Dancing in Red Shoes

by Bethany Maines

We are celebrating our new logo this month and discussing what our red stiletto means to us.  As I have been recently taking a trip through the Grimm’s Fairy Tales and the stories of Hans Christian Anderson, I was immediately reminded of the story of the Red Shoes. In the story an orphan girl gets a pair of red shoes and makes the mistake of wearing them to church. She’s very pleased with her red shoes and give a little dance step and from that moment on is cursed to dance whether she wants to or not.  Eventually, she gets a woodcarver and occasional town executioner to chop off her feet.  He carves her a pair of wooden feet, she begs forgiveness and eventually is allowed to return to church and presumably her life of appropriate poverty and boring clothes.  The story is a very obvious warning about dressing above ones station, acting without proper humility and of course having the audacity to be a pretty girl.  To which I say… bring on the red shoes, let’s go dancing.

Red stilettos are sexy, daring, and commanding, all of which are dangerous things for women to be whether it’s 18^th century Germany or 21^st century America. The Stiletto Gang doesn’t require our members to wear stilettos, but we do embrace the idea that there isn’t a particular way women ought to be.  Our members are diverse in ethnicity, ages, and outlook , but we all share the idea that women can be (and write) what they want.  To me that’s what the red shoe stands for—boldly embracing women’s right to be powerful.

Many thanks to my Stiletto sisters for their continued support and now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a little dancing to do.

***

Want to know more about upcoming releases from Bethany Maines?  Join the Blue Zephyr Press Readers Group.  You'll receive a free e-short from Bethany Maines and get updates about new releases and sales from the Blue Zephyr Press authors.    WWW.BLUEZEPHYRPRESS.COM

Bethany Maines is the author of the Carrie Mae Mystery Series, San Juan Islands Mysteries, Shark Santoyo Crime Series, and numerous short stories. When she's not traveling to exotic lands, or kicking some serious butt with her fourth degree black belt in karate, she can be found chasing her daughter or glued to the computer working on her next novel. You can also catch up with her on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

Red Shoes and Magic

Serendipitous—something occurring by chance in a happy or beneficial way.

But what does serendipity have to do with this month’s blog “theme” of red shoes?

For me … a lot since I’ve never owned a pair of red shoes. The closest I’ve come is shocking pink athletic kicks. I’ve worn these neon babies on airplanes, cruise ships, buses, trains, and aerobic dance floors. An amazing number of people have stopped and commented on the color. One woman wanted to know where I bought them.

But. Pink is not red. Ergo, what to write this month?

Well, imagine my jig for joy when serendipity bit me hard. Why?

Because, on August 31, I published BIg MAGiC, a paranormal romance that reveals a new twist on the magical red shoes, love, and a sexy warlock.

A miniature pair of red shoes appears on the cover. The same shoes appear on my website and Facebook pages. In addition, red shoes play a big role in the book. Huge. They belong to Thea Gale, great-great-granddaughter of Dorothy (she of The Wizard of Oz).

In BIg MAGiC, Thea’s shoes are four-inch stilettos—not unlike our former logo. The heels bring her height to just below the chin of the smokin’ hot warlock. He covets those shoes, and she obsesses over him.

Who wouldn’t covet red shoes? Maybe not the stilettos if, like me, your back aches thinking about even slipping them on. But I am now on a search for a pair I can wear whenever I want to feel powerful, in charge, and mesmerizing.

****

Barbara Plum, aka AB Plum, writes light and dark novels about families that can bring us together or tear us apart. BIg MAGiC is Book 1 in The WEIRd MAGiC Trilogy.

Red Shoes, Kickass Women, and Stiletto Gang Magic

"She speaks for her clan" by Dorothy Sullivan

We here at The Stiletto Gang are celebrating a newly designed logo for our blog and the diverse makeup of our membership. We are women writers from various backgrounds, but we all share one thing in common. We're pretty kickass women. We are all strong in our own ways, some quiet yet powerful, some flamboyant yet solidly dependable.

I feel very comfortable with my Stiletto Gang blogmates, because the Cherokee have traditionally had strong women who shared power with men, who owned the land and houses, who could go to war with the men. Consequently, I tend to look for strength of one kind or another in the women with whom I surround myself. The women with whom I'm friends are women who are comfortable with their own power, rather like my varied pals here in the Stiletto Gang. I write a lot about strong women and women coming into their own. It's part of my heritage and part of my life today.

Like many of us, I don't wear high heels any longer, more interested in comfort and practicality, but I think the symbol of our red stilettos signals the world that on this blog sits the writing of a cadre of kickass women, often read by other kickass women. So here's a poem for all of us and the magic that happens when strong women come together to share their strength and their vulnerabilities.

SHE TAKES HER POWER IN HER OWN HANDS

and pours it over her body,

drenching hair and face,

standing in pools of herself,

dripping excess. She takes up her power

with strong hands and holds it close

to her breasts like an infant, warming it

with her own heat. She draws her power

around her like a hand-loomed shawl,

a cloak to keep the wind out,

pulling it tighter, tugging and patting it

smooth against the winter.

She pulls her power from branches

of dead trees where it has hung so long

neglected that it has changed from white to deep

weathered gold. She wraps her hair

in power like the light of distant stars,

gleaming through the dark emptiness

in and around everything. She lets her power down

into a dank well, down and down,

clanking against stone walls, until

she hears the splash, a little further

to submerge it completely, then draws it

hand over rubbed-raw hand, heavy enough

to make her shoulders and forearms ache

and shudder with strain, pulls it up

overflowing, her power,

and drinks in deep, desperate gulps

out of a lifetime of thirst. She weaves her power

into a web, a cloth, a shroud, and hangs it

across the night where it catches the light of stars

and refracts it into a shining glory,

brighter than the moon

and colder. She holds her power

in her hands at the top of the hill

in the top of the tree where she steps out

onto the air and her wings

of power buoy her to ride the thermals

higher and higher toward the sun,

her new friend.

When she returns,

she folds her power over and over

into a tiny, dense pellet to swallow,

feeling its mass sink to her center

and explode, spreading throughout to transform

her into something elemental,

a star,

a mountain,

a river,

a god.

Published in Heart's Migration (Tia Chucha Press, 2009)

Linda Rodriguez's Dark Sister: Poems has just been released. Plotting the Character-Driven Novel, based on her popular workshop, and The World Is One Place: Native American Poets Visit the Middle East, an anthology she co-edited, were published to high praise in 2017. Every Family Doubt, her fourth mystery novel featuring Cherokee campus police chief, Skeet Bannion, and Revising the Character-Driven Novel will be published in 2019. Her three earlier Skeet novels—Every Hidden Fear, Every Broken Trust, and Every Last Secret—and her earlier books of poetry—Skin Hunger and Heart's Migration—have received critical recognition and awards, such as St. Martin's Press/Malice Domestic Best First Novel, International Latino Book Award, Latina Book Club Best Book of 2014, Midwest Voices & Visions, Elvira Cordero Cisneros Award, Thorpe Menn Award, and Ragdale and Macondo fellowships. Her short story, “The Good Neighbor,” published in the anthology, Kansas City Noir, has been optioned for film.

Rodriguez is past chair of the AWP Indigenous Writer’s Caucus, past president of Border Crimes chapter of Sisters in Crime, founding board member of Latino Writers Collective and The Writers Place, and a member of International Thriller Writers, Native Writers Circle of the Americas, Wordcraft Circle of Native American Writers and Storytellers, and Kansas City Cherokee Community. Visit her at http://lindarodriguezwrites.blogspot.com

Highway to Friendship

By Sparkle Abbey

We love to travel. Whether it’s just the two of us, with our critique group, or with our husbands, we love the adventure that lies ahead.  We’ve traveled together by plane and car. We’ve been to Illinois, New York, California, Washington DC, Michigan (on accident), Missouri, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Colorado, Florida, and Texas to name just a few states. We've hopped in the car for book signings, writing conferences, for personal vacations, and even a couple spur-of-the-moment road trips to work out plot problems.

Not only does our traveling together strengthen our relationship, it strengthens our writing. We’ve explored cozy small towns and bustling metropolitan areas, soaking in the cultures, smells, sounds, and rhythm of the people to color our stories with relatable details and memorable characters inspired by real life.

We’ve brainstormed our best titles on an airplane—Fifty Shades of Greyhound and The Girl with the Dachshund Tattoo. We’ve stuffed 300 individual dog treats into tiny cellophane bags for conference giveaways, created detailed marketing plans, all while jotting down notes on the conversations we’ve “accidentally” overheard during a lunch stop at the Cracker Barrel, (they have the best restrooms). For us, travel inspires creativity and helps us focus. We especially love it when we have those famous “ah-ha moments.”

When traveling with someone for twenty years (yes, that means we started traveling together since we were twelve), you not only can you finish each other’s sentences, but you can communicate an entire conversation with a single look. You know each other’s entire routine before bed, how they like their coffee in the morning, and when they're ready for morning conversation—no real talking before the first cup of coffee. You each know when the other needs their downtime or just a trip to Starbucks.

Traveling with a best friend, you know you’ll find adventure. Swimming at midnight. Dinner with an Elvis impersonator. A Rod Stewart sighting. Nonstop talking to the point you’ve lost your voices. And best of all, permission to act silly. Never judgment, just someone you trust to join in on the fun!

Now we’re planning to take a cruise together with our husbands. Who knows what mischief we’ll cook up on a ship?  We can’t wait to find out!

What about you? Do you have someone you enjoy traveling with? What do you like about traveling together?

We also have some exciting news to share! Book 10, The Dogfather, will make its debut September 21^st!

It's available now for presale. 

Amazon,  Kobo, B&N, Google, Apple 

About The Dogfather -

Who knew the world of designer purses could be such a dog-eat-dog business?

When a local, designer handbags store owner is found dead, the police first believe it’s an unfortunate accident. But the evidence doesn’t lie. Before you can say "wiseguy," Bow Wow Boutique owner, Melinda Langston’s, former fiancé and undercover FBI agent, Grey Donovan, is the prime suspect.

Now the two are working side-by-side to prove Grey's innocence— nothing personal, just business. Or is it? Suspects are piling up, family secrets are exposed, and no one is who they appear to be, including Mel’s newest employee. Time’s running out. Mel better sniff out the killer before she and Grey end up sleeping with the fishes.

Judy Garland's Ruby Slippers

Judy Penz Sheluk

Something you may not know about me: I was named after Judy Garland. In fact, my real name is Judy (not Judith). My mom, Anneliese, (who everyone called Ann) was a practical woman who determined that no one would shorten Judy. Of course, she was also the first person to call me Jude (before you get any ideas, I do not take kindly to the abbreviated version of Judy and under no circumstances should you sing "Hey Jude" to me).
Anyway, this month, the Stiletto Gang is celebrating our new logo and so I thought it would be the perfect time to share some fun facts about Judy Garland's ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz.

1. In Frank L. Baum's book, the slippers were silver. They were changed to ruby red for the movie to show up more vividly against the yellow brick road.  
2. The ruby slippers owe their glitter to burgundy sequins.
3. Several pairs were made for the movie; the exact number is unknown as studio records have long been destroyed. There were four pairs known to survive, only three pairs remain.
4. A well worn pair was donated to the Smithsonian in 1979; the bottoms have felt soles to muffle the sound of Judy's dancing footsteps on the yellow brick road. They are size 5.
5. In 2005, one pair of ruby slippers, on loan to the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, were stolen. They were recovered on Tues. Sept. 4, 2018 -- details have not yet been released, but keep watching the newsfeed!
6. Actress Debbie Reynolds owned an off-screen test pair, which she purchased for $300. She sold them at auction in 2011 for $690,000 to a private buyer at auction.
7. Lady Gaga was given a pair of ruby slippers in 2011 for her 25th birthday.
8. In 2012, Steven Spielberg and Leonardo DiCaprio purchased one of the four remaining (known) pairs of the ruby slippers from an auction house, and donated them to the future Academy Museum (opening in 2019). The price paid was never disclosed. 

Do you know any more Ruby Slippers trivia? If so, share your knowledge in the comments below and start clicking your heels.

PS: I think Judy Garland would approve of me telling you that my latest mystery, Past & Present, will be released on Sept. 21, 2018. Pre-order the trade paperback at all the usual suspects or pre-order on Kindle for the special introductory price of $2.99 (reg. $5.99) and thank you! 

The Kick Off: An Ode to High Heels

by J.M. Phillippe

This month we at the Stiletto Gang are celebrating the return of our (new and improved) red stiletto shoe by sharing our thoughts and feelings about shoes, stilettos, and what it's been like to be part of this particular gang.

I have never been a high-heels girl. I own a few pairs, but prefer the widest, steadiest heel I can get. A thick heeled boot was my go-to during my clubbing days, and for fancy occasions, I aimed for something in a kitten heel or spool heel, something that felt a little more stable. When wedges were in, I was very pleased (even if I thought they were kinda ugly).

I mostly wear high heels for weddings or other times when it is imperative that my footwear look appropriate. Inevitably, this means that as soon as the dancing gets going, my shoes will find their way to a corner or be shoved under a chair--I never have managed to master the art of dancing in heels. In fact, my favorite thing about high heels is how they give me an excuse to take them off, giving me the freedom to dance barefoot (but still on my toes).

It is well known that even the world's most comfortable high heels will, eventually, hurt the feet they encase. There are countless studies that suggest that regularly wearing them are bad for your feet, but that wearing them can make you appear more attractive, more feminine, and be more persuasive. In the cost-benefit analysis, women often decide that wearing them is better than not wearing them. They have held an allure for women since they were girls trying to fit their feet into their mother's shoes, and no make-over movie montage is ever complete without the requite "learn to walk in heels" scene, which some of lived out in our own, non-movie lives.

But if wearing your first pair of heels is a right of passage for girls and femmes, that right of passage isn't complete until that same person has kicked said shoes off. If all pleasure is derived from the relief of tension, then the feeling of finally launching a pair of particularly painful heels across the room is indeed ecstasy.

I will never relate to anything more than when Emma Thompson, one of my favorite actresses of all time, took her high heels off at the 2014 Golden Globes. She then threw them over her shoulder and presented an award barefooted. In fact, many actresses have started pushing back against the expectation that women HAVE to wear shoes. Kirsten Stewart famously took her own heels off at the 2018 Cannes Festival despite strict dress guidelines.

If the high heel is the symbol of the Femme Fatale, taking that same high heel off is the symbol of the Every Woman. It is the woman who has completed a day of work, made it through a long event, or decided that even if the event isn't done, her feet are. Her toes now have room to stretch and wiggle, and the ball of her feet can share her weight more evenly with her heel. The high-heel kick off is one of life's great joys.

What I love about being part of The Stiletto Gang is that I don't have to be a high-heels girl to fit in. This particular group is very inclusive, encompassing a wide variety of writers, making space for different styles and even genres. This group is filled with my kind of women--women who are bold enough to put themselves out there, and make their voices heard. They are the anti-Cannes Festival, letting participants show up in whatever footwear suits them. And I am very proud to be part of this gang.

***

J.M. Phillippe is the author of the novels Perfect Likeness and Aurora One and the short stories, The Sight and Plane Signals. She has lived in the deserts of California, the suburbs of Seattle, and the mad rush of New York City. She works as a clinical social worker in Brooklyn, New York and spends her free time binge-watching quality TV, drinking cider with amazing friends, and learning the art of radical self-acceptance, one day at a time.

Red Shoes! The Stiletto Gang's New Look - an Open Clicking Our Heels Letter to Our Readers

Red Shoes! The Stiletto Gang’s New Look– an Open Clicking Our Heels Letter to Our Readers

Dear Readers,

We adore you. It is a joy to know you habitually read our posts directly from our blog page, through an e-mail subscription, or from our Facebook page. Your comments telling us you appreciate the diversity of our writings, backgrounds, and personalities gives us the incentive to write our next blogs. Because you support us, it is our constant goal to provide you with the best experience possible. That means not only the words we give you, but the visual experience, too.

Many years ago, our first logo featured a stiletto and a spiked red heel. A few years ago, we updated our website to reflect the changes happening in fashion and with our bloggers. The result was a new logo, featuring a gold platform shoe. It was beautiful.

From your comments and clicks, we know you are enjoying what we are doing, but we are not willing to stand on the status quo. It is our pledge to continue to produce diverse and edgy writings that let you into our inner thoughts as people and writers. To support this promise and keeping ourselves in the height of style, we are introducing an updated logo:

What do you think?

During September and October, each member of the Stiletto Gang will be writing a blog that reflects our different thoughts on red shoes. Subscribe to the blog, leave a comment on today’s post, comment on the various September and October red shoe blogs, and let your friends know about our logo change and we’ll keep track of what you each do. Check the November Clicking Our Heels to see how we recognize the person who earned the most points doing any and all of these four things the most. Oh, and one more thing - next month Clicking Our Heels will be back to its first Wednesday position and Judy Penz Sheluk's October post will be on the first Monday.

We can’t wait to hear from you. As we said, we adore you. 

The Stiletto Gang

Bouchercon Bound

In less than two weeks, over one thousand crime fiction fans will converge in St. Petersburg, Florida for one of the largest reader fan convention. . . Bouchercon.

Bouchercon is our annual world mystery convention where every year readers, writers, publishers, editors, agents, booksellers and other lovers of crime fiction gather for a 4-day weekend of education, entertainment, and fun! It is the world’s premier event bringing together all parts of the mystery and crime fiction community, and is pronounced [bough’•chur•con].

There are so many people who volunteer their time and effort to put on this massive affair and I thank them from the bottom of my heart. Without this convention, I would probably be a hermit or even a recluse.

Anyway, before arriving at the event, there is so much do to on our, my end to prepare oneself. First and foremost, everyone should enjoy the convention and have fun.

You don’t have to go to all the panels that interest you. . .I did this at the first convention I attended and it nearly wiped me out.

Some of the best times and one-on-ones I have had with authors and other readers is passing one another in a hallway, near an elevator, or standing on the coffee line, was chatting with them and forgetting the panel I wanted to go to. That time was precious and there you are bound to develop a long-lasting friendship.

Wear comfortable shoes and clothing. Walking back and forth from panels to bookrooms to side activities will take a toll on your feet. Also bring a light jacket or sweater as it may get cold in the meeting places.

Because most of us are more likely introverts, it’s okay to go to our room for a recharging session. Too many people, too much noise wipes out my energy quicker than the Energizer Bunny Rabbit.

Don’t be afraid to approach authors and readers that you have met on social media. We are a friendly bunch, even though I’m still afraid to approach some as well.

Because this is my ninth convention, I plan meet-ups with friends I only see once a year, so I try to get my meal and social activity card filled up as much as possible. My first year, I probably spent more time in my room eating my meals. Now, not so much.

As for the panels, again, I pick out the ones I want to attend, of course there are few that are “must-attends” for me such as New Author Breakfast, Author Speed-Dating, Anthology Signing, Opening Ceremony, Anthony Awards and frequent visits to the book room and the hospitality suite. I just have to make sure I attend the panel I’m moderating.

This year is special as my blog, dru’s book musings is a 2018 Anthony Finalist for Best Online Content. I’m so honored for this nomination and congratulates all the other nominees in this category.

So, are we ready for Bouchercon? – you betcha.

I hope to see some of my fellow Stiletto Gang members at some point – hopefully to get a group photo.

So, who is going to Bouchercon? I hope to see you there and again, HAVE FUN!