An Evening with Michigan Author D.E. Johnson

Last night, Michigan mystery writer, D.E. (Dan) Johnson read from his first book, Detroit Electric Scheme, and shared tips with the West Side Gang. The Gang is a group of local writers, some published, others not, who meet twice a month for mutual critiquing and support. This was a special session, and the turnout was good (for us) with about 20 people attending.

First, Dan read the first few pages of Detroit Electric Scheme, a real attention grabber. It's set in 1910 Detroit, with a murder against the background of the electric car industry. It's not only a fast-paced mystery, but serves up a good dose of history without being pushy about it.

He also outlined some tips for getting published:

1. Make sure your first sentence can command attention. Most agents don't read past the first few when receiving queries.

2. Get feedback about your work. Join a writers' group, find "alpha readers," etc. If one person feels that some section or sentence doesn't work, it may not be a big deal, but if multiple people tell you that something needs changing, no matter how much you like it, you can pretty much count on the fact that it needs changing.

3. Maximize your opportunities to get noticed:
• cultivate interactions with published authors- they can give you suggestions for agents, help you make connections, etc
• send lots of queries- he sent over 100
• find the right niche- if you write a successful mystery, your publisher isn't going to let you switch to a thriller for your next book
• put yourself in the right place at the right time- this is like networking, only smarter.



Since I'm a big mystery fan anyway, of course I bought the book. That isn't me in the picture, but it's another satisfied mystery customer.

Another tip he gave, that I've tried to follow, is to send copies of your book to influential people who may actually read it. One person Dan sent a copy to is Jay Leno, because of his large car collection. This gesture landed him a segment on Leno's web site. Great publicity! I have to confess that I almost didn't go because I'd never heard of D.E. Johnson, but I'm really glad I did. He's a newly published author who is going places.

Too Hot Too Busy

Sometimes you just have to accept what you can/can't accomplish. We have now joined the heat wave section of the country. It was over 80 degrees before 9 am. Too hot for me.

We have company- all fun- but I'm only getting the barest requirements completed.

I also seem to have a higher than usual count of activities and commitments at the moment.

On the writing side of the ledger, I did get the idea for my next Get Off the Couch column, so I'm working on that.

Meanwhile, turn on the fan and pass the ice tea!

Progress Toward Digital Downloads on TTM

My story "Toby and Harry" will be the next one up for sale at Twin Trinity Media. But there are things that have to happen first, and they are finally beginning to move.

The cover is being designed. I had proposed one but they didn't like the dark color of my background, so it's being redone subject to my approval, and that's in the works.

I'm also supposed to receive the final edit copy for my approval as well sometime today.

It looks like there will be a story of mine available very, very soon!

Chapter 12 of News from Dead Mule Swamp

I really struggled with this one, even though I knew what had to occur in it.

Because it was so hot and humid yesterday, I didn't do much except sit and read a book. It was a silly mystery- the kind I like- but it had a lot more action in it than News from Dead Mule Swamp does. That was bothering me, and I wanted to make something more interesting happen in this chapter.

I think I finally managed to make it suspenseful. Here's an excerpt

...when the phone rang. I reached for it with a sigh.

“Ana Raven here.” There was a pause, then a long raspy breath. “Who’s there, please?” I thought I was simply annoyed, but I heard a ragged edge to my voice.

“Old news... should be left... in the swamp, or you may find yourself... in too deep;” the voice was a genderless harsh whisper.

“Who is this? What old news? Do you have my newspaper?” I demanded. After two more slow raspy breaths the caller hung up quietly— the effect was more eerie than an angry click.

The microwave dinged and I jerked so hard that beer slopped all down the front of my jumper. I checked the caller ID— there was the number, with the local exchange. How could anyone in this day and age think they could make an anonymous call? An involuntary shiver ran up my spine. Perhaps he or she thought it wouldn’t matter if I could find out who they were later on. Was it someone on a cell phone...

Chapter 11 of News from Dead Mule Swamp

I went back and edited that really long chapter in News from Dead Mule Swamp. It was easily broken into two chapters of a better length.

Also, I added in something that is important to the story later on, which I had forgotten to introduce. Then I made some changes that the writers' group members suggested, and now I'm all set to begin chapter 12.

Finding "Old" Writings

Yesterday, my new printer came, and although it's about the same size as the previous one, it's got the trays and things arranged differently. This meant that I had to do a little shifting of things in that section of my office, which precipitated my checking the last (one can always hope) of the 3.5 inch floppy disks I still have to make sure I have everything off them.

Found a few things that had not been previously backed up, including a nearly finished essay about when Chips was a puppy. He was such a special dog, I'm really glad I didn't lose this piece of writing. Here's a sample:

At two weeks of age, puppies really do look like their plush counterparts, the Pound Puppies." He was a fat little ball with legs splayed out sideways, and a stub of a tail that oscillated allegro. His nose was flat and wrinkled. But his color was fascinating. You could never say that he was white, because he wasn't. You could certainly never say that he was yellow; that wasn't right either. The closest way to describe it would be to imagine swirling a little bit of coffee into a cup of milk until it was almost, but not quite, mixed. When the light hit his fur, though, he shone, like the color of fresh-split wood chips in the sunshine. His ears were short, his eyes were dark buttons, and he had one smudge of brown from his nose to his chin, as if he had just tried to lick a chocolate pudding pop, and missed. Instead, he licked my face. I knew I was hooked.

Succinctly Yours- Flash Fiction

Grandma's Goulash regularly runs a Flash Fiction challenge. Here's my next installment of 140 words. The extra credit word is "expedient." Here's the picture that is to be the inspiration:




Here's my story:

Ralph basked in the late afternoon sun. His future was an open door! It would be so expedient to enter- the odor of slightly spoiled warm bologna wafted past. He allowed his mind to drift–to become one with the enticing aroma in which he was now bathed. Eugene and Tyson had long since flown through that portal into the heavenly realm beyond. Ralph hesitated for only one reason; his scouts had not returned. It was so unlike them to selfishly sate their own appetites without returning with bits of the treat stuck to their feet to present to him, the Fly King.

What could be the cause of their delay? Ralph knew that it was not prudent to follow without the report from Eugene and Tyson, but, overwhelmed by the temptation, he raised his wings and buzzed into the kitchen.

____________

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