Three Questions for Two New Authors

posted by Ramona DeFelice Long

Today, the Working Stiffs are delighted to welcome Edith Maxwell and Liz Mugavero. 

Liz and Edith share the distinction of sharing many distinctions--both mystery authors, both members of Sisters in Crime's New England chapter, both Guppies, both cat lovers. Both have writing day jobs, both are as-yet-unpublished in the novel arena AND they met at the Seascape Writers Retreat, so both have the benefit of wonderful teachers (Hallie Ephron, Roberta Isleib and Susan Hubbard). Even better, last year Edith and Liz signed with the same agent, John Talbot, who sold their manuscripts to the same publisher, Kensington, who will publish both of their books in 2013.

Edith and Liz have agreed to answer a couple of questions for our  readers.

Question 1 – What can you tell us about your journey to publication?

EDITH SAYS:  Since childhood, I’ve written fiction, journalistic news and features, academic articles, essays, memoir, and software documentation. Fiction is my passion, though. I’ve written two dozen short stories, with four published and one more accepted. My first finished mystery, Speaking of Murder, is out as a full with several independent presses now, and is a finalist in the Linda Howard Award for Excellence Suspense category.  Speaking of Murder’s sequel is almost done, too.

I credit Sisters in Crime with helping me get to actual publication, including the contract for the Local Foods Mystery series. The President of the New England chapter, Sheila Connolly, connected the membership with agent John Talbot. After I worked with him on the cozy proposal, he sold the series to Kensington Publishing within a week. More basically, I have learned almost all I know about the publishing field from SINC and the Guppies chapter.

  

LIZ SAYS: I’ve been a writer since I could hold a pen. Poems, stories--I even wrote a proposal for a soap opera at one point (sadly, it never made it to the small screen). I majored in English and communications in college and went on to grad school to study writing and publishing. There, I finished my first full-length novel as my thesis, though it will never see the light of day.

I went on to work as a journalist at various papers around New England and wrote the first book in my first series, which is still looking for a home. I moved on to marketing and PR and started another series, which I just started shopping around. When Sisters in Crime NE president Sheila Connolly offered this wonderful opportunity with agent John Talbot, I jumped at an alternate route to publication and the chance to work on something fun, since I tend to write dark. I talked with John and we settled on the idea for the gourmet pet food mysteries, I wrote the proposal, made a few edits, and he sold it to Kensington shortly after. The whole experience was awesome and reinforced the benefits of organizations like Sisters in Crime and Guppies.

 

Question 2 -  Why were you the perfect person to write your story?

EDITH SAYS: I pitched an organic farm-based idea to John Talbot in my query letter and he called me the next day, saying an editor friend of his had suggested a locavore series. Since I farmed and co-owned an organic farm a couple of decades ago for some years, and currently eat locally with fervor, I told him I was his writer! It was about the most perfect fit I could imagine.

At the end of my farming days before I become a technical writer, I had written about two-thirds of a mystery novel set on an organic farm. I use much of the world I set up in that book, including Cameron Flaherty, the protagonist, in the current series. I’ve added a Locavore Club and a CSA but it has given me a head start on the first book in the series, A Tine to Live, a Tine to Die.

LIZ SAYS: I love animals and have been involved in rescue for a number of years. Along the way I’ve learned a lot about nutrition and how the foods our pets eat affect their health, and I’m thrilled to be able to use that knowledge in this series and increase awareness out in the world through the Pawsitively Organic Pet Food Mysteries.

I’m also excited to showcase some of my real-life friends in the books--under aliases, of course. Kneading to Die features Nutty the Maine coon cat, based on the real-life Tuffy cat, and a mini Schnauzer-poodle mix named Scruffy who bears a striking resemblance to Shaggy the rescue Schnoodle. Trying not to let stardom go to their heads is another story.

Question 3 -  For Edith, why should we read Liz’s book?

Liz is a fabulous writer. I first met her at the Seascape writers’ retreat/workshop several years ago. I was impressed and entranced by the scenes she read there. I predict this new series is going to be a big hit. She let me read the first chapter from her proposal, and I wanted to read the rest of the book right then and there. She knows the world of pets, rescue animals, and small-town Connecticut life, but more importantly, she knows how to write about it with humor and suspense all at once.

Question 3 -  For Liz, why should we read Edith’s book?

Anyone with an interest in local farming, food co-ops, organic nutrition and overall good food will love Edith’s book. Not to mention, Edith is a natural storyteller and creates characters who grab your interest from page one. She let me read the first two chapters and I’m already engrossed in the story and Cam’s life. Plus, the topic of organic farming and local food is so important and Edith knows it well and is passionate about it. That’s key to a good story.

  

Edith Maxwell currently resides in Ipswich, Massachusetts, but she’s originally a 4th-generation Californian. She has two grown sons, and lives in an antique house with her beau, their four cats, and several fine specimens of garden statuary. Look for her as Edith M. Maxwell on Facebook, and @edithmaxwell on Twitter. She blogs weekly at www.edithmaxwell.com.

 Liz Mugavero currently resides in Connecticut, but is Massachusetts born and bred. You can find her on Facebook as http://facebook.com/liz.mugavero  and @lizmugavero on Twitter.

Welcome Hallie Ephron!

 One of our favorite people stopped by! Hallie, thanks for being here today. Hallie's new book, COME AND FIND ME will be available on March 22.
Visit Hallie's Web site here to pre-order!
http://hallieephron.com/books/come-and-find-me/


Thanks so much for having me on Working Stiffs! 

The most terrifying time for me, as a writer, aside from the weeks of ominous silence before the first reviews come in, are when I've finished one book and haven't yet started the next. Now I know there are writers with ideas, stacked up like planes at LaGuardia. For whom it's a matter of WHICH one to tackle next. But for me the question is: will I ever again come up with an good idea enough to sustain a 300-page novel.

I was in just such a funk, sure that I'd never be inspired as I was (at a yard sale) for "Never Tell a Lie," and wasting my time shopping on the Internet. There I tripped over an ad for a year supply of dehydrated and freeze-dried food. 5,011 total servings. 84 gallon-sized cans with a shelf life of up to 25 years. The photo showed a pyramid of cans in lovely pastel colors.

The chirpy ad copy explained: "...this package will give you variety, nutrition, and peace of mind."

Now maybe if I lived on the San Andreas fault or on a flood plain I might have sent in my check for $999.99. Instead I sat there scratching my head, trying to imagine who in the world would buy it.

The answer was someone like Diana Highsmith in "Come and Find Me" -- she's a recluse, afraid to leave her own house, traumatized by the sudden death of her lover and best friend in a climbing accident in the Swiss Alps. When she returns home alone, she barricades herself behind locked doors with video surveillance, security alarms, and electronic fire walls to protect her--though even she isn't sure from what. She "lives" on the Internet in a virtual world where she conducts business meetings, investigates security breaches, hangs out with avatar friends, and "climbs" Alpine mountains without ever leaving home.

Of course the challenge in writing a high-tech virtual world is to make it seem uncomplicated. To do that, I needed to research Second Life, the real virtual world like the fictional Other World I created in the book. So, armed with enough information to be dangerous, I created an account in Second Life. Then I created an avatar me: young, brunette, skinny jeans. Hey, why not?

So far so good. But I'm so not a gamer. The mouse and arrow keys are not my friends. So even though I knew my avatar should be able to walk, run, fly, sit, and teleport, I couldn't keep her from bumping into furniture. When I finally got her aloft, it was exhilarating, watching like I was perched on her shoulders (think Harry Potter on riding Buckbeak the hippogriff) as she soared over the island at the entrance to Second Life. Not so exhilarating, seconds later, was when she plunged into the blue (very blue) ocean. I actually found myself gasping for breath, then panicking when I couldn't figure out how to get her out.

So, most of what I learned about Second Life was gleaned by riding shotgun beside a few generous souls who let me watch as they went about their business in virtual reality. I learned that even bucolic corners of the virtual world can be infested by "griefers," mischief-makers who enjoy raining down toasters or flying phalluses or dropping cages to trap the avatars of unsuspecting players. It can turn from safe to scary in a heartbeat, which was perfect for the book. And, of course you never know who you're dealing with. Just for example, it turns out that a good percentage of the female avatars in Second Life have been created by male players. My favorite story about Second Life is that although avatars are designed to be virtually indestructible, a woman somewhere managed to kill her ex-husband's avatar.

MWA-University

By Paula Matter



Two weeks ago, my regularly scheduled day to blog, I called off sick. Thanks, Joyce, for filling in for me at the last minute. I’d written that I had planned on blogging about the fantastic first MWA-U (Mystery Writers of America University) event I attended in Bethesda, MD in mid-August. Now here we are in September already. While writing this blog post, I’m realizing just how much I learned at the event.

Here’s the line-up of teachers, their topic, and one little nugget of wisdom I learned:

Jess Lourey, After the Idea where she discussed how to grow your idea into a compelling story. One highlight for me was this question: What’s in your main character’s wastebasket? I have done a variation of this--what’s in your mc’s purse / wallet? Looking in Maggie’s wastebasket gave me some interesting and useful info.

Hallie Ephron, Dramatic Structure & Plot One of my favorite teachers, Hallie explored the art of storytelling and plotting. Highlight: Hook the reader with the mc’s personality, voice, something that’s likeable or curious. Start with an out-of-whack event.

Daniel Stashower, Setting & Description where he discussed the process and potential pitfalls of choosing a setting, and how descriptive passages can illuminate characters and themes. Highlight was how important choosing the right word sets the tone of the story.

Donna Andrews, Character & Dialogue Creating a fully-realized unique protagonist that leaps from the page. Highlight was to test drive your characters; where was each suspect at the time of the murder?

Reed Farrel Coleman, Writing as Re-Writing More often than not, it’s the things you remove, the tweaks you make, and the tinkering that you do, that are the difference between another slush pile ms and a new book contract. Highlight: If it’s not on the page, it’s not there. How many times have you sworn you’d written something down, and it’s just not there? I know I have.

Hank Phillippi Ryan, The Writing Life The ups and downs, the solitude, the self-doubt, the revisions, the rejections and then, the rejoicing. Highlight was her story of a beta reader suggesting a major change to improve a ms, and how important it is to decipher comments made by others. When in doubt, ask for specifics.

All in all, a wonderful event. If MWA-U schedules one near you, I highly recommend attending.

What are some of your favorite conferences, workshops, seminars? Do you always get at least one nugget of wisdom?

The best writing advice Hallie Ephron received

Today Hallie Ephron -- a terrific novelist, writing teacher, reviewer and non-fiction author -- takes a turn at discussing our March theme.
 
By Hallie Ephron

The best writing advice I ever got came from Arthur Edelstein, a wonderful writing teacher who ran a fiction writing seminar at Radcliffe Seminars. Sadly, Arthur died a few years back but I keep a post-it in my office with two insights. These are so simple but at the they felt like bolts from the blue:

1. Write scenes
2. Kill the narrator

Write scenes? Arthur was the first person to alert me to the fact that scenes (not chapters) are the atomic particles of which novels constructed. A scene is bounded in time and place, though characters can enter and exit. When the scene shifts, the author double spaces. If you keep this in mind, it helps anchor your novel in drama (showing) instead of summary (telling). Chapter breaks can come anywhere, and the author can insert a chapter break in a scene to modulate the pace.

Kill the narrator? Well, not literally. But the point here is that the author’s voice doesn’t belong in (most) modern novels. The voice/viewpoint telling the story shouldn’t be the author but one of the characters, and each scene is narrated start to finish by just one viewpoint character. I know there’s a lot of controversy about this, but I still prefer an anchored viewpoint in each scene.

How do you pick which character narrates if your novel has multiple narrators? Tess Gerritsen gave me some great advice when I asked her how she picks which of her character narrates: “Writers are told to give the point of view to the character who has most to lose in a scene. I would disagree totally. Choose the character who is most uncomfortable, the most off balance.” Great advice.

And finally, following Anne Lamott’s advice from “Bird by Bird,” I long ago gave myself permission to write shitty first drafts.

Hallie Ephron is a writer, book reviewer, and teacher. Her novel "Never Tell a Lie" (1/09, Willliam Morrow) is a finalist for the Mary Higgins Clark Award and for the Salt Lake Libraries Readrers Choice Award. It has been optioned for film and has been translated into 7 languages. Hallie is also an award-winning crime fiction book reviewer for "The Boston Globe." Her Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel" was nominated for Edgar and Anthony awards. She teaches at writing workshops across the country. She is also the author of "The Bibliophile's Devotional" and "1001 Books for Every Mood."

Tomorrow newly published author Norma Huss will share who--and what--inspires her.

Great Beginnings

by Jennie Bentley

Since no one else seems compelled to write anything today, I'll step up.

Please join me over on the Good Girls Kill For Money Club to read my (if I do say so myself) quite brilliant post about the above - that's right, beginnings - and try to win an advanced reader copy of my masterpiece, Fatal Fixer-Upper, scheduled for release on November 4th.

C'mon; you know you want one!