The Secret to Her Success

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I’m delighted to welcome a remarkably prolific author to the Gang as our guest today. Pamela Fagan Hutchins and I met early in our writing careers. Since then, she has published upwards of 30 books, mostly novels (award-winning romantic mysteries, a couple of children’s books, and some non-fiction, too). Lately, she’s been turning out some modern tales of Western adventure.

The secret to her success? To my mind, it’s that she spins new tales faster than a bullet train, and that her stories engage readers with heart and humor.

Here is her latest OMG work schedule, in her own words:

I’m lucky that I write fast, type fast, and no longer have kids at home or a job outside of writing. I also believe that writing is something you can get more efficient at over time.

After thirty-two novels and seven nonfiction books, I’ve had a lot of practice!

But I am firm about sticking to set writing hours and setting word and page count goals to keep me focused. I eliminate most distractions, and I reward myself frequently… lots of snacks!

Way back in 2020, my agent challenged me to write Big Horn, the Jenn Herrington Wyoming mystery that ultimately won me a publishing contract with Hachette UK’s Bookouture. But my editor wanted me to change it substantially or write a different book. I was happy with Big Horn just how it was. I opted to publish it myself and write a Detective Delaney Pace novel for Bookouture.

Two things happened. First, Big Horn slayed and kept slaying for two solid years. Meanwhile had to write three Delaney Pace books and one Patrick Flint family adventure mystery during the year after Big Horn came out. And move to Denmark for my husband’s work. Then Bakersfield. Then France. Have two foot surgeries. Welcome my first two grandkids.

Ya know—life stuff.

Despite Big Horn having had the best release of any book I’d ever written—better than Delaney Pace did, originally, although it’s picked up a lot of steam!—I did not get the follow-up book out for 18 months. In indie publishing terms, that’s a century. And I had a heck of a time pulling myself out of Delaney’s and Patrick’s worlds and back into Jenn’s.

But I’d already outlined five follow-up books while I was writing Big Horn. So, the book I rolled out next was Walker Prairie. It had the planned plots and subplots and the same gritty-but-kinda-cozy feel which some people love.

Between the time I outlined Walker Prairie (2021) and when I wrote it (2024), I acquired two Alaskan Malamute sled dogs, Willett and Sibley! They seemed like the perfect lighthearted addition to Jenn and Aaron’s world, so I wrote them in, and just like in real life, they proceeded to WOO and HOWL and JUMP AROUND until they’d pretty much hijacked the book. The plot remained the same, but the adventure elements surrounding the climactic scenes changed to feature two beautiful, often-naughty, and occasionally terrifying FLOOFS (my term for fluffy goofs.)

So, whether you pick up Walker Prairie because you’re dying to read about or continue with Jenn, her veterinarian husband Aaron, her legal associate Kid James, and Jeremiah Johnson (the loveable skunk), or because you love gritty-cozy romantic legal thrillers, or Wyoming mysteries, or just love books with FLOOFS, I am delighted that the wait is over and Walker Prairie is finally here.

And I love the book! You can get your copy here:

USA Today bestselling author of the Detective Delaney Pace series / Host of Crime & Wine / Silver Falchion Best Mystery Winner

Published by Bookouture/Hachette UK and SkipJack Publishing

Thanks for stopping by, Pamela!

Gay Yellen’s writing career began in magazine journalism. She served as the co-writer/editor for the international thriller, Five Minutes to Midnight (Delacorte), a New York Times “New & Notable.” The success of that book led to her first romantic mystery, The Body Business, Book 1 of the Samantha Newman Mystery Series. The Body Next Door soon followed, and The Body in the News in 2023. The series has won multiple awards, including a Readers’ Favorite Mystery / Chanticleer Mystery & Mayhem 1st Place / InD’Tale Crowned Heart for Excellence / Silver Falchion Finalist/ and an American Legacy Best Cozy Award. https//:GayYellen.com

Why Reading Out Loud Is Good for You

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Over the weekend, a series of New York Times articles about the pleasures of reading aloud sent me thinking backwards and forward again. Backwards to my earliest memories of listening to my Mom or Dad read Horton Hatches the Egg or some other wonderful classic to me.

Those lovely moments are imbedded deep in my bones. I’m certain my love of reading was born in those happy times.

The article stated that reading aloud benefits both the reader and the one being read to. Whether you read to a child, or a sick person in need of a distraction, it is an act of kindness—love, really—that provides a rare, intimate connection as you experience a story together.

Which brings me to another memory.

A few years back, my husband spied a 135-chapter, 615-page edition of Moby Dick lurking on our bookshelf. I’d slogged through the book in high school English class. If ever a book begged for an abridged version (I thought back then), Melville’s was a good candidate.

So I was amazed when my spouse took the book to bed with him. I figured he’d be snoozing by Page Two. But, no.

“This is amazing,” he exclaimed. “The writing is great. I feel like I’m there! Can I just read this part to you?”

Thus began a new nighttime ritual. And through his enthusiasm, the story, the characters, and the descriptions in a book that I’d found tedious and old-fashioned in my teens came alive for me, too.

I loved falling asleep to the sound of his voice as he read Melville’s words.

It turns out that grown ups enjoy hearing stories spoken out loud. An entire audiobook industry seem to be alive and well these days, and apparently some people actually enjoy falling asleep while listening to them.

The NYT piece also reminded me of my left-over to-do list from years past for my Samantha Newman Mystery Series. Only Book 2, The Body Next Door, is currently available in audio, which you can buy or sample for free on Amazon.

The first and third books do not have audio versions. This is due to: 1) a change of publishers, and 2) a voice artist who is no longer available, which means that Samantha’s “voice” would change for each book.

Producing audio books is a time-consuming, expensive effort, and I have another book or two to write.  And before you suggest an AI generated voice solution, I’ve heard a few samples, and they sound a little creepy to me. I’m still wrestling with the issue.

(Readers and and authors, I’d love to know what you think I should do about audio for the other two books. Please comment below.)

I’m a wholehearted fan of reading aloud, even if you’re only reading to yourself. Extra points if you do, because reading aloud burns more calories and tones up your lungs and voice muscles.

Like most things in life, reading a book can be even more fun when you share it with someone you love.

Gay Yellen is the award-winning author of the Samantha Newman Romantic Mystery Series, including The Body Business, The Body Next Door, and The Body in the News. She loves talking to book clubs and from readers! You can contact her here. 

 

 

 

Life’s Little Instructions

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As we complete another rotation around our sun, some of us like to make resolutions for things we’d like to accomplish in the coming year. There are lots of lists out there to guide us: new diets to try and exercise regimens to tackle. New books to read and buckets of travel options to consider. Or, perhaps we just want to work at developing a new and improved version of ourselves.

The list of 95-year-old William Snell that has been circulating across social media lately seems about right, although I wonder if he meant to number them in order of their importance. At times, his suggestions feel like sly digs at people who make such lists in the first place.

After all, while singing in the shower can truly be a mood enhancing exercise, should it really be first on the list—and followed closely by the caution to never turn down a homemade brownie?

I also ponder his #18 admonishment. Of course, at the Gang, we work to keep our stilettos (and our prose) well-polished. But maintaining shiny shoes in winter can be a challenge for those in northern climes. And in summertime, do we really need to shine our flip-flops?

Yet I heartily agree with #29. Dogs absolutely make make us better humans. And though I can’t remember the last time I waved at kids on a school bus (#33), I always wave at them when the zoo train comes around. Hopefully that counts.

I’m not exactly sure what Mr. Snell intended with #38. Life as an exclamation? Unfortunately, we can’t ask him about it. A Google search turned up no information beyond what’s on this weathered document, or exactly when the list was first written. But I hope he had a good life.

Still, if you’re looking for a few suggestions on how to live a pleasant life in 2025 and beyond, most of these tips might provide a good starting place. Especially #37.

Cheers!

Which “little instruction” would you take to heart for 2025?
Feel free to list your own tips in the Comments section below!
Gay Yellen is the author of the award-winning Samantha Newman Mysteries *
The Body Business***The Body Next Door***The Body in the News!***

Burning Your Zozobra

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While one half of our nation rejoices this week and the other half wonders what went wrong, here comes Thanksgiving, Christmas and Hanukah, when we’re all thrown together at friends’ parties and family reunions. Finding common ground where we can stand together may be difficult as we tiptoe around each other’s feelings after the election.

Four years ago, it also felt like our national unity had frayed, both physically (the pandemic) and culturally (we vs. them). Back then, I wrote a guest post for Jungle Red Writers about a new word I’d learned from an article in The Conversation. This week, our local newspaper reprinted the original essay.

The word is zozobra.

In Spanish, it means “anguish, anxiety, or gloom,” which many of us suffered from in those fear-ridden times.

https://burnzozobra.comI’ve recently heard that in Santa Fe, New Mexico there’s an annual Summer Festival in which they burn an ugly zozobra in effigy as an attempt to chase the gloom away.

And yet, barring a truly effective alternative to lighten our national funk, what better time is there than Thanksgiving to remind us of what’s truly meaningful in life? For me, that includes friends and family (regardless of political differences), the health that still sustains us, and a sense of purpose that keeps us engaged in the world.

Yes, bad things happen every day, and sometimes they happen to us.

But what if we try to minimize the complaining and instead, focus on the positive things we can do to make life better for ourselves and others.

It helps to practice gratitude for the small things that bring us joy.

I am grateful for family and friends, and for being accepted into a writing community where colleagues honor and respect one another, where we share our ups and downs in the wacky world of publishing. To my Stiletto sisters, and to Sisters in Crime and beyond, I would be bereft without your continued friendship and support.

And to our readers! Thank you for reading!

We’re all in this together, come what may. Tomorrow is World Kindness Day. Maybe we could start with that.

Or, if you’re not quite ready to let go of your anxiety, you could plan your very own Zozobra Festival and exorcise the beast.

What are you grateful for today?

Please tell us in the comment section below.

 

Gay Yellen is the author of the  award-winning Samantha Newman Mysteries, including The Body Business, The Body Next Door, and The Body in the News! 

Now available from your favorite bookseller. Readers and book clubs, please contact me at GayYellen.com.

 

 

 

 

 

Surviving the Storm

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Ever heard of a derecho?

I hadn’t, until recently. It’s related to a tornado, and can be just as deadly. Instead of twisting up everything in its path and tossing it around, a derecho’s furious winds wreak devastation in a straight line, like a giant hundred-mile-an-hour freight train.

Last May, one barreled through two hundred miles of Texas, including our neighborhood. It tore through swaths of open landscape and mowed down houses and other buildings, leaving hundreds of thousands electricity customers in the dark.

People died from falling trees. If you want to know what our derecho was like, these videos from the Houston Chronicle pretty much gives you a taste. Yes, it was scary.

In our neighborhood, it was mostly the trees, those majestic century-old oaks in our urban forest that suffered the greatest damage.

And then in July…

Hurricane Beryl hit us with howling winds and high water. Thousands of homes were ravaged. Thousands of businesses lost power—many, for weeks. People lost their lives from the sweltering heat.

After two previous summers of drought, the May derecho, and July’s hurricane, many more stately trees succumbed. Some, still standing, are leaning at ominous angles over homes and streets and sidewalks. Others are stripped down to mere skeletons of their former lushness. So many sad sights where once there was beauty and abundance.

We’re used to summer storms around here. The Body in the News, Book 3 in my Samantha Newman Mystery series, revolves around the aftermath of one of the worst hurricanes to hit these parts in recent history.

Clean-up and repairs from the May derecho weren’t completed when the July hurricane hit. We’re now two months beyond Beryl, yet a walk around the neighborhood still bears sad reminders of the destructive forces of nature. And now…

Here comes another one!

As I write this, the weather service is serving us updates on Francine, the tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico that’s expected to become a hurricane today. It, too, is headed our way, or somewhere between us and New Orleans. In case it arrives ahead of schedule, and we lose power again, I’ll wrap this up and get it posted. But before I sign off, there’s one more thing… 

I’ve come to understand the therapeutic benefit of immersing oneself in a leafy retreat, which is why I mourn losing so much of the neighborhood greenery. However, in the larger scheme of things, life can hit us with more serious hardships at any time, so, it’s important to keep this in mind:

Trees can be replanted. Lives lost are irreplaceable.

Instead of wringing our hands over what is lost, or what may happen next, let’s celebrate the people and things that bring beauty to our lives today.

Let’s appreciate what we have with with renewed attention and open affection.

And, if the mood strikes, while you’re hugging those dear to you, it might also help to hug a tree. Turns out, they can be as fragile as people.

Have you ever weathered a scary natural disaster?

Please leave your comments below…

Gay Yellen is the award-winning author of the of the Samantha Newman Mystery Series: The Body Business, The Body Next Door, and The Body in the News.

 

 

 

New Lessons from High School

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Hard to believe that the public school year opened here yesterday, especially when we’re still inside the blast furnace that is August. I remember sweating through those first days. It was pretty brutal.

My own high school reunion happened just this past weekend, which made me wonder what the children returning to class will be learning, and what they’ll need to figure out on their own after they graduate.

As grown-ups, we know it’s impossible to escape high school as fully-formed adults. There are too many new lessons to be learned as years go by. Matter of fact, I caught up with a few new ones at the reunion.

If you plan to attend such a gathering, it’s common to question whether or not you have measured up to expectations. Maybe we feel we haven’t aged well, or weren’t successful enough, or didn’t meet our own hopes in some other way. Mercifully, most of my classmates at the party seemed to overcome those useless notions and decided to be there just for the fun of it.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Right off the bat, I ran into a couple of people I’d long remembered for having been cruel to me. The first was the grown-up version of a girl who had very publicly humiliated me my freshman year.

We managed to have a cordial conversation, but as I walked away, I couldn’t help noting that she would make a good villain in a mystery some day. Come to think of it, that long-ago betrayal may have fed my subconscious as I created E.B. Odom, the villain in The Body Business. So, here’s a thank-you to her!

Also at the party was a person who, in elementary school, had a nasty habit of kicking my shins until they bled.

I remembered him as a little devil. But at the reunion, he went out of his way to talk to me, and spoke so kindly about my mother that I instantly changed my opinion. As mystery readers know, sometimes an apparent villain in a story turns out to be a hero. Something like that occurs in the third book in the The Samantha Newman Mystery Series.

Recaptured Memories

The absolute highlight of the evening was being able to reconnect with old friends, many of whom I hadn’t seen since graduation. Remembering with them what we were like back then and sharing our life journeys since those sweet days was a priceless gift. It left me longing to connect with others who hadn’t made the trip.

There’s something deeply satisfying about sharing memories with people who knew us when. Most special was excavating the hidden treasures of experiences we’d long ago forgotten. And feeling so very grateful for the new lessons, too.

Have you ever attended a class reunion? How did it go?

Please leave a comment below…

Gay Yellen is the award-winning author of the  Samantha Newman Mysteries include The Body Business, The Body Next Door, and The Body in the News!  Now available on Amazon.

Contact her at GayYellen.com

 

History Speaks to Us

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I was not a big fan of history in my teens and twenties. No history class ever made the factoids we had to memorize feel real or relevant to the world I lived in.

The History Buff

Then I married a big fan of history, and through his eyes, his love for that old stuff began to come alive for me, too.

Mont-Saint-Michel

In 1999, we traveled to Normandy together. I’d spent my junior year in college in France, and I remembered Normandy mostly for the delicious crepes and hard apple cider the region is known for. And of course, for the wondrous sight of Mont-Saint-Michel rising from a sea of tidal sands.

But I had never toured the D-Day beaches there, where the tide of World War II began to turn. Of course, my history-buff husband very much wanted to see them.

No Hollywood Movie

Most people have experienced film versions of the war, including depictions of D-Day. But no matter how “real” the filmmakers tried to make the movie, nothing—not the enormous scope of the effort, the danger involved, the bravery of thousands of young soldiers—nothing ever hit me in the gut, until I saw what those intrepid souls were up against on that day, and all the days after.

Already under fire from the German guns positioned atop the cliffs that loomed above the beach, they somehow mustered the fortitude to leap out of their landing boats, race for their lives across the vast beach past their dead and dying comrades, and scramble up the sheer, vertical cliffs. And if they succeeded, what then?

How did they do it?

Knowing that they faced more guns and possibly hand-to-hand combat if they were “lucky” enough to make it all the way up, how did they push on? It gives me chills to think about it.

As he does every year, last weekend my husband took a sealed jar of sand from the shelf and set it out on a table to commemorate those long-gone soldiers and their unimaginable courage. It’s the sand we had gathered from the beach in Normandy. It still looks as it did in 1999.

We enjoyed the whole of our trip to France that year. But the memory that lingers is of the site of that fateful day in 1944.  And I will never think of history the same again.

Has history ever come alive for you? How?

Please share your experience below.

Gay Yellen is the author of the multi-award-winning SamanthaNewman Mysteries include The Body Business, The Body Next Door, and The Body in the News!

Contact her at GayYellen.com

 

 

 

Has Spring Sprung for You?

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Exactly when is Spring supposed to begin? I looked it up, and here’s what I found:

The vernal equinox in 2024 arrived on March 19, but that date varies year to year. It hovers somewhere between the 19th and 21st of the month, and is marked at the moment the sun is directly facing Earth’s equator. This is also known as Astronomical Spring.

But, because science allows the date to vary, I’m thinking it’s okay if Spring starts for people like you and me whenever we are able to feel it.

We’ve enjoyed the new season around our home for a few weeks now. Gardens are in full bloom. A multitude of songbirds greet us with their cheery melodies every morning, just like the ones Samantha Newman hears when she visits Serenity Ranch.♥

Spring is also when our cherished bluebonnets and other dazzling wildflowers begin to blanket our empty fields and rolling hills.

This past weekend made Spring feel official for me, with opening of the annual Kite Festival that takes place in our favorite public park. There’s something wonderful about a day when people of all ages gather on vast green spaces to share a picnic and fly kites.

A live band played upbeat music while children ran around, testing how far they could roam free. They squealed with delight. You couldn’t help but smile at the joy of it.

Those icy winds are gone. Gentle breezes flow. We’re unencumbered by winter coats and jackets, scarves and gloves. The world is refreshed.

Hooray!

What is the first sign of Spring where you live? And, when was the last time you flew a kite?

Here’s wishing you a very HAPPY SPRING, full of sunshine, flowers, celebrations, and laughter!

 

Gay Yellen is the author of the award-winning Samantha Newman Mystery Series including: The Body Business, The Body Next Door, and The Body in the News!

Find her on Amazon, BookBub, Facebook, or contact her at GayYellen.com

 

 

 

 

 

On Naming Names

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In my first stint as a magazine editor, I looked up from my desk one afternoon to see a young deliveryman at my office door, carrying a flower arrangement. He looked lost. “Can I help you?” I offered.

“Are you Gay?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said.

He grinned broadly and proudly declared, “So am I!”

We shared a laugh for a good minute before he set the flowers on my desk, wished me a great day, and disappeared down the hall.

In my twenty-four years on earth at that point, it was the first time I realized that, as a name, mine had become an anachronism. When I told my mother about the humorous encounter, she revealed that she and my Dad had debated among three names for me—Joy, Merry, or Gay—before they settled on the one I have.

Ever since the flower guy’s visit, I’ve always tried to avoid startling any new person I’m about to meet with what might sound like a sexual identity announcement. So, instead of the usual “Hi, I’m Gay,” I say, slowly and distinctly, “Hello, my name is Gay.”

“Gay?” one might repeat.

I nod. “That’s my name.

Naming a fictional character

Choosing names for fictional characters is tricky, too, because the name has to fit. What might it communicate about them and their story?

I first pondered this when I helped write the thriller Five Minutes to Midnight. The author was an international expert on terrorism, and not a native English speaker. To start with, he asked for help in naming the main character, who plied the same profession as he did. The hero was bold and dangerous. After playing with possibilities, I came up with Sartain. To my ears, it sounded like a good cross between the word “certain” and the ultimate tough guy, Satan. The author loved it.

In my own Samantha Newman Mystery Series, I chose Sam’s last name because it reflected her unlucky habit of having to reinvent herself in each book. Now, after the first three books, she’s  in a good place. But given her history, who knows how long it will last?

Do you have a favorite fictional character name? Please share it in the comments below.

Gay Yellen writes the award-winning Samantha Newman Mystery Series, including: The Body Business, The Body Next Door, and The Body in the News.

Have You Read These Books?

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As a lifelong book lover, I read newsletters and articles by literary critics on what they think is important to read. So in January, I usually check the various “Best” book lists for the past year.

I’ve long been skeptical of how the books are chosen. When a thriller I helped write earned a spot on The New York Times “Notables” list, it was disappointing to learn why—after five printings in both hardback and paperback and translated into two foreign language editions—it didn’t quite become a NYT “bestseller.” It had more to do with a bookselling logarithm and a publisher’s reluctance to support it than it did with the quality of the book itself.

But to learn what’s happening in the popular culture, I still read the lists. The NYT says the five best novels of 2023 are The Bee Sting, Chain-Gang All-Stars, Eastbound, North Woods, and The Fraud (written by Zadie Smith, an author I’ve read and enjoyed).

The Wall Street Journal chose an entirely different five: The Lost Wife, The Sun Walks Down, Good Girls, Red Memory, and A Dictator Calls (winner of a Man Booker prize).

Reader’s Digest doesn’t stop at mere books of the year. It also publishes “The 100 Best Books of All Time.” What they do when new books are published is a mystery. They could easily drop Hamlet from the current list. It’s a remarkable piece of literature, but it isn’t a book. But what about the other 99?

In a sign of the times, there’s also a Top 50 Banned Books list. I enjoyed many of those as a child and in high school English class. I’m sure you have, too. Now I’m curious about the rest of them, especially one called Captain Underpants.

When I choose a new book, I often rely on recommendations from friends. I love being introduced to books I wouldn’t necessarily pick up on my own.

So, have you read any good books lately? Tell us about it in the comments below.

And speaking of books, I’m giving away free copies of The Body Business ebook for 24 hours beginning at midnight tonight through midnight tomorrow (Jan. 10th) on Amazon. Tell your friends!

Gay Yellen is the author of the award-winning SamanthaNewman Mysteries include The Body Business, The Body Next Door, and The Body in the News!

Contact her at GayYellen.com