What Month IS This?

 6 2 2021 

 I have collected a concoction of things to inspire me when/if I get stuck. One thing I like to do is to look at my list of special days and month. For instance, June is the month of all these things!

 

Pride Month (This is a good one, of course.)

Aquarium Month (I can see that someone might want to rejoice in their fish collection)

 Candy Month (Here’s one I can get behind one hundred percent. I even wrote a series on the subject!)

 Dairy Month (OK, I can have some. Probably not every day, but some.)

 Fight the Filthy Fly Month (Um, it’s couched in a pretty belligerent way, isn’t it?) (Maybe this year, we should celebrate Brood X cicadas.)

 

National Accordion Awareness Month (Are people really not aware of accordions?)

National Adopt a Cat Month (Another good one.)

National Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Month (I suppose this is necessary, but aren’t we supposed to eat them every month?)

Rose Month (Mine are looking good now, so this is timely.)

Turkey Lovers Month (I’m not sure how this is meant, if you know what I mean.)

 

I can get with some of those, some of them I’ll just let pass by me.

 

Do any of you celebrate any of these? If so, how do you do it?

 

Social Life and Other Elusive Things

 

I’ve been battling a condition caused by a combination of my scoliosis (which never gave me a moment’s trouble before August of 2019) and the aftermath of my hip replacement surgery (coincidentally, in August of 2019). I won’t bore you with the many details, but this happened yesterday.

 

I started back with the Physical Therapist I was with in March of 2020, the one I had to quit for the pandemic. They start everything over after a 6 month hiatus, so I filled out the form again. There was a section asking what things are affected, and how much they’re affected, by my pain. The part that made me laugh was “social activities.” They wanted to know how my social activities are impacted, things like dancing and sports.

 

Hilarious! Dancing? Sports? They’re dealing with a woman who is happy she can walk. In discussion with another writer about my age, we both laughed about the social life thing. She thinks it made the pandemic easier on her to not have one in the first place. Nothing to miss. I might agree with her on that.

 

The only part I lament is my inability to handle my flowerbeds over the past couple of years. I can hire people to weed (after trying to find them for a long, long time), but they don’t weed like I would. They don’t do it right! I just discovered there’s a big pokeweed and several baby maple trees growing in my beautiful rhododendron right now. I broke off the pokeweed, but also need to cut off the trees. It would be best to dig them out, but I’m not up to that!

 

I count myself lucky that I haven’t had trouble concentrating on my writing during the plague. I know lots of writers have had that problem. Maybe I had good practice using my writing as escape in other situations in past years. Whatever, I’m so happy to be able to work on my projects and to even get some of them published.

 

Do you have leftover trauma from the pandemic? Or are you able to do things better now than you could during the shutdown? Or was your life mainly unaffected? We’re all different!

 

Rhododendron and bookshelf photos by me

Other images from pixabay.com

The Old and The New

Our government is gearing up for big changes and so are many of us. My own changes should not prove as tumultuous as the national ones, but one of them is giving me trouble, never the less!

 

The old, for me, is finishing up the Vintage Sweets series. The contract with the publisher, Lyrical Press, was for three books and the third is coming out in March. My writing work for this project is done, but now I need to do some promotional work to make sure the readers of the first two will notice it’s there. They came out in March and June of 2020, so it’s been a while! Just a few days ago, the cover for INTO THE SWEET HEREAFTER was finalized. I’ll share it here—and everywhere else I can think of, since the book is available for pre-order as an e-book right now. Soon, the paperback version will be listed. Then, eventually, audio.

 

I’ll admit I’m proud of this book. Well, I’m proud of all of them, but I stretched for this one and learned a lot about a grave problem affecting a lot of people, which I hope I can draw some attention to. No, I won’t discuss it here—until after the book is out. You have to read it to find out.

 

The new is also old, I guess! I put out two books in my Neanderthal murder mystery series, called the People of the Wind series, in 2013 and 2016. These books take a long time to write, as they require tons of research. I’ve had plenty of time to add a lot of research since 2016! I also have helpers who I appreciate so much. Several of my readers and friends make sure I see new articles that come out about that time period, 30,000 years ago, and about the beings and animals that lived back then. The research has been ongoing ever since 2016, even if the writing hasn’t.

 

You know, though, I’m finding it hard to get back into this project! You really should NOT let 5 years elapse between books in the same series! I’m finding that I have to go back and read the second book so I’ll remember what in the heck was going on with these people. I’ve started doing that and find that I love them just as much as I always did. Maybe, in a year or so, DEATH IN THE NEW LAND will join the other two books. I hope so!

 

Resolutions? Not this time

 I did those for 2020, and look what happened there. I’ll try to do everything differently so as not to jinx the whole world again, in case I did it last time.

 

I WILL make some goals, but I might (or might not) keep them private, just between me and whoever owns that voice in my head.

 

In the past, I did post about my exhortations to myself, and those years seemed to turn out better than this last dumpster fire. I keep a daily journal, Monday through Friday, so, okay, not exactly daily. But pretty close, right? I usually review what I got done the day before and set out what I want to accomplish that day, plus appointments and other stuff. Like, water the plants, get allergy shots—those recurring things that I lose track of if they’re not written somewhere. At the end of every day, I give myself a pep talk.

 

Was it Janet Evanovich who said she has a job and she works for Janet Evanovich? I think so. That’s genius and I like to tell myself I work for Kaye George. (There was that side gig for Janet Cantrell, but she didn’t keep me on after the contract was up. Oh well.) I’m an okay, so-so boss. I do prefer that my employee show up every day. That includes weekends, even though she’s not required to keep that daily journal on Saturdays and Sundays. There have been a few days this month when she didn’t show up to work and I wish there were a way to dock her pay. But I don’t pay her, so that’s out.

 

Anyway, in an effort

to be a good boss, I do like to encourage her. So I have her put a note of encouragement at the end of each page of the journal. This actually started years ago with the Nike slogan, JUST DO IT**. I think it morphed into YOU CAN DO IT the next year. I have yet to pick one for her for next year, but here are some of my favorites from the year and the past.

 

ONWARD

KEEP GOING. DO NOT STOP. DO NOT HURRY.

BREATHE

TAKE CARE OF YOURSEL

YOU CAN DO THIS!!!

**historical footnote: I looked up when this slogan first started and found this startling article.***

https://www.businessinsider.com/nike-just-do-it-inspired-utah-killer-gary-gilmore-2019-7F

***personal footnote: I read the book by his brother, SHOT IN THE HEART by Mikal Gilmore onto tape for a blind friend after it came out, in 1994 or so. If you ever want to know how to create an enraged killer, this book is practically a blueprint.

https://www.amazon.com/Shot-Heart-Mikal-Gilmore/dp/0385422938/

All images from pixabay.com

 

 

 

 

Covid nights and days

Covid nights and days

 

How are you holding up? I think I’m barely making it and I think that’s true of a lot of people. I recently complained, online, about my weird sleeping habits lately and the likelihood that they’re related to depression and anxiety. I’m thankful for all the responses, which were so encouraging and sympathetic. I now know that I’m not alone in this. (It’s good to be a complainer sometimes.) My practice, when I’m down, is to make a list of good things. So, here goes~~ 

 

GOOD THINGS

The election

 

The vaccine

 

Two potential publications (those will turn into bad things if I get rejects, but I’m used to those)

 

My family (I dare anyone in the world to say they have a better one than I do)

 

My friends (ditto above)

 

My readers (I don’t even know all of them, but do hear from some of them sometimes—those are golden spots)

 

My present occupation/career/work, writing mysteries

 

My colleagues/fellow mystery writers, many of whom are friends, all of whom, as a group, are the best co-workers anyone could hope for

 

My health, such as it is. Good for my age, is what they say, I think. This includes my mental faculties, such as they are, too. Also good for my age.

 

My overall situation, being able to afford eat, drink, shelter, some presents for my kids and grands

 

Feel free to add to this list, or, better yet, make your own!

photo from morguefile.com

 

 

WRITERLY INTENTIONS

 Somewhere down the line, after a writer gets asked, “Where do you get your ideas?” we get the question, “What makes you do this?”

 

I sometimes ask myself the same question. “Why, oh why?” I could be dusting, keeping up with the dishes, sweeping the front sidewalk. Oh wait, maybe that’s why—to get out of all that stuff.

 

Seriously, though, the writers I know are almost all doing it for the same reason. The writers I know are mystery writers, mid-list (which means we’re not famous world-wide and we don’t make enough money to hire a staff); good, competent writers, some with agents, some self-publishing; all with some fans and avid readers waiting for the next book. We’ll never get rich doing this, and most of us will never make enough money to live on without a job or retirement income.   

 

I recently read a comment that prompted me to think about this. The person, a fairly new mystery writer, said she was going to have to change her goals. She would give up thinking she could make money doing this and would have to come up with other reasons.

 

She already has them, I’ll contend. She just has to dig down and discover them.

 

People write because they are compelled to. It’s in our makeup. We can’t not do it. And, most of the time, we love doing it. The main reward is to have written, to have gotten something published, and to know that someone read it.

 When someone can learn something, or expand their thinking through my fiction, that’s a huge bonus. 

Beyond that, there are tremendous rewards. The best is when someone reads our work and likes it. And says to. Either in a review or in a direct communication with the author. For me, this is all worthwhile because of those times when someone says one of my books got them through a tough time. Or got a relative through a tough time. And those times when I get a rave review. And those times when I get an email or direct message asking me when the next book in a series is coming out. Nothing could be better for a writer than all those things. Except being on the NY Times Bestseller List, of course. But we take what we can get, and an occasional bit of coin for our troubles.

 

 Images from Pixabay

My guest today, Judy Copek with Why I Write Standalones

 It brings me great pleasure to present Judy Copek today. Since it's the day before Thanksgiving, I'll give thanks for all the friends I have who are mystery writers. There couldn't be a better bunch of colleagues in the world. I'll let Judy introduce herself and get to the topic. HAPPY TURKEY DAY, ALL, even if you're missing the usual celebration. 

I was born in Montana, raised in Colorado, educated in Texas, and lived in suburban Chicago for years and now even more years in suburban Boston where I became a Red Sox fan, a Patriots fan, and a writer.

An information systems nerd for twenty-plus years, I'm a survivor of Dilbert-like re-engineering projects and other high-tech horrors. In my writing, I like to show technology’s humor and quirkiness along with its scary aspects.

Murder in the Northwoods is my fifth published novel. The research trip to the area was one of the best vacations ever, with scenery, casinos, intriguing discoveries, and tasty North Woods food. I never make up anything that I can borrow from real life like the garage apartment, the character of Reverend Josie, and the cottage by the lake. I moved the geography of Newton, Kansas to the fictional town of DuBois. Writers do strange things to create believable fiction. Y2K (remember the Millennium Bug?) pulls many of the story elements together, as I had worked on a project like the one on the book. My project, of course, had no murders and much less sex. Well, none.  Characters misbehaving are fun to write and fun to read.

 Why I write standalones.

I began with a series. My first novel, Witness, Be Wary, was bad. I didn’t understand motivation. Enough said, but I found some characters I liked. This novel was written so long ago that agents answered queries promptly with personalized letters.

 

That year my husband was invited to a conference in Singapore, and this, too, was so long ago that a business class ticket came with a free companion ticket. I explored the city and took photographs. We went on to spend a few days in Hong Kong. On the long flight home, I read the Singapore Airlines magazine, including a tiny blurb that the 5^th International Computer Security Conference would meet in Singapore on a certain date.  

Durian Seller in Hong Kong

 

Computer security! That was the occupation of the sleuth in my failed first novel. My brain went crazy. I could write a book set at the conference in Singapore and then move it to my husband’s home town in Germany. Characters appeared, along with three from the first book. Fragments of plot flew at me like kamikazes. Finally, we travelled to Germany. I sat in the busy town square and discovered more characters. My nephew took me on a pub crawl. I did research at the library. This was so much fun. And the book didn’t sell.

 

 My problem was that my main character was, well, no better than she should be. And married. When I began writing I researched all the possible problems a sleuth might have. Drugs, family, drinking, promiscuity, ex-con, you name it. And no writer had yet glommed onto the “A” word. There was a reason for this but I was too dense to grasp it. One could not publish a series with a bad girl sleuth. No one would touch it. Still dense, I wrote three more books in the series, one set in the Baltic, the last at the Burning Man Festival and one set in the North Woods. Same sleuth. Same issues. I self-pubbed The Shadow Warriors. This was back in the day when you hung your head if you committed such an outré act.

 

Then, THE LIGHT DAWNED. I took each novel, changed the characters, the setting, the sleuths backstory, and so on. One book went to a small press, one was “licensed” by the Burning Man Festival, one sat in my computer. I gussied up the “Northwoods” novel with new backstory, and everything except the conflicted sleuth. She was still there. And finally, I had a publisher!

That’s why I write standalones.

 

Murder in the Northwoods will debut on December 1^st. Level Best is the publisher

A savvy cyber-sleuth teams up with a hunky homicide cop to route corporate miscreants and to solve a murder. Murder in the North Woods is an amateur sleuth mystery. When she arrives in the town of DuBois, Wisconsin, to determine who is sabotaging an unpopular business project, Laura Goode discovers her only contact is now a corpse. Gar Morris, information officer at Great Northern Shoe Company, was a local lothario whose killer could be anyone from an enraged husband to a bitter factory worker whose job is heading overseas. Along with murder, office politics thwart Laura’s mission to find out who is sabotaging the project. Adding more complications to her life, boyfriend Jack, a cop, and husband Taylor, with more money than sensitivity, appear unannounced. Who needs these distractions when you’re swanning from boardroom to bar room, trolling for bass, hunting hackers, and rescuing your kidnapped cat? A nude biker’s club and the whitewater raft trip from hell provide a thrilling climax. You’ll have to read the novel to discover how everything works out.

 

The Job of a Writer

I’ve wanted to write this in the weeks leading up to this election, and now is the time, I believe. Fellow mystery writers who never venture into politics for fear of alienating readers are angry enough to venture out of that place and express themselves.

 

If you follow me on social media, or anywhere, you know that I’m not reticent about politics nowadays. That’s because the issue isn’t really political, not one of party or affiliation. It’s one of humanity, social justice, and basic decency. All of which are being stomped upon by the occupier of my White House. Our White House.

 

Most writers do, at some level, believe in giving voice to the voiceless. In advocating for equality and justice for every single person in the USA. That’s just the basis for being a human. We’re all in this together and our main job, as I’ve always seen it, is to help each other out in any way we can. What kind of person you are has no bearing on whether you deserve to be treated fairly and decently, and no differently than anyone else.

 

Fellow mystery writer Eve Fisher expressed this eloquently last week and I’d love to link you to her thoughts. They were prompted by the truly horrifying encouragement of a white hate terrorist group by the occupant of my White House. Even more terrifying, I realized when I read her thoughts and research, are the number of hateful people in this country who belong to groups that exist solely to exclude and do harm to others. I just never knew there were so many.

 

https://www.sleuthsayers.org/2020/10/stand-back-and-stand-by.html

 

Let’s hope that we can move forward. First, that we can rid our country of the cancer of hatred that has festered for four years unchecked by the other branches of government: The Senate, because they are either afraid or beholden to the occupant of my White House; the House of Representatives because their efforts have been systemically blocked, to the detriment of those the Senate is supposed to represent.

 

Let’s also hope that there’s a return to the ideals and ways of thinking that make it clear that publically elected officials are public servants, first and foremost.

 

Peace.

White House photos from Wikipedia 

 

Audio #giveaway this week!

My second Vintage Sweets mystery, DEADLY SWEET TOOTH, is now out as an audio book! (Also paperback and e-book, of course.) It sounds great, if I do say so myself.

I know a lot of people listen to audio books around the house, as well as when we used to go on the road. Remember those days? I always took a few in the car for road trips.

My publisher is letting me give some away, and I’d LOVE to give one away here. I’ll leave this open until  the end of week, then pick a winner from the comment section.

Let me know if you’d like to be entered!

PS If you’re a member of the online audio deal where you get free audio books, here’s a link to pick this one up: https://www.amazon.com/Deadly-Sweet-Tooth-Vintage-Mystery/dp/B08FCXGV7B/

PPS Here’s a sample!

http://tinyurl.com/y3mhojl6

 

My Mantras

A few years ago, when the phrase “YOU CAN DO IT” was used by Nike and repeated by lots of others, I decided to adopt it for my own. I know, a mantra is supposed to be “OHM” and to be chanted in the Lotus position. I cannot achieve that asana, haven’t been able to since my knee surgery several years ago. I still do it, but a modified version. However, my own personal Yoga session just involves deep breathing and an attempt at mind-clearing, no mantra.

A jade Buddha my husband brought home from Korea

So where did I use YOU CAN DO IT? At the end of each journal entry. I call them my Daily Pages, which I got from…somewhere. I do them M-F so I don’t feel like I have to write them every day. It’s my log book, part diary, part what I’ve accomplished in the last day (or weekend), and what I hope to get done that day. It’s the first thing I do in my work day, so the exhortation at the end of my writing serves to propel me into and through the day.

Laughing Buddha also from Korea (he squeaks when you push his belly)

This mantra served me well when I went through a period where I thought I might not be able to do it. During my husband’s decline and after his death, it helped to tell myself that every day.

Prayer stick my son and daughter-in-law left for my husband in Thailand

The temple in Thailand

Before that, I used things like PERSIST and ONWARD. I started YCDI in 2010, actually, and kept it for a long time. Intermittently I used DON’T QUIT NOW, YOU'RE ON THE WAY, GOING GOOD, LET'S GO! In 2014, I used OFF TO THE RACES, since that was the Year of the Horse. I used some others for the Chinese years, coming back to YCDI.

In 2019 I used these two:

KEEP GOING. DO NOT STOP. DO NOT HURRY.

BREATHE. REST, RECOVER, REFLECT

Full moon in May

This year I’m using:

TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF

And this one from, which my friend Daryl Wood Gerber tells me a lot:

BREATHE

My tea in a cup from a trip to see my cousin in Seattle

I know, that’s not really what a mantra is, but it’s mine and I call it that.

What do you do to encourage yourself? To get you through the day?

All photos are mine.

ARE YOU LISTENING?

How are you coping through our disaster? Are you bingeing TV shows? Movies? Reading lots of books? Are you listening to audio books?

If you’re doing audio books, I have an offer for you!

The publisher of my new Vintage Sweets cozy mystery series has given me a bunch of audio books (6) to give away, lucky you! The book is REVENGE IS SWEET. Here’s a little bit about it.

*****

In the picturesque tourist town of Fredericksburg, Texas, Tally Holt has opened a new candy store with a vintage twist . . .but there’s no sugar-coating a nasty case of murder . . .

Tally Holt has poured her heart, soul, and bank account into Tally’s Olde Tyme Sweets, specializing in her grandmother’s delicious recipes. Tally’s homemade Mallomars, Twinkies, fudges, and taffy are a hit with visiting tourists—and with Yolanda Bella, the flamboyant owner of Bella’s Baskets next door. But both shops encounter a sour surprise when local handyman Gene Faust is found dead in Tally’s kitchen, stabbed with Yolanda’s scissors.

The mayor’s adopted son, Gene was a handsome Casanova with a bad habit of borrowing money from the women he wooed. It’s a sticky situation for Yolanda, who was one of his marks. There are plenty of other likely culprits among Fredericksburg’s female population, and even among Gene’s family. But unless Tally can figure out who finally had their fill of Gene’s sweet-talking ways, Yolanda—and both their fledgling businesses—may be destined for a bitter end . . .
*****

Interested? Here’s how to enter—it’s easy. Just post a comment here, including your email address so I can contact you if you win.

Short Story First Lines

I admit I have an ulterior motive for posting about short stories. This is partially a repeat of the Writers Who Kill post from 2/2/2020 (love that date!), but with an important addition.

A NEW ANTHOLOGY IS OUT! It contains my 1950s short story "Life and Death on the Road" inspired by my little brother running away to join a carnival when we were kids. From Darkhouse Books, available in paperback and e-book. First line of this story: Davy lay awake, rigid, unable to relax.

(Oh, and did I mention that I have a short story up for an Agatha Award this year? Yeah, I thought so. It's the one from A MURDER OF CROWS.)

And here is the original post:

As writers, and as readers, we know how important beginnings are. The first line, the first paragraph, the first page—that’s what determines whether or not the reader decides to invest more precious time in your story or not. I’m going to deal with short stories today.

I have some first lines I’m proud of. And some that work okay. I’ll put some of mine out there. Feel free to rip me up—I mean rip my WORK up, not me. (Although it does feel that way, right, writers?) Also feel free to tell me some of yours that work, or some famous ones you love.

“Grist for the Mill” (have to say this, my Agatha nominated story) in A MURDER OF CROWS:

Kevin Grady couldn’t wait to get outside.

***I hope I’ve made the reader wonder why he wants to go outside and can’t wait.

You know, I like the first line of the second paragraph better:

When he choked on it, he stopped and looked around, spitting out the foul taste he had inhaled.

***Now you have to wonder what he’s choking on. Much more important.

“The Darkest Hour” in DAY OF THE DARK, 2017

I think it was on a Saturday afternoon when Tom got the bright idea to rent out our spare room for the eclipse. I wish I’d just killed him then.

***Two sentences, but I have to use both of them to entice you into the story. 

“Dream Girl” in BOULD Anthology, 2019

She stretched with delight. What a great dream that had been!

***Of course, here, I want you to wonder what the dream was. That’s revealed over the course of the story, which I hope confuses the heck out of the reader.

“The Bible Belt Buckle Killer” in Suspense Magazine, Fall of 2018:

Isabel Musik dropped her Bloody Mary when she heard the scream.

***This is my second Isabel Musik story. She’s a “reformed” vampire, so it’s fitting she’s drinking a Bloody Mary.

I’ll put a few more of mine out here, then step aside and let you post yours.

“The Truck Contest, Fish Tales” (the first Guppy anthology):

The first time I saw it I assumed it was an accident.

“Levittown Louie,” Mysterical-E, Spring 2007

First off, Kimber's entrance to the Ground Hog Day Ball was disastrous.

“Handbaskets, Drawers, and a Killer Cold,” Crooked, January 2009:

“If your brother screws up once more…” Cal Arnold’s tirade skittered to a stop at the expression on his wife’s face.

“Snatched Potatoes,” Kings River Life, June 2014, also in Black Cat Thrillogy #11 from Wildside:

“Be sure you gouge out the eyes, Imogene.”

A SHOUTOUT TO MY FELLOW SHORT STORY AGATHA NOMINEES:

Barb Goffman, Cynthia Kuhn, Shawn Reilly Simmons, and Art Taylor

Your turn!

You can find links to these on my short story page, some for purchase, some to read:

https://kayegeorge.wixsite.com/kaye-george/short-stories