Favorite Mysteries of 2012

Happy New Year!
Here are my favorite mystery/suspense novels of 2012.   (These are books that were originally published last year.)
They are listed alphabetically by author, as trying to rank them by how much I liked them is beyond my capabilities.  Clicking on the title will link you to my review. 

• A Killing Winter (Leo Desroches #2) by Wayne Arthurson (Forge hardcover, 10 April 2012).
• A City of Broken Glass (Hannah Vogel #4) by Rebecca Cantrell (Forge hardcover, 17 July 2012).
• Broken Harbor (Dublin Murder Squad #4) by Tana French (Viking hardcover, 24 July 2012).
• What the Heart Remembers by Debra Ginsberg (NAL trade paperback, 4 September 2012).
• The Skeleton Box (Starvation Lake #3) by Bryan Gruley (Touchstone hardcover, 5 June 2012).
• The Beautiful Mystery (Chief Inspector Gamache #8) by Louise Penny  (Minotaur hardcover, 28 August 2012).
• Poison Flower (Jane Whitefield #7) by Thomas Perry (Mysterious Press hardcover, 6 March 2012).
• Valley of Ashes (Madeline Dare #4) by Cornelia Read (Grand Central Publishing hardcover, 14 August 2012).
• The Book of Lost Fragrances by M.J. Rose (Atria hardcover, 13 March 2012).
• Before the Poison by Peter Robinson (William Morrow hardcover, 21 February 2012).
• The Other Woman by Hank Phillipi Ryan (Forge hardcover, 4 September 2012).
• Dark Lie by Nancy Springer (NAL trade paperback, 6 November 2012).

I'm interested to hear whether or not you agree with my choices.  And what are yours?

Done Is Better Than Perfect

by L.J. Sellers, author of provocative mysteries & thrillers

I recently read this Facebook post, which had dozens of Likes: A little advice, writers. Don't think you have to put a whole lot of words on paper every day. What I find is a few words today will encourage more tomorrow. The point is for those few to be brilliant.

I respectfully disagree… that is, if you want to make a living as novelist, or least sell moderately well. If you're writing just for your own pleasure, you can do whatever you want. But striving for a few brilliant words every day will not produce a finished novel, let alone a body of work.

I realize many writers have full-time jobs and kids at home to take care of. I did too, for most of my writing career. But I found that setting aside blocks of time in which I could write whole scenes for chapters worked better for me than trying to write a little something every day.

And brilliance? Why even think about it? Most readers aren't looking for brilliance; they just want a good story with interesting characters. So laboring over every word and every sentence is too paralyzing. If you want to produce something for people to read, then you have to finish the story.

Done is always better than perfect.

I'm not implying that I don't care about quality or craftsmanship. I definitely do. In the second, third, and fourth drafts, I polish my prose as much as I can. But I don’t worry about producing beautiful turns of phrase or poetic descriptions. As Elmore Leonard says, "If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it."

In my prose, I strive for clarity, readability, and rhythm. In my word count, I strive for consistent daily production while I write the first draft. Getting the whole story down in a short period of time is my goal—because it works. The longer it takes to write the first draft, the more I struggle with keeping the whole story in my head and making the timing work out.

I've known people who spent five or ten years writing the same novel and never finishing it. That must be purposeful. They must not want to finish because finishing means letting someone read it. And that’s scary. I understand.

But I want people to read my stories, and I don't care if no one ever calls my writing brilliant.

The woman who wrote the post may have thought she was being encouraging to authors. But telling writers to strive for a few brilliant words every day is bad advice on both levels… unless she was trying to thin out the market competition.

What do you think of that advice? What works to keep you motivated?

A new year, a new story

By Gayle Carline

The first rule of any self-published writer is, if you want to sell more books, write more books. So even though I would like to stop and be all Proud Mama about my latest (buy it, seriously, it's uber-good) mystery, I can’t just sit around promoting. I have to write another book.

I could write another Peri mystery (and I will) but I started thinking about a new mystery with new characters. This idea hit me from two directions.

One was that many people ask me, given the fact that I own two horses, give riding lessons and compete in shows, why don’t I write any horse-centric fiction?

The other was that one morning at a horse show, I was walking to our barn and observed the pile of used horse bedding at the end of the aisle. Suddenly I could envision a pair of cowboy boots sticking out from under the used shavings—boots with feet in them.



Me and Snoopy, aka My Flashy Investment

And that’s how mysteries are born.

I’ve got the basic plot written out and will start outlining soon. Before I do that, I must have my cast. So now I’m creating the characters who will commit the crime, who will solve the crime, who will hang around the outskirts looking guilty or friendly or interesting.

I’m spending some time writing a few journals in my characters’ voices. They tell me their life stories in their words. Sometimes they have a lot to say and sometimes a little. But in the writing, I get used to hearing how they sound, what word choices they make, how they think of themselves and their lives so far.
 
It makes the storytelling easier.

My main characters are Wilhelmina (Willie) Adams, a 30-something widow who is new to horses and riding, and Tyler Ransome, a 40-something divorced horse trainer. Yes, there will be some romance in this one. And lots of boots and spurs.

Frostie, aka One Zip in Time (Snoopy's mom)

I’m also using Pinterest to create a board of things I will be using for my novel. People who I use as inspiration for my characters. Settings. Things like that.

The trick to this new story will be to lure in readers who are uninterested in horses but love a good mystery. If readers love it, I’ll write more. If the response is lukewarm, at least I can say I wrote a novel with horses in it, and move on.

But the important thing is to keep writing.

With all the crime.....

By Jenny Hilborne, Author of mysteries and thrillers

I've noticed a lot of recent discussion about fictional crime compared to real life crime, with plenty of focus on the negative aspects of fictional crime, especially in the face of the horrific shooting events in the US. The fictional violence and brutality sometimes bothers me, too, if I think about it too much, so I wanted to concentrate for a few minutes on the positive, fun aspects of fictional crime.  

Mystery writers must consider many things in their stories: plot, subplot, motive, setting, logic, alibi, clues, evidence, witnesses, and conclusion, with explanation. It must all make sense. Different types of mysteries include a variation of these elements: a cozy is a more peaceful mystery with lots of clues, less action, and less danger to the main character; a hard-boiled mystery includes a lot of action and rough realism; procedurals draw the reader's attention to the rules of law enforcement; an amateur sleuth stumbles into the mystery by accident and helps the detective solve the crime.

All good mysteries contain secrets, riddles, and clues to solve the puzzle. What makes a mystery or a thriller spectacular, for me anyway, is the element of surprise, the perplexity of the plot, the probing questions that draw me deep into the story, and the fact it is fiction and not real life - a world I can visit, without participating in any of the crimes, except trying to catch the killer. After watching a couple of Agatha Christie episodes last week, I realized I mostly enjoy the red herring. It's a mind game using clues to capture and evade, rather than coincidence. The villain matches wits with the detective, the reader matches wits with the author to crack the case. The reader wants to work out the author's plot and the author tries to prevent it, until he/she is ready for the big reveal. We are testing each other.

Red herrings are the false clues that throw off the investigator, increase the challenge and make the mystery so much fun. Skillful mystery writers like Agathie Christie make the guilty appear innocent, turn the innocent into suspects and do so convincingly, sending us looking the wrong way. It's like finding our way out of a maze and we learn from our mistakes, sharpening our skills each time, both as readers and writers. 

Another spectacular part of the fictional mystery is the shock - finding out the guilty person is the one we trusted, realizing the flaws in our own judgement. This is another opportunity to learn about ourselves and improve our analytical skills.

Fictional mysteries bring readers together to discuss, imagine, compare, and to recommend. I hang out in various online mystery groups to share my thoughts and look for suggested great reads. Fictional mysteries become more and more sophisticated and the challenges get harder. Techno thrillers give us a glimpse into a possible future world and stretch our imaginations.

To finish, here are a couple of my favorite mystery reads from 2012:

Chalk Valley by D.L. Johnstone: Excellent suspense told from several viewpoints.
The Dark Monk by Oliver Potzsch: Well plotted with a maze of riddles and clues
Bleed For Me by Michael Robotham: harrowing story of corruption, perversion, abuse of power, and murder.

Finding More Balance in 2013

by Jodie Renner, freelance editor and craft-of-fiction writer

Peg Brantley’s thought-provoking article, "With Decisive Intent" and excellent list here on Friday made me start thinking about goals and balance, about assessing the year that's ending today and making plans for next year.

Although I got a lot done in 2012 workwise (edited a lot of excellent fiction and published many of craft-of-fiction blog posts and two e-books), I neglected other important areas of my life, especially health and fitness, so I hope to reach a better balance in 2013.

Here’s my personal assessment of accomplishments for 2012 and areas I need to work on for 2013:

Plus side for 2012 – Actions and efforts I feel good about:
 
~ Enjoyed editing lots of high-quality, well-written, compelling novels, and received encouraging email comments* and glowing testimonials** from my clients, so my job continues to be very rewarding. (See a few samples of testimonials below.)

~ Wrote and published two craft-of-fiction books, Writing a Killer Thriller and Style that Sizzles & Pacing for Power, which are both selling really well and have received 32 reviews on Amazon, and all but two are 5-stars. (See below *** for excerpts from some of the reviews of the two books.)

~ Managed to travel to some great places, including four excellent, stimulating writers’ conferences: 

- SDSU Writers’ Conference in San Diego in January (and met up with LJ and Drew while there).

- Tallahassee Writer’s Conference, Tallahassee, Florida, in May (met writer and editor par excellence, Jessica Morrell, and Peggy Kassees and a bunch of other awesome people in the Tallahassee Writer’s Association). 

- Jessica Morrell’s Summer in Words writers’ conference in Cannon Beach, Oregon, in June (and joined my sister from BC there). 

- Craftfest and Thrillerfest in New York City in July, where I met up with my thriller-writer clients Beverly Purdy, Ian Walkley and Dara Carr, and chatted with writers Shane Gericke, Doug Lyle, Jim Bell, Bob Dugoni, and others.

But despite/because of all that, my life has been kind of unbalanced this past year and for a few years now, with other areas being neglected, so it's time for me to pay more attention to other aspects of it.

Negative side for 2012 – Aspects of my life I neglected, areas to work on for 2013:
 
~ Gained too much weight from spending too much time sitting at my home computer, with the fridge and cupboards (and chocolate!) nearby.

~ My fitness level has dropped (steadily in the past several years), again from spending too much time sitting at my computer and not enough time exercising.

~ Workaholic, a bit too driven – sometimes neglected people important to me.

~ Spent too much time inside my head (and other people’s books) and not enough time paying attention to the world around me.

Jodie's Resolutions for 2013:
 
Cut back a bit on my editing (sorry, clients!), and no editing on weekends, so I can:

~ Write daily, or at least 3-4 hours per week, and publish another book or two.

~ Declutter my house in preparation for downsizing and selling it.

~ Concentrate on getting and staying fit. Exercise more, and go for a walk at least once a day. Get back to dancing once a week. Add line dancing.

~ Lose some weight and keep it off. (Getting a good start on this one right now.)

~ Nurture personal relationships more. Get out and socialize more.

~ Appreciate nature more. Work in my garden. Walk in the park or the woods. Nurture my spiritual side.

~ Pay attention to the news and try to make a difference in the world. Get my head out of the sand.

~ Continue to travel at every opportunity.


- How about you? Do you feel your life is pretty well-balanced? Any ways you could improve the balance a bit?

- What do you feel good about for 2012? Accomplishments? Relationships? Health and wellness? Lifestyle?

- What are some areas you feel you could work on for 2013?

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE! From me and everyone here at CFC! Thanks for your support in 2012, and we wish you health, happiness, and continued creativity and productivity in 2013!


*An email I received a week ago, on Christmas Eve:

"One of the best things about 2012 was starting to work with you! I am very grateful for the heart and soul that you put into editing my book, and look forward to ever greater things in 2013!

Enjoy this beautiful time of the year, Jodie, and may the best of life fall on you and yours. I look forward to picking up where we left off soon!

Warmly, A.K."


**Two of the many testimonials I received in 2012 (both of these in December):

“Jodie Renner is a 5-star thriller editor with the eye of an eagle and the skill of a surgeon. She goes beyond copy and line editing to target even the most elusive content issues. A pleasure to work with—highly recommended."

~ Lynn Sholes & Joe Moore, Dec. 2012, #1 Amazon and international bestselling authors of The Phoenix Apostles and The Grail Conspiracy

“When Jodie Renner says ‘Let’s take your manuscript to the next level,’ she means it. Writing a thriller offers challenges unique to the genre, and Jodie is more than prepared to deal with all of them. Whether ratcheting up the tension, dealing with POV or timeline issues, grammar, or offering suggestions to enhance the plot or pick up the pace, Jodie’s suggestions are spot-on and invariably valuable. As an author, all you have to bring to the table is a manuscript and an open mind, and you will end up with a far superior product than you had when you started. I’ve worked with Jodie on two thrillers, including the Amazon Top 25 overall bestseller, The Lonely Mile, and now Parallax View, and the moment I have another thriller ready, I’ll work with her again. If you’re looking for a way to set your work apart, look no farther than Jodie Renner Editing.”

- Allan Leverone, author of thrillers, mysteries and horror novels, Dec. 1, 2012. (Parallax View will be published on Amazon in a few weeks.)


***A few excerpts from 5-star Amazon reviews of Style that Sizzles & Pacing for Power:

“Style that Sizzles is a book every fiction writer needs to have. I’ve read dozens of writing craft books, and this one is a gem. Jodie Renner addresses all the crucial issues and components in a novel and shows with great right-and-wrong examples how to trim and tighten your writing. As a professional copyeditor, she brings years of expertise to the fore and examines both the big-picture issues involved in cutting or revising scenes as well as the many micro issues such as clunky dialog and overuse of adverbs and adjectives. As a professional novelist, copyeditor, and writing coach, I can honestly say this comprehensive book covers everything a writer at any level needs to make a novel sizzle.”
-      Susanne (C.S.) Lakin, writer and editor


"Jodie Renner has achieved a remarkable feat here – she’s distilled everything a fiction writer needs to know to draft edgy, compelling fiction into a short and sweet book. And she’s done it by excluding all the fluff other craft books use as filler. 

Of course she includes the core writing techniques required for publishable manuscripts such as show vs. tell, deep POV, natural-sounding dialogue, and all the rest. But what’s exceptionally useful is that the book is essentially a micro-manual for quick, easy-to-learn techniques to pare down your writing and make it lean and mean. 

Ms. Renner is the queen of thrillers and other crime fiction, but the invaluable advice provided here is applicable to anything you write, including non-fiction."
-          Eyeclocker, Nov. 17, 2012


***And finally, a few excerpts from 5-star reviews on Amazon for Writing a Killer Thriller:

“Jodie Renner is a terrific editor, one that I trusted with my last three novels. And her advice columns are so good, I print and save them all. For thriller authors, this will be the best money you ever spend.”

- L.J. Sellers, bestselling author of provocative mysteries & thrillers

“With years of experience as a professional editor to many successful authors, Renner knows what it takes to write a good thriller, and she lays it all out here in a no-nonsense, easy-to-understand manner. From building excitement and suspense on every page, to adding tension and conflict to each chapter, this book is packed with information you simply can’t afford to miss if you want to gain that ever-elusive competitive edge in the world of fiction.”

- Andrew E. Kaufman, #1 bestselling author of The Lion, the Lamb, the Hunted and While the Savage Sleeps 

“Jodie Renner’s Writing a Killer Thriller is an absolute must-have for anyone even thinking about writing a thriller. Jodie has a gift for spotting what makes a thriller work and relaying that message in a very succinct and relatable way. Her booklet will help keep your prose tight while making sure that you never forget the essentials for making a thriller hum—tension, conflict, and suspense.”

- Stephen Schreckinger, attorney and writer, New York, NY

Jodie Renner is a freelance editor specializing in thrillers, mysteries and other crime fiction. For more information on Jodie's editing services and books, please visit her website at www.JodieRennerEditing.com.

With Decisive Intent

by Peg Brantley


Now that we can be fairly certain the world isn't coming to an end any time soon, we need to get some work done. Decisive Intent are my "creative" words for Strategic Planning, which sounds blah and reminds me of my former life.

It's important to think ahead, and to do that we have to understand where we've been, where we are now, and where we want to be in a year. This list is focused strictly on writing. Whether you're indie published, traditionally published, both, or wanting to be published, I think you'll find some value in exercising Decisive Intent for your career.

1. Have you clearly defined your goal as an author? Is it the same this year as it was last year?

2. What decisions have you made in 2012 that propelled you to your goal? What decisions have you made that didn't? This includes work habits, so don't pretend it doesn't.

3. What collaborations or groups have worked well for you? Which ones haven't? Are there some potential partnerships you'd like to explore?

4. How many books did you produce this year? Does that production schedule suit you or do you want to adjust it for 2013? If you want to increase your productivity, what has to happen to make that possible?

5. If you're writing a series, should it continue or should you begin a new one? If you aren't writing a series, should you?

6. Are your current business partnerships working well for you? This includes cover designers, editors, formatters, beta readers—as well as agents and publishers—anyone who is a member of your production team.

7. Did you invest in your continuing education last year? Did it pay off? What do you want to have happen in 2013 that will benefit your work?

8. Take a good look at your sales and expenses. I recently invested in QuickBooks and am able to see when a book becomes profitable. This also allows me to see more clearly what works and what doesn't. This is probably one of the best business tools you can give yourself as a writer.

9. What Kudos/Awards/Recognition/Milestones did you achieve in 2012? What do you want to achieve in 2013?

10. What social media options are really working for you? Which aren't? Is there something else that will allow you to reach your readers?

11. Do you need to expand or contract your publishing platforms?

12. Is your price point philosophy still sound?

13. Has your target audience changed?

14. Are you happy where you are right now? Are you writing in the genre you want? The amount you want? Are you happy being indie? Are you happy with your publisher? Is it all working for you and enhancing your life?

What else would you add?


My thanks to D.D.Scott  and The Writer's Guide to E-Publishing for providing much of the content for this post.

One Character I Didn’t Have to Research

by suspense author C.J. West

Earlier this year I set out to create a hero for a new series. I wanted him to be different from my other protagonists. Someone likeable. Someone quirky and in touch with what’s going on in the world. Someone rugged who can handle himself in an alley.

In the last two years I’ve been spending a lot more time with my family and at some point I realized my brother was the guy for the job. He’s a riot in person and so is his wife. He’s a total redneck with quirks that will keep readers entertained. The thing that sealed it for me was his work with recovering addicts.

My brother works in construction and maintenance. In the last several years he has been working on programs that provide housing to recovering addicts and others that need transitional help. Not only does he work on these programs, but his crew is made up of guys leaving the programs. I worked alongside these guys for a few days and got to know them while we worked. Their stories helped me infuse my characters with the real life struggles addicts face.

This all sounds like research, and it was. If you are still wondering about the character I didn’t have to research for this book, it’s me.

As the story came along, my brother had two sidekicks, both recovering addicts who proved quite unreliable. In times when he couldn’t turn to his crew for help, who better than a brother who works from home and is always available day or night?

I bet this sounds really strange to some of you, but for me it made a lot of sense. I’ve been really engaged with my readers ever since the Myspace days. I’ve held all sorts of live and online events, always trying to give my readers a chance to interact with me. Making myself a character fit the story and it also gave my loyal fans a chance to know me on a more personal basis without distracting new readers from the story.

In Dinner At Deadman’s, Lorado often turns to his little brother, Chris. (That’s my real name.) Being the author and a character in the novel gave me a chance to have some fun, so I did a few interesting things with my character.

Everything I say in the book is true. Since I wrote the book, of course I know everything that happens past, present, and future. It’s cool to be omniscient and my character really enjoyed it. I will caution you though, sometimes what I say may be true in a literal sense and still be misleading.

The other interesting thing about being in a book with my brother is that our relationship comes out on the page. He knows me and the things he says about my past are all true. If you ever wondered what kind of guy I was, whether I was a player or the kind of kid every grandmother loves, pick up a copy of Dinner At Deadman’s and find out.


C.J. West is the author of seven suspense novels including The End of Marking Time and Sin and Vengeance, which was optioned into development for film by Beantown Productions, LLC (screenplay by Marla Cukor). C.J. blogs at www.cjwestkills.wordpress.com. You can also find him at www.22wb.com or at www.facebook.com/cjwestfans

Do we Encourage Violence without Realizing it?

By Andrew E. Kaufman

I've been thinking a lot lately about tragedy. The kind we write about on paper and the kind we see in real life.

I don't mean to be a big buzz-kill during the holidays, but after the heartbreaking tragedy in Connecticut, I think this is timely and it's important.

LJ  posted a very valid question the other day on her Facebook page. She wondered if the violence she portrays on paper might in some way encourage or influence violence in the real world. It was a very candid and honest introspection, and I admired her for being so open and sharing it. It also resonated strongly with me because I've often been concerned about the same thing.

And I've struggled with it. A lot.

But I also managed to come to terms with it a while back, because I made an agreement with myself. Or maybe it was more of an understanding. Most of us who write mysteries and thrillers write with a specific purpose. An intent. For the most part, our novels focus on conquering evil, and our heroes aren't the bad guys (or gals)--they're the good ones. Our messages aren't to go out and hurt people; they're that those who are hurt can still find some measure of justice and resolution. It doesn't take away the pain--I know that--but it doesn't create it either.

There will alway be violence in the world. It's an unfortunate fact, but in some small way, on some level, I think our work fosters feelings of empowerment. It provides hope. For the ones who have never been touched by such horrible tragedies, it can allay fears. For the ones who have, it sends a message that there is in fact still good in this world, and there are people who champion what's right, who work every day to prevent violence, and when it does happen, who do what they can to make sure those who cause it will never do it again.

And for those of us who write about tragedy, I think it also helps us cope as well on a very real and intimate level. We don't enjoy violence, but we know violence is a reality, and when we reach out to our readers we connect with them in a meaningful and significant way.

What do you think?