When multitasking is not your forté

by A.M. Khalifa, thriller writer, Google+

This is my last post as a regular contributor to Crime Fiction Collective for now. Thank you L.J., Peg and others for hosting me, and Jodie for inviting me in the first place. The experience has been tremendous, and I would strongly recommend group blogging as a fun and interactive way to engage with savvy readers and talented writers. But being the great multi-tasker that I am not, I am stepping aside to focus on reigning in my numerous wayward writing projects. I am working on the last installment in a collection of romantic suspense shorts about strong women struggling to find their place in life. And not one but two full length novels this year, one of which is the sequel to my critically acclaimed debut, Terminal Rage. I will be blogging erratically on my site, so you can join the conversation here. And you know how writers love seeing their email list swell, so do sign up below to my newsletter for periodic updates on my writing adventure.

I leave you with two short clips from London and Sydney exploring with members of the public what the title Terminal Rage conjures up in their mind.

Goodbye for now, but I am sure you will be seeing me around these parts, popping up every now and then. Thank you again for a wonderful run!

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My romantic suspense, The Italian Laundromat is currently discounted at 99 cents on Amazon!

A.M. Khalifa's critically acclaimed debut novel, Terminal Rage, was recently described by Publishers Weekly as "dizzying, intricate, and entertaining." 

Foreword Clarion says, "Khalifa manages to pull off something that is often difficult to do in the crime-thriller genre—he keeps the novel unpredictable and lays out a plot so twisted that the puzzle picture morphs as more pieces are added."

The ebook version of Terminal Rage is available for $2.99 on Amazon.

Finalist is Fabulous

by Peg Brantley
Evocative Characters. Intriguing Crime. Compelling Stories.

Available through Amazon
or your neighborhood bookstore,
 including Tattered Cover.

Well. Now that I'm here, what can I say?

The last couple of weeks have been pretty huge for me (nothing compared to the other writers on this blog, but still) and I was looking forward to sharing the news with everyone at CFC—but now that I'm actually writing this post I'm suddenly shy.

Huh? Just go already...

Okay. I found out while LoML and I were on our road trip, post-(the fabulous) Left Coast Crime, that The Sacrifice was a finalist in the Adult Fiction category for the Colorado Authors' League awards.

Cool, right?

So I arrive home and realize that on May 14th I'll be doing a joint presentation with Jenny Milchman at Tattered Cover Book Store. Jenny's book, Cover of Snow, is a finalist for the Mary Higgins Clark award (which is a way big deal, a part of the Edgars and everything) and is also nominated for a Barry Award. Obviously, Jenny is no slouch. Suddenly I feel like maybe I'm pulling my weight (at least a little) for our Tattered Cover gig.

And wouldn't it be extra cool if I actually had some books to sell when we were there?

Long story short(er), just prior to submitting The Sacrifice for vetting via Tattered Cover I received this email:

Colorado Humanities & Center for the Book is pleased to announce that your entry, The Sacrifice, has been selected as a finalist in the 2014 Colorado Book Awards Suspense/Thriller Genre Fiction category.

An exciting thing with the Colorado Book Awards is that they're announced in June at the Hotel Jerome in Aspen, a locale that plays a part in my stories.

I'm pretty pumped.

Left Coast Crime and Then Some

by Peg Brantley
Evocative Characters. Intriguing Crime. Compelling Stories.


I still haven't settled back to normal (whatever that is) since Left Coast Crime. After the conference in Monterey, my husband and I headed south on Highway 1, then looped inland from Ventura up to Sequoia National Park. We got home late Wednesday. Sillily, I thought I'd be back to my routine immediately.

Didn't happen. Hoping for tomorrow...

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy a couple of photo highlights. (We took around 600, so be happy I'm only posting 5!)

The Last Panel of LCC
With Donnell Bell, Warren Easley, Cathy Perkins and Terry Shames

A wonderful meetup with Sheila Lowe. Time flew!

They grow big pineapples in California!

At Sequoia National Park. The snow surprised us! We only saw  rain in the weather forecast. Oh! And we stayed in the same suite where George W. Bush stayed when the park reopened in 2001. Kinda cool.

They grow some big trees in California too!

Here's to the memories of a wonderful LCC in Monterey and a huge excited shout-out for LCC 2015 in Portland!

Would You Want to Know... You?

by Peg Brantley
Evocative Characters. Intriguing Crime. Compelling Stories
(Who is happily meeting readers and writers at Left Coast Crime in Monterey!)




I recently saw a chart for Successful versus Unsuccessful People. I think it could also have been for Happy versus Unhappy People, or even... drumroll... Writers You Want to Know versus Writers You Don't Want to Know.

We hear things all the time about how gracious Laura Lippman and Lee Child are. They come across to readers as generous and kind and well... writers as people who readers want in their lives. Writers as people who readers want to cheer for.

Other than the obvious—that writers write stories readers enjoy reading—here's what I've come up with:

Writers You Want to Know	Writers You Don’t Want to Know
Have a sense of gratitude	Have a sense of entitlement
Make decisions out of love (there's passion in every story)	Make decisions out of fear (they write to formula)
Take the high road	Take the expedient road
Exercise forgiveness	Hold grudges
Want others to succeed and be happy	Secretly want others to fail and be miserable
Share information and data	Horde information and data
Understand they owe their readers	Believe their readers owe them
Operate from a transformational perspective	Operate from a transactional perspective
Understand it takes a village	Believe they are the village
Trust others	Doubt others
Continuously seek to improve	Believe they’ve got everything covered
Believe in others	Believe only in themselves
Set goals	Have that sense of entitlement thing going on again
Are honest in their assessment of how hard they work	Either say they slave away 24/7 or that they simply have the magic touch
Accept responsibility for their failures	Blame others for their failures
Include as many as possible in as many ways as possible	With each ladder rung achieved, they pull the steps up behind them

Do you have issues with any of these? Disagreements are fine with me. I'm not a politician.

What would you add?

And before anyone says it, I have some friends who say they could care less about getting to know any authors. All they want is a good book. And yes, I still love them.

Falling in love, one book at a time

by A.M. Khalifa, thriller writer, Google+

Recently, Peg Brantley wrote a great piece on the various criteria that force her to abandon a book. For avid readers, book-dumping is sacrilegious. But as competition heats up in the book market, ditching a lousy one to make way for more inspired reading is something we’re all getting used to.

Peg’s post and the lively debate that ensued touched upon key things that every author should pay attention to, such as failure to capture a reader's interest immediately, unlikable characters, factual errors, and implausible plots.

Each one of us has a clear notion of what makes an unreadable book, and the infractions an author can commit to leave us no option but to eject them without a parachute. But what about the books we fall in love with? I don’t mean books we really like, but the sort of works that take over your life while you are reading them and then render you forever beholden to the author’s spell.

Love is the operative term here. When I am reading an amazing book, it feels like a passionate romance, rather than a one-night stand. And it has to be love at first sight—I've never fallen madly in love with a book that failed to excite me from the opening line. When I'm smitten in a relationship with a great book, I can’t wait to finish whatever it is I am doing to get back to it. It’s the first thing on my mind when I wake up, and the last thing I think of before going to bed. In some cases I may even dream about it.

The perfect book is like a highly addictive drug. You don't have to nudge yourself to read it. In my case, while I can't wait to find out what happens next, I start getting withdrawal symptoms when I know I've read more than what I have left. Like all powerful addictions, a great book leaves you longing for more. So you scour the universe for everything else this writer has penned, and every piece of news, gossip or social media murmurs about what they could possibly be working on next. You'll even snoop around for fan fiction if you are quite desperate. And of course you start evangelizing on behalf of the book and its writer, like it was your new religion.

Outstanding books rob you of your sense of time and reality, like a mystical or transcendental experience. They displace you from your physical reality and immerse you in the dimensions expertly crafted by the author. At the very least, you will connect with the characters and wish you were with them in the same room, or that you could speak to them, befriend them, even fall in love with them. And in some cases, your connection with a character is so profound, you almost start morphing into them. The Life of Pi by Yann Martel and IQ84 by Haruki Murakami are two such stories that had this effect on me.

Invariably, a truly sublime book is one that expands your horizons and introduces you to worlds, concepts and emotions you weren't familiar with before you picked it up, but with which you become obsessed. And I don’t necessarily mean that all great books have to be educational. But I think they have to show you things you wouldn't have otherwise been able to see on your own.

When you’ve finished reading a book that fundamentally absorbs you, your own life and reality will seem a little insipid by comparison. And you will feel nostalgic for the daily company of its leading characters. Like best friends or family members that have left you behind.

As a writer, I too aspire for my readers to fall in love instantaneously with my writing. To be addicted to, be transposed and surprised by my stories. I want to be able to write the sort of book that would keep a reader logged in my universe long after they've put it down. Maybe even one that could change a few lives in the process. It's a tall order, but it gives me something to strive for.

Fellow writers, is your writing informed and influenced by how your favorite books impacted you? And readers, what's your definition of a great book?

Sign up to my newsletter below to get:

★ exclusive free fiction
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   Email Address * 

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My bestselling novella, The Jewish Neighbor is temporarilyt on sale on Amazon for $0.99.

A.M. Khalifa's critically acclaimed debut novel, Terminal Rage, was recently described by Publishers Weekly as "dizzying, intricate, and entertaining." 

Foreword Clarion says, "Khalifa manages to pull off something that is often difficult to do in the crime-thriller genre—he keeps the novel unpredictable and lays out a plot so twisted that the puzzle picture morphs as more pieces are added."

The ebook version of Terminal Rage is now on sale for $0.99 on Amazon.

Book Dumping

by Peg Brantley
Evocative Characters. Intriguing Crime. Compelling Stories.



My husband believes that if he begins to read a book he is somehow contractually obligated to finish the book. I used to feel that way. No longer.

I'm reading a book by an author I've enjoyed in the past. It even has an endorsement on the cover from one of my very favorite crime fiction authors, Michael Connelly. The first scene portrayed a deliberate death so naturally I was hooked.

Only now I'm about half-way through the book and am beginning to believe I might have been hoodwinked. I've gone back to the flap three times to read the story description and I'm stressed that this could be some kind of departure from the type of book this author has always written, and I missed the clues. Don't get me wrong, it's a good story. Just not what I'd expected when I forked over my twenty-or so bucks. I've decided to keep reading and see if I end up satisfied or disappointed and full of suspicion for the future books this author releases into the world.

Which begs the question: When do you back away from a book? When does it become a DNF? A Did Not Finish?

And secondly, if you have a DNF from a particular author, will you read her/him again?

Here's my list (at least for now):

• Lack of tension. Who wants to read a story (any story) where everything is perfect and people are happy? I'm not even completely crazy about perfectly happy endings.
• Characters without goals. Again, who wants to read a story where everyone is happy as things are?
• Too much narrative. Give me visual space. Give me dialogue. Give me life. Let me breathe.
• Characters I don't like. I know this is a new angle, but it doesn't work for me. I picked up a book in the middle of a wildly popular series, and the protagonist made me alternately roll my eyes and clench my teeth. 
• Too many characters. After hearing about another much-loved author and her enduring series, I began reading her books, but from the beginning. In the first few pages, more than twenty characters were introduced. I closed the book and happily moved on to the next one in my pile.

What about you? Are there deal-breakers that cause you to dump a book?

Keywords: What Are They Good For?

Another conversation between L.J. Sellers and Peg Brantley... and you!

Peg: There are a few words that strike terror in my heart. Two of them are "SEO" and "keywords." I've read articles, looked at online lists, brainstormed so hard that what's left of my brain flew out the window, and even purchased software. And someone recommends switching categories. Like what? Switch my police procedural to what? Tender romance? I recently changed my keywords on each of my books. How important are they?

L.J: Recent discussions between Thomas & Mercer authors say they’re not as important as they have been in the past. And I’ve noticed that whenever I read articles or paid-advice about keywords, the information always seems to be geared toward nonfiction, where they seem to be more important. I believe that’s because in nonfiction there are more possibilities for categorizing the topics.

Fiction seems to be less complicated. Advice I’ve read recently suggests keywords should simply be the genre, sub-genre, sub-sub-genre, (thriller, international thriller, police procedural), then a few broad topics that readers might search for to find your book (FBI agents, survivalists, hackers).

Peg: So keywords have gone from being the darlings to the stepchildren? Ugh. Like choosing between butter and margarine… Can I forget about them then? Or do they still play some kind of supporting role in my book sales?

L.J.: I’m sure there are authors who still swear by keywords, but I’ve experimented with them in books' metadata, in Amazon’s 7 allowed keywords, and in books' descriptions. None of it made a difference. Except for genre. After listing a main critical category—such as police procedural—I chose a less crowded one such as international thriller. That allows The Trigger to make the top-100 with fewer sales and remain visible to readers.

In another author forum, someone mentioned that the new trick is to stick as many keywords as possible into the space between commas. Like this: love romance sweet love NA young couple summer love may to december love, literary romance romantic suspense passion couples intimacy, ….. and so on. But key phrases should match user searches, so I’m not sure how effective that is.

Another author commented that she had updated and added keywords, and her rankings went down. Which could be coincidental, or maybe fewer readers could find her book because she’d deleted or changed her most effective key/search word without realizing it. With seven possibilities, you would have to be methodical about experimenting with them one at a time and documenting results.

For those who want a thorough discussion, M. Louise Louisa Locke has written a series of blogs on the subject.

Writers, have you gained some expertise you'd like to share regarding keywords?

Readers, how often do you actually search Amazon using a keyword?

Some Random Thoughts About The Silver Screen

By Peg Brantley

Evocative Characters. Intriguing Crime. Compelling Stories


Have you read a book (or written one) that seems to translate easily to film? I've been told by several people that my books, especially The Missings, are meant to be movies. It tickles me.

But I'm not holding my breath.

The movie "Ray" took seventeen years to make. Talk about perserverance.

A lot of books... a lot of books... are optioned simply to take them off the market. Let's say Major Studio has laid out some Major Bucks to make a movie about how easy it is to target undocumented people and offer them the equivalent of the poor man's cash for gold by buying their spare kidney. Let's say Major Studio is still about three or four years away from a real movie when they catch a little thing on the internet somewhere about The Missings and decide they need to protect their investment. If I accept their offer my theoretical movie gets shelved.

But Major Studio, try me. I might be good with that.

Here are a couple of quick concepts if you're thinking about adapting your book and writing a script:

• Think visually.
• Simple sentences.
• A woman is sitting in front of a television. The sound is turned up. Behind her, a doorknob turns.
• Narrow the focus.
• While your novel might be 300 pages, the average screen play is 90-110 pages.
• Rule of thumb: 1 page = 1 minute of screen time
• Can you deviate?
• Damn straight. Cherry-pick your scenes.

Do you have a book (read or written) that you'd love to see made into a movie? What makes it a great candidate?

Ebook Boxed Sets: Good Idea or No?

A conversation between L.J. Sellers and Peg Brantley. Join us in the comments section!

Peg: After my first book was published in early 2012, I became aware of a different kind of marketing tool—boxed sets for ebooks. I couldn’t wait until I had at least three books out so that would be an option for me to gain readers and new sales. Well, now I have three books. They’re not a series but they do have common geography and overlapping characters, so they would probably work as a set. And then I noticed that L.J. had never offered a set and I wondered what she thought of the idea.

L.J: I was just getting ready to combine the first three Jackson books in a set when I received an offer from Thomas & Mercer. I signed the contract and let go of control. Later, when I suggested to my marketer that we create a boxed set featuring the first book of several authors' series, she said Amazon didn’t offer those. Her reason was that their data indicated customers didn’t read all the way through longer ebook files, and that “wasn’t a good customer experience.” I guess it depends on how many novels you include and whether the books are similar enough in content and quality to hold a reader’s interest. But I’m still curious to know if a boxed set from a single author could expand sales and/or readership.

Peg: That’s interesting. As far as single author experiences go, look at Wool by Hugh Howey. I admit I was a bit surprised that my ebook seemed to go on and on, but I loved the story. And, although it wasn’t a boxed set, I devoured all of Michael Connelly’s Lincoln Lawyer series one right after the other before his latest release. So I’m not sure I agree with Amazon’s statement about longer ebook files not being a good customer experience.

L.J: Just because Amazon doesn’t offer boxed sets doesn’t mean it isn’t a good idea. Other writers have collaborated to create such offerings. Recently for example, Joe Konrath and five other authors released a boxed set of horror stories. It’s been in the top 300, and is currently at #803 in the whole Kindle store, so it’s selling hundreds of copies a day. But they’ve priced it at $.99, so no one’s making money on it. But they may be gaining new readers, and/or they may plan to increase the price very shortly. All six of those authors have many other books on the market, so they can afford to have one novel as a promotional giveaway. Not everyone can do that and still make a living.

Peg: That sounds intriguing. I like the idea of multiple-author boxed sets. Each author would likely pull in a few different readers who would then be exposed to different writers and their styles. And doesn’t selling hundreds of copies a day sort of bury the idea that it isn’t a good customer experience?

L.J.: Not necessarily. Buying a product is only the first step. And most people who read digitally buy many more books than they will ever consume. If those readers only get through one or two of the six stories, then the other authors don’t benefit.

But to a certain extent, you’re right. Just because Amazon labels it “not a good experience” doesn’t mean it’s a bad experience for consumers, who still get a great deal on ebooks. Amazon just has very high standards! We authors, on the other hand, tend to focus on sales as a measure of a book’s success. Still, I want people to read my novels, not just buy them. I think limiting a boxed set to three might the perfect middle ground.

Readers: Do you buy these sets? Do you read all the way through?
Writers: What has your experience been?

Author Beware

A discussion between L.J. Sellers and Peg Brantley

L.J.: After two friends asked what I thought about a new service from IndieReader, I looked into it, then Peg and I had a conversation about it that we thought we’d share.

But first, to summarize: IndieReader is offering to list self-published book titles in the Edelweiss database for $399 per title, with the idea that them will give them access to bookstores. The main question: Is it worth it?

My first comment is about the headline on their blog announcing the service. This is how it reads: Want Your Book Sold In Independent Bookstores Nationwide? That shrieks hype! “Nationwide” is a huge—and probably ridiculous—claim. More important, it sounds like they’re going to actually sell your book to retail stores for you. Not even close. They’re offering a listing in a catalogue.

Peg: At CFC and other blogs (Konrath’s for example) there has been discussion about hand-carrying your books to bookstores to gain placement and even booksellers who would likely hand-sell your books. Aside from dealing with fear of rejection, who the heck has the time? So IndieReader’s offer sounded good to me. Except it’s just a catalogue.

L.J.: Not to mention, hand-selling to bookstores costs more money than it earns! But the listing could be effective for some authors. For example, those with a long-running series who have great covers and great review blurbs. Bookstores might notice the covers and blurbs and realize that carrying such a series could be a good way to bring customers back to the store again and again. I realize my Jackson series fits that profile, so I was briefly tempted to give the service a shot. However, because my series is published by Thomas & Mercer (Amazon), most bookstores won’t be interested.

Peg: And since my paperbacks are provided by CreateSpace (also Amazon), I’m pretty sure they’d be facing the same kind of battle. And then there’s the price.

L.J.: Indeed! For $399, you can buy a promo on BookBub and sell a ton of ebooks instead. Or for that price you could also run a full-page ad in Suspense Magazine for four months and sell ebooks and print books. Except for on a local level, I just don’t believe bookstores will stock indie authors who haven’t already caught their attention through media coverage. And what about quality control? Does it concern you that the offer is open to anyone?

Peg: Absolutely! At least BookBub has a level that must be met with respect to reviews. One or two poorly edited books and everyone is tainted. Each author is also paying for a review. How do you say, Conflict of Interest? And then there’s this, from IndieReader: Additional services—including various forms of bookstore outreach—are available for additional fees.


L.J.: And bookstore shelf space is shrinking. Barnes & Nobel is closing stores, and a million authors are cranking out indie books. No matter how much money authors spend, we can't all get space on the shelves. Even mid-list legacy published authors are complaining about not getting into stores anymore. I gave up on bookstores in 2010, and I haven't seen any developments that have made me look back.


Writers are looking for ways to get their work in front of more readers. We don’t think this is one of them. Do you?

Bang For Your Book

Part of my TBRs

By Peg Brantley
Evocative Characters. Intriguing Crime. Compelling Stories.


I've read thousands of books in my lifetime. Probably tens of thousands. But I have never once—at least not on purpose—read one twice. (Except maybe The Stand by Stephen King, but I could be wrong about that.)

People gush over their favorite books and talk about how many times they've read them. People who do this make me feel unfaithful. Why can't I pick a book and stick with it the same way they do? I'm such a cheater. A hussy who's on to the next best thing. A book-slut.

I have a few all-time favorite books. What if I were to read one of them again and be disappointed in some way? I would then have one less all-time favorite book. I would be sad.

For example, what if the word-paintings Arthur Golden created (just for me I'm sure) in Memoirs of a Geisha disappeared the second time around? Missed the canvas? I'd be in mourning. I'd quit believing in anything good and even chocolate wouldn't be able to console me.

It's a good thing I don't reread books.

My reading preference only becomes a problem when it's my own story. By the time the book hits the shelves, literallly or figuratively, I've read the danged thing a gazillion times. It's part of the job, and I suffer through.

What about you? Are you faithful to a few books that you read over and over again? Or does your fear of loss put you in a constant hunt for a new relationship?

And finally, for those of you who reread books, what draws you?

Peg Brantley's newest release, THE SACRIFICE, takes readers from Aspen Falls, Colorado to Monterrey, Mexico and finally to New Orleans, Louisiana in a desperate bid to save a young girl who doesn't know she's in danger.

This Time of Year

Tree's up!

By Peg Brantley
Evocative Characters. Intriguing Crime. Compelling Stories.


This time of year my brain pretty much shuts down, tunes out, and gets all fuzzy-warm with family and friends.

As much as I want to work on my story, the holidays (which begin on November 19th at our house with my husband's birthday) seem to demand my full attention, and I'll roll in the holiday mode until January 2nd.

Between decorating and baking and planning for get-togethers and designing a Christmas card and trying to find that one perfect gift, there's very little time left for the work I love. Writing takes a back seat.

It is what it is.

This time of year is also a time for reflection. We've lost some wonderful authors this year, voices in our writing community who have been extinguished forever. Beyond their families, they've left a legacy in their words, and in those we'll continue to find light.

And we've lost Nelson Mandela. A light for our world, who showed us how love and compassion can overcome both fear and betrayal. It's a choice. I'm having trouble figuring out who will come next. But I firmly believe someone will. Maybe it will be Malala.

And that reflection extends to each one of us in our personal journeys. Some things we've done well and those need to be acknowledged. Other things we've slipped with and may need to reevaluate.

Which brings me to the fact that this time of year is when we traditionally look ahead. Gather our ideas. Prioritize our desires. Work to make them legitimate. And move our energy into making the next year one we can be proud of.

This time of year is exhausting.

But this time of year, and all year long, I wish you every ounce of love and hope and comfort you have room for.

When Writers Shouldn't Read

By Peg Brantley
Evocative Characters. Intriguing Crime. Compelling Stories.



Last Sunday I participated in an author event at a local library. (A shout out for Douglas County Libraries and their support of indie authors!) At that event, and an earlier one for a major bestselling author, sponsored once again by Douglas County Libraries and Tattered Cover Bookstore, I heard authors read from their books.

Readings have historically been an expected part of author appearances. The author shares a little about their process, or their life, or something relevant to their book, and then they choose a passage or two to read aloud to the audience. It's a time-honored tradition.

I'm going out on a very long limb here to say it's a bad idea. And in some cases, a very bad idea.

It doesn't matter how well you think you read, and how much you love your book (I think I read aloud exceptionally well), you need to take a pass. Unless you've had professional training as an actor, the words you've written are best left to the ears and minds of the reader.

Most of the readings I've heard have sounded flat to my ear. Boring, really. Misplaced inflections, odd pronunciations, and either too fast or too slow. My mind begins to wander and I mentally check out.

Unless you've written a children's book and have a room full of four year-olds, reconsider including a reading in your author appearance. You'll probably be ahead of the game.

What do you think? Is it just me?

My New Baby

THE SACRIFICE

By Peg Brantley
Evocative Characters. Intriguing Crime. Compelling Stories.


I knew I needed to order some of my books for upcoming events, but chose to wait until my newest one was ready.

They came today.

Can I just say I don't think I'll ever get tired of seeing my books like this? What a thrill!

I was incredibly fortunate to have endorsements from two highly respected authors.

Dennis Palumbo is both a writer, a former Hollywood screenwriter, and a licensed psychotherapist who writes about (what else?) a psychologist and trauma expert. His crime fiction series features Dr. Daniel Rinaldi. Here's what Dennis had to say:

"Peg Brantley's latest, The Sacrifice, accomplishes that rare feat of being both heartfelt and suspenseful. A gripping tale of murder and revenge, it ultimately becomes something much, much more."

Tim Hallinan writes at least three different series, but my favorite is his Poke Rafferty series set in Thailand, where Tim spends about half of his time. One of my all-time favorite books is part of that series, The Queen of Patpong. I guess my taste is pretty good because that book was nominated for an Edgar. From Tim:

"Peg Brantley has done it again. Her third book (after The Missings and Red Tide) is another thrill ride, a hyperventilation-inducing thriller about evil and power and endangered innocence. And MAYBE a new (and very interesting) sustaining female character. Mex Anderson may have companionship in the next book or two."

I want to thank my fellow authors and CFC blogmates who have given me unflagging support, and each one of my readers who have taken a chance on a new author.

You're the best!

Freakin' Fear

By Peg Brantley
Evocative Characters. Intriguing Crime. Compelling Stories.



This is the time of year when fear can be fun.

The other day I was with two women on our way to a luncheon to  benefit the CU Depression Center. They were talking about how they loved to decorate for Halloween and design fanciful costumes to wear. When I mentioned that I would like to see A Cabin in the Woods because I hear it turns the whole horror movie genre upside down, they both insisted they didn't like scary movies and then went on to talk about scary movies they had enjoyed. They laughed when they figured out the truth.

Sometimes scary is satisfying, in a weird and unusual and creepy kind of way.

When it's not fun is when there's a forever-reality piece to the scary thing. Whether it's true crime, as we read in posts here earlier from L.J. Sellers and Sheila Lowe, or a life and death situation.

Independence, Colorado is over 10,900 feet in elevation. 

Last week my husband and I were in Aspen and went to a couple of ghost towns. The second one was near the top of Independence Pass (the Continental Divide). The town of Independence, Colorado got its name because gold was discovered there on July 4th. In its heyday there were about fifteen hundred people
living there, then the mine began to produce less and less gold. At the end there was a fraction still trying to eke out a living when the worst winter the area had seen in years left them with dwindling food supplies and no way for horses to pack anything into their remote location. The townspeople ended up taking apart their log homes and making seventy-eight pairs of skis to hike out. I have no idea how many people made it back to Aspen. Real life life and death. Not a good scare.

Another way scary doesn't work real well for me is when I must research something about which I need to know, and yet I don't want to become immersed in the muck of the research.

For example, there are a lot of religions in the world, and some of them are threatening. For The Sacrifice I needed to research Santeria and Santa Muerte to determine which would work best for my plot. I chose Santeria because it routinely involves animal sacrifice, and within the Mexican drug cartels, it has involved human sacrifice. A really good way to up the stakes, wouldn't you say?

I had to research Santeria, get a feel for it, even buy a book about it, to get my story right. I confess to skimming for detail while ignoring the instructional elements. I simply couldn't get comfortable and didn't want this part of my life (my writing part) to shadow the rest of my life because of new information, even if it was true. The scariest thing for me was that websites for cults look just like websites for the local chambers of commerce or colleges. Normal. Routine. Ready for someone who is searching for answers.

I had the opportunity in The Sacrifice to use the words in a prayer/chant. It was short. It would have worked. I couldn't do it.

The Sacrifice will be released next Tuesday, October 22nd, and part of its dedication is to the University of Colorado Depression Center. I hope you pick up a copy and receive a few hours of enjoyment… and a just a little fear.

Writing Multi-Culturally

I'm white. Yep, probably not so much of a big reveal. I'm a little inordinately proud of the tiny bit of American Indian blood that flows through my veins, but… I'm white and there's really no getting around that fact.

My life experiences have all been as a white female. The only piece that even comes close to understanding the life experiences of someone from a different race or culture is that female thing. But still… not enough.

I'm tall, not horrible looking, and I don't have any physical or mental impairments. Visible, anyway. Another strike against any kind of personal knowledge about diversity.

On the plus side, I've spent the last thirty-nine years in an intimate relationship with someone who brought a different perspective to my knowledge of diversity. Someone who not only changed the filter, but changed the lens.

But how does a writer, with no real exposure to racial or cultural differences, bring the depth that  diversity offers to his or her writing?

In his book, MAKING SHAPELY FICTION, Jerome Stern says this about dialect: Do not attempt dialects with which you are not intimately familiar and for which you have not, in some way, paid your dues. Otherwise, you are likely to make a fool of yourself and seem to be a bigot as well.

No writer wants to be seen as a bigot, or even foolish. At the same time, what writer can resist a beautifully layered character who does look like all of the other characters they've created?

My advice, lame as it sounds, is to find someone familiar with whatever character you're building and ask them questions. Let them read what you've written with an eye for stereotypes. From an Eastern European to an African-American to Gay and Lesbian to a Mexican to someone who lives in Maine or Louisiana… respect them. Just as you would make every effort to research a plot detail, research your characters.

No man is an island. Expand your friendships and expand your horizons. Don't rely on what you've seen on the screen or read in another book. Rely on those who live it.

Readers, have you ever encountered a character that seemed off somehow? What did it make you feel about the rest of the story or the author?

Writers, how do you approach bringing diverse characters into your books?

Do You Want to Give A Shout Out for a Favorite Author?

By Peg Brantley

Evocative Characters. Intriguing Crime. Compelling Stories.

Most of our readers simply enjoy our books, and really in the end that's quite good enough. But sometimes readers would love to know how they can support us and get the word out.

Here are a few ideas:


★ Write a review for Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes and Noble, DorothyL, For Mystery Addicts, your local library’s website, or any other online review site. It doesn't have to be detailed. Just what you liked.


★ Talk about the book on social media sites. Twitter, Facebook… you know what I mean.


★ Blog about it.


★ Ask your local library to order a copy of the book.


★ Donate a book to your local dentist, doctor, or hairdresser to put in the waiting room.


★ If you’re part of a group, even a group that's not about reading, tell them about the book.


★ Suggest the book to your book club, if applicable. Most of us would be happy to attend a book club in person if possible, or Skype.


★ “Like” the book on Amazon.


★ Direct people to our website.


★ Write a review for your local newspaper.


★ Purchase copies to give away as Christmas and birthday gifts.


★ Pin the cover or other pictures to Pinterest.


★ Share your favorite quotes from the book online. If you purchase an e-book, highlight your favorite quotes. (Personally, I get a kick out of these even though I'm not sure they contribute to any sales.)


★ Suggest the book on reading forums, like those you can find on Goodreads.


★ Make a video about the book and upload it to YouTube or Vimeo.

Can you think of any other way a reader can help spread the word? (Thinking hard about this as my next book is about a month away from release. October 22nd, October 22nd, October 22nd…)

I'm currently in NYC enjoying a brief getaway. If I don't respond quickly to your comments, you'll know why—I'm either at MOMA or Ground Zero.