List Post, Numéro deux:

Because “the more things change, the more they stay the same,” here is my updated List for ~~this week~~ October:

Two more (print) books purchased, to read this month: a memoir and a work of literary fiction. Both signed by the author, and both authors are new friends
On track (?): WIP at 15k words…If I write 1,000 words a (work)day between now and Thanksgiving (and allow for my trip to Bouchercon in November), I’ll meet my goal of 50k by then. If.
Work on Cover for ALL THE ABOVE has begun. Thanks, Michael!
Atlanta area bookstores: Some will stock a few copies of UNDERWATER upon its release by Thomas & Mercer on November 25, 2014. Lesquelles? Books for Less in Buford, GA; Avid Bookshop in Athens, GA; Charis Books in Atlanta, GA; and possibly Bound to be Read Books, also in Atlanta! (If it’s not in your bookstore, ask them to carry it)
Keeping up with travel updates from friends in the Czech Republic and in France maintenant!
Trying out a new Atlanta restaurant with mon mari later this month to celebrate mon anniversaire
Preparing my presentation at my Author Focus panel at Bouchercon 2014; looking ahead, même chose, plus ou moins, at the Atlanta Writers Club January 2015 meeting (“Member Minute”)
Taking heed of some advice of un ami, un auteur bien connu, en ce qui concerne my (unnamed) WIP and its writing, editing and development
Following and watching football: the Atlanta Falcons, the Georgia Bulldogs (Dawgs!), and the UNC Tar Heels!

October 5, 2014 2

UNDERWATER New Cover Reveal!

After months of anticipation, voici the brand new cover for my suspense novel UNDERWATER, to be rereleased on November 25, 2014!

You can pre-order the novel on Kindle here.

Thomas & Mercer cover artist Scott Barrie created an updated, powerful, more menacing cover, n’est-ce pas? Merci beaucoup, Scott! And – wait until you see the back cover! Here is the updated description there:

After years of guilt over a long-ago tragedy, Candace Morgan is finally poised for success. The CEO of her own women’s shapewear company, she’s about to launch a new swimsuit line—and make a fortune. When she is guilted into loaning her brother a huge sum of money for real estate, she believes she’s simply fulfilling a family promise. In reality, she’s enabling a devious sociopath…and now, she’s roped into the renovation from hell.

For years, Monty Carawan has envied his sister’s wealth. Spiteful and self-centered, he’s convinced that her success came at the expense of his own future. But when the housing market plunges and Candace attempts to disentangle herself from Monty’s mess, her brother’s malicious streak brings the family tension to a dangerous boiling point.

Kindle, Print and audio versions of the book will be released on November 25, 2014, just in time for Thanksgiving and the holiday shopping season!

September 30, 2014

The Big Change(s)

“I think it’s a pretty good rule not to tell what a thing is about until it’s finished. If you do you always seem to lose some of it. It never quite belongs to you so much again.”

-F. Scott Fitzgerald

Over three months ago, in a post called My Turn on “The Writing Process” Blog Tour, I described the book I had just started writing:

Book 4 is about another family in conflict over a house, this time a two million dollar beach home that three siblings will inherit upon the death of their wealthy stepmother.

When her sizable liquid assets are stolen by a crooked investor, the stepmother considers selling the beach home to fund her lifestyle in a luxury retirement community. Two of the siblings suggest that she obtain a reverse mortgage on it instead, to keep it in the family and protect their inheritance. But the middle child is secretly grappling with huge debts and unwilling to downsize or compromise. When an unforeseen event occurs, her income drops drastically and her demands multiply. Soon, her hostility toward the woman who took her mother’s place decades ago turns from anger to hatred. How far will she go to get her way, and to get her hands on the money she believes is rightfully hers?

Well, since then, things have changed. Book 4 is still unnamed, and it’s still about a family conflict over real estate and money. However, everything in blue above is no longer true.

What takes the place of what’s in blue? Only my husband and some members of my writer’s group know, and I’m t~~rusting~~ asking them not to disclose anything (or even hint at it) in comments below, or anywhere else.

Here’s what is still in Book 4:

a conflict about a house
an unforeseen event (more than one, now)
a stepmother, though younger now, and still with sizable liquid assets
a character who doesn’t like the stepmother, and who wants her money
suspense

Another change? I’ve added Fitzgerald’s rule to my “Writing Process.”

September 25, 2014 0

Who to hang out with?

If you want to be smart, hang out with smart people.

– Anonymous

Okay, it’s probably not that easy. But maybe it helps..and it can’t hurt, I don’t think.

And – it translates into some of my other objectives, when I substitute any of the following words for “smart:”

creative
productive
a writer (or, an author)
a French speaker
or even, a person with a good sense of humor

I work alone, but I like to connect with others, especially fun people, and those with whom I have something aspirational in common. (Is it really all about the 5 people you spend the most time with? Perhaps…)

Anyway –

Creativity: People who like to imagine, design, and brainstorm (en français, un remue-méninges). These are fun people, and open to inspiration. They like music, dancing, art, and the challenge of coming up with something out of nothing (like a blank canvas or a blank computer screen).
Productivity: People who work to achieve their goals, who are persistent and who don’t give in to discouragement, writer’s block, procrastination, or the idea that everything will just somehow happen. (Okay, I procrastinate, but I try not to, and always keep in mind how much better I’ll feel when I don’t procrastinate.) *
Writing: Those who write, whether it’s fiction, poetry, songs, or non-fiction. Those whose books are published and those whose aren’t yet. Those who can’t not write. Those who want to have their work read/heard. I’ve learned a ton being around these people about how to write, what makes a good story, and how to make what I’ve written better.
French: I knew my first novel would be set in France, and there was going to be a little bit of France/French in all of them. Donc (therefore), a few years ago, I set out to reattain my (youthful) fluency in the language, and I’ve gone from making un effort to succès. I’ve been surprised at how many French speakers I’ve met in Atlanta. Hanging out with them is toujours une bonne idée.
Humor: Okay, this is an easy one. My husband can (still) make me laugh, and so can my dearest friends! Because without humor, life is, well, a life without humor, and that’s impossible.

* Now, to stop procrastinating and get back to writing that pesky WIP (work-in-progress), Book 4!

September 17, 2014 0

Ceci et cela (This and That): List Post

Recently received: 2 handwritten thank-you notes in the mail. One from France, one from Dunwoody, GA
The one from France written en anglais, avec une photo; the other, from une amie de longue date (old friend)
Writing research: Found (long) paragraph in THE BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES describing how Sherman McCoy is “going broke on a million dollars a year!” (Chapter 6, p 137)
Missed her: mom’s neighbor, “Z” (with whom I practice français de temps en temps) home from France where she was for the summer, but already on her way back there for a week
Stacking up: Books to read, on my nightstand (see my Goodreads “to read” list)
Falling: Temperatures…and time to enjoy the patio le soir
Tried it: Zumba! Toning. A break from spinning class…Fun! but hard on knees.
Writing: between now and Thanksgiving: 50K words in WIP? (that’s just 5K a week)
Planning: My (solo) 20 minute Author Focus panel at Bouchercon 2014 in Long Beach, CA, le 15 novembre à midi
sprechen Sie Deutsch? Amazon Crossing of Amazon Publishing is translating UNDERWATER into German! Release date sometime next spring.
Organisez! My notes for Book 4 (WIP) and my French notes!
Traveling: Not me (until November), but those I know, to the Bahamas, Rosemary Beach (FL), Folly Beach (SC), Turks & Caicos, Martinique, Las Vegas, Australia, Fiji, Prague, The Dordogne (France), Paris…Of those, I’ve only been to Vegas and Paris
Preparing: Book 3, ALL THE ABOVE, a true story, for publication in early 2015 (probably February). It’s been edited, but needs a cover. Can keep some quotes of song titles in it, but not song lyrics 😦
Finally….watching: Football! UGA Bulldogs, UNC Tar Heels and Atlanta Falcons!

September 16, 2014 0

Author Focus Panel!

I’ve been asked to participate in an Author Focus panel at this year’s Murder at the Beach: Bouchercon 2014 in Long Beach, California!

The annual World Mystery Convention of readers, writers, publishers, editors and others who love crime fiction, thrillers and suspense is being held there over November 13-16, 2014.

My Author Focus panel will be at 12 noon on Saturday, November 15! Check out the programming schedule here !

I will be speaking and answering questions about my suspense novel UNDERWATER, to be released in November by Thomas & Mercer of Seattle, Washington. I will also be attending various other panels and activities at the convention, my first Bouchercon!

September 14, 2014 0

What Readers Want

What I heard: Jackie K. Cooper’s entertaining interview of authors Karin Slaughter and Chelsea Cain

Where I was: Decatur, Georgia, at the Decatur Book Festival’s presentation “Internal Affairs,” part of its Mystery/Thriller Track, with my friend, author James Huskins

What I ~~learned~~ heard, but was happy to be reminded of:

1. Characters need to have secrets

2. Characters need to be damaged in some way

3. Violence and sex* are to be included if they move the story forward

4. Writing dialogue is a good way to get over “Writer’s Block”

5. Short words, short sentences, and short paragraphs create fast pace in action scenes

(Okay, I didn’t hear #5 there; I saw that on Twitter. But this week I read Cop Town by Slaughter and noticed it)

What I did: Listened intently, laughed, clapped, was inspired – then got drenched in a rainstorm walking to my car, but was in such a good mood that I we laughed some more

What I did next: Downloaded Cop Town, read it (couldn’t put it down), and worked on my next Suspense (Book 4), paying attention to #s 1-5 and focusing on what readers want:

suspense, surprises, a well crafted plot, good pacing, well developed characters, vivid descriptions, realistic dialogue…

* To my “beau-frère:” I’m doing my best on this in Book 4!

September 3, 2014 0

Bon anniversaire, part 2

I always worried someone would notice me, and then when no one did, I felt lonely.

– Curtis Sittenfeld

Today is the anniversaire (birthday) of yet another of my August birthday friends. For some reason, I seem drawn to people born this month (and they to me, I hope). Other “birthday months” that work for me in terms of friendships are February, November, and May; a greater number of friends have birthdays during those months. My birthday is in October, and a handful of friends’ birthdays are, too.

I love birthdays–whevever they fall–and all sorts of other important dates, especially wedding anniversaries, and not just my own. My husband was born in February and we got married in June; it’s been nice to alternate celebrating one of our birthdays and our anniversary, every 4 months. When I was growing up, I always felt that my parents’ anniversary was more important than anyone’s birthday in the family; after all, it’s when we they became a family. If not more significant than a birthday, it was at least (way) more romantic. It meant they weren’t just alive for another year, but were together another year…and they continued to be, for 58 years, when my father passed away.

I grew up the middle child in my family, and tried to stay under the radar as much as possible. It wasn’t all that difficult. Not being noticed equaled having more autonomy and independence. But being forgotten about can have its downside.

It’s the paradox of a writer’s life, I guess: you need to want to work alone (I do), and not mind being alone (I don’t)–but you need to connect with others, too (I try). When I’m under the radar, I can get a lot done, but it’s a solitary endeavor–and sometimes it’s easy to feel a bit malheureuse.

La solution? For me, it’s to notice others, to connect, and to celebrate.

Bon anniversaire!

August 27, 2014 0

Flash d’information (News flash): Award Nominee!

UNDERWATER was chosen as one of the Nominees for the coveted

2014 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award™ in the Best Novel Category!

According to the Killer Nashville event, which established and holds the Silver Falchion Award™ annually,

“The purpose of the Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award™ is to honor the best books readily available to a North American audience in any format within the past year. The categories include both fiction and nonfiction.”

Click HERE and scroll down…the nominees are listed alphabetically, and you’ll find UNDERWATER listed right above UNSEEN by (Atlanta author) Karin Slaughter!

Killer Nashville is a Writer’s Conference being held this weekend in Nashville, Tennessee.

August 22, 2014 0

Joyeux anniversaire! Celebrating birthdays (and other anniversaries)

I love the French word for birthday: anniversaire.

It sounds a lot better than date de naissance. It also seems to suggest that birthdays (while fun to celebrate, and to be joyeux about), are perhaps no more–or less–important than other memorable dates in our lives.

They’re anniversaries.

I know four people who are celebrating birthdays–anniversaires–this week, and one whose wedding anniversary is Saturday. My son’s 19th birthday, May 8, 1991, was a memorable one, but not in a good way: on that date, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

It was the day after his last final exam at the end of his freshman year in college. Over the next 3 1/2 months, he endured invasive brain surgery and 5 weeks of radiation therapy–and he survived cancer.

His last day of radiation was exactly 4 years ago today: August 20, 2010.

It was a Friday, and the end of his first week back at school. His head was bald and his spirits were high. He was full of hope and grateful to be alive. A few weeks later, he joined the Survivors Committee of UGA Relay for Life. If you don’t know about Relay (I didn’t, until cancer happened to my family), it works to raise money for the American Cancer Society, to fight against the disease and find a cure.

Since then, my son has had countless (it seems) MRIs, all of which have been clean. He has earned his undergraduate degree, and he just started grad school.

And he’s had 4 more birthdays.

My daughter is a sophomore at UNC, and she has joined UNC Relay for Life.

Joyeux anniversaire!

I’ve written the story of my emotional struggle as my son battled cancer. It’s called ALL THE ABOVE, and will be released in 2015.

August 20, 2014 0