photo of Rosemary Beach Florida Gulf Coast

Research Adventures: Starting a New Series

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by Sparkle Abbey

photo of Rosemary Beach Florida Gulf CoastHow is it that February is already in the books? 2023 is moving right along and we shared last month that we kicked off the new year by beginning to write a new mystery series. We also shared that the new series is not set in California like our Pampered Pets books, but since we both love the beach, we’re hanging onto the beachy theme.

And that’s where this research adventure begins…

After attending the NINC (Novelists, Inc.) conference in St. Pete last September we decided to research some Gulf Coast retirement communities as that is where we planned to set the new series. We’d already had great fun fleshing out characters, coming up with titles, and plotting murders on the drive down. (Side note: From Des Moines, IA to St. Pete Beach, FL is 1,380 miles or about 21 hours. A few more hours if you take time to track down a fabulous lobster food truck in Nashville, but that’s a story for a different day.)

We’d researched several possibilities that based on their online descriptions seemed to match what we had in mind. For the drive back we’d planned to visit our top four or five and check out some details. Now the books will be set in a fictional 55+ community but we’ve found we really need to have a feel for our setting as it plays such a strong role in a story – especially in mysteries.

  • Stop 1 – Too fancy and almost hotel like. Not the right vibe.
  • Stop 2 – More reasonable but surrounded by a residential neighborhood. Not the close-knit community feel we were looking for.
  • Stop 3 – Almost there. Nice community feel, but no people out and about doing things.
  • Stop 4 – Bingo. There it was. A great gated 55+ village with a community center, indoor pool, golf, shuffleboard, walking trails. There were people out walking their pets and a wonderful friendly feel as the walkers waved at us. And there were plenty of places to hide a dead body. A very important detail.

Success! We found our fictional Shady Palms and were able to take some photos, research details, pick up some materials on the floor plans, download the layout of the neighborhoods, learn the flora and fawn, and so much more.  Feeling good that our mission was accomplished we decided to backtrack and have lunch at a Greek restaurant we’d passed a few miles back. What a great choice. (Well, it wasn’t a lobster food truck but it looked promising and also seemed very busy which is always a good sign, right?) It was amazing. We highly recommend Mr. Souvlaki’s. If you ever get the chance to dine there, you are in for a treat. And no matter how full you are, you must finish up with the Loukoumades – fluffy clouds of pastry with honey & cinnamon. They are to die for! Definitely worth a thousand-mile road trip and we’re trying to figure out if we use them in the books if they can be considered a tax write off. All in the name of research, of course.Poster for Heavenly Puffs

At this point, we’re feeling great, though a bit overstuffed. It’s time to head north and so we leave the more scenic itinerary and move to Interstate travel. But first we need to stop for gas so we can get back on schedule and make some time. Our first stop was a Starbucks (big surprise) with a nice gas station nearby. But wait, they are out of gas.

But what’s an adventure without a little conflict?

Oh, did we mention that there was a hurricane by the name of Ian bearing down on the Gulf Coast? No problem, we’ll navigate to the next nearest option. It’s not far. But all the pumps are bagged. You guessed it – out of gas! It took three more stops and finally following a fuel truck back to our first gas station, but we finally got a full tank of gas and we were back on the road. Heading north and praying for everyone in the path of the hurricane.

We are continuing to research and build the story lines as we work on this new series. We’re loving the new characters who continue to evolve and make us laugh. We hope our reader enjoy the fictional Shady Palms and the new stories as much as we’re enjoying writing them!

If you’d like to keep in touch with us and get updates about the new series, please sign up for our newsletter here: SparkleAbbey.com

Sparkle Abbey is actually two people: Mary Lee Ashford and Anita Carter, who write the national best-selling Pampered Pets cozy mysteries series. They are friends as well as neighbors so they often get together and plot ways to commit murder. (But don’t tell the other neighbors.)

The love to hear from readers and can be found on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, their favorite social media sites. You can also follow them on BookBub to be notified when there are special offers.  Currently Downton Tabby is a featured deal at 99 cents in all ebook formats.

book cover for Downton TabbyIn Downton Tabby, Caro Lamont, amateur sleuth and well-respected animal therapist to Laguna Beach’s pampered pets, works with office mate and tech wizard, Graham Cash, whose beloved Scottish Fold tabby cat, Toria, is purported to have anger management issues. But when Caro drops by the charming Brit’s Tudor-inspired mansion to return Toria, she finds his business partner dead and Cash missing.

Caro is left with the cuddly cat and a lot of unanswered questions. Is Cash the killer, or has he been kidnapped? What’s up with the angry next door neighbor? And what about Cash’s girlfriend, Heidi, who isn’t sharing everything she knows with homicide detective Judd Malone?

Suddenly there are more secrets and intrigues than there are titles in England. Add in a stranger in a dark SUV stalking Caro, feisty senior sidekick, Betty, hiding in restaurant shrubbery, and wannabe investigative reporter Callum MacAvoy who seems to be constantly underfoot, and you’ve got a cat and mouse mystery of the first order.

Clicking Our Heels – Our Favorite Foods and What They Say About Us?

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This month, on Clicking Our Heels…

The Stiletto Gang is reflecting on our favorite foods and what we think they say about us. 

 Donnell Ann Bell – I love food of all kinds. I love Mexican food, chicken enchiladas, chili rellenos. Then the next day I might prepare a spinach salad, with walnut, mushroom, pears, and feta cheese. I guess I enjoy variety. As someone who isn’t a fan of change, you can’t tell it from my monthly menu. 🙂

Dru Ann Love – Baked Ziti – love the aroma of cheese with pasta sauce that makes the place feel warm and comfortable.

Robin Hillyer-Miles – Watermelon. I love everything about watermelon. I craved it when I was pregnant. I love it fresh, in drinks, and pickled. I don’t know what this says about me except that I like simple and fresh things.

Saralyn Richard – Raspberries. I’m sure the gods on Mount Olympus eat the luscious red globes. Favoring them makes me a health-conscious herbivore with a bit of a sweet tooth.

Gay Yellen – Depending on my mood, I’ve been known to crave pasta or sushi or hamburger, pizza, pho, tamales, watermelon… I like food in any flavor.

Kathryn Lane – Homemade guacamole! Brings great memories from my childhood so I guess it shows how sentimental I am.

Lois Winston – Right now, I’d just about kill for nova and cream cheese on an everything bagel. What does that say about me? It says I wish I were back in the NY metro area. You can’t get a decent bagel in Nashville, let alone freshly sliced nova!

Lynn McPherson – My favorite food is macaroni and cheese, with fresh jalapeño. I love all things comfy and cozy, but like to spice things up from time to time.

T.K. Thorne – Chicken tetrazzini the way my mother made it. It has all the sins—loads of butter, cream, cheese, noodles… Sigh.  It was a comfort food that she made because she knew it was my favorite. So it had love in it, too.

Bethany Maines – It’s interesting that I can instantly come up with a list of least favorite (mushrooms, and cake, I’m looking at you), but I’m having to ponder a favorites list quite hard. I think I’ll have to go with crepes. My mom spent a portion of her youth in France and would periodically make them for us on Saturday mornings (when Dad wasn’t making pancakes). What does that say about me? It probably says I have parents who love me and we all like delicious bready products slathered in sugar?

Anita Carter – I have too many favorites to pick just one. I love ramen, tacos, pasta, gyro, Greek salad, a good Cuban sandwich, French toast, and a veggie omelet. Oh! Lately, I’ve been eating a lot of shrimp and chicken stir fry! Okay, now I’m hungry!! What does this say about me???? I like food! LOL

Shari Randall/Meri Allen –  have way too many favorite foods! If I narrow it down, I’d say summer picnic foods – grilled hot dogs, fresh lemonade, and strawberry shortcake would be on the menu. What does it say about me? My husband and I joke about this all the time. I’m a cheap date.

Mary Lee Ashford – My absolute favorite food? That’s like my favorite song or favorite movie – it depends on the genre. I love cheese. All different sorts of cheese. Soft, hard, semi-soft. Alone, on veggies, in casseroles. My favorite cheese is Halloumi which is a Cypriot cheese made with goat and sheep milk and if you fry it in a pan with a little bit of olive oil, it is perfection! So, there’s cheese. But then there’s also chocolate… dark chocolate, milk chocolate, brownies, chocolate cake chocolate mousse. I don’t think I’ve ever met a chocolate I didn’t like.

Barb Eikmeier – Pasta. Maybe it says I never met a noodle I didn’t like.

Linda Rodriguez – I’m never good at this question. I like so many different kinds of food from so many different cuisines, and it’s hard to weigh them up on a scale against each other. Thai panang curry, British scones with lemon curd and clotted cream, Mexican sopes or pozole (Mexican cuisine is so large and various that I can’t even have one favorite food there), Kansas City BBQ (in particular, burnt ends), Japanese teriyaki, true Southern biscuits and gravy, the list goes on and on.

Debra H. Goldstein – Pizza with either a thin crust and lots of cheese or pineapple and ham. There was a time that I preferred anchovies and black olives, but no one in the family would share with me. The change in my choice reflects my willingness to negotiate and let the little things slide.

We’re curious if you agree and what you think your favorite foods say about you?

 

Scams, Spams & Caveat Emptor!

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Two years ago, when we moved from New Jersey to Tennessee, my husband and I cut the landline cord. We’d only kept our landline for as long as we had because cell service in our NJ home was spotty at best. If I had to guess, I’d say that at least 75% of the calls that came in on the landline were from spammers and scammers. Now, instead of receiving at least half a dozen spam and scam calls a day, I receive one or less a week.

I never answer the phone unless I recognize the caller’s name or number. Most spammers don’t leave a message because the calls are robocalls made by bots. Answering the phone alerts the call center that the bots have struck gold and they’ve got a live person on the line. If you’ve ever answered one of these calls, you’ll notice a short pause between saying, “Hello” and someone on the other end responding. That’s the time it takes for the system to switch over to a live operator.

Scammers, on the other hand, are usually people, not bots. If you don’t answer, they’ll leave a message, often an intimidating one that threaten you with criminal action if you don’t return their call because you either owe money to the IRS or are a wanted felon. Once you return the call, you’re told they can make the problem go away by paying a fine—in the form of a gift card. Amazingly, too many people fall for this.

A few weeks ago, I received an unusual scam call. Three calls came in within a few seconds, all from the same number, supposedly originating in New York. I didn’t answer, but the caller left a message between the second and third calls. In a very thick Indian or Pakistani accent, he said he was trying to reach Lois Winston, author of Guilty as Framed, because he wanted to invite her to a book festival his company was putting together in a few months in Los Angeles. If I was that Lois Winston, I should call him back as soon as possible for more information.

In the background, I heard lots of chatter. The caller was obviously calling from a call center, and I seriously doubt the call came from New York, no matter what the display on my phone read. New York City real estate is too pricey for call center operators.

I’ve known many authors who have been ripped off by unscrupulous people out to make a buck off them. I have no doubt this was just another scam in a long line of scams that have preyed on authors and would-be authors over the decades.

Back in my early days of writing, before I sold my first book, I even fell for a scam. I had queried a literary agency about my manuscript and received back a response stating that they were interested in seeing the first three chapters. Within days of sending the chapters, I received a note saying my manuscript needed polishing, and if I paid fifty dollars, they’d provide me with a professional critique of the pages I’d sent. If I followed their instructions from the critique, they’d consider representing me.

What I got back were two or three penciled comments, all of a personal nature and having nothing to do with my plot, characters, or writing prowess. One of the comments I remember was, “I knew a person like this.” I later learned I wasn’t the only person to fall for this scam. It was a family operation, and some of the members wound up serving prison sentences.

Unfortunately, scammers have become much more sophisticated since the onset of the Internet and social media, and many of them operate overseas, out of the reach of US law enforcement. Caveat emptor is a Latin phrase that means “buyer beware.” There’s also a saying in English: “If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.”

I have no idea how the book fair scammers planned to relieve me of my hard-earned dollars, and I wasn’t going to return the call to find out. But I’m sure they had a script filled with carrots to dangle in front of me. And unfortunately, there are probably some authors out there who are at this moment falling for their scam. In the age of spam, scams, fake news, and now ChatGPT, more than ever it pays to be skeptical. Caveat emptor!

What about you? Have you ever fallen for a scam or know someone who has? This month I’m giving away several promo codes for a free download of the audiobook version of Revenge of the Crafty Corpse, the third book in my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series. Post a comment for a chance to win.

~*~

USA Today and Amazon bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction under her own name and her Emma Carlyle pen name. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is a former literary agent and an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry. Learn more about Lois and her books at her website www.loiswinston.com where you can also sign up for her newsletter and follow her on various social media sites.

Fences
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by Saralyn Richard

 

Do good fences make good neighbors? In the past few months, I’ve gained new neighbors on either side of my house. There’s a brand-spanking-new fence between my yard and that of the neighbor to the north. There’s no fence between my yard and that of the neighbor to the south. I love both sets of neighbors. We’ve shared lots of visits in our front yards, several barbecues and parties, baked goods, pets, children, home improvement advice, and more. They may be pine, and I, apple orchard, but I enjoy spending time with them and being part of their community.

Robert Frost’s MENDING WALL is one of my favorite poems. His last line is the source for my opening question. I find a lot of wisdom in this poem:

Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,

That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,

And spills the upper boulders in the sun;

And makes gaps even two can pass abreast.

The work of hunters is another thing:

I have come after them and made repair

Where they have left not one stone on a stone,

But they would have the rabbit out of hiding,

To please the yelping dogs. The gaps I mean,

No one has seen them made or heard them made,

But at spring mending-time we find them there.

I let my neighbor know beyond the hill;

And on a day we meet to walk the line

And set the wall between us once again.

We keep the wall between us as we go.

To each the boulders that have fallen to each.

And some are loaves and some so nearly balls

We have to use a spell to make them balance:

‘Stay where you are until our backs are turned!’

We wear our fingers rough with handling them.

Oh, just another kind of out-door game,

One on a side. It comes to little more:

There where it is we do not need the wall:

He is all pine and I am apple orchard.

My apple trees will never get across

And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him.

He only says, ‘Good fences make good neighbors.’

The same analogy applies to my relationships with fellow authors in The Stiletto Gang. I may be police procedural and they cozy writers, but we have much in common, and we can help each other every time we meet to walk the line and re-build the wall (which might just be the website). I’m grateful for my neighbors, my Stiletto Gang colleagues, and everyone who reads this post. May all your walls be mended, and may all your neighbors be good.

Galveston Author Saralyn Richard

Award-winning author and educator, Saralyn Richard writes about people in settings as diverse as elite country manor houses and disadvantaged urban high schools. She loves beaches, reading, sheepdogs, the arts, libraries, parties, nature, cooking, and connecting with readers.

Visit Saralyn and subscribe to her monthly newsletter here, or on her Amazon page here.

 

The Writer’s Juggling Act When Writing Two Series

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Hey Gang and Stiletto Gang friends, as my wrist is in the final stages of healing, I’ve invited Author Kassandra Lamb to take my spot today. Kassandra is as disciplined as they come. I think you’ll agree when you read the following. See you next month! ~ Donnell

The Writer’s Juggling Act (When Writing Two Series)

by Kassandra Lamb

Author Kassandra Lamb

Some of the most stressful, and most exciting times I’ve encountered as a career author were when I am winding down one series and starting another. This is the second time I’ve done it and I’m a little more organized about it this time. But it is still a writer’s juggling act.

I know a couple of authors who have several series running concurrently. My hats off to them (I’m lookin’ at you, Edith Maxwell 😉 ). I could never keep up the juggling act for that long.

The hardest thing to juggle is the main character’s voice. This past year, I was working on Book 2 of my new series, and also the last two books in my cozy mystery series. The cozies had a fairly young protagonist—in her early thirties at the beginning of the series—who is a bit flip at times, and sometimes downright snarky.

She’s matured a fair amount during the course of the series and is now a first-time mother (late thirties). In the last story (recently released), she is forced to face down evil in her own small town and struggles with how to protect her little family, her friends, and neighbors.

The new series’ protagonist is a tough-as-nails veteran cop. She is thrown off kilter though, when she moves to Florida to take a job as the chief of police of a small city department. She’s mid-forties, no-nonsense, and thought she had a pretty thick wall around her heart.

But she soon discovers several unsettling things. One, she’s lonely in this new place with all her acquaintances—some of whom she is now acknowledging might actually be friends—hundreds of miles away. And two, the learning curve is steep as she struggles to run an entire department, while having two major cases thrust at her in as many months. She’s used to feeling confident about her work, sure of what to do, but now she’s in uncharted territory.

So in the old series, I had Marcia, a soft-hearted, somewhat neurotic and snarky young woman who needed to grow up some. And in the newer one, I have Judith, a mature woman who needs to learn to lighten up some and let people in more readily, and not be so hard on herself when she makes mistakes.

Their voices are very different. But not quite different enough that it was easy to keep them straight. I discovered that the line between Marcia’s snarkiness and Judith’s no-nonsense approach was not always all that clear. I had to rewrite more than one scene to make Marcia a little less no-nonsense, or make Judith a little less snarky.

Part of the juggling act has been the timing, i.e., when should I write/edit which book? Most recently, I was editing and polishing Book 2 of the new series, while finishing the first draft of Book 13 of the old one. I found that if I was editing one in the early part of the day, I really shouldn’t try to write more of the other that afternoon or evening, or vice versa. It was too hard keeping the characters’ personalities and voices separate.

I also had to adjust, back and forth, to very different settings. Marcia lives in a small (fictitious) town, with less than a thousand residents. Some of her family and friends live in other small towns (some fictitious, others real), scattered across the countryside of central Florida. Judith is chief of police of a small (fictitious) city, which borders the much larger (real) city of Jacksonville.

I found I had to stop sometimes and carefully calculate how long it would take people to get from one place to another in these different locales. Plus, small towns and cities have very different vibes.

The exciting part of this juggling act is the fun of writing a new series. Nothing like new characters and new story ideas to get the creative juices flowing. I found that even when I was working on the last book for the cozy series, I was more into the writing process than I had been recently. The words were flowing easier because my muse had been invigorated by the new series.

Now the cozy series is done, and it’s been a bittersweet experience letting go of those characters and their town. But I’m relieved that the juggling act is over, for now, and super excited about writing Book 3 in the new series.

About  Fatal Escape: Two months on the job and barely recovered from a serial killer case, Chief of Police Judith Anderson is called out to the scene of what looks like a suicide—or is it? There’s no ID on the woman, and her abandoned car has been partially wiped clean of fingerprints. Judith’s search for answers leads to a human trafficking ring operating in her city…and the realization that she’s up against more than one ruthless foe, perhaps even someone on her own force. Can Judith stop the traffickers and find a killer…before more lives are destroyed?

Landing page with buy links:

https://misteriopress.com/bookstore/fatal-escape-a-c-o-p-on-the-scene-mystery/

—

Kassandra Lamb

Retired psychotherapist turned mystery writer, lover of all things

chocolate, and author of the Kate Huntington Mysteries and the Marcia Banks & Buddy Cozy Mysteries

Co-founder of misterio press LLC <https://misteriopress.com>  ~ Author

Website <https://kassandralamb.com>

 

Is it Worth it?

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Is it Worth it?    by Debra H. Goldstein

Recently, I lost interest in writing. It wasn’t a matter of writer’s block. Plenty of ideas constantly swirl in my head. Those ideas exist right next to my excuses for not writing. The latter include having two new grandchildren and babysitting requests from their parents, medical issues with my husband, the need to play Wordle or solitaire, the promise to blurb a book which meant the book needed to be read, or the desire to simply read a book for pleasure.

Somehow, the excuses took precedence over putting my ideas on paper (or into the computer). The problem, as I diagnosed it, was a case of periodical motivation. The symptoms were simple: the excuses I already mentioned coupled with an almost non-existent urge to sit still and write.

There were limited bursts of writing energy. In fact, three short pieces will be published in 2023. Unfortunately, the energy dissipated quickly. Instead, there were hours of meditating whether writing was important enough to continue doing it. Did the worth of seeing my words on paper outweigh the isolation and time demands actual writing necessitates?

Frustrated, I started listening to a Master Class. An hour into the course (taught by James Patterson), something clicked. Although he was talking about plot, conflict, research, and other mundane writing topics, his words excited me. They shouldn’t have, but they did. That’s when I realized that writing is still a relevant part of me.

I don’t think I’ll ever be a wake up and write a few thousand words a day person, but I firmly believe that whether it is a letter expressing my beliefs on a topic, a short story, or a novel, I am condemned to spend the rest of my life playing with words. Tell me, if you are an author, have you ever undergone a questioning period of time in your life like this? If you are a reader, have you ever second guessed the path you seem to be following in life and concluded that it is where you are supposed to be (or not)?

 

 

Plotter vs. Pantser

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When is a Plotter a Pantser?

I recently participated in a fun podcast where I debated the old writing argument of whether to plot out a novel in detail or whether or to simply dive in and wing it. I was arguing for the plotter side.  As a former pantser, I can attest to the joy of just flinging oneself into a project, but sooner or later there has to be an actual plot. In general, if you want to write a book, you’re not allowed to spend endless amounts of time hanging out with your imaginary friends and not have anything happen, or only a series of unconnected events.  If you do that, people call you crazy.  If you have a plot, they call you a writer.

But Pantsers Write Books Too!

But somehow pantsers do manage to get books written. Books in which events occur in a coherent manner even. So how do they do it? Well, eventually they find themselves a plot and the meet an editor.  I would argue that most pantser have internalized story structure to the point that they can move forward with a story and know generally what they want to have happen.  Sadness over here.  Shocking twist over there.  Smoochy faces at the end.  The specifics, they fill in as they go. And then an editor comes along and shakes out all the inconsistencies.

So which one is better?

One of the great things about being on a podcast is talking to writers that I wouldn’t ordinarily be able to spend an hour with.  It was lovely to hear some of the reasons for pantsing and I think it becomes quite obvious that all any writer is looking to do is make it easier to write. Some people have to lure their muse with wine and chocolate and some say welcome to my spreadsheet.  The plotters want to contain the chaos so that it doesn’t stress them out and the pantsers want to free themselves from the stress of checklists.  The answer is not which one is better but which one is better for you and even which one is better for your right now.  Finding the answer can mean the difference between proceeding with a project and getting stuck in the hell of writers block.

Listen / watch to the Plotter vs. Pantser Podcast at Hidden Gems.

 

 

 

**

Bethany Maines is the award-winning author of action-adventure and fantasy tales that focus on women who know when to apply lipstick and when to apply a foot to someone’s hind end. She participates in many activities including swearing, karate, art, and yelling at the news. She can usually be found chasing after her daughter, or glued to the computer working on her next novel (or screenplay). You can also catch up with her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and BookBub.

AI Writes Novels?

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Three years ago, I wrote a blog about the probabilities of writers being replaced by artificial intelligence apps that would write faster, better books. I cited an article in The Guardian stating that AI’s capability to write creative, coherent novels was still decades in the future. I slept well after reading that article.

It now appears “decades in the future” is shrinking to basically being around the corner.

This past December, Ammaar Reshi used readily available computer apps to create Alice and Sparkle, a children’s picture book. He has not hit any best seller lists and the book is controversial, especially with graphic designers who feel portions of their work can be plagiarized since the apps use composites of what is online from designers who created the digital art from scratch.

Jennifer Lepp writes paranormal cozy mysteries under the pen name Leanne Leeds. She completes a manuscript in 49 days. “This pace,” she said, “is just on the cusp of being unsustainably slow.”

Recently Lepp was behind schedule, and she turned to Sudowrite¹, an app designed for fiction writers, to complete her novel by her 49-day deadline. She pasted a few paragraphs of her novel into the app, added instructions, and was so amazed by the results, she tweeted exuberantly about the experience.

Lepp quickly learned to steer the AI by outlining a scene, pressing expand, and letting the program do the writing. She edits the output, pastes it back into Sudowrite, and prompts the AI to continue. She is more productive than ever and continues to use the app though she claims to keep it on a short leash.

Obviously, I’m not sleeping well after reading articles on the adaptation of AI for increasing an author’s productivity. We’re not speaking of going from handwritten manuscripts to the typewriter to a Word document. It’s about an assembly line using a word-smithing computer robot.

Call me old-fashioned, but AI enhanced novels are not what I want to read. And I certainly don’t plan to use computer enhancement in my own work.

Yet the technology will continue to improve, and I can envision a time, not too far away, when authors will rely more and more on AI. I can also envision an Orwellian not-too-distant future when robots will develop more creative stories than the writers themselves using these apps. Or AI will write for the AI universe while humans merely clean and dust the abodes of fully conscious robots.

***

¹Amit Gupta and James Yu, developers turned sci-fi authors, designed Sudowrite.

About Kathryn

Kathryn Lane is the award-winning author of the Nikki Garcia Mystery Series.

In her writing, she draws deeply from her experiences growing up in a small town in northern Mexico as well as her work and travel in over ninety countries around the globe during her career in international finance with Johnson & Johnson.

Kathryn and her husband, Bob Hurt, split their time between Texas and the mountains of northern New Mexico where she finds it inspiring to write.

 

Kathryn’s Latest novel:

Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BSHFRD11

Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/Stolen-Diary-Kathryn-Lane/dp/1735463833/

 

 

 

Photo Credits:

Alice and Sparkle – Public Domain

Illuminated manuscript photo by Kathryn Lane

Stolen Diary Book Cover by Tim Barber

Image of book pages

New Loves: Starting a New Series

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By Sparkle Abbey

Happy February! Hard to believe that it’s February already and you know what that means…  It means winter is not quite over and many parts of the US are feeling that intensely. But it also means Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. We’re thinking you probably already knew that due to the bloom of candy and hearts at the grocery store. And every other store, come to think of it.

But what does that have to do with writing? Well, we kicked off 2023 by beginning to write a new mystery series and as we’ve moved forward with the first book, we’ve realized that starting a new series is a lot like the beginning of a new romance.

A new series involves a lot of firsts:

  • Getting to know your character’s likes and dislikes. Favorite restaurant, favorite movies, what do they do in their downtime.
  • Unraveling their backstory bit by bit. What’s their history? Where are they from?
  • The first time your characters meet each other.
  • The first time they disagree. Their first fight.
  • And of course, because it’s a mystery – the first dead body.

And just like in falling in love, you never forget your first love. So, there are a few things that we’re bringing along to the new series:

  • We loved writing two main characters with different points of view and so there are two protagonists in the new series.
  • Of course, there will be pets, though they aren’t the focus of these stories.
  • We both love a beach so while this series isn’t set in California, the new setting does take place near the sea.
  • And there are some characters that we just couldn’t leave behind, so look for a few cameos in the new series.

We are loving this new series and these new characters, and we’re hoping our readers enjoy the new stories as much as we’re enjoying writing them!

If you’d like to keep in touch with us and get updates about the new series, please sign up for our newsletter here: SparkleAbbey.com

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Sparkle Abbey is actually two people: Mary Lee Ashford and Anita Carter, who write the national best-selling Pampered Pets cozy mysteries series. They are friends as well as neighbors so they often get together and plot ways to commit murder. (But don’t tell the other neighbors.)

They love to hear from readers and can be found on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, their favorite social media sites. You can also follow them on BookBub to be notified when there are special offers.

 

Clicking Our Heels – Blurbing, Reviewing, Writing, and Reading – The Balancing Act

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Clicking Our Heels – Blurbing, Reviewing, Writing, and Reading – The Balancing Act

Authors are often asked to blurb or review books. At the same time, they often are working against deadlines or on schedules in terms of their own writing, pleasure reading, and lives.. The question becomes how to balance all of these things? Today, the Gang shares its thoughts on the great balancing act.

 Saralyn Richard – This is a hard question to answer, because I don’t do a very good job of balancing. Deadlines are game-changers, and they wreak havoc with my best-planned schedules for reading and writing.

Linda Rodriguez – I have to do a lot of reading for work, since I do editorial work and developmental editing. Balancing the books I read for those, the books I read to blurb, the books I read for research for current fiction and nonfiction work and any reading for pleasure is difficult. I do a lot of reading for pleasure in the middle of the night when I’m up with pain or other illness problems, so that’s one help.

Lois Winston – I don’t make promises. I always tell authors I will try to find time. Most of the time, I do, but this way I have an out if I’m too swamped. I don’t want to hurt another author’s feelings by making a promise I can’t keep.

Debra H. Goldstein – I set priorities and try to accomplish everything, but in doing so, I recognize that there are times personal desires fall by the wayside.

Dru Ann Love – If I’m asked to do a blurb, it’s usually a book that I plan to read for pleasure.

Debra Sennefelder – Writing always comes first. Then I’ll work out how to manage the to-be read books. When I’m asked to read a book for a blurb or review, I work it into my reading schedule. Luckily, those books are books I’ve wanted to read anyway.

Donnell Ann Bell – I’ve blurbed two books this year, so that hasn’t been that time-consuming, and I enjoyed both. I read for pleasure late at night, which means that I’m slow because daylight comes much too early.

Shari Randall/Meri Allen – I’m always honored when friends ask me to blurb their books. It means I get an early read! But it’s difficult to fit in extra reading with all the writing I do (and my three book club books a month) so it’s gotten too difficult to fit into my schedule.

Kathryn Lane – I feel honored when I’m asked to write a blurb. Reading the book is a pleasure, it’s writing the blurb that’s difficult! I’m still working on balancing my reading and writing activities!!

T.K. Thorne – I will only blurb a book I truly enjoyed. Funny, when I was working, I dreamed of being able to write full time. Now that I am a full-time writer, I dream of reading books for pleasure!

Mary Lee Ashford – It’s such a compliment to be asked and so hard to say no when you get a request to provide a blurb for another author’s book, especially when it’s an author whose work you admire. However, this is a case where I just have to be practical and really look at whether there’s the time in my schedule to read the book and write the blurb or review within the timeframe. If there is time in my schedule, I’m always thrilled to be able to do it!