Only a Pawn in Their Game (Bullet Books Speed Reads #7)

by Kay Kendall

 My fellow Texan Manning Wolfe—friend, author, ace lawyer—has launched an exciting new series called Bullet Books Speed Reads.  

BULLET BOOKS! ON A PLANE… ON A TRAIN…FASTER THAN A SPEEDING BULLET!
Bullet Books are speed reads for the busy traveler, commuter, and beach-goer. All are new original crime fiction stories that can be read in two to three hours. Gripping cinematic mysteries and thrillers by your favorite authors! Page turners for fans who want to escape into a good read. ALL ABOARD!

Manning asked me to write for her project, but there was a snag. She didn’t want historical mysteries, and that's what I write. Luckily, we compromised and settled on a time that was old enough for me but not too long ago for her.

That means ONLY A PAWN IN THEIR GAME is set in the tense summer of 1989. The Communist hold on Eastern Europe is coming apart at the seams. The metaphorical Iron Curtain is shredding and the REAL Berlin Wall is shaking. Emotions run high in international diplomatic--and SPY--circles.

Into this hot cauldron of intrigue I drop my protagonist, Ms. Sammy Strauss.

Sammy expects a carefree summer during her internship at the US Embassy in Vienna. Competing spy rings clash in desperation and threaten her life as every Viennese waltz accompanies a murder. Is the handsome stranger she meets heading for romance or using her as a pawn?

Can she figure out who’s playing the tune before the dangerous dance ends badly?

Lucky for YOU, the potential reader, you can read my new book ONLY A PAWN IN THEIR GAME to find out the answer. This book and others in this new series are available at all online book sellers in paperback and digital format. (NOTE: Keeping with my long-standing tradition, the name of my Bullet Book is also a Bob Dylan song title.)
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Author Kay Kendall is passionate about historical mysteries.  She lives in Texas with her Canadian husband, three house rabbits, and spaniel Wills. Her second book Rainy Day Women won the Silver Falchion for best mystery at Killer Nashville. Visit Kay at her website http://www.austinstarr.com/  
or on Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/KayKendallAuthor

Manning Wolfe's New Year’s Resolution: Estate Planning

Many of my author friends are, like me, recovering attorneys and judges. We work hard to balance our analytical and creative abilities to produce engaging stories and books, but we can’t always avoid addressing practical issues. Today, my friend, author and lawyer Manning Wolfe, guests on The Stiletto Gang to address an issue of importance to all writers:  estate planning. -- Debra

Author's New Year's Resolution: Estate Planning by Manning Wolfe

Recently, Bill, my mate, and I were sharing our passwords, bank account logins, etc. and double checking our wills. When we originally wrote those wills, neither of us had a book published. Now, we both have several. We needed to incorporate the new intellectual copyright asset(s) into our estate disposition plan.

The second book in my series, Music Notes: Texas Lady Lawyer vs. L.A. Baron centers on the probate of the estate of Liam Nolan, a down and out musician with a seemingly worthless song portfolio. Liam dies before he is able to finalize his will. The estate becomes more valuable due to renewed interest by a younger generation of music lovers. Liam’s prior manager, L.A. Baron vies for the estate. Baron puts heroine Merit Bridges under a microscope and goes after her life and livelihood as she tries to defend Liam’s last wishes.

While Music Notes tracks music copyrights, there are many parallels to book copyrights. The standard copyright for books is your life, plus seventy years (with exceptions). We all will obviously be gone before that seventy years has run out.

It’s easy to remedy this legacy issue – just decide who you want to have your book rights and put a

specific bequest in your will. If you don’t have that specific clause, the assets will go into what’s called your residual estate – the “anything left” basket. If you are comfortable with your book assets going to the people who split what’s left after all specific bequests are satisfied, no need to modify your will.

How does the beneficiary or beneficiaries know what you have and how to claim it? If you are prolific, it may take quite a bit of sorting to figure out what rights you have and where they are. Hence, the dreaded spreadsheet, a list of your copyrights, where each book is published, if an agent or publisher has a percentage, etc.

You are probably receiving payments with breakdowns of the rights contained in the associated reporting. Putting that information into a spreadsheet, or computer folder and sending it to your executor or future heir is imperative. If you are absolutely averse to typing up a spreadsheet, put a printed copy of each report in a file folder and label it “Book Rights”. At least your heirs will have a place to start following the trail for each of the assets.

A final letter could also be used to indicate your wishes and list assets which may not be itemized in a will, although a letter is more of a request than a directive. Adding Dropbox login in formation to the letter and having the covers and manuscripts organized online could also be helpful. The parts of your novels can easily be dragged and dropped into a few well labeled files online.

The advantage of any of these information methods is that they can be updated regularly without the expense of re-visiting an attorney to add a codicil to a will. Having this information will save hundreds if not thousands of dollars in attorney and probate fees. Also, it will insure that nothing is missed in the sorting out process. If there is no paper trail to a certain book, that asset could disappear.

Once the probate is filed, letters testamentary will be issued by the court. The heir or attorney will send the document to Amazon, iBooks, publishing house, agent, etc. This notification allows the heir to receive continued payments from the issuer.

What if the value of the book right now is so low as to be of little concern? Think of the many examples you’ve read about when books were discovered after an author’s death, or books were made into films or televisions shows.

The most valuable part of the whole process of organizing your intellectual property assets may be peace of mind - for you, and your loved ones.

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MANNING WOLFE an author and attorney residing in Austin, Texas, writes cinematic-style, smart, fast-paced thrillers with a salting of Texas bullshit. The first in her series, featuring Austin Lawyer Merit Bridges, was Dollar Signs: Texas Lady Lawyer vs Boots King. Her newest book is Music Notes: Texas Lady Lawyer vs. L.A. Baron.

A graduate of Rice University and the University of Texas School of Law, Manning’s experience has given her a voyeur’s peek into some shady characters’ lives and a front row seat to watch the good people who stand against them.

www.manningwolfe.com | Twitter: @manningwolfe

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manning.wolfe

LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL

by Kay Kendall

Many readers of the Stiletto Gang blog know that Bouchercon, the World Mystery Convention, was held last weekend in New Orleans. It's an annual gargantuan event that brings together fans, authors, publishers, agents, booksellers, and even critics of crime fiction for a long weekend of learning, awards, and fun. The name honors Anthony Boucher, the distinguished mystery fiction critic, editor, and author. He helped crime fiction gain credibility back when it was considered merely "pulp fiction."


Where do Bouchercon authors hang out? In the book room of course!
 (l-r) Lisa Alber, Barry Lancet, Laura Elvebak, Manning Wolfe, & me Kay Kendall

Naturally, in New Orleans, the entertainment and fun were stellar. Those of us who attended are still marveling at how the good times rolled and the hospitality was rampant, and some of us are just too tired to type...but type I must.

The first Bouchercon took place in 1970 in Santa Monica, California. Since then, Bouchercons have been held in many cities across the United States and in Canada too. In fact next year's event begins in Toronto on October 12, 2017. The fiftieth anniversary event will be held in Dallas, Texas. Thousands of totally volunteer hours go into making each Bouchercon a success--a fond memory to cherish and a shimmering event to attend again in the future.

While on the one hand many writers of crime fiction are deeply introverted, on the other hand most throw caution to the winds and revel in the comradeship of fellow authors and fans when at a Bouchercon. Included here are photographs to convince you of this truth.


Megastars chat--on left David Morrell (papa of Rambo) and Lee Child (dad of Jack Reacher)

My first Bouchercon took place in St. Louis, Missouri, in 2011. I'm not an introvert, but even I was initially taken aback by the hootin' and hollerin' as friends greeted each other after a year's absence. I expected to remain excluded from that for years. But I was wrong, thank goodness. The mystery crowd is famous for its inclusivity, its friendliness, and its supportiveness.

At the conference in St. Louis an author on his first Bouchercon panel expressed his astonishment. He had expected to see competitiveness and criticism, like he found when attending his wife's professional poetry events, where meanness abounded. The friendliness of Bouchercon amazed and pleased him. That was five years ago, and the kindness and support have only grown and expanded since then.

Writing is a lonely gig. Self-doubt is your constant companion. The worldwide publishing situation is super tough. Meeting up with other authors and readers, however, is a balm to your soul. If you are a crime fiction fan or writer and have never attended a Bouchercon--or a smaller conference perhaps nearer to where you live--I urge you to attend. "Just do it." Friendship, support, well-meant advice, and fun all await you.. It is truly one for all and all for one. We crime authors may write about mayhem and murder, but in real life, we are all (well, say, 99% of us) as gentle as lambs. And so, to close, I'll reference another famous ad slogan--"Life is meant to be good."

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Kay Kendall’s Austin Starr mysteries <http://www.AustinStarr.com> capture the spirit and turbulence of the 1960s. DESOLATION ROW (2013) and RAINY DAY WOMEN (2015) show Austin, a 22-year-old Texas bride, set adrift in a foreign land and on the frontlines of societal change. Austin learns to cope by turning amateur sleuth.