Scarry Night

A couple of weeks ago, Patti Abbott offered this Scarry Night flash fiction challenge: Write a story of about 800 words using the line "I really don't mind the scars." You'll find some of the responses, as well as links to others, at Patti's blog today. Be sure not to miss our own Kathleen Ryan's story. Here's my contribution.

DON'T BE AFRAID

by

Anita Page

“You don’t have to be afraid of me,” the man said. He had hold of the woman’s elbow as they worked their way west on 21st Street. A wet night, but it was mild. She didn’t seem to mind the rain. He didn’t either.

“What makes you think I’m afraid?” she said. She wasn’t looking at him. Had barely looked at him in the bar. Even when she’d said yes to the drink, yes to going back to his place. “And now you’re going to tell me you live in Brooklyn,” she’d said, and he’d laughed and said no. She was a pretty little thing, even with the scars.

“I’m just saying, there’s nothing to be afraid of,” he said. “I’m one of the good guys.” They were at the corner of Sixth, waiting to cross. She did look straight at him then for the first time, not a friendly look. “What?” he said.

“Never trust a guy who says he’s one of the good guys,” she said.

“Okay, then,” he said, taking her elbow as the light changed. “I’m a complete shit.”

They were approaching Eighth Avenue, when she said, “If you need to stop at an ATM, now's the time.”

Five hundred, she'd said. Christ. “And for that I get…?”

“Whatever you want,” she said. “Don’t worry.”

He wasn’t worried, but he didn’t tell her that.

He lived in a high rise east of Ninth. No doorman, but a nice lobby. Usually people commented on the apartment—he went for the Zen look, sleek lines, no clutter—but she didn’t say anything. Used the bathroom, came back and walked around a bit, looking but not touching. Stopped when she got to the photo on the steel and glass end table.

“Your girlfriend?”

“Fiancée, actually.”

“Pretty,” she said. “So what won’t she give you? Wait, let me guess. She doesn’t like the rough stuff.”

They were sitting on the butterscotch leather sofa; she was still in that damp coat.

Instead of answering, he said, “Do you have a name?”

“It's Grace,” she said.

He said, “Grace, why don’t you take off your clothes. Let me see what I’m paying for.”

“There’s no rush,” she said. “You’ve got me for the whole night.” She picked up his hand and put it against her cheek, running his fingers over the two parallel scars that ran from her ear to her jaw. “You haven’t taken your eyes off them all night,” she said. “What would you like to know?”

“Who did that to you?” he said.

“The man I worked for wasn’t happy when I decided to go out on my own. This was his way of ending my career.”

She’d let go of his hand but he was still touching her face, his fingers lingering on the scars. “Too bad,” he said. “A pretty girl like you.”

“I really don’t mind the scars,” she said. “The way it works, I’ve got myself a niche clientele. Guys who are turned on by the way I look, guys like you who want to play rough.”

“You think that’s what turns me on?” Still stroking her face.

“I can always tell,” she said. “You look at my face and think what it would be like to cut a woman. Maybe some day try it for yourself. It’s an exciting thought, isn’t it?” She touched him and squeezed and said, “See what I mean?”

He grabbed her face and breathed into her ear, whispering, “Is that what I have to do to shut you up, Grace? Cut you?”

She said, "What you have to do is get out of those wet clothes, run a nice hot bath, and I'll come and scrub you down. You'll take it from there, I promise."

"Oh, I will," he said, pressing his thumb into the ridge of flesh above her jaw. "I'll definitely take it from there."

He waited for her in the tub, eyes shut, head resting against the tile. Relaxed. The bath hadn’t been a bad idea. Then he heard her moving around and said, “If you’re not naked, you’re coming in with your clothes on.”

Nothing.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he said, opening his eyes, ready to reach for her before he saw what she was dangling above the water. A live wire, insulation peeled back, plugged into the outlet above the sink. “What the hell…?” His voice cracked.

“Tool of the trade,” she said. “I call it the scumbuster.”

“Is that supposed to be funny?” he screamed. Thinking about slamming his fist into her belly, but too terrified to make a move.

“Do you hear me laughing?” she asked.

###

MTM: Warm Mineral Springs, North Port, Florida

Today’s history lesson: Juan Ponce de Leon, a Spanish soldier and explorer, came to the Americas on Columbus’s second voyage in 1493 and stayed in Santo Domingo (the Dominican Republic) when Columbus returned to Spain. He established the oldest European settlement in Puerto Rico and discovered the Gulf Stream (An important shipping current flowing from the tip of Florida across the Atlantic Ocean to Northern Europe.)

Native Americans told Ponce de Leon about the legendary Fountain of Youth, a spring whose waters had the power to restore youth. In 1513, he sailed from Puerto Rico and, on Easter Sunday, April 2,1513, he landed just north of present day Saint Augustine. He named the area Florida an abbreviation of Pascua Florida—Flowery Easter.

On his last expedition in 1521, Ponce de Leon set out to colonize Florida and discover the Fountain of Youth. His party of nearly two hundred settlers landed on the west coast of Florida in what is now know as Charlotte Harbor. They met fierce resistance from the Native Americans and were forced to withdraw. Ponce de Leon was mortally wounded in the battle and died when the fleeing party reached Cuba.

And he was never to know how close he came to The Fountain of Youth or as it is better known, Warm Mineral Springs, North Port, Florida, just a few miles north of Charlotte Harbor, which is the only warm mineral spring in Florida. Its water has the highest mineral content of any warm springs in the United States and is third highest in the world. Warm Mineral Springs has a higher mineral concentration than the famous spas in Vichy and Aix les Bains in France, Baden Baden in Germany and the Hot Springs in Arkansas.

Warm Mineral Springs is a water-filled, hourglass shaped sinkhole. It is about 80 yards in diameter and 230 feet deep where warm, heavily mineralized water enters from regions far below. It was developed into a spa years ago and visitors come from around the world to soak in its rejuvenating water.

Nine million gallons of mineral water, temperature approximately 87 degrees, flows through the spring each day. So, you wonder, how does it feel to spend a day at the Springs.

Glorious!

I spent the day there last Wednesday and I can tell you that the entire area surrounding the Springs is exceptionally peaceful, the water is rejuvenating and the café serves exceptionally fresh and wholesome food but also includes hamburgers and fries. If you are ever in the area, don’t miss your opportunity. I’m sure Ponce de Leon is sorry that he never quite got there.

You can read about other interesting locations on the My Town Monday blog.

Terrie

Hollywood May Finally Be Catching On

According to this article in the New York Times, "in the last few months an older audience has made a startling reassertion of its multiplex power. “True Grit,” “The King’s Speech,” “The Fighter,” “Black Swan” — all movies in contention for a clutch of Oscars on Sunday — have all been surprise hits at the box office.
And they have all been powered by people for whom 3-D means wearing glasses over glasses, and “Twilight” sounds vaguely threatening.
Hollywood, slower than almost any other industry to market to baby boomers, may be getting a glimpse of its graying future. While the percentage of moviegoers in the older population remains relatively small, the actual number of older moviegoers is growing explosively — up 67 percent since 1995, according to GfK MRI, a media research firm. "

I admit to being a very occasional moviegoer. But there are some movies that have gotten me into the theatre on “release” weekend. I first realized that the movie industry was letting a potential market go unrecognized when Tea With Mussolini came out in 1999. I was in my early fifties and had to work on Saturday, but finished early and found a 2 pm show in a theatre not far away. I was shocked that when, at 1:45, there was hardly a seat left and I was definitely the youngest person in the room. Same thing happened with The Bucket List.

The Times article goes on to say: "Just last weekend, “Unknown,” with a 58-year-old Liam Neeson as its action star, was No. 1 at the box office, beating a heavily promoted teenage science fiction movie. More than half of the audience was over 50.
Almost every studio has a movie aimed at an older audience on its current schedule or in development, whether it’s “Dirty Old Men” at Warner Brothers or “Larry Crowne” at Universal Pictures. Fox Searchlight has high hopes for “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” about a group a British retirees who go to India. It stars Judi Dench and Maggie Smith, who are both 76."

As one of the “first wave of the baby boomers,” I turn 65 this year. I hope we can look forward to an increasing number of movies based on story and character rather than on special effects and loud noise.

Terrie

Featherproof Flash

I've read Utne Magazine on and off for decades. Now they've turned me on to Featherproof Books ("an indie publisher dedicated to innovation") where you can download mini-books, fold them into a readable book according to instructions (some are readable folded in origami) and slip them in your pocket. Flash fiction has found its format!

Check out free mini-books and storigami books. They've even got a triple-quick iPhone app.

I took a link from the Featherproof site to Edward Champion's List of Independent Alternatives to Closed Borders Bookstores. It's a true work of the heart, but Champion's post is sobering indeed. With so many of the Borders stores closing and nearly half its employees fired, it's an opportunity to spread the news about remaining indie bookstores. Maybe a few more will spring from Borders' wake.

- Lois

Book Party for a Pal: 7 Morsels of Wisdom

Last night, I was at a very nice launch party at the ever-welcoming Partners & Crime mystery bookstore here in NYC. It was for Sara J. Henry's debut, LEARNING TO SWIM, which we briefly reviewed and gave away here. So, you know the book's good already, but here are other things I observed and learned:

1) Sara J had guests from all over, friends made in various locations and times of her life, including a former roommate, exchange student now Ph.D. in Physics,a co-worker from health book publishing, Tennessee's Christine McCann--crime fan extraordinaire, also writers A.S. King, Persia Walker, and Reed Farrel Coleman among others. There were people like me, who first met Sara J in the hotel bar with our own Terrie Farley Moran at Bouchercon in Baltimore, way back in 2008. People who couldn't make it sent regards, flowers, or like our own Kathleen Ryan, made sure to buy a book and get it signed in absentia, and furthermore, Sara J's been touring like mad among blogpals who want to host her.

I was reminded how many friends I've made at conferences--part of what makes them so worthwhile--and that those chance meetings can end up being so important. I was also reminded how easy it is to think that no one cares whether or not you ever finish that novel or see it published. But the truth is you're far more likely to be bowled over by energetic support from people who recognize what a personal achievement it is. Even people who might have nothing to do with crime novels or fiction, except for their interest in yours because you wrote it.

2) Social Media does work to help these dispersed folks know what you're doing and where. Especially traveling, it can help to assemble the members of your life's scattered posse.

3) More like tender buttons than crisp wafers, well-spiced, perfectly baked and crusted with sugar on top. Sara J's gingersnaps are every bit as tasty as reputed.

4) She had a great novel's opening and ending, she suspected, and forced herself to finish the manuscript with the pressure of exchanging chapters weekly with another writer. (UPDATE: Turns out, I did slightly mangle the chronology, and Sara J helped me fix it in the comments thread- better now, thanks!) Then, she sat on it until almost 10 years had past since having the first glimmer of a notion, because she was still unsure what to do with the parts she suspected weren't working yet. To get that big, last, necessary overhaul finally done, she did a house swap that landed her in Australia with a broken foot, no TV, and nothing to do for 5 weeks except to face down the demon page.

A good idea's worth the wait, and you'll probably have to make yourself uncomfortable in some way to refine it, or you're not being challenged. Impatience isn't a novelist's friend, and a slow boil can benefit the taste of the final dish. Now that she's in the second novel, she's encountering a whole different writing pace and type of insecurity about her skills. Ah, the bright new vistas of discomfort that progress brings!

5) Sara J got inspiration and advice from a bunch of people: subject experts and other writers and people she knew personally. The richness of her life and acquaintances added to the complexity of her book. Being occasionally pleasant to be around actually IS a useful skill for a writer--forget the self-important angsty poetic types you've met-- and your (weird) friends can help you make unexpected connections. Oddballs and specialists have loads of value for reference material!

6) Kiz at Partners & Crime asked Sara J to host her launch right after reading the galley. Booksellers DO get enthused about authors and books, when given the chance to know them, and they make extra efforts to support what excites them. Support them, too, and ask for recommendations, because these book lovers' ink-stained fingers have turned a lot of pages. (Perhaps even swiped a lot of screens and pressed a lot of next-page keys?)

7) I have got to catch up on my sleep, because I was as much fun as a coatrack and half as lifelike.

'Tis a Far, Far More Evil Thing I Do...

I'd like to talk for a moment about villains. Lately, I've encountered a series of villains who were simply too evil to be believed. I know that sounds ridiculous given that we have characters in real life like H. H. Holmes and Jeffrey Dahmer, but I have become supremely tired of men who are wife-beating drug lords or serial killing psychopaths.

Perhaps this is why I prefer small crimes. Most crimes, after all, are committed for money or jealousy or the like. The men who commit them are ordinary, with ordinary thoughts. Who, after all, hasn't thought about murder at least once? True, most of us don't act on those notions, but that's what makes the small villain intriguing. He is the same as we are, but different.

And perhaps that's the real problem for me. I prefer characters I can identify with a bit. Even if they're villains. Sure, the serial killers are scary and thrilling, and I'll never give up reading about them, but I'm a bit burnt out I am afraid. I think I'll go back and read all the Travis McGee novels, as they were brought up in the comments on Monday's post and it's been more than a few years since I did so!

What about you? What's your favorite kind of villain or your least fave? Are their villains you won't read?

Tuesday Twosome: Noir & Mystery Edition

I'd like to share more than two sentences; I have a story posted at A Twist of Noir. It's part of the "600 to 700" challenge in which participants have been submitting stories with their pre-arranged word count. Christopher Grant, the editor and publisher of A Twist of Noir, posted stories #656-661 last Monday. I am proud to be in the company of the super talented Charlie Stella, Kieran Shea, Kevin Michaels, U.V. Ray, and Christopher Grant (and all the other authors whose work has graced ATON).

My story, #661, is "Heat of Passion."

A few notes: I refer to a song by Porter Wagoner, "The Cold Hard Facts of Life" in my story. If you haven't heard it before (it's sort of "country noir"), check out this video. (By the way, Dolly Parton had written "I Will Always Love You," as a tribute to Porter Wagoner when she was leaving his show.)

Also, my completely fictionalized story (well, the "bimbo-basement" dilemma is real) was inspired by a real-life event that occurred in Texas several years ago, in which a woman jumped out of a truck and yelled, "Rape!" when her husband came home unexpectedly. He shot and killed the man in the truck and it turned out the wife was having an affair. You can read about who's currently serving time.

Here's the opening lines to "Heat of Passion":

As a rookie cop and a newlywed, Doug swore he’d never face the “bimbo-basement” dilemma.

Fifteen years later, however, while driving home on a sweltering night after a weekend tryst, he recalled the warning uttered by his salty field training officer: “Every married cop who chases tail or fools around with a relief point bimbo eventually faces the same fate...."

On to the reading portion of Two Sentence Tuesday...

I attended Brad Park's book reading and signing for Eyes of the Innocent on Friday, Feb. 11, at The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City (@TheMysterious). It was my first visit to The Mysterious Bookshop, and I was very impressed with the selection and the atmosphere of this fine store. I first met Brad at Bouchercon in San Francisco last October, when he participated on a panel with Hilary Davidson, R.J. Ellory, and Douglas Corleone, moderated by Jen Forbus.

Brad, who won the Nero Award for Best American Mystery and a Shamus Award for Best First Mystery for his debut novel, Faces of the Gone, read several passages -- just like a seasoned actor. The added bonus to this evening was seeing fellow NY/TriState Sister in Crime, Hilary Davidson, author of The Damage Done (I took this photo of Hilary and Brad). The Mysterious Bookshop's blog has photos from the party.

Eyes of the Innocent is a "Carter Ross" mystery. Carter, the same protagonist in Faces of the Gone, is an investigative reporter who looks into a fire that caused the death of two little boys. I began reading the book on the train ride home to Long Island. Eyes of the Innocent is a pleasure to read; it's dramatic and suspenseful, but filled with humor.

With my background of working with the media for 16 years in the police department, it's been fun to read the authentic dialogue and terminology used by a member of the press.

Here's a snippet:

I realize I may encourage a slight blurring of the line between reporter and source, but there still is a line. I find a good rule of thumb for journalism ethics is to think of what the headline would be if another newspaper decided to write about how you covered a particular story. JOURNALIST SHOWS SYMPATHY TO MOURNING MOTHER is something I could live with. JOURNALIST HARBORS FUGITIVE FROM JUSTICE didn't have as nice a ring.

So, what have you been reading? How's your writing going? I'll update this page throughout the day to add links to your sentences, or you can add them in the comments section.

Stop by The Goat's Lunch Pail, to see how rewriting (and re-titling) has reinvigorated Leah J. Utas while working on "Blood Love." Quite a sensual snippet, Leah!

Dorte H. Jakobsen, shares a bit of her fish-- I mean flash fiction, in "A Summer Fling." Terrific character name, Dorte!

Also ~ if you have any thoughts to share about the video, the stories up at ATON, or Brad Parks and his novels and awards, I'd love to hear it!

Come follow me on Twitter @katcop13.

A Question For Monday

I was thinking about Anita's excellent post from yesterday and I realized that since I tend to write female protagonists,the way they look is integral to who they are. I know that's a massive generalization, but there it is. When I think about my mystery heroines, both of them were very aware of their looks. One because she came from a background where her slight build actively put her in danger. The other has "let herself go" since leaving a job that required her to be polished and perfect.

When I read male protags, the POV tends to be third person. Description in those cases is easier, as Anita noted. You don't have to resort to the sidelong mirror glance. Since (again, in general) men don't tend to associate their physical selves with their inner selves, they aren't as apt to think about themselves in those terms unless they have a job that, say, requires they stay in shape.

So here's my Monday question. Any well-written crime novels with a male first person narrator people can recommend?

What Color Did You Say Her Eyes Were?

Elmore Leonard’s eighth rule of writing came up for discussion recently on one of the listserves I belong to. That’s the rule that says: Avoid detailed description of characters. As an example, Leonard cites a short story by Hemingway, in which the only physical description of character is: “She had taken off her hat and put it on the table.”

There was some disagreement on the list about how much is enough, and how much is too much when it comes to letting the reader know what characters look like. Since this is something I sometimes struggle with, I went back to Leonard himself to see how he handles it.

Here’s one example from The Big Bounce:

“She would be nineteen or twenty, Ryan decided: slim and brown in white shorts and a striped blue and tan and white top that was like the top of an old-fashioned bathing suit, sitting there with her ankles tucked under her and moving the funnies now so Ryan or Bob Jr. or anybody who wanted to could see her nice tan legs.”

In this 62-word passage, Leonard lets us see the woman with the nice tan legs, gives us a sense of how she relates to men, shows us Ryan’s reaction to her, and foreshadows the relationship that’s going to dominate the story. All muscle, no fat here. The man makes every word work.

Another example, this one from LaBrava:

“Right away LaBrava liked her confidence. He liked her slim build in jeans standing with long legs apart, arms folded, brown hair waved to her shoulders. A good-looking girl who knew what she was doing.”

Good-looking, long legs, brown hair. This is all we need, isn’t it? As readers, we fill in the details for ourselves. And again, the description does double duty because it comes in the form of one character’s reaction to another.

What I always find most challenging is the description of my protagonist. If you shift POV from chapter to chapter, as Leonard does, a logical solution is to have someone else describe your protag. But what if you work in a single POV, either close third or first person? Is there any way around the inevitable, and overused, glance in the mirror? (Guilty! I admit it.)

I found this at the beginning of Denise Mina's Field of Blood, when Paddy Meehan is challenged about her religion: "They knew from her name that she was Catholic. She even looked bog Irish, with black hair and skin the color of a paper moon."

Elegant, yes? A brief, striking visual that hints at conflict and feeds into the plot.

Instead of bombarding you with more quotes, let me ask this: How do you handle character description in your own writing? What writers do you think do this especially well? And, slightly off-topic, aren’t we lucky to be able to spend the day reading crime fiction and call it research?

A Sign of The Times

As we’re all aware, there’s been much discussion of E-books and their prominence in the marketplace. Yet, I couldn’t help but be surprised when I opened last week’s New York Times Book Review and saw the new format for the best sellers section.

One new page was devoted to Print vs. E-books. The top part of the page featured a chart showing the top 10 books and their stats in each category while the bottom presented a combined listing of the top 15 Print and E-book best sellers in fiction and non-fiction.

The other best seller pages were doubled, with new sections separating Print from E-books in hardcover fiction, non-fiction, trade fiction, mass market fiction, etc.

I hadn’t seen or read anything about this change but it’s certainly an indication that e-books are a force unto their own and are certainly making a difference in the world of publishing.

Let’s be friends on facebook and follow me on Twitter @cathicopy

Criminal Inspiration: Sidewalk Rage?

It's been awhile since I've posted a weird item that I thought could be enjoyably twisted to (fictional) criminal purposes. Perhaps this one struck me because I'm often among the commuting throngs now, so I notice the dreaded "slow walkers" more. However, I remember the feeling in tight store aisles and high-school hallways as well, so I'm not sure it's a purely urban phenomenon. I think it may be a modern impatience phenomenon.

My big peeve isn't anyone with a stroller or walker, or toddlers or luggage or shopping bags in tow, some obvious reason why they're at their pace. My irritation is with the young able-bodied groups of twos (and sometimes threes or fours) who create a wall across one directional "lane" of a crowded sidewalk. Amble, saunter, mosey as you will, but don't create an impassible, oblivious bottleneck 15 feet across. Yes, I'm talking to you, young starry-eyed couples in love. Get all moony in parks and on balconies--not at the entrance to the 6 train at 5:31pm. Even then, I'm afraid my tender nature considers those rose-scented, heart-covered dunce caps lovers wear a cute(ish) kind of temporary disability. I shove them aside with tremendous sympathy and all good wishes.

The WSJ's Shirley Wang has written an article about actual research (labcoats, clipboards, the whole 9) being done on the concept of sidewalk rage. There's more at the paper's Metropolis blog, where I got the video. Will this become the courtroom's next "Twinkie defense?"

Winner of Sara J. Henry's LEARNING TO SWIM

This time around, Carol-Lynn Rossel wins our giveaway!

Congratulations, and thanks to everyone who entered!

Cover Story

Last week I received the final cover art for my upcoming novel,TELLING LIES. It’s exactly what I wanted—impactful, dramatic and mysterious—at least I hope so.

The story revolves around stolen Nazi art, a man missing post 9/11 and the lies that surround and bring these events together. And while a cover is just a hint of what’s to come; I think this one conveys the idea perfectly.

The publisher, Catherine Treadgold of Camel Press, asked for and acted on my input for which I’m grateful. After a few revisions, we were all more than satisfied with the outcome.

I thought I’d share with you here. Hope you like it. Let me know what you think.

Let’s be friends on facebook and follow me on Twitter @cathicopy

Sara J Henry's LEARNING TO SWIM Giveaway

As some of you may already know, blogpal Sara J. Henry's debut crime novel, Learning to Swim, is being released next week. And in honor and celebration, she's given us a signed advance reader's copy to give away. (This one's been very gently read by moi, but I knew you'd want to know more about the story! Also, you can go to her website to read the whole first chapter.)

Troy Chance, the heroine of our story, finds herself diving off a ferry into the killing-cold of Lake Champlain and dragging herself back up onto shore with a small boy who speaks only French. This opening is completely immersive, told elegantly-painfully, but I may not be the first to make the pun.

On most days, Troy lives in Lake Placid, NY, and unlike most heroines I've read recently, is frankly athletic. *Not health-conscious or fitness-oriented, but athletic. Troy's not a gym rat who wears expensive clothes to meet with her personal trainer. She enjoys challenging her physical limits, and most especially, in the great outdoors. She runs, bikes, and swims (of course!) in a community where the Winter Olympics still casts a shadow, and people work as ski bums to afford the freedom to commune with the slopes in their spare time. Troy's been covering local sports as a freelance journalist, a position which is scaled, along with the local cost-of-living and having several jock roommates, to allow her the kind of freedom she's pursuing, too.

This is one refreshing thing about Troy, but a couple others are her not-too-rusty French (which she'll need as much as her athleticism) and her personal reserve. Her equilibrium is disturbed by the sudden depths of her feelings for Paul after she saves him, and even after returning him--under some suspicion--to his wealthy father in Canada, where he really should be safe, right? Paul and his mother were kidnapped together and held for ransom. His mother is still missing, though the worst is now feared, and the investigative trail has gone as cold as the lake Paul was dumped in to drown.

Much of the story takes place in Canada, where people do not habitually blather their secrets and wear their hearts on their sleeves. Perhaps it would be easier for Troy to know whom to trust if they did, but as taken aback as she is by her willingness to risk herself for this strange boy, I was more surprised by what she was willing to hide from herself. It's an interesting tale with characters I don't encounter everyday and who simply aren't laid before the reader as settled questions.

So, naturally, now that you must read it for yourself, we shall allow our friends in the U.S., but also our Canadian pals, to enter. Add a comment that contains your e-mail or links to a valid contact e-mail, and we'll enter you. If you're so inclined, tell us, too, the weirdest thing you ever saw or touched while swimming. Keep it PG-13!

The comments thread will also let you know whether your entry's been counted. By midnight Thursday, we'll close the entries. By then, I'll have figured out some goofy, thematic way to do the drawing. On Friday, we'll announce the winners!

Jump in! This water, at least, feels fine!

Two Sentence Tuesday - Bad Writing Edition

Yes, I am still reading Patton Oswalt's Zombie Spaceship Wasteland. I am also reading three books I have to review. Whoops. Hope I can keep them straight. So when I need to turn off my brain, I turn to Patton and read a few pages here and a few there. But I thought this was a great reminder of how not to write, whether with or without an outline! Here's Patton on his first novel:

I spent the first eighty pages of the novel equipping my main character. I'm not kidding--he started with a bolt-action rifle and a knife, and then he kiled some people and took enough canned food and other trinkets from them to trade for the wrist gun and Blade Runner gun. Once I realized I couldn't think of any cooler guns for him to acquire, I lost interest in the book.

I laughed really hard when I read that. I so totally, completely understand that feeling.

Here is a paragraph from my own WIP that's decidedly less amusing.

“Trevor had an easy way about him, which made him an ideal innkeeper, but Chance had never developed his brother’s people skills. The citizens of the growing village of Billingsly used his store and his bank because they had nowhere else to go. And then one night, while Trevor’s wife was in labor with their second child,” Hazel’s voice dropped, encouraging them all to lean in over the table, “Chance Billingsly was murdered in his sleep and his house burned to the ground.”

What about you? Written or read anything good or bad? As usual, let us know what you're up to and we'll update this post throughout the day with links to you!

• Leah J. Utas has words of wisdom on her blog today!
• Dorte H. is flashing us this week. (*grin*)
  

My Town Monday: Virtual Valentines and Real Worlds, NYC

I'm in new places, both online and in the real world. Since January, I've been working part-time at Macmillan in the triangular Flatiron (or Fuller) Building. See the expansive Wikipedia post all about this odd beauty built in 1902, including a movie of street life from 1906, and some of the great art and photographs it inspired. I've always liked the Flatiron district and neighboring Gramercy Park, so it's nice to come to work here. From the sidewalk, I took a coupleof mobile phone photos facing north across 23rd Street, into the pleasant (and intermittently snowbound) Madison Square Park.

The view of the Empire State Building as you look north is beautifully unobstructed. I took this on on my first day.

Beside the winding path in the pic below, you'll see a low building on the right. That's the Shake Shack, a year-round emporium of grilled greatness. Not only does their site offer pictures in full summer swing, by clicking on the Shack Cam link, you can see what it looks like at any moment. Because it's walk-up fare, impatient New Yorkers like to check the lines before hoofing it over!

My job with Macmillan involves working on a crime blog to launch later in the year. However, another flavor of the same idea for romance fans is launching today- Valentine's Day, when else? I really enjoy working with the people who've made this site happen, and I lent a small bit of elbow grease, for which I feel undeservedly proud. Anyway, whether the romance fan vibe is your thing or not, it's a fresh location to visit. Like a building went up overnight, full of conversations and arguments and new neighbors. Do check it out at Heroes and Heartbreakers. (Budgies chirp that one or two of our Women of Mystery have even written posts that will appear there in the days to come.)

At the very least, you'll see an idea of where the crime site's heading in look and organization, as well as how wide-ranging and independent the content will be. And on today of all days, what better neighbor to visit for a cup of sugar?!

Also be sure to visit the official blog for more My Town Monday posts.

Plotting or Plodding

For years as an editor I encouraged new writers to always work from an outline. I remember saying hundreds of times, "You can't get where you're going without a map."

With my own writing I was once referred to an the Queen of Plotting by the writers group I was in. I was constantly plotting and coming up with great ideas. However, very few of them were completed. I've started more novels than I care to say and finished exactly five. I sold one to a romance line that was discontinued before my book was published. I had my advance but no finished product. For years I continued in this "holding pattern" and didn't do much more than discuss ideas, send out proposals, and collect rejection letters.

After working every day for more years than I like to admit, I became a freelance writer and did quite well with regional publications in my area. Then we moved to a different part of the country where I had no contacts and no insider knowledge so I turned to writing fiction full-time and completed my fifth book.

I did it doing exactly what I had always said not to do when I was an editor. I came up with the skeleton plot, worked on character backgrounds for a while, and began writing, letting my characters lead the way.

To my surprise I experienced a sense of freedom and creativity I hadn't felt in years. I didn't have to follow rigid guidelines and established objectives. I spent a lot of time inside my character's heads wondering how they would truly react in a situation and what all the possible outcomes could be.

And also to my surprised, I have a completed book, not just an idea I'm still stewing about in my head.

Don't worry, I'm not saying everyone should take this route. I'm just saying it was time for a change in my own writing life and I've enjoyed the decision I made.

I think it was Einstein who once said that the definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. I think that says it all.

Busting Boundaries

I'm just back from a couple of literary events...one a Winter Poetry and Prose Getaway in Cape May, of all places—where snow dusted the dunes—the other a trip to DC for the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) conference with 8,800 attendees, at which I suffered a serious case of MFA envy.

I filled pages with notes. I learned a few things. Mainly, to break the rules!

Many of the AWP panelists, who had struggled to attend the DC conference despite the mother-of-all-storms that crippled half the nation, were feeling the bite of winter and were, perhaps, just a tad rebellious. At every session I attended I was encouraged to bust boundaries, figure out the rules and embrace them only in order to break every last one.

This was especially encouraged in sessions on the subject of writing non-fiction. We were told that without “story”—whether fact or fiction—a book has no anchor. (Hmmm…ya think?) Hence, story is paramount, and for the sake of story and the reader’s universal aha, we can craft our non-fiction using exaggeration for effect; write memoir in more than one voice, each in first person; reach for metaphor without concern for the whole truth; and tweak the specific in order to illuminate our “subjective” truth.

Have we learned nothing from James Frey? (On second thought, what’s to learn? The man made zillions with his so-called “non-fiction” story, A Million Little Pieces, and all the consternation and controversy surrounding its publication served only to sell more books.)

I met Pam Houston, whom I greatly admired, who acknowledged that all her books—whether her publishing house labels them fiction or non-fiction—are 82% truth. She takes a lighthearted approach to genre, leaving the decision to her editors. Turns out she taught Frey. Her comment after dropping that bombshell: “So you can see the problem….”

One or two panelists did insist that non-fiction writers not betray their contract with the reader—that a story touted as memoir or personal essay must speak the truth and nothing but. I was reminded of Rebecca McClanahan, with whom I studied creative non-fiction at the Hudson Valley Writers’ Center. She is a master at crafting story without bending the truth, and was adamant—even pre Frey—that one must never do so.

But what of emotional truth, in which facts are muted or amplified when memory fails us. We remember an ugly incident in shades of black and white, forgetting the grays. We recall charming eccentricities in exaggerated terms. Certainly, no reader can expect dialogue to survive the decades.

We were offered one tip for avoiding outright lies when our memoirs require that we fill in gaps: Be explicit about your uncertainty, admit your limitations. Say something akin to, “this is how I imagine it happened….”

The final event at the AWP conference was a reading by Amy Hempel—a dynamite author of short stories who writes autobiographical fiction without bothering to label it—who was improbably paired with Gary Shteyngar who read, in character, from his hilarious soon-to-be-published third novel, Super Sad True Love Story. Check out the trailer. If you can possibly catch him on tour, jump at the chance before you read the book. You'll never forget that voice.

Image of dogs jumping the fence: from http://funnyanimalphoto.blogspot.com/2008/11/dogs-great-escape.html.

In the other photo I'm discussing a fiction piece with author Richard Weems at the Winter Getaway.

- Lois

Down for the Count, But Not Out of Links

Via the essential @elizabethscraig, I found a blog post from Janice Hardy at The Other Side of the Story about cutting down word count.

Janice brings the issue down to a page-by-page goal. It occurred to me what a terrific approach this is, since I know it can be defeating to think about deleting thousands or even tens of thousands of words. It was interesting to me that she didn't advise necessarily thinking about dumping scenes wholesale. Also, she demonstrated, using examples of her own work that had already been through many editing passes before publication. This proves:

1) Your eye evolves along with your writing.
2) You can always get better.
3) Even a pro has to call "Done!" on editing sometime, or you'll end up gibbering endlessly like a lunatic.

As a free bonus if you click in the next 20 minutes (or so), the ever-connected Elizabeth Spann Craig (aka Riley Adams) posts at Mystery Writing is Murder to explain how the non-writing activities of social media help her writing career and other people's, too!

BUT WAIT! That's Not All! Here's a case study from Hoot Suite on how the New York Public Library uses Twitter to make the full range of @nypl library resources known. And all without a single dedicated social-media employee!

Sound too good to be true? 30 day money-back guarantee on all free links. Operators standing by @clare2e

"Word Count" image via Nina Laden's blog.

2011 Backspace Writers Conference

The Backspace Writers Conference is set for May 26-28, 2011, at the Radisson Martique (32nd and Broadway) in New York City. Through the generous support of sponsors, the cost to attend the conference this year has been lowered. The brochure outlines the highlights of the conference.

There is an opportunity to win free registration (not travel or lodging costs) to attend the conference. Read all the details on agent Janet Reid's blog. It involves sending a query letter and the first two pages of your finished novel via snail mail. Entries must be postmarked by March 15, 2011.

The contest will be judged by Janet Reid, Suzie Townsend and Meredith Barnes of FinePrint Literary Management, and Joanna Volpe and Sara Kendall of Nancy Coffey Literary & Media Representation.

The cost of the conference depends on which portions you'd like to attend. If you wish to attend all three days, which includes the Agent-Author Seminar (which is limited to 150 writers), Conference Program, Book Signing & Cocktail Reception, Donald Maass workshop, the cost is $700 (Backspace Members receive a $120 discount on a 3-day registration). The information and cost for individual days and tickets for the cocktail reception can be found here.

There's a bonus evening workshop being held from 7-9 pm Thursday, May 26, by Jeff Kleinman ~ his popular "Buy This Book" role-playing workshop.

You can follow Backspace on Twitter @bksp_org and on Facebook; follow Janet Reid @Janet_Reid.

Come follow me on Twitter @katcop13.

Writerly T-Shirts

A friend of mine is running a contest to get some new designs for her store. It's now in the voting phase, so pop on over and vote for your favorite. (I'm resisting the urge to tell you which one's mine, but one of them is!)

Kathy pointed out on Twitter (thanks, Kathy!), that I hadn't included a link to the main store as well as the contest. The main store has awesome stuff. I have a great shirt from there that says "Writer's Block: when your imaginary friends stop talking to you." Here's the main store link!

Oops, I Forgot It's Two Sentence Tuesday!

But better late that never, I suppose.

I am reading a whole bunch of things, but among them is still Patton Oswalt's Zombie Spaceship Wasteland. So here are a few sentences to tickle your fancy.

The book and the cassette tape—they did the same thing for me. People will find transformation and transcendence in a McDonald's has brown if it's all they've got. Come to think of it, I bet I'd be a better writer if my portal had been a hash brown. Oh well. Don't look back.

In keeping with the theme of food, if not transcendence and transformation, here are couple from my WIP.

The salmon fillet she’d ordered had been seared before roasting, giving it a crispy brown crust, and a spill of white wine and Dijon mustard sauce had been artfully drizzled over the top to pool at the end. It was accompanied by broccoli rabe that smelled of sautéed garlic and thickly cut herbed roasted potatoes.

How about you? Read anything? Written anything? As usual, let us know and we'll link to you!

• Judith Gaines contributes in the comments this week.
• Leah J. Utas has some sentences this week on government capons. (And if you don't know what a capon is--and many don't--please go ahead and look it up.)
• Dorte is playing alphabet and she's hanging out at E today!
• GM is hanging out in the comments today with a couple of couples!
  

On Writing Bad Reviews: Is there Honor in Candor?

Via @AlexGeorge and @emilymandel (of course!), I found this article posted at The Millions titled "On Bad Reviews."

Emily covers a LOT of interesting and uncomfortable territory about receiving bad reviews, especially from those few, major reviewing organs that seem to have the most sway. The whole essay's worth reading, but I want especially to tease out one thread that I find personally provocative and troublesome (emphasis mine):

"There are dedicated book critics, but we’re reviewed quite frequently by a jury of our peers. It’s really, truly, unbelievably difficult to make a living writing fiction, which is why almost all of us have day jobs and why so many novelists write reviews for websites and newspapers in addition to working on our own books. (There are interesting implications for book criticism in this, I think, but that’s a topic for a different essay.)"

I'm a serving member within a couple of organizations that focus upon advocating for crime writing and writers. In those positions, my role is to be universally supportive, and I am, happily so. However, what should I do when reviewing something which I think has particular weaknesses that could be described? Most of the writers I know simply choose NOT to review anything they can't be cheerful about supporting. But does this mean that a lack of reviews should be read as equalling suckitude? I know the obligations we feel to our peers, because writing is a tough game (especially these days), but what about the obligation to readers to help them sort among the piles of dreck for things worth their time and money?

I believe that as a reviewer (cover blurbs are in a different category, to my mind), one implicitly promises to help readers, even above helping one's fellow writers. I also think that candor can be achieved without low blows, attacking elements beyond the covers, or condemning a work wholesale.

At least, I hope so, because here's my own candid confession. More than once in the past year, I've been lured by an echo chamber of peer praise to make an investment of money and time in a work that wasn't good quality. I resented it, since I now know some of the people praising it were aware of serious shortcomings. Should I have to look for a review that says "really, really good" since the first "really good" gets assigned as a consolation prize just for showing up? One of the perils of the peer review is the tendency toward "review inflation," making it more difficult for me to figure out what people actually enjoyed reading. People dread the consequence-less cruelty of the anonymous review, but I also dread the parade of insincere accolades for work whose author happens to be a swell and beloved person in this community.

Being a wonderful person is a non-trivial achievement, just as the undeniable effort and persistence that leads to finishing a work and getting it published into the world. However, those things alone don't guarantee a browsing stranger a great read, do they? Further, praise for personal wonderfulness (when applied to the work in the person's stead) may, in the end, devalue the reputation of the reviewer. There are several terrific authors I know whose praise means nothing to me as a buyer, because I know how warmly generous they are with it. This, too, is a fantastic attribute, and one of the things I love about the crime writing community. BUT, it doesn't help me as a reader and a fan find great stories, and that has to matter, too.

I think one of the ways around this is through specificity, good and bad. Tell me clearly what type of experience the book intends to offer. Please don't tell me it's an "[overarching superlative] of [vaguely subjective category]." We're authors and ought to be able to be precise when required. If the characterization's the high point, celebrate that, but also disclose that the plot strained credulity. Depending upon my mood and tastes, that may not matter to my purchase, but it sure would be good to know. I also know reviewing authors who put lots of quotes from the books into less-positive reviews, and I think that's a useful idea. Sure, the reviewer will cherry-pick a quote as an illustration, but it lets me at least evaluate whether I view things in a similar way, or whether I decide it's a peeve that doesn't apply to me. Maybe I'm giving readers too much credit for knowing their own tastes, and being able to disregard things that won't matter to their enjoyment? What do you think?

I'm sure there's not only one solution for this delicate dilemma. But I'd like to know whether you think writer-reviewers have a greater obligation to support their peers or to inform as-yet-faceless readership. Do you trust peer reviews? Have I made up a conundrum that isn't an issue at all?

Image of Man with Dominos from Lessons in Karma.

Doh! I always forget this part- I'm tweeting @clare2e.

Kids and E-Readers

E-book sales are on the rise in the Children's and Young Adult categories, according to Julie Bosman's article in the New York Times, "E-readers Catch Younger Eyes and Go in Backpacks."

During the infancy of e-readers, adults were drawn to them. But with lower prices and more e-reader choices available, kids have come on board.

What the numbers reveal, for example: young-adult sales for St. Martin's Press, have risen from 6 percent of total digital sales in 2010 to 20 percent in 2011 already. At HarperCollins, e-books made up 25 percent of all YA sales in January, up from about 6 percent a year before.

I tweeted a link to the article, which sparked some banter between authors/readers/parents Duane Swierczynski [@swierczy], Keith Rawson [@keithr34] & Steve Weddle [@steveweddle]. Here's a sample:

Duane: Both of my kids, ages 8 and 7, both want Kindles. Don't know whether to be delighted or scared.

Keith: Dude, delighted, be delighted. Kindle is creating a generation of new readers like Harry P. and Twilight did.

Duane: True. That said, this afternoon I bought the kids a pile of honest-to-God print books. And they went wild for them.

Steve: We just got Kindles for each of our kids -- 6 and 10. They love them.

Keith: We just bought the daughter a pretty massive stack, too, and she had the same reaction. But the wife and I are readers.

Duane: Good to know. I just worry that they'll forget the pleasures of an old paperback or nicely-designed HC.

Keith: Your house is a house of readers. A lot of kids who're having these reading devices bought for them, might not come from the same environment...and I'm down for whatever creates more readers.

Steve: Right. But they're reading much more. Also, the Hangman game for the 6-yr-old seems helpful for his spelling.

Duane: You're right. Maybe I'm being an old man about it, mourning something kids won't miss at all.

Steve: Well, save them a hand-printed Bukowski for later.

***

I enjoyed the impromptu conversation on the subject, which splintered off and continued with their followers who contributed their opinions.

My daughter, age 15, is an avid reader, and has been since she was five. She has not asked for an e-reader, nor has she expressed interest in borrowing my Nook. My son, age 13, must be prompted to read. He liked borrowing my Nook, so I bought him John Flanagan's The Rangers Apprentice: The Ruins of Garlan e-book. He now has an iPad, and for reading assignments, he prefers using the iPad.

Because the textbooks in some of my children's classes are so heavy, they are assigned two -- one to stay home, and one for classroom use. Their backpacks are still tremendously heavy. With the availability of e-readers, I can't imagine the use of bulky textbooks continuing. I would think that after the initial cost of the devices, the savings for school districts should be significant if printed textbooks were eliminated.

Through the use of the Chancellor's Innovation Grant, the Houston Community College Southwest launched a pilot program for the use of e-readers and e-books, between the fall of 2009 and 2010, which had interesting results. Among the findings: students scored better, they saved money, and the e-readers held up over time. Last fall, Clearwater High School in Florida provided all students with Kindles, and school districts across the country are closely monitoring their experiment.

How about the kids in your life? Have they expressed a desire to obtain an e-reader? Already have one? Voiced a preference for print books over electronic versions?

Come follow me on Twitter @katcop13.