Monday, March 09, 2009

Mourning the Loss of a Mentor -- and Friend

What I'm reading: Fireside, by Susan Wiggs

Despite all the wonderful speakers, panels and writer camaraderie, this year's SleuthFest had one missing piece. Author Barbara Parker. Her cancer had recurred, and she was spending her final days in a hospice, surrounded by family.

She was one of the first authors I met at my very first conference, and I was impressed by her workshop on crafting a mystery. I'd never read anything of hers, so I began with her first book in the "Suspicion" series. Even though I thought I'd created my 'perfect hero' in my first attempt at writing a novel, her Anthony had my Randy beat.

When I attended my first SleuthFest, I submitted my first chapter for her workshop, one in which she would take five authors' work, and discuss and critique them. She didn't accept it for the workshop, but she returned my pages with, "let's discuss this" written on the bottom.

Keep Reading...

I hung around after the final session, and over lunch (I paid, of course), she proceeded to tell me that I had writing talent, but needed to learn how to structure a story. It took two more tries before she accepted my work for one of the 'hot seats.' Barbara never pulled her punches. I recall being glad she'd rejected my first attempt when she told one of the authors there was nothing wrong with his writing that a good pair of scissors couldn't fix.

But she always had time to talk to beginners, treating them as though it would only be a matter of minutes before they were published. I showed her the first pages of the mystery short story I was trying to write, and her eyes opened wide. "You have really gotten better!" she said. She asked me to send her the whole thing, and after she finished, she told me to call her. We discussed it for almost an hour (I think she would have gone on, but her cell phone battery was fading.).

Barbara Parker passed away last Saturday. The tributes pouring onto the Florida MWA chapter loop all say the same thing. She shared. She never let you feel there was an "I'm published. You're not" attitude. She will be sorely missed.

And, although I can't pretend that my qualifications come close to hers, in the spirit of sharing, I will send anyone who requests it a copy of my Dialogue Basics handout from the SleuthFest 2009 panel. All you have to do is send an email to the address on the sidebar requesting it. It'll be a PDF file .

Tomorrow, my guest will be Jennifer Johnson, who's talking about one of my favorite things. Food. Please come back.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

That was a nice tribute, so sad to lose someone who helped so many.

I'm enjoying reading all about Sleuthfest though. Next year I'll know about it on time and go.

I'll be taking you up on your generous offer. Thank you.

Terry Odell said...

Thanks, "other Terry"

Hope you find some use for the handout. And I hope to meet you at SleuthFest in the future.

Ray said...

Your success is a tribute to your mentor. I'm glad she encouraged you to write the three enjoyable novels of yours I've read.

So far I haven't written anything, but I am saving as much information as I can until I push forward.

Sorry for the loss of your friend.

Ray

Dr. Mary Kennedy said...

Very sorry to hear about Barbara Parker. I absolutely love her books and featured them in a piece I did for National Public Radio. It was on novels set in South Beach, by authors who live in South Beach. Mary Kennedy

Terry Odell said...

Mary, she's missed for so much - I feel lucky to have autographed copies of all her "Suspicion" books.