative. I looked for repetition, themes and significant secondary characters. The Boss loved board games: Risk, Go, Chess. He manipulated the Chicago Outlaws and 38 additional clubs like game pieces; he occupied territories and “captured” enemies. The idea of “games” and “players” provided the structure for the Story. And since The Boss was “larger than life” the narrative had to be written in first person. All I needed now was “The Hook” (or what I like to call, the “Why”).

In The Last Chicago Boss, the real Sons of Anarchy were actually “gangster conformists”, with more rules than a corporate entity. They weren’t rebels. They weren’t even free. And, maybe after all, their “terrifying public persona” was really just part of a more private game. That’s the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth…. according to The Boss (as told to me, the story teller).

Droban is an award-winning author of five best-selling true crime books, one of which (Vagos, Mongols and Outlaws) was made into a miniseries called "Gangland Undercover" initially produced by the History Channel. Her true crime books, Running with the Devil: The True Story of the ATF's Infiltration of the Hells Angels, won the USA News National Book Award for best True Crime in 2008 and Prodigal Father, Pagan Son: My Life Born Into Madness, is a two-time winner of the USA News National Book Award for Best True Crime and Best Memoir. Her book, A Socialite Scorned: The Murder of Gary Triano, was featured on American Greed, Dateline and in "Murders and Mansions" produced by La Brea Entertainment. Her most recent book is The Last Chicago Boss: The True Story of Big Pete and the Chicago Outlaws Motorcycle Club. Kerrie has written articles for TIME and has appeared on national television on CNN, CNBC's American Greed, "A Widow's Web." "A & E's "Gangland" "Behind Enemy Lines", the American Hero's Channel, "Codes and Conspiracies," Investigation ID and the Discovery Channel's "Deadly Devotion," and in a series entitled, "Deep Undercover." Her website is www.kerriedroban.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, Arthur Jackson, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.

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.

11/28/17 11/28/17

Shawn Smucker / The Day the Angels Fell

It’s 8 o’clock, a perfect summer night, and the sky is fading to steel blue. A middle-aged man, my next fare, comes out of the bar and holds up his index finger, then sidles up next to two women talking to the bouncer. He flirts with the older woman. Meanwhile, I wait.

“Don’t you leave me!” he shouts at me. It is the voice of someone used to shouting, used to getting his way.

“I’m going to head out soon!” I say, laughing, only half joking. He storms over towards me. My blood pressure rises. I consider driving away, waving goodbye through the sunroof.

“What did you say?” he asks, squinting his eyes. “You are not f***ing leaving me!” He throws his phone into the passenger seat, pulls out his wallet, leafs through a deck of bills, and tosses a twenty on to the passenger side floor. I do not pick it up.

* * * * *

I am not so good at waiting in the tension. I tend to avoid conflict at all costs and do anything to move towards speedy resolution of the story.

Does this feel like a counseling session?

Avoiding conflict may not sound like a life-destroying personality trait, but it sure makes for terrible fiction. Imagine if Scrooge looked up at the charitable gentlemen who entered his office in scene one and said, “Why, of course! Here’s a donation. And Merry Christmas.” End of story. Or if Bilbo Baggins looked up at one of the dark riders and handed him the ring straight away, muttering, “I’m not really into jewelry anyway.”

As writers, we have to allow our characters to sit in the conflict until it has worked its course in them.

I sometimes drive for Uber. The beginning of this piece? A real-life example of a conflict. In that moment, when the customer threw the bill in through the window, I wanted to leave. But if I would have fled, I would have ruined the story.

* * * * *

He goes back to his conversation. The $20 is still on the floor. He nudges his body up against the younger woman, puts his arm around her shoulders. She shifts. His hand drops, catches her waist on the way through, a passing glance, a pressure point impossible for her not to feel.

Nearly ten minutes later he finally comes back to the car.

“I need to make a pit stop,” he says. He bends over and picks up the $20 bill off the floor and hands it to me. “Here, this is yours.” I shrug and take it. He directs me to another bar. We arrive, and again he wants to control the situation.

“I need you to wait here,” he says. “I’m just having one beer. I will make it worth your time. Do not f***ing leave me!”

Ten minutes later he comes out of the bar alone and climbs into the car. I confirm the address and we start driving.

“I can’t believe you were going to leave me,” he says, starting in on the same old topic. He asks me how often I drive.

“Fifteen to twenty hours a week,” I say. “Sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on my other work.”

I ask him what he does.

“I’m a business man,” he says. “I’ve made a lot of money.” He is not bragging. He says it as a statement of fact, the same way someone might say, “I could stand to lose some weight,” or “I had salmon for dinner.”

“I’m on my way home to my girlfriend. I was married. I have some kids. They won’t have anything to do with me, not now.” Now he is back again, chuckling, but in between each laugh is a tiny spark of something. I realize what it is: disappointment. I have never heard someone trying so hard to convince themselves they are happy. Talking to him is like being the lion tamer in the circus – circling, constantly assessing, now firm, now retreating. We pull up outside his house.

“Thanks for waiting,” he says, standing up out of the car. The street is tree-lined and dark and someone in the distance is mowing their yard. I can hear the mower. I can smell the grass.

“I can’t believe you were going to f***ing leave me,” he says. He pulls out a $100 bill and throws it onto the passenger seat. He slams the door.

* * * * *

So, that’s a true story about me staying in the conflict, not running away, not trying to shorten it. Just letting it play out.

As story-tellers, we’d do well to let our characters experience the conflict. Slow down. Let them live the entire story. Because that’s where the real story is hiding.

Shawn Smucker lives in Lancaster, PA, with his wife and their six children. He can also be found at shawnsmucker.com. The Day the Angels Fell is his first novel.

(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, Arthur Jackson, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.

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.

11/14/17 11/14/17

Patricia Bradley / Ten Clichés to Avoid in Writing

I’ve been writing for a lot of years and there are several things I wish I had known early on. You know, those things that make an agent or editor’s eyes glaze over. Like don’t start your story with a dream, or the weather. Do you know how many times they have seen that kind of opening? The only thing worse than an editor or agent seeing these things is if you Indie publish and your reader sees them.

Here is my personal list of what not to do. It’s personal because I’ve either done these things in a first draft or thought about doing them.

Speaking of dreams, at the end, don’t let your hero wake up and the reader discovers everything that has happened since the opening was a dream.
Your antagonist is pure evil. Give your antagonist redeeming qualities of some sort, especially if you don’t reveal he’s the antagonist until the end. Remember that even the worst villain cares about someone or something, so give him that. If you can make the reader want him to change, you’ve done a great job. Another thing, be sure to make him worthy of your hero. This applies to “the other love interest” in a romance, too.
An incompetent superior. While it can be very satisfying to make the boss look stupid, resist the urge. He didn’t get to be in charge by being dumb. And along that line, don’t make every Southern sheriff overweight, red-necked and a bully.
Character descriptions. Don’t have your characters look in the mirror (or see their reflection in water) and describe themselves. This has been done so many times. If at all possible, have another character describe your hero or heroine. Or have the heroine compare her looks to someone else. It takes a little work, but well worth it.
And please, when you are in a character’s point of view, don't let her flip her long blonde hair, or think about unfolding her long, tanned legs from the car. When you flip your hair, do you think about the color? In thinking of your body do you ever think that you have long, tanned legs?
The alcoholic or former alcoholic detective. Unless you can put a new twist on it, give your detective another flaw.
The waitress with a heart of gold. Or a kindly grandfather. Go against the grain. Let them be grumpy. Downright mean, even.
I’ve heard readers complain there must be an amnesia virus running rampant in the romance genre. I’m not sayinga character can’t block a memory, but for your protagonist to wake up and their whole life is gone is getting a little stale.
Don’t let your story hinge on a problem that can be solved by a good discussion unless you have a really strong reason they can’t have this discussion. I realize your characters are going to misunderstand each other since it happens even in real life. Let them have the discussion and let that discussion make a bigger problem for your protagonist.
The ingenious serial killer who is smarter than the cops. There will never be another Hannibal Lecter. Let your hero/heroine outsmart the killer on smaller levels before the final scene.

You can use the clichés to jumpstart your brain while you’re letting the story jell in your mind. That’s okay, but when it comes time to write, try this. Set a timer for ten minutes and free write whatever plot ideas come to your mind. Then set the timer for ten more minutes and repeat the process. You’ll be surprised with what you come up with.

Winner of an Inspirational Readers’ Choice Award in Suspense, Patricia Bradley lives in North Mississippi with her rescue kitty, Suzy. Her romantic suspense books include the Logan Point series and the Memphis Cold Case Novels. She also has written sweet romances for Harlequin Heartwarming available as ebooks.

(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, Arthur Jackson, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.

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.

11/7/17 11/7/17

ROBIN FOX’S SECRETS OF INTERROGATION / Charles Kowalski

From the detective coaxing a confession out of a suspect, to the counterterror operative racing to find a ticking bomb, interrogation has always been a key part of mystery and suspense fiction. Today, Killer Nashville welcomes a special guest: master interrogator Robin Fox, hero of Mind Virus, a 2013 Claymore finalist. Thank you for joining us, Captain Fox.

Just “Robin,” please. I’m not in the service anymore, and that’s a time in my life I don’t care to be reminded of.

Sorry. But you were a military interrogator, and a Bronze Star winner at that. That’s quite an unusual career move for a peace-loving academic like you.

I joined the service just because it was expected in my family, and my father wouldn’t have paid for my education if I’d refused. I didn’t expect to see much action, but as soon as I was commissioned, 9/11 happened. I spoke some Arabic – I was a Foreign Service brat, and had picked up a smattering of several languages – so they sent me to the “Schoolhouse,” the interrogator training facility at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. After that, Guantanamo, Afghanistan, Iraq…you name it, I’ve been there. If you can’t name it because it’s top secret, I’ve probably been there too.

What would you say is the most important part of interrogation?

Building a relationship with the subject. The most important questions in any interrogation are the ones you don’t ask aloud. Who is this person? What does he want most? What does he fear most? Once you know the answers to these questions, you have the key that opens any door.

You’ve often said that “interrogation is theater.” Could you elaborate?

A good interrogator is as skilled as a good actor at improvising himself into a role. If you learn that the subject had a traumatic experience in his past, for example, you can create a character for yourself that had a similar experience and can empathize.

That all sounds like more than Jack Bauer would have time for.

Don’t get me started on Jack Bauer. Yes, it takes time, and no, it doesn’t play as well on TV, but it works. If you scare a subject into cooperating, he’ll only cooperate as long as you can keep him scared. But if you can earn his trust, he’s yours forever.

And they say confessions extracted under torture aren’t reliable anyway.

Getting confessions isn’t even the point. Military interrogation is a different game than police interrogation. You aren’t trying to solve a past crime, you’re trying to plan your future strategy. The question isn’t “Whodunnit?” but “What are they going to do next?”

And what strategies do you use to find that out?

The Army has its playbook of approaches with names like Fear Up, Fear Down, Pride and Ego Up, Pride and Ego Down…One example is Establish Your Identity. If the subject refuses to talk about one incident, you accuse him of involvement in another, much worse one. He’ll usually cop to the lesser charge.

That assumes the subject still has some instinct for self-preservation. Would it work on terrorists who’d happily blow themselves to oblivion as long as they could take some of us with them?

That doesn’t describe everyone who joins a terrorist group. Some join out of fear; they see a choice between being on this group’s member list or their hit list. Some were deceived by the group’s leader, and some join because of plain old romantic love. It’s never as simple as “We love freedom and they hate freedom.”

But you must get some who are die-hard ideologues.

Then you let them talk about ideology. Let them rant all they want. When they pause for breath, you can interject something like, “Oh, I read something similar in so-and-so; did you get some inspiration from him?” All human beings have a basic need to be listened to, understood, taken seriously. If you provide that for the subject, you instill a subconscious sense of indebtedness. You lower his psychological defenses, so when his lecture is over, he’s much more likely to tell you what you need to know.

Can you recommend some books for people who’d like to learn more?

There are many books by former military interrogators out there. Here are some of the ones that were most useful:

Alexander, Matthew: How to Break a Terrorist (2008).

Lagouranis, Tony: Fear Up Harsh (2007).

Mackey, Chris: The Interrogator’s War (2005).

Navarro, Joe: Interviewing Terrorists (2011), and many other books about interrogation techniques.

Saar, Erik: Inside the Wire (2005).

Thank you very much, Professor Fox. I hope everyone enjoys reading about your adventures in Mind Virus!

Robin Fox, professor of comparative religions at George Washington University, is a fictional character. Charles Kowalski, whose debut thriller Mind Virus won the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ Colorado Gold Award (Action/Thriller) and was a finalist for the Claymore Award, the Clive Cussler Grandmaster Award, and the Pacific Northwest Writers’ Association Literary Award, is real as far as he knows. Both of them have spent a large part of their lives abroad and studied several languages; Charles now divides his time between Japan and Downeast Maine.

(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, Arthur Jackson, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.

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.

10/25/17 10/25/17

Vanishing Point / Lisa Harris

Confessions from a Wannabe Perfectionist

I’ll admit it. I’m not the most organized person in the world. I have hundreds of family photos just waiting to be organized, junk drawers that need to be cleaned out, and my desk is way too cluttered. I could throw out all the familiar excuses, of course. I don’t have enough time, or space, or even that life holds too many urgent things for me to handle besides stopping and organizing things. I’m guessing you probably have one or two of your own excuses as well.

I discovered early on, though, that if I wanted to be an author, I had to find a way to organize my stories. I write complex romantic suspense novels that take place over a very tight timeline. This means I can’t just hope my stories come together smoothly in the end. I needed a way to keep up with my chapters that included both a detailed timeline and running word count. There are many tools to help authors like Scrivner, which I love, but I always find myself going back to one program for a quick overview of my story. And that program is Excel.

If you’ve always assumed the Excel is just for numbers, this might come as a surprise for you. But it’s not. And while my husband uses Excel charts for all his accounting needs, it can be used for so much more. You can use if for lists, addresses, inventories, and even for your next grocery store run. For me, it’s become the key to organizing my novels.

I have a new book, Vanishing Point, that’s getting ready to come out in November. It’s the perfect example as to why I have to stay organized. When I started this book, I had just concluded writing my Nikki Boyd Series, which is a three-book series about a Missing Person Task force. One of the story arcs throughout the series deals with the disappearance of Sarah, Nikki’s younger sister. Sarah’s vanishing ten years ago is important to the storyline, primarily because it becomes the motivation behind Nikki joining law enforcement. My publisher came to me last year and asked me to write a fourth book to go along with the series—Sarah’s story.

In writing Nikki’s sister’s story, I had a new challenge. Instead of the storyline taking place over a few short days, I needed it to take place over an entire decade, beginning with her disappearance. To do this—and to keep the story moving—I broke up the action into four different time periods, and kept each of those time periods short. But on top of the different time periods, I had to make sure that the facts—from the characters, to every mention of Sarah in the Nikki Boyd series, and the detailed timeline—meshed with book four. Thankfully, I’d been using excel spreadsheets for years to organize my books and could go back to them for a clear look at the storyline. With Vanishing Point, this was going to be essential.

The wonderful thing about using a spreadsheet to organize your books is both the quick flexibility of changing the order of chapters or adding a new one as you write. You can also add as many columns as you need for your particular project. And because Excel is primarily for numbers, you can incorporate a running total of your word count.

All of my spreadsheets have a basic layout in order to keep track of my chapters. I include my word count, a detailed timeline, chapter description, a note on when a chapter is incorporated into the final manuscript, and the chapter hook. On top of listing my chapters and my timeline, I also use the sides and bottom of my spreadsheet to take notes. This includes keeping track of physical traits—so my heroine’s eye color doesn’t change from chapter to chapter—characteristics, and an ongoing list of anything I might need to double check on at the end. In addition, I add a section for things like the seasons, weather, sunrise/sunset times, as well as a list of minor character names and descriptions.

So while my photos and junk drawer might never be organized, at least I’ve found the solution for my writing. And the other added bonus to this is when I come back to the story months later for my publisher’s edits, I have every I need right at my fingertips, all on one handy spread sheet.

Happy writing!

Lisa Harris is a bestselling author, a Christy Award winner, and the winner of the Best Inspirational Suspense Novel for 2011 and 2015 from Romantic Times for her novels Blood Covenant and Vendetta. The author of more than thirty books, including Vendetta, Missing, Pursued, and the Southern Crimes series, Harris and her family have spent fourteen years living as missionaries in southern Africa. Learn more at lisaharriswrites.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, Arthur Jackson, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.

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.

10/18/17 10/18/17

Lady Jayne Disappears / Joanna Davidson Politano

Mapping the Mystery Novel

I’ll be frank. I don’t consider myself a mystery writer, and I never set out to write a book in that genre. Yet when I created my debut novel, which is simply a collection of all my favorite elements rolled into one story, mystery naturally flowed into the plot. I figured if it was going to be there, it should be effective and surprising. I didn’t really know the tricks most mystery novelists used so I did one simple thing in my debut that made it all function together. I outlined my reader’s train of thoughts through the entire novel.

Different than a plot outline or scene sketches, this is a map detailing what I want my reader to be assuming is going on, what they should be thinking about this hint or that character. The key here is focusing on, and then upending, what your reader thinks is happening.

First, I dealt with the main story question. What did I want readers to think was the solution to the mystery posed as the story progressed? In my first novel Lady Jayne Disappears, the mystery centers around the missing Lady Jayne, mother to the heroine. Several hints point to evidence of a murder while others indicate possible villains, and I send the readers on a hunt for Lady Jayne’s killer. It’s a mystery of who killed Lady Jayne. Readers would analyze each character’s motivations and opportunity to kill her, thinking up various possible explanations for the mystery. Then when the heroine discovers partway through the novel that the victim is someone else entirely, it completely changes the significance of every clue, every character, and every situation. It also keeps the story fresh and interesting with a nice little twist.

Next I put my characters through this analysis. What do I want readers to think is this character’s purpose in the novel? Readers unconsciously label all the characters with roles as they keep track of motivations, relationships, and possible villains. If you disguise your villain as, say, a friend of the hero, you can then weave in plenty of lies that your readers will catalog as truth because they think this character’s purpose is to deliver hints or advise the hero.

Hints are easy to assess with this method, too. We’ve all heard of red herrings, those clues tossed in to purposefully send your reader-sleuths on the wrong trail—but take it further. What do I want the reader to believe is the significance of this item or that information? Have it clearly in your mind, then make sure to change directions on a few of them.

Knowing what the reader believes and assumes throughout your novel also makes it easier to see where you need to throw in a twist or a shock. If the story’s becoming too slow, look at your reader assumptions for that predictable point in the book and throw in the exact opposite of they would expect.

In Lady Jayne Disappears, my beginning few chapters seemed to smooth out into a nice little rut. The heroine had gone to live with her relatives and begun to search for information about her mother, and things were going as expected on a nice little mystery trajectory. I broke up that pleasant introductory section with the random intrusion of a man named Nathaniel Droll—which was the pen name her father had used to write his anonymous serial novels. It was a very nice “didn’t see that coming” moment right near the beginning of the book that opens a whole new thread of curiosity for the reader.

As you outline what you wish readers to know through the book, let the hero help you, too. He or she can “paint” what the reader is picking up on the same way music in a movie can tell you when to look for an ominous moment, a tender one, etc. Internal thoughts, physical reactions, and dialogue will set the tone of the scene. The hero’s “perceptions” might not always be right, but you’re painting a picture with them all the same—use that influence.

Mapping out your readers’ assumptions helps you roughly guide their journey through your novel, allowing you to make it surprising, thrilling, tense, or fresh whenever it’s needed. The key to all of this is to simply give readers something in the distance to stare at so they miss all the real clues when you drop them into their peripheral vision. They will be utterly surprised at the ending you’ve created but unable to deny the plausibility of it because of all the real clues you offered along the way. It’s not your fault if they missed them.

Well okay, maybe it is.

Joanna Davidson Politano is a freelance writer and debut novelist who spends as much time as possible spinning tales that capture the exquisite details of ordinary lives. She lives with her husband and their two babies in a house in the woods near Lake Michigan. Learn more at jdpstories.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, Arthur Jackson, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.

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.

10/4/17 10/4/17

Getting it Right / Irene Hannon

While I was working on my master’s degree in journalism, three rules were hammered into me and my classmates.

Accuracy…accuracy…accuracy.

Excellent advice for journalists—and also for novelists.

Because while our stories are made up, and the character are figments of our imagination, we write about real places…real law enforcement organizations…real military units…real careers…real medical issues. And people who have knowledge of all of those read our books. One mistake, and our credibility takes a huge hit.

So when I dive into a new book, research becomes a high priority.

Before I even begin connecting words on my laptop screen, I spend hours trolling online for any and all information that might be helpful.

That’s why, with my new release, Dangerous Illusions, I have 55 single-spaced pages of research notes and internet links on a host of topics—medical issues, homicide investigations, organized crime, forensic toxicology, private foundations, crime scene procedures, background checks, vital records accessibility, computer hacking, and internet connectivity in rural areas…to name a few.

Valuable as Web research is, however, it only takes me so far. At some point I need to run story-specific questions past an expert.

That’s where the process can get intimidating.

In fact, for many years the research challenge deterred me from diving into suspense. When I began writing novels, there was no internet (yes, I’ve been at this a while), and I had no contacts in law enforcement or the military. I was also reluctant to make cold calls.

So I shelved suspense and switched to contemporary romance. Most books in that genre do require research, but typically not at the same technical level as suspense.

Seventeen books and quite a few years later, I once again felt the urge to write suspense. At that point, the internet was available as a resource. Plus, I was acquainted with a detective captain in a large police department.

So I took the plunge. The result was my bestselling, award-winning Heroes of Quantico series.

Since then I’ve written thirteen romantic suspense novels…with more to come.

Along the way, I’ve discovered that once you have a source or two, it’s much easier to expand your network of experts. My detective friend ended up putting me in touch with a U.S. marshal, who was instrumental in helping me get it right with two books in my Guardians of Justice series—Fatal Judgment, which featured marshals protecting a federal judge, and Lethal Legacy, which involved the WitSec program. Both of these were bestselling award winners too.

Through existing sources, I’ve connected with a just-retired FBI agent, forensic anthropologist, medical examiner, private investigator, and countless others.

I also got over my aversion to cold calls—and found that once you’re an established author, most people are more than happy to answer questions about their profession.

That said, I’m very careful not to overuse my sources. If I can find information on the Web, I do. I respect my sources’ time and don’t waste it by asking questions that can be answered with online research. As a result, when I do need them, they are very responsive.

While I’ve never paid anyone to provide information, I do thank those who help me in a concrete way with a gift card to Starbucks or Panera. I want them to know how grateful I am for their help—because truth be told, I would never attain the level of precision I aspire to without their input.

And the professionals in the fields I write about who read my books appreciate my commitment to accuracy. I’ll give you my favorite example.

My first suspense novel, Against All Odds, featured the FBI’s elite Hostage Rescue Team, and the plot involved a diplomat’s daughter and a hostage standoff in the Middle East.

A few months after it released, a short—and odd—note arrived in my inbox. It said, “I enjoyed reading your novel—but I chewed tobacco, not cigars.”

That didn’t make sense…until I checked the signature line.

The note was from a former HRT commander—who happened to have the same first name as my fictional commander.

I wrote back at once to assure him my character wasn’t based on him and that the name was just a coincidence. His response was gracious—and he also said that while he didn’t expect me to divulge my sources, he was impressed by the realism of the book, right down to the actual radio call signs the HRT used.

That made my day.

Do non-expert readers realize the effort required to nail down that kind of detail?

Perhaps not.

But I’m betting they do recognize the ring of authenticity in my books.

And I’m convinced that getting it right can help set an author apart—and contribute to best-sellerdom.

Irene Hannon is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than fifty contemporary romance and romantic suspense novels. In addition to her many other honors, she is a three-time winner of the prestigious RITA Award from Romance Writers of America (the “Oscar” of romance fiction) and a member of that organization’s elite Hall of Fame. In 2016, she received a Career Achievement award from RT Book Reviews magazine for her entire body of work. A former communications executive with a Fortune 500 company, she has no regrets about leaving behind the rush-hour commute and corporate politics to focus on fiction. She loves to interact with readers on Facebook, and invites you to visit her website: irenehannon.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, Arthur Jackson, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.

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.

9/26/17 9/26/17

Here’s a Story Prompt / Blake Fontenay

Here’s a story prompt:

A middle-aged man is sitting at a stoplight. An attractive young woman pulls alongside him.

“Is your bumper sticker for Star Trek?” she asks.

“No, Trek bicycles,” he stammers.

“That’s lame,” she says, holding up an arm bearing a tattoo with the serial numbers of the Starship Enterprise. Before he can come up with a clever reply, she speeds away…

As a writer, there are about a million different directions you could go with that story, but I didn’t come up with that prompt on my own. It’s an anecdote a friend posted on Facebook.

A lot of people have come to regard Facebook and its social media ilk as monumental time sucks – and they can be. I’ve personally lost too much time cruising Facebook when I could have been writing.

There is, however, an upside for writers hanging out on social media, even when they’re not promoting their work. When used properly, social media can be a terrific source of creative inspiration.

Let me start off by saying that I don’t think there’s any honor in warming over someone else’s reality and calling it fiction. I get mildly annoyed when people ask me if Character X in my stories is Person Y in real life.

It just doesn’t work that way, at least for me. There’s no doubt that real people and real life experiences inform my fiction writing. I don’t believe most authors pull their ideas out of thin air. We’ve all got bits and pieces of writing material floating around in our heads that hopefully we can weave together in original ways to produce bestselling books.

To get what we need to create our stories, we have to find out what’s going on in the world around us. In olden times, aspiring authors might have done this by hanging out at shopping malls or movie theaters to watch people interact with each other.

The trouble is that with the advent of Amazon and Netflix, nobody goes to shopping malls or movie theaters any more.

So what’s a good way to find out what real people are doing, thinking and feeling? Go to where they are - the Land of Political Rants and Cat Videos.

Let’s face it: Social media have helped us learn things about our friends, acquaintances and third cousins of our elementary school classmates that we would have never learned in a lifetime of normal interactions with them.

We find out that the worker across the hall is coping with the terminal illness of a relative. Or the neighbor down the street is a ballroom dancing champion. Or a childhood crush has that one awful habit that you absolutely cannot stand.

There’s a lot of great material out there. But it should be used wisely and ethically.

It’s obviously wrong to take unaltered facts and present them as fiction, particularly if they could cause embarrassment to the real people involved. But there are a lot of times when a writer can take a kernel of truth and transform it into a sumptuous ear of fire-roasted literary corn.

Take the example I used at the beginning of this post. (In case you were wondering, I did get my friend’s permission to use his story.) In reality, my friend just sat in his car, trying to think of a snappy comeback, while the pretty woman who never talks to guys his age sped away.

What could have happened next, in the wonderful world of fiction? Maybe she jumped out of her car and into his, brandishing a gun and telling him to give up his wallet and get out. Or what if he watched her car drive away, followed closely by a black van driven by a menacing-looking man, then he decided to follow them? What if her car got half a block away, then exploded? (I remember a writing seminar where one of the panelists said one of the best ways to overcome writer’s block is to “blow up a car,” so I always keep that as an option.)

The possibilities are limitless, which is the fun. You could take that one scene, which lasted no more than a few seconds, and spin it into a 100,000-word novel.

I’m not suggesting that people should get all of their story ideas from social media. You can learn a lot just by sitting on a park bench at lunch hour. Or by recapping the daily grind with your significant other.

What I am saying is that we blame social media, at least partly, for the decline in interest some people have in reading books. Why not use social media to harvest ideas that may help rekindle their interest in books again?

Not even Spock could fault that logic.

Blake Fontenay is the author of three novels. His most recent, A Three Team Town, is available for order on Amazon.

(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, Arthur Jackson, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.

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.

9/19/17 9/19/17

Beauty and Brutality in the Southern Mystery/Thriller by Bryan Eugene Robinson

As a Buddhist and writer, looking back on my Southern upbringing, I am fascinated with the Tao or coexistence of opposites — shrouded in darkness and mystery. Nowhere is this paradox more striking than in the customs, natural beauty, and brutality of the southern United States.

Where I come from, we serve sweet iced tea and call you “honey” even if we don’t know you. We ask you to “come back” as you leave, even if we don’t want you to. We scrape our feet at your front door whether or not they’re dirty to show respect before entering your house. We offer you food, even if we don’t have any left, praying you’ll say “no, thank you.” While we’re eating one meal, we talk about the next one over fried chicken, rice and gravy, and homemade biscuits. Before we badmouth somebody, we preface it with, “Bless her heart” so we sound respectable. And we say, “yawl” to make sure everybody’s included.

But there’s a brutal underbelly to this genteel Southern hospitality. Many of us — not me of course — dodder along in our pickups, throwing friendly hand-waves at strangers, shotguns mounted firmly in gun racks behind our heads “just in case.” The innocent-looking church ladies planning a reunion under the shade trees in the churchyard welcome you with open arms, then gossip and shun you behind closed doors because you’re “different.” If you’re from Florida looking to buy mountain land, you’re out of luck. Mountain folk call Floridians “Southern Yankees,” and smile and point them in the wrong direction.

Southern traditions — the savory food, cloaked messages full of contradictions, dysfunctional relationships, and deep pockets of religious fundamentalism — exemplify the beauty/brutality paradox. As a child I remember camp meetings where fireflies punctuated the dark summer sky and believers fanned away the sweltering heat as they gathered under huge tents to worship. I loved to peek through slits in the tents to watch preachers scream warnings of the devil and threats of burning in hell. I watched worshipers’ arms raised to the heavens, clapping their hands, speaking in tongues, running up and down aisles, sometimes cutting cartwheels in ecstasy as they became “slain in the spirit.”

Classic Southern fiction — from Tennessee Williams to Flannery O’Connor to Pat Conroy — have excavated these fundamentalist religious traditions, teasing to the surface the underlying dysfunction with one suspicion, one misunderstanding, and one murder at a time. Like old varnish, they peel off the veneer of deeply flawed, eccentric characters hiding behind a façade of respectability and superiority. Southern mystery writer John Hart said, “Family dysfunction makes for rich literary soil. It’s a place to cultivate secrets and misdeeds where betrayal cuts deeply, pain lingers, and memory becomes timeless.”

The natural beauty and wildlife of the South also reflect the paradox. The embroidered branches of sprawling live oaks droop with heavy beards of Spanish moss, stretching low to brush the lush vegetation. Blooming azaleas burst with color, the humid evening breeze carrying perfume of Confederate jasmine, honeysuckle, night blooming cereus, and gardenias and magnolias. The night calls of whippoorwills and hoot owls and the monotonous droning of tree frogs echo across a moonlit sky.

On the flipside, we observe the brutality. Underneath Florida’s Suwannee River, stunning marine life and primeval underwater caves — some as tall as ten-story buildings, wide as three football fields — draw divers across the world. Eerie lime rock formations, resembling gargoyles and screaming faces, carved for thousands of years by the Suwannee cut through prehistoric limestone. At night, river dwellers sit around campfires on the river’s sandy shores, complaining about motorboats scarring the backs of endangered prehistoric manatee. Or they tell stories of lost divers drowning in the twisted, turning underwater caves, stretching miles beneath the earth — cavers running out of air, stabbing each other with dive knives to steal a last breath from their partner’s tanks. Tales of corpses wrapped in tangled guidelines, entombed like mummies, arms tightly pinned against their stiff bodies. Stories of bodies so bloated that rescue teams have to pry them out of narrow passageways. And of goodbye messages hastily carved in limestone walls during final dying breaths.

One night I sat around a campfire listening to the harrowing tales, watching campfire shadows dance like ghostsagainst the white Florida sand, trying to ignore my thudding heart and the chills that lifted the hair on the back of my neck. That’s when it hit me: “I have to write about this.” I started to read or re-read all of my favorite Southern novelists among them Tennessee Williams, Eudora Welty, Pat Conroy, John Hart, Flannery O’Connor, Fannie Flagg, James Lee Burke, and Zora Neal Hurston.

I researched cave diving and actual cases of divers drowning in the caves. I listened and watched the people and customs of locals with the ardor of an anthropologist (Margaret Mead would be pleased). I read the history of the area, including a 1948 novel, SERAPH ON THE SUWANNEE by famed novelist Zora Neal Hurston. I frequently kayaked the Suwannee, tubed down Itchtuknee Springs, and listened to locals’ tales about the history of the area. I read books about the Florida laws and dangers of underwater cave diving, conducted Internet research, and interviewed local expert dive outfitters about the technical aspects of their underwater treks.

Influenced by my favorite Southern writers, I used many traditional “noir” themes in my debut novel LIMESTONE GUMPTION: A BRAD POPE AND SISTERFRIENDS MYSTERY. My protagonist is 35-year-old psychologist and reluctant sleuth, Dr. Brad Pope, who finds himself accused of a murder he must solve to save himself. When the police drop the ball, he outsmarts the cops by relying on his own psychological wits and instincts as he unravels a tangle of murder and intrigue. He confronts his tortured, dysfunctional past and a finger-wagging grandmother who heads a sinister garden club – six quirky women of a certain age who at first glance look like sweet little church ladies. Upon Pope’s closer investigation, however, they appear to be cold-blooded murderers. Glued together because of a sinister secret, the women are not exactly sisters but are more than friends, hence “Sisterfriends.” Their biggest claim to fame is the garden they tend under the welcome sign on the outskirts of town, where passersby wonder what they planted there.

Striking a balance between the beauty and brutality of small-town Southern life without idealizing it, yet without vilifying it, was a challenge: the mixed messages of the townspeople, macabre ironic events, religious zeal fraught with dysfunctional relationships, and a penchant for exotic homemade foods. Writing the novel required suspension of judgment and a bird’s-eye view to show the Tao as it exists in nature. There are many truths to be mined in the darkness of the South, few strictly good or bad. Truth contains elements of both, and all of us, writers and readers alike, are stuck with that paradoxical mix for life.

Bryan E. Robinson is a licensed psychotherapist and author of two novels and 40 nonfiction books. He applies his experiences to crafting insightful nonfiction self-help books and psychological thrillers. His multi-award winning southern noir murder mystery, Limestone Gumption, won the New Apple Book Medal for best psychological suspense, the Silver IPPY Award for outstanding mystery of the year, the Bronze Foreword Review INDIEFAB Book Award for best mystery, and the 2015 USA Regional Excellence Book Award for best fiction in the Southeast.

(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, Arthur Jackson, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.

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.

9/5/17 9/5/17

OUTLINING IN REVERSE / Michael H. Rubin

Some authors start with a detailed outline of their novel and know every plot point before they write the first word. Others avoid preparing an advance blueprint, confident that the story will unfold as they work.

My wife, Ayan, and I (who write jointly under the name of “Michael H. Rubin”) approach the process differently from both those who need to know every aspect of their storyline before they start and those who do not plan ahead, assuming that the plot develop once they begin.

In the case of both our debut novel, the award-winning historical thriller, The Cottoncrest Curse, and our new contemporary legal thriller, Cashed Out, the main characters and the arcs of the story were fleshed out during our daily, early morning power walks. And I do mean early—we head out at 4:30 a.m. each morning.

We delve into who our primary characters will be, conjuring up their backgrounds and motivations. We decide how the book should start, brainstorming catchy first sentences and ideas for a compelling first chapter. We also confer about the overarching plot of the story, focusing on two or three crucial events in addition to potential endings. But, we do not commit any of this to paper. Our conversations allow our story to develop within a fluid framework. It is only after the essential building blocks of our thrillers have been established that we actually start writing.

Because we don’t prepare an outline in advance, we’re not locked into any specific path. Our story and characters can evolve as we write. In The Cottoncrest Curse, for example, we originally conceived of Dr. François Cailleteau, a grizzled, plain-talking former Confederate war physician, as a minor player. As we wrote, however, it became clear to us that he was a key ingredient, both to provide some of the necessary historical background that undergirds the action and to facilitate the plot. Ultimately, we expanded the role we had initially intended for him. Likewise, in Cashed Out, Washington Eby, an elderly next-door neighbor whom we originally thought of as only a comic foil, developed into a fully-rounded character whose interactions with the protagonist became key components of the novel.

Although we never begin with a written outline, we “outline in reverse.” In other words, once we write a chapter, we jot down general information concerning that chapter on a spreadsheet. As each new chapter is drafted, the essence of its contents gets added to the spreadsheet. This helps us in several ways.

First, it aids us in keeping continuity straight. Did characters say or do something in chapter 14 that is unintentionally at odds with what they said or did in chapter 3? Keeping an outline in reverse helps us avoid inadvertent continuity errors that can creep into a manuscript.

Second, a reverse outline is extremely useful in keeping timeframes aligned, especially in a novel like The Cottoncrest Curse, where part of the story is set in the post-Reconstruction era and part in the 1960s.

Third, a reverse outline is invaluable when you’re trying to locate something you wrote in a prior chapter so that you can properly reflect the foreshadowing you built in while composing earlier portions of the manuscript. Although computers can electronically search for words you used, they won’t help you find concepts you had introduced, plot points you had staked out, or twists and clues you had added. That’s where a reverse outline comes in handy.

Fourth, once a manuscript is finally completed and it’s time to write a synopsis, a reverse outline provides a quick way to review the entire storyline in detail.

We’ve found that the reverse outline method saves us from being straight-jacketed into a pre-ordained plot. We prefer not to spend time creating a detailed outline in advance because we do not want to tire of the story before we even start writing it. Likewise, employing the reverse outline method in conjunction with our intimate knowledge of the main characters and the primary arc of the novel before committing anything to the page lets the story and characters evolve as we write while simultaneously enabling us to see where we’ve been. It’s like having a back-up camera in a car that works in tandem with the rear-view mirror. You need to pay attention to what’s in front of you, but when you have to look backwards, it’s reassuring to know that you’re getting the clearest and broadest view possible.

Michael H. Rubin heads the appellate team of a law firm with offices from the West Coast to the Gulf Coast to the East Coast and is a speaker and humorist who has given more than 400 multimedia presentations throughout the United States. He received the Burton Award at the Library of Congress for outstanding writing and is a member of the Authors Guild, the Mystery Writers of America, the International Thriller Writers, and the International Association of Crime Writers. Ayan Rubin has been a developmental book editor, a nonprofit consultant, and, for almost three decades, the Coordinator of the Educational Services Division of Louisiana Public Broadcasting, a state-wide television network. Writing under the name of “Michael H. Rubin,” they are the authors of the award winning historical thriller, The Cottoncrest Curse, released by LSU Press, and of the contemporary legal thriller, Cashed Out, which will be released by Fiery Seas Publishing on August 15, 2017.

(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, Arthur Jackson, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.

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.

8/9/17 8/9/17

What You Always Wanted To Ask A Bookseller, But Were Afraid To Ask / Donna VanBraswell

It was the second day of April in Savannah, Georgia. I wanted to check off an activity on my bucket list: Interview a Bookseller. Spying The Book Lady Bookstore, I jaywalked across the busy street of East Liberty and walked the few steps down into #6. It was small, with low, dark-wooded beamed ceilings. The main room was crowded with new and used books. I milled around the shelves and crept into nooks wondering what treasure I might find.

The treasure turned out to be just a few feet from the entrance. His name was Chris Blaker. He was a youngish, handsome-ish, and cautious manager of the store. After a rather inept attempt of explaining that I wanted to pick his brain and a request for honest answers, we commenced.

The questions began in earnest, but they were from Chris. Who are you? Why did you stop here? What are you going to do with the information? Who will read your blog? Are you a published author?

I felt he was trying to subtly determine if I had a book to sell, that day.

I answered the questions as best as I could stutter out. My name is Donna VanBraswell. I stopped at this store because I’d sent an email requesting an interview with the manager of E Shaver Bookseller and hadn’t heard back, thus this cold call. My plan, I explained, was twofold, to write a blog for Killer Nashville and to present the information verbally at my writers meetings.

The atmosphere became more charged. He asked, “Are you published?” This is where things are tricky in the bookseller’s world. I was glad (for once) that I could honestly say that my novel wasn’t at that point, yet. He didn’t have to worry that his time would be wasted on someone trying to cozy up to him. PHEW! He wouldn’t have to say, ‘Unless you have a traditional publisher, I’m not talking to you.’ or, ‘If you are self-published, don’t let the door to hit you in the buttocks as you make your way back to Amazon.’

Guards were dropped and information began to flow. The more questions that were asked, the more Chris warmed up to explaining the ins-and-outs of his shop.

Here is a brief summary of my questions and his answers:

A traditionally published crime novelist, I’ll call her Jane, was sent to a book signing in Las Vegas. Only five people came. Jane’s “top-five” publisher explained that they sent her there to meet with the store manager and the workers. They need to have a familiarity with her because they would talk about her book and hopefully make a sale. From another source, a different publisher indicated that these low-turnout events are sometimes the price you pay for being an author. What is your take on this?
- Chris agreed that the authors need to interface with bookstore people. The author doesn’t want to “kiss their rears, so-to-speak” but it’s good to express interest in their store as opposed to sending out a postcard announcing the new book. Also, “from an author’s point of view, it’s a lot harder to say no to a person face-to-face. So, you may get your book in a store, just because it’s hard to say no to a person face-to-face with you, and the book is on the margins.” He said one shouldn’t be disappointed with a bad turnout. Two possibilities for this came to his mind, bad weather and/or everyone was at a Van Halen concert.
- --- So, I really liked Chris at this point. ---
- Chris went on to say that a part-time resident of Savannah, George Green, has 3 books and 2 movies under his belt. He drove from New York City to the Barnes and Nobles in Connecticut in a snowstorm and one person showed up. She had come to the bookstore because her heat was out. He read the whole book for her. At the end of the event, she said that that was very nice and she might get it when it comes out in paperback.

The Book Lady Bookstore is small, maybe a couple thousand books, how do you choose the number of each new title? One or two at a time? Or do you keep extras in a storage room?
- If it has good reviews, they know the author, or they are interested in the subject, they will typically try two. If one sells, then they would order another. Based on quick sales, they may increase the order number to five or more, to stay in stock.
- How often are you approached by the big five to get books into your store?
  - Not that often. They may send advance reader copies once a month, but The Book Lady Bookstore is off the beaten path and Savannah is a smaller city. They don’t have a lot of contact with the big five publishers.
  - How often are you approached by the indie publishers? Not their authors, but the actual publishing company
    - Not that often. They are much easier to get in touch with than a large corporate network. They don’t come into the store very often because they are very busy. Just as he (Chris) doesn’t go to their offices because of his work schedule.

What can you tell us? Do you have hints to getting traditional and non-traditional published books into an independent bookstore? (This is where Chris got very real.)
- Go to the store and see what they are about. See what kind of books they carry. Determine if your book is a good fit for their store. Buy a book. Don’t just show up without an appointment. (Ooops! Tried that. Didn’t work.) It assumes our time isn’t valuable. If it’s your first and only time in the store… (he paused to choose his wording carefully) …it’s like calling your parents only to ask for money. The author is hitting someone up for a favor without establishing a relationship. (WOW!)
- The promotion of the book is also partly the author’s job. Some self-published authors have a field-of-dreams mindset – If I Write It, They Will Come. He counters, if you write a book and place it on the shelf without promotion, it will go nowhere. You have to be on social media. Tell your friends. Tell strangers about your book. You have to perpetually promote it.

My final question: When the Book Lady Bookstore has a signing, how much publicity will you provide?
- They are on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. However, Chris believes that Facebook is the only one that counts. They will promote the signing two weeks out, one week out and then the day of the signing. They use the email service, Constant Contact, for a widespread email notice two weeks prior, then a few days before the event as a reminder. Occasionally, they will make fliers or posters. It is incumbent on the authors to do as much publicity as they can.

I came away feeling that at least this bookseller is comfortable with non-Big Five and self-published book providers. I had to leave immediately, but came back the next day with another thank you, and, purchased a book.

Donna’s Bucket List

Go to Europe

Interview a bookseller

Be blessed with a grandchild

Finish first novel, Daughter of the Ancients

Get published

Many thanks to Chris Blaker and everyone at The Book Lady Bookstore, 6 East Liberty St., Savannah, GA 912-233-3628. http://www.thebookladybookstore.com/

Donna VanBraswell is an army brat. She’s lived from Alaska to Turkey and many places in between. This nomadic life provided a wide variety of influences, both with people and environments. Upon retiring as a senior software engineer, she started writing in earnest almost two years ago, after her husband, Jim, was transferred to Colorado. She joined a critique/writers group in Colorado Springs, CSWriters. The long days and evenings were filled with the writing of her first novel, The Daughter Of The Ancients.

This wonderful group helped her to learn the ins-and-outs of starting a novel, providing valued lessons that she still applies. Upon returning to Alabama, she joined two more critique groups and one national group, Sisters In Crime (SinC). Donna attended her first conference, Killer Nashville, in 2016.

In addition to writing, she enjoys hiking and volunteering at a Veteran’s Retirement home and her church. Donna will be attending the next Killer Nashville conference anxious to meet many more people that enjoy writing as much as she does.

(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, Arthur Jackson, and publisher/editorial director Clay Stafford for their assistance in putting together this week’s blog.

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.

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