Don’t Tell the Stones in the Road

On the New Year

Published on January 8, 2008 in Sisters in Crime, books, fun stuff, game of tag, mysteries, odds 'n ends, recollections and writing. 8 Comments

With a little sadness, I took the 2007 Sisters in Crime calendar down from my kitchen wall. The calendar project started as a way to spread the word about the organization of Sisters in Crime (guys can join too) involving good friends Roberta Isleib, now international SinC president, and Ruth McCarty, president of NE/SinC, my husband David, and our fantastic photographer Roger Leo. We traveled all over New England doing photo shoots with mystery writers in unusual places such as a morgue in ME, a pub in CT, a cemetery, and a local jail. The end result was a beautiful calendar thanks to Roger’s photos and the skilled work of graphic designer and friend Jane Kennedy, and some new, life-long friendships.

That’s me on the cover of the calendar with Ruth, Roberta and Janet Evanovich.

I have a new calendar hanging in the kitchen now. It features artwork by artist John Singer Sargent. It’s quite lovely and the squares are big enough to hold all the scribbled appointments and upcoming family events. Still, I miss seeing the friendly and familiar faces of my Sisters in Crime. I may just cut the photos from my SinC calendar and attach them over this 2008 one. I don’t Sargent would mind.

My most recent “Recollections” article for the Community Advocate newspaper can be seen HERE. I interviewed Dotty Johnson, seen here as a baby in 1929, about her fascinating life.

Lately, I’ve been submerged in 18th century Cornwall, England doing research for my current work-in-progress. I hope your New Year is going well. For some interesting reader, check out the tagged blogs of Mo Walsh and Sheila Connolly.

Tag, you’re it!!

Published on December 30, 2007 in books, fun stuff, game of tag, mysteries, odds 'n ends and writing. 9 Comments

It’s a game, you know, like when we were kids? Only this is with blog friends. I was tagged by writer friends Roberta Isleib, Jan Brogan, Hallie Ephron, Rosemary Harris and Hank Phillippi Ryan. For some fun reading, check out their group blog at www.jungleredwriters.com and their fun facts.

Here are the tagged rules:

1) Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog.

2) Share 7 facts about yourself.

3) Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.

4) Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

So, here are my seven facts:

1) I won a few writing competitions for essays I wrote when I was in high school. Some paid more than the writing markets I’ve sold to in recent years.

2) When I was about middle school age, I decided to join some friends in scribbling graffiti on the front wall (painted white) of a clothing store next store to my school. Other than the obvious fact it was destruction of someone’s property, it was also really stupid because the store was located on Main Street and we performed our dastardly deed in broad daylight. We got caught, of course, and the punishment was to scrub the wall clean and remove not only our graffiti, but every other bit of scribbling. Lesson learned.

3) I went to college the first time right after high school. I was there a few days and my father died. After two months, I quit. I returned to school in 1999 two months after my mother’s death. I was 42. I graduated with an English degree (summa cum laude) from Clark University.

4) I was a cheerleader in my teenage years for our local church basketball team. One year, our cheerleading squad won the New England cheerleading championship. I was one of the younger and smaller girls, so I usually ended up at the top of the pyramid. I took a good number of falls from three girls high, but had a helluva lot of fun. I have pictures somewhere and I’ll try to dig them out and post them.

5) If you read the Jungle Red Writers lists, there was a lot of name-dropping going on. And while I can’t compete with Hallie Ephron’s having met Marilyn Monroe, I was good friends (and we even “liked” each other in 8th grade) with actor/comedian Denis Leary, star of the TV series Rescue Me during my years at St. Peter’s School in Worcester. We wrote a number of school plays and skits together. Denis was a great kid and really funny even back then. It’s nice to see he’s done so well. (Hey, Denis, drop me an email, we’ll catch up!)

6) Mean-spirited people really tick me off. And while I’m certainly far from being perfect myself, I can’t imagine hurting someone emotionally or physically just because I could or to feed my ego. I absolutely can’t stand to watch someone being treated unfairly. I sometimes even find it unbearable in literature or movies when the mean-spirited person triumphs.

7) I like the idea of past lives. Of course, I have no proof they exist, but I like the possibility that they could. There are a few people in my life who we’ve decided we must have been friends in a previous life. And there are faraway places that I’ve felt such a strong connection to that I do wonder if I’ve been there before in another life. I’ve never had a past life regression done — at least not in this life. Something to look forward to.

——-

This exercise was fun. I told friends at a dinner party about it and we went around the room each sharing some unknown fact about ourselves. The result was stories about a possibly dangerous herbal tea concocted for friends; a young boy’s triumph over a crippling leg disease; police showing up at the door to make an arrest for unpaid parking tickets; and an abandon house, a pack of kids with nothing to do, and a piano that went sailing off the second-story porch of said abandoned house. And I thought I knew my friends!

Now it’s my turn to tag:
Sheila Connelly over at Writers Plot and
Mo Walsh at Momentary Lapses.
I want to thank them for being such great sports!
And don’t forget to check out their blogs.

Holly Jolly

Published on December 25, 2007 in fun stuff and odds 'n ends. 0 Comments

A very merry hollyday to you and yours.

With a little help from my friends

Published on December 19, 2007 in writing. 4 Comments

I just finished up my year as president of the New England Chapter of Sisters in Crime. And as a thank you gift, our new president, Ruth McCarty, along with the rest of the board members, gave me this wonderful bracelet. Each charm is a memento of my time as president or of my writing career: book covers of anthologies that contain my short stories, typewriter logo of our chapter, magnifying glass, the cover of our Sisters in Crime calendar, even a miniature of a Mustang Boss 302 in neon yellow–the car in DYING TO MAKE HISTORY, the novel I’m now sending out to agents.

I know Ruth spent a lot of time picking out the individual charms. My most sincere thanks to Ruth and the best group of sisters I’ve ever worked with, whose support and hard work made my year as president a real pleasure.

‘Tis the Season

Published on December 15, 2007 in fun stuff, odds 'n ends and writing. 1 Comment

My friend Karen sent me this LINK for a delightful bit of holiday music courtesy of the Indiana University men’s a cappella group.

It’s guaranteed to put a smile on your face.
Only 3 minutes, 29 seconds long, take the time to check it out. You’ll probably hit replay at least once. Thanks, Karen!

If you’re in the Northeast, there’s more snow a’coming. Stay warm!

Simply Sweet

Published on December 12, 2007 in fun stuff, odds 'n ends and writing. 0 Comments

Start with an empty half gallon juice or milk carton (clean well); a sturdy, flat piece of cardboard (for base); and some heavy-duty aluminum foil to make it all shiny. Cut the carton to the size of house you want to create. If you want a whole village, you can save lots of cartons and go to town, so to speak. But if you start off with a single structure, you can’t lose. Besides, it’ll leave lots of yummy treats left to eat afterwards! Secure carton to cardboard base with masking tape, then cover entire structure and base with foil.

Here is 15-month old Sophia hard at work on her first “gingerbread” house.

Pick up two boxes of graham crackers. The extra box is just for munching. If you haven’t eaten graham crackers since you were a kid, you might have forgotten how truly yummy they are and gobble up all of the “wall” material before you’ve even started.

Next, whip up a batch of Royal Icing for the white snow that glues it all together. Keep bowl of icing covered with a damp towel to keep it from drying out.

An aerial view of the construction site. Sophia really got a kick out of the whole building process. Surprisingly, she didn’t want to eat everything.

One M&M for the gingerbread house. One M&M for me. Kiara (two and a half) is delighted to discover gingerbread houses. “Hey, Daddy, did you know you can eat this house?”

Adhere graham cracker walls to carton using icing. Then adhere candy decorations to walls, chimney, yard, etc.

Licorice strips for edging; gumdrops as windows and bushes; nonpareils and Necco wafers make great roof tiles; M&Ms are great for anything!

You can use whatever materials you want to decorate your gingerbread house. You could even use non-edibles, but half the fun is eating the leftovers.

The important thing is to spend the time with those you love. Our son Ian (26) has fond memories of building these graham cracker “gingerbread” houses as a kid. Here he is working on one with daughter Kiara. Just passing on the love.

Roberta Isleib’s Blog Tour

Published on December 4, 2007 in books, fun stuff, mysteries and writing. 8 Comments

Today we have a special blog guest with an insider’s view into the scary parts of a mystery writer’s mind: John Brady, husband of Roberta Isleib. John retired from his long-term marketing position a year ago, and has launched a new website www.topretirements.com, designed to help Baby Boomers find the best place to retire.

He’s here today as part of Roberta’s blog tour promoting her new release
PREACHING TO THE CORPSE (Berkley Prime Crime.)

In this second installment of the advice column mysteries, Dr. Rebecca Butterman’s minister is charged with murder. Asked to join the search committee to hire a new minister, she uncovers cutthroat church politics rather than the joys of the season. It seems that “thou shalt not kill” has been qualified: “…unless thou art eliminating the competition.”

Welcome John! You are the Council Chair of your local church. Since PREACHING TO THE CORPSE is all about a murder in a church that sounds suspiciously like yours, how is that going?

I’ll be able to tell you more in a month or so – the book comes out today so most of our members haven’t read it yet. Coincidentally, our church is just forming a new search committee to find a new associate pastor. Roberta used to be the Council Chair and is well known around town, so lots of local folks follow her creative exploits. When they find out about the murder in a church that looks an awful lot like ours, some tongues might be wagging! I’m just hoping the murder of the search committee chair in her book doesn’t cut down on volunteers.

Do you get to read Roberta’s work in progress? If so, does she welcome
feedback?

At the beginning of Roberta’s writing career I read, re-read, and tried to improve everything. Having written 8 books now, her writing is so professional that it really doesn’t need much help. She is one of the most welcoming people I know when it comes to feedback. She has a terrific ability to listen to the input, and then decide what to accept, improve on, or say “thanks, but no thanks”. I tend to fixate on the micro language areas, although I think it might be more useful to look at the big picture. You know, the kind of stuff that makes a book better – good reasons for why characters do the crazy things they do, continuity issues, and most of all – suggesting ideas for how to keep suspense high and the reader turning the pages.

I enjoy trying to help her with plot, although I have a new appreciation for how hard that is. When Roberta camps outside my shower, I know she is looking for plot help. If I don’t want to turn into a prune, I had better come up with some what-ifs for her, fast!

ROBERTA SAYS: It’s the perfect arrangement—he can’t escape and yet I can walk away when I have the spark I need! (About the view—I won’t even go there…)

What did you think when she decided to switch careers from practicing
clinical psychologist to mystery author?

It was a really big switch. Roberta went to school for 7 years after college (!) to get her Ph.D. and become a clinical psychologist. She was really good at helping people with complex problems and I know she enjoyed it. But the combination that moved her on was managed care (which deems that a handful of sessions should be able to cure even the most deep-seated psychological problems) and a burning desire to write. As one friend assured me when I told him about the switch, the way she was going about establishing a writing career guaranteed that she would be a success. She took classes, joined a writing group, talked with writers, went to conferences — and worked like a dog to find a good agent and get published. I am very proud of what she has accomplished – so many people want to do what she has done, but so few have the talent and the doggedness to pull it off!

ROBERTA SAYS: Am I lucky to have landed this guy or what?

Does Roberta approach her writing differently now
compared to when she first started?

That’s one of our favorite bones of contention. There are writers that use outlines, and many who say that the only way to plot the book is to develop the characters and let them decide where the plot should go. Roberta was in the latter camp, against all of my exhortations the other way. For the last 2 books she has used more of an outline, and I think she would agree that it has helped. But she still believes that outlines should only be a guide, and that listening to the characters is a better way. For several of the books, she also hired a professional editor (Nora Cavin) to painstakingly go over her manuscripts and suggest changes. Her experience has allowed her to dispense with that, knowing (as she says) that “Nora is perched on her shoulder”, commenting as Roberta writes along.

You must be very proud of Roberta and her success as a mystery author
and her position as president of National Sisters in Crime. Talk a
little about her work ethic.

Roberta has a framed piece of her childhood artwork on the shelf. Here is what it says in a child’s ragged hand: “We like to work. Work is fun. We like to work. Work is fun.” Let’s just say she hasn’t changed. She gets up out of bed and flips on her iBook immediately. It usually doesn’t get to rest until just before bedtime. Meanwhile, the phone calls and thinking about the Sisters in Crime go on non-stop, in fact, even when she is sleeping.

Since she is knowledgeable about poisons, who does the cooking in your
house?

Very funny. I kid my friends that if I die suddenly, they should get Henry Lee to do the autopsy. So far I haven’t tasted anything metallic, so I guess I have been behaving myself. Seriously, since I retired a year ago to start my new website, www.topretirements.com
(where baby boomers can find their ideal retirement community), I have helped a little more with the cooking, usually as the sous-chef. Call me the chopper to Roberta as the head chef and menu planner. Roberta is a very good cook, even though she stubbornly refuses to follow any recipe too closely.

ROBERTA’S ROLLING HER EYES RIGHT HERE.

How is Roberta at promoting her own books?

She is a marketing genius. The promotion ideas never stop coming, and no one, no matter how remote, is safe from being pulled into one of her marketing promotions. The funny thing is when I met she was terrible at it. Starting out, psychologists have to do some networking with local doctors to get their practices going. But the idea of approaching these professionals to sell herself just froze her. Writing has totally brought out her inner marketer. Today her publisher and agent view her promotion skills with some awe – I honestly believe that if she wanted to she would make an amazing CEO of a major publishing company.

ROBERTA SAYS: Isn’t he sweet? But we haven’t gotten the phone call from New York yet! And John’s improved as a marketer too. Early on, I tried to get him to take after another mystery writer’s husband, who handed out peanut butter cups at all the conventions, wearing a button that said: Proud Husband of the Author. John wouldn’t touch it. But now he never misses the chance to support me and I’m grateful! And thanks for putting us up on your blog Cathy!

John: That reminds me, PREACHING TO THE CORPSE is on sale today! It can be picked up from your favorite independent bookseller, independent mystery bookseller, or online. And don’t forget to check out Roberta’s website: www.robertaisleib.com

Thanks to Roberta Isleib and John Brady for stopping by. Best of luck with the book, Roberta. It’s a wonderful read!

1000 words a day

Published on November 23, 2007 in writing. 0 Comments

That’s the new goal I’ve been working on for a little while now. It had been quite some time since I had started a brand new novel story line, and after I finished my last major revision of DYING TO MAKE HISTORY (the contemporary mystery I am currently querying agents about) I found myself feeling a little gun-shy at the prospect of tackling a brandy new 70,000- word (+ or -) saga about a whole different story with completely new characters, settings and subplots.

Recently, I’d written and published short pieces and spent a significant amount of time revising DTMH, so I had been writing all along. But the thought of standing at that starting gate, starting from scratch all over again, rattled my confidence. I didn’t relish the idea of all that choppy pre-first draft rambling where one explores various avenues of plot and character, motives and dialog to find what fits. I’d learned enough about writing since I’d started DTMH to know how damn hard it was going to be.

Could I do it?
Of course I could.
What makes you so darn sure?
I’m a writer who creates stories with a beginning, a middle and an end. I’ve done it before, so I can certainly do it again.
I’m not so suuurrre.
Shut up.

You get the idea.

Well, since I had a number of subplots ping-ponging around in my head, along with some possible characters, I decided to just jump in and write. And to take my magnified focus off the quality (or lack thereof) of the writing, I’d go for the numbers. So in the old adage of “quality versus quantity,” for me, quantity was king.

My goal is to write 1000 words per day at least five days a week.

Many people, especially writers, have heard of National Novel Writing Month where participants sign up and work to complete a 50,000-word novel in the month of November. My hat’s off to them. I know I’d end of with complete unreadable blather with a deadline of 30 days. So, I decided I would shoot for 1000-words a day and hopefully have some good stuff I could work with.

So far, it’s working. Each day, I pick a certain scene to work on or a new idea that’s popped into my head, and I write. Of course, a fair amount of this will end up being deleted or significantly edited, but so far, new characters have stepped forward and unexpected avenues have opened up, some feeding off of the previous day’s writing. And, hopefully, by the end of three months, I’ll have a whole new world with a cast of multi-dimensional characters plotting and scheming and being a heck of a lot of fun to hang around with.

Apple Pie, and other good things

Published on November 23, 2007 in fun stuff, odds 'n ends and writing. 0 Comments

Sometimes life, like pie, turns out good. Everyone pitched in to help from making the homemade eggnog (cholesterol city!), to creating the three varieties of stuffing, to whipping up the wonderfully spiced butternut squash. The turkey was yummy and there are plenty of leftovers. But there’s only one piece of apple pie left, and guess who’s getting that?

Some flurries fell the day before Thanksgiving, offering a pretty, wintry preview of the season just ahead. Could be it’s because I’m older and taller, but I do remember much snowier winters here in the Northeast when I was a child. I remember building snow forts on the small patch of land between the sidewalk and the street in front of our three-decker in Worcester, MA. They were exquisite examples of icy architecture aided in formation by the monstrous heaps of snow deposited by the snow plows. (Thinking back, it’s amazing more of us weren’t injured by snow fort cave-ins.)

We would burrow down into our frozen forts, ignoring our freezing fingers and toes, because everything seemed perfect in those winter wonderlands.

So, when the first flakes fall I feel a nostalgic excitement. May you feel the same enjoyment.

Mavens of Mystery

Published on November 13, 2007 in writing. 2 Comments

On Friday, November 9, Ruth McCarty and I appeared in a photo on the front page of the Arts section of the Worcester Telegram along with a great article on the Crime Bake and Sisters in Crime written by journalist Pam Sacks. The article also quoted SinC national president Roberta Isleib.

I received several emails from friends who enjoyed the article and thought the photo rather glamorous. (Thanks to T&G photogrpaher Paul Kapteyn.) Ruth and I had a lot of fun doing the photo shoot and were happy to celebrate the New England Crime Bake, Sisters in Crime and mystery.