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Showing posts from May, 2017

Moving into June

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Can you believe it? This is the last day of May! This was a busy, busy month, and the next one promises to be even busier. Though I have two weeks where it looks like I can concentrate on my writing, I have three library presentations. The first one is not until the 17th, 11 a.m. at the Gillis Library in Fresno. On the 24th, I'll be on a panel about Best Sellers at the Paso Robles Library at 11 a.m. (In Paso Robles--a long way to go, but I need my Central Coast fix. I lived close to the Pacific Ocean for over 20 years, now I'm in the foothills of the Sierra and I love it here--but I do miss the coast. The last public appearance of the month will be at the Exeter Library at 6:30 where I'll be speaking with Gloria Getman about our mysteries. That library's book club is reading the first in the Deputy Tempe Crabtree series, Deadly Omen . I was told to be prepared for questions so that ought to be a fun visit. I love speaking at libraries--you never know

Reunion by Carl Brookins, a review

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How many of us have had mixed emotions about attending our high school class reunions? What if you went against your better judgment and during the first event one of your old classmates was found murdered? That’s what happens in Carl Brookins Reunion. Lori Jacobs receives an invitation to her high school reunion and convinces here significant other, Jack Marston to accompany her on this visit to her hometown of Riverview. Like with many reunions, Lori is warmly welcomed back by some with others not quite as friendly. After the body of one of Lori’s classmates is discovered during the first event of the reunion, the local law enforcement recruits Jack to help out with the investigation since he’d once served as an investigator in the Navy. Neither Jack nor Lori were enthusiastic about his recruitment. And the more involved they became it was soon obvious the town’s people weren’t happy about it either. Inevitably, the more Jack and Lori learned, they realized that a

Intriguing Thoughts from John Beyer

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I enjoy reading quotations from famous people -- other writers in particular -- and someday I would enjoy people quoting me or one of the characters from my stories. Perhaps they do already and I do not know about it – wouldn’t that be a hoot and a half? But here’s one of my favorites from Somerset Maugham: “ If you can tell stories, create characters, devise incidents, and have sincerity and passion, it doesn’t matter a damn how you write.” For a writer, that could not be plainer. Write on a napkin. Write on a wall. Use a pencil or pen. Perhaps just strike the old typewriter keys daily or punch the keyboard an hour every other day. The bottom line is that you just need to write – that is if you are a writer and if not then you must read what the writer writes. That was a plug for all writers out there – we write so others will read. Again with a quotation. This time one of my favorite authors, Ernest Hemingway: “ When writing a novel, a writer should create livi

It's That Time of Year Again

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Too much on my plate. (Maybe that's anytime of the year.) Wasn't even paying attention to the fact I didn't have anything new on my blog--because I had so much else going on.  In my normal life, the big memorial day weekend is coming up--for me it's going to be a time to do a bit of catch-up and writing (hopefully). On Monday we celebrate a great-grands 14th birthday. She's special because she began her life right here in our home. We've had her breezing in and out the past 14 years. I've been spending some time doing promotion. A radio interview for a station in Wisconsin at 6:35 a.m. Because my household is noisy at this time in the morning. I did the interview in our bathroom. Worked great--nice and soundproof. And no, it didn't echo, old house, big room, no tile. I signed up for a book festival that's happening in October--The Big Valley Bookfest. I've been to this one several times. Last year, I got sick and couldn't s

Memories

Yesterday I attended a writer's meeting about writing memoirs. Many people I know have done this or in the midst of doing so. Frankly, it's never interested me. There are some things in my life I don't care to share with anyone. I've never much liked tell all tales from others. Those things I think are interesting enough to share with others, I'm quite happy to do here on my blog. When doing that, I can concentrate on one subject or memory. Sometime I think might be interesting to someone else. My childhood for the most part was wonderful. I had two parents who loved me and my sister and though I grew up at the end of the depression and through the second World War, we lacked for nothing important. Our lives were like many others at that time. Much of our life focused around school and church events.  We went to the movies most Friday nights--maybe because my dad worked for the movie industry, but maybe just because he liked movies. We saw whatever was pl

My Last Guest Post on my Blog Tour is Posted!

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Though I didn't intend for it to be so long, my blog tour for Unresolved , the latest in the Rocky Bluff P. D. mystery series is posted for all to see. https://thoniehevron.wordpress.com/2017/05/19/ive-had-lots-of-help-on-my-writing-journey/  This has been a long journey, and for the most part, quite satisfying. The best part is reading the comments left by people on the various posts. And of course, those who have read the book saying they enjoyed it.  Did it help sales? Some, probably not a whole lot, I won't know for sure until I get my first royalty check.  Putting together a blog tour is arduous--finding the people willing to host you, writing something different for each post, sending them off, checking each day to see if the post has appeared (sometimes they don't), through the day looking to see if someone has commented and leaving a reply. I'm sure some of you may wonder why I do it, since it is so much work. I have several answers. I love w

Learning to Cook All Over Again, by Judy Alter

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I used to be a good cook, praised for my skills in the kitchen, my willingness to tackle complicated recipes like Coquilles St. Jacques, and my ability to serve large dinner parties and even larger cocktail parties. Today I am cooking from a wheelchair in a postage-stamp kitchen with standard-height counters and no stove or oven. My stove is one of those new-fangled hot plates that operate by magnetism—it heats hot and fast, often too much of both. I burn food, I scorch the pans, I singe myself. I have spilled, dropped, and splashed. When I chop celery or onions, the floor is littered with bits of green, bits even the dogs won’t eat. The most used tool in my kitchen is not a spatula or a measuring cup but the grabber I can use to retrieve things from the floor or high up kitchen shelves. What happened? Two things: severe hip pain prevented me from walking and then the doctor advised against even trying to walk; complicated hip surgery and a long recovery followed. For six

Our Home and Refuge

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We've always taken in folks who needed a home--even if we didn't really have room for them. In our first home, while raising five children, over the years we had several guests who remained for different periods of time: For two days and nights, an infant whose mother was in the Navy dispensary and the dad was distraught. He didn't know me at all, but I offered to take the baby and he took me up on it with only my address as any kind of guarantee. A young couple we met while camping, came back to our house and stayed until the husband found a job.  One of my teen daughters' friends who didn't like her step-father. Not sure how long she was with us, but a few months. When we moved, to the home we're in now, we brought along son's girlfriend who was in a bad situation.  Our new home was also a licensed care facility, where we cared for four and later six developmentally disabled women. We raised a grandson there, had two others

That Certain Spark, by Karen McCullough

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I recently finished reading a book for a contest that got me thinking about what makes a book enjoyable. The book in question was well-written, had an interesting central idea, a decent basic plot, and a group of potentially interesting characters. All the ingredients that should make for a good read. It wasn’t. In fact, it was a slog to keep going through it. When I tried to figure out why, I came up with one word: shallow. The dialogue was smooth but a little stilted. It advanced the plot but offered very little insight into the characters speaking. The descriptions were reasonable but rather uninteresting. The writing was good and kept the story going but didn’t delve into anything other than surface descriptions of a large group of characters and a rather complex macguffin. It was missing the magic ingredient that turns a competent story, with decent plot and good characters, into an interesting one. Something that’s hard to put your finger on, but you know it when

PLACES OF IMAGINATION by Frankie Y. Bailey

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            A couple of weekends ago, I was on a panel at Malice Domestic, the mystery conference. Our moderator asked me and the other panelists about setting. How and why did we choose the places where we set our books? I said briefly that I had set my books in places that I know well – a fictional version of my hometown, Danville, Virginia, and a near-future version of Albany, New York, where I live and work. But it is more complicated than knowing these places well. The places I have set my books and short stories have been reshaped by my imagination.             In fact, the first book in my Lizzie Stuart series was set in London and Cornwall, England. Both I and my sleuth had been on vacation there. In the second book, Lizzie moved from her hometown in Kentucky to “Gallagher, Virginia”. She works at a fictional university and is now director of the fictional Institute for the Study of Southern Crime and Culture. She has left Gallagher several times in the five books i

Sweet and Sour, A Mother-Daughter Relationship--D.J. Adamson

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As the protagonist, readers easily know Lillian Dove’s wants, dislikes, struggles, urges, and misadventures in the Lillian Dove Mystery series. But Dahlia—Lillian rarely refers to her as mother—is only known through Lillian’s eyes. Yet, Dahlia’s actions and reactions are just as complex as her daughter’s. It’s why I thought interviewing Dahlia Dove might be eye-opening. Q:         Thank you for agreeing to do this interview, Dahlia. I understand this is the first time you have agreed to speak to someone about your relationship with Lillian. A:        Nothing much else to do today but sit and count the flies on the window. Got me jailed here at Oaks Manor. But, I plan to break out and be on my own, soon. Q:        I understand you had several strokes and had to come here to live. It’s why Lillian moved to Frytown, wasn’t it? To take care of you? A:        I can die just as well here as well as in my condo. (looks away) Didn’t ask her to come. Q:        Yes, we

Author Fair by Cheryl C. Malandrinos

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For seven years I worked in the world online book promotion marketing the work of authors in a variety of genres. When my first book, Little Shepherd , was released in 2010, I immediately set up a three-month virtual book tour to promote it. That worked out great, as the book hit the Amazon bestseller’s list in large print children’s books more than once during that time. When A Christmas Kindness and Macaroni and Cheese for Thanksgiving followed in 2012 and 2016, again I relied on the World Wide Web and my fellow bloggers to promote them. One thing I didn’t really focus on, however, was local venues. I have had an interview or two in our local paper, but other than that no serious effort has been dedicated to scheduling in-person events…even though I always told my authors that online promotion should be only one part of their marketing plan. Reading about Marilyn’s many in-person author events inspired me to give it a try, and when our local librarian reached out t

Why I Write Historical Mysteries by Rose Johnson

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A common question people ask. Why? I’m a scientist working in a high tech field. Many folks wonder why I’m not writing techno-thrillers. Easy answer. I would get bogged down in the technical details. So, instead, I write historical mysteries. I have my reasons. They include: 1) I'm fascinated with the period of 1900 to 1920. The world changed in so many different ways. The automobile, airplane, gramophone, electrification, Bolshevik revolution, suffragettes, natural disasters (Galveston hurricane, San Francisco earthquake), man made disasters (Titanic and others), WW1 and the use of trench and chemical warfare, mass fires (Great Atlanta fire, Shirtwaist factory fire), and influenza pandemic . They can all become compelling backdrops or even plot points for a mystery. 2) My story will never become dated because there already is a date associated with it. Contemporary mysteries written in the 1990s, focused on the latest technology as part of the plot become outd