Checkmate: Chess and the Mystery Writer
By MSW Guest Blogger Scott Graham Who, what, when, where, why and how? The go-to questions of a journalist—and the questions I asked and wrote up for two and a half
It’s Tuesday, which means we’re touring Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. I plan on blogging about our trip next week! I would have loved to have done a
I turned in Compulsion ten days ago, book 2 in the Max Revere series, and am awaiting notes from my editor which will come in the next week or two. One of the problems
I’m a big fan of action adventure movies. I love everything about them. The story, the choreography, the bigness of the production. THE AVENGERS was one of my
Starting in the Middle of a Series
I love reading a series. It’s the same reason I prefer television to movies. I like revisiting my favorite characters, finding out what they’re doing, how
Writers: Nature or Nurture? By MSW Guest Blogger Grant Blackwood Blackwood … Brennan … we met at a book signing. At many book signings. And share much in c
BREAKING! Cold Snap a finalist in the Thriller Awards!
A second post today! Surprise! But I couldn’t contain my excitement. COLD SNAP is a finalist in the 2014 Thriller Awards for Best Paperback Original. I am totall
Today is the day I’ve been waiting for since last March, when I first turned in the revised manuscript for NOTORIOUS. Today is the day I’ve been waiting fo
I have a confession. Whenever a new show is a huge hit out of the gate, I don’t watch it. I don’t know why, I think I get overwhelmed by the hype. I figure
I read this article in the Wall Street Journal and it really hit home. I posted it on Facebook, but found that I had more to say about the subject. On Saturday, my dau
Today is the day I’ve been waiting for since last March, when I first turned in the revised manuscript for NOTORIOUS.
Today is the day I’ve been waiting for since two years ago, when I signed the contract for my first hardcover thriller.
Today is the day I’ve been waiting for since 2006, when my first book THE PREY hit the shelves in mass market paperback, and I dreamed of one day being in hardcover.
NOTORIOUS is here.
A little bit of BSP … “Maximum Exposure,” the Max Revere prequel, will be out 3 weeks from today. It’s available for pre-order for Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Apple, and probably all the other e-tailer sites.
Maximum Exposure takes Max to Colorado Springs where she investigates the disappearance of a college student on a camping trip six months before. It takes place a full two years before NOTORIOUS, which will be out in hardcover on March 25.
The reason I wanted to write about this now is because I’m fielding a lot of questions from readers, and I thought having a central place to respond was smart, considering others may have the same questions.
One of my writing loops, which has both aspiring and published authors, had a recent thread about editing. Some of the writers had lamented that words and sentences had been added by their editor and they were appalled. I suppose I would be, too, if there was no reason for the change. One of the common themes I’ve heard from those who plan to self-publish is that they don’t want an editor to mess with their book.
To me, a good editor doesn’t mess with the story. They make the story as strong as it can be. I’m working on my 23rd book right now. I wrote it. My editor sent me five pages of notes. Already, as I’m revision, I see that her notes are right on–she identified the weak parts in the story and I’m fixing them. She’s not telling me specifically what to do, but showing me where I went wrong, or areas that are good, but could be better.
I’ve heard horror stories from published authors where they battled with their editor repeatedly. I’ve heard about authors who had an editor line edit a book to death, to the point that it didn’t sound like the author. I’ve heard about authors who have been given directives–not suggestions–and, in fact, I had one such directive in one of my Random House books which, to this day, I regret and resent. The directive did not make the book stronger, it was a marketing decision that resulted in the only book of mine to never hit the New York Times list.
Story is Character. That’s the famous quote from Robert McKee. Story is character. Character is story. Meaning, without character, you have no story. Your character drives the story, your character makes the reader invested in the story. Without a character the reader can relate to, at least on some level, or sympathize with, or care about, the reader will be dissatisfied. Yes, you can certainly write a fabulous bestseller without characters you care about (I can think of at least one thriller I read this year where I hated the characters and hated the ending, yet couldn’t put the book down), but it’s much, much better if the reader is rooting for your protagonist.
Character drives the story — as Toni McGee Causey has often said, “Story = Character + Conflict.”
My characters either walk up to me, fully formed, and I simply tell their story; or they are stubborn and I have to write and rewrite to coax out their essence. Even fully-formed characters need work during revisions, to layer in the depth that makes a good story rock. But the stubborn characters — they take time. And sometimes it takes a lot of fighting with them to finally understand what makes them tick.
Fellow romantic suspense author Shiloh Walker introduced me to Pinterest when it was still in its beta version and participants had to be issued and invitation. I don’t know whether to thank Shiloh or curse her!
I go through social media “phases” where sometimes I’m more active on Twitter, sometimes on Facebook, but Pinterest is one of those places where I visit at least once a day and just enjoy the visual aesthetics. Maybe I like it because I’m a visual person. I don’t have a fraction of the followers on Pinterest as the other social media sites, but that doesn’t bug me because Pinterest is something I do more for me than for readers.
I have boards for each of my series, a board for “romantic thrillers” in general, setting, writing in general, and my books … but I also have boards for television and movies, rooms I like, home improvement, recipes, my favorite quotes, my “inner geek” and more.
One of the newest pinners I’ve been following is going to destroy my diet if I let it … a sharable board for Southern Cuisine. OMG, the recipes are to die for. Another great place for those of us watching our fat and calories is Skinnytaste, which has a website and fabulous board. I’ve tried several of these recipes as well, and the Santa Fe Crock Pot Chicken is one of my favorites, as well as the turkey chili. I discovered these on Pinterest, too!
I probably don’t use this board for everything I could, but for me it works. I post pics of women who look like Lucy and Sean, ideas for Max’s tattoo (she has at least two) and settings — like the carriage house where Sean’s friend Colton Thayer lives in STOLEN or the entrance to the FBI Academy at Quantico. I’ve posted some of my daughter’s art, my book covers, and my pets. My neighbor has boards for landscaping ideas and home office organization and how to style her daughter’s hair. Other friends of mine use the board to plan a party, a wedding, or share vacation pictures–or places they want to visit!
Some authors post fabulous model photos, or romantic images. One sexy shot stuck with me so I repinned because it reminded me of my secondary characters in STALKED, FBI Agent Suzanne Madeaux and her ex-boyfriend Detective Joe DeLucca … there may be a story with them soon. At least, I want to write it!
One caveat — you have to be careful about copyright. When in doubt, I click through to the original image to make sure that the person who pinned it could do so. Some photographers like Trey Ratcliff posts his pictures using a creative common license — basically, you can pin and share as long as it’s not commercial (you’re not selling or making money off it.) He’s definitely someone you want to follow on Pinterest!
If you’re new to pinterest, or want some ideas to follow, check the links above, or try these below. And if you have some you think I should follow, let me know! Be inspired or be inspiring!
Me!
Chrissy — I have no idea who she is, she has a bunch of boards and over 100,000 followers. She posts mostly on humor and popular culture, I follow maybe half her boards.
GRIMM (one of my favorite TV shows)
St. Martin’s Press — my publisher. Many publishers have boards. So do bookstores, like the Tattered Cover.
Darynda Jones, fellow authors and RITA winner, who finds the BEST STUFF on the Internet! She also has a Jeremy Renner fetish, so if you do, too, you have to check her boards.
And then there’s Etsy, where I found several Christmas presents through their pins. As I see them, I posted them to a private board (you can keep some of your pins to yourself!) so I wouldn’t forget the ideas for Christmas — but where my kids couldn’t see them!
Are you on Pinterest? Do you want to be now?
Allison Brennan is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of twenty-two romantic thrillers and mysteries, including the Lucy Kincaid series and the Max Revere series. She lives in Northern California with her husband and five children.
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Two years before the events in Notorious, Max travels to Colorado Springs to investigate the disappearance of a college student. Frustrated over the lack of interest from both friends of the victim and campus authorities, Max tags along with the leader of search and rescue and his dog through the beautiful and deadly Rocky Mountains in the hopes of finding answers. Every answer she finds leads to more questions--questions neither the police nor the college want Max asking.
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