It's that time of year ...

I don't know how much writing I'll be doing between now and January 4th, but I hope I can try to get a few words in. I'm thinking of small goals.

December 20th to 25th: 500 words
December 26th to 28th: 500 words
December 29th to January 4th: Are you kidding me? With houseguests coming in for New Years, I'll be lucky to sit down and write at all.

And that's OK.

Seasons Greetings!

5 Things

Seasons Greetings!

Writing in December is HARD! Between home, family, jobs, and other obligations we all find ourselves stressed and probably not feeling that creative. Here are two ideas that will keep your writing brain engaged without taking up even more time.

First of all, did you know December is Novel Research Month? Now is the time to think about some details that a few minutes on Google or at the library might help set up your story. Or is there some part of your story, such as police procedures, antiquities, sewing, or poison that you think you might need some extra information on? This is the time to take a few minutes to do just that, so when you are ready to resume writing, your research is at your fingertips.

Second, read this post from Career Authors Hank Phillippi Ryan.
 Describe Your Book in 5 Things

Can you do it?

My Five Things are:
1. Greed
2. Purple Heart medals
3. Homeless
4. Murder
5. Healing

If you're too stressed to do either of those, then remember to take care of yourself, pamper yourself, and find time for yourself, even if it's just 5 minutes with the bathroom door closed!

Best Books 2018

Every time I think I should be reading more, I go over to Goodreads and look at what I've read. It's always more than I expected - which is good, but also bad, because maybe I should be writing more?

But if you're interested, these are my Top Ten in no particular ranking order.

I'll be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara Night Shift by Michael Connelly ​Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann Trust Me by Hank Phillipi Ryan ​The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas ​The Ruin by Dervla McTiernan Light it Up by Nick Petrie Solemn Graves by James R. Benn ​The Prisoner in the Castle by Susan Elia McNeal What's on my TBR Stack now? Six Cats a Slaying (cozy Christmas mystery with a cat who is a lot like Kipling.) by Miranda James November Road by Lou Berney The Witch Elm by Tana French Past Tense by Lee Child

Move along. Nothing to see here ...

Just a writer playing with her blog for a presentation.

Shake it

Updates ... I've even surprised myself.

It seemed like I had been laboring in the 70,000 word doldrums since June. Without doing much writing due to work, health issues (oh, my aching back) and other real life interruptions, it seemed I hadn't done anything put peck away at a few words here and there. Imagine my surprise when I checked my word count just now - 85,054!

Apparently I'm verbose, even when I'm not.

Writers, take heart. Even if you only type a few words and it seems like a struggle, those words have value and they add up.

Also Typing Cat gif, because it makes me laugh.

via GIPHY

It's National Novel Writing Month!

It's that time of year when all you budding novelists have a chance to actually have a perfectly good excuse to sit and write. Unlike yours truly, who has failed twice to reach the goal of 50.000 words, even though my current project is well over that. It's still not finished and not likely to be finished at the end of the month. You still have a chance to catch up and get to speed, however.

I can be your cheering section. I don't know how much advice I can give to newbies, but I can say that NaNoWriMo is a great chance to connect with other writers in your community, which can be so important. Most of the time we work in solitude, but this month, you can find locations in your area where you can talk, write, angst over plots and characters, and not do it by yourself.

Hop on over to https://nanowrimo.org/ and join. It doesn't matter if you finish, but this will be a great way to start putting your ideas on paper.

• 

An experimental post because I can ...

Presentation on Blogging for Writers.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Sul9l2mK9cjAtvCiVssWaDwyF6ql0lWpyNwhODWH4Co/edit#slide=id.p1

Vacation - Time to relax and proofread

Sunday, I'm leaving on vacation for a week. I probably won't be posting, but I'm taking my iPad with an e-pub to proofread the book so far. At 260pgs I guess I'm entitled to call it a book, right?

I may post pictures on my Twitter @DresdenRose, if I have time. Meanwhile, I'll be missing this guy so much!

I hope to come back rested, relaxed, refreshed and ready to write.

Looking up ...

Yes, the power and internet and cable are all functioning! Let the revisions commence. However, I will be gone for a week and won't have my laptop with me, so this week is it, and hopefully, all those chapters I have to revise to fit the current plot will work out.

Meanwhile, here's a link to my Goodreads review of Trust Me by Hank Phillippi Ryan. Highly recommended!

Trust Me by Hank Phillippi Ryan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars




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You know you are in trouble when ...

First, just let me tell you all that as a result of some sort of micro-burst during a storm on Saturday, I was without power for more than twelve hours. Then, when the power was restored, the cable and internet were still down -- and they won't be fixed until tomorrow. So, here I am with the realization that I have to fix a chapter that has major plot holes that I need to fill or correct, and I can't get into my documents because, no internet.

via GIPHY

I'm posting this from work (yes, I have the excuse of using it as an example of how to add a .gif to a blog for a presentation.)

I don't know how much writing will get done until I can get into my documents - maybe a trip to Starbucks is in order?

So, writers. Power outages are not your friend. See you soon!

Busy reading week!

I've read three great mysteries this week. Susan Elia MacNeal's Prisoner in the Castle, Vivien Chien's Dim Sum of All Fears, and Paula Munier's debut mystery A Borrowing of Bones. All worth reading!

The Prisoner in the Castle by Susan Elia MacNeal
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Prisoner in the Castle is the latest addition to the excellent Maggie Hope WWII mysteries. When the book opens Maggie is being held in on an isolated Scottish island along with a number of other SOE operatives who for one reason or another are literal prisoners for numerous reasons ranging from unsuitability after training, to fear that they may break under torture, to having too much knowledge regarding the secretive and highly classified information about the D-Day landings - which is Maggie's frustrating situation.

Their "prison" is an elaborate Victorian castle/hunting lodge that is allegedly haunted by the notorious murderer who built it. When the prisoners start dying one by one, Maggie is convinced that there is a murderer among her fellow prisoners. She and and a doctor, begin investigating. What they uncover is not only a dark secret, but also a spy among spies.

This is a simple plot summary, due to the intricate and involving plot, but I can tell you that author Susan Elia MacNeal has crafted a locked-room mystery reminiscent of Agatha Christie, but with her own unique flair and the wonderful Maggie Hope. It is involving, chilling, and historical. I loved it.

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A Borrowing of Bones by Paula Munier
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A good beginning to a series. Great plot - I was kept guessing all along as to what was happening. Mistaken identities, two great dogs, a tragic backstory for the heroine, and a handsome Maine game warden. I'm looking forward to more Mercy and Elvis mysteries. I'm afraid to say more without giving away too many details of this introductory story! If you liked Alex Kava's Creed and Maggie mysteries, you'll love this book.

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Dim Sum of All Fears by Vivien Chien
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If you love Cozy mysteries, Vivien Chien's Noodle Shop Mysteries are food for your reader's soul. What I loved most about this book was the way Vivien has made the Asian Plaza a small town peopled with quirky characters, stores, and, of course, Lana Lee's family restaurant.

Lana's family is front and center in this story. When her parents have to go to Taiwan to see what's up with the family matriarch, Lana and her sister are left in charge of the restaurant -- with Lana handling most of the work since her perfect sister is too busy with law school. When a new friend is found murdered, Lana can't help getting involved, even though she's promised family and her Police Detective plus one (and some) that she won't.

The setting is fun, Lana and her family and friends are engaging, and the mystery kept me reading later than I should have been! The ending is a perfect segue into the next book in the series Murder Lo Mein . Hallmark Mysteries should make these into a series. It would be fabulous!

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It's been a month!

I'm a bad blogger. It's been a month since I last stopped in. Progress on my original work? Maybe 1500 words. It's slow-going at this time of year with vacations, past and upcoming, schools invading the library, and life in general. Plus, it's hard to write when dealing with current events. But here's a few thoughts.

First, I've been reading a lot, which is both inspiring and not. When I read a really good book, self-doubt starts creeping in and I often find myself thinking what on earth made me want to be a writer? Maybe the reason I'm working so slowly is because what I'm writing isn't good enough. Maybe I should give up and take up crochet!

The truth is, I'm terrible at crochet, or crafts. I can't paint, draw, knit, crochet, or needlepoint. The only thing I'm really good at (other than my job - which is basically telling people about books, or answering reference questions) is writing. All the authors I admire say the same thing; if you want to be a writer, first you have to write, and keep writing until you're satisfied with what you've done.

So, along with the coming of Pumpkin Spice Lattes and Christmas Ale, maybe this is the season to write.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Thoughts not on writing:

1. Vote. Register to vote before the deadline. Make sure your registration is current.
2. Keep the folks in Florence's path in you thoughts. Since my book deals with homeless veterans, and the homeless population in general, I'm concerned for their safety during the storm and the aftermath.

Thanks for listening to me ramble.

Write a Tapestry, not a Quilt

This is another excellent exercise from Career Authors, a fantastic resource for writers with advice on everything from writing skills to marketing and more.

https://careerauthors.com/polish-your-prose-write-a-tapestry/

I think a little leeway should be given to allow for establishment of setting and character at the beginning of a story. This is on the third page of a 29 page story, and the first page had a lot more pink and yellow than green. As the story progresses, there is more green than pink and yellow. If you're writing a thriller or mystery, there should be more green. If you're writing a love story, perhaps more yellow and pink. But those are just my thoughts. Try this on a sample of your writing and let me know how it pans out. Meanwhile, do take a look at the Career Authors website. It's great!

Here's a screen shot from something I've written to illustrate:

Book Review: The Ruin

The Ruin by Dervla McTiernan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


It been a while since I read a mystery as compelling and complex as The Ruin. McTiernan sets the mood from the first page when Cormac Reilly (at that time a very green Garda), is sent to a country house teetering on the brink of ruin to investigate the report of a death. He finds a woman, apparently dead of an overdose, and two children who show clear signs of physical abuse. Maude and James Blake. He takes them to the hospital for treatment, where Child Services will take custody. Maude, at 15, vanishes from the hospital. James, not much more than a toddler, is fostered and then adopted. Cormac moves on.

End of the story? No, just the beginning. Ten years later Cormac Reilly, now a high-ranking Detective in Dublin, has been assigned to a Drug Task Force in Galway when James' body is found in a river, an apparent suicide. His partner, Aisling, doesn't believe it, neither does, a newly returned Maude Blake.

The three lives, Maude, Aisling, and Cormac's entwine quickly in a mystery that starts with a ten-year old death and ends following a mystery of complex twists and turns that leave you breathless as you read.

The story is spellbinding, the atmosphere evocative, the characters likeable and challenging.I am looking forward to McTiernan's next Cormac Reilly mystery, due out in 2019.




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Book Review: Stay Hidden by Paul Doiron

Stay Hidden by Paul Doiron

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The best way I can describe Stay Hidden by Paul Doiron, is Maine Noir. Normally, when you think of Maine, you think of beaches, lobster, and vacations. The Maine Doiron writes about is gritty, dark, and tough. This book is no exception.

Doiron's hero, Game Warden turned Investigator, Mike Bowditch is called to investigate a hunting "incident" on a rocky island off the coast. He's greeted with suspicious townspeople, inclement weather, and the certainty that the killing of journalist Ariel Evans was anything but an accident.

Doiron weaves a story of revenge, infidelity, mistaken identities and tragedy with the hand of a master. Mike Bowditch is on his first case as an investigator after being seriously wounded. He's healed physically, but doubts and insecurities make him vulnerable. The mystery of the killing is as opaque as the fog enveloping the island, but it kept me enthralled.



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CareerAuthors.com ... Writer's Block

Hi, all.

The wonderful Hank Phillipi Ryan composed a great essay on the Career Authors site that leads you through the shoals of the dreaded Writer's Block. It's well worth a read. There are probably days, I know I have a lot of them, when you don't feel like writing. It's understandable, particularly if you're dealing with a full-time job, studies, housework, or a million other distractions that sap your desire to write. But that's not Writer's block. Procrastination and exhaustion, but not a creative doldrums.

If you need help with fending off the psychological impediment of not knowing where your story is going, or characters who have suddenly fallen silent, here's a few ideas to get your Muse out of solitary confinement and back to the story you really want to tell.

 https://careerauthors.com/writers-block-not-a-chance/

I can't recommend this site enough. It's well worth joining if you are writing and hoping to be published at some point. Invaluable advice from great authors who have been through the process and who have succeeded.

From Pantser to Plotter: An incomplete road map

I’m in the process of trying to organize the final third (maybe) of my story into a coherent and cohesive narrative. I’m usually a “pantser,” but I’ve reached the point where I need to become a “plotter,” and make an outline of what has to happen to wrap the story up. I’ve still got a long way to go to make this rough draft a complete story with all the characters I’ve developed. I’ve come up with a list of things I need to do in order to make it happen. Will it be helpful to me or to anybody in the process of writing a mystery? I don’t know, but I’ll keep you updated!

1.       Will the idea hold up?

2.       Review the pertinent chapters

3.       Go over the clues

4.       Follow the trail

5.       Discovery – who knows what, and who needs to know everything.

6.       Confrontation

7.       Resolution

8.       Conclusion of the story

On Vacation

I'll be on vacation for a few days, so check out my recent book reviews and musings about writing. Back in a week!

Review: Lost Creed by Alex Kava

Lost Creed by Alex Kava

My Rating 4 of 5 stars


I always look forward to a Alex Kava's next Ryder Creed novel. Lost Creed does not refer to Ryder, but to his sister, missing for 14 years. Haunted by her loss, Ryder has made search and rescue his mission. He has built a business around his dogs, providing services to law enforcement and working with tough FBI Agent Maggie O'Dell on missing persons cases. None are more personal than his most recent case involving murder and human trafficking. This time, there is evidence that his sister may be one of the victims. Driven by his hopes and his fears, and accompanied by Maggie and her team, Ryder and his best dog Gracie begin a desperate search for the murderer, the victims, and the survivors of the trafficking ring. A sub plot involving Ryder's apprentice handler, Jason, a rookie dog, and a missing child provides a look into the training of both dog and handler in this trying profession.

I'm not giving away spoilers, but the book seemed to end abruptly, signalling what challenges await Ryder, Maggie and Jason in the next book titled, Desperate Creed due out later in the year.



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Location, location, location.

I stopped at a park at the beach today. I had never been to this one, and there was this pier jutting out into the lake. It was closed and structurally unsound. The weather was gorgeous, not a cloud in the sky, but the pier looked sad and abandoned. I thought, "Hmm... this would be a great location in my story. The next was, if I use this, what could happen here? What would enhance the atmosphere to fit my story. A body. Not sure whose, yet, but I have some ideas.

Review: Murder to the Metal

Murder to the Metal by Annie Hogsett

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


How often have you wished for a big lottery win? When Allie Harper saved Thomas Bennington III from death in the path of a Hummer, she also falls in love, gets involved in a murder, and discovers that all the money in the world can't guarantee security.

In Murder to the Metal Tom and Allie have entered a relationship and a business venture as private investigators, only to find that their lives, and the lives of everybody close to them, are in extreme danger, and what starts out as a missing person case, escalates to murder.

With breathless pacing, humor, and a truly scary security software game of cat and mouse, Annie Hogsett brings home all the thrills and chills, along with a touching romance in this excellent mystery.

I also, highly recommend reading Too Lucky to Live , the first in this series, for a great introduction to Tom and Allie.



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Fourth of July

I'm celebrating the 4th by taking two days off work hoping to get plenty of reading and writing done. I've finally crossed the 80K word threshold, which was like climbing Mount Everest on ice skates.

So, wishing you a holiday of good books, cold drinks, and fireworks!

Death by Dumpling

I had pleasure of having Vivien Chien speak at the library's "Mystery and May-hem" event on May 19th, so I think it's only fair I post my review of Death by Dumpling

Death by Dumpling by Vivien Chien
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A charming cozy featuring Lana Lee, a young and curious protagonist who is currently underemployed waiting tables at her family's Chinese restaurant. Set in an Asian plaza shopping center, which is like a gossipy, unique small town on it's own - with murder. When one of the local shop owners apparently ingests a dumpling with shrimp inside, it precipitates a fatal allergic reaction. Of course, Lana is determined to prove that her family and the restaurant's staff are not the culprits.

Full of humor, a touch of romance (there has to be a handsome police detective!) and family dynamics, Death by Dumpling is a promising start to a new cozy series.

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This Didn't Go as Planned ...

As usual, this didn't go as planned! Ah, well. It is a Monday! This was supposed to link to a review on goodreads, but no such luck!  Look, I fixed it! A+ day for the blog! I also added new books, since I'm going to try to keep up with Goodreads.


Twisted Prey by John Sandford
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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Trying to Practice What I Preach

Hello, after a long absence, I am trying to get back into the groove of writing and blogging. The impetus comes from a work project I'm proposing for a program on blogging for writers. Once I start putting things together I'll work on adding content to a different blog on this site.

Meanwhile, writing ... I'm so, so close to getting to 80,000 words, but I'm struggling with a character that I don't like, but who I feel provides some needed conflict. I don't want to kill him, even though I could without blinking an eye, but there is another alternative that could happen, but I feel is a coward's way out of solving the problem.

So, for fun, to see if I can do this, I'm going to try to add a poll. I added a link. Have fun!

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DT5VGZM