Cover Art for "Toby & Harry"

Getting ever closer to having a short story available for sale. The cover design is now set, and I'm only waiting for the final edits and for Twin Trinity Books to make it live on the web site.

Of all my stories that will be featured at TTM, this is probably my least favorite, so in one way I'm nervous that it's the first up. It was written for the theme of "Anger," and I took a tack that is rather out of the ordinary for me. I hope readers who don't find this story appealing won't just decide that they don't want to read other stories of mine.

Of course, perhaps when the rest of the anthologies are out, readers will get a better idea of what I can do. The best stories go in the books.

Hopefully, you will soon be able to purchase "Toby & Harry," the story of a very angry little boy. Do you believe that all small children are sweet and innocent, that they are all naturally loving and kind unless treated badly? I don't. Some who have read this story as beta readers or editors have thought it was a tale of child abuse. Not so...

I'll post more of a teaser when the story is actually available for download.

Chapter 13 of News from Dead Mule Swamp

Things are starting to happen with a bit more speed now. Of course, chapters 6-12 are all on the same day, a very busy day for protagonist Ana Raven.

This chapter seems to be almost all dialogue. I hope that's ok. One problem with taking a chapter at a time to the writing group is that it chops up the flow of the whole story a bit. I just re-read chapters 11-13 all together though, and the conversation doesn't seem out of place.

Here's an excerpt:

Tracy’s tone changed. “I like you, Ana. I think you fit in well, here in Cherry Hill, but you can’t rock the boat. Small towns have long memories. Take care of yourself. "

See Chapter 12 of News from Dead Mule Swamp

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.