Just Be Professional

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Every once in a while I like to revisit one of my articles that I believe has a timeless message. If I had a superpower and could change the world I would fight against bullying.

By Donnell Ann Bell

Years ago, I had the opportunity to participate in my local sheriff’s office citizens’ academy. After sitting through six weeks of law enforcement opinion and demonstration, I believe the experience brought realism to my writing. Out of all the personnel I met during this time, there was one sergeant who impressed me above anyone else. Her words still resonate with me to this day.

Just be professional, it’s not that hard.

Sadly, I can’t remember her name, but I took note of her words. She was a beautiful Hispanic woman and when she stood before the class and explained that she worked in the jail—unarmed—among male inmates, I thought, Holy cow, this lady won’t live long. My mistake. She’d worked among them for years. What’s more, she was required to turn her back on this criminal element— often.

For anyone who’s been in a jail, you know there’s intense security and surveillance, and the deputies can call upon immediate assistance. But knowing this didn’t make me feel better. I kept thinking she could be injured or dead before help could arrive.

Turns out she hadn’t made sergeant for nothing and understood the risks. What’s more, she carried herself with amazing grace and an even more amazing sense of who she was. She didn’t look tough on the outside, but as she called one six-foot naysayer to the front and brought him down with such ease, she filled me with a whole new appreciation and respect for who she was and what she did for a living.

After she dropped my classmate to his knees, she modestly helped him up and shook his hand. Then she turned to the class and said, “Just be professional, it’s not that hard.”

She also went on to explain that as a Hispanic female charged with watching over incarcerated inmates, it oftentimes presented problems. Particularly, when many of those inmates were Hispanic and grew up in households in which men did not take orders from women. So not only did the sergeant face an authority issue, she encountered a cultural barrier.

Source: Daniel Vanderkin, Pixabay

How did she handle it? By treating everyone with respect. “Those men don’t know me,” she said. “Their slurs and insults can’t reach me. When my shift ends I go home to my family whose opinions do count.”

So why do I tell you this story? Because today I’m seeing exactly what she talked about — a reduction in professionalism. Worse, we are not inmates. I’m seeing dry wit replaced by so-called snark (I have another term for it). What’s more, this type of behavior is applauded. In an on-line society, where we are faceless individuals behind a computer screen, it’s so easy to react and push send and forget there’s a real live, flesh and blood human being on the other side.

I once heard a radio ad in which two actors portrayed school-aged girls, one of whom said the most horrible things to her peer. I sat back stunned. Then at the end of the message, the voice over said, “You wouldn’t say it to their face, why would you say it on line?”

I don’t know about you, but for anyone to even feel the need to air such a public service announcement made me incredibly sad. As for me, I think I’ll follow the sergeant’s example. I’ll take her words to heart. I’ll strive for professionalism. I learned from the very best that it’s not that hard.

About the Author:  Donnell Ann Bell writes both romantic suspense and multi-jurisdictional task force plots, keeping close tabs on her theme SUSPENSE TOO CLOSE TO HOME. Her single-title romantic suspense novels, The Past Came Hunting, Deadly Recall, Betrayed, and Buried Agendas, have all been Amazon e-book best sellers.

Black Pearl, a Cold Case Suspense was her first mainstream suspense and book one of a series, and a Colorado Book Award finalist. Her second book in the series, Until Dead, A Cold Case Suspense, was voted best thriller in 2023 at the Imaginarium Conference in Louisville, Kentucky.  Sign up for her newsletter or follow her blog at https://www.donnellannbell.com

 

 

 

Fearless Creating: AKA Develop a Stubborn Streak

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By Donnell Ann Bell

It never fails. I can be talking to friend Lois Winston via phone, topics ranging from world events to some mundane ailment we’re experiencing. Then always. . . always before we hang up, the next 15 minutes segue into critique partner Lois Winston.  This is the point in which we discuss writing and what we’ve learned or experienced over twenty-plus years.

Let’s face it, publishing has exploded since the early 2000s from the statement that e-publishing isn’t a legitimate form of publishing to printing and mailing off our synopses and manuscripts, then waiting and waiting and hoping for “The Call.”

In this morning’s phone conversation, Lois and I discussed my hack (more on that in upcoming posts – the saga is interesting and educational, I promise you) and why Lois, a traditionally published author turned indy author and marketing guru will likely never be on social media or hire a personal assistant.  As I listened to her very valid points not to enter this realm, I thought why should she? She does everything from writing, to hiring a narrator for her audio books, to designing and selling Anastasia Pollack merchandise herself! The woman is a machine!

Today’s phone call had us laughing, and somehow morphed into the importance of trusting our instincts. These instincts often lay dormant in the beginning of our careers because we haven’t yet learned or challenged the craft of writing. Further, so many experts (and many who think they are) stand ready to expound on how they do it.

One of the things I believe in is Fearless Creating. Am I suggesting never to take advice? Absolutely not. But what’s the point of writing if we don’t stay true to our vision, enjoy the process while we’re creating, and see what our imaginations and brains can come up with first?

I’ve witnessed authors taking a fine piece of writing, albeit a draft, in which the whole room applauded. An agent in the room requested a full. Later, when I saw  the piece again, I hardly recognized it.  Why did you change it, I asked. Oh, X had a problem with this. Y said it was too long, too short, the characters flat. Z suggested I write it this way.

This way is another person’s vision that usurps the creator. Doubt has a terrible way of worming into an author’s psyche from the moment we open a blank page. Further, there are so many outside forces these days willing to help us with our writing.

Author Sylvia Rochester

I had a dear friend who painted as well as wrote books.  Author and Artist Sylvia Rochester, who passed in 2022, had a wonderful saying. It’s one I think about when I’m writing, tweak my work, screw it up, and can’t get it back again. “The First Stroke is the Freshest.”

If you think you have something brilliant but can make it better, I suggest keeping a draft file. That way you can compare the two later. How often do you write something in the evening, think this is garbage and delete it? Putting the text in a draft file, come morning, you may see things differently.  I know I have. 

I call myself an experienced writer who still has much to learn. I enjoy critiquing with Lois and often do beta reads for other writers. Rarely do I suggest an author change an entire plot, or worse, try to “rewrite” it for them. It’s their story, their voice. I believe there should be a Hippocratic oath for Authors – Help but “Do no Harm.”

When I read, I focus on pacing, goal, motivation, and conflict. Do I like the author’s voice, and can I relate to the characters? I believe in critique partners and the oh-so-valuable-editor. Through it all, though, I’m grateful my muse is a formidable force. I’m also blessed with a stubborn streak.

What about you? Agree/disagree?

About the Author:  Donnell Ann Bell writes both romantic suspense and multi-jurisdictional task force plots, keeping close tabs on her theme SUSPENSE TOO CLOSE TO HOME. Her single-title romantic suspense novels, The Past Came Hunting, Deadly Recall, Betrayed, and Buried Agendas, have all been Amazon e-book best sellers.

Traditionally published with Belle Books/Bell Bridge Books, Black Pearl, a Cold Case Suspense was her first mainstream suspense and book one of a series, and a Colorado Book Award finalist. Her second book in the series, Until Dead, A Cold Case Suspense, released in May of 2022 was voted best thriller in 2023 at the Imaginarium Celebration Conference in Louisville, Kentucky.  Follow her on social media, sign up for her newsletter or follow her blog at https://www.donnellannbell.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Accepting Advice

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Dear Readers: I’m slowly but surely recovering from 2023! So much progress. I’m still grieving, but my mother’s estate is settled and I can see the floor to my office. I realized it was my day to blog on The Stiletto Gang so I pulled up an article I wrote in 2016. Funny, the position I took back then is the same position I hold today. After reading, please tell me what you think.  Do you avoid prologues, and how much time do you devote to marketing? ~ Donnell 

“No enemy is worse than bad advice.” – Sophocles

Every once in a while people offer advice that really works. E.g., Look both ways before crossing the street, read warning labels on products and exercise three to five times a week to maintain a healthy weight. Those kinds of input I can use and appreciate. But some of the advice I’ve received of late leaves me shaking my head.

Two weekends ago I attended my local library’s workshop in which a marketing guru offered authors and aspiring authors’ advice for today’s market. She said the days that authors sit alone in their offices and devote long hours to writing are gone. As a matter of fact, she added, authors should be focused ten percent on writing the book and ninety percent to its marketing. “Twenty-four/eight,” she insisted. “Market your book twenty-four/eight.”

This weekend I attended the Pikes Peak Writers Conference where the age-old subject of prologues came up again. An editor told the audience how much he hates prologues and that he skips right over them. Once again people who had paid good money to attend wrote furiously in their notebooks, most likely taking this man’s words to heart and perpetuating this controversy further. While I was thinking of Sandra Brown’s Envy or Robert Crais’s Two Minute Rule and two of the best prologues I’ve ever read in commercial fiction.

There’s a lot of lousy, subjective advice floating around out there—what’s more the experts are touting it. If I have to devote ninety percent to marketing my books, I might as well hang it up right now. I didn’t get into this writing gig to market my wares like a gypsy in a caravan, I got into writing to tell my stories—to sit in my office alone a lot more than ten percent.

New York Times Bestselling Author Robert Crais once told me, “Sure you can write a prologue, just don’t write a bad one.”  If a book needs a prologue, it needs a prologue, and how a few paragraphs at the start of a book can cause such a vitriolic response is beyond me.

So because there’s so much misinformation and bad advice out there coming from people I should otherwise respect and rely on, I’ve decided to break down the ways I will accept advice in the future. One, if it doesn’t make sense, I will completely disregard it, and two, if it doesn’t save my life, I will refer back to rule number one.

About the Author:

Leaving international thrillers to the world travelers, Donnell Ann Bell concentrates on suspense that might happen in her neck of the woods – writing SUSPENSE TOO CLOSE TO HOME. She is co-owner of Crimescenewriter, an online group, in which law enforcement, forensic experts, and a multitude of related professionals assist authors in getting those pesky facts straight in our novels. To learn more or to sign up for her newsletter contact her at www.donnellannbell.com

Multitasking, Time Management and Organization

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Multitasking, Time Management and Organization

By Donnell Ann Bell

Where’s my keys? Where’s my phone? What did I do with my glasses? Sound familiar?

Many people attribute forgetfulness to advancing years. Me? I attribute forgetfulness to distraction, our busy lives, and the ridiculous notion that if we’re doing multiple things at once, we’re efficient and engaged in time management.

I’m not a fan of multitasking. If you’re doing multiple things at once, chances are you’re in a hurry. Slowing down, focusing on one thing at a time, e.g., concentrating on those keys in your hand, solidifies in your brain where you put them.  Even better, if you concentrate on those keys in your hand AND put them in the same place every time, chances are you will find them every time.

It took me a while to figure this out, but now that I put things in a strategic place, I’m less stressed and don’t spend ten minutes trying to recreate my movements. Further, the most amazing thing has happened. I know precisely where everything is and I’m not late anymore!

I’ve been traveling a great deal for the last two years and hopefully will be slowing down. Now that I’m home, I plan on tackling things I’ve left undone.  Mainly all the stuff I’ve crammed into closets, promising myself I’ll get to it later. Well, my friends, it’s later! And to say I’m organized would be complete fiction. However, I have a game plan to become organized, and I’d like to credit my friend Author Mike Befeler for giving me the ideas to get started.

Mike has no idea I’m crediting him or that I’m recommending his book, Unstuff Your Stuff.  I read this book years ago, and the moment I remember where I put it . . . Kidding. It’s on my Kindle. 😉and my Kindle resides on my nightstand.

Typical of Mike’s books, it’s a humorous mystery, but I have to say as I read, I couldn’t help thinking this is also a great self-help book. So, that’s what I’m doing. Taking the tips I learned from Mike’s novel.

In closing, here some great advice I heard from my eye doctor when I continually misplaced my glasses. “If they’re not on your face, they belong in your case.”

For anyone who wants to read a mystery, smile, and read a self-help, here’s the link and blurb to Mike’s novel.  Happy organizing!

About UNSTUFF YOUR STUFF:  68-year-old Millicent Hargrove returns from her Tuesday night bridge game to her house in Boulder, Colorado, to find her husband, George, dead on the floor with a knife in his chest. At the funeral a man she doesn’t know comes up and hands her an envelope. He explains that with George’s death, she will receive special compensation for some work that George once did for the government. She asks what the work was, but he only says it was classified and he can’t discuss it with her. As she cleans out all her stuff to move from her house to a condo, she discovers that she’s good at organizing her things. Her friends encourage her to start a personal organizing business. Millicent gives it some thought and decides it’s a good idea. She calls her business, Unstuff Your Stuff. Millicent gains clients but struggles with her new life and cryptic clues left by her husband. Men hit on her, but she doesn’t want to get involved in any relationship, although she likes the father of the young man who helped her move to her condo. She escapes attempts on her own life and figures out the mystery of the cryptic messages left by her husband. She develops a successful organizing business while sorting through the clutter from the secret life her husband led.

About Mike Befeler: In the May, 2008, issue of the AARP Bulletin Mike Befeler was identified as one of four authors in a new emerging mystery sub-genre. Harlan Coben, president of Mystery Writers of America stated, “We’ve just scratched the surface on geezer-lit. It could be the next frontier in crime fiction.” Mike turned his attention to fiction writing after a career in high technology marketing.  His debut novel, RETIREMENT HOMES ARE MURDER, was published in 2007.  The second novel in his Paul Jacobson Geezer-lit Mystery Series, LIVING WITH YOUR KIDS IS MURDER, appeared in 2009 and was nominated for the Lefty Award for the best humorous mystery of 2009. The third book in the series, SENIOR MOMENTS ARE MURDER, was released in 2011. The fourth book in the series, CRUISING IN YOUR EIGHTIES IS MURDER, was published in 2012 and was nominated for the Lefty Award for best humorous mystery of 2012. The fifth book in the series, CARE HOMES ARE MURDER, was published in 2013. The sixth book in the series, NURSING HOMES ARE MURDER, was published in 2014. He also has a paranormal private investigator mystery, THE V V AGENCY (published 2012); a paranormal geezer-lit mystery, THE BACK WING (published 2013), and its sequel, THE FRONT WING (2019);  a theater mystery, MYSTERY OF THE DINNER PLAYHOUSE (published in 2015); a non-fiction biography, THE BEST CHICKEN THIEF IN ALL OF EUROPE (published in 2015); a historical mystery, MURDER ON THE SWITZERLAND TRAIL (published in 2015); a sports mystery, COURT TROUBLE, A PLATFORM TENNIS MYSTERY (published in 2016), and its sequel PARADISE COURT (2019); an international thriller, THE TESLA LEGACY (2017); a standalone geezer-lit mystery, DEATH OF A SCAM ARTIST (2017); a professional organizer mystery, UNSTUFF YOUR STUFF (2018); a novella, CORONAVIRUS DAZE (2020); OLD DETECTIVES HOME (2022); and LAST GASP MOTEL (2023).

Mike is an acclaimed speaker and gives three entertaining and informative presentations titled, “The Secret of Growing Older Gracefully—Aging and Other Minor Inconveniences,” “How To Survive Retirement,” and “Rejection Is Not a Four Letter Word,” which promote a positive image of aging. Contact him at mikebef@aol.com if you’d like him to speak to your organization.  https://www.mikebefeler.com

About Donnell Ann Bell:  Leaving international thrillers to the world travelers, Donnell Ann Bell concentrates on suspense that might happen in her neck of the woods – writing SUSPENSE TOO CLOSE TO HOME. Published with BelleBooks/Bell Bridge Books, she has written four Amazon bestselling standalones as well as her award-winning Cold Case series, Black Pearl and Until Dead. Currently, she’s working on book three of the series. For more information, see her website at https://www.donnellannbell.com

 

The-saga-of-the-thought-stolen-purse/

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Happy Monday!  Because I’m traveling today, I thought I’d leave you with something that ideally will brighten your day.  Note:  My thought-stolen-purse saga happened some years ago, and yes, I’m still married to the guy.  For the record, I didn’t even change the names to protect the innocent.

By Donnell Ann Bell

My day starts out great.  I have Toastmasters at seven-thirty; and at ten till seven, amazed I’m well ahead of schedule, I gather my books, prepared to grab my purse off the counter, which is tucked inconspicuously inside my gray Adidas gym bag.  After Toastmasters, I’m off to the gym.

Only problem is when I scan the counter on this start-to- a-perfect day, my bag is missing.  I can swear I left it right there. Obviously mistaken, I search my usual places—my office, bedroom, the car.  My gray Adidas gym bag is nowhere to be found.

The minutes tick by and I start to sweat.  Now I’ll be late for Toastmasters.  I call my husband at work.  “Have you seen the gray gym bag I left on the counter?”

“No, honey, very busy,” he says.

I hang up on the verge of hyperventilation.  The gym bag in itself doesn’t worry me; it’s my drivers’ license and the valuables inside.  Where can it be?  I know I left it right here.  But now I’m not so sure.  Could I have left it at the gym?  I must have.  I pick up the phone.

woman with lost purse blog

“No, ma’am,” an employee says at my query.  “It’s not in the lost and found and we don’t see it in the locker room, either.”

My great day continues to dwindle.

With no other choice, I search my house a second time, and when I’m positive it isn’t anywhere inside, I phone my husband again. “Les, are you sure, you haven’t seen a gray Adidas gym bag?  I know you’re busy, but it’s really important.  My purse was inside that bag.”

“No,” he replies adamantly.  “I haven’t seen it.”

I scour the house a third time; I miss Toastmasters, becoming more confused and agitated by the second.  I think back.  I came straight home from the gym yesterday.  I made no stops.  And now my poor little ol’ mother in law is in on the action, determined to help. She looks everywhere, including the freezer and the bathtub.

Yep, I’ve been known to put my gym bag in those places!

During our rummaging, I walk into the den and discover a navy gym bag on the couch.  Frowning, I unzip it, discovering my DH’s [dear husband’s] running shoes and his workout clothes inside.  Frankly, I’m ashamed of myself.  I’m jealous that while my gray Adidas bag has gone missing, he still has all of his gear.

All right.  My bag is not in the house, it’s not at the gym, and I went nowhere yesterday.  It’s been stolen.  Time to call the security company that patrols my neighborhood.  The officer reports no calls of intruders, but says a few cars in our area have been broken into.

I call my neighbors, my critique partner and we connect the dots.  While Les and I were out taking a walk last night, someone entered our house.  Thinking it was empty, the intruder became startled when he heard my mother in law. In his haste, he took the closest thing within reach–my gray Adidas gym bag.

I spend the rest of the morning canceling my checks and my credit cards, totally creeped out at the thought of someone invading my home.

When everything is cancelled, I breathe a sigh of relief and tell myself it could have been worse.  At least no one accessed my credit.

Determined to move on from this disastrous morning, I pause to answer the phone.  It’s my husband.  He’s on his way to his run.  He’s calling to inform me he’s taken the wrong gym bag.  You see, his is on the couch, while mine is in the backseat of his car!dead body on a gurney

Before you take undue sympathy and ask if my husband is colorblind, the answer is no.  But he is the victim in my next murder plot.

About the Author:  Donnell Ann Bell writes both romantic suspense and multi-jurisdictional task force plots, keeping close tabs on her theme SUSPENSE TOO CLOSE TO HOME. Black Pearl, a Cold Case Suspense was her first mainstream suspense and was a 2020 Colorado Book Award finalist. Her second book in the series, Until Dead, A Cold Case Suspense was awarded Best Thriller Novel at 2023 Imaginarium Convention in Louisville, KY. Follow her on social media, sign up for her newsletter or follow her blog at https://www.donnellannbell.com

 

 

 

HOAs: Miss Marple Would Fit Right In

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Dear Stiletto Gang Readers and Contributors: No surprise here, I’m traveling again and it’s my day to blog.  I do have an outstanding surprise for you. My dear friend Author Linda Lovely is here in my stead to promote her HOA Mystery series and upcoming release, A Killer App available on November 7th. Please welcome Linda Lovely to The Stiletto Gang! ~ Donnell Ann Bell

HOAs—Miss Marple Would Fit Right In

Author Linda Lovely

By Linda Lovely

Where might Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple hang her hat if she were teleported to the U.S. in 2023? Where could the snoop find the ambience of sleepy St Mary Mead? Where could the spinster sniff out villains among her neighbors?

Some 355,000 common-interest communities offer Miss Marple condo, coop, and homeowner association (HOA) choices aplenty. Societal heirs to yesteryear’s villages—HOAs are now home to 74 million people.

And they make ideal settings for mysteries. If neighbors don’t actually know each other, they’ve heard whispers about the folks they’ve yet to meet. When a murder occurs, the rumor mill makes it easy to churn out suspect lists.

Plus, the inevitable power struggles provide motives and subplots. Think the GOP House of Representatives’ current infighting on a more intimate scale. Who backs more rules and restrictions? Who wants to scale them back? Who favors special assessments to add pickleball courts? Who thinks annual dues are too high?

These power struggles take on real emotional weight if changes directly impact an owner’s home—his or her castle. For instance, how would you feel if a dog park was proposed for the vacant lot next to your house?

Once I decided to write an HOA Mystery series, I knew the crimes couldn’t be confined to a single HOA. After all, who’d want to live in a place like Cabot Cove with its sky-high homicide rate?

To solve that problem, my heroine, Kylee Kane, works for a friend’s HOA management firm. The company has a dozen HOA clients in the South Carolina Lowcountry. Kylee, a retired Coast Guard investigator, has the experience and skills to be a realistic sleuth when trouble surfaces in any of these tight-knit enclaves.

Are HOA management companies common? I was somewhat surprised that only 35 percent of HOAs are run by volunteers. The rest leave the nitty-gritty work to 8,500 firms that specialize in managing HOAs.

Guess it shouldn’t be a shock. Owners who hold full-time jobs aren’t eager to pile more responsibilities on their plates, while retirees may feel they’ve earned the right to relax and travel. By and large, owners in both categories don’t want to prepare budgets, collect fees, manage landscape vendors, assess fines, or force neighbors to tear down a fence that doesn’t meet specs or repaint shutters an approved shade of green.

Of course, a few people LOVE to file complaints against neighbors over nitpick infractions. Guess that’s one reason that 2021 saw 263 complaints filed against 180 different HOAs in South Carolina, where my HOA Mystery series is set.

Like almost any group with more than two people, HOAs can hatch conflict. There’s no guarantee the folks who elect to buy in seaside HOAs will have a shared vision of an ideal community. Some will want to specify which plants are permitted and how many can be planted in a yard. Others will want to install vegetable gardens and native plants.

Some folks will view all trees, especially Palmetto and pine trees, as view-blocking weeds to be cut down. Nature lovers will strive to protect the trees for erosion control and wildlife habitat. As a result, cliques form, gossip passes for gospel, and outcasts long for revenge.

I’ve asked readers to tell me about HOA rules they find unreasonable. I’ve been told the ones listed below appear in the bylaws of at least one HOA.

  • Multicolored outdoor holiday lights are banned. Is the Grinch the enforcer?
  • Owners are only allowed to keep garage doors open five-minutes. Who mans the egg timer?
  • All drapes and window coverings must have white linings facing the outside. What happens if Joe Blow takes down all window coverings in protest and parades in his birthday suit?
  • If an owner wants to sell a home, he must pay the HOA to display a For Sale sign. Said sign can only be appear in an interior window.

While few of us hang out with rock stars, hitmen, or bitcoin tycoons, we know our neighbors—from the quietly heroic to the bullies. Familiar characters and homeowner passions make it easy for readers to relate to HOA tales.

I do attempt to showcase well-run HOAs as well as those in constant upheaval. The difference? Usually it’s the individuals who serve on the board. Did they run to push personal agendas? Or do they want to listen to neighbors and search for consensus on important issues?

My main goal in writing My HOA Mystery series is to entertain. (Okay, there is the bonus of killing off stand-ins for the types of folks who annoy me.) But I also hope my mysteries spotlight strategies to promote peace and harmony within HOAs.

About the Book:

Deepfakes Can Be Murder

Kylee Kane, a security consultant for Welch HOA Management, finds the first victim, Andy Fyke, crumpled at the bottom of a flight of stairs. Kylee suspects his fall’s no accident and is tied to Andy’s campaign to prohibit rentals in his Hilton Head Island community. Yet, Andy’s obvious enemies have ironclad alibis.

When another Lowcountry HOA retiree dies in a hit-and-run boat tragedy, Kylee begins to think the incidents are linked—even though the victims and their assailants have little in common.

The link is the Chameleon, an Artificial Intelligence expert, who can create a deepfake of almost anyone—living or dead. Even more frightening is the Chameleon’s ability to seek out disturbed souls and laser-focus their rage. A talent employed to compel subjects to act as surrogate assassins.

When Kylee begins to pursue the Chameleon, the AI expert decides it’s time to groom an assassin to permanently sideline Kylee.

You can learn more about Linda Lovely and/or sign up for her newsletter at Welcome (lindalovely.com)

 

Discrimination against Left-Handed People? Really?

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by Donnell Ann Bell

An article on the History of Left-handed People caught my eye yesterday and after reading it, I felt so strongly about it I decided to include it in today’s Stiletto Gang blog. The article states myriad ways left-handed people have been discriminated against, particularly before the 20th century. I’m right-handed and never realized (all right, paid attention) that a bias exists. One of the women I play pickleball with is lefthanded. Not only is she a darn good player she’s a brilliant seamstress. Before moving to Las Cruces, she owned an exercise studio. Her talents are many and varied.

Still, I couldn’t help wondering . . . Really? Discriminate against someone who is left-handed? What is it with human nature that makes society fear someone different? I could elaborate ad nauseam on this subject, but let’s stick to lefties for the time being. According to the article, ninety percent of the world is right-handed.

At one time teachers tried to re-train left-handed students to use their right hands. Incidentally, the article also said that left-handers had far more success in switching hands than right-handers. (As someone who broke her arm in 1979 and was forced to do everything with my left hand, I can attest this is a true statement).  Experts also said that in some cases, children forced to vie away from using their dominant hand suffered learning disabilities, including dyslexia, stuttering, and other speech impediments.

Superstition abounds regarding people born left-handed. Everything from lower IQs, bad luck, cleanliness, to the belief that right-handed people are stronger and live longer than left-handed people. Many left-handed people become ambidextrous to offset a right-handed world where products (think scissors, computer input devices, video game controllers, knives, cameras, musical instruments, weapons, the list goes on.) In sports, a left-handed player is known as a Southpaw.

Of all the things we’ve discriminated against, I found discriminating against left-handed people the most absurd. And yet we did.

Yesterday, August 13, was International Left-hander’s Day.  https://www.lefthandersday.com   The website is designed to raise awareness of everyday issues that lefties face in a world designed for right-handers.

Here’s another link I found fascinating. International Left-Handers Day 2023: Check Here What’s Make Left-Handers Unique (msn.com)

 

 

 

 

The Force Behind Words

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By Donnell Ann Bell

When I was growing up, I heard often—particularly on the playground–the children’s rhyme, “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” I looked up its origin, which appears to have been around since the 1830s. I suspect whoever coined the phrase meant well, probably devised the rhyme to target bullying. I also believe many an adult used that phrase to assuage a child’s hurt feelings.

Still, the idea that words cannot hurt is a gross misnomer. Spoken or read, words have power. They can infuriate and incite. They can also deter, persuade, motivate, impress, and sadly even bore.

People write to communicate. People read to learn and/or to be entertained. I certainly write books for these reasons. I’m not overt in my opinions. I couch my words and thoughts in fiction. I create characters who may or may not share my views, and while doing so, enlist an arsenal of words.

Many authors have been recognized for the following quote, so I won’t attempt to give credit. But I love the expression, “I write to know what I think.” For me, writing clarifies. As a member of Toastmasters, an organization that focuses on public speaking, I reached the level of Competent Communicator. Other than Table Topics, which concentrated on our ability to ad-lib (at which I was ghastly), I wrote my speeches so I wouldn’t wander into a rambling abyss.

As a reader and a writer, I’m a fan of tight writing. Here’s another quote I appreciate. “Don’t fall in love with your words.” It’s no fun when your critique partner or editor says your research is showing or, this is filler and unnecessary. In effect, editors call the term overwriting. I have a DRAFT/CUT file for every book. Just as a book that lacks critical layering and reads like a draft in which something seems missing, by overwriting you chance your reader saying, “Get to the point,” and putting the book down.

Words may not have the power to influence us physically, but long after those sticks and stones leave bruising, the words tucked inside our mind’s eye lay dormant ready to encourage or diminish. Words are part of a writer’s craft, the writer’s tool chest.  There is a force behind words. I’m not always successful, but I do my best to choose mine carefully.

About the Author:  Donnell Ann Bell writes both romantic suspense and multi-jurisdictional task force plots, keeping close tabs on her theme SUSPENSE TOO CLOSE TO HOME. Her single-title romantic suspense novels, The Past Came Hunting, Deadly Recall, Betrayed, and Buried Agendas, have all been Amazon e-book best sellers.

Traditionally published with Belle Books/Bell Bridge Books, Black Pearl, a Cold Case Suspense was her first mainstream suspense and book one of a series. Her second book in the series, Until Dead, A Cold Case Suspense, released in May of 2022.  Follow her on social media, sign up for her newsletter or follow her blog at https://www.donnellannbell.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Believable Characters and Fearless Creating

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By Donnell Ann Bell

Happy Monday, Stiletto Gang and readers! I was notified that my third published novel is going on sale June 16 through June 30, 2023, which of course  I find exciting. It also made me think about the story and all that went into it. Research, check. . .Mysterious characters, check . . .Conflict, check . . . Romantic tension, check . . . Interesting settings, check. . . Plot problems . . . .AHEM. Unfortunately, that part of the book received a big red X before I could check off Believable Plot.

The novel I’m talking about is called Betrayed. To date, my publisher has changed most of my working titles. Truthfully, I worried about this title because if you do a search for “Betrayed” you will find a long list. Back when I submitted the book for editing, I thought about changing it altogether or adding an adjective so it might stand out more from the myriad novels bearing the same name. But as one reviewer wrote in her headline:

“Wow! BETRAYED Sums up this One Nicely.”

I couldn’t agree more, which is when I left the working title “as is” and sent it off to my editor. I do admit to crossing my fingers they would keep it. BelleBooks/Bell Bridge Books agreed and Betrayed has been one of my bestselling novels.

It’s the story of Irene Turner, a trap shooting champion from Oklahoma City who discovers the stillborn she delivered twenty-eight years earlier is still alive. Irene is damaged so I did my best to slip into the mindset of a woman who’d recently lost her fifteen-year-old son, then receives the shock of her life—the daughter she thought dead is alive and and residing in Denver.

When creating characters, I do my utmost not to intrude on their story. For instance, Irene may be a gun expert and has no fear of them, but her daughter Kinsey despises them and is a proponent of gun control. I wanted to include both points of view, rather than take a stance on a highly volatile issue.

I often enlist beta readers after critique and before I submit to my editor. I was pretty confident when I asked  my 2010 Golden Heart sister and fellow Sisters in Crime member Author Rochelle Staab to give me her thoughts. I expected accolades. What she came back with was, “You know better than this. This would never happen.”

Did Rochelle glitch on the gun issue?  No. Did she glitch on another plot point? You know it.

SPOILER ALERT:  In the story Kinsey is kidnapped by drug dealers. I have a healthy respect for what drugs (particularly illegal ones and what side effects can occur even after a single dose.) Knowing this, I disregarded what would likely happen in reality and intruded BIG TIME on the story. From the beginning of my writing career, I have heard the phrase and abided with MAKE YOUR CHARACTERS SUFFER. 

But @#$# I didn’t want to give her a drug that could potentially kill her!  My intentions were good, honest!!! So I cheated. Instead of a deadly drug the gang members had ready access to, I had them give her a sleeping drought. Yeah, that’s believable. NOT.  Was Rochelle right and did I take her advice and fix this plot problem? What do you think 😉

If you like, you can find out for yourself. Betrayed is available wherever books are sold in trade paperback and digital format.  Also, don’t forget, the sale is ongoing through June 16-30, 2023.  Links on my website:  https://www.donnellannbell.com/books/romantic-suspense-thrillers/betrayed/

In closing, I wonder several things.

  • Do my fellow authors reading this blog enlist beta readers?
  • Have you ever had a plot hole in your novels, you knew intrinsically would be a problem, but you thought maybe you could get away with it?
  • Do you work to avoid author intrusion in your novels?
  • Do you consider yourself a fearless creator?

By the way, here’s Rochelle’s final thoughts followed by the blurb:

“Absorbing and fast-paced from the chilling opening chapters to the shocking denouement, Donnell Ann Bell proves once again to be a master of suspense with Betrayed, a tale of consequences from a woman’s long-ago indiscretion that dominoes into a nightmare of deception, bitterness, greed, and murder. A compelling must-read!” ~ Rochelle Staab, bestselling author of the Mind for Murder Mysteries

About Betrayed:

A mother told her baby’s dead was a lie.

A daughter rocked by her true identity.

A detective risking his life to protect them both.

When Irene Turner learns the incomprehensible—that the stillborn she delivered 28-years earlier is alive, she takes the evidence to Major Crimes Detective Nate Paxton in Denver Colorado. Nate can’t believe that the daughter stolen at birth is Kinsey Masters, a world-class athlete, raised by a prominent Denver family, and the unattainable woman he’s loved for years.

Irene, Nate, and Kinsey discover a sordid conspiracy, one that may get them all killed as they face past betrayals and destructive revenge.

https://www.donnellannbell.com/books/romantic-suspense-thrillers/betrayed/

About the Author:

Multi-award winning Donnell Ann Bell knows statistically that crime and accidents happen within a two-mile radius of the average residence. For that reason, she leaves the international capers to world travelers, and concentrates on stories that might happen in her neck of the woods.

Over the last few years, Donnell has fallen in love with writing multi-jurisdictional task force plots, keeping close tabs on her theme SUSPENSE TOO CLOSE TO HOME. Her single-title romantic suspense novels, The Past Came Hunting, Deadly Recall, Betrayed, and Buried Agendas, are Amazon bestsellers.

Traditionally published with Belle Books/Bell Bridge Books, Black Pearl, a Cold Case Suspense is her first straight suspense and book one of a series. Her second book in the series, Until Dead is also available wherever books are sold. To learn more, sign up for her newsletter and follow her via www.donnellannbell.com Facebook https://www.facebook.com/donnellannbell and Twitter  @donnellannbell

 

 

 

 

 

 

An Expert Disagreement

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By Donnell Ann Bell

In December 2022, on The Stiletto Gang, I blogged about the importance of accurate research when creating our fictional stories. I also pointed out that the Internet is a great place to obtain plot information, but to rely exclusively on search engines is risky. I also mentioned in this blog that to double check my research, I consult experts.

Book three of my cold case series is a spinoff of book one, Black Pearl a Cold Case Suspense. In book one I read nonfiction books and consulted numerous psychological experts. The same is necessary for book three. In addition to reading everything I can about mental health and hospitals, I’m consulting with psychologists, psychotherapists, and psychiatrists.

SPOILER ALERT: In book one, my antagonist suffers from a particular disorder. Too late in the story, I learned the mental ailment is not an acceptable legal defense and, in most cases, doesn’t hold up in court. This caused a problem as I planned to use this character again in book three.

What to do? During the antagonist’s competency hearing, I wrote a scene whereby the judge, lawyers, doctors, and spectators witness an episode firsthand. No doubt about it, the antagonist belongs in prison. However, with doctors for both the prosecution and the defense present, the judge follows their recommendations and commits the antagonist to a mental hospital until he is deemed competent to stand trial.

After that plot fix, I thought I was ready to get to work on book three.  However, another problem arose. One of the experts I consulted claimed not to believe in the disorder, while the other experts I consulted emphatically do.

Recognizing that the courts don’t accept the disorder and a psychiatrist doesn’t as well presented a major conundrum for me. I couldn’t just gloss over her viewpoint. I may write fiction, but it has to be honest; moreover fiction has to make sense.

Like any profession, there seems to be a disconnect among these learned professionals. One therapist I talked to said that psychiatrists treat the patient with the prescription pad while psychotherapists try to get to the root of the patients’ dysfunction. I’m sure psychiatrists would argue the point. In fact, one book I read explained the years of analysis a psychiatrist went into in helping his DID patient.

Knowing this feeling exists, however, allowed my muse to take over. I realized a way I could present both opinions and still hopefully make my story work!

I went to work writing a psychotherapist’s backstory. He’s newly retired and recently widowed. For years, he was in practice with his psychiatrist wife who adamantly rejected the idea of the mental illness, so much so she published articles in medical and psychiatric journals in support of her argument.

The widower, who still consults on occasion, is called to meet my antagonist. He is fascinated and later becomes convinced that my antagonist is a valid case. Retirement allows the character to devote longer therapy hours and his goal becomes not only to help but to publish papers on his findings later.

Incorporating these differing opinions helped me cement my plot. It’s now outlined and in draft form. Now the hurdle becomes–can I bring this story to life? Fellow authors, is my story at all familiar to you? Do you encounter roadblocks when writing. My roadblock was huge. How about you? Ever had one and do you work to go around them?

About the Author: Donnell Ann Bell is an award-winning author, her latest work, a series, includes Until Dead: a Cold Case Suspense, released in 2022, Black Pearl, a Cold Case Suspense  2020 Colorado Book Award finalist. Donnell’s single title books include, Buried Agendas, Betrayed, Deadly Recall and the Past Came Hunting, all of which have been Amazon bestsellers. Currently she’s writing book three of her cold case series.  www.donnellannbell.com