Murder She Writes

Okay, I’m stealing my villain post to brag about my new covers.

They are fabulous. I love them. I love them more than my first trilogy. They are rich and bold and dark. What do you think?

Can you see why I love them? Do they make you want to pick the book off the shelf? If a reader picks your book up, they have a fifty percent chance of buying it. (Next week I’m going to talk about back cover blurbs . . . unless I get sidetracked.) They’re much better with the foil and embossing. When my agent received the printed proofs (what they’re putting in the sales kits) she tossed the laser prints because the proofs are so much more detailed and incredible.

Anyway . . . villains. Right. From the first trilogy (because I don’t want to tip anyone off on the next trilogy!)

So a couple weeks ago we talked about who might play John & Rowan, Quinn & Miranda and Zack & Olivia. I think the consensus was that we need to go back to the drawing board for John & Olivia, but Emily Procter (Rowan); Nathan Fillion (Quinn); Evangeline Lilly (Miranda) and Hugh Jackman (Zack) could stay. So if there’s anyone out there who has contacts, I’ll be happy to send my book to any of those actors, just send me the address . . .

Now while the protagonists are important, IMO there is no one more important in any film than the antagonist. Even if you’re not writing a thriller, the antagonist must be as strong or stronger than the hero. For example, in CLIFFHANGER while the bad guys were bad (and, frankly, a little TOO cliche/bad for my taste), the other “bad guy” (the environment) was very compelling. And SILENCE OF THE LAMBS? I don’t even think I need to explain . . . but you have to look at both villains. Hannibal Lechter is stronger (as a character) and smarter than the heroine, but the guy who wears his victim’s skin (can’t remember his name, Harold?) is your “standard” serial killer. Both are critical to the story, but Anthony Hopkins carries the show.

The villain REALLY makes a movie, I’ve been thinking all week of who could play my villains. I’ve been thinking more in terms of major actors who have the talent to pull off a good villain. To me, the key to a top actor is the ability to play virtually any role. Johnny Depp can do it, villain or hero. Harrison Ford to a slightly lessor degree (I’m thinking that movie with Michelle Pffeifer, can’t remember the title.) Even the war hero Jimmy Stewart played a villain in at least one movie.

Good actors become great actors when they can pull off the bad guy. With that in mind . . .

******* WARNING: SPOILER ALERT *******

How about BRAD PITT as the villain in THE PREY? I never expected to like him in SEVEN (okay, I’m going to admit a deep, dark secret . . . I’m not a huge fan of Brad Pitt) . . . but I really thought he did a great job in SEVEN. Yeah, the movie was pretty darn good too, if you like dark, psychological suspense. (Raising hand!)

THE HUNT is a little harder, and there are two villains. What do you think of . . . Keanu Reeves for the primary villain?

Okay, I’m a huge fan of both THE MATRIX and SPEED. I know, everyone thinks Keanu can’t act, sort of like Julia Roberts he can only play one type of role, but if he can pull off a really evil villain I think he’d earn a lot of respect in Hollywood, don’t you think? (And I really, really, really loved THE MATRIX.)

The female villain is a lot harder. You don’t want someone obvious, but at the same time, you need to have someone capable of luring women into a trap and watching them be victimized. Here are a couple I thought of: Charlize Theron, Renee Zellweger and Jennifer Garner. What do you think? Any others?

Now, finally, THE KILL. This is actually the hardest for me because the killer rapes and murders children. But he’s also one of the most compelling because he’s organized, methodical, and intensely neat. He’s the everyday average person that parents fear the most.

What about Michael Keaton? I really thought he made a fantastic villain in PACIFIC HEIGHTS and he could probably pull off an insidious serial killer three decades into his career . . .

Actually, there are two villains in THE KILL though they are not working together. I think Keaton would probably play Brian Harrison Hall better than the serial killer. Hmmm. Time to procrastinate, I mean think, a little more about this.

What do you think? Can you picture any of these people playing any of my villains? What about someone else? Let me know! I’d love to hear your opinion

For Cele: John Billingsley as The Butcher:

A few days ago a friend of mine told me she wouldn’t be contributing to a particular blog group any longer due to time constraints and because her books didn’t really fit in with the group’s. Man, can I ever appreciate time constraints, but her last comment got me thinkin’ . . .

When I was a kid, I had a tough time fitting in with any group, so much so I eventually quit trying. What was wrong with just being me, anyway? What law said I had to dress, talk, walk, flirt, or look, like those other girls in order to exist? None that I knew of, so I stayed content simply doing my own thing. Now although it’s true that that attitude did nothing to enhance my social life during those formative years, I have to give it a major amount of credit for my publishing career. ‘Cause you see…

In the beginning was the word, and the word was,

THEM: “In order to be published, you have to do things ‘this’ way.”

ME: “Why?”

THEM: “Because that’s how the rest of us did it and still do it, which means everyone has to do it that way.”

ME: “Who says?”

THEM: “We say. It’s the ‘law’ in publishing. In fact, (insert slight upturn of the nose here) if you don’t do it ‘this’ way, you simply won’t get published.”

ME: “Really.” (Note, this is NOT a question.)

THEM: “Absolutely.”

ME: “Hmm. If that’s true, then why are there so many good writers out there who follow your ‘formula’ yet never get published?”

THEM: “Well . . . uh . . . well . . .” (quickly turning to another sheep in the flock to avoid my question) “Oh, hey, Harry! What about them New Orleans Saints, huh?”

ME: (Eye roll)

From the very beginning, I knew there had to be a better way to break into this business than the methods I’d heard preached time and time again. So, just like in school, I went about my own way. By giving myself permission to step outside that publishing box, I was able to look for a different, quicker path to getting published. Fortunately, that different path worked right out the chute. Funny thing is, although I’m living proof that ‘different’ can work, I still find myself the odd man out, and, the way I figure it, I probably always will be.

My friend claimed her books didn’t follow the same genre theme as a specific group’s. She’s lucky in a way. At least she knows where her books DO fit. Mine don’t seem to follow ANY groups’ specific theme, which, in the publishing world, is the sure kiss of death for a writer. Or so I’ve been told . . . over and over. But then again, my fourth book comes out next July, and each book before it has enjoyed a bigger print run than the book before it. So what’s that about?

Wait, wait, don’t tell me—that damn broad from Louisiana is doing something different again, right?

How far have you traveled outside that publishing box?

Pyscho dance moms are the worst. Just when you think you’ve gotten safely away, one of them blindsides you and whammo! You’re in a confrontation. I’ve learned to be sneaky. I’ve learned to maneuver and duck and cover.

That’s why I’m here today, actually. The sneakiness is working, and I’ve lured Natalie into complacity and taken over her blog. She’s kind of clueless right now anyway, since she is busy writing my latest story. She forgets her own name during that time.

My name, which is hard to forget, is Jenny T. Partridge, and no, I don’t have a pear tree. Heh. I’m a dance teacher in Ogden, Utah, and I spend every week just barely getting by because it turns out dancing for a living doesn’t pay so well. Especially when you only have about 70 students.

My story is told in TUTU DEADLY, which comes out April 2007 from Berkley Prime Crime, and Natalie’s busy pounding away at the keyboard right now, writing my second adventure. She better get it right. I KNOW people. People that know people. Mafia, ha! There is no wrath like the wrath of a pyscho dance mom who is really pissed off because her dance-challenged daughter doesn’t know right from left and….. Hey… HEY….. HEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY.

Ahem. Well, excuse me for that little blog. Apparently Jenny got away this morning, while I was busy reading about the capture of fugitive Warren Jeffs, affectionately known (by me at least) as Weenie Rat Face. Tracking the elusive Jeffs has been one of my causes, mostly because he a pedophile of the tallest order, and an evil dictator to boot. Amazing that he is living here in America, the land of the free. We associate this type of behavior with the Taliban and other such groups. But it’s much, much closer to home. Polygamy is one of America’s biggest evils, and one that is routinely ignored by law enforcement.

But they are on the right track. Jeffs is behind bars.

So sorry about Jenny. She’s a little pushy. A lot of fun, but pushy. And very different from my other characters in my St. Martin’s books. It requires a very big SHIFT in my thinking mechanism to move from one book to another. Jenny’s books are light cozies, and filled with humor, murder, and mayhem. My St. Martin’s books are darker, more intricate, high-concept novels with lots of twists and turns and angst. It’s not easy to go from one to another.

There is no “switch” to turn on. One thing I’ve found that helps is taking long walks to get into the mode. I think about the characters, turn them over and over in my head, study their motivations. This is perfect walking time in Utah, heading into early Fall, and it’s gorgeous. The leaves haven’t yet started to change, but mornings and evenings are cool, everything is still green, and there is plenty of blue sky.

This helps me to separate and move from one book into another, and right now, I have no choice. I have to be able to move quickly from one to another.

So, how do you get yourself in writing mode? If you write different types of books, like me, how do you make the big switch? Can you do it quickly, or does it take time?

My characters are in time out.

This weekend I just walked away. It’s not that the book is going bad, it’s just that my process is Two Steps Forward, One Step Back. And it can be darned frustrating.

Here’s the simple version of my process:

1) I write a synopsis. In this case, it was pretty easy. usually it’s a nightmare, like trying to write a book report without having read the book

2) I write a couple chapters. Life is good.

3) Everything grinds to a halt in one form or another. Now I have to get to know the characters backstory and defining moments that shape their decision and reactions. This is frustrating because I thought I understood then, but it wasn’t deep enough to give the characters the layers I want. Often I need to do more research too. Sometimes I have to go back to chapter one, sometimes I just need to tweak.

4) Breakthrough, I understand where I need to go and I write. Usually I have to tweak the plot but this is a pretty good time.

5) Heading toward the last third or so of the book I hit a snag again. When I step back I realize that this is where I have to get all my ducks in a row. I need to go over all the plot threads, work with all the characters and their motivations and goals and usually shift some stuff around. But when I’m in the middle of it, it feels overwhelming.

6) Break through and get to the end. This is the most exciting part!

7) Put the book away for a little bit of time, take it out and rewrite the book. Time away really gives me perspective and helps my rewrites. I also usually ask for a read through if a critique partner has time. My husband also has done it for me, and he’s turned out to be surprisingly good considering he’s not a big reader.

Trust me, this is an oversimplified version! Right now I’m in stage three of the anthology. So this weekend, I put my characters in time out and went shopping with my sister on Saturday and hung out with my husband on Sunday. (Okay I did some work on the galleys for THE SEX ON THE BEACH BOOK CLUB t00). Even though the real problem is that I need to do more in depth characterization and plotting, I like to blame my characters and punish them

Who do you all blame when things go wrong?

Life, my friends is good, very good. (addendum after the fact: this is a long shameless path to the guts of this post: research)

I woke up the other a.m. grumbling about having to get up so early. Hubby is on strike with the remaining kid, so I have to take the little bugger to school (which also means he [hubby] gets to stay in bed). Grrr. I’m not sure if I’m dreading or excited about number two son getting his license in October. So anyhow, I woke cantankerous, as I am want to be when I have to be out of the house before 8 a.m..

After playing bumper cars with other grumpy mothers, I came home spoiling for a fight. If hubby was on strike from driving the kid, then damn it I was on strike from making the coffee (rule is: first one up makes it, which is usually him). So, I walked haughtily by the coffee pot and fed my fish, the girls, the cat, and Max the parrot. I made my point! Or so I thought. I caved. I needed caffeine, the hot liquid kind in a cup in my hand when I check my email in the morning. I made the damn coffee.

Then I checked my email, and as is sometimes the case, I have an email from a writer who has a cop related question. I generally type my response with some degree of certainty, but always ask currently on-strike-hubby to confirm my answer. Admittedly, he usually tweaks it.

Now, Allison and Natalie both know my husband personally, and I can honestly say they lurve him. I’ll let them expound on why. (and don’t be stingy with your words ladies). Most of my CP’s and fellow writers around here have met him and get a kick out of him as well. My Kensington editor Hilary Sares likes him more than she likes me, and several of you know him from his comments here at MSW. Most of which I’ve had to either ask him to delete or seriously augment, because well, the man has an opinion and had he been left to his own devices, he would have most definitely begun one of several flame wars. And we don’t flame here at MSW.

So, he is the smartest man I know. He has an above average IQ, he has more common sense then half of the earth’s population combined. He has the gift of eloquence and he’s a damn good writer in his own right. Not to mention the guy is hilarious. He makes me laugh. It’s what attracted me to him over two decades ago and it still does. He can also be arrogant, he is protective, his faith is unshakable and he will always stand for what he believes and never fall for what is in fashion.

Now, don’t get me wrong. The man has his faults (sorry, honey, but it’s true). He will fight the good fight and know he is going to lose and suffer the consequences to go with it. And sometimes those consequences are hefty. He was always a spirit of the law kind of cop. Before he retired he held the record for most IA’s in a year. And for the record, none of them stuck. His style of police work was aggressive, hands-on and righteous. He never arrested a bad guy who didn’t deserve it. He was the officer who could diffuse a family disturbance about to go to shit, and have the bad guy walk out with his dignity intact. Hubby was never one of those half-cocked young guns who wanted to go down in a blaze of glory. No, he was the smart one, the patient one, the one you didn’t want to piss off because if you did, you paid for it. If you were fair he was fair. If you were a dick he was a dick. If you wanted to fight, he was always up for it, and always won.

There were scores of men my husband worked with over the years. In his heyday there was one elite group of them who owned the city, and the bad guys in it from the hours of 10 pm to 8 am. They all sported the same Foo Man Chu mustaches, flat tops, and kick ass attitudes. For the year and a half this squad ruled the streets, the crime rate dropped dramatically. No one fucked with them. They had a name; a name I would love to share but can’t, not yet, because it is the name of the series I’m writing in their honor. Each one of these men, and a few women (although the original real life squad had no women) will tell their story. This series, while sexy, will be straight romantic suspense. It will have its own website. I’m planning on launching this series in the antho Allison, Rocki and I are doing.

Now that I have shamelessly promoted myself and hubby, the main reason for my post today was to ask about your research habits and to offer a free resource to those of you looking for cop related answers to law enforcement questions. Beginning next Wednesday over at my The Write Life blog (www.Karintabke.com then click o the blog link) Cop Talk will go live. A certain hot cop I know, who I’m calling Officer Friendly, will take questions posed the week before (to pose a question email Karin@KarinTabke.com) and answer them.

Okay! So now this brings me around in a very long way to my original topic of this post. How far do you go for research? Do you surf the net, read books on the subject, or find a hands-on place to actually experience it? How far have you gone in the name of research? How far would you go?

ADMIN: Please welcome guest blogger Roxanne St. Claire of the popular Bullet Catchers romantic suspense series (among many other books). She’s willing to answer questions and chat with MSW friends, so don’t be shy!

Hey suspense fans, how cool to be guest blogging at one of my very favorite places to procrastinate! Thanks to Allison, Karin (my future anthology mates) and the whole MSW gang for the invitation to play in the cyber sandbox.

I’m currently in writer’s limbo, a place that rarely lasts more than two or three days for me: between books. I do not like it, Sam I Am. I function best when I am ankle, knee or (best of all) chin deep in a manuscript, living on the hairy edge of a deadline, falling wretchedly in love, taking down a baddie, planning my next twisted twist. But this month finds me in the trenches (known as signings, appearances and speeches) to promote my latest release, THRILL ME TO DEATH. I am trying to make the most of it, and using my time with so many readers to do a little unscientific market research about what they read, and why. What I’ve learned is probably not news to anyone reading this, but it is so universal that it strikes me as something that bears blogging.

Here is the mother of all understatements: readers like connected books. No, that’s not true. Readers LOVE connected books. Frankly, this connection with connection is so extensive, pervasive and attractive to readers that very often they won’t consider books that aren’t connected, much in the same way they won’t consider certain genres, time periods or settings. Maybe that’s a great big “duh” to you, but I confess it took me a while to see this particular light, blinding as it might be. My first three books, all romantic suspense single titles, were blissfully unconnected to one another. Nary a character from one showed up in another. My interest in the world I’d created and the people that populated it ended on the last page. Those books sold just fine, did very well in contests, and started a nice career chugging along for me. But it wasn’t until I climbed aboard the connected book bandwagon that my career did more than chug, and I know that forward motion is no coincidence.

Readers, I’ve learned in my recent travels to bookstores and libraries, demand connected books. They are, in truth, way past disappointed when they pick up one of my backlist and use it to point to a stack of another title and say, “Are these a series?” Fortunately, I can slide forward two other piles, with similar titles, similar covers and one big world I’ve been building. These books, I assure them, are connected, and more are on the way. This gives me an opportunity to blurb my Bullet Catchers, “bodyguards to die for” or whatever marketing phrase flows to my tongue. The audience brightens. And they buy. (In multiples.)

I admit I wasn’t a fan of connectivity when I was “just a reader” – for a good twenty years, I should say. Maybe there weren’t that many connected series around then, but when an author would reference a character who was obviously from a previous book (now happily married, conflict free and, usually, expecting) I would cringe at what felt, to me, like arrogance. Was the author so cocky that she assumes I’d read everything she’d written? Plus, it gave me that feeling you get when you arrive at the movies fifteen minutes late: I’ve missed something critical – do I even want to be here? I don’t know why it took me so long to get with the program – I was a fan of nighttime soaps back in the glory days of Knot’s Landing and Dallas, and admit to being a 24 and Lost addict today. Why wouldn’t that spill over into books?

I dipped my toes into the connected book water with my first three category books (the much-loved and oft-used brothers connection) and then, when researching the premise for my fourth romantic suspense that I had decided would feature a bodyguard, I came across the term “Bullet Catcher” and the equivalent of writer’s lightning struck. My world was born, my team was formed, my series took shape faster than I could start a character list. And, lo and behold, brother, I am a believer! Readers adore connected books.

Not that everything comes down to marketing (says the former PR pro). I am really enjoying the process of world building and the challenge that comes with layering a story arc across multiple books and creating characters who will be promoted from secondary to lead in future books. I love the “extension” of my stories, and now look for ways to layer the connectivity, whether it’s a mini-trilogy within the series or laying the foundation for a relationship between secondary characters that grows and changes from book to book. I have definitely caught the connectivity fever.

However, I do believe this phenomenon has changed the playing field for genre and commercial fiction writers. It has an impact on the kinds of stories that are told, the speed with which they are published, and the eventual success (or not) for writers who may not be hardwired to think in terms of connected series (or may not be able to produce them fast enough to feed a hungry market). I hope it doesn’t impact creativity. I have lots of story ideas that have nothing to do with bodyguards. Some aren’t even romantic suspense. There may not be brothers, sisters, co-workers or story lines involved that merit their own books. Will I get to tell them? I hope so. I hope no stand-alone stories remain untold by any writer because of the market demand for connectivity. Just as I hope no secondary characters are created for the sole purpose of having their own book someday.

I won’t ask why readers like connected stories – they’ve told me. They like to revisit old friends, they like familiarity, they are invested in the characters and their stories. But I would like to know if you all believe this trend (if it can be called that) is forever. Is it good for readers and writers? Is there anyone out there who doesn’t like connected books? Could we overdose on them? Do some work better than others, and why? I’d love to hear comments from writers and readers on the pros and pitfalls of connected books.

Thank you, again, for inviting me to stop by. I’ll check comments and will be happy to answer any questions about connectivity in particular or the writer’s life in general. For a little while, anyway. Then I’ll be leaving writer’s limbo and heading into deadline paradise. I can’t be late…I’ve got a connection to make.

xoxo
Rocki
www.roxannestclaire.com

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For want of a nail the shoe was lost.

For want of a shoe the horse was lost.

For want of a horse the rider was lost.

For want of a rider the battle was lost.

For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.

And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.—Traditional Rhyme.

It’s not always easy, this writing gig. Don’t get me wrong, I love it and I’m certainly addicted to it, but there are times where I suspect every author stares at the screen and wonders what the hell they were thinking when they started the latest book. Heaven knows most of us look back on some of our printed works and cringe from time to time. I’m certainly guilty on that count.

I saw an interesting post recently where an author asked if other writers suffer from uncertainty and the crushing weight of self doubt. The answer, damn near universally, was “yes.”

Many times that uncertainly and self-doubt gets labeled as writer’s block. It should really be called impotence. The sudden, crushing failure to perform on demand. And I think writing impotence has sub genres. For example….

Aa few years back, J. K. Rowling was on top of the world: Her first two books had blown everyone away. No one expected her to experience that level of success. Her third book was coming out and it was time to start on the fourth. Guess what? For the first time in her relatively short but explosive career, she was late turning in the manuscript. The buzz about the delay included countless rumors. Some said she’d become addicted to drugs, that she was getting married and had decided to quit writing, that her son was in trouble and she’d stopped for his sake and at least a dozen different variations on the theme.

Through all of the rumors, I wondered if her real problem was self doubt. Why? Because her first book was a success. Her second book gave a new definition to monstrous success and by the time the third was done, she was dealing with movie companies and a dozen others who wanted to license her baby and pay her a ton of money. That’s heady stuff. The sort of thing that looks good on a resume and is almost certain to guarantee phenomenal success on your fourth book in the series. Seems logical, right?

But what if Self Doubt rears its ugly head and whispers into your ear with the sure, confident voice of a dear, close friend and says: “What are you going to do now? How are you ever going to be able to top that last book? What makes you think they won’t catch on that this has all been a fluke?”

That’s really all it takes sometimes; just a little conspiratorial whisper before you fall victim to the Peter Pan Syndrome. It’s all about happy thoughts. Without them, you ain’t flyin’ anymore, baby. You’re screaming for all you’re worth while you plummet through the clouds toward that speck of concrete far below. Self doubt will knock all the ideas out of your head in two seconds flat, and leave you wondering if anything you’ve committed to paper or computer was worth even noticing. What if it sucks, and you just can’t see it, because you’re too damn close? What if it’s the worst piece of drivel ever written?

Imagine how it must feel to be an “overnight success” and run across that sort of crushing worry. Of course that’s all conjecture on my part. I’ve never met Rowling. Maybe she did get married/go into rehab/have to save her son from some horrible fate. Who knows?

Self doubt is, simply put, a bitch. It can do you in if you let it.

Stress can be a bruiser, too. It’s hard to run away to the land of make believe when you’ve got fifty bucks to your name and $3,050 worth of bills past due.
And not all stress is financial. Family issues, health issues, that relationship that was going to last forever…They can all slip in and knock your concentration to hell and back. Somehow those murderers in your story—the new improved murderers with the unique twist that will reestablish the standard in the literary world—don’t seem as scary when your life is threatening to fall apart.

Medical stress is a different matter. It’s not always possible to ignore medical stress and, frankly, not always wise. I know writers who deal with chronic pain every day. It limits the time when they can write, when they can use a computer, etc. Yet they still manage. For some reason, writers and medical ailments seem to go hand in hand. Off the top of my head, I know writers with gout, diabetes, heart conditions, suffering from hip and knee surgeries, ulcers, migraines, anxiety attacks, bipolar disorder, colitis, heart conditions, arthritis, rheumatism, cancer….it’s a damned long list. But they still write.
It’s never the lack of ideas; it’s the lack of ability to execute them. That’s what gets you when you’re not looking. That’s what feeds the self doubt machine and fuels the stress to even higher levels.

Here’s another sub genre for impotence—perfectionism.

There is a desire to make every piece you write as perfect as possible, at least if you’re a serious writer and not a hack. It’s impossible to look at anything I’ve written once it’s in print and not find things I would have changed if given a few more years to pick and fine tune. I sincerely doubt there’s a writer out there who doesn’t feel the same way. Certainly none of the ones I’ve met personally are excluded from that desire. I don’t mean an occasional comma splice or a run on sentence: I mean a strong urge not to let go of your hard work until it’s pristine, until every single sentence is capable of stunning a reader with its flawless, lyrical prose.

The only way I know to kill this monster is by following this simple rule–FINISH THE STORY. EDIT LATER.

I’ve heard of a few exceptions, where a writer decided to add a major character or subplot which required changes, but by and large the number one problem I hear writers talking about is the need to go back and edit previous scenes while they are writing. Perfectionism can be the death of your stories if you let it.

How can you ever get to the end of a journey if you keep going back to down the road you’ve already traveled to rearrange the furniture? Seriously, think about it. When you start a quest, you have to go forward.

All of these demons can and will defeat you if you give them a chance. But there is a cure for them.

It’s called discipline.

Self doubt will always be there. Without it, you’re probably going to become a megalomaniac and write some of the worst drivel ever. Self doubt is important because it makes you strive to be the best. It’s a dangerous weapon in the wrong hands, but if you’re careful you can use that little inner editor to your advantage and not end up just walking away from what might be a great story. Most of the people reading this have likely heard the name Stephen King and have heard about how his wife rescued a little story called CARRIE from the trash bin where he’d tossed it. Think how different King’s career might have been if not for his wife, Tabitha, and then consider the rhyme that starts this little article. His self doubt versus her faith.

Stress is a different beast. Stress eats away focus, and whether you like it or not, focus is necessary for writing. My best advice for that particular monster is to simply enjoy the writing process. Write for the sake of writing.

In the long run, again, it’s a matter of discipline. You can’t control every aspect of your life. None of us can. What you can control, however, is your writing.

If the story refuses to move forward, write something else. If that isn’t your cup of tea, write yourself a list of questions to answer through the course of the story. You’d be amazed how often your subconscious will answer those questions while the story progresses. The thing is, whatever the cause of your dysfunction, you can get past it with a little discipline. If that means taking a second job to pay your bills, then so be it. If that means insisting on a little private time for your writing, then make it happen. If you want to be a writer, you have to write. Put another way, and one I’ve used on many occasions: I’m too damned busy for writer’s block. I have things I want to accomplish. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

Find the way. Make the time. Write.

Lately, I’ve been frantic. I have had a mass of deadlines, and with those deadlines came fear and paranoia, and other psychological complaints, and on top of all of that, I’ve been sick for two weeks with an annoying but not really major illness. Stuffy nose, achy head, achy body, chills, slight fever, migraines, stomach trouble…. You name it, I’ve been feeling it. Not enough energy to exercise, but no reason to check into the emergency room, either.

In fact, not even enough to make me see a doctor, something I avoid like the plague.

In short, I haven’t been really happy. I know, go figure. But things have changed.

I recently sold a book to Five Star, an imprint of Thomson Gale. Five Star prints hardcover library editions. As is probably obvious, their primary market is…. LIBRARIES.

I love libraries. I love librarians, too. Their early support of WIVES AND SISTERS was crucial to its success. So I have no issue with having a book out that will mostly be in libraries. And this book, TWISTED SISTER, is a continuation of the characters in my very first book, SISTERWIFE. So it has a special place in my heart.

Kelsey and Quinn are great characters, although they are really secondary in this book. One of my favorite MAIN characters is Detective Rita Jaramillo, and she gets a starring role in TWISTED SISTER—and her own pretty hot romance. This is all on my mind right now, because I am in the middle of copy edits on this book. And it’s been an interesting experience.

I wrote this book more than five years ago. It’s fun to go back and revisit what I think is a very intriguing story, with fascinating characters.

TS also represents a bit of a departure for me, because it is written in third person. All of my books for both St. Martin’s and Berkley are in first person.

Bottom line? I found myself rejuvenated. After going back to this book I found I was invigorated. I remembered my idealism. I remembered why I WANTED to be a published writer. Most of all, I remembered writing this book. I liked this story. It was unique in that I approached a female serial killer with a twist. The base of this story was never the “who,” but more the “why?” I remembered one well-known editor rejected it. He said, “I knew from the beginning who did it.” Indeed. I never really tried to hide that. But why? Why did it happen? That was my point. And looking back, before all the rejection, I remember thinking it would sell, and I would have people emailing me one day, telling me they really liked my books. That got lost somewhere. Maybe in the mass of neuroses that come with publishing.

Sometimes I get so caught up in deadlines and promotion and all that goes with the business that I forget about those days.
When I was unpublished, but refusing to give up. When I believed I had a story to tell that someone would want to read.

And then finally, when I came close to quitting. When I was ready to pack it in.

I had three books. SISTERWIFE, TWISTED SISTER, and OUTER DARKNESS (which became WIVES AND SISTERS, renamed by the publisher). SISTERWIFE was picked up by a small independent publisher (using POD technology), but didn’t burn up any bestselling records, despite stellar reviews. I worked with an A-list agent for ONE YEAR, doing revisions and reworking W&S, and ended up with a “no.” Almost every agent I queried asked to read it, then said “no.” It was pretty much rejection after rejection.

I started wondering, “Is it time to read the writing on the wall?” I finally accepted that maybe—just maybe—they were right. I wasn’t going to make it. My early positive outlook had been wrong.

I was not one of the few.

I thought about giving up. I really thought maybe I would never get there. And then I sold my book to St. Martin’s.

I am not living in the lap of luxury. I don’t have four houses and two boats, and I don’t jet off to Europe on a whim. My last book tour was on my dime, and it consisted of book stores no farther than six hours from my home, because that’s all I could afford.

I still panic after I turn my books into my editors. I have to wait to get my royalty checks (every six months), and usually the publisher holds back more in reserves against returns than many people earn in a year. I still struggle. I make enough that I was able to quit my day job (only because my husband has a good job), but not enough that I don’t panic on a nearly daily basis, trying to budget out what I can’t foresee.

There are plenty of things that I don’t find comfortable about this business, like signings, promotion, and endless BSP. I doubt I will ever be good at it.

But I remember. I remember why I started writing books. I remember what it feels like to weave a good story, to fall in love with a character, to step back and wonder in amazement at the twists and turns.

I’ve said before that a good story writes itself. And it does. My latest book for St. Martin’s has a character that I had to BEAT BACK to keep him from taking over the book. This really happens.

I remember what it feels like to feel the pride of a finished book. I remember that I really LIKED this book when I wrote it.

And now, someone else does, too.

Thanks, Five Star and TWISTED SISTER, for taking me back.

Has anyone else had a wakeup call like this one?