Tag Archives: reading

Would You Care for Some Humor With Your Homicide, Madam?

Posted on March 1, 2011 | 30 comments

Click Cover to Buy Now!

I’ve been addicted to murder mysteries since the age of six when I discovered the Nancy Drew series was far more intriguing than the adventures of Dick and Jane. My first manuscript, “Cindy Parker and the Haunted Mansion,” was written when I turned my third-grade spelling words into a sixteen page novella. If my mother hadn’t made me go to bed at 8:30, who knows what kind of masterpiece I could have created. When the teacher gave me an A plus, I was officially bitten by the writing bug. It’s somewhat similar to malaria. Once you’re bitten, it may go dormant for awhile, but it will never totally go away.

Although a corporate career, marriage, children, and divorce intervened, my personal anti-depressant has always been to read a mystery by one of my favorite authors, a group of writers who not only devised a puzzle for me to solve, but also kept me laughing. They could turn the gloomiest day or mood into pure sunshine. When I sat down to write my first novel, I had one goal in mind. To write an intriguing murder mystery that also provided plenty of giggles. Seems simple, right? NOT!

I discovered it wasn’t that easy to mesh the suspense of a murder investigation with those special laugh-out-loud moments. We can’t have our heroine blithely tripping over dead bodies, right and left. While the premise of mid-life dating itself can provide laughs (ah, the true stories I could share) there is still a definite fear factor involved. What if you don’t meet Mr. Right and instead meet Mr. Wrong?

It’s critical that readers identify with and root for the protagonist as she searches for the killer. She may be forced to do so to save her reputation or to stay out of jail. It definitely helps if your protagonist is relatable to her readers. In one scene in DYING FOR A DATE, Laurel McKay discovers that when faced with a gun, she didn’t want to flee, she just wanted to pee. I know I’m not the only member of the “hot flash” set who can relate to that.

There’s also the romance factor. How do you maintain conflict and tension between your protagonist and the investigating detective? Especially when he can’t decide if he should arrest the adorable soccer mom, or kiss her? We need to keep the audience engaged in the mystery but still provide those moments that sizzle and sparkle with laughter.

I would love to hear from both mystery readers and authors. Does anyone else enjoy a little slice of humor with their homicide?

Although Cindy Sample’s initial dream was to be a mystery writer, she put aside her literary longings and applied for a job as a receptionist with a real estate office. Her career eventually led to President of a national mortgage banking company. After one too many corporate mergers, Cindy decided it was more fun to plot murder than plod through paperwork. Her experiences with on-line dating sites fueled the concept for Dying for a Date, a humorous romantic mystery set in the California gold country.

Cindy writes a column entitled Hot Flash for the Gold River Community Newspaper. She is a past president of the Sacramento chapter of Sisters in Crime and is the co-chair of the Left Coast Crime Convention, which will be held in Sacramento in 2012. If you’re interesting in volunteering, she’d love to hear from you. Contact Cindy at www.cindysamplebooks.com

30 Comments

Posted in Guest Bloggers, Just for Fun

Tagged Cindy Sample, Dying for a Date, fiction, humor, mystery, readers, reading, writers

Why Would You Do That? (Guest Blog: Marian Allen)

Posted on February 28, 2011 | 5 comments

Click Cover to Buy eBook Now!

I like a good piece of literary fiction as much as the next person, and better than a lot of next persons, depending on who the next person is. But come on.

Any fiction–literary or genre–needs to do certain things:

Have characters who do things for reasons that make sense to them. The reasons don’t have to make sense to the reader, but they have to–believably–make sense to the characters.
Have a plot arc with a beginning, a middle and an end. The plot arc may be all chopped up and shuffled around, the ending may be arbitrary because real life doesn’t have neat endings, but the story must have shape, or else it isn’t a story.
Contain no elements that don’t serve the story. I don’t care how much you know about anything; if what you know doesn’t enrich your tale, save it for a cocktail party. If I’m too undereducated to get your allusions, that’s my hard luck, but don’t make me look something up for nothing. Just don’t.
Not have too many words. That doesn’t mean “write short”. That means use as many words as you need, but don’t use more. Not a vast deal more, anyway. Beautiful language in a story is like butter on a potato. I’m partial to it, but I want more potato than butter. Way more.

When I finish your fiction, I don’t mind saying, “I’m not sure I got that.” I don’t mind saying, “I guess I’ll need to chew that over and read it again to get the most out of it.” I do mind saying, “There’s hours of my life I’ll never see again.”

Marian Allen writes science fiction, fantasy, mystery, humor, horror, mainstream, and anything else she can wrestle into fixed form.

Allen has had stories in on-line and print publications, on coffee cans and the wall of an Indian restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky. On Tuesdays, she posts on the group blog Fatal Foodies. Her novel, EEL’S REVERENCE, a science fiction/fantasy, is available through Echelon Press in various electronic formats.

Allen is a member of the Green River Writers and the Southern Indiana Writers Group, and is a regular contributor to SIW’s annual anthology.

5 Comments

Posted in Guest Bloggers, Just for Fun

Tagged author, books, ebooks, Marian Allen, readers, reading, writers, Writing

eBooks Know No Age

Posted on February 22, 2011 | 1 comment

Just a few minutes ago I received an e-mail from one of my authors. She expressed her concern at the closing of her local Borders. Unless you live under a rock, you already know about Borders financial woes.

This author’s concern was for the seniors living in her area who will no longer have a place to gather for their book club. Money doesn’t seem to be the issue in this particular community as she mentions they have a bit of disposable income. They have been meeting at the Borders, talking books, and sipping warm beverages. Now there is concern as to where they can go. Does their book club have to end?

No, I say! This is the time to learn and educate more readers about eBooks. Kindles and Nooks are very senior friendly.

Advantages:

Font sizing options. This makes it easier for readers to decide what size letters they are reading.
Prices are coming down on devices and eBooks. Some of the devices are still over $200, but there are much more reasonable options in most models. In fact I saw the new Kobo Wireless eReader at Wal-mart for $99.00.
Devices are lightweight and easy to hold and manage.
Many of the same books are in eBook allowing them to continue to buy them, they will just have to find some special little. You can find eBooks at so many places it is nearly impossible to list them all.
Freedom from clutter. Many seniors living in assisted living or who have downsized have limited storage space. eBooks allow them to still purchase books from their favorite authors without stuffing one more paperback under the dining room table.
Flexibility. There are all manner of stories out there to read in various lengths. You can find everything from short stories to epic sagas. eBooks put them at your fingertips, literally, within minutes.

I could go on about the value of eBooks, but I hope that if you have already discovered the joys and wonders of eBooks, you will go out and tell your friends, your family, and your neighbors, no matter their age. Doesn’t everyone deserve the chance to experience eBooks?