Let Me Tell You a Story...

By Laura Spinella

Today I'm celebrating the release of PERFECT TIMING, my second book!  Here's a little behind the scenes peek at how this novel came to be:

Backstory often ends up being the most interesting part of publication. Of course, while it’s happening, the author never realizes backstory is backstory. In the thick of things, backstory is the malaise of the process—or, more accurately, the one step forward, two steps back shuffle of book writing. There's amazement and achievement when a novel clears all the hurdles, the hard revisions, and labor intensive rewriting of pages that were briefly, dreamily deemed perfect. But after a book sells and edits are finalized, there is time to reflect. Traditional publishing comes with a wait time of a year or more. And it was in this holding pattern that I started to think about backstory, how and why I ended up writing the book I did. While my first novel, BEAUTIFUL DISASTER, was a product of past environment, PERFECT TIMING is anchored to my present. I’m almost as fond of its backtory as I am the result. In a phrase, this is the story of the little trunk novel that could.

Draft readers are important readers, and PERFECT TIMING had more than a few. Among them was my oldest daughter, Megan. She was this book’s first fan, and Aidan and Isabel remain her favorite characters. Her interest fueled a lot of drive during the novel’s rough “I can’t do this” stage.  Yes, Megan listened to her fair share of whining as I wrote, and rewrote, this book.  But she also insisted that if I was malevolent enough to create such heart-wrenching conflict, I’d better come up the right resolutions to see things through.

(Since PT contains a few steamier scenes, I should mention that Megan is 24) Writing to satisfy her demand was a challenge, and winning her approval an achievement. She’s a tough editor and a scrupulous critic. In the end, I believe she got the book she wanted. I know she's pleased by its dedication page. There was the trial and error of two manuscripts after BEAUTIFUL DISASTER, at which point Megan insisted I revisit the story and characters she found so endearing. Clearly, sometimes, you should listen to your kids.

At a glance, it’s true that PERFECT TIMING’s protagonist is a rock star. That part is intended to take the reader away from the ordinary.  And I do think, in his element, Aidan Royce earns his ovation. But that’s not what this story is about; it’s about the rhythm of lasting friendship, and the beat of a love story subject to incredible odds. It’s about family and figuring out what makes you truly happy, then being brave enough to embrace it. PERFECT TIMING is relationship fiction set to the sometimes extraordinary and always precarious tempo of life. 

When I look at this book's perfect cover, there is still the awe that comes with a second book, the surprise that it even exists. But I'm also pleased and confident in this story's backstory and the way life influenced PERFECT TIMING.

Laura Spinella is the author of the newly released PERFECT TIMING and award-winning BEAUTIFUL DISASTER. Visit her at lauraspinella.net 

Whew! It's Over (for now)

By Evelyn David

So the good news is my guy won.

Local elections were held last week. I thought there was a real difference between the two candidates, so had no trouble pulling the lever for my guy. Although sadly, with electronic voting, there is no actual lever to pull; no curtain to hide behind as I make weighty decisions. I'm old school and quite frankly, standing at a little kiosk to color in an electronic ballot too closely resembles taking the SATs. To finish off the event, I fed my ballot into what was the equivalent of a bank ATM.

But what the days leading up to the election taught me most was the desperate need for election reform. This was a county-wide election. The area population is a little less than a million. The ads and signage must have felled several forests. But what drove me absolutely insane were the robo-calls. Day after day I'd receive multiple calls, all for the same candidate. I kept begging to be taken off the list – to no avail.

I was sorely tempted to sit out the election as some form of protest – but good citizen that I am, that wasn't an option. Eliminating my landline wasn't an option either. I prefer the sound quality of my landline. I have caller ID on some of my phones – but not all, so there were times when I grabbed the phone without first checking to see if I recognized the caller.

If it's this obnoxious and intrusive for a local election, I shudder to think about the barrage of TV, radio, Internet, and mail ads, not to mention the constant phone calls for the mid-terms in 2014 and the Presidential election in 2016. As my mother, the original Evelyn would say, OY.

The Do Not Call registry never covered political phone calls. To be honest, the DNC registry is a bit of a joke anyway. When it's not election season,  I'm getting constant calls for new credit cards (no thank you) and to change my electric provider (also no thank you).

You can't physically invade my home without my permission. You can't harass me on the street. I can block spam from my inbox. But phone calls on behalf of democracy in action, seems like I just have to grin and bear it. But you can bet "my guy" is getting a letter offering my congratulations – and instructions to never call me again.

Marian, the Northern half of Evelyn David

---------------

 

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

Confessing Passions - Offering Fun

Debra H. Goldstein

Confessing Passions – Offering Fun 
by Debra H. Goldstein

I confess to two sinful passions:  shoes and books.  I’m a sucker for any pair of shoes that fit me.  Luckily, size six AAA flat feet that are only comfortable in low heels limit the number of shoes with my name on them.  This allows me use my money to indulge my second obsession – buying books, especially mysteries.  Consequently, how could I say no to marrying heels and murder every second and fourth Friday through The Stiletto Gang’s blog?  It is a perfect match for me J.

But then I started to worry about you.  What engages you?  Obviously, prattling about my love of shoes and books will quickly bore you. So, what to write about?

Describing me can pretty much be summed up in a few words:  judge, litigator, author, wife, mother of twins, step-mom, civic volunteer, transplanted Yankee and a woman who hates to be pigeon-holed.  My writings are equally diverse.  That’s why my personal blog is called “It’s Not Always a Mystery.” (http://DebraHGoldstein.wordpress.com) 

Spending a lot of words telling you about how Harlequin Worldwide Mysteries will be issuing my 2012 IPPY Award winning debut novel, Maze in Blue, a mystery set on the University of Michigan’s campus in the 1970’s, as its May 2014 selection seems a waste of time because you can read about that on my website, www.DebraHGoldstein.com.  The same holds true for introducing you to my non-fiction pieces including “More Hugs Less Fear” that was published by More Magazine online, my short stories like “Legal Magic,” “Malicious Mischief,” “Grandma’s Garden” or this month’s Bethlehem Writers Roundtable featured story “A Political Cornucopia” (www.bwgwritersroundtable.com ).

I could share funny anecdotes about having four children, a husband whose blood runs Crimson, how I reacted when my book publisher ceased operations the week I was on my first Malice Domestic panel and had speaking engagements lined up for the next six months or balancing my legal career with writing, but I’d prefer to know what interests you.  Whether something personal from my website, my Tom Sawyer philosophy, or why I think networking is almost as important as getting words on paper are all possible topics. 

Let’s make this fun – I’ll spend the next few days thinking about shoes and books while you take a look at my website and stories and leave me comments on The Stiletto Gang Blog about your preferred topics. As an incentive, I will randomly pick a name and theme from your comments and send that person a free copy of Maze in Blue.  Check back on November 22 to see who won and what the blog topic turns out to be.

Contact:  DHG@DebraHGoldstein.com

Website:  www.DebraHGoldstein.com

Personal Blog:  http://DebraHGoldstein.wordpress.com or through website-DHG’s Blog

Twitter: @DebraHGoldstein     Facebook: Debra Goldstein LinkedIn:  DebraHGoldstein

Memorable Moments

Posted by Sparkle Abbey

Hello, we’re “Sparkle Abbey.” There are actually two of us, Mary Lee (Sparkle) and Anita (Abbey). We created our pen name by combining our rescue pets’ names, Sparkle (ML’s cat) and Abbey (Anita’s dog). If you’ve seen us at a mystery convention or a book signing, we make it easy--we wear shirts with our names. 

If you do see us, we hope you’ll stop and say hello. One of the very best things about conventions or signings is getting to meet in person those of you we’ve already met out here in cyberspace. We also love to hear about your pets! You see our current series, set in Laguna Beach, features two former Texas beauty queen cousins, Caro & Melinda. Caro is a pet therapist and Mel owns the Bow Wow boutique and though you’d think that would be enough to keep them busy, they also frequently find themselves in the middle of murder investigations. 

So that’s us! We’re excited to be here every first Thursday.

Our fellow bloggers have been talking about fall. For us, November is a month of thankfulness....

We’re so very thankful and blessed to have amazing families, our health, steady jobs and our love of writing. November is also one of our busiest months. Between the family birthdays (ten between the two of us), Thanksgiving, Christmas prep, and the day job, we’re so busying doing that we sometimes forget to pause and treasure the truly important things. Some events in your life are so important that the magical moment is imprinted in your memory forever. Marrying the love of your life, the birth of your children, the birth of your grandchildren.

Then there are other times. You know the ones. The times when you’re so busy you know you can’t possibly add one more item to your “To Do” list. That’s when it takes a little more effort to realize that you’re making memories.

We’ve found those types of memorable moments often involve laughter. Sometimes the laughter comes right away, other times it comes later. Like the time we were road tripping to a mystery convention in Cleveland by the way of Iowa and somehow managed to wind up in Michigan. Oops. Probably too much talking. Still, it turned out to be a wonderful scenic route filled with beautiful woods and winding rivers and we’re still shaking our heads about how it happened.

Once you start talking about one memorable moment you’re flooded others. Some more emotional than others, like when we sold our mystery series. Our families wearing their Team Sparkle and Team Abbey shirts to our first book launch. The first time someone told us they came to a book signing just to see us. Others are more light-hearted. Like when we had our picture taken with an Elvis impersonator, or the time we just wanted to take a picture of our feet in the sand at Laguna Beach and almost got swept away by a huge wave. And still others add to the mix of memories like dinner and plotting with our critique group, swapping stories with Lee Goldberg in Chicago, as well as the opportunity to meet wonderful people like fellow Stiletto Gang members Dru Ann Love and Linda Rodriguez and so many others who we now count as friends.

So before November can run us over like road kill, we’ve decided to pause and enjoy our first blog with The Stiletto Gang. We are thrilled to join this talented group and we look forward to making new friends here.

Now that you know some of our memorable moments, we’d love to hear one of yours. It’s a great way for us to get to know you. And it’s always fun to laugh, or cry, with others.

Fall -- And More New Beginnings!

Author Kay Kendall & her bunny Dusty

I wonder if you, dear readers, are old enough to recall an expression from back in the day—sometime in the 80s—when we said this: “Well, color me _____.”

That saying no doubt linked to having your colors done. When this was all the rage, I’d walk into a clothing store and a saleswoman would often ask or state…”Are you a summer?” “You must be a winter.” 

Myself, I skipped the color consultants, figuring out my best colors were those I wore when friends said, “You look good in that.” (A magazine article advised that was the easier way.)

I hark back to that time now, and to that expression, since I wish to state two things:  Color me thrilled + Color me fall.

My name is Kay Kendall, and as a debut mystery author, I’m thrilled to be joining the Stiletto Gang and doubly delighted that two previous posters were rhapsodizing about my favorite season, fall.

Last week Dru Ann Love asked what readers’ favorite things were about the autumnal season. I will share mine now, if a bit belatedly. It is the colors of fall that most beguile me.

Oh my, there is that word again. Colors. The trees are vivid, in some falls more than others of course, but their leaves seem to come alive in the crisp air and in the slanted light. Sunshine itself has a different radiance in the fall. The sun’s light is not harsh, not coming straight down from the sky but aslant. This light is softer and bathes things in a kinder glow.

Even in south Texas where I live, where signs of autumn aren't as profuse as in other parts of the US, fall is still my favorite season. The light changes even here; the air cools some, gets a bit less humid. The trees, however, rarely turn to orange and red. It's estimated that once every seven years or so this corner of Texas will have some fall color. That happened my first season here. I thought it would happen each time October came around thereafter. But nope, no such luck.

Fall of course is a prelude to winter, which I no longer dread. Being married to a Canadian, I spent fifteen long winters in Ontario. Not for the faint of heart. And mind you, those years were before global warming altered things. Now in Texas I can look forward to the dark velvet nights of winter when holiday lights shine, and they do not bounce off snow banks down here. Hooray. As The Husband is fond of saying, “You don’t have to shovel heat and humidity.”

My having lived in Canada explains why my debut mystery, Desolation Row, is set in Toronto. I learned a lot about our peaceful neighbor to the north and in my book treat it as a foreign country, not the fifty-first state that Americans often assume it is. But I have plenty of time to get into all that in the months to come.



With my first post this fall, I start on my journey as a member of the Stiletto Gang and look forward to many, many seasons to come of sharing thoughts with you and the other gang members.

I’m just glad that it’s not a requirement that we wear stilettos. At five foot ten, I’ve no need of extra height, putting it mildly. My poor toes seem to shriek in horror whenever that Stiletto Gang logo pops up on my computer screen. I assure my feet that never again will they be stuffed into a tortuous shoe, a pointy-toed, high-heeled stiletto, all in the name of glamour.

Have you given up anything since you left your teens, twenties, or so on, and thereby become more comfy—if a pinch less glam? I propose a new expression. Instead of saying “sadder but wiser,” let’s say “more comfortable and wiser” as our years progress. What do you think?

One More Blog Tour Over, Phew!

I just finished a blog tour for my latest Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery, Spirit Shapes.

 

Because it takes a long time to both arrange the tour stops and write the blog posts I started about two months ago. This particular tour had a bunch of problems and hitches. Did I learn anything, yes.

One is to make sure the person who volunteers to host actually has a blog they know how to use.

It also helps if the blog host puts the blog and all photos etc. up ahead of time and dates it for the time it's supposed to appear. Not everyone does this and sometimes he or she forgets.

I learned to send an email a day or two ahead of time to remind the person so that he or she didn't have to scramble at the last minute.

Even though I asked each person to tell me when they received my material and the did, I had a couple tell me they never heard from me.

I am not being critical because goodness knows that I screw up at times too.

A month with a blog every single day is too long. I'd planned to skip the weekends, then I ran into blog hosts who wanted to have me on a weekend. I also had someone tell me weekends get the most hits, but I'm not sure that's true.

Going on a trip while you're on a blog tour complicates things. And of course I did. I drove to Portland OR with my publisher and was on the road and in hotels for 6 days. I took along my iPad and when I could get wifi I tracked the blogs and made comments on them and promoted as best I could.

It also helps if your computer doesn't die while you're on a blog tour. Mine got infected by a virus when I downloaded what I thought were updates to Windows. The computer was in the shop for over a week--drove me a bit crazy. The tech worked on it, brought it back home, worked on it some more, then worked on it remotely. It's fixed, though there are some changes that I haven't completely gotten used to yet.

One thing that always surprised me is when I go to the blog of the day and read the post I've written (sometimes finding a typo) I've forgotten what I wrote and it's fun to read it again.

So, though I had fun, had a lot of followers along the way and one of them will have her name used for a character in my next Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery, I am relieved it's over. Has it resulted in sales? I have no idea. Couldn't see much difference in the Amazon ratings. I think I'll have to wait for the royalty report to see if it helped.

Will I do another blog tour? I'm not sure. There may be other things that aren't so time consuming that are more profitable. But then again, I kind of like doing them.

And here's a link to a trailer for Spirit Shapes:

.http://bookvideos.wordpress.com/2013/10/26/book-trailer-spirit-shapes-by-marilyn-meredith/

From an exhausted, Marilyn

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.