Welcome to the dark side... We have cookies

Well, kind of.

Hi, I'm Lynn Cahoon. I'm so excited to be part of Stiletto Gang. Who am I? Well, let's get started.

I've published 3 romance novels, 3 novellas, and a multitude of short stories. My first writing credit was a story for True Love - I Fell in Love With a Carney. With a off screen sex scene, it was considered hot for the media.  I went on to hone my craft weaving stories with several confessional 'true' stories ranging from dealing with credit card bills to finding a mate through a radio station contest. As I kept writing, I learned of new markets and have sold two shorts to Women's World.

In between the romance, I kept penning stories that didn't fit the happily-ever-after mold.  And after taking and carrying around a photo above for too many years, I finally started telling the story of the woman who lived in the run down house in the picture. But I found it wasn't her story, even though Miss Emily plays a large part of the book. And through the submissions and critiques and rejections, a new town was born, South Cove California. Jill Gardner is my amateur sleuth when she's not running her combination coffee house and bookstore or remodeling her new-to-her house.

Jill's story is being released in April 2014 through eKensington and is titled, Guidebook to Murder - A Tourist Trap Mystery. Book 2, Mission to Murder will release Summer 2014 and the third book, unnamed at this time, Winter 2014.

I've learned a lot about writing cozy mysteries in the last couple years, but once you're contracted, your learning curve shoots upward with new work to be done. Like promotion. And edits. And promotion.

I work a very dull day job that pays the bills. I'm married to my own romance hero who at times can turn into a murder mystery victim depending on my mood. I have two Pomeranians, Demon and Homer, who I adore and walk around the neighborhood. And we've just became the humans for two cats, Thor and Ella.

Check out my website for more about me at : http://lynncahoon.wordpress.com/

I'm looking forward to chatting twice a month.
Lynn

Autumn = New Beginnings

As most of you know, I’m part Cherokee and Choctaw. Traditionally, we see the world and life in a circular form, a wheel or spiral. For the Cherokee, autumn is the time of endings that create new beginnings. We celebrate our New Year in the fall, and I’ve always lived my life like that—with autumn as the time new cycles begin and new things of importance are started in the most abstract and concrete ways.  If you think of cleaning up the garden for winter while you’re dividing and replanting your perennials for new plants, it makes a lot of sense. And we’ve been doing something similar with this blog. 

It’s my privilege to kick off a new version of The Stiletto Gang this month. We’ve had some big changes around here. Those of you who follow us regularly will know that we recently began a Facebook page for the blog, https://www.facebook.com/stilettogang.  We’ll be doing some fun things there as folks launch books—and we’ve got lots of book launches ahead. We’ll have giveaways and other fun things going on over there.

At the same time, here at the blog, we’ve undergone some major changes. Two of our regular longtime blog mates, Joelle Charboneau and Maggie Barbieri, are leaving because, well, mostly because they’ve become so successful that time has become really limited for them. We all wish them the best and will miss them greatly, as I’m sure you will. But don’t worry. They’ll come back occasionally to visit with us.

In the process of revamping the schedule and bringing in new blood, some of us have cut our blog appearances to create more time or switched days to make blogging more manageable—and we’ve brought on five new members of the blog. That’s the exciting news! Lots of new voices to join with the rest of us here. Our new members, in the order that you’ll meet them, are Lynn Cahoon, Sally Berneathy, Kay Kendall, Sparkle Abbey (really, co-authors Anita Carter and Mary Lee Woods), and Debra Goldstein. Check out their bios and books in the sidebar, and I think you’ll be thrilled, too.

We regulars are so pleased to welcome such a talented and diverse group of authors to join us, and we’re anticipating lots of fascinating new posts from them. In the process, I think those of us who’ve been here a while are getting energized, as well, like those perennials that grow so much faster after division.

So, the wheel of the year is turning for us, and we say an affectionate goodbye to Joelle and Maggie, grateful for all the wonderful times we’ve had together, while we sing out an enthusiastic greeting to Lynn, Sally, Kay, Anita, Mary Lee, and Debra. Oh, are we going to have some fun together!

NOTE: Blogger and I are still at war over comments and replies. Blogger won’t let me comment here or at my own blog (though I can on other Blogger blogs), so I will respond to comments here over on Facebook. *sigh* Hope to get this fixed soon.

Fall

By Dru Ann Love

One of the things I love about living on the East Coast is we get to celebrate all four seasons. My favorite are Spring and Fall. It’s not too hot like Summer and it’s not too cold like Winter. Spring and Fall seasons give you the nice in between.

What I like most about Fall is the changing of the leaves. A walk in the part will have you staring at the lovely colorful leaves as they fall to the ground. When I was younger, I loved when they were all gathered in a pile and we got to jump smack dab in the middle of it. Did you do that as a youngster? Could I do that now, no way, first I couldn’t jump in in and second I would not be able to get up. But I do remember the freedom it gave me.

Fall is also good weather to sit in a chair, wrapped in a blanket and read the next scintillating mystery that have you in goose bumps, especially if it’s the latest thriller set at Halloween.

Speaking of Fall, there’s the two holidays: Halloween where there is no excuse for eating that Snicker bar, that Hershey kiss, that Dove bar, that jawbreaker (yeah, like that’s going to happen), that tootsie roll pop and especially Brach’s candy corn (accept no substitution, because Brach’s is the best). Best of all, you can also dress anyway you want and not be criticize…a mummy, sure; a superhero, sure; a Agatha Christie, solve that puzzle; a zombie, go for it; you can be anybody and have you fill of it.

Then there is Thanksgiving where you are given permission to eat all the food that the dieticians and/or nutritionist say you shouldn’t eat during the rest of the year. Want that turkey leg? Have at it. Want a thick slab of baked ham? Go for it. Want some dressing with gravy? Pour it over your food. Some macaroni salad? Put that scoop on your plate. Rice? Yep. Collard Greens? Put it right next to the white rice. Cranberry Sauce? Put it in that spot, right there. Candied Yams? Make sure to give me a slice of that pineapple. Baked macaroni and cheese? You betcha.

Then there’s dessert. Apple pie? Slice it up, please. Yellow cake with chocolate frosting? A thin slice, please. I don’t know where I have the room to eat it. Ice Cream? Right between my pie and cake. And don't forget the pumpkin pie to go with my cup of hot beverage. And then Thanksgiving is over and now I can sleep for a week.

What’s your favorite thing about Fall?

Another Year Older and Counting Blessings

Yesterday was my birthday. The week leading up to it was full of chaos and turmoil caused by one of those people who have no empathy or conscience and walk around making life difficult for everyone. In the past, I would have tried to convince this person how wrong it was to do the things she was doing to others. I’m older and wiser now. These folks just don’t care, and they will bend the very shape of reality to avoid admitting they were wrong or made a mistake. Now, I pick my battles and try to keep all that toxicity away from myself. I did everything I could to help the victims and then moved on.

In this past year, I have noticed a growing sense of hostility and aggression out in the world around us—in politics, in traffic, in most places I look. The only way I know to truly combat it is to try to counter it with loving, peaceful acts and thoughts. But when so many around us are acting out, it’s hard to keep thinking and acting in a positive manner.

One technique that helps me is to focus on gratitude and the many blessings I’ve received. The angry people I know have received multitudes of blessings, but somehow they remain oblivious to them and filled with resentment and rage. Every day, I make a conscious choice not to be like them. Sometimes all I can do to follow through on that choice is to avoid taking out my irritation on everyone around me. Other days, I can contribute some peace and joy to the atmosphere around me.

This year, all of my three children are living in their hometown with me for the first time in fifteen years. That’s a huge blessing. I have well-received novels that are selling well. This is a dream come true. I am making a living (of sorts) by making up stories and writing them down. That’s another great blessing.  The year began with health scares for me and included more for two of my children, all of which came to nothing—another blessing of major magnitude. And the list goes on and on.

I believe that, if those cutting off people in traffic or committing hostile or underhanded acts against others in the workplace or attacking others viciously on the internet would take a moment to look at their lives, they, too, would find reasons for gratitude. As my grandmother used to say, “Any day I can suck in breath and stand up on my own feet gives me reason right there to be thankful.” It’s when we live blind to the miracles of our daily lives that we turn sour and mean.

So I’m beginning this new personal year with gratitude and recognition of the blessings that surround me, and I hope to continue in that vein for the entire year. One thing I truly appreciate is this blog—the wonderful women who are part of it with me and the great people who visit it and connect with us.

What about you? Have you noticed the rise in uncivil behavior lately? How do you deal with it? What are the things you’re grateful for? What are your blessings and little and big miracles?

NOTE: Something I’m not happy about is my inability to comment on this blog or reply to others’ comments right now. I’m trying to get answers to this problem from Blogger, but until then, please note that, if you leave a comment, I will respond to it on The Stiletto Gang Facebook page, which does recognize my existence—at least at this moment.

Finding your story

by Maria Geraci

People (as in readers and fellow authors) always ask me how I find my stories. If you're a writer, then I'm sure you get asked this question a lot as well.

My answer is always the same. I don't find my stories. They find me.  Now, lest you think this is some kind of woo-woo post, let me assure you. It most certainly is :)

By woo-woo, I mean something that I can't readily explain. As in mystical. Or magical, for want of a better word. Stories come from deep within us. They're extensions of how we think and how we experience life. Kind of like dreams. Only dreams that manifest themselves during our waking periods in such vivid detail that we're able to write them down in 300 or so pages.

That's also the way theme works. Theme evolves from story. Not the other way around. So when someone asks me what the theme of my current wip is, I can honestly answer I don't know. Not until I finish writing my story, that is. Maybe not even until I finish a second or maybe even third round of revisions. But I digress...

When I begin a new story, I open up my word doc to a blank screen and one tiny idea. Usually, it's  a character in some sort of situation. And that's it. No outline. No character sketches. Nada. It's me, my laptop, and that one idea for the next 90,000 or so words. Kind of scary. But also kind of exhilarating. I write hard and fast and yes, I have to revise. Sometimes a little, but more than sometimes, a lot.

I love how characters I thought to only give a couple of lines to, become major secondary characters, sometimes taking over an entire scene. I love how I think my character will react in a certain situation, only to write the scene to discover something entirely different. I love how I think I know how my story will end, only to discover that's not the way it will end up at all. And how that ending was the way it was supposed to be from the very beginning, because all the time I was writing, my subconscious knew what my story was.

I know. I said this was going to be woo-woo. I hope I didn't disappoint.

How do you write your stories?

Narwahl!!

by Bethany Maines

It seems like I’ve been thinking more about structure and organization lately.  From trying to tame my husbands hoarder tendencies, to how to enhance the drama in a novel, everywhere I look it feels like everything needs more structure. 

To solve my husband’s “issue” I’ve decided that some of his things need to go live out in the carport.  Which is a bit like telling a writer that some of their favorite parts need to get axed from a manuscript.  First, you lead them along the path of logic and hope that they decide for themselves that something has to go, and then eventually you just blurt it out – “That doesn’t fit.”  In my husband’s case, I mean, quite literally, we cannot fit anymore in the spare bedroom.  In the case of a manuscript it’s more like, “This doesn’t sound anything like the rest of your book and it’s a bit of a tangent from the plot.  Do you really need it?” 

But some things do belong in the house.  It’s just that being buried in the closet doesn’t exactly display them to their best advantage.  I’ve got this pretty well figured out in my house.  I know what I like and I have a pretty good idea of what would be useful to us.  (Hint: it’s bookcases, MORE bookcases.) But in a book, it’s a little more difficult. Do I need this part about the narwhal?  (Hint: Yes, when it comes to narwahl’s the answer is always yes.)  Ok, so I need the narwhal, but would it look better over here?  Or maybe it would look better if I removed this part about the teakettle that’s sitting next to it?  What makes for the biggest dramatic reveal of a narwhal?  This is where editors, beta readers, and interior decorators come in extremely handy.  With an educated eye they can tell you what will create a focal point and what you should blur over.

But I suppose an “educated eye” is the key phrase there.  Five years ago, I couldn’t tell you with any certainty, what belonged in a book and what was something I just happened to like.  The more I read, the more clarity I get on what creates dramatic continuity and what pieces, while possibly beautiful, funny, or perfect in their own right, don’t belong in the manuscript.  Each book is it’s own learning process, but each book does teach me something.  Hopefully, by the time I’m oh… say 95, I’ll have this whole writing thing figured out.

Bethany Maines is the author of the Carrie Mae Mystery series and Tales from the City of Destiny. You can also view the Carrie Mae youtube video or catch up with her on Twitter and Facebook.

Taking Chances

By Evelyn David

I'm not much of a risk taker. I like sure things. I tend to err on the side of caution. I hope I'm not a fuddy-duddy, but I tend to stick to the familiar. That extends to my reading habits.

As you might imagine, I like mysteries. I tend to prefer traditional mysteries or cozies because as legendary writer Carolyn Hart once said, in the worlds she create, "the good guys always win."

But I just finished a three-book historical romance series that I adored. The only mystery was whether the couple I was rooting for would be together at the end – and the answer was a resounding yes. Hardships and complications were rampant, but believable, but the good guys and gals did win.

Maybe it is the difficult times we are currently in, but it was heartening to read about joint efforts, compromise, and a fundamental belief that love can triumph. Maybe I just needed some "happily ever after."

Thanks to Serena B. Miller, the author of the trilogy I just finished: The Measure of Katie Calloway; Under a Blackberry Moon ; and A Promise to Love. (Read them in that order, even though book 3 was published before book 2.) Besides the lovely romances, I learned a little history about life in Michigan in the post-Civil War years.

But besides delighting in these stories, I also found myself tempted to try a new genre in my own writing. We've always included a bit of romance in the Mac Sullivan and Brianna books. But as I finished Ms. Miller's tomes, I wondered if we might shift the emphasis in a new Evelyn David book, with more romance and less mystery.

We've got a lot on our plates right now. We're finishing a new Brianna mystery (that definitely has some romance). But maybe it's time to take a chance on something new. Kind of exciting – which is what I often forget about risks. Sometimes they're just fun.

Marian, the Northern half of Evelyn David (off to find a roller coaster?)

---------------
 

Evelyn David's Mysteries 

Audible    iTunes

Audible    iTunes

 

Brianna Sullivan Mysteries - e-book series
I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
The Dog Days of Summer in Lottawatah- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
The Holiday Spirit(s) of Lottawatah- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Undying Love in Lottawatah- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
A Haunting in Lottawatah - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Lottawatah Twister - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Missing in Lottawatah - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Good Grief in Lottawatah - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Summer Lightning in Lottawatah - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Lottawatah Fireworks - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords

The Ghosts of Lottawatah - trade paperback collection of the Brianna e-books
Book 1 - I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries (includes the first four Brianna e-books)
Book 2 - A Haunting in Lottawatah (includes the 5th, 6th, and 7th Brianna e-books)
Book 3 - Lottawatah Fireworks (includes the 8th, 9th, and 10th Brianna e-books)

Sullivan Investigations Mystery series
Murder Off the Books Kindle - Nook - Smashwords - Trade Paperback
Murder Takes the Cake Kindle - Nook - Smashwords - Trade Paperback 
Murder Doubles Back Kindle - Nook - Smashwords - Trade Paperback
Riley Come Home (short story)- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Moonlighting at the Mall (short story) - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords

Romances
Love Lessons - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords

Actually, You Can Go Back

By Laura Bradford

"You can't go back."

That's an expression I bet we've all heard at one point or another. But, honestly, other than the obvious time travel back into the past (where I'd revisit every moment of my daughters' lives all over again if I could), I don't think that statement is entirely true.

Four years ago, I moved to New York from my beloved St. Louis. I've been back to visit several times since and I pick back up with my friends as if no time has passed.

Eight years ago, I released my very first mystery in my very first series. Two years later, I released what I thought was the final tale for those original characters.

I was wrong.

After hearing from fans of that first series (which got a second lease on life last year when I got back the rights and re-released them with new covers/titles/prices on E-book), I finally decided to sit down with Elise Jenkins and Mitch Burns and see if they had more story potential.

They did.

And so, I went back.

Today's official release of DEADLY AMBITION (book # 4 in the Jenkins & Burns Mysteries) givesnow, five years after we left them.

those fans a chance to see what Elise and Mitch are up to

They're still living in Ocean Point, New Jersey (my fictional beachside town). Elise is still a reporter for the local paper, and Mitch is still a police detective. Oh, and they're married now.

When it came time to consider a plot for the novella, I found the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy (Hurricane Geraldine in the book) a believable place to begin.

And the rest? Well, it all just fell into place like it does when I get together with old friends.

So if you're looking for something quick to read this weekend, you might enjoy visiting with my old friends. They're easy to get to know.

But in case you need a little more information, here's a closer look:

In the aftermath of the most destructive hurricane to hit the Jersey Shore in a century, Elise Burns and the other residents of Ocean Point are doing their best to recover and rebuild, which is why the recent string of robberies hits everyone especially hard. Fuming to catch the thief preying on those who have already suffered so much, Detective Mitch Burns will stop at nothing to solve the crimes.

When another robbery turns to murder and a college student who’s interning at Elise’s newspaper is caught with the murder weapon in his hand, Mitch is convinced it’s an open-and-shut case. Elise knows the brash and ambitious aspiring reporter would go to any lengths to get a story, but was he a killer? Following clues from the intern’s notebooks and her own reporter’s gut sense, she sets out to track down a thief and a killer and exonerate a suspect she doesn't even like—even if she has to put herself in harm’s way to do it.

DEADLY AMBITION is available for 99 cents wherever E-books are sold.

Happy Reading!

~Laura