When All You Hear is the Boo

by Kelly Miller    

Lance Armstrong, seven-time winner of the Tour de France, has said, “A boo is louder than a cheer. 
If you have ten people cheering and one person booing, all you hear is the booing.” A year ago, I was the type of person who obsessed over that one boo. But I’ve done a lot of work on my attitude, and now the boos are barely whispers. 

There’s a concept I learned during a book study on The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard—one that I’ve been working on adopting into my own life. I say working on because it’s a difficult concept to put into action. It’s the inability to be offended. 

Think about it. Wouldn’t it be nice to be so sure of yourself, so confidant in who you are that what others think of you doesn’t impact the view you hold of yourself? I’m not talking about narcissism, just a strong sense of self-esteem taken to the next level. The key is not to be influenced by the good or bad. That way the ego won’t swell when presented with a compliment nor will it be bruised by the negatives.

Authors should try putting this new concept into practice the next time they read a review of their latest novel. Instead of agonizing over the thought of reading the latest Amazon comment, give yourself a pep talk. Remember you can’t be offended. This way the praise won’t cause swelling of the head, and on the flipside, a negative comment won’t ruin your whole day. 

What kind of person are you? Do you focus on the cheers or the boos?

Download a FREE copy of Kelly Miller’s debut novel, Dead Like Me, on the Kindle on June 29 and 30 (http://ow.ly/gXD3q). Kelly lives in Tampa, Florida where her novel is set. She’s a SAHM of three children and also takes care of a black Labrador and a husband. Kelly is a member of the Florida Writer’s Association. Her debut novel, Dead Like Me, won second place in the Best Mystery category of the 2011 FWA Royal Palm Literary Awards Competition.

 

Step Away From the Desk

 Guest post by Kelly Miller, crime fiction novelist

I’m sure you’ll all agree technology has made the writer’s life easier. No more trips to the library, just Google it. No more visits to the courthouse, instead check records online. Now that we have Google Earth is there a need to travel to the corner of Cherry & Main when you can simply power up the computer and visit electronically? But this begs the question, have we become too dependent on technology?

It’s tempting to lean on our computer crutch. A writer has so few minutes free in the day. If we’re not writing our next novel, we’re endlessly blogging, tweeting, and facebooking. So I can understand our dependence on virtual travel. But I say, “Step away from the desk!” 

If you simply rely on a picture on a computer screen, you’ll miss out on the nuances of a location, the flavor of a city. Researching for my debut novel, Dead Like Me, I set up a private three-hour tour of the Tampa Police headquarters. It was the best thing I could have ever done for my novel. I like to keep my stories as factual as possible so I wanted to record everything. Like the fact that the homicide department is on the eighth floor and how the precinct has a nondescript smell. Unless of course, you’re on the fourth floor when seized marijuana plants are drying out. 

As a crime fiction writer, police anecdotes and rookie mistake stories are golden. When I toured the homicide department, I discovered the guys had played a practical joke on one of the detectives. They turned his desk into a boat, attaching a steering wheel to the end of the desk and PVC piping to the top creating a bimini. A steel cleat was even mounted right in the middle of his desk. Of course this was too good to pass up, so I included it in my novel. These are all things I never would have found out through interviews or sitting behind my computer. 

How about you? Do you rely heavily on your computer for research, or do you get out from behind your desk and travel, soaking up the local flavor of a location? Or maybe you use a combination of the two approaches?

Kelly Miller’s first novel, Dead Like Me, debuted November 29. To purchase a copy, visit www.blackrosewritingbooks.com. You can learn more about Kelly by visiting her website at www.kellymillerauthor.com or her blog at http://apps.kellymillerauthor.com/blog.

SAFECOP – a New Weapon in Tampa’s Arsenal

Guest post by Kelly Miller
The crime fighters in our novels don’t rely on Ouija boards to capture the bad guys. They use the latest technology available. If you write crime fiction, it’s imperative you familiarize yourself with the systems police departments across the country use.

When the Republican National Convention came to Tampa, Florida, last month, the Tampa Police Department was thrust into the national spotlight. Chief Jane Castor and her officers performed exceptionally well under the stress of picketers and two weeks of twelve-hour shifts. There were even Tampa residents interviewed on the local news, complaining how quiet downtown was during the RNC. If that was the worst criticism of the week, I’d say the TPD exceeded expectations.

One benefit of the convention was the purchase of a $400,000 software upgrade from Congressional money set aside for convention security. This technology allows Tampa officers to continuously scan updated maps for crime trends. When police respond to a crime scene, they enter the information collected into the system and Tampa maps are updated instantaneously. This software also allows officers access to maps showing career criminals, sexual predators, and juvenile offenders living in a specific area.

In the past, if the TPD wanted to send out a BOLO (Be on the Look Out), it could take several hours or even days for officers to receive the information. Now alerts happen in real time. Investigators can send out these bulletins using the new software as well as post photos and videos.

Shortly after the RNC, the bay area got to see this new software in action when a burglary suspect was arrested. Reportedly a man broke into an office building, ransacked the place, and stole cash and audiovisual equipment. Burglary cases often take at least a few days to solve, if solved at all. But this suspect was arrested in only two hours. Police checked the burglarized company’s surveillance video and found an image of the suspect. An officer used a cellphone camera to take a picture of the man in the video. Then the photo and a description of the suspect were entered into the new system and it quickly lead to his capture.


Kelly Miller’s first novel, Dead Like Me (due out November 29), is set in Tampa, Florida where she lives. This technology isn’t something her detectives use, but the third book in the Kate Springer series will be set during this time period—September 2012. Kelly is hoping the backdrop of the RNC and new technology like SAFECOP will add extra flavor to the story. Please visit Kelly's website and her blog.