A Week in the Life of A Working Stiff

by Wilfred Bereswill

I think I need my brain checked. Somehow, after 50, the memory just ain’t what it used to be. I liken my brain to a hard drive. A full hard drive, with no open sectors. And if I need to store something, then something else has to be erased. I have no control over what gets evicted. No little dialog box asking me if I’m sure I want to delete this file. POOF! Whatever happens to be there vanishes without a trace. When I was taking Chinese language lessons, I feared I was forgetting an English word for every Chinese word I learned.

So, last week, I volunteered to fill in for today. I should have looked at my calendar. So, here is what happens when you finally get published. And remember, this is in addition to my more-than fulltime job as an Environmental Engineer.

All this past weekend I worked on putting together a proposal for A Reason For Terror. Although I’m thrilled an agent asked for it, a damn good agent on top of that, the timing could have been better. I went through the first three chapters again with a fine tooth comb, making sure it was as perfect as it could be. Then I went about pulling together a synopsis. If you’ve never done one then you don’t know how agonizing the process is.

Tonight I am co-teaching a class for the St. Louis Community College Continuing Education program. It’s a two-hour program called, How To Map A Murder. First we’re going to do an interactive exercise plotting the ALMOST perfect murder. One of the authors is a police detective, so as I lead the class through the who, what, when, where, and how, he will be punching holes in the plot, citing all those things that can go wrong with a murder plot. Then we’ll talk about scene setting, building suspense and characters. Then finally our detective will do a little thing on CSI falsehoods.

Tuesday is a night to prepare for Bouchercon and my panel assignment. Plus I have to throw my clothes in a suitcase. Yes, ladies, I always take about 15 minutes to pack and that includes just one pair of shoes (the one’s I wear on the plane.) I’m also preparing for...

Wednesday night: I’m appearing on a mystery panel at the St. Charles County McClay Branch Library. This is the annual Sisters in Crime (St. Louis) Halloween panel. It features Eileen Dreyer, Eleanor Sullivan, Jo Hiestand, JoAnna Slan, Angie Fox and yours’ truly.

Thursday I leave for Bouchercon and have the pleasure of appearing on my first writers conference panel. If you happen to be attending Bouchercon, the panel is at 3:00 PM on Thursday. DREAM POLICE (Cheap Trick) Law enforcement in novels, fact vs. fiction. Caroline Todd(M), Wilfred Bereswill, Stephen Booth, Stuart MacBride, Yrsa Sigurdardottir, Andy Straka

At this point I have no clue what the questions will be and my nervousness exists on multiple levels. I’ll follow that up in the book room, signing my book. Hopefully, with all the other notable authors, I’ll sell one or two copies. Laura Lippman will be signing at the same time, so I’m hoping people get tired of waiting in her line and feel sorry for me.

Of course I’ll be wandering the halls of the Sheraton in Baltimore in awe of the whole affair. Hopefully the rest of the weekend I’ll be able to relax a little, but I doubt it. I return home late Sunday night and get ready to return to my boring life as an Environmental Engineer. Because, after a week off, I leave for Muncie, Indiana and Magna Cum Murder.

This, by far, will be my most challenging week as an author yet. AND I CAN”T WAIT. Oh, did I mention I’m on a deadline to have the first draft of my second novel, A Reason For Terror done by Halloween?

So, aspiring authors, be careful what you wish for. What’s in store for you this week? Any challenges?