How I Carry 168 Books in My Purse

Last year a moving company estimated our move from St. Louis to outside of Washington, DC, would cost us $13,000.

Yes, you read that right. Thirteen THOUSAND dollars.

After we picked ourselves up off the floor, we asked what we could do to lighten the load. The guy with the calculator scratched his head and sighed. "As far as I can tell most of this is because of your books. Ma'am, you have a lot of books. A lot!"

I had at least eight bookcases, filled with double rows of books, plus other books in boxes. That doesn't count the books stashed in my armoir, or in closets, or beside my bed. Not only did the dollar amount for moving all those books astonish me, I also started worrying about space. My husband had selected our new home, and I hadn't seen it. Where would I put all those books?


In the end, I weeded through them. I gave away boxes and boxes. The library and the Goodwill shop both benefited from my move.

My husband said, "I know this is hard for you. Maybe the time has come to get an e-reader."

I'm not going to tell you what brand we purchased, but I'll tell you this: I love my e-reader. When I was snowed in this winter, I practiced single finger aerobics. I hit the "buy" button over and over and bought new titles. I love the convenience of being able to make a purchase anytime, anywhere. When I discovered I had three days to read my online bookclub selection, I uploaded the book in less time than it took me to type in the title. I was ready for the discussion with time to spare.

Then I discovered how many classics are available for free or next to nothing. Recently, I uploaded the entire collection of Virginia Woolf books for $1.99. I have all the works of Shakespeare, Jonathan Swift, and many others. I can even sample some books before I buy! I love that option!

Do I miss turning pages? Sometimes. But I'm a very fast reader and I can set down the e-reader and "turn the pages" while I brush my teeth or whatever. Used to be, I couldn't keep the book flat while my hands were occupied.

Do I worry about the battery going out? That's only happened once. The last thing I do at night is plug in my e-reader.

I love having the ability to look up words as I read, plus the ability to highlight and mark passages I admire, or make notes to myself about them.

Most of all, I adore having a variety of books at my fingertips. I've read more books than ever lately, because I always have a book in my purse. If I don't fancy whatever I'm reading at the time, I just hit the magic button and read something else. If I see a book I know I'll want to read, I order it pronto. I pay nothing for shipping or handling.

Do I think that e-publishing will hurt the world of publishing?

Quite the contrary. Now that I have an e-reader, I'm buying more books than ever before. It's easy to buy them, easy to pre-order them, and easy to keep track of what I have.

After all, I'll never run out of shelf space!

How Do You Grow Your Series?

On Saturday, I attended my first meeting of the Chesapeake Chapter of Sisters in Crime. Donna Andrews was kind enough to drive, and she brought along her neighbor, the superb Barb Goffman, Program Chair for Malice. We picked up Sandra Parshall en route.

I’m thrilled to belong to a chapter with so many multi-published authors. There’s so much to learn from them. For example, chapter member Marcia Talley (the national president of Sisters in Crime) spoke at the meeting about her most recent novel Without a Grave. She decided on the setting in the Bahamas and her protagonist’s temporary job (communicating with the other islanders by radio) as a way to avoid the dreaded “Cabot Cove Syndrome.” That’s author-speak for the unfortunate fact that anyone who lived within spitting distance of Jessica Fletcher always wound up dead!

That made me think about Kiki Lowenstein, and the deaths/crimes in my novels. I’ve spent a good part of today, Sunday, thinking how I can artfully manage to have people die—and to have Kiki care about these deaths—without knocking off everyone in her immediate zip code. In part, we authors have a contract with our readers. You KNOW we’re going to bump people off. It’s our job. But that doesn’t mean we can’t be thoughtful about who, what, when, where and why.

After the meeting, we were getting on the elevator, and Donna said something about a scene and how it occurred to her. That scene set the direction for the book she just turned in. “So that’s how you work?” I asked. “You get flashes of insight?”

“Sometimes.”

I turned to Sandra Parshall and asked her how she works. Sandra says she sits down to write and sees what she gets. Her process is more organic.

All this was wonderful, powerful stuff to consider. After all, Sandra and Donna have both won Agatha Awards. Marcia has been an Agatha Award nominee and received the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best Contemporary Mystery.

My editor told me last week that Midnight Ink is interested in more Kiki Lowenstein books, and I’m the type of writer who likes to work ahead. (I’m 47,000 words into Book #4 and it isn’t due until March 2010.) So, while I have a character arc (a trajectory of personal growth) for Kiki, today was a day for thinking ahead to future books.

But this morning, I just couldn’t get my brain to function. Finally, seeing what a lovely fall day it was, I took the dogs for a long walk to the local dog park. After being jumped on by a pit bull, my head cleared. (Maybe a Chihauhau would have had the same effect. Who knows? I guess I owe that pit bull a debt of gratitude.)

How do I plan my books?

I start with what I know. I know where I think each important character is heading in his/her life. I know what special events/places/activities in St. Louis I want to feature. I have a file of interesting “stuff.” I have ideas about why people would kill each other.

And I also consider the timing issue. I want each book to move Kiki and her daughter Anya’s lives along…slowly. I put that all in my mental hopper.

By the time I turned the key in the lock of the front door, I was ready to write.