The Challenge of Romance

~ dzchurch ~ 3 Comments

First, I write mysteries and thrillers, not romances. So, although romance plays a part in my thrillers, they are, in fact, not romantic thrillers. One features three suitors, all a bit shady. Another antagonist is a teen, now a man, sent to war for another teen’s death. And finally, the only man who can save the heroine just happens to have killed her parents. Indeed, a motley crew. As for the heroine of each. One discovers she isn’t who she thought she was. One seeks closure for her teen brother’s death. And one holds a patent that can change the world. Come on! Mix the guys with the gals, and you have a veritable hotbed for romance. How does it all turn out? The best answer I can give without issuing huge spoiler alerts is to read Perfidia, Booth Island, and Saving Calypso.

Favorite first meet lines from each:

Saving Calypso. “Last time I saw those shoulders, the owner stumbled drunk out of the car he used to kill my mother?” she snarled. “Turn and face me, Washburn. Just do it!”  

Booth Island. Sturdevant’s eyes roved over my shirt and down my shorts to my sandals. Meanwhile, I studied the jagged scar over his left eye that continued into his hairline. It was new since he was cuffed and taken into custody, as were the glasses he now wore.

What if there is more than one suitor? Here’s a first meet with one of the three scoundrels in Perfidia: Feron grabbed my hand. I was pretty sure I hadn’t accepted, but here I was, walking behind him as though his arm was a leash. The minute we gained the dance floor, he rolled me into his arms, one hand on the small of my back, the other holding my right hand. At the first step, I knew I was in trouble.  

The thing is, we all view romance through our own lenses. Oh, there are tropes we’ve come to know or are trained to expect, and even write. The meet cute. The sudden crisis or romantic misunderstanding. The happily ever after despite the odds ending. It’s what goes on between the tropes that matters, and further, isn’t it nice when the trope is just a wee bit off? I think no one truly likes the ongoing theme of a couple who never quite get together despite a heap of sexual tension. The one where something tears them apart, only to find them redefining their relationship endlessly across book after book after book. Move on, already!

I do love it when an ageless romance is sorted out over the course of the series, and the parties begin a life and partnership together. For instance, I’ve always admired how Elizabeth Peters handled Amelia Peabody and Radcliffe Emerson. Their admiration and love grow across tales seasoned by the spice of each partner’s oddities. It’s great stuff. And hard to accomplish and to maintain, especially in a series where each book provides a new challenge for the protagonist. A romance may not always fit in the telling. Partners can, in fact, get in the way. And readers’ expectations can be dashed. As in, I wanted him to win her heart, what happened, where is he?

Maintaining and growing relationships in historical novels or mysteries can be especially challenging. The norms were different way back when, when rules of comportment reigned. No wild parties but a few telling waltzes. A gesture. Standing close but not too close. The dance of language. It takes a deft touch to get it perfect, flirtatious enough but in keeping with the times. And, of course, retaining the mores as the relationship heats up. Come to think of it, maybe that’s the fun of it.

In the Wanee Mysteries, Cora Countryman has two suitors, Sebastian Kanady and Dr. Philip Shaw, despite her clearly and oft-stated intent to devote herself to a life of mystery, learning and adventure. Most in town refer to her suitors as her Mr. Kanady or her Doctor Shaw. In all instances, she responds, he is not my Mr. Kanady or he is not my Dr. Shaw. But … something is going on:

Unbecoming a Lady:

“Cora, please, if your inquiries are pursuing either your mother’s disappearance or Michael Thomas’s head-bashing, stop now. It is unbecoming a lady.”

“Is that what you think of me?”

“That you are a lady? Are you not?”

Grabbing her button and package, Cora twirled out the door, confused by the look on Mr. Kanady’s expressive face.

A Confluence of Enemies:

“And you? I do like the way you have your hair this evening. Not quite up, though, is it?”

“Do you spend your days fixing on things you can say to annoy me?”

“Generally,” he grinned, his broad masculine mouth higher on the right, highlighting a thin scar on his upper lip. “Sometimes, I just imagine kissing you.” 

One Horse Too Many: Cora touched Kanady’s hat. His blue-blue eyes followed the movement of her hand as she ran her index finger lightly around the band.  

Oh, my!

Of Waterworks and Sin, Cora’s newest adventure:

“Easily. Everyone in this town tells you everything. And you have a fierce nose for trouble. It will be like braiding that hair of yours, which you can do with your eyes shut.”

“You have been gawking up at my bedroom window again?’

He grinned. “Like a moonstruck puppy.”

“You would flatter me and say anything to get me to take on your newspaper while you are out endangering your life. Do not lie.”

And so it goes for Cora and Kanady. The most challenging bit of all is maintaining just the right tone. Cora and Kanady are light with each other. But their affection is always apparent and muted by Cora’s desire for a life without the weight of marriage or children. Despite being obstacles to her greatest wish, Kanady and her other suitor, Dr. Shaw, compete for her. Is there a way forward? I hope you’ll enjoy finding out. Ah — to romance amid thrills, mayhem, and murder.

Find out more about me at https://dzchurch.com and sign up for my newsletter.

See me at the NorCal Sisters in Crime Spring Showcase on May 18 at Book Passage in Corte Madera, CA. Here is a link if you’d like more information: https://www.bookpassage.com/event/norcal-sisters-crime-spring-showcase-event-2025-corte-madera-store

Entitled 2: Giving your book a title to remember

~ donaleeMoulton ~ 4 Comments

Last month we talked about giving your story a title. Unlike article titles, book titles are usually the domain of the writer.

This may be because the writer has a closer connection to the topic, the editor wants the writer to do the work, or the writer and editor see it as the author’s prerogative. But just because the book writer usually develops the title doesn’t mean the editor will accept it. They will tell you if they don’t like it, and why. They will tell you if it won’t work, and why.Let’s look at what constitutes – usually – a good book title, and then I will use my first book as an example.

Because book titles are one of the first things a potential reader sees, they need to hook that reader. It’s recommended the title give away a little something about the plot and the nature of your book. Is it going to be action-packed, romantic, whimsical?

Here are the three main ingredients in a strong title:

Ingredient#1

LENGTH. 
Shorter is better. Shorter tends to be more memorable, more powerful. Some experts advocate for the one-word title, but one-word titles are more limiting for search engines. Fewer examples are found. The recommendation: three or four words.

Ingredient #2

IMPACT.  
The title should draw the reader in because it is evocative; it speaks to what lies within the pages of the book. It sets the stage for what they can expect.

Ingredient #3

UNIQUENESS.
Titles that we can remember, titles that stand out from the crowd are winners. This may be a play on words, a pun, a jab, a literary reference, a phrase that speaks to mind, heart and spirit.

In short, titles are essential to the sale of a book. And they are not easy. Let’s look at one title I’m very familiar with.

My first book is Hung Out to Die. It’s a murder mystery. The main character is CEO of a cannabis-production company in Elmsdale, Nova Scotia. As I was writing this book, a funny aside started to take place involving a word the main character had never heard before: Chunderfuck. In my mind, that became the title of the book with asterisks replacing two of the letters in the last syllable. I then built on this concept. Future books would have similar fun but profane titles: Numb Nuts, Dick Wad…. You get the idea.

book cover from Hung Out To Die

It was not meant to be. As I was starting to shop around my book, I realized the title might lead agents and publishers to conclude the book would be darker, edgier, grittier than it is. Indeed, it’s actually funny. I also didn’t want to turn off publishers before they even read the book. I went with a working title instead: So, A psychopath walked into a bar. In my mind, the book would still be called Chunderf**k, an issue I would raise with my publisher as soon as I had one. Which I (with gratitude) did. My publisher, BWL Publishing, was more than open to changing the title. But not to Chunderf**k – and not for the reason you might think. Search engines don’t pick up asterisks.

Dammit.

So the book became Hung Out to Die. It’s a play on words, drying plants is linked to cannabis, and the victim dies by hanging. It’s short, it’s got some oomph, but let’s face it. It’s no Chunderf**k.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on titles. And asterisks.

Guest Blogger ~ C.B. Wilson

~ patyjag ~ 1 Comment

The Land of Aloha

By C.B. Wilson

Aloha! From savoring high tea at the Moana Surf to relaxing on Turtle Beach near Haleiwa, Hawaii has always been my happy place. In fact, I am lucky to admit that my family lives on Oahu and I do get to “go home to Hawaii” for the holidays.

The island’s concept of Ohana (meaning family) inspired my newest novel, Puppied to Death. In this ninth installment of the Barkview Mysteries, protagonist Cat Wright Hawl travels from Barkview, America’s dog-friendliest city, to Hawaii. There, she must protect her half-sister from a murderer while reconciling with her late father’s absence and navigating her complex relationship with her mother. Oh, and as the title suggests, there are puppies!

No Hawaiian adventure is complete without immersing oneself in the island’s distinctive culture. When the mystery’s clues revolve around a traditional Chinese Mahjong game, Cat finds herself depending on the dubious detective abilities of the Miss Marple Mahjong Mamas and their distinctive perspective on Chinese immigration. (Take a peek at the below clue. Can you solve the puzzle?)

Yes, I do play Mahjong. Creating the clues required a deep dive into Mahjong’s history and the true meaning of the tiles. I have a new appreciation for winds and dragons.

When I wrote Puppied to Death, I wanted the story to be more than a fun visit to Hawaii. My consultations with Chinatown’s TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) practitioners gave me a wonderful insight into the value of lā’au lapa’au (herbal remedies) that I use today. A word of advice when meeting the practitioner for the first time: don’t ask them what Hawaiian plants can kill someone. I swear a Chinatown police officer followed me the entire day.

I also spent time at the Hamilton Library located at the University of Hawaii Manoa. The information in the China Collection is fantastic. It has inspired me to write another Chinese history-based novel. (More to come on that.) While digging through immigration documents and diaries, I learned that the challenges faced by early 20th-century female immigrants parallelled many struggles of contemporary women raising children, genuinely adding a timelessness to Cat’s underlying problem and the conflict between her and the all-knowing Chinese matriarch in the story. 

When a tea sommelier is found murdered, an ancient Chinese secret dating back to the Qiang Dynasty falls under threat, and a French Bulldog, a Beagle, and a cat hold the answer to the mystery; only one intrepid sleuth has the ability to cut through the confusion and capture the true culprit.

I hope you enjoy your island journey. For those returning, prepare for a nostalgic trip to your beloved landmarks across Waikiki, Chinatown, and the North Shore. For first-time visitors, a heartfelt Aloha e komo mai—welcome to paradise.

A Murder, an Ancient Secret, and a Puppy You Can’t Help but Love

A desperate call from her sister sends investigative reporter Cat Hawl on a rescue mission to Hawaii. But when she arrives, it’s more than she bargained for. Not only is a tea sommelier found dead, but a mischievous puppy has turned the crime scene into a dog’s breakfast. And to top it off, Cat’s sister, Lani, has gone missing. Is she a witness or on the run?

Join Cat on her quirky, whirlwind adventure, where a trail of tea leaves leads her through a mystery that’s as puzzling as a puppy’s antics. Cozy mystery lovers will find themselves charmed and intrigued at every twist and turn!

Universal link: https://mybook.to/PuppiedtoDeath

Award-winning author C.B. Wilson’s love of writing was spurred by an early childhood encounter with a Nancy Drew book where she wrote what she felt was a better ending.

An animal lover, the Barkview Mysteries combine C. B.’s love of mysteries and dogs. The current 10 book series follows Cat Wright, a feline-loving, former investigative reporter’s, journey to find the right dog for her. C.B.’s motivation to grow this popular series is a result of her belief that every animal deserves a forever home. You will likely find adoptable dogs at her appearances.

Join C.B. in Barkview and help Cat decide if there is a perfect dog for our resident cat lover. 

Social Media:

https://www.facebook.com/cbwilsonauthor

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/137800079

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/c-b-wilson

Instagram: www.instagram.com@cbwilsonauthor

Linktree. https://linktr.ee/cbwilsonauthor

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1HfOVqN7aBccTW70_wlL0w

tikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@author.cb.wilson

Spring Cleaning

~ lanamfox ~ 4 Comments

If it’s true that a messy desk is the sign of a creative mind, then I’m creative! My poor desk looks like a bomb went off. As I sit here looking at it, I see four big mugs full of pens, three bouquets of fake flowers, signs, stacks of birthday cards, stacks of printouts of the book I’m currently writing, notebooks, books…you get the idea!

I’ve gotten into the bad habit of leaving my laptop on the dining room table and writing there. That wouldn’t be so bad if I didn’t have a perfectly good office downstairs, but I do. It’s just that it’s messy.

Part of the problem is my office is a long slender room. Half is devoted to writing and half to sewing, when I sew, which isn’t often because I’d rather write. But I don’t want to give up my sewing space. And if you sew, or live with someone who does, you know that sewing machines and cutting boards and fabric and patterns and batting and more fabric and unfinished projects…take up a lot of room.

So, I write upstairs in the dining room, and everything gets thrown onto my desk downstairs until I find time to go through it, which isn’t as often as I should.

Not only do I have notebooks and pens and staplers and timers and more notebooks and…stuff on my desk, behind me are boxes of my books and all of the things I need to take with me when I do an author event. Boxes of pens, my tablecloth, my runner and large pictures of my book covers and five boxes of books…all things I need and have nowhere to store because whoever bult this house didn’t put in enough closets or storage space!

I know it’s time to reorganize my space. Every time I do, I hope that with the clutter cleaned up I will be more productive. Do I really need seven copies of each book in manuscript form? Plus, other manuscripts that have never and will never see the light of day?

Why do I hoard, yes, I know that’s a dirty word, but why do I hoard pens and notebooks? I love them and buy tons of them. I’m always on the search for the perfect pen and continually go back to my old standby, my blue Bic pen. Don’t judge! It makes my handwriting look better.

Years ago, when we used this office for our business, my son went through and got rid of a bunch of pens. I almost had a melt down! (He hasn’t offered to do that again!) I think it’s time to ask him to intervene though. NO ONE NEEDS THIS MANY PENS!

A few years ago, our basement flooded. We had to take everything out and I decided it was a good time to get rid of a few things. I donated a lot of books to the library and threw away a lot of notebooks and stuff that had accumulated, but I need to do it again. (Not flooding the office, that wasn’t fun. But I need to do a thorough purge of my space.)

In case you’re wondering, I do keep our living space neat. My office has become the dumping ground for all my stuff.

It’s spring. Every spring I feel the need to clean and purge. Just not today. I’m nearing the end of writing my current book. I don’t want to take time off and clean until it’s finished. I’ll just have to put the purge on hold until I finish the book. Maybe the thought of a clean office will spur me on, and I’ll finish the book faster. One can always hope.

What about you? Do you save things you don’t need? Do you like to work in a clean office, or like me, is your desk messy most of the time? Let me know in the comments below. I promise I won’t hate you if you’re a neat freak! I’ll just be envious and try to force myself to finish my WIP and then I’ll clean this office!

Chameleon

~ patyjag ~ 4 Comments

As an author, there are days I feel like a chameleon. I have to change my thoughts, my energy, and there are times it feels like my skin.

Because I’m a self-published or Indie author- I have many job descriptions.

  • Writing – The one I love and wish I could do and not worry about any of the others.
  • Editing – One that takes a different side of my brain but makes my work better.
  • Formatting – Making my story into formats for ebook and print books.
  • Producer – Getting the manuscript and pronunciations to my narrators and getting all of that set up to be produced. Then listening to the chapters to make sure the narrators didn’t miss words or used the right emotion.
  • Promoter – Finding the places that will best showcase my books and getting them out to these places as well as looking for authors who write the same type of story to try and do newsletter swaps, Oh and there’s the newsletter that needs to be written. Also making memes, (which I try to get a PA to do as much as possible.)
  • Marketing – Different bubble than promoting. Here I am figuring out what other books in my genre look like, looking for the best advertising for the book and the least amount of out-of-pocket.
  • Sending my stories to Beta Readers and Critique Partners to get feedback on the story and what I can tighten or make different to make it a better story.
  • Uploading – When the book is ready in ebook format, I upload to the various ebook vendors and aggregators. I also upload the print formats to Ingram Sparks. And I upload the audiobook to Findaway Voices/Spotify, Kobo, and Bookfunnel. I also upload the ebooks to Bookfunnel so I can add them to my website store.
  • Website store- While I enjoy having a place where readers can purchase my books directly from me with a bit of a discount to the other vendors, I made myself more work when each book comes out. But that’s okay. I want my readers to start purchasing direct. I like having the one-on-one interaction with them.

For each of these tasks there is a different mindset and there are days I can’t get up the energy to tackle some of them. I always have the energy and drive to write, but many of the other tasks, I drag my feet and reluctantly peel off my writing colors and daunt the dingy, grubby colors of making my brain work in a way, it isn’t accustom to do.

While my brain is constantly coming up with story ideas and working through the next scene or character encounter in my work in progress and the next book brewing in my head, it doesn’t like to switch over to the mundane side of being an author.

There are days I think I should just write for fun and not bother with selling it. But then I think of all the hours and years I’ve spent honing my craft, and know I need to make it a paying endeavor. Not to mention, I would have angry readers if I stopped putting out new books. I love that so many people let me know they enjoy my mysteries. They, the readers, are what keep me shedding my writing colors and doing the jobs necessary to get a book published.

Readers, you keep me writing and sharing! And makes my skin burst with bright, happy colors!

If you want to check out my books you can find them at https://www.patyjager.net