Superstitions

Photo by tolea

I thought we'd take a little breather today and talk about… well, today. Friday the 13th.

Bad things happen on Friday the 13th. Some people say this is the most widely held superstition in America today. People stay home from work and restaurants on Friday the 13th. They don't make any important decisions and some can probably be found tossing salt over their shoulders willy-nilly.

What are some other superstitions? I went on a hunt to track down a few.

• Getting out of bed left foot first is supposed to be bad luck. (I'm in trouble with this since I sleep on the left side of our bed.)

• Dropping an umbrella on the floor means someone will be murdered in the house.

• Here's an easy one: Never mend a garment while you are wearing it or misfortune will follow.

• Sneezing three times before breakfast is good luck.

• Sleeping on un-ironed sheets is also good luck. (This is not a problem in our house. I wonder if it counteracts the left foot thing?)

• A naked woman on a boat is supposed to bring good luck and calm the seas. 

• Golfers can have a successful day on the course if they begin their round with odd numbered clubs and don't use balls with numbers higher than 4.

What about you? Do you have any superstitions? A lucky pair of socks? C'mon. It's just us.

****In the event there's something to the Friday the 13th thing, you can shop from home today. Red Tide is free, along with a lot of other books in a wide range of genres. In addition to my own, you'll see one of my other blogging buddies there: Tom Adair's Scent of Fear is also free. You can see them all at Kindle Freebies.

What's new? Not much. Only everything.

By Gayle Carline

It's been almost two weeks since I went to Left Coast Crime, which is, like, a year in a dog's life, so I should be talking about the future instead of the past. So I'll do that, except that I first have to tell you all what a fun convention it was and how much I enjoyed seeing LJ again and meeting Marlyn for the first time.

This was my second convention - in 2009 I went to Bouchercon. Normally I go to writer's conferences, which are a lot different than conventions. Conferences are about getting fired up about writing and doing the work. Conventions are more about chilling and meeting people. After LCC, I finally think I know how to relax and be at a convention.

On to the future: I came back from the convention to shifting priorities. Before I left, I was writing three books, in various stages. I'm smack-dab in the middle of my third Peri mystery. I've started development of a new mystery with new characters. And I'm about 10,000 words into my horse's memoir (see his blog for an explanation). I was juggling these balls without problem.

Until I got my rights back to my first mystery, FREEZER BURN. Suddenly, if I wanted to keep it available, I needed to get a new cover, find the last version of the novel and put all the parts together myself.

Other projects? What other projects?

The good news is I'm not derailed, only detained (and a little deranged). I've got the cover, I found the file* and it should be up and rolling on Kindle and CreateSpace soon. Here's the new cover:

What do you think?

*After I found the file, I couldn't resist editing a few things. So it's the same book, only a little better!

An Interview with Author Lala Corriere

Lala Corriere’s writing consumes her. Her suspense includes subplots with socially redeeming revelations. Both good and bad. This is her moniker.

CFC: You find some unique elements for your novels. In Widow's Row, you introduced readers to the idea of transgenders and in CoverBoy you explore the sexual sadism of cults. Where do you come up with these unusual twists?

LALA: Crazy, huh? Let’s say I’ve always had an active imagination. And I have an inquiring mind. I think people need to know their world, their country, and their own backyard. I’ve always believed prejudice is born of ignorance. In my first novel, Widow’s Row, I explore our transgender community. With luck, awareness brings understanding, and just maybe—acceptance. On the other end of the spectrum, there is real crap going on in our world. Believe me, when I wrote CoverBoy I had never heard of revirgination, and in my non-scientific poll most persons are shocked. And the cutting off of toes to fit into designer shoes. It’s a crazy world out there!

CFC: You have elected to publish independently. Would you ever consider a traditional publisher? Why or why not?

LALA: Widow’s Row was tied up on exclusive submissions, to two separate big publishers in a row, for over 2 ½ years!  This is what I’ve learned. I don’t believe anyone will treat my career with as much care as ME.  I don’t think traditional publishers are able to provide the marketing and white glove treatment that I can. Will that change? The market is in turmoil. Who knows? I never say never.

CFC: If you weren't a writer, what?

LALA: I always thought I wanted to be a princess until I saw the pressures on Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton. I don’t have the voice to be a singer. I don’t have the patience to be a teacher. And I pass out at the sight of blood. What does that leave me because I can forget science and math! I love art. I dabble in it. I love interior design and at one time I made a decent living at it. When my children all left for university I realized I needed a passion. I’m married to an Italian who is passionate about his work. I found my ardor in writing. Let’s face it. You have to be passionate if you’re going to be disciplined enough to sit at a computer monitor for hours, days, and years.

CFC: What are you working on now?

LALA: I wish you could hear me squeal with excitement. I was gifted a story from a retired big-city detective. It’s one of those stories where truth is truly stranger than fiction and no one will believe it! My biggest challenge will be massaging the story so that this TRUTH will be credible. And writing blurbs that don’t give the ending away!


CFC: What question haven't I asked that I should have?

LALA: I was recently asked this one: What was one of the first challenges you incurred in your career?

I’m going to answer with two. First of all, I hope most of you know that less than one percent of the population that says they are going to write a book actually finish it. Less than one percent! Big challenge number one.

Once that baby is done we authors need to procure blurbs from other published authors. It’s intimidating. Necessary. I get that. I sent an email to Paris Afton Bonds. She’s a prolific romance novelist with a huge readership. Guess what? She read for me and she gave me a blurb! How easy was that? I aimed higher. I emailed Danielle Steele. I received back what I assumed was a form letter explaining that she was unable to read unpublished works due to contractual obligations. I understood. But I kept aiming. Maybe higher. I emailed Sidney Sheldon. Not only did he read for me and offer me three blurbs, but he was my mentor until he passed away about five years ago.

Years ago my father befriended the great Ashley Montagu, who readily expressed that sometimes being at the top is a lonely thing when one needs real people around them.

Aim high. Why not? Someone is waiting to hear from you!

******

Lala Corriere's newest release, CoverBoy (in addition to Widow's Row) can be sampled and purchased  here.

He prays for prey. His prayers have just been answered.

Lauren Visconti loses everyone she loves. They don’t walk out the door. They die. The Lauren Visconti Curse.

Her in-your-face magazine, CoverBoy, might have crossed a few lines. Now it appeared the curse had morphed. Now anyone Lauren had any emotion toward, good or bad, was doomed to be slaughtered.
Success came with the magazine’s dichotomy—photos of almost naked men juxtaposed between serious investigative reporting. Her articles ran true stories. Most readers had heard of sex-slave trafficking. Most didn’t know it occurred in their own backyards. Some readers knew about podiatry mutilations—the hacking off of elongated second toes and even the total amputation of little toes, all in order to fit into the expensive designer shoes. Very few had heard about revirgination.
CoverBoy’s articles named names.

The Obeah Voodoo scared Lauren. But could it help save her? More likely any help would come from the handsome psychologist.

This is what Lauren had to believe.

Will A Gun Fire Underwater?

I get this question once in a while from authors and when I saw this video I figured now was a good time to address it again. This video is interesting for a couple of reasons.First and foremost it dispels the rumor that guns won't work underwater. This is not a new finding. Despite comments from the videographer, this question has been addressed by researchers and professional (military/police) for a long time.

Now, water can dramatically affect both the velocity and flight path of a bullet. In fact, many police crime labs use water tanks to fire test bullets into. The water stops the bullet in a relatively short distance and doesn't leave any markings (rifling) on the bullet which may complicate the comparison to a bullet recovered from a crime scene. What this means for authors is that your gun will only be lethal for perhaps a few feet (depending on caliber). Even if the bullet retained enough velocity it would likely veer off it's flight path towards the target. So when your hero is diving under the water and is ten feet down; he's probably pretty safe from the bad guys firing into the water from the boat above; especially if they are just firing handguns.

Another interesting observation in the video is that of the gases expelled from each gun. The video gives the viewer an insight into how these gases are expelled. With the revolver there are two basic "areas". One is between the barrel and cylinder. This is often referred to as a "cylinder gap". CSIs sometimes see these on walls or door frames where a person barricaded themselves while shooting. It is clear evidence that a revolver was used. In contrast, the semi-auto pistol expelled most of the gases out of the muzzle. These gases are important in forensics because they also contain and propel gunshot residue which can land on the suspect.


Guns are metal so prolonged exposure underwater can have detrimental effects on the working parts. But brief exposure shouldn't cause too many problems in the short term. Some guns like the Glock were originally designed for military Special Forces and have small grooves in the frame that allows water to flow out of the gun after it is brought out of the water. Contrary to the video host, some guns have been designed with submersion in mind. So don't be afraid to get your fictional guns a little wet, as long as it isn't for days on end.

Cut the Clutter and Streamline Your Writing

- Part I

 
by Jodie Renner, editor, author, speaker

In my editing of fiction manuscripts, it seems one of my most important jobs is to help my clients streamline their writing so the ideas flow more smoothly.

I’m talking about those extra words that aren’t needed to enhance the mood, plot or characterization, or bring the story to life; the clutter of words that are getting in the way of the imagery and story and slowing down the pace. 

Think of a flower garden that is stifled by weeds to the point where you can’t see the flowers. Or a cluttered basement or workshop, where you can’t find the things you really need. The good stuff gets lost, or at least difficult to find among all the junk.

So once you’ve gotten through your first draft, it’s important to go back in and cut down on wordiness and redundancies in order to make your story more compelling, pick up the pace, and increase the tension and sense of urgency.

But of course, don’t throw the baby out with the bath water—no need to make your style so laconic that you’ve sucked the life and voice out of it. Keep all those juicy words and phrases that set the tone, define your voice and attitude, add atmosphere, provide sensory details, deepen your characters, add to the suspense and intrigue, and so on. Just cut out the excess blah-blah and leave the gems behind.

Sol Stein calls this important part of the editorial process “liposuctioning the flab.” As he says, “Flab is the enemy of every writer. Superfluous words and phrases soften prose. […] Flab, if not removed, can have a deleterious effect on the impatient reader, who will pay less attention to each word and begin to skip….” But after you go through and cut the flab, the remaining text will be much stronger and more compelling.

So if you want your fiction to sell, here’s some clutter to look for and expel, so the readers have nothing between them and your story:

First, take out any words, sentences, or paragraphs that are unnecessary, impede the flow of ideas, and slow the pace down. Search and destroy all those little words and phrases that just clutter up your sentences, adding nothing.

Here are some examples from my editing. I’ve changed the details to provide anonymity.

Before: They slept each night in the cheap motels located less than a mile’s drive from the interstate.

After: They slept each night in cheap motels just off the interstate.

 

Before: “You must never touch anything in this room if I don’t tell you to or if I haven’t given permission.”

After: “You must never touch anything in this room without my permission.”

Even better: “Do not touch anything in this room without my permission.”

Or even: "Do not touch anything in this room."

Before: The captain often asked a question of his men without really wanting their opinion. It was his way of providing a sense of democracy to his leadership style, when in actuality there was none.

After: The captain often posed questions of his men without really wanting their opinion. It was his way of pretending his leadership style was democratic.

Before: Jason motioned to a particular number in the middle of the spreadsheet that Tom currently had on the computer screen.

After: Jason motioned to a number in the middle of the spreadsheet on the screen.

Or: Jason pointed to a number in the middle of the spreadsheet.

Or even: Jason pointed to a number on the spreadsheet.

Take out empty, filler words like “It was,” “there was,” and “there were”:

Before: There was a long scar just above both eyebrows that gave him a sinister look.

After: A long scar above his eyebrows gave him a sinister look.

Or: A long scar on his forehead gave him a sinister look.

 

Before: I headed down a rickety set of wooden steps to the basement. There was a dim light ahead in the hallway. To the right there were cardboard boxes stacked high. To the left, there was a closed door with a padlock. Suddenly, I heard muffled sounds. There was someone upstairs.

After: I headed down a rickety set of wooden steps to the dimly lit basement. To the right cardboard boxes were stacked high. To the left, I saw a closed door with a padlock. Suddenly, I heard muffled sounds. Someone was upstairs.

I could play around with this some more, but you get the picture.

So, avoid cluttering up sentences and paragraphs with little words and phrases that aren’t needed, and impede the natural flow of ideas:

 

Before: Admiral Paul McLean strode into the room. A four-star admiral who currently was commander of the US Special Operations Command located in Tampa, Florida, McLean directed all the Special Forces throughout the military from the Green Berets to the Navy SEALs.

After: Admiral Paul McLean strode into the room. A four-star admiral and commander of US Special Operations in Tampa, McLean directed all the Special Forces, from the Green Berets to the Navy SEALs.

 

Finally, an example from Sol Stein:

Before: There is nothing I would like better than to meet an interesting person who could become a new friend.

After: I would like to meet an interesting new friend.

 

In Part II, we’ll examine more ways of streamlining your language to make your message more compelling, like cutting way back on adverbs, reducing the number of adjectives, avoiding repetitions of words, synonyms, and ideas, and cutting paragraphs and even scenes that don’t add anything or drive your story forward.

Copyright © Jodie Renner, April 2012

Resource:
Sol Stein, Stein on Writing

Also, see Jodie's article, "Clear, Concise, Powerful Nonfiction Writing."

 

Jodie Renner is a freelance fiction editor and the award-winning author of three craft-of-writing guides in her series An Editor’s Guide to Writing Compelling Fiction: Captivate Your Readers, Fire up Your Fiction, and Writing a Killer Thriller, as well as two clickable time-saving e-resources, Quick Clicks: Spelling List and Quick Clicks: Word Usage. She has also organized two anthologies for charity, incl. Childhood Regained – Stories of Hope for Asian Child Workers. You can find Jodie at www.JodieRenner.com, www.JodieRennerEditing.com, her blog, http://jodierennerediting.blogspot.com/, and on Facebook and Twitter. 

Talking About Money in Public

by L.J. Sellers, author of provocative mysteries & thrillers
Recently Kindle Review, a blog that tracks indie authors’ Amazon sales, posted its list of the top 50 indie authors for 2011. I was surprised and pleased to be listed at #11. I never reported my sales to them. In fact, I don’t know my actual sales numbers for last year because I’ve never taken the time to add them up. The blog contacted me again near the end of March and asked for my numbers for the month. I wasn’t sure how to respond.

It makes me uncomfortable to give exact sales numbers in public—for a lot of reasons. Despite my openness in most other regards, I’ve never been comfortable discussing my salary with anyone other than my husband. I think it’s mostly out of concern for the feelings of others who might be financially struggling. The information might also give people a false idea of my lifestyle. Without knowing a person’s expenses and responsibilities, how can you know what their income means?

This is more of an issue with ebooks because the royalty rates are public and simple to calculate. I worry that people will do the math wrong and think: 10,000 books at $2 each, that’s twenty grand. They have no idea how many of the books sold at $.99 for a .35 cent royalty...and how little money that adds up to.

So I didn’t give the blog specific information. Still, they listed me first on their Authors to Watch list and reported my estimated sales. It was a little weird to see that number, and I’m not sure where they got it. But it probably wasn’t difficult, and I know how I would do it (based on rankings and another author’s reported sales).

A lot of authors have called for transparency in reporting sales. Some traditional authors have posted their royalty statements online, and Joe Konrath has been very open about his sales and royalty income. (He must not have poor and needy family members. <grin>)

I’m not sure I’ll ever be comfortable talking about income in public, yet I expect this issue to come up again and again. Amusingly, I have an interview with Amazon this morning for their newsletter, and the person may ask about my numbers. Which is ironic, because the company actually has a better idea than I do.

So what do you think? Writers: Do you report or talk about actual sales numbers (or income) publicly? Readers: Do you think writers should?

Under The Covers

by C.J. West

When I first started publishing books I thought it was really cool that I had complete control over what I wrote and what cover I put on my books. Little did I realize that readers have become accustomed to some very specific things and they expect them when they are looking for a good book. 

I talked a little about Amazon pages and how the formatting really matters. Well, in the last few weeks I’ve been retooling the covers for my Randy Black series and I’m ready to unveil the results. 

Book One: Sin And Vengeance

The old cover has a cartoonish feel to me that suggests there will be fire and maybe some action and suspense, but it gives me the feeling that it’s done in an amateurish way. When I looked at other suspense novels one of the first things that struck me was that the large majority have clear, realistic photographs on their covers.

The New cover is a little sexier in my view and fits reader expectations for a suspense novel.

For years I felt like a great book was hiding underneath a cover that wasn’t getting attention. The book itself was optioned for film and came very close to the big screen about a year and a half ago, but the deal fell apart due to lack of funding. 

Book Two: A Demon Awaits

The old cover was a marvel of graphics work by my cover artist. She took a real flame and morphed it into a demon. The guy on the cover is me, photographed by my oldest daughter. It was fun to tell people that was me on the cover. I liked this cover, but even though it was created using two photographs it still had a surreal feeling to me that didn't fit a suspense novel.

The new cover is sexier, consistent with the series and still shows the main idea of the book, a man seeking redemption, even as a thumbnail. This picture to me speaks of a man facing his maker in a more concrete way than the fire demon did.

Book Three: Gretchen Greene

The old cover is a scene I really like. The oil refinery sets up the reader for the climax and this is the only cover I was sad to see go. The coloring here is softer than I would like and it doesn't set up as suspenseful for me. It doesn't convey a sense of mystery or danger.

The new cover matches the series well and also shows a scene right out of the book where Randy walks out of a swamp toward a vehicle in dark. This cover says spooky much better than the old one and it is clear that this is a suspense novel.

Only time will tell if these covers help the books sell better and given how little we ever know about marketing, I may never truly know what impact they have. But I feel good about the change and I’m excited for the future of these books.

What do you think about the change and the importance of covers?

I Was Wrong

By Andrew E. Kaufman, author of psychological thrillers

I recently reached the halfway point in my next novel. I sat back, smiled, and drew in a giant breath of relief… 

Then I almost fell out of my chair. Swear to God, if you were there, you would have seen the whites of my eyes. Yes, folks, there was horror: plain, raw, and oh, so very real.

Horror because I came to a shocking realization, that I had to do something I vowed I would never do in one of my books. Not only had I made that vow, but I’d made it with fists pounding, lips pursed in utter defiance, right here on this blog, indelibly written for all of cyberspace to see.

I said would never put a sex scene in one of my novels.

And I quote. On November 8, 2011, I said this:

Sure, a romp in the hay would be good fun and all, but there’s a time and place for everything, and if some killer’s got a bullet with their name on it, they’re not going to be thinking about getting it on; they’re going to be thinking about getting the hell out. Period.

And this:

Besides that, in suspense, pacing is everything, and it seems to me this would only slow things down, and if it doesn’t serve a purpose, isn’t it just gratuitous?

And, of course, there was this:

And then there’s the predictability factor. It’s just too easy.

Ouch.

Little did I know those words would come back to bite me on the ass with the sort of vengeance only an author could dream up, and that I’d be forced to eat every one of them with a fork and spoon.

So here I go. I’m just going to come right out and say it now.

I was wrong.

There, I said it.

It’s not like I want to have sex (in my book). The fact is, during my relatively short career as an author, I’ve managed to avoid it at all costs (Well…there was that one part in my first novel where the two protagonists almost did, but I gently avoided that trap by ending the story just in time). 

However, this time around, there will be no avoidance. My. Characters. Must. Have. Sex. Not only must they have sex, but they must have mad, passionate, crazy-assed sex. Why? Because the plot dictates it, and if they don’t, I’ll lose my credibility as an author (and trust me when I say, if there were a way out of it, I'd so be there).

I’m not going to give away the story, but let’s just say there’s this certain femme fatal. She’s bad news. Real bad. And during the heat of passion, she reveals a deep dark secret about herself. Of course, my protagonist being a typical dude, is too busy enjoying the pleasures of the flesh to pay any attention to it, and it’s only years later that it comes back to haunt him.

 See what I mean?

The fact is I’d do anything to not have to write this scene (have I mentioned that?). I don’t even like to read them. But life does have strange and interesting ways of teaching us things, and this, without a doubt, has to be one of the strangest. And humbling. So when the truth reveals itself, you can do one of two things: you either swallow your pride and try to learn something, or you go the way of fools. Guess which way I’m headed.

So what has Drew learned?

1. I will never say never again (because one day I just might have to).
2. Yes, there is a place for sex in suspense thrillers (he said, rolling his eyes).
3. It’s important to admit when you’re wrong: I was wrong (he muttered, grudgingly).

Now I need to figure out how to write the damned thing.