No Reservations about Murder With Reservations

By Joanna Campbell Slan


News that author Elaine Viets suffered a stroke has hit the writing community hard. Many of us know Elaine personally, and many more of us have been the beneficiaries of her kindness.

Here in St. Louis, Elaine has long been a celebrity. She gently probed and explored our city’s foibles in a colorful column for the daily newspaper. One piece was about our odd custom of “forking” or sticking hundreds of plastic forks in the ground, handle up. Yep, you gotta love a town that knows how to have fun. Only in St. Louis can you say, “Fork you!” and not have to duck.

I can’t imagine the fear that accompanies having a stroke. Especially for those of us who make our living by wits. And if you’ve ever chatted with Elaine, you know what a bright and agile mind she has. When she lived in Washington, DC, she protected herself on the streets by wearing a custom-made pair of vampire teeth. That plus her height—six feet—gave her a “don’t mess with me” air which is totally at odds with the real Elaine. She’s a sweetheart.

And a dynamo. Right now, she’s a whirling dervish confined to her bed.

So here’s a great Mother’s Day idea…if you know Elaine…or if you want a terrific book to read…or a gift for your Mom…or if you’ve ever had a friend or relative cut down by a stroke…buy a copy of her newest release Murder with Reservations. Email msbstchas@sbcglobal.net and Main Street Books will take care of your purchase. And then give yourself a BIG pat on the back!

Meet Us at Malice

Come Say Hi to Us at Malice!

And be sure to bid on our Malice basket. We've filled it with signed books and goodies representing our hobbies.

Your Killer Hobbies Panelists will be appearing at various panels.

Monica Ferris and Deb Baker
The Craft of Detection--Sleuths Who Craft More Than A Killer's Fate
Saturday, May 5, at 9 a.m.


Joanna Campbell Slan
Undaunted Sleuths: Murder Most Adventurous
Sunday, May 6 at 10:30 a.m.

Linda O. Johnston
Don't Give Up Your Day Job-Suitable Jobs for a Sleuth?
Sunday May 6 at 10:30 a.m.

It's a Small World

It really is a small world regardless, but when you start to trace your family tree, it gets even smaller. One of the first things (and the coolest) things that happened to me when I put up the website was I started getting e-mails from long-lost cousins. Most of the time they start out . . . "I think we might be related...."
More often than not we are. But, that's to be expected somewhat. What I love is when I was younger and I was working in the hardware store, a man came up to me and said he wanted a hundred two-by-fours. Then he paid me by check. I looked down at his name and knew instantly that we were related. My third great grandfather was his ancestor's brother. He just sort of looked me strangely when I announced, "Oh my god! My great, great, great grandpa was your ancestor's brother!" He, rather disappointingly, had no clue who is ancestor even was, much less that he was French. Since his branch of the family had Americanized the name. (I then proceeded to fill him in.)
In large cities, recognizing a relative by name is not as easy as in a small town, unless the name is really unusual. For instance, if you have the surname Smith or Jones on your tree and you come across a Smith, he could be from anywhere. But some names, like VanBibber (one of my family surnames) you just can't deny. I've never met anybody that has the last name VanBibber or is descended from a VanBibber that cannot trace their family right back to the founding family in Germantown, Pennsylvania. I LOVE THESE KINDS OF NAMES! They are a genealogists dream!
A couple of months ago, I was sitting in the bleachers getting ready to watch my daughter's highschool marching band perform. The announcer always gives the names of the drum majors and wouldn't you know it? Her drum major turns out to be a long-lost cousin.
A small town is the greatest though. My dad was from Perryville and I can just walk through the cemeteries and go, "He was related, he was related, she was related . . ." All based on their last names.
I met my husband's great aunt on-line. That was a hoot. I had just gotten engaged and was exploring his family tree, going to the websites and putting out the feelers. I put out posts on the different surname pages of genweb and about a week later I get this e-mail from this woman who lives several states away going, "Who the heck ARE you?" She'd recognized the fact that I was posting on all the same surname pages that she was researching, but she had never heard of ME!
I honestly believe that at any given time I could walk into the local mall in this area, and if everybody in the mall could trace their ancestry back five generations, I'd find ten people related to me. So then, when I'm in a foul mood and thinking not nice thoughts about the driver in front of me, or slow poke in the grocery store, I should stop and think that within five or ten generations of each other, we're probably related. I should think nicer thoughts.
Well, folks, by the time you read this, I'll be in Paducah in Quilt Heaven! I'll report all about it next Friday. Happy reading!
Rett MacPherson

Books!

If you happen to be in the Los Angeles area this weekend, be sure to stop by the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. It’s at the UCLA campus, and writers of all genres will be there--from those who write for the youngest kiddies to those who philosophize and write pithy non-fiction, to... well, me.

I’m on the board of the Southern California chapter of the Mystery Writers of America this year, and one of my duties is to make sure that the MWA table at the L.A. Times Festival has someone to greet interested people and potential new members at all times. So, I’m doing exactly that! I have chapter members scheduled to be there for both Saturday and Sunday, and although I’ll be opening and closing, I’ll also sit there now and then. I’m signing at three booths myself: Sisters in Crime, Book ‘Em Mysteries and Mysterious Galaxy. Otherwise, I’ll see what mischief I can get into and panels I can drop in on--although I may not get tickets in advance since I’m not sure of my schedule. YOU, though, can check on-line and see who’ll be there and when, and obtain tickets ahead of time.

There’s an entire mystery track--lots of writers speaking about their craft and their work. These include some big names such as Jan Burke, Michael Connelly, T. Jefferson Parker, Mary Higgins Clark, and more!

And the MWA of SoCal is holding a drawing for new MWA members for a delightful basket that Joanne Fluke and her publisher have put together for the cause.

So... stop by! Say hi. I’m not sure whether pets are welcome, but mine are staying home. I’m sure they’d rather be in the middle of all the activity, but this isn’t an event where I’m inviting them. Hopefully, they’ll welcome me home as always.

--Linda

How To, Cont'd.

I posted this earlier, but don't see it on the site, so I'm posting it again. I hope it doesn't turn up twice!

How to Write a Mystery, part II

Continued f rom last Wednesday:
7. The hardest part of writing a story is the middle. New and young authors especially have trouble with this. They find (surprise!) it is actually work to write this part. They get discouraged and quit. Or they try to be clever and avoid the work by writing the beginning and then the end. This, unfortunately, leaves the reader with nothing to do -- such as get to know the characters, or solve the crime themselves. But the middle is where the story happens, so spend time on it. Why does your hero stick with it when all he gets is frustration? (Maybe the police think your hero murdered his wife, and the only way he can clear himself is to find out who really did it.) What do the cops think of him doing his own investigating? What does he think of doing it? How does he figure out where to begin? And what does he find out? Something shocking right away, so he -- and the reader -- understand he is right to start digging. Maybe he finds evidence in her checkbook of large, unexplained, regular payments -- was she being blackmailed? Maybe he comes across some dark secret from her past he uncovers when he is packing away her things: a baby given up for adoption, a stint at Betty Ford. Who had motive? Opportunity? Provide a lot of information -- too much. Is the fact that Jessye called in sick Monday a clue? Does the fact that Marvel-Ann came over to borrow a cup of flour on Wednesday when Ingrid says she bought a five-pound sack on Tuesday afternoon a clue or just a piece of information? Or is Ingrid lying? Where did Pedro get the money to bail out Herman? Does Desktop wear second-hand clothes because he likes them or because he can't afford to shop at Wal-Mart? Everything in the middle should move the story toward the solution.
8. Make your characters feel the fright, the pain, the joy, the laughter. If they plod along unfeelingly, the story sags. If your hero is afraid of knives here but casually disarms a knife-wielding bad guy there, the reader quits thinking of him as someone he might know. If your villain is allergic to eggs on page twelve and eats an omelet with no consequences on the morning of page fifty, your reader snorts disbelievingly. If any or all of your characters change attitudes and personalities according to the needs of the plot and not in accordance with their revealed characters, the reader stops thinking of them as real people and interest dies.
9. It is better to show than to tell. If someone is scared, don't say, "He was very frightened." Say, "Sam's face was pale and his palms were sweaty." Even better, "Sam's breath caught in his throat, but it was only the refrigerator starting up. He wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans, crouched even lower behind the sagging couch, and wished for the sound of sirens."
10. Try to think what you would do in the same situation your put your characters in. And what your sister, or father, or Aunt Sarah would do. (Like dialing 911!) That way, your characters should behave like real people, and your story is easy for your reader to believe. A good writer is very observant of the little details of human behavior, and works these details into his/her stories. Next time you are in church, or at the mall, or eating out, take a few minutes just to sit quietly and watch how people behave. Describe how they look and what they are doing in your head, using as few words as possible. You may even want to carry a little notebook around and write down things that strike you as interesting. (Be subtle about doing this; it can become annoying, or even earn you a poke in the eye!)
11. Trite but true: write what you know. But if you don't know, go find out! It is accuracy of detail that creates and sustains suspension of disbelief, and this goes double for mysteries, where "a fact that ain't so" is a clue. (Example: If a character tells the sleuth that she saw someone screwing a barrel-shaped thing onto the end of a six-shooter before firing it, and that’s why no one heard the shot, she’s lying. Silencers work poorly on revolvers.) Writers are researching all the time. They read everything, and are adventurous; they explore, stretch, challenge. They never know what little detail will prove helpful next time they are building a plot, a setting, a character.
11. Just as the carpenter must know how to use his hammer and saw, and which nails to select for framing and which for shingling, the writer must know how to spell and use grammar. But while the carpenter must get each step right before moving on to the next, the writer has every opportunity to go back and re-write a story -- and should take advantage of that. Often the first draft of a story is just an effort to get the thing out of your head and onto paper, to see what it is you have hold of. Then you begin to poke and slice and polish. It is a good idea to set the finished story aside overnight or for a week or even longer, then haul it out and read it again. Errors and omissions not visible earlier will suddenly leap out to be corrected. It is at times like this the writer blesses the word processor, which makes it possible to correct or change portions of a story without having to type the entire thing over again.
12. Study the kind of stories you want to write. Read them several times. Try catching a favorite author as he or she lays down the plot, describes characters, slips clues in. You might even try writing a sample story in his style.
13. Keep Writing! The writer finds it both a love and an obsession, because only love (or obsession) will keep her sitting for hours and hours at her desk. If it is right for you, you will discover no pleasure in the world like that of getting lost in a world of your own making. You will come to care desperately about your hero, and wish him well even when you are putting him in a situation that will test him to the limit; you will find yourself angry at the villain, laughing when your hero is made ridiculous, smiling through your tears at a happy ending. (If this isn't happening, re-write until it does!)
14. Don't be discouraged by rejection slips; every writer gets them, even successful ones. If a story doesn't sell to one magazine, try another; don't quit until every magazine editor who remotely might be interested has turned it down. If you can, keep several manuscripts making the rounds at all times. Persevere: One day, possibly when you least expect it, you will get the immensely flattering news that a publisher wants to pay you for your story!
Although the rules set forth above are true and correct, so was Mr. Maugham when he wrote: "There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately nobody knows what they are." Please don't forget that.

Kewpie Mischief

by Deb Baker

One night at the turn of the twentieth century, Rosie O’Neill dreamed about tiny imps and began to sketch them from her imagination. Plump, mischievous babies with laughing eyes and wisps of hair standing straight up. She called them Kewpies, short for Cupid, because they did good deeds in amusing ways.

The series began with magazine drawings accompanied by short stories and poems. Next, she designed Kewpie Kutouts, comic pages, and books. At the request of adoring children, she created a special doll. By Nineteen-thirteen Kewpie dolls could be found all over the world.

How to tell an original? Look for the 'O'Neill' imprint on the doll's foot and a red heart on the chest.

Goodbye Dolly, the second in my Dolls To Die For series, will be out in September. It features these lovable cherubs.

How Creative Pursuits Help Us Dull the Pain

I got home late last night from Miami after attending SleuthFest 2007, the mystery conference put on by the Florida Chapter of Mystery Writers of America.

My brain bulges and bubbles over with all I learned, but the topic I want to explore today is how creativity offers us a respite from pain.

On some level, most of us know this. We get started on a project, and we wonder where the time went. We marvel at the ability to “lose” ourselves while engrossed in our hobby. A voice calls downstairs, “Honey, are you coming to bed?” We glance at the clock and register surprise.

What you might not know is that many, many mystery authors pour their personal angst into the pages of their novels. One SleuthFest attendee alluded to the practice with her tee shirt that read: “Don’t mess with me or I’ll put you in my next book!”

Jack Getze’s Big Numbers begins with greedy stockbroker Austin Carr. Carr is behind in alimony and child-support payments. He’s desperate to earn his children back. The book starts when he’s about to be murdered by being strapped to a live 600-pound tuna. When asked about the genesis of Carr, Jack paused and then said, “I’ve been divorced…”

Kathryn Lilley’s Dying to be Thin features a television reporter who checks into a weight-loss clinic. Her goal is to lose enough weight to appear on-air. In her biography, Kathryn tells us that she once lost 90 pounds to win an on-air job. (That’s Kathryn, me, and my good friend Linda Hengerer in the photo.)

I often put personal slights I’ve suffered in my Kiki Lowenstein books. Last week I was on a real tear. I was spewing vitriol to my pal Shirley Damsgaard (author of Which Way to Murder) and she interrupted with, “I hope you are writing all this down because it’s going to make a great scene in a book.” (Which reminds me, I need to do that!)

I’m curious. How does pain fuel your creativity? Do you pour out your problems in a journal? Do you paint pictures that reflect your inner turmoil? (I hope none of you have contemplated cutting off your ear a la Vincent Van Gogh!) Do you turn to your knitting or quilting as a way to block out the drama in your own life? How do your hobbies help you make it through the day? And night?

Let me know and I’ll make it worth your while. Send an email to me at savetales@aol.com by May 5 (yeah, I’m picking that day on purpose). Tell me: 1.) How your hobby helps you get through life’s rough spots 2.) your name 3.) your postal address and email address. 4.) Put HOBBY in the reference line or I won’t open it.

I’ll choose one of you to receive a copy of Bloody Mary by J.A. Konrath. It’s a signed copy and I promise you, you’ll love it. (Oh, and by sending me your response, you are automatically giving me permission to share your response in an upcoming blog, okay?)

Meet Cyndy Salzmann

“When life get’s sticky, dip it in chocolate.” This is my personal motto -- as well as that of the Friday Afternoon Club (FAC), the group of women who star in my latest mystery, Crime & Clutter. I love to cook so I couldn’t help but include recipes that go along with the story. After all, the FAC girls have to eat. : )

I thought the readers of Killer Hobbies might enjoy trying one of the simple recipes excerpted from the book…

Triple Chocolate Pecan Brownies
1 package brownie mix
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Prepare brownie mix as directed on package. Add remaining ingredients to batter.
3. Put batter in greased 9 x 9 pan. Bake 40-45 minutes until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.
4. Enjoy!

Cyndy Salzmann is a wife and mother who does most of her writing on the back of fast food wrappers while waiting to pick up her children from various activities. Crime & Clutter is the second book in the popular Friday Afternoon Club Mystery series (Simon & Schuster 4/07). www.cyndysalzmann.com

When Writing Becomes Work

Happy Friday, all!
I have nothing to blog about. I'm sitting here at midnight thinking about how I'd much rather be out in the garden tending to my roses or planting those hollyhocks or Canterbury Bells. This would be because it's spring. And spring is like, "Holy cow, lemme outta here!" Gardening is something that comes honest to me. My grandma must have been a mutant because she seemed to have had four green thumbs, instead of two. Both of her daughters, my aunts, were amazing gardeners as well. I love the smell of the earth, watching something grow from a seed and then feeling amazed when the birds and butterflies actually partake of the bounty. Gardening, like genealogy and quiltmaking and scrapbooking, is a hobby. Like quilting, it's something I'm extremely passionate about. I can't just plant ecchinacea, I have to know the history of it, all the different colors it comes in. I take hobby to a whole new level.
But wait, what about writing? Writing used to be my hobby. Until I got published. Then it became a job. I can remember how I used to call my other writing friends and say, "Oh, I'm already on page 200. I can't wait until tomorrow when Torie discovers that the Pony Express detoured through New Kassel!"
Steadily it has become more like; "Sharon, I can't believe I'm only on page 200. Hey, you think the fans will notice if I burn down New Kassel and have Torie run away with the new sheriff to live on a deserted island in the south Pacific? What? You really think they'll notice? Because I'm thinking they won't. What? Oh, all right. Argh."
I really honestly never thought this would be an issue. Ten years ago, I envisioned myself lovingly writing word after word after word until I was a hundred. But it's become something I have to do. Before, writing was like, cheating or something. I got to spend a couple hours everyday being somebody else when nobody was looking.
So what to do when writing becomes work? Well, here are a few things I've tried.
1) Read. I know, it's seems to simple. But reading is what made me want to be a writer in the first place. When I'm at this point and feeling frustrated, I try to read something comforting or familiar. A new book in a favorite series. Reading knew things sometimes puts me on edge and makes me feel pressured. Old familiars, and something lighthearted reminds me of why I love to read and write, and yet entertains me at the same time.
2) Yoga. The stuff is like magic. Cures most anything.
3) I make a list of story ideas I want to write someday. This reminds me of why I started writing in the first place. And sometimes I even write a paragraph or a chapter of something other than the book I'm contracted to write.
4) I make a list of all the crummy jobs I've ever had and all the crummy jobs I'll keep having if I'm not writing. This one usually works.
My husband tells me I'll never be able to not write. Words and characters tumble around in my head all the time, and he's right. Still, there are times I think I just can't make myself sit down and write one more word. I'm all out of words. There's NOTHING LEFT!
Sort of how like I said at the beginning of this blog that I had nothing to blog about, and look . . . those words just find their way out.
Rett

Writing and Pets

I’ve been enjoying my fellow bloggers’ posts about writing. I just got home from a Sisters in Crime mystery panel at the Glendale Public Library in the L.A. area, and we all had a great time talking about where our ideas came from, among other things.

Taking a twist on real life was one popular theme. I’m a lawyer, and I write about another lawyer--albeit one who looks at life a lot differently than I do. I’ve never been a litigator, like Kendra Ballantyne is, nor have I--fortunately--become a murder magnet, as she is. I did, however, do a little pet-sitting in my way-younger days, but it happily didn’t lead to solving murder mysteries.

Another panelist, also a lawyer, writes legal thrillers loosely based on her own background of employment law. A former P.I. writes about a former P.I. A former government agent can’t talk much about what she used to do, but her protagonist doesn’t always solve mysteries but instead takes justice into her own hands. And then there was the sole guy on our panel who also moderated--and was the only one who perhaps didn’t write about stuff he might have experienced, even vicariously.

Where do my ideas come from? Everywhere! I save newspaper clippings but often forget to refer to them. I travel as often as possible and get inspired by locations that I attempt to incorporate into my stories. I study people--don’t all writers?--and take characteristics from one sort and stick them into someone else who’s entirely different.

I’ve digressed from what I originally intended to write about today--pets. Of course. So now I’ll go there, too.

Am I obsessed about pets? Nah. Although I did attend a Pet Expo in Orange County last weekend. The only Cavalier King Charles Spaniels I saw there were in uniform--companion dogs. Not surprising. Cavaliers can cheer up anyone!

Lots of other breeds were represented at the Expo, including Akitas like Odin, the dog owned by Jeff Hubbard, Kendra’s first pet-sitting client, a P.I. and a hunk. Other breeds, both mentioned in my series and not, were in attendance, as were pet food manufacturers. Some of the latter included those whose products were subject to the recall, but they were promoting more of their dry foods than the moist ones that were the main source of the contamination. Also, there was the manufacturer of the brand of canned food that I’m now using in reduced quantities but I’ve read the label carefully multiple times--no wheat, or any other, gluten, nor salt, nor other stuff I’d rather not feed my pups. Nor rice protein (Is there protein in rice?) which is apparently the subject of yet another recall I heard on the news as I was writing this.

Cats, too, were represented at the Pet Expo, not in the same number as their canine pet counterparts, although there was a cat show going on in one of the large fairground buildings. Cat products, too, were being promoted. I didn’t zero in on which manufacturers had representatives, but hopefully no food carrying the awful contaminants were around.

In the building where less common pets were featured, I ran into people I’d met previously, in and around the time NOTHING TO FEAR BUT FERRETS first came out, who championed ferrets’ rights here in California, where they’re outlawed. Also members of the West Valley Bird Association, who helped in my research for FINE-FEATHERED DEATH had a booth filled with people and beautiful birds. I saw an iguana in the arms of a man demonstrating their looks to a rapt audience--which I watched for a while myself. After all, THE FRIGHT OF THE IGUANA will be published this October. And I enjoyed looking at lots of additional animals such as rabbits and lizards and other types who might yet show up in a Kendra book.

The day after attending the Pet Expo, I took off for Phoenix where I participated in a meeting of the Mystery Writers of America’s Southern California chapter at the Poisoned Pen Bookstore, where its owner and the publisher of Poisoned Pen Press, Barbara Peters, spoke about the current trends in mysteries and publishing in general. (Note how neatly I segued back into writing?) My husband Fred came along, too, and we brought our Cavaliers, Lexie and Sparquie, and I got to introduce Lexie, whose counterpart is owned by my protagonist Kendra Ballantyne, to Barbara and other authors.

We’re back home now, and this weekend I’ll participate on yet another panel, this one at Literary Orange, for the Orange County Public Library system. Which means I’d better get to bed at last, since this week’s still got a ways to go!

--Linda

How To

Joanna's GREAT post of advice has inspired me to offer my set of instructions for plotting and writing your own mystery story.
1. Think "What if . . . " What if you were watching TV some evening and your phone rings. Answering it with a mumble, you hear, "The blow will be in the green suitcase arriving on Flight 340 tomorrow at five." What if a third grader overheard a teacher talking about murdering someone? What if you saw your best friend walk up to a squad car and hand the officer a large amount of cash? Every story has its origins in "What if . . . " Ideas are everywhere, on the news, in overheard conversations, in magazines, on the Learning Channel.
2. When you start to actually sit down to write your story, begin at the end. Nearly all mystery stories have a point near the end when the sleuth says, "Let me explain." He or she then reviews briefly what has been going on all along, concluding by unveiling the guilty party. Even if you do not plan to have a scene like this, you must have the solution as clear in your head as if you will. Police detectives are taught that to solve a crime you must answer, Who? What? Why? When? Where? and How? You must know the answers to these questions before going ahead with your story.
3. Naturally, all this planning will invent the clues that will lead to the catching of your culprit. Those clues should be broken into fragments and dropped IN THE WRONG ORDER throughout the story. It can be clever to put your main clue in first, before your readers have your characters sorted out. Make sure your clues are the sort your detective can discover and interpret. If the solution relies on esoteric knowledge about medicine, make your heroine a doctor. If the clues involve fingerprints, blood analysis, and the like, better make her a cop or a forensics expert – but this will call for a LOT of research. (Watching CSI is not real research.) If the clues involve the nuances of human behavior, don't make him a nerd or misanthropist, unless you also plan some major changes in his attitude. (See? Already you have invented your victim, your murderer, and your detective!) Now, find some solid lead that points to a suspect (not the perpetrator). Invent a clue that absolutely clears him/her -- and either mix it with a seemingly more important bit of information, or put it in BEFORE the clue that points. It is great fun to cause your reader to be certain Ingrid did it, when all the time it was the grandfather. BUT, the reader shouldn't feel cheated; she should say at the end, "Darn, I missed that clue, and it was right there in front of me."
4. Having all this sorted out and written down, go to the beginning and invent a "Grabber." You want an opening sentence that will draw your reader immediately into the story, or is so strange that more of the story simply has to be read. For example, "It was all Tom's fault; he's the one who brought an elephant to church."
5. There can be any number of people mentioned in your story ("a cast of thousands" if you like) but your reader should be required to keep track of the names and actions of no more than seven characters. (You will need a victim, a detective, and least two suspects, so add new characters carefully.) Make each memorable. Do not name them Don, Dan, Dave, Doug, Sue, Sandy, and Sally; name them Gloria, Herman, Ingrid, Jessye, Marvel-Ann, Pedro, and Desktop. (Many writers own a copy of Name Your Baby.) Give each a physical attribute (eyes of a peculiar color, very tall, long braids) or trick of speech (stutters, uses big words, uses a lot of slang), and refer to it about every other time the character appears in your story ("Rubbed his sea-green eyes ... ", "... looked down from his great height," "'B-b-but that's s-silly," stammered Herman, "Hah!" Gloria said, flinging a braid over her plump shoulder.) Don't use real people. You may base a character on someone you know, but make enough changes so the person in your story becomes someone new. (Usually this happens all by itself as your story develops.)
6. Keep the story moving, keep the reader guessing what will happen next, then toss in an ending that makes him laugh or feel surprised. But remember, the ending has to fit the story; don't cheat by making the perpetrator someone you introduce on the next to last page. On the other hand, some kinds of sleight of hand in short stories can be okay. For example: A little boy overhears a teacher saying something on the phone that seems to mean the teacher
did something illegal. The teacher sees him listening and orders him to stay after school. The boy is so scared he appears sick, so another teacher sends him to the nurse, who decides to call his mother. The mother goes to talk to his teacher, who rises in confusion and stammers out something indicating he is guilty of a serious crime. Why? Because the boy's mother came straight from her job to pick up her son -- and she's a police officer! (See how the surprise comes because you don't know the mother is a cop until the very end? The boy in the story knows, and the nurse who called her knows. The trick here is to keep the reader from knowing until after the teacher has blurted something incriminating.)

To be continued next Wednesday . . .

Kachina Dolls

by Deb Baker

I’ve just turned in the third book in the Dolls To Die For series. That fulfills my contract obligations. My agent and I have been in communication with Berkley (my publisher) about another book in the series. I wanted to write about Kachina dolls. My Berkley editor rejected my concept idea. According to her, Native American doesn’t sell. Tony Hillerman is the only author to have made it. No Native American for me.

I lived in the Phoenix area for eighteen months and fell in love with the colorful Indian lure of the desert. Every weekend I traveled to see ruins of past civilizations that entranced me, captivated my imagination like little else has.

So to say that I was disappointed in my publisher’s decision is a huge understatement.

Kachinas (also called Katchinas) are Hopi holy spirits that live on the San Francisco Peaks in Arizona. They can be spirits of animals, deities, or deceased members of the Pueblo, and they act as messengers between spiritual domains and mortals. These supernatural beings visit Hopi villagers beginning at winter solstice and ending mid-July. Their most important role is to bring rain for spring crops.

For six months male members perform masked dances, impersonating Kachina spirits. They give cottonwood dolls to the children and teach them about the hundred of Kachina spirits through oral tradition. When the dancers are in costume, they become that spirit.

The Heard museum in Phoenix has the largest, most wonderful display of Kachina dolls in the world. If you get a chance, stop in. The Hopis have resisted pressure to produce the dolls commercially, so the souvenirs found in tourist gift shops are cheap reproductions.

A fake - a few bucks

The real thing - thousands of dollars

The Hopi culture - priceless

Love Is Murder

Ten "Things" I Learned at Love Is Murder

By Joanna Campbell Slan

I forgot I wrote these! I whipped them out right after the conference. Enjoy!

1. From Anne Perry: "Your protagonist will only jump as high as your antagonist makes him."

2. From Nancy Pickard: "If you describe a character, do that the first time we meet him or the reader will have a 'picture' that might not be the same as the author's."

3. Turn is the change in a character's momentum-which can be a change in his/her emotion or goals. Without "turn" in a scene, nothing has really happened.

4. From Libby Fischer Hellmann: "Violence has to happen to a character we love or we don't care."

5. From Todd Stone: "Craft your scenes. Do not just be a camera. Don't just record and scan and put on a page (what you see). What you write must be for effect and purpose."

6. In a series, as the character becomes deeper (more well-developed),the stakes go up when the character is exposed to violence.

7. Part of the power in a violent scene has to do with where it takes place.

8. Reviewers would like books six to seven months in advance of publication. If you send an ARC (Advance Reading Copy), include the normal cover material and blurbs (if available), your platform, website, contact information, ISBN, whether it's part of a series or not, price, author's bio, and publication date.

9. From Todd Stone: "A window character is a screenwriting term for the person the main character talks to most."

10. Never send a raccoon skull to a publishing house to try to persuade them to print your work.

And here's the lagniappe--

Nancy Pickard said, "(I am happy to share what I've learned because) I not only want to write better stories, but I also want to read better stories."

Hypocrisy is better than having no standards at all.

Nancy Pickard said, "Some books are like children who graduated a little too early." In response, Charlaine Harris added, "I do have one book that would be riding the special bus."

Anne Perry said, "The big difference between mysteries and literary novels is ours have a plot. "

The reviewers said that blurbs don't always sway them. Beware the "blurb sluts."

Todd Stone suggested cutting your writing goals into such small pieces that you can "kick them to the curb, spit on them, and call them names."

**

PS I'll try to share my Top Ten List for each conference I attend. It's a great way for me to crystalize what I learn and to pass it on. I'm off to SleuthFest in Miami later this week, so stay tuned! The photo shows (left to right) Anne Perry, me, and Nancy Pickard.

Meet Paige Wheeler

Thanks so much for inviting me as a guest blogger on KILLER HOBBIES. Who knew that hobbies could be deadly? Well, maybe, when you think of hang gliding, mountain climbing, or bungee jumping. But petsitting, doll collecting, scrapbooking, quilting and needlework? Actually, perhaps you *are* on to something! I’ve been totally addicted to HGTV for a couple of years now and through home improvements, we’ve survived cuts and bruises, visits to the emergency room, and just this afternoon, aching backs from painting the living room. Maybe this hobby *is* deadly, or at the very least uncomfortable! J

My constant hobby has always been reading, which is one of the many reasons I became an agent. I followed the rule “do what you love.” What this means, however, is that my hobby has become a full time job and whenever I read, it’s usually for work. I do read for pleasure, but I’m constantly turning that into work as well. (How did the author come up with the plotline, what prompted the editor to buy the book, how is the book performing in the marketplace?) You get the picture.

My authors must have experienced strange moments with their hobbies, because I represent a whole slew of deadly hobbyists. Jackie Chance, for example, is writing a poker mystery series. The first, DEATH ON THE FLOP, features a young woman who is forced to learn Texas Hold ‘Em. Looks like that hobby is not only expensive, but deadly. At least you get free drinks at the card table. Miranda Bloom has a hobby that I can’t even comprehend—cooking. Her novels are centered around a cooking school and the protagonist is as culinary-challenged as I am. COOKING UP MURDER was her first book. Kathleen Klein is an avid gardener; actually, she got a degree in Landscape Design and turned that into mystery entitled THE DEADLY GARDEN TOUR. Hopefully she didn’t specialize in growing funeral flowers. Roberta Isleib turned her passion for golf and background in psychology into something deadly. Her golfing mystery series (the first is SIX STROKES UNDER) features characters who can’t stand losing and will do anything to get ahead. Now Roberta has turned her attention to the advice column and has a book out entitled DEADLY ADVICE. Makes me think twice about reading Dear Abby. Linda O. Johnston’s love for pets is evident in every book she has written, so a main character who is a petsitting attorney is a perfect fit for her. I loved the title of her first book, SIT STAY SLAY. Linda’s now working on her sixth, so I it seems tons of people share her love of pets. Finally, I have Casey Daniels. I really wouldn’t call giving Cemetery Tours a hobby, more of a job. But Casey’s has managed to turn her fascination with cemeteries into a great mystery series. Her first book, DON OF THE DEAD, debuted last year and CHICK AND THE DEAD just hit stores. With so many shows about psychics and mediums, this series is one that has more than a ghost of a chance of capturing a wide audience.

My most recent passion *could* be called a hobby as well. We just got a puppy six weeks ago. Having a puppy seems more like a full time job than a hobby. My husband and I have named him Hudson and he’s totally adorable. However, he *does* take up a large amount of time like any good hobby. So much so that we’ve had to forgo our other hobbies in place of him. He’s totally worth it, though. However, my husband has made one promise. Based on all of the murders that take place in Linda’s books, we can NOT hire a petsitter. This puppy is going to doggie daycare. Sorry Linda.

Paige Wheeler
FOLIO Literary Management
pwheeler@foliolit.com

Meet Beth Groundwater

A Basket of Trouble

Hello, everyone. First thing, I want to sincerely thank the Killer Hobbies authors for inviting me to be a guest blogger. I'm Beth Groundwater, author of the amateur sleuth mystery, A REAL BASKET CASE, released by Five Star Publishing on March 21, 2007. My protagonist, Claire Hanover, designs and delivers gift baskets for her part-time business. I don't have her problems, like a dead young massage therapist in my bedroom and my husband being accused of the murder! However, I do share her fascination with putting together just the right combination of items in a gift basket that form a cohesive theme matching the intended recipient.

On the Articles page of my website, www.bethgroundwater.com, I list Tips for Making Perfect Gift Baskets. They include such hints as:
- Include at least one unique item the recipient would NEVER buy him/herself
- Include something for each of the senses: taste, smell, touch, sight, sound
- Never put foods in the same basket with strongly scented candles or bath product
- Pick one main color and two complementary accent colors and use them throughout
There are more suggestions for layout and construction, but the most important thing to keep in mind is that putting together the basket should be FUN, not a chore. Your heart should be involved in the process so you are picking gift items that truly fit the recipient and his/her interests.

I've also included a recipe for a Mystery Lover's gift basket on the Articles page, and links to various gift basket business and resource websites on my Links Page. The gift basket business is a thriving one, and I'm happy to report there are many stores in multiple cities that share the name of my book, A REAL BASKET CASE. J

I've constructed gift baskets for charity auctions (my favorite theme for this is "Nuts About Chocolate"), for friends and relatives, as thank-you gifts for the authors who blurbed my book, and as prizes for my email newsletter registration contest. I offer three possible themes for the prizes, Mystery Lovers, Chocoholic, and Relax-a-Bath. Most prize-winning subscribers, of course, prefer the Mystery Lovers theme, since they are mystery readers, after all. I've collected bookmarks and postcards from fellow Colorado mystery authors to add to the book collections and other mysterious items I place in these baskets.

For those of you who are aspiring authors, I have a blog which is an adjunct to my website, bethgroundwater.blogspot.com, where I describe my road to publication. I won't have much time for basket designing mid-April through June, because I'll be on the road promoting my book, with events scheduled every weekend. Check out my Appearances page to see if I'll be coming to your area! I've been gratified by the good reviews A REAL BASKET CASE has received so far, including:

"This will appeal to Desperate Housewives fans and those who like cozies with a bit of spice."
-- Barbara Bibel, Booklist Review, February 1, 2007

"Drugs and jealousy add up to a Rocky Mountain murder. A tense, exciting debut."
-- Kirkus Reviews, January 1, 2007

My hope is that Claire's basket of trouble will add up to a basket of fun for anyone who reads the book! Thanks again for inviting me here, Joanna, Deb, Monica, Linda, and Rett!

Obsessions

Obsessions can be a good thing sometimes. I mean, after all, being obsessed about finding my great-grandpa's Civil War records is what actually helped me find his war records! When I first started tracing my family tree, my aunt had said those horrible and yet magical words, "I've tried everywhere for those Civil War records and can't find them." In this respect, I am very much like my character, Torie O'Shea. The fact that those records exist and nobody could find them only made me want to find them all the more! It took me two years, and I eventually found them. Who knew that there could be so many different places to try to locate Civil War records? At any rate, when they arrived, I stood at my mail box, overwhelmed with joy, swiping tears away. Pretty silly, huh?
Here's a few other things I get obsessed over: Fabric. I'll buy fabric and then tell myself, "well, now you don't need anymore fabric for a while." And then, some jerk will have a huge sale, like 50% off and I just can't resist. And if I really like a fabric, I want to collect it in every color or every shade. It's pretty bad when the ladies at the quilt stores and fabric stores know me by name . . . and my kid's names and which quilt I was working on last! (But those are the best kinds of quilt stores, when everybody there knows you.) I often think about my obsession for fabric, knowing I'll probably NEVER use all of it, and yet . . . I can't stop. What is it about fabric that does this to me?
Books is another thing I obsess over. I love the feel of books, the smell of books, the colors involved, the font, you name it. (Yes, I will be very depressed when the day comes that you have to go to a museum to see a book, because all books will be published electronically.) Heck, I'll pick up a book and read it just because it looks cool. And I need to be surrounded by them, like they're oxygen or sunlight. A house with no books? Argh. Horrible. Depressing.
Pictures. I love pictures. Can't take enough pictures. Heck, I even ask my friends to take pictures of themselves on vacation and give me a few. I was one of those mothers that the photography studio loved to see coming. What do you mean I can only buy one pose of my cute little three-year-old for $14.95? I have to pay how much a sheet for the additional poses? Okay, well, we can do without bread this week. And . . . peanut butter. And if I'm real careful, maybe even toilet paper. . . . .
Plants! Gosh, I swear, it's like they're calling out to me when I pass them in the nursery. "Buy me, plant me. I'm going to fade away here if you don't take me home with you." Okay, not really, but you get the picture. I firmly believe you can never have enough plants, enough flowers, or enough roses. My husband disagrees with me and just shakes his head every time I pull some living green thing out of the backseat of my car. Now, I get a lot of free plants, too. I went to my aunt's house a few weeks ago and came back with 3 tubs of bulbs and about 7 different bushes. She's just as obsessed as I am, but we won't go there.
I'd like to open a quilt/nursery/bookshop. I mean, how much fun would that be? When you buy a yard of fabric you get a free hollyhock or herb. I'd shop there.
I also obsess over ancestors. I know my fifteenth great-grandpa had to have a dad. Who was he? Isn't it enough that I have that branch of my tree traced back to 1370, no I have to have it back to 1290?
Yeah, that's me, obsession girl. I also obsess over some not-quite-as-fun things like whether or not the stove is off or if that spider I killed is actually dead, but we won't talk about those.
So, in two weeks I'm going to get up at 5 a.m and take a bus with my guild down to Paducah and back in one day. All so I can go see the quilt museum and this years crop of the best quilts (the best ones entered in their show, anyway) which comes to about 500 quilts. 500 quilts? Is that all? Why not 600? Or 700?
This is why my family tells my husband he has a free pass into heaven.
Rett MacPherson

Enjoying My BowTie Experience

For a person who loves pets, I had an absolutely delightful experience the other day. I was invited to visit the offices of BowTie Publications and be interviewed for some of their on-line web channels.

BowTie is the publisher of lots of excellent pet-related magazines, including Dog Fancy, Dog World, Cat Fancy, Ferrets, Bird Talk, Reptiles and Critters, as well as annual magazines also relating to pets, other magazines that feature particular dog breeds or training of a specific breed, trade magazines for pet shop owners and others, and hard-back books involving pets... and even more! They also have several different websites that support and promote their magazines, such as DogChannel.com, CatChannel.com and BirdChannel.com. They are all under the umbrella of AnimalNetwork.com.

What was the topic of my interview? My Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mysteries, of course! I was interviewed by Executive Editor Melissa Kauffman, who had read them all so far. She seemed really to like Kendra, and her questions were both fun and incisive--like, why did I start the first story, SIT, STAY, SLAY, with Kendra in such sad circumstances in her life? (She was watching her new tenants move into the big, beautiful house she loved so she could pay the mortgage without having to sell it, and her Cavalier, Lexie, and she were moving into the apartment over the garage.)

I also got to meet Crystal Apilado, Assistant Web Editor, who was a huge help in getting the interview scheduled, despite several delays. She also helped out a lot at the interview.

Many, if not most, of Melissa’s questions involved animals. Along with her oversight of many publications, Melissa is the editor of Ferrets and Bird Talk, so she had lots to say and ask about Kendra and her adventures in NOTHING TO FEAR BUT FERRETS and FINE-FEATHERED DEATH.

I also learned things from Melissa, including how controversial it’s becoming to allow cats to roam the streets--both for their own sakes and for the neighbors’. Cats can unfortunately become coyote food in my area and are subject to being struck by cars. Plus they sometimes harm birds and other wild animals. Not to mention other cats, or dogs. And cat scratches can become infected and do all kinds of damage.

We of course discussed the controversy surrounding the illegality of ferrets in California. They’re said to harm endangered species, but probably no more than other animals do that roam wild. (See above re cats--oops, that’s my lawyer side talking!) They also don’t generally survive long on their own.

And then there’s the controversy surrounding Designer Dogs--combining recognized breeds, such as Cockapoos and Labradoodles. Breeders of the kinds of dogs that are combined tend not to be pleased. The Bengal cats featured in MEOW IS FOR MURDER are also a combo of other kinds of cats--Asian Leopard cats and domestic cats--and therefore not held in highest esteem in some quarters, despite how popular they seem to be getting.

I understand that portions of the interview will be posted on-line one or more of the AnimalNetwork channels. I feel as if I didn’t make an utter fool of myself in the interview, but I’m not the most photogenic person in the world. If I wind up not looking too bad, maybe I’ll add the links to a future blog!

-- Linda

Attitudes

I love old comics. I have this enormous "coffee table" book called The Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics that I haul out every year or two and peruse. It's like time travel. Daily comics are ephemeral, they are not meant to be deathless prose, and so they reflect the immediacy of daily life in their time, and I find it interesting to immerse myself in a time other than my own. I'm fascinated by late-medieval England as well as late nineteenth and early twentieth century England and America, and Ancient Egypt, too. Anyway, last night I was looking at a Barney Google and Spark Plug comic from 1929 (a comic still running when I was a child) and was intrigued to see a drawing depicting a Paris street café full of patrons. It was obviously drawn from the artist's actual experience. There were people from all over the world seated there, sleepy Arabs and arty Americans, snooty English ladies, German professors – and two black men. All were caricatures, of course, but the black men were such brutal shapes as to be barely human. In fact, I looked at them for several seconds, wondering what they were supposed to be. The artist wasn't commenting on their "type," he was depicting a racist attitude very far from the reality of two black human beings. Shocking.

I find that happens when wandering in the past. I understand what's going on, I can identify with the sentiments – and then I'm brought to a sharp halt. What were they thinking? Why were they thinking that? Who were these people, really? How could our not-distant ancestors have thought those things? It's things like that that make it so difficult to write "period" novels. I have had my own go at it, and approached it with fear and trembling, because I hate the "Mary Jane" form of period novels, in which a woman from the tenth century yearns for a room of her own or a Victorian woman hates the clothes or a character in the forties latches correctly onto every social attitude. These people swam in the waters they were born into and didn't see how foolish or wrong they often were – just like us.

I wonder what future generations are going to be dumbfounded by about us?

I'm looking out my window this morning of April 11, 2007, and it's SNOWING. In my front yard the tulips are up. Some even have buds on them. And it's SNOWING. Where's global warming when you can use it?

I have an unusual appearance this weekend. Joanna Page is a nice, brisk southern belle transplanted up here in Minnesota. I met her through my church. She and her husband own a mansion built in 1907 not far from downtown, in a little neighborhood of very nice houses. I wish I had connected with her back when I was writing Sins and Needles, because I would have "borrowed" her house, or some elements of it. Her house is a Craftsman, and I wrote about one. I could have done a much better job if I'd had her house for inspiration. Anyway, she wants to raise money for The Bridge, a charity that helps runaway children. She is offering a catered buffet for a twenty-five dollar donation (though if you want to give more, she's open to that!), and I'm to be the entertainment. You see, I collect hats, and I love to wear them to church as well as to signings. So I'm to bring some of my favorites and keep changing hats all afternoon as I go about talking to her guests. I suppose I'm to talk about them, as well as my mystery novels. Some of my hats are antiques, but the best ones I bought from a shop in Muncie, Indiana, that caters to black church women. Any of you read the book Crowns? Or seen the play? Those kind of hats, large and decorated with fur or feathers or sequins or rhinestones – or all of the above. It took a certain gathering of my courage to go out in one of those big hats at first, but now I just smile and enjoy the amazed looks. I'm hoping to get such a reputation for these hats that someone can go into a book store and say, "There's this author, I can't remember her name, but she wears these hats . . ." and the shop owner will know immediately who the customer is looking for!

Notes From the Morgue - by Deb

I'm in the autopsy room with the deputy medical examiner. My sixteen-year-old daughter's face is twisted into a mask of agony.

"What am I doing here, anyway?" Ana says, griping in my ear again. It's a good question. Besides the three of us already mentioned, four young males complete the circle around the examining table. Two speeders, two car thieves. Not exactly my daughter's usual circle. Ana’s crime? Misjudging a left hand turn at a light. The oncoming car clipped her bumper. She’s in the morgue because of judge’s orders.

One of the carjackers is trying to stay awake. He shifts back and forth, eyes closing, while the Medical Examiner explains the autopsy procedure. I'm the only one who really wants to be there.

“How can you be absolutely sure the person is dead when they are bagged at the scene?” I ask, seizing the opportunity. I’m a mystery writer. I can’t help myself. “Have you ever bagged a live person?”


I get a poke in the back for my curiosity. “Shhh.” It’s my daughter. I’m embarrassing her. Nervous tittering from the captive audience. I think it’s a good question and wish I had my notebook along.

“That couldn’t possibly happen,” says the deputy medical examiner. “We have ways of knowing.”

Yah, sure. The mystery author in me doesn’t quite believe it.

That begs another question. How does the M.E. know? I suspect she’s making it up.
Before I can present the question, my daughter is tromping on my toes. She’s five-nine, I’m five-two. She has an advantage.

So my next question? Do you really tag the body’s toes?

“Yes,” the deputy M.E. says, frowning a little at my enthusiasm. I’m supposed to be appalled into solemn silence by the morgue, not doing cartwheels. She’s not sure I’m helping her cause.

A police officer shows us pictures, not of bodies, but of vehicles. “This one,” he says, “is a fatality. Three boys dead, the driver of the oncoming car, dead. The driver, sixteen-years-old, was the only survivor.”

More pictures, half of them the same type of accident my daughter had.

These kids slept-walked through the cold storage room, the bagging procedure, and graphic autopsy procedures. But accident pictures and the stories behind them have had an effect. It starts to sink in.

It’s about time.

Each of them believes they are infallible, nothing can hurt them. But they don’t have that same confidence when it comes to their friends’ lives. No one stopped to think about the friends in the car. Before now.

Ana isn’t complaining anymore. Her boyfriend had been in the passenger seat. What if…..? I’m noticeably quiet. Everyone in the room is thinking about what could have been.

All of us are grateful for what was.

The boys start asking question, looking thoughtful.

Thinking.

Contest--and Preview of My Business Card

Next week, I'm off to SleuthFest, a great mystery conference held annually in Florida. Since it's my first "official" appearance since Midnight Ink (MI) bought the Kiki Lowenstein Scrapbook Mystery Series, I wanted a business card that matched my books.

But the book cover won't be done for months and months to come.

From what my fellow MI authors have told me, MI is very kind about working with their authors on covers. That's NOT usual. Most publishers give their authors very little to NO input.

Still...I didn't want to wait.

One thing I knew for certain I wanted on my covers was a picture of Gracie, the Harlequin Great Dane that my protagonist Kiki Lowenstein impulsively adopts from one of those sidewalk "adopt-a-pet" fairs that pet stores sometimes sponsor. With that in mind, I combed the Internet for pictures of Harlequin Great Danes. Harlequins are black and white spotted Great Danes.

Once I found photos with poses I liked or close ups of heads or photos with spot-patterns I liked, I printed them out as large as possible. Then I copied them in black and white on my photocopier. I flipped over one I especially admired and with a #2 Ticonderoga pencil, I c--

(at this point while writing, I was rudely interrupted. Vicki, our girl Bichon, began the whimpering that means, "I have to go potty, Mom. Reallllllly bad. Hurry." So I let her and Rafferty out. Rafferty heard the lawn cutting guys. So...in a fury of "Get out of my lawn! I'm the dog on duty here!" he went whipping around the front of the house. The lawn guys were...amused. To see a three-legged puff ball hurl himself at you can only be called...amusing. I ran along behind, yelling, "Rafferty! Rafferty!" He didn't listen. He did laps around Lawn Guy 1 who shouted to Lawn Guy 2 on a riding mower. They carried on in Spanish and laughed as they stopped all machinery. The Lawn Guys are very sweet and I imagine their days aren't often broken up by such comedy. By the time I grabbed Rafferty, he was wearing three little green socks! The fresh cut grass had dyed his fur!)

Back to reality...

I colored in the backside of the....you don't care, do you?

Forget it.

Here's the point. I made my own business cards. I did a pen and ink of Gracie, and then I colored her in with watercolor pencils.

Tell me what you think! Totally cool or totally dorky? Write me at savetales@aol.com

I'll pull one comment from the list and send that person a signed copy of one of my scrapbooking books!

Joanna (alias Crazy Woman Running After Three-Legged Dog)

QUILTS AND GENEALOGY?

by Rett MacPherson

It has occurred to me that genealogy has been sort of the cornerstone of many other interests that I have. I love photography, and I originally learned to use a camera because I wanted to copy original old photographs of my ancestors. (Back then they didn't have these neat little machines that you could scan and make copies, or scanners on a computer. If you wanted a copy of an old picture you had to send it off to a developer and they charged quite a bit, and people weren't to keen on letting go of the only photograph of Great, great Grandma.)

I got interested in scrapbooking because I wanted to put my family history into a format that my children would find interesting, not just names on a chart. Since then, the scrapbooking has taken over the house and I've made scrapbooks of vacations, recipes and my offspring's childhood.

If you've read any of my books at all, you can see that they're about a genealogist, so even my writing has blended with my love of genealogy. Last but not least, are quilts. My paternal grandmother was a quilter and I grew up snuggling under blankets she'd made for me. I also remember watching her quilt and her walking through the house with pins in her apron, fabric in the pockets and a template or pattern stuck in her mouth. So, I started out with a healthy respect for quilts and quilting. But there were some letters that her mother had written back in 1899 that speaks of "having quilting here today" that made me curious. So, my grandmother and great grandmother were quilters? Just how far back did this art of quilting go?

Then one day when I was at mother's house, she was putting away one of her quilts (a gift from my grandma) because it was beginning to tatter. I looked in her trunk and there were the quilt tops that my grandma had left for me. And they were just sitting there because nobody in my family knew how to quilt them. What a shame. This was something that meant a great deal to my grandma. An art she'd learned from her mother, and they were just sitting in the cedar chest, not being used because nobody knew how to finish them. That was it. I bought some magazines and some books and began making my own quilts. My theory was, I'll learn on my quilts so I can finish grandma's some day. That was 15 years ago. Quilting has become an obsession.

And as is normal for me, I had to know the history of quiltmaking, not just the craft. Once I started reading the history of quilts and patterns and fabrics, I couldn't help but learn about women. It helped me understand what life may have been like for those elusive female ancestors. Quite often you'll end up with a lot of information on you male ancestors, but only a first name and a birth year for your females. Quilting helped me remove the grime of modern day on my looking glass and allowed me to see life for women, seventy years ago and even a hundred and seventy years ago.

I came across this quote when I first started tracing my family tree. "He who knows not where he comes from, knows not where he's going." There is truth in that quote. The more I learn about my family's past, the more it opens up my own world in the present. Gee, that hadn't been my goal when I started hunting down my ancestors, but it's been a nice little perk.

Rett

My Dog-Loving History

Speaking of history, my plotting for the sixth Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mystery has led me to researching the history of dogs. They’ve been part of human culture for longer than our recorded history, back to the time of our caveman forefathers and foremothers. No wonder we love one another. What’s the plot? Well, for now that’s my little secret!

But here’s my own pet history.

I have to admit that my pets over the years have tended to be more of the usual kinds: goldfish and turtles when I was young, but my dearest loves have been dogs. I must have been born a dog lover. I always wanted a puppy. The first one I got was a sad story. I grew up in Pittsburgh, PA, and one Sunday afternoon my grandfather took me to a pet store to buy me a puppy. I’m not sure he even asked my parents. I brought home the most adorable little mutt I named Cuddles, and the next day, while I was in school, my mom took Cuddles to the vet for an exam. Now, this was a very long time ago, and hopefully a lot of the less than admirable standards for pet stores have improved, but poor Cuddles had distemper. Apparently, all puppies at that store were sick. We took Cuddles back and my grandfather got his money back, but I wasn’t even allowed to have another dog in the house for three months for fear of passing along the disease.

During that time, I studied Dog World Magazine to learn all I could about different breeds of dogs. By that time, my parents were in on the situation and, even if they weren’t thrilled, they agreed that I could get another puppy--a healthy one. I was told it would have to be a short-haired breed, one that wouldn’t get very large.

The result? I soon got Frisky, a brindle and white Boston terrier.

Frisky was adorable. And, she was nuts. We had a window in our front door at eye-level to an adult, and Frisky would leap up high enough to look out. I adored her, insisted that she sleep in bed with me. We had her until I was out of college, but I made a poor judgment call when I asked my parents to fly her to where I was living at the time, out of the country. She was too old and hyper, for one thing. Even worse, in those days, unbeknownst to me, airplanes were not pressurized properly for handling animals. She didn’t survive the trip. I was devastated.

I next got a Saint Bernard puppy--in an apartment. Another bad call. He got bigger and didn’t fit in well, so sadly I had to find him a good home with someone else.

But did I give up on dogs? No way!

Not long afterward, I happened to be in London on the Underground, when I saw a woman with an adorable little spaniel. It was love at first sight--at least from my end. I suspect it was partly the result that people tend to choose dogs who resemble them. No, I don’t think I look like a Cavalier, but the first one I saw was the Blenheim coloration: red and white. And I do happen to have red hair....

That was many years ago. I got my first Cavalier not long afterward--Panda, short for Pandaemonium, an adorable male. I met my husband Fred soon thereafter. Fred had to decide to love my dog if he wanted to love me, and that somehow worked out. Fred and I have been married for many years, during which time I’ve always had a Cavalier or two around, too. And now that we’re empty nesters--as to our human kids--we have two fur-kids, Sparquie and Lexie. Love ‘em!

And it’s no real coincidence that my mystery protagonist, Kendra Ballantyne, who’s a sort of alter ego of mine, also happens to have a tricolor Cavalier named Lexie.

By the way, it’s fun blogging. And I’m also a guest at another blogger’s website this week, a Los Angeles Romance Authors friend, Kate Willoughby. Come see my interview at: http://www.katewilloughby.blogspot.com

-- Linda

FLORIDA

"Let's go kayaking," said my sister. We were in Ft. Meyers, Florida, in my niece's very comfortable house and I hadn't done any stitching since the bookmark I finished on the flight down. The lanai overlooks the eighth tee of a golf course, and cranes and herons float by all day long overhead. I wanted to sit out there and finish a bookmark. Plus, isn't kayaking the sort of thing you do in whitewater rivers or on stormy oceans? I was pretty sure I wasn't up to that. But Dolores was absolutely sure I should go. I am not the bold adventurer I used to be, but with considerable trepidation, I agreed. We ate lunch at the Hungry Heron on Sanibel Island, visited a needlework shop in the same strip mall, then went to Tarpon Bay – which is a very shallow piece of water, nearly as smooth as a mirror. We rented a two-person kayak which was surprisingly comfortable, considering you sit flat on the bottom, and practiced using the odd oars, the kind with a paddle at both ends. We crossed the bay and went up a half-hidden stream edged with tangles of mangrove, where gray and white herons perched on low branches looking for minnows. It was very pleasant. The management wisely put numbered poles all along the stream, as there are endless byways and side passages in which you could wander lost for weeks. It being a weekday, there weren't a great many others in there with us and it became very quiet at times. I am so glad Dolores encouraged me to try it, though once upon a time I would have been disappointed in the tameness of that outing.
I discovered Cuban cuisine in Naples, where we went next day to visit another niece. It is delicious, and very different from Mexican food – I was surprised at how different. Not hot, not highly spiced.
Did you know you can drive from Ft. Meyers to Milwaukee in two days? Two LONG days, but still. Dolores is great company, we laughed and talked and laughed some more the whole time.
I came home to Minneapolis with a sunburned nose, and it's snowing outside as I write this. We live in a HUGE country. If we had this much territory scattered in pieces all over the world, we'd be an empire. It's nice that we can have tropics and northwoods, snow and heat, and two oceans, all in the same country. You can pick your climate without needing a passport.
I gave a talk yesterday to a senior women's book club. I have done this sort of thing long enough that I now have a speaker's fee. I encourage all you writers who aren't doing this sort of thing to give it a try. It's good to meet the people who read your books, find out what they like (and don't like!) about your stories and characters. It encourages sales. And it's a nice little bonus between checks from your publisher. I started out talking for free at public libraries but soon got so many invitations I had to turn some down. Now, when I get too many invitations, I just raise my speaker's fee. It isn't remotely comparable to really famous people's fees, but it's nice to know you can earn money this way, too. I bring a couple of patterns stitched from the backs of my books to show off, and home made bookmarks to give away. I have two speaches, both humorous. One is about how I got into writing needlework mysteries without knowing a whole lot about needlework. The other is how to plot, write and sell a mystery novel. ("Remember 'lethal dose' is the amount of poison it takes to kill half the people who take it. Sometimes it's fun to disappoint your would-be murderer.")

Dam Dolls!

by Deb Baker

Thomas Dam, a poor Danish woodworker, carved the first Troll doll from wood in 1959. It was an instant success. As the doll’s popularity continued to increase, Thomas began making them from rubber filled with woodshavings. An enormous family business was born. From 1963-1965 trolls were the second biggest selling dolls, right behind Barbies. Other companies copied Thomas Dam’s Trolls, producing cheap imitations that never met the fine craftsmanship of the Dane’s dolls.
How to tell the difference between fakes and the real thing? Look for the ‘Dam’ imprint on the back of the troll, or on the bottom of its feet.
Trolls are said to have magical powers, bringing good luck to their owners. But trolls are only lucky if they are the original, classic Thomas Dam Trolls (aka Dammit dolls or Dam Things).
These little imps are mischievous creatures known to live in caves and under bridges. I write a Yooper mystery series set in the Michigan Upper Peninsula. Up there, what do you think we call people living in Lower Michigan under the Mackinac Bridge?
Yup, they’re Trolls. And proud of it.
I had Troll dolls in the sixties. My favorites were two trolls—a bride and groom. The bride troll had pink hair and wore a white wedding dress. The groom had blue hair (same length as hers!) and wore a nifty black tux.
Tell me, tell me, admit it. You had them, too. Right?

Miniature Albums--Perfect to Do on Vacation!

by Joanna Campbell Slan

Do you scrapbook on vacation?

No, I'm not talking about just taking photos.

I'm wondering if you actually sit down and work on pages.

I know that some dedicated scrapbookers drag along their Cropper Hoppers. I usually travel much lighter, often because I'm traveling overseas or for business. When you are already loaded to the max, the Cropper Hopper can put you over the limit.

Last week I scrapbooked while in a small hotel room in Florida. Here's what I packed in a flat (2" deep), plastic 12" x 12" project container:

* My small (fingernail-size) scissors
* My new Fiskars personal paper trimmer (finally, one that trims straight!)
* A glue stick, a length of photo splits (out of the box, folded like a long ribbon)
* A metal ruler
* A craft knife (the blades were separate and in a pill bottle)
* My cat's eye-shaped ink pads and baby wipes to clean the ink pads
* A pencil and an archival pen
* A lettering stencil
* Six sheets of co-ordinated paper, a co-ordinated sheet patterned with phrases and words, a co-ordinated ribbon, two solids that matched and a half dozen sheets of white paper
* A length of string (a hemp-like cord)
* Six brads (color to match my paper)

Honestly, with that small assortment, I could do about anything. Oh, and I did print out the photos I wanted to work on. Since I planned to make tiny, 3"x 3" albums, I printed the photos out credit-card sized.

You can see the result of one effort: a miniature album of my husband and son. It's perfect for carrying in my purse. So often, when you tell people that you are a scrapbooker, you have nothing to show them! And a wallet full of photos seems...just...WRONG!...if you scrapbook. So now I have the PERFECT traveling family album. In the weeks to come, I'll explain how I did it.