I have an old, rough, gray woolen blanket that means the world to me. The blanket has been in my family for three generations and can be traced back to a very sad time in my grandfather’s life, during WWII. The wool is harsh. Merciless. As I hold it against my face and feel the roughness, I also feel the history and the love of family.

Most of us have the privilege of feeling. We have the sense of touch as one of our five senses (or six, perhaps, depending on your point of view). I’ve been watching a TV show recently in which a main character is not able to feel. He has a condition called congenital analgesia. Mostly the show focuses on the fact that he can’t feel pain, a clearly dangerous condition. But it also touches on the fact that he can’t feel good things either — the gentle caress of a warm raindrop, the rough edges of a woolen blanket, the warmth and softness of a kiss.

In my writing I focus, like all other writers, on developing three dimensional characters, on creating a setting that is real and vivid to my readers, and crafting a plot that keeps the reader trying to figure out whodunnit. In the process, I make sure that I catch all the senses: the dryness of an over-cooked steak in a cheap diner, the vibrations of a low bass that you feel as much as hear, the scent of a peat fire burning in the grate.

But I realized that the writers I enjoy the most focus even more on feeling; they allow readers to experience a touch from the character’s point of view. The blanket isn’t just rough, it rubs that sore spot that hasn’t quite healed. The rain isn’t just cold, it seeps deep into the bones and creates an ache in the ankle the character twisted when he was a teenager.

Just as a scent is a sure way to bring back a memory, so, too, is a touch. They’re so closely connected. By feeling something the way the character feels it, the reader is provided a glimpse deep into a character’s mind.

My challenge as a writer is to make sure that my readers experience a feeling — a physical feeling, not an emotional feeling — the way my characters do.

Learn more about books by Jane Gorman at janegorman.com or visiting her Amazon page.

Tomorrow I’m off to Bouchercon, my second time going to that fan conference. I attended two years ago when it was held in Long Beach, but I didn’t stay at the hotel and drove back and forth. It’s such a huge gathering—Long Beach attracted 2,000 attendees:  fans and mystery writers—that I was overwhelmed.  I attended only a few panels and kept taking refuge at the Sisters in Crime/LA table where at least I had my back to the wall and knew some people.

This time it’s in New Orleans, and I vowed to be braver. I’m not on any panels, which is disappointing, but I will talk to as many people as I can. There will be a lot of Sisters in Crime/Los Angeles members there, so there will be some friendly faces.

This is the part of writing books that I find the most difficult: publicizing myself and my books. Writers generally are a shy and retiring lot, preferring to be home writing and reading than out talking to groups of people and telling them about their writing processes, the way they create, where they get their ideas—well, you get the picture.

Yet, of course, this is the way the writer—me—becomes known, by meeting people and talking to them and giving them cards and bookmarks, telling them about writing and making friends.  I don’t mean to sound as though I don’t like people. Of course I do, and I have lots of friends. It’s the self-publicizing part that I find difficult.

I often wonder——as do many people, especially publishers— what it is that creates mega best sellers, like THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN. It was a first novel, I believe, and it got good reviews, but so do lots of other books, and they don’t stay on the best seller list forever. It must drive publishers nuts trying to predict what book, of the many they publish, is going to be a huge hit. Did Paula  Hawkins know she’d written a best selling novel?

And what about GONE, GIRL? Gilliam Flynn had written and published several books before that one that sold well, but not like GONE, GIRL. If anyone can predict what will sell and what won’t, they’ve got a million dollar gift. Of course they’d have to do a lot of reading!

I know my fellow Ladies of Mystery work hard at promoting their books, going to libraries and bookstores, author fairs and all kinds of other venues They are good at what they do. I am learning, but it’s a slow and somewhat painful process.  But if I don’t work at publicity, no one besides my closest friends and family will even know about my books.

When I read this over, I realize I’m sounding very negative. Probably because I’m scared about going to Bouchercon, meeting all those writers and fans and trying to make an impression. Wish me luck, guys! I hope I look like this on Sunday.

Looking back over the years, some birthdays really stand out for me. Remember, I’m really old and people didn’t do the expensive parties that they do now, nor were there places to buy decorations, party favors and games..

The first one I can remember was when I was about five and my mother planned a fairy princess party. I don’t remember too much about it, except that all the little girls that came got crowns, and I had a big one, plus a wand.  My auntie made all the favors.

Around the my tenth birthday or so, my mother planned a luncheon party with a Mexican theme. My two girls cousins and my best school friends came to that one.

When I was in junior high, the celebration was held in Chinatown in downtown L.A. and we traveled on the streetcar to get there. There were others, of course, but those are the ones that stand out in my memory.

I’ve had lots and lots of celebrations as an adult because I’ve been around a long time.

This is also the month my first child was born–and I lived 3000 miles away from my family. (Remember this was a long, long time ago.) My husband was in the Navy in Virginia and had the duty the weekend that I gave birth–and I lived in Maryland. Hubby arrived to see his daughter the next day. Looking back, I knew nothing about raising a baby. I had a Good Housekeeping baby book, and did everything it said to do.

This is the month my first child got married too–being a poor Navy family, we made all the bridesmaids’ dresses, daughter made her wedding dress, I did all the flowers using the neighbors’ daisies and a rosebud lapel pin for the groom, a neighbor made the wedding cake and I cooked all the food for the reception. (It all turned out great.)

August is also the month that my Deputy Tempe Crabtree mysteries come out–and yes, the new one is now available on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Seldom-Traveled-Tempe-Crabtree-Mystery/dp/1594264333/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1471655178&sr=1-1&keywords=seldom+traveled+by+marilyn+meredith

As you can see August is an important month for me, full of memories and exciting things ahead.

Marilyn