Left Coast Crime: Pigeonholes

What I'm reading: Daphne contest entries and The Next Best Thing, by Kristan

First – Welcome to April. New for this month: Another contest (click the Contest tab for details). Also, in the spirit of Tax Relief, I'm offering discounts on two of my books (click the "Deals & Steals" tab to see those.)

Next, I filed an overview report on Left Coast Crime which is at Barbara Vey's Publishers Weekly "Beyond Her Book" blog today. Author Rosemary Harris also gave her take.

And on to the 'meat': another Left Coast Crime panel recap.

David Morrell moderated a panel about rule breaking. (Actually, the panel was entitled "Breaking Barricades and Opening Doors" so I went in expecting something more like SWAT techniques, but more on that in another post.)

Takeaways from the panel.
Mysteries and Thrillers are starting to sound the same. Don't be afraid to write your own book. One author on the panel, Johnny Boggs, has twenty-three 1st person narrators in one of his books. Didn't keep it from being published.

Pigeonholes for books isn't necessarily a good thing. Michael McGarrity said, "Don't write a "type" of story, write the story.

Panelist Zoe Sharp spoke about two kinds of books: good books and bad books. Everything else is just a "flavor." Voice is what matters.

Writing and Moving

I'm turning my blog over to my guest today, while I'm over at Barbara Vey's Publisher's Weekly Beyond Her Book Blog. Graham Harrigan from NOWHERE TO HIDE is joining me, and he's bringing his Death By Chocolate Cake in honor of the mystery theme of the day. Lots of prizes and giveaways. We'll be in and out all day along with lots of other authors. Drop by.

Today, I welcome Maris Soule to Terry's Place. Maris has had 25 romances published by Harlequin, Silhouette, and Bantam (Loveswept); has been a RITA finalist twice; and has won or placed in several contests. She is now writing for Five Star Publishing, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning. This past year has presented new challenges.

March 2010 my husband and I purchased a place in Florida. That prompted a decision to sell our Kalamazoo, Michigan home, and move into our condo near Lake Michigan (which used to be our summer retreat). We plan on spending eight months of the year in the condo, and four in Florida. The last twelve months, however, have given me a new respect for any writer who has to move and still manages to keep up with his or her writing schedule. My schedule went down the drain.

A year ago I thought I would find time to rework a story that had been rejected by two agents. (That didn't happen.) I did have copy edits that had to be read, (Had to do that.) cover art to approve. (Thank goodness I liked what was proposed.), and later, advanced reading copy to read. (Another stage that had to be done.) In between the copy edits and ARCs, I packed and labeled boxes going to Florida; hauled books, clothes, etc. to the condo; held two yard sales; closed accounts; and visited a chiropractor on a regular basis (because all of this packing and moving was irritating a compressed disc).

Order, Order

What I'm reading: Worth Dying For, by Lee Child

Anyone notice the new tab above? "Deals and Steals" - check for bargains and special offerings.

In conjunction with Read an eBook week, which runs from March 6-12, I'm offering WHEN DANGER CALLS for FREE at Smashwords. Use coupon code RE100. And don't forget to check out my March contest--an ARC of WHERE DANGER HIDES, the sequel to WHEN DANGER CALLS, could be yours.

Why I will never write out of order again.

If you've been following my posts, you'll know I've been working on edits for my WIP. This one is kind of a departure, because for the first time, I've given my villain a POV. Although this slides it across the mystery boundary into "suspense" territory, it seemed a given. The heroine is running from an abusive husband. She's got something he wants. Stands to reason he's going to be looking for her. There's nothing "secret" about who he is, and allowing him a few POV scenes can ratchet the tension.

Now, when I started writing (non-plotter, remember?) I didn't know I was going to bring Victor into the book at all, much less as a POV character. But about 5 chapters in, I hit a wall and letting him have his say seemed a way through it.

Side note: A lot of times, it helps to write something, even though it won't end up in the book. You need to get in touch with your characters, and this can help. The late Barbara Parker suggested this to me when we were talking about my early draft of Finding Sarah. I told her I'd been playing around with a short story based on Sarah's history with her husband before he died. She encouraged me—quite enthusiastically—to pursue it, saying that once I "knew" how Sarah felt, it would come through in the rest of the book. So don't shy away from writing—it falls under that "you can't fix a blank page" dictum.